John D. Paccione

Dr. Paccione is an assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences with a joint appointment in the Department of Environmental & Sustainable Engineering. His current primary appointment is as a Senior Engineer, in the Bureau of Water Supply Protection, at the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH).  His research focuses on the modeling of processes that involve fluid flow including reactor hydraulics, multiphase flow (gas-solids and liquid solids systems), process development, and recreational water engineering.

At UAlbany, his work focuses on the application of engineering to water treatment methods to improve both efficiency and the analysis of treatment processes. He teaches fluid mechanics and portions of a course that explores and relates how water quality affects public health.

Dr. Paccione has five patents awarded and one under review as of (2022). The most recent patent (under review) is focused on a treatment system that can be used for removing and destroying low-concentration contaminants found in water. The system can be scaled over multiple orders of magnitude of flow and is based on established multiphase reaction engineering principles.

Sample of Activities at UAlbany

• Development of a simple computational formulation for determination of disinfection compliance with the US EPA Surface Water Treatment Rule. This work applies fundamental chemical reactor principles such as residence time distribution theory. This work can be applied to the disinfection of drinking water as well as to wastewater treatment for potential reuse applications.
• Spray grounds have become an attractive aquatic venue for children as they provide significant entertainment with little or no drowning hazard. However, the patron-to-water ratio is low which presents a significant water treatment challenge. As a result, a novel approach to water treatment was developed and embodied as a code regulation (Subpart 6-3 of the New York State Sanitary Code). An overview of the treatment design and development was memorialized in a publication to provide students and water treatment professionals with a means to better understand the rationale behind the design requirements.
• Development of a method for determining the solids mass flow rate in a gas-solids riser using three physically relevant and readily measured parameters. The results of this work can be applied to process engineering systems where it is important to determine and control the solids mass flow rate of granular solids that are being conveyed pneumatically. Applications include solids drying and roasting as well as process control and equipment design.
• Development of a means for controlling the conditions in a riser by specifying two of the three following parameters: solids mass flow rate, solids fraction, and particle velocity. This control technique is important for conversion processes such as regenerating a photocatalytic adsorbent where the solids fraction and residence time in the riser is important.
• The widespread contamination of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) has provided an impetus to develop engineering solutions for water purification that can be scaled over a wide range of municipal needs. Dr. Paccione has developed a novel treatment system that provides a means for removing PFAS from the water and decomposing them using solar or artificial light. The treatment system is based on a novel multiphase reactor design that can be readily adapted to the required process conditions present at a specific water treatment facility. The New York State Department of Health has filed a patent for the application of the novel reactor design for the treatment of water for PFAS and other potentially toxic substances such as 1,4-dioxane. Dr. Paccione is collaborating with other researchers to add expertise in the fields of photocatalysis and UV reactor design and modeling to bring the needed skills to further develop the water treatment system to address emerging contaminants and wastewater process needs. Future work in this area can be extended to carbon dioxide reduction to C1 precursors such as methanol.

Teaching

• EHS/ESE-351: Introduction to Fluid Mechanics
• EHS-605: Water Quality and Public Health

Patents

Methods and apparatus for handling or treating particulate material, United States Patent: 7,621,668

Methods and apparatus for coating particulate material, United States Patent: 8,235,577

Methods for coating particulate material, United States Patent: 8,557,336

Coated aerogel beads, United States Patent: 8,691,385

Waste water treatment apparatus and methods, United States Patent: 8,685,237

Fluid Treatment Apparatus, System, and Methods, Patent Application

Publications

Determining the Solids Mass Flow Rate in a Gas–Solids Riser Using an Integral Momentum Balance, J. D. Paccione, Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, 61 (14) (2022) 4937-4650, DOI: 10.1021/acs.iecr.1c04130

Development of Recreational Water Spray Ground Regulations in New York State, An Engineering Approach, Paccione, J.D., Dziewulski, D. M., and Young, P. L., Journal of Water and Health, 15 (5) (2017) 718-728, DOI: 10.2166/wh.2017.032

Analytical Determination of the Baffle Factor for Disinfection Contact Systems Based On Hydraulic Analysis, Disinfection Kinetics and Ct Tables, Paccione, J. D., Follansbee, D. M., Young, P. L., Dziewulski, D. M. Journal of Environmental Engineering, 14 (7) (2016) 04016026, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)EE.1943-7870.0001094

New Type of Draft Tube Spout-Fluid Bed. Part 2: Modeling and Design of the Acceleration Section of the Riser for the Pneumatic Transport of 1 mm Glass Spheres, Littman, H. and Paccione, J. D., Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, 54 (2015) 6187-6198, DOI: 10.1021/acs.iecr.5b00359

Design, Simulation, and Performance of a Draft Tube Spout Fluid Bed Coating System for Aerogel Particles, Plawsky, J. L., Littman, H., Paccione, J. D., Powder Technology, 199 (2010) 131-138, DOI: 10.1016/j.powtec.2009.12.009, DOI: 10.1016/j.powtec.2009.12.009

A New Type of Draft Tube Spout-Fluid Bed: Part 1 Hydraulic Transport of 1.94 mm Glass Particles in Water, H. Littman, J. D. Paccione, J. Plawsky, Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, 48 (2009) 9286–9298, DOI: 10.1021/ie9001475

Globally Optimal Design and Operation of a Continuous Photocatalytic Advanced Oxidation Process Featuring Moving Bed Adsorption and Draft-Tube Transport, D. Follansbee, J. D. Paccione, L. L. Martin, Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, 47 (2008) 3591-3600

Effect of Large Particles on the Augmentation of Wall Friction in Vertical Pneumatic and Hydraulic Transport in a Turbulent Fluid, H. Littman and J. D. Paccione, Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, 46 (2007) 3429-3442, DOI: 10.1021/ie061058a

Mortar Properties Obtained by Dry Premixing of Cementitious Materials and Sand in a Spout-Fluid Bed Mixer, K.-B. Park,  J. L. Plawsky, H. Littman, and J. D. Paccione, Cement and Concrete Research, 36 (2006) 728-734, DOI: 10.1016/j.cemconres.2005.10.012

A pseudo-Stokes Representation of the Effective Drag Coefficient for Large Particles Entrained in a Turbulent Airstream, H. Littman, M. H. Morgan III, J. D. Paccione, Powder Technology, 87 (1996) 169-173

Effect of Particle Diameter, Particle Density and Loading Ratio on the Effective Drag Coefficient in Steady Turbulent Gas-Solids Transport, H. Littman, M.H. Morgan III, S. Dj. Jovanović, J. D. Paccione, Z. B. Grbavčić and D.V. Vuković, Powder Technology, 84 (1995) 49-56

Modeling and Measurement of the Effective Drag Coefficient in Decelerating and Non-accelerating Turbulent Gas-Solids Dilute Phase Flow of Large Particles in a Vertical Transport Pipe, H. Littman, M.H. Morgan III, J. D. Paccione, S. Dj. Jovanović, and Z. B. Grbavčić, Powder Technology, 77 (1993) 267-283

Laboratory Experiences in Membrane Separation Processes, H. C. Hollein, P. P. Antonecchia, L. S. Mazzella and J. D. Paccione, Inter. J. Eng. Educ., 5, 369-378, 1989

A Reverse Osmosis System for an Advanced Separation Process Laboratory, C. S. Slater,  J. D. Paccione, Chemical Engineering Education, Summer 1987, pp. 138-143