Photochemical behavior of colloidal lignin particles under controlled UV exposure: Balancing self-stabilization and degradation.

Colloidal Lignin Particles (CLPs), with their polyphenolic structure, are promising sustainable alternatives to chemical UV filters. This study investigates the photochemical behavior of CLPs under ultraviolet irradiation synthetized from five different technical raw lignins (Alkali, Organosolv, two Enzymatic Hydrolyzed and Softwood Kraft Lignin) via solvent-shift procedure. The suspensions were irradiated using a self-developed UV-pen set-up and a commercially available UV chamber, enabling controlled UV exposure over time.

Membrane Processes for Remediating Water from Sugar Production By-Product Stream.

Sugar production generates wastewater rich in dissolved solids and organic matter, and improper disposal poses severe environmental risks, exacerbates water scarcity, and creates regulatory challenges. Conventional treatment methods, such as evaporation and chemical precipitation, are energy-intensive and often ineffective at removing fine particulates and dissolved impurities. This study evaluates membrane-based separation as a sustainable alternative for water reclamation and sugar recovery from sugar industry effluents, focusing on replacing evaporation with membrane processes, ensuring high permeate quality, and mitigating membrane fouling.

Effects of Pulsatile Bi-level Ventilation on flow characteristics in an alveolated duct: A comparative study.

This study investigates the fluid flow behavior in a single alveolated duct, comparing Bi-level Ventilation (BLV) and Pulsatile Bi-level Ventilation (PBLV) techniques. While clinical studies have shown that PBLV enhances gas exchange, there has been a lack of detailed exploration of the flow fields within the alveolus for these ventilation methods. Using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) including Fluid-structure Interaction (FSI) and boundary conditions measured in experiments, this work examines the differences in alveolar flow characteristics between PBLV and BLV.

Starch hydrolysates, their impurities and the role of membrane-based technologies as a promising sustainable purification method at industrial scale.

Starch hydrolysates are syrups obtained through the hydrolysis of starch with a defined carbohydrate composition and concentration. Annual harvest conditions and the availability of raw materials, such as corn, wheat, rice, potato, and certain plant roots, influence their quality. High-quality starch hydrolysate products serve numerous applications, including ingredients in food, textiles, paper, cosmetics, bioplastics, pharmaceuticals and construction.

From Soft Lithography to 3D Printing: Current Status and Future of Microfluidic Device Fabrication.

The advent of 3D printing has revolutionized the fabrication of microfluidic devices, offering a compelling alternative to traditional soft lithography techniques. This review explores the potential of 3D printing, particularly photopolymerization techniques, fused deposition modeling, and material jetting, in advancing microfluidics. We analyze the advantages of 3D printing in terms of cost efficiency, geometric complexity, and material versatility while addressing key challenges such as material transparency and biocompatibility, which have represented the limiting factors for its widespread adoption.

Acid-functionalized PVA composite membranes for pervaporation-assisted esterification.

Composite flat-sheet membranes functionalized with imidazolium-based ionic liquids (ILs) grafted to poly(vinyl alcohol)/glutaraldehyde as a catalytic layer were developed to enhance the esterification between -butanol and acetic acid. The functionalized membranes were produced dip-coating commercial pervaporation membranes, and two distinct Brønsted-acidic ILs with an imidazolium-based cation and different (hydrogen sulfate [HSO] or bromide [Br]) anions were compared. Compact, 12 μm-thick, defect-free catalytic layers were observed on top of the pervaporation membrane supports, and the determined penetration depth of the ILs confirmed their presence in the upper part of the coating.

A Novel Bio-Purification Process Employing an Engineered Strain for Downstream Processing of Lactic Acid Solutions from the Fermentation of Agro-Industrial by-Products.

This study aims to integrate a novel bio-purification process employing an engineered strain in the downstream processing of lactic acid (LA) fermentation broths from low-cost renewable biological feedstocks. Fermentation broth of candy waste and digestate mixture was used as a real biological feedstock. An engineered strain that selectively catabolize impurities without catabolizing LA was initially adapted on the biological feedstock, followed by shake flask experiments to prove the bio-purification concept.

Development of a hybrid bio-purification process of lactic acid solutions employing an engineered E. coli strain in a membrane bioreactor.

Background: A potential alternative to lactic acid production through sugar fermentation is its recovery from grass silage leachate. The separation and purification of lactic acid from fermentation broths remain a key issue, as it amounts to up to 80% of its industrial production cost. In this study, a genetically engineered E.

Design of a Gas Permeation and Pervaporation Membrane Model for an Open Source Process Simulation Tool.

Gas permeation and pervaporation are technologies that emerged several decades ago. Even though they have discovered increasing popularity for industrial separation processes, they are not represented equally within process simulation tools except for commercial systems. The availability of such a numerical solution shall be extended due to the design of a membrane model with Visual Basic based on the solution-diffusion model.

Titanium-Pillared Clay: Preparation Optimization, Characterization, and Artificial Neural Network Modeling.

Titanium-pillared clay (Ti-PILC), as one of the most suitable types of porous adsorbents/(photo)catalysts, was prepared from a local type of Iranian clay and titanium isopropoxide. The production process was optimized by changing three operating parameters, including the clay suspension concentration (in the range of 0.5-10% /), the H/Ti ratio (2-8 mol/mol), and the calcination temperature (300-700 °C).

Air-to-Air Heat and Moisture Recovery in a Plate-Frame Exchanger Using Composite and Asymmetric Membranes.

The present work studied an air-to-air exchanger comprising a flat plate module with a diagonal channel and a counterflow configuration for the air streams. The objective of this study was to remove moisture and sensible heat from an exhaust air stream by indirect contact with another air stream. The temperature and flow rate of the exhaust air was in the range of 40-80 °C and 1-5 L·min, respectively, and the fresh ambient air to exhaust air flow ratio was 1-5.

Evaluation of Nanofiltration Membranes for Pure Lactic Acid Permeability.

Lactic acid (LA) is an organic acid produced by fermentation or chemical synthesis. It plays a crucial role in the pharmaceutical, food and plastic industries. In the fermentation of, for example, grass silage, LA and different compounds are produced.

Assessment of Graphical Methods for Determination of the Limiting Current Density in Complex Electrodialysis-Feed Solutions.

Electrodialysis (ED) is a promising technology suitable for nutrient recovery from a wide variety of liquid waste streams. For optimal operating conditions, the limiting current density (LCD) has to be determined separately for each treated feed and ED equipment. LCD is most frequently assessed in the NaCl solutions.

Dataset for the simulated biomass pyrolysis in rotary kilns with varying particle residence time distributions.

Slow pyrolysis of biomass is commonly performed in rotary kilns. The effect of the particle residence time distribution on biomass conversion is often neglected when numerically modeling such systems. But this effect might be significant under certain conditions.

Ethyl lactate production by reactive distillation - optimization of reaction kinetics and energy efficiency.

Ethyl lactate is an environmentally benign solvent, which could substitute petrol-based volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in many applications if production costs are reduced. It is usually produced by the esterification of lactic acid with ethanol - two important chemical building blocks of biorefineries that are available at industrial scale. Reactive distillation is a promising alternative production process, which utilises process intensification to increase energy efficiency and space-time yield by enhancing the reaction kinetics.

Considerations on Temperature Dependent Effective Diffusion and Permeability of Natural Clays.

A series of porous clay samples prepared at different pretreatment temperatures have been tested in a diffusion chamber. Diffusivity and permeability were examined in a temperature range from ambient to 900 °C. Gaseous mixtures of O, CO, and N have been applied, as these species are the relevant gases in the context of clay brick firing and similar thermochemical processes.

Non-parametric dynamical estimation of blood flow rate, pressure difference and viscosity for a miniaturized blood pump.

Blood pumps are becoming increasingly important for medical devices. They are used to assist and control the blood flow and blood pressure in the patient's body. To accurately control blood pumps, information about important hydrodynamic parameters such as blood flow rate, pressure difference and viscosity is needed.

A Microfluidic Multisize Spheroid Array for Multiparametric Screening of Anticancer Drugs and Blood-Brain Barrier Transport Properties.

Physiological-relevant in vitro tissue models with their promise of better predictability have the potential to improve drug screening outcomes in preclinical studies. Despite the advances of spheroid models in pharmaceutical screening applications, variations in spheroid size and consequential altered cell responses often lead to nonreproducible and unpredictable results. Here, a microfluidic multisize spheroid array is established and characterized using liver, lung, colon, and skin cells as well as a triple-culture model of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) to assess the effects of spheroid size on (a) anticancer drug toxicity and (b) compound penetration across an advanced BBB model.

Water as a Blood Model for Determination of CO Removal Performance of Membrane Oxygenators.

CO removal via membrane oxygenators has become an important and reliable clinical technique. Nevertheless, oxygenators must be further optimized to increase CO removal performance and to reduce severe side effects. Here, in vitro tests with water can significantly reduce costs and effort during development.

Microstructured Hollow Fiber Membranes: Potential Fiber Shapes for Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenators.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenators are essential medical devices for the treatment of patients with respiratory failure. A promising approach to improve oxygenator performance is the use of microstructured hollow fiber membranes that increase the available gas exchange surface area. However, by altering the traditional circular fiber shape, the risk of low flow, stagnating zones that obstruct mass transfer and encourage thrombus formation, may increase.

Animal blood in translational research: How to adjust animal blood viscosity to the human standard.

Animal blood is used in mock circulations or in forensic bloodstain pattern analysis. Blood viscosity is important in these settings as it determines the driving pressure through biomedical devices and the shape of the bloodstain. However, animal blood can never exactly mimic human blood due to erythrocyte properties differing among species.

Suitable CO Solubility Models for Determination of the CO Removal Performance of Oxygenators.

CO removal via membrane oxygenators during lung protective ventilation has become a reliable clinical technique. For further optimization of oxygenators, accurate prediction of the CO removal rate is necessary. It can either be determined by measuring the CO content in the exhaust gas of the oxygenator (sweep flow-based) or using blood gas analyzer data and a CO solubility model (blood-based).

CuSO/[Cu(NH)]SO-Composite Thermochemical Energy Storage Materials.

The thermochemical energy-storage material couple CuSO/[Cu(NH)]SO combines full reversibility, application in a medium temperature interval (<350 °C), and fast liberation of stored heat. During reaction with ammonia, a large change in the sulfate solid-state structure occurs, resulting in a 2.6-fold expansion of the bulk material due to NH uptake.