SeparationsPub Date : 2023-10-01DOI: 10.3390/separations10100528
Mariana B. N. Alves, André M. Lopes, Nathalia A. Santos, Valéria C. Santos-Ebinuma, Filipa A. Vicente, Jorge F. B. Pereira
{"title":"Influence of Choline Chloride on the Phase Equilibria and Partition Performance of Polymer/Polymer Aqueous Biphasic Systems","authors":"Mariana B. N. Alves, André M. Lopes, Nathalia A. Santos, Valéria C. Santos-Ebinuma, Filipa A. Vicente, Jorge F. B. Pereira","doi":"10.3390/separations10100528","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/separations10100528","url":null,"abstract":"A series of polymeric aqueous biphasic systems (ABS) were determined using polyethylene glycol (PEG) and sodium polyacrylate (NaPA) with choline chloride ([Ch]Cl) as an adjuvant. The effect of (i) PEG and NaPA molecular weights, (ii) PEG functionalization, (iii) [Ch]Cl addition (at different concentrations), and (iv) temperature (25, 37 and 50 °C) was evaluated through their ability to promote the two-phase separation. The results showed that the polymerization degree and functionalization of PEG polymers exhibit a large influence on the ABS formation, with high molecular weight PEG inducing an increase in the biphasic region. Furthermore, the addition of small amount (1–5 wt%) of [Ch]Cl also increased the liquid–liquid demixing. Temperature and the increase in the NaPA molecular weight did not influence the ABS formation ability. Finally, the partition performance of PEG/NaPA + [Ch]Cl ABS was evaluated using caffeine as a model compound. Unlike the ABS formation trend, NaPAs molecular weight significantly influenced the partitioning, which was strengthened when using NaPA-8000. Moreover, the incorporation of [Ch]Cl facilitated an inversion in the partitioning behavior of caffeine, thereby emphasizing the remarkable partitioning tailoring potential exhibited by these systems. Overall, all systems seem to be promising alternatives for the effective extraction, purification and/or concentration of different value-added biomolecules.","PeriodicalId":21833,"journal":{"name":"Separations","volume":"4 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135457890","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SeparationsPub Date : 2023-09-28DOI: 10.3390/separations10100527
Javier Saurina
{"title":"Analysis of Food and Beverages","authors":"Javier Saurina","doi":"10.3390/separations10100527","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/separations10100527","url":null,"abstract":"We are delighted to introduce the “Analysis of Food and Beverages Section of Separations”, which focuses on developing and applying new approaches based on separation techniques for the characterization of foods and beverages [...]","PeriodicalId":21833,"journal":{"name":"Separations","volume":"97 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135426750","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SeparationsPub Date : 2023-09-28DOI: 10.3390/separations10100526
Qirong Dong, Qingyi Wei, Hongbin Pu
{"title":"CoFe2O4/MoS2@Au: Multifunction Z-Scheme Heterojunction for SERS Monitoring and Photocatalytic Degradation of Fungicides","authors":"Qirong Dong, Qingyi Wei, Hongbin Pu","doi":"10.3390/separations10100526","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/separations10100526","url":null,"abstract":"Efficient detection and degradation of fungicides are greatly concerned with aquatic food safety. Herein, a multifunction CoFe2O4/MoS2@Au (ACMS) composite was synthesized for crystal violet (CV) and malachite green (MG) photocatalytic degradation and SERS determination. As the construction of the Z-scheme heterostructure of ACMS, which enhanced the light absorption capability and the separation efficiency of photoexcited carrier significantly, ACMS possessed an excellent photocatalytic performance with a degradation rate of 94.76% for CV under simulated solar light irradiation. Furthermore, the multifunction ACMS exhibited superior SERS capability with a detection limit (LOD) of 4.309 × 10−2 μg L−1 for MG residues in water. And the ACMS substrates could be utilized to determine the MG residues in crucian carp extract, resulting in a recovery rate of 96.00~116.00%. In addition, such multifunction heterojunctions were performed for in situ monitoring of the photodegradation process. This research opened up a novel perspective on the applications of heterojunction-based multifunction materials for food safety control.","PeriodicalId":21833,"journal":{"name":"Separations","volume":"60 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135344245","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Development of an Ultrasound-Assisted Emulsification Microextraction Method for the Determination of Volatile Compounds in Wines","authors":"Ioanna Chalvantzi, Aspasia Nisiotou, Georgios Banilas, Athanasios Mallouchos","doi":"10.3390/separations10100525","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/separations10100525","url":null,"abstract":"A fast and simple method based on ultrasound-assisted emulsification microextraction (USAEME) was developed for the analysis of volatile compounds in wines. A full factorial 24 screening design was built to investigate the main factors affecting the extraction of volatile components, namely the volume of extraction solvent, sonication time, salt content, and pH. Then, the factors with significant effects were optimized using an I-optimal design. The optimal value for all the variables studied was reached under the following experimental conditions: volume of extraction solvent 200 μL and salt content 5% m/v. The suitability of the optimized method was evaluated, resulting in very good linearity with coefficients of determination (R2) higher than 0.995 in all cases, while repeatability was lower than 8.4% except for d-limonene and p-cymene. Recoveries higher than 82% were observed for the groups of ethyl esters, acetate esters, alcohols, and terpenoid alcohols (linalool, α-terpineol). The recovery of acids ranged from 70.5% to 88.9%, whereas the three monoterpenes studied (d-limonene, γ-terpinene, p-cymene) were not extracted satisfactorily. The proposed method was effectively applied for the analysis of volatile compounds in laboratory-scale fermentations with selected strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.","PeriodicalId":21833,"journal":{"name":"Separations","volume":"12 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135537922","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SeparationsPub Date : 2023-09-26DOI: 10.3390/separations10100524
Grover Castañeta, Rodrigo Villagomez, Efrain Salamanca, Pamela Canaviri-Paz, José A. Bravo, José L. Vila, Daniela Bárcenas-Pérez, José Cheel, Beatriz Sepúlveda, Alberto Giménez, Carlos Areche
{"title":"Microwave-Assisted Semisynthesis and Leishmanicidal Activity of Some Phenolic Constituents from Lichens","authors":"Grover Castañeta, Rodrigo Villagomez, Efrain Salamanca, Pamela Canaviri-Paz, José A. Bravo, José L. Vila, Daniela Bárcenas-Pérez, José Cheel, Beatriz Sepúlveda, Alberto Giménez, Carlos Areche","doi":"10.3390/separations10100524","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/separations10100524","url":null,"abstract":"Leishmaniasis is considered one of the most untreated tropical diseases in the world. In this study, we investigated the in vitro leishmanicidal activity and cytotoxicity of various isolated lichen substances, including atranorin (1), usnic acid (2), gyrophoric acid (3), salazinic acid (4), galbinic acid (5), and parietin (6), and some semi-synthetic imine derivatives of usnic acid (7, 8, 9) and atranorin (10, 11, 12, 13). Imine condensation reactions with hydrazine and several amines were assisted by microwave heating, an efficient and eco-friendly energy source. The most interesting result was obtained for compound 2, which has high leishmanicidal activity but also high cytotoxicity. This cytotoxicity was mitigated in its derivative, 9, with better selectivity and high antileishmanic activity. This result may indicate that the usnic acid derivative (9) obtained using condensation with two cyclohexylamine groups is a promising lead compound for the discovery of new semisynthetic antiparasitic drugs.","PeriodicalId":21833,"journal":{"name":"Separations","volume":"9 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134958606","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Adsorption of Phenols from Aqueous Solution with A pH-Sensitive Surfactant-Modified Bentonite","authors":"Xiangfen Cui, Jingmei Liao, Huaying Liu, Wei Tang, Cheng Tie, Senlin Tian, Yingjie Li","doi":"10.3390/separations10100523","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/separations10100523","url":null,"abstract":"The presence of organic pollutants in wastewater remains a prominent environmental concern due to the related ecological and health hazards. In response, this study employs an adsorptive methodology to address the removal of phenol and catechol, utilizing an organo-bentonite material modified with a pH-responsive switchable surfactant, dodecyldimethylamine oxide (C12DAO). The synthesized organo-bentonite (C12DAO-Bt) manifests commendable thermostability resulting from thermogravimetric analyses. The adsorption capacities of C12DAO-Bt concerning phenol and catechol intensify with the augmentation of the C12DAO/bentonite mass ratio. The utmost adsorption capacities of 150C12DAO-Bt, deduced through a pseudo-second-order kinetic model, stand at 5.72 mg·g−1 for phenol and 5.55 mg·g−1 for catechol, respectively. Subject to modification by a pH-responsive surfactant, conditions leaning towards weakly acidic and neutral conditions (pH = 6~7) are conducive to the adsorption of phenolic compounds. Conversely, alkaline conditions (pH = 8~9) facilitate the dissociation of adsorbates from adsorbents. The augmentation of cationic strength within the examined scope incites the adsorption procedure while impeding the desorption efficacy. In the case of cationic species with comparable ionic strengths, Na+ exhibited a superior effect on the adsorption–desorption dynamics of phenol, while Ca2+ exerts a more pronounced effect on those of catechol. Moreover, even following five consecutive acid–base regulation cycles, C12DAO-Bt retains a relatively high adsorption capacity and desorption efficacy, which underscores its exceptional regenerative capacity for removing phenolic compounds from wastewater.","PeriodicalId":21833,"journal":{"name":"Separations","volume":"331 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134958609","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SeparationsPub Date : 2023-09-25DOI: 10.3390/separations10100520
Hongtao Chang, Guoquan Zhang
{"title":"Separation Techniques for the Efficient and Green Recovery of Metal Minerals","authors":"Hongtao Chang, Guoquan Zhang","doi":"10.3390/separations10100520","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/separations10100520","url":null,"abstract":"In 2022~2023, eight high-quality papers were published in the Special Issue of Separations entitled “Efficient and Green Recovery of Metal Minerals” [...]","PeriodicalId":21833,"journal":{"name":"Separations","volume":"70 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135817550","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SeparationsPub Date : 2023-09-25DOI: 10.3390/separations10100522
Vinzenz Klapper, Giovanni Luzi, Soebiakto Loekman, Antonio Delgado
{"title":"Evaluation of Empirical Separation Efficiency Theories for Uniflow Cyclones for Different Particle Types and Experimental Verification","authors":"Vinzenz Klapper, Giovanni Luzi, Soebiakto Loekman, Antonio Delgado","doi":"10.3390/separations10100522","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/separations10100522","url":null,"abstract":"Cyclones serve as essential devices in various industries for the removal of particulate matter from gases and liquids, contributing to improved equipment efficiency and longevity by mitigating the wear and damage caused by dust and small particles. Uniflow cyclones offer improved accessibility due to their predominantly horizontal orientation. This characteristic enhances the ease of maintenance and operation. This study focuses on investigating the collection efficiency of uniflow centrifugal cyclones for oil mist and fine dust particles ranging from 0.5µm to 29 µm in diameter. The investigation is based on the specific vane angles βv of a swirl inducer from 0∘ to 60∘ at a flow rate V˙ of 130 Ls−1. The measured collection efficiencies are compared with theoretical efficiencies calculated using six different empirical approaches. The different results for oil and fine dust particles are discussed. Comparison of the experimental results with the empirical models demonstrated that certain models closely matched the observed separation efficiencies for different aerosols and vane angles βv (respectively, their induced radial velocities V). Through a systematic examination, this research aims to provide more insight into the validity of empirical approaches for different particle types and compositions using a uniflow-cyclonic system.","PeriodicalId":21833,"journal":{"name":"Separations","volume":"5 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135864299","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SeparationsPub Date : 2023-09-25DOI: 10.3390/separations10100521
Hongwei Li, Xin Li, Xiaojie Liu, Xiangping Bu, Shujun Chen, Qing Lyu, Kunming Wang
{"title":"Prediction of the Vanadium Content of Molten Iron in a Blast Furnace and the Optimization of Vanadium Extraction","authors":"Hongwei Li, Xin Li, Xiaojie Liu, Xiangping Bu, Shujun Chen, Qing Lyu, Kunming Wang","doi":"10.3390/separations10100521","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/separations10100521","url":null,"abstract":"The vanadium content of molten iron is an important economic indicator for a vanadium–titanium magnetite smelting blast furnace, and it is of great importance in blast furnace production to be able to accurately predict it and optimize the operation of vanadium extraction. Based on the historical data of a commercial blast furnace, the clean data were obtained by processing the missing data and outlier data for data mining analysis and model development. A combined wavelet-TCN model was used to predict the vanadium content of molten iron. The average Hurst index after wavelet transform was calculated to reduce the complexity of the wavelet transform layer selection and the model computation time. The results show that compared to single models, such as LSTM, LSTM with attention, and TCN, the combined model based on wavelet-TCN (a = 5) had an improvement of about 11~17% in R2, and the prediction accuracy was high and stable, which met the practical requirements of blast furnace production. The factors affecting the vanadium content of molten iron were analyzed, and the measures to increase the vanadium content were summarized. A blast furnace should avoid increasing the titanium dioxide load, increase the vanadium load appropriately, and keep the relevant operating parameters within the appropriate range in order to achieve the optimization of vanadium extraction from molten iron.","PeriodicalId":21833,"journal":{"name":"Separations","volume":"8 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135816030","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SeparationsPub Date : 2023-09-22DOI: 10.3390/separations10100519
Salam K. Al Dawery, Maroa K. Al-Sawai, Ghatara M. S. Al Muzami, Sri Hari K. Annamareddy, Muataz S. Al Dawari, Ramzi H. Harharah, Hamed N. Harharah, Abdelfattah Amari
{"title":"Treatment of Produced Water Using Prepared Activated Carbon-Based Sewage Sludge","authors":"Salam K. Al Dawery, Maroa K. Al-Sawai, Ghatara M. S. Al Muzami, Sri Hari K. Annamareddy, Muataz S. Al Dawari, Ramzi H. Harharah, Hamed N. Harharah, Abdelfattah Amari","doi":"10.3390/separations10100519","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/separations10100519","url":null,"abstract":"Removal of organic pollutants and metal ions from produced water by adsorption, using prepared activated carbon (AC) from sewage sludge, with chemical activations using NaOH, KOH and ZnCl2 separately and pyrolysis at different temperatures (500, 600 and 700 °C). Pure sludge and prepared ACs were analyzed using FTIR and XRD. The results showed 18% crystallinity compared to that of commercial AC, which has 44% crystallinity. The results of FTIR demonstrate that the properties of the post-treated affect the final products depending on the method used and that it contains similar functional groups to those present in the commercial AC, but at a higher peak intensity. Adsorption treatments were carried out at 25, 35 and 45 °C solution temperatures. The results showed that the removal of pollutants from produced water using prepared AC with all types of chemical activations reached 99.5%, such as commercial AC with 0.06 g dosage of adsorbent at pyrolysis temperatures of 500 and 600 °C and a solution temperature of 25 °C. The obtained results refer to the mechanism of exothermic reaction and physical adsorption. It was observed that despite the lower dosage of adsorbent of 0.01 g, a sufficient treatment of pollutants was achieved. This reveals the effectiveness of using sewage sludge as a cheap adsorbent. Also, using pure sewage sludge, the adsorption data showed a 95.2% removal of the pollutants. This result indicated that pure sludge has an efficient adsorption capacity and can be utilized as a cheap and environmentally friendly material. For the removal of manganese and cadmium metal ions from the produced water, the resultant data showed that more than 90% of manganese was adsorbed and more than 97% of cadmium was adsorbed, especially when using pure sewage sludge and prepared activated carbon with NaOH chemical activation at pyrolysis temperatures of 500 °C and 600 °C.","PeriodicalId":21833,"journal":{"name":"Separations","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136096060","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}