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This deliverable explains in detail two open source alternatives of analytics dashboards that have been developed and implemented as part of PLATOON project. The document contains the complementary information for the actual developed open source visualisation dashboards publicly available in the PLATOON GitHub repository.

Osmotically assisted reverse osmosis (OARO) or counterflow reverse osmosis (CFRO) are recent RO configurations that uses saline streams on both sides of the membrane in counterflow. This reduces the osmotic pressure difference that needs to be overcome for permeation and allows water recovery from high salinity feeds at regular RO pressure. Batch RO is a new, transient RO configuration that closely follows the osmotic pressure profile of the feed and is marked by high energy efficiency. In this work we extend a transient version of CFRO, Batch CFRO for high recovery (~74%) desalination of seawater using a temporally multi-staged version of the process for the first time. In doing so, we introduce the first configuration to achieve Batch CFRO using entirely available components, including a pressure exchanger rather than high pressure tanks. Using a reduced order model, the terminal salinity of the brine leaving the system is calculated to be 183 g/kg. The key feature of this new configuration is that it is multi-staged in time rather than space. As such it can use the same hollow fiber membrane module for the different stages and hence reduce the component (pumps and pressure exchangers) count of the process. The brine produced in each stage is stored in inexpensive atmospheric pressure tanks. This is in contrast with other multi-stage processes where the number of flow devices usually scale with the number of stages needed for higher recovery and usually leads to high cost. Notably, the choice of membrane type can make a significant difference, as common narrow hollow fibers can experience large pressure drops that become significant. This leads to the conclusion that module design must be key to achieve the top-energy numbers of other batch CFRO configurations by the team, such as spiral wound membranes, turbulence-inducing spacers, or using feed on the shell side of the fibers.

Industrial production of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers and their crop application have caused considerable environmental impacts. Some eco-friendly alternatives try to solve them but raise some restrictions. We tested a novel method to produce a nitrogen bioinoculant by enriching a soil microbial community in bioreactors supplying N2 by air pumping. The biomass enriched with diazotrophic bacteria was diluted and applied to N-depleted and sterilized soil of tomato plants. We estimated microbial composition and diversity by 16S rRNA metabarcoding from soil and bioreactors at different run times and during plant uprooting. Bioreactors promoted the N-fixing microbial community and revealed a hided diversity. One hundred twenty-four (124) operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were assigned to bacteria with a greater Shannon diversity during the reactor’s steady state. A total of 753 OTUs were found in the rhizospheres with higher biodiversity when the lowest concentration of bacteria was applied. The apparent bacterial abundance in the batch and continuous bioreactors suggested a more specific functional ecological organization. We demonstrate the usefulness of bioreactors to evidence hidden diversity in the soil when it passes through bioreactors. By obtaining the same growth of inoculated plants and the control with chemical synthesis fertilizers, we evidence the potential of the methodology that we have called directed bioprospecting to grow a complex nitrogen-fixing microbial community. The simplicity of the reactor’s operation makes its application promising for developing countries with low technological progress.

Sodium benzoate has been used a food preservative worldwide. The effect of sodium benzoate as a preservative in the wastewater treatment was examined from the biogas formation. Research was conducted in some batch mode reactor systems employing various ratios of activated sludge and solution of sodium benzoate volume. The MLSS of activated sludge used was 12 g/L, while the volume ratios of activated sludge and sodium benzoate ranged from 0 to 100%. Concentrations of sodium benzoate used were 50, 100, and 200 mg/L. Biogas samples were measured every two days for 60 days. The results showed that the volume ratio of activated sludge and sodium benzoate of 60% and 40% was a turning point where the existence of sodium benzoate influenced the formation of biogas. There were significant reductions of biogas formation from 200.6 mL to 66.6 mL, 159.8 mL to 66.0 mL and 130.2 mL to 54.0 mL for the initial SB concentrations of 50, 100, and 200 mg/L. The kinetic parameters of the Modified Gompertz equation exhibited the greatest degree of confidence of 95%.

In IoT-based smart healthcare services, the heterogeneity of connected wearable sensing devices open up a wide opportunity to develop various healthcare services. However, it also poses an interoperability challenge since each sensing device and application may have different communication mechanisms. Considering that challenge, web platform can be seen as a promising candidate for providing an interoperability layer as we can abstract various devices as single representation i.e. web resource. In this paper, we propose the design of middleware for enabling efficient web of things access over healthcare wearable devices. The proposed middleware consists of three components: gateway-to-cloud device, messaging service and data access interface. The gateway-to-cloud device has a role to perform low level sensor data collection from various wearable sensing device through bluetooth low energy (BLE) communication protocol. Collected data are then relayed to the cloud IoT platform using a lightweight MQTT messaging protocol. In order to provide device abstraction along with access to the stored data, the system offers two kind of interfaces: the Restful HTTP identified by unique universal resource locator (URL) for batch access and MQTT websocket interface identified by unique topic to accommodate access on sensing data in near real time stream manner.

Solanum incanum leaves, new and valuable biomass were utilized as sorbent material for the removal of U (IV) ions from aqueous wastes. The leaves of solanum incanum were analyzed by SEM, XRD, EDS and FTIR analyses. Solanum incanum leaves have a good ability to (VI) uptake. The maximum biosorption capacity of SNL was 39.98 mg/g at pH 4 and 45 °C. 99.95% of U (VI) ions were biosorbed within 60 min in an endothermic (ΔH:167.267 KJ mol−1) batch system. The linear and nonlinear results of biosorption isotherms and kinetics indicate that Langmuir and second pseudo order models were an agreement with the experimental results. Also, the regeneration and reusing of biomass give acceptable results up to 8 cycles of the biosorption-desorption system.

The removal of methyl orange using coal fly ash, which is a widely available low-cost adsorbent, has been investigated. Adsorption studies for dye removal were conducted using various configurations such as batch, column and heap adsorption at various temperatures and adsorbent dosages at neutral pH. The Langmuir, Freundlich and Tempkin isotherm models were used to describe the process. The Freundlich model best represented the adsorption. Kinetic studies show the adsorption followed pseudo-second-order kinetics. Thermodynamic studies show that the process is spontaneous, endothermic and random. Column configuration was found to be the most efficient with a dye removal percentage of 99.95%, followed by heap adsorption at 99.25% removal and lastly batch configuration with 96.68% removal. Economic analysis shows that column operation would be the most effective for practical implementation.

In this study, the effects of different pretreatment methods on the biochemical methane potential (BMP) of hurds from two hemp species, namely Narlisaray (NS) and Futura 75 (F), were investigated. The effect of pretreatment on BMP was discussed on the basis of the change in the chemical constituents of the raw material. The highest BMP yields of 272 mL CH4/g VS (F) and 218 mL CH4/g VS (NS) were obtained when the combined alkaline and thermal pretreatment was applied which resulted in the highest amount of hemicellulose degradation. (143% for alkaline and 74% for thermal, respectively, higher than those from raw hurds). It was found that BMP yields and the efficiency of pretreatment for two hemp species depended on genotypes, not on the content of chemical constituents of raw material. Additionally, the first-order kinetic model and the modified Gompertz model were simultaneously used to estimate the CH4 yield results of hurd. The first-order kinetic model resulted in the best fit [R-2 >= 0.96; root mean square error (RMSE) = 0.98; RMSE, TUBITAK [219M123], This research was funded by TUBITAK grant no 219M123 in behalf of Prof. Yanik.

The demand for chemical-free beverages is posing a challenge to the wine industry to provide safe and healthy products with low concentrations of chemical preservatives. The development of new technologies, such as Atmospheric Pressure Cold Plasma (APCP), offers the wine industry the opportunity to contribute to this continuous improvement. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the effect of Argon APCP treatment, applied in both batch and flow systems, on Tempranillo red wine quality. Batch treatments of 100 mL were applied with two powers (60 and 90 W) at four periods (1, 3, 5, and 10 min). For flowing devices, 750 mL of wine with a flow of 1.2 and 2.4 L/min were treated at 60 and 90 W for 25 min and was sampled every 5 min. Treatments in batch resulted in wines with greater color intensity, lower tonality, and higher content in total phenolic compounds and anthocyanins, so that they were favorable for wine quality. Among the batch treatments, the one with the lowest power was the most favorable. Flow continuous treatments, despite being more appropriate to implement in wineries, neither led to significant improvements in the chromatic and phenolic wine properties nor caused wine spoilage., This work was funded by the Government of La Rioja project R-11-18 that could be co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund, granted to the Autonomous Community of La Rioja, within the ERDF Operational Program

This paper deals with the transient state behavior of an M/M/1 retrial queueing model contains two parallel servers with departures occur in batches. At the arrival epoch, if all servers are busy then customers join the retrial group. Whereas, if the customers find any of one server is free then they join the free server and start its service immediately. Here, we assume that primary customers arrive according to Poisson process. The retrial customers also follow the same fashion. Service time follows an exponential distribution. Explicit time dependent probabilities of exact number of arrivals and exact number of departures when both servers are free or when one server is busy or when both servers are busy are obtained by solving the difference differential equation recursively. Some important verification and conversion of two-state model into single state are also discussed. Some of the existing results in the form of special cases have been deduced.

[Resumen] El objetivo de este trabajo de fin de grado es desarrollar una aplicación con el fin de que el Aquarium Finisterrae de A Coruña pueda realizar la gestión y monitorización de las especies. El módulo central del proyecto es el de movimientos de especies. Para abordarlo fue necesario sentar las bases de todos los otros módulos necesarios, como son: usuarios, tanques (acuarios), especies, especies singulares, organizaciones y proveedores, etc. Además, se ha implementado un módulo de generación de informes. Para la persistencia de los datos se utilizó PostgreSQL, el desarrollo del backend se implementó en Java (Spring), para el desarrollo del frontend se utilizó React y para la migración parcial de datos, Python. El trabajo de fin de grado se gestionó utilizando SCRUM como metodología ágil y estableciendo Sprints de 15 días. [Abstract] The objective of this final degree project is to develop an application so that the Aquarium Finisterrae of A Coruña Coruña can realize managing and monitoring of species. The core module of the project is the movement of species. To address it, it was necessary to lay the foundations for all the other necessary modules, such as: users, tanks (aquariums), species, unique species, organizations and providers, etc. In addition, a report generation module has been implemented. PostgreSQL was used for data persistence, backend development was implemented in Java (Spring), React was used for frontend development and Python for partial data migration. The final degree project was managed using SCRUM as an agile methodology and establishing 15-day Sprints. Traballo fin de grao. Enxeñaría Informática. Curso 2021/2022

A novel continuous flow reactive crystallization process for the in situ on-demand access of single enantiomer crystals is reported and exemplified for a chiral pharmaceutical intermediate that crystallizes as a racemic conglomerate. During this process, a nearly racemic feed suspension with a racemization catalyst is circulated through a tubular coiled milli-reactor immersed in two thermostatic baths set at different temperatures. This flow configuration enables rapid heat transfer, which in turn results in successive spatial cycles of dissolution and re-crystallization carried out at extremely short residence times, unattainable in batchwise operations. By tuning the number of cycles, residence time per cycle and feed suspension density we show that unprecedented productivities (>20 g L−1 h−1) of the preferred enantiomer at purities >98% can be attained that could easily suit industrial demand in a directly scalable process.

The development of an efficient adsorbent is required in tertiary wastewater treatment stages to reduce the phosphate–phosphorous content within regulatory levels (1 mg L−1 total phosphorous). In this study, a natural muscovite was used for the preparation of muscovite/zeolite composites and the incorporation of Fe3+/Mn2+ (oxy)hydroxide nanoparticles for the recovery of phosphate from synthetic wastewater. The raw muscovite MC and the obtained muscovite/sodalite composite LMC were used in the powder form for the phosphate adsorption in batch mode. A muscovite/analcime composite was obtained in the pellets PLMCT3 and monolith SLMCT2 forms for the evaluation in fixed-bed mode for continuous operation. The effect of pH, equilibrium and kinetic parameters on phosphate adsorption and its further reuse in sorption–desorption cycles were determined. The characterization of the adsorbents determined the Fe3+ and Mn2+ incorporation into the muscovite/zeolite composite’s structure followed the occupancy of the extra-framework octahedral and in the framework tetrahedral sites, precipitation and inner sphere complexation. The adsorbents used in this study (MC, LMC, PLMCT3 and SLMCT2) were effective for the phosphate recovery without pH adjustment requirements for real treated wastewater. Physical (e.g., electrostatic attraction) and chemical (complexation reactions) adsorption occurred between the protonated Fe3+/Mn2+ (oxy)hydroxy groups and phosphate anions. Higher ratios of adsorption capacities were obtained by powder materials (MC and LMC) than the pellets and monoliths forms (PLMCT3 and SLMCT2). The equilibrium adsorption of phosphate was reached within 30 min for powder forms (MC and LMC) and 150 min for pellets and monoliths forms (PLMCT3 and SLMCT2); because the phosphate adsorption was governed by the diffusion through the internal pores. The adsorbents used in this study can be applied for phosphate recovery from wastewater treatment plants in batch or fixed-bed mode with limited reusability. However, they have the edge of environmentally friendly final disposal being promissory materials for soil amendment applications.

Anaerobic co-digestion of organic fraction of municipal solid waste with solid content greater than 20% and chicken manure was investigated using leach-bed reactors in the framework of Middle East and North African countries. The objectives of the experiments were to determine the optimal ratio of organic fraction, chicken manure and solid inoculum, to compare temperature conditions and usage of liquid inoculum or water in percolation process. The highest specific methane yield (SMY) (236 LN ? kg-1 VS) was received in the reactors with 20/80 organic fraction/solid inoculum ratio under thermophilic conditions with liquid inoculum percolation. Under the same conditions but mesophilic temperature, SMY dropped by 12%. Replacing liquid inoculum by water led to 172 LN ? kg? 1 VS. Addition of chicken manure to the substrate mixture positively influences a start-up phase and keeps pH in optimal range 6.5?8, despite the high ammonia concentration., EranetMed Biogasmena [72026], This research was financed/supported by EranetMed Biogasmena (Project ID 72026) , which aims to demonstrate dry fermentation and optimize biogas technology for rural communities in the MENA (the Middle East and North Africa) region.

Ethanol production from non-food substrate is strongly recommended to avoid competition with food production. Whey, which is rich in nutrients, is one of the non-food substrate for ethanol production by Kluyveromyces spp. The purpose of this study was to optimize ethanol from different crude (non-deproteinized, non-pH adjusted, and non-diluted) whey using K. marxianus ETP87 which was isolated from traditional yoghurt. The sterilized and non-sterilized whey were employed for K. marxianus ETP87 substrate to evaluate the yeast competition potential with lactic acid and other microflora in whey. The effect of pH and temperature on ethanol productivity from whey was also investigated. Peptone, yeast extract, ammonium sulfate ((NH4)2SO4), and urea were supplemented to whey in order to investigate the requirement of additional nutrient for ethanol optimization. The ethanol obtained from non-sterilized whey was slightly and statistically lower than sterilized whey. The whey storage at 4 °C didn’t guarantee the constant lactose presence at longer preservation time. Significantly high amount of ethanol was attained from whey without pH adjustment (3.9) even if it was lower than pH controlled (5.0) whey. The thermophilic yeast, K. marxianus ETP87, yielded high ethanol between 30 and 35 °C, and the yeast was able to produce high ethanol until 45 °C, and significantly lower ethanol was recorded at 50 °C. The ammonium sulfate and peptone enhanced ethanol productivity, whereas yeast extract and urea depressed the yeast ethanol fermentation capability. The K. marxianus ETP87, the yeast isolated from traditional yoghurt, is capable of producing ethanol from non-sterilized and non-deproteinized substrates.

International audience; The dissolution kinetics of different varieties of natural gypsum samples with different porosity and content of insoluble impurities are experimentally investigated under unsaturated conditions. The main goal of this work is to verify whether and how the petrophysical and petrographic nature of gypsum influence its dissolution rate. Gypsum samples were taken from Priabonian (Ludian) and Lutetian formations located in the north-eastern suburbs of Paris, where the development of sinkholes due to gypsum dissolution is a common phenomenon. Experiments using the rotating disk technique allow us to determine the kinetic rate model parameters of each sample in pure water following the empirical rate expression derived from mixed kinetic theory. The kinetic order n shows a dispersion around a mean value n=1.2 and k, the pure dissolution rate coefficient varies according to the facies and the experimental conditions (k ≈1×10−6 to 8×10−6 mmol/cm2/s). These results are adjusted according to the specific roughness and texture of each sample, for the results to be more representative of in situ conditions. Batch experiments are also performed to evaluate the extremely low dissolution rates when the solution is close to equilibrium. The results reveal a double kinetics: far from equilibrium, the dissolution rates show that the linear behavior and the kinetic parameters are relatively close with the values found using the rotating disk method. For concentrations greater than 0.94 ± 0.02 of the equilibrium concentration Cref, the dissolution rates show a linear behavior but with greater slope depending on the texture of the mineral. No changes of the dissolution rates were observed on pure gypsum crystals when non soluble solid impurities are added. However, a small degree of uncertainty around the value of Cref show a significant effect on the parameters of the second kinetics.

A new enzyme immobilization strategy is bioaffinity immobilization that using biospecific affinity interactions between the enzyme and matrix. alpha-Galactosidase was immobilized with three different methods (Method I, II and III) on chitosan functionalized with Concanavalin A (ConA). In Method I, the chitosan was first activated with glutaraldehyde, derivatized with ConA and then utilized to immobilize the alpha-galactosidase. For Method II, chitosan was functionalized with ConA by adsorption at first and then used for the immobilization of the enzyme. In Method III, by using the optimized conditions of Method I affinity layers were prepared with alpha-galactosidase. The effect of various factors on alpha-galactosidase immobilization is searched to get perfect immobilization yields. Optimal immobilization conditions were determined for each method. At these conditions, alpha-galactosidase is immobilized with 53%, 64% and 58% activity yields by method I, II and III, respectively. alpha-Galactosidase immobilized with method I, II and III could hydrolyzed 52%, 94% and 30% of raffinose in 24 h at 50 degrees C, respectively. The biochemical characterization and stability studies confirm that these immobilized enzymes promise future in industry. Especially, the immobilized enzymes could be safely used because of their potential for the hydrolysis of raffinose and raffinose type oligosaccharides in food and feed industries., Ege University Scientific Research Projects Coordination, Turkey [2011 FEN 036], Acknowledgement This reasearch was supported by the Ege University Scientific Research Projects Coordination, Turkey (Project 2011 FEN 036) .

The aim of this work was to evaluate the bioenergy potential of cocoa residue via anaerobic digestion. Batch and fed-batch lab-scale reactors were operated under low and high solids conditions. In the batch tests, 59 ± 4% of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) was recovered as methane. This corresponded with an average methane yield of 174 (wet) and 193 (dry) L kg-1 volatile solids fed, whereas a series of fed-batch reactors produced 70 ± 24 (wet) and 107 ± 39 (dry) L CH4 kg-1 volatile solids fed during stable conditions. A case study was developed for canton Balao (Ecuador) based on our experimental data, operational estimates and available cocoa waste in the area. Annually, 8341 MWh could be produced, meeting 88% of the current electricity demand in Balao. This case study proves the potential for cocoa waste as a source of renewable energy in rural areas. ispartof: BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY vol:265 pages:568-572 ispartof: location:England status: published

In this work, we designed and built a continuous crystallisation oscillatory flow platform. The lysozyme crystallisation behaviours were investigated at concentrations from 30 to 100 mg/mL, under oscillatory conditions with amplitude (x0) from 10 to 25 mm and frequency (f) from 0.05 to 0.25 Hz in a batch oscillatory flow crystallisation platform. The nucleation rate increased with increase in concentration of initial lysozyme solution, and was also found to increase with increase in shear rate. By learning the thermodynamics and kinetics of lysozyme crystallisation in batch oscillatory flow, the batch crystallisation process was successfully transferred to a continuous oscillatory flow crystallisation process. The equilibrium state of continuous crystallisation reached at residence time 200 min, and the final product crystals shape and size were consistent during the continuous process. This work demonstrates the feasibility of oscillatory flow based platforms for the development of continuous protein crystallisation as for downstream bioseparation.

WOS: 000439324900017, Ion exchange resins based on the water-insoluble polymers poly(acrylamide-co-styrene sodium sulfonate) (P(AAm-co-ESS)), poly(2-acrylamide-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid-co-acrylicacid) (P(APSA-co-AAc)), poly(2-acrylamidoglycolic acid-co-2-acrylamide-2-methyl-1-propane sulfonic acid) (P(AAGA-co-APSA)), and poly(2-acrylamidoglycolic acid-co-4-styrene sodium sulfonate) (P(AAGA-co-ESS)) were synthesized by radical polymerization. These polymers were employed to remove Cr(III) from an aqueous solution. The optimum sorption parameters of amount of resin and sorption time were obtained through batch-mode sorption tests. Following batch elution tests to identify the best eluting agent. Finally, the column-mode sorption/elution behaviors of ion exchange resins were studied. The ion exchange resins exhibited excellent removal of Cr(III). The P(AAGA-co-APSA) resin exhibited 89.4% removal, while P(AAGA-co-ESS) displayed 88.3%, P(AAm-co-ESS) 86.8%, and P(APSA-co-AAc) 89.3%. The column-mode was studied by the P(AAGA-co-APSA) resingave a breakthrough capacity of 1.5 mg Cr(III)/mL resin in the first cycle. The elution efficiency was almost 100%. The breakthrough capacity was 1.2 mg Cr(III)/mL resin in the second cycle. The elution efficiency was 90.2% in the second cycle., FONDECYTComision Nacional de Investigacion Cientifica y Tecnologica (CONICYT)CONICYT FONDECYT [1150510]; 7FP-MC Actions Grant CHILTURPOL2 (PIRSES-GA-2009 Project) [269153], The authors thank FONDECYT (Grant No 1150510) and the7FP-MC Actions Grant CHILTURPOL2 (PIRSES-GA-2009 Project, Grant No 269153) for financial support.

This paper describes the subject of brasses and the method of their production from the secondary raw materials. It focuses on two very important aspects extremely important for today’s world. The first of them is the theme of rational management of materials, particularly metallic scrap. The second issue is the growing importance of products made of brass, which in recent times get also special recognition in medicine. This article presents a proposal for a methodology for calculating the metal charge for brasses of two or more components. It turns out that by using suitable mathematical calculations one can accurately determine the amount of metal charge to obtain a product having the desired chemical composition and desired mechanical properties. Mathematical calculations are also presented in the graphical form for the visualization of dependency and a better explanation of the accepted approach.

Pretreatment and hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass are affected by several uncertainties, which must be systematically considered for a robust process design. In this work, stochastic simulations for expected uncertainties in feedstock composition, kinetic parameter values, and operational parameter values for these two steps were performed. The results indicated that these uncertainties significantly impacted the concentration profiles, which could also affect the optimal batch time. Global sensitivity analysis was then used to identify the critical uncertain parameters. In the feedstock components, cellulose and xylan fractions for acid pretreatment and cellulose fraction for enzymatic hydrolysis were important. Temperature was the most sensitive operating parameter for both acid pretreatment and hydrolysis. The activation energies for different reactions were ranked in terms of their impact on process output. The selected parameters were used to develop stochastic process models using Ito process and mean reverting process for feed composition and kinetic parameter uncertainty. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Lignocellulosic feedstock is one of the potential renewable sources for producing ethanol for transportation. The process steps viz., acid pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis in bio-chemical process route are intended to produce fermentable sugars, which can be readily fermented for producing ethanol. However, the dilute acid pre-treatment and enzymatic hydrolysis process steps are found to be economically inefficient. The present work aims at optimizing these process steps for improving the process performance. Such optimization is expected to increase conversion, reduce energy or material requirement, thereby improving the economics. The kinetic models of acid pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis for lignocellulosic feedstock processing are adapted from literature. Subsequently, these kinetic models are augmented by associated mass and energy balances, to develop a batch reactor model and fed-batch reactor model for dilute acid pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis processes, respectively. Optimal control with Pontryagin's maximum principle has been implemented to determine the optimal time dependent profiles of heating and cooling fluid flow rates and operating temperatures for acid pretreatment and substrate feed rate profile for enzymatic hydrolysis to optimize the respective processes performance. Different objective functions such as maximizing concentration of desired product, minimizing the batch time, and maximizing profit have been considered. The simulation results yielded an increase of 6.7% and 8.8% in final concentration of desired product; 43% and 42.5% reduction in batch processing time for pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis processes, respectively. Finally, the simulation results have also provided optimal operating policies which have increased the profit of pretreatment by 124% and enzymatic hydrolysis by 150%, thereby improving the techno-economic feasibility for processing lignocellulosic feedstock. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Continuous Pharmaceutical Manufacturing (CPM) has recently emerged as a promising alternative to current batch production methods, which require significant expenditures in order to ensure product quality and process reliability. Advances in new continuous synthesis routes, demonstrations of full end-to end continuous drug production and comparative technoecononiic analyses of potential cost advantages have all contributed to the advent of CPM and the strong interest of academic, corporate and regulatory beneficiaries. Continuous flow chemistry has been demonstrated for a variety of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), and there have been several landmark studies demonstrating practical CPM by illustrating the full design from raw materials to final product formulation. Fully continuous separations are critical to maximizing the CPM potential, but they arc frequently not eludicated. This paper presents the formulation and solution of a nonlinear optimization problem for the CPM of ibuprofen. Adapting published continuous synthesis routes and experimental data, and considering reactor design, explicit mass transfer, thermodynamics via UNIFAC-estimated API solubilities, and cost estimation, optimal total costs have been determined for two solvents (toluene and n-hexane) at three different temperatures (25, 45 and 65 degrees C). The minimum total cost (728.5 X 10(3) GBP) is achieved for n-hexane use at 65 degrees C, while the minimum total cost for toluene is only marginally higher (761.4 x 10(3) GBP, also at 65 degrees C). With respect to the E-factor, a measure of design sustainability, the cases are comparable: the best E-factor (39.9) is obtained for the n-hexane at 65 degrees C, and the best E-factor for toluene is again close at 42.1 (for 65 degrees C). Given that the differences are small, the use of toluene at 65 degrees C is the preferable option, as this solvent is more environmentally benign than n-hexane and offers comparable performance.

The effect of batch and fed-batch fermentation on the cultivation performance of Bacillus thuringiensis was investigated using a 5-l stirred tank bioreactor. Significantly higher viable cell count (> 1.5 × 1012 CFU/ml) was obtained in the fed-batch compared to batch fermentation (1.4 × 1012 CFU/ml). Glucose feeding during the fermentation seemed to enhance cell growth but failed to enhance the sporulation rate. It was found that sporulation and δ-endotoxin synthesis in fed-batch fermentation could be enhanced by the application of optimal dissolved oxygen tension (DOT) control strategy without affecting the cell growth. Fed-batch cultivation with feeding at the exponential growth phase where the DOT was switched from 80 to 40% at 12 h of cultivation recorded the highest spore count of 7.1 × 1011 spore/ml. Cultures obtained from batch cultivation, as well as fed-batch cultivation with feeding at lag or exponential growth phase and the application of optimal DOT control strategy, recorded the presence of δ-endotoxin; however, none was detected in intermittent fed-batch fermentation. Bioassay data against the bagworm Metisa plana Walker (Lepidoptera: Psychidae) recorded the highest corrected mortality (80%) at 7 days of treatment (DAT), using the culture obtained from fed-batch cultivation with feeding during the exponential growth phase, and the DOT was switched from 80 to 40% at 12 h of cultivation. It is important to note that all cultures containing δ-endotoxin exhibited 100% mortality towards M. plana at 14 DAT.

In contrast to aerobic organisms, strictly anaerobic microorganisms require the absence of oxygen and usually a low redox potential to initiate growth. As oxygen is ubiquitous in air, retaining O2-free conditions during all steps of cultivation is challenging but a prerequisite for anaerobic culturing. The protocol presented here demonstrates the successful cultivation of an anaerobic mixed culture derived from a biogas plant using a simple and inexpensive method. A precise description of the entire anoxic culturing process is given including media preparation, filling of cultivation flasks, supplementation with redox indicator and reducing agents to provide low redox potentials as well as exchanging the headspace to keep media free from oxygen. Furthermore, a detailed overview of aseptically inoculating gas tight serum flasks (by using sterile syringes and needles) and suitable incubation conditions is provided. The present protocol further deals with gas and liquid sampling for subsequent analyses regarding gas composition and volatile fatty acid concentrations using gas chromatography (GC) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), respectively, and the calculation of biogas and methane yield considering the ideal gas law.

The demand for chemical-free beverages is posing a challenge to the wine industry to provide safe and healthy products with low concentrations of chemical preservatives. The development of new technologies, such as Atmospheric Pressure Cold Plasma (APCP), offers the wine industry the opportunity to contribute to this continuous improvement. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the effect of Argon APCP treatment, applied in both batch and flow systems, on Tempranillo red wine quality. Batch treatments of 100 mL were applied with two powers (60 and 90 W) at four periods (1, 3, 5, and 10 min). For flowing devices, 750 mL of wine with a flow of 1.2 and 2.4 L/min were treated at 60 and 90 W for 25 min and was sampled every 5 min. Treatments in batch resulted in wines with greater color intensity, lower tonality, and higher content in total phenolic compounds and anthocyanins, so that they were favorable for wine quality. Among the batch treatments, the one with the lowest power was the most favorable. Flow continuous treatments, despite being more appropriate to implement in wi, This work was funded by the Government of La Rioja project R-11-18 that could be co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund, granted to the Autonomous Community of La Rioja, within the ERDF Operational Program.

Urine contains sufficient phosphorus (P) to consider P recycling form urine as an interesting strategy. In this study, the potential of MgAl or ZnAl layered double hydroxides (LDHs) to be used in such recovery was assessed. LDHs are anion exchangers with a high P selectivity, and P-loaded LDHs have demonstrated fertiliser potential. A critical factor for efficient P recycling with LDH is the stability of these materials, which can be compromised by urinary citrate, complexing aluminium (Al3+) and by the low pH of fresh urine dissolving the alkaline LDHs. Different phase pure ZnAl and MgAl LDHs were synthesised by coprecipitation in scenarios of varying synthesis pH and Mg/Al or Zn/Al ratios. The obtained materials were incubated in P solutions at different pH, with or without citrate in full factorial combinations, and in fresh and stored human urine. The P sorption capacities increased for LDHs synthesised at lower pH, at increasing Al content and for sorption solutions with lower pH. These trends are explained by an increased anion exchange capacity (AEC) and by P speciation (charge) in the LDHs, an interpretation supported by XRD measurements. The P capacity reached 61mg P/g LDH, which equals 85% of the theoretical LDH exchange capacity. Only 1g LDH is required to remove 90% of P from 1L urine and evidence is found that sorption, not struvite precipitation, is the P removal mechanism involved. The ZnAl LDHs were equally effective in P uptake compared to the MgAl LDHs, but the ZnAl materials showed more irreversible P sorption in contrast with the high desorption yields (53mg P/g) of the MgAl LDHs. Therefore, the large potential of MgAl LDHs for P recovery from urine is supported by this study. ispartof: SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT vol:682 pages:437-446 ispartof: location:Netherlands status: published

Cell culture process monitoring in monoclonal antibody (mAb) production is essential for efficient process development and process optimization. Currently employed online, at line and offline methods for monitoring productivity as well as process reproducibility have their individual strengths and limitations. Here, we describe a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS)-based on a microarray for mass spectrometry (MAMS) technology to rapidly monitor a broad panel of analytes, including metabolites and proteins directly from the unpurified cell supernatant or from host cell culture lysates. The antibody titer is determined from the intact antibody mass spectra signal intensity relative to an internal protein standard spiked into the supernatant. The method allows a semi-quantitative determination of light and heavy chains. Intracellular mass profiles for metabolites and proteins can be used to track cellular growth and cell productivity.

Microporous silicate Eu-AV-20 has recently proved to be a promising ion exchange material for cesium removal from aqueous solutions, and its potential for Cs+ photoluminescence sensing was additionally demonstrated. In this work, Cs+ removal was performed in a fixed-bed column, and the influence of linear velocity and mass of ion exchanger on the breakthrough curves was analysed. The experimental data were modelled on the basis of Nernst-Planck (NP) equations and with four well-known analytic models. The analytic expressions provided low errors (root mean square deviation, RMSD, between 3.20% and 6.47%); the 2-parameter NP-based model fitted the data quite well (RMSD = 6.66% for correlation and 6.54% for prediction), yielding crucial information on both the transport mechanism within the Eu-AV-20 particles, and the intrinsic dynamic behaviour of the fixed-bed ion exchange column. Taking into account that Eu-AV-20 samples loaded with different amounts of Cs+ exhibited distinct photoluminescence spectra, our results reinforce the potential of AV-20 materials for Cs+ sensing, which raises the possibility of online monitoring the ion exchange in a fixed-bed column using an optical fibre and a spectrometer. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Lignite, as an available and low-cost material, was tested for cadmium (Cd) and copper (Cu) removal from aqueous solutions under various static experimental conditions. Experimental results showed that the removal efficiency of both metals was improved by increasing their initial concentrations, adsorbent dosage and aqueous pH values. The adsorption kinetic was very rapid for Cd since about 78% of the totally adsorbed amounts were removed after a contact time of only 1 min. For Cd and Cu, the kinetic and isothermal data were well fitted with pseudo-second order and Freundlich models, respectively, which suggests that Cd/Cu removal by lignite occurs heterogeneously on multilayers surfaces. The maximum Langmuir&rsquo, s adsorption capacities of Cd and Cu were assessed to 38.0 and 21.4 mg g&minus, 1 and are relatively important compared to some other lignites and raw natural materials. Results of proximate, scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-Ray diffraction (XRD) showed that the removal of these metals occurs most likely through a combination of cation exchange and complexation with specific functional groups. The relatively high adsorption capacity of the used lignite promotes its future use as a low cost material for Cd and Cu removal from effluents, and possibly for other heavy metals or groups of pollutants.

Oral lyophilizates also called orally disintegrating tablets (ODTs) are a patient friendly and convenient dosage form. They are manufactured by dosing a suspension in blister cups and subsequently freeze-drying these blisters to achieve porous tablets that disintegrate quickly (< 10 s) when placed upon the tongue. This paper proposes a mechanistic model of the primary drying phase of these oral lyophilizates processed in cold-form blisters. A heat transfer coefficient (Kv) and dried layer resistance (Rp) are regressed and applied in a dynamic optimization of the primary drying phase. The optimization exercise showed the possibility of ultra-short sublimation times for polyvinyl acetate (PVA) based formulations with a primary drying time of 3.68 h for a 500 mg acetaminophen tablet., Graphical abstract Image 1

In this study, six 6- and 1,6-substituted-3-cyano-4-methyl-2-pyridones were synthesized in a continuous flow microreactor system. The syntheses were realized at room temperature and the obtained results were compared to those achieved within classical syntheses. In order to optimize the continuous flow syntheses and increase the yield of the products, the retention time in the microreactor was varied by changing the flow rates of the reactant solutions. Furthermore, the reaction was optimized for 3-cyano-4,6-dimethyl-2- -pyridone and 3-cyano-6-hydroxy-4-methyl-2-pyridone, which are comercially important in the pharmaceutical and dye industries. Both 2-pyridones were obtained in satisfactory yield of circa 60 % in less than 10 min. The resulting compounds were characterized by their melting points, FT-IR, 1H-NMR and UV–Vis spectra. The efficiency of the presented method for the synthesis of 2-pyridone-based molecules has promising potential for industrial production. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. OI172013 and Grant no. TR34009]

Activated carbon nanofiber nonwoven (ACNFN) has the potential for being high capacity and throughput sorbent for a variety of contaminants in water due to high porosity and permeability, respectively. In this work, we explore the removal of emulsified oil from water using ACNFNs in both a batch and flow-through mode. The ACNFNs were prepared by pyrolysis of electrospun polyacrylonitrile and characterized for specific surface area, hydrophobicity, and mechanical strength. The ACNFNs exhibit a removal efficiency of up to 95% in batch mode and outperform our control tests with non-activated carbon nanofiber nonwoven and a commercial granular activated carbon. Adsorption tests in a flow-through mode demonstrated characteristic breakthrough behavior with subsequent clogging. Removal efficiency increased with the thickness of the mat and with prolonged operation due to ripening.

Pyrolysis of biomass is a promising technology for the production of distributed and renewable energy on small and micro-scale since it produces a gas with relatively high calorific value, which can be burned in an internal combustion engine or in a microturbine; pyrolysis also generates by products (char and tar) which can be used to provide energy to the process or for cogeneration purposes. This research is aimed at the exploitation of waste from agricultural production processes, in particular olive mill wastes whose management has critical environmental and disposal costs; the yields of pyrogas, tar and char obtained from the pyrolysis of olive stone in a batch reactor was measured. Pyrogas produced is sampled through a line for the sampling of condensable substances in accordance with existing regulations, CEN/TS 15439, and once purified from water vapor and tars is analyzed with micro-GC. The data collected is used to perform mass and energy balances and to determine the content of tars and the Low Heating Value (LHV) of the gas produced.

Constructed wetlands are a widely adopted technology for the treatment of wastewater in small communities. The understanding of their internal functioning has increased at an unprecedented pace over recent years, in part thanks to the use of mathematical models. BIO_PORE model is one of the most recent models developed for constructed wetlands. This model was built in the COMSOL Multiphysics (TM) software and implements the biokinetic expressions of Constructed Wetlands Model 1 (CWM1) to describe the fate and transport of organic matter, nitrogen and sulphur in horizontal subsurface-flow constructed wetlands. In previous studies, CWM1 was extended with the inclusion of two empirical parameters (M-bio_max and M-cap) that proved to be essential to provide realistic bacteria growth rates and dynamics. The aim of the current work was to determine the effect of these two parameters on the effluent pollutant concentrations predicted by the model. To that end, nine simulations, each with a different M-bio_max-M-cap pair, were launched on a high-end multi-processor computer and the effluent COD and ammonia nitrogen concentrations obtained on each simulation were qualitatively compared among them. Prior to this study, a finite element mesh optimization procedure was carried out to reduce computational cost. Results of the mesh optimization procedure indicated that among the 5 tested meshes of different element size, the mesh utilized for this model in previous studies represented a fair compromise between output accuracy and computation time. Results of the sensitivity analysis showed that the value of M-cap has a dramatic effect on the simulated effluent concentrations of COD and ammonia nitrogen, which clearly decreased for increasing values of this parameter. On the other hand, the model output was also sensitive to the values of M-bio_max, but its effects were less important and no clear relation could be established between its value and the simulated effluent concentration of COD and ammonia nitrogen. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Рассмотрены принципы работы тематического моделирования и аддитивной регуляризации

Since small scale is key for successful introduction of continuous techniques in the pharmaceutical industry to allow its use during formulation development and process optimization, it is essential to determine whether the product quality is similar when small quantities of materials are processed compared to the continuous processing of larger quantities. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate whether material processed in a single cell of the six-segmented fluid bed dryer of the ConsiGma™-25 system (a continuous twin screw granulation and drying system introduced by GEA Pharma Systems, Collette™, Wommelgem, Belgium) is predictive of granule and tablet quality during full-scale manufacturing when all drying cells are filled. Furthermore, the performance of the ConsiGma™-1 system (a mobile laboratory unit) was evaluated and compared to the ConsiGma™-25 system. A premix of two active ingredients, powdered cellulose, maize starch, pregelatinized starch and sodium starch glycolate was granulated with distilled water. After drying and milling (1000 μm, 800 rpm), granules were blended with magnesium stearate and compressed using a Modul™ P tablet press (tablet weight: 430 mg, main compression force: 12 kN). Single cell experiments using the ConsiGma™-25 system and ConsiGma™-1 system were performed in triplicate. Additionally, a 1h continuous run using the ConsiGma™-25 system was executed. Process outcomes (torque, barrel wall temperature, product temperature during drying) and granule (residual moisture content, particle size distribution, bulk and tapped density, hausner ratio, friability) as well as tablet (hardness, friability, disintegration time and dissolution) quality attributes were evaluated. By performing a 1h continuous run, it was detected that a stabilization period was needed for torque and barrel wall temperature due to initial layering of the screws and the screw chamber walls with material. Consequently, slightly deviating granule and tablet quality attributes were obtained during the start-up phase of the 1h run. For the single cell runs, granule and tablet properties were comparable with results obtained during the second part of the 1h run (after start-up). Although deviating granule quality (particle size distribution and Hausner ratio) was observed due to the divergent design of the ConsiGma™-1 unit and the ConsiGma™-25 system (horizontal set-up) used in this study, tablet quality produced from granules processed with the ConsiGma™-1 system was predictive for tablet quality obtained during continuous production using the ConsiGma™-25 system.

Distributed environments with the decoupling of users from resource providers are generally termed as utility Grids. The paper focuses on the problems of efficient job flow distribution and scheduling in virtual organizations (VOs) of utility Grids while ensuring the VO stakeholders preferences and providing dependable strategies for resources utilization. An approach based on the combination of the cyclic scheduling scheme, backfilling and several heuristic procedures is proposed and studied. Comparative simulation results are introduced for different algorithms and heuristics depending on the resource domain composition and heterogeneity. Considered scheduling approaches provide different benefits depending on the VO scheduling objectives. The results justify the use of the proposed approaches in a broad range of the considered resource environment parameters.

Two simple and direct batch spectrophotometric methods for the determination of nitrite and nitrate and two simultaneous spectrophotometric flow injection methods developed for the determination of nitrite and nitrate in wastewater samples. The methods based on the direct reaction between nitrite with barbituric acid (BBA) and/or thiobarbituric acid (TBA) and the absorbance’s are measured at 536 and 589 nm respectively. The reaction is selective for nitrite and provides a basis for a new spectrophotometric determination. In Batch method nitrate was reduced to nitrite using Jones reductor and analyzed as nitrite, while simultaneous flow system based on on-line nitrate reduction using Jones reductor column. The optimized chemical and physical conditions gave linear calibration range between 1.3-53 and 0.3-40 μg/ml using BBA and TBA in batch method, and gave linear range between 6.5-43 and 3.0-40 μg/ml using BBA and TBA in flow injection method. The methods developed were applied to the determination of nitrite and nitrate in waste water samples of Erbil city. Keywords: Spectrophotometric; Batch; Flow injection analysis; Nitrite, Nitrate; Simultaneous determination; Wastewater

Background The cellulosic ethanol industry has developed efficient strategies for converting sugars obtained from various cellulosic feedstocks to bioethanol. However, any further major improvements in ethanol productivity will require development of novel and innovative fermentation strategies that enhance incumbent technologies in a cost-effective manner. The present study investigates the feasibility of applying self-cycling fermentation (SCF) to cellulosic ethanol production to elevate productivity. SCF is a semi-continuous cycling process that employs the following strategy: once the onset of stationary phase is detected, half of the broth volume is automatically harvested and replaced with fresh medium to initiate the next cycle. SCF has been shown to increase product yield and/or productivity in many types of microbial cultivation. To test whether this cycling process could increase productivity during ethanol fermentations, we mimicked the process by manually cycling the fermentation for five cycles in shake flasks, and then compared the results to batch operation. Results Mimicking SCF for five cycles resulted in regular patterns with regards to glucose consumption, ethanol titer, pH, and biomass production. Compared to batch fermentation, our cycling strategy displayed improved ethanol volumetric productivity (the titer of ethanol produced in a given cycle per corresponding cycle time) and specific productivity (the amount of ethanol produced per cellular biomass) by 43.1 ± 11.6 and 42.7 ± 9.8%, respectively. Five successive cycles contributed to an improvement of overall productivity (the aggregate amount of ethanol produced at the end of a given cycle per total processing time) and the estimated annual ethanol productivity (the amount of ethanol produced per year) by 64.4 ± 3.3 and 33.1 ± 7.2%, respectively. Conclusions This study provides proof of concept that applying SCF to ethanol production could significantly increase productivities, which will help strengthen the cellulosic ethanol industry.

This work proposes and tests an algorithm for batching and dispatching lots along cleaning and diffusion operations of a wafer fab. These are characterised by: 1) time constraints (i.e., the time between the end of an operation 'n' and the start of the operation 'n + q' must be lower than a time limit, in order to guarantee the lots' quality); 2) absence of batching affinity between operations. Literature so far has been falling short in proposing scheduling algorithms suitable for this context. Therefore, we propose two heuristic algorithms to minimise the average flow time and the number of re-cleaned lots, maximise machine saturation and avoid scrapped lots. Discrete-event simulation was used to test the performance of the two algorithms using real data of STMicroelectronics. The formerly proposed model outperforms the latter. Therefore, STMicroelectronics implemented the former in its fab in Catania gaining an increase in the average Overall equipment effectiveness of 7%.

The consequences of substrate concentration heterogeneities at the cell level, on the behavior of microbial populations have been identified some years ago. However, subgrid effects are rarely considered in bioreactor modelling. In this paper, this central issue is investigated with Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) coupled with Lagrangian particle tracking and scalar field calculations in the case of statistically steady homogeneous and isotropic turbulence. From these calculations, the exact distribution of substrate uptake rates of a microorganism population is calculated and compared, favorably, to analytical solutions. A metabolic model considering anabolism, oxidative catabolism and dissimilation is invoked to quantify the consequences in terms of overall reaction rates at the population scale. It is shown that imperfect mixing reduces the growth rate and increases the by-product formation while leaving the total uptake rate unchanged. This work provides a rational explanation, based on physical consideration, for the loss in biomass productivity and the increase of by-product formation in imperfectly mixed bioreactors.

Highlights • Vero cells were grown in batch, semi-batch, perfusion and recirculation strategies. • At high cell densities (to 5 × 106 cells mL−1) cells were infected with poliovirus. • Increased cell densities allowed 3 fold increase in d-antigen yield. • Cell specific d-antigen yields were lower at higher cell densities. • The semi-batch cultivation strategy is most promising for optimization., Vero cells were grown adherent to microcarriers (Cytodex 1; 3 g L−1) using animal component free media in stirred-tank type bioreactors. Different strategies for media refreshment, daily media replacement (semi-batch), continuous media replacement (perfusion) and recirculation of media, were compared with batch cultivation. Cell densities increased using a feed strategy from 1 × 106 cells mL−1 during batch cultivation to 1.8, 2.7 and 5.0 × 106 cells mL−1 during semi-batch, perfusion and recirculation, respectively. The effects of these different cell culture strategies on subsequent poliovirus production were investigated. Increased cell densities allowed up to 3 times higher d-antigen levels when compared with that obtained from batch-wise Vero cell culture. However, the cell specific d-antigen production was lower when cells were infected at higher cell densities. This cell density effect is in good agreement with observations for different cell lines and virus types. From the evaluated alternative culture methods, application of a semi-batch mode of operations allowed the highest cell specific d-antigen production. The increased product yields that can easily be reached using these higher cell density cultivation methods, showed the possibility for better use of bioreactor capacity for the manufacturing of polio vaccines to ultimately reduce vaccine cost per dose. Further, the use of animal-component-free cell- and virus culture media shows opportunities for modernization of human viral vaccine manufacturing.

Penelitian cangkang pensi (Corbicula moltkiana) sebagai penyerap zat warna metanil yellow telah dilakukan dengan sistem batch. Kondisi optimum penyerapan terjadi pada pH 4 dan konsentrasi awal 100 mg/L. Proses adsorpsi terjadi mengikuti model isoterm Langmuir dengan nilai R2 adalah 0,886 pada monolayer dengan kapasitas adsorpsi maksimum (qmax) diperoleh 2,591 mg/g. Hasil analisis gugus fungsi cangkang pensi dengan FTIR menunjukkan adanya interaksi antara molekul zat warna metanil yellow dan gugus fungsi. Analisis morfologi permukaan cangkang pensi menggunakan SEM menunjukkan bahwa pori-pori cangkang pensi telah diisi oleh molekul zat warna metanil yellow. Cangkang pensi dapat digunakan sebagai bahan penyerap zat warna metanil yellow di dalam larutan. ABSTRACTThe study of the Pensi Shell (Corbicula moltkiana) to adsorb metanil yellow (MY)dyes has been investigated. This study was determined by batch system. The optimum conditions of metanil yellow dyes adsorption occurred at pH 4 and initial concentration 100 mg/L. The adsorption process was properly described by Langmuir isotherm model which was indicated by the value of R2=0,886. This confirmed that the adsorption process was monolayer with maximum adsorption capacity (qmax) was 2,591 mg/g. Functional groups analysis by FTIR showed the interactions MY molecule on pensi shell functional groups. Analysis of morphology surface of pensi shell by SEM indicated that the pore was filled by MY molecules. Pensi shell could be used as adsorbent of metanil yellow dyes in aqueous solution.

Continuous flow chemistry as a process intensification tool is well known. However, its ability to enable chemists to perform reactions which are not possible in batch is less well studied or understood. Here we present an example, where a new reactivity pattern and extended reaction scope has been achieved by transferring a reaction from batch mode to flow. This new reactivity can be explained by suppressing back mixing and precise control of temperature in a flow reactor set up. EPSRC/EP/F069685/1 EPSRC/ EP/F069685/1 Fonds der Chemischen Industrie

Operating cost of a batch process can be reduced using multiple resources. In this paper, a methodology is proposed to target multiple resources in order to minimize the operating cost of the overall batch process. The proposed methodology is based on the concept of prioritized cost, originally developed for continuous processes. Prioritized cost of a resource depends on the pinch quality, quality of the resource and its cost. The concept of prioritized cost is extended to optimize the operating cost of a batch process. It is proved that to minimize the operating cost a batch process, prioritized cost of a resource in any time interval may not necessarily depends on the pinch quality of that interval. Prioritized cost of a resource in any time interval depends on the highest pinch quality of all the subsequent intervals, including itself. This important result is proved mathematically. The proposed methodology is applicable to fixed scheduled, fixed flow batch processes involving single quality. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The development of more productive strains of microorganisms and processes that increase enzyme levels can contribute to the economically efficient production of second generation ethanol. To this end, cellulases and xylanases were produced with the S1M29 mutant strain of Penicillium echinulatum , using different concentrations of cellulose (20, 40, and 60 g L −1 ) in batch and fed-batch processes. The highest activities of FPase (8.3 U mL −1 ), endoglucanases (37.3 U mL −1 ), and xylanases (177 U mL −1 ) were obtained in fed-batch cultivation with 40 g L −1 of cellulose. The P. echinulatum enzymatic broth and the commercial enzyme Cellic CTec2 were tested for hydrolysis of pretreated sugar cane bagasse. Maximum concentrations of glucose and xylose were achieved after 72 h of hydrolysis. Glucose yields of 28.0% and 27.0% were obtained using the P. echinulatum enzymatic extract and Cellic CTec2, respectively.

The interaction of two different bulk bentonites (Na- and Ca-types) with three types of simulated cement waters (pH 9.7, 11.3 and 12.0) and one saline groundwater simulate (pH 8.3) as a reference, was studied in batch reactors at 25°C. The solution pH was monitored in order to keep the pH as steady as possible by replacing the leaching solution with fresh one when needed. After 554 days, one set of parallel samples was removed from the experiment in order to investigate the possible changes in the bentonite materials.The buffering capacity of bentonite was clearly observed, especially at the beginning of the high-pH experiments, as the pH of the leaching solutions decreased quite dramatically due to interaction with bentonite. The solution chemistry results showed a decrease of Ca content in all leachate samples, but especially in pH 12.0 experiments. Small amounts of silica were released throughout the experiment. Both bentonites in pH 12.0 experiments also released detectable amounts of Al, while in the lower pH experiments the levels were below detection limit. These observations were also supported by chemical analyses of the bentonite materials. Only minor changes were detected in the mineralogy, and they were mainly concentrated on experiments at pH 11.3 and pH 12.0. The measured swelling pressure showed an increase in pH 12.0 experiments. The results obtained in this research may facilitate modelling of bentonite interaction with high-pH solutions.

Here, we present just a collection of beans (JACOB): an integrated batch-based framework designed for the rapid development of computational chemistry applications. The framework expedites developer productivity by handling the generic infrastructure tier, and can be easily extended by user-specific scientific code. Paradigms from enterprise software engineering were rigorously applied to create a scalable, testable, secure, and robust framework. A centralized web application is used to configure and control the operation of the framework. The application-programming interface provides a set of generic tools for processing large-scale noninteractive jobs (e.g., systematic studies), or for coordinating systems integration (e.g., complex workflows). The code for the JACOB framework is open sourced and is available at: http://www.wallerlab.org/jacob. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.