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Octane and p-xylene are common components in crude gasoline, so their separation process is very important in petroleum industry. The azeotrope and near azeotrope are often separated by extractive distillation in industry, which can realize the recovery and utilization of resources. In this work, the vapor-liquid equilibrium experiment was used to obtain the vapor-liquid equilibrium properties of the difficult separation system, and on this basis, the solvent extraction mechanism was studied. The mechanism of solvent separation plays a guiding role in selecting suitable solvents for industrial separation. The interaction energy, bond length and charge density distribution of p-xylene with solvent are calculated by quantum chemistry method. The quantum chemistry calculation results and experiment results showed that N-Formylmorpholine is the best solvent among the alternative solvents in the work. This work provides an effective and complete solvent screening process from phase equilibrium experiments to quantum chemical calculation. An extractive distillation simulation process with N-Formylmorpholine as solvent is designed to separate octane and p-xylene. In addition, the feasibility and effectiveness of the intensified vapor recompression assisted extraction distillation are also discussed. In the extractive distillation process, the vapor recompression-assisted extraction distillation process is globally optimal. Compared with basic process, the total annual cost can be reduced by 43.2 %. This study provides theoretical guidance for extractive distillation separation technology and solvent selection.

Renewable solid sorbents for CO2 capture and storage have shown great potentials for the sake of gaseous separation, tail gas treatment, environmental regulation and climate governance. However, current existed preparation and reusability of solid sorbents are generally subject to high energy consumption and complicated procedure. Herein, a light-controlled CO2 separation system with high working temperature resulting from natural sawdust combined with polyethyleneimine is fabricated, which involves low energy input and few operating sequences. This system shows a direct and ratiometric response to sunlight illumination by which CO2 can be reversibly adsorbed and released. This light-controlled CO2 separation process is prospective to become an attractive alternative to traditional alkaline CO2 collection method in terms of its convenience and low cost. As a practical demonstration, CO2 mixed with N2 is successfully separated through this light-controlled carbon capture and storage (CCS) system, which offers great promise for CO2 capture and enrichment with applicability across a wide range of scales.

HMF (5-hydroxymethylfurfural) is one of the bio renewable materials that can be used as an important platform chemical to produce biofuel and various chemical products. The main application of HMF in the chemical industry is a platform chemical for the production of plant-based polyethylene terephthalate (PET). HMF is produced through hexose dehydration which fructose or glucose is arranged as a feedstock. Liquid-liquid extraction can be applied in HMF production to enhance the selectivity and yield of HMF. HMF can be extracted from aqueous solution into the organic phase which prevents the degradation of HMF. Furthermore, it has been recognized that ionic liquid (IL) and deep eutectic solvent (DES) can be used as stabilizing agent in HMF production by suppressing the formation of side-products, hence increase the HMF yield as well. However, research on the systematic thermodynamics of HMF extraction is quite limited and needed to be developed. The thermodynamic data, such as phase equilibrium data and partitioning of HMF into organic phase are needed as basis for a rational design and optimal separation of HMF from the aqueous solution.The objective of this research is systematically study the effect of biphasic system constituents on the liquid-liquid extraction of HMF at 313.15 K and atmospheric pressure (0.1 MPa). The extraction performance was evaluated based on the values of separation factor and HMF distribution coefficient which were determined from liquid-liquid equilibrium (LLE) data. The experimental LLE data of the investigated systems were also correlated well using thermodynamics models. The NRTL and UNIQUAC models were used to correlate the ternary experimental LLE data, whilst the experimental LLE data containing salt, IL, DES, and sugar were correlated using the NRTL model. We used aqueous-organic biphasic systems, and also added IL [EMIM][BF4] (1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate) or DES ChCl-urea (choline chloride-urea) in the aqueous phase. The effect of the addition of sugar (fructose) and salt in the variety of cation (Na+, K+) and anion (Cl-, SO4 2-) were also studied. Three different extraction solvents, methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK), 2-pentanol, and tributyl phosphate (TBP), were used for the comparison.According to the results in this study, it indicated that for 2-pentanol the HMF distribution coefficient is up to 1.4 times higher than MIBK. Besides, MIBK has a 2-3 times higher separation factor than 2-pentanol. While TBP is more selective as extraction solvent than the other two solvents, TBP is also superior in terms of HMF distribution coefficient. The salting-out strength of salts for organic solvent (MIBK or 2-pentanol)-HMF-water-salt systems are in the order NaCl > Na2SO4 > KCl > K2SO4. NaCl was found superior in both separation factor and distribution coefficient of HMF compared to the other salts studied. Furthermore, the separation factor and HMF distribution coefficient decreased with the increase of IL [EMIM][BF4] and DES (ChCl-urea) concentrations. However, DES (ChCl-urea) decreased the extraction performance less than IL [EMIM][BF4]. The addition of salt (NaCl) enhanced the separation factor and the distribution coefficient of HMF, enabling compensation of the IL and DES effects. The presence of salt can enhance both the extraction performance parameters up to 2-4 times for all the investigated systems studied using three different organicsolvents and also in the presence of IL or DES. While, the presence of fructose in the solution had limited effect on the extraction performance. In general, it can be inferred that by taking the advantage of IL/DES as stabilizing agent, aqueous IL/DES with NaCl is a good combination applied in HMF extraction process to achieve good extraction performance.

It is difficult to separate the methanol and hydrocarbons in the propylene oxide (PO) purification process due to their forming azeotrope. As for this, a novel PO separation process, in that the deionized water is employed as extractant and 1,2-propylene glycol (MPG) that is formed from the PO hydrolysis reaction is recovered, is presented in this work. The salient feature of this process is that both the non-catalyzed reactions of PO hydrolysis to form MPG and dipropylene glycol (DPG) are simultaneously considered and MPG by-product with high purity is obtained in virtue of the deionized water as reflux liquid and side take-off in MPG column. In addition, the ionic liquid (IL) extractant is screened through the conductor-like screening model for segment activity coefficient (COSMO-SAC) and the comparisons of separation efficiency between the IL and normal octane (nC8) extractant for the separation of PO and 2-methylpentane are made. With the non-random two-liquid (NRTL) thermodynamic model, the simulation and optimization design for the full flow sheet are performed and the effects of the key operation parameters such as solvent ratio, theoretical stages, feeding stage etc. on separation efficiency are detailedly discussed. The results show that the mass purity and the mass yield of PO can be up to 99.99% and 99.0%, and the condenser duty, reboiler duty and PO loss in the process with IL extractant can be decreased by 69.66%, 30.21% and 78.86% compared to ones with nC8. The total annual cost (TAC) calculation also suggests that the TAC would be significantly reduced if using IL in replace of nC8 in the investigated process. The presented results would provide a useful guide for improving the quality of PO product and the economic efficiency of industrial plant.

Salidroside (8-O-β- d -glucoside of tyrosol), a plant-derived natural product, is used for treatment of hypoxia, fatigue and aging diseases. The availability of salidroside is restricted since it is extracted from 3-5 years old Rhodiola roots, which grow very slowly in the cold region of northern hemisphere of Earth. Our laboratory has constructed an engineered Escherichia coli and established a fermentation process to produce salidroside from glucose. In this article, nine macroporous resins from polarity to non-polarity, including NKA-9, S-8, AB-8, SP825, D101, LSA-8, LX-12, LX-18 and LX-68 resins, were tested to separate salidroside from fermentation broth. After static and dynamic experiments, the weakly polar SP825 resin had a better separation efficiency among nine resins. The adsorption kinetic and isotherm of salidroside on the SP825 resin were determined, and the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Langmuir model could be fitted well. The effects of the pH on adsorption and ethanol concentration on desorption were investigated, and an optimal separation process was established. The adsorption for salidroside in the SP825 resin column was conducted with loading 150 ml at pH 7, and desorpted by washing 50 ml of 80% ethanol solution. Under the best process conditions, the purity and yield of salidroside in the final product were 91.6% and 74.0%, respectively. The results showed that the macroporous SP825 resin would be feasible and effective to prepare salidroside and has promising application in the downstream process of microbial fermentation. © 2020 The Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China, and Chemical Industry Press Co., Ltd.. All rights reserved.

A two-stage vacuum pressure swing adsorption (VPSA) process that coupled kinetically controlled and equilibrium controlled separation process with reflux has been investigated for capturing carbon dioxide from dry flue gas (85% N2/15% CO2). In the first enriching stage, carbon molecular sieve (CMS), which shows kinetic selectivity for CO2/N2, is adopted as the adsorbent to remove most N2 in feed gas, thereby upgrading CO2 and significantly reducing the amount for further refinement. The second stage loads zeolite 13X as adsorbent to purify the CO2-rich flow from the first stage for meeting the requirements of National Energy Technology Laboratory. Series of experiments have been conducted for adsorption isotherms measuring and lab-scale experimental validation as well as analysis. The effect of feed composition on the separation performance of the PSA system was studied experimentally and theoretically here. The optimal results achieved 95.1% purity and 92.9% recovery with a high CO2 productivity (1.89 mol CO2·h−1·kg−1) and an appropriate energy consumption of 1.07 MJ·(kg CO2)−1. Further analysis has been carried out by simulation for explicating the temperature, pressure, and concentration distribution at cyclic steady state.

Background: Due to the suitable nuclear decay characteristics, 177Lu is an attractive radionuclide for various therapeutic applications. The non-carrier added form of 177Lu has drawn many attention because of its high specific activity needed in radiolabeling studies. There have been several separation methods for NCA 177Lu production. Objectives: Among the various separation methods, the electro-amalgamation separation method has got a large potential for large scale production. Li presence is a significant problem in this separation method, which seriously affects the radiolabeling efficiency. Method: In this study, Li was separated from the final product of electro-amalgamation separation by adding an ion-exchange chromatography column to the separation process. Results: NCA 177Lu was obtained by 84.09% ELM separation yield, 99.9% radionuclide purity and, 65 Ci/g specific activity. Then, 177Lu (177LuCl3 chemical form) was separated from Li using the ion exchange chromatography method by a separation yield of 94%. The obtained results of the radiolabeling efficacy studies showed that the radiochemical purity and radio-complex stability were significantly increased by separating of NCA 177Lu from Li. Conclusion: This new separation setup consisting of two steps allows using 177Lu of such a favorable quality for labeling studies.

Direct separation of high purity ethylene (C2H4) from an ethane (C2H6)/ethylene mixture is a critical and challenging task owing to the very similar molecular size and physical properties of the two components. While some studies have attempted this separation, there is a lack of excellent porous materials with strong binding affinity for C2H6-selective adsorption via an energy-efficient adsorptive separation process. Herein, we report a titanium metal-organic framework with strong binding affinity and excellent stability for the highly efficient removal of C2H6 from C2H6/C2H4 mixtures. Single component adsorption isotherms demonstrated a larger amount of adsorbed ethane (1.16 mmol·g−1 under 1 kPa) and high C2H6/C2H4 selectivity (2.7) for equimolar C2H6/C2H4 mixtures, especially in the low-pressure range, which is further confirmed by the results of grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations for C2H6 adsorption in this framework. The experimental breakthrough curves showed that C2H4 with a high purity was collected directly from both 1:9 and 1:15 C2H6/C2H4 (volume ratio) mixtures at 298 K and 100 kPa. Moreover, the unchanged adsorption and separation performance after cycling experiments confirmed the promising applicability of this material in future.

In this study, a sensitivity analysis was performed for an integrated SESMR process, and an optimization approach was formulated by developing an artificial neural network-based optimization (ANN-based optimization). The process comprised a cyclic fluidized bed (CFB), pressure swing adsorption (PSA), compressor, dehydrator, and other units. The PSA variables considerably affected product quality, while the CFB variables mainly contributed to other performance parameters. From the data analysis and domain knowledge, three main objectives and five main variables were selected for the process optimization. Thereafter, the ANN models were integrated with the economic model to formulate a SESMR-driven model for optimization. At the optimum conditions, the cost (1.7 $/kg) of the H2 (+99.99% purity) with 90.3% CO2 capture from the integrated SESMR process was 15% reduction compared to that of the SMR process, which agreed well with the US Department of Energy prediction (15–20%). These results suggest that the integrated SESMR process is valuable for the production of blue H2, and the ANN-based optimization is very effective for a complex integrated process.

Non-processed kaolin (flint kaolin) from a mine located in the Capim area (Amazon region, northern Brazil), usually considered as waste, was selected as a source of silicon and aluminum in the synthesis of SAPO-34. This is a molecular sieve and cationic exchanger chosen for tests focusing on the removal of methylene blue in aqueous solutions, which is a cationic dye widely used by textile industries in Brazil. The results revealed that the SAPO-34 has been successfully synthesized with typical cubic morphology, good crystallinity (>90%), and thermal stability (~998 °C). Although the oxidized Fe/Ti impurities contained in the flint kaolin affect the degree of crystallinity of the zeolitic product, its adsorptive properties are not significantly affected, which demonstrates the excellent adsorption results (pH = 11; % removal > 90%). It proved to be an adsorbent with considerable adsorption capacity (9.83 mg·g−1). The pH test confirmed the acidic surface characteristics (pH solution 2–4; ↓ removal), and the kinetic model that best fitted the experimental data was pseudo-second-order, with R2 = 0.998 (kinetics controlled by chemisorption).

This chapter describes different rivaling operating modes applied industrially in preparative chromatography. After recapitulating the basic features of the “workhorse” and reference in the field, namely isocratic batch elution, at first more sophisticated concepts are presented that offer additional degrees of freedom but maintain the discontinuous character of the separation process. Subsequently process options are described that possess the potential to perform the separations continuously. Hereby mainly the most successful multicolumn concepts are explained, which are based on realizing highly efficient countercurrent transport processes. Finally the important aspect will be addressed, how different process alternatives can be evaluated and compared quantitatively.

To solve the problem of non-magnetic inclusion in concentrates and magnetic inclusion in tailings in the separation process of micro-fine magnetite, a novel permanent magnet pulsating separator (PMPS) was developed, employing the agglomeration mechanism of magnetite particles, and the dispersion mechanism of gangue minerals, whose magnetic poles arranged in a rectangular manner on plates on both sides of a separation chamber, and with alternating strong and weak magnetic fields generated in the separation area by reciprocating the plates. The magnetic field intensity was simulated by Infolytica Magnet software to optimise the parameters of the magnetic system. Laboratory PMPS was used to carry out tests on Sample I with a total iron (TFe) grade of 53.9% and an 89.83% passing size of 0.074 mm, and on Sample II assaying TFe 62.8% with a 75.21% passing size of 0.02 mm, and the operational parameters were optimised. Results indicated that PMPS upgraded Sample I and Sample II correspondingly to TFe 63.5% with a recovery of 87.1%, and to TFe 68.1% with a recovery of 92.0%, suggesting its amenability for the cleaning stage. If required, the separation chambers and magnetic systems of PMPS can be superimposed parallelly in the horizontal direction to allow for flexible enlargement of the processing capacity, characteristics of a simple structure, small occupation area, and large processing capacity.

An innovative technical route has been proposed to improve recycling efficiency of Ni and Fe from low-grade nickel laterite via the duplex process between direct reduction-magnetic separation and rotary kiln-electric furnace. The results indicated that the high‑nickel concentrates produced from direct reduction-magnetic separation process, which were combined with optimization of slag types can not only increase the grade of furnace burdens and decrease quantity of slag, but also improve the fluidity of slag and smelting efficiency as well as reduce the power consumption of smelting. For the industrial application of duplex process, a preferable stainless-steel master alloy with 10.02% Ni was obtained at a lower cost of 8420 RMB/t than that of 8731 RMB/t for a stainless-steel master alloy containing 8.14% Ni in conventional rotary kiln-electric furnace process, and the recovery of nickel also increased from 91.27% to 95.51%, which shows an obvious superiority for treating the low-grade nickel laterite.

Hollow fiber membrane contactor (HFMC) has been widely studied for gas separation process due to its process intensification capability of combining conventional contactors with membrane technology. In the area of modeling and simulation of HFMC, the development of mathematical model for non-ideal conditions, that is incorporated into process design is key to accurately reflect actual industrial gas separation process. This article aims to review the modelling and simulation techniques, the capabilities and the limitations of different mathematical models in predicting gas separation performance in HFMC for both laboratory analysis and industrial applications. The approach of incorporating the HFMC models into gas separation system and the current progress of process simulation works to develop industrial scale gas separation process will be highlighted. Future works and challenges towards developing comprehensive model in HFMC for industrial gas separation process would also be presented to portray the potential of modelling and simulation in designing and optimizing the HFMC system.

Membrane distillation (MD) has gained the interest of many researchers since it is a promising method for the separation and purification process. Membrane distillation (MD) is a non-isothermal separation process in which differential vapor pressure between porous hydrophobic membrane surfaces acts as a driving factor. A hydrophobic membrane is used in the application of MD, which permits only the passage of vapor produced on the feed side through its pores to the permeate side. One of the most significant obstacles to the commercialisation of the MD method is a lack of appropriate membranes for the process. On the other hand, conventional hydrophobic membranes are subjected to rapid wetting and severe fouling, mainly when low surface tension compounds are present in saline water, resulting in decreased MD performance. In recent decades, MD membranes have received exceptional scientific interest, with substantial progress being made in the design and production of MD membranes appropriate for use in many applications. This review gives a comprehensive overview of recent research developments in the tailoring morphological structure of hydrophobic membranes, emphasising advancements in the fabrication and modification of membranes towards exhibiting high efficiency in the MD process. In addition, the critical morphology characteristics, mainly surface roughness, wettability, and water contact angle, are analysed. Finally, the challenges faced and future research direction is highlighted.

Within the research conducted at our Institute of Cryogenic and Isotopic Technologies (ICSI), is developed a project entitled "Innovative CECE process solution to promote a new technology for decontamination of liquid waste, tritium low concentrated and deuterium recovery”. The main objective of the project carried out within our team is to promote an innovative solution of CECE isotopic separation process (Combined Electrolysis and Catalytic Exchange), part of a new technology for decontamination of liquid waste, poorly concentrated in tritium, generated by nuclear reactors, ensuring increased recovery of the isotope deuterium and tritium. This paper presents the current stage of an innovative CECE isotopic separation process solution, and also the mathematical model developed for the simulation of hydrogen isotope separation processes through the CECE process and a theoretical analysis based on numerical data resulting from the simulation of two CECE plant operating mode.

Polysulfone (PES) membranes are among the rare membranes that are capable of double filtration: a pre-filter layer captures agglomerates and a thin-dense layer is responsible for the main separation process. This work aims to enhance the permeability and H2/N2 and CH4/N2 of the dense layer of PES by mixing it with low concentrations of carbon nanotubes (CNTs: 0.01–0.03 wt.%) using solution casting and doctor blade techniques. The pore topology, microstructure, chemical, thermal, and mechanical properties of the synthesized CNTs/PES membranes were investigated using FTIR, XRD, TGA, and a universal testing machine, while permeability of single CO2, H2, N2, and CH4 permeability of the CNTs/PES membranes were tested under different temperatures (20–60 °C) and pressures (1–6 bar). Also, the effect of added CNTs, separation temperature, and pressure on the gas separation mechanism were investigated. The results showed that adding of CNTs contributed to increase in porosity from 81.7% (PES) to 88.4% (CNTs/PES) and decrease in pore sizes from 84 nm (PES) to 50 nm (CNTS/PES). Meanwhile, the thermal and mechanical analysis showed that CNTs/PES membranes had higher thermal stability and somewhat lower strength compared with neat membranes. Also, the permeability measurements showed a big increase when only 0.01 wt.% of CNTs had been added, where H2, CH4, N2, CO2 permeabilities were increased up to 28,553, 11,358, 7540, 6720 Barrer, respectively, vs 10.4, 4.6, 13.7, and 12.3 Barrer in case of PES membranes. In addition, CO2/N2, CH4/N2, and H2/N2 selectivity of CNTs/PES membranes were enhanced by 29%, 396%, and 426%, respectively, as a result of pores refining and increasing of free space in the prepared CNTs/PES membranes. According to these results, CNTs/PES membranes with small loading of CNTs have a tremendous ability to deal with separation of H2/N2 and CH4/N2, what make them promising candidates for clean energy extraction applications.

As a kind of novel polyelectrolyte materials, poly(ionic liquids) (PILs) have excellent potentiality in the separation of ampholytes suchlike amino acids. Herein, the β-cyclodextrin-based PILs had been synthesized, followed by blending with poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) to prepare poly(ionic liquid) membranes (PILMs). The Fourier transformed infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), mechanical strength, zeta potential, and pore size distribution were characterized for these membranes or their intermediates. These PILMs had been developed for the selection separation of the amino acids mixture of L-glutamic acid (L-Glu) and L-threonine (L-Thr). The factors influencing the separation result were investigated, including the solution pH of the amino acids mixture and the PVDF amount in PILMs. The maximum selectivity of 55% can be obtain by one-step separation under the optimal conditions. This separation process using PILMs had the advantages of good selectivity, low operating pressure, larger water flux, and good reusability, which had the potentiality in the separation of various amino acids mixtures.

The separation process of caulerpin from other phytoconstituents in a feed extracted from Caulerpa racemose was conducted using a simulated moving bed (SMB). Before separation in the SMB, the feed was pretreated through drying and ultrasonic separation. In the SMB columns, the stationary phase was Welch Ultimate AQ-C18, while the eluent was 76% EtOH. Different affinities to the stationary phase and the eluent caused caulerpin to collect at the extract port while the other phytoconstituents collected at the raffinate port. The effect of three switching times on the efficiency of the separation and purification process were investigated empirically where, the average purity of caulerpin at switching times of 3.5, 4.0, and 4.5 min were 91.2, 99.0, and 99.3%, respectively. Caulerpin content at the raffinate ports obeyed the triangle theory whereby, for the switching times of 3.5 and 4.0 min it was 0%, while for the 4.5 min, it was 35.0%. Overall, the optimum switching time for the separation and purification of caulerpin in this laboratory-scale SMB chromatograph was 4.0 min. For this switching time and in the sixth cycle, the caulerpin mass loaded in the SMB was 2341.4 g while that obtained in the extract port was 2158.0 g giving a yield of 93.3%.

The waxy component in natural gas may bring about some challenges in the treatment and transportation processes, especially in the cryogenic separation process. An axial flow cyclone separator was applied to separate wax from natural gas. An Eulerian–Lagrangian approach combined with the Reynolds stress model (RSM) was adopted to investigate the flow of gas and wax droplets in the separator. The distributions of static pressure as well as tangential, axial, and radial velocity were presented to describe the flow field in the cyclone separator. The results suggested that the established model could be used to simulate the separation process in the cyclone efficiently. Most importantly, the simulation was conducted under various inlet velocities and mass content of waxy component to study the effects of the operation parameters on separation efficiency. It was indicated that the inlet velocity has a great impact on the separation efficiency when it is greater than 15 m/s. The effect of mass content of waxy component is significant when it is smaller than 172.4 kg/m3, especially for small sized wax droplets. It is believed that the separation efficiency in the proposed axial flow cyclone is as high as 95% with suitable operational conditions.

A complete chemical characterization of Moringa oleifera leaves was carried out showing a high content of extractives. Extraction kinetics of bioactive compounds present in this fraction were performed by conventional and ultrasound assisted extraction (UAE). A 50% (v/v) hydroalcoholic mixture led to the highest total phenolic compounds yield by conventional solvent extraction, 29.5 ± 0.3 mg per gram of moringa leaves. UAE did not bring any improvement when using hydroalcoholic mixtures probably due to the physical properties of the ethanol aqueous mixtures that affect the UAE performance, such as viscosity and vapor pressure of the mixture. The retention index of the different solvents in the raffinate phase was determined revealing the highest retention index for water, 9.5, and a continuous decrease by increasing ethanol concentration. Retention index is a key parameter in a solvent extraction process since it determines the number of stages in an industrial separation process and it is not usually reported in bioactive compounds extraction. Solvent extraction capacity and the retention index determined the final freeze-dried extract yield., Junta de Castilla y León (JCyL) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) [grantnumbers BU301P18 and BU050P20]; and the Agencia Estatalde Investigación [grant number AEI/10.13039/501100011033].

The current crude phenol separation process is featured by the conventional distillation columns and its close boiling range between the components significantly increases the energy consumption. Compared to the conventional heat integrated technology, the advanced heat integrated technology has more or less advantage of simple structure, higher energy efficiency and economic benefit in some specific separation schemes but is lack of the application in process transformation. It has the potential to be a high-energy-efficient way to improve the energy efficiency of the crude phenol separation process. An improved middle vapor recompression distillation column (IMVRC) was proposed on the basis of the conventional middle vapor recompression distillation column (MVRC), with more consideration of operating pressure set and separated stage. The vapor recompression distillation column (VRC) and MVRC are used as the competitive configurations to estimate the performance of IMVRC for separating three different boiling range mixtures. Besides, the crude phenol process is established as two steam-driven and three electrical-driven processes with the conventional and advanced heat integrated technologies used. Furthermore, the flexibility of IMVRC for the process design is investigated and the extended structure of IMVRC (E-IMVRC) for the crude phenol separation process is achieved. The results show the IMVRC has the preferable energy and total annual cost (TAC) benefits in all the different boiling range mixtures. And the different separated stage makes the distinct structure of IMVRC with different cooling and heating duty arrangement, which benefits the potential heat integrated flexibility in the process design. Consequently, the electrical-driven processes have the significant TAC saving than the steam-driven processes. Moreover, the E-IMVRC performs best in all the 4E analysis.

The application of pervaporation (PV) as a membrane-based separation process for the recovery of dilute organic solutes has become a promising alternative to conventional distillation due to its easy scaleup, energy-saving, process continuity. The present study aims at the modelling of mass transfer during the pervaporation process for ethanol recovery from ethanol/water mixture using a solution-diffusion model at different concentrations (5–20%), and different temperatures (30–60 °C). The results revealed that the estimated values of ethanol reference permeance and water reference permeance were respectively Q0eth = 11.77 ± 0.10 g/m2 h kPa and Q0water = 13.31 ± 0.16 g/m2 h kPa. It was also found that the estimated value of ethanol activation energy (Ea(eth)) was 60.40 ± 6.40 kJ/mol whereas the estimated value of water activation energy (Ea(w)) was 56.09 ± 5.05 kJ/mol. The validation of the suggested solution-diffusion model was assessed in terms of mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) using fermentation broth where it showed high accuracy with a low value of MAPE for the ethanol flux (MAPE = 2.8%), water flux (MAPE = 2%), total flux (MAPE = 3.2%). These findings suggest the solution-diffusion model as an efficient tool for optimizing and controlling the pervaporation process when it is coupled with continuous alcoholic fermentation for bioethanol production.

Physical upgrading of graphite is typically achieved with many stages of grinding and flotation to produce a concentrate with approximately 95% carbon grade. An innovative grinding and column flotation process has been developed for efficient graphite upgrading to substantially simplify the process flowsheet and reduce operating costs. In this process, a high-pressure grinding roller (HPGR) and a stirred mill were employed as primary comminution techniques and a nanobubble flotation column as a key separation process. The results obtained with a crystalline flake graphite sample with a carbon grade of 11.15% show that the novel process can produce a concentrate with 94.82% carbon grade and 97.89% recovery from an open circuit of one rougher and two cleaner flotation stages. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) microphotographs indicate that HPGR offers the advantage of more effective protection of graphite flakes during crushing. Grinding test results show that stirred mill could not only protect graphite flakes but also promote the efficient liberation of graphite. Compared with the traditional flotation process, nanobubble flotation can effectively recover ultrafine graphite. The new process possesses a number of important advantages over the traditional method, including substantially higher graphite recovery, greatly simplified process flowsheet, better protection of flake size, reduced reagent consumption and process costs, etc.

Lignocellulosic material represents an attractive raw material to the synthesis of different compounds with industrial interest. Among these compounds, levulinic acid has gained considerable attent...

Microfluidic separation technologies are the focus of various biological applications, such as disease diagnostics, single-cell analysis, and therapeutics. Different methods and devices were proposed in the micro-separation field, focusing on minimizing the chemical deformation and physical damage to the particles throughout the separation process; however, it is still a challenge. This paper proposes a hydrodynamic focusing-based microfluidic separation device equipped with a dual-neodymium magnet for positive magnetophoretic microparticles and cell separation. Hydrodynamic focusing is used to help to sort the particles and minimize the damage to the microparticles through the proposed different inlet flow rates between the two focusing channels. The dual magnets help to separate the particles in two stages. The system’s novelty is integrating the hydrodynamic focusing with the dual magnetics system, where the hydrodynamic focusing is with variable inlet flow rates. The performance of the proposed microfluidic particle separator is numerically assessed under various operating parameters, including the concentration of the particle in the injected solution and flow rate ratios of high to the low focusing flows on the efficiency of the separation. Following the proposed separation method, it was possible to separate the 16 and 10 $$\mu\mathrm{m}$$ microparticles with the first-round efficiency of 21% with a quality of 92%, respectively. The developed particle separation system can significantly broaden its applications in a variety of biomedical research studies.

Along with the extensive application of energy storage devices, the spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are unquestionably classified into the secondary resources due to its high content of several valuable metals. However, current recycling methods have the main drawback to their tedious process, especially the purification and separation process. Herein, we propose a simplified process to recycle both cathode (LiCoO2) and anode (graphite) in the spent LIBs and regenerate newly high-performance anode material, CoO/CoFe2O4/expanded graphite (EG). This process not only has the advantages of succinct procedure and easy control of reaction conditions, but also effectively separates and recycles lithium from transition metals. The 98.43% of lithium is recovered from leachate when the solid product CoO/CoFe2O4/EG is synthesized as anode material for LIBs. And the product exhibits improved cyclic stability (890 mAh g−1 at 1 A g−1 after 700 cycles) and superior rate capability (208 mAh g−1 at 5 A g−1). The merit of this delicate recycling design can be summarized as three aspects: the utilization of Fe impurity in waste LiCoO2, the transformation of waste graphite to EG, and the regeneration of anode material. This approach properly recycles the valuable components of spent LIBs, which introduces an insight into the future recycling.