Efficient Separation of Butyric Acid by an Aqueous Two-phase System with Calcium Chloride

One of the bottlenecks for bioproduction of butyric acid as bulk chemical is the difficulty in separating butyric acid from the fermentation broth,compared with the petroleum-based chemical synthesis method.In the present work,a novel separation methodology was developed based on an aqueous two-phase system with inor-ganic salts.Calcium chloride was screened out for effective separation of butyric acid from butyric acid-water-salt systems.Within appropriate concentration range of butyric acid and salt,butyric acid was enriched in the upper phase and most of calcium ions remained in the lower phase.This"salting out"effect is very efficient to separate butyric acid from the simulated butyrate fermentation broth,which consists of butyric acid and acetic acid with concentration ratio of 4︰1,so that the final ratio of butyric acid/acetic acid in the upper phase is improved to 9.87. The aqueous two-phase system was used to separate butyric acid from the actual fermentation broth with satisfac-tory result.

Characterisation and separation of infectious bursal disease virus-like particles using aqueous two-phase systems

Infectious bursal disease(IBD)causes considerable economic losses in the commercial poultry industry worldwide.The principal way to control IBD virus(IBDV),the causative agent of IBD,is still through vaccination programs.Virus-like particles(VLPs)are recognised as a safe and potent recombinant vaccine platform.This research work explores the characterisation and separation of infectious bursal disease virus-like particles(IBD-VLPs)from crude feedstock.Various characteristics were studied with highperformance size-exclusion chromatography(HP-SEC),sodium dodecyl sulphate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis(SDS-PAGE)and transmission electron microscopy(TEM)analyses.Subsequently,the separation of IBD-VLPs using polyethylene glycol(PEG)/sodium citrate-based aqueous two-phase systems(ATPSs)was conducted and optimised.Moreover,a scale-up study of the best ATPS constituted of 15%PEG 6000,11%sodium citrate and 10%crude feedstock was performed to compare the separation performance of IBD-VLPs with and without centrifugation-assisted.The results indicated that the optimised ATPS with centrifugation-assisted for both 5 g and 50 g systems showed good recovery of IBDVLPs of>97%in the interphase between the PEG-rich top and salt-rich bottom phases.These optimised systems also showed high removal efficiencies of impurities of>95%.The results demonstrated that aqueous two-phase extraction could be a promising technology for efficient VLPs separation.

Selective separation and enrichment of proteins in aqueous two-phase extraction system

A simple aqueous two-phase extraction system （ATPS） of PEG/phosphate was proposed for selective separation and enrichment of proteins. The combination of ATPE with HPLC was applied to identify the partition of proteins in two phases. Five proteins （bovine serum albumin, Cytochrome C, lysozyme, myoglobin, and trypsin） were used as model proteins to study the effect of phosphate concentration and pH on proteins partition. The PEG/phosphate system was firstly applied to real human saliva and plasma samples, some proteins showed obviously different partition in two phases. The primary results manifest the selective separation and enrichment of proteins in ATPS provided the potential for high abundance proteins depletion in proteomics. ~ 2009 Feng Qu. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Chinese Chemical Society. All rights reserved.

Non-Isothermal Separation Process of Two-Phase Mixture Water/Ultra-Viscous Heavy Oil by Hydrocyclone

Environmental agencies do not allow effluents, from the petroleum productions, which contain oil concentrations that exceed the amounts permitted by the regulations. In recent time heavy oil operating petroleum industries are generating oil/water mixture by products, which are difficult to separate. Industrially, hydrocyclone is generally used to separate oil from an oil/water mixture. This is due to its high performance of separation, low cost of installation and maintenance. In the present work, therefore, the thermal fluid dynamics of water/ultra-viscous heavy oil separation process in a hydrocyclone has been studied. A steady state mathematical model which simulates the performance of a non-isothermal separation process is presented. The Eulerian-Eulerian approach for the interface of the phases involved (water/ultra-viscous heavy-oil) is used and the two-phase flow is considered as incompressible, viscous and turbulent. For carrying out numerical solutions of the governing equations the CFX11? commercial code was used. Results of the behavior of the two-fluid flow inside the hydrocyclone and separation efficiency are presented and analyzed. The role of the average temperature of the fluid, oil droplet diameter and the fluid mixture inlet velocity on the separation efficiency of the hydrocyclone are verified.

Measurment of gas-liquid two-phase slug flow with a Venturi meter based on blind source separation

We propose a novel flow measurement method for gas–liquid two-phase slug flow by using the blind source separation technique. The flow measurement model is established based on the fluctuation characteristics of differential pressure(DP) signals measured from a Venturi meter. It is demonstrated that DP signals of two-phase flow are a linear mixture of DP signals of single phase fluids. The measurement model is a combination of throttle relationship and blind source separation model. In addition, we estimate the mixture matrix using the independent component analysis(ICA) technique. The mixture matrix could be described using the variances of two DP signals acquired from two Venturi meters. The validity of the proposed model was tested in the gas–liquid twophase flow loop facility. Experimental results showed that for most slug flow the relative error is within 10%.We also find that the mixture matrix is beneficial to investigate the flow mechanism of gas–liquid two-phase flow.

Numerical Simulation and Analysis of Solid-liquid Two-phase Flow in Centrifugal Pump

The flow with solid-liquid two-phase media inside centrifugal pumps is very complicated and the relevant method for the hydraulic design is still immature so far. There exist two main problems in the operation of the two-phase flow pumps, i.e., low overall efficiency and severe abrasion. In this study, the three-dimensional, steady, incompressible, and turbulent solid-liquid two-phase flows in a low-specific-speed centrifugal pump are numerically simulated and analyzed by using a computational fluid dynamics （CFD） code based on the mixture model of the two-phase flow and the RNG k-~ two-equation turbulence model, in which the influences of rotation and curvature are fully taken into account. The coupling between impeller and volute is implemented by means of the frozen rotor method. The simulation results predicted indicate that the solid phase properties in two-phase flow, especially the concentration, the particle diameter and the density, have strong effects on the hydraulic performance of the pump. Both the pump head and the efficiency are reduced with increasing particle diameter or concentration. However, the effect of particle density on the performance is relatively minor. An obvious jet-wake flow structure is presented near the volute tongue and becomes more remarkable with increasing solid phase concentration. The suction side of the blade is subject to much more severe abrasion than the pressure side. The obtained results preliminarily reveal the characteristics of solid-liquid two-phase flow in the centrifugal pump, and are helpful for improvement and empirical correction in the hydraulic design of centrifugal pumps.

Computational Analysis of Centrifugal Pump Delivering Solid-liquid Two-phase Flow during Startup Period

The transient behavior of centrifugal pumps during transient operating periods, such as startup and stopping, has drawn more and more attention recently because of urgent needs in engineering. Up to now, almost all the existing studies on this behavior are limited to using water as working fluid. The study on the transient behavior related to solid-liquid two-phase flow has not been seen yet. In order to explore the transient characteristics of a high specific-speed centrifugal pump during startup period delivering the pure water and solid-liquid two-phase flow, the transient flows inside the pump are numerically simulated using the dynamic mesh method. The variable rotational speed and flow rate with time obtained from experiment are best fitted as the function of time, and are written into computational fluid dynamics （CFD） code-FLUENT by using a user defined function. The predicted heads are compared with experimental results when pumping pure water. The results show that the difference in the transient performance during startup period is very obvious between water and solid-liquid two-phase flow during the later stage of startup process. Moreover, the time for the solid-liquid two-phase flow to achieve a stable condition is longer than that for water. The solid-liquid two-phase flow results in a higher impeller shaft power, a larger dynamic reaction force, a more violent fluctuation in pressure and a reduced stable pressure rise comparing with water. The research may be useful to tmderstanding on the transient behavior of a centrifugal pump under a solid-liquid two-phase flow during startup period.

Numerical simulation and analysis of solid-liquid two-phase threedimensional unsteady flow in centrifugal slurry pump

Based on RNG k-ε turbulence model and sliding grid technique, solid-liquid two-phase three-dimensional(3-D) unsteady turbulence of full passage in slurry pump was simulated by means of Fluent software. The effects of unsteady flow characteristics on solid-liquid two-phase flow and pump performance were researched under design condition. The results show that clocking effect has a significant influence on the flow in pump, and the fluctuation of flow velocity and pressure is obvious, particularly near the volute tongue, at the position of small sections of volute and within diffuser. Clocking effect has a more influence on liquid-phase than on solid-phase, and the wake-jet structure of relative velocity of solid-phase is less obvious than liquid-phase near the volute tongue and the impeller passage outlet. The fluctuation of relative velocity of solid-phase flow is 7.6% smaller than liquid-phase flow at the impeller outlet on circular path. Head and radial forces of the impeller are 8.1% and 85.7% of fluctuation, respectively. The results provide a theoretical basis for further research for turbulence, improving efficient, reducing the hydraulic losses and wear. Finally, field tests were carried out to verify the operation and wear of slurry pump.

Numerical simulation of predicting and reducing solid particle erosion of solid-liquid two-phase flow in a choke

Chokes are one of the most important components of downhole flow-control equipment. The particle erosion mathematical model, which considers particle-particle interaction, was established and used to simulate solid particle movement as well as particle erosion characteristics of the solid-liquid two-phase flow in a choke. The corresponding erosion reduction approach by setting ribs on the inner wall of the choke was advanced. This mathematical model includes three parts： the flow field simulation of the continuous carrier fluid by an Eulerian approach, the particle interaction simulation using the discrete particle hard sphere model by a Lagrangian approach and calculation of erosion rate using semiempirical correlations. The results show that particles accumulated in a narrow region from inlet to outlet of the choke and the dominating factor affecting particle motion is the fluid drag force. As a result, the optimization of rib geometrical parameters indicates that good anti-erosion performance can be achieved by four ribs, each of them with a height （H） of 3 mm and a width （B） of 5 mm equaling the interval between ribs （L）.

MICHAEL REACTION OF CHLOROESTERS IN A TWO-PHASE SOLID-LIQUID SYSTEM

The Michael addition of α-chloroesters to α,β-unsaturated systems was catalyzed bytraalkylammonium salt in a two-phase solid-liquid system, and some polysubstitnted evclopropanes were facilely synthesized.

Aqueous Two-Phase Interfacial Assembly of COF Membranes for Water Desalination

Aqueous two-phase system features with ultralow interfacial tension and thick interfacial region,affording unique confined space for membrane assembly.Here,for the first time,an aqueous two-phase interfacial assembly method is proposed to fabricate covalent organic framework(COF)membranes.The aqueous solution containing polyethylene glycol and dextran undergoes segregated phase separation into two water-rich phases.By respectively distributing aldehyde and amine monomers into two aqueous phases,a series of COF membranes are fabricated at water-water interface.The resultant membranes exhibit high NaCl rejection of 93.0-93.6% and water permeance reaching 1.7-3.7 L m^(−2) h^(−1) bar^(−1),superior to most water desalination membranes.Interestingly,the interfacial tension is found to have pronounced effect on membrane structures.The appropriate interfacial tension range(0.1-1.0 mN m^(−1))leads to the tight and intact COF membranes.Furthermore,the method is extended to the fabrication of other COF and metal-organic polymer membranes.This work is the first exploitation of fabricating membranes in all-aqueous system,confering a green and generic method for advanced membrane manufacturing.

Recovery of Dyestuffs from Dilute Solution with Two-phase Electrophoresis

Two-phase electrophoresis was used to separate the dyestuffs from their dilute solutions. Several dyestuffs (naphthol green B, acid-chrome blue K, methyl blue and direct fast torquoise blue GL, and n-butanol) were treated in a self-designed experimental setup and the mass transfer characteristics in this process were studied. The results confirm the potential of this technique for recovering dyestuffs from their dilute solutions.

Solid- liquid phase separation and resource recycling study for waste rolling oily sludge

On the basis of the characteristics of a highly emulsified solid-liquid phase （fine particles, sticky consistency,black color, and low reuse ratio）, waste rolling oily sludge has been a focal problem in the steel industry. In this article, a solid-liquid phase separation and resource recycling process was described, with pilot test results showing that flocculation-sedimentation is an effective pretreatment, and that the filtration-coagulationvacuum distillation process is simple and feasible with a 53.5% recovery rate for regenerated oil that is qualified for return to the roiling production line. Then,solid phase oil-sludge was extracted by solvents with a 77% metal resource recovery rate and a wide utilization range. Finally, according to the experimental results, a set of feasibility plans for a 50 t/a waste rolling oily sludge solid-liquid separation and resource recycle project was designed, with the expectation of 50% regenerated oil yield, 70% solid metal resource recovery, and a 2. 5-year investment payback period.

CFD studies on the separation performance of a new combined gas–solid separator used in TMSR-SF

In order to comply with discharge standards, a gas–solid separator is used to remove solid particles from the thorium molten salt reactor-solid fuel (TMSR-SF) system. As a key component, it directly determines system energy efficiency. However, current gas–solid separators, based on activated carbon adsorption technology, result in high pressure drops and increased maintenance costs. In the present study, a new combined gas–solid separator was developed for the TMSR-SF. Based on a simplified computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model, the gas–solid twophase flow and the motion trajectory of solid particles were simulated for this new separator using commercial ANSYS 16.0 software. The flow and separation mechanism for this structure were also been discussed in terms of their velocity effects and pressure field distributions, and then the structure was optimized based on the influence of key structural parameters on pressure and separation efficiency. The results showed that the standard k–ε model could be achieved and accurately simulated the new combined separator. In this new combined gas–solid separator, coarse particles are separated in the first stage using rotating centrifugal motion, and then fine particles are filtered in the second stage, giving a separation efficiency of up to 96.11%. The optimum blade inclination angle and numbers were calculated to be 45° and four, respectively. It implicated that the combined separator could be of great significance in a wide variety of applications.

Numerical Study of Oil/Water Separation by Ceramic Membranes in the Presence of Turbulent Flow

Disposal of produced water during petroleum extraction causes serious environmental damage, hence the need to complete the water treatment before being disposed to environment within the criteria set established by environmental agencies in the countries. Ceramics membranes have been highlighted as a good device for separating oil/water. These act as a barrier to oil in the aqueous stream, because their essential properties for filtration, such as chemical inertness, biological stability and resistance to high temperatures. The limitation of the separation process is the decay of permeate flux during operation, due to concentration polarization and fouling. In this sense, this paper aims to evaluate numerically the feasibility of the process of separating oil/water by means of ceramic membranes in the presence of a turbulent flow induced by a tangential inlet. The results of the velocity, pressure and volumetric fraction distributions for the simulations different by varying the mass flow rate inlet and different geometric characteristics of the membrane are presented and analyzed.

Influence on the Solid−Liquid Two-Phase Flow from Cross-Section Area of Slurry Pumps for Deep-Sea Mining

To explore the mechanism of solid-liquid two-phase flow in deep-sea mining pumps,this paper investigates the influences of the impeller cross-section area on the multi-phase flow in the slurry pump.Experimental and numerical results are presented for two-phase flow in four impellers with different cross-section areas.They show that the degree of vortex strength and the passing capacity of particles increase as the cross-section area of the impeller.In addition,the correlations between the two-phase flow and cross-section area have been revealed by a mathematical model taking the force of the flow field into account.The simulation results confirm the theoretical analysis,while the experimental pump performances validate the numerical calculation.The influence of the cross-section area on two-phase flow and pump performance could provide theoretical support for the design of high-performance deep-sea mining slurry pumps.

Extraction of Tetracycline via Ionic Liquid Two-phase System

A new method to extract and separate tetracycline（TC） in a new aqueous tyro-phase system（ATPS） consisting of hydrophilic [Bmim]BF4 and NaH2PO4 was investigated. The effects of the amount of salt, ionic liquid as well as tetracycline on extraction efficiency were studied systematically. The results show that ionic liquid-ATPS exhibited the highest extraction efficiency higher than 90%. When the concentration of NaH2PO4 was 33.3%--38.5% （mass fraction）, the amounts of ionic liquid and TC were 1.0--2.0 mL and 1.8 mL, respectively, and ionic liquid could be re-used.

Study on an improved rotating microchannel separator in the intensification for demulsification and separation process

An improved rotating microchannel(IRM) separator was further explored in the intensification for demulsification and separation process. Oil-in-water(O/W) emulsion system of 2-ethylhexyl phosphoric acid-2-ethylhexyl ester(P507)–water without emulsifier was employed to evaluate the performance of the new equipment. In this experiment, the influence on demulsification separation process was explored by changing the geometrical structure and channel height of the microchannel and combining the liquid–liquid two-phase flow pattern, and the correlation general graph between demulsification efficiency and dimensionless parameters was established. The total demulsification effect of the IRM and the separation capacity of the clear organic phase recovered from demulsification are significantly improved. In addition, the liquid–liquid two-phase flow pattern of the clear organic phase after demulsification and the remaining emulsion in the IRM are observed and recorded by high-speed photography. The separation ability of organic phase from the upper outlet can be significantly improved when the total demulsification rate of IRM is up to 90%. There are 3 types and 6 kinds of flow patterns observed. The results demonstrated that the suitable demulsification performance is obtained when the liquid–liquid two-phase inside the IRM is in a parallel pattern. Finally, the relation map between total demulsification efficiency and the universal flow is drawn, which provides a basis for the accurate control of the IRM device.

Selective separation of protein and saccharides by ionic liquids aqueous two-phase systems

In the present work,it was found that aqueous solution of a hydrophilic ionic liquid (IL),1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide ([C4mim][N(CN)2]),could be separated into an aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) by inorganic salts such as K2HPO4 and K3PO4.The top phase is IL-rich,while the bottom phase is phosphate-rich.It was shown that 82.7%-100% bovine serum albumin (BSA) could be enriched into the top phase and almost quantitative saccharides (arabinose,glucose,sucrose,raffinose or dextran) were preferentially extracted into the bottom phase in a single-step extraction by [C4mim][N(CN)2] + K2HPO4 ATPS.The extraction efficiency of BSA from the aqueous saccharide solutions was influenced by the molecular structure of saccharides.The conductivity,dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were combined to investigate the microstructure of the IL-rich top phase and the possible mechanism for the selective separation.It is suggested that the formation of the IL aggregate and the IL aggregate-BSA complex plays a significant role in the separation of BSA from aqueous saccharide solutions.This is the first example for the selective separation by ILs-based ATPSs.It is expected that these findings would have potential applications in bio-analysis,separation,and IL recycle.

A comparative study on environmental surveillance of enterovirus:Using a two-phase separation method and a filtration method with a mixed cellulose ester(MCE)membrane

This study aimed to compare the sensitivity of two-phase separation and the filtration method using a mixed cellulose ester(MCE)membrane to detect enteroviruses in sewage samples.From December 2015 to July 2016,four domestic sewage samples(1 L/sample)were collected monthly from the Guangzhou Liede Sewage Treatment Plant,and each sewage sample was divided into two aliquots(500 mL).The sewage sample was concentrated using the two-phase separation and the filtration method using an MCE membrane,and the treated solutions were inoculated into cells for enterovirus isolation.Polymerase chain reaction amplification,VP1 sequencing,and enterovirus molecular typing were performed on the positive isolates.The detection rates of poliovirus(PV)and non-polio enterovirus(NPEV)obtained using the filtration method using an MCE membrane were higher than those using the two-phase separation method.McNemar's test showed that the detection rates of PV,NPEV,type 1 Sabin-like(SL1),type 2 Sabin-like(SL2),and type 3 Sabin-like(SL3)strain were not statistically significant(P>0.05).In Guangdong Province,China,the detection rates for PV and NPEV were 53.13%and 62.50%(20/32),respectively.Twenty-seven PVs were isolated,three highly variable strains of the type 1 vaccine,with seven nucleotide substitutions in the VP1 region,compared with the type 1 Sabin strains.Eighty-seven strains of NPEV were isolated and nine serotypes were identified,among which coxsackievirus B3(CVB3),echovirus 6(E6),and echovirus 11(E11)were the dominant strains.The filtration method using an MCE membrane is more sensitive than two-phase separation and can be used as a robust,sensitive,and cost-effective method to isolate enteroviruses from sewage.