Impact of Hydro-Alcoholic Solvents on the Oil and Phenolics Extraction from Walnut (Juglans regia L.) Press-Cake and the Self-Emulsification of Extracts

The objective was to evaluate the performance of four hydro-alcoholic solvents to simultaneously extract oil and more polar molecules as phenolics, among others, to produce complex extracts that eventually could self-emulsify after solvent removal. Walnut press-cake was selected as the sourcing material. Extractions were performed as a semi-continuous operation up to a solvent-to-solid ratio of 28, with a fractional collection of the effluent. Among the solvents, labelled by their alcohol content EtOH 58, EtOH 86, iPro 60 and iPro 90 for ethanol (EtOH) and isopropanol (iPro), iPro 90 allowed to reach an oil extraction efficiency of 97% while the recovery for the other solvents was in the range of 30–40%. For both alcohols, the increase of the solvent hydration negatively influenced the oil extraction but positively increased the recovery of phenolics that reached 17.6 mg GAE/gcake when EtOH 58 was used. Several fractions contained enough surface-active material and oil to self-assemble as emulsions. IPro 90 and EtOH 86 showed better performances in the sense that most extracts were able to emulsify, though extraction kinetics pointed out differences. The most hydrated solvents behaved equally, with extraction yields in the same range and a similar but limited emulsifying capacity of only few fractions.

Analysis of the Sequence Characteristics of Antifreeze Protein

Antifreeze protein (AFP) is a proteinaceous compound with improved antifreeze ability and binding ability to ice to prevent its growth. As a surface-active material, a small number of AFPs have a tremendous influence on the growth of ice. Therefore, identifying novel AFPs is important to understand protein–ice interactions and create novel ice-binding domains. To date, predicting AFPs is difficult due to their low sequence similarity for the ice-binding domain and the lack of common features among different AFPs. Here, a computational engine was developed to predict the features of AFPs and reveal the most important 39 features for AFP identification, such as antifreeze-like/N-acetylneuraminic acid synthase C-terminal, insect AFP motif, C-type lectin-like, and EGF-like domain. With this newly presented computational method, a group of previously confirmed functional AFP motifs was screened out. This study has identified some potential new AFP motifs and contributes to understanding biological antifreeze mechanisms.

On evaluating the potential of nanocomposites for heavy oil recovery

The present work investigates potential of nanocomposite (NCP) for enhancing the production in heavy oil formation. NCP was extracted from bauxite ore and the spectral characterization revealed that NCP was a crystalline material whose matrix consists of 64.5 wt.% alumina oxide (Al2O3), 15.7 wt.% iron oxide (Fe2O3), and 19.8 wt.% silica oxide (SiO2). The nanocomposite fluid, obtained by dispersing NCP into the targeted formation brine, showed a good dispersion over the two first days beyond which a hetero-aggregation, visible to the naked eye, was observed. Coreflooding assays, performed on Berea sandstone saturated with a heavy mineral oil (ρ = 0.854 g/cm3), revealed that 0.25wt.% of NCP dispersed in the formation brine yields a poor recovery. However, increasing the load in NCP from 0.25 to 0.75 wt.% and subsequently 1 wt.% using the same formation brine, showed an increase in the oil recovery up to 14.1% after the waterflooding stage. It was further found that the RF could be as high as 18.3% if 0.25 wt.% NCP was dispersed in a surface-active material (Polyvinyl alcohol, PVA in this study). The result was 4% higher than a scenario in which PVA was used alone. Moreover, it was shown that altering the composition of the preflush could increase the production to up to 11.3%. A comparative analysis with single nanoparticle revealed that the EOR using NCP was six-fold higher compared to that of SiO2 taken alone and 1.5-fold lower than those of Al2O3 or Fe2O3 taken alone.

Experimental study on the degradation mechanism of LaCoO3-based symmetric supercapacitors

Cycling tests for LaCoO3-based symmetric supercapacitors were carried out. The change in the valence state of Co in the electrode surface active material, LaCoO3, before and after the cycling test was investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.

Functional fungal extracts from the Quorn fermentation co-product as novel partial egg white replacers

The production of mycoprotein biomass by Marlow Foods for use in their meat alternative brand Quorn is a potential source of sustainable alternatives to functional ingredients of animal origin for the food industry. The conversion of this viscoelastic biomass into the Quorn meat-like texture relies on functional synergy with egg white (EW), effectively forming a fibre gel composite. In a previous study, we reported that an extract (retentate 100 or R100) obtained from the Quorn fermentation co-product (centrate) via ultrafiltration displayed good foaming, emulsifying, and rheological properties. This current study investigated if a possible similar synergy between EW and R100 could be exploited to partially replace EW as foaming and/or gelling ingredient. The large hyphal structures characteristic of R100 solutions were observed in EW–R100 mixtures, while EW–R100 gels showed dense networks of entangled hyphal aggregates and filaments. R100 foams prepared by frothing proved less stable than EW ones; however, a 75/25 w/w EW–R100 mixture displayed a similar foam stability to EW. Simlarly, R100 hydrogels proved less viscoelastic than EW ones; however, the viscoelasticity of gels prepared with 50/50 w/w and 75/25 w/w EW–R100 proved similar to those of EW gels, while 75/25 w/w EW–R100 gels displayed similar hardness to EW ones. Both results highlighted a functional synergy between the R100 material and EW proteins. In parallel tensiometry measurements highlighted the presence of surface-active material in EW–R100 mixtures contributing to their high foaming properties. These results highlighted the potential of functional extracts from the Quorn fermentation process for partial EW replacement as foaming and gelling agent, and the complex nature of the functional profile of EW–R100 mixtures, with contributions reported for both hyphal structures and surface-active material. Graphic abstract

Measurements of air–sea gas transfer velocities in the Baltic Sea

Heat transfer velocities measured during three different campaigns in the Baltic Sea using the active controlled flux technique (ACFT) with wind speeds ranging from 5.3 to 14.8 m s−1 are presented. Careful scaling of the heat transfer velocities to gas transfer velocities using Schmidt number exponents measured in a laboratory study allows us to compare the measured transfer velocities to existing gas transfer velocity parameterizations, which use wind speed as the controlling parameter. The measured data and other field data clearly show that some gas transfer velocities are much lower than those based on the empirical wind speed parameterizations. This indicates that the dependencies of the transfer velocity on the fetch, i. e., the history of the wind and the age of the wind-wave field, and the effects of surface-active material need to be taken into account.

Variability of air-sea gas transfer velocities in the Baltic Sea

Heat transfer velocities measured during three different campaigns in the Baltic Sea using the Active Controlled Flux Technique (ACFT) with wind speeds ranging from 5.3 to 14.8 m s−1 are presented. Careful scaling of the heat transfer velocities to gas transfer velocities using Schmidt number exponents measured in a laboratory study allows to compare the measured transfer velocities to existing gas transfer velocity parameterizations, which use wind speed as the controlling parameter. The measured data and other field data clearly show that some gas transfer velocities are much lower than the empirical wind speed parametrizations. This indicates that the dependencies of the transfer velocity on the fetch, i.e., the history of the wind and the age of the wind wave field, and the effects of surface active material need to be taken into account.

Asemi-Empirical Study of the Adsorption of Some Organic Pollutants on Modified Iraqi Clays

In this work semi–empirical method (PM3) calculations are carried out by (MOPAC) computational packages have been employed to calculate the molecular orbital's energies for some organic pollutants. The long– chain quaternary ammonium cations called Iraqi Clays (Bentonite – modified) are used to remove these organic pollutants from water, by adding a small cationic surfactant so as to result in floes which are agglomerates of organobentonite to remove organic pollutants. This calculation which suggests the best surface active material, can be used to modify the adsorption efficiency of aniline , phenol, phenol deriviatives, Tri methyl glycine, ester and pecticides , on Iraqi Clay (bentonite) by comparing the theoretical results with experimental results achived in previous experimental studies between some organic pollutants and modified bentonite by (1- Hexadecyl pyridinium bromide) (HDPYBr). The theoretical calculation is made by using three surface active materials [1- (Hexadecyl pyridinium bromide) (HDPYBr), (1,12- Dipyridiniododecane dibromide) (DPYDDBr2) and Hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (HDTMA)]. Using (HDTMA) leads to the best adsorption efficiency for most pollutants involved in this study. The enthalpy of formations, dipole and energy of molecular orbitale HOMO and LUMO energies levels are calculated for all pollutants and the three surface active materials.

Holes and cracks in rigid foam films

The classical problem of foam film rupture dynamics has been investigated when the film interfaces exhibit very high rigidity due to the presence of specific surfactants. Two new features are reported. First, a strong deviation from the well-known Taylor–Culick law is observed. Second, crack-like patterns can be visualized in the film; these patterns are shown to appear at a well-defined film shrinkage. The key role of surface-active material on these features is quantitatively investigated, pointing to the importance of surface elasticity to describe these fast dynamical processes and thus providing an alternative tool to characterize surface elasticity in conditions extremely far from equilibrium. The origin of the cracks and their consequences on film rupturing dynamics are also discussed.