Article
Engineering, Chemical
Guochi Liu, Dushuai Wu, George Chen, Ronald Halim, Jie Liu, Huining Deng
Summary: In this study, an environmentally friendly electro-electrodialysis process was used to convert potassium tartrate to tartaric acid without additional waste salt generation. Two-chamber and three-chamber configurations were compared in terms of conversion ratio and energy consumption. The key factor affecting acidification in the two-chamber process was the competitive migration of ions, while the selective transport of ions influenced the three-chamber process significantly, producing higher concentration of pure tartaric acid solution.
SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Jae-Hun Kim, Mungyu Lee, Hoyoung Jeong, Songju Ko, Seung-Hyeon Moon, In Seop Chang
Summary: The study proposes integrating syngas fermentation and electrodialysis (ED) systems to reduce operating costs by reusing nutrients for biocatalyst growth and separating the ionized product, acetate. The use of Eubacterium callanderi KIST612 as a biocatalyst in the ED-integrated process improved acetate titer by 25% and achieved a high extraction rate of acetate. The results suggest that this integrated system can potentially resolve issues of operational expenditure and carbon emissions in the industrial syngas fermentation process.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Jose Hernandez, Daniel Ruiz
Summary: This study demonstrated the technical feasibility of recovering uranium from copper Pregnant Leaching Solutions (PLS) by using ion-exchange after removing chloride ions with electrodialysis (ED). The modified ED process successfully decreased the chloride content in the PLS, allowing for increased loading capacity of ion-exchange resins.
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Mehdi Sedighi, Mohammad Mahdi Behvand Usefi, Ahmad Fauzi Ismail, Mostafa Ghasemi
Summary: Electrodialysis is a membrane separation method that utilizes an electrical potential difference to separate ions in aqueous solutions. It is used in various industries for water desalination, regeneration, and other applications. The process involves ion exchange membranes, electrodes, and spacers to achieve selective mass transport and create a potential difference. This study discusses different aspects of electrodialysis, including its application, structure, membrane types, electrode materials, spacers, and application in wastewater treatment.
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Jie Liu, Jie Liang, Xianshe Feng, Weijie Cui, Huining Deng, Zhiyong Ji, Yingying Zhao, Xiaofu Guo, Junsheng Yuan
Summary: Electrodialysis is a competitive technology for treating and reclaiming organic saline wastewater, with the mass transfer properties of organic electrolytes being crucial. Two forms of mass transfer through ion exchange membranes, electromigration and diffusion, are affected by ionization, molecular size, and structure. Electromigration dominates over diffusion when current is applied, with inorganic ions affecting dehydration of organic matter and membrane water content. Organic acids and their salts have little impact on the mass transfer properties of inorganic salts.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Food Science & Technology
Marcello Fidaleo, Giordana Ventriglia
Summary: The study aimed to deacidify fruit juices using electrodialysis. The results showed that the pH of the juices increased as the acid concentration decreased. Electrodialysis achieved a high deacidification efficiency.
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Emilie N. Nielsen, Ulysse Cordin, Mathias Gotke, Svetlozar Velizarov, Claudia F. Galinha, Leif H. Skibsted, Joao G. Crespo, Lilia M. Ahrne
Summary: This study investigated fouling of ion-exchange membranes (IEMs) during electrodialysis (ED) and reverse osmosis (RO) of acid whey (AW) and concentrated acid whey (ROAW). The results showed that operating at overlimiting current density (OLCD) reduced fouling compared to underlimiting current density (ULCD) and limiting current density (LCD). 2D fluorescence spectroscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) provided complementary and more detailed information regarding fouling and the efficiency of the cleaning procedure.
SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Francesco Deboli, Bart Van der Bruggen, Mateusz L. Donten
Summary: This work presents a versatile chemistry platform for the fabrication of hierarchical cation and anion exchange membranes (hCEMs and hAEMs) with tuneable transport properties. The hierarchical ion exchange membranes were made by coating and UV crosslinking an acrylic ionomer on top of a PVC-SiO2 porous substrate. The properties and performance of the membranes were found to be dependent on the coating crosslinking density, with higher crosslinking density resulting in better selectivity and performance.
Article
Engineering, Chemical
T. M. Mubita, S. Porada, P. M. Biesheuvel, A. van der Wal, J. E. Dykstra
Summary: In this study, we investigated the selective removal of anions by ion-exchange membranes in electrodialysis. Experimental results showed that NO-3 had a higher adsorption affinity than Cl-. The analysis of the model revealed three strategies for enhancing membrane selectivity in electrodialysis.
SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
Shaoxiang Lee, Wenqiao Meng, Yupeng Wang, Dong Wang, Meng Zhang, Guohui Wang, Jiaji Cheng, Yue Zhou, Wenjuan Qu
Summary: Electrodialysis technology has been attracting attention in water resource utilization, with ion exchange membrane structure and performance at its core. This study investigated the effects of energy consumption, current efficiency, and other parameters of homogeneous and heterogeneous membranes using single variable method. Experimental results showed high current efficiencies and concentration levels for both types of membranes, providing direction for their application in electrodialysis engineering.
AIN SHAMS ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Jiahe Zhang, Wenyu Feng, Huazhen Cao, Huibin Zhang, Guoqu Zheng
Summary: This study explored a highly selective and efficient oxidation system for the recovery of rhenium resources from Re-rich arsenic sulfide slag. The effects of H2O2 dosage, initial H2SO4 concentration and leaching temperature on the extraction efficiency were investigated. The results showed that the most favorable conditions for high Re extraction efficiency were determined. The phase transitions of the main constituents of the slag were analyzed. Kinetic analysis revealed that the leaching process is controlled by chemical reaction.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hengcheng Zhou, Peihai Ju, Shaowei Hu, Lili Shi, Wenjing Yuan, Dongdong Chen, Yujie Wang, Shaoyuan Shi
Summary: In this study, different anion exchange membranes were used to separate hydrochloric acid from rare earth oxalic acid precipitation mother liquor by electrodialysis. The results showed that selective anion exchange membrane (SAEM) could effectively separate the hydrochloric acid from simulated and real mother liquor, with a purity of over 91.5% in the concentrate chamber of electrodialysis.
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Devon Powers, Abhishek N. Mondal, Zezhou Yang, Ryszard Wycisk, Eric Kreidler, Peter N. Pintauro
Summary: Freestanding bipolar membranes with an extended-area water splitting junction were fabricated using electrospinning. The best membranes utilized a graphene oxide catalyst and exhibited a low trans-membrane voltage drop, as well as stable water splitting operation for a long period of time.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Yue Mao, Xu Zhang, Wending Zhu, Zhiqi Bao, Xianglu Zhang, Guanping Jin, Yang Zhang, Yahua Liu, Xiaozhao Han
Summary: In this study, an electrodialysis (ED)-based integrated process was proposed to separate Li+ from a mixed solution of LiCl and NH4Cl and simultaneously generate a concentrated LiOH solution. The process involves bipolar membrane electrodialysis (BMED) to convert the mixed solution into an alkali solution, ammonia removal with direct air stripping (AR-DAS) to remove ammonia, and conventional electrodialysis (CED) to concentrate the LiOH solution. The experimental results confirmed the effectiveness of the ED-based integrated process in separating Li+ and NH4+ mixed salt solutions.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
T. Leon, J. Lopez, R. Torres, J. Grau, L. Jofre, J. -L. Cortina
Summary: Electrodialysis is a separation process using an electric field for selective ion transport. Modeling and research on transport phenomena are critical for advancing the technology. This work aims to provide a better understanding of species transport in ED through computational modeling and analysis of concentration profiles and fluxes.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Xenia Priebe, Manh Dat Hoang, Julian Ruediger, Maria Turgel, Julia Troendle, Wilfried Schwab, Dirk Weuster-Botz
Summary: This study provides a detailed analysis of whole-cell biotransformation of geraniol withEscherichia coliexpressing an UDP-glucose-dependent glucosyltransferase, serving as an optimal starting point for the design of other glycosylation processes.
BIOTECHNOLOGY LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Crystallography
Johannes Hermann, Daniel Bischoff, Phillip Grob, Robert Janowski, Dariusch Hekmat, Dierk Niessing, Martin Zacharias, Dirk Weuster-Botz
Summary: Protein crystallization is essential for protein purification or formulation, requiring a comprehensive understanding of protein-protein interactions for reproducibility. Engineered charge-charge interactions and hydrophobic effects can improve crystallizability, with free energy simulations being a useful tool for understanding crystal contacts and guiding protein engineering strategies.
Article
Crystallography
Brigitte Walla, Daniel Bischoff, Robert Janowski, Nikolas von den Eichen, Dierk Niessing, Dirk Weuster-Botz
Summary: Protein crystallization serves as a purification step in biotechnological processes, with enabling or improving crystallization achieved through high-throughput screening and rational crystal contact engineering. Transfer of rational crystal contact mutations from one enzyme to another showed successful improvement in crystal sizes and nucleation events, indicating the potential for enhancing crystallizability.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Tobias Fuchs, Nathanael D. Arnold, Daniel Garbe, Simon Deimel, Jan Lorenzen, Mahmoud Masri, Norbert Mehlmer, Dirk Weuster-Botz, Thomas B. Brueck
Summary: The new sterile operating flat panel gas-lift bioreactor presented in this brief report fills the technology gap at laboratory scale with an autoclavable volume of 7.2 L. It is easy to rebuild by means of the hereby provided blueprint, while exhibiting a six-fold cost reduction compared to commercially available flat panel photobioreactors.
FRONTIERS IN BIOENGINEERING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Martina Schneider, Miriam Baeumler, Natuschka M. Lee, Dirk Weuster-Botz, Armin Ehrenreich, Wolfgang Liebl
Summary: The development of co-cultures of Clostridial strains for environmentally friendly production of biofuels and chemicals has shown promise, with FISH being a quick and sensitive method to monitor the composition and stability of these cultures. Specific oligonucleotide probes have been designed for C. kluyveri and C. carboxidivorans, which have been successfully used in heterotrophic co-cultures and stirred-tank bioreactor co-cultures. These probes not only monitor defined co-cultures but also have potential applications in environmental studies.
SYSTEMATIC AND APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Computer Science, Software Engineering
Lukas Bromig, David Leiter, Alexandru-Virgil Mardale, Nikolas von den Eichen, Emmeran Bieringer, Dirk Weuster-Botz
Summary: The integration of laboratory devices into automated workflows is a challenging and time-consuming process, mainly due to the lack of interface standardization and the high cost of customized software solutions. The SiLA 2 Manager, based on the SiLA 2 standard, offers a lean and extensible framework for device discovery, management, and workflow design, bridging the gap between physical devices and higher-level software. It enables immediate control of SiLA 2 devices and user-friendly real-time data collection and storage.
Article
Microbiology
Luis Oliveira, Anton Rueckel, Lisa Nordgauer, Patric Schlumprecht, Elina Hutter, Dirk Weuster-Botz
Summary: Syngas fermentation has shown potential in producing fuels and platform chemicals, but the presence of impurities like NH3, H2S, and NOX affects its feasibility. This study investigated the effects of defined additions of NH4+, H2S, and NO3- on autotrophic batch processes with different acetogens. The addition of ammonium and nitrate inhibited cell growth and reduced alcohol concentrations, while H2S had a positive influence on one of the acetogens. Quantitative goals for syngas purification were identified, with a focus on NOX impurities, and maintaining acceptable concentrations of NH3 and H2S to avoid inhibition in the bioreactor.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Daniel Bischoff, Brigitte Walla, Dirk Weuster-Botz
Summary: Protein crystallization is a promising purification method, but monitoring the process remains challenging. Recent research shows that deep learning and synthetic data sets can be used to overcome these challenges and achieve excellent model performance.
ANALYTICAL AND BIOANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Lukas Bromig, Dirk Weuster-Botz
Summary: Adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) is a valuable tool for strain development, and a novel approach using a parallelized, L scale stirred-tank bioreactor system has been developed, which is faster and more efficient than traditional serial passaging and mL scale automated methods. Continuous estimation of biomass concentration and growth rate using off-gas analysis showed that the proposed method led to stable growth rates of E. coli with glycerol 9.4 times faster than traditional methods and 3.6 times faster than automated mL scale methods.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Ayse Koruyucu, Karlis Blums, Tillmann Peest, Laura Schmack-Rauscher, Thomas Brueck, Dirk Weuster-Botz
Summary: Microbial oil production from industrial waste streams and biogenic resources is a sustainable alternative to fossil and vegetable oils. However, the low product concentrations and high costs of fermentation and downstream processing pose challenges. In this study, high-cell-density yeast oil production with a defined medium was conducted on a large scale using a membrane bioreactor. By utilizing a semi-continuous mode, high lipid contents and yields were achieved, demonstrating the viability of using diluted sugar substrates for yeast oil production.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Philipp Benner, Finn Joshua Luedtke, Nina Beyer, Nikolas von den Eichen, Jose Enrique Oropeza Vargas, Dirk Weuster-Botz
Summary: This article presents an automated and scalable method for the high-throughput development of microalgae using photoautotrophic bioprocesses. The use of LED illumination modules and a liquid handling station enables individual light supply and control of pH and OD750 detection in parallel bioreactors. This method provides an efficient tool for the investigation and development of photoautotrophic processes with microalgae.
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL
(2023)
Review
Crystallography
Brigitte Walla, Daniel Bischoff, Iliana Corona Viramontes, Sergio Montes Figueredo, Dirk Weuster-Botz
Summary: Protein crystallization is widely used in academia and industry, especially in the pharmaceutical field. It is an attractive alternative to chromatography in downstream processing steps in biotechnology, food, and chemical industries. Monitoring protein crystallization is essential for understanding crystal growth mechanism and ensuring efficient process control. This review focuses on recent advances in monitoring techniques such as focused beam reflectance method (FBRM), machine learning-based image analysis, attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR), and UV/Vis spectroscopy.
Article
Microbiology
Miriam Baeumler, Veronika Burgmaier, Fabian Herrmann, Julian Mentges, Martina Schneider, Armin Ehrenreich, Wolfgang Liebl, Dirk Weuster-Botz
Summary: Syngas fermentation with clostridial co-cultures shows promise for CO conversion to alcohols. A study on C. kluyveri revealed reversible inhibition and chain elongation at different CO concentrations. A cascade system with two reactors was successfully established to produce C2-C6 alcohols. The continuous process showed improved alcohol yields compared to batch production.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Anton Rueckel, Anne Oppelt, Philipp Leuter, Philipp Johne, Sebastian Fendt, Dirk Weuster-Botz
Summary: Synthesis gas fermentation is a promising microbial process for producing fuels and platform chemicals from renewable sources. This study investigated batch processes and continuous gassing with biogenic syngas, and found that both Clostridium carboxidivorans and Clostridium autoethanogenum showed good fermentation performance with biogenic syngas. However, achieving full carbon conversion to ethanol is still challenging.
FERMENTATION-BASEL
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Lara Wolf, Thomas Cummings, Katharina Mueller, Manfred Reppke, Marianne Volkmar, Dirk Weuster-Botz
Summary: The batch growth and beta-carotene production of Dunaliella salina CCAP19/18 were studied in flat-plate gas-lift photobioreactors under physically simulated outdoor conditions. The highest beta-carotene concentration was observed under conditions simulating a typical Mediterranean summer climate, showing the potential for stable beta-carotene content in algal cells despite increasing cell densities. Controlled lab-scale photobioreactors are valuable tools for realistic characterization of microalgae and production processes in open photobioreactor systems.
ENGINEERING IN LIFE SCIENCES
(2021)
