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Separation Process through Adsorption for Sustainable Utilization of Bioresources

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A special issue of Separations (ISSN 2297-8739). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Separations".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 February 2024) | Viewed by 7865

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Hideo Maruyama

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Guest Editor

Graduate School of Fisheries Sciences, Hokkaido University, Hakodate, Japan
Interests: chemical engineering; separation process; reaction engineering

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Adsorption separation is a simple separation process that requires relatively little energy and is used in various fields.

Given the current global events, the effective utilization of resources, especially biological resources (bio-resources) and biomass, is an extremely important social issue. In addition, the United Nations has established the SDGs, which are goals for achieving global sustainability.

For this Special Issue, we invite authors to submit papers on recent advances and results in the recovery of bio-resources using adsorption separation.

Topics include, but are not limited to: the adsorption separation of previously unutilized/underutilized bio-resources, the development of adsorbents that are suitable for utilization as bio-resources, adsorption separation processes for applied bio-resources and materials, and methods for laboratory-based and practical analyses of adsorption processes of biological materials.

Dr. Hideo Maruyama
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Separations is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

adsorption
biomass
bioresource utilization
sustainability
separation

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 5044 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Application of the Biomass of Leaves of Diospyros kaki L.f. (Ebenaceae) in the Removal of Metal Ions from Aqueous Media

by Rodrigo Martorelli Galera, Adrielli Cristina Peres da Silva, Alexandre de Oliveira Jorgetto, Marcos Henrique Pereira Wondracek, Margarida Juri Saeki, José Fabián Schneider, Valber de Albuquerque Pedrosa, Marco Autônio Utrera Martines and Gustavo Rocha Castro

Separations 2024, 11(1), 12; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations11010012 - 27 Dec 2023

Viewed by 1243

Abstract

Using straightforward and cost-effective methods, persimmon leaves were converted into high-quality powder. This powder was applied as an adsorbent for the removal of Cu(II) and Cd(II) from aqueous solutions. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed the presence of particles with non-homogeneous sizes and rough textures. The biosorbent exhibited a specific surface area of approximately 0.44 ± 0.015 m² g⁻¹. Elemental analysis and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) confirmed the presence of elements such as sulfur, phosphorus, nitrogen, and oxygen. The results of ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance (¹³C-NMR), obtained using the cross-polarization technique, show the presence of groups containing sulfur and oxygen. Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) indicated the existence of amine and hydroxyl groups. The material was used in the solid-phase extraction of Cu(II) and Cd(II) in batch experiments, and its adsorption capacity was evaluated as a function of time, pH, and analyte concentration. The fraction with a diameter between 63 and 106 μm was selected for the adsorption tests. Kinetic equilibrium was reached within 5 min, and the experimental data were fitted to the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The optimum pH for the adsorption of both metal species was approximately 5.0. The adsorption isotherms were adjusted using the modified Langmuir equation, and the maximum amount of metal species extracted from the solution was determined to be 0.213 mmol g⁻¹ for Cu(II) and 0.215 mmol g⁻¹ for Cd(II), with high linear correlation coefficients for both metals. Persimmon leaves are typically abundant during the growing season, and because they are seasonal, the Diospyros kaki L.f. tree undergoes the natural process of leaf abscission, ensuring the availability of leaves for application. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Separation Process through Adsorption for Sustainable Utilization of Bioresources)

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14 pages, 1236 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Microalgae Biomass Harvesting Using Chitosan Flocculant: Optimization of Operating Parameters by Response Surface Methodology

by Harun Elcik, Dogan Karadag, Ayse Irem Kara and Mehmet Cakmakci

Separations 2023, 10(9), 507; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations10090507 - 15 Sep 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1358

Abstract

Bioflocculants can be used for cost-effective harvesting of microalgae biomass on an industrial scale. This study investigates the flocculation-based harvesting approach to recovering Chlorella vulgaris microalgae biomass using chitosan biopolymer. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to design the experiments and optimize the critical operating parameters. Box-Behnken Design (BBD) was employed at three levels, and 17 experimental runs were conducted to determine the optimal conditions and the relationship between operating parameters. The highest biomass recovery of 99.10% was achieved at the following optimized conditions: pH of 5, flocculation time of 45 min, and chitosan concentration of 10 mg/L. Both experimental results and model outputs indicated that pH significantly impacts microalgae harvesting and that process performance is less dependent on chitosan concentration and flocculation time. The quadratic model has shown the best fit with the experimental results. The results could be applied to large-scale microalgae harvesting applications to promote microalgae biomass recovery and reduce operating costs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Separation Process through Adsorption for Sustainable Utilization of Bioresources)

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Graphical abstract

14 pages, 3491 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Adsorption of Chromium (VI) from Aqueous Solution Using Palm Leaf-Derived Biochar: Kinetic and Isothermal Studies

by Samah Daffalla

Separations 2023, 10(4), 260; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations10040260 - 17 Apr 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1532

Abstract

In this study, biochar produced by low-temperature pyrolysis from palm leaves was treated with phosphoric acid in order to increase the sorption efficiency of Cr (VI) from aqueous solutions. Numerous characterization experiments using BET surface area, FE-SEM and FT-IR showed that the phosphoric acid-treated biochar (TBC-P) was covered with P particles. In comparison to the palm leaves and biochar, the TBC-P also had more surface oxygenated functional groups, surface area, pore size and internal structure. FTIR analysis showed that the functional groups of pretreated biochar were similar to those of biochar. Batch adsorption experiments showed that the TBC-P had a strong sorption ability to Cr (VI), with the highest removal efficiency of 99% at a low pH value of 2.0, which was significantly higher than that of the untreated biochar. The kinetic study has shown that the mechanism of the reaction was well represented by the second-order model, while isotherm data were well presented by the Langmuir model. The TBC-P was successfully regenerated using a 0.1 M HCl solution. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Separation Process through Adsorption for Sustainable Utilization of Bioresources)

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12 pages, 883 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Adsorption of Fatty Acid Methyl Ester Derived from Squid Liver Lipid onto Silica Gel Adsorbent

by Hideo Maruyama, Akito Furukawa and Hideshi Seki

Separations 2023, 10(4), 244; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations10040244 - 06 Apr 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1217

Abstract

The purpose of this study is the effective utilization of fisheries waste, squid liver, as a raw material of biodiesel. To obtain biodiesel from squid liver, extracted fatty acids are esterified with methyl alcohol. As the product of the esterification contains many by-products, the target product, fatty acid methyl ester of squid liver (SFAME), must be recovered from the products. SFAME is divided into three groups, which are saturated (SF), monounsaturated (MF), and polyunsaturated (PF) fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs), based on the number of double bonds. In this study, the recovery of SFAME from the product of esterification through adsorption (i.e., dry washing) was investigated. Especially, the effect of solvents, toluene, and methyl alcohol on the recovery efficiency of SFAME using silica gel as an adsorbent was the focus. The competitive adsorption model successfully explained the present adsorption system, and the equilibrium adsorption constants and the saturated adsorption density could be determined by the model analysis. The equilibrium adsorption constant of PF was the largest among the SFAME (PF > MF > SF), and this order could correspond to the values of their dielectric constants. Methanol greatly affected the adsorption behavior of SFAME due to the fact of its hydrophilicity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Separation Process through Adsorption for Sustainable Utilization of Bioresources)

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Review

Jump to: Research

12 pages, 6404 KiB

Open AccessReview

Self-Driven Sustainable Oil Separation from Water Surfaces by Biomimetic Adsorbing and Transporting Materials

by Leonie Beek, Wilhelm Barthlott, Matthias Mail, Kai Klopp and Thomas Gries

Separations 2023, 10(12), 592; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations10120592 - 04 Dec 2023

Viewed by 1895

Abstract

Oil films on water are an increasingly major contamination problem worldwide. In 2020, we published a novel adsorption and transportation technology for oil–water separation based on biological role models like the floating fern Salvinia. This application provides an unexpected ability for the fast and efficient removal of oil films, particularly in ecologically important freshwater biota. A single small Bionic Oil Adsorber (BOA) with 1 m² functional textile can collect up to 4 L of oil per hour, which equals about 100 m² of oil film from a water surface into a collecting vessel. This is a safe, fast, and sustainable solution for the ubiquitous contaminations of, e.g., fuel oil in freshwater environments. Here, we present updated, new experimental data, and a review of the literature published since. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Separation Process through Adsorption for Sustainable Utilization of Bioresources)

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