Dr. Cabezas-Cornejo, René

This study introduces a novel approach to separate succinic acid (SA) from fermentation mixtures using an asymmetric membrane based on the gelation of the ionic liquid [P6,6,6,14][PHOS] coated with two layers of cellulose acetate. The membrane was designed to explore the synergistic effect of polymer-ionic liquid interfaces according to the solution-diffusion theory. The gelation of the ionic liquid was achieved using 12-hydroxystearic acid at a concentration of 1.5%, allowing the use of ionic liquid gels as new materials for the generation of membranes. The perstraction performance of the membrane was evaluated over 5 h at two different temperatures (25◦C and 37◦C), with an initial feed solution concentration of 50 kg m− 3 for SA and glycerol and pure water as a receiving phase., Several flow rates and phase-volume ratios were studied anda mass transfer model based on the resistance-in-series theory was assessed to understand the behavior of each mass transfer stage considering the distribution in each interphase. Interestingly, optimal perstraction results were obtained at 37◦C, with an average transmembrane flux of 0.22 kg m-2h− 1 for SA, an extraction percentage of 43.1% for SA and 0.7% for glycerol, and a SA/glycerol selectivity of 54.98. Besides presenting a novel composite membrane, this study reports pioneering perstraction outcomes, highlighting its potential as an innovative SA separation strategy and structured new materials for selective extractions.

Deep Eutectic Solvent(DES) and specifically Hydrophobic Deep Eutectic Solvents (HDES) are considered a relatively novel class of solvents, which show good features to include them in pervaporation membranes. Polymer inclusion HDES membranes offer a separation media, which shows a faster molecular diffusion than polymeric membranes, combining the best properties of liquid and polymer membranes, such a high selectivity with high burst pressure and durability. The aim of this work focuses on the development of different PEBAX/ lidocaine-thymol [2:1] (Lidol HDES) membranes by the temperature-induced phase-inversion technique to be used in the pervaporation process to recover butanol from ABE model solution. The mass transfer modeling through the membrane using the resistances-in-series approach was implemented to find the mass transfer resistance distribution. The polymer inclusion membranes showed improved results for the butanol/water selectivity compared to the single PEBAX membrane used as a reference. The flux of butanol obtained with the 30 % w/w Lidol HDES membrane was 0.112 kg m− 2 hr− 1. The flux of water was 0.445 kg m− 2 hr− 1 showing a selectivity value for butanol/water of 20 % bigger than single PEBAX membrane. The improvement in the selectivity can be explained by the synergic effect of the HDES in the membrane. After use, the polymer inclusion membrane consistently demonstrated a stable performance in effectively separating butanol from the ABE solution. It was seen that the overall resistance decreases as the liquid flow rate increases; regarding the liquid side resistance, it becomes important at smaller flow rates and is almost negligible for turbulent regimen.

Cobalt (Co) stands out as one of the most critical metals in contemporary use, particularly due to its increasing demand in technological products and especially in electromobility. Over the years, ionic liquids (ILs) have provided a green alternative to volatile organic solvents in hydrometallurgy due to their outstanding properties, such as the negligible vapor pressure and their increased selectivity provided in separation processes, which opens the possibility to ramp up the Co-production while maintaining sustainable mining processes. Thus, this review offers a complete comprehensive and critical summary of published works on the use of ILs in the hydrometallurgy of Co, starting from the leaching from a primary source by conventional methods and then, from the pregnant leach solution (PLS) focuses on the advantages and disadvantages of solvent extraction (SX) in different aqueous media (chlorinated, nitrated, and sulfated) in which ILs are used to separate selectively Co from a multi-metal mixture. In the following section, its recovery from the loaded organic phase by acid stripping is discussed. Finally, this review provides the challenges that ILs should overcome to be viable for large-scale industrial applications and the opportunities that exhibit for selective recovery of Co from PLS capitalizing.

With the target of fabricating healthier products, food manufacturing companies look for natural-based nutraceuticals that can potentially improve the physicochemical properties of food systems while being nutritive to the consumer and providing additional health benefits (biological activities). In this regard, Mangiferin joins all these requirements as a potential nutraceutical, which is typically contained in Mangifera indica products and its by-products. Unfortunately, knowing the complex chemical composition of Mango and its by-products, the extraction and purification of Mangiferin remains a challenge. Therefore, this comprehensive review revises the main strategies proposed by scientists for the extraction and purification of Mangiferin. Importantly, this review identifies that there is no report reviewing and criticizing the literature in this field so far. Our attention has been targeted on the timely findings on the primary extraction techniques and the relevant insights into isolation and purification. Our discussion has emphasized the advantages and limitations of the proposed strategies, including solvents, extracting conditions and key interactions with the target xanthone. Additionally, we report the current research gaps in the field after analyzing the literature, as well as some examples of functional food products containing Mangiferin.

Suture materials based on poly (lactic acid) (PLA) were developed by means of two different methods: extrusion and electrospinning, which were followed by a supercritical CO2 impregnation treatment. Both suture materials obtained by these techniques were impregnated with naproxen and ibuprofen using supercritical CO2 as impregnation medium. The impregnation assays were carried out at two different pressures (12 and 15 MPa), a temperature of 40 °C and, a depressurization rate of 1 MPa/min. Depending on the drugs incorporated into the suture materials, the concentrations varied from 5.60 to 26.73 wt%. The addition of both drugs and, the preparation process itself caused different changes in the structural and thermal properties of the final suture materials. Finally, tests to quantify the kinetic release of both drugs were carried out in vitro by using a Franz diffusion cell, obtaining the concentration profiles of delivered compounds as a function of the time.

In this work, a study on the selective solvent extraction (SX) of molybdenum (Mo) and rhenium (Re) from a synthetic pregnant leach solution (PLS) has been carried out using nine different hydrophobic eutectic solvents (HES). Experiments were carried out using pure HES to evaluate the selective extraction and the subsequent stripping of these metal ions; then, the best HES was dissolved in kerosene to study the SX stoichiometry. Results indicated that only TOPO-based and N8881-Cl-based HES did not form emulsions, third phases or precipitates. These HES achieved a selective extraction because these obtained almost a 100% extraction towards Mo and Re from the PLS and very low extractions for Copper (Cu) and Iron (Fe) in one equilibrium stage. The stripping experiments showed that 95% of Mo and 22% of Re were stripped out from the loaded TOPO-based HDES, respectively, opening the possibility for the selective stripping of the metal species for further purification. Finally, the extraction stoichiometry was proposed based on an experimental slope analysis and the measurement of cations and anions transferred into the aqueous phase in which HES acts as a neutral extractant in the complexation of the Mo and Re salts. These promising results suggest that HES could be attractive for more sustainable mining industry.

Melissa officinalis L. is a medicinal plant used worldwide for ethno-medical purposes. Today, it is grown everywhere; while it is known to originate from Southern Europe, it is now found around the world, from North America to New Zealand. The biological properties of this medicinal plant are mainly related to its high content of phytochemical (bioactive) compounds, such as flavonoids, polyphenolic compounds, aldehydes, glycosides and terpenes, among many other groups of substances. Among the main biological activities associated with this plant are antimicrobial activity (against fungi and bacteria), and antispasmodic, antioxidant and insomnia properties. Today, this plant is still used by society (as a natural medicine) to alleviate many other illnesses and symptoms. Therefore, in this perspective, we provide an update on the phytochemical profiling analysis of this plant, as well as the relationships of specific biological and pharmacological effects of specific phytochemicals. Currently, among the organic solvents, ethanol reveals the highest effectiveness for the solvent extraction of precious components (mainly rosmarinic acid). Additionally, our attention is devoted to current developments in the extraction and fractionation of the phytochemicals of M. officinalis, highlighting the ongoing progress of the main strategies that the research community has employed. Finally, after analyzing the literature, we suggest potential perspectives in the field of sustainable extraction and purification of the phytochemical present in the plant. For instance, some research gaps concern the application of cavitation-assisted extraction processes, which can effectively enhance mass transfer while reducing the particle size of the extracted material in situ. Meanwhile, membrane-assisted processes could be useful in the fractionation and purification of obtained extracts. On the other hand, further studies should include the application of ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents (DES), including DESs of natural origin (NADES) and hydrophobic DESs (hDES), as extraction or fractionating solvents, along with new possibilities for effective extraction related to DESs formed in situ, assisted by mechanical mixing (mechanochemistry-based approach).

The selective removal of butanol from a fermentation broth continues to be a challenge for the generation of alternative biofuels. In this work, a continuous extraction of a model acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) solution, using a perstraction membrane system with ionic liquid [omim][Tf2N] as extractant phase coupled to a vacuum extraction system of the extractant phase has been studied. Perstraction assays were carried out using a tubular polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membrane to quantify the extraction percentage and transmembrane fluxes of butanol, acetone, ethanol, and water. The results indicate that the transmembrane fluxes of butanol were particularly high considering that the PDMS membrane used in the experiments was relatively thick (3.175 mm). The highest average flux of butanol was obtained at 37 °C using [omim][Tf2N] as extractant reaching a value of [kg h−1 m−2] with a separation performance showing a highest butanol/water selectivity value equal to 6.73. The mass transfer model based on the resistance-in-series theory, demonstrated a good correlation to the experimental data verifying that the membrane generates a higher resistance to mass transfer (∼98 %). This perstraction technique combined with the use of ILs could allow to design a wide range of separation processes to purify a large variety of molecules. Additionally, the perstraction process could be considered a good alternative for the selective separation of fermentation or reaction products with high commercial value.

Aqueous and ethanolic extracts of tomato pomace were examined with the aim of optimizing the extraction process of compounds with cardioprotective activity. Once the results of the ORAC response variables, total polyphenols, ◦Brix, and antiplatelet activity of the extracts were obtained, a multivariate statistical analysis was performed using the Statgraphics Centurion XIX software. This analysis showed that the most relevant positive effects in the inhibition of platelet aggregation were 83 ± 2% when using the agonist TRAP-6, when the working conditions were the type of tomato pomace conditioning (drum-drying process at 115 ◦C), phase ratio (1/8), type of solvent (ethanol 20%), and type of extraction (ultrasound-assisted solid–liquid extraction). The extracts with the best results were microencapsulated and characterized by HPLC. The presence of chlorogenic acid (0.729 mg/mg of dry sample) was found, a compound that has a potential cardioprotective effect documented in various studies, in addition to rutin (2.747 mg/mg of dry sample) and quercetin (0.255 mg/mg of dry sample). These results show that the extraction efficiency of compounds with cardioprotective activity depends largely on the polarity of the solvent, thus playing an important role in the antioxidant capacity of the extracts of tomato pomace.

The dehydration of fructose to selectively produce 5‐HMF was catalytically developed in a new type of ionic liquids based on triazoles supported on alumina (Al2O3). The synthesis of triazoles by 1,3‐dipolar cycloaddition allows for creating a tailor‐made triazole, that was eventually used to design catalysts based on triazolium‐based ionic liquids. In this work, four catalysts based on triazolium‐ionic liquids supported on Al2O3 were synthesized to produce 5‐HMF from fructose in DMSO as the reaction solvent. According to their molecular structure, the catalysts were tagged as TR1/Al2O3, TR1‐HSO4/Al2O3, TR2/Al2O3, and TR2‐HSO4/Al2O3.