Recycling of mixed plastic waste via pyrolysis and subsequent steam cracking towards light olefins is a promising solution for the ever-growing plastic waste crisis. However, the pyrolytic recycling pathway is still not established on industrial scale due to the large variety of pyrolysis oil contaminants that hamper the application in (petro-)chemical processes. In short, plastic waste pyrolysis oils are unfeasible for steam crackers without upgrading. In this work, depth filtration for the removal of particulate contamination from a post-consumer mixed polyolefin (MPO) pyrolysis oil was performed using three different filter media with different porosity. Comprehensive analyses using SEM-EDX of the retained particles as well as ICP-OES and GC × GC-FID of the filtered oils allowed to understand the efficacy of filtration. Most of the particulate contamination was removed by filtration leading to a reduction from 69 mg/L in the unfiltered sample to < 2 mg/L in the filtered samples. Particle characterization confirmed that the main contamination is composed of iron, calcium and silicon-based contaminants in combination with carbon-based species. It was confirmed by ICP-OES that after filtration, important contaminants such as nickel, vanadium and lead were reduced below contamination thresholds for steam crackers indicating that filtration is an efficient, and potentially cost-effective upgrading technique for pyrolysis oils. When steam cracking the filtered oils, results show that radiant coil coke formation was reduced by 40–60% compared to the unfiltered oil without changes in product selectivity, confirming the strong impact of particulate contamination on coke formation during steam cracking.

Biomass gasification is a versatile thermochemical process that can be used for direct energy applications and the production of advanced liquid and gaseous energy carriers. In the present work, the results are presented concerning the H2 production at a high purity grade from biomass feedstocks via steam/oxygen gasification. The data demonstrating such a process chain were collected at an innovative gasification prototype plant coupled to a portable purification system (PPS). The overall integration was designed for gas conditioning and purification to hydrogen. By using almond shells as the biomass feedstock, from a product gas with an average and stable composition of 40%-v H2, 21%-v CO, 35%-v CO2, 2.5%-v CH4, the PPS unit provided a hydrogen stream, with a final concentration of 99.99%-v and a gas yield of 66.4%.

Biomass gasification for energy purposes has several advantages, such as the mitigation of global warming and national energy independency. In the present work, the data from an innovative and intensified steam/oxygen biomass gasification process, integrating a gas filtration step directly inside the reactor, are presented. The produced gas at the outlet of the 1 MWth gasification pilot plant was analysed in terms of its main gaseous products (hydrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and methane) and contaminants. Experimental test sets were carried out at 0.25–0.28 Equivalence Ratio (ER), 0.4–0.5 Steam/Biomass (S/B), and 780–850 °C gasification temperature. Almond shells were selected as biomass feedstock and supplied to the reactor at approximately 120 and 150 kgdry/h. Based on the collected data, the in-vessel filtration system showed a dust removal efficiency higher than 99%-wt. A gas yield of 1.2 Nm3dry/kgdaf and a producer gas with a dry composition of 27–33%v H2, 23–29%v CO, 31–36%v CO2, 9–11%v CH4, and light hydrocarbons lower than 1%v were also observed. Correspondingly, a Low Heating Value (LHV) of 10.3–10.9 MJ/Nm3dry and a cold gas efficiency (CGE) up to 75% were estimated. Overall, the collected data allowed for the assessment of the preliminary performances of the intensified gasification process and provided the data to validate a simulative model developed through Aspen Plus software.

For more than a year the whole world is suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic with no treatment option in sight. Administration of plasma from convalescent donors containing anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, though promising according to case reports, failed to show a clear benefit in a greater number of trials.One reason could be varying and low antibody contents in a majority of plasma units hampering standardization and clinical efficacy. Besides, other plasma components unnecessarily transfused like coagulation factors might promote hypercoagulation seen in severe COVID-19 etiopathology.We therefore hypothesized that instead of collecting whole plasma units, convalescent donors could donate solely immunoglobulins by undergoing immunoadsorption, a mode of therapy regularly applied in autoimmune diseases. Here, we report the results of the first two antibody donations performed at the University Hospital Düsseldorf.In both cases, immunoadsorptions were very well tolerated with no side effects. Collected and neutralized eluates were concentrated using tangential flow filtration increasing the concentration of immunoglobulins 10fold as compared to peripheral blood and leading to probably eight times more neutralizing antibodies than in one plasma unit.Therefore, immunoadsorption can be used as a method of antibody donation. Whether these donated antibodies can be used as passive immunization in acutely infected patients remains to be elucidated.

Background & Aim State of the art research laboratories with activities based on leukocyte recovery or depletion, demand new options to accommodate current testing needs. In this context, the ability to quickly process large number of samples under laboratory conditions requires an optimized product design for leukocyte recovery or depletion. This study evaluates the performance of Pall's sterile Acrodisc® WBC syringe filter by means of red blood cell (RBC) recovery (leukocyte depletion) in the filtrate, as well as white blood cell (WBC) recovery and viability before and after filtration of human whole blood samples. Methods, Results & Conclusion For this, whole human blood samples were collected and preserved using EDTA coated vacutainers, and tested within 36 hours after collection. WBC concentration was determined by flow cytometry before and after filtration of the whole blood samples. This process required a) whole blood analysis, b) flow cytometry sample preparation by whole blood filtration, and c) WBC recovery wash. Results on leukocyte depletion experiments shown over 99% removal of WBC's from the samples in all cases studied. Additionally, the sterile Acrodisc® WBC syringe filter was able to recover about 60 % of WBCs after the backflush step. Obtained viability of WBC on whole blood samples was about 94 %, and on the recovered leukocytes was about 80 %. Results from flow cytometry data on leukocyte depletion and WBC recovery are depicted on Figure 1, and on Figure 2 those corresponding to WBC viability. Pall's sterile Acrodisc® WBC syringe filter is a proven filtration device designed to capture and recover leukocytes for further analysis of WBC's, or alternatively, removal of WBCs to produce leukodepleted blood samples. This is an established tool for processing up to 12 mL of whole blood samples in research laboratories equipping scientists with a simple and efficient method to isolate or remove white blood cells. State of the art research laboratories with activities based on leukocyte recovery or depletion, demand new options to accommodate current testing needs. In this context, the ability to quickly process large number of samples under laboratory conditions requires an optimized product design for leukocyte recovery or depletion. This study evaluates the performance of Pall's sterile Acrodisc® WBC syringe filter by means of red blood cell (RBC) recovery (leukocyte depletion) in the filtrate, as well as white blood cell (WBC) recovery and viability before and after filtration of human whole blood samples. For this, whole human blood samples were collected and preserved using EDTA coated vacutainers, and tested within 36 hours after collection. WBC concentration was determined by flow cytometry before and after filtration of the whole blood samples. This process required a) whole blood analysis, b) flow cytometry sample preparation by whole blood filtration, and c) WBC recovery wash.

In-line filtration is increasingly used in critically-ill infants but its benefits, by preventing micro-particle infusion in very preterm neonates, remain to be demonstrated. We conducted a randomized controlled trial among very preterm infants allocated to receive either in-line filtration of all the intra-venous lines or standard care without filters. The primary outcome was differences greater than 20% in the median changes in pro-inflammatory cytokine serum concentrations measured at day 3 and day 8 (+/−1) using a Luminex multianalytic profiling technique. Major neonatal complications were analyzed as secondary predefined outcomes. We randomized 146 infants, assigned to filter (n = 73) or control (n = 73) group. Difference over 20% in pro-inflammatory cytokine concentration between day 3 and day 8 was not found statistically different between the two groups, both in intent-to-treat (with imputation) and per protocol (without imputation) analyses. The incidences of most of neonatal complications were found to be similar. Hence, this trial did not evidence a beneficial effect of in-line filtration in very preterm infants on the inflammatory response syndrome and neonatal morbidities. These data should be interpreted according to local standards in infusion preparation and central line management.

Activated protein C (APC) is a critical regulator of thrombin formation and thereby protects against thrombosis. On the other hand, overwhelming formation of APC increases the risk of bleeding such as in trauma-induced coagulopathy. Thus, pharmacological inhibition of APC activity may improve blood clottability in certain clinical situations. In this study, we demonstrate that the DNA aptamer HS02-52G binds with fast onset (1.118 ± 0.013 × 105 M-1 s-1) to APC and possesses a long residence time of 13.5 min within the aptamer-APC complex. Functional analysis revealed HS02-52G as a highly potent and specific inhibitor of APC in plasma and whole blood with IC50 values ≤30 nM, whose activity can be readily neutralized by the short complementary DNA molecule AD22. These features qualify the novel aptamer-antidote pair as a candidate treatment option for acute APC-related bleedings.

Ultrafiltration is applied to remove particles, colloids and large macromolecules from ultrapure water for semiconductor device manufacturing. Early detection of leaks, pinholes and fiber breaks in membrane modules is an essential prerequisite for this ultimate task and a first step for defect free manufacturing. Particle monitoring alone is not sufficient. Periodic pressure-hold testing enables much higher sensitivity and is an indispensable complementary measure for preventive maintenance.