Environmental Friendly Process Research Articles

Enhancing D-lactic acid production by optimizing the expression of D-LDH gene in methylotrophic yeast Komagataella phaffii

BackgroundCurrently, efficient technologies producing useful chemicals from alternative carbon resources, such as methanol, to replace petroleum are in demand. The methanol-utilizing yeast, Komagataella phaffii, is a promising microorganism to produce chemicals from methanol using environment-friendly microbial processes. In this study, to achieve efficient D-lactic acid production from methanol, we investigated a combination of D-lactate dehydrogenase (D-LDH) genes and promoters in K. phaffii. The yeast strain was constructed by integrating a gene cassette containing the identified gene and promoter into the rDNA locus of K. phaffii, followed by post-transformational gene amplification. Subsequently, D-lactic acid production from methanol was evaluated.ResultsAmong the five D-LDH genes and eight promoters tested, the combination of LlDLDH derived from Leuconostoc lactis and CAT1 and FLD1 promoters was suitable for expression in K. phaffii. GS115_CFL/Z3/04, the best-engineered strain constructed via integration of LlDLDH linked to CAT1 and FLD1 promoters into the rDNA locus and post-transformational gene amplification, produced 5.18 g/L D-lactic acid from methanol. To the best of our knowledge, the amount of D-lactic acid from methanol produced by this engineered yeast is the highest reported value to date when utilizing methanol as the sole carbon source.ConclusionsThis study demonstrated the effectiveness of combining different enzyme genes and promoters using multiple promoters with different induction and repression conditions, integrating the genes into the rDNA locus, and further amplifying the genes after transformation in K. phaffii. Using our established method, other K. phaffii strains can be engineered to produce various useful chemicals in the future.

The Structural Profiling Method for Diagnosis of High Performance for LiFePO4 Cathode Materials Synthesized By Environmentally-Friendly Method with Low Cost Resources

Over the past decade, commercialization technologies for olivine-structured LiFePO4 (LFP) cathode materials have been developed primarily in China, with solid-state synthesis methods based on iron phosphate dominating the market. However, there are numerous need prompting more environmentally-friendly process overcoming the production of iron phosphate precursor through co-precipitation processes leading to significant waste generation and environmental pollution issues. In this regard, a solid-state reaction process using iron oxide and lithium phosphate was developed to address this concern. High-purity iron oxide derived from the waste solution generated during the pickling process at steel plants and lithium phosphate produced by POSCO's process in Argentina were utilized in the synthesis of high-performance lithium iron phosphate. LFP cathode material was synthesized through a solid-state reaction and spray drying process, involving two rounds of annealing, resulting in an initial discharge capacity of over 160mAh/g at 0.1C and over 140mAh/g at 1C, along with excellent cycle life performance. In addition, it is also matter how the intermediate product after 1st annealing makes an effect on the performance of final product. Therefore, this research aims to introduce the method of manufacturing lithium iron phosphate and development results from a commercialization perspective, as well as structural profiling method about the product after 1st annealing process in relation with performances of final product after 2nd annealing process using synchrotron-based X-ray tool.

Green and economical transesterification of castor oil for biodiesel production via a novel bentonite based Li2SiO3-LiAlO2 composite: Process technology & production feasibility

In our work, a highly efficient Li2SiO3-LiAlO2 composite was designed via a simple solid-state reaction using bentonite as raw material and successfully applied to the transesterification of castor oil with methanol for biodiesel production. The preparation processes for the bentonite-based Li2SiO3-LiAlO2 composite (Li/Bent) were optimized, and the prepared Li/Bent catalyst was characterized using a variety of experimental techniques. The maximum oil conversion to biodiesel of 97.16 % was obtained under reaction temperature of 65 °C, reaction time of 90 min, catalyst amount of 4 wt%, and methanol/oil molar ratio of 15:1. The possible mechanisms of the reaction process were revealed. The preliminary analysis of technical feasibility for the production showed that the production of castor oil biodiesel catalyzed by Li/Bent had competitive advantages in terms of market demand, industrial policy, process technology, environmental impact and economic benefits. The high efficiency and good stability of the catalyst reflect the technical advantages of the process. According to the study of environmental factor and process mass index, the synthesis process of biodiesel generated low waste, which was a green and environment-friendly process. Finally, the economic evaluation showed that the biodiesel production from castor oil catalyzed by Li/Bent catalyst was a cost-effective and low risk process.

Stretchable Composite Films Are Prepared by Using Cellulose Pulp with Differential Substitution of Carboxymethyl Cellulose and Thymol with an Infrared Heating Process for Packaging Application.

Herein, cellulose pulp (CP), carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), and thymol-based eco-friendly, transparent, and flexible composite films are prepared. These materials dissolved well in an environment-friendly process in N-methyl morpholine N-oxide (NMMO) ionic liquids using infrared heating. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses are used to study the structure, microstructure, and morphology of the composite films. The thermal properties of the CP/CMC/thymol composites are thoroughly studied by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The thermal stability of the composites (T 5%-57.8-91.2 °C and T 10%-216.6-284.1 °C) significantly improves following the CMC addition. In each case, all the composite film exhibits unique T g (140.5-143.1 °C) values, as confirmed by DSC. The tensile strength of the cellulose pulp is 66.5 MPa, increasing to 78.4 MPa for the CP/CMC-1:0.5 composites and steadily increasing to 93.8 MPa with increasing CMC content. Similarly, CMC increases the EB of cellulose pulp from 9.3 to 7.4%. The water vapor permeability and swelling ratio values of the CP/CMC/thymol composites are in the range of 1.9-2.11 × 10-9 g/(m2·Pa·s) and 52.5-50.8° respectively. The CP, CMC, and thymol-based composite do not exhibit cytotoxicity to the aneuploid immortal keratinocyte cell line and demonstrate excellent antioxidant properties, for promising packaging and biomedical applications.

Assessment and monitoring of leather effluent discharge from Dewas and Ranipet and their computational approach.

The swift pace of industrialization, urbanization, and burgeoning populations propel the surge in demand for manufactured goods and infrastructure. The wastewater produced during leather processing comprises a cocktail of organic and inorganic chemical contaminants that have the potential to affect the environment. This study focuses on conducting a comparative physico-chemical, analytical,in vitro, and in silicotoxicity assessment and monitoring of leather effluent discharged from two different areas, namely, Dewas and Ranipet. The physicochemical analysis of collected effluents revealed higher levels of biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, total dissolved solids, total suspended solids, and heavy metals than the permissible limit fixed by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The X-ray powder diffraction analysis of both samples identified the existence of crystalline and amorphous phases. The functional composition of compounds was identified through the analysis of Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, which revealed the existence of C-H, O-H, N-H, C = O, C=C, and C≡C stretching vibrations. A variety of compound derivatives, including amines, organic acids, organometallic compounds, alcohols, hydrocarbons, esters, aldehydes, ketones, aromatic, and organogermanium, were identified by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry. An assessment and monitoring of the phytotoxicity of effluent on the germination of Vigna radiata seeds reveals that (100%) of both Dewas and Ranipet leather effluents inhibited seed germination by 33.34% and 100%. The incorporation of Absorption-Distribution-Metabolism-Excretion-Toxicity (ADMET) analysis improved comprehension of the toxicity profiles of the GC-MS-identified compounds. Moreover, the result of docking studies revealed that cytochrome P450 showed the highest binding affinity towards 1,3-benzodioxol-2-one, hexahydro-cis with an affinity score of - 7.1kcal/mol. The overall research revealed that the leather effluents from Dewas and Ranipet exhibit significant toxicity, highlighting the necessity of better wastewater management. In the future, innovative treatment methods and environmental friendly processes can be developed to minimize the detrimental effects of leather effluents.

Asymmetric lithium supercapacitors with solid-state hybrid electrolytes containing zeolite particle and water-soluble polymer

Here we demonstrate that high-performance solid-state hybrid electrolytes are prepared via environment-friendly water-based processes of zeolite Y (Zy) particle, branched-poly(ethylene imine) (bPEI), and lithium hydroxide (LiOH). The hybrid Zy:bPEI:LiOH electrolytes (ZyPL) were successfully applied to fabricate asymmetric-type lithium supercapacitors consisting of graphite-based active electrodes and indium-tin-oxide (ITO) counter electrodes. Results showed that the ion conductivity of electrolytes was greatly dependent on the Zy content and reached the highest value (ca. 0.28 mS/cm) at Zy = 30 wt% due to the formation of interfacial ion transport channels between Zy particles and bPEI chains. The galvanostatic charging/discharging (GCD) test revealed that the ZyPL supercapacitors could deliver the highest potential of 2.28 V at Zy = 30 wt% compared to 1.86 V at Zy = 0 wt%. In particular, the ZyPL supercapacitors, after charging at 0.1 mA/g, exhibited a long-lasting high-potential level of > 1.0 V at Zy = 30 wt% compared to 0.5 V at Zy = 0 wt%. The long-term GCD cycle test disclosed that the ZyPL supercapacitors could work stably with a capacitance retention of 91.7 % even after 3000 cycles. The series connection of six ZyPL supercapacitors delivered ca. 10.94 V with consistent charging/discharging characteristics.

Fabrication of Nanobioengineered Interfaces Utilizing Quaternary Nanocomposite for Highly Efficient and Selective Electrochemical Biosensing of Urea.

Nanobioengineered interfaces have gained attention owing to their small size and high surface area-to-volume ratio for utilization as a platform for highly selective and sensitive biosensing applications owing to the integration of biological molecules with engineered nanomaterials/nanocomposites. In this work, a novel Ag-complex, [(PPh3)2Ag(SCOf)]-based quaternary Ag-S-Zn-O nanocomposites (NCs), was synthesized through an environmentally-friendly process. The results revealed the formation of the NCs with an average crystallite size and particle size of 36.08 and 40.22 nm, respectively. In addition, this is the first study to utilize such NCs synthesized via a single-source precursor method, offering enhanced sensor performance due to their unique structural properties. Further, these NCs were used to fabricate a urease (Ur)/Ag-S-Zn-O NCs/ITO nanobioengineered electrode for precise and sensitive electrochemical biosensing of urea. The interfacial kinetic studies revealed quasi-reversible processes with high electron transfer rates and linear current responses, indicating efficient reaction dynamics. A high diffusion coefficient and low surface concentration suggested a fast diffusion-controlled process, affirming the electrode's potential for rapid and sensitive urea detection. The biosensor demonstrated notable sensing properties such as high sensitivity (12.56 μA mM-1 cm-2) and a low detection limit (0.54 mM). The fabricated bioelectrode was highly selective and reproducible and demonstrated stability for up to 60 days. These results validate the potential of this nanobioengineered interface for next-generation biosensing applications, paving the way for advanced point-of-care diagnostics and real-time health monitoring.

Self-dispersion of photocatalysts at oil-water interface accelerates H2O2 production and separation

Enhancing the efficiency of photocatalytic charge transfer for H2O2 production and in situ separation of H2O2 from aqueous suspension are crucial, especially when sacrificial agents are involved, for the advancement of this environmental-friendly process. In this study, we propose that the production and separation of H2O2 can be significantly enhanced at a self-assembled tri-phase system (water/photocatalyst/benzyl alcohol) compared to the suspension system. To prove this, we have employed titania nanotube (TNT) as a representative photocatalyst with efficient oxygen adsorption and modified it with organic ligand (octadecyl phosphate, OPA) and nickel species to modulate its hydrophobicity and dispersity at the interface, resulting in improved H2O2 yield. The modified TNT photocatalyst demonstrates efficient H2O2 production reaching a concentration of 5.1 mM after 75 mins under optimized conditions and an initial rate of 7500 μmol/g/h within first 6 h that even exceeding reported noble metals modified TiO2 photocatalysts. This enhanced activity is attributed to multiple effects including homogeneous dispersion of photocatalyst at the oil-water interface, efficient O2 adsorption and transfer, separated redox reactions at different phases, timely diffusion of H2O2 into bulk aqueous solution, and potential solvent-induced polarization effect on charge transfer, which result from the special oil-water interface that stabilizing photocatalysts and inducing photocatalytic O2 reduction. As proof-of-concept demonstrations show successful photosynthesis of H2O2 using natural solar light followed by utilizing the generated pure H2O2 solution for bacteria inactivation, indicating that interfacial photocatalytic systems offer promising potential for green H2O2 synthesis and application.

Novel Environment-Friendly Spherical Agglomeration Process Designed by Crystal Self-Bridging Mechanism: A Case Study of Myo-Inositol

Novel Environment-Friendly Spherical Agglomeration Process Designed by Crystal Self-Bridging Mechanism: A Case Study of <i>Myo</i>-Inositol

Development of Catalytic Organic Transformations Using Carbon Dioxide toward Environmentally-Friendly Process

Development of Catalytic Organic Transformations Using Carbon Dioxide toward Environmentally-Friendly Process

Greening the supply chain: Sustainable approaches for rare earth element recovery from neodymium iron boron magnet waste

The increasing demand for modern technologies has led to a growing reliance on rare earth elements (REEs). To address this issue, recycling used products such as permanent magnet waste containing REEs. However, this approach necessitates the development of advanced extraction and separation techniques to ensure high yields and purity of the REEs extracted. This review provides an overview of the latest extraction and separation technologies, with a particular focus on the hydrometallurgical approach for extracting REEs from secondary sources, notably permanent magnets. Hydrometallurgy, which involves leaching followed by solvent extraction for purification, has gained widespread use for obtaining REEs from secondary sources, as evidenced by its reported high recovery efficiencies. We found that the recovery of REEs using chemical leaching varied between 80% and 99%, influenced by factors such as type of source material, leaching solvent, leaching conditions, impurities, reaction kinetics and solid-liquid ratio. However, effectively employing this process on a larger scale still faces certain challenges due to the excessive use of corrosive solvents for leaching magnet waste and the generation of toxic chemicals as end products in the form of leachate. Additionally, the current process exhibits deficiencies in the targeted recovery of REEs from magnet waste, specifically in achieving purity and selectivity by eliminating iron impurities. This article concludes that the future prospects for the selective recovery of REEs from neodymium iron boron magnet waste lie in green and environment-friendly solvents. One such approach revolves around the utilization of biodegradable organic acids and salt aqua regia for leaching. These solvents are less corrosive and have high dissolution efficiency, which results in less chemical consumption and an overall environment-friendly and cost-effective recovery process.

Porous Organic Polymers for Efficient and Selective SO2 Capture from CO2-rich Flue Gas.

The quest for effective technologies to reduce SO2 pollution is crucial due to its adverse effects on the environment and human health. Markedly, removing a ppm level of SO2 from CO2-containing waste gas is a persistent challenge, and current technologies suffer from low SO2/CO2 selectivity and energy-intensive regeneration processes. Here using the molecular building blocks approach and theoretical calculation, we constructed two porous organic polymers (POPs) encompassing pocket-like structures with exposed imidazole groups, promoting preferential interactions with SO2 from CO2-containing streams. Markedly, the evaluated POPs offer outstanding SO2/CO2 selectivity, high SO2 capacity, and an easy regeneration process, making it one of the best materials for SO2 capture. To gain better structural insights into the notable SO2 selectivity of the POPs, we used dynamic nuclear polarization NMR spectroscopy (DNP) and molecular modelling to probe the interactions between SO2 and POP adsorbents. The newly developed materials are poised to offer an energy-efficient and environment-friendly SO2 separation process while we are obliged to use fossil fuels for our energy needs.

Epoxidation of Camelina sativa oil methyl esters as a second-generation biofuel with thermodynamic calculations

The epoxidation of methyl esters found in Camelina sativa (CS) non-edible oil — largely containing unsaturated fatty acids — was performed. Epoxides are known to be used in biopolymer formation and CO2 capture. This study distinctively demonstrates epoxidation process through a combination of statistical methods and quantum chemical thermodynamic calculations. Esters produced along with glycerol during transesterification of vegetable oils can be used efficiently through epoxidation. Epoxidation products synthesized at various reaction conditions (including oil refinement) were analyzed through gas chromatography with mass spectrometry. According to the statistical analysis, the reaction time and temperature had the highest effect on the composition of products and oil refining is unnecessary. Moreover, iodine values (ester conversion) were determined without the use of chemicals through Raman spectroscopy. The study findings indicate CS epoxidation to be an environment-friendly process.

Green-process preparation and characterizations of optically transparent, thermally stable and mechanically superior regenerated silk-hyaluronate composite films

High-performance regenerated silk-hyaluronate composite films prepared by an environment-friendly process were highly desirable for medical dressing base material. In this study, sericin was removed from silk by steam treatment without using any chemical reagent, and a low concentration solution of Na2CO3 was used as a green process to dissolve silk fibers. Then the obtained silk fibroin was physically blended with sodium hyaluronate to generate optically transparent, thermally stable and mechanically superior regenerated silk-hyaluronate films. The results of structural characterizations and property tests showed that the insoluble silk short fibers prepared by the dissolution of Na2CO3 were dominated by a β-sheet crystalline structure while the soluble silk fibroins by an amorphous structure. Moreover, both insoluble silk short fibers and soluble silk fibroins could form uniform composite films with a low coefficient of thermal expansion after being blended with sodium hyaluronate, which were named as insoluble silk film (ISH) and soluble silk film (SSH), respectively. The tensile strength of ISH could reach 138.8 MPa and SSH reached 153.9 MPa, which were 65.7 % and 30.5 % higher than that of the commercial control insoluble fibroin film (83.8 MPa) and commercial control soluble fibroin film (117.9 MPa), and 173.2 % and 203.0 % higher than that of pure hyaluronate film (50.8 MPa), respectively. Also, ISH and SSH had a modulus higher than 3 GPa. In this study, the low-concentration Na2CO3 method provides a simple and green technique for the preparation of high performance silk-hyaluronate composite materials.

Closed-loop cleaning treatment system — resource recovery of coal gangue

ABSTRACT Coal gangue (CG) is one of the main solid wastes emitted by coal mining. It causes severe damage to the environment. CG contains high levels of valuable elements (Al, Si) and has the potential for utilization and clean disposal. Here, an environment-friendly process for separating valuable components from CG was proposed: the closed-loop system of activation-leach-separation. The results show that the decarbonization rate was close to 100% under the optimum conditions of CG particle size of 0.075 mm to 0.15 mm and activated at 800°C for 120 min. Subsequently, it was transformed into a mixed-acid system with a hydrochloric acid (HCl) concentration of 4.5 mol/L, hydrofluoric acid (HF) volume fraction of 15%, and the liquid-solid ratio of 10:1, which achieved excellent separation efficiency. The residual rate of Al in the solution was only 0.7%, and the extraction rate of Si can reach 71.6%. Further, industrial-grade AlF3 products were also recovered. By adding saturated KCl solution and reacting at 33°C for 15 min, Si was further recovered in K2SiF6, and the yield was 85.83%. Particularly, the leaching solution maintained good extraction efficiency in the subsequent three cycles, the yield of K2SiF6 was 88.29%, confirming the feasibility of the closed-loop system. This treatment embodied the environmental-friendly properties of low acid consumption and low effluent discharge, providing a feasible method for clean treatment and resource utilization of CG.

Environmentally friendly solvent debinding technique of POM binder system for titanium injection molding

An environment-friendly solvent debinding process for polyoxymethylene (POM) for metal injection molding (MIM) is presented as an alternative to the traditional catalytic debinding method. This study investigated the influence of various acid solvents and debinding temperature. The optimal debinding parameters were 5 M nitric acid solution at 60 °C. Based on the calculation of effective diffusivity and activation energy, the solvent-debinding mechanism for POM is proposed. The removal of POM was controlled by three processes: dissolution, diffusion, and chemical reaction. The resulting final titanium parts have a high density of over 95% and an ultimate tensile strength of 406 MPa.

Degradation of antibiotic sulphamethoxazole by application of modified photo-Fenton processes: kinetics, degradation pathways and toxicity

ABSTRACT Degradation of antibiotic sulphamethoxazole (SMX) was studied by applying modified photo-Fenton reactions (MPF) with the novel choice of using sodium tripolyphosphate (STP) and sodium hexametaphosphate (SHP) complexing agents. STP and SHP have a strong ability as complexing agents because they can sequester and complex with different ions. Process optimisation was performed using Doehlert design at pH = 6. This study presented higher performance for MPF using STP and SHP complexing agents than conventional photo-Fenton and H2O2 + UV process. The best yields were associated with the formation of a smaller number of intermediates with high degradation efficiency and low oxidative stress, environment-friendly and promising processes.

Synthesis of biowaste-derived nanostructured material for the nanomolar detection of glucose: Biological sample analysis

Glucose electro-oxidation in an alkaline media was investigated using an electrode composed of carbon paste and sugarcane bagasse activated carbon (SBAC). The SBAC was prepared using an easy, affordable, and environmental friendly process. The porous activated carbon was produced using sugarcane bagasse through a pre-treatment process that involved carbonization at 650 °C and K2CO3. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to observe the formation of carbon crystallites during activation at higher temperatures. The Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum shows functional groups that are present in the carbon material. The carbon sample's morphology was evaluated using scanning electron microscope (SEM). The surface roughness was studied using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Porous activated carbon derived from sugarcane bagasse was carefully mixed into electrode components such as graphite powder and mineral oil for glucose (GLS) detection. For precise GLS detection, the SBACs were employed as non-enzymatic electrochemical sensor probes in their as-prepared condition. According to the electrochemical experiments, the constructed sensor shows exceptional electrochemical performance towards glucose oxidation, including excellent selectivity, a low detection limit, good sensitivity, and a wide linear range. Investigation has been conducted on the oxidation of GLS in alkaline solutions with varying concentrations of halide ions such as iodide and chloride. The GLS oxidation peak current increased the performance of a SBAC modified electrode was compared to that of a bare carbon paste electrode (CPE). The role of sensitivity in minimizing halide poisoning is significant. The risk of poisoning is increased if iodide > chloride. As the modified electrode's voltage changes in a chloride solution containing glucose, the peak current gradually reduces. The redesigned electrode that is currently in use as a consequence not only promotes glucose oxidation but also shows strong resistance to electrode poisoning caused by halides. The sensitive and targeted SBAC/CPE has also improved its reliability while evaluating samples of human serum, urine, and breast milk.

Eco-Friendly Synthesis of Alstonia scholaris (L.) R. Br. Extract-Mediated Nanostructured Material: Removal of Organic Pollutants from Water Resources

In this modern era, pollution of water resources due to industrial waste effluents is an alarming problem as it can cause various health problems in aquatic animals as well as in humans. Among the industrial pollutants, organic dyes are one of the leading chemicals that cause severe damage to the aquatic environment. These harmful organic dyes are practically omnipresent in various types of industries such as textile, tannery, cosmetic, food industries, etc. Photodegradation of these organic dyes is regarded as a promising technology for industrial waste treatment as it is a cost-effective and environment-friendly process. In this study, a nanostructured material of iron has been synthesized using the Alstonia scholaris (L.) R. Br. extract in an easy and eco-friendly way. The potential of this synthesized nanostructured material to act as a photocatalyst, for the degradation of organic dyes, has been explored. Due to its small size and high dispersion, more than 72 % degradation has been achieved within 90 min. A comparative study of its photocatalytic efficiency in different degradation processes has also been performed.

Efficient and selective gold recovery using amine-laden polymeric fibers synthesized by a steric hindrance strategy

Various alkylamines are commonly used for efficient Au recovery; however, their high hydrophilicity can result in dissolution in water, hindering effective Au recovery and potentially causing environmental contamination. Currently, the forms in which alkylamines are immobilized on supports provide unsatisfactory Au recovery capabilities and exhibit low structural stability. This study proposes a pragmatic approach for synthesizing amine-laden polymeric fiber (ALPF) adsorbents with efficient Au recovery capabilities and superior structural stability. Polyacrylonitrile fibers (PANF) were employed as a supportive matrix to immobilize the alkylamine molecules chemically. The densely grafted amine groups on the ALPF adsorbed significant amounts of Au ions and reduced them to Au(0) crystals. This chelation–precipitation hybrid method achieved a Au recovery efficiency of nearly 100 % over a wide pH range of 1–4. In addition, it demonstrated an exceptional Au adsorption capacity of 1463 mg/g, surpassing the values reported for other adsorbents categorized by size and shape. Even in the presence of 14 different coexisting metal ions, the ALPF showed a Au recovery efficiency above 99.9 %. It also exhibited excellent reusability, maintaining a Au recovery rate of ∼91 % after 10 cycles. Furthermore, fibrous adsorbents alleviated the pressure drop in columns filled with adsorbents, thereby enabling energy-efficient and environment-friendly processes.