Reduction In TAC Research Articles

Novel sustainable design of pressure-swing distillation coupled with natural decanting and Organic Rankine Cycle for separating n-propanol/benzene/water mixture

The separation of ternary azeotropic mixtures is a common challenge in the chemical industry due to the unique properties of azeotropes. This phenomenon complicates the separation processes, as traditional distillation methods may not effectively separate the components. The present work introduces a novel pressure-swing distillation (NPSD) process integrated with natural decanting for the effective separation of an n-propanol/benzene/water mixture. By exploiting the liquid–liquid envelope characteristics of the mixture, phase separation prior to distillation significantly enhances the separation efficiency. The NPSD process was optimised using the NSGA-II, addressing economic, environmental, and energetic objectives. Key findings reveal that the implementation of decanting allows the NPSD process to operate without substantial pressure adjustments, thereby facilitating fine separation more efficiently than conventional pressure-swing distillation designs. The proposed NPSD process can achieve up to 25.76 % savings in TAC while reducing CO2 emissions and improving energy efficiency. Furthermore, the integration of mechanical vapour recompression heat pump and Organic Rankine Cycle systems enhances energy saving, resulting in a TAC reduction of up to 31 % and a decrease in CO2 emissions of up to 38 % compared to existing energy-efficient designs. These findings highlight the potential of the NPSD-MVR-ORC system for sustainable chemical separation processes.

Sustainable investigation and process intensification on the separation of ternary organic wastewater with heterogeneous characteristics

The tetrahydrofuran (THF)/water/n-propyl acetate (PROAC) mixture, which is categorized into class 2.0-2b-C, exhibits pressure-sensitive property along with heterogeneous regions in its phase diagram. Conventional pressure-swing distillations with different separation sequences (PSD-PTW, PSD-PWT) and a novel three-column heterogeneous azeotropic pressure-swing distillation (T-HAPSD) are designed to complete the separation. The PSD section of T-HAPSD combines three columns into two columns. The HAD section of T-HAPSD is more energy-efficient owing to the automatic separation in the decanter. T-HAPSD is more economical than conventional pressure-swing distillation. Heat integration and Self-heat recuperation technology (SHRT) are then introduced to reduce energy consumption and costs. Finally, the five processes are evaluated from four aspects (economy, energy, environment and exergy). The best of five processes is T-HAPSD-SHRT with 37.83% reduction in TAC, 51.17% reduction in TEC, 48.83% reduction in gas emissions and 52.63% reduction in exergy destruction when compared with PSD-PTW.

Development of novel hybrid pre-separation/extractive reactive distillation processes for the separation of methanol/methyl acetate/ethyl acetate

The treatment of waste streams is an important research topic for the sustainable development of chemical process. Recently, reactive distillation-based (RD) processes with ethylene oxide hydrolysis have been developed to separate water-containing azeotropic mixtures. To separate Serafimov’s class 2.0–2b mixtures containing methanol/methyl acetate, a methyl acetate transesterification reaction between propylene glycol monomethyl ether is introduced to convert methyl acetate to methanol and coproduce produce propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate as advanced solvents. Three-column reactive-extractive distillation (TCRED) and extractive-reactive distillation (TCERD), and double-column pre-separation-reactive distillation (DCPSRD) processes, are proposed. Then, we use a parallel genetic algorithm to optimize processes to maximize total net revenue. The case study is methanol/methyl acetate/ethyl acetate. Though TCRED is not suitable due to the occurrence of ethyl acetate transesterification reactions, to compare economic performances of three RD-based processes, TCRED is regarded as a pseudo process. The total net revenue of three RD-based processes is relatively larger than (∼20 % increase) that of the conventional extractive distillation process. Compared with TCRED process, TCERD and DCPSRD can achieve $582336 and $1045995 increase in TNR, 27.43 % and 49.99 % TAC reduction, respectively. In summary, proposed RD-based processes are promising to separate Serafimov’s class 2.0–2b mixtures containing methanol/methyl acetate, especially TCRED and DCPSRD.

Doppler ultrasonographic scan, gene expression and serum profile of immune, APPs and antioxidant markers in Egyptian buffalo–cows with clinical endometritis

The objective of this study was to elaborate Doppler ultrasonographic scan, genetic resistance and serum profile of markers associated with endometritis susceptibility in Egyptian buffalo–cows. The enrolled animals were designed as; twenty five apparently healthy buffalo–cows considered as a control group and twenty five infected buffalo with endometritis. There were significant (p < 0.05) increased of cervical diameter, endometrium thickness, uterine horn diameter, TAMEAN, TAMAX and blood flow through middle uterine artery with significant decrease of PI and RI values in endometritis buffalo–cows. Gene expression levels were considerably higher in endometritis-affected buffaloes than in resistant ones for the genes A2M, ADAMTS20, KCNT2, MAP3K4, MAPK14, FKBP5, FCAMR, TLR2, IRAK3, CCl2, EPHA4, and iNOS. The RXFP1, NDUFS5, TGF-β, SOD3, CAT, and GPX genes were expressed at substantially lower levels in endometritis-affected buffaloes. The PCR-DNA sequence verdicts of healthy and affected buffaloes revealed differences in the SNPs in the amplified DNA bases related to endometritis for the investigated genes. However, MAP3K4 elicited a monomorphic pattern. There was a significant decrease of red blood cells (RBCs) count, Hb and packed cell volume (PCV) with neutrophilia, lymphocytosis and monocytosis in endometritis group compared with healthy ones. The serum levels of Hp, SAA, Cp, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α, NO and MDA were significantly (P˂0.05) increased, along with reduction of CAT, GPx, SOD and TAC in buffalo–cows with endometritis compared to healthy ones. The variability of Doppler ultrasonographic scan and studied genes alongside alterations in the serum profile of investigated markers could be a reference guide for limiting buffalo endometritis through selective breeding of natural resistant animals.

Heat utilized pressure swing distillation (PSD) process for the separation of the maximum boiling azeotrope HCl and Water in the Cu-Cl Cycle

The four-step copper-chlorine cycle is utilized for hydrogen production from water. Intermediate copper and chlorine compounds facilitate the process, while all other reactants are regenerated and recycled, forming a closed-loop system. Hydrolysis of CuCl2, leading to the formation of Cu2OCl2 and dilute HCl, is a crucial step that uses a large excess of steam to ensure completion of reaction leading to the formation of dilute hydrochloric acid which needs to be recycled for the electrolysis reaction, requiring removal of the azeotrope between HCl and water. This study explores the utilization of pressure swing distillation (PSD) for concentrating HCl above azeotropic composition. Separation of the aqueous mixture of HCl and water using PSD is optimized using a sequential iterative optimization technique, focusing on process intensification. Integration of a simple heat-utilized FE-Process results in a reduction of TAC and energy cost (4.27% TAC and 7.20% energy cost) compared to the process without heat integration. A higher feed composition of HCl (8 mol %) leads to savings of ∼ 38.75% in TAC and a reduction of 53.06% in CO2 emissions compared to a lower feed composition (2.53 mol % HCl). The heat-utilized FE-Process with a higher feed composition is more economically viable for the separation of HCl and water.

EVALUATION AND STUDY OF PATHO-PHYSIOLOGICAL ROLE OF GLUCOCORTICOID RECEPTOR (GR) LIGANDS IN ACETAMINOPHEN-INDUCED LIVER INJURY IN MICE

Stress elicited by various drugs and psychosocial components is extensively prevalent globally. Glucocorticoid receptors control different features of lipid metabolism and lipoproteins in the liver. Acetaminophen or paracetamol is a broadly used antipyretic and analgesic drug. Overdose of acetaminophen causes centrilobular necrosis and fibrosis by generating oxidative stress. This experimental study was conducted to evaluate alone as well as combined systemic effects of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) ligands, Mifepristone (GR antagonist), and Dexamethasone (GR agonist) on oxidative damage and liver injury induced by acetaminophen. Evaluation of parameters of liver functions showed a substantial increase in AST ALT levels accompanied by elevation in TOS and reduction in TAC in the APAP-induced hepatotoxic group. While the groups that received dexamethasone, RU-486, and Dex+RU-486 as pretreatment significantly decreased the ALT, AST, and TOS levels compared to the toxic group (APAP). The protective effects of glucocorticoid receptor ligands in APAP-induced liver injury were further verified by histopathological examination. However, additional studies are necessary to illustrate the hepato-protective efficacy, safety profile, basic underlying process of protection, and therapeutic applications of glucocorticoid receptor ligands.

Protective Role of Rosa damascena Miller hydroalcoholic extract on Oxidative Stress Parameters and Testis Tissue in Rats Treated with Sodium Arsenite

Regarding the strong antioxidant properties of Rosa damascene extract, this study aimed to investigate the protective role of Rosa damascene Miller hydroalcoholic petal extract on oxidative stress parameters and testis tissue in rats treated with sodium arsenite. To this end, 30 male rats were divided into five groups, including control, positive control (treated with arsenite), and three groups of patients affected by sodium arsenite with 150 mg/kg, 300 mg/kg, and 450 mg/kg Rosa damascene extract for 34 days by gavage. The animals were then anesthetized, and the blood samples were collected from the heart. The left testis was removed for histopathological studies. The findings revealed that Sodium arsenite in the positive group caused a significant reduction in TAC, testosterone, and serum Luteinizing hormone (LH) and a significant increase in serum Malondialdehyde. In addition, there was no statistically significant difference among the groups regarding the amount of Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). Moreover, the consumption of Rosa damascene extract with sodium arsenite caused a significant increase in testosterone, LH, and FSH compared to the positive control group. Histopathological results showed that in the experimental group receiving a dosage of 300 mg/kg b.w and the control group, the number of sperm tubes increased, and the germinal epithelium’s thickness was appropriate. Daily treatment with Rosa damascene extract with a dosage of 300 mg/kg b.w for 34 days could improve the changes caused by sodium arsenite and reduce Malondialdehyde levels. Thus, it seems that Rosa damascene hydroalcoholic extract can effectively improve the male reproductive system’s function.

Immunological and Oxidative Biomarkers in Bovine Serum from Healthy, Clinical, and Sub-Clinical Mastitis Caused by Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus Infection

The study aimed to investigate the mastitis' emerging causative agents and their antimicrobial sensitivity, in addition to the hematological, biochemical indicators, oxidative biomarkers, acute phase protein (APP), and inflammatory cytokine changes in dairy farms in Gamasa, Dakahlia Governorate, Egypt. One hundred Holstein Friesian dairy cattle with clinical and subclinical mastitis were investigated and were allocated into three groups based on a thorough clinical examination. Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were found responsible for the clinical and subclinical mastitis in dairy farms, respectively. Multiple drug resistance (MDR) was detected in 100%, and 94.74% of E. coli and S. aureus isolates, respectively. Significantly low RBCs count, Hb, and PCV values were detected in mastitic cows compared with both subclinical mastitic and control groups; moreover, WBCs, lymphocytes, and neutrophil counts were significantly diminished in mastitic cows compared to the controls. Significantly higher levels of AST, LDH, total protein, and globulin were noticed in both mastitic and subclinical mastitic cows. The haptoglobin, fibrinogen, amyloid A, ceruloplasmin, TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 levels were statistically increased in mastitic cows compared to the controls. Higher MDA levels and reduction of TAC and catalase were identified in all the mastitic cases compared to the controls. Overall, the findings suggested potential public health hazards due to antimicrobial resistance emergence. Meanwhile, the APP and cytokines, along with antioxidant markers can be used as early indicators of mastitis.

Protective effect of hot peppers against amyloid β peptide and brain injury in AlCl3-induced Alzheimer's disease in rats.

This study investigated the therapeutic effect of red hot pepper (Capsicum annuum) methanolic extract in induced Alzheimer's disease using AlCl3 in male rats. Rats were injected with AlCl3 intraperitoneally (IP) daily for two months. Starting from the 2nd month of AlCl3, rats received, in addition, IP treatments with Capsicum extract (25 and 50 mg/kg) or saline. Other groups received only saline or Capsicum extract at 50 mg/kg for two months. Brain levels of reduced glutathione (GSH), nitric oxide (NO), and malondialdehyde (MDA) were determined. Additionally, paraoxonase-1 (PON-1) activity, interleukin-6 (IL-6), Aβ-peptide, and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) concentrations in the brain were measured. Behavioral testing included wire-hanging tests for neuromuscular strength and memory tests such as Y-maze and Morris water maze. Histopathology of the brain was also done. Compared with saline-treated rats, AlCl3 caused significant elevation of brain oxidative stress as GSH level and PON-1 activity were depleted along with MDA and NO level elevation in the brain. There were also significant increases in brain Aβ-peptide, IL-6, and AChE levels. Behavioral testing indicated that AlCl3 decreased neuromuscular strength and impaired memory performance. Capsicum extract given to AlCl3-treated rats significantly alleviated oxidative stress and decreased Aβ-peptide and IL-6 in the brain. It also improved grip strength and memory functioning and prevented neuronal degeneration in the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, and substantia nigra of AlCl3-treated rats. Short-term administration of ASA (50 mg/kg) has adverse effects on male reproductive function in mice. Co-administration of melatonin protects against ASA-induced impairment of male reproductive function by preventing the reduction in serum TAC and testosterone levels seen with ASA treatment alone.

Associations between glutamic acid decarboxylase antibodies, oxidative stress markers, and cognitive capacity in adolescents who stutter

In this study, we amid to evaluate the correlation between the change in the expressed levels of anti-GAD antibodies titers, oxidative stress markers, cytokines markers, and cognitive capacity in adolescents with mild stuttering. Eighty participants (60 male/20 female) with the age range of 10–18 years with moderate stutteringparticipated in this study. To assess the stuttering and cognitive function, stutteringseverity instrument (SSI-4; 4th edit.)and the LOTCA-7 scores assessment were applied respectively in all subjects. In addition, serum GAD antibodies, cytokines like TNF-α, CRP,and IL-6 withtotal antioxidant capacity and nitric oxide as oxidative stress markers were estimated using calorimetry and immunoassay techniques.The results showed that good cognitive capacity was reported in about 56.25 % of the study population (n = 45) with a 117.52 ± 6.3 mean LOTCA-7 score. However, abnormal cognitive function was identified in 43.75 % of the study population (n = 35); they were categorized into moderate (score 62–92, n = 35), and poor (score 31–62; n = 10). There were significant associations between cognitive capacity reported and all biomarkers. The expression of GAD antibodies is significantly associated with the degree of cognitive capacity among students with stuttering. Significant association with the reduction (P = 0.01) in LOTCA-7 score domains, particularly orientation, thinking operations, attention, and concentration among students with variable cognitive capacity compared to controls. In addition, the expressed higher GAD antibodies in students with moderate and poor cognitive capacity showed to be significantly correlated with both elevated concentrations of cytokines; TNF-α, CRP, and IL-6, and the reduction of TAC and nitric oxide (NO) respectively. This study concludes that abnormality of cognitive capacity showed to be associated with higher expression of GAD antibodies, cytokines, and oxidative stress in school students with moderate stuttering.

Clinical, Hematological, and Biochemical Alterations Associated With Early and Late Infection of Lumpy Skin Disease in Cattle in Egypt

This study aimed to investigate clinical, hematological, and biochemical alterations associated with early (during the first week.) and late (after one month) of lumpy skin disease (LSD) infection in cattle infected during an outbreak of LSD in Egypt. Animals which were clinically examined directly after the clinical onset of LSD showed, firm elevated skin nodules that were distributed all over the body, fever (more than 40℃) associated with anorexia, general weakness, reduced milk yield, enlargement of superficial lymph nodes, and edema in the brisket and/or limbs. Examination of the affected animals one month after the disease onset revealed marked weight loss, shrunk of skin nodules and formation of sit fast. There were significant increases in body temperature, pulse and respiratory rate in all animals infected with LSD with significant decrease of ruminal movement compared to control group. DNA extracted from skin samples collected from LSD infected animals showed bands at the expected size (172 base pairs) by partial amplification of viral attachment protein using PCR. Reduced RBCS count, Hb content, HCT, and MCHC values with a significant increase in MCV in all LSD infected cows compared to the control group, while leukogram analysis revealed leucopenia and lymphopenia during the 1st week. Post-infection, however, one month post-infection revealed granulocytic leukocytosis. In addition, all LSD infected cows showed inflammatory thrombocytopenia. Animals during early LSD infection showed significant reduction in total protein, albumin, glucose and TAC and significant increase in ALT, AST, ALP, LDH, CPK, C-troponin-1, total and direct bilirubin, creatinine, K and MDA levels compared to the control group. While animals during late infection showed significant decrease in glucose, ALT, AST, LDH, CPK, C-troponin-1, direct bilirubin, K and MDA levels and significant increase in total protein, albumin and TAC compared to the early infection group. It can be concluded that, LSD infection in cattle revealed critical alterations in some hematological and serum biochemical parameters during both early and late stages of infection with negative impact on different organ functions including skin, muscle, liver, kidney and heart.

Novel energy saving and economic extractive distillation process via integrating two-feed preheating strategy and heat pump vapor recompression

In this article, two-feed preheating strategies and heat pump vapor recompression are used to improve the thermodynamic efficiency and economic performance of extractive distillation. The separation process of methanol and acetone is used as a case study to accomplish this research. We find that two-feed preheating strategies are more efficient and have much less waste heat fraction removed by the condenser than one-feed preheating strategies. In the two-feed method, 3.86% of heat input to feed is removed while 36.86% of heat input to feed is removed by the condenser in one-feed. Two-feed preheating strategies can achieve more TAC reduction (22.28%) and thermodynamic efficiency (7.644%) than one-feed preheating strategies (19.15% /7.056%). The application of vapor recompression further enhances the energy-saving and thermodynamic efficiency of two-feed. In addition, the optimal vapor ratio in two-feed preheating strategies exists. The optimal vapor ratio is 0.7 and in this situation 52.46% improvement in thermodynamic efficiency and 35.15% energy saving can be achieved in comparison with the original extractive distillation process.

Revisiting the binary azeotropic separation containing tetrahydrofuran and ethanol: Design and control of extractive distillation using dimethyl sulfoxide as alternative solvent

This study reexamined the possibility of improving the separation of binary azeotropic mixture containing tetrahydrofuran (THF) and ethanol from previous work (J Chem Technol Biotechnol 2015; 90: 1463–1472) that rely on the extractive distillation (ED) using ethylene glycol (EG) as solvent. Here, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is proposed as an alternative solvent for the ED, and its feasibility is preliminary screened and compared against the usage of EG. The conceptual ED using DMSO is designed by manipulating all the design variables until the minimum product specifications (i.e. purity) are achieved. Then, the conceptual design is further optimised using particle swarm algorithm to obtain the ideal column configuration and the performance is compared against the ED using ethylene glycol (EG) and pressure swing distillation (PSD) (i.e. best process) from previous work based on economic and CO2 emission. Overall, the optimised ED using DMSO provides 36% and 37% lower economic and CO2 emission with respect to the ED using EG. In comparison to PSD (i.e. best process) from previous work, it provides 24% and 25% reduction in TAC and CO2 emission. Lastly, a control structure is developed for the proposed ED using DMSO that can effectively handle ± 10% throughput and ± 5% feed composition disturbances without the need of a composition controller as in the case of previous work.

Towards energy saving and carbon reduction of pressure-swing distillation for separating the ternary azeotropic mixtures by thermodynamic insights and process intensification

The recovery and separation of organic solvents such as tetrahydrofuran (THF), ethanol (EtOH), and methanol (MeOH) are important to protect the environment and save resources. Such ternary mixture has two azeotropes and one distillation boundary that makes separation difficult to be carried out using ordinary distillation technique. In this work, we developed a systematic approach for heat-integration (HI) and vapor recompression heat pump (VRHP) assisted triple-column pressure-swing distillation (TCPSD) for the recovery and separation of these valuable compounds. Firstly, the thermodynamics topological analysis is introduced to evaluate the feasibility of TCPSD for separating the ternary azeotropic mixture THF/EtOH/MeOH. Different separation sequence is determined via the combination of residue curve, component balance line, isovolatility curve, and distillation boundary. Subsequently, the potential application of HI and VRHP technologies is additionally explored for further minimizing the energy consumption and it is found that both process intensification technologies provide significant improvement in terms of economic, environmental impact, and energy efficiency. Relative to the traditional TCPSD, the application of VRHP technology to the TCPSD sequence B, in particular, provides 43.5% and 76.4% reduction in TAC and CO2 emission, respectively, while it improves the energy efficiency 100.4%.

Process evaluation for the separation of acetonitrile-water using extractive distillation with deep eutectic solvents as entrainers

Deep Eutectic Solvents (DESs) show properties that make them effective as environmental-friendly entrainers for extractive distillation. However, the technical and economic evaluation via process simulation and the method of screening a suitable DES for a given azeotropic system are less studied. In this work, the extractive distillation process for acetonitrile dehydration with glycolic acid/choline chloride 3:1 (GC3:1) as entrainer is studied. Firstly, the σ-profiles based on the COSMO-SAC model are employed to select an appropriate DES entrainer. Then, the feasibilities of GC3:1 and ethylene glycol (EG) as entrainer are further studied by the analysis of residue curve maps. Finally, the design and optimization of the extractive distillation process for acetonitrile dehydration with GC3:1 and EG are conducted. The results demonstrate that the conventional extractive distillation process with GC3:1 entrainer gives 13.40% and 9.64% reduction in TAC over the conventional and heat-integrated extractive distillation processes with EG as entrainer, respectively. The TAC of the GC3:1 process is further reduced by 3.14% after heat integration. In addition, the control scheme of the extractive distillation process with GC3:1 entrainer is studied by Aspen Dynamics, and the proposed control structure is effective in managing operational stability.

Synergy of electrification and energy efficiency improvement via vapor recompression heat pump and heat exchanger network to achieve decarbonization of extractive distillation

Considering ongoing energy transition and zero-carbon electricity, distillation processes as end-user sector need to rethink energy use, and eventually substitutes fossil fuel sources by renewable energy sources. Hence, in this article, we design several ensemble configurations for extractive dividing wall column (EDWC) as wide-boiling systems to investigate the role of energy efficiency improvement and electrification based on renewable energy sources in the decarbonization of distillation processes. Vapor recompression heat pumps paly a dual role to achieve decarbonization of distillation process via efficiency improvement and electrification. The intermediate heating methods (i.e., intermediate reboiler, IR and feed evaporator, FPH) can reduce payback times of heat pump via reducing temperature quality of heat source. Heat exchanger network can comprehensively and effectively recovery waste energy to achieve energy efficiency improvement. To achieve complete decarbonization of distillation process, a novel multistage heat pump is proposed by combination of heat exchange network and intermediate heating methods (EDWC-MHP-FPH-IR-HEN). The economic assessment shows the payback period of EDWC-MHP-FPH-IR-HEN is 4.53 years and compared with original EDWC, it achieves only 4.83% TAC reduction and can achieve significant (44.97%)TAC reduction with five-year and ten-year payback period,respectively. This result demonstrates long pay period still impede the complete electrification of distillation and only in long runing period, heat pumps can provide huge economic potential. To improves the economic viability of heat pump, technological innovation such as the decrease in the electricity price from renewable energy resources and policy such as CO2 tax are explored using sensitivity analysis. The result show that CO2 tax is mainly driving force for electrification in distillation. This work can provide insights for the decarbonization of distillation processes via electrification.

Powering the sustainable transition with geothermal energy: A case study on Dominica

Climate change impacts continue to threaten the islands within the Caribbean where guidance on achieving a sustainable energy transition is relatively absent. Thus, we present for the first time, multiple decision criteria utilizing techno-economic and environmental assessments to inform on the hidden benefits of the geothermal rich nation of Dominica. In determining the most sustainable option for Dominica to deploy its geothermal energy capacity, several cases were explored using current and future levelized electricity (LCOE) costs, product annualized costs (TAC) and life cycle assessments (LCA). Our results highlight a 99.5% reduction in national life cycle GHG emissions, coupled with 70% cheaper power by 2030 exploiting 100% geothermal energy. Furthermore, excess energy storage platforms through methanol and ammonia production showed increased financial and environmental benefits in 2030, with a 38% reduction in TAC and avoided burdens as high as 149,000 CO2-eq/year observed. Nevertheless, the most sustainable outcome for Dominica was revealed through energy exportation to neighbouring islands-avoiding up to 2.5 million tonnes CO2-eq/year while producing 20% cheaper dispatchable power. Although this energy transition accompanies high capital investment, our results confirm sustainable operations and illustrate the potential for geothermal activity in supporting clean and affordable energy production across the Eastern Caribbean Region.

Inter-integration reactive distillation with vapor permeation for ethyl levulinate production: Modeling, process analysis and design

The reactive-vapor permeation-distillation (R-VP-D) hybrid configuration is a newly designed inter-integration concept firstly proposed for the production of ethyl levulinate (EL) by esterification of ethanol and levulinic acid in this paper. In the R-VP-D configuration, the VP membrane module is inserted to the reaction section of the reactive distillation (RD) column, of which the product water is in-situ removed by the vapor permeation (VP) to promote the performance of esterification RD process. The proposed R-VP-D configuration is modeled by Aspen Plus V8.4 using the two-dimensional VP model built in ACM®, and the inserting position of single or double VP modules is found by contrast trials, where both the conversion rate and purity of product can reach the industrial production standards. As a result, the proposed novel R-VP-D configuration is feasible, with over 21.6% and 31.4% reduction in TAC and total duty as compared to the configuration which only applies an extra distillation column to separation and recycle the excess ethanol without azeotrope separation, and with 13.5% and 21.5% reduction in TAC and total duty as compared to the hybrid configuration where the vapor permeation is coupled outside the RD column. The result also shows the advantage of the proposed R-VP-D process for potentially leading to the development of new integration processes and applications.

Evaluation of The Role of Buffalo Milk on Acute Toluene Induced Hepatotoxicity and Nephrotoxicity in Adult Male Albino Rats

Toluene is widely used all over the world as a volatile organic compound and manufactured in big amounts for use in various applications including paints, inks, adhesives, varnishes and plastics. Aim of the work: This study was implemented to evaluate the role of buffalo milk in ameliorating toxic effects of toluene in adult male albino rats. Methodology:72 adult male albino rats were used in this study.They were divided into five groups as follow: Group I (negative control) 12 rats received regular diet and water to measure basic parameters.Group II (positive control) 24 rats subdivided into 2 equal groups: Subgroup IIa :12 rats received 1 ml of corn oil . Subgroup IIb : 12 rats received 1ml of distelled water . Group III (pasturalized buffalo milk group (PBM)12 rats received 1ml of buffalo milk .Group IV (toluene group)12 rats received toluene 900mg/kg dissolved in corn oil . Group V (toluene and pasturalized buffalo milk group) 12 rats received toluene 900mg/kg followed by 1ml of buffalo milk for 7 days. At the end of the study, blood samples were collected for estimating (serum ALP, ALT, albumin, creatinine, MDA, TAC). Then livers and kidneys were extracted for histopathological and immunohistochemistry (caspase-3) examination. Results: The result of the study revealed that administration of toluene for 7 days induced significant increase in ALP, ALT, creatinine, serum MDA and significant reduction in serum albumin and TAC. It also induced histopathological alterations in liver and kidney with increased caspase-3 immunoreactivity. Administration of PBM with toluene for 7 days improved toluene induced histopathological alterations in liver and kidney with decreased caspase-3 immunoreactivity. Also, PBM caused significantly beneficial effect on liver and kidney parameters; In addition, it decreased serum MDA level and increased serum TAC. Conclusion: Buffalo milk has partial protective effects against toluene induced hepatotoxicityand nephrotoxicity,

STUDY ON EFFECT OF VITAMIN-C AS ADD ON THERAPY WITH ANTIDIABETIC DRUGS IN TYPE-2 DIABETES MELLITUS PATIENTS ASSOCIATED WITH SOD2 GENE POLYMORPHISM

Diabetes is a metabolic disorder; affect the metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins and lipids. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) is a major antioxidant scavenging enzyme it helps in removal of superoxide. Polymorphism of SOD2 gene may affect the scavenging effect of SOD enzyme which results in rise of oxidative stress in Type-II DM. The present study has been designed to study the effect of vitamin-C as add on therapy with antidiabetic drugs in type-2 diabetes mellitus patients associated with SOD2 gene polymorphism. A total of 64 type-II diabetes mellitus patients associated with SOD2 gene polymorphism (Ala16Val) were enrolled in present study and divided in to two groups i.e. Group A8 B. There are three genotypes in each such as CC, CT8 TT. Group-A8 B patients were treated with metformin1000mg/day+ teneligliptin-20mg/day and metformin 1000mg/day+ teneligliptin 20mg/day+ vitamin C-1000mg/day respectively for 6 months. Glycemic control and oxidative stress was compared before and after 6 months of treatment in both groups. SPSS software was used to analyze the data. All the genotypes of both the groups had shown significant glycemic control (p less than 0.05). Significant reduction of TAC and elevation of MDA level was found in CT, TT genotype and CC, CT 8 TT genotype of group-A patients respectively (p less than 0.05). CC and CT genotype of group-B patients had shown significant elevation of TAC and reduction of MDA level as compared to baseline values (p less than 0.05). Good glycemic control and reduction of oxidative stress can be achieved with supplementation of vitamin-C along with antidiabetic drugs.