A blood isolation and extraction method includes: providing a predetermined amount of blood; utilizing a platelet filter unit to filter the predetermined amount of blood to generate a filtered blood; utilizing a plasma separation unit to divide the filtered blood into a plasma layer and a blood cell layer for separating blood cells from blood plasma; and extracting the blood plasma from the plasma layer and the blood cells from the blood cell layer. In another embodiment, the blood isolation and extraction method further includes: providing a platelet-washing unit to wash the platelet filter unit with a solution to produce a platelet solution; and mixing the platelet solution with the blood plasma to produce a platelet and plasma mixed solution.

Centrifugal contactors that can be used for mixing or separating materials are described. The contactors include a sensing system including a communications fiber within the shaft of the contactors and access ports providing access from the communications fiber to the mixing/separating zone of the contactor. The sensing system can be utilized during operation of the contactor and can provide for detailed and accurate on-line characterization of a protocol, as well as process control and system modification as necessary during operation.

Ionic liquids of the general formula C.sup.+A.sup.− where C.sup.+ represents an organic cation, specifically, but not limited to the imidazolium, pyridinium, isoquinolinium, ammonium types, which have aliphatic and aromatic substituents, while A.sup.− represents a carboxylate, aromatic and aliphatic anion. The ionic liquids are synthesized under conventional heating or microwave irradiation This invention is also related to the application of ionic liquids to remove sulfur compounds of naphthas through a liquid-liquid extraction and the recovery and reuse of ionic liquids by the application of heat, reduced pressure and washing with solvents.

A method for precisely predicting phase equilibrium from existing phase equilibrium data on the basis of a wide range of phase equilibrium data including binary vapor-liquid equilibrium data; a method or apparatus for designing or controlling a component separator or a refiner using the prediction method; and a program for designing this design or control apparatus. Binary phase equilibrium measurement data is used to calculate an index of proximity ratio to critical points and infinite dilution pressure gradients. The obtained index is correlated with the infinite dilution pressure gradients to newly calculate infinite dilution activity coefficients from the respective index to infinite dilution pressure gradients correlations. The obtained infinite dilution activity coefficients values are used to predict phase equilibrium. Thus, the obtained values are used to design or control a component separator or a refiner, such as a distillation column.

A solvent extraction process for recovering bromide from a sulfate-containing aqueous stream, the process comprises an extraction step wherein said aqueous stream is mixed with an extraction medium comprising a tertiary amine extractant dissolved in one or more water-immiscible organic solvents, wherein said mixing is carried out in a strongly acidic environment, thereby forming bromide-containing extract and a raffinate with a reduced bromide level, wherein the bromide-containing extract is optionally treated to further minimize the presence of sulfate and is subsequently combined with an aqueous calcium source to form calcium bromide.

A process is described for making acrylic acid from dextrose, which comprises fermenting dextrose; removing solids from the resulting fermentation broth; removing lactic acid from the clarified broth by extraction into an organic solvent; separating out the lactic acid-loaded organic solvent while recycling at least a portion of the remainder back to the fermentation step; reacting the lactic acid with ammonia to provide a dehydration feed comprising ammonium lactate while preferably recycling the organic solvent; carrying out a vapor phase dehydration of the ammonium lactate to produce a crude acrylic acid product; and purifying the crude acrylic acid by distillation followed by melt crystallization, chromatography or both melt crystallization and chromatography.

A process for liquid-liquid extraction of an oil-blend of non-uniform oligomeric and polymeric components comprising: (a) preselecting a desired molecular weight (Mw) boundary between heavy and light components; (b) selecting an extractive solvent or an extractive mixture of solvents, which form essentially a single phase with the light components; (c) mixing the oil-blend and the extractive solvent or extractive mixture of solvents selected in step (b) at elevated temperature, which is at least at or above said fractionation temperature, and wherein the extractive solvent/mixture of solvents to oil-blend ratio is from 1:2 to 100:1; (d) allowing a phase split to form between the heavy components fraction and the light components/extractive solvent fraction at the fractionation temperature or at most 10° C. below the fractionation temperature; (e) followed by separation of said fractions.

A sample purification system includes a container assembly bounding a sample purification compartment and having an upper end and an opposing lower end, the sample purification compartment comprising mixing zones and settling zones. A plurality of shielding elements are positioned within the sample purification compartment so as to at least partially separate adjacent mixing zones and settling zones or separate adjacent mixing zones, the mixing zones being in fluid communication with the settling zones. A mixing element is disposed within each mixing zone. An acoustic wave settler is aligned with a portion of the container assembly, the acoustic wave settler being configured to emit an acoustic wave through the portion of the container assembly and a mixture disposed therein, the acoustic wave coalescing fluid phase droplets disposed in the mixture to increase the buoyancy or density of the fluid phase droplets.

The present disclosure relates to the design of structural features that enable the facile and reproducible fabrication of a microfluidic reactor that eliminates the problem of scaling factors in turn enabling the broad integration of microchannel reactors to industrial scale production. The process is highlighted via the effective and successful scale up of a purification process for the removal of a variety of different classes of impurities from crude vegetable oils mixtures into feedstocks that can be directly integrated into the hydrotreatment vegetable oil hydrogenation process for mass production of synthetic diesel derived from renewable sources.

An apparatus for the recovery of gold from a gold-bearing aqueous filtrate, the process comprising the steps of: (A) Contacting the aqueous filtrate with dibutyl carbitol (DBC) in a two-stage solvent extraction process to remove the gold from the aqueous filtrate into the DBC to form a gold-loaded DBC; and (D) Contacting the gold-loaded DBC with an aqueous acid scrub of hydrochloric acid in a four-stage countercurrent scrub process to remove impurities, e.g., non-gold metal, from the DBC into the aqueous scrub solution to form an impurity-loaded aqueous scrub. Each stage of the solvent extraction circuit and the aqueous acid scrub circuit is equipped with a mixing assembly and a phase separation tank in a head-tail arrangement such that the mixing assembly of one stage is adjacent to the phase separation tank of the adjacent stage.