The invention relates to a stationary phase medium for adsorption chromatography, which is in form of porous particles suitable for being packed into a chromatographic column. The porous particles are made of cross-linked polymeric material and formed with interconnected macropores to constitute a porous network, through which a mobile phase fluid may flow in a convective manner. The porous particles are substantially free of diffusive pores and, thus, the mass transfer through the porous network is governed by convection alone. The porous particles are fabricated to have irregular granular configurations with rough outer surfaces, so that the convective flow between the porous particles will not be impeded during chromatography process.

An active catalyst for ammonia synthesis is integrated with a specialty sorbent in a composition or composite, such that the catalyst portion and the sorbent portion are in direct intimate contact, which overcomes the thermodynamic limits for conversion. The sorbent may comprise a metal halide absorbent, zeolite adsorbent, other material absorbents or adsorbents, to capture ammonia as it is produced in intimate or near molecular contact with the catalyst, wherein the composition/composite may be provided in the form of a granular or pellet structure. By removing ammonia essentially as it forms, the forward reaction for producing ammonia can continue nearly unabated such that high net conversion can be achieved in a single pass or cumulative within segmented reactors as operated in series.

Zein based sorbents and methods of making zein based sorbents are disclosed. A method of making the sorbents involves the use of zein nanoparticles, the creation of an emulsion, use of a cross-linking agent, the creation of a polymeric zein solution, and hydrophobization. Certain versions include iron oxide nanoparticles and the use of magnetic properties. The zein based sorbents may have cross linking and hydrophobic functionalization. Methods of cleaning up bodies of water are also disclosed using the zein based sorbents including cyclical use of the sorbent and burning of the sorbent.

A method of trapping and removing contaminants from a source of contamination using a microparticle media includes the steps of: providing the microparticle media, wherein the microparticle media includes a plurality of microparticles, and wherein each of the microparticles includes a substrate having pores; prehydrating the pores of the microparticles by mixing the microparticle media with at least one of a water or water of a electrolysis supernatant solution to form a prehydrated microparticle media having a portion of the water or water of the electrolysis supernatant solution absorbed or adsorbed in the pores of the microparticles; introducing the prehydrated microparticle media to the contaminants, wherein the prehydrated microparticle media trap or bind to the contaminants; and separating the prehydrated microparticle media and the contaminants trapped or bound to the prehydrated microparticle media from the source of contamination.

The present disclosure relates to a functionalized material, which may optionally be employed as a sorbent for carbon dioxide, as well as methods of making such materials and systems of using such materials. The processes, methods, and systems herein can be used for the separation of carbon dioxide from fluid streams.

Disclosed are embodiments of a filter unit containing a water adsorbent material in the form of water adsorbent particles in a packed bed and a gas adsorbent material in the form of gas adsorbent particles in a packed bed. In embodiments, the gas adsorbent material is downstream from the water adsorbent material in a direction of operation. Further disclosed are methods of preparing and using the filter units.

A composite material of polyurethane foam having a layer of reduced graphene oxide and polystyrene is described. This composite material may be made by contacting a polyurethane foam with a suspension of reduced graphene oxide, drying, and then irradiating in the presence of styrene vapor. The composite material has a hydrophobic surface that may be exploited for separating a nonpolar phase, such as oil, from an aqueous solution.

A method including receiving a specimen comprising a carrier, a first target species, and a first component and storing at least a portion of the carrier and the first target species in a storage media by self-driven filtering of the specimen in the storage media, wherein the storage media comprises porous superabsorbent polymer (PSAP) beads. The PSAP beads provide for fast and self-driven microfiltration of biofluid samples. The treatment effectively separates small analytical targets (e.g., glucose, catalase, and bacteriophage) and large undesired components (e.g., bacteria and blood cells) in the biofluids by capturing the former inside and excluding the latter outside the PSAP beads. The treatment can reduce sample volume, self-aliquot the liquid sample, avoid microbial contamination, separate plasma from blood cells, stabilize target species inside the beads, and enable long-term storage at room temperature.

Disclosed are methods of making a porous particle material for use as stationary media and related chromatographic separation devices utilizing the disclosed stationary media. The porous particle material has a pore volume that yields improved stability and column lifetime, and additionally has a modified surface, resulting in a surface modified porous particle material that improves the separation of AAVs from their aggregates in the samples to be tested.

A composite material of polyurethane foam having a layer of reduced graphene oxide and polystyrene is described. This composite material may be made by contacting a polyurethane foam with a suspension of reduced graphene oxide, drying, and then irradiating in the presence of styrene vapor. The composite material has a hydrophobic surface that may be exploited for separating a nonpolar phase, such as oil, from an aqueous solution.