A method of binding a target metal in solution. The method of binding a target metal comprises contacting a solution containing i) a target metal with ii) an encapsulated exudate of a culture of algal flagellate, or a fraction thereof; or an encapsulated dried Euglena biomass or a fraction thereof, to form a complex between the target metal, and the encapsulated exudate or fraction thereof, or the encapsulated dried Euglena biomass or the fraction thereof; and optionally separating the complex from the solution. The disclosure also relates to a biosorbent element, as well as methods of using same in binding a metal in solution.

Certain aspects of the invention relate to a method of synthesizing a composite usably for oil-water separation comprising surface nanostructuring a pristine powder or porous material to form a nanostructured powder or porous material having surfaces with nanoscale features; and coating single or multilayers of one or more low surface energy oligomers, polymers, or their composites with other materials on the surfaces of the nanostructured powder or porous material.

Certain aspects of the invention relate to a composite for oil-water separation, synthesis methods and applications of the same. The composite includes a nanostructured powder or porous material having surfaces with nanoscale features, formed from a pristine powder or porous material by a surface nanostructuring process, and single or multilayers of a low surface energy oligomer or polymer coated on the surfaces of the nanostructured powder or porous material. The composite is hydrophobic (or superhydrophobic) and oleophilic (or superoleophilic) operably repelling water and absorbing oil, or oleophobic (or superoleophobic) and hydrophilic (or superhydrophilic) operably repelling oil and absorbing water.

A method for manufacturing a water absorption treatment material made of a plurality of grains includes a preparing step, a pulverizing step, a core portion forming step, and a coating portion forming step. The preparing step is a step of preparing a paper powder to which water-absorbent polymers adhere, the paper powder being derived from a sanitary product. The pulverizing step is a step of pulverizing remaining polymers using a pulverizer. The core portion forming step is a step of forming a core portion constituting each of the grains The coating portion forming step is a step of forming a coating portion so as to cover the core portion, the coating portion containing the paper powder, and the remaining polymers pulverized in the pulverizing step. In the pulverizing step, the remaining polymers left in a state of adhering to the paper powder are subjected to the pulverizer.

A method of binding a target metal in solution. The method of binding a target metal comprises contacting a solution containing i) a target metal with ii) an encapsulated exudate of a culture of algal flagellate, or a fraction thereof; or an encapsulated dried Euglena biomass or a fraction thereof, to form a complex between the target metal, and the encapsulated exudate or fraction thereof, or the encapsulated dried Euglena biomass or the fraction thereof; and optionally separating the complex from the solution. The disclosure also relates to a biosorbent element, as well as methods of using same in binding a metal in solution.

A process for separations and recovery from mixtures via specific adsorption using high-surface area, flexible silica-based nanostructured gel adsorbents and articles of manufacture relating to same.

The invention relates to materials, methods and devices useful for sampling biological molecules, including biomarkers and/or metabolites. In particular, the invention relates to surface functionalised xerogels and surface functionalised poly(dimethyl) siloxane (PDMS), devices comprising those materials, and methods of using the materials and devices for sampling, analysing or detecting biological molecules.

The present invention relates to method for the synthesis in-situ of the class of compounds known generally as MOFs (metal organic frameworks or organometallic compounds), COFs (covalent organic frameworks), and ZIFs (Zeolitic imidazolate framework), within and onto different types of substrates, and to the applications of such substrates having in-situ synthesized MOFs, COFs and ZIFs.

Disclosed herein are embodiments of a polymer-functionalized particle for using in isolating and extracting solutes, such as rare earth metals, lithium, and the like. The polymer-functionalized particles exhibit strong resistance to agglomeration and degradation even in high ionic strength and/or temperature environments. A post-particle synthesis method for making the polymer-functionalized particle is disclosed, along with a magnetic separation device and that can be used in system embodiments to facilitate use and regeneration of the polymer-functionalized particles in solute extraction.

A porous chiral material of formula [M(L).sub.1.5(A)].sup.+X.sup. wherein M is a metal ion; L is a nitrogen-containing bidentate ligand; A is the anion of mandelic acid or a related acid; and X.sup. is an anion.