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.

A temperature-regenerated hydrophobic liquid composition includes an extracting molecule of a non-alkaline cationic species, a solvating molecule of a complimentary anionic species and a fluidizing agent. The extracting molecule of a non-alkaline cationic species is a macrocycle of which the ring is formed from 24-32 carbon atoms and has the following formula (I) or (II): wherein -n is an integer ranging from 5 to 8, -p is 1 or 2, -m is 3 or 4, -q and t, which may be identical or different, are 0, 1 or 2, —R is a tert-butyl, tert-octyl, O-methyl, O-ethyl, O-propyl, O-isopropyl, O-butyl, O-isobutyl, O-pentyl, O-hexyl, O-heptyl, O-octyl, or OCH.sub.2Phenyl group or a hydrogen atom, and—R′ and R″, which may be identical or different, are chosen from methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, butyl, isobutyl, heptyl and octyl groups or R′ and R″ together form a pyrrolidine, piperidine or morpholine ring.

The invention relates to a method and a device device for converting at least one reactant(5) into a reaction product and separating the at least one reactant from the reaction product, wherein the device comprises a vessel(10) with a vessel inner volume (11) and a confinement (20) submerged in the vessel inner volume (11), the confinement (20) providing a confinement inner (21) volume which is in fluid connection with the vessel inner volume (11), wherein the vessel inner volume (11) contains a first fluid (1) with a first density p1 and a second fluid with a second density p2, with p1 > p2, so that the first fluid (1) forms a lower phase and the second fluid (2) forms an upper phase in the vessel inner volume (11), wherein the confinement contains a third fluid (3) with a third density p3 with p3 > p2 so that the second fluid forms an upper layer and the third fluid forms a lower layer in the confinement inner volume (21), wherein the third fluid may be the same as or different from and is physically separated from the first fluid (1), wherein at least one of the first, second fluid and third fluid is at most partly with the other two, but preferably immiscible, wherein the at least one reactant (5) and the reaction product (6) have a different affinity for at least two of the first, second (2) and third fluid, wherein at least one of the first (1) and third fluid (3) contain a fourth phase (4) which is a solid or semi solid and is selected from the group of materials capable of promoting the conversion of the at least one reactant into the reaction product.

A process for removing heavy polycyclic aromatic contaminants from a hydrocarbon stream using a quinolinium ionic liquid is described. The process includes contacting the hydrocarbon stream comprising the contaminant with a hydrocarbon-immiscible quinolinium ionic liquid to produce a mixture comprising the hydrocarbon and a hydrocarbon-immiscible quinolinium ionic liquid comprising at least a portion of the removed contaminant; and separating the mixture to produce a hydrocarbon effluent having a reduced level of the contaminant and a hydrocarbon-immiscible quinolinium ionic liquid effluent comprising the hydrocarbon-immiscible quinolinium ionic liquid comprising at least the portion of the removed contaminant.

Sample purification systems include a particle extraction assembly having a mixing compartment and a settling compartment. A biological sample is mixed with two liquid phases formulated to effectuate transfer of a biological molecule into a first phase and particulate contaminants into a second phase. The first phase includes a solubilizing salt, the second phase includes an organic molecule, and the mixture can have little or no monoatomic salt or dextran. The molecule-containing first phase can be optionally concentrated without also concentrating the particulate contaminants and introduced into a multi-stage liquid-liquid extractor, by which the biological molecule or molecular contaminants are extracted from the first phase into a third phase, thereby purifying the molecule away from contaminants. The extracted sample can be further purified through a series of processing steps. The system can be run in continuously mode to maintain sterility of the sample.

Disclosed in the present invention is a polyether polyol refining method, comprising (1) neutralising or diluting crude polyether polyol to obtain a mixed solution; (2) flowing the mixed solution through a hydrophilic medium to aggregate same into a first density phase liquid and a second density phase liquid, the first density phase liquid being an aqueous solution containing alkaline metal ions and/or alkaline earth metal ions, and the second density phase liquid being polyether polyol; and (3) allowing the first density phase liquid to settle and separating same from the second density phase liquid to obtain refined polyether polyol. In the present refining method, using the hydrophilic medium for one-step removal of the alkaline ions and water in the polyether polyol simplifies the treatment steps, increases treatment efficiency, and can prevent polyether polyol loss; the obtained polyether polyol has low alkaline ion content and little odour. Also disclosed in the present invention is a polyether polyol refining apparatus, comprising a mixing unit and a separating unit, and being capable of refining polyether polyol with low alkaline ion content and little odour.

A temperature-regenerated hydrophobic liquid composition includes an extracting molecule of a non-alkaline cationic species, a solvating molecule of a complimentary anionic species and a fluidizing agent. The extracting molecule of a non-alkaline cationic species is a macrocycle of which the ring is formed from 24-32 carbon atoms and has the following formula (I) or (II): wherein —n is an integer ranging from 5 to 8, —p is 1 or 2, —m is 3 or 4, —q and t, which may be identical or different, are 0, 1 or 2, —R is a tert-butyl, tert-octyl, O-methyl, O-ethyl, O-propyl, O-isopropyl, O-butyl, O-isobutyl, O-pentyl, O-hexyl, O-heptyl, O-octyl, or OCH.sub.2Phenyl group or a hydrogen atom, and —R′ and R″, which may be identical or different, are chosen from methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, butyl, isobutyl, heptyl and octyl groups or R′ and R″ together form a pyrrolidine, piperidine or morpholine ring.

The present disclosure relates to a composition that includes a lignin-derived mixture that includes at least one of a dimer, a trimer, and/or a tetramer, where the composition is characterized by a thermal stability up to a maximum temperature between about 260° C. and about 300° C.

A method includes receiving a water stream from a hydrocarbon production facility, the water stream having a first concentration of a kinetic hydrate inhibitor (KHI); flowing the water stream through a heat exchanger to heat the water stream to a target temperature; mixing the heated water stream with a treatment chemical to form a two-phase mixture, the treatment chemical having an affinity for the KHI; flowing the two-phase mixture into a separator; and physically separating the two-phase mixture into a first phase and a second phase, the first phase including water and having a second concentration of the KHI less than the first concentration, and the second phase including the KHI and the treatment chemical, the density of the second phase being less than the density of the first phase.

A method includes receiving a water stream from a hydrocarbon production facility, the water stream having a first concentration of a kinetic hydrate inhibitor (KHI); flowing the water stream through a heat exchanger to heat the water stream to a target temperature; mixing the heated water stream with a treatment chemical to form a two-phase mixture, the treatment chemical having an affinity for the KHI; flowing the two-phase mixture into a separator; and physically separating the two-phase mixture into a first phase and a second phase, the first phase including water and having a second concentration of the KHI less than the first concentration, and the second phase including the KHI and the treatment chemical, the density of the second phase being less than the density of the first phase.