Embodiments of the hybrid thermal-chromatograph systems described herein solve the co-product generation problem associated with seawater desalination, and result in significant reduction in the selling price of fresh water generated through the process, while also solving problems associated with traditional lithium mining practices.

The present disclosure pertains to methods of separating nucleic acid component compounds from one another. In some embodiments, the methods comprise: (a) loading a sample fluid comprising a plurality of nucleic acid component compounds onto a chromatographic column comprising a zwitterionic stationary phase contained inside the column; (b) flowing a mobile phase through the chromatographic column over a time period thereby forming an eluent in which at least some of the plurality of the nucleic acid component compounds are separated from each other, the mobile phase comprising a polar aprotic solvent, a protic solvent, and a volatile buffer salt, wherein flowing the mobile phase comprises varying a ratio of the protic solvent to the polar aprotic solvent over at least a portion of the time period and varying an ionic strength of the volatile buffer salt over at least a portion of the time period.

This present invention is directed to variable affinity chromatography apparatus and methods for using the same. In particular, the polarity of the stationary phase or the mobile phase is modulated using an external stimulus. Exemplary external stimulus that can be used in the invention include, but are not limited to, electric field, electromagnetic radiation including UV, Vis, and infrared wavelengths, as well other stimuli that are known to one skilled in the art. Generally, any external stimulation that changes the polarity of a stimulus responsive material can be used. One particular embodiment of the invention provides a chromatography apparatus comprising: (i) a chromatography column having a stationary-phase separation medium contained therein; (ii) an external stimulus generator operatively connected to said chromatography column; and (iii) a chromatography mobile-phase, wherein at least one of said stationary-phase separation medium and said chromatography mobile-phase comprises a stimulus responsive material that adopts a different configuration based on the absence or the presence of said external stimulus, wherein different configurations of said stimulus responsive material results in a different stationary or mobile phase affinity, and wherein said external stimulus is selected from the group consisting of electric field, electromagnetic radiation, and a combination thereof.

In some aspects, the present disclosure pertains to chromatographic materials that comprise (a) a bulk material and (b) a zwitterionic polymer covalently linked to a surface of the bulk material, in which the zwitterionic polymer comprises one or more monomer residues that comprise an amide or urea moiety, a positively charged moiety, and a negatively charged moiety. Other aspects of the present disclosure pertain to chromatographic separation devices that comprise such chromatographic materials, to chromatographic methods that employ such chromatographic separation devices, and to kits that contain (i) such chromatographic materials and (ii) one or more chromatographic devices for containing such materials.

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 method is provided for separating a dicarboxylic acid product from a mixture containing such dicarboxylic acids. The method involves: providing a dicarboxylic acid-containing mixture of which at least 35% of the carboxylic acid content of the mixture is a dicarboxylic acid product of interest; running an extraction of said dicarboxylic acid-containing mixture through a chromatographic column configured with an amphoteric resin, such that the dicarboxylic acid product elutes preferentially from the dicarboxylic acid-containing mixture. In certain embodiments, the dicarboxylic acid product of interest can be a glucaric or gluconic acid product from a mixture of either or both of these with still other carboxylic acids.

An ion exchange resin for use as a stationary phase in an ion chromatography column. The ion exchange resin has a negatively charged substrate particle, a positively charged polymer layer bound to the negatively charged substrate particle, a linker, and an ion exchange group. The ion exchange group includes a sulfonamide group and an amine, in which the ion exchange group is coupled to the positively charged polymer layer via the linker. When the sulfonamide is in a neutral form, a positively charged amine group provides retention: while when the sulfonamide is in an anionic form, the sulfonamide anion becomes a counter ion to the positively charged amine group, forming a zwitterion that reduces retention at that site. Accordingly, the retention time is able to be controlled by adjusting the mobile phase pH.

A process is provided for making esters of FDCA, in which an aqueous feed comprising glucaric acid is first reacted with a high boiling first alcohol in the presence of an acid catalyst and with removing water during the reaction, to form a first product mixture comprising a first ester of FDCA and the high boiling first alcohol, then unreacted high boiling first alcohol is removed from the first product mixture. The first ester of FDCA and the high boiling first alcohol is then transesterified with a lower boiling second alcohol selected from the group consisting of methanol, ethanol, isopropanol and n-propanol, to form a second product mixture comprising a second ester of FDCA with the lower boiling second alcohol, and the second ester of FDCA with the lower boiling second alcohol is recovered.

A method is provided for separating a dicarboxylic acid product from a mixture containing such dicarboxylic acids. The method involves: providing a dicarboxylic acid-containing mixture of which at least 35% of the carboxylic acid content of the mixture is a dicarboxylic acid product of interest; running an extraction of said dicarboxylic acid-containing mixture through a chromatographic column configured with an amphoteric resin, such that the dicarboxylic acid product elutes preferentially from the dicarboxylic acid-containing mixture. In certain embodiments, the dicarboxylic acid product of interest can be a glucaric or gluconic acid product from a mixture of either or both of these with still other carboxylic acids.

A process is provided for making esters of FDCA, in which an aqueous feed comprising glucaric acid is first reacted with a high boiling first alcohol in the presence of an acid catalyst and with removing water during the reaction, to form a first product mixture comprising a first ester of FDCA and the high boiling first alcohol, then unreacted high boiling first alcohol is removed from the first product mixture. The first ester of FDCA and the high boiling first alcohol is then transesterified with a lower boiling second alcohol selected from the group consisting of methanol, ethanol, isopropanol and n-propanol, to form a second product mixture comprising a second ester of FDCA with the lower boiling second alcohol, and the second ester of FDCA with the lower boiling second alcohol is recovered.