On the design and simulation of an airlift loop bioreactor with microbubble generation by fluidic oscillation

Microbubble generation by a novel fluidic oscillator driven approach is analyzed, with a view to identifying the key design elements and their differences from standard approaches to airlift loop bioreactor design. The microbubble generation mechanism has been shown to achieve high mass transfer rates by the decrease of the bubble diameter, by hydrodynamic stabilization that avoids coalescence increasing the bubble diameter, and by longer residence times offsetting slower convection. The fluidic oscillator approach also decreases the friction losses in pipe networks and in nozzles/diffusers due to boundary layer disruption, so there is actually an energetic consumption savings in using this approach over steady flow. These dual advantages make the microbubble generation approach a promising component of a novel airlift loop bioreactor whose design is presented here. The equipment, control system for flow and temperature, and the optimization of the nozzle bank for the gas distribution system are presented. (C) 2009 The Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V All rights reserved

Multiyear study of the dependence of sea salt aerosol on wind speed and sea ice conditions in the coastal Arctic

Thinning of Arctic sea ice gives rise to ice fracturing and leads (areas of open water surrounded by sea ice) that are a potential source of sea salt aerosol. Atmospheric particle inorganic ion concentrations, local sea ice conditions, and meteorology at Barrow, AK, from 2006 to 2009, were combined to investigate the dependence of submicron (aerodynamic diameter  4 m/sThe influence of long‐range transported sea salt aerosol was greatest during periods of lower winds and increased sea ice coveragePeer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/134110/1/jgrd53171_am.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/134110/2/jgrd53171.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/134110/3/jgrd53171-sup-0001-supplementary.pd

Microflotation performance for algal separation

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: HANOTU, J., BANDULASENA, H.C.H. and ZIMMERMAN, W.B., 2012. Microflotation performance for algal separation. Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 109 (7), pp. 1663-1673, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bit.24449. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving'.The performance of microflotation, dispersed air flotation with microbubble clouds with bubble size about 50 µm, for algae separation using fluidic oscillation for microbubble generation is investigated. This fluidic oscillator converts continuous air supply into oscillatory flow with a regular frequency to generate bubbles of the scale of the exit pore. Bubble characterization results showed that average bubble size generated under oscillatory air flow state was 86 µm, approximately twice the size of the diffuser pore size of 38 µm. In contrast, continuous air flow at the same rate through the same diffusers yielded an average bubble size of 1,059 µm, 28 times larger than the pore size. Following microbubble generation, the separation of algal cells under fluidic oscillator generated microbubbles was investigated by varying metallic coagulant types, concentration and pH. Best performances were recorded at the highest coagulant dose (150 mg/L) applied under acidic conditions (pH 5). Amongst the three metallic coagulants studied, ferric chloride yielded the overall best result of 99.2% under the optimum conditions followed closely by ferric sulfate (98.1%) and aluminum sulfate with 95.2%. This compares well with conventional dissolved air flotation (DAF) benchmarks, but has a highly turbulent flow, whereas microflotation is laminar with several orders of magnitude lower energy density. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2012; 109:1663–1673. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Dielectric barrier discharge plasma microbubble reactor for pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass

A novel lignocellulosic biomass pretreatment reactor has been designed and tested to investigate pretreatment efficacy of miscanthus grass. The reactor was designed to optimize the transfer of highly oxidative species produced by dielectric barrier discharge plasma to the liquid phase immediately after generation, by arranging close proximity of the plasma to the gas‐liquid interface of microbubbles. The reactor produced a range of reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species, and the rate of production depended on the power source duty cycle and the temperature of the plasma. Ozone and other oxidative species were dispersed efficiently using energy efficient microbubbles produced by fluidic oscillations. A 5% (w/w) miscanthus suspension pretreated for 3 h at 10% duty cycle yielded 0.5% acid soluble lignin release and 26% sugar release post hydrolysis with accelerated pretreatment toward the latter stages of the treatment demonstrating the potential of this approach as an alternative pretreatment method

Optimization of BaZrO3 sintering by control of the initial powder size distribution; a factorial design statistical analysis

A factorial design statistical analysis has been conducted in order to obtain the optimum conditions in the solid state sintering process of barium zirconate bulk materials, optimum with respect to density, closed and open porosities. The optimized heat treatment permits to sinter a 99% dense barium zirconate sample at 1650 degrees C during only 2 h. When the temperature is higher than 1650 degrees C or when the heating time is longer than 2 h, a decrease in density is observed. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

GPCR signaling is highly compartmentalized in human cardiomyocytes and severely remodeled in atrial fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) has been linked to the remodeling of membrane receptors and alterations in downstream cAMP-dependent regulation. However, to date, no study has elucidated how the increase on cAMP upon different G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) can lead to different physiological compartmentalized responses. The aim of this study was to investigate the compartmentally specific effects of GPCRs on cAMP levels in human atrial myocytes (HAMs) from patients with AF and control patients without AF (Ctl), and how these compartmentalized effects are altered in AF. HAMs were isolated from 60 AF and 76 Ctl patient tissues. Cells were transduced with adenoviruses (Epac1-camps, pm-Epac1-camps and Epac1-JNC) and cultured for 48 hours to express the FRET-based cAMP sensor in the cytosolic, membrane, and RYR2 nanodomains. Förster-resonance energy transfer (FRET) was used to measure cAMP levels in 525 HAMs stimulated with isoprenaline (100 µM), serotonin (100 µM), or the A2AR agonist CGS (200 nM). A desensitization to β-adrenergic receptor stimulation was exclusively found in the cytosol of AF myocytes, while no difference was seen in the RYR2 or LTCC compartment. Similar effects were observed upon serotonin stimulation with a significant desensitization in the cytosol, and no difference in the RYR2 compartment. In response to A2ARs stimulation AF myocytes displayed a significantly higher cytosolic increase in cAMP levels. However, no response was seen in the LTCC compartment in response to serotonin or A2AR stimulation. Collectively, our data show that cAMP levels are highly compartmentalized and differentially regulated by GPCRs. Furthermore, these results provide a mechanistic insight for the previously reported functional effects seen upon stimulation of these three receptors.</jats:p