Team-based learning for first year engineering students

Although it was originally developed for a business school environment to promote the benefits of small-group teaching in a large group setting, the method of the team-based learning (TBL) has recently been increasingly used within medical education. On the other hand, the reports on its implementation in engineering and science education are much scarcer. The aim of this work is to discuss the experience, evaluation and lessons learned from the implementation of the TBL within a Year 1 engineering module—Process Engineering Fundamentals, enrolling 115 students, and the TBL method was introduced for the first time. To evaluate the acquired knowledge and perception of TBL, a students’ performance analysis and questionnaire were completed on two occasions. It was observed that the TBL approach improved student learning, enhanced their integration and sharing of knowledge in class, supporting the implementation of this method in engineering disciplines

Solubility of mixtures containing soybean oil, ionic liquid and methanol

This paper presents data on mutual solubility of the binary (soybean oil + ionic liquid) and ternary (soybean oil + methanol + ionic liquid) systems, where ionic liquid stands for 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium thiocyanate [C4MIM][SCN] or 1-butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [C4MIM][NTf2] or 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide [C4MIM][DCA] or 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate [C4MIM][PF6] or 1-butyl-3-methyl imida zolium hydrogensulfate [C4MIM] [HSO4] or 1-decyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [C10MIM][NTf2] or methyltrioctylammonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [ALIQUAT][NTf2] or methyltrioctylammonium chloride [ALIQUAT][Cl]. Solubilities were determined by the cloud point titration method in the temperature range of 298 K to 343 K. Obtained results suggest that imidazolium based ionic liquids exhibit lower solubility in soybean oil than ionic liquids with the aliquat cation. Thus, aliquat based ionic liquids are good candidate to be used as co-solvents for biphasic (methanol + soybean oil) mixture

Partitioning of amino acids in the novel biphasic systems based on environmentally friendly ethyl lactate

For the first time, we report on the performance of biphasic system composed of ethyl lactate, water and inorganic salt (K3PO4, K2HPO4 and K2CO3) for the separation of amino acids (L-phenylalanine, L-tryptophan and L-tyrosine) from their aqueous solutions. Cloud points (solubility curve) and tie-lines for three ternary (ethyl la ctate + water + inorganic salt) systems at 298.2 K and 313.2 K at atmospheric pressure were determined. For certain composition range, these mixture exhibit biphasic systems – top and bottom phases rich in ethyl lactate and salt, respectively. Partition coefficients of amino acids and their extraction efficiencies, as essential parameters for design of any separation process, were measured at two temperatures – 298.2 K and 313.2 K. The maximum values of partition coefficients were observed for the system containing K3PO4: 3.5, 3.7 and 11.9 for L-phenylalanine at 313.2 K, L-tyrosine at 298.2 K and L-tryptophan at 313.2 K, respectively. The obtained results clearly showed that the biphasic systems based on ethyl lactate are suitable for the efficient and sustainable recovery of amino acids from solutions with water

Novel aqueous biphasic system based on ethyl lactate for sustainable separations: Phase splitting mechanism

Ethyl lactate is a hydrophilic green solvent which is bio-renewable and biodegradable with low toxicity towards humans and animals. For the first time, we report that aqueous solutions of ethyl lactate separate into two aqueous phases upon addition of salts. The performance of trisodium citrate, disodium tartrate and disodium succinate as salting-out media for the separation of natural organic compounds, such as caffeine and catechin, from their aqueous solutions was examined. In this respect, cloud points for the ternary solutions composed of ethyl lactate, water and salt were determined at ambient pressure (0.1 MPa) at 298.2 K. Partition coefficients of caffeine and catechin between two phases were determined by chemical analysis of phases in equilibrium for different initial compositions at 298.2 K. The obtained results clearly demonstrate the ability of the ternary mixture to phase separate, providing good salting-out media for the efficient and sustainable separation from aqueous solution. 1H NMR spectroscopy was employed to elucidate the mechanisms of phase splitting in the ternary (ethyl lactate + water + salt) systems at molecular level. The discovery of aqueous biphasic system (ABS) containing ethyl lactate as hydrophilic solvent opens a new and green platform for extraction of various compounds from aqueous solutions

Aqueous biphasic systems based on ethyl lactate: Molecular interactions and modelling

Aqueous biphasic systems (ABS) based on ethyl lactate are novel green solvent systems that are biorenewable and biodegradable with the potential to replace currently used hazardous organic solvents. Models to correlate and predict binodal curves of these systems are crucial for the design of separation processes but are currently nonexistent. Here, we report the development of two empirical models based on Merchuk’s equation and the Effective Excluded Volume model for ABS composed of ethyl lactate, water and a salt (K3PO4, K2HPO4, K2CO3, Na3C6H5O7, Na2C4H4O6, Na2C4H4O4, K2S2O3, Na2S2O3 and (NH4)2S2O3). Additionally, the use of Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) as a tool to predict binodal curves was explored. An ANN composed of tansig transfer function and five neurons was built using three inputs: mole fraction of salt, molar Gibbs energy of hydration of the salt cation and anion. Furthermore, Fourier-transform infrared-attenuated total reflection spectroscopy was used to reveal the molecular interactions which were used to explain binodal data

Experimental Determination and Modeling of the Phase Behavior of the CO2 + Propionic Anhydride Binary System at High Pressure

The phase equilibrium of the binary system (CO2 + propionic anhydride) was determined experimentally at temperatures of 308, 313, and 323 K and pressures up to 10 MPa. Measurements were carried out in a high-pressure visual cell with variable volume. The experimental data were modeled using the Peng–Robinson equation of state and the Mathias–Klotz–Prausnitz mixing rule. A good correlation was achieved with this model, with a total average absolute deviation of 0.21%

Life cycle environmental sustainability of valorisation routes for spent coffee grounds: From waste to resources

© 2020 The Authors. Spent coffee grounds (SCGs) have a potential to be used as a feedstock for higher value-added products, such as biodiesel. However, the environmental implications of the valorisation of SCGs are largely unknown. This study evaluates the life cycle environmental impacts of utilising SCGs for biodiesel production in comparison with the widely used disposal of SCGs as a waste stream: incineration, landfilling, anaerobic digestion, composting and direct application to land. The scope is from cradle to grave and the functional unit is defined as ‘treatment of 1 tonne of SCGs’. The results show that the most environmentally sustainable option is incineration of SCGs, with net-negative impacts (savings) in 14 out of 16 categories, followed by direct application of SCGs to land with 11 net-negative impacts. Biodiesel production is the least sustainable option with the highest impacts in 11 categories, followed by composting. The paper also demonstrates that following various waste hierarchy and resource valorisation guidelines instead of a life cycle approach could lead to a choice of environmentally inferior SCG utilisation options. Therefore, these guidelines should be revised to ensure that they are consistent and underpinned by life cycle thinking, thus aiding sustainable resource management in a circular economy context.UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (Gr. no. EP/K011820/1) and The University of Manchester through the N8 AgriFood Local Pump Priming Fun

Academic Standards and Quality Assurance: The Impact of COVID-19 on University Degree Programs

COVID-19, caused by a member of the coronavirus family of viruses, has spread to most countries around the world since it was first recorded in humans in China in late 2019. Closing universities and cancelling all face-to-face activities have become a COVID-19 inevitable reality in many parts of the world. Its impact on university programs, particularly to maintain academic standards and quality assurance procedures, has become significantly more challenging and complex. New ways of working digitally, to minimize disruption to daily operations, have also led to enormous anxiety and uncertainty within the student population, and meeting students’ expectations has also become significantly more difficult. This paper reviews actions taken by universities to safeguard high academic standards and quality assurance procedures during this time and appraise the challenges and impacts on students’ academic performance

Nuclear-driven production of renewable fuel additives from waste organics

Non-intermittent, low-carbon energy from nuclear or biofuels is integral to many strategies to achieve Carbon Budget Reduction targets. However, nuclear plants have high, upfront costs and biodiesel manufacture produces waste glycerol with few secondary uses. Combining these technologies, to precipitate valuable feedstocks from waste glycerol using ionizing radiation, could diversify nuclear energy use whilst valorizing biodiesel waste. Here, we demonstrate solketal (2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxolane-4-yl) and acetol (1-hydroxypropan-2-one) production is enhanced in selected aqueous glycerol-acetone mixtures with γ radiation with yields of 1.5 ± 0.2 µmol J−1 and 1.8 ± 0.2 µmol J−1, respectively. This is consistent with the generation of either the stabilized, protonated glycerol cation (CH2OH-CHOH-CH2OH2+ ) from the direct action of glycerol, or the hydronium species, H3O+, via water radiolysis, and their role in the subsequent acid-catalyzed mechanisms for acetol and solketal production. Scaled to a hypothetically compatible range of nuclear facilities in Europe (i.e., contemporary Pressurised Water Reactor designs or spent nuclear fuel stores), we estimate annual solketal production at approximately (1.0 ± 0.1) × 104 t year−1. Given a forecast increase of 5% to 20% v/v% in the renewable proportion of commercial petroleum blends by 2030, nuclear-driven, biomass-derived solketal could contribute towards net-zero emissions targets, combining low-carbon co-generation and co-production

Liquid-liquid phase equilibria of aqueous biphasic systems based on glycerol formal:Application on tetracycline recovery from water

Biopharmaceuticals are commonly present in relatively low concentrations in aqueous solutions, making their detection and purification detrimental. In this work, we used novel aqueous biphasic systems based on glycerol formal (GF) to extract an important antibiotic - tetracycline. We report cloud points (solubility curve) and tie-lines for three ternary systems, containing GF, water, and inorganic salt (either K3PO4, K2HPO4, or K2CO3) at constant temperature of 298 K and at 0.1 MPa. The tie-line data of these ternary systems were correlated using the nonrandom two-liquid model, and binary interaction parameters of activity coefficients were estimated. The experimental and correlated tie-line data were compared in terms of average root-mean-square deviation and showed satisfactory agreements. The partition coefficients of tetracycline between two phases were measured, and corresponding extraction efficiencies were calculated. The maximum value of partition coefficient was 1551 for the system containing K3PO4, followed by values of 1145 and 927 for systems containing K2CO3 and K2HPO4, respectively. The calculated extraction efficiencies were very high - greater than 98.8%, demonstrating high potential for using aqueous biphasic systems based on GF for separation and purification processes