Continuous industrial-scale microwave-assisted extraction of high-value ingredients from natural biomass

[EN] An innovative technology for the continuous extraction of bioactive compounds from a wide range of biological materials has been developed, scaled up and successfully demonstrated at commercially-relevant scales. The technology, known as MAPTM, or “Microwave-Assisted Process”, robustly transfers from laboratory to continuous, industrial scale operation. In wide-ranging trials, MAPTM has comprehensively demonstrated its ability to outperform many KPIs of conventional extraction processes, while offering biomass throughput, product consistency and low operational costs not attainable by other emerging technologies. Radient’s proprietary continuous-flow MAPTM extractor, Figure 1, was designed for continuous processing of up to 200 kg/h of biomass material. Verification of the mechanical integrity of the system was confirmed by flow testing of biomass / solvent slurries. Testing and verification of the efficiency of microwave energy transfer to the extractor cavity was completed at various microwave power settings using flowing water at 870 kg/h. The microwave energy transfer to the system was verified to be >95 % in each case. As an example of performance, continuous flow MAPTM extraction of the antioxidant SDG from flax biomass was performed using 70 % ethanol / water as the solvent at two different conditions: - 75 kg/h flax / 5 L/kg solvent / 15 kW microwave power / extractor residence time 24 min; - 110 kg/h flax / 5 L/kg solvent / 20 kW microwave power / extractor residence time 16 min. The industrial-scale conditions for these runs were determined by extrapolating from optimized conditions previously obtained from batch lab-scale MAPTM experiments. The continuous flow approach eliminates the requirement for having geometric similarity between scales, i.e the equipment shape and dimensions do not have to scale proportionately.Radoiu, M.; Splinter, S.; Popek, T. (2019). Continuous industrial-scale microwave-assisted extraction of high-value ingredients from natural biomass. En AMPERE 2019. 17th International Conference on Microwave and High Frequency Heating. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 189-193. https://doi.org/10.4995/AMPERE2019.2019.9758OCS18919

The potential of mathematical picture books: a systematic analysis of their domain-specific picture book features

Studies in the domain of early literacy and recently also mathematics point to the potential of picture book reading (PBR) activities for children’s early literacy resp. mathematical development. Contrasting the domain of early literacy, the contribution of picture book features to the effectiveness of PBR activities in the domain of mathematics is hardly studied. To increase our understanding of the topic, we systematically analysed the domain-specific features of 100 mathematical picture books. Our analyses pointed to the presence of features that previous studies assume to support and to hinder early mathematical development (Ward et al., 2017). These findings complement previous findings based on English mathematical picture books from the U.S. and offer important insights for future studies and educational practice

Mitoxantrone in metastatic apudomas: a phase II study of the EORTC Gastro-Intestinal Cancer Cooperative Group.

We performed a phase II study with mitoxantrone in patients with carcinoid tumours, islet cell tumours and medullary carcinomas of the thyroid. Thirty-five eligible patients received mitoxantrone 12 mg m-2 i.v. every 3 weeks. Among 18 previously untreated patients, three responded (17%, 95% CI = 4-41%); no responses were achieved in 17 previously treated patients. Of the 21 patients who had carcinoid tumours, 11 were previously untreated and two achieved a response (18%, 95% CI = 2-52%). Overall response rate was 9% (95% CI = 2-23%). At a median follow-up of 43 months, median overall survival was 16 months. The median survival of 21 patients with a normal alkaline phosphatase was 29 months and 9 months for 14 patients with elevated serum levels (P = 0.005). A similar observation was noticed for gamma-glutamyltransferase (P = 0.007). We concluded that mitoxantrone is not active in APUD tumours. Elevated alkaline phosphatase and gamma-glutamyltransferase are associated with a poor prognosis

Nitric Oxide PLIF Measurements in the Hypersonic Materials Environmental Test System (HYMETS)

A nonintrusive laser-based measurement system has been applied for the first time in the HYMETS (Hypersonic Materials Environmental Test System) 400 kW arc-heated wind tunnel at NASA Langley Research Center. Planar laser-induced fluorescence of naturally occurring nitric oxide (NO) has been used to obtain instantaneous flow visualization images, and to make both radial and axial velocity measurements. Results are presented at selected facility run conditions, including some in simulated Earth atmosphere (75% nitrogen, 20% oxygen, 5% argon) and others in simulated Martian atmosphere (71% carbon dioxide, 24% nitrogen, 5% argon), for bulk enthalpies ranging from 6.5 MJ/kg to 18.4 MJ/kg. Flow visualization images reveal the presence of large scale unsteady flow structures, and indicate nitric oxide fluorescence signal over more than 70% of the core flow for bulk enthalpies below about 11 MJ/kg, but over less than 10% of the core flow for bulk enthalpies above about 16 MJ/kg. Axial velocimetry was performed using molecular tagging velocimetry (MTV). Axial velocities of about 3 km/s were measured along the centerline. Radial velocimetry was performed by scanning the wavelength of the narrowband laser and analyzing the resulting Doppler shift. Radial velocities of 0.5km/s were measured

Quantitative Spectral Radiance Measurements in the HYMETS Arc Jet

Calibrated spectral radiance measurements of gaseous emission spectra have been obtained from the HYMETS (Hypersonic Materials Environmental Test System) 400 kW arc-heated wind tunnel at NASA Langley Research Center. A fiber-optic coupled spectrometer collected natural luminosity from the flow. Spectral radiance measurements are reported between 340 and 1000 nm. Both Silicon Carbide (SiC) and Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator (PICA) samples were placed in the flow. Test gases studied included a mostly-N2 atmosphere (95% nitrogen, 5% argon), a simulated Earth Air atmosphere (75% nitrogen, 20% oxygen, 5% argon) and a simulated Martian atmosphere (71% carbon dioxide, 24% nitrogen, 5% argon). The bulk enthalpy of the flow was varied as was the location of the measurement. For the intermediate flow enthalpy tested (20 MJ/kg), emission from the Mars simulant gas was about 10 times higher than the Air flow and 15 times higher than the mostly-N2 atmosphere. Shock standoff distances were estimated from the spectral radiance measurements. Within-run, run-to-run and day-to-day repeatability of the emission were studied, with significant variations (15-100%) noted