Alkanolamines are the most popular absorbents used to remove CO₂ from various process gas streams. Therefore, the CO₂ reaction with aqueous alkanolamine solutions is of considerable importance. This article gives an overview of recent studies on these reaction systems. In addition, the kinetic behavior of several novel amine-based solvents is analyzed.

Ionic liquids have gained intensive interest due to their unique physical properties and specific chemical behavior making them most interesting for new and innovative applications. A detailed screening of all parameters relevant for the suitability of ionic liquids for specific applications focusing on gas compression and hydraulics is presented.

Biodiesel is gaining intensive attention around the world as an alternative fuel for diesel engines. This paper studies tuning heterogeneous transesterification catalysis and process for easy catalyst separation and enhanced reaction rate. The application of amphiphilic catalysts, ultrasonic pretreatment, and nanoemulsions has obvious advantages.

Modified cellulase, α-amylase and β-glycosidase are used to construct a multi-enzyme. Multi-enzymatic catalysis combined with acid hydrolysis is shown to enhance the efficiency of enzymatic catalysis and reduce the mass transfer resistance from starch and cellulose in the extraction of diosgenin from Dioscorea zingiberensis C. H. Wright. The modified cellulase shows better thermostability and resistance to alkali.

Response surface methodology was used to optimize the conversion of ergosterol to vitamin D₂. Two significant factors, including the irradiation time and the concentration of initial ergosterol were considered as independent variables. An equation resulting from the simulation accords with the experimental data quite well.

In order to analyze the combination of a rotary kiln and a biofilter in soil decontamination processes, a previously characterized soil is artificially contaminated with toluene, ethylbenzene or p-xylene. Only the toluene degrading biofilter records a poor performance and the combination of desorption systems and biological reactors for soil decontamination is shown to be an embryonic alternative for transforming certain soil pollutants into harmless end products.

The formation of alkylpyrazines, alkylpiperazines and alkyl-1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2.]octanes based on elimination, condensation, cracking and proton transfer reactions over the ZSM-5 zeolite are reported and the mechanisms discussed.

Fractional factorial design is employed to investigate the effect of feed composition and the major operating variables on the production of pharmaceutical grade magnesium stearate in a double decomposition process. The results are successfully adapted to the large scale production of pharmaceutical grade magnesium stearate meeting the standards required.

Well defined hyper-branched polyglycerols represent a highly versatile and biocompatible class of polymers that are typically prepared by polymerization of glycidol in a tedious batch method. A con-tinuous flow synthesis protocol has been developed by transferring the reaction to a microstructured device with superior heat and mass transfer, permitting control over the highly exothermal ring-opening polymerization reaction.

The neural network based control of continuous acrylonitrile (ACN) polymerization is presented. Two typical neural network controllers are investigated, model predictive control and NARMA-L2 (Nonlinear Auto Regressive Moving Average) control. The results indicate that the model predictive controller requires a larger computational time.

A guanidine-based reagent efficiently extracts the gold cyanoanion from typical gold liquors by showing good selectivity versus other common metal cyanoanions such as Ag, Cu, Zn, and Fe. The investigation includes the effect of variables affecting the extraction efficiency, including pH, extractant concentration, modifier concentration, and aqueous to organic ratios.

The wall temperature time series modeling of two- and three-phase flow boiling evaporation systems with genetic programming is developed. The agreements between the values predicted by the developed models and the experimental data of the chaotic time series are quite satisfactory for ordinary and fluidized bed evaporator systems.

Obtained data show that air entrainment is enhanced for a free jet flow of air and a relatively higher viscosity liquid phase. A two-zone entrainment model is derived proposing modified sub-models of the free jet characteristics related to the nozzle flow conditions. Accordingly, more accurate predictions are ascertained for two-phase dispersion flows in stagnant ambient air.

The velocities and pressure drop profiles of the gas flow fields of a cyclone with different inlet section angles are studied numerically and simulated by means of the Reynolds Stress Transport Model (RSTM). The effect of the inlet section angle on the separation performance is related to the dimensions, i.e., the insertion depth and diameter, of the vortex finder.

Improved control of polydispersed solid particles in a continuous solid-liquid pulsed column is accomplished with an improved internal design and non-sinusoidal pulsation incorporating a mixing step. The importance of proper pulsation and the liquid flow rate on particle segregation is demonstrated.

Kinetic and technological aspects of struvite synthesis in a continuous liquid jet-pump DTM-type crystallizer with internal circulation of suspension were raised and discussed. Nucleation and crystal growth rates in diluted water solutions of magnesium, ammonium, and phosphate ions in the presented process conditions were identified.

This article describes a mathematical model that can be used for prediction of the moisture content inside a cubic material, at any cross-section and at any time, after the startup of the drying process. The parameters of the model are described for potato cube particles.

High pressure homogenization of dairy products is today state of the art but limited by the fat content. This article des- cribes the development of a novel simultaneous homogenization and mixing valve. The challenging task was to stabilize disrupted fat droplets especially against extensive aggregation.

Electrochemical methoxylation of p-xylene with methanol over mono- and multi-metal oxide(s) modified kaolin is performed under various conditions and a high conversion of p-xylene is observed. Addition of low levels of the distilled methoxylate product to gasoline may remarkably improve the octane number of the gasoline.