Aqueous Two-Phase Flotation for the Recovery of Biomolecules

Aqueous two-phase flotation (ATPF), a novel technique which integrates the principles of aqueous two-phase systems and mass transfer mode of solvent sublation, has been successfully applied for the separation and purification of biological materials in the field of biotechnology. From the studies done so far, ATPF has demonstrated as an effective, economical and environment-friendly technique for separation of labile biomolecules from their crude aqueous extracts of natural plants or fermentation broths, under mild separation condition. In this article, the basic principles, experimental apparatus set up, key design variables of ATPF, ATPF applications and a comparative study between ATPF and other conventional methods are discussed. This review is intended to present a comprehensive summary on the research works carried out so far related to ATPF since its introduction in 2009 until present, which will be helpful for further research in ATPF.     

Isothermal (vapour + liquid) equilibrium for binary mixtures of polyethylene glycol mono-4-nonylphenyl ether (PEGNPE) with methanol,ethanol, or 2-propanol

Saturated pressures of three binary systems of oligomeric polyethylene glycol mono-4-nonylphenyl ether (PEGNPE) with methanol, ethanol, and 2-propanol have been measured by using an autoclave (vapour + liquid) equilibrium (VLE) apparatus at temperatures ranging from (340 to 455) K and the oligomer content ranging from 0.100 to 0.400 in mole fraction. With a given feed composition, equilibrium pressures were measured at various temperatures to obtain VLE data. The experimental data were fitted to the Antoine equation and also correlated with activity coefficient models, the NRTL and the UNIQUAC. The correlation results showed good agreement between the calculated values and the experimental data. In general, the NRTL model yielded better results. Additionally, the solvent activities were evaluated from the experimental results and were compared with those from the NRTL and the UNIQUAC models.