Fluorescence spectroscopy applied to the optimisation of a desalting step by electrodialysis for the characterisation of marine organic matter

The isolation and characterisation of marine dissolved organic matter (DOM) are still not readily achieved today. The study of this chemically complex material is particularly difficult, especially as it is hindered by the high salinity of seawater. It is therefore essential to develop a method in which a sufficient quantity of marine organic matter can be collected for structural analyses. Reverse osmosis (RO) is often used for the concentration of DOM from freshwaters, due to the fact that DOM is not modified during RO and that DOC recoveries are high (about 80%). Unfortunately, RO cannot be used directly to isolate marine DOM, since both salts and organic matter are concentrated during the process. Therefore, marine samples have to be desalted before their concentration by RO.     

Ion and water transport during lithium chloride concentration from aqueous organic solutions by electrodialysis

The concentration of lithium chloride from aqueous organic solutions with different volume concentrations of N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAA) was studied experimentally. An extended model of the limiting electrodialysis concentration of electrolytes from mixed media was developed. The model takes into account the osmotic and electroosmotic mechanisms of the transfer of water and organic solvent, as well as the electromigration and diffusion mechanisms of the salt transfer. Using the experimental data and the extended model, we evaluated the transport parameters of the MK-40/MA-40 membrane pair in aprotic solutions of variable compositions and studied how they changed with an increase in the volume fraction of DMAA in a mixed solution. The contribution of each of these mechanisms of ion and water transport to the electrodialysis concentration of electrolyte from aqueous and organic aqueous solutions was determined. Electroosmotic transfer was found to be the main mechanism of the solvent transfer that limits the stage of the electrodialysis concentration of the electrolyte from aqueous and organic aqueous solutions.     

Recovery of organic acids from waste salt solutions derived from the manufacture of cyclohexanone by electrodialysis

The possibility of recovery of organic acids from waste salt solution, derived from the manufacture of cyclohexanone, by means of single anion-exchange membrane electrodialysis was studied in this paper. Some key parameters, such as voltage, current density, pH value, current efficiency and specific energy consumption are studied and analyzed in details on theoretical basis. Results indicate that single anion-exchange membrane electrodialysis is found to be a feasible method for recovery of organic acids. Several valuable acids, such as butyric and adipic acids are effectively separated from waste salt solution by only one-step electrodialysis. And it consumes less energy compared to the conventional processes.     

Dialytic transport of carboxylic acids through an anion exchange membrane

The transport behavior of five carboxylic acids of relevance in biotechnology (acetic, propionic, lactic, oxalic, citric) in diffusion dialysis and neutralization dialysis through an anion exchange membrane is investigated. The dependence of acid anion flux on base concentration in neutralization dialysis is analyzed in terms of two limiting situations (boundary layer control and membrane control) by an empirical two-parameter flux equation in formal analogy to a Langmuir function. When coupled to a life fermenter, neutralization dialysis is a means to control the pH of the fermentation medium. By removing biotoxic acids, it improves microbial productivity, as exemplified with the Propioni system producing vitamin B₁₂ and propionic acid.     

Investigation of carrier-mediated anion co-transport through organic membranes by use of competitive transport experiments

Normal values of the parameters of insulin receptors in erythrocytes were provided to make a control group throughout gestation, 24 h postpartum and six weeks after delivery with the aim of comparing them with other parameters with insulin receptor-related pathologies. Thus, one of the purposes of this study was the update of a method to calculate the parameters of insulin receptors in erythrocytes, carrying out several modifications that improved the assay: during binding studies incubation was in continuous rotation shaking, and increasing maximal insulin binding. Other modifications were the increase in the concentration of insulin 125I to 1 ng/mL, and the maximal concentration of unlabeled insulin, 100 ng/mL. Erythrocyte age was considered by the intracellular creatine content providing control values and allowing the normalization of the parameters of insulin receptor during gestation. Data obtained in this study indicated that changes at receptor binding level may be also considered to explain insulin resistance: week 28 showed maximal insulin secretion (16.70+/-1.44 microU/mL) whereas plasma glucose concentrations remained almost constant (91.14+/-2.37 mg/100 mL) with respect to the 1st and 2nd trimester of pregnancy (89.73+/-1.38 and 91.71+/-2.10 mg/100 mL respectively); insulin reached the point of maximal resistance, which is explained by a decrease of maximum specific insulin binding, %Bo (6.32+/-0.51) at minimal values due to a decrease of high-affinity receptor number per erythrocyte, N-AA (16+/-2) at minimal values. Moreover, the negative correlation between progesterone (31.2+/-0.2 ng/mL) and Ka-AA (r=-0.71) could possibly be related to this maximal resistance.     

Ionization constants for water and for very weak organic acids in aqueous organic mixtures

A potentiometric method using a glass electrode has been applied to the determination of apparent ionization constants for water in binary mixtures of water with 11 organic solvents at 25°C. Further calculations with these apparent ionization constants permit evaluation of the acid ionization constant for some of the organic solvents as solutes in purely aqueous solvent by two different methods. Resulting values of pK _a derived from this work are: 1,2-propanediol (14.8 and 14.8), 2,3-butanediol (15.0 and 14.7), 1,3-butanediol (15.5 and 14.8), 1,4-butanediol (14.5 and 14.4), 2-butene-1,4-diol (14.0 and 13.9), 2-butyne-1,4-diol (12.1 and 12.4), 2-methoxyethanol (15.2 and 14.8), 2-ethoxyethanol (15.0 and 14.5), and triethylene glycol (14.6 and 14.3). None of the 11 solvents shows appreciable basicity.     

Transmembrane anion transport by synthetic systems

This highlight examines recent advances in the development of synthetic membrane transporters for anions, highlighting the underlying principles of transporter design and the promising applications of such transporters to biological systems including potential future treatments for diseases like cystic fibrosis which is caused by dysregulation of chloride transport across epithelial cell membranes.     

Optimal current and voltage trajectories for minimum energy consumption in batch electrodialysis

Cost-effective operations of a batch electrodialyzer for removal of salt from a single salt solution are investigated. It is desired to minimize the operating cost for a particular batch. The operating cost for an electrodialysis (ED) stack is comprised of cost related to energy consumption and cost of maintenance of the ED stack. In effective operations of an ED stack, the maintenance cost is a small fraction of the total operating cost. The bulk of the operating cost is therefore proportional to total energy consumption, which is the sum of the electrical energy needed for salt removal and the energy required to pump various solutions through the ED stack. For fixed feed composition and the desired percent salt recovery, the total energy required is influenced by trajectories of current flowing through and the voltage applied across the ED stack and the operating time. In this regard, the following operations are studied: (I) constant current operation, (II) constant voltage operation, (III) constant current operation followed by constant voltage operation, (IV) constant voltage operation followed by constant current operation, and (V) operation with time-variant current and voltage. For arbitrary relations among salt concentration, current utilization, and stack resistance, optimal current and voltage trajectories that lead to minimum energy requirement are identified for each of the five operations. It is established analytically that operation V is superior to operations III and IV, which in turn are superior to operations I and II. Numerical illustrations reveal that the performance differences in these operations are enhanced as the percent salt recovery is increased.     

Ionic equilibria in aqueous organic solvent mixtures the dissociation constants of acids and salts in tetrahydrofuran/water mixtures

The dissociation constants of several acids (perchloric, hydrochloric, phosphoric, acetic and benzoic acids) and of some sodium salts (chloride, acetate and benzoate) have been conductometrically determined in tetrahydrofuran/water mixtures up to a 90% of tetrahydrofuran in volume. The results demonstrate that conductometry can be successfully applied to determine the dissociation constants of salts and moderately weak and strong acids in the studied mixtures. The dissociation constants of the acids and some bases taken from the literature have been fitted to solvent composition through a previously derived equation, which is based on a preferential solvation model. The fitting parameters obtained allow calculation of the dissociation constant for any solvent composition inside the applicability solvent composition range. From the pK value, the pH of any buffered solution, such as those used in liquid chromatography, can be calculated for the particular tetrahydrofuran/ water composition of interest. Appreciable ion-pairing for sodium salts and strong acids has been observed for tetrahydrofuran contents higher than 60% in volume. Therefore, the accurate calculation of the pH values of buffers in tetrahydrofuran-rich solutions must take into account the pK values of the acid and salt.     

Facilitated transport of salts by neutral anion carriers

Partitioning of ions from water to the membrane solvent (NPOE) can be quantified by Gibbs free energies of transfer, deltaG(tr,NPOE)(ion). These were derived from transport studies of lipophilic salts through supported liquid membranes (SLMs) in the absence of the carrier. Partition coefficients Kp for various salts can now be calculated. The neutral anion receptors uranyl sal(oph)enes 1-5 transport Cl- and H2PO4- as tetrapropylammonium salts. The transport is diffusion-limited and can be described by two transport parameters Dm and K(ex). From the extraction constants K(ex) and the partition coefficients Kp of the transported salts, the association constants Ka of the anion receptors for Cl- and H2PO4- in NPOE were determined. Competitive transport with carriers 3 and 4 of NPr4H2PO4 and NPr4Cl demonstrated highly selective transport of H2PO4- even in the presence of excess of Cl-.     

Separation of organic binary mixtures by pervaporation

Pervaporation is a membrane separation process which has the inherent advantage of excellent selectivity for a number of mixtures that are otherwise difficult to separate (e.g. azeotropic mixtures or mixtures of liquids with only small differences in vapor pressures). Important parameters for pervaporation are the operating pressure on the permeate side and the temperature drop at the membrane interface caused by the phase change from liquid to vapor. This paper presents a mathematical model for the mass transport of binary mixtures within the membrane. The calculations are based on the transport equations of Shelden and co-workers [1]. These equations were solved without any simplifying assumptions and tested experimentally with benzene—cyclohexane mixtures. The limitations of the mathematical model and possible methods of improving it are discussed. The temperature drop at the membrane interface and its influence on the rate of permeation are also examined.     

Complementary anion binding by bidentate boron-containing Lewis acids

Anion binding by the pyroborates (catB)₂O (1, cat = O₂C₆H₄-1,2) and (S,S-Ph₂C₂H₂O₂B)₂O (2) has been investigated by spectroscopic, structural and titration methods. 1 has been shown to act as a bifunctional Lewis acid, exemplified by the complementary (1:1) binding of bidentate bases such as acetate and dihydrogen phosphate. The former complex has been characterized in the solid state by X-ray diffraction and a binding constant of 1500 ± 550 M⁻¹ determined in chloroform solution. The reaction of 2 with acetate, by contrast, leads to breakdown of the Lewis acid chelate and to the formation of the homochiral borate anion [(S,S-Ph₂C₂H₂O₂)₂B]⁻ in good yield (84% based on the chiral component).     

Curvature-regulated transmembrane anion transport by a trifluoromethylated bisbenzimidazole

In this paper,we demonstrate that modification of anion-transport active 1,3-bis(benzimidazol-2-yl)benzene with strongly electron-withdrawing trifluoromethyl and nitro groups leads to a dramatic increase in the anionophoric activity,and the activity may be greatly regulated by the curvatures of the liposomes used.     

Transmembrane anion transport mediated by adamantyl-functionalised imidazolium salts

We present the design, synthesis and transmembrane anion transport properties of a new class of mobile organic transporters, possessing a central imidazolium cation and two external adamantyl units. We demonstrate herein that the imidazolium cation can be incorporated in the structure of active mobile anion transporters. Depending on the nature of the counter-anion of the salt, as well as the extravesicular anions, different anion selectivities were obtained. We show the importance of the H2 proton of the imidazolium cation in order to obtain a higher binding constant of the chloride anion. Furthermore, we demonstrate the importance of the flexibility of the spacers between the adamantyl groups and the imidazolium cation in the transport process.     

有机酸类化感物质的血清蛋白输运机制研究

利用亲和毛细管电泳(Affinity Capillary Electrophoresis,ACE)建立有机酸类化感物质与血清白蛋白(Bovine serum albumin,BSA)结合反应的分析方法。模拟典型有机酸类化感物质与血清白蛋白的结合反应,构建配体(有机酸)-受体(BSA)相互作用体系,采用ACE法研究不同浓度柠檬酸(Citric Acid,CA)/磺基水杨酸(Sulfosalicylic acid,SA)与BSA的结合反应机制并比较不同有机酸作用机理异同。结果表明,有机酸类化感物质CA/SA与BSA发生结合反应形成复合物CABSA和SA-BSA。依据有效淌度变化,理论方程非线性拟合结合反应的表观结合常数KCA-BSA=(1.82±0.11)×104L·mol-1、KSA-BSA=(2.12±0.12)×104L·mol-1,结合反应均为快平衡反应。相关工作阐明了血清蛋白输运有机酸类化感物质的生理作用,为化感物质与生物大分子结合反应的深入研究提供相应理论参考。     

Permselectivity between two anions in anion exchange membranes crosslinked with various diamines in electrodialysis

A membranous copolymer crosslinked with divinylbenzene reacted with N,N,N′,N′-tetra-methylethylenediamine, N,N,N′,N′-tetramethyl-1,3-propanediamine, and N,N,N′,N′-tetramethyl-1,6-hexanediamine to prepare highly crosslinked anion exchange membranes. More than 80% of both tertiary amino groups of the diamines reacted with chloromethyl groups of the membrane to form crosslinkage. After formation of the high crosslinkage of the membrane was confirmed with dialysis of a neutral molecule, electrochemical properties of the obtained membranes (mainly, relative transport number between two anions in electrodialysis) were evaluated: nitrate ions to chloride ions, sulfate ions to chloride ions, fluoride ions to chloride ions, and bromide ions to chloride ions. Though larger anions, in general, were difficult to permeate through the membranes due to high crosslinkage, the number of methylene groups of the diamines (which means the increase in hydrophobicity of anion exchange groups) also affected the relative transport number between two anions. The lower the hydration of anions, the higher the relative transport number of the anions through the membranes with the hydrophobic anion exchange groups. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Competitive coupling of amide anion over menthyl propionate anion with aryl radical

A competitive coupling of amide anion over menthyl propionate anion with aryl radicalin photo-S_(RN) 1 mechanism was encountered. The rcaction afforded N-aryl propionic amide in excel-lent yield. In contrast, the expected nucleophilic photo-S_(RN) 1 substitution originating from the carb-anion was observed in the case of t-butyl propionate. According to the proposed mechanisms and MOcorrelation diagrams of the coupling step of nucleophiles with aryl radical, the interesting con-trast is reasonably attributed to the variation in energy gap between π~*c-o and π~*Ar of (ArNu)-Usually, the odd electron of (ArNu)- is weightly populated at π~*c-o, however, the diminished priv-ilege of π~*c-o in menthyl propionate promotes a dominant population of the odd electron at π~*Ar,which leads to the fragmentation of (ArNu)- into the starting carbanion and aryl radical.     

Determination of thorium in zirconium-hafnium mixtures by aromatic polycarboxylic acids

Summary Results are presented for 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic (trimesic), 1,2,4-benzenetricarboxylic (trimellitic) and 1,2,4,5-benzenetetracarboxylic (pyromellitic) acids as precipitants for thorium. Trimesic and pyromellitic acids have been found to be better reagents than trimellitic acid. Thorium and zirconium-hafnium mixtures can be separated by precipitating zirconium-hafnium first in 0.5–0.8 N acid solution and then precipitating thorium in the filtrate at 3–4 pH. The separations are quite reproducible. The precipitates in all cases are ignited to the respective oxides. 5–10 mg samples of thorium can be estimated and separated from 10–50 mg samples of zirconium and/or hafnium. Results of investigations on interferences of cations and anions and pyrolysis curves for the decomposition of precipitates are presented.

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Zusammenfassung Als Fällungsmittel fÜr Thorium wurden 1,3,5-Benzoltricarbonsäure (Trimesinsäure), 1,2,4,5-Benzoltetracarbonsäure (Pyromellitsäure) und 1,2,4-Benzoltricarbonsäure (Trimellitsäure) untersucht, wobei die beiden ersten sich als gÜnstiger erwiesen haben. Gemische von Thorium und Zirkonium/Hafnium kÖnnen getrennt werden, indem man zuerst Zr/Hf in 0,5–0,8 n saurer LÖsung fällt und anschlie\end Thorium aus dem Filtrat bei pH 3–4 niederschlägt. Die Trennung ist gut reproduzierbar. Die Niederschläge werden jeweils zu den entsprechenden Oxiden verglÜht. 5–10 mg Th kÖnnen von 10–50 mg Zr und/oder Hf getrennt werden. StÖrungen durch andere Kationen und Anionen wurden untersucht und Pyrolysekurven fÜr die Zersetzung der Niederschläge aufgestellt.

     

Ionization constants for very weak organic acids in aqueous solution and apparent ionization constants for water in aqueous organic mixtures

A potentiometric method using a glass electrode has been applied to determination of apparent ionization constants for water in binary mixtures of water with tetrahydrofuran, methanol, 1,3-propanediol, glycerol, sucrose, and glucose at 25°C. Further calculations with these apparent ionization constants, which are now based explicitly on the previously implicit assumption that ionization of the organic component is negligible compared to ionization of water, permit evaluation of ionization constants for several very weak acids in purely aqueous solvent. Resulting pK values derived from this work and from our earlier work are as follows: glucose (12.38), sucrose (12.75 and 12.80), glycerol (14.05 and 14.07), ethylene glycol (14.44 and 14.52), methanol (15.2), 1,3-propanediol (14.8 and 15.0), 1-propanol (15.1), 2-propanol (15.7), and 2-methyl-2-propanol (15.0).