Search results for: membrane protein

Authors: Ikhlas Ahmed, Jamillah Zamoon

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The human receptor for advanced glycation end product is a plasma membrane receptor with an intrinsically disordered region. The protein consists of three extracellular domains, a single membrane spanning transmembrane domain, and a cytosolic domain which is intrinsically disordered and responsible for signaling. The disordered nature of the cytosolic domain allows it to be dynamic in solution. This receptor self-associates to higher forms. The association is triggered by ligand, metal or by the extracellular domain. Fluorescence spectroscopy technique is used to test the self-association of the different concentrations of the cytosolic domain. This work has concluded that the cytosolic domain of this receptor also self-associates. Moreover, the self-association does not require ligand or metal.

Keywords: fluorescence spectroscopy, hRAGE, IDP, Self-association

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Authors: Gokhan Kilic, Pelin Celik

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Structural health monitoring (SHM) is widely used in evaluating the state and health of membrane structures. In the past, in order to collect data and send it to a data collection unit on membrane structures, wire sensors had to be put as part of the SHM process. However, this study recommends using wireless sensors instead of traditional wire ones to construct an economical, useful, and easy-to-install membrane structure health monitoring system. Every wireless sensor uses a software translation program that is connected to the monitoring server. Operational neural networks (ONNs) have recently been developed to solve the shortcomings of convolutional neural networks (CNNs), such as the network's resemblance to the linear neuron model. The results of using ONNs for monitoring to evaluate the structural health of a membrane are presented in this work.

Keywords: wireless sensor network, non-destructive testing, operational neural networks, membrane structures, dynamic monitoring

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Authors: Aghasadeghi MR., Bahramali G., Sadat SM., Sadeghi SA., Yousefi M., Khodaei K., Ghorbani M., Sadat Larijani M.

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Background:The emerging COVID-19 pandemic is a serious concernfor the public health worldwide. Despite the many mutations in the virus genome, it is important to find an effective vaccine against viral mutations. Therefore, in current study, we aimed at immunoinformatic evaluation of the virus proteins immunogenicity to design a preventive vaccine candidate, which could elicit humoral and cellular immune responses as well. Methods:Three antigenic regions are included;Spike, Membrane, and Nucleocapsid amino acid sequences were obtained, and possible fusion proteins were assessed andcompared by immunogenicity, structural features, and population coverage. The best fusion protein was also evaluated for MHC-I and MHC-II T-cell epitopes and the linear and conformational B-cell epitopes. Results: Among the four predicted models, the truncated Spike protein in fusion with M and N proteins is composed of 24 highly immunogenic human MHC class I and 29 MHC class II, along with 14 B-cell linear and 61 discontinues epitopes. Also, the selected protein has high antigenicity and acceptable population coverage of 82.95% in Iran and 92.51% in Europe. Conclusion: The data indicate that the truncated Spike-M-N SARS-CoV-2form which could be potential targets of neutralizing antibodies. The protein also has the ability to stimulate humoral and cellular immunity. The in silico study provided the fusion protein as a potential preventive vaccine candidate for further in vivo evaluation.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2, immunoinformatic, protein, vaccine

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Authors: M. Yusuf Ansari, Asad Abbas

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Proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell is a very efficient and promising energy conversion device. Although Nafion® is considered as benchmark materials for membrane used in PEM fuel cell, it has limitations that restrict its uses. Alternative materials for the membrane is always a challenging field for researchers. Sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) is one of the promising material for membrane due to its chemical and mechanical stability and lower cost. In this work, SPEEK is synthesized, and property booster such as silica nanoparticles and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) are also added to analyse changes in properties such as water uptake, IEC, and conductivity. It has been found that adding PVA support high water uptake and proton conductivity but at large amount of PVA reduces the proton conductivity due to very high water uptake. Adding silica enhances water uptake and proton conductivity.

Keywords: PEM Membrane, sulfonated poly (ether ether ketone) (SPEEK), silica fumes (SiO2), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)

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Authors: Jiraporn Rojtinnakorn

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ICAM-2 (intercellular adhesion molecule 2) or CD102 (Cluster of Differentiation 102) is type I trans-membrane glycoproteins, composing 2-9 immunoglobulin-like C2-type domains. ICAM-2 plays the particular role in immune response and cell surveillance. It is concerned in innate and specific immunity, cell survival signal, apoptosis, and anticancer. EST clone of ICAM-2, from P. gigas blood cell EST libraries, showed high identity to human ICAM-2 (92%) with conserve region of ICAM N-terminal domain and part of Ig superfamily. Gene and protein of ICAM-2 has been founded in mammals. This is the first report of ICAM-2 in fish.

Keywords: ICAM-2, CD102, Pangasianodon gigas, antitumor

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Authors: Yuri Seu, Seong-Kyu Choi, Hyun Jin Park, Jin Seo Park, HongtaeKim, Mi-Sun Hur

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The aim of this study was to clarify the attachments of the distal oblique membrane (DOM) and distal oblique bundle (DOB) of the interosseous membrane of the forearm. The distal oblique membrane was investigated in the 21 specimens of 11 Korean cadavers. The muscles in the forearms were removed to observe the DOB. The DOB was found in 13 of 21 specimens (61.9 %). The DOB was attached to the distal radioulnar joint capsule and the septum between the tendons of the extensor digiti minimi (EDM) and extensor carpi ulnaris (ECU) as well as the radius and ulna. In the cases that the DOB was absent, a part of the DOM extended to the distal radioulnar joint capsule and the septum between the tendons of the EDM and ECU, as well as the radius and ulna in all specimens (100%). The DOM, including the DOB, was arranged obliquely in the anteroposterior direction, whereas the intermediate part of the interosseous membrane was arranged in the same plane between the radius and ulna. The extension of the DOM and DOB to the wrist region may stabilize the distal radioulnar joint during supination and pronation. These data will be useful when performing reconstructive surgeries.

Keywords: distal oblique membrane, distal oblique bundle, distal radioulnar joint capsule, interosseous membrane

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Authors: Remzi Şahin, Sadık Ata, Kevser Dincer

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In this study, performance of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell was experimentally investigated. The efficiency of energy conversion in PEM fuel cells is dependent on the catalytic activities of the catalysts used in the cathode and anode of membrane electrode assemblies. Membrane is considered the heart of PEM fuel cells without which they cannot produce electricity. PEM fuel cell performance increased with coating carbon nanotube (CNT). CNT show a unique combination of stiffness, strength, and tenacity compared to other fiber materials which usually lack one or more of these properties. Two different experiments were performed and the membrane performance has been determined by repeating the two experiments that were done before coating. The purposes of these experiments are the observation of power change due to a temperature change in the same voltage value.

Keywords: carbon nanotube (CNT), proton exchange membrane (PEM), fuel cell, spin method

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Authors: Zi-Han Li, Lu Fang, Liang Wu, Dong-Yuan Chang, Manyuan Dong, Liang Ji, Qi Zhang, Ming-Hui Zhao, Sydney C.W. Tang, Lemin Zheng, Min Chen

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Uncoupling of mitochondrial respiration by chemical uncouplers has proven effective in ameliorating obesity, insulin resistance, and hyperglycemia, which were risk factors for diabetic nephropathy (DN). Recently, it was found that annexin A1(ANXA1) could improve mitochondrial function to mitigate DN progression. However, the underlying mechanism is not fully clear yet. Here, it was identified that uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1), an inner membrane protein of mitochondria, as a key to mitochondrial homeostasis improved by ANXA1. Specifically, ANXA1 attenuated mitochondrial dysfunction via appropriately upregulating UCP1 by stabilizing its transcription factor GATA binding protein 3 (GATA3) through combining with thioredoxin. Moreover, specific overexpression of UCP1 in renal cortex rescued renal injuries in diabetic Anxa1-KO mice. UCP1 deletion aggravated renal injuries in HFD/STZ-induced diabetic mice. Mechanistically, UCP1 reduced mitochondrial fission through the aristaless-related homeobox (ARX)/cardiolipin synthase 1 (CRLS1) pathway. Therapeutically, CL316243, a UCP1 agonist, could attenuate established DN in db/db mice. This work established a novel principle to harness the power of uncouplers for the treatment of DN.

Keywords: diabetic nephropathy, uncoupling protein 1, mitochondrial homeostasis, cardiolipin metabolism

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Authors: M. Thuanthong, W. Youravong, N. Sirinupong

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Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) is one of fish species cultured in Thailand with a high production volume. A lot of skin is generated during fish processing. In addition, there are many research reported that fish skin contains abundant of collagen. Thus, the use of Nile tilapia skin as collagen source can increase the benefit of industrial waste. In this study, Acid soluble collagen (ASC) was extracted at 5, 15 or 25 ˚C with 0.5 M acetic acid then the acid was removed out and collagen was concentrated by ultrafiltration-diafiltration (UFDF). The triple helix collagen from UFDF process was used as substrate to produce collagen peptides by alcalase hydrolysis in an enzymatic membrane reactor (EMR) coupling with 1 kDa molecular weight cut off (MWCO) polysulfone hollow fiber membrane. The results showed that ASC extracted at high temperature (25 ˚C) with 0.5 M acetic acid for 5 h still preserved triple helix structure. In the UFDF process, the acid removal was higher than 90 % without any effect on ASC properties, particularly triple helix structure as indicated by circular dichroism spectrum. Moreover, Collagen from UFDF was used to produce collagen peptides by EMR. In EMR, collagen was pre-hydrolyzed by alcalase for 60 min before introduced to membrane separation. The EMR operation was operated for 10 h and provided a good of protein conversion stability. The results suggested that there is a successfulness of UF in application for acid removal to produce ASC with desirable preservation of its quality. In addition, the EMR was proven to be an effective process to produce low molecular weight peptides with ACE-inhibitory activity properties.

Keywords: acid soluble collagen, ultrafiltration-diafiltration, enzymatic membrane reactor, ace-inhibitory activity

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Authors: Habtamu Abdisa

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In nature, water may not be free from contaminants due to its polar nature. But, more than this, the environmental water is highly polluted by manmade activities from industrial, agricultural, recreation, shipping, and domestic sites, thereby increasing the shortage of freshwater for designated purposes. Therefore, in the face of water scarcity, human beings are enforced to look at all the existing opportunities to get an adequate amount of freshwater resources. The most probable water resource is wastewater, from which the water can be recovered to serve designated purposes (for industrial, agricultural, drinking, and other domestic uses). Present-day, the most preferable method for recovering water from different wastewater streams for re-use is membrane technology. This paper looks at the progressive development of membrane technology in wastewater treatment. The applications of pressure-driven membrane separation technology (microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nano-filtration, reverse osmosis, and tissue purification) and no pressure membrane separation technology (semipermeable membrane, liquefiedfilm, and electro-dialysis) and also ion-exchange were reviewed. More than all, the technology for converting environmental water pollutants into energy is of considerable attention. Finally, recommendations for future research relating to the application of membrane technology in wastewater treatment were made. Also, further research recommendation about membrane fouling and cleaning was made.

Keywords: environmental pollution, membrane technology, water quality, wastewater

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Authors: Elizalde D. Bana

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Healing restores continuity and form through cell replication; hence, conserving structural integrity. In response to the worldwide pressing problem of chronic wounds in the healthcare delivery system, the researcher aims to provide effective intervention to preserve the structural integrity of the person. The wound healing effects of cryopreserved and lyophilized amniotic membrane (AM) of a term fetus embedded into two (2) concentrations (1.5 % and 1.0 %) of absorption-based ointment has been evaluated in vivo using the excision wound healing model 1x1 cm size. The total protein concentration in full term fetus was determined by the Biuret and Bradford methods, which are based on UV-visible spectroscopy. The percentages of protein presence in 9.5 mg (Mass total sample) of Amniotic membrane ranges between 14.77 – 14.46 % in Bradford method, while slightly lower to 13.78 – 13.80 % concentration in Biuret method, respectively. Bradford method evidently showed higher sensitivity for proteins than Biuret test. Overall, the amniotic membrane is composed principally of proteins in which a copious amount of literature substantially proved its healing abilities. After which, an area of 1 cm by 1 cm skin tissue was excised to its full thickness from the dorsolateral aspect of the isogenic mice and was applied twice a day with the ointment formulation having two (2) concentrations for the diabetic group and non-diabetic group. The wounds of each animal were left undressed and its area was measured every other day by a standard measurement formula from day 2,4,6,8,10,12 and 14. By the 14th day, the ointment containing 1.5 % of AM in absorption-based ointment applied to non-diabetic and diabetic group showed 100 % healing. The wound areas in the animals treated with the standard antibiotic, Mupirocin Ointment (Brand X) showed a 100% healing by the 14th day but with traces of scars, indicating that AM prepared from cryopreservation and lyophilization, at that given concentration, had a better wound healing property than the standard antibiotic. Four (4) multivariate tests were used which showed a significant interaction between days and treatments, meaning that the ointments prepared in two differing concentrations and induced in different groups of the mice had a significant effect on the percent of contraction over time. Furthermore, the evaluations of its effectiveness to wound healing were all significant although in differing degrees. It is observed that the higher the concentrations of amniotic membrane, the more effective are the results.

Keywords: wounds, healing, amniotic membrane ointments, biomedical, stem cell

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Authors: Chia-Yu Chang, Yi-Feng Lin

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CO2 capture has attracted significant research attention due to global warming. Among the various CO2 capture methods, membrane technology has proven to be highly efficient in capturing CO2 due to the ease at which this technology can be scaled up, its low energy consumptions, small area requirements and overall environmental friendliness for use by industrial plants. Capturing CO2 is to use a membrane contactor with a combination of water-repellent porous membranes and chemical absorption processes. In a CO2 membrane contactor system, CO2 passes through a hydrophobic porous membrane in the gas phase to contact the amine absorbent in the liquid phase. Consequently, additional CO2 gas is absorbed by amine absorbents. This study examines highly porous Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)/Polystyrene (PS) Nanofibrous Membranes and successfully coated onto a macroporous Al2O3 membrane. The performance of these materials in a membrane contactor system for CO2 absorption is also investigated. Compared with pristine PS nanofibrous membranes, the PDMS/PS nanofibrous membranes exhibit greater solvent resistance and mechanical strength, making them more suitable for use in CO2 capture by the membrane contactor. The resulting hydrophobic membrane contactor also demonstrates the potential for large-scale CO2 absorption during post-combustion processes in power plants.

Keywords: CO2 capture, polystyrene, polydimethylsiloxane, superhydrophobic

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Authors: Karan R. Chavan, Srivats Gopalan, Kumudini V. Marathe

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In the current work, the comparison of degradation of malathion by single species, Pseudomonas Stutzeri, and Activated Sludge/Mixed Microbial Culture is studied in a Membrane Bioreactor. Various parameters were considered to study the effect of single species degradation compared to degradation by activated sludge. The experimental results revealed 85-90% reduction in the COD of the Malathion containing synthetic wastewater. Complete reduction of malathion was observed within 24 hours in both the cases. The critical flux was 10 LMH for both the systems. Fouling propensity, Cake and Membrane resistances were calculated thus giving an insight regarding the working of Membrane Bioreactor-based on single species and activated sludge.

Keywords: fouling, membrane bioreactor, mixed microbial culture, single species

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Authors: Harshada Lohokare

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Biofouling is major issue in Reverse Osmosis (RO) membranes operation. To address the biofouling issue in raw water as well as wastewater recycle / reuse application requires effective biofouling control program. Current biocides (2,2-dibromo-3-nitrilopropionamide, isothiazolinone) are costly and hence often under-dosed. The membrane compatibility, as well as the microbio efficiency of the RO membrane biocide was studied. Based on the biofouling potential, the biocide product and it’s dosage was studied. It was found that these products need to be dosed continuous as well as intermittent dosage based on the microbio load. This study shows that depending on the application and microbio fouling potential, products can be chosen to mitigate the biofouling issues and improve the RO membrane performance.

Keywords: reverse osmosis membrane, biofouling, biocide, stabilized halogen

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Authors: Mohammad Hossein Modarressi, Mozhgan Mondeali, Khabat Barkhordari, Ali Etemadi

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The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by SARS-CoV-2, has led to significant concerns worldwide due to its catastrophic effects on public health. The SARS-CoV-2 infection is initiated with the binding of the receptor-binding domain (RBD) in its spike protein to the ACE2 receptor in the host cell membrane. Due to the error-prone entity of the viral RNA-dependent polymerase complex, the virus genome, including the coding region for the RBD, acquires new mutations, leading to the appearance of multiple variants. These variants can potentially impact transmission, virulence, antigenicity and evasive immune properties. S477N mutation located in the RBD has been observed in the SARS-CoV-2 omicron (B.1.1. 529) variant. In this study, we investigated the consequences of S477N mutation at the molecular level using computational approaches such as molecular dynamics simulation, protein-protein interaction analysis, immunoinformatics and free energy computation. We showed that displacement of Ser with Asn increases the stability of the spike protein and its affinity to ACE2 and thus increases the transmission potential of the virus. This mutation changes the folding and secondary structure of the spike protein. Also, it reduces antibody neutralization, raising concern about re-infection, vaccine breakthrough and therapeutic values.

Keywords: S477N, COVID-19, molecular dynamic, SARS-COV2 mutations

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Authors: Malgorzata Krysiak, Anna Wegrzyn, Maciej Garstka, Radoslaw Mazur

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Under constantly fluctuating environmental conditions, the thylakoid membrane protein network evolved the ability to dynamically respond to changing biotic and abiotic factors. One of the most important protective mechanism is rearrangement of the chlorophyll-protein (CP) complexes, induced by protein phosphorylation. In a temperate climate, low temperature is one of the abiotic stresses that heavily affect plant growth and productivity. The aim of this study was to determine the role of LHCII antenna complex phosphorylation in the dark-chilling response. The study included an experimental model based on dark-chilling at 4 °C of detached chilling sensitive (CS) runner bean (Phaseolus coccineus L.) and chilling tolerant (CT) garden pea (Pisum sativum L.) leaves. This model is well described in the literature as used for the analysis of chilling impact without any additional effects caused by light. We examined changes in thylakoid membrane protein phosphorylation, interactions between phosphorylated LHCII (P-LHCII) and CP complexes, and their impact on the dynamics of photosystem II (PSII) under dark-chilling conditions. Our results showed that the dark-chilling treatment of CS bean leaves induced a substantial increase of phosphorylation of LHCII proteins, as well as changes in CP complexes composition and their interaction with P-LHCII. The PSII photochemical efficiency measurements showed that in bean, PSII is overloaded with light energy, which is not compensated by CP complexes rearrangements. On the contrary, no significant changes in PSII photochemical efficiency, phosphorylation pattern and CP complexes interactions were observed in CT pea. In conclusion, our results indicate that different responses of the LHCII phosphorylation to chilling stress take place in CT and CS plants, and that kinetics of LHCII phosphorylation and interactions of P-LHCII with photosynthetic complexes may be crucial to chilling stress response. Acknowledgments: presented work was financed by the National Science Centre, Poland grant No.: 2016/23/D/NZ3/01276

Keywords: LHCII, phosphorylation, chilling stress, pea, runner bean

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Authors: Fadi Eleiwi, Taous Meriem Laleg-Kirati

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This paper presents a complete dynamic modeling of a membrane distillation process. The model contains two consistent dynamic models. A 2D advection-diffusion equation for modeling the whole process and a modified heat equation for modeling the membrane itself. The complete model describes the temperature diffusion phenomenon across the feed, membrane, permeate containers and boundary layers of the membrane. It gives an online and complete temperature profile for each point in the domain. It explains heat conduction and convection mechanisms that take place inside the process in terms of mathematical parameters, and justify process behavior during transient and steady state phases. The process is monitored for any sudden change in the performance at any instance of time. In addition, it assists maintaining production rates as desired, and gives recommendations during membrane fabrication stages. System performance and parameters can be optimized and controlled using this complete dynamic model. Evolution of membrane boundary temperature with time, vapor mass transfer along the process, and temperature difference between membrane boundary layers are depicted and included. Simulations were performed over the complete model with real membrane specifications. The plots show consistency between 2D advection-diffusion model and the expected behavior of the systems as well as literature. Evolution of heat inside the membrane starting from transient response till reaching steady state response for fixed and varying times is illustrated.

Keywords: membrane distillation, dynamical modeling, advection-diffusion equation, thermal equilibrium, heat equation

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Authors: Naureen Akhtar

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The stability of the protein in detergent-containing solution is the key for its successful crystallisation. Fluorescence-detection size-exclusion chromatography (FSEC) is a potential approach for screening monodispersity as well as the stability of protein in a detergent-containing-solution. In this present study, covalently linked Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) to bacterial nitrate transporter, NarU from Escherichia coli was studied for pre-crystallisation trials by FSEC. Immobilised metal ion affinity chromatography (IMAC) and gel filtration were employed for their purification. The main objectives of this study were over-expression, detergent screening and crystallisation of nitrate transporter proteins. This study could not produce enough proteins that could realistically be taken forward to achieve the objectives set for this particular research. In future work, different combinations of variables like vectors, tags, creation of mutant proteins, host cells, position of GFP (N- or C-terminal) and/or membrane proteins would be tried to determine the best combination as the principle of technique is still promising.

Keywords: transporters, detergents, over-expression, crystallography

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Authors: Mehrdad Ebrahimi, Oliver Schmitz, Axel Schmidt, Peter Czermak

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“Produced water” (PW) is any fossil water that is brought to the surface along with crude oil or natural gas. By far, PW is the largest waste stream by volume associated with oil and gas production operations. Due to the increasing volume of waste all over the world in the current decade, the outcome and effect of discharging PW on the environment has lately become a significant issue of environmental concerns. Therefore, there is a need for new technologies for PW treatment due to increase focus on water conservation and environmental regulation. The use of membrane processes for treatment of PW has several advantages over many of the traditional separation techniques. In oilfield produced water treatment with ceramic membranes, process efficiency is characterized by the specific permeate flux and by the oil separation performance. Apart from the membrane properties, the permeate flux during filtration of oily wastewaters is known to be strongly dependent on the constituents of the feed solution, as well as on process conditions, e.g. trans-membrane pressure (TMP) and cross-flow velocity (CFV). The research project presented in these report describes the application of different ceramic membrane filtration technologies for the efficient treatment of oil-field produced water and different model oily solutions.

Keywords: ceramic membrane, membrane fouling, oil rejection, produced water treatment

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Authors: Phumlani Msomi, Patrick Nonjola, Patrick Ndungu, James Ramontja

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A series of quaternized poly (2.6 dimethyl – 1.4 phenylene oxide)/ polysulfone (QPPO/PSF) blend anion exchange membrane (AEM) were successfully fabricated and characterized for methanol alkaline fuel cell application. Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles were introduced in the polymer matrix to enhance the intrinsic properties of the AEM. To confirm successful fabrication, FT-IR spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR and HMBC ¹⁵N NMR) were used. The membrane properties were enhanced by the addition of ZnO nanoparticles. The addition of ZnO nanoparticles resulted to a higher ion exchange capacity (IEC) of 3.72 mmol.g⁻¹and a 30-fold ion conductivity (IC) increase of the nanocomposite due to no (zero (0)) methanol permeability at 30 °C and increased water uptake. The QPPO/PSF/2% ZnO composite retained over 80 % of its initial IC when evaluated for alkaline stability at room temperature. The maximum power output reached for the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) constructed with QPPO/PSF/2%ZnO is 69 mW.cm⁻², which is about three times more than the parent QPPO membrane. The above results indicate that QPPO/PSF-ZnO is a good candidate as an anion exchange membrane for fuel cell application.

Keywords: anion exchange membrane, fuel cell, zinc oxide, nanocomposite

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Authors: Zhaoyang Liu

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Oil pollution is typically caused by oil and gas-related operations such as vessel accidents, which can pollute waterways as well as the environment and damage the ecosystem. Tanker ship cleaning contributes to oil spills, which have a negative impact on coastal countries due to protracted service disruption. It is critical for coastal countries to develop efficient oil taint cleanup technology. There are various oil/water separation technologies, such as gravity separation, hydrocyclone, air flotation, and membrane filtration, among others. Among these, membrane filtration has been shown to produce high-quality effluent. Commercial membranes, on the other hand, nevertheless face significant practical challenges, such as a high susceptibility for membrane fouling when dealing with greasy effluent. We developed a unique anti-fouling filtering membrane for oil/water separation in this work. The membrane was made of inorganic nanofibers, which possesses the advantages of low membrane fouling, high permeation flux and long-term durability. This results from this study could facilitate to pave a new way for membranes filtration’s practical applications in oil/gas industry.

Keywords: oil, contaminate, wastewater, removal

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Authors: Yingjeng James Li, Chiao-Chih Hu

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Membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) for proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) applications were prepared by using 10 and 15 um PEMs. Except for different membrane thicknesses, these MEAs were prepared by the same conditions. They were prepared by using catalyst coated membrane (CCM) process. The catalyst employed is 40% Pt/C, and the Pt loading is 0.5mg/cm² for the sum of anode and cathode. Active area of the MEAs employed in this study is 5cm*5cm=25cm². In polarization measurements, the flow rates were always set at 1.2 stoic for anode and 3.0 stoic for cathode. The outlets were in open-end mode. The flow filed is tri-serpentine design. The cell temperatures and the humidification conditions were varied for the purpose of MEA performance observations. It was found that the performance of these two types of MEAs is about the same at fully or partially humidified operation conditions; however, 10um MEA exhibits higher current density in dry or low humidified conditions. For example, at 70C cell, 100% RH, and 0.6V condition, both MEAs have similar current density which is 1320 and 1342mA/cm² for 15um and 10um product, respectively. However, when in operation without external humidification, 10um MEA can produce 1085mA/cm²; whereas 15um MEA produces only 720mA/cm².

Keywords: fuel cell, membrane electrode assembly, PEFC, PEMFC, proton exchange membrane

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Authors: Ahreum Choi, Otgontuya Tsogbadrakh, Kwang-Hwan Jung

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Microbial rhodopsins are well-known seven-transmembrane proteins that have been extensively studied. These retinal-binding proteins have divided into two types. The type I is microbial rhodopsin, and type II (visual pigment) is expressed mostly in mammalian eyes. For type I rhodopsin, there are two main functions that are ion pumping activity and sensory transduction. Anabaena sensory rhodopsin (ASR) is one of the microbial rhodopsin with main function as photo-sensory transduction. Although ASR is expressed fairly well in Escherichia coli, the expression level is relatively less compare to Proteorhodopsin. In this study, full length of ASR was used to test for the expression influence by codon usage in E. coli. Eight amino acids of codon at N-terminal part of ASR were changed randomly with designed primers, which allow 8,192 nucleotide different cases. The codon changes were screened for the preferable codons of each residue, which have given higher expression yield. Among those 57 selected mutations, there are 24 color-enhanced E. coli colonies that contain ASR proteins, and it showed better expression level than the wild type ASR codon usage. This strongly suggests that high codon usage of only partial N-terminal of protein can increase the expression level of whole protein.

Keywords: 7-transmembrane, all-trans retinal, rhodopsin, codon-usage, protein expression

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Authors: Chinedu Peter, Dashrath Singh

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Membrane computing is a computability model which abstracts its structures and functions from the biological cell. The main ingredient of membrane computing is the notion of a membrane structure, which consists of several cell-like membranes recurrently placed inside a unique skin membrane. The emergence of several variants of membrane computing gives rise to the notion of a P system. The paper presents a variant of P systems for arithmetic operations on non-negative integers based on the weak priorities for rule application. Consequently, we obtain deterministic P systems. Two membranes suffice. There are at most four objects for multiplication and five objects for division throughout the computation processes. The model is simple and has a potential for possible extension to non-negative integers and real numbers in general.

Keywords: P system, binary operation, determinism, weak rule priority

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Authors: Samia Rabet, Rachida Chemini, Gerhard Schäfer, Farid Aiouache

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The textile industry generates large quantities of wastewater, which poses significant environmental problems due to its complex composition and high levels of pollutants loaded principally with heavy metals, large amounts of COD, and dye. Separation treatment methods are often known for their effectiveness in removing contaminants whereas membrane separation techniques are a promising process for the treatment of textile effluent due to their versatility, efficiency, and low energy requirements. This study focuses on the modeling and simulation of membrane separation technologies with a cross-flow filtration process for textile effluent treatment. It aims to explore the application of mathematical models and computational simulations using ASPEN Plus Software in the prediction of a complex and real effluent separation. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of modeling and simulation techniques in predicting pollutant removal efficiencies with a global deviation percentage of 1.83% between experimental and simulated results; membrane fouling behavior, and overall process performance (hydraulic resistance, membrane porosity) were also estimated and indicating that the membrane losses 10% of its efficiency after 40 min of working.

Keywords: membrane separation, ultrafiltration, textile effluent, modeling, simulation

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Authors: Kwangwon Seo, Haksoo Han

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Al-Si was synthesized and introduced in poly 2,2’-m-(phenylene)-5,5’-bibenzimidazole (PBI). As a result, a series of five Al-Si/PBI composite (ASPBI) membranes (0, 3, 6, 9, and 12 wt.%) were developed and characterized for application in high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (HT-PEMFCs). The chemical and morphological structure of ASPBI membranes were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometer and scanning electron microscopy. According to the doping level test and thermogravimetric analysis, as the concentration of Al-Si increased, the doping level increased up to 475%. Moreover, the proton conductivity, current density at 0.6V, and maximum power density of ASPBI membranes increased up to 0.31 Scm-1, 0.320 Acm-2, and 0.370 Wcm-2, respectively, because the increased concentration of Al-Si allows the membranes to hold more PA. Alternatively, as the amount of Al-Si increased, the tensile strength of PA-doped and -undoped membranes decreased. This was resulted by both excess PA and aggregation, which can cause serious degradation of the membrane and induce cracks. Moreover, the PA-doped and -undoped ASPBI12 had the lowest tensile strength. The improved performances of ASPBI membranes imply that ASPBI membranes are possible candidates for HT-PEMFC applications. However, further studies searching to improve the compatibility between PBI matrix and inorganic and optimize the loading of Al-Si should be performed.

Keywords: composite membrane, high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell, membrane electrode assembly, polybenzimidazole, polymer electrolyte membrane, proton conductivity

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Authors: Mi-Jung Park, Min-Hwa Lim, Ho-Young Jung

Abstract:

A polyphenylene oxide (PPO)-based anion exchange membrane based on the functionalization of bromomethylated PPO using 1-methylimdazole was fabricated for vanadium redox flow application. The imidazolium-bromomethylated PPO (Im-bPPO) showed lower permeability VO2+ ions (2.9×10⁻¹⁴ m²/sec), compared to Nafion 212 (2.3×10⁻¹² m²/sec) and FAP-450 (7.9×10⁻¹⁴ m²/sec). Even though the Im-bPPO membrane has higher permeability, the energy efficiency of the VRFB with the Im-bPPO membrane was slightly lower than that of Nafion and FAP-450. The Im-bPPO membrane exhibits good voltage efficiency compared to FAP-450 and Nafion 212 because of its better ion conductivity. The Im-bPPo membrane showed up good performance, but a decline in performance at later cycles was observed.

Keywords: anion exchange membranes, vanadium redox flow battery, polyphenylene oxide, energy efficiency (EE)

Procedia PDF Downloads 282

Authors: Bayan Almofty, Yuto Yamaki, Tadamasa Terai, Sadahito Uto

Abstract:

Culture techniques of skeletal muscle cells are advanced in the field of regenerative medicine and applied research of cultured muscle. As applied research of cultured muscle, myopathy (muscles disease) treatment is expected and development bio of actuator is also expected in biomedical engineering. Grayanotoxins (GTXs) is known as neurotoxins that enhance the permeability of cell membrane for Na ions. Grayanotoxins are extracted from a famous Pieris japonica and Ericaceae as well as a phytotoxin. In this study, we investigated the effect of GTXs on muscle cells (C2C12) contraction and membrane potential. Contraction of myotubes is induced by applied external electrical stimulation. Contraction and membrane potential change of skeletal muscle cells are induced by injection of current. We, therefore, concluded that effect of Grayanotoxins on contraction and membrane potential of C2C12 relate to acute toxicity of GTXs.

Keywords: skeletal muscle cells C2C12, grayanotoxins, contraction, membrane potential, acute toxicity, pytotoxin, motubes

Procedia PDF Downloads 484

Authors: Ngozi Claribelle Nwogu, Mohammed Nasir Kajama, Oyoh Kechinyere, Edward Gobina

Abstract:

Atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions are considered as the greatest environmental challenge the world is facing today. The challenges to control the emissions include the recovery of CO2 from flue gas. This concern has been improved due to recent advances in materials process engineering resulting in the development of inorganic gas separation membranes with excellent thermal and mechanical stability required for most gas separations. This paper therefore evaluates the performance of a highly selective inorganic membrane for CO2 recovery applications. Analysis of results obtained is in agreement with experimental literature data. Further results show the prediction performance of the membranes for gas separation and the future direction of research. The materials selection and the membrane preparation techniques are discussed. Method of improving the interface defects in the membrane and its effect on the separation performance has also been reviewed and in addition advances to totally exploit the potential usage of this innovative membrane.

Keywords: carbon dioxide, gas separation, inorganic ceramic membrane, permselectivity

Procedia PDF Downloads 293

Authors: Lopez J., Mehrvar M., Quinones E., Suarez A., RomeroC.

Abstract:

The Silver Nanoparticles (AgNP) are used as deliver of heat on surface of Membrane Distillation in order to fight against Thermal Polarization and improving the Desalination Process. In this study AgNPwere deposited by dip coating process over PVDF, FG hydrophilic, and PTFE hydrophobic commercial membranes as substrate. Membranes were characterized by SEM, EDS, contact angle, Pore size distributionand using a UV lamp and a thermal camera were measured the performance of heat deliver. The presence of AgNP 50 – 150 nm and the increase in absorption of energy over membrane were verified.

Keywords: silver nanoparticles, membrane distillation, plasmon effect, heat deliver

Procedia PDF Downloads 93