To improve water quality of drinking water, the Taiwan Water Supply Corp (TWSC) upgraded three water treatment plants (WTP), changing traditional treatment processes into two advanced membrane processes and one advanced ozonation processes in recent years. Membrane water treatment units of the water treatment plant comprise ultrafiltration (UF) and reverse osmosis (RO). And the advanced ozonation water treatment units comprise pellet softening, post-ozonation and biological activated carbon (BAC) adsorption. This study investigated the formation of disinfection byproducts (DBPs), dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and assimilable organic carbon (AOC) at two advanced water treatment plants (ATP) in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, by implementing a sampling program. The purposes of this study include¡G(1) The evaluation of treatment efficiency of advanced water treatment plants. (2) Application of powdered activated carbon and membrane bioreactor in removing organic compounds in drinking water. TCM was by far the predominant species in the finished water, the average concentration of DPBs in this study at both plants were 13.97¡Ó4.18£gg/L and 21.49¡Ó10.59£gg/L of THMs for plant A and plant B, respectively. However, levels for DPBs compound are low in both plants and lower than the current national drinking water quality standards 80 £gg / L. But for anther typical DPBs (HAAs compounds), the average concentrations were 17.67¡Ó14.50£gg/L and 33.03¡Ó16.24£gg/L of HAA5 for plant A and plant B, respectively. DCAA and TCAA were the two major species of HAAs found in the two water samples under study. The sums of the two species represented in finished water were about 67% and 83% of HAA5 in A and plant B, respectively. The results showed that HAA5 concentration of all samples could meet current USEPA standards for drinking water quality. Importantly, our work show the advanced treatment processes have good removal on DPBs of treated water. In organic compounds removal, there is high efficiency by using post-ozonation combined with BAC, but low efficiency for membrane process due to the inhibition of electrical charge happened on surface of membrane. This inhibition is caused probably by high hardness and high ion strength in water. We found by combining BAC with membrane filtration process will effectively remove the organic compounds and lower the concentration of AOC for passing the limit value suggested in related researches of the world.

Xilitol é um açúcar-álcool com propriedades de interesse para as indústrias alimentícia, odontológica e farmacêutica. É tradicionalmente produzido em processo químico, sendo que a via fermentativa é a forma mais extensivamente estudada, entretanto, ainda possui limitações técnicas. Neste contexto, o presente trabalho teve como objetivo determinar condições de obtenção de xilitol por via enzimática utilizando a enzima xilose redutase de Candida guilliermondii FTI 20037. Numa primeira etapa, esta enzima foi produzida e pré-purificada e em seguida foi realizada a seleção do sistema de regeneração enzimática in situ de coenzima NADPH. Foram considerados sistemas hipotéticos com formato desidrogenase, glicose desidrogenase e álcool desidrogenase, sendo determinado o efeito dos possíveis substratos e produtos sobre a xilose redutase pré-purificada. O sistema de regeneração escolhido foi o que utilizou a enzima glicose desidrogenase, sendo o substrato glicose e o produto gluconato. Em seguida, foi realizada a avaliação e seleção de variáveis do processo enzimático segundo planejamento fatorial fracionado 25-1. Foi avaliada a influência da concentração de xilose, de NADPH e de glicose, a carga de xilose redutase e de glicose desidrogenase sendo que a variável resposta foi considerada a produtividade volumétrica em xilitol. As duas variáveis selecionadas para otimização foram a concentração de xilose e de NADPH. Para a otimização do processo de produção de xilitol em meio sintético sob regime de batelada empregou-se um planejamento composto central rotacional (estrela) 22. A partir dos resultados pode-se construir um modelo quadrático que relacionou a produtividade com os fatores na região de estudo. De acordo com este modelo, a melhor condição operacional resulta em alto valor de produtividade e eficiência em xilitol, 1,68 g.l-1.h-1 e 100 %, respectivamente. Visando a viabilidade econômica do processo foram avaliadas membranas de ultra e nanofiltração para retenção das enzimas e coenzimas no sistema reacional. Foi constatado que a membrana de tamanho de poro de 1 kDa permitiu a retenção de 99 % da coenzima. Adicionalmente, foi avaliado o desempenho da enzima obtida a partir de hidrolisado hemicelulósico de bagaço de cana-de-açúcar, comparando-se os resultados obtidos com aquela obtida pelo cultivo da levedura em meio baseado em xilose comercial. Foi comprovado que a fonte de carbono não teve efeito sob a produção enzimática de xilitol. Finalmente, foram realizados testes preliminares com a produção enzimática de xilitol em meio de hidrolisado de bagaço de canade- açúcar. Foi observado que a produção de xilitol não se alterou com meio contendo 20 e 40 % v.v-1 de hidrolisado. Em função dos resultados, foi concluído que a produção enzimática de xilitol é tecnicamente viável e que possui grande potencial como bioprocesso para aproveitamento de bagaço de cana-de-açúcar. / Xylitol is a sugar-alcohol with proven interesting properties for food, odontological and pharmaceutical industries. It is traditionally produced in chemical process and the fermentative way, the most extensively studied alternative, nevertheless, still has disadvantages. In this context, the present work has as objective to determinate optimal conditions for xylitol attainment by enzymatic way using xylose redutase from Candida guilliermondii FTI 20037. Firstly, xylose redutase was produced, pre-purified and then the selection of an in situ enzymatic regeneration of coenzyme NADPH was carried out. Hypothetical regeneration systems were considered: formate dehydrogenase, glucose dehydrogenase and alcohol dehydrogenase, being determined the effect of the possible substrates and products under pre-purified xylose redutase. The glucose dehydrogenase regeneration system, being glucose the substrate and gluconate the product. Afterwards, it was carried out the screening and evaluation of the enzymatic process variables according to a fractioned factorial design 25-1. It was evaluated the influence of xylose, NADPH and glucose concentrations, xylose reductase and glucose dehydrogenase loads using xylitol volumetric productivity as response. Xylose and NADPH concentrations were selected for further optimization. A rotational central composite design (star) 22 was used for optimization of xylitol enzymatic process in synthetic media under batch regime. From the results, a quadratic model could be elaborated which relates the productivity with the factors in the studied region. According to this model, the best operational condition resulted in high productivity and efficiency values, 1,68 g.l-1.h-1 and 100 %, respectively. Aiming economical viability of the process, ultra and nanomembranes were studied for coenzyme and enzymes retention. It was verified that the 1 kDa cut off membrane allowed 99 % retention of the coenzyme. Additionally, it was evaluated the enzyme performance produced from sugarcane bagasse hemicellulosic hydrolysate, comparing the results attained with the enzyme produced from synthetic media. It was evidenced that the carbon source did not affected xylitol enzymatic production. Finally, xylitol enzymatic production preliminary assays were carried out using media containing sugarcane bagasse hydrolysate. It was observed that xylitol enzymatic production was not altered when compared to the control, in the experiments media containing 20 and 40 % v.v-1 hydrolysate. Based on the results, it was concluded that xylitol enzymatic production is technically viable and has great potential as a bioprocess for sugarcane bagasse use as raw material.

Xilitol é um açúcar-álcool com propriedades de interesse para as indústrias alimentícia, odontológica e farmacêutica. É tradicionalmente produzido em processo químico, sendo que a via fermentativa é a forma mais extensivamente estudada, entretanto, ainda possui limitações técnicas. Neste contexto, o presente trabalho teve como objetivo determinar condições de obtenção de xilitol por via enzimática utilizando a enzima xilose redutase de Candida guilliermondii FTI 20037. Numa primeira etapa, esta enzima foi produzida e pré-purificada e em seguida foi realizada a seleção do sistema de regeneração enzimática in situ de coenzima NADPH. Foram considerados sistemas hipotéticos com formato desidrogenase, glicose desidrogenase e álcool desidrogenase, sendo determinado o efeito dos possíveis substratos e produtos sobre a xilose redutase pré-purificada. O sistema de regeneração escolhido foi o que utilizou a enzima glicose desidrogenase, sendo o substrato glicose e o produto gluconato. Em seguida, foi realizada a avaliação e seleção de variáveis do processo enzimático segundo planejamento fatorial fracionado 25-1. Foi avaliada a influência da concentração de xilose, de NADPH e de glicose, a carga de xilose redutase e de glicose desidrogenase sendo que a variável resposta foi considerada a produtividade volumétrica em xilitol. As duas variáveis selecionadas para otimização foram a concentração de xilose e de NADPH. Para a otimização do processo de produção de xilitol em meio sintético sob regime de batelada empregou-se um planejamento composto central rotacional (estrela) 22. A partir dos resultados pode-se construir um modelo quadrático que relacionou a produtividade com os fatores na região de estudo. De acordo com este modelo, a melhor condição operacional resulta em alto valor de produtividade e eficiência em xilitol, 1,68 g.l-1.h-1 e 100 %, respectivamente. Visando a viabilidade econômica do processo foram avaliadas membranas de ultra e nanofiltração para retenção das enzimas e coenzimas no sistema reacional. Foi constatado que a membrana de tamanho de poro de 1 kDa permitiu a retenção de 99 % da coenzima. Adicionalmente, foi avaliado o desempenho da enzima obtida a partir de hidrolisado hemicelulósico de bagaço de cana-de-açúcar, comparando-se os resultados obtidos com aquela obtida pelo cultivo da levedura em meio baseado em xilose comercial. Foi comprovado que a fonte de carbono não teve efeito sob a produção enzimática de xilitol. Finalmente, foram realizados testes preliminares com a produção enzimática de xilitol em meio de hidrolisado de bagaço de canade- açúcar. Foi observado que a produção de xilitol não se alterou com meio contendo 20 e 40 % v.v-1 de hidrolisado. Em função dos resultados, foi concluído que a produção enzimática de xilitol é tecnicamente viável e que possui grande potencial como bioprocesso para aproveitamento de bagaço de cana-de-açúcar. / Xylitol is a sugar-alcohol with proven interesting properties for food, odontological and pharmaceutical industries. It is traditionally produced in chemical process and the fermentative way, the most extensively studied alternative, nevertheless, still has disadvantages. In this context, the present work has as objective to determinate optimal conditions for xylitol attainment by enzymatic way using xylose redutase from Candida guilliermondii FTI 20037. Firstly, xylose redutase was produced, pre-purified and then the selection of an in situ enzymatic regeneration of coenzyme NADPH was carried out. Hypothetical regeneration systems were considered: formate dehydrogenase, glucose dehydrogenase and alcohol dehydrogenase, being determined the effect of the possible substrates and products under pre-purified xylose redutase. The glucose dehydrogenase regeneration system, being glucose the substrate and gluconate the product. Afterwards, it was carried out the screening and evaluation of the enzymatic process variables according to a fractioned factorial design 25-1. It was evaluated the influence of xylose, NADPH and glucose concentrations, xylose reductase and glucose dehydrogenase loads using xylitol volumetric productivity as response. Xylose and NADPH concentrations were selected for further optimization. A rotational central composite design (star) 22 was used for optimization of xylitol enzymatic process in synthetic media under batch regime. From the results, a quadratic model could be elaborated which relates the productivity with the factors in the studied region. According to this model, the best operational condition resulted in high productivity and efficiency values, 1,68 g.l-1.h-1 and 100 %, respectively. Aiming economical viability of the process, ultra and nanomembranes were studied for coenzyme and enzymes retention. It was verified that the 1 kDa cut off membrane allowed 99 % retention of the coenzyme. Additionally, it was evaluated the enzyme performance produced from sugarcane bagasse hemicellulosic hydrolysate, comparing the results attained with the enzyme produced from synthetic media. It was evidenced that the carbon source did not affected xylitol enzymatic production. Finally, xylitol enzymatic production preliminary assays were carried out using media containing sugarcane bagasse hydrolysate. It was observed that xylitol enzymatic production was not altered when compared to the control, in the experiments media containing 20 and 40 % v.v-1 hydrolysate. Based on the results, it was concluded that xylitol enzymatic production is technically viable and has great potential as a bioprocess for sugarcane bagasse use as raw material.

Biomass liquefaction by fast pyrolysis is considered to be a key technology in future biorefineries for the production of low-carbon renewable liquids. These liquids may be used as a fuel for heat and power, as an intermediate for catalytic upgrading to distillate transportation fuels (such as renewable diesel or biojet) and as a raw material for advanced bioproducts. With the estimated supply of bioenergy required to meet international GHG reduction targets, the use of high ash (mineral-containing) biomass sources, such as harvest residues, hog fuels, and other unmerchantable wood sources is also expected to increase. However, the elevated presence of suspended char particulate (solids), as well as minerals and other ash components contained in pyrolytic liquids resulting from the conversion of these lower quality biomass residues may create new challenges for end-users. In light of this, two treatment pathways were investigated in this work: biomass pretreatment through sieving and acid washing, and post-condensation microfiltration of fast pyrolysis bio-oils. Selection of these two pathways was prioritized based on scarcity of published data, as well as the technical potential of both approaches for suspended char particulate and ash reduction in fast pyrolysis bio-oils. For biomass sieving and acid washing carried out at pilot scale, it was found that removing up to 80% of the ash contained in a hog fuel feedstock was possible by sieving out a fraction of the fines and subsequently washing with 0.1M nitric acid provided up to 40% increase in organic liquid yield after fast pyrolysis. Reaction water in the product was minimized when acid leaching was performed, while the solids content and ash content of the produced liquids were reduced by up to 80% and 87%, respectively. Cross-flow microfiltration of fast pyrolysis bio-oils produced principally from non-pretreated mill and harvest residues in the 1-40 µm range was performed. Microfiltration was found to remove between 80-95% of suspended solid particles, while only removing 4-45% of ash, presumably in the solid phase. To achieve high ash removal (>90%), microfiltration was combined with use of solid-phase adsorbents, such as Amberlyst 15, to remove cationic ash elements such as magnesium, calcium, iron, etc. The flux profiles from bio-oil cross-flow microfiltration were analyzed and consistently demonstrated a transient rapid and intermediate decline operating region, followed by a pseudo steady-state operating region. It was found that the initial flux of permeate in the transient operating region ranged from 100-1000 L m-2 h-1, while the pseudo steady-state flux ranged from 20-50 L m-2 h-1 for the experimental trials included in this study. It was determined that bio-oil temperatures of 50-60 ˚C, transmembrane pressures less than 1 bar and the addition of diluent solvents provided the highest pseudo steady-state fluxes of such a process. To improve the throughput of the process, different fouling remediation strategies were experimentally evaluated. The use of permeate, solvent and air backflushing confirmed that on-line cleaning strategies are suitable for active flux remediation, as fouling was found to be reversible over continuous operating periods up to 10 hours. Furthermore, it was found that the use of non-optimized on-line air backflushing resulted in increased throughput of low solids fast pyrolysis bio-oil from cross-flow microfiltration by 100%. Ultimately, the data produced from this work is intended to be used to generate design parameters and associated cost estimates for biomass washing and post-condensation microfiltration as processing strategies to generate high quality bio-oils from low cost biomass feedstocks.

La biomasse lignocellulosique (BLC) est, à l’heure actuelle, la meilleure alternative au pétrole en ce qui concerne la production d’énergie et de molécules à haute valeur ajoutée. Seulement, son exploitation nécessite l’emploi de prétraitements dont les plus courants génèrent des composés inhibant la croissance des microorganismes (dérivés furaniques, acides aliphatiques, phenols).Le but de ces travaux de thèse est donc de répondre à la question suivante : “Est il possible d’utiliser la nanofiltration pour éliminer les composés inhibiteurs présents dans un hydrolysat hémicellulosique, afin de le rendre fermentescible par Bacillus subtilis 168 ?”La détermination des concentrations minimales inhibitrices de ces composés inhibiteurs sur Bacillus subtilis 168 ont permis de fixer la quantité d’inhibiteurs à éliminer de l’hydrolysat.La dia-nanofiltration à l’aide de la membrane DK (GE, USA) a permis d’éliminer de manière efficace (+ de 90%) les dérivés furaniques et les acides alphatiques. Toutefois l’émination des composés phénoliques s’est révélée plus complexe, ainsi seul 25% du syringaldéhyde a été éliminé.La cytométrie en flux a permis de montrer une action de l’acide férulique et de la vanilline sur la fluidité et la polarisation de la membrane plasmique. / Lignocellulosic biomass is a promising alternative to oil for the production of energy and high added value molecules. However, its exploitation requires the use of pretreatment processes. The most commonly used processes generate by-products which present inhibitory action on microorganisms (furan derivatives, aliphatic acids, phenolic compounds).The main goal of this thesis project is to answer the following question : “Is it possible to use nanofiltration to remove inhibitory compounds from hemicellulosic hydrolysate, in order to ferment the latter with Bacillus subtilis 168 ?”Determination of minimal inhibitory concentrations of these inhibitory compounds allowed to determine, for each one, the quantity to remove from the hydrolysate.Dia-nanofiltration with DK membrane (GE, USA) allowed to efficiently remove (more than 90%) furane derivatives of aliphatic acids. However, removal of phenolic compounds was more complexe, hence, only 25% of syringaldehyde could be removed. Though most indentified inhibitory compounds were removed, Bacillus subtilis 168 was still not able to ferment the hydrolysate.Flow cytometry showed that férulic acid and vanillin presented an impact on Bacillus subtilis 168 plasma membrane fluidity of polarisation.

M. Tech., (Faculty of Applied and Computer Science), Vaal University of Technology / There is huge concern in the mining and industries to manage wastewater prior to discharge into the environment. It is generally cheaper and cost reducing for industries to treat its own wastewater before discharging to the local authority sewer. Dense Media Separation (DMS) Powders Company produces milled and atoms ferro-silicon by pyro-metallurgical process. DMS Powders uses municipal water for all processes taking place in the plants. The water used during the processes of milled and atom ferrosilicon powder is discharged into the environment without being treated. By treating this process wastewater before discharging will result in reducing the water consumption by recycling and the penalty costs for polluting the environment. The primary objective of this study is to find suitable method for treatment of DMS Powders’ process water using selected membrane processes. Membrane processes are better choice compared to traditional physical/chemical treatment processes, due to their advantages of approving water quality, no phase change, no chemical addition and simple operation. Two commercial membranes namely; NF-, and SW30HR are used in the treatment of DMS Powders process water. These membranes were purchased from (Dow/Filmtec) Manufacturing Company (Pty) situated in South Africa. Membranes were characterised by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Thermo Gravimetric Analysis (TGA), Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA) and Fourie Transform Infrared (FTIR) instruments. For synthetic water three membranes (NF- , NF90, and SW30HR) are investigated for the study. The fluxibility indicated that NF- membrane has higher flux compared to NF90 and SW30HR membranes. All the three membranes were very good in terms of rejection on single salts. Fouling was studied on DMS Powders process water. Concentration polarization was formed on NF- and SW30HR membranes investigations on selected membranes conclude that NF- membrane will be the suitable membrane for treatment of DMS Powders process water because of its high fluxibility and rejection. Discharged effluent of DMS Powders could comply with the legislature and environmental pollution could be minimised. The study revealed that fouling does occur during treatment of process water. SW30HR showed that M9 Plant had more fouling for M9 samples than other Plants (M8A and M8B). It was because of higher concentrations in suspended solids.or M8A, M8B and M9 process water.

Thesis (M. Tech. Chemistry, Dept. of Chemistry, Faculty of Applied and Computer Sciences)--Vaal University of Technology, 2010. / Membrane separation processes offer a promising alternative to energy-intensive separation processes such as distillation and solvent extraction. NF and RO are among the most investigated membrane processes with a potential use in the chemical industry. Carbon-carbon coupling reactions feature in the top ten most used reactions in the chemical industry. These reactions often use homogeneous palladium, nickel and other precious catalysts which are often difficult to separate from reaction products. This leads to potential product contamination and loss of active catalysts. This not only poses a threat to the environment but is also costly to the chemical industry. The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficiency of the recovery of the metal catalysts by selected membrane processes. Four commercial polymeric NF and RO membranes (NF90, NF270, BW30 and XLE) were selected for the study. Palladium catalysts commonly used in Heck and Suzuki coupling reactions were selected. These are Pd(OAc)2, Pd(OAc)2(PPh3)2, PdCl2 and Pd(PPh3)2Cl2. A range of organic solvents were also selected for the study. All the membranes were characterized for pure water permeability, pure solvent permeability, swelling, surface morphology and chemical structure. The chemical and catalytic properties of the catalysts were determined. Catalytic activity was investigated by performing coupling reactions. These catalysts generally performed well in the Heck coupling reaction with sufficient yields realized. The catalysts showed poor activities in the Suzuki and Sonogashira coupling reactions. These coupling reaction systems were affected by rapid palladium black formation. vi Catalyst retention studies showed the influence of membrane-solute interactions such as steric hindrance and size exclusion. The larger catalyst, Pd(OAc)2(PPh3)2 was rejected better by all the membranes irrespective of the solvent used. The smaller catalyst, Pd(OAc)2 was the most poorly rejected catalyst. This catalyst showed signs of instability in the selected solvents. An interesting finding from this study is that of higher rejections in water compared to other solvents for a particular catalyst. In this regard, the influence of solventsolute effects was evident. Generally, higher rejections were observed in solvents with higher polarity. This has been explained by the concept of solvation. It has been shown that solvents with different polarity solvate solutes differently, therefore leading to a different effective solute diameter in each solvent. Catalyst separation using NF90 membrane was attempted for the Heck coupling reaction system. The reaction-separation procedure was repeated for two filtration cycles with rapid activity decline evident. This was regarded as very poor showing of the catalyst separation efficiency of the membrane. Other authors in similar studies using SRNF membranes have reported reaction-separation processes of up to seven cycles. This observation shows the inferiority of polymeric membranes in organic solvent applications such as catalyst separation.

Le développement de différentes formes colloïdales pour la thérapie et le diagnostic médical ultrasonore connait un intérêt croissant depuis de nombreuses années. En particulier, les microbulles de perfluorocarbone (PFC) sont des agents de contraste intéressants, car le gaz est un puissant réflecteur des ultrasons. Plus récemment, les gouttelettes de PFC ont été proposées pour de nouvelles applications acoustiques. Suite à une impulsion acoustique, les ultrasons induisent un changement de phase de l’état liquide à l’état gazeux. Ce phénomène est appelé la vaporisation acoustique de gouttelettes. Parallèlement à l’étude de nouvelles applications, le développement de nouvelles techniques de préparation offrant un meilleur contrôle lors de la production, reste un enjeu primordial. Ainsi, de nouvelles méthodes de préparation basées sur des dispositifs membranaires semblent être particulièrement intéressantes. L’objectif de la thèse porte donc sur le développement de nouvelles techniques à membrane pour la formulation de microbulles et de microgouttelettes de taille contrôlée pour des applications en imagerie et thérapie ultrasonore. Dans ce travail, l’émulsification membranaire directe avec un module membranaire de type cross-flow a été utilisé pour la préparation de microbulles stabilisées par des tensioactifs solubles, tandis qu’un module de type microkit a permis l’obtention de microbulles stabilisées par des phospholipides. Dans un second temps, l’émulsification membranaire par prémix a permis de formuler des microgouttelettes de PFC monodispersées. Pour les différentes formes colloïdales préparées, nous avons observé l’influence des paramètres du procédé (pression, débit et contrainte de cisaillement), des paramètres de formulation (molécules stabilisatrices, type de PFC de la phase dispersée) et des paramètres de la membrane (taille des pores) sur la formation des microbulles/ microgouttelettes. Par la suite, la caractérisation acoustique des microbulles/microgouttelettes a montré que ces systèmes présentent les propriétés nécessaires pour être utilisés comme agents de contraste ultrasonores / The development of various colloidal forms for therapy and diagnosis in ultrasound medical present a great interest for many years. In particular, microbubbles of perfluorocarbon (PFC) are interesting as contrast agents because the gas is a high ultrasound reflector. More recently, PFC droplets have been proposed for news acoustic applications. Indeed, after an acoustic pulse, the ultrasound waves induce a phase change from the liquid state to the gaseous state. This phenomenon is called the acoustic vaporization of droplets. In parallel with the study of new applications, the development of new process offering a better control during production, remains a key issue.Thus, the preparation using news methods based on membrane devices seem to be particularly interesting. The aim of the thesis is the development of new membrane process for the formulation of microbubbles and droplets with a size controlled for ultrasound applications in imaging and therapy. In this work, the direct membrane emulsification with a cross-flow membrane module was used for the preparation of microbubbles stabilized by soluble surfactants, while a microkit module allowed to obtain microbubbles stabilized by phospholipids. In a second step, the membrane emulsification by premix allowed to formulate monodispersed droplets of PFC. For the various colloidal forms prepared, we observed the influence of the process parameters (pressure, flow rate and shear stress), the formulation parameters (surfactants, type of PFC of the dispersed phase) and the membrane parameters (pore size) on the formation of microbubbles/droplets. Subsequently, the acoustic characterization of microbubbles/droplets has shown that these systems have the properties to be used as ultrasonic contrast agents

Ce travail de thèse porte sur le développement technologique d’outils miniaturiséspour l’exploration de diagrammes de phase de fluides complexes (dispersions colloïdales,solutions de polymères ou tensioactifs, etc). Les outils élaborés permettent dedéterminer des diagrammes de phase par une approche continue à l’aide de la microfluidique.Ils sont basés sur deux types de procédés membranaires différents : la pervaporation(mécanisme d’évaporation de solvant) et la dialyse (mécanisme d’échangesosmotiques). En s’appuyant sur le processus de pervaporation, il a été montré théoriquementet expérimentalement qu’il existe une géométrie pour laquelle le séchageconfiné est homogène. Il est donc possible de construire des diagrammes de phase demélanges à plusieurs composants de l’échelle moléculaire aux colloïdes. Une étudeconsacrée à la compréhension de la complexité du séchage des nanoparticules de silicecommerciales dans un canal microfluidique de type microévaporateur a été miseen place. La cinétique de concentration des particules est décrite jusqu’à la formationd’un état dense ainsi que les divers phénomènes liés au séchage comme l’existenced’une transition de phase dans un système colloïdal, l’apparition de fractures ou la délaminationdu matériau dense. Un nouvel outil microfluidique intégrant une membranede type dialyse offre la possibilité de contrôler les échanges osmotiques à l’échelle dunanolitre. Le protocole de fabrication ainsi que le dimensionnement de la géométriesont présentés. Grâce à cet outil, il est possible de mesurer des pressions osmotiquesde dispersions colloïdales. / This work deals with the technological development of miniaturized tools for theexploration of the phase diagram of complex fluids (colloidal dispersions, solutions ofpolymers or surfactants, etc). The microfluidic tools we elaborated make it possibleto determine phase diagrams of a series of formulations of complex fluids by consumingonly minute amounts of samples. These devices exploit two types of membraneprocesses to concentrate the chemical species : pervaporation (solvent evaporationthrough a dense membrane) and dialysis (osmotic exchanges through a membrane).Concerning the case of pervaporation, we demonstrated theoretically and experimentallythat a specific microfluidic design exists for which concentration fields of chemicalspecies remain spatially homogeneous along the kinetic path followed withinthe phase diagram. Then, it enables to obtain phase diagrams of multi-componentsmixtures from molecular compounds up to colloids, at the nanolitre scale. We reporta study concerning the understanding of the drying process of commercial silica nanoparticlesusing a dedicated microfluidic experiment involving pervaporation. Wepresent the kinetics of the concentration of the particles within the channel up to theformation of a dense colloidal packed bed which invades the channel at a controlledrate. We developed an original microfluidic tool integrating a dialysis membranewhich makes it possible to control osmotic exchanges at the nanoliter scale. We reportthe protocol of microfabrication of this chip and its specific geometry.We presentpreliminary results showing that this tool can be used to measure osmotic pressures ofcolloidal suspensions.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: Chemical Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology 2011 / Treatment of waste material from mining and mineral processing is gaining increasing importance as a result of the increasing demand for high purity products and environmental concerns. Supported liquid membranes (SLMs) have been proposed as a new technology for the selective removal of metal ions from a solution. This technology can be described as the simultaneous extraction and stripping operation, combined in a continuous single process unit. Theoretically, the rate of mass transfer through SLM systems could be controlled by three resistances, namely: · Resistance through the feed-side · Resistance through the strip-side laminar layers; and · Diffusion through the membrane. It has been reported that transport resistance in the feed-side laminar layer is controlling. (Srisurichan et al, 2005:186). The objective of this research was to extract copper ions in a TSLM system, evaluate the effect of the feed characteristics on the feed-side laminar layer and determine a relationship between the applicable dimensionless numbers, i.e. Sherwood, Schmidt and Reynolds numbers. A Counter-current, double pipe Perspex bench-scale reactor, consisting of a single hydrophobic PVDF tubular membrane mounted vertically within, was used for the test work. The membrane was impregnated with LIX 984N-C and became the support for this organic transport medium. Dilute Copper solution passed through the centre pipe and sulphuric acid, as a strippant, passed through the shell side. In this test work, Copper was successfully transported from the feed-side to the strip-side and through repetitive results; a relationship between dimensionless numbers was achieved.