Incorporation of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNT) on the gas permeation properties of H2, CO2, O2, and N2 gases in poly(ether-block-amide) (Pebax-1657) membrane has been investigated. Pebax-1657 was dissolved in the ethanol−water mixture and cast on an ultraporous polyethersulfone substrate followed by complete solvent evaporation. Nanocomposite membranes were prepared by dispersion of MWNT in concentrations of 0−5% of polymer weight in the Pebax solutions with sonication for 2 h to ensure uniformity. Cross-linking was carried out in hexane medium using 2,4-toluylene diisocyanate (TDI). The permeabilities of pure gases were measured at room temperature, and the ideal selectivities were determined at pressures varying from 1−3 MPa using an indigenously built high-pressure gas separation manifold. For neat Pebax membrane, high permeabilities of 55.8 and 32.1 barrers were observed for CO2 and H2 gases, respectively, whereas that of N2 was as low as 1.4 barrers. The selectivity of cross-linked 2% MWNT Pebax membrane was enhanced from 83.2 to 162 with increasing feed pressure (1−3 MPa) for the CO2/N2 gas pair, whereas the corresponding values for H2/N2 and O2/N2 systems were found to be in the range 82.5−90 and 7.1−6.8, respectively. The membranes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to study surface and cross-sectional morphologies. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), and ion exchange capacity (IEC) studies were carried out to determine the effect of MWNT incorporation on intermolecular interactions, degree of crystallinity, and extent of cross-linking, respectively. Fractional free volume (FFV) calculations based on density measurements were conducted along with water sorption studies to explain permeation behavior. The use of modified block copolymer membranes provides a means for separation of CO2 from N2 in power plants, H2 recycle from ammonia purge gas, O2 enrichment from air for medical applications, and CO2 removal from water-gas shift reaction to improve H2 yield.
In recent years there has been increasing demand for natural non-nutritive high intensity sweeteners with low-calorie value as an alternative to sucrose. Extracts of the leaves of Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni), have been known for their sweet taste. Steviosides and rebaudioside-A are the two major diterpenoid glucosides components present in the leaf extracts of the stevia, these glycosides are 300 times sweeter than sugar and also exhibits wide therapeutic activity. The conventional methods of isolation of steviosides involve long extraction and purification procedures; therefore optimization of product yields is a challenging problem. The present study, establishes a new improvised process of extraction of steviosides from the stevia leaves in which the dry treated leaves were grounded, defatted, and extracted through pressurized hot water extractor (PHWE), followed by purification and concentration of the sweet glycosides through ultra (UF) and nano (NF) membrane filtration in obtaining high (98.2%) purity steviosides. This process established "green" method for isolation of high quality steviol glycosides, with improved final yield is 10.1% from 11% of crude leaf extract and observed the improved organoleptic and biological activity (antioxidant). Thus the method confirms a simple, in-expensive and eco-friendly process in obtaining pure steviosides.
The food industry has traditionally used sugar (sucrose) as a sweetening agent; however the dietary and health demands are continuing to expand the market for sweeteners as an alternative to sucrose. The leaves of Stevia rebaudiana are rich source of glycosides that have sweet taste with low calorific value. The study highlights extraction of steviosides from leaves using pressurised hot water extractor, followed by purification and concentration of the sweet glycosides through ultra (UF) and nano (NF) filtration membrane in obtaining high purity steviosides. After the final purification process the stevioside content was 9.05 g per 100 g and rebaudioside A 0.2 g per 100 g stevia leaf, with total purity of stevioside 97.66% by HPLC at total operation time of 7 h. This process also improved the potency of sweetness and palatability profile when compare with other commercially available steviosides. Thus, the methodology developed establishes simple, in-expensive and eco-friendly process in obtaining pure steviosides.
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