Pilot-Scale Evaluation of Concentrating Solar Thermal Technology for Essential Oil Extraction and Comparison with Conventional Heating Sources for Use in Agro-Based Industrial Applications.

The conventional steam-distillation method requires a high amount of saturated steam and as a result, a lot of energy. Besides being energy-intensive, conventional steam-distillation processes emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The energy demand in essential oils processing and related agro-based processes can be alleviated by using concentrating solar thermal (CST) technologies.

-Butanol derived from biochemical and chemical routes: A review.

Traditionally, bio-butanol is produced with the ABE (Acetone Butanol Ethanol) process using species to ferment sugars from biomass. However, the route is associated with some disadvantages such as low butanol yield and by-product formation (acetone and ethanol). On the other hand, butanol can be directly produced from ethanol through aldol condensation over metal oxides/ hydroxyapatite catalysts.

Influence of reaction atmosphere and solvent on biochar yield and characteristics.

Sunflower husks were converted to biochar via thermochemical liquefaction in different solvents and reaction atmospheres. Highest biochar yields obtained was 574 g kg(-1) husks. Surface area of the produced chars and evolution of aromatic compounds in the biochar structure increased with an increase in temperature.

Application of endo-β-1,4,D-mannanase and cellulase for the release of mannooligosaccharides from steam-pretreated spent coffee ground.

Spent coffee ground (SCG), a present waste stream from instant coffee production, represents a potential feedstock for mannooligosaccharides (MOS) production. MOS can be used in nutraceutical products for humans/animals or added to instant coffee, increasing process yield and improving product health properties. The SCG was evaluated for MOS production by steam pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis with a recombinant mannanase and a commercial cellulase cocktail (Acremonium, Bioshigen Co.

Design, synthesis and anti-plasmodial evaluation in vitro of new 4-aminoquinoline isatin derivatives.

A new class of 4-aminoquinoline derivatives based on the natural product isatin scaffold were designed and synthesized for biological evaluation against three strains of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. These derivatives showed anti-plasmodial IC(50) values in the ranges of 1.3-0.

Synthesis and evaluation of isatins and thiosemicarbazone derivatives against cruzain, falcipain-2 and rhodesain.

While commercial isatins were practically inactive against the target proteases, thiosemicarbazone derivatives were found to be active. The most active compound from the series displayed an inhibitory IC(50) value of 1 microM against rhodesain. One thiosemicarbazone was found to be active against all three proteases with inhibitory IC(50) values of 10 microM or less.