Chemical Engineering Journal
Chanelle Glugla
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Protein engineering is a powerful tool to create new proteins with useful functions and behaviors, but it is slow, laborious and requires specialized knowledge, limiting its broad application. Here, the authors present a system that combines AI and experimental automation to autonomously engineer proteins without human intervention.
The design of CO2 electrolyzers is complicated by coupled transport and reaction phenomena. Here the authors develop a continuum model incorporating physical phenomena across multiple scales to predict the activity and selectivity of CO2 electrolysis, along with the loss of CO2 due to crossover in membrane electrode assemblies.
Robust decarbonization strategies for the petrochemical industry are hampered by many sources of uncertainty in greenhouse gas emissions estimates. Here the authors quantify and prioritize uncertainty sources, finding that the most significant factor is the lack of detailed data about specific production processes used in chemical facilities.
Switching between liquid capture and release is important in handling various liquids. Here the authors present connected polyhedral frames that form a network of units that capture or release liquid that is readily switchable locally, dynamically and reversibly, thus functioning as a versatile fluidic processor.
The characterization of light irradiation for intensified flow reactors extends beyond the determination of photon fluxes, requiring the precise determination of optical path lengths. Here the authors introduce a systematic workflow that integrates radiometry, ray-tracing simulations and actinometry to obtain these system parameters.
Controllable and reversible transmembrane transport is a fundamental challenge in building synthetic cells. Here, interfacial energy-mediated bulk transport across artificial cell membranes is developed to mimic a rudimentary form of endocytosis- and exocytosis-like behaviors, facilitating the shuttling of biomolecules such as enzyme substrates, ions and nucleic acids.
Biomolecular condensates can contain multiple phases. The number of droplets of each phase and their location give the condensate a certain architecture. Here the authors present a method to create a range of transient architectures in biomolecular condensates, making the architecture or interfacial area controllable design variables in experiments.
Engineering synthetic cells faces the challenge of transferring biomolecules, such as nucleic acids and proteins, through simple lipid bilayers. Now, a study reveals how energy-dissipating oil droplets can create reconfigurable passageways shuttling biomolecules across liposomal compartments.
Emulsions underpin a wide range of important natural phenomena and many technological applications. However, it remains challenging to create emulsion droplets with specific internal structures. Now, a method has been developed to create macromolecular emulsions with custom architectures by applying non-equilibrium thermodynamic principles to condensate formation.
A structurally robust nanoporous carbon adsorbent that integrates a molecular-selective skin and an internal gas reservoir enables the adsorptive separation of propylene and propane. The surface sieving skin endows the adsorbent with competitive selectivity and the internal reservoir leads to a high propylene capacity, together facilitating the production of high-purity propylene.
Jason Hallett, professor of sustainable chemical technology at Imperial College London, talks to Nature Chemical Engineering about technology translation for spinout companies and the use of ionic liquids in sustainable chemical process design.
Reaction engineering leverages the interface where fundamental molecular chemistry meets chemical engineering and technology. Challenges in chemistry can be overcome by the application of new technologies, while engineers may find improved solutions for process development from the latest developments in reaction chemistry.
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