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Polyamide reverse osmosis (PA-RO) membranes achieve remarkably high water permeability and salt rejection, making them a key technology for addressing water shortages through processes including seawater desalination and wastewater reuse....

Interactions between iron surfaces and hydrocarbons are the basis for a wide range of materials synthesis processes and novel applications, including sensing. However, in diesel engines these interactions can lead to deposit formation that reduces performance, lowers efficiency, and increases emissions. Here, we present a global study to understand deposition at iron–hexadecane interfaces. We use a combination of spectroscopy, microscopy, and mass spectrometry to investigate surface reactions, bulk chemistry, and deposition processes. A dynamic equilibrium between the oxidation products, both at the surface and in solution, determines the deposition at the surface. Considering the solution and the surface in parallel, we find that the iron speciation affects the morphology, composition, and quantity of the deposit at the surface, as well as the oxidation of hexadecane. Fe­(II) and Fe­(III) both promote the decomposition of peroxidesintermediates in the oxidation of hexadecanebut through noncatalytic and catalytic mechanisms, respectively. In contrast, Fe(0) is proposed to initiate hexadecane autoxidation during its oxidation to Fe­(III). We find that in all cases, the surfaces exclusively contain Fe­(III) following heat treatment with hexadecane. Upon subsequent exposure at room temperature, Fe­(III) species are found to promote oxidation; this finding is particularly concerning for hybrid vehicles where longer time periods are expected between engine operation. Our work provides a foundation for the development of strategies that disrupt the role of iron in the degradation of hexadecane to ultimately reduce oxidation and deposition in diesel engines.

C-phycocyanin (C-PC) overproduced by Arthrospira maxima LJGR1 under high urea and salt concentrations was extracted by different methods and evaluated as an antioxidant activity. A. maxima was grown in flat plate photobioreactors, using modified Zarrouk medium with 624 mg L-1 urea and 15 g L-1 NaCl to produce 11 mg C-PC L-1d-1. Agitation, sonication at 35 and 45°C and enzymatic lysis of the cell wall were tried. The C-PC yields, purity and inhibition of the oxidant radicals (DPPH & ABTS) obtained by the best extraction methods were 215 mg C-PC g-1, 0.74, 92% and 29%; when agitation and 221, 0.75, 87% and 27% using sonication at 45°C. Chia mucilage and amaranth flour coatings best preserved C-PC antioxidant activity from temperature variations and up to six days shelf life at 20°C. An activation energy of 160 kJ mol-1 has been obtained with chia mucilage, and the least color degradation rate (r∆E*) of 4.2 d-1 with amaranth flour.