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Current status of microwave-assisted extraction of pectin (2023)
Journal Article
Mao, Y., Robinson, J. P., & Binner, E. R. (2023). Current status of microwave-assisted extraction of pectin. Chemical Engineering Journal, 473, Article 145261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2023.145261

There is an urgent need to develop new pectin extraction processes, as the established commercial extraction process damages the pectin (limiting the potential product applications) and is harmful to the environment. Microwave-Assisted Extraction cou... Read More about Current status of microwave-assisted extraction of pectin.

Lignin recovery from cocoa bean shell using microwave-assisted extraction and deep eutectic solvents (2023)
Journal Article
Mao, Y., Gerrow, A., Ray, E., Perez, N. D., Edler, K., Wolf, B., & Binner, E. (2023). Lignin recovery from cocoa bean shell using microwave-assisted extraction and deep eutectic solvents. Bioresource Technology, 372, Article 128680. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2023.128680

Lignin is the second most abundant natural polymer after cellulose, and valorisation of lignin-rich streams has attracted increasing attention recently. This paper presents a novel and sustainable method to recover lignin from Cocoa Bean Shells (CBS)... Read More about Lignin recovery from cocoa bean shell using microwave-assisted extraction and deep eutectic solvents.

Investigating the role of solvent type and microwave selective heating on the extraction of phenolic compounds from cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) pod husk (2022)
Journal Article
Dewi, S. R., Stevens, L. A., Pearson, A. E., Ferrari, R., Irvine, D. J., & Binner, E. R. (2022). Investigating the role of solvent type and microwave selective heating on the extraction of phenolic compounds from cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) pod husk. Food and Bioproducts Processing, 134, 210-222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fbp.2022.05.011

Cacao pod husk (CPH) is a primary waste in the cacao industry that contains favourable natural antioxidants based on phenolic compounds. This study reported an investigation of the effect of extraction parameters to maximise the bioactive yields of C... Read More about Investigating the role of solvent type and microwave selective heating on the extraction of phenolic compounds from cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) pod husk.

Simultaneous conventional and microwave heating for the synthesis of adsorbents for CO2 capture: Comparative study to pristine technologies (2022)
Journal Article
Durán-Jiménez, G., Rodriguez, J., Kostas, E. T., Stevens, L. A., Lozada-Rodríguez, L., Binner, E., & Dodds, C. (2022). Simultaneous conventional and microwave heating for the synthesis of adsorbents for CO2 capture: Comparative study to pristine technologies. Chemical Engineering Journal, 438, Article 135549. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2022.135549

Microwave has become an attractive technology in the valorisation of renewable biomass and in the mitigation of challenges of climate change. In this work, the synergic effects of coupling microwave and mild conventional heating conditions has been i... Read More about Simultaneous conventional and microwave heating for the synthesis of adsorbents for CO2 capture: Comparative study to pristine technologies.

Unravelling the mechanisms of microwave pyrolysis of biomass (2021)
Journal Article
Robinson, J., Binner, E., Vallejo, D. B., Perez, N. D., Al Mughairi, K., Ryan, J., …Peneranda-Foix, F. (2022). Unravelling the mechanisms of microwave pyrolysis of biomass. Chemical Engineering Journal, 430(Part 3), Article 132975. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2021.132975

This study uses empirical observations and mass transfer simulations to establish a new mechanism for microwave pyrolysis of biomass. Experiments were conducted on cellulose and hemicellulose, using microwave equipment that could vary the observed he... Read More about Unravelling the mechanisms of microwave pyrolysis of biomass.

Green and simple approach for low-cost bioproducts preparation and CO2 capture (2021)
Journal Article
Durán-Jiménez, G., Kostas, E. T., Stevens, L. A., Meredith, W., Erans, M., Hernández-Montoya, V., …Binner, E. (2021). Green and simple approach for low-cost bioproducts preparation and CO2 capture. Chemosphere, 279, Article 130512. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.130512

This study has demonstrated, for the first time, a simple, fast and flexible microwave processing method for the simultaneous preparation of bio-products (bio-oil, bio-gas and biochar) using a methodology that avoids any form of catalyst or chemical... Read More about Green and simple approach for low-cost bioproducts preparation and CO2 capture.

Understanding heat and mass transfer processes during microwave-assisted and conventional solvent extraction (2021)
Journal Article
Mao, Y., Robinson, J., & Binner, E. (2021). Understanding heat and mass transfer processes during microwave-assisted and conventional solvent extraction. Chemical Engineering Science, 233, Article 116418. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ces.2020.116418

Solvent extraction is a mass transfer process. In this paper, we investigate the role of heat transfer in solvent extraction: in particular, how the heat transfer properties of the solid and the heating method (conventional heating and microwave heat... Read More about Understanding heat and mass transfer processes during microwave-assisted and conventional solvent extraction.

Investigating the influence of pectin content and structure on its functionality in bio-flocculant extracted from okra (2020)
Journal Article
Millett, R., Mao, Y., Millet, R., Lee, C. S., Yakubov, G., Harding, S. E., & Binner, E. (2020). Investigating the influence of pectin content and structure on its functionality in bio-flocculant extracted from okra. Carbohydrate Polymers, 241, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2020.116414

© 2020 The Author(s) Okra extract is known to have potential application as a bio-flocculant for wastewater treatment. However, no research to date has given insight into the components responsible for the flocculating ability of okra extract or its... Read More about Investigating the influence of pectin content and structure on its functionality in bio-flocculant extracted from okra.

Development of a continuous-flow system for microwave-assisted extraction of pectin-derived oligosaccharides from food waste (2020)
Journal Article
Arrutia, F., Adam, M., Mao, Y., Ángel Calvo-Carrascal, M., & Binner, E. (2020). Development of a continuous-flow system for microwave-assisted extraction of pectin-derived oligosaccharides from food waste. Chemical Engineering Journal, 395, Article 125056. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2020.125056

This paper addresses the current lack of a scalable process for the extraction of “hairy” pectins to upcycle biomasses, by describing the design methodology, building and testing of a continuous microwave-assisted process for potato waste pectin extr... Read More about Development of a continuous-flow system for microwave-assisted extraction of pectin-derived oligosaccharides from food waste.

Understanding Microwave Heating in Biomass-Solvent Systems (2020)
Journal Article
Taqi, A., Farcot, E., Robinson, J. P., & Binner, E. R. (2020). Understanding Microwave Heating in Biomass-Solvent Systems. Chemical Engineering Journal, 124741. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2020.124741

A new mechanism is proposed to provide a viable physical explanation for the action of microwaves in solvent extraction processes. The key innovation is Temperature-Induced Diffusion, a recently-demonstrated phenomenon that results from selective hea... Read More about Understanding Microwave Heating in Biomass-Solvent Systems.

Formation of Metallurgical Coke within Minutes through Coal Densification and Microwave Energy (2019)
Journal Article
Williams, O., Ure, A., Stevens, L., Binner, E., Dodds, C., Kingman, S., …Lester, E. (2019). Formation of Metallurgical Coke within Minutes through Coal Densification and Microwave Energy. Energy and Fuels, 33(7), 6817-6828. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.9b00511

This paper shows how feedstock densification gives rise to a step change in the time required to create a metallurgical grade coke using microwave energy. Five densified coking and non-coking coals were heated in a multi-mode microwave 2450 MHz cavit... Read More about Formation of Metallurgical Coke within Minutes through Coal Densification and Microwave Energy.

Fast regeneration of activated carbons saturated with textile dyes: Textural, thermal and dielectric characterization (2019)
Journal Article
Durán-Jiménez, G., Stevens, L. A., Hodgins, G. R., Uguna, J., Ryan, J., Binner, E. R., & Robinson, J. P. (2019). Fast regeneration of activated carbons saturated with textile dyes: Textural, thermal and dielectric characterization. Chemical Engineering Journal, 378, Article 121774. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2019.05.135

This study presents an investigation for comparing the regeneration process of two activated carbons saturated with Basic Blue 9 (BB9) and Acid Blue 93 (AB93) using conventional (250–500 °C) and microwave heating (100–300 W). The effect of the textil... Read More about Fast regeneration of activated carbons saturated with textile dyes: Textural, thermal and dielectric characterization.

Understanding the influence of processing conditions on the extraction of rhamnogalacturonan-I “hairy” pectin from sugar beet pulp (2019)
Journal Article
Mao, Y., Lei, R., Ryan, J., Arrutia Rodriguez, F., Rastall, B., Chatzifragkou, A., …Binner, E. (2019). Understanding the influence of processing conditions on the extraction of rhamnogalacturonan-I “hairy” pectin from sugar beet pulp. Food Chemistry: X, 2, Article 100026. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fochx.2019.100026

Sugar beet pectin is rich in rhamnogalacturonan-I (RG-I) region, which is a potential source of prebiotics. RG-I pectin cannot be extracted the same way as commercial homogalacturan-rich pectin using hot acid. Therefore, this study has explored sever... Read More about Understanding the influence of processing conditions on the extraction of rhamnogalacturonan-I “hairy” pectin from sugar beet pulp.

Water desalination using a temperature gradient (2019)
Journal Article
Robinson, J., Meehan, J., Taqi, A., Binner, E., & Tokay, B. (2019). Water desalination using a temperature gradient. Desalination, 464, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2019.04.013

A new concept for reverse osmosis is identified based on the use of a temperature gradient instead of pressure. When the temperature of the permeate-side of the membrane is higher than the feed-side then a significant driving force exists for water t... Read More about Water desalination using a temperature gradient.

Pb(II) removal using carbon adsorbents prepared by hybrid heating system: Understanding the microwave heating by dielectric characterization and numerical simulation (2018)
Journal Article
Durán-Jiménez, G., Hernández-Montoya, V., Oyarzun, J. R., Montes-Morán, M. Á., & Binner, E. (2019). Pb(II) removal using carbon adsorbents prepared by hybrid heating system: Understanding the microwave heating by dielectric characterization and numerical simulation. Journal of Molecular Liquids, 277, 663-671. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molliq.2018.12.143

This work studies the effect of microwaves in the synthesis of carbon adsorbents using pecan nutshell biomass as a precursor in a hybrid multimode microwave cavity avoiding the utilization of chemical activation or susceptors. The dielectric properti... Read More about Pb(II) removal using carbon adsorbents prepared by hybrid heating system: Understanding the microwave heating by dielectric characterization and numerical simulation.

Microwave pyrolysis of pecan nut shell and thermogravimetric, textural and spectroscopic characterization of carbonaceous products (2018)
Journal Article
Durán-Jiménez, G., Hernández-Montoya, V., Montes-Morán, M., Kingman, S., Monti, T., & Binner, E. (2018). Microwave pyrolysis of pecan nut shell and thermogravimetric, textural and spectroscopic characterization of carbonaceous products. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 135, 160-168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaap.2018.09.007

In the present work, the pyrolysis of pecan nut shell was studied using microwave technology at different input power and exposure time. The carbonaceous products were characterized using elemental analysis, potentiometric titration, thermogravimetri... Read More about Microwave pyrolysis of pecan nut shell and thermogravimetric, textural and spectroscopic characterization of carbonaceous products.

Techno-economic assessment of scale-up of bio-flocculant extraction and production by using okra as biomass feedstock (2018)
Journal Article
Lee, C. S., Chong, M. F., Binner, E., Gomes, R. L., & Robinson, J. P. (2018). Techno-economic assessment of scale-up of bio-flocculant extraction and production by using okra as biomass feedstock. Chemical Engineering Research and Design, 132, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cherd.2018.01.050

This paper reports a techno-economic assessment for industrial scale bio-flocculant production with okra as biomass feedstock. The sludge dewatering ability of the bio-flocculant was evaluated prior to economic analysis. Several optimisation strategi... Read More about Techno-economic assessment of scale-up of bio-flocculant extraction and production by using okra as biomass feedstock.

Microwave assisted hydro-distillation of essential oils from fresh ginger root (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) (2017)
Journal Article
Racoti, A., Buttress, A., Binner, E., Dodds, C., Trifan, A., & Calinescu, I. (2017). Microwave assisted hydro-distillation of essential oils from fresh ginger root (Zingiber officinale Roscoe). Journal of Essential Oil Research, https://doi.org/10.1080/10412905.2017.1360216

A solvent free in situ microwave hydro-distillation method for extraction of essential oil from fresh ginger root it presented. Extraction was conducted in a TE10n single-mode microwave cavity and variable power 2 kW generator operating at 2.45GHz. T... Read More about Microwave assisted hydro-distillation of essential oils from fresh ginger root (Zingiber officinale Roscoe).

New insights into the role of selective and volumetric heating during microwave extraction: investigation of the extraction of polyphenolic compounds from sea buckthorn leaves using microwave-assisted extraction and conventional solvent extraction (2017)
Journal Article
Galan, A., Calinescu, I., Trifan, A., Winkworth-Smith, C., Calvo-Carrascal, M., Dodds, C., & Binner, E. (2017). New insights into the role of selective and volumetric heating during microwave extraction: investigation of the extraction of polyphenolic compounds from sea buckthorn leaves using microwave-assisted extraction and conventional solvent extraction. Chemical Engineering and Processing: Process Intensification, 116, 29-39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cep.2017.03.006

We report a direct comparison of microwave heating and conventional heating in solvent extraction by using exactly the same reaction conditions (including heating rate) in the extraction of polyphenols from dried sea buckthorn leaves. We have for the... Read More about New insights into the role of selective and volumetric heating during microwave extraction: investigation of the extraction of polyphenolic compounds from sea buckthorn leaves using microwave-assisted extraction and conventional solvent extraction.