FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
APPLIED SEPARATIONS TO AWARD $20K TO COLLEGE FOR SUPERCRITICAL FLUIDS AND GREEN CHEMISTRY EDUCATION
Applied Separations, Inc. is excited to announce the winner of its 1st Annual Supercritical Fluids Education Grant worth over $20K. Congratulations to Dr. Joyce Easter, Professor of Chemistry at Virginia Wesleyan College! The award was given at the ACS 15th Annual Green Chemistry and Engineering Conference in Washington, D.C.
Realizing the importance of educating students to support their development and give them the knowledge in Green Chemistry they will need in industry, Applied Separations created a grant worth over $20K for an institute of higher learning to teach Supercritical Fluids in the classroom. The grant award includes Applied Separations' newest Supercritical Fluid Extraction (SFE) system in their series of instruments for supercritical fluid processes, the Spe-ed SFE Prime and the “Prime Package.” The system and supporting materials will provide Dr. Easter and Virginia Wesleyan with everything necessary to impart the fundamentals of the supercritical fluid extraction process on students and demonstrate the implementation of this environmentally friendly, green chemistry technique. In addition to the instrument, included in the package is a syllabus and lesson plans written by Supercritical Fluids expert and well known professor Doug Rainey; handouts; student-friendly Application Notes and Online Resources.
Virginia Wesleyan’s Dr. Easter, this year’s recipient, will be using Applied Separations’ Spe-ed SFE Prime system to integrate Supercritical Fluid Extraction (SFE) into the sophomore–level organic chemistry laboratory, complementing Green Chemistry coverage in the lecture. The Prime will be employed in natural product and other independent research projects comparing SFE to steam distillation and liquid-liquid extraction for natural products, specifically essential oils. Very few studies have focused on the optimization of SFE conditions for essential oils from plants. Thus, in this project, each student will use different SFE conditions (temperature, pressure, and extraction time) and, based on the class data, determine the optimal conditions for extraction of the essential oils. Once the essential oil has been extracted, the current procedure follows with the separation of the mixtures into acidic, basic, and neutral components by liquid-liquid extraction. However, our goal in this project is to eliminate the use of the organic solvents by manipulating the SFE conditions to achieve similar separations of the essential oil components. Due to the lack of optimization studies in the literature, the results of these studies are expected to produce publishable results.
In addition, several of Dr. Easter’s other projects would benefit from the use of SFE and Applied Separation’s Spe-ed SFE Prime, including the implementation of green chemistry principles into synthetic pathways for pharmaceutical feedstocks, the quantification of antioxidants in fruits and vegetables, and especially the isolation and characterization of bioactive compounds from marine invertebrates. The use of supercritical fluids has many advantages and Dr, Easter is looking forward to making it an integral part of her chemistry curriculum as well as their natural product research. Applied Separations is excited to work with Dr. Easter and her students.
Applied Separations is firmly committed to the advancement of Green Chemistry through the use of Supercritical Fluids as a replacement for petroleum-based solvents. Consistently discovering new uses and applications for this technology is and has been the mission of Applied Separations for the last 25 years. The adoption of Supercritical Fluids in dozens of industries such as aerogels, foods, pharmaceuticals, material science, critical cleaning, multiple nanotechnology applications and more is changing the way products are made and business is done.
ABOUT APPLIED SEPARATIONS
Applied Separations started as a Ben Franklin Technology Company in 1988 and has become a pioneer and world-wide leader in Supercritical Fluids in traditional and non-traditional marketplaces. They are leading the charge in making Supercritical Fluids a growing part of the conversation on green chemistry. What used to be a technology intended for extractions of things like caffeine from coffee can now be applied in dozens of areas, including aerogels, metal injection molding, medical implant cleaning and artifact restoration.
Privately owned and self-financed, Applied Separations has won numerous honors since its inception, including multiple technical achievement awards, “Good Citizenship” recognition, American with Disabilities Employment Award, AEDC :Economic Development Achievement Award and the Ben Franklin Innovation Award. In addition, Applied Separations has received multiple competitive government grants and purchased a 5-story headquarters building for its 50 employees in a HUB Zone in Allentown, Pennsylvania. With over 4,000 SCF installations throughout the world, Applied Separations has grown tremendously since its modest beginnings, boasting consistent growth and technological advancements that belie its Small Business Designation size.
Applied Separations has received national attention in addition to its numerous regional awards. Rolf Schlake, CEO of Applied Separations, was invited with other local political and business leaders, to have lunch with President Barack Obama, where Schlake had the opportunity to expand the President’s knowledge by educating him on Supercritical Fluids and the role they can play in the Green Economy. Applied Separations has also played host to many local and national politicians as well as multiple international scientists. Applied Separations has also received national television coverage, including an appearance on American Environmental Review on Public Broadcasting Service.
Applied Separations is the manufacturer of a full line of supercritical systems for all markets with systems ranging in size from analytical scale to pilot plants to full scale production. To learn more about Applied Separations, Supercritical Fluids and next year’s SCF Grant, go to www.AppliedSeparations.com or call us at 610.770.0900.
