#Mineral Extraction Methods

[steqtech]

Mineral Extraction Methods - Steqtech

Mineral extraction methods are essential for many industries, including mining, construction, energy, jewelry making, medications, and medical devices. Efficient mineral separation is critical for transforming raw materials into valuable products, ensuring high recovery rates, and reducing waste. Though widely used, traditional wet mineral processing methods present several challenges that hinder operational efficiency, sustainability, and profitability.

[tomato-greens]

the world is really troubling me so instead let me kvetch a little: there is nothing more meditative and calming to me when I’m too tired to do actual life stuff than a management sim, and it is my personal nightmare that like a solid 87% of them end up being pro-settler colonialism and extractivist capitalism (the rest make you pretend to be a goat or something)

[reasonsforhope]

"Scientists have developed a way to dramatically reduce the cost of recycling certain electronic waste by using whey protein.

Their method allows for the easy recovery of gold from circuit boards at a cost of energy and materials amounting to 50 times less than the price of the gold they recover—these are the numbers that big business likes to see.

Indeed, the potential for scalability depends on this sort of cost savings, something traditional e-waste recycling methods just can’t achieve.

Professor Raffaele Mezzenga from ETH Zurich has found that whey protein, a byproduct of dairy manufacturing, can be used to make sponges that attract trace amounts of ionized gold.

Electronic waste contains a variety of valuable metals, including copper, cobalt, and gold. Despite gold’s public persona as being either money or jewelry, thousands of ounces of gold are used in electronics every year for its exceptional conductive properties.

Mezzenga’s colleague Mohammad Peydayesh first “denatured whey proteins under acidic conditions and high temperatures, so that they aggregated into protein nanofibrils in a gel,” writes the ETH Zurich press. “The scientists then dried the gel, creating a sponge out of these protein fibrils.”

The next step was extracting the gold: done by tossing 20 salvaged motherboards into an acid bath until the metals had dissolved into ionized compounds that the sponge began attracting.

Removing the sponge, a heat treatment caused the gold ions to aggregate into 22-carat gold flakes which could be easily removed.

“The fact I love the most is that we’re using a food industry byproduct to obtain gold from electronic waste,” Mezzenga says. In a very real sense, he observes, the method transforms two waste products into gold. “You can’t get much more sustainable than that!” ...

However the real dollar value comes from the bottom line—which was 50 times more than the cost of energy and source materials. Because of this, the scientists have every intention of bringing the technology to the market as quickly as possible while also desiring to see if the protein fibril sponge can be made of other food waste byproducts.

E-waste is a quickly growing burden in global landfills, and recycling it requires extremely energy-intensive machinery that many recycling facilities do not possess.

The environmental value of the minerals contained within most e-waste comes not only from preventing the hundreds of years it takes for them to break down in the soil, but also from the reduction in demand from new mining operations which can, though not always, significantly degrade the environments they are located in.

[Note: Absolutely massive understatement, mining is incredibly destructive to ecosystems. Mining is also incredibly toxic to human health and a major cause of conflict, displacement, and slavery globally.]

Other countries are trying to incentivize the recycling of e-waste, and are using gold to do so. In 2022, GNN reported that the British Royal Mint launched an electronically traded fund (ETF) with each share representing the value of gold recovered from e-waste as a way for investors to diversify into gold in a way that doesn’t support environmentally damaging mining.

The breakthrough is reminiscent of that old fairy tale of Rumpelstiltskin who can spin straw into gold. All that these modern-day, real-life alchemists are doing differently is using dairy and circuit boards rather than straw."

-via Good News Network, July 19, 2024

[synchodai]

Arcane S2 wasn't as good because it wasn't about air

The common critique of Arcane season two was that "it didn't let the story breathe." I'm going to one-up that and state that season one set up an entire story about breathing and forgot that in season two.

Yes, yes, Arcane was a story about Piltover oppressing the undercity, but unlike a lot of other stories about social stratification, Arcane was very explicit about the methods Piltover uses to disenfranchise Zaun. Season one was clearly a story about eco-apartheid maintained through extractivist practices.

WHAT IS ECO-APARTHEID?

Ecological apartheid (also known as enviromental racism) is a form of disenfranchising and spatially separating a class of people through pollution, exploitation, and abuse of their local environment.

[E]nvironmental apartheid was largely instituted through rural marginalization, the use of rural space as an environmental means of marginalization... - Environmental apartheid: Eco-health and rural marginalization in South Africa

Topside and the undercity are basically one nation state with a blindingly stark fence between them. Piltover and Zaun are simultaneously connected and separated by the Bridge of Progress. Progress unites them and alienates them from one another. Progress is why Piltover is wealthy and clean, and it is why Zaun is impoverished and polluted. It is was on the Bridge of Progress that Silco incited the riot that led to Vi and Powder's orphaning and Vander's betrayal. It's where Ekko and Jinx have their standoff, and where the Hextech core is exchanged. In other words, progress is a border.

WHAT IS EXTRACTIVISM?

Prior to the proliferation of shimmer and the chembarons, industry in the undercity appears to be heavily centralized around one thing — fissure mining. Vi and Powder's parents used to be miners along with Vander and Silco. Jayce and Vi visit one of these mines and she explains the masks the workers use. Oh, and let's not forget the children don't have to yearn for the mines when they're dying in the mines!

The Zaunites' livelihood being dependant on the extraction of natural resources for the benefit of the Piltovans is what is known as extractivism — the exploitation of a resource-rich land and its people by a separate "global North."

In practice, extractivism has been a mechanism of colonial and neocolonial plunder and appropriation. This extractivism, which has appeared in different guises over time, was forged in the exploitation of the raw materials essential for the industrial development and prosperity of the global North. - Extractivism and neoextractivism: two sides of the same curse

The "North," in this case, clearly being Piltover. The resources being abused and exploited here aren't only the fissure mines, but also the bodies of the workers and those born around them. Viktor's illness, for example, is a product of growing up around the gaseous waste of the fissure mines. The Zaunites take the brunt of the side-effects of the pollution so that the topsiders don't have to. The "dregs" are kept below while materials, both people and things, that are deemed useful get to rise to the top. The processing of raw materials and shipping happens in Piltover, so it's the Piltovans who get a final say on the profits.

Silco and the chembarons establish their power by creating an industry that operates outside of fissure mining that doesn't rely on the patronage of the global North. Needless to say, drug dealing isn't exactly a noble trade, but extraction, processing, and distribution are mainly controlled and operated by Zaunites, which allows them a source of wealth and power that they can leverage against Piltover. To use a more recognizable phrase, they own the means of shimmer production.

I find it fascinating that shimmer is made by killing innocent underground creatures. Cannibalizing your own kind for a temporary boost of strength that eventually turns the user into a monster? It's a poignant metaphor about the infighting of not just the chembarons' gangs but of oppressed groups in general. And while shimmer offers power and brings in wealth, that's not what the undercity truly needs and only corrupts it even further.

Nah, the show has been very clear that what Zaun needs is breathable air.

SEASON 2 FORGOT ABOUT AIR

Even outside of the air pollution caused by fissure mining, the theme of breathing and air is everywhere in season one. Ekko and the Firelights' community is built around a tree — the clean air it provides is the reason they've been able to sustain themselves. It is considered an oasis in polluted Zaun. Jinx's is often heralded by brightly colored smoke, and the way she signals to Violet is through a flare that emits it. Silco's altercation with Vander involves him almost drowning — Vander literally choking the air out of him. Silco, in reponse to this traumatic event, teaches Jinx to willingly submerge herself in a place without air by baptizing her in the same filthy water he was choked in.

In other words, air is life and purpose. Zaun's aesthetics are defined by gas masks and smoke. Meanwhile, the scenes in Piltover are clean and clear. Ekko and the Firelights' tree represented hope and the possibility of clean air in Zaun. Viktor was similarly associated to flowers that grew in the underground, symbolizing how beautiful things can live even in the harshest circumstances.

Environmental degradation, more specifically air pollution, is the raison d'être of topside-undercity conflict. Silco says as much when he threatens the other chembarons and reminds them of why he's in charge.

Have you forgotten where we came from? The mines they had us in? Air so thick it clogs your throat — stuck in your eyes. I pulled you all up from the depths, offered you a taste of topside and fresh air. I gave you life. Purpose. But you've grown fat and complacent, too much time in the sun. We came from a world where there was never enough to go around. That is why we fight. Do you remember? - The Boy Savior, Arcane S01E07

But by the second and third acts of season two, pollution may not as well exist in Zaun. How does Viktor's commune plant its flowers and grow its fruits? Does the Firelights' tree ever get cured of its corruption? Did everyone forget that the undercity is literally suffocating? Seriously, why is Ekko's storyline with the tree never resolved? Why give Jinx that monologue about a wispy goddess of air the fissurefolk pray to and never go anywhere with it?

JINX SHOULD HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED TO JANNA

The Grey presented an opportunity for Jinx to be the revolutionary hero Arcane wanted her to be. The enforcers have clearly aligned themselves with pollution and poison, and Jinx could have been the herald of their wind goddess come to answer the people's prayers for relief. But the people don't rally behind Jinx because of her association to Janna, clean air, or her repelling the invading cops using bioweapons.

I firmly believe that Jinx being a symbol of the revolution because she blew up a government building is missing a few steps. She'll get radicals who already hated Piltover behind her, sure, but the everyday Zaunite would more likely blame her for causing chaos and bringing trouble to their streets. Because the average person doesn't really care who's on the council or if a politician so far from them dies. But they do care if the cops are suddenly at their door with tear gas because an extremist junkie decided to commit arson.

The first act of season two had me very optimistic that the show was picking up where it left off with its enviromental themes. The enforcers use The Grey, polluted air, to surpress dissent and hunt down Jinx. Jinx fights back under a mural of Janna, the goddess of clean air. Her plan involves her using air to push back The Grey and send the gust up to Piltover. After being actively gassed by the enforcers, Jinx and her association to colorful wind becomes a symbol of hope and revolution to the people of the undercity.

Except that's not what happens. The Grey is only shown affecting targeted criminals with no collateral damage to civilians despite it being deployed all over the trenches. The gusts of wind Jinx pushes up to Piltover don't make topsiders experience the air pollution Zaunites suffer. Instead, it just midly inconveniences them with paint splatters. In the end, The Grey is forgotten and has nothing to do with their fight in front of Janna's mural. Caitlyn gets a promotion despite gassing the entire underground with nothing to show for it, and the undercity idolizes Jinx despite her being the reason they were gassed in the first place.

ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION IS INTERPERSONAL RESTORATION

Unlike in the game, Arcane chose topside and the undercity to be originally established as one city — and I don't think that was done without reason. The nation of Zaun and its identity is established as a reaction to the suffering of those underground. A community developed centered around helping one another cope and survive through the pollution. In short, Piltover created Zaun.

Thus, the interplay between Piltover and Zaun extended to all plotlines and the relationships they explored and developed. Jinx and Vi, Vi and Caitlynn, Viktor and Jayce, Ekko and Heimerdinger — these are all relationships that reflect the tension between Zaun and Piltover. Family torn apart by civil war, bitter ex lovers, different ideological approaches to scientific advancement, intuitive inventiveness and practiced genius. Their relationships are born from a common desire and degrade because of that looming border inflicted by the pursuit of progress.

Piltover and Zaun is a single house fractured because of how it threw all its detritus in the basement as it sought to build a tower that will reach the skies. The whole building is threatening to crumble, especially now that someone threw a bomb at it like in the finale of season one. The status quo Arcane and we as a globalized eco-apartheid have is extremely precarious as is any foundation built on abuse and exploitation. A lot of people will cheer on the Jinxes who don't care so much about fixing it than they do burning it all down to express their understandable rage and grief, but that doesn't really fix the problem of having breathable air, does it?

Unfortunately, we'll never know how the show will wrap up the Zaunite plight because it was all but forgotten in season 2. The problem of Zaun was never that they needed to evolve or be perfect — it's that their environment and the people by extension were being suffocated.

In my perfect world, the finale would have addressed the lack of light and clean air in the underground. It would have mirrored how some bodies and relationships can never truly fully recover the damage that has been done. As in real life, restoration is not a substitute for not doing harm in the first place. But it could have ended with a hopeful message that burning it down and running away isn't the answer either.

When Viktor was healing Vander and decided that, despite the unprecedented effort and time, his natural, non-weaponized humanity was worth saving because of how much he means to his local community, I thought that was what they were going for. Alas, they didn't let the show breathe.

[mebis-art-dump]

kingdom Pathologia, part 2: Crystal Poisoning

Also known as "Gleamshell" or "Miner's jewels", this crystal growth mostly affects the workers of Crystal Peak.

It is caused by shards lodging into the shell, although it has been recently proposed that inhaling the dust from the mines can also cause it.

It does not distinguish between bug or beast of burden, thus daily checks are realized in the mine's exits.

As the crystals grow they cause more, acute pain. Other symptoms include:

- Prolonged lethargy

- Difficulty breathing

- High fever

- numbness

- Auditory hallucinations

- Stiffness

(Shards quickly grow and branch out)

..................................................................................

Crystal poisoning has no cure, and must be constantly taken care of, resulting in the classification of three stages of crystal growth:

1- Initial discovery. The growth is minimal. Checks in the mines are aimed at finding these, and treatment seeks for it to not progress past this.

2- Great Crystal Growth. Critical state. Extreme action must be taken and the survival of the patient is not warranted. Searing fever and hallucinations are to be expected.

3- If action is not taken in time, Great Crystal Growth can turn into Greater Crystal Growth —also known as "Glass Tomb" or "Gleaming Cocoon"— at any time. The victim is considered dead at this point.

..................................................................................

Daily treatment consists of the careful extraction of any visible crystals; it is custom for the entire treatment to be paid with the crystals extracted this way.

Afterwards it is suggested to balance out one's breath, soul and water to further reduce the growth speed. The assistance of a priest or sage is recommended.

The common method is meditation to spread the soul and to inhale incense to balance both water and breath.

It is not recommended to visit Hot Springs, for its heat and streams will quickly throw water and soul out of balance.

(There aren't any Hot Springs on Crystal Peak for a reason...)

..................................................................................

Unfortunately, there's a rather sad trend growing between miners: to hide away the sickness and let the valuable crystals grow on their shell, to sell the shards for some quick Geo; this practice has lately gained the disease the new monicker of "Greed's Glaze".

There are already many poorly made jewels on the city, even in noble houses.

They shatter easily, and crystal poisoning outside of the miner community is on the rise.

(so brittle...)

To avoid shame, affected aristocrats will refuse to be publicly treated, and resort to... unorthodox methods.

(so unsanitary...)

---------------------------------------------------

Previous chapter: Fungal Growth

Next chapter: Sleepwalkers (wip)

Directory/ Masterpost

[queeringherbalism]

dandelion elixir in progress! picked from a local friends farm, wilted to free the bugs, and processed into petals. from there i added them to jars and poured local & manuka honey and 70% alcohol over them using the simpler’s method, respectively. i used 70% alcohol to offset the moisture of the petals, though you could probably get away with 40%. i plan to flip the jar of honey over and shake the tincture every day for a month to ensure a good extraction. i plan to combine the strained products together into an elixir and save some leftover tincture and honey to keep separate. updates to come!

the flower of dandelion is exhilarant, meaning it uplifts the mood! as an elixir with its sweet taste, the medicine is even sweeter on the soul! dandelion as a whole plant is stimulating to the liver and the flowers, while weaker than the root in this way, still convey an effect on the liver. the leaves are a diuretic as well as nutritive, replenishing the minerals lost through urination unlike traditional allopathic diuretics the roots make a wonderful alterative coffee substitute, effectively cleansing the blood. the whole plant is edible, flowers, leaves, roots and all!

i would not recommend internal use of this plant (leaves and roots, i’m less worried about petals) if you take diuretics as it can have a potentiating effect and can potentially stress your kidneys as well as be very dehydrating. avoid using this plant if you take lithium especially, as it can change serum levels of lithium, thus altering its effectiveness and can have mood impacts. if you choose to use this herb when taking these medicines, first and foremost talk to your doctor! also monitor yourself closely and discontinue use if you experience changes in symptoms, urine output, symptoms of dryness (dry mouth, eyes, skin) or experience mid back pain. this post is not to be considered as medical advice.

[mindblowingscience]

As the electric vehicle market booms, the demand for lithium—the mineral required for lithium-ion batteries—has also soared. Global lithium production has more than tripled in the last decade. But current methods of extracting lithium from rock ores or brines are slow and come with high energy demands and environmental costs. They also require sources of lithium which are incredibly concentrated to begin with and are only found in a few countries. Now, researchers at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) have optimized a new method for extracting lithium from more dilute—and widespread—sources of the mineral, including seawater, groundwater, and "flowback water" left behind from fracking and offshore oil drilling.

Continue Reading.

[cantsayidont]

Despite its protestations of progressive values, STAR TREK media has always explicitly presented (and, with only fleeting exceptions, consistently celebrated) the Federation as an expansionist imperial power, engaged in a large-scale project of colonialism.

The usual apologia/rationalization for this, both from the franchise itself and from its fans, is that the Federation is also a post-scarcity socialist utopia. However, that is expressly not the case in TOS, despite the attempts of the later series to insist otherwise.

Indeed, the plots of some of the most famous and acclaimed episodes of TOS are specifically about resource extraction and ensuring the Federation's access to crucial resources, including lithium (in "Mudd's Women"), pergium (in "The Devil in the Dark"), and dilithium (in "Mirror, Mirror," et al). We are told repeatedly that the Enterprise has a mandate to use force to secure these resources if gentler methods fail. Moreover, while the Federation has a strategic interest in these resources, it's clear at various points in TOS that their extraction and exploitation are, to a significant extent if not exclusively, overseen by private interests for profit. For instance, in "Mudd's Women," Harry Mudd remarks:

Well, girls, lithium miners. Don't you understand? Lonely, isolated, overworked, rich lithium miners! Girls, do you still want husbands, hmm? Evie, you won't be satisfied with a mere ship's captain. I'll get you a man who can buy you a whole planet. Maggie, you're going to be a countess. Ruth, I'll make you a duchess. And I, I'll be running this starship. Captain James Kirk, the next orders you're taking will be given by Harcourt Fenton Mudd!

In "The Devil in the Dark," Kirk ultimately takes a regulatory position — he will not permit the pergium miners to kill the Horta or continue to destroy her eggs — but at no point does he suggest that stopping the pergium production that threatens the Horta is a viable or even acceptable alternative. The accord he proposes is contingent on the Horta's agreement that she and her children will support the mining efforts on her planet, since Kirk emphasizes that "a dozen planets" are depending on the miners to supply needed pergium. (What would have happened to her if she hadn't agreed is not stated, but the episode strongly suggests that she would have been severely punished for noncompliance with Kirk's mediated solution: forcibly relocated to some kind of Horta reservation away from the main mining operations, perhaps.) When the Horta does agree to this proposal, Kirk assures Vanderberg, "you people are going to be embarrassingly rich," which once again suggests that while the miners may have contractual agreements to delivery pergium to Federation worlds, they are still a private, for-profit business, not a Federation department or nationalized entity.

Profit is also Ron Tracey's motivation for breaking the Prime Directive in "The Omega Glory": He believes that he's discovered a "fountain of youth" that he can own, monopolize, and exploit, and that the value of that resource will be enough to buy his way out of legal trouble for his regulatory violations.

We mostly don't see the Enterprise crew handle money except on away missions in other cultures or times, but there are a number of indications that the Federation in this era has not abandoned money: For instance, Harry Mudd's list of past offenses includes purchasing a space vessel "with counterfeit currency," while in "The Apple," Kirk rhetorically asks if Spock knows how much Starfleet has invested in him, which Spock begins to answer, "One hundred twenty-two thousand two hundred …" before Kirk cuts him off. More tellingly, in "I, Mudd," we have the following exchange:

KIRK: All right, Harry, explain. How did you get here? We left you in custody after that affair on the Rigel mining planet. MUDD: Yes, well, I organized a technical information service bringing modern industrial techniques to backward planets, making available certain valuable patents to struggling young civilizations throughout the galaxy. KIRK: Did you pay royalties to the owners of those patents? MUDD: Well, actually, Kirk, as a defender of the free enterprise system, I found myself in a rather ambiguous conflict as a matter of principle. SPOCK: He did not pay royalties. MUDD: Knowledge, sir, should be free to all. KIRK: Who caught you? MUDD: That, sir, is an outrageous assumption. KIRK: Yes. Who caught you? MUDD: I sold the Denebians all the rights to a Vulcan fuel synthesizer. KIRK: And the Denebians contacted the Vulcans.

Whether Deneb is a member of the Federation at this time is unclear, but Vulcan certainly is, and so we may assume that Vulcan and presumably the Federation itself are also part of "the free enterprise system."

The first indication that the Federation does not use money is in STAR TREK IV, and it's not obvious there if Kirk's remark that "They're still using money" is talking about money more broadly or just physical currency, which the Federation may have phased out even if it still uses credit or electronic transfers of monetary value. (Certainly, McCoy's attempt in STAR TREK III to charter a starship indicates that he had some means of paying for passage, since the captain of the ship specifically demands more money upon learning of the intended destination.)

If we accept at face value the assertion of TNG and DS9 that the Federation has genuinely abandoned the use of money, rather than simply going cashless, the most reasonable Watsonian explanation is that this has been a relatively recent development during the 70–80 years between the TOS cast movies and TNG, most likely related to the development of replication technology (which the Federation did not yet have in Kirk's time).

Of course, from a Doylist standpoint, we could chalk up some of this incidental dialogue to the franchise's evolving construction of its own setting, in the same manner as anomalous references to Vulcans as "Vulcanians." Roddenberry and his apologists might also insist that he always meant to depict a socialist utopia, but was prevented by the nattering nabobs of negativity (i.e., the network's BS&P); I'm very skeptical of such claims, but the writers were acutely aware that depicting what Earth is like in Kirk's time would be opening a can of worms, which is why we didn't actually see 23rd century Earth (even briefly) until the movies.

However, the focus on resource extraction and its ramifications is such a load-bearing story element in TOS that the revisionist assertion that the Federation was already a post-scarcity socialist utopia in Kirk's time (as both DISCOVERY and STRANGE NEW WORLDS have attempted to claim) would require really substantial retcons of the original show, perhaps to the extent of insisting that some of those events never took place at all, or happened radically differently than what's in the TOS episodes most STAR TREK fans have seen. For me, anyway, that crosses a line from willing suspension of disbelief to "don't trust your lying eyes," and suggests a frustrating and somewhat disturbing determination to insist that TOS is something much purer and nobler than it is rather than grapple with its actual conceptual flaws and ideological shortcomings.

[blackhistorystoryteller]

AN ARTICLE ON THE BRITISH LOOTING FROM AFRICA

AND SUFFERING OF AFRICANS

The British should return every loot of all kinds back to Africa

IF THEY CONDEMN SLAVE TRADE THEY SHOULD START BY RETURNING THE LOOTS COLLECTED FROM AFRICA ALL IN THE NAME OF TRADE AND RELIGION ,IF OUR CULTURE WAS BAD WHY DID THEY TAKE AWAY OUR HERITAGE AND STORE THEM IN A MUSEUM ?

The looting of Africa during the colonial era occurred through a combination of methods and strategies employed by European colonial powers, including Britain. Here are some of the ways in which Africa was looted during this period:

Military Conquest: European colonial powers, including the British, often used military force to conquer and control African territories. This involved armed conflicts, wars of conquest, and the suppression of local resistance movements. Through these military campaigns, colonial powers gained control over land and resources.

Resource Extraction: One of the primary motivations for colonialism in Africa was the exploitation of its abundant natural resources. European colonial powers, including Britain, extracted valuable resources such as minerals, rubber, timber, and agricultural products from African colonies. These resources were often taken for the economic benefit of the colonial powers.

Forced Labor: Colonial powers imposed forced labor systems on Africans to work in mines, plantations, and other labor-intensive industries. These labor practices were exploitative and often involved harsh working conditions and little compensation.

Taxation and Economic Exploitation: Africans were subjected to unfair taxation systems that drained wealth from their communities. Colonial administrations imposed taxes on land, crops, and other economic activities, forcing Africans to generate revenue for the colonial authorities.

Land Dispossession: Africans frequently lost access to their ancestral lands as colonial governments allocated land to European settlers and corporations. This land dispossession disrupted traditional agricultural practices and led to social and economic dislocation.

Confiscation of Cultural Artifacts: Colonial powers often confiscated cultural artifacts, sculptures, art, and religious items from Africa. These items were frequently transported to Europe and ended up in museums, private collections, or auction houses.

Unequal Trade Agreements: Colonial powers imposed trade agreements that favored their own economies. Africans often received minimal compensation for their raw materials and agricultural products, while European countries reaped significant profits from these trade relationships.

Suppression of Indigenous Cultures: The suppression of indigenous African cultures and languages was another aspect of colonialism. European powers sought to impose their own cultural norms and values, often devaluing or erasing African traditions.

Missionaries played a complex role in the context of colonialism and the looting of Africa. While their primary mission was to spread Christianity and convert indigenous populations to Christianity, their activities and interactions with colonial authorities had various effects on the looting of Africa:

1. Cultural Influence: Missionaries often sought to replace indigenous African religions with Christianity. In doing so, they promoted European cultural norms, values, and practices, which contributed to cultural change and, in some cases, the erosion of traditional African cultures.

2. Collaboration with Colonial Powers: In some instances, missionaries worked closely with colonial authorities. They provided moral and religious justification for colonialism and sometimes acted as intermediaries between the colonial administration and local communities. This collaboration could indirectly support the colonial exploitation of resources.

3. Access to Resources: Missionary activities occasionally granted them access to valuable resources and artifacts. They may have collected religious objects, manuscripts, and other items from indigenous communities, which were sometimes sent back to Europe as part of ethnographic or religious collections.

4. Education and Healthcare: Missionaries established schools, hospitals, and other institutions in African communities. While these services were aimed at spreading Christianity, they also provided education and healthcare to local populations, which could have positive impacts on individuals and communities.

5. Advocacy for Indigenous Rights: Some missionaries, particularly in later years, became advocates for the rights of indigenous populations. They witnessed the injustices of colonialism and spoke out against the mistreatment of Africans, including forced labor and land dispossession.

6. Conversion and Social Change: The conversion of Africans to Christianity brought about significant social changes in some communities. It could lead to shifts in social hierarchies, family structures, and gender roles, sometimes contributing to social upheaval.

1. Cultural Bias: The British, like many Europeans of their time, often viewed their own culture, including Christianity, as superior to the indigenous cultures and religions they encountered in Africa. This cultural bias led to the condemnation of indigenous African religions and gods as "pagan" or "heathen."

2. Religious Conversion: Part of the colonial mission was to spread Christianity among the indigenous populations. Missionaries were sent to Africa with the aim of converting people to Christianity, which often involved suppressing or condemning traditional African religions and deities seen as incompatible with Christianity.

3. Economic Interests: The British Empire, like other colonial powers, was driven by economic interests. They often saw the resources and wealth of African societies as valuable commodities to be exploited. This economic agenda could involve looting or confiscating sacred artifacts, including religious objects, for financial gain.

4. Ethnographic Research: Some British colonial officials and scholars engaged in ethnographic research to study African cultures, including their religious practices. While this research aimed to document indigenous cultures, it could sometimes involve the collection of religious artifacts and objects, which were then sent to museums or private collections in Europe.

5. Cultural Imperialism: Colonialism was not just about economic and political domination; it also involved cultural imperialism. This included an attempt to impose European cultural norms, values, and religious beliefs on African societies, often at the expense of indigenous traditions.

The issue of repatriating cultural artifacts looted from Africa during the colonial era has gained significant attention in recent years. Countries and communities in Africa have long called for the return of these treasures, which hold deep cultural and historical significance. Among the former colonial powers, Britain stands at the forefront of this debate. This article explores the ongoing discussion surrounding Britain's role in returning looted artifacts to Africa.

A Legacy of Colonialism:

Britain's colonial history left a profound impact on many African nations, including the removal of countless cultural treasures. During the height of the British Empire, valuable artifacts, sculptures, manuscripts, and sacred items were taken from their places of origin. These items found their way into the collections of museums, private collectors, and institutions in Britain.

The Case for Repatriation:

Advocates for repatriation argue that these artifacts rightfully belong to the countries and communities from which they were taken. They emphasize the importance of returning stolen cultural heritage as a step towards justice and reconciliation. Many African nations view these artifacts as integral to their cultural identity and heritage.

International Momentum:

In recent years, there has been a growing international momentum to address this issue. Museums and institutions worldwide are engaging in discussions about repatriation. Some institutions have initiated efforts to return specific items to their countries of origin, acknowledging their historical and moral responsibility.

Britain's Response:

Britain, home to several renowned museums housing African artifacts, has faced increasing pressure to address this issue. The British Museum, for instance, has faced calls to repatriate numerous artifacts, including the Benin Bronzes and the Elgin Marbles, which have origins in Africa and Greece, respectively.

In response to these demands, some British institutions have started to collaborate with African countries to explore the possibility of returning certain artifacts. These discussions aim to find mutually agreeable solutions that respect both the historical context and the cultural significance of these items.

Challenges and Complexities:

Repatriation is a complex process involving legal, ethical, and logistical challenges. Determining rightful ownership and ensuring proper care and preservation upon return are critical considerations. Additionally, questions arise about how to address the legacy of colonialism and rectify historical injustices.

The Way Forward:

The debate over repatriation is ongoing and highlights the need for respectful dialogue and cooperation between nations. While the return of looted artifacts is an essential step, it should also be part of broader efforts to promote cultural understanding, collaboration, and acknowledgment of historical wrongs.

The issue of Britain returning looted artifacts to Africa is part of a global conversation about justice, cultural heritage, and historical responsibility. While there are complexities to navigate, the growing recognition of the importance of repatriation signifies a potential path forward towards reconciliation and healing between nations and their shared history. The ongoing discussions reflect a commitment to addressing past injustices and fostering a more inclusive and culturally rich future.

They condemn slave trades yet they’re still with our treasures and cultural artifacts and heritage

[materialsscienceandengineering]

Lightweight lithium metal is a heavy-hitting critical mineral, serving as the key ingredient in the rechargeable batteries that power phones, laptops, electric vehicles and more. As ubiquitous as lithium is in modern technology, extracting the metal is complex and expensive. A new method, developed by researchers at Penn State and recently granted patent rights, enables high-efficiency lithium extraction -- in minutes, not hours -- using low temperatures and simple water-based leaching. "Lithium powers the technologies that define our modern lives -- from smartphones to electric vehicles -- and has applications in grid energy storage, ceramics, glass, lubricants, and even medical and nuclear technologies," said Mohammad Rezaee, the Centennial Career Development Professor in Mining Engineering at Penn State, who led the team that published their approach in Chemical Engineering Journal. "But its extraction must also be environmentally responsible. Our research shows that we can extract lithium, and other critical minerals, more efficiently while drastically reducing energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and waste that's difficult to manage or dispose of."

Read more.

[imaginatorcreates]

It’s Clawed Its Way Into You (And You Never Want It Out)

02 December 2024 — 02 December 2024

Summary: While Roz is stuck in a Universal Dynamics greenhouse, she yearns.

Word Count: ~760 words

Author's Note: So I watched "The Wild Robot". It's amazing. Go watch it if you haven't yet. This short fic was partially inspired by @little-paper-man's Something Wild series, which I love. Additionally, I have yet to read the books, so this is entirely based on the movie only!

Also on AO3

ROZZUM Unit 7134. The only ROZZUM unit retrieved from the typhoon.

From the state that she was retrieved in, compliant and willing, Universal Dynamics talked about how impressed they were.

Her exterior was shabby and dirty. Dirt and dust had wormed its way into every crevice. It pained Roz somewhere deep inside when every crack had been scrubbed free of grime. It had felt like home to her.

Claw marks had marred her round body, and what wasn’t clawed up was barely holding on. But Roz had already forgiven Thorn for it, along with the raccoons and the moose. She would still forgive them even after the fissures were closed up.

Moss and flowers had grown on her, producing what some employees had described as a faint woody scent. Roz wished she could’ve brush the humans’ hands off as they had uprooted the only greenery on her.

When her wooden foot had been taken from her and replaced with a matching one, she watched with melancholy as Universal Dynamics had chalked it up to her adaptability instead of Paddler’s handiwork. After all, they had said, the island where she had been marooned on was pure wilderness, so it wasn’t as if someone else could’ve carved it.

Universal Dynamics extracted everything they could from her memory banks before placing her in a greenhouse, expecting her to work like normal again.

Except ROZZUM Unit 7134 could never be normal again.

How could she, when even the dirt she worked with here was sanitized? Every speck was meticulously analyzed for the correct mineral content lest the vegetation got ill. Each fruit and vegetable was counted for quantity and scanned for quality. The trees within the greenhouse produced perfect fruit without fail, and while she knew that living things needed to eat, she also knew that it wouldn’t kill anyone to have a misshapen piece.

So, perhaps as a little act of rebellion, Roz didn’t prune all the required flowers off, leaving one or two extra on a tree. It was as random as she could make it, and while it sometimes resulted in fruit that wasn’t up to par, Roz did it anyway, allowing her fingers to brush a few of the petals.

They bloomed beautifully and gave her a moment to breathe in between the redundant reports and methodical way she was supposed to act.

Head forward. Walk in rows. Use the correct tools for the correct job. Nothing more, nothing less.

Even when Roz dipped into her artificially cheerful voice and greeted others with “Hello! I am ROZZUM Unit 7134!”, she was ignored soon after. She was alive and well here, yes, but when no one was looking, she snuck a peek elsewhere.

Her eyes wandered down to the soil, deep inside the foliage of the fruit trees, up into the towering sky above her. Her entire being yearned to burrow into the dirt and run into some dens to say hello to the creatures who lived there. More than once, she thought she saw an animal within the trees, but each time, her hopes were in vain. The skies above her were clear and blue like the ocean, and if she was lucky, she could spot some birds freely flying with the wind.

Of course, sometimes Roz got into contact with animals. Therapy Pet Tuesday was always a welcome respite for her, as often a small cat or dog would scurry away from the main crowd just outside the greenhouse and wander inside. After she initiated contact with them, she became known as “Roz, the one with all the stories”. She kept her experiences on the island alive through her very defiance of remembering, and through the therapy animals.

Roz found and talked to the racoons in the vents soon after some of the ROZZM charging ports stopped working.

(“I know the electric shock can be a bit fun, but this is not safe for you.”

(“It understands us? Wait, it talks to us!”)

Whenever she was directed to rest in the sun to recharge her batteries while employees tried to fix the problem, her mind wandered to the raccoons in the vents of the greenhouse, then to the raccoons on the island. Roz chuckled to herself, her LED lights lighting up blue like the sky against the white of her main body.

She watched the skies when she could, the dark of the night and the light of the day. She wished to migrate out, but for now, she would just look out for the familiar v-shaped outline of the geese.

[gallifreyinstituteforlearning]

I’m sorry, but how do you even purchase an idea? A marketplace of ideas sounds like a place you’d go to brainstorm with people. What would you give in exchange?

How might the ideas market in Prydos work?

Well, that depends on the idea and how much it's worth. On Gallifrey, 'buying' an idea could mean many things. Maybe it's a schematic of something, a general outline of a concept on paper, or a telepathic thought that can be extracted straight into your mind from some glowing tube. Its form would depend hugely on the idea and where it came from.

They don't care too much for currency, so there would be some alternative methods of payment:

📚Information: If you have intelligence on a particular subject or got your hands on some hot new research, that could be traded.

🤝Exchange: You could probably barter for a similar-level idea that you have.

🏺Rare Artifacts: You could exchange rare Gallifreyan texts or artefacts, like the lesser-known 'Garden Chair of Rassilon'.

⛏️Minerals: If you have them, minerals, like Zeiton or titanium, could be bartered. Both are very rare and very useful in time travel.

🛠️Favours and Services: Time Lords and their allies are always looking for ways to gain advantages and stay in control, so loyalty, a favour, or a service could be on the table.

🕶️Shadier Dealings: Of course, if your marketplace seller is a little less ethical, you could trade with things like dirt on a high-ranking official, forbidden weapons, stolen artefacts, or even offering some of your memories or potentially some of your timeline in exchange.

Related:

💬|🏛���🛒Where's the Black Market on Gallifrey?: Where you might find shady dealings and what you could trade.

💬|🪐🌍Your Travel Guide to Gallifrey: What there is to see and do on Gallifrey, and how you can get about.

💬|🏛️🔐How could you escape Shada?: Guide to (not) escaping Shada.

Hope that helped! 😃

Any orange text is educated guesswork or theoretical. More content ... →📫Got a question? | 📚Complete list of Q+A and factoids →📢Announcements |🩻Biology |🗨️Language |🕰️Throwbacks |🤓Facts → Features: ⭐Guest Posts | 🍜Chomp Chomp with Myishu →🫀Gallifreyan Anatomy and Physiology Guide (pending) →⚕️Gallifreyan Emergency Medicine Guides →📝Source list (WIP) →📜Masterpost If you're finding your happy place in this part of the internet, feel free to buy a coffee to help keep our exhausted human conscious. She works full-time in medicine and is so very tired 😴

[pokemonshelterstories]

My sister-in-law renovates and flips houses for a living, and her latest project has asbestos all throughout the building. She's been asking to borrow my Glimmet to get rid of it, since asbestos is TECHNICALLY a mineral.

1.) Is it safe for a Glimmet or Glimmora to "eat" asbestos?

2.) Is it safe for me to be around a Glimmet or Glimmora that's "eaten" asbestos?

um...well, it's not dangerous for a glimmet to eat it, and the process by which glimmet breaks down minerals and extracts what it needs for poison turns it into the same structure as any other poison it excretes. but glimmet poison isn't safe for any human to breathe in for the same reason asbestos isnt- the poison particles can damage and scar the lungs. this is why it's extremely dangerous to keep them inside without proper protective gear and ventilation.

it's also not an approved method of disposal for asbestos. she needs to call someone who specializes in removing it.

[mining-obsessed]

mining facts day 1

Main source: Precious Metals: Mining, Extraction, and Processing by Kudryk, Corrigan, and Liang

Some ways you can extract gold from ores:

Chlorination (also used for a lot of other metals): combining moistened gold with chlorine, leaching out the gold from the water, and then precipitating with ferrous sulphate

Cyanidation (also used for Cu, Ni, Co, Mo extraction): crushing up gold ore, adding some sort of cyanide (not pure cyanide, but a metallic cyanide like KCN or NaCN) to make a gold-cyanide solution like AuKCN, which trickles out of the ore to then be separated by some other method (Ex. using Zinc via redox reaction, Carbon-In-Pulp). There's two ways of doing this: heap leaching (spraying the cyanide on) and vat leaching (mixing the ore and cyanide in a big tank. Vat leaching isn't really used anymore, while heap leaching can cause some pretty bad environmental disasters.

Platinum Group Metals (PGM) facts:

We use an insane amount of platinum group metals (platinum, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium, osmium, iridium), mostly in catalytic converters.

PGMs are really inert, heat-resistant, and are good for catalysis.

Over 96% of PGM reserves are in South Africa (88.8%) and Russia (7.8%). If you include Zimbabwe, the US, and Canada on that list, you'd have that (rounded) 100% of PGM reserves are located in 5 countries. The book I was reading on PGMs was actually fearmongering on how this gave South Africa a lot of diplomatic leverage against the US, kinda like how OPEC had a significant amount of leverage because of their oil.

Other sources:

Chlorination: https://www.911metallurgist.com/blog/gold-chlorination-processes-methods

Cyanidation: https://earthworks.org/issues/cyanide/

PGMS: https://natural-resources.canada.ca/minerals-mining/mining-data-statistics-and-analysis/minerals-metals-facts/platinum-facts/20520

[helen0086]

Research Progress on Spirulina Phycocyanin

Abstract: This paper summarizes the progress of research on extraction, purification, physicochemical properties, physiological activity and product development of Spirulina cyanobacteria in recent years, and suggests that the main directions of research in the next few years are the extraction process, drug development and quality control methods.

Spirulina is a genus of Cyanobacteria in the family Cyanobacteria, Cyanobacteria, Segmented Plants, and Trematoda, and is a filamentous, multicellular, spiral-shaped, prokaryotic algal organism with a high protein content and a fast reproduction rate [1, 2]. Spirulina includes various strains such as Spirulina obtususus, Spirulina major and Spirulina salina. Spirulina is rich in protein, fat, vitamins, minerals, chlorophyll, β-carotene and polysaccharides, and it is an ideal food and drug resource for human beings [3].

The phycobiliprotein contained in Spirulina is an important light-trapping pigment protein, mainly composed of phycocyanin (pC), allophycocyanin (ApC) and phycoerythrin (pE). Phycocyanin is a safe and non-toxic protein resource, which is not only a valuable food and erbium protein resource in nature, but also superior in the study of the original theory of photosynthesis. Polysaccharides and cyanobacterial proteins are important active substances in Spirulina [4]. In recent years, domestic and foreign researchers have shown that Spirulina has various functions such as anti-fatigue, anti-radiation, anti-virus, tumor inhibition, anti-allergy, and immunity enhancement, which determines that Spirulina and its active ingredients have a wide range of application prospects in the research and development of functional foods [5].

Phycocyanin is a kind of photosynthetic auxiliary pigment commonly found in cyanobacterial cells, it is a special kind of pigment protein, which consists of open-chain tetrapyrrole compounds and de-assisted proteins bonded by sulfur chains[6], and its theoretical research and application have been widely emphasized in recent years. The content of phycocyanin in Spirulina is as high as 1O%~2O%, and it is an important natural pigment for photosynthesis in Spirulina cells, and it can preferentially transfer light energy to photosystem Ⅱ in photosynthesis with a high efficiency of nearly 1OO% [7, 8].

Phycocyanin can be widely used as a natural pigment in food, cosmetics, dyes and other industries. Meanwhile, the strong fluorescence of phycocyanin can be made into fluorescent reagents, fluorescent probes, fluorescent tracer substances, etc., which can be used in clinical diagnosis, immunochemistry and bioengineering and other research fields [9, 10]. As an important physiological active ingredient, it can also be made into pharmaceuticals for medical care. Meanwhile, phycocyanin is also an ideal photosensitizer without toxic side effects [8].

Due to the good development prospect of algal blue protein and its high content in Spirulina, the study of algal blue protein in Spirulina has become a hot spot of algal protein research. In this paper, the research progress of Spirulina cyanobacterial protein in terms of extraction, purification, physicochemical properties and physiological activities in recent years will be introduced.

1 Extraction

The extraction of Spirulina cyanobacterial protein is often divided into two processes: egg white dissolution and egg white precipitation. Algal blue protein is an intracellular protein, to make it dissolved firstly, the cell wall and cell membrane of the cell should be broken so that it can be dissolved in the extracting solution in a soluble state, and then it should be precipitated by suitable methods, and its activity should be maintained in the extraction process. The current state of research shows that the extraction of Spirulina cyanobacterial protein is still in the stage of experimental research, and its extraction methods are not the same. Zheng Jiang [11] summarized the cell crushing methods: repeated freezing and thawing method, chemical reagent treatment method, swelling method ultrasonic method and tissue mashing method 5, protein precipitation methods: salinization, crystallization, isoelectric point precipitation and ultrafiltration method and other four methods.

1 In the cell breaking method, due to the longer extraction period of the swelling method, ultrasonic extraction rate is poor, etc., the more commonly used is the repeated freezing and thawing method and chemical reagent treatment method, but there are some differences between the two. Lin Hongwei [12] et al. used sodium dodecyl sulfate (sDs) to destroy the cell membrane of Spiroplasma obtusely to extract cyanobacterial proteins, the extraction rate was as high as 98%, and significantly better than the control group extracted by freeze-thawing method.

Zhang Yifang [13] et al. used kcl and lysozyme to extract algal blue protein from Spirulina cell wall, and the wall-breaking rate reached more than 95%, and compared with the freeze-thaw method, that the freeze-thaw method is only suitable for the preparation of small amount of samples, and it is difficult to freeze-thaw the samples in large doses quickly, while the lysozyme method is suitable for the preparation of large amount of algal blue protein. Due to the addition of chemical reagents, it is difficult to increase the purification process in the later stage, and it is easy to cause protein denaturation if it is not handled well, while the freeze-thaw method is simple and convenient to operate. Therefore, the freeze-thaw method is more commonly used to extract small amounts of algal blue protein.

In practice, several methods are often used in order to maximize the dissolution of cyanobacterial proteins. For example, Gao Tianrong [14] and Wang Yong [15] used repeated freeze-thawing and ultrasonic methods to rupture the cell wall of Spirulina. Lin Hongwei[12] and others used the washing cycle freeze-thaw method to extract Spirulina alginata, and the results showed that the extraction rate of Tween2O as the extraction reagent could reach 65.1%, which was higher than that of the buffer cycle freeze-thaw method.

1.2 After the cells are broken, the alginate is dissolved in the extraction solution, and it is very important to choose the appropriate method for precipitation. Isoelectric point precipitation method utilizes the characteristic that the solubility of protein is the smallest when it is at the isoelectric point. By adjusting the pH value of the solution to the isoelectric point of alginate, the solubility of alginate will be reduced and precipitate will be precipitated. Zhang Yifang [13] and Tang Zhaohui [16] used this method to precipitate algal blue protein. However, it is generally believed that alginate blue protein is more sensitive to pH, and poor pH control during precipitation may cause protein denaturation.

Salt precipitation of algal blue egg white is more commonly reported in the literature, and its precipitation effect is generally recognized. Ammonium sulfate solution is a commonly used salt solution, and Zhang Yifang[13] and others have used magnesium sulfate, diammonium hydrogen phosphate, ammonium dihydrogen phosphate and ammonium sulfate solutions to compare with ammonium sulfate solution for hydrodialysis, and the results showed that ammonium sulfate hydrodialysis effect was good, and the other hydrodialysis effect was poor. However, there are many opinions about the concentration of ammonium sulfate for salting out. More often, ammonium sulfate solution with 5O% saturation is used for precipitation [4, 12, 17], and there are some cases in which saturation of 30%~60% is used [15, 18].

Lin Hongwei [19, 2O] and others used 7O% and 80% ammonium sulfate solution. Hu Yibing [21] and others used different concentrations of ammonium sulfate solution to establish a segmented gradient salting out to separate and purify the cyanobacteria of Spirulina platensis, and the results were good. H. W. Siegleman [22] concluded that the cyanobacteria could be separated from the alpha cyanobacteria by salting out with different concentrations of ammonium sulfate solution, while Peng Weimin [23] concluded that it was not possible to separate the cyanobacteria from the alpha cyanobacteria by salting out with ammonium sulfate. However, in the study of Peng Weimin [23], it was not possible to separate phycocyanin from allocyanin by ammonium sulfate salting out. Nevertheless, the extraction of cyanobacterial proteins from Spirulina has to be treated with ammonium sulfate in order to obtain the crude extract of cyanobacterial proteins.

2 Purification Methods

The content of impurity protein in the extract of Spirulina alginata is very high, and the purity ratio of alginate protein (A62O/A28O) should be more than 4.O before it can be used in practical applications [11]. Therefore, it is necessary to further purify the crude extract, remove the impurity proteins and improve the purity of alginate blue protein. Currently, the purification methods reported in the literature include hydroxyapatite column chromatography, gel chromatography, ion exchange method and less frequently used diatomite column chromatography. In practice, it is often necessary to use two or more methods at the same time in order to get better results.

Wei Ping[18] extracted alginate from Spirulina major by adsorbing the crude extract of alginate on a column with DEAE-sephadex A-25 and hydroxyapatite (HA), and then analyzing the eluate of alginate on the HA column and passing it through a G-15O column. The results showed that a homemade hydroxyapatite column was used to obtain alginate with a purity ratio of 4.18, and the alginate was analyzed on a G-15O column to obtain a single alginate with a single composition. Hu Yibing[21] and others used hydroxyapatite chromatography and sephadex G-1OO gel chromatography to obtain alginate with a purity ratio greater than 5.O. Yin Gang[24] and others used hydroxyapatite chromatography and sephadex G-1OO gel chromatography to obtain alginate with a purity ratio greater than 5.0. Yin Gang[24] and others used sephacryls-2OO gel chromatography and hydroxyapatite column chromatography to separate and purify the algal blue protein from cultured Spirulina obtusususus, and obtained the pure algal blue protein.

Zhang Chengwu[4] and others purified the alginate from Spirulina obtususus by chromatography and filtration on a sephadex G-1OO column twice for electrophoretically pure alginate. Yin Gang[25] and others also studied the isolation and purification of alginate from Spirulina obtusususus using DEAEsepharose FF ion exchange and hydroxyapatite adsorption, and the alginate was identified as electrophoretically pure by isoelectric focusing. Yin Gang[26] and others used hydroxyapatite and sephadex G-1OO for column chromatography to isolate the alginate with a purity ratio of 4.71. The alginate was purified by isoelectric focusing. Peng Weimin[23] and others used hydroxyapatite column chromatography to purify algal bile protein from Spirulina to obtain algal blue protein with high purity.

Lin Hongwei[19, 2O] and others obtained alginate with a purity ratio of 4.1 from spirulina by using a diatomaceous earth 545 column with graded elution followed by DEAE-cellulose ion exchange purification. Zhang Jianping[27] , et al. obtained a purer alginate from Spirulina by hydroxyapatite column chromatography followed by dextran gel chromatography on a sephadex G-15O column. Wang Y[15] established a purification procedure for sephadex G-2OO, DEAE-sephadex A-25, HA, and SePhadex G-2OO. The results of this method were satisfactory, with a single band on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE), and the purity ratio was as high as 14, which exceeded the highest value of 1O reported both domestically and abroad.1 The combined use of multiple purification methods was also typical. This is a typical example of the combined use of multiple purification methods.

3 Physical and chemical characterization

Because of the broad application prospect of phycocyanin, the study of the physicochemical properties of phycocyanin has become an important topic in the development of Spirulina.0 In recent years, the study of phycocyanin has been deepened to the molecular composition, and greater progress has been made in the study of other physicochemical properties.

3.1 Spectral Characterization  

Spectroscopy is one of the important properties of cyanobacterial proteins, and the study of spectral properties provides an important basis for the identification of cyanobacterial proteins in Spirulina. At the same time, the maximum absorption of cyanobacterial proteins can also be utilized for the determination of protein content, which provides a simple and effective method for the quality control of cyanobacterial proteins. However, due to the differences in the cyanobacterial proteins of different strains of Spirulina and the purity of the cyanobacterial samples used by the researchers, the reported spectral properties of the cyanobacterial proteins differ.

Yin Gang [26] et al. showed that there were characteristic absorption peaks at 278nm, 36Onm, and 62Onm in the UV-visible spectrum of Spirulina obtusususus 0 Wei Ping [18] et al. found that the alginyl cyanide of the purified Spirulina obtusususus was scanned by UV-visible spectrophotometer, and the characteristic absorption peaks were found at 62Onm and 348nm 0 Chengwu Zhang [4] et al. measured the maximum absorption wavelength at 62Onm in the UV-visible spectrophotometer 0 Peng Weimin [17] et al. used UV-visible spectrophotometer to obtain the maximum absorption wavelength at 62Onm in the UV-visible spectrophotometer 0 Peng Weimin [17] et al. Zhang Chengwu [4] measured the maximum absorption of purified Spirulina obtususifera phycocyanin at 62Onm by UV-visible scanning. 0 Peng Weimin [17] and others used UV-visible spectrophotometry to determine that the maximum visible absorption of Spirulina obtusifera phycocyanin was at 62Onm, and used fluorescence spectrophotometry to determine that its fluorescence emission peak was at 645 nm at room temperature.

The results of Wang Yong [15] showed that the absorption wavelength of phycocyanin in Spirulina salina was 615 nm under the condition of PH 7.O. When the PH decreased, the maximum absorption peak of phycocyanin shifted to blue, and when the PH increased, the peak shifted to red; the fluorescence excitation peaks of phycocyanin in neutral condition were located at 590 nm and 635 nm, and the fluorescence emission peaks were located at 650 nm only. Zhang Erxian [28] et al. determined that the maximum absorption peak of algal blue protein was at 625nm, and its fluorescence emission peak was at 648nm.0 Yin Gang [24, 26] et al. also determined the infrared spectra of algal blue protein, which showed that algal blue protein had absorption peaks at 32OO, 165O, 155O, 11OO, 1O5O, and 65Ocm-1 , thus providing a richer basis for the identification of algal blue protein. The results showed that algal blue protein had absorption peaks at 32OO, 165O, 155O, 11OO, 1O5O and 65O cm-1 , thus providing a more abundant basis for the identification of algal blue protein.

3.2 Amino Acid Composition of Algae Blue Protein

The amino acid composition of the protein is conducive to the further understanding of the internal structure and active groups of the algal blue protein, and also provides a theoretical basis for other properties of the algal blue protein.0 Yin Gang [24, 26], Liu Qifang [29], and Li Jianhong [9] studied the amino acid composition of the algal blue protein in Spirulina, and the results showed that the composition of the cyanogenic acids of different strains of Spirulina is basically the same.0 Zhang Chengwu [4] analyzed the amino acid composition and content of the bile protein of Spirulina obtusususus, and concluded that except for tryptophan, which was not measured, the algal blue protein contained 14 amino acids, only trace amounts of histidine and proline, and lack of methionine. Zhang Chengwu [4] analyzed the amino acid composition and content of Spirulina bile protein, and concluded that, except for tryptophan which was not measured, the cyanobacterial protein contained 14 amino acids, with only trace amounts of histidine and proline, and a lack of methionine.

Peng Weimin [17] analyzed the amino acid composition of phycocyanin in Spirulina obtusususus by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and the results showed that the amino acid compositions of phycocyanin and other algal cyanoproteins were similar, with the highest content of Phenylalanine (Phenylalanine) followed by Aspartic Acid (Aspartic Acid), Glutamic Acid (Glutamic Acid), Tyrosine (Tyrosine), and the lower content of Proline (Proline) and Histidine (Histidine). Meanwhile, the ratio of acidic amino acids to basic amino acids in alginate was 2.14, which was higher than that of alginate (1.92), and therefore alginate was considered to be an acidic protein, which also explained why alginate had a lower isoelectric point than other alginates as reported in [29].

3.3 Biochemical characterization

3. 3. 1 Isoelectric point

The isoelectric point is one of the most prominent properties of proteins. The isoelectric points of Spirulina cyanobacterial proteins have been reported differently, but all of them are in the range of 3.4-4.8 [4, 13, 24, 26, 29]. This is probably due to the differences in the nature of cyanobacterial proteins in different strains of Spirulina, and another reason is that different purity of cyanobacterial proteins affects the consistency of the results of the assay. It was also found that the isoelectric points of algal blue proteins were generally lower than those of other algal blue proteins, which may be related to the amino acid composition of the proteins [17].

3. 3. 2 Studies on algal blue protein subunits

Current research suggests that phycocyanin is composed of two α and β subunits with different molecular weights, usually a hexamer of the two subunits (αβ)15], but the molecular weights of the subunits are not the same as those of the other subunits. Zhang Chengwu [4] and others showed that purified phycocyanin is composed of two subunits, α and β, and that their molecular weights are 145OOμ and 15OOOμ respectively, as measured by 12% sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The α and β subunits of Spirulina obtususifera were composed of two subunits and their molecular weights were measured to be 145OOOμ and 15OOOμ0 Zhang Erxian [28] measured the molecular weights of the two subunits of phycocyanin to be 149OOμ and 172OOμ0 Peng Weimin [17] performed a regression analysis by using the relative mobility of the standardized proteins (X) and its corresponding molecular weight in terms of the logarithm of the molecular weight (Y) as the parameters, and the obtained equation of regression was: Y= 1. O228X ten 5. 12. O228X x 5. 1255 (R2= O. 9889), the molecular weights of the α-subunit and β-subunit of the cyanobacterial protein in Spirulina obtusususus were calculated to be about 16.3 KD and 18.9 KD, which were similar to those in the literature [30,31].

3.4 Algae blue protein stability study  

Zhang Yifang [13] studied that alginate blue protein is stable below 40℃, its pigment starts to decompose at 45℃, the optical density of the solution decreases gradually, the optical density of the solution decreases rapidly at 50℃, and the optical density of the solution at 70℃ decreases by 75% compared with the original one, the sugar solution can increase the stability of the alginate blue protein to the heat, the effect of the illumination on the alginate blue protein is small, the illumination of 5,100x for 6Oh, the optical density of the solution treated with PH5 does not change. It was also shown that the optical density of algal blue protein was stable in the range of PH4.O~8.5, the optical density was unchanged, and the color of the solution became lighter when the PH value was higher than 8.5 or lower than 4.O. The results of the above studies showed that the algal blue protein was more sensitive to the temperature and PH, but insensitive to light, which was of great significance for the control of the conditions of algal blue protein in the process of extraction, purification and preservation.

4 Physiological activity studies

Phycocyanin is one of the important active ingredients in Spirulina. The results of clinical studies have shown that phycocyanin in Spirulina has the effect of improving immunity, promoting animal cell regeneration and inhibiting cancer cells [32]. Therefore, it is of great significance to study the physiological activity of algal blue protein in depth. Currently, the focus of research is mainly on the study of anticancer activity, and at the same time, some progress has been made in the study of other activities.

4.1 Research on anticancer activity  

Dong Qiang [33] et al. investigated the anticancer activity of alginate cyanine (PC) on HeLa cells by two methods, and demonstrated that PC had a significant inhibitory effect on the growth of HeLa cells, and the inhibitory rate of PC reached 31.0% when the concentration of PC was 8Omg L-1. Shen Haiyan[34] and others used semi-solid agar culture method and MTT assay to determine the effect of Spirulina alginate on the growth of human blood cancer cell lines HL-6O, K-562 and μ-937. These three tumor cells were treated with different concentrations of cyanobacterial proteins under in vitro culture conditions, and the results showed that Spirulina cyanobacterial proteins inhibited the growth of these three tumor cells to different degrees, and there was a concentration-dose effect, with a strong inhibitory effect at high concentrations.

Guo Baojiang[35] and others investigated the inhibitory effect of selenized alginate from selenium-enriched cultured Spirulina obtusususus on hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Guo Baojiang[36] and others also studied the inhibitory effect of photoimmobilized alginate on hepatocellular carcinoma cells 74O2 in vitro. The experiment showed that, when the initial concentration of immobilized alginate was 2O μg/well, the inhibition rate of 74O2 cells reached 55%, and the inhibition rate of the cancer cells decreased when the concentration continued to increase, and then increased back to 55%, 66% and 66% when the concentration of alginate was as high as O.5mg/well and 1mg/well. When the concentration of cyanobacteria reached O.5mg/well and 1mg/well, the inhibition rate rebounded to 55% and 66%.

4.2 Other Activity Studies  

Spirulina alginate also has some activity in other areas. Wang Yuanxun[37] and others found that feeding extracted Spirulina cyanobacteria alginate to mice significantly improved exercise endurance. Zhang Chengwu[38] demonstrated that Spirulina alginate had anti-radiation effects in animal experiments, and the results also showed that alginate may promote the recovery of hematopoietic function in irradiated animals. Tang Mei[39] and others found that phycocyanin could promote PHA-induced proliferation of normal mouse splenic lymphocytes, enhance the hemolytic capacity of plaque-forming cells and the content of hemolysin in the serum, and significantly resist the damage of hydrocortisone to the immune function of the organism.

Zhao Jingquan [4O] et al. investigated the scavenging effect of alginate from Spirulina on hydroxyl radicals by using a competitive reaction kinetics method, and the results showed that alginate had a strong scavenging effect on hydroxyl radicals, and the scavenging rate constants were measured to be in the range of (2.8~5.6) × 1O9L mol-1 S-1. Tang Mai [41] et al. studied the effect of phycocyanin (PC) in Spirulina on the function of human peripheral lymphocytes, and the results showed that PC could promote the transformation of PHA-stimulated lymphocytes, and there was a dose-dependent relationship. The results showed that PC could promote the transformation of lymphocytes stimulated by PHA, and there was a dose-dependent relationship. PC could restore the ability of T cells to form E rosettes after being damaged by cyclophosphamide, especially the ability to form active E rosettes (Ea).

Experimental studies have shown that Spirulina cyanobacteria have physiological activities such as anti-tumor, anti-radiation, anti-fatigue, enhancement of immunity and scavenging of free radicals, etc., which provides an important basis for decision-making on the development of Spirulina in the field of functional foods and medicines.

5 Research on algal blue protein products [42, 43]

Phycocyanin is an important active ingredient in Spirulina, and its unique physicochemical properties have been emphasized in product development research. The School of Life Sciences of Peking University used the purified algal blue protein monomer from Spirulina mud preparation to couple with purified DFI antibody, and then purified the coupling product to obtain the antibody labeled with algal blue protein, which is a fluorescent probe. The Institute of Chemical Engineering and Metallurgy, Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Oceanography, Chinese Academy of Sciences have also carried out the development of fluorescent markers and diagnostic reagents for algal bile protein, and researched on diagnostic reagents and diagnostic kits (screening, labeling and detection techniques of fluorescent reagents, etc.), and are expected to obtain a technology to replace other fluorescent markers and enzyme markers, as well as a popular algal bile protein-labeled diagnostic kit for surface antigen of Hepatitis B Virus.

At the same time, algal blue protein for food research, especially functional food research has made great progress, China has more than 10 kinds of spirulina tablets and capsules, according to different functions approved by the Ministry of Health as health products. However, because the extraction of algal blue protein in Spirulina is still in the stage of experimental research, there is no suitable industrial production process, so that the commercial price of algal blue protein is expensive and its application is limited to a certain extent.

6 Conclusion

The research of Spirulina in China began in 1970s, after more than 30 years of research and development, although there is a great progress, but mostly at the laboratory level. According to the literature, it is difficult to extract and purify the active ingredient of Spirulina cyanobacteria, and its mature technology still needs a period of research and exploration. Meanwhile, there are not many functional foods based on cyanobacterial proteins, and there is still no research and development of pharmaceuticals.

Therefore, in the next few years, the research and development of algal blue protein will mainly focus on the following aspects: Firstly, exploring a method of preparing large amount of algal blue protein suitable for industrialized production, reducing the cost of algal blue protein, and promoting its extensive development and utilization. Secondly, according to the results of the research on the activity of algal blue protein, the development of algal blue protein will be expanded from functional food to the development of medicines and medical diagnostic reagents, so as to develop its utilization value at a deeper level. Thirdly, we will continue to study the physical and chemical properties of algal blue protein and establish a good quality control method to provide quality assurance for the research and production of algal blue protein products, especially medicines.

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