Effect of precursor acidity on zeolite supported Pd catalyst properties and hydrodeoxygenation activity for the production of biofuel

In this study, two different zeolite (ZLT) supported palladium catalysts (Pd/Zs) of varying acidity were synthesized, characterized and tested for biofuel production. The first Pd/Z was synthesized via the incorporation of palladium oxalate complex (PdOxC) prepared from the functionalization of H2PdCl4 with oxalic acid at pH 5.3 into ZLT. The PdOxC was further modified with drops of HF until pH 3.7 and incorporated into ZLT to synthesize zeolite supported fluoride ion modified PdOxC catalyst (FPd/Z). Their characterization results showed that there is considerable crystallinity loss in Pd/Z, while FPd/Z showed drastic crystallinity loss according to the SEM and XRD results. In addition, the specific surface area and porosity of ZLT increased from 202 m(2)/g and 0.13 cm(3)/g to 371 m(2)/g and 0.23 cm(3)/g in Pd/Z, and 427 m(2)/g and 0.29 cm(3)/g in FPd/Z catalysts, respectively. Pd/Z catalyst produces 56 n-C18H38 and 11 iso-C18H38, while FPd/Z produces 58 n-C18H38 and 28 iso-C18H38 in the hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) and isomerization (ISO) steps, respectively. The enhancements in the catalysts properties are due to the acidic effect of OxA via the incorporation of PdOxC, while the additional enhancements in the properties and the ISO activity of FPd/Z was ascribed to the acidic effect of fluoride ion modification. It is obvious that OxA functionalization and subsequent fluoride ion modification are highly invaluable toward biofuel production. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Gestational Gigantomastia: Report of a Rare Case and Literature Review

Background: Gestational gigantomastia is a rare disorder with unknown aetiology. It commonly occurs during the first and early second trimesters and mostly affects women during their second and third decades of life. The disease has been reported to be more common among Caucasians than Blacks and involves both breasts in 92% of cases. There are no standard treatment protocols for the disease, however, both medical use of bromocriptine and simple mastectomy have been applied. Case summary: We present a case of 32-year-old un-booked female, G8P7+0, 7 alive, who presented with bilateral breast enlargement with ulceration at 25 weeks’ gestation. The diagnosis was confirmed by tissue biopsy and simple mastectomy was done and the pregnancy was allowed to continue to term. Conclusion: This case report describes the first case of gestational gigantomastia in our environment and the seventh case reported in Africa to increase our awareness on how to diagnose and rule out other causes of bilateral massively enlarged breasts during pregnancy and the treatment options for this distressing clinical condition

Hydrodeoxygenation of oleic acid into n- and iso-paraffin biofuel using zeolite supported fiuoro-oxalate modified molybdenum catalyst: Kinetics study

The activity of zeolite supported fluoride-ion functionalized molybdenum-oxalate catalyst (FMoOx/Zeol) and its kinetic study on the hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of oleic acid (OA) is presented in this report. The FMoOx/Zeol was synthesized via simple dissolution method and characterized. The results revealed formation of highly reactive octahedral Mo species with enhanced textural and morphological properties. The FMoOx/Zeol activity on the HDO of OA at the best observed experimental conditions of 360 degrees C, 30 mg FMoOx/Zeol and 20 bar produces 64 n-C18H38 and 30 iso-C18H38 in 60 min. The acidity of FMoOx/Zeol was responsible for the production of the iso-C18H38. The kinetic data showed that sequential hydrogenation of OA into stearic acid (SA) was faster than the HDO of SA into biofuel with activation energies of 98.7 and 130.3 kJ/mol, respectively. The reusability studies showed consistency after three consecutive runs amounting to 180 min reaction time. The results are encouraging towards industrial application. (C) 2015 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved