Turnover Rate of Metal-Catalyzed Hydroconversion of 2,5-Dimethylfuran: Gas-Phase Versus Liquid-Phase

Hydroconversion (hydrogenation and hydrogenolysis) of biomass-derived furanic compounds giving furan ring-hydrogenation and ring-cleavage products attracts interest for sustainable production of chemicals and fuels. Here, the hydroconversion of 2,5-dimethylfuran (DMF), chosen as a model furanic compound, was investigated at a gas-solid interface over carbon-supported Pt, Pd, Rh and Ru metal catalysts in a fixed-bed reactor at 70–90 °C and ambient pressure. Pt/C was mainly active in ring cleavage of DMF to produce 2-hexanone as the primary product, followed by its hydrogenation to 2-hexanol and hexane. In contrast, Pd/C, Rh/C and Ru/C selectively hydrogenated the furan ring to 2,5-dimethyltetrahydrofuran (DMTHF). The turnover frequency (TOF) of metal sites in the gas-phase DMF hydroconversion was determined from zero-order kinetics in the absence of diffusion limitations. The TOF values decreased in the sequence Pt > Rh > Pd >> Ru, similar to the liquid-phase reaction. The TOF values for the gas-phase reaction were found to be one order of magnitude greater than those for the liquid-phase reaction. This indicates that the gas-phase process is potentially more efficient than the liquid-phase process. TOF values for hydroconversion of ring-saturated furan derivatives, tetrahydrofuran and DMTHF, on Pt/C, were much lower than those for DMF

Highly efficient nickel-niobia composite catalysts for hydrogenation of CO2 to methane

We studied the catalytic hydrogenation of CO2 to methane using nickel-niobia composite catalysts. Catalysts containing 10–70 wt% Ni were synthesized by wet impregnation and tested for CO2 hydrogenation in a flow reactor. 40 wt% was found to be the optimum Ni loading, which resulted in CO2 conversion of 81% at 325 °C. We also calcined the Nb2O5 support at different temperatures to study the influence of calcination temperature on the catalytic performance. 40 wt% Ni loaded on Nb2O5, which was calcined at 700 °C gave higher methanation activity (91% conversion of CO2). Time on stream study for 50 h showed a stable activity and selectivity; thus confirming the scope for practical application.E.S.G. and N.R.S acknowledge the financial support from NOW CAPITA project (732.013.002). ASE acknowledges the financial support from the MINECO projects MAT-2013-45008-P and MAT2016-81732-ERC. EVRF gratefully acknowledge support from MINECO for his Ramón y Cajal grant (RyC-2012-11427) and University of Alicante for the project GRE-13-31. Generalitat Valenciana is also acknowledged for financial support (PROMETEOII/ 2014/004)

Метод двойного резонанса для определения точки гелеобразования

The application of double resonance method for determining the dynamics of fluidity changes of thermotropic gel-forming compositions based on cellulose ether is considered. To determine the gel point, a modified version of the ‘Rheokinetika’ viscometer including two identical sensors and measuring cells of different diametersРассмотрено применение метода двойного резонанса для определения динамики изменения текучести термотропных гелеобразующих композиций на основе метилцеллюлозы. Для определения точки гелеобразования использован модифицированный вискозиметр «Реокинетика», содержащий два идентичных датчика и измерительные ячейки различных диаметро

Heteropoly acid catalysts in upgrading of biorenewables: Cycloaddition of aldehydes to monoterpenes in green solvents

Acidic Cs salt of tungstophosphoric heteropoly acid, Cs2.5H0.5PW12O40 (CsPW), is excellent solid acid catalyst for liquid-phase cycloaddition reactions of biomass-based and easily available from essential oils monoterpenic compounds, such as limonene, ?-terpineol, ?-pinene, ?-pinene and nerol, with aldehydes, including benzaldehyde, crotonaldehyde as well as biomass-derived cuminaldehyde and trans-cinnamaldehyde. The reactions give oxabicyclo[3.3.1]nonene compounds potentially useful for the fragrance and pharmaceutical industries in good to excellent yields. The process is environmentally benign and can be performed in biomass-derived solvent 2-methyltetrahydrofuran and eco-friendly ?green? organic solvents such as dimethylcarbonate and diethylcarbonate under mild conditions at low catalyst loadings without leaching problems. The solid CsPW catalyst can be easily separated from the reaction media and low-boiling solvents can be removed by distillation. Silica-supported H3PW12O40 also demonstrated good performance in these reactions

Viscometer of Thixotropic Liquids

В предлагаемой работе рассмотрена конструкция вискозиметра, предназначенного для контроля тиксотропных жидкостей, изменяющих текучесть в результате приложения механической нагрузки. Главная отличительная особенность данного устройства: внутренняя боковая поверхность измерительного сосуда выполнена в виде эллипса, а в процессе измерения в исследуемый образец погружается два зонда, один из которых используется для разрушения структуры, а второй – для измерения механического сопротивления (вязкости) образца. Вискозиметр может быть использован при изучении тиксотропных свойств нефтей и гелеобразующих систем, используемых в технологиях повышения нефтеотдачиIn the proposed work, the design of a viscometer designed to control thixotropic liquids that change fluidity as a result of applying a mechanical load is considered. The main distinguishing feature of this device: the inner side surface of the measuring vessel is made in the form of an ellipse, and during the measurement process two probes are immersed in the test sample, one of which is used to destroy the structure, and the second to measure the mechanical resistance (viscosity) of the sample. The viscometer can be used to study the thixotropic properties of oils and gel-forming systems used in enhanced oil recovery technologie

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data