Low-Al Zeolite Beta as a Heterogeneous Catalyst in Biodiesel Production from Microwave-assisted Transesterification of Triglycerides

AbstractIn this work microwave and reflux-assisted transesterification of triolein in methanol was carried out with alkali-loaded low-Al Zeolite Beta as catalyst. The results show that the alkali-treated Zeolite Beta can effectively catalyze transesterification reaction of triglycerides to produce fatty acid ethyl esters (biodiesel), if Zeolite Beta has been properly modified with the alkali ion-exchange process. As a result, the final conversion yield over 90% could be obtained within an hour of reflux reaction. However, the durability of this Na-modified Zeolite Beta still has much room to be improved. In this work, this inferior catalytic durability is overcome by using the low-Al Zeolite Beta with a smaller particle size near 0.5μm. Consequently, for at least eight cycles, cyclic tests of these zeolite catalysts do not result in any significant decrease in catalysis in transesterification reaction. It is inferred that alkali cations existing in defect-sites of low-Al Zeolite Beta can be supplied to the surface of the catalysts during transesterification and enhance the catalysis

Biodiesel Produced from Catalyzed Transesterification of Triglycerides Using ion-Exchanged Zeolite Beta and MCM-22

AbstractIn this work, biodiesel production from catalyzed transesterification of triglycerides with excess methanol was studied by using ion-exchanged Zeolite Beta and MCM-22 as heterogeneous catalysts. Zeolite Beta and MCM-22 were synthesized with hydrothermal processes and, subsequently, modified by ion-exchanged with alkali ions. These as-obtained zeolite catalysts could yield a high conversion of triglycerides to biodiesel. The conversion efficiency was largely affected by crystallinity and frameworks of zeolite support, pH value of alkali ion-exchange solutions and alkali loadings onto the zeolite support. Furthermore, the effects of the duration of the sodium ion-exchange process on the final conversion efficiency of triolein to biodiesel, both the as-prepared Zeolite MCM-22 and Zeolite Beta catalysts were used. The effect of the duration of the sodium ion-exchange process is insignificant in transesterification using Na-ion-exchanged Zeolite MCM-22 catalysts from 0.5 to 4h. In contrast, the conversion efficiency of triolein to biodiesel reached ca. 95% in 0.5hours of transesterification using Zeolite Beta ion-exchanged with 3 mmol-eq. Na+/g cat for 0.5hours

Two-stage soil infiltration treatment system for treating ammonium wastewaters of low COD/TN ratios

Soil infiltration treatment (SIT) is ineffective to treat ammonium wastewaters of total nitrogen (TN) > 100 mg l−1. This study applied a novel two-stage SIT process for effective TN removal from wastewaters of TN > 100 mg l−1 and of chemical oxygen demand (COD)/TN ratio of 3.2–8.6. The wastewater was first fed into the soil column (stage 1) at hydraulic loading rate (HLR) of 0.06 m3 m−2 d−1 for COD removal and total phosphorus (TP) immobilization. Then the effluent from stage 1 was fed individually into four soil columns (stage 2) at 0.02 m3 m−2 d−1 of HLR with different proportions of raw wastewater as additional carbon source. Over the one-year field test, balanced nitrification and denitrification in the two-stage SIT revealed excellent TN removal (>90%) from the tested wastewaters

Identification of inorganic and organic species of phosphorus and its bio-availability in nitrifying aerobic granular sludge

Phosphorus (P) recovery from sewage sludge is necessary for a sustainable development of the environment and thus the society due to gradual depletion of non-renewable P resources. Aerobic granular sludge is a promising biotechnology for wastewater treatment, which could achieve P-rich granules during simultaneous nitrification and denitrification processes. This study aimed to disclose the changes in inorganic and organic P species and their correlation with P mobility and bio-availability in aerobic granules. Two identical square reactors were used to cultivate aerobic granules, which were operated for 120 days with influent ammonia nitrogen (NH4–N) of 100 mg/L before day 60 and then increased to 200 mg/L during the subsequent 60 days (chemical oxygen demand (COD) was kept constant at 600 mg/L). The aerobic granules exhibited excellent COD removal and nitrification efficiency. Results showed that inorganic P (IP) was about 61.4–67.7% of total P (TP) and non-apatite inorganic P (NAIP) occupied 61.9–70.2% of IP in the granules. The enrichment amount of NAIP and apatite P (AP) in the granules had strongly positive relationship with the contents of metal ions, i.e. Fe and Ca, respectively accumulated in the granules. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and solution index calculation demonstrated that hydroxyapatite (Ca5(PO4)3(OH)) and iron phosphate (Fe7(PO4)6) were the major P minerals in the granules. Organic P (OP) content maintained around 7.5 mg per gram of biomass in the aerobic granules during the 120 days\u27 operation. Monoester phosphate (21.8% of TP in extract), diester phosphate (1.8%) and phosphonate (0.1%) were identified as OP species by Phosphorus-31 nuclear magnetic resonance (31P NMR). The proportion of NAIP + OP to TP was about 80% in the granules, implying high potentially mobile and bio-available P was stored in the nitrifying aerobic granules. The present results provide a new insight into the characteristics of P species in aerobic granules, which could be helpful for developing P removal and recovery techniques through biological wastewater treatment

Mathematical modeling of simultaneous carbon-nitrogen-sulfur removal from industrial wastewater

A mathematical model of carbon, nitrogen and sulfur removal (C-N-S) from industrial wastewater was constructed considering the interactions of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB), sulfide-oxidizing bacteria (SOB), nitrate-reducing bacteria (NRB), facultative bacteria (FB), and methane producing archaea (MPA). For the kinetic network, the bioconversion of C-N by heterotrophic denitrifiers (NO\ua0→\ua0NO\ua0→\ua0N), and that of C-S by SRB (SO\ua0→\ua0S) and SOB (S\ua0→\ua0S) was proposed and calibrated based on batch experimental data. The model closely predicted the profiles of nitrate, nitrite, sulfate, sulfide, lactate, acetate, methane and oxygen under both anaerobic and micro-aerobic conditions. The best-fit kinetic parameters had small 95% confidence regions with mean values approximately at the center. The model was further validated using independent data sets generated under different operating conditions. This work was the first successful mathematical modeling of simultaneous C-N-S removal from industrial wastewater and more importantly, the proposed model was proven feasible to simulate other relevant processes, such as sulfate-reducing, sulfide-oxidizing process (SR-SO) and denitrifying sulfide removal (DSR) process. The model developed is expected to enhance our ability to predict the treatment of carbon-nitrogen-sulfur contaminated industrial wastewater

Computer simulations of the interaction of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) aspartic protease with spherical gold nanoparticles: implications in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)

The interaction of gold nanoparticles (AuNP) with human immune-deficiency virus aspartic protease (HIVPR) is modelled using a regime of molecular dynamics simulations. The simulations of the 'docking', first as a rigid-body complex, and eventually through flexible-fit analysis, creates 36 different complexes from four initial orientations of the nanoparticle strategically positioned around the surface of the enzyme. The structural deviations of the enzymes from the initial x-ray crystal structure during each docking simulation are assessed by comparative analysis of secondary structural elements, root mean square deviations, B-factors, interactive bonding energies, dihedral angles, radius of gyration (R g), circular dichroism (CD), volume occupied by C α , electrostatic potentials, solvation energies and hydrophobicities. Normalisation of the data narrows the selection from the initial 36 to one 'final' probable structure. It is concluded that, after computer simulations on each of the 36 initial complexes incorporating the 12 different biophysical techniques, the top five complexes are the same no matter which technique is explored. The significance of the present work is an expansion of an earlier study on the molecular dynamic simulation for the interaction of HIVPR with silver nanoparticles. This work is supported by experimental evidence since the initial 'orientation' of the AgNP with the enzyme is the same as the 'final' AuNP-HIVPR complex generated in the present study. The findings will provide insight into the forces of the binding of the HIVPR to AuNP. It is anticipated that the protocol developed in this study will act as a standard process for the interaction of any nanoparticle with any biomedical target