Oxydehydrogenation of Propane over Vanadium Oxide Supported on Kieselguhr or MCM-41

Supported vanadium oxide (5 wt%) on either Kieselguhr or mesoporous MCM-41 was prepared using impregnation method and tested as a catalyst in propane oxidative dehydrogenation (POD). The catalyst samples were characterized using X-ray elemental analysis, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) physisorption, and Z-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). After impregnation, the catalyst surface area decreased compared with that of the support. More drastic decrease was observed in the case of MCM-41 (77%) than the Kieselguhr supported sample (48%). There are also different degrees of vanadium oxide-support interaction as reflected by the XPS result. Si-O binding energy of 531.5 eV was observed on MCM-41-supported sample compared with 529.5 eV for the Kieselguhr-supported sample. The catalyst tests were conducted at atmospheric pressure, with a propane to oxygen ratio of 0.7 - 3.6 and a reaction temperature of 400 - 700 °C. Oxidative dehydrogenation and combustion products were observed. Minor cracking reaction products (methane, ethane, and ethene) were also produced above 550 °C. The highest propene yield of 14% was obtained from the Kieselguhr-supported sample at 700 °C and with a C3 H8 /O2  ratio of 1.5

Oxydehydrogenation of Propane over Vanadium Oxide Supported on Kieselguhr or MCM-41

Supported vanadium oxide (5 wt%) on either Kieselguhr or mesoporous MCM-41 was prepared using impregnation method and tested as a catalyst in propane oxidative dehydrogenation (POD). The catalyst samples were characterized using X-ray elemental analysis, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) physisorption, and Z-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). After impregnation, the catalyst surface area decreased compared with that of the support. More drastic decrease was observed in the case of MCM-41 (77%) than the Kieselguhr supported sample (48%). There are also different degrees of vanadium oxide-support interaction as reflected by the XPS result. Si-O binding energy of 531.5 eV was observed on MCM-41-supported sample compared with 529.5 eV for the Kieselguhr-supported sample. The catalyst tests were conducted at atmospheric pressure, with a propane to oxygen ratio of 0.7 - 3.6 and a reaction temperature of 400 - 700 °C. Oxidative dehydrogenation and combustion products were observed. Minor cracking reaction products (methane, ethane, and ethene) were also produced above 550 °C. The highest propene yield of 14% was obtained from the Kieselguhr-supported sample at 700 °C and with a C3 H8 /O2  ratio of 1.5

In vitro colonization of date palm plants by Rhizophagus irregularis during the rooting stage

The use of in vitro culture of date palm plants Phoenix dactylifera, associated with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi is a novel approach for the production of bio-fortified plants that are free of pathogens. Here, we report, for the first time, the in vitro mycorrhization of in vitro date palm plants using the AM fungus Rhizophagus irregularis MUCL 41833. Date Plants were used in an in vitro cultured system that consisted of a root compartment (RC) containing germinated seeds of Barrel Clover, Medicago truncatula, and spores of Rhizophagus irregularis as a mycorrhizal donor, and a hyphal compartment (HC) with a barrier separating the RC from the HC. In vitro cultured date palm plants, at the two-leaf stage, were placed in the HC section of the culture plate that after 6 weeks contained an active growing extraradical mycelium network of the fungus. Roots of the date palm became colonized after 10 weeks and hyphae, vesicles, spores and arbuscules, were detected. No differences were noticed in above-ground parameters between mycorrhized and non-mycorrhized plants, in which there was no fungus in the HC. However, the total root length was significantly higher and secondary and tertiary roots were significantly more numerous, in the mycorrhized plants. It is hypothesized that these differences are related to stimulating molecules released by the profuse extraradical mycelium of the fungus growing in close contact with the palm root system. Root colonization percentages were of the same order as those reported in pots cultures of the date palm plants. This work opens the door for the large-scale in vitro mycorrhization of date palm plants, potentially better adapted to acclimatization phase and possibly to the field