Sustainable Production of Aromatics by Catalytic Aldol Condensation of Biomass-Derived Ketones

Achieving carbon neutrality and establishing a circular bioeconomy are major challenges of our time. Currently, polymers are predominantly derived from fossil resources. However, increasing demands for their sustainable production require the exploration of alternative pathways based on renewable biomass. For many monomers, aromatics are key precursors, but the large-scale production from biomass remains limited. Catalytic self-aldol condensation of biomass-derived alkyl methyl ketones over solid acid catalysts to aromatics is a promising, less explored pathway. The one-step reaction requires neither hydrogen nor precious metal catalysts. In this study, the aromatization of the model compound acetone was initially investigated under solvent-free batch and continuous flow conditions over commercially available catalysts. The goal was to identify acid catalysts with superior stability and activity and to elucidate structure-activity relationships. The most active catalyst under batch conditions proved to be unstable in the continuous flow reactor. Conversely, larger pore silica-alumina catalysts were observed to provide stable aromatization activity under flow conditions. Very high stability (> 50 h time-on-stream) combined with significant activity was found for the amorphous silica-alumina Siralox 30. The catalyst was also suitable for the aromatization of 2-butanone. Increased space-time-yield and energy-efficient product separation are feasible through solvent-free reaction conditions. Overcoming the challenges associated with catalyst deactivation represents a significant step toward the potential scale-up of the alkyl methyl ketone route and contributes to the transition to a fossil-free, renewable chemical industry

Toward Renewable Amines: Recent Advances in the Catalytic Amination of Biomass-Derived Oxygenates

Synthesis of high-value-added chemicals from biomass and/or biomass-derived platform molecules is considered an important strategy to mitigate the global dependency on fossil resources and include renewable resources in a circular economy. In recent years, the synthesis of bio-based plastics has received significant attention as a potential alternative to conventional industrial processes. Thus, a lot of effort has been put into the development of not only different classes of biomonomers but also bio-based drop-in chemicals. Amine-derived molecules, especially alcohol-amines, diamines, and N-heterocyclic amines, are the most important classes of functional monomers for the production of polyamides, polyimides, polyurethanes, and polyureas. Additionally, these amines are extensively used in pharmaceuticals. In this review, we will give a concise overview of the up-to-date methods for the production of industrially important amines from biomass-derived oxygenates. Special attention will be given to the catalytic amination of biomass aldehyde- and alcohol-based oxygenates, reaction mechanism, catalyst stability, as well as their specific challenges and opportunities. We anticipate this critical and comprehensive review to provide detailed insights into the synthesis of bio-based amines and guide the development of effective greener synthetic methodologies

Liquid phase aromatization of bio-based ketones over a stable solid acid catalyst under batch and continuous flow conditions

Herein, we describe a one-step process for renewable aromatics from biomass-derived ketones over solid acid catalysts under liquid phase batch and flow conditions. The ion exchange resin was highly active for aromatics due to high acidic strength but leaching of acidic sites caused low stability. In contrary, zeolite HY showed a lower activity but higher stability in batch by regenerability and was stable in flow for 250 min-on-stream. HY is further applicable for the conversion of higher ketones (butanone and pentanone). This work contributes towards an industrially important aromatic production from biogenic ketones and thus an economical and sustainable process

Highly stable amorphous silica-alumina catalysts for continuous bio-derived mesitylene production under solvent-free conditions

Aromatization of alkyl methyl ketones obtained from biorefinery streams is a viable and attractive catalytic pathway to renewable aromatics, precursors for various important monomers and chemicals. To achieve high catalytic activity and stability under continuous conditions, mesoporous amorphous silica-alumina (ASA) catalysts are studied for the acid-catalyzed self-condensation of biomass-derived acetone to mesitylene in solvent-free conditions using a fixed-bed reactor. The catalytic efficiency of ASA catalysts depends on their structure and intrinsic acidity. In comparison to pure alumina, ASA Siralox 30 exhibits a 2.2 times higher catalytic activity for acetone conversion and 3.8 times higher mesitylene yield, demonstrating the importance of Brønsted acid sites (BAS) generated in ASA catalysts. The detailed kinetic studies and catalyst characterization indicate that mesitylene formation is favored over BAS and that the formation rate is enhanced with the relative strength of BAS. We demonstrate here that Siralox 30 (total product selectivity = 66%, W/F = 12.5 gcat h mol⁻¹) is an adequate and highly active catalyst for the continuous mesitylene synthesis with remarkable long-term operational stability (>50 hours-on-stream)

The Zwicky Transient Facility: Observing System

The Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) Observing System (OS) is the data collector for the ZTF project to study astrophysical phenomena in the time domain. ZTF OS is based upon the 48 inch aperture Schmidt-type design Samuel Oschin Telescope at the Palomar Observatory in Southern California. It incorporates new telescope aspheric corrector optics, dome and telescope drives, a large-format exposure shutter, a flat-field illumination system, a robotic bandpass filter exchanger, and the key element: a new 47-square-degree, 600 megapixel cryogenic CCD mosaic science camera, along with supporting equipment. The OS collects and delivers digitized survey data to the ZTF Data System (DS). Here, we describe the ZTF OS design, optical implementation, delivered image quality, detector performance, and robotic survey efficiency

Corrigendum to "Translating big data to better treatment in bipolar disorder - a manifesto for coordinated action [European Neuropsychopharmacology (2020) 36, 121-136]"

The authors regret that there was an error in the author list, this should appear as above. The authors apologise for any inconvenience caused

Translating big data to better treatment in bipolar disorder - a manifesto for coordinated action

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a major healthcare and socio-economic challenge. Despite its substantial burden on society, the research activity in BD is much smaller than its economic impact appears to demand. There is a consensus that the accurate identification of the underlying pathophysiology for BD is fundamental to realize major health benefits through better treatment and preventive regimens. However, to achieve these goals requires coordinated action and innovative approaches to boost the discovery of the neurobiological underpinnings of BD, and rapid translation of research findings into development and testing of better and more specific treatments. To this end, we here propose that only a large-scale coordinated action can be successful in integrating international big-data approaches with real-world clinical interventions. This could be achieved through the creation of a Global Bipolar Disorder Foundation, which could bring government, industry and philanthropy together in common cause. A global initiative for BD research would come at a highly opportune time given the seminal advances promised for our understanding of the genetic and brain basis of the disease and the obvious areas of unmet clinical need. Such an endeavour would embrace the principles of open science and see the strong involvement of user groups and integration of dissemination and public involvement with the research programs. We believe the time is right for a step change in our approach to understanding, treating and even preventing BD effectively

Analyse verbreiteter Anwendungen zum Lesen von elektronischen Büchern

Der Marktanteil elektronischer Bucher (E-Books) am Buchmarkt wächst beständig. Um E-Books zu rezipieren, benötigt man spezielle Leseumgebungen, die als Software (im Browser oder als eigene Anwendung) oder als Spezialgerät (E-Reader) realisiert sein können. Diese Leseumgebungen sind geeignet, Daten über das Leseverhalten zu sammeln. Im Rahmen einer universitären Lehrveranstaltung wurden die Software-Leseumgebungen der beiden deutschen Marktführer Kindle und Tolino untersucht. Der vorliegende Bericht fasst die Ergebnisse dieser Analysen zusammen. Das Ergebnis ist eine umfassende Bestandsaufnahme der digitalen Spuren, die durch die Benutzung der Programme entstehen. Betrachtet wurden die zum Untersuchungszeitpunkt aktuellen Versionen der jeweiligen Webanwendungen und Android-Apps sowie des Kindle-Windows-Clients. Die Ergebnisse entstanden im Rahmen einer Übung zur Vorlesung Fortgeschrittene forensische Informatik II im Wintersemester 2018/19 an der Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), die gemeinsam durchgeführt wurde vom Lehrstuhl fur Informatik 1 und dem Institut für Buchwissenschaft an der FAU