Separation of H2O/CO2 Mixtures by MFI Membranes: Experiment and Monte Carlo Study

The separation of CO2 from gas streams is a central process to close the carbon cycle. Established amine scrubbing methods often require hot water vapour to desorb the previously stored CO2. In this work, the applicability of MFI membranes for H2O/CO2 separation is principally demonstrated by means of realistic adsorption isotherms computed by configurational-biased Monte Carlo (CBMC) simulations, then parameters such as temperatures, pressures and compositions were identified at which inorganic membranes with high selectivity can separate hot water vapour and thus make it available for recycling. Capillary condensation/adsorption by water in the microporous membranes used drastically reduces the transport and thus the CO2 permeance. Thus, separation factors of αH2O/CO2 = 6970 could be achieved at 70 °C and 1.8 bar feed pressure. Furthermore, the membranes were tested for stability against typical amines used in gas scrubbing processes. The preferred MFI membrane showed particularly high stability under application conditions

Crystal structure of (E)-undec-2-enoic acid

In the mol­ecule of the title low-melting [alpha],[beta]-unsaturated carb­oxy­lic acid, C11H20O2, the least-squares mean line through the octyl chain forms an angle of 60.10 (13)° with the normal to plane of the acrylic acid fragment (r.m.s. deviation = 0.008 Å). In the crystal, centrosymmetrically related mol­ecules are linked by pairs of O-H...O hydrogen bonds into dimers, forming layers parallel to the (041) plane

Crystal structure of (E)-pent-2-enoic acid

The mol­ecule of the title compound, C5H8O2, a low-melting [alpha],[beta]-unsaturated carb­oxy­lic acid, is essentially planar [maximum displacement = 0.0239 (13) Å]. In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked into centrosymmetric dimers via pairs of O-H...O hydrogen bonds

Increasing the efficiency of optimized v-sba-15 catalysts in the selective oxidation of methane to formaldehyde by artificial neural network modelling

The present study investigates the possibility of improving the selective oxidation of methane to formaldehyde over V-SBA-15 catalysts in two different ways. In a classical approach of catalyst optimization, the in situ synthesis of V-SBA-15 catalysts was optimized with regard to the applied pH value. Among the set of catalysts synthesized, a higher amount of incorporated vanadium, a higher content of polymeric VOx species as well as a less ordered structure of the support material were observed by increasing the pH values from 2.0 to 3.0. An optimum in performance during the selective oxidation of methane to formaldehyde with respect to activity and selectivity was found over V-SBA-15 prepared at a pH value of 2.5. With this knowledge, we have now evaluated the possibilities of reaction control using this catalyst. Specifically, artificial neural network modelling was applied after the collection of 232 training samples for obtaining insight into the influence of different reaction parameters (temperature; gas hourly space velocity (GHSV); and concentration of O2, N2 and H2O) onto methane conversion and selectivity towards formaldehyde. This optimization of reaction conditions resulted in an outstanding high space-time yield of 13.6 kgCH2O·kgcat·h−1. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Continuous synthesis of diethyl carbonate from ethanol and CO2 over Ce–Zr–O catalysts

CexZr1−xO2 (x = 0, 0.2, 0.5, 0.8 and 1.0) solids were prepared by a citrate method and characterized by various techniques such as N2-adsorption (BET-SA), XRD, XPS, TEM, H2-TPR, NH3- and CO2-TPD. The catalytic performance of these solids was evaluated for the direct synthesis of diethyl carbonate (DEC) from ethanol and CO2 in continuous mode using a plug-flow reactor (PFR). According to thermodynamic data, the reaction is favourable at low reaction temperatures and high reaction pressures. Thus, the catalytic experiments were carried out at reaction temperatures ranging from 80 to 180 °C and at reaction pressures from 80 to 180 bar. The CexZr1−xO2 catalysts exhibited significant differences in their performance mainly depending on (i) their Ce : Zr ratio and (ii) the different acid–base characteristics. Among the series Ce0.8Zr0.2O2 (C80Z) and Ce0.5Zr0.5O2 (C50Z) catalysts displayed the most efficient performance. Moreover, C80Z, pretreated at 700 °C, yielded DEC at the equilibrium conversion level of YDEC ~ 0.7% at 140 °C and 140 bar at a CO2 : ethanol ratio of 6 : 1 at a LHSV of 42 Lliq kgcat−1 h−1

Combination of chemo- and biocatalysis: Conversion of biomethane to methanol and formic acid

In the present day, methanol is mainly produced from methane via reforming processes, but research focuses on alternative production routes. Herein, we present a chemo-/biocatalytic oxidation cascade as a novel process to currently available methods. Starting from synthetic biogas, in the first step methane was oxidized to formaldehyde over a mesoporous VOx/SBA-15 catalyst. In the second step, the produced formaldehyde was disproportionated enzymatically towards methanol and formic acid in equimolar ratio by formaldehyde dismutase (FDM) obtained from Pseudomonas putida. Two processing routes were demonstrated: (a) batch wise operation using free formaldehyde dismutase after accumulating formaldehyde from the first step and (b) continuous operation with immobilized enzymes. Remarkably, the chemo-/biocatalytic oxidation cascades generate methanol in much higher productivity compared to methane monooxygenase (MMO) which, however, directly converts methane. Moreover, production steps for the generation of formic acid were reduced from four to two stages. © 2019 by the authors

A simple guiding principle for the temperature dependence of the solubility of light gases in imidazolium-based ionic liquids derived from molecular simulations

We have determined the temperature dependence of the solvation behavior of a large collection of important light gases in imidazolium-based ionic liquids with the help of extensive molecular dynamics simulations. The motivation of our study is to unravel common features of the temperature dependent solvation under well controlled conditions, and to provide a guidance for cases, where experimental data from different sources disagree significantly. The solubility of molecular hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, methane, krypton, argon, neon and carbon dioxide in the imidazolium based ionic liquids of type 1-n-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([Cnmim][NTf2]) with varying alkyl side chain lengths n = 2, 4, 6, 8 is computed for a temperature range between 300 K and 500 K at 1 bar. By applying Widom's particle insertion technique and Bennet's overlapping distribution method, we are able to determine the temperature dependent solvation free energies of those selected light gases in simulated imidazolium based ionic liquids with high statistical accuracy. Our simulations demonstrate that the magnitude of the solvation free energy of a gas molecule at a chosen reference temperature and that of its temperature-derivatives are intimately related to one another. We conclude that this "universal" behavior is rooted in a solvation entropy-enthalpy compensation effect, which seems to be a defining feature of the solvation of small molecules in ionic liquids. The observations lead to simple analytical relations, determining the temperature dependence of the solubility data based on the absolute solubility at a certain reference temperature. By comparing our results with available experimental data from many sources, we can show that our approach is particularly helpful for providing reliable estimates for the solvation behavior of very light gases, such as hydrogen, where conflicting experimental data exist

In situ grown palladium nanoparticles on polyester fabric as easy-separable and recyclable catalyst for Suzuki-Miyaura reaction

Palladium nanoparticles supported on low-melting polyester (Pd/LMPET) fabric were prepared through a microwave irradiation assisted method. In this way, in situ growth of Pd nanoparticles onto an easy to handle material was initiated and proceeded. The results of the characterization revealed that the palladium nanoparticles were well-dispersed on the surfaces of the polyester fibers. The Pd/LMPET fabrics were then employed in the Suzuki-Miyaura coupling. They exhibited excellent catalytic activity in ethanol/water under air atmosphere at 50 °C. Importantly, the Pd/LMPET fabrics could be separated from reaction mixture conveniently and they can still maintain good activity after 8 cycles without Pd leaching. © 2021 The Author

Synthesis of Single Atom Based Heterogeneous Platinum Catalysts: High Selectivity and Activity for Hydrosilylation Reactions

Catalytic hydrosilylation represents a straightforward and atom-efficient methodology for the creation of C-Si bonds. In general, the application of homogeneous platinum complexes prevails in industry and academia. Herein, we describe the first heterogeneous single atom catalysts (SACs), which are conveniently prepared by decorating alumina nanorods with platinum atoms. The resulting stable material efficiently catalyzes hydrosilylation of industrially relevant olefins with high TON (≈105). A variety of substrates is selectively hydrosilylated including compounds with sensitive reducible and other functional groups (N, B, F, Cl). The single atom based catalyst shows significantly higher activity compared to related Pt nanoparticles

Development of Highly Stable Low Ni Content Catalyst for Dry Reforming of CH4-Rich Feedstocks

Highly active and coking-resistant Ni catalysts suited for the dry reforming of CH4-rich gases (70 vol %, e. g. biogas or sour natural gas) were prepared starting from a Mg-rich Mg−Al hydrotalcite support precursor. Calcination at 1000 °C yields two phases, MgO and MgAl2O4 spinel. Complexation-deposition of Ni with citric acid on the preformed support as well as lanthanum addition yields a catalyst with remarkably low carbon accumulation over 100 h on stream attributed to both high Ni dispersion and preferred interactions of Ni with MgO on MgAl2O4. © 2020 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA