Thermal hazards related to the use of potassium and sodium methoxides in the biodiesel industry

The introduction of sodium and potassium methoxides in processes leading to biodiesel production has triggered several questions about their stability under actual biofuel manufacturing conditions. In most biodiesel production facilities, basic homogenous catalysis is obtained through the introduction of caustic potash (KOH) or caustic soda (NaOH) in the reactor. In this process, the hydroxides are converted into their corresponding methoxide forms (CH₃OK/Na), which then become the actual catalysts in the reactor. Supplying the actual catalyst directly, instead of the low cost hydroxides, may offer several advantages, but may also introduce new hazards that deserve further characterisation work. From a review of the available literature, it was found that very little was known about the thermal decomposition properties of these methoxides. Therefore, as a starting point, l’Institut National de l’Environnement Industriel et des Risques (France) and the Canadian Explosives Research Laboratory (Canada) have recently undertaken a joint effort to better characterise their thermal behaviour. This was achieved by means of a variety of calorimetric techniques including differential scanning calorimetry, accelerating rate calorimetry and ‘large scale’ thermogravimetry–differential thermal analysis. It was found that these chemicals can become self-reactive close to room temperature under specific physical conditions.     

Advances in Enzyme and Ionic Liquid Immobilization for Enhanced in MOFs for Biodiesel Production

Biodiesel is a promising candidate for sustainable and renewable energy and extensive research is being conducted worldwide to optimize its production process. The employed catalyst is an important parameter in biodiesel production. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), which are a set of highly porous materials comprising coordinated bonds between metals and organic ligands, have recently been proposed as catalysts. MOFs exhibit high tunability, possess high crystallinity and surface area, and their order can vary from the atomic to the microscale level. However, their catalytic sites are confined inside their porous structure, limiting their accessibility for biodiesel production. Modification of MOF structure by immobilizing enzymes or ionic liquids (ILs) could be a solution to this challenge and can lead to better performance and provide catalytic systems with higher activities. This review compiles the recent advances in catalytic transesterification for biodiesel production using enzymes or ILs. The available literature clearly indicates that MOFs are the most suitable immobilization supports, leading to higher biodiesel production without affecting the catalytic activity while increasing the catalyst stability and reusability in several cycles.     

绿色化学关键技术在精细化工中的应用

绿色化学理念及技术的创新发展,能够更好与精细化工的各环节结合,提升效率、降低消耗、节约成本、增强竞争力,符合我国低碳发展方向,满足行业的可持续发展需求。本文主要介绍近年来绿色化学技术在精细化工领域的发展现状和应用前景,探讨了生物催化/发酵技术、非贵金属或无金属催化技术、微通道反应技术、新能源驱动的化学反应技术、新型高效分离技术、生产过程的人工智能和自动化等绿色化学关键技术在精细化工研制中的应用实例,为推动绿色化学技术的综合利用和可持续发展提供参考和借鉴。     

Glycerol and Glycerol-Based Deep Eutectic Mixtures as Emerging Green Solvents for Polyphenol Extraction: The Evidence So Far

The acknowledgement that uncontrolled and excessive use of fossil resources has become a prime concern with regard to environmental deterioration, has shifted the orientation of economies towards the implementation of sustainable routes of production, through the valorization of biomass. Green chemistry plays a key role in this regard, defining the framework of processes that encompass eco-friendly methodologies, which aim at the development of highly efficient production of numerous bioderived chemicals, with minimum environmental aggravation. One of the major concerns of the chemical industry in establishing sustainable routes of production, is the replacement of fossil-derived, volatile solvents, with bio-based benign ones, with low vapor pressure, recyclability, low or no toxicity, availability and low cost. Glycerol is a natural substance, inexpensive and non-toxic, and it is a principal by-product of biodiesel industry resulting from the transesterification process. The ever-growing market of biodiesel has created a significant surplus of glycerol production, resulting in a concomitant drop of its price. Thus, glycerol has become a highly available, low-cost liquid, and over the past decade its use as an alternative solvent has been gaining unprecedented attention. This review summarizes the utilization of glycerol and glycerol-based deep eutectic mixtures as emerging solvents with outstanding prospect in bioactive polyphenol extraction.     

Polyoxometalates based compounds for green synthesis of aldehydes and ketones

Molecular oxygen within Polyoxometalates(POMs) based compounds are ideal oxidants with high atom economy and its use results in the production of water as the only byproduct. Significant progress has been made in the development of catalytic methods for aerobic alcohol oxidation to have aldehydes and ketones with POMs based compounds. They are alternative to the use of traditional hypervalent iodine catalyst systems which are with molecular oxygen as a terminal oxidant. Further, POMs based catal...     

光电解水制氢耦合生物质醇/醛氧化的研究进展

生物质醇/醛是一类重要的生物基平台化合物, 通过催化氧化重整可将其进一步转化为高值含氧化学品或燃料. 太阳能驱动的光电催化技术是实现生物质醇/醛氧化最为绿色高效的途径之一. 与传统光电解水制氢相比, 利用生物质醇/醛氧化来替代阳极析氧过程不仅可以提高阳极产物的附加值, 同时可以提升太阳能到氢能的转化效率. 因此, 光电解水制氢耦合生物质醇/醛氧化对绿氢提效降本和高值化学品合成具有重要意义. 本文综合评述了光电解水制氢耦合生物质醇/醛的氧化反应机理, 总结了目前光电催化技术在生物质醇/醛氧化方面的研究进展, 最后对该领域所面临的机遇和挑战进行了展望.     

Base‐Mediated Transition‐Metal‐Free Dehydrative C−C and C−N Bond‐Forming Reactions from Alcohols

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in using alcohols as alkylating agents for C?C and C?N bond‐forming processes employing mainly TM‐catalysts. Although BH‐catalysis looks like a green atom economy process since water is the only by‐product, it often suffers from one or more drawbacks, such as the use of expensive noble metal complexes, capricious ligands, and toxic organic solvents. Therefore, straightforward, efficient, atom economy and environmentally benign alternative protocols are desirable. This review aims to summarize the current knowledge within the published literature about dehydrative processes developed without TM‐catalysts. The most recent contributions to this topic have been reviewed keeping into account the new findings reported in this area. The features, strengths, and limitations of these alcohol‐based C?C and C?N bond‐forming processes has also been taken into account.     

Catalytic biodiesel synthesis under supercritical conditions

Increasing atmospheric pollution with greenhouse gases, a large proportion of which are transport pollutants, is forcing the search for new fuels from renewable sources. Biodiesel is currently produced by transesterification of plant oils over heterogeneous catalysts under gentle conditions. The other recent technology dealing with the transesterification with alcohols under supercritical conditions, i.e., at high temperature and pressure, can be more efficient, the cost of the resulting biodiesel having been lower, and lower quality feedstocks having been used. Supercritical transesterification can be performed catalytically or catalyst-free. This paper provides an overview of the catalytic lipid transesterification under supercritical conditions. The influence of raw material, alcohol and catalyst, as well as process parameters on biodiesel yield is analyzed.     

Influence of the purification process on the stability of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Jatropha curcas</Emphasis> biodiesel

The aim of this work was to evaluate the influence of the purification process on the stability of Jatropha curcas biodiesel. The biodiesel was obtained using a variety of purification processes: three wet methods with different drying processes (vacuum oven, conventional oven and anhydrous sodium sulfate) and one dry method (purification with adsorbent magnesium silicate). Biodiesel was characterized through the analysis of carbon residue, acidity index, infrared and gas chromatography. The composition J. curcas oil indicated 56.3 % of unsaturated fatty acids and 43.7 % of saturated fatty acids. Jatropha oil presented high quantity of saturated acids, which are less susceptible at oxidation. The biodiesel sample that was chemically purified (PUsq) presented better purity, indicating be the process more efficient in remove the residues of synthesis. Thermogravimetric curves of purified biodiesel by wet method, PUsq, with chemical drying using anhydrous sodium sulfate, and PUsv, with vacuum drying, showed the highest initial decomposition temperatures, indicating higher thermal stability. The carbon residue and infrared analyses suggested that contamination by catalyst residue is a determining factor in reduction of the oxidative stability of biodiesel. The oxidative stability was evaluated using Rancimat and pressure differential scanning calorimetry. Biodiesel samples showing better oxidative stability were purified using PUsq and PUsv, which obtained stability of 6 h using the Rancimat technique, the minimum limit set by Brazilian legislation, without the addition of antioxidant, suggesting that these methods least influenced the stability of biodiesel.     

Fundamentals of green chemistry: efficiency in reaction design

In this tutorial review, the fundamental concepts underlying the principles of green and sustainable chemistry--atom and step economy and the E factor--are presented, within the general context of efficiency in organic synthesis. The importance of waste minimisation through the widespread application of catalysis in all its forms--homogeneous, heterogeneous, organocatalysis and biocatalysis--is discussed. These general principles are illustrated with simple practical examples, such as alcohol oxidation and carbonylation and the asymmetric reduction of ketones. The latter reaction is exemplified by a three enzyme process for the production of a key intermediate in the synthesis of the cholesterol lowering agent, atorvastatin. The immobilisation of enzymes as cross-linked enzyme aggregates (CLEAs) as a means of optimizing operational performance is presented. The use of immobilised enzymes in catalytic cascade processes is illustrated with a trienzymatic process for the conversion of benzaldehyde to (S)-mandelic acid using a combi-CLEA containing three enzymes. Finally, the transition from fossil-based chemicals manufacture to a more sustainable biomass-based production is discussed.     

Developments in Titanium-Based Alkali and Alkaline Earth Metal Oxide Catalysts for Sustainable Biodiesel Production: A Review

Biodiesel represents a biodegradable, environmentally friendly, and renewable alternative to fossil fuels. Despite more than three decades of research, significant obstacles still hinder the widespread production of biodiesel. This current review elucidates both the potential and the existing challenges associated with homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts in catalyzing biodiesel production, with a particular focus on alkali analogues, alkaline earth metal oxides, and titania-based catalysts. In particular, a comprehensive analysis is presented concerning alkali and alkaline earth-based titania (TiO₂) catalysts. Among these, the alkaline earth metal oxides, including lithium, calcium, and strontium when combined with titanium-based catalysts, exhibit superior catalytic activity compared to other metal oxides, owing to their heightened basicity. Consequently, this review offers a thorough and up-to-date insight into the potential of titania-based heterogeneous catalysts for advancing biodiesel production.     

Advancements and current challenges in the sustainable downstream processing of bacterial polyhydroxyalkanoates

Diminishing sources of synthetic plastics and their unsustainable production processes have increased the demand for alternative biodegradable and sustainable polymers. Bacterial biopolymer-producing factories can carry out large-scale production of such alternatives using improved fermentation techniques, such as fed-batch and pulsed feeding of inducers, that can increase bacterial biopolymer accumulation. However, the successive downstream processing (DSP) techniques still pose challenges in making the production process both economically and environmentally sustainable. These challenges are mostly associated with biomass pre-treatment, the use of solvents, and the embedded parameters of the DSP techniques. Conventional halogenated/chlorinated solvents can be substituted with green solvents to yield PHAs of high purity (98%) for high-end applications and to establish a sustainable circular economy. As an economically and environmentally sustainable approach, the use of recycled waste as a substrate and greener extraction solvents for bacterial biopolymer production should be further explored for the efficient replacement of synthetic plastic production.     

Gas-expanded liquids for sustainable catalysis and novel materials: Recent advances

Employing a multiscale systems-based research approach, chemists and chemical engineers at the Center for Environmentally Beneficial Catalysis (CEBC) are collaboratively addressing major grand challenges facing the sustainable manufacture of fuels and chemicals from both traditional and renewable feedstocks. By judiciously combining the principles of green chemistry and green reactor engineering, augmented by valuable insights from industrial partners, CEBC researchers are developing alternative technology concepts that minimize the environmental footprint of chemical manufacturing processes including the reduction of carbon emissions. Such collaborations have resulted in several remarkable discoveries as follows: CO₂-expanded liquids (CXLs) as reaction media for selective and inherently safe O₂ oxidations including that for terephthalic acid production from p-xylene with potentially reduced solvent burning (i.e., reduced carbon footprint); propylene oxide production with environmentally benign solvents and oxidant, exploiting the compressibility of propylene at ambient temperatures for process intensification; a novel pressure-intensified ethylene oxide process virtually eliminating CO₂ formation as a byproduct; highly selective hydroformylation of higher olefins employing CXLs and soluble polymer-supported homogeneous Rh-based catalysts that are easily retained in solution while the product is isolated by membrane filtration; and creation of nanoparticles of transition metal complexes with unique functional properties such as reversible oxygen binding and room-temperature nitric oxide disproportionation. Quantitative economic and environmental impact analyses have been employed to benchmark CEBC's novel technology concepts against conventional processes and to guide research and development. Examples of such advances in green processing are discussed in this review.     

Critical review on analytical methods for biodiesel characterization

Biodiesel is an alternative fuel composed of mono-alkyl esters and obtained mainly from the base-catalyzed transesterification reaction of oils or fats. Its use (pure or blended) does not demand any modification in the diesel engine and in the existing fuel distribution and storage infrastructure. Moreover, biodiesel has a high energetic yield, fixes the solar energy and contains insignificant amounts of sulphur. Therefore, biodiesel is currently the best substitute for fossil diesel fuel.Besides mono-alkyl esters, glycerol (main co-product), alcohol, catalyst, free fatty acids, tri-, di- and monoglycerides compose the final mixture of biodiesel production process. These and other kinds of contaminants can lead to severe operational and environmental problems. Therefore, the quality control of biodiesel is greatly significant to the success of its commercialization and market acceptance. Some important issues on the biodiesel quality control involve the monitoring of transesterification reaction, the quantification of mono-alkyl esters and free- and bonded glycerol as well as determination of residual catalysts and alcohol. Moreover, the determination of blend levels is another key aspect of biodiesel analyses. Chromatography and spectroscopy are the analytical methods most used for the biodiesel characterization, but procedures based on physical properties are also available.Previously, a review on analytical methods used to evaluate biodiesel quality was written by Knothe. Due to the importance of this field, we made an update of Knothes’ review. Therefore, in this paper, we will describe new developments in biodiesel analyses and some references showed in Knothes’ paper. Specially, we will describe analytical methods used for quantification of glycerol, mono-, di-, triglycerides, methanol, water, Na, K, P, and steroids in biodiesel or along the transesterification reaction. Also, the determination of biodiesel content in blends and some physicochemical parameters are discussed. At the end, we will assess the available techniques and point out some improvements on analytical methods for biodiesel characterization.     

Reusability and regeneration of solid catalysts used in ultrasound assisted biodiesel production

Reusability of two heterogeneous catalysts in ultrasound (US) assisted biodiesel production was investigated in comparison to each other. An ultrasound (US) generator (200 W, 20 kHz) equipped with a horn type probe (19 mm) was used. Regeneration experiments were planned according to second order central composite design (CCD) method. After the eighth use of the catalysts, biodiesel yield decreased from 99.1% to 90.4% for calcined calcite (CaO) and from 98.8% to 89.8% for calcined dolomite (CaO.MgO). Furthermore, regeneration of spent catalysts by calcination was investigated; optimum temperature and time were found as 750 °C and 90 min, lower than fresh catalyst preparation conditions. The regenerated catalysts were reused in a second process cycle; biodiesel yield was calculated as 97.2% for CaO and 96.5% for CaO.MgO. Finally, the process showed that calcination is an energetically favorable regeneration process of spent catalysts.     

二氧化钛纳米材料的非均相光催化本质及表面改性

非均相光催化过程是指多相多尺度体系在光辐射作用下发生的一个复杂的催化过程,被认为最有潜力解决环境污染和能源短缺问题的绿色及可再生的技术之一。在目前已经报道的各种非均相光催化剂中, TiO2纳米材料被证实是应用最广泛、光催化效果最好的催化剂,是当前国际材料、环境和能源等领域的研究前沿和热点,高性能TiO2基光催化材料的设计及改性一直是该领域的难点,其关键问题主要为：如何增强TiO2的表面光催化量子效率、促进光生载流子分离和拓展其可见光响应范围。尽管已经有很多关于TiO2光催化的综述,但大多综述集中在高性能TiO2的制备及各种改性策略研究,而对各种改性策略与光催化分子机理之间的关系阐述较少。为此,本文深入分析了TiO2纳米材料的非均相光催化本质并总结了各种表面改性策略。首先从热力学角度阐明TiO2的热力学能带能够确保其实现各种典型光催化反应(包括光催化降解、CO2还原及光解水),证实其广泛应用的可行性。然后,对TiO2光生载流子的动力学基础进行总结,证实快速的广生载流子复合以及较慢的表面化学反应动力学是限制其光催化活性提高的关键制约性因素。于此同时,对TiO2纳米材料的表面Zeta点位、超亲水性、超强酸光催化剂制备(表面羟基取代)等重要的表面化学性质也进行了详细阐述。从而可以初步得出如下结论：表面改性是设计高性能TiO2光催化材料的重中之重,并将各种改性策略浓缩在6个方面：表面掺杂和敏化,构建表面异质结,负载纳米助催化剂,增加可利用的比表面剂,利用表面氟效应以及暴露高活性晶面等。显然,表面掺杂和敏化可以减小TiO2纳米材料的禁带宽度,从而大幅拓宽其可见光吸收范围及光催化效率。而构建紧密的表面异质结可以创建界面电场,不仅可以促进光生电荷分离效率,而且可以有效提高界面电荷转移效率,最终实现异质结的高光催化效率。负载纳米助催化剂则可以大幅加快表面化学反速率,降低光生载流子的表面复合并增加其利用率,并有可能减少不期望的表面逆反应,从而实现光催化活性提升。增加可利用的比表面剂,可以有效提升光催化剂与吸附质之间的有效接触面积,缩短了载流子的传输距离以及通过多次反射与折射提升光能的利用率,从而全方位地提升TiO2纳米材料的光催化活性。对TiO2纳米材料表面进行氟化,可以增加光生羟基自由基的速率以及浓度,并可以通过调节TiO2表面酸碱性而控制其光催化选择性,从而实现高效高选择性光催化。最后,通过暴露TiO2纳米材料的高活性晶面,也可以促进光生载流子分离、增加吸附性能或羟基自由基生成速率,从而获得高光催化效率。另外,这些表面改性策略的协同效应仍是较有前景的TiO2纳米光催化剂改性技术,值得深入研究。同时,深入的光催化分子机理探索仍然是必须的,其不仅有助于发现影响TiO2纳米材料光催化活性提高的关键性制约因素,而且也可以指导开发新型的TiO2纳米光催化剂改性技术。总而言之,通过总结TiO2纳米材料在光催化、表面化学及表面改性等方面的重要进展,可为设计高效的TiO2基及非TiO2基光催化剂并应用于太阳燃料生产、环境修复、有机合成及相关的领域(如太阳能电池、热催、分离和纯化)等提供新的思路。     

乙烷脱氢制乙烯技术研究进展及趋势

在碳中和及全球能源供需版图调整的背景下,乙烯生产原料轻质化成为主流趋势。乙烷脱氢制乙烯技术具有低能耗、低碳排、流程短、收率高、成本低等优势,但目前工业上主要通过乙烷蒸汽裂解法生产乙烯,其他方法工业化生产相对不成熟。本文简述了近年来乙烷脱氢制乙烯技术(包括直接催化脱氢、O₂辅助氧化脱氢、CO₂辅助氧化脱氢、化学链氧化脱氢、催化膜反应器脱氢等)工艺及催化剂的研究现状,同时介绍了其他新兴工艺及催化剂。乙烷脱氢制乙烯技术现阶段面临的挑战不仅在于开发更高效的催化剂及更低能耗的技术,更需要突破乙烷脱氢热力学平衡的限制设计合适的反应路径,其中催化膜反应器脱氢、化学链氧化脱氢工艺都具有非常广阔的市场和工业化发展前景。     

Recent efforts directed to the development of more sustainable asymmetric organocatalysis

In line with the principles of "green" chemistry, organocatalysis seeks to reduce energy consumption and to optimize the use of the available resources, aiming to become a sustainable strategy in chemical transformations. Nevertheless, during the last decade diverse experimental protocols have made organocatalysis an even "greener" alternative by the use of friendlier reaction conditions, or via the application of solvent-free methodologies, or through the design and synthesis of more selective catalysts, or via the development of multicomponent one-pot organocatalytic reactions, or by the recycling and reuse of organocatalysts, or by means of the application of more energy-efficient activation techniques, among other approaches. In this feature article we review some of the remarkable advancements that have made it possible to develop even more sustainable asymmetric organocatalyzed methodologies.     

Splitting water with cobalt

The future of energy supply depends on innovative breakthroughs regarding the design of cheap, sustainable, and efficient systems for the conversion and storage of renewable energy sources, such as solar energy. The production of hydrogen, a fuel with remarkable properties, through sunlight-driven water splitting appears to be a promising and appealing solution. While the active sites of enzymes involved in the overall water-splitting process in natural systems, namely hydrogenases and photosystem II, use iron, nickel, and manganese ions, cobalt has emerged in the past five years as the most versatile non-noble metal for the development of synthetic H(2)- and O(2)-evolving catalysts. Such catalysts can be further coupled with photosensitizers to generate photocatalytic systems for light-induced hydrogen evolution from water.