Studies on accelerated deactivation of ruthenium-promoted alumina-supported alkalized cobalt Fischer-Tropsch synthesis catalyst

Accelerated deactivation of ruthenium-promoted alumina-supported alkalized cobalt (K-Ru-Co/γ-Al 2 O 3 ) Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis catalyst along the catalytic bed over 120 h of time-on-stream (TOS) was investigated. Catalytic bed was divided into three parts and structural changes of the spent catalysts collected from each catalytic bed after FT synthesis were studied using different techniques. Rapid deactivation was observed during the reaction due to high reaction temperature and low feed flow rates. The physico-chemical properties of the catalyst charged in the Bed #1 of the reactor did not change significantly. Interaction of cobalt with alumina and the formation of CoAl 2 O 4 increased along the catalytic bed. Reducibility percentage decreased by 4.5%, 7.5% and 12.9% for the catalysts in the Beds #1, #2 and #3, respectively. Dispersion decreased by 8.8%, 14.4% and 26.6% for the catalysts in the Beds #1, #2 and #3, respectively. Particle diameter increased by 0.6%, 2.4% and 10.4% for the catalysts in the Beds #1, #2 and #3, respectively, suggesting higher rate of sintering at the last catalytic bed. The amount of coke at the last catalytic bed was significantly higher than those of Beds #1 and #2.     

Fabrication of SAPO‐34 with Tuned Mesopore Structure

Crystalline SAPO‐34 molecular sieves with hierarchical network were synthesized employing polyethylene glycol (PEG) as the meso‐generating agent via a self‐assembly strategy. XRD, FESEM, N₂ adsorption‐desorption and FT‐IR spectroscopic analyses showed that PEG co‐template has a decisive role in tailoring the pore structure and producing a tuned structure from microporous towards the mesoporous structure. Also, addition of PEG favored the formation of more uniform and smaller crystals than the conventional SAPO‐34. In fact, PEG did not only control the size of crystals due to its crystal growth inhibiting (CGI) effect but also modified the morphology of the crystals and improved CSD (crystal size distribution) along with induction of mesopores into the porous structure. The modified SAPO‐34 would be recommended for selective formation of light olefins through the acid‐catalyzed reactions, such as the conversion of methanol to olefins/propylene (MTO/MTP) and propane dehydrogenation (PDH) to produce olefins with higher selectivity and catalyst stability than the conventional SAPO‐34.     

Nitration of Aromatic Compounds Catalyzed by Divanadium-Substituted Molybdophosphoric Acid, H5[PMo10V2O40]

The nitration of aromatic compounds was carried out in the presence of divanadium-substituted molybdophosphoric acid, H₅PMo₁₀V₂O₄₀, as catalyst and a mixture of nitric acid and acetic anhydride as nitrating agent. In the presence of this heteropolyacid the ortho- and para-nitro compounds were obtained in good to excellent yields under mild reaction conditions.     

Positive Effect of Flow Velocity on Gas–Condensate Relative Permeability: Network Modelling and Comparison with Experimental Results

Positive velocity dependency of relative permeability of gas–condensate systems, which has been observed in many different core experiments, is now well acknowledged. The above behaviour, which is due to two-phase flow coupling in condensing systems at low interfacial tension (IFT) conditions, was simulated using a 3D pore network model. The steady-dynamic bond network model developed for this purpose was also equipped with a novel anchoring technique, which was based on the equivalent hydraulic length concept adopted from fluid flow through pipes. The available rock data on the co-ordination number, capillary pressure, absolute permeability, porosity and one set of measured relative permeability curves were utilised to anchor the capillary, volumetric and flow characteristics of the constructed network model to those properties of the real core sample. Then the model was used to predict the effective permeability values at other IFT and velocity levels. There is a reasonable quantitative agreement between the predicted and measured relative permeability values affected by the coupling rate effect.     

Conformational aspects of glutathione tripeptide: electron density topological & natural bond orbital analyses

Glutathione tripeptide (γ-glutamyl-cysteinyl-glycine) is a flexible molecule and its conformational energy landscape is strongly influenced by forming intramolecular hydrogen bond, its charge and the environment. This study employs DFT-B3LYP method with the 6-31+G (d,p) basis set to carry out conformational analysis of neutral, zwitterionic, cationic, and anionic forms of glutathione. In analyzing the structural characteristics of these structures, intramolecular hydrogen bonds were identified and characterized in details by topological parameters such as electron density ρ(r) and Laplacian of electron density $ \nabla^{2} $ ρ(r) from Bader’s atom in molecules theory. Charge transfer energies based on natural bond orbital analysis are also considered to interpret these intramolecular hydrogen bonds. Our results show that these hydrogen bonds are partially electrostatic and partially covalent in nature, in which the covalent contribution increases as the stabilization energy of hydrogen bond increases. Furthermore, the back bone and side chain (Ramachandran map) orientations of various ionic forms of glutathione have been studied and conformation of each constitution of glutathione tripeptide (i.e., Glu, Cys, and Gly moieties) was determined. In most species side chain conformation were found to be hindered gauche–gauche orientation by intramolecular hydrogen bonds.     

Application of Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy as a Novel Approach for Monitoring of the Activity of Nano Palladium Catalyst as Compared to Two Well-known Methods

Catalyst deactivation is an unavoidable process that occurs in catalytic chemical reactions. Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) is used here as a novel approach to investigate the activity of palladium supported with carbon catalyst (Pd/C) over the hydrogenation of cinnamic acid with tetralin. Their outputs for four catalyst samples are reported for different time intervals of 0, 5, 10, 15 min during the reaction. The results of LIBS analysis are compared to Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS), which shows a good agreement. Experimental data specify that line intensities of palladium (Pd) are decreased significantly with an increment of the reaction time. Moreover, the Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope with energy dispersive spectroscopy (FESEM-EDS) of catalysts samples show aggregation of palladium particles for some places in the catalyst surface. The changes of Pd content and sintering of Pd particles in the catalyst during the reaction play substantial roles in catalyst deactivation.     

Glucose interaction with Au,Ag, and Cu clusters: Theoretical investigation

Interactions of α‐D ‐glucose with gold, silver, and copper metal clusters are studied theoretically at the density functional theory (CAM‐B3LYP) and MP2 levels of theory, using trimer clusters as simple catalytic models for metal particles as well as investigating the effect of cluster charge by studying the interactions of cationic and anionic gold clusters with glucose. The bonding between α‐D ‐glucose and metal clusters occurs by two major bonding factors; the anchoring of M atoms (M = Cu, Ag, and Au) to the O atoms, and the unconventional M…H? O hydrogen bond. Depending on the charge of metal clusters, each of these bonds contributes significantly to the complexation. Binding energy calculations indicate that the silver cluster has the lowest and gold cluster has the highest affinity to interact with glucose. Natural bond orbital analysis is performed to calculate natural population analysis and charge transfers in the complexes. Quantum theory of atoms in molecules was also applied to interpret the nature of bonds. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Multiwall Carbon Nanotube‐Ionic Liquid Modified Paste Electrode as an Efficient Sensor for the Determination of Diazepam and Oxazepam in Real Samples

A carbon‐based electrode using multiwall carbon nanotube as a modifier and room temperature ionic liquid as a binder has been applied for the determination of diazepam (DZP) and oxazepam (OZP) in real samples including serum, urine and tablets. Square wave voltammetry as an appropriate electrochemical technique was applied to achieve improved limits of detection and higher sensitivities. The electrochemical studies were investigated under various experimental conditions such as pH, buffer concentration, ionic strength, deposition potential, deposition time and scan rate to achieve higher sensitivities. Linear concentration ranges for DZP and OZP were 0.02–0.76 mg L^?1 and 0.05–1.90 mg L^?1 with the detection limits of 4.1 µg L^?1 and 5.8 µg L^?1, respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied for the analysis of commercially available tablets as well as serum and urine samples and satisfactory results were obtained.     

Control of fractional periodic discrete-time linear systems by parametric state feedback matrices

Nonlinear Dynamics - In this article stabilization of fractional-order periodic discrete-time linear system by a complete nonlinear parametric approach for pole assignment with respect to stability...