Synthesis of RE Y zeolite for formulation of FCC catalyst and the catalytic performance in cracking of n-hexadecane

Research on Chemical Intermediates - This study presents the synthesis of rare earth-doped Y (RE Y) zeolite, its application in formulation of a fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) catalyst and the...     

Effect of zeolite pore morphology on solvent-less alkylation of benzene with 1-hexene

In an attempt to convert the carcinogenic benzene which is almost restricted for its use in gasoline, alkylation reaction with olefin 1-hexene has been conducted on various zeolites. Four zeolites having different pore topology and pore size have been applied as solid acid catalysts for effective production of alkylate in a liquid phase, solvent-less low temperature reaction. The textural properties of all the four zeolites (ZSM-5, MOR, BEA, HY) have been characterized for crystal morphology by TEM, crystal structure by XRD and FTIR, BET for surface area, N₂ sorption for porosity and TPD for acidity. Among the zeolite, BEA possessed high surface area (600.61 m²/g) and enhanced meso pores volume (0.3956 cm³/g) as compared to other zeolite samples. The performance of BEA was also observed to be superior in the liquid phase alkylation of benzene with 1-hexene in a batch reactor under autogenous pressure without using any solvent. At the optimum reaction conditions, the benzene conversion was 86.6 wt% and 3-Phenylhexane, 2-Phenylhexane yield were about 47.9 wt% and 38.7 wt% respectively on this catalyst. The BEA also exhibited longer time-on-stream and reusability performance, thus offers an attractive route for converting benzene into valuable (3-Phenylhexane, 2-Phenylhexane) alkylate product useful for the manufacturing of fine chemicals, dyestuff, detergents and scents.     

Theoretical investigation into competing unimolecular reactions encountered in the pyrolysis of acetamide

Motivated by the necessity to understand the pyrolysis of alkylated amines, unimolecular decomposition of acetamide is investigated herein as a model compound. Standard heats of formation, entropies, and heat capacities, are calculated for all products and transition structures using several accurate theoretical levels. The potential energy surface is mapped out for all possible channels encountered in the pyrolysis of acetamide. The formation of acetamedic acid and 1-aminoethenol and their subsequent decomposition pathways are found to afford the two most energetically favored pathways. However, RRKM analysis shows that the fate of acetamedic acid and 1-aminoethenol at all temperatures and pressures is to reisomerize to the parent acetamide. 1-Aminoethenol, in particular, is predicted to be a long-lived species enabling its participation in bimolecular reactions that lead to the formation of the major experimental products. Results presented herein reflect the importance of bimolecular reactions involving acetamide and 1-aminoethenol in building a robust model for the pyrolysis of N-alkylated amides.     

Utilisation of Non-Edible Source (Pongamia pinnata Seeds Shells) for Producing Methyl Esters as Cleaner Fuel in the Presence of a Novel Heterogeneous Catalyst Synthesized from Waste Eggshells

Waste eggshells were considered for synthesising a precursor (CaO) for a heterogeneous catalyst, further impregnated by alkali caesium oxide (Cs₂O). The following techniques were used to characterise the synthesised catalysts: X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Temperature Programmed Desorption (CO₂-TPD). The synthesised catalyst revealed its suitability for transesterification to produce biodiesel. The biodiesel production process was optimised, and it showed that the optimal biodiesel yield is 93.59%. The optimal set of process parameters is process temperature 80 °C, process time 90 min, methanol-to-oil molar ratio 8 and catalyst loading 3 wt.%. It has been found that the high basicity of the catalyst tends to give a high biodiesel yield at low methanol-to-oil ratio 8 when the reaction time is also less (90 min). The fuel properties of biodiesel also satisfied the standard limits defined by ASTM and the EN standards. Thus, the synthesised catalyst from waste eggshells is highly active, improved the biodiesel production conditions and PPSS oil is a potential nonedible source.     

Thermal Treatment of Sol-Gel Derived Nickel Oxide Xerogels

Very fine nickel hydroxide and oxide xerogel powders were prepared using a new sol-gel synthesis procedure in which nickel ethoxide was produced through the reaction of nickel chloride, as a precursor, with sodium ethoxide in dehydrated ethanol, followed by the hydrolysis of nickel ethoxide with ammonia and drying the resulting hydrogel under subcritical pressures to form the xerogel. The effects of thermal treatment on the surface area, pore volume, crystallinity and particle structure of the resulting xerogels were investigated and found to have significant effects on all of these properties. Overall, the xerogel remained amorphous as Ni(OH)₂ space up to 200°C, with little change in the surface area and pore volume. At 250°C, the Ni(OH)₂ began to decompose and form crystalline NiO with the uniformity of the crystals increasing with an increase in temperature. The surface area and pore volume decreased sharply when increasingthe temperature beyond 250°C; this was the temperature where maximums of about 270 m²/g and 0.33 cm³/g were exhibited by this composite amorphous Ni(OH)₂ and crystalline NiO xerogel powders. At the higher calcination temperatures, very uniform NiO crystals with average crystallite sizes of 1.7 nm and 14.5 nm were obtained at 400 and 600°C, respectively.     

Carbon dioxide sequestration and methane removal from exhaust gases using resorcinol–formaldehyde activated carbon xerogel

The world is faced with intrinsic environmental issues. Among these issues, the minimization of greenhouse gas emission to acceptable levels presents a high priority. This study seeks to help to reduce the greenhouse effect in sustainable manner. A resorcinol–formaldehyde xerogel was synthesized at specific conditions and used to prepare an activated carbon xerogel (RF-ACX). RF-ACX exhibited micropores in range of 1.2–1.4 nm, a surface area of 496 m²/g and a cumulative pore volume of 0.81 cm³/g. Scanning electron microscopy showed that it is made of microspherical particles with an almost uniform particle size of 1.3 ± 0.2 μm. Equilibrium and kinetic studies for the adsorption of CO₂, CH₄ and N₂ on RF-ACX were conducted at five temperatures (293, 303, 313, 323, and 333 K) and pressures of up to 1 MPa. The adsorption capacity on RF-ACX was highest for CO₂, followed by CH₄ and then N₂. Isosteric heats of adsorption and adsorption rates were investigated. The measured adsorption equilibria were fitted with the extended multisite Langmuir adsorption model and further used to predict adsorption equilibria of their corresponding binary systems.     

Cu functionalized nano crystalline ZSM-5 as efficient catalyst for selective oxidation of toluene

Nano crystalline ZSM-5 (NZ) functionalized with Cu has been explored for the selective oxidation of toluene to benzoic acid for the first time, where a comparison is made with the traditional microcrystalline ZSM-5 (MZ) based catalyst having similar framework Si/Al ratios at organic solvent-less reaction conditions in presence of H₂O₂ as a green oxidant. The ZSM-5 catalysts exhibited oxidation property even in the absence of any Cu species, but with low toluene conversions and benzoic acid yields. Functionalization with Cu greatly enhanced the benzoic acid formation, especially on NZ loaded with 0.4 wt% of Cu (Cu-NZ) to produce 92 wt% of benzoic acid, by virtue of the presence of highly dispersed nano particles of CuO along with Cu⁺² ions on the high surface area, mesopore possessing NZ support, revealed from XRD, N₂ adsorption-desorption, XPS, SEM, TEM, FITR, TPR and TPD analysis.     

Theoretical study on the thermodynamic properties and self-decomposition of methylbenzenediol isomers

Alkylated hydroxylated aromatics are major constituents of various types of fuels, including biomass and low-rank coal. In this study, thermochemical parameters are obtained for the various isomeric forms of methylbenzenediol isomers in terms of their enthalpies of formation, entropies, and heat capacities. Isodesmic work reactions are used in quantum chemical computations of the reaction enthalpies for O-H and H?C-H bond fissions and the formation of phenoxy- and benzyl-type radicals. A reaction potential energy on the singlet-state surface surface is mapped out for the unimolecular decomposition of the 3-methylbenzene-1,2-diol isomer. According to the calculated high pressure-limit reaction rate constants, concerted hydrogen molecule elimination from the methyl group and the hydroxyl group, in addition to intermolecular H migration from the hydroxyl group, dominates the unimolecular decomposition at low to intermediate temperatures (T ≤ 1200 K). At higher temperatures, O-H bond fission and concerted water elimination are expected to become the sole decomposition pathways.     

Rate constants for hydrogen abstraction reactions by the hydroperoxyl radical from methanol, ethenol, acetaldehyde, toluene, and phenol

An important step in the initial oxidation of hydrocarbons at low to intermediate temperatures is the abstraction of H by hydroperoxyl radical (HO(2)). In this study, we calculate energy profiles for the sequence: reactant + HO(2) → [complex of reactants] → transition state → [complex of products] → product + H(2)O(2) for methanol, ethenol (i.e., C(2)H(3)OH), acetaldehyde, toluene, and phenol. Rate constants are provided in the simple Arrhenius form. Reasonable agreement was obtained with the limited literature data available for acetaldehyde and toluene. Addition of HO(2) to the various distinct sites in phenol is investigated. Direct abstraction of the hydroxyl H was found to dominate over HO(2) addition to the ring. The results presented herein should be useful in modeling the lower temperature oxidation of the five compounds considered, especially at low temperature where the HO(2) is expected to exist at reactive levels.     

Theoretical study on the unimolecular decomposition of thiophenol

The potential energy surface for the unimolecular decomposition of thiophenol (C(6)H(5)SH) is mapped out at two theoretical levels; BB1K/GTlarge and QCISD(T)/6-311+G(2d,p)//MP2/6-31G(d,p). Calculated reaction rate constants at the high pressure limit indicate that the major initial channel is the formation of C(6)H(6)S at all temperatures. Above 1000 K, the contribution from direct fission of the S-H bond becomes important. Other decomposition channels, including expulsion of H(2) and H(2)S are of negligible importance. The formation of C(6)H(6)S is predicted to be strong-pressure dependent above 900 K. Further decomposition of C(6)H(6)S produces CS and C(5)H(6). Overall, despite the significant difference in bond dissociation, i.e., 8-9 kcal/mol between the S-H bond in thiophenol and the O-H bond in phenol, H migration at the ortho position in the two molecules represents the most accessible initial channel.