Unraveling the mechanism of catalytic reactions through combined kinetic and thermodynamic analyses: Application to the condensation of ethanol

The combination of kinetic and thermodynamic analyses can provide an in-depth knowledge of the crucial steps of catalyzed reactions. Earlier examples are recalled to stress how a reaction mechanism can be supported or rejected based on trivial reactant and product concentration analyses. The method is then applied to the important reaction of alcohol condensation, the so-called Guerbet reaction, which enables converting ethanol, a renewable feedstock, into higher alcohols. Important conclusions regarding the design of ethanol condensation processes can be drawn, as the main reaction mechanism occurring at high temperatures (ca. 350–420 °C) appears to be different from that proposed at low temperatures (< 250 °C). In the former case, the pathway involving acetaldehyde is negligible, and therefore a multi-step process based on ethanol dehydrogenation followed by acetaldehyde self-aldolization would be irrelevant.     

Designing an effective federal biomass program

This article addresses two questions: Has the effectiveness of the US governments federal research and development (R&;D) spending suffered from the post-1980 strategic change from freely shared and publicly owned to privately owned scientific advances? What criteria would a federal R&;D program use to design a strategy that most effectively enhances the well-being of farmers and rural communities? Several studies found that the pre-1980 US Department of Agriculture research strategy was very effective. No comparable studies have analyzed the comparative effectiveness of the post-1980 strategy of restricting access to the results of public research. Recent experience and several analytical studies suggest that to significantly enhance the health of rural economies from an expanded use of plant matter as an industrial material, federal policy should channel scientific and engineering research into small- and medium-sized production and processing technologies and should encourage farmer-owned, value-added enterprises.     

镁掺杂对In2O3电导和气敏性能的影响

用共沉淀法制备了Mg2 + 掺杂的In2 O3 纳米粉 ,研究了镁掺杂对In2 O3 电导和气敏性能的影响 .结果表明 :MgO和In2 O3 间可形成有限固溶体In2 -xMgxO3 (0≤x≤ 0 .40 ) ;MgIn× 电离的空穴对材料导带电子的湮灭 ,使掺镁纳米粉的电导变得很小 ;n(Mg2 + )∶n(In3 + ) =1∶2共沉淀物于 90 0℃下热处理 4h ,用所得的纳米粉制作的传感器在 32 0～ 370℃下 ,对 45 μmol/LC2 H5OH的灵敏度达 10 2 .5 ,为相同浓度干扰气体Petrol的 12倍多 .     

Phase diagram of Na2S2O3 + ethanol + water at ambient pressure and temperature

In the present communication, we report the studies concerning liquid–liquid–solid equilibria for the ternary system sodium thiosulphate (Na₂S₂O₃) + ethanol + water at ambient pressure and at room temperature (303 ± 2 K). The solubility data of Na₂S₂O₃ are reported for solutions in water, ethanol and solutions of varying concentrations of ethanol in water. The phase diagram for the said system is developed, described and compared with similar system K₂CO₃ + methanol + water. These results have been explained in terms of structural properties of aqueous ethanol solutions and further discussed in terms of the effect of ions to cause phase separation.     

甲醇与乙醇一步合成异丁醛用CuO-ZnO/Al2O3催化剂

在ＣｕＯ－ＺｎＯ／Ａｌ２Ｏ３催化剂上，甲醇与乙醇在常压和２１０￣３６０℃温度下一步反应合成异丁醛。利用正交设计方法，研究了ＣｕＯ－ＺｎＯ／Ａｌ２Ｏ３体系催化剂组成和制备条件等因素对催化剂催化性能的影响。结果表明，催化剂中ＣｕＯ含量对催化剂的催化活性影响最大，而ＺｎＯ含量则主要影响催化剂对异丁醛的选择性。催化剂制备条件，如沉淀温度、陈化时间等，也不同程度也影响催化剂的催化性能。ＸＲＤ和ＢＥＴ表征结果     

乙醇-盐-水-5-Br-PADAP体系萃取分离测定钯

研究了在硫酸铵存在下 ,5 Br PADAP乙醇体系中Pd(Ⅱ )、Rh(Ⅲ )、Pt(Ⅳ )的萃取行为及乙醇溶液的分相条件 ,讨论了影响萃取率的各种因素 ,试验表明 ,室温下 ,一定 pH范围内 ,该体系中的Pd(Ⅱ )几乎可完全被乙醇相萃取 ,而Rh(Ⅲ )、Pt(Ⅳ )不被萃取或萃取率很低 ,从而可实现Pd(Ⅱ )、Rh(Ⅲ )、Pt(Ⅳ )混合离子的定量分离 ,同时建立了Pd(Ⅱ )的测定方法。乙醇相中Pd(Ⅱ ) 5 Br PADAP配合物表观摩尔吸光系数为 1.18× 10 5L·mol- 1·cm- 1,钯量在 0～ 9.6 0 μg/10ml范围内符合比耳定律 ,检出限为 0 .0 90 μg/10ml。用该法分离混合样和测定两种活性碳钯催化剂中钯 ,结果满意     

Determination of ethyl glucuronide in urine using reversed-phase HPLC and pulsed electrochemical detection (Part II)

A direct, versatile method for the determination of ethyl glucuronide (EtG), a biomarker of ethanol consumption, in urine has been developed using reversed-phase liquid chromatography with pulsed electrochemical detection (PED). EtG and methyl glucuronide (MetG), which serves as an internal standard, are readily separated using a mobile phase consisting of 1% acetic acid/acetonitrile (98/2, v/v). Post-column addition of NaOH allows for the detection of all glucuronides using PED at a gold working electrode. Upon optimization, EtG was found to have a limit of detection of 0.03 μg/mL (7 pmol; 50 μL injection volume) and repeatability at the limit of quantitation of 1.7%R.S.D. (relative standard deviation). Solid-phase extraction (SPE) using an aminopropyl phase was used to remove interferents in urine samples prior to their analysis. Compound recovery following SPE was approximately 50 ± 2%. The forensic utility of this method was further validated by the analysis of 29 post-mortem urine specimens, whose results agreed strongly with certified determinations.     

Reusable ethanol sensor based on a NAD-dependent dehydrogenase without coenzyme addition

An amperometric sensor for the detection of ethanol has been designed. The sensing layer consists of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), NADH oxidase and NAD⁺-dextran, entrapped together in a matrix of poly(vinyl alcohol) bearing styrylpyridinium groups (PVA-SbQ). Measurements have been carried out at a low oxidizing potential (equivalent to 250 mV vs. SCE) to detect hexacyanoferrate(II), thus avoiding interferences due to presence of oxidizable compounds in real samples. The influence of the amount of polymer, enzymes and coenzyme in the sensing layer on the sensor sensitivity, linear range and operational stability has been studied. The sensitivity was close to 2 mA 1 mol⁻¹, with a linear range 3 × 10⁻⁷ −2 × 10⁻⁴M and a response time <2 min. Good operational stability was observed, allowing more than 40 reproducible assays without NAD⁺ addition. Alcoholic beverages were analysed with the use of sensor and the results showed good correlation with those obtained using a standard spectrophotometric procedure.     

水-乙醇二元体系共沸混合物的热力学研究

用全自动低温绝热量热计测定了水、乙醇以及水和乙醇组成的共沸混合物在不同温区的摩尔热容Cp,m. 建立了共沸混合物Cp,m与温度T的函数关系.结果表明,水和乙醇组成的共沸混合物在98.496 K发生玻璃态转化,在158.939 K 和270.95 K发生固-液相变.获得了其相应的相变焓和相变熵.计算了以298.15 K为基准的该共沸混合物的热力学函数和超额热力学函数.