Higher-alcohols biorefinery

The concept of a biorefinery for higher-alcohol production is to integrate ethanol and methanol formation via fermentation and biomass gasification, respectively, with, conversion of these simple alcohol intermediates into higher alcohols via the Guerbet reaction. 1-Butanol results from the selfcondensation of ethanol in this multistep reaction occurring on a single catalytic bed. Combining methanol with ethanol gives a mixture of propanol, isobutanol, and 2-methyl-1-butanol. All of these higher alcohols are usefulas solvents, chemical intermediates, and fuel additives and, consequently, have higher market values than the simple alcohol intermediates. Several new catalysts for the condensation of ethanol and alcohol mixtures to higher alcohols were designed and tested under a variety of conditions. Reactions of methanol ethanol mixtures gave as high as 100% conversion of the ethanol to form high yields of isobutanol with smaller amounts of 1-propanol, the amounts in the mixture depending on the starting mixture. The most successful catalysts are multifunctional with basic and hydrogen transfer components.     

Liquid chromatographic determination of alcohols in food and beverages with indirect polarimetric detection using a beta-cyclodextrin mobile phase.

An indirect polarimetric detection method for the determination of alcohols has been proposed in liquid chromatography (LC). Optically active mobile-phase additives, such as beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD), could be used to visualize optically inactive alcohols in reversed-phase LC. The visualization of alcohols is based on a perturbation of the partition of beta-CD caused by the alcohols. The detection limits of the present system at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3 were 0.031, 0.019, 0.018, 0.013, 0.011, 0.008 and 0.008% (v/v) for ethanol, 2-propanol, 1-propanol, 2-methyl-2-propanol, 2-butanol, 2-methyl-1-propanol and 1-butanol, respectively. The method was successfully applied to the determination of ethanol present in food and beverage samples.     

Enzymatic esterification and phase behavior in ionic microemulsions with different alcohols

The esterification of hexanoic acid and 1-pentanol catalyzed by the lipase fromChromobacterium viscosum was studied at 298.2 K using different Winsor systems as reaction medium. The microemulsion systems consisted of brine and alkane stabilized by the anionic surfactant sodium dodecylsulphate and a short-chained alcohol. The alcohol acts both as a reactant and as a part of the reaction medium. Therefore, it is of great fundamental interest to know the phase behavior of the used microemulsion systems. Partial phase diagrams were determined and the efficiency of different alcohols on the transition from a Winsor I system to a Winsor III or a Winsor IV system with bicontinuous structure and further to a Winsor II system was investigated. The investigated alcohols were 2-methyl-1-propanol, 1-butanol, 2-butanol, 2-methyl-1-butanol, 3-methyl-1-butanol, 1-pentanol, 2-pentanol, 3-pentanol, 2-methyl-1-pentanol, 3-methyl-1-pentanol, 4-methyl-1-pentanol, and 1-hexanol. The aqueous medium consisted of 0.5 m NaCl(aq) or a phosphate buffer (pH=7) and the organic medium of octane or 2,2,4-trimethyl pentane. A long alkyl chain of the alcohol or a branching far from the hydroxyl group gives a more efficient cosurfactant and a transition from Winsor I to Winsor III or Winsor IV at lower alcohol contents. In the Winsor III system the yield of 1-pentyl hexanoate is twice as high as the yield in the bicontinuous Winsor IV system.     

Application of Gas Chromatography to the Identification of the Origin of Alcohols

The identification of ethanol of synthetic and biochemical origins was considered. Along with the determination of acetone, 2-butanol, methyl ethyl ketone, tert-butanol, crotonaldehyde, and other impurities in ethanol, it was proposed to use another criterion of the synthetic origin of ethanol, the isopropanol : methanol concentration ratio. The proposed criterion was applied to the gas-chromatographic analysis of various synthetic and biochemical samples of crude alcohols and rectified alcohols. Because isopropanol is difficult to remove by rectification, the proposed criterion for determining the origin of ethanol is applicable to not only crude alcohols but also rectified alcohols (as distinct from other criteria).     

Steric and electronic contributions to conformational effects on chemical shifts of acyclic alcohols

Our calculations on bi- and polycyclic alcohols reveal that the Mulliken charge distribution and chemical shift patterns due to hyperconjugation of lone pairs on oxygen with neighboring groups break down or are attenuated for certain spatial relationships of the hydroxyl group. Since in strained ring systems other effects on these parameters may be present, we applied a similar analysis to acyclic alcohols. Calculations at the B3LYP/6-31G^* level on conformers of methanol, ethanol, 1- and 2-propanol, 2-methyl-1-propanol, 2-methyl-2-propanol, 2-butanol, 2-methyl-2-butanol, 1- 2- and 3-pentanol and 2-methyl-3-pentanol, where hyperconjugation may be present, reveal steric effects as modifiers of hyperconjugative patterns affecting carbon-13 chemical shifts in such alcohols. Contrary to what is observed in bi- and policyclic systems, where electrostatic effects interfere with effects due to hyperconjugation, these steric effects may be the main cause for the attenuation of deshielding of nuclei that are subject to hyperconjugation. Electrostatic effects are also present but they do not interfere with hyperconjugation by lone pairs. Conformational effects fall off sharply after the third carbon in the chain.     

Catalyst activity comparison of alcohols over zeolites

Alcohol transformation to transportation fuel-range hydrocarbon over HZSM-5 (SiO₂/Al₂O₃ = 30) catalyst was studied at 360 °C and 300 psig. Product distributions and catalyst life were compared between methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol and 1-butanol as a feed. The catalyst life for 1-propanol and 1-butanol was more than double compared with that for methanol and ethanol. For all the alcohols studied, the product distributions (classified to paraffin, olefin, naphthene, aromatic and naphthalene compounds) varied with time on stream (TOS). At 24 h TOS, liquid product from 1-propanol and 1-butanol transformation primarily contains higher olefin compounds. The alcohol transformation process to higher hydrocarbon involves a complex set of reaction pathways such as dehydration, oligomerization, dehydrocyclization and hydrogenation. Compared with ethylene generated from methanol and ethanol, oligomerization of propylene and butylene has a lower activation energy and can readily take place on weaker acidic sites. On the other hand, dehydrocyclization of the oligomerized products of propylene and butylene to form the cyclic compounds requires the sites with stronger acid strength. Combination of the above mentioned reasons are the primary reasons for olefin rich product generated in the later stage of the time on stream and for the extended catalyst life time for 1-propanol and 1-butanol compared with methanol and ethanol conversion over HZSM-5.     

小分子醇对PVDF／PFSA共混膜凝胶动力学、膜结构及膜性能的影响

以小分子醇为添加剂,研究了小分子醇对聚偏氟乙烯(PVDF)/全氟磺酸(PFSA)共混超滤膜凝胶动力学、结构与渗透性能的影响.结果表明:在PVDF/PFSA铸膜液中添加乙醇时,其凝胶速率随乙醇浓度的增加而加快,超滤膜通量随乙醇浓度的增加而增大;而当添加相同浓度的4种小分子醇时,初始凝胶速率差别不大,20 s后添加乙醇的铸膜液的凝胶速率最大;添加小分子醇后超滤膜的水通量大小顺序为:异丙醇<甲醇<乙醇<正丁醇.SEM照片显示在铸膜液中添加5%乙醇所制备的共混超滤膜具有较为圆整的内腔结构与均匀的孔结构.     

Determination of the adsorption model of alkenes and alcohols on sulfonic copolymer by inverse gas chromatography

The determination of a number of adsorption sites on sulfonated styrene-divinylbenzene copolymer for alkenes (propene, 1-butene, 1-pentene, 1-hexene, 1-heptene, isobutene, 2-methyl-1-butene, 2-methyl-2-butene, 2-methyl-1-pentene, 2-methyl-2-pentene and 2-methyl-2-hexene) and alcohols (methanol, ethanol and n-propanol, n-butanol, 2-butanol and tert-butanol) was performed by the saturation copolymer with vapors of adsorbate, by removing the excess of adsorbate from copolymer by blowing the inert gas through copolymer bed and by the desorption of adsorbed alcohol in the programmed increase of temperature. The adsorption measurements were performed on sulfonated ion-exchange resin (Amberlyst 15) with different concentrations of the acid group, which means with a varying number of adsorption sites. The following adsorption models for alkenes were suggested: the first in which one molecule of alkene is adsorbed by two sulfonic groups, for linear alcohols, the second in which one sulfonic group can adsorb one molecule of alcohol and for non-linear alcohols the third where one molecule of alcohol is adsorbed by two or more sulfonic groups.     

Excess enthalpies of binary solvent mixtures of 2-butanone with aliphatic alcohols

The molar excess enthalpies of binary solvent mixtures of 2-butanone with methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, 2-propanol, 1-butanol, and 2-methyl-2-propanol have been measured with a flow microcalorimeter at 313.15 K. The excess enthalpies are positive over the whole composition range for all alcohols studied. The values for the primary alcohols increase with the length of the alkyl chain of the alcohol. The values for the secondary and the tertiary alcohol are slightly greater than those for the primary analogues. The partial molar excess enthalpies have also been evaluated. The results are discussed in terms of intermolecular interactions in the mixtures.     

Solid–liquid equilibria for systems containing 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride

The solubility of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride [C₄mim][Cl] in alcohols {ethanol, 1-butanol, 1-hexanol, 1-octanol, 1-decanol, 1-dodecanol, 2-butanol, 2-methyl-2-propanol (tert-butanol)} has been measured by a dynamic method from 270 K to the melting point of the ionic liquid or to the boiling point of the solvent. The melting point, enthalpy of fusion, and the temperature of the glass phase transition were determined by differential scanning calorimetry.The solubility data were correlated by means of the Wilson, UNIQUAC ASM and modified NRTL1 equations utilizing parameters derived from the solid–liquid equilibrium data. The root-mean-square deviations of the solubility temperatures for all calculated data were higher than 0.9 K and depended on the particular equation used.     

Molecular association in water-isomeric pentanol mixtures at 25°C

The results of static dielectric constant and viscosity measurements on solutions of water (concentration range 0 to 0.3 mole fraction) in 2-pentanol, 3-pentanol, 2-methyl-1-butanol, 3-methyl-1-butanol, and 2-methyl-2-butanol together with previous results for solutions of water in n-pentanol are discussed in terms of the information that they provide on the nature and the extent of molecular association in these solutions. We conclude that in most systems this association leads to the formation of tetrahedral complexes such as H₂O(ROH)₄. Evidences of the correlation of water-alcohol interactions with molecular parameters (position of OH group, steric hindrance of alkyl chain) of alcohols are considered.     

Atmospheric degradation of 2-butanol, 2-methyl-2-butanol, and 2,3-dimethyl-2-butanol: OH kinetics and UV absorption cross sections

The absolute rate coefficients for the reactions of hydroxyl radical (OH) with 2-butanol (k(1)), 2-methyl-2-butanol (k(2)), and 2,3-dimethyl-2-butanol (k(3)) were measured as a function of temperature (263-354 K) and pressure (41-193 Torr of He, Ar, and N(2)) by the pulsed laser photolysis/laser-induced fluorescence technique. This work represents the first absolute determination of k(1)(-)k(3) and their temperature dependence. No pressure dependence of the rate coefficients was observed in the range studied. Thus, k(i)(298 K) values (x10(-12) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1) with an uncertainty of +/-2sigma) were averaged over the pressure range studied yielding 8.77 +/- 1.46, 3.64 +/- 0.60, and 9.01 +/- 1.00 for 2-butanol (k(1)), 2-methyl-2-butanol (k(2)), and 2,3-dimethyl-2-butanol (k(3)), respectively. k(1) and k(3) exhibit a slightly negative temperature dependence over the temperature range studied. In contrast, the rate coefficient for the reaction of OH with 2-methyl-2-butanol (k(2)) did not show any temperature dependence. Some deviation of the conventional Arrhenius behavior was clearly observed for k(3). In this case, the best fit to our data was found to be described by the three-parameter expression k(T) = A + B exp(-C/T). The UV absorption cross sections of 2-butanol, 2-methyl-2-butanol, and 2,3-dimethyl-2-butanol have also been measured at room temperature between 208 and 230 nm. The values reported constitute the first determination of the UV cross sections of those alcohols. Our results are compared with previous studies, when possible, and are discussed in terms of the H-abstraction by OH radicals. The atmospheric implications of these reactions and the photochemistry of these alcohols are also discussed.     

The effect of alcohol structures on the interaction mode with the hexameric capsule of resorcin[4]arene

After more than a century of research on resorcin[4]arenes (1) it is clear that such systems form spontaneously [1(6)(H(2)O)(8)]-type hexameric capsules in wet, non-polar, organic solvents. However, the interactions of these hexameric capsules with alcohols are far from being solved. Here we provide the results of an extensive study on the interaction of different alcohols with the hexameric capsules of resorcin[4]arene 1a by focusing on the exchange of magnetization manifested in diffusion NMR measurements of such capsular systems. We found that some alcohols such as 2-octyl-1-dodecanol and 1-octadecanol do not interact with the hexamers of 1a, whereas other alcohols such as 3-ethyl-3-pentanol, 2-ethyl-1-butanol and more act as simple guests and are simply encapsulated in the hexamers. Others alcohols such as 3-pentanol, 2-methyl-1-butanol and others, are part of the hexameric structure where they can exchange magnetization with alcohols in the bulk. The bulkier alcohols, due to an increase of the chain length or in branching, have a higher tendency to be encapsulated rather than being part of the hexameric capsule superstructure. This study demonstrate the unique information that diffusion NMR spectroscopy can provide on supramolecular systems in solution and on the precaution that should be exercised when analyzing diffusion NMR data of such dynamic supramolecular capsules.     

Solubility of ethyl-(2-hydroxyethyl)-dimethylammonium bromide in alcohols (C2–C12)

The solubilities of a novel third generation of the precursor of ionic liquids, named ethyl-(2-hydroxyethyl)-dimethylammonium bromide, C₂Br, in alcohols {ethanol, 1-butanol, 1-hexanol, 1-octanol, 1-decanol, 1-dodecanol, 2-butanol, 2-methyl-2-propanol (tert-butyl alcohol)} have been measured by a dynamic method from 240 to 440 K.The solubility of ethyl-(2-hydroxyethyl)-dimethylammonium bromide in primary alcohols decreases with an increase of the molecular weight of the alcohol from C₂ to C₁₂. The differences in solubilities between the primary and secondary alcohols are not significant. The solubility of C₂Br in tert-butyl alcohol is much lower than in 1-butanol and 2-butanol.The data were correlated by means of the UNIQUAC ASM, NRTL1 and NRTL2 equations, utilizing parameters derived from the (solid + liquid) equilibrium (SLE) data. The root-mean-square deviations of the solubility temperatures for all calculated data are from 2.36 to 7.17 K and depend on the particular equation used. In the calculations, the existence of a solid–solid first-order phase transition in pure C₂Br has also been taken into account.     

Enthalpies of dilution of mono-, di- and poly-alcohols in dilute aqueous solutions at 298.15 K

The enthalpies of dilution of aqueous solutions of methanol, ethanol, l-propanol, 2-propanol, 1-butanol, l-pentanol, 1-hexanol, cyclohexanol, 1,3-butanediol, 1,4-butanediol, 2,3-butanediol and poly-alcohol(cyclohexaamylose) have been determined at high dilution as a function of the mole fraction of alcohol at 298.15 K, by a rocking twin-microcalorimeter of the heat-conduction type. A smoothing equation of the enthalpies of dilution against the mole fractions of alcohols are given. The graphical comparison of experimental results with their smoothed values or literature ones, taking into account the dependence of the mole fractions, are also presented. It has been found for the aqueous solutions of shorter n-alcohols than hexanol that at very high dilution, exothermic values of molar enthalpies of dilution from a definite mole fraction of alcohols to infinite dilution with the change of mole fraction is proportional to carbon number of n-alcohols. The molar enthalpies of infinite dilution of aqueous butanediol isomers and 1-hexanol were very large. Molar enthalpies of infinite dilution of aqueous poly-alcohol (cyclohexaamylose) were endothermic. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Catalytic activity of carbon nanotubes in the conversion of aliphatic alcohols

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) obtained via the catalytic pyrolysis of hexane at 750°C were studied as the catalysts in conversion of C₂–C₄ alcohols. The efficiency of CNTs as catalysts in dehydration and dehydrogenation of ethanol, 1-propanol, 2-propanol, 1-butanol, 2-butanol, and tert-butanol was studied by means of pulse microcatalysis. The surface and structural characteristics of CNTs are investigated via SEM, TEM, DTA, BET, and XPS. CNTs are shown to be effective catalysts in the conversion of alcohols and do not require additional oxidative treatment. The regularities of the conversion of aliphatic alcohols, related to the properties of the CNTs surface and the structure of the alcohols are identified.     

Interactions in water-alcohol mixtures: Conductance of lithium picrate in solutions of water and isomeric pentanols at 25°C

Conductance measurements of lithium picrate in solutions of water in n-pentanol, 2-pentanol, 3-pentanol, 2-methyl-1-butanol and 3-methyl-1-butanol have been carried out at 25°C. Ionic association and conductance were found to change with water content and with the molecular structure of the alcohols (i.e. position of the OH group and degree of branching of the alkyl chain). These results indicate that both conductance and ion pair formation are not the consequence of the simple motion of ions in the electrical field as required by the continuum model. A more realistic approach, involving the internal structure of the solvent mixtures, has been considered.     

Static dielectric constant,viscosity, and structure of pure isomeric pentanols

Static dielectric constants, viscosities, densitites and refractive indices of 2-pentanol, 3-pentanol, 2-methyl-1-butanol, 3-methyl-1-butanol and 2-methyl-2-butanol were measured at 15, 25, 35 and 45°C. These results together with the previous data on n-pentanol have been analyzed in terms of the Kirkwood correlation factor g _k and of the energy of activiation for viscous flow. With the exception of 2-methyl-2-butanol, g _k was found to be greater than unity. These results show that the monomeric units of isomeric pentanols interact by means of hydrogen bonding to form dynamic structures essentially of two types: linear chains where co-association raises the total polarizability and cyclic dimers with nearly zero net dipole moment. Energies of activation for viscous flow as well as Kirkwood correlation factors correlate with the molecular parameters (i.e. position of OH group in the molecules, steric hindrance of alkyl chain etc.) of the alcohols. The implication of these parameters on the molecular association of the isomeric pentanols are discussed.