Wet effluent diffusion denuder technique and determination of volatile organic compounds in air. I. Oxo compounds (alcohols and ketones)

The wet effluent diffusion denuder (WEDD) preconcentration technique for the determination of methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, 2-propanol, 1-butanol, 1-pentanol, acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, diethyl ketone and methyl n-propyl ketone in air is discussed. The compounds are continuously collected into a thin film of deionized water flowing down the inner wall of the cylindrical wet effluent diffusion denuder. The concentrate is analysed by gas chromatography. Detection limits of alcohols and ketones are as low as 1 microg/l (GC-flame ionization detection) and/or 1 ng/l (GC-MS). This technique could be applicable for the continuous monitoring of ppb (v/v) levels of both alcohols and ketones in the air.     

Production of methyl ester fuel from microalgae

Microalgae are unique photosynthetic organisms that are known to accumulate storage lipids in large quantitites and thrive in saline waters. Before these storage lipids can be used, they must be extracted from the microalgae and converted into usable fuel. Transesterification of lipids produces fatty acid methyl esters that can be used as a diesel fuel substitute. Three solvents, 1-butanol, ethanol, and hexane/2-propanol, were evaluated for extraction efficiency of microalgal lipids. Type of catalyst, concentration of catalyst, time of reaction, temperature of reaction, and quality of lipid were examined as variables for transesterification. The most efficient solvent of the three for extraction was 1-butanol (90% efficiency), followed by hexane/2-propanol and ethanol. Optimal yield of fatty acid methyl esters was obtained using 0.6N hydrochloric acid in methanol for 0.1 h at 70°C.     

Alcohols and wide-bore capillaries in nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis.

The feasibility of using C1-C5 alcohols as electrolyte solutions in nonaqueous capillary zone electrophoresis was investigated. The separation of basic narcotic analgesics and acidic diuretics was modified by changing the alcohol in an electrolyte solution containing alcohol-acetonitrile-acetic acid (50:49:1, v/v) and 20 mM ammonium acetate while other experimental conditions were kept constant. The alcohols studied were methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, 2-propanol, 1-butanol, 2-butanol, and 1-pentanol. The results indicate that even longer-chain alcohols can be used in nonaqueous capillary zone electrophoresis and, because of the lower currents they allow, they are especially advantageous in wider capillaries. Basic analytes were separated in 200 microm and 320 microm ID capillaries with 1-butanol-acetonitrile-acetic acid (50:49:1, v/v) containing 20 mM ammonium acetate as electrolyte solution. Problems related to the use of wide-bore capillaries are discussed.     

Surface tension and density of mixtures of 1,3-dioxolane+alkanols at 298.15 K: analysis under the extended Langmuir model

Surface tensions (sigma) for [1,3-dioxolane+methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, 2-propanol, 1-butanol, 2-butanol, and 1-pentanol] and excess molar volumes (v(E)) for [1,3-dioxolane+methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, 2-propanol, and 2-butanol] at the temperature 298.15 K and normal atmospheric pressure have been determined as a function of mole fractions. The magnitude of these experimental quantities is discussed in terms of the nature and type of intermolecular interactions in binary mixtures. In order to analyze the surface tension behavior, the extended Langmuir (EL) model was used and the results obtained for the systems containing 1,3-dioxolane were compared with those of other formerly published series: [1,4-dioxane+alkanes] and [1,4-dioxane+alcohols].     

Esterification of caprylic acid with alcohol over nano-crystalline sulfated zirconia

The catalytic activity of nano-crystalline sulfated zirconia catalyst, prepared by sol–gel method and characterized by various analytical tools, was evaluated for the esterification of caprylic acid with different short chain alcohols. The lower concentration of catalyst (0.5 wt%) exhibited 96–98% conversion of caprylic acid with methanol and 100% selectivity for methyl caprylate at 60 °C. The conversion was decreased with increasing carbon chain of alcohols namely with ethanol, n-propanol and n-butanol at 60 °C but increased significantly (91–98%) at higher reaction temperature. The selectivity for respective alkyl caprylate was observed to be 100% irrespective of the alcohol used. The activity of the catalyst was slightly decreased with successive five reaction cycles due to the water formed during the reaction.     

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.     

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.     

Copper-Mediated Acetylation of Alcohols by 2-Nitropropane in the Presence of Dioxygen

This work describes the preliminary study of the oxygenation reaction of 2-nitropropane and the acetylation of alcohols by 2-nitropropane in the presence of O₂ mediated by metallic copper or Cu(tmeda)(NO₂ )2 (tmeda = N,N,N',N'-tetramethylethylenediamine). The oxygenolysis was performed in alcoholic solvents (methanol, ethanol, 2-propanol, 1-butanol, 2-butanol) under dioxygen pressure (1 atm) at 50 °C and was followed by Glc. The results show that the formation of acetone is the main reaction and the corresponding esters are formed only in a maximum of 30% yield.     

Preparation of polysiloxanes from silicic acid. VII. Effects of the degree of esterification and alkyl groups on condensations of silicic acid esters and formation of fibrous silica

Silicic acid esters were prepared by the reaction of the silicic acid in tetrahydrofuran with various alcohols such as such as methanol, ethanol, 2-propanol, 1-butanol, 2-methyl-2-propanol and 1-octanol, using an esterification apparatus designed especially to allow the preparation of silicic acid esters from alcohols with low boiling points or appreciable steric hindrance. With the intent of obtaining a spinnable ester solution by condensation of silicic acid esters, the effects of the degree of esterification (DE) and alkyl group on gel time and spinnability are investigated. An increase in the DE and the size of the alkyl group led to an increase in the gel time of the esters. Esters solutions with a good spinnability were prepared from n-butyl and isopropyl esters with DEs of 40–50%. In addition, the gel permeation chromatography of condensing esters with low DEs showed a rapid increase in molecular weight. The results showed that spinnability depended on DE and the ester's alkyl group. Fibers could be formed with length of about 10–100 cm from ethyl, isopropyl, and n-butyl esters with DEs 40–50% and with length of 10 cm from octyl ester with DE 26%.     

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.     

Excess enthalpies of binary solvent mixtures of N-methylacetamide with aliphatic alcohols

The molar excess enthalpies H _m ^E of binary solvent mixtures of N-methylacetamide with methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, 2-propanol, 1-butanol, and t-butanol have been measured with a flow microcalorimeter at 40°C. The excess enthalpies are negative for methanol and positive for the other alcohols over the whole composition range, except for t-butanol which exhibits a sigmoid curve with a deep minimum at low mole fractions of the amide. The values for the primary alcohols increase in the order methanol < ethanol < 1-propanol < 1-butanol. The partial molar excess enthalpies have also been evaluated. Intermolecular interactions in these mixtures are discussed through comparison of the results with those for the corresponding binary mixtures of N,N-dimethylacetamide.     

Dual capillary gas chromatographic analysis of alcohols and methyl tert-butyl ether in gasolines

A gas chromatographic method has been developed for the identification and direct determination of alcohols and methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) in gasolines. The technique involves simultaneous injection of the gasoline without any sample preparation onto two fused silica capillary columns of differing polarities. The method permits simultaneous determinations of methanol, ethanol, 2-propanol, tert-butanol, 1-propanol, sec-butanol, 1-butanol, and MTBE. By using an automatic sampler in combination with electronic pressure programming and BASIC programming, the determinations were performed automatically and reproducibly with a relatively short analysis time.     

Reactions of [CH3]+ and [CD3]+ with alcohols

The reactions of [CH₃]⁺ and [CD₃]⁺ with a number of C₁ to C₅ alcohols were studied at approximately thermal energies (0.1 eV) using a tandem Dempster ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer. Branching ratios obtained under single collision conditions are reported for [CH₃]⁺ and [CD₃]⁺ with methanol, perdeutero methanol, ethanol, allyl alcohol, 1-propanol, 2-propanol, perdeutero-2-propanol, 1-butanol, 2-butanol, t-butanol, cyclopentanol and 1-pentanol. The results are examined in terms of the mechanism of reactions and indicate that upon progression to larger alcohols, the formation of a long-lived adduct becomes less important in determining the reaction products.     

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.     

The chain formation of aldehydes in the radiolytic oxidation of aliphatic alcohols

The effect of dose rate on the yields of aldehyde, hydrogen peroxide and hydrogen in oxygen-saturated methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, 2-propanol and 1-butanol was studied. A reaction mechanism to explain the results is proposed and discussed. It is concluded that the viscosities of the various alcohols play an important role in determining the length of the chain reactions.     

Biodiesel fuel from vegetable oil by various supercritical alcohols

Biodiesel was prepared in various supercritical alcohol treatments with methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, 1-butanol, or 1-octanol to study transesterification of rapeseed oil and alkyl esterification of fatty acid at temperatures of 300 and 350°C. The results showed that in transes terification, the reactivity was greatly correlated to the alcohol: the longer the alkyl chain of alcohol, the longer the reaction treatment. In alkyl esterification of fatty acids, the conversion did not depend on the alcohol type because they had a similar reactivity. Therefore, the selection of alcohol in biodiesel production should be based on consideration of its performance of properties and economics.     

Development of an ethanol-selective optode membrane based on a reversible chemical recognition process

Lipophilic trifluoroacetophenone derivatives incorporated in plasticized PVC membranes are able to selectively extract water and alcohols from the sample solution into the organic membrane phase, reversibly forming hydrates and hemi-acetals, respectively. Since this is accompanied by a change in the absorption spectrum of the acetophenone isologue, the chemical recognition process can directly be translated into an optical signal. With N-acetyl-N-dodecyl-4-trifluoroacetylaniline (ETH 6022) as the electrically neutral, lipophilized carrier ethanol can be determined from 0.5 to 35% (v/v) in aqueous solutions. The calibration curve for different ethanol-water mixtures shows a good correlation with the mathematically derived formalism and thus confirms the theoretically expected behavior. Besides high reproducibility of the optical signals, very short response times of less than 30 s were realized. The optode membrane presented exhibits a preference for ethanol compared to water by a factor greater than 11. The selectivities for several primary alcohols, such as methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol and 1-n-butanol, are comparable, but isopropanol and tert.-butanol are rejected by a factor of about 10. The alcohol concentration in different beverages was determined to evaluate the reliability of the system. The values obtained for wine, beer and different spirits show an excellent correlation with those obtained by a conventional approach involving distillation and density measurements. A residual standard deviation of ± 0.27% (v/v) over the 0.7–40% (v/v) range was found.     

Cosolvent effects on the stability of catanionic vesicles formed from ion-pair amphiphiles

Four ion-pair amphiphiles (IPAs), derived from the pairing of alkyltrimethylammonium chlorides and sodium alkyl sulfates, were used to form catanionic vesicles in water upon the mechanical dispersion method. For the first time in the literature, short-chained alcohols (methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, and 1-butanol) were added as cosolvents at a variety of concentrations and systematically studied for their effects on the stability of the ensuing vesicles. Dynamic light scattering measurements indicated that vesicles formed from one of the IPAs (i.e., dodecyltrimethylammonium dodecyl sulfate) could be efficiently and successfully stabilized by the addition of appropriate amounts of 1-propanol and 1-butanol. Maximum lifetimes of more than 1 year and 132 days for stable vesicles in 5% 1-butanol and 15% 1-propanol solutions, respectively, were observed, and this demonstrates that a novel method for the stabilization of catanionic vesicles formed from IPAs becomes available by means of cosolvent addition. Furthermore, the stability of catanionic vesicles was found to be strongly dependent on cosolvent concentration. In general, the vesicle stability increased with increasing the cosolvent concentration, reached a maximum at a specific concentration, and thereafter decreased with further increasing the concentration. The vesicles finally disintegrated into constituent molecules in solutions of high cosolvent concentrations. An explanation of cosolvent effects based on the medium dielectric constant was proposed.