Biotechnology for production of fuels,chemicals, and materials from biomass

Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology - Biological systems can convert renewable resources, including lignocellulosic biomass, starch crops, and carbon dioxide, into fuels, chemicals, and...     

The preparation of 4-oxo-N-aryl-4H-1-benzopyran-2-acetamides by the condensation/cyclization of trilithiated acetoacetanilides with lithiated methyl salicylates

Several acetoacetanilides were trilithiated in excess lithium diisopropylamide, and the resulting polylithiated intermediates were regioselectively condensed with lithiated methyl salicylates followed by acid cyclization to substituted 4-oxo-N-aryl-4H-1-benzopyran-2-acetamides (benzopyranone-2-acetamides).     

The reactivity of dimethylaluminum hydride with the aminoarsines Me2AsNMe2, MeAs(NMe2)2, and As(NMe2)3

The reactions of (Me₂AlH)₃ with Me₂AsNMe₂, MeAs(NMe₂)₂, and As(NMe₂)₃ were investigated as a function of time at room temperature and over the temperature range −90 to 24°C by use of ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. (Me₂AlH)₃ was found to be very reactive toward the aminoarsines, even at −90°C, and no stable Me₂AlH-aminoarsine adducts were observed. Instead, the initial stages of the reactions involved AS---N bond cleavage with the generation of highly reactive AlN- and AsH-bonded species. The subsequent course of each reaction and the final arsenic-containing product distribution depended upon the original AL:N stoichiometric ratio and the respective aminoarsine. When the Al:N ratio was 1:1, the reactions were straightforward for each aminoarsine. However, in every case, [Me₂AlNMe₂]₂ was the final AlN-containing product. Independent reactions were carried out to verify many of the proposed decomposition pathways that lead to thermodynamically stable products. The results of this study are compared with those of the analogous, previously reported (Me₃Al)₂-aminoarsine systems. Additionally, a new synthetic route to [Me₂AlAsMe₂]₃ has been established from the reaction of (Me₂AlH)₃ with Me₂AsH.     

Preparation of 2,4-diarylquinolines and substituted dihydrobenz-[c]acridines by the condensation of certain c(α),o-dilithiooximes with 2-aminobenzophenones

C(α),O-Dilithiooximes were prepared in an excess of lithium diisopropylamide and condensed with several 2-aminobenzophenones, followed by acid hydrolysis of the oximes to the ketones, which then underwent cyclodehydration and linear dehydration to give substituted quinolines or dihydrobenz[c]acridines.     

Properties of cerium-zirconium mixed oxides partially substituted by neodymium: Comparison with Zr-Ce-Pr-O ternary oxides

CeO₂ doped with praseodymium, neodymium and/or zirconium atoms were prepared by coprecipitation and by the sol-gel method. Structural properties were investigated by in situ XRD and Raman spectroscopy while oxygen storage capacity (OSC) was measured by transient CO oxidation. All the compounds, except pure Nd₂O₃, have a fluorite-type structure as well as a Raman band at 560 cm⁻¹ characteristic of the oxygen vacancies involving non-stoichiometric oxides. The lattice parameter under hydrogen, being dependent on the temperature, revealed two reduction mechanisms: one at a low temperature at the surface and another at a high temperature in the bulk. Ce-Nd binary oxides show a strong tendency towards crystallite aggregation, which reduces accessibility to gases and OSC properties. Zirconium improves the thermal resistance to sintering of both Ce-Nd and Ce-Pr oxides. The Zr-Ce-Pr-O followed by Zr-Ce-Nd-O compounds displaying high oxygen mobility at a low temperature, appear to be very promising for practical applications such as OSC materials.     

Bacterial Reduction of Chromium

A mixed culture was enriched from surface soil obtained from an eastern United States site highly contaminated with chromate. Growth of the culture was inhibited by a chromium concentration of 12 mg/L. Another mixed culture was enriched from subsurface soil obtained from the Hanford reservation, at the fringe of a chromate plume. The enrichment medium was minimal salts solution augmented with acetate as the carbon source, nitrate as the terminal electron acceptor, and various levels of chromate. This mixed culture exhibited chromate tolerance, but not chromate reduction capability, when growing anaerobically on this medium. However, this culture did exhibit chromate reduction capability when growing anaerobically on TSB. Growth of this culture was not inhibited by a chromium concentration of 12 mg/L. Mixed cultures exhibited decreasing diversity with increasing levels of chromate in the enrichment medium. An in situ bioremediation strategy is suggested for chromate contaminated soil and groundwater.

     

Partitioning Boolean lattices into chains of subsets

We prove that the Boolean lattice of all subsets of an n-set can be partitioned into chains of size four if and only if n9.Research supported in part by N.S.F. grant DMS-8401281.Research supported in part by N.S.F. grant DMS-8406451.