Catalytic Conversion of Macroalgae-derived Alginate to Useful Chemicals

Alginate, a main carbohydrate compound of macroalgae, can be hydrothermally converted to valuable organic products, such as furfural and organic acids, over various types of catalysts. In this review, alginate is evaluated as a renewable biomass feedstock for the production of the useful chemicals, based on the structural differences between alginate and conventional lignocellulosic biomass feedstocks. The influence of different catalysts and reaction conditions on the alginate depolymerization and the product distribution is discussed. Finally, future research direction for the catalytic conversion of alginate is suggested.     

Highly enantioselective cyanosilylation of aldehydes catalyzed by a chiral oxazaborolidinium ion

The chiral oxazaborolidinium salts 1 and 2 are excellent catalysts for the enantioselective cyanosilylation of a wide variety of aldehydes (see Table 1) using trimethylsilyl (TMS) cyanide and triphenylphosphine oxide as the source of a new reactive cyanide donor. This donor appears to be the isocyanophosphorane Ph3P(OTMS)(N=C:) (4). The novel process described herein has several advantages: predictability of absolute configuration of cyanohydrin products from a mechanistic model (3), high yields and very good enantiomeric purity of products (>/=90%), and, finally, easy and efficient recovery of the catalytic ligand.     

Separation of phospholipids using a diethylaminoethyl-silica gel column and thin-layer chromatography

Phospholipids derived from egg yolk are readily separated by DEAE-silica gel column chromatography using stepwise gradient elution. The overall recovery of phospholipids from the column is 85-95% at a loading capacity of 120 mg of lipids per 10 g of DEAE-silica gel. The complete separation of eight phospholipids (phosphatidylcholine, sphingomyelin, lysophosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylserine and lysophosphatidylserine; 5 micrograms each) is also achieved by one-dimensional DEAE-silica gel thin-layer chromatography with the solvent system chloroform-methanol-water-pyridine-58% ammonia solution (130:55:8:4:4, v/v).     

Application of central composite designs for optimisation of the chromatographic separation of monomethylarsonate and dimethylarsinate and of selenomethionine and selenite by ion-pair chromatography coupled with plasma mass spectrometric detection

Central composite designs (CCDs) were used in the study of the ion-pair chromatographic separation of arsenic and selenium species in tap water: monomethylarsonate, dimethylarsinate, selenomethionine and selenite. The ternary eluent consisted of tetrabutylammonium phosphate (TBA), sodium hydrogenphosphate (Na2HPO4) and 1% acetonitrile. CCD allowed the investigation of the influence of the eluent parameters, which varied from 0.5 to 4.2 mmol l-1 Na2HPO4, 0.5 to 4.2 mmol l-1 TBA and pH 4.9 to 8.2, on the capacity factors (k') of arsenic and selenium compounds. Furthermore, another mathematical model that permitted the variation of the chromatographic selectivity of species, computed from their retention data to be followed, was investigated. This showed the ability to locate the optimum conditions within the experimental design, so that arsenic and selenium species could be simultaneously quantified with good efficiency and resolution. A comparison between the predicted and the experimental response values was made in order to assess the prediction quality of the model. Response surfaces and isoresponse curves obtained from the mathematical models allowed the determination of the optimum chromatographic conditions and the robustness of the method. The predicted optimum zone allowing satisfactory determination of both arsenic and selenium compounds was pH 5.5-6.5, 2.5 mmol l-1 Na2HPO4 and 3.0-4.0 mmol l-1 TBA.     

Equilibria and kinetics characterisation of two different structured nutshell-derived activated carbons

Adsorption equilibria and dynamics ofn-butane on two activated carbon samples prepared from the physical activation of nutshell are studied in this paper. The micropore size distribution (MPSD) is considered as the main source of solid heterogeneity. Lennard-Jones' potential theory and Dubinin's theory (TVFM) are used in the equilibria data to derive the MPSD, which is well fitted by a Gamma distribution function. The adsorption energy distribution derived from the MPSD is very asymmetric for both the samples studied, and this energy distribution used in the HMSD/HMSMD kinetics models for the study of adsorption dynamics ofn-butane.     

An empirical formula for (n, 2n) reaction cross sections in the neutron energy range of about 14.5 MeV

The (n,2n) threshold reaction cross-sections, available in the literature are analysed for nuclei with 20≤Z≤92 in the neutron energy range of about 14.5 MeV. An empirical formula based on multiple regression technique is proposed for quick estimation of the (n,2n) reaction cross sections. The results obtained are compared with experimental data and those from other empirical formulae as long as byN-Z systematic. The validity of this formula is discussed.     

Adsorption of C7 hydrocarbons on biporous SBA-15 mesoporous silica

In our recent studies (Vinh-Thang, H.; Huang, Q.; Eic, M.; Trong-On, D.; Kaliaguine, S. Langmuir 2005, 21, 2051-2057; Vinh-Thang, H.; Huang, Q.; Eic, M.; Trong-On, D.; Kaliaguine, S. Stud. Surf. Sci. Catal. 2005, in press), a series of synthesized SBA-15 materials were characterized using nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms at 77 K and SEM images. In the present paper, four of them (MMS-1-RT, MMS-1-60, MMS-1-80, and MMS-5-80) were further investigated with regard to their equilibrium characteristics using n-heptane and toluene as sorbates by the standard gravimetric technique. SBA-15 materials proved to have a broad pore size distribution within the micropore/small-mesopore range in the walls of their main mesoporous channels. The adsorption capacities for toluene were found to be higher than for n-heptane. The isosteric heats of adsorption, estimated by the Clausius-Clapeyron equation, are also higher for toluene compared to n-heptane. They were found to depend on framework microporosity of the relevant SBA-15 samples. The isosteric heats of adsorption for all sorbates decrease with increased loading and approach the heats of evaporation of the respective sorbate. The adsorption capacities of SBA-15 samples are significantly higher than those of silicalite, i.e., the MFI zeolite silica analogue. In contrast to that, the isosteric heats of adsorption in the mesopore channels of SBA-15 were found to be much smaller. This result also suggests that SBA-15 can potentially be a good candidate for separation of C(7) hydrocarbons.