Solvent extraction for cleaning phosphoric acid in fertilizer production

Phosphorites of sedimentary origin utilized in manufacturing of fertilizer contain uranium, thorium and products of their radioactive decay, as well as health-endangering compounds of cadmium, arsenic and fluorides. Some of them may transit into the phosphoric acid, when breaking down the phosphorites with sulphuric, acid, and then into the fertilizer. The purpose of the phosphoric acid cleaning is its decontamination from uranium and thorium as well as the removal of toxic cadmium. The above task can be achieved by solvent extraction. The paper presents the results of the extraction of uranium and cadmium from phosphoric acid using polyalkyl phosphasene and trioctyl amine, respectively. The extraction kinetics, equilibrium distribution of uranium and cadmium within the phases, the effect of extractant concentrations and temperature of the process is also discussed. The technological schemes for cleaning phosphoric acid from uranium and cadmium are given.     

Recovery of thick shear bands in atactic polystyrene

The DSC thermograms of the shear band material cut out by a diamond saw to include some undeformed material revealed two T_g's clearly separated by about 10°C. The first T_g was at the same temperature as the T_g of the undeformed material. The second T_g, which was at a higher temperature than the first T_g, appeared shortly after the shear strain recovery during the heating of the shear band material in the DSC. When the shear strain in the shear band was partially reversed by mechanical means before taking the DSC thermogram, the ΔT between the two T_g's decreased and when the shear strain was mechanically reversed to almost zero, the second T_g disappeared. The stored energy of shear band material was found to be similar to that of the bulk compressed material for large strains. Dimensional recovery during heating of specimens with thick and fine bands was similar, both taking place above T_g.     

Lifetime measurements of two-photon excited vibronic levels in the low pressure limit: naphthalene

Single vibronic lifetimes of two-photon excited states are measured in the low pressure limit for naphthalene. The two-photon spectrum, besides yielding new states in S₁, is also free of the interference from the neighborhood of the S₂, known from one-photon experiments, and hence unperturbed lifetimes can be measured to higher excess energies. The overall pattern of lifetimes with excess energy including both one-photon and two-photon states shows that the vibronic structure is subordinate to an overall monotonic decrease, much as found earlier for β-naphthylamine. This indicates, at least for naphthalene, that radiationless processes into triplets are dominated by Franck—Condon factors and not by vibronic inductions and promoting modes.     

Mass spectra of perfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkylether nitriles and acyl halides

Electron impact fragmentation patterns were obtained for perfluoroalkylether nitriles, C,F,O[CF(CF₃)CFIO]ICF(CF₃)CN (x = 1 and 2), perfluoroalkylether acyl halides, CSF,OCF(CF,)-CF₂OCF(CF₃)COX (X = F and Cl), n-perfluorooctanonitrile and n-perfiuorooctanoyl chloride. The perfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkylether nitriles afforded ions characteristic of the nitrile function. The major fragment from the acyl chlorides was the [COClJ]+ ion; the presence of chlorine was evidenced also by rearrangement ions of the general form [R_fCl] t. The perfluoroalkylether compounds appeared to undergo a typical fragmentation governed by the cleavage of the carbon-oxygen bond.     

Structural relationships,crystal chemistry and anion substitution processes for M(III)X3 systems of the lanthanides and actinides

An examination of data for lanthanide and actinide phases with UCl₃-type and PuBr₃-type M(III)X₃ structures has shown that these systems are conveniently described by alternating layers of [MX₂]ⁿ⁺_n and [X]^n?_n. The relationships between the UCl₃- and PuBr₃-type structures are described and expanded to include a variety of anion substitution systems, M(III)X_3?xY_x. The two different types of [MX₂]ⁿ⁺_n layers observed in these systems are consistent with the existence of a novel structural unit, [M₂X₄]²⁺. The effects of radius ratio constraints and layering mechanisms on the phase equilibria and anionic substitution processes, polymorphism and crystal growth in the MX_3?xY_x systems are discussed.     

Complex study of nickel skeleton catalysts: V. Study of novel non-pyrophoric nickel skeleton catalysts by derivatograph

The structure and properties of non-pyrophoric skeleton catalysts prepared from NiSi, NiAlSi, NiMg and NiZn alloys have been studied—apart from other thermal methods—by means of the derivatograph.Our experimental results have contributed to the explanation of the non-pyrophoric behaviour of these catalysts. We demonstrated that the desorption of the hydrogen content in our catalysts is not accompanied by the oxidation of active nickel. This oxidation takes place only at higher temperatures, above 200°C, at a rate proportional to the amount of active nickel.Other constituents of the catalysts (adsorbed water, hydroxide content) were also determined from the experimental data. The outstandingly high Mg(OH)₂ content of the NiMg catalyst indicates that its structure is dissimilar: Mg(OH)₂ also acts as support for the catalyst.     

Oxametallacycloalcanes : V. Synthese de sila-2, germa-2 et stanna-2 oxa-1 cyclopentanes par deshydrocondensation intramoleculaire d'hydrures silicies,germanies ou stanniques γ-hydroxyles

The γ-hydroxymetal hydrides

OH (M = Si, Ge, Sn) were synthesized by reduction of γ-acetoxychloro- or γ-hydroxychloro-silanes, -germanes and -stannanes. These derivatives with MH bonds lead, by cyclisation at room- or higher temperatures, with or without catalyst, depending on the nature of the metal, to various oxametallacyclopentanes. The cyclisation proceeds by intramolecular dehydrocondensation between MH and OH bonds. These dehydrocondensation reactions are analysed and discussed according to the polarity of the MH bonds. Intramolecular addition of the MH bond into the unsaturated carboncarbon bonds of the corresponding non-cyclic compounds is also an excellent way of preparing the same heterocycles.The IR and NMR analyses of all new compounds are given.     

Engineering cytochrome P-450s

Cytochrome P-450 isozymes represent a critical component of nature’s spectrum of detoxification catalysts that could be exploited for bioremediation. The ethanol-inducible human cytochrome P-450 2E1 serves as a model eukaryotic P-450 that complements the bacterial P-450 cam in dehalogenation and detoxification of environmental pollutants. We explored the construction of novel chimeric P-450s using cytochrome P-450 camC and 2E1 genes. For construction of chimera 1 (478 amino acids, 55.14 kDa), 145 amino acids from the N-terminus of P-450 2E1 protein (493 amino acids, 56.84 kDa) were replaced with 130 amino acids from the N-terminus of P-450 camC protein (415 amino acids, 46.66 kDa). In chimera 2 (525 amino acids, 60.24 kDa) the strategy involves replacement of 28 amino acids in the C-terminus of chimera 1 with 75 amino acids from the C-terminus of P-450 camC gene. Homology models of both the chimeric proteins were developed using SWISS-MODEL based on the known crystal structure of cytochrome P-450 camC, BM-3, 1DT6A, and 2C17A. The models indicated that the proposed heme-binding site was intact, which is inevitable for catalytic activity of cytochrome P-450s. The expression of chimera 1 and 2 genes in Escherichia coli DH5α was evident from light-pink cell pellets, protein band in sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and diagnostic carbon monoxide-difference spectra. Our studies show that strategies can be developed to exploit the natural diversity of the P-450 superfamily to generate chimeric biocatalysts that would provide new templates amenable to directed evolution.     

Differentiation between dexamethasone and betamethasone in a mixture using multiple mass spectrometry

Direct gas chromatographic methods to analyse phenylurea pesticides are discouraged by the thermal instability of these compounds, that in conventional hot splitless inlet systems leads to extensive and irreproducible formation of isocyanates and amines. However a careful control of the operating conditions, like the inlet temperature, the pressure and the presence of suitable chemical additives (as acetic acid, low-molecular-mass amines, organic anhydrides) can either: (i) minimise the thermal decomposition enabling the direct GC-MS analysis of phenylureas, or (ii) lead to reproducible conversion to isocyanates. Experimental design was employed to study the effect of the experimental variables on the thermal transformation of phenylurea pesticides in splitless inlet system. Two strategies were alternatively optimised: (i) the minimisation of degradation reactions to increase the signal of phenylureas; (ii) the maximisation of the degradation to isocyanates that are in turn determined. The maximal yields in isocyanate were obtained with high inlet temperatures, low carrier flows in the injection phase and the presence of acetic anhydride. By contrast, the use of relatively low inlet temperatures, high carrier flows during the injection and the presence of an amine maximise the response of the parent compounds.     

Evaluation of hydrogen bonding complementarity between a secondary sulfonamide and an alpha-amino acid residue

[structure: see text] We report an initial step toward the development of sulfonamide-based complements for extended peptide strands. A molecule containing one secondary sulfonamide unit and one valine residue linked by a turn-forming segment was found by IR and NMR to exhibit a doubly hydrogen-bonded folding pattern in chloroform.