Comparative pyrolysis upcycling of polystyrene waste: thermodynamics, kinetics, and product evolution profile

Pyrolysis is one important way to treat polystyrene waste and upcycle it into useful materials. A comparative pyrolysis study of virgin polystyrene (VPS) and two types of commonly used polystyrene products, expanded polystyrene (EPS) and polystyrene container (CPS) was carried out. Various values were found in the thermodynamic study and kinetic study of VPS, EPS, and CPS pyrolysis, suggesting distinct thermal degradation characteristics of these materials. The energy barrier order of the pyrolysis processes was EPS, CPS, VPS, showing activation energy of 230, 219, and 145 kJ mol^?1, respectively. The order of amount of heat absorbed was EPS, CPS, VPS, with enthalpy of 224, 213, and 139 kJ mol^?1, respectively. The reaction favorability order was EPS, CPS, and VPS with Gibbs free energy of 118, 132, and 210 kJ mol^?1, respectively. Thermogravimetric analysis indicated the use of high heating rate would increase the reaction rate and shorten the reaction time. Product evolution profiles showed that VPS and CPS pyrolysis produced mainly aromatics, while EPS pyrolysis produced aromatics at the initial phase of the reaction and aliphatic hydrocarbon at the latter phase. The diverse pyrolysis behaviors of VPS, EPS, and CPS demonstrated that an examination on different polystyrene materials was desired to optimize the pyrolysis conditions and product distribution, and thus benefit the process of valuable materials recovery.     

Hippocampal metabolomics using ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry reveals neuroinflammation from Alzheimer’s disease in CRND8 mice

In the wake of genomics, metabolomics characterizes the small molecular metabolites revealing the phenotypes induced by gene mutants. To address the metabolic signatures in the hippocampus of the amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptides produced in transgenic (Tg) CRND8 mice, high-field ion cyclotron resonance–Fourier transform mass spectrometry supported by LC-LTQ-Orbitrap was introduced to profile the extracted metabolites. More than 10,000 ions were detected in the mass profile for each sample. Subsequently, peak alignment and the 80 % rule followed by feature selection based on T score computation were performed. The putative identification was also conducted using the highly accurate masses with isotopic distribution by interfacing the MassTRIX database as well as MS/MS fragmentation generated in the LTQ-Orbitrap after chromatographic separation. Consequently, 58 differentiating masses were tentatively identified while up to 44 differentiating elemental compositions could not be biologically annotated in the databases. Nonetheless, of the putatively annotated masses, eicosanoids in arachidonic acid metabolism, fatty acid beta-oxidation disorders as well as disturbed glucose metabolism were highlighted as metabolic traits of Aβ toxicity in Tg CRND8 mice. Furthermore, a web-based bioinformatic tool was used for simulation of the metabolic pathways. As a result of the obtained metabolic signatures, the arachidonic acid metabolism dominates the metabolic perturbation in hippocampal tissues of Tg CRND8 mice compared to non-Tg littermates, indicating that Aβ toxicity functions neuroinflammation in hippocampal tissue and new theranostic opportunities might be offered by characterization of altered arachidonic acid metabolism for Alzheimer’s disease.      

Optimization of mobile phase for the determination of Esomeprazole and related compounds and investigation of stress degradation by LC–MS

In this study, the objective was to investigate the degradation behavior of Esomeprazole under different recommended stress conditions according to International Conference on Harmonization of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use [1] by HPLC. Our research showed that the effect of mobile phase species on separation was significant for the determination of Esomeprazole and its related compounds. Successful separation of the drug from its related impurities and degradation products formed under different stress conditions was achieved using ammonium acetate buffer/ACN by a gradient elution. Compared with phosphate buffer/ACN, ammonium acetate buffer/ACN under same pH and gradient showed a great improvement in resolution due to the change of elution order. The drug was subjected to stress conditions including acidic, alkaline, oxidative, photolytic, and thermal conditions. Extensive degradation occurred in acidic and oxidative conditions, while mild degradation was observed in alkaline and photolytic conditions. Besides, it turned out the drug was extremely stable under thermal condition. The stability‐indicating LC–UV method was validated with respect to linearity, precision, accuracy, specificity, and robustness. The LC–MS method was also adopted for the characterization of degradation products. Based on the m/z values and fragmentation patterns, the degradation pathway of the drug has been proposed.     

Size-Exclusion Chromatography of Asphaltenes: An Experimental Comparison of Commonly Used Approaches

Asphaltenes, the heaviest and most polar fraction of crude oil, are responsible for the clogging of oil pipelines and of underground reservoir rocks. Asphaltenes are defined as a solubility class (toluene- or benzene-soluble, n-alkane insoluble), and a consensus is still lacking on the molar mass (M) averages, distribution, and range of these materials. Size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) is among the most widely employed methods for characterizing the M averages and distributions of both natural and synthetic polymers and, as such, has seen widespread application in the study of asphaltenes. SEC analysis of asphaltenes presents a number of challenges, however, some inherent to all low-M materials and some unique to these particular analytes. Here, we have experimentally compared several of the most commonly used approaches to SEC of asphaltenes, in hope of both demonstrating the influence of experimental conditions upon the results obtained as well as to determine optimal conditions of analysis. In the end, while the former goal was met, the latter one remains an open challenge in the field.     

First Total Synthesis of (±)-Kenusanone B

The first total synthesis of a natural prenylflavanone, (±)-kenusanone B (1) has been achieved by condensation of acetophenone 4 and benzaldehyde 6 followed by cyclization and deprotection. Chloromethyl methyl ether was used as a facile protecting reagent of free hydroxy groups for the synthesis of polyhydroxylated flavanones.     

Mild and Efficient Syntheses of 1-Aryl-3,4-dihydroisoquinolines and 1-Aryl-3,4-dihydro-β-carbolines via Regiospecific β-Eliminations of the Corresponding N-Tosyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinolines and N-Tosyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-β-carbolines

Treatment of N-tosyl-1-aryl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-isoquinolines or N-tosyl-1-aryl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-β-carbolines with a strong base such as NaOH or KOH at 70 °C in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) produced 1-aryl-3,4-dihydroisoquinolines or 1-aryl-3,4-dihydro-β-carbolines in good yields via mild and regiospecific β-eliminations. A dramatic solvent effect was observed, DMSO was crucial for the reactions. The temperature is also crucial for the reactions and should be kept between 60 and 80 °C.     

Indecomposable representations and boson realizations of the nonlinear deformed angular momentum algebra of Witten’s first type

In this paper indecomposable representations and boson realizations of the nonlinear angular momentum algebra $\mathcal{R}_{q,p}^{c_1,c_2,c_3}$ of Witten’s first type are investigated in a purely algebraic manner. Explicit form of the master representation of $\mathcal{R}_{q,p}^{c_1,c_2,c_3}$ on the space of its universal enveloping algebra is given. Then, from this master representation, other indecomposable representations are obtained in explicit form. Various kinds of single-boson, single inverse boson, and double-boson realizations of $\mathcal{R}_{q,p}^{c_1,c_2,c_3}$ are respectively obtained by generalizing the Holstein–Primakoff realization, the Dyson realization, and the Jordan–Schwinger realization of the Lie algebras SU(2) and SU(1,1). For each kind, the unitary realization, the nonunitary realization, and their connection by the corresponding similarity transformation are respectively discussed. Using a kind of double-boson realizations, the irreducible representation of $\mathcal{R}_{q,p}^{c_1,c_2,c_3}$ in the angular momentum basis is given.