Size and diffusion effects on the oxidation of formic acid and ethanol on platinum nanoparticles

Formic acid and ethanol oxidations on spherical platinum nanoparticles dispersed on carbon with different loadings have been studied. The increasing loading of the catalyst leads to a lower diffusion flux of reactants in the internal parts of the catalyst layer, resulting in a lower apparent activity. In some cases, as in ethanol oxidation, it may also affect the diffusion of the products. As a practical consequence, the structure of the supporting layer and the catalyst loading should be optimized so that the maximum catalyst utilization is obtained. Finally, these diffusion effects may mask some important catalytic activity increase of the nanoparticles. In the case of formic acid, a significant increase in the activity is obtained for very small nanoparticles.     

生物法制备2,3-丁二醇的最新进展

2,3-丁二醇及其衍生物作为重要的液体燃料和化工原料,具有广阔的工业应用前景。高效、经济的2,3-丁二醇生物制备方法,对我国低碳经济和循环经济的建设具有重要的促进作用。针对近三年间生物法制备2,3-丁二醇领域的最新研究成果,本文综述了当前国内外学者在该领域研究的热点,即关键基因和酶的鉴定、新菌种的开发和代谢工程改造、同步糖化和共培养等发酵条件的优化、耦合工艺等分离纯化技术改进等。使用非致病的高产单一2,3-丁二醇手性异构体的代谢工程菌株,作为细胞炼制工厂,利用廉价的非粮原料作底物,采用经济、简单、环保的分离纯化方式,是2,3-丁二醇产业化发展的可靠保障。     

新的极谱催化体系连续测定岩溶地下水中钨和钼

钨、钼-二苯基乙醇酸-2,2′-联吡啶-钛铁试剂连测体系还未见报道。本文提出了在0.05mol/L的硫酸中,钨与二苯基乙醇酸,2,2′-联吡啶的络合物在-0.79V(vs.SEC)产生一个极其灵敏的极谱催化波,测定完钨后,加入少量钛铁试剂测定钼。钼于-0.20V(vis.SEC)处产生极灵敏的阴极化导数波,波形尖锐对称,易于测量。采用此种连测体系,钨钼的灵敏度都可满足要求,钨和钼的检出限分别为0.004、0.01μg/L。确定最佳条件和拟定了不经分离富集直接测定岩溶地下水中痕量钨和钼的方法。此外还对极谱波性质进行了探讨,讨论了阴、阳离子表面活性物质对极谱催化波的作用机理。     

Determination of ethanol in fuel ethanol and beverages by Fourier transform (FT)-near infrared and FT-Raman spectrometries

Fourier transform-near infrared (FT-NIR) and FT-Raman spectrometries have been used to design partial least squares (PLS) calibration models for the determination of the ethanol content of ethanol fuel and alcoholic beverages. In the FT-NIR measurements the spectra were obtained using air as reference, and the spectral region for PLS modeling were selected based on the spectral distribution of the relative standard deviation in concentration. In the FT-Raman measurements hexachloro-1,3-butadiene (HCBD) has been used as an external standard. In the PLS/FT-NIR modeling for ethanol fuel analysis 50 ethanol fuel standards (84.9-100% (w/w)) were used (25 in the calibration, 25 in the validation). In the PLS/FT-Raman modeling 25 standards were used (13 in the calibration, 12 in the validation). The PLS/FT-NIR and FT-Raman models for beverage analysis made use of 24 standards (0-100% (v/v)). Twelve of them contained sugars (1-5% (w/w)), one-half was used in the calibration and the other half in the validation. Different spectral pre-processing were used in the PLS modeling, depending on the type of sample investigated. In the ethanol fuel analysis the FT-NIR pre-processing was a 17 points smoothed first derivative and for beverages no spectral pre-processing was used. The FT-Raman spectra were pre-processed by vector normalization in the ethanol fuel analysis and by a second derivative (17 points smoothing) in the beverage analysis. The PLS models were used in the analysis of real ethanol fuel and beverage samples. A t-test has shown that the FT-NIR model has an accuracy equivalent to that of the reference method (ASTM D4052) in the analysis of ethanol fuel, while in the analysis of beverages, the FT-Raman model presents an accuracy equivalent to the reference method. The limits of detection for NIR and Raman calibration models were 0.05 and 0.2% (w/w), respectively. It has also been shown that both techniques, present better results than gas chromatography (GC) in evaluating the ethanol content of beverages.     

Analysis of Chuanxiong Rhizoma substrate on production of ligustrazine in endophytic Bacillus subtilis by ultra high performance liquid chromatography with quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry

Ligustrazine was the active ingredient of the traditional Chinese medicine Chuanxiong Rhizoma. However, the content of ligustrazine is very low. We proposed a hypothesis that ligustrazine was produced by the mutual effects between endophytic Bacillus subtilis and the Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort. This study aimed to explore whether the endophytic B. subtilis LB5 could make use of Chuanxiong Rhizoma fermentation matrix to produce ligustrazine and clarify the mechanisms of action preliminarily. Ultra high performance liquid chromatography with quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry analysis showed the content of ligustrazine in Chuanxiong Rhizoma was below the detection limit (0.1 ng/mL), while B. subtilis LB5 produced ligustrazine at the yield of 1.0268 mg/mL in the Chuanxiong Rhizoma‐ammonium sulfate fermentation medium. In the fermented matrix, the reducing sugar had a significant reduction from 12.034 to 2.424 mg/mL, and rough protein content increased from 2.239 to 4.361 mg/mL. Acetoin, the biosynthetic precursor of ligustrazine, was generated in the Chuanxiong Rhizoma‐Ammonium sulfate (151.2 mg/mL) fermentation medium. This result showed that the endophytic bacteria B. subtilis LB5 metabolized Chuanxiong Rhizoma via secreted protein to consume the sugar in Chuanxiong Rhizoma to produce a considerable amount of ligustrazine. Collectively, our preliminary research suggested that ligustrazine was the interaction product of endophyte, but not the secondary metabolite of Chuanxiong Rhizoma itself.     

Base‐Free Iron Catalyzed Transfer Hydrogenation of Esters Using EtOH as Hydrogen Source

Herein, we report on the use of the iron pincer complex Iron‐MACHO‐BH, in the base‐free transfer hydrogenation of esters with EtOH as a hydrogen source. More than 20 substrates including aromatic and aliphatic esters and lactones were reduced affording the desired primary alcohols and diols with moderate to excellent isolated yields. It is also possible to reduce polyesters to the diols with this method, enabling a novel way of plastic recycling. Reduction of the renewable substrate methyl levulinate proceeds to form 1,4‐pentanediol directly. The yields are largely governed by the equilibrium between the alcohol and the ethyl ester.     

Designing an effective federal biomass program

This article addresses two questions: Has the effectiveness of the US governments federal research and development (R&;D) spending suffered from the post-1980 strategic change from freely shared and publicly owned to privately owned scientific advances? What criteria would a federal R&;D program use to design a strategy that most effectively enhances the well-being of farmers and rural communities? Several studies found that the pre-1980 US Department of Agriculture research strategy was very effective. No comparable studies have analyzed the comparative effectiveness of the post-1980 strategy of restricting access to the results of public research. Recent experience and several analytical studies suggest that to significantly enhance the health of rural economies from an expanded use of plant matter as an industrial material, federal policy should channel scientific and engineering research into small- and medium-sized production and processing technologies and should encourage farmer-owned, value-added enterprises.     

石墨烯负载高活性Pd催化剂对乙醇的电催化氧化

以石墨粉为原料, 采用Hummers法液相氧化合成了氧化石墨(GO), 然后用化学一步还原制得石墨烯负载钯催化剂. X射线衍射(XRD)、透射电镜(TEM)表征表明, Pd在石墨烯载体上有较好的分散度, 粒径为3-5 nm. 电化学活性面积(EASA)、循环伏安(CV)、计时电流(CA)和计时电位(CP)等电化学测试表明, 与传统Pd/Vulcan XC-72相比, Pd/石墨烯催化剂对碱性介质中乙醇电催化氧化的催化活性有了很大的提高.     

Development of a bionematicide with Paecilomyces lilacinus to control Meloidogyne incognita

Root-knot disease caused by Meloidogyne incognita is a matter of grave concern because it affects several economically important crop plants. The use of solid-state fermentation (SSF) may help to elaborate efficient formulations with fungi to be employed in the biologic control of nematodes. Attempts were made to select low-cost substrates for spore production of a strain of Paecilomyces lilacinus with known nematicide capacity. Coffee husks, cassava bagasse, and defatted soybean cake were utilized as substrates, and sugarcane bagasse was used as support. Fermentations were carried out in flasks covered with filter paper at 28°C for 10 d. The products obtained by SSF were evaluated for their nematicide activity in pot experiments containing one seedling of the plant Coleus inoculated with the nematode M. incognita. The plants were evaluated 2 mo after inoculation. Fermented products showed a reduction in the number of nematodes. The best results were obtained with defatted soybean cake, which showed almost 100% reduction in the number of nematodes; the reduction with coffee husk was 80% and with cassava bagasse was about 60%.     

Succinic acid adsorption from fermentation broth and regeneration

More than 25 sorbents were tested for uptake of succinic acid from aqueous solutions. The best resins were then tested for successive loading and regeneration using hotwater. The key desired properties for an ideal sorbent are high capacity, complete stable regenerability, and specificity for the product. The best resins have a stable capacity of about 0.06 g of succinic acid/g of resin at moderate concentrations (1–5 g/L) of succinic acid. Several sorbents were tested more exhaustively for uptake of succinic acid and for successive loading and regeneration using hot water. One resin, XUS 40285, has a good stable isotherm capacity, prefers succinate over glucose, and has good capacities at both acidic and neutral pH. Succinic acid was removed from simulated media containing salts, succinic acid, acetic acid, and sugar using a packed column of sorbent resin, XUS 40285. The fermentation byproduct, acetate, was completely separated from succinate. A simple hot water regeneration successfully concentrated succinate from 10 g/L (inlet) to 40–110 g/L in the effluent. If successful, this would lower separation costs by reducing the need for chemicals for the initial purification step. Despie promising initial results of good capacity (0.06 g of succinic/g of sorbent), 70% recovery using hot water, and a recovered concentration of >100 g/L, this regeneration was not stable over 10 cycles in the column. Alternative regeneration schemes using acid and base were examined. Two (XUS 40285 and XFS-40422) showed both good stable capacities for succinic acid over 10 cycles and >95% recovery in a batch operation using a modified extraction procedure combining acid and hot water washes. These resins showed comparable results with actual broth.