Chromatographic characterization of high‐boiling petroleum fractions

Detailed investigation of solvent‐separated fractions of petroleum vacuum residues is necessary for understanding the separation mechanism using different solvents and to prepare better feedstocks for secondary conversion processes. The efficiency of different solvents to remove polars and insolubles from vacuum residues (of two Indian crude oils) has been studied. The solvents used were n‐heptane, n‐hexane, and n‐pentane (non‐polar) and ethyl acetate (polar). Soluble fractions were characterized for hydrocarbon group type analysis using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), average molecular weights using size exclusion chromatography (SEC), and boiling point distribution using high temperature gas chromatography (HTGC). Method development for HPLC analysis involved the study of parameters such as columns, solvent polarity, detectors, model compounds study, calibration, flow, and solvent gradient programming. The study demonstrated that ultimate soluble fractions have the least content of polar structures of the kind which can cause problems, during cracking and are least prone to cracking. The HPLC, SEC, and simulated distillation (SIMDIS) methods developed and standardized are simple, accurate, and suitable for the rapid assay needed for quick compositional surveys.     

Influence of the Type of a Ligand on the Intensity of Luminescence of Ln3+ Ions in Aqueous Solutions

The luminescence characteristics of hydrated Ln³⁺ ions and their complexes with some acidic ligands have been investigated. The possibility of determining the stability of the complexes of lanthanides in solutions from the intensity of luminescence bands is shown. The influence of the characteristic features of the f-electron shell of Ln³⁺ on the formation of the spectrochemical series is discussed.     

Intrinsic Fluorescence of Actin

In this work actin is used to illustrate connection of protein fluorescence characteristics with its structure. On one hand, it has been demonstrated what kind of information about the contribution of each tryptophan residues to the bulk fluorescence spectrum can be obtained from the special analysis of protein three-dimensional structure. On the other hand, potentials of intrinsic fluorescence for elucidation of proteins structure, dynamics and processes of folding-unfolding are shown. In particular, using this method a new essentially unfolded kinetic intermediate state of actin was detected and characterized, and the place of inactivated actin and its kinetic predecessor in the process of folding-unfolding was determined. It has been revealed that inactivated actin is not intermediate state between the native and completely unfolded states, as it has been accepted before, but a result of protein misfolding. On the basis of the obtained data a new model of actin folding-unfolding pathway has been proposed.     

Structural conversions of rhodamines in solution

A study has been made of the acidic ionization, structural conversions, and prototropic tautomerism of rhodamine chromogens in methanol and dimethyl sulfoxide, using IR, ¹³ C NMR, and electronic spectroscopy. The lactone structure has been established for the colorless form of rhodamines in DMSO. For rhodamine B in mixtures of water with DMSO, the lactone/zwitterion ratio has been estimated.V. I. Vernadskii Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 117975. Khar'kov State University, Khar'kov 310077. Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 3, pp. 512–521, March, 1992.     

Thermal Analysis in Examination of Reduction of Blast Furnace Pellets

This paper presents applications of thermal analysis to observe the course of reduction of acidic pellets, metallurgical substances whose reducibility and strength are basic parameters of use in blast furnace processes. Both parameters depend on the mineral composition of the samples. The investigations included determination of the chemical and phase compositions of the initial samples and reduction products. Research was conducted on acidic pellets from Połtawa (Poland), applied in the T. Sendzimir Steelworks (Poland), in comparison with pellets from Brazil, Canada and Lebedyn (Russia). This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Simultaneous separation and identification of hashish constituents by coupled liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS)

Summary This paper reports the use of liquid chromatography for the separation and determination of the major cannabinoids extracted from hashish samples. The direct coupling to the mass spectrometer enables the selective identification both of neutral and acidic cannabinoids. The developed method does not require any preliminary derivatization and should, therefore, be of interest in forensic analysis for simple and unequivocal determination of hashish constituents.Part of this work was presented at the 2nd Italian-Spanish Joint Meeting of Medicinal Chemistry, 30 August–3 September 1995, Ferrara, Italy.     

Gas chromatographic trace analysis of underivatized nitrophenols

Summary A method for the gas chromatographic trace analysis of underivatized nitrophenols in ground-water is presented. Using a highly de-activated separation system a satisfactory precision for their quantitative GC analysis could be achieved by avoiding condensation of the solvent and by fast injection of the sample. The reproducibility of the peak areas of eleven nitrophenols in ethylacetate was <5 % RSD. Using a nitrogen-phosphorus detector detection limits were in a range from 10 to 30 pg. Within the concentration range from 0.1 to 10 ng μl⁻¹ the calibrations were linear with correlation coefficients >0.992. The approach described was applied to the analysis of nitrophenols in ground-water near a former ammunition plant, after preconcentration by continuous liquid/liquid extraction with ethylacetate. Using a GC-MS technique and retention times various nitrophenols were identified and then quantified in the μg/L-range by applying NPD.     

Dynamic Interfacial Tension Behavior of Water/Oil Systems Containing In situ-Formed Surfactants

Time-dependent interfacial tension (IFT) has been investigated for an interfacially reactive immiscible system composed of model-acidified oil and alkaline water. The acidified oil was composed of either lauric acid or linoleic acid dissolved in n-dodecane. Drop volume tensiometry was employed to measure the interfacial tension between the two phases. In the case of lauric acid, the IFT value was found to decrease sharply with increasing alkali concentration, even at low drop formation times. In the case of linoleic acid, the IFT decrease with the drop formation time was more gradual, especially at low alkali concentration. The rate of formation of the interfacial area was also found to be dependent on alkali concentration.     

Determination of Organochlorine Pesticides in Sediments from Authie Bay Using Microwave Assisted Solvent Extraction

The aim of this study was to develop an analytical method to determine the organochlorine concentrations in sediments. Combination of Microwave assisted Solvent Extraction (MASE) and capillary gas chromatography with specific detection (electron capture detector) was a viable approach for the determination of pesticides in solid matrixes. In this study, MASE development was focused on the selection of a suitable extraction solvent for all the target analytes. MASE procedure was validated by comparison with conventional methods such as Soxhlet and sonication extraction. The proposed method was then applied to determine the organochlorine insecticides concentrations in samples from Authie Bay (France). Environmental water samples were analysed and five target analytes were detected in concentrations from 0.03 to 0.56 ng/g of dry sediment. These investigations showed the accumulation and the persistency of these products in sediments in spite of the fact they were banned a few decades ago.     

Alkylation of benzene with 1-hexene in acidic ionic liquid systems: Et3NHCl-FeCl3and Et3NHCl-AlCl3ionic liquids

Summary The alkylation of benzene with 1-hexene has been investigated in different triethylamine hydrochloride-ferric chloride (Et₃NHCl-FeCl₃) and triethylamine hydrochloride-aluminium chloride (Et₃NHCl-AlCl₃) ionic liquids. Both high catalyst activity and monoalkylation selectivity were observed for these two type of ionic liquids. Systems prepared by modification with HCl in Et₃NHCl-FeCl₃ionic liquids prove to be very suitable solvents and catalysts for the reaction. When employing Et₃NHCl-AlCl₃ionic liquids as catalysts, the reaction takes place in biphasic mode with facile catalyst separation and catalyst recycling.