Metal-organic framework-derived Mg-Zn hybrid nanocatalyst for biodiesel production

Cu/MgO Reverse Water Gas Shift Catalyst with Unique CO2 Adsorption Behaviors

Activation of inert CO2 molecules for the reverse water gas shift (RWGS) reaction is tackled by incorporating magnesium oxide as a support material for copper, forming a Cu/MgO supported catalyst. The RWGS performance is greatly improved when compared with pure Cu or carbon supported Cu (Cu/C). Operating under a weight hourly space velocity (WHSV) of 300,000 mL ⋅ g-1  ⋅ h-1 , the Cu/MgO catalyst demonstrates high activity, maintaining over 70 % equilibrium conversion and nearly 100 % CO selectivity in a temperature range of 300-600 °C. In contrast, both Cu/C and commercial Cu, even at ten-times lower WHSV, can only achieve up to 40 % of the equilibrium conversion and quickly deactivated due to sintering. Based on the studies of in-situ temperature resolved infrared spectroscopy and temperature programmed desorption, the improved RWGS performance is attributed to the unique adsorption behavior of CO2 on Cu/MgO. Density functional theory studies provides a plausible explanation from a surface reaction perspective and reveals the spill-over property of CO2 from MgO to Cu being critical.

Microwave-Assisted Biodiesel Production Using UiO-66 MOF Derived Nanocatalyst: Process Optimization Using Response Surface Methodology

The present work is on the transesterification of soybean oil to biodiesel under microwave irradiation using a biomass and MOF−derived CaO−ZrO2 heterogeneous catalyst. The optimisation of different parameters was processed by adopting a central composite design for a response−surface methodology (RSM). The experimental data were fitted to a quadratic equation employing multiple regressions and investigated by analysis of variance (ANOVA). The catalyst was exhaustively characterised by XRD, TGA, FTIR BET, SEM, TEM, CO2 TPD and XPS. In addition, the synthesized biodiesel was characterized by 1H and 13C NMR, GCMS. The physicochemical properties of the biodiesel were also reported and compared with the ASTM standards. The maximum yield that was obtained after optimization using RSM was 97.22 ± 0.4% with reaction time of 66.2 min, at reaction temperature of 73.2 °C, catalyst loading of 6.5 wt.%, and methanol−to−oil ratio of 9.7 wt.%.