Application of Box-Behnken Design in Production of Monoglyceride with Esterification of Glycerol and Oleic Acid

Monoglyceride MG has a wide function in the food industry, in particular as a natural emulsifier, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, antioxidant, and antibacterial. Therefore, the production of polyol ester from esterification of acid (OA) and glycerol was investigated. The process optimization was performed using a Box-Behnken design, examining the effects of temperature, molar ratio, and catalyst amount. For predicting the optimal point, a second-order polynomial model was fitted to correlate the relationship between independent variables and response (% MG). The effects of temperature (100, 150, and 200 °C); catalyst amount (4, 10, and 16% w/w); and glycerol/oleic acid ratio (1:1, 1:2, and 1:3) were investigated and found to deeply affect the reaction outcome. At the optimal reaction conditions: 200 °C, 0.2% w/w KSF, and a glycerol/oleic acid ratio (3:1), more than 71.8% monoglycerides with selectivity of 80% were obtained. Confirmation experiments were performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach, and the characterization of monoglycerides was performed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

New Technology for the Synthesis of Glycerol Monooleate

Herein, a new approach for glycerol monooleate (GMO) was developed. GMO was synthesized via the esterification method using self-made sodium oleate and 3-chloro-1,2-propanediol as reactants, tetrabutylammonium bromide as the catalyst, and toluene as the solvent. The effects of the reaction molar ratio, type and amount of catalyst, and reaction temperature and time on the yield were investigated. Results showed that the optimal process conditions for synthesizing GMO were as follows. The molar ratio of sodium oleate to 3-chloro-1,2-propanediol was 1:2, the reaction temperature was 115°C, the reaction time was 6 h, weight of toluene was 25 g, and the catalyst dosage was 3.5%. Under these conditions, high-purity GMO was synthesized with a yield of 89.02%.

Acautalides A-C, Neuroprotective Diels-Alder Adducts from Solid-State Cultivated Acaulium sp. H-JQSF

The solid-state cultivation of Acaulium sp. H-JQSF isolated from Armadillidium vulgare produces acautalides A-C (1-3) as skeletally unprecedented Diels-Alder adducts of a 14-membered macrodiolide to an octadeca-9,11,13-trienoic acid. The acautalide structures, along with the intramolecular transesterifications of 1-acylglycerols, were elucidated by mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance, chemical transformation, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Compounds 1-3 were found to be neuroprotective with antiparkinsonic potential in the 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium-challenged nematode model, with the magnitude impacted by the glycerol esterification.

Oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane: catalytic and mechanistic aspects and future trends

Ethane oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) is an attractive, low energy, alternative route to reduce the carbon footprint for ethene production, however, the commercial implementation of ODH processes requires catalysts with improved selectivity.

Deposition of NiO Nanoparticles on Nanosized Zeolite NaY for Production of Biofuel via Hydrogen-Free Deoxygenation

Nickel-based catalysts play an important role in the hydrogen-free deoxygenation for the production of biofuel. The yield and quality of the biofuel are critically affected by the physicochemical properties of NiO supported on nanosized zeolite Y (Y65, crystal size of 65 nm). Therefore, 10 wt% NiO supported on Y65 synthesized by using impregnation (IM) and deposition–precipitation (DP) methods were investigated. It was found that preparation methods have a significant effect on the deoxygenation of triolein. The initial rate of the DP method (14.8 g_oil·h⁻¹) was 1.5 times higher than that of the IM method (9.6 g_oil·h⁻¹). The DP-Y65 showed the best deoxygenation performance with a 80.0% conversion and a diesel selectivity of 93.7% at 380 °C within 1 h. The outstanding performance from the DP method was due to the smaller NiO particle size (3.57 ± 0.40 nm), high accessibility (H.F value of 0.084), and a higher Brönsted to Lewis acidity (B/L) ratio (0.29), which has improved the accessibility and deoxygenation ability of the catalyst. The NH₄⁺ released from the decomposition of the urea during the DP process increased the B/L ratio of zeolite NaY. As a result, the pretreatment to convert Na-zeolite to H-zeolite in a conventional zeolite synthesis can be avoided. In this regard, the DP method offers a one-pot synthesis to produce smaller NiO-supported nanosized zeolite NaY with a high B/L ratio, and it managed to produce a higher yield with selectivity towards green diesel via deoxygenation under a hydrogen-free condition.

Aluminum extraction technologies from high aluminum fly ash

Coal fly ash (CFA), an industrial by-product of high-temperature combustion of coal in coal-fired power plants, is one of the most complex and largest amounts of industrial solid wastes generated in China. It is widely recognized that CFA should be considered as a potential alumina resource to substitute bauxite. In this review, the features of high-alumina fly ash and aluminum recovery technologies are first described. Later, the merits and drawbacks of alumina extraction technologies in recovering more valuable materials are compared in terms of extraction mechanisms and equipment requirements. It is shown that “predesilicating-sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) activation-acid leaching” is currently a promising method in achieving multimetal synergistic extraction. Finally, the hydrochloric acid and sulfuric acid combination process is proposed as a sustainable development of the predesilicating-Na2CO3 activation-acid leaching process. The findings of this review provide theoretical guidance for novel developments and applications of aluminum extraction technologies.

The role of nanosized zeolite Y in the H2-free catalytic deoxygenation of triolein

The reduction in zeolite Y crystal size has improved the triolein conversion, yield of deoxygenated product and diesel range hydrocarbon selectivity.