Multipurpose Chemical Research Articles

Role of Calcination Temperature on Isosorbide Production from Sorbitol Dehydration over the Catalyst Derived from Ce(IV) Sulfate

Isosorbide is a multi-purpose chemical that can be produced from renewable resources. Specifically, it has been investigated as a replacement for toxic bisphenol A (BPA) in the production of polycarbonate (PC). In this study, the synthesis of isosorbide by sorbitol dehydration using a cerium-based catalyst derived from calcined cerium (IV) sulfate (300°C, 400°C, 450°C, 500°C, and 650°C) was investigated. The reaction occurred in a high-pressure reactor containing nitrogen gas. Advanced instrumental techniques were applied to analyze the characteristics of the calcined catalyst. The results showed that the calcined catalysts demonstrated different crystalline structures and sulfate species at different temperatures. However, the acidic properties (strength and amount) of the catalyst did not change with the calcination temperature. The cerium (IV) sulfate calcined at 400°C exhibited the best catalytic performance, achieving the highest isosorbide yield (55.7%) and complete conversion of sorbitol at 180°C, 20 bar of N2, and 6 h using CeSO-400. The presence of a sulfate group on the catalyst was the most important factor in determining the catalytic performance of sorbitol dehydration to isosorbide. This work suggests that CeSO-400 catalysts may play an important role in reducing reaction conditions.

ZnO nanostructures coated no-core fiber refractive index sensor

The combination of optical fibers with nanostructured films deposition offers potential opportunities and perspectives for the realization of novel optical sensors. A refractive index (RI) sensor based on ZnO as outer layer coating over no-core fiber (NCF) sensing region is proposed and experimentally demonstrated here. Different morphologies of ZnO nanoparticles have been achieved via hydrothermal method by controlling the growth time, temperature, and concentration of reacting solution. The proposed sensor detects power variation of transmitted light propagating through the fiber caused by a change in RI of the surrounding medium. Few basic material characterizations like FESEM, UV–Vis, PL spectroscopy, and XRD's were done to confirm the formation of ZnO nanolayer. The superior sensing performance are obtained for vertically oriented ZnO nanorods among the various nanostructures. It may be attributed due to the large and uniform surface area, better crystallinity, higher average dispersion relation, and excellent adhesion of analyte molecules. The most heightened average sensitivity of 799.42%/RIU with stable results is found for a wide RI range of 1.33–1.40 which could be applied in multipurpose chemical, physical, and biomedical sensing applications.

Integrated Multiproduct Biorefinery for Furfural Production with Acetic Acid and Lignin Recovery: Design, Scale-Up Evaluation, and Technoeconomic Analysis

Furfural is a versatile platform and multipurpose chemical that can be produced with no carbon efficiency loss from pentose sugars present in prehydrolysate streams. Existing processes for the prod...

On the Effect of Addition of 1,2-Propylene Glycol Composition on Power and Torque of an EFI Passenger Car Fueled with Methanol-Gasoline M15

The utilization and development of clean and renewable energy resources is very attractive because of the world sustainability and environmental pollution. Methanol, ethanol and their blends with gasoline are well known as important alternative fuels for vehicle engines. A serious problem encountered in using gasoline–alcohol blends as motor fuel at low temperatures is the separation of the mixture into two liquid phases, which is strongly influenced by the water content. An important multi-purpose chemical that has an extensive use as anti-freeze agent, 1,2-propylene glycol, is attracting interest in recent years as an additive for methanol-gasoline fuel. The aim of this work is to investigate the effect of composition of the 1,2-propylene glycol additive on engine power and torque of an EFI passenger car fueled with methanol-gasoline blend M15. Research was conducted in the laboratory on a 1.2 L small gasoline passenger car, equipped with electronic injection system, using a blend of 15% gasoline and 85% methanol, by varying the composition of additive of 3 ml/l, 4 ml/l, 5 ml/l, 6 ml/l, 7 ml/l, 8 ml/l, 9 ml/l, and 10 ml/l. The measurement of power and torque was facilitated by using a simple engine dyno scanner on a dynamometer roll chassis. From the study it has found that the effect of variation of additive composition tend to decrease engine power, but the value of the torque has a little bit increased, compared to pure gasoline engine. There was a best value of additive composition that showed high power and torque. According to the effect of additive composition on the power and torque it can be concluded that the best additive composition is 8 ml/l, which is 86.6 Nm on 2500 rpm, while the power remains constant in the value of 51.7 kW on 5800 rpm..

Characterization of the newly isolated ω-oxidizing yeast Candida sorbophila DS02 and its potential applications in long-chain dicarboxylic acid production.

α, ω-Dicarboxylic acids (DCAs) are multipurpose chemicals widely used in polymers, perfumes, plasticizers, lubricants, and adhesives. The biotransformation of DCAs from alkanes and fatty acids by microorganisms has attracted recent interest, since synthesis via chemical oxidation causes problems in terms of the environment and safety. We isolated an ω-oxidizing yeast from a wastewater disposal facility of a petrochemical factory by chemostat enrichment culture. The haploid strain identified as Candida sorbophila DS02 grew on glucose and dodecane, exhibiting greater cell shrinkage on the latter. In flask cultures with mixed alkanes (C10-16) and fatty acid methyl esters (C10-16), DS02 used mixed alkanes simultaneously unlike Candida tropicalis and Yarrowia lipolytica and showed high substrate resistance. In flask cultures with acrylic acid-a known inhibitor of β-oxidation-DS02 produced 0.28g/l dodecanedioic acid (DDDA) from dodecane, similar to wild-type C. tropicalis ATCC 20336. In fed-batch fermentation, DS02 produced 9.87g/l DDDA, which was 5.7-fold higher than wild-type C. tropicalis. These results suggest that C. sorbophila strain DS02 has potential applications for the large-scale production of DCA.

Experimental study on adsorption and wettability alteration aspects of a new chemical using for enhanced oil recovery in carbonate oil reservoirs

There is increasing interest in new multi-purpose chemicals for EOR in carbonate reservoirs, because of their oil wet nature that prevents oil from being produced. A new chemical compound [Et3NH]Cl/1.5 AlCl3 (X=0.6) modified with CuCl, is developed for enhancing the recovery of the free imbibition and core flooding mechanisms for naturally fractured reservoirs. Laboratory experiments have been conducted to understand the injection of such chemical into oil-wet, fractured reservoirs. The compound is tested on Iranian heavy oil sample from the Bangestan reservoir, Marun oil field. Core plugs were prepared and aged in the crude to attain restored state samples. It is found that ionic liquid compound significantly reduces oil viscosity, molecular weight and also alters wettability to a more desirable state. This chemical compound has the capability of reducing IFT and contact angle. These combined effects result in noticeable free water imbibition recovery enhancement in Amott cell after oil has undergone a reaction with the compound. The potential of the new chemical compound for increasing oil recovery and in situ upgrading of heavy oil are also examined at reservoir condition by core flooding experiments. In addition, the adsorption behavior of the new proposed chemical is also studied.

Application of response surface methodology for modeling and optimization of trichloroacetic acid and turbidity removal using potassium ferrate(VI)

Coagulation/flocculation and oxidation are two of the main processes in treating colloidal and organic substances. Potassium ferrate(VI), a multipurpose chemical, is used in water treatment plants as coagulant and oxidant. In this study, ferrate(VI) was evaluated for the degradation of trichloroacetic acid and turbidity removal in synthetic water. The effects of five independent variables, initial pH of solution (3–9), ferrate(VI) dosage (1–10 mg L−1), contact time (5–60 min), trichloroacetic acid concentration (100–1,000 μg L−1), and initial turbidity (1–10 NTU) were investigated and the process was optimized by means of response surface methodology. Trichloroacetic acid and turbidity removal efficiencies were considered as the process responses. The highest efficiency achieved for trichloroacetic acid removal was 24%, while for turbidity the maximum removal efficiency was in the range 85–95%. The optimum conditions for initial turbidity, pH, and ferrate dosage were 8.89 NTU, 3, and 4.26 mg L−1 as Fe, respectively. Experimentally obtained 89% turbidity removal in the optimum condition confirmed the results predicted by the model. Therefore, it can be concluded that ferrate(VI) can be effectively used in colloidal substances removal, while it is not successful enough in trichloroacetic acid decomposition.

Case Report: Autoimmune Disease Triggered by Exposure to Hair Straightening Treatment Containing Formaldehyde

Formaldehyde (FHO) is a multipurpose chemical that is an eye, nose, throat and skin irritant, sensitizer and allergen, as well as a class 1 human carcinogen. Brazilian hair treatments, containing high levels of FHO (up to 11%), have become regularly used that have the potential to expose clients to toxic levels in excess of current regulatory standards. We report on a patient who underwent a single hair treatment and subsequently developed an autoimmune disease. We review the relevant literature on autoimmune disease and formaldehyde exposure. Our case adds to existing knowledge and suggests that physicians ask their patients about commercial products that contain formaldehyde when diagnosing autoimmune conditions.

Bottom-up Modeling of the Steam Consumption in Multipurpose Chemical Batch Plants Focusing on Identification of the Optimization Potential

A detailed approach for modeling the steam consumption in a multipurpose chemical batch plant was developed, tested, and used for analysis of the energy-efficiency. The main advantage of the approach presented in this paper compared to available modeling approaches is the ability to describe the transient steam consumption. Thus, the new approach can be used for the dynamic optimization of batch operations with respect to the energy efficiency. The bottom-up method was implemented by modeling particular unit operations (UOs) in a case study plant, and validation was accomplished with direct measurements on both UO and building level. The principle of the bottom-up model is a detailed energy balance of each particular UO for which process parameter measurements are necessary as input data. These were extracted from the measurements archive of the case study plant for a period of two months. Process data from almost 1000 sensors installed in ca. 100 UOs were acquired, transformed into a time-series with common time basis, and used as an input data for the model. Special attention was paid to model the losses of the UOs because in earlier studies it was found that these are significant. Loss models were developed in the form of empirical parametric equations considering the losses due to radiation and the internal losses in the heating/cooling system due to inefficient operation. The parameters of the loss models were fitted, based on the developed methodology, to steam measurements of 4 UOs and consequently integrated into the overall bottom-up model for modeling other UOs as well. The energy usage efficiency of the UOs was inferred and the optimization spots were identified. The results in the case study plant have indicated that the energy savings potential for particular UOs with low steam-usage efficiency can be easily identified and serve as a good hint for the overall plant energy auditing and steam consumption optimization.

A study on tributyltin contamination of marine sediments in the major ports of Fiji

Tri-n-butyltin (TBT) compounds are synthetic, multipurpose chemicals, which have been extensively used, in marine antifouling paints. They have been known to be extremely poisonous to mollusc fishery resources (oysters, clams, scallops, etc.). TBT levels in marine sediments from the main ports in Fiji were analysed using the GC/FPD method. The results indicated that these sites were among the worst polluted with TBT in the world. The most contaminated site recorded a TBT concentration of 360 μgg-1. TBT comprised 48-90% of the total organotins measured. Some stringent legislative means are needed to regulate the use of this contaminant in marine anti-fouling paints.

Extinguishing Class A fires with multipurpose chemicals

We investigated the extinguishing properties of multipurpose dry chemicals using openregime cribs of two sizes. One measured 20.3 by 20.3 by 15.2 cm, and the other 50.8 by 50.8 by 38 cm. A crib fire, which has both flaming and smoldering contributions, is primarily extinguished when the burning surfaces are covered or smothered by a gas phase of the original multipurpose agent or a product of the agent's decomposition. The overall effectiveness of each dry chemical depends on its particle size, the degree of its decomposition and/or vaporization, and the openness of the crib. All particles of an agent below a unique limiting size completely decompose and/or vaporize in the crib fire and have the same extinguishing effectiveness. Particles above the limit have no measurable effectiveness. Scaling is considered on the basis of the minimum extinction weight per unit of exposed wood surface.

Planung der Kuppelproduktion in Systemen von chemischen Mehrzweckanlagen

AbstractPlanning of Coupled Production in Multipurpose Chemical Plant. This article considers strategies for computer‐aided planning of coupled production for systems of net worked multipurpose plant. Reasons are given for the failure of classical strategies such as are used in PPS systems. A procedure is described which, starting from a final product, automatically generates a cascade of previous product jobs and assigns them to production lines along a time axis (simultaneous material, pecursor, and production line assignment planning). Possibilities of interactive improvements of a given solution on consideration of factors such as storage costs and turnover are presented.