Enhanced extraction of essential oil from Cinnamomum cassia bark by ultrasound assisted hydrodistillation

Cinnamon essential oil with many bioactivities is an important raw material for the production of various chemicals,and the conventional hydrodistillation(HD)for cinnamon oil extraction always require a longer extraction time.In this work,ultrasound-assisted hydrodistillation extraction(UAHDE)technique was employed to enhance the extraction efficiency of essential oils from cinnamon barks.The parameters with significant effects on the essential oil extraction efficiency(ultrasound time,ultrasound power,extraction time,liquid–solid ratio)were optimized,and the proposed UAHDE was compared with the conventional HD extraction in terms of the extraction time,extraction yield,and physicochemical properties of extracted oils.Compared to the HD extraction,the UAHDE resulted in a shorter extraction time and a higher extraction yield.Using GC–MS analysis,the UAHDE provided more valuable essential oil with a high content of the vital trans-cinnamaldehyde compounds compared with the HD.Scanning electron micrograph(SEM)confirmed the efficiency of ultrasound irradiation for cinnamon oil extraction.In addition,the analysis of electric consumption and CO_(2) emission shows that the UAHDE process is a more economic and environment-friendly approach.Thus,UAHDE is an efficient and green technology for the cinnamon essential oil extraction,which could improve the quantity and quality of cinnamon oils.

Fabrication of nickel oxide functionalized zeolite USY composite as a promising adsorbent for CO_(2) capture

Adsorption process is considered to be the most promising alternative for the CO_(2) capture to the traditional energy-intensive amine absorption process,and the development of feasible and efficient CO_(2) adsorbents is still a challenge.In this work,the NiO@USY(ultrastable Y)composites with different NiO loadings were prepared for the CO_(2) adsorption using Ni(NO_(3))_(2) as the precursor.The composites were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy,X-ray diffraction,nitrogen adsorption–desorption test,scanning electron microscopy analysis,and thermogravimetric analysis,and were evaluated for the CO_(2) adsorption capacity,CO_(2)/N2 adsorption selectivity and CO_(2) cycle adsorption capacity.The characterization results show that after the activation at 423 K,the Ni(NO_(3))_(2) species were well dispersed into the surface of zeolite USY,and after the further activation at 823 K,Ni(NO_(3))_(2) could be converted into highly dispersed NiO.The adsorption results show that the presence of the active component NiO plays an important role in improving the CO_(2) adsorption performance,and the NiO@USY composite with a NiO loading of 1.5 mmol·g^(-1) USY support displays a high adsorption capacity and adsorption selectivity for CO_(2),and shows a good cycle stability.In addition,the Clausius–Clapeyron equation was used to evaluate the isosteric heat of adsorption of CO_(2) on the NiO(1.5)@USY composite,and the heat of adsorption was 17.39–38.34 kJ·mol^(-1).

Effect of NaOH Treatment on Catalytic Performance of ZSM -5 in Cyclohexene Hydration

ZSM-5 zeolite prepared by a hydrothermal method with the addition of seeds was treated with different concentrations of NaOH. The obtained samples were characterized by XRD, N2adsorption, NH3-TPD, FT-IR, SEM, and studied in the catalytic performance of the hydration of cyclohexene to cyclohexanol. The characterization results showed that with the increase of NaOH concentration, the crystallinity of the treated samples decreased monotonously, and the acid sites of ZSM-5 zeolites first increased and then decreased, while more mesopores formed inside the ZSM-5 zeolites. The experimental results of catalytic performance showed that cyclohexene conversion can be improved through introducing the mesopores and enhancing the acidity of ZSM-5 with the NaOH treatment at a low concentration. The highest cyclohexene conversion of 12.8% was obtained when the concentrations of NaOH solution were in the range of 0.2–0.6 mol/L. The selectivity of cyclohexanol on all samples was higher than 99.6%. © 2016, Tianjin University and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.