Scale-up of biomass conversion using 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate as the solvent

This scale-up study demonstrated the feasibility of an ionic liquid(IL)pretreatment process at 40 kg scale,using the IL 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate([C2C1Im][OAc])as the solvent.The pretreatment was followed by enzymatic hydrolysis through which the process efficiency for biomass conversion to monomeric sugars was determined.The results show that 43 wt%of switchgrass was dissolved in IL after 2 h of pretreatment at 160℃ with 15 wt%solid loading.A 120 h enzymatic hydrolysis of the pretreated switchgrass results in 96%glucan and 98%xylan conversion.[C2C1Im][OAc]pretreatment has been successfully scaled up to 40 kg with improved sugar titers and yields relative to bench scale(6 kg).The mass flow of the overall process was established and the major scale-up challenges of the process were identified.

Impact of Ionic Liquid 1-Ethyl-3-Methylimidazolium Acetate Mediated Extraction on Lignin Features

This study aims at investigating the impact of ionic liquid extraction on lignin structure by studying the mechanism of lignin depolymerization in 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate EMIM[OAc]) and comparing it with that of organosolv and milled wood methods. Ionic liquid mediated lignin (ILL) using EMIM[OAc]), ethanol organosolv lignin (EOL) and milled wood lignin (MWL) were isolated from Typha capensis (TC) and subjected to several analytical characterizations. Experimental data shows that ILL exhibited a relatively lower degree of condensation, lower aromatic C-C structures and a higher aliphatic OH with values of 0.42/Ar, 1.94/Ar and 1.33/Ar moieties compared with EOL values of 0.92/Ar, 2.22/Ar and 0.51/Ar moieties respectively. The ILL was depolymerized under mild conditions giving relatively higher β-aryl ether linkages content, higher molecular mass, and exhibited closer structures and reactivity to native lignin than EOL. These insights on TC lignin depolymerization in EMIM[OAc]) acetate may contribute to better value-addition of lignocellulosic biomass.

DFT Study on the Structure of Ionic Liquid 1-Ethyl-3-methylimidazolium Hexafluorophosphate

This paper reports the ab initio and Density Functional Theory (DFT) studies on the structure of the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([EMIM]+[PF6]-). Hartree-Fock (HF) and DFT(B3LYP) methods are respectively used to obtain the stable structure of the gas phase ion pair at the 6-311++G(d, p) basis set level. The theoretical IR spectra of [EMIM]+[PF6]- were obtained from the calculated vibrational frequencies and intensities. The changes of atomic charge population have been investigated using Natural Bond Orbital (NBO) analysis. The computational results show that there may exist hydrogen bonds between the cation and the anion. After ZPE and BSSE corrections, the interaction energy between the cation and the anion is –314.44 kJ?mol-1.

Isobaric Vapor–Liquid Equilibrium for tert-Butyl Alcohol + Water + Propane-1,3-Diol + 1-Ethyl-3-Methylimidazolium Chloride at 101.3 kPa

In this study, we used a mixture of organic liquid propane-1,3-diol and ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride([emim]Cl) as the entrainer to separate tert-butyl alcohol(TBA) + water. We measured the isobaric vapor–liquid equilibrium(VLE) for the quaternary system TBA + water + propane-1,3-diol + [emim]Cl at 101.3 kPa, and found the VLE data to be well correlated with the nonrandom two-liquid model. These results show that the mixed solvent of propane-1,3-diol + [emim]Cl can increase the relative volatility of TBA to water and break the azeotropic point. We found no notable synergetic effect between them, and observed that the liquid mixed solvent of propane-1,3-diol and [emim]Cl had lower viscosity than [emim]Cl, which makes it a promising entrainer for separating the TBA + water azeotrope in industrial applications.

Ab Initio Calculation of Room Temperature Ionic Liquid 1-Ethyl-3-Methyl-Imidazolium and AlCl_3

The Hartree-Fock method has been employed to investigate the electronic structures of EMIM＋（1- ethyl-3-methylimidazolium＋）, AlCl4^-, and EMIM＋-AlCl4^-. Full optimization and frequency analyses of EMIM＋, AlCl4^-, ten initial EMIM＋-AlCl4^- geometries have been carried out using the Gaussian-94 soft-package at 6- 31＋G（d,p） basis set level for hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, chlorine, and aluminum atoms. The electronic structures of the lowest energy of EMIM＋-AlCl4^-pairs, single EMIM^＋, and AlCl4^- have been comparatively studied. The calculated results showed that the optimized EMIM^＋-AlCl4^-pair conformer of lowest energy was AlCl4^-outside the five-ring plane between methyl group and ethyl group with a H6--C122 distance of 2.7 A. The frequency analyses suggested that all stationary points were minimum points because of no imaginary frequency appearing, and the assigned frequencies were in agreement with experimental report. The interaction energy between EMIM^＋ and AlCl4^-was 776.2 kJ/mol.

DFT Calculation of Room Temperature Ionic Liquid 1-Ethyl-3-Methyl-Imidazolium Chlorocuprate (Ⅰ)

The density functional theory （DFT） has been employed to investigate the electronic structures ofEMIM^＋（1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium＋）, CuCl2^-, Cu2Cl3^- and EMIM^＋-CuCl2^-, EMIM^＋-Cu2Cl3^- pairs. Full optimization and frequency analyses of EMIM^＋, CuCl2^-, Cu2Cl3^-, eight initial EMIM^＋-CuCl2^-, and six initial EMIM^＋-Cu2Cl3^- geometries have been carried out using Gaussian-94 software-package at 6-3 I＋G （d, p） basis set level for hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, chlorine atoms and the Hay-Wadt effective core potential for copper atoms. The electronic structures of the lowest energy of EMIM^＋-CuCl2^-, EMIM^＋-Cu2Cl3^- pairs, single EMIM^＋, CuCl2^-, and Cu2Cl3^- have been comparatively studied. The calculated results showed that the optimized EMIM^＋-CuCl2^- pair conformer of the lowest energy was five ring moiety parallel to CuCl2^- plane with a distance of around 3.5,A, while EMIM^＋-Cu2Cl3^- pair conformer of the lowest energy was five ring moiety of EMIM^＋ perpendicular to Cu2Cl3^- plane with a distance of around 3.0 ,A between terminal chlorine atoms and 5-ring plane of EMIM^＋. The cohesion between cation and anion is electrostatic interaction and C-H---Cl hydrogen bonds are reinforced by charge assistance. The frequency analyses suggested that all stationary points are minimum points because of absence of imaginary frequency. The low energy of interaction caused by bulky asymmetry of EMIM^＋, and charge dispersion of cation and anion give rise to low melting point of ionic liquids EMIM^＋-CuCl2^-, and EMIM^＋-Cu2Cl3^- . The interaction energy caused by the distance between cations and anions was investigated by single point energy scan.

Preparation of WO3/C Composite and Its Application in Oxidative Desulfurization of Fuel

The WO_3/C composite was successfully prepared by calcination of a mixture of WO_3 and g-C_3N_4 at 520 ℃. The as-synthesized samples were analyzed by X-ray diffraction(XRD), electronic differential system(EDS), scanning electron microscopy(SEM), infrared spectrometry(IR) and the Brunner-Emmet-Teller(BET) techniques. The WO_3/C composite, in comparison with the WO_3 and C_3N_4, features smaller particle size, bigger surface area and higher desulphurization performance. The influence of the reaction temperature, the catalyst dosage, the reaction time, the oxidant dosage, the sulfide type and the extractant dose on desulfurization reaction was studied. The results showed that the WO_3/C composite revealed a higher desulfurization activity than the WO_3. The desulfurization rate could reach up to 95.8% under optimal conditions covering a catalyst dosage of 0.02 g, a H_2O_2 amount of 0.2 mL, a 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ethyl sulfate(EMIES) amount of 1.0 mL, a reaction temperature of 70 ℃ and a reaction time of 180 min. After five recycles, the desulfurization activity of catalyst did not significantly decline.

Ionic Liquid and HP-β-CD Modified Capillary Zone Electrophoresis to Separate Hyperoside, Luteolin and Chlorogenic Acid

Ionic liquid （1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate, 1E-3MI-TFB） and HP-β- CD as modifier was added to the buffer to separate hyperoside, luteolin and chlorogenic acid. Experiments explored the effect of concentration of 1E-3MI-TFB and HP-β-CD on separation. The results indicated that 1.0 mmol/L HP-β-CD and 1%0 （v/v） 1E-3MI-TFB added to the buffer simultaneously could achieve a good compromise of resolution and analysis time. Capillary experiments and UV spectra indicated that there was interaction between 1E-3MI-TFB and analytes.