Process Characterization of the Transesterification of Rapeseed Oil to Biodiesel Using Design of Experiments and Infrared Spectroscopy

For optimization of production processes and product quality,often knowledge of the factors influencing the process outcome is compulsory.Thus,process analytical technology(PAT)that allows deeper insight into the process and results in a mathematical description of the process behavior as a simple function based on the most important process factors can help to achieve higher production efficiency and quality.The present study aims at characterizing a well-known industrial process,the transesterification reaction of rapeseed oil with methanol to produce fatty acid methyl esters(FAME)for usage as biodiesel in a continuous micro reactor set-up.To this end,a design of experiment approach is applied,where the effects of two process factors,the molar ratio and the total flow rate of the reactants,are investigated.The optimized process target response is the FAME mass fraction in the purified nonpolar phase of the product as a measure of reaction yield.The quantification is performed using attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy in combination with partial least squares regression.The data retrieved during the conduction of the DoE experimental plan were used for statistical analysis.A non-linear model indicating a synergistic interaction between the studied factors describes the reactor behavior with a high coefficient of determination(R^(2))of 0.9608.Thus,we applied a PAT approach to generate further insight into this established industrial process.

Possible Relevance of the Allende Meteorite Conditions in Prebiotic Chemistry: An Insight into the Chondrules and Organic Compounds

The study of the mineral and organic content of the Allende meteorite is important for our understanding of the molecular evolution of the universe as well as the ancient Earth. Previous studies have characterized the magnetic minerals present in ordinary and carbonaceous chondrites, providing information on the evolution of magnetic fields. The interaction of organic compounds with magnetic minerals is a possible source of chemical diversity, which is crucial for molecular evolution. Carbon compounds in meteorites are of great scientific interest for a variety of reasons, such as their relevance to the origins of chirality in living organisms. This study presents the characterization of organic and mineral compounds in the Allende meteorite. The structural and physicochemical characterization of the Allende meteorite was accomplished through light microscopy, powder X-ray diffraction with complementary Rietveld refinement, Raman and infrared spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy using magnetic signal methods to determine the complex structure and the interaction of organic compounds with magnetic Ni-Fe minerals. The presence of Liesegang-like patterns of chondrules in fragments of the Allende structure may also be relevant to understanding how the meteorite was formed. Other observations include the presence of magnetic materials and nanorod-like solids with relatively similar sizes as well as the heterogeneous distribution of carbon in chondrules. Signals observed in the Raman and infrared spectra resemble organic compounds such as carbon nanotubes and peptide-like molecules that have been previously reported in other meteorites, making the Mexican Allende meteorite a feasible sample for the study of the early Earth and exoplanetary bodies.

Electrochemical CO2 Reduction on Pd-Modified Cu Foil

Bimetallic catalysts can improve CO2 reduction efficiency via the combined properties of two metals.CuPd shows enhanced CO2 reduction activity compared to copper alone.Using differential electrochemical mass spectrometry(DEMS)and electrochemical infrared(IR)spectroscopy,volatile products and adsorbed intermediates were measured during CO2 and CO reduction on Cu and CuPd.The IR band corresponding to adsorbed CO appears 300 mV more positive on CuPd than that on Cu,indicating acceleration of CO2 reduction to CO.Electrochemical IR spectroscopy measurements in CO-saturated solutions reveal similar potentials for CO adsorption and CO3^2-desorption on CuPd and Cu,indicating that CO adsorption is controlled by desorption of CO3^2-.DEMS measurements carried out during CO reduction at both electrodes showed that the onset potential for reduction of CO to CH4 and CH3OH on CuPd is about 200 mV more positive than that on Cu.We attribute these improvements to interaction of Cu and Pd,which shifts the d-band center of the Cu sites.

Cu/Mo2C synthesized through Anderson-type polyoxometalates modulate interfacial water structure to achieve hydrogen evolution at high current density

The development of efficient non-precious metal catalysts is important for the large-scale application of alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction(HER).Here,we synthesized a composite catalyst of Cu and Mo_(2)C(Cu/Mo_(2)C)using Anderson-type polyoxometalates(POMs)synthesized by the facile soaking method as precursors.The electronic interaction between Cu and Mo_(2)C drives the positive charge of Cu,alleviating the strong adsorption of hydrogen at the Mo site by modulating the d-band center of Mo_(2)C.By studying the interfacial water structure using in situ attenuated total reflection surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy(ATR-SEIRAS),we determined that the positively charged Cu crystals have the function of activating water molecules and optimizing the interfacial water structure.The interfacial water of Cu/Mo_(2)C contains a large amount of free water,which could facilitate the transport of reaction intermediates.Due to activated water molecules and optimized interfacial water structure and hydrogen adsorption energy,the overpotential of Cu/Mo_(2)C is 24 mV at a current density of 10 mA·cm^(-2) and 178 mV at a current density of 1000 mA·cm^(-2).This work improves catalyst performance in terms of interfacial water structure optimization and deepens the understanding of water-mediated catalysis.

Unraveling the interfacial effect of PdBi bimetallic catalysts on promoting CO_(2)electroreduction to formate

Through interface engineering and content control strategy,a PdBi bimetallic interface structure was constructed for the first time to selectively convert CO_(2)to formate with a remarkably high Faraday efficiency(FEformate)of 94%and a partial current density(jformate)of 34 mA·cm^(−2)at−0.8 V vs.reversible hydrogen electrode(RHE)in an H-cell.Moreover,the PdBi interface electrocatalyst even exhibited a high current density of 180 mA·cm^(−2)with formate selectivity up to 92%in a flow cell and could steadily operate for at least 20 h.Electrochemical in-situ attenuated total reflection surface enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy(ATR-SEIRAS)confirmed that the PdBi interface could greatly weaken the adsorption of*CO intermediates due to electronic and geometric effects.Density functional theory(DFT)calculations also established that the PdBi interface regulated the CO_(2)-to-formate pathway by reducing the energy barrier toward HCOOH and largely weakening the adsorption of*CO intermediates on the catalyst surface.This study reveals that the unique PdBi bimetallic interface can provide a novel platform to study the reaction mechanism through combining in-situ ATR-SEIRAS and DFT calculations.

Experimental and mechanistic understanding of photo-oxidation of methanol catalyzed by CuO/TiO2-spindle nanocomposite:Oxygen vacancy engineering

We report experimental and mechanistic understanding of methanol oxidation to produce methyl formate using CuO/Ti02-spindle composite as a promising photocatalyst under mild conditions with over 97%conversion and 83%selectivity.The catalysts are obtained via precise depositing of CuO nanoclusters(size:~3.5 nm)at the{101}facet of the TiO2 to optimally tune exciton recombination through oxygen vacancies generation,evidenced by photoluminescence and Raman spectroscopy measurements.The turnover frequency(TOF)and the apparent quantum efficiency(AQE)of the 7%CuO/TiO2-spindle composites reach up to 23.8 molmethanol·gcat^-1·h^-1 and 55.2%at 25℃,respectively,which are substantially higher than these previously reported photocatalysts.Further,the in-situ attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy analysis reveals that the methanol oxidation most likely takes place through the conversion of adsorbed methoxy(CH30^*)to formaldehyde(CHO^*)intermediate,a subject of major debate for a long time.The adsorbed formaldehyde(CHO^*)thus produced reacts with another CH30^*species in its close proximity to form the final product of methyl formate.Results of this study provide insights into the reaction mechanism,and offer guidelines to systematically develop and apply photocatalysts for methanol conversion and related reactions via surface engineering.

Performance measurement of sericin-coated silks during aging

Silks are among the most precious ancient and historic artefacts worldwide. While washing removes the natural gum from the fibres during the fabrication of most silk textiles, for a small proportion of historic silks some or perhaps all of the sericin still remains. This paper investigated the effect of sericin coating on the aging of silk fibroin by means of ATR and tensile testing. The results show that sericin can provide some extent of protection from light and heat aging. However, in high humidity environments degummed and ungummed silk aged at the same rate because of leaching of sericin. Silk degraded at faster rate and more extensively in a moist environment. ATR could give very useful information about the aging of silk. The ATR-derived crystallinity index is good at tracing the aging factor and extent of silk deterioration. Alanine and tyrosine within fibroin, as estimated by ATR spectroscopy, are very sensitive to light, but not to heat and water. The ATR absorbance intensity ratio Iamide Ⅲ/ Iamide I is very useful for deterioration evaluation of archaeological silk objects. As a high humidity resulted in the leaching of silk, it is suggested for sericin-coated silk in collections, that not only wet cleaning is harmful, but also that storage or display in a high RH environment would be detrimental.