A Good GC Stationary Phase for Separation of Xylene Isomers

An excellent separation of xylene isomers is reported using 2, 6-O-di-pentyl-3-O-acetyl-beta-CD as capillary stationary phase. The optimum conditions for the separation are also discussed.

Adsorption of toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene isomers on multi-walled carbon nanotubes oxidized by different concentration of NaOCI

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes （MWCNTs） were fabricated and oxidized by different concentrations of sodium hypochlorite （NaOC1） solutions. The untreated MWCNTs and modified MWCNTs were employed as adsorbents to study their characterizations and adsorption performance of toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene isomers （TEX） in an aqueous solution. The physicochemical properties of MWCNTs were greatly affected after oxidation, which influences TEX adsorption capacity. The 3% NaOCl-oxidized MWCNTs shows the greatest enhancement in TEX adsorption, followed by the 30% NaOCl. More interestingly, the 15% NaOCl-oxidized MWCNTs has lower adsorption capacities than untreated MWCNTs. The adsorption mechanism of TEX on treated MWCNTs is attributed to the combined action of hydrophobic interaction, π-π bonding interaction between the aromatic ring of TEX and the oxygen-containing functional groups of MWCNTs and electrostatic interac- tion. 3% NaOCl solution could not only introduce much oxygen-containing functional groups on MWCNTs, but also lead to less damage for the pore structure. This suggests that the CNTs-3% NaOCl is efficient adsorbent for TEX and that they may possess good potential for TEX removal in wastewater treatment.

Synthesis of high-crystallinity MIL-125 with outstanding xylene isomer separation performance

MIL-125 is a metal-organic framework with great potential for the adsorption and separation of xylene isomers.However,MIL-125 is usually synthesized under anhydrous and anaerobic conditions.In this study,homogeneously shaped and highly crystalline MIL-125 was synthesized by introducing water-resistant titanium-containing oligomers into the synthesis process.With the assistance of the novel oligomers,MIL-125 can be synthesized in the presence of water,which meets batch-production requirements.The adsorption separation performance of the obtained highly crystalline MIL-125 was also significantly enhanced.The para-xylene/meta-xylene selectivity can reach 13.5 in mesitylene,which is higher than the selectivity values of most previously reported para-selective adsorbents.The MIL-125 xylene separation performance was verified using both batch adsorption and breakthrough experiments in the liquid phase.In addition,the influence of the solvent effect was evaluated through microcalorimetric experiments,liquid-phase adsorption experiments,and theoretical calculations.

Anaerobic biodegradation of benzene series compounds by mixed cultures based on optional electronic acceptors

A series of batch experiments were performed using mixed bacterial consortia to investigate biodegradation performance of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and three xylene isomers （BTEX） under nitrate, sulfate and ferric iron reducing conditions. The results showed that toluene, ethylbenzene, m-xylene and o-xylene could be degraded independently by the mixed cultures coupled to nitrate, sulfate and ferric iron reduction. Under ferric iron reducing conditions the biodegradation of benzene and p-xylene could be occurred only in the presence of other alkylbenzenes. Alkylbenzenes can serve as the primary subs＇rates to stimulate the transformation of benzene and p-xylene under anaerobic conditions. Benzene and p-xylene are more toxic than toluene and ethylbenzene, under the three terminal electron acceptors conditions, the degradation rates decreased with toluene 〉 ethylbenzene 〉 m-xylene 〉 o-xylene〉 benzene 〉 p- xylene. Nitrate was a more favorable electron acceptor compared to sulfate and ferric iron. The ratio between sulfate consumed and the loss of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, o-xylene, m-xylene, p-xylene was 4.44, 4.51, 4.42, 4.32, 4.37 and 4.23, respectively; the ratio between nitrate consumed and the loss of these substrates was 7.53, 6.24, 6.49, 7.28, 7.81, 7.61, respectively; the ratio between the consumption of ferric iron and the loss of toluene, ethylbenzene, o-xylene, m-xylene was 17.99, 18.04, 18.07, 17.97, respectively.

Disproportionation of ethylbenzene in the presence of C_8 aromatics

The selective synthesis of p-diethylbenzene （p-DEB） by disproportionation of ethylbenzene （EB） in the presence of aromatics like m- and p- xylene isomers has been studied over a pore size regulated HZSM-5 catalyst. The industrial feed having different compositions of ethylbenzene and xylene isomers was used for the experimentation. Hence, they were expected to hinder the movement of reactant molecules both on the external surface and within the zeolite channels. It was observed that irrespective of the different feed compositions the concentration of the xylene isomers was intact in the product. There is no other byproducts formation like para-ethylmethyl benzene. The effects of varying the concentration of aromatic compounds in the feed on ethylbenzene conversion and product distribution over the parent and modified H-ZSM-5 catalyst have been discussed. Ethylbenzene disproportionation reaction follows the pseudo first order reaction with an activation energy of 8.6 kcal/mol.

Comparative study of a vitrinite-rich and an inertinite-rich Witbank coal (South Africa) using pyrolysis-gas chromatography

This study aims to compare iso-rank vitrinite-rich and inertinite-rich coal samples to understand the impact of coal-forming processes on pyrolysis chemistry.A medium rank C bituminous coal was density-fractionated to create a vitrinite-rich and an inertinite-rich sub-sample.The vitrinite-rich sample has 83 vol% total vitrinite (mineral-matter-free basis),whereas the inertinite-rich counterpart has 66 vol% total inertinite.The vitrinite-rich sample is dominated by collotelinite and collodetrinite.Fusinite,semifusinite,and inertodetrinite are the main macerals of the inertinite-rich sample.Molecular chemistry was assessed using a pyrolysis gas chromatograph (py-GC) equipped with a thermal desorption unit coupled to a time of flight mass spectrometer (MS) (py-GC/MS) and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (13C CP-MAS SS NMR).The pyrolysis products of the coal samples are generally similar,comprised of low and high molecular weight alkanes,alkylbenzenes,alkylphenols,and alkyl-subtituted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons,although the vitrinite-rich sample is chemically more diverse.The lack of diversity exhibited by the inertinite-rich sample upon pyrolysis may be interpreted to suggest that major components were heated in their geologic history.Based on the 13C CP-MAS SS NMR analysis,the inertinite-rich sample has a greater fraction of phenolics,reflected in the py-GC/MS results as substituted and unsubstituted derivatives.The greater abundance of phenolics for the inertinite-rich sample may suggest a fire-related origin for the dominant macerals of this sample.The C2-alkylbenzene isomers (p-xylene and o-xylene) were detected in the pyrolysis products for the vitrinite-rich and inertinite-rich samples,though more abundant in the former.The presence of these in both samples likely reflects common source vegetation for the dominant vitrinite and inertinite rnacerals.