Tuning the selectivity of natural oils and fatty acids/esters deoxygenation to biofuels and fatty alcohols:A review

The chemical transformation of natural oils provides alternatives to limited fossil fuels and produces compounds with added value for the chemical industries.The selective deoxygenation of natural oils to diesel-ranged hydrocarbons,bio-jet fuels,or fatty alcohols with controllable selectivity is especially attractive in natural oil feedstock biorefineries.This review presents recent progress in catalytic deoxygenation of natural oils or related model compounds(e.g.,fatty acids)to renewable liquid fuels(green diesel and bio-jet fuels)and valuable fatty alcohols(unsaturated and saturated fatty alcohols).Besides,it discusses and compares the existing and potential strategies to control the product selectivity over heterogeneous catalysts.Most research conducted and reviewed has only addressed the production of one category;therefore,a new integrative vision exploring how to direct the process toward fuel and/or chemicals is urgently needed.Thus,work conducted to date addressing the development of new catalysts and studying the influence of the reaction parameters(e.g.,temperature,time and hydrogen pressure)is summarized and critically discussed from a green and sustainable perspective using efficiency indicators(e.g.,yields,selectivity,turnover frequencies and catalysts lifetime).Special attention has been given to the chemical transformations occurring to identify key descriptors to tune the selectivity toward target products by manipulating the reaction conditions and the structures of the catalysts.Finally,the challenges and future research goals to develop novel and holistic natural oil biorefineries are proposed.As a result,this critical review provides the readership with appropriate information to selectively control the transformation of natural oils into either biofuels and/or value-added chemicals.This new flexible vision can help pave the wave to suit the present and future market needs.

Impact of Natural Oil-Based Recycled Polyols on Properties of Cast Polyurethanes

In this study, castor oil, rapeseed oil and medium chain triglycerides of coconut oil, were transesterified bymeans of 2-ethyl-2-hydroxymethyl-1,3-propanediol (trimethylolpropane) and consequently used to convertpolycarbonate waste from end-of-life vehicles into liquid polyols. The prepared recycled polyols, composeduniquely of renewable and recycled components, had a hydroxyl number of ca. 250 mg KOH·g−1. They weresuccessfully applied as 100% replacement of a virgin polyol for preparation of solid crosslinked polyurethanes(PU) by solvent-free casting. The produced rigid cast PU exhibited the main transition temperature rangingfrom 44°C to 53°C, the hardness value from 46 to 61 Shore D and the beneficial low water absorption (0.4-0.5wt.%). The PU network structure was highly influenced by the presence of aromatic structures ofpolycarbonate-units and fatty acid compositions. A suitable selection of natural oil thus enabled to adjustthermo-mechanical properties and promote excellent optical transparency of the produced PU.

Significant Increase of Oil and Natural Gas Reserves throughout 2013

China＇s Ministry of Land and Resources announced on 27th February 2014 that proven reserves of oil, natural gas and coal continued to increase significantly, and that their production shows a steady increase. This greatly improves China＇s support capacity of fossil fuel resources.

Natural gas from East Hebei Oil Field available for Tangshan people

The commissioning of Nanbao-Tangshan gas pipeline started to transported natural gas from East Hebei Oil Field to Tangshan City, Hebei Province since June 16th. More than 20 000 households in Tangshan have completed

The Future of Oil Industry

Oil and gas are the major energy resources all over the world but are not renewable. According to their present reserves, the resource volumes yet to be found and the large amount of non-conventional oil and gas resources, there is still great potential in oil and gas production. The proportion ofoil and gas in energy structure will be influenced by four major factors： 1） Potential of the world oil and gas resources; 2） Technological progress of oil and gas exploration and development; 3） Speed of the development of substitute energy resources; and 4） Variation ofoil price. It is estimated that, oil and gas will still retain an important proportion in energy structure by the first half of the 21st century.

Field Exploration of the Efficacy of Some Friendly Products in Combination with Some Pesticides against the Red Palm Weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and Its Effect on Total Carbohydrates and Micronutrients in the Resulting Date Fruits

Experiments were carried out against the red palm weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Oliv.) (RPW in a private palm orchard containing varieties of Samani (domestic) and Ikhlas (imported) infested with the red palm weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Oliv.) (RPW) in El-Marg area, Cairo Governorate, Egypt, using Petroleum oil, Jojoba oil, and Inorganic salts, singly and mixed with each of insecticides (Acetamiprid, Profenofos, Dimethoate) by injection and spraying of infested palm trunks, as well as pouring these substances into pits around the roots of the affected palm trees. The data showed that Acetamiprid was the most effective against RPW. The effective mixtures against R. ferrugineus were Jujuba oil with Acetamiprid, also used car oil with inorganic salts, which resulted in 100% recovery of treated palm. Continuing treatment of infested palms for 6 consecutive months by injecting used car oil mixed with inorganic saline solution resulted in 100% recovery for both date palm cultivars. Spraying these substances on the affected trunks had no effect on RPW. Pouring the tested solutions around the roots of the affected palm had the least effect against RPW. Injection of the tested pesticides into the infested trunks increased the concentrations of carbohydrates and total micronutrients (Fe+, Mn+, Zn+, and Cu+) in the produced fruits more than those obtained by palms treated with mineral oils and inorganic salt, compared to the control group. There is a significant difference between the treatments.

Mesoporous zeolites as efficient catalysts for oil refining and natural gas conversion

Zeolites have been regarded as one of the most important catalysts in petrochemical industry due to their excellent catalytic performance. However, the sole micro- pores in zeolites severely limit their applications in oil refining and natural gas conversion. To solve the problem, mesoporous zeolites have been prepared by introducing mesopores into the zeolite crystals in recent years, and thus have the advantages of both mesostructured materials （fast diffusion and accessible for bulky molecules） and micro- porous zeolite crystals （strong acidity and high hydro- thermal stability）. In this review, after giving a brief introduction to preparation, structure, and characterization of mesoporous zeolites, we systematically summarize catalytic applications of these mesoporous zeolites as efficient catalysts in oil refining and natural gas conversion including catalytic cracking of heavy oil, alkylation, isomerization, hydrogenation, hydrodesulfurization, methane dehydroaromatization, methanol dehydration to dimethyl ether, methanol to olefins, and methanol to hydrocarbons.

Approach and potential of replacing oil and natural gas with coal in China

China’s fossil energy is characterized by an abundance of coal and a relative lack of oil and natural gas.Developing a strategy in which coal can replace oil and natural gas is,therefore,a necessary and practical approach to easing the excessive external dependence on oil and natural gas.Based on the perspective of energy security,this paper proposes a technical framework for defining the substitution of oil and natural gas with coal in China.In this framework,three substitution classifications and 11 industrialized technical routes are reviewed.Then,three scenarios(namely,the cautious scenario,baseline scenario,and positive scenario)are developed to estimate the potential of this strategy for 2020 and 2030.The results indicate that oil and natural gas replaced by coal will reach 67 to 81 Mt and 8.7 to 14.3 Gm^3 in 2020 and reach 93 to 138 Mt and 32.3 to 47.3 Gm^3 in 2030,respectively.By implementing this strategy,China’s external dependence on oil,natural gas,and primary energy is expected to be curbed at approximately 70%,40%,and 20%by 2030,respectively.This paper also demonstrates how coal,as a substitute for oil and natural gas,can contribute to carbon and pollution reduction and economic cost savings.It suggests a new direction for the development of the global coal industry and provides a crucial reference for energy transformation in China and other countries with similar energy situations.

Politics of Oil and Natural Gas vis-à-vis the Foreign Policy of Iran

This study discusses the relationship of Iran’s oil and gas resources with its foreign policy.Because these resources play a major role in government power,they serve as a major focus of Iran’s governmental policy and relations with other countries.Our review led us to conclude that despite Iran’s abundant reserves􀃼the world’s fourth-largest crude oil and largest natural gas reserves-international powers influenced the country’s foreign policy sufficiently for Iran to decrease its oil production.The authors will demonstrate how fluctuations in oil and natural gas production were the outcome of a globalized structure that affected instability in Iran’s foreign policy in specific ways.Our conceptual investigation of energy politics after the 1979 revolution revealed different policies that caused numerous concerns for the new government.While Iran’s politicians strove to retain the Islamic Republic above all,both doctrine and foreign policy revolved circuitously from a radical 1979 Revolution position to renewed radical position in 2005 with two intermediate shifts in position.One was pragmatic shift in the late 1980s,and the second took a more moderate tone in late 1990s by focusing almost entirely on the production of oil and natural gas.

An alternative approach to determine critical angle of contrast reversal and surface roughness of oil slicks under sunglint

The critical angle is the angle at which the contrast of oil slicks reverse their contrasts against the surrounding oil-free seawater under sunglint.Accurate determination of the critical angle can help estimate surface roughness and refractive index of the oil slicks.Although it’s difficult to determine a certain critical angle,the potential critical angle range help to improve the estimation accuracy.In this study,the angle between the viewing direction and the direction of mirror reflection is used as an indicator for quantifying the critical angle and could be calculated from the solar/viewing geometry from observations of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer(MODIS).The natural seep oil slicks in the Gulf of Mexico were first delineated using a customized segmentation approach to remove noise and apply a morphological filter.On the basis of the histograms of the brightness values of the delineated oil slicks,the potential range of the critical angle was determined,and then an optimal critical angle between oil slicks and seawater was then determined from statistical and regression analyses in this range.This critical angle corresponds to the best fitting between the modeled and observed surface roughness of seep oil slicks and seawater.

Evaluation and improvement of the oxidative stability of leather fatliquors

Fatliquor oxidation may give leather unpleasant odor,and excessive amounts of Cr(VI)and volatile organic com-pounds.The accurate evaluation and improvement of the oxidative stability of fatliquors are of great significance to high-quality leather manufacturing.We proposed a set of practical methods for evaluating the oxidative stability of fatliquors on the basis of oxidation induction time,change in iodine value(∆IV),and change in acid value(∆AV)under accelerated oxidation conditions(at 100°C with 10 L/h of air).Oxidation induction time is a highly sensitive marker for quantifying the oxidative stability of fatliquors,and∆IV and∆AV that are low cost and easy to operate are useful in evaluating the oxidative stability of fatliquors when the oxidation induction time is less than 22 h.The number of double bonds in fatliquors is an important factor affecting oxidative stability.The sulfation modification of fatliquors that greatly reduces double bonds and the addition of antioxidants,especially butylated hydroxyanisole and butylated hydroxytoluene,markedly improve oxidative stability of fatliquors.

Maintaining Cooperation within Competition:The Inevitable Path of China’s Energy Cooperation in the Middle East

The multi-polarization of political situation creates beneficial conditions for Chinese petroleum corporations to enter foreign market of prospecting and drilling of oil and natural gas resources.Chinese petroleum corporations should adopt“Outward Expansion”strategy and directly participate in international gaming over the cooperative development and drilling of overseas oil and natural gas resources.On this aspect,the government should not only enhance its macro strategic guidance to Chinese petroleum corporations,but also offer more support by means of preferential policies so as to provide more encouragement to these corporations.Furthermore,the government should strengthen its toughness and intensity on its extension of energy diplomacy.In order to make some achievement in the reform and evolution of geopolitical pattern concerning energy of the world,China should maximize its national interest on energy strategy through“cooperation against the background of competition,”so as to obtain a guarantee on the stable and safe long-term supply of overseas energy for sustained development and smooth rise of China.The model of“Cooperation against the Background of Competition”not only fits for the domestic conditions of China,but also suits the trend of development on the energy market of the world.