Role of Calcination Temperature on Isosorbide Production from Sorbitol Dehydration over the Catalyst Derived from Ce(IV)Sulfate

Isosorbide is a multi-purpose chemical that can be produced from renewable resources.Specifically,it has been investigated as a replacement for toxic bisphenol A(BPA)in the production of polycarbonate(PC).In this study,the synthesis of isosorbide by sorbitol dehydration using a cerium-based catalyst derived from calcined cerium(IV)sulfate(300°C,400°C,450°C,500°C,and 650°C)was investigated.The reaction occurred in a high-pressure reactor containing nitrogen gas.Advanced instrumental techniques were applied to analyze the characteristics of the calcined catalyst.The results showed that the calcined catalysts demonstrated different crystalline structures and sulfate species at different temperatures.However,the acidic properties(strength and amount)of the catalyst did not change with the calcination temperature.The cerium(IV)sulfate calcined at 400°C exhibited the best catalytic performance,achieving the highest isosorbide yield(55.7%)and complete conversion of sorbitol at 180°C,20 bar of N2,and 6 h using CeSO-400.The presence of a sulfate group on the catalyst was the most important factor in determining the catalytic performance of sorbitol dehydration to isosorbide.This work suggests that CeSO-400 catalysts may play an important role in reducing reaction conditions.

Vegetation greenness modeling in response to climate change for Northeast Thailand

In Northeast Thailand, the climate change has resulted in erratic rainfall and tem- perature patterns. The region has experienced both periods of drought and seasonal floods with the increasing severity. This study investigated the seasonal variation of vegetation greenness based on the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index （NDVI） in major land cover types in the region. An assessment of the relationship between climate patterns and vegeta- tion conditions observed from NDVI was made. NDVI data were collected from year 2001 to 2009 using multi-temporal Terra MODIS Vegetation Indices Product （MOD13Q1）. NDVI pro- files were developed to measure vegetation dynamics and variation according to land cover types. Meteorological information, i.e. rainfall and temperature, for a 30 year time span from 1980 to 2009 was analyzed for their patterns. Furthermore, the data taken from the period of 2001-2009, were digitally encoded into GIS database and the spatial patterns of monthly rainfall and temperature maps were generated based on kriging technique. The results showed a decreasing trend in NDVI values for both deciduous and evergreen forests. The highest productivity and biomass were observed in dry evergreen forests and the lowest in paddy fields. Temperature was found to be increasing slightly from 1980 to 2009 while no significant trends in rainfall amounts were observed. In dry evergreen forest, NDVI was not correlated with rainfall but was significant negatively correlated with temperature. These re- sults indicated that the overall productivity in dry evergreen forest was affected by increasing temperatures. A vegetation greenness model was developed from correlations between NDVI and meteorological data using linear regression. The model could be used to observe the change in vegetation greenness and dynamics affected by temperature and rainfall.

Coupling of zero valent iron and biobarriers for remediation of trichloroethylene in groundwater

This study attempted to construct a three series barrier system to treat high concentrations of trichloroethylene （TCE; 500 mg/L） in synthetic groundwater. The system consisted of three reactive barriers using iron fillings as an iron-based barrier in the first column, sugarcane bagasse mixed with anaerobic sludge as an anaerobic barrier in the second column, and a biofilm coated on oxygen carbon inducer releasing material as an aerobic barrier in the third column. In order to evaluate the extent of removal of TCE and its metabolites in the aquifer down gradient of the barrier system, a fourth column filled with sand was applied. Residence time of the system was investigated by a bromide tracer test. The results showed that residence time in the column system of the control set and experimental set were 23.62 and 29.99 days, respectively. The efficiency of the three series barrier system in removing TCE was approximately 84% in which the removal efficiency of TCE by the iron filling barrier, anaerobic barrier and aerobic barrier were 42%, 16% and 25%, respectively. cis-Dichloroethylene （cis-DCE）, vinyl chloride （VC）, ethylene and chloride ions were observed as metabolites following TCE degradation. The presence of chloride ions in the effluent from the column system indicated the degradation of TCE. However, cis-DCE and VC were not fully degraded by the proposed barrier system which suggested that another remediation technology after the barrier treatment such as air sparging and adsorption by activated carbon should be conducted.