Production and characterization of biodiesel from tung oil

The feasibility of biodiesel production from tung oil was investigated. The esterification reaction of the free fatty acids of tung oil was performed using Amberlyst-15. Optimal molar ratio of methanol to oil was determined to be 7.5:1, and Amberlyst-15 was 20.8wt% of oil by response surface methodology. Under these reaction conditions, the acid value of tung oil was reduced to 0.72mg KOH/g. In the range of the molar equivalents of methanol to oil under 5, the esterification was strongly affected by the amount of methanol but not the catalyst. When the molar ratio of methanol to oil was 4.1:1 and Amberlyst-15 was 29.8wt% of the oil, the acid value decreased to 0.85mg KOH/g. After the transesterification reaction of pretreated tung oil, the purity of tung biodiesel was 90.2wt%. The high viscosity of crude tung oil decreased to 9.8mm(2)/s at 40 degrees C. Because of the presence of eleostearic acid, which is a main component of tung oil, the oxidation stability as determined by the Rancimat method was very low, 0.5h, but the cold filter plugging point, -11 degrees C, was good. The distillation process did not improve the fatty acid methyl ester content and the viscosity.

Conversion of Soybean oil to Biodiesel Fuel with Immobilized Candida Lipase on Textile Cloth

The characteristic of biodiesel fuel production from transesterification of soybean oil is studied. The reactant solution is the mixture of soybean oil, methanol, and solvent. A new lipase immobilization method, textile cloth immobilization, was developed in this study. Immobilized Candida lipase sp. 99-125 was applied as the enzyme catalyst. The effect of flow rate of reaction liquid, solvents, reaction time, and water content on the biodiesel yield is investigated. Products analysis shows that the main components in biodiesel are methyl sterate, methyl hexadecanoate, methyl oleate, methyl linoleate, and methyl linolenate. The test results indicate that the maximum yield of biodiesel of 92% was obtained at the conditions of hexane being the solvent, water content being 20 wt%, and reaction time being 24 h.

Upgrading bio-oil over different solid catalysts

Solid acid 40SiO(2)/TiO2-SO42- and solid base 30K(2)CO(3)/Al2O3-NaOH were prepared and compared with catalytic esterification activity according to the model reaction. Upgrading bio-oil by solid acid and solid base catalysts in the conditioned experiment was investigated, in which dynamic viscosities of bio-oil was lowered markedly, although 8 months of aging did not show much viscosity to improve its fluidity and enhance its stability positively. Even the dehydration by 3A molecular sieve still kept the fluidity well. The density of upgraded bio-oil was reduced from 1.24 to 0.96 kg/m(3), and the gross calorific value increased by 50.7 and 51.8%, respectively. The acidity of upgraded bio-oil was alleviated by the solid base catalyst but intensified by the solid acid catalyst for its strong acidification. The results of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis showed that the ester reaction in the bio-oil was promoted by both solid acid and solid base catalysts and that the solid acid catalyst converted volatile and nonvolatile organic acids into esters and raised their amount by 20-fold. Besides the catalytic esterification, the solid acid catalyst carried out the carbonyl addition of alcohol to acetals. Some components of bio-oil undertook the isomerization over the solid base catalyst.

Solid-state MAS NMR studies on the hydrothermal stability of the zeolite catalysts for residual oil selective catalytic cracking

By using the solid-state MAS NMR technique, the hydrothermal stabilities (under 100% steam at 1073 K) of HZSM-5 zeolites modified by lanthanum and phosphorus have been studied. They are excellent zeolite catalysts for residual oil selective catalytic cracking (RSCC) processes. It was indicated that the introduction of phosphorus to the zeolite via impregnation with orthophosphoric acid led to dealumination as well as formation of different Al species, which were well distinguished by Al-27 3Q MAS NMR. Meanwhile, the hydrothermal stabilities of the zeolites (P/HZSM-5, La-P/HZSM-5) were enhanced even after the samples were treated under severe conditions for a prolonged time. It was found that the Si-O-Al bonds were broken under hydrothermal conditions, while at the same time the phosphorous compounds would occupy the silicon sites to form (SiO)(x)Al(OP)(4 - x) species. With increasing time, more silicon sites around the tetrahedral coordinated Al in the lattice can be replaced till the aluminum is completely expelled from the framework. The existence of lanthanum can partially restrict the breaking of the Si-O-Al bonds and the replacement of the silicon sites by phosphorus, thus preventing dealumination under hydrothermal conditions. This was also proved by P-31 MAS NMR spectra. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Demulsification of emulsions exploited by enhanced oil recovery system

Experimental data are presented to show the influence of the enhanced oil recovery system's components, alkali, surfactant, and polymer, on the demulsification and light transmittance of the water separated from the emulsions. Among which, the effects of surfactants, polyoxyethylene (10) alkylphenol ether (OP-10) and sodium petroleum sulfonate (CY-1) on emulsion stability, are the strongest of any component, the effects of polymer, hydrolytic polyacrylamide (HPAM) 3530S, on emulsion stability are the weakest. This research also suggests a possible emulsion minimization approach, which could be implemented in refineries utilizing microwave radiation. Compared with conventional heating, microwave radiation can effectively enhance the demulsification rate by an order of magnitude and increase the light transmittance of the water separated from the emulsions. The demulsification efficiency may reach 100% in a very short. time under microwave radiation.

Decomposition of transformer oil under ultrasonic irradiation during degassing process

In the degassing process of transformer oil with ultrasonic waves, decomposition of the oil was observed. Light hydrocarbons, including methane, ethane, ethylene, acetylene, propane etc, were found to be released continuously from the oil into headspace within a closed vial placed in an ultrasonic field. The gases came from decomposition of hydrocarbon Molecules under cavitation effect.

用固定化Oil-56黄杆菌修复地表水菌体形态变化

利用聚乙烯醇-海藻酸钠(PVA-Na.A lg)联合包埋固定化一株黄杆菌O il-56,进行污染地表水修复实验研究,结果表明固定化细菌的修复效果明显好于游离细菌。同时利用扫描电子显微镜观察了固定化颗粒内部细菌形态的变化,解释了由于Na.A lg溶解导致水体CODC r升高的原因,并分析了固定化颗粒传质扩散性能的缺陷,指出PVA-Na.A lg固定化工艺尚需改进。

Directing single-walled carbon nanotubes to self-assemble at water/oil interfaces and facilitate electron transfer

Both the behavior and the general key factors for assembling flexible SWNT films at the water/oil interface were investigated; the electron transfer, one of the most fundamental chemical processes, at the SWNT-sandwiched water/oil interface was also firstly illustrated using scanning electrochemical microscopy.