Optimization of the Transesterification Reaction in Biodiesel Production and Determination of Density and Viscosity of Biodiesel/Diesel Blends at Several Temperatures

Waste frying oil has been used to optimize the production of biodiesel. Biodiesel was prepared through sodium ethoxide catalyzed methanolysis from the transesterification of recycled waste frying oil. Optimization of the transesterification reaction for biodiesel production was carried out by means of statistical analyses using ANOVA. The optimum conditions for reaction were the following: a oil methanol mole ratio of 1:9, temperature of 50 degrees C, catalyst mass fraction of 0.9 %, and reaction time of 40 min, which enabled a yield of 98.7 % determined by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis. The density and viscosity of biodiesel/diesel blends have been determined as a function of composition at several temperatures.

Fast and efficient synthesis of pyrano[3,2-c]quinolines catalyzed by niobium(V) chloride

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Selectivity of the cyclic carbonate formation by fixation of carbon dioxide into epoxides catalyzed by Lewis bases

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

The oxidation of apocynin catalyzed by myeloperoxidase: Proposal for NADPH oxidase inhibition

Apocynin has been used as an efficient inhibitor of the NADPH oxidase complex and its mechanism of inhibition is linked to prior activation through the action of peroxidascs. Here we studied the oxidation of apocynin catalyzed by myeloperoxidase (MPO) and activated neutrophils. We found that apocynin is easily oxidized by MPO/H2O2 or activated neutrophils and has as products dimer and trimer derivatives. Since apocynin impedes the migration of the cytosolic component p47phox to the membrane and this effect could be related to its conjugation with essential thiol groups, we studied the reactivity of apocynin and its MPO-catalyzed oxidation products with glutathione (GSH). We found that apocynin and its oxidation products do not react with GSH. However, this thiol compound was efficiently oxidized by the apocynin radical during the MPO-catalyzed oxidation. We suggest that the reactivity of apocynin radical with thiol compounds could be involved in the inhibitory effect of this methoxy-catechol on NADPH oxidase complex. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The effect of pH on horseradish peroxidase-catalyzed oxidation of melatonin: production of N-1-acetyl-N-2-formyl-5-methoxykynuramine versus radical-mediated degradation

There is a g-rowing body of evidence that melatonin and its oxidation product, N-1-acetyl-N-2-formyl-5-methoxykynuramine (AFMK), have anti-inflammatory properties. From a nutritional point of view, the discovery of melatonin in plant tissues emphasizes the importance of its relationship with plant peroxidases. Here we found that the pH of the reaction mixture has a profound influence in the reaction rate and products distribution when melatonin is oxidized by the plant enzyme horseradish peroxidase. At pH 5.5. 1 mm of melatonin was almost completely oxidized within 2 min, whereas only about 3% was consumed at pH 7.4. However, the relative yield of AFMK was higher in physiological pH. Radical-mediated oxidation products, including 2-hydroxymelatonin a dimer of, 2-hydroxymelatonin and O-demethylated dimer of melatonin account for the fast consumption of melatonin at pH 5.5. The higher production of AFMK at pH 7.4 was explained by the involvement of compound III of peroxidases as evidenced by spectral studies. on the other hand, the fast oxidative degradation at pH 5.5 was explained by the classic peroxidase cycle.

Oxidation of acetylacetone catalyzed by horseradish peroxidase in the absence of hydrogen peroxide

Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) is a plant enzyme widely used in biotechnology, including antibody-directed enzyme prodrug therapy (ADEPT). Here, we showed that HRP is able to catalyze the autoxidation of acetylacetone in the absence of hydrogen peroxide. This autoxidation led to generation of methylglyoxal and reactive oxygen species. The production of superoxide anion was evidenced by the effect of superoxide dismutase and by the generation of oxyperoxidase during the enzyme turnover. The HRP has a high specificity for acetylacetone, since the similar beta-dicarbonyls dimedon and acetoacetate were not oxidized. As this enzyme prodrug combination was highly cytotoxic for neutrophils and only requires the presence of a non-human peroxidase and acetylacetone, it might immediately be applied to research on the ADEPT techniques. The acetylacetone could be a starting point for the design of new drugs applied in HRP-related ADEPT techniques. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Niobium Pentachloride Catalyzed Multicomponent Povarov Reaction

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Bronsted Acid Catalyzed Morita-Baylis-Hillman Reaction: A New Mechanistic View for Thioureas Revealed by ESI-MS(/MS) Monitoring and DFT Calculations

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Hydrolysis rates of TMOS catalyzed by oxalic acid and stimulated by ultrasound

A simple calorimetric method was employed to study the kinetics of the hydrolysis of the solventless TMOS-water mixtures, under ultrasound stimulation, as a function of the concentration of oxalic acid. The reaction rates were obtained, in relative units, from the measured thermal peak of the reaction as a non-separated function of both the sonication time and the instantaneous temperature of the medium. For concentrations of oxalic acid below 0.01 M, polycondensation reaction starts before complete hydrolysis. For concentrations of oxalic acid above 0.01 M, hydrolysis is complete and, in addition, the inverse of the time, as measured from the starting of ultrasound action until the maximum hydrolysis heat release, was found to be a reasonable relative measure of the average hydrolysis rate constant. The average hydrolysis rate constant was found to be proportional to the square root of the molar concentration of the oxalic acid. This result is in agreement with the literature if we assume small dissociation degree for the catalyst in such a solventless alkoxyde-water medium.

A kinetic model for the ultrasound catalyzed hydrolysis of solventless TEOS-water mixtures and the role of the initial additions of ethanol

The acid and ultrasound catalyzed hydrolysis of solventless TEOS-water mixtures are studied, as a function of the initial additions of ethanol to the mixtures, by means of flux calorimetry measurements. A device was specially designed for this purpose. Under acid conditions, our proposed method has been able to resolve hydrolysis from other condensation reactions, by detecting the exothermal hydrolysis reaction heat. The process has been explained by a dissolution and reaction mechanism. Ultrasound forces the dissolution process to start the reaction. The alcohol produced in the reaction helps the dissolution process to further enhance the hydrolysis. Initial amounts of pure ethanol added to the mixtures shorten the start time of the reaction, due to an additional effect of dissolution, and diminish the reaction rate, as a result of the solvent dilution effect. Our dissolution and reaction mechanism modeling describes the main points arising from the experimental data and yields k(H) = 0.24 M(-1) min(-1) for the second-order hydrolysis rate constant at 39 degrees C.

Tuning the acidic properties of aluminas via sol-gel synthesis: New findings on the active site of alumina-catalyzed epoxidation with hydrogen peroxide

This study answers several pending questions about alumina-catalyzed epoxidation with aqueous 70 wt% H2O2. To evaluate the effect of the water-to-aluminum tri-sec-butoxide molar ratio, this was systematically changed from 1 to 24. The xerogels were calcined at 450 degrees C and gave different gamma-Al2O3's with distinct textural and acidic properties. A combination of Al-27 MAS NMR and TPD-NH3 results of calcined aluminas allowed us to assign the type la. Al-OH sites as the catalytic sites for epoxidation. The type Ib Al-OH sites have no function in catalytic epoxidation, because ethyl acetate poisons these sites. The strong acid sites of types IIa, IIb, and III Al-OH groups are responsible for the undesired H2O2 decomposition and decreased oxidant selectivity. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A study of the hydrolysis pathway in oxalic acid catalyzed reacting TMOS-water mixtures under ultrasound stimulation

The hydrolysis of TMOS in oxalic acid catalyzed reacting TMOS-water mixtures, under ultrasound stimulation, was studied by fitting a simplified dissolution and reaction modeling for samples, the hydrolysis rate of which had been measured in a previous work. The reaction pathway represented in a ternary diagram shows a heterogeneous step for the reaction which gradually progresses until complete homogenization of the system. Besides the water dissolved due to the homogenizing effect of the alcohol, ultrasound maintains a virtual and additional dissolution of water located at the interface between the TMOS and water during the heterogeneous step of the reaction. The mean radius of the heterogeneity represented by water dispersed in TMOS was evaluated as around 150 Angstrom. The oxalic acid concentration accordingly increases the hydrolysis rate constant but its fundamental role on the solubility of water in TMOS could not unequivocally be established.

Structural properties of silica gels prepared from oxalic-acid-catalyzed tetraethoxysilane sonohydrolysis

About similar to 2.1 x 10(-3) Mol SiO2 cm(-3) and similar to 88%-volume liquid-phase silica wet gels were prepared from oxalic-acid-catalyzed tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) sonohydrolysis. Aerogels were obtained by supercritical CO2 extraction. The samples were analyzed by thermogravimetry, small-angle X-ray scattering and nitrogen adsorption. Wet gels can be described as mass fractal structures with fractal dimension D similar to 1.94 and structural characteristic length zeta changing between similar to 3.3 to similar to 3.0 nm in the studied range of the catalyst concentration. A fraction of the porosity is apparently eliminated in the supercritical process. The values of the BET specific surface S-BET, the total pore volume V-p and the mean pore size l(p) of the aerogels were found to change almost randomly around the mean values S-BET = 874 m(2) g(-1), V-p = 0.961 cm(3) g(-1) and l(p) = 4.4 nm with catalyst concentration variation. These values were not substantially different from those from an equivalent HCl-catalyzed aerogel. (c) 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

An eco-friendly protocol for synthesis of thiourea derivatives: 1-benzoyl-3-benzylguanidine and 1-benzoyl-3-benzyl-O-ethylisourea. A possible non-purely thermal microwave assisted reaction

1-Benzoyl-3-benzylguanidine and 1-benzoyl-3-benzyl-O-ethylisourea were synthesized in good yields (68 and 76%, respectively) from 1-benzoyl-3-benzylthiourea and benzoyl-ethylthiocarbamate in dry media conditions using KF-Al2O3 under microwave irradiation. Strong nucleophilic amines promoted the sulfur elimination by attack on the thiocarbonyl group in both thiourea and thiocarbamates to afford guanidines and isourea, respectively. Transesterification products were obtained from p-TsOH catalyzed reaction of thiocarbamate with alcohols under MW-solvent-free conditions. Very important non-purely thermal MW specific effects were evidenced and attributed to stabilization by coulombic interactions between materials and waves. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of HCl on the ultrasound catalyzed TEOS hydrolysis as determined by a calorimetric study

The acid catalyzed and ultrasound stimulated hydrolysis of solventless tetraethoxysilane-water mixtures was studied at 39°C as a function of HCl added to the mixtures (log[HCl]-1 ranged from 0.8 to 2.0), The reaction was carried out in a specially designed device, in which a steady state heat flow is maintained, while sonication is taking place, if no reaction is expected to occur. The exothermal hydrolysis reaction causes an increasing temperature (ΔTt) as a function of the reaction time, t. The isothermal hydrolysis rate constant, k, has been evaluated from the experimental ΔTt versus t data, after corrections for the increasing temperature effects, by using a method resulting from our theoretical modeling based on a dissolution and reaction mechanism. The hydrolysis rate constant fits closely a k α [H+] law as expected for this kind of hydrogen-ion catalyzed reaction.