To advance the realization of algae as a feedstock for biodiesel, process technologies and closed-loop biomass use must be optimized. Life-cycle analysis (LCA) of the biodiesel production process highlights the potential significant impact of improvements in the extraction of algal lipids and conversion into biodiesel. Further, a single-step lipid extraction and transesterification process was ...

This review focuses on the chemical methods used to prepare supported bimetallic heterogeneous catalysts, i.e., bimetallic nanoparticles deposited on a support. The review is limited to the preparation of gold-based bimetallic catalysts and moreover to bimetallic nanoparticles supported on powder inorganic supports, i.e., on the surface or in the porosity, and not on model supports such as sing...

Citronellal can be cyclised to produce isopulegol, which is an intermediate in the synthesis of menthols. These chemicals are all used in the fragrance industry and menthol is also an important product used as a flavour, a pharmaceutical and in oral care. The cyclisation of citronellal proceeds readily with various homogeneous catalysts, but the catalyst frequently cannot be recovered and reuse...

Peroxo and alkylperoxo metal complexes are presumed intermediates in the homogeneous and heterogeneous catalytic epoxidations of olefins. Both solid and soluble versions containing high valent, d° transition metal ions activate peroxides heterolytically, thereby facilitating oxygen atom transfer to electron-rich substrates (1). However, mechanistic studies have been undertaken largely with the ...

Since they were first synthesized in 1992, the ruthenium catalyst named after Nobel Laureate R. H. Grubbs have become a useful tool in organic synthesis. Compared to conventional heterogeneous metathesis catalysts, Grubbs catalysts are more reactive, faster to initiate and better for reaction control. Grubbs catalysts have been employed in good effort both in academia and industry, the later in...

2014 The importance of Mössbauer Spectroscopy in heterogeneous catalysis research is increasing, since more and more catalysts are complex finely dispersed solids, sufficient characterization cannot be achieved easily with more conventional methods. After summarizing the special features of Mössbauer Spectroscopy of solid catalysts, we show and discuss some examples of its use in identifying ca...

Microwave-assisted organic synthesis (MAOS) provides a novel and efficient means of achieving heat organic reactions. Nevertheless, the potential arcing phenomena via microwave (MW) interaction with solid metal catalysts has limited its use by organic chemists. As arcing phenomena are now better understood, new applications of Pd/C-catalyzed reactions under MW dielectric heating are now possibl...

Heterogeneous single-site catalysts consist of isolated, well-defined, active sites that are spatially separated in a given solid and, ideally, structurally identical. In this review, the potential of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and covalent organic frameworks (COFs) as platforms for the development of heterogeneous single-site catalysts is reviewed thoroughly. In the first part of this art...

Current heterogeneous catalysts lack the fine steric and electronic tuning required for catalyzing the selective dimerization of ethylene to 1-butene, which remains one of the largest industrial processes still catalyzed by homogeneous catalysts. Here, we report that a metal-organic framework catalyzes ethylene dimerization with a combination of activity and selectivity for 1-butene that is pre...

The massive consumption of fossil fuels and associated environmental issues are leading to an increased interest in alternative resources such as biofuels. The renewable biofuels can be upgraded from bio-oils that are derived from biomass pyrolysis. Catalytic cracking and hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) are two of the most promising bio-oil upgrading processes for biofuel production. Heterogeneous cat...