A toluene-degrading denitrifier, Azoarcus tolulyticus Tol-4, was one of eight similar strains isolated from three petroleum-contaminated aquifer sediments. When the strain was grown anaerobically on toluene, 68% of the carbon from toluene was found as CO2 and 30% was found as biomass. Strain Tol-4 had a doubling time of 4.3 h, a Vmax of 50 micromol x min-1 x g of protein-1, and a cellular yield...

Catalytic activities of eight sulfonic acid group functionalized ionic liquids in water were compared for the hydrolysis of Sigmacell cellulose (DP ~ 450) in the 150-180°C temperature range by measuring total reducing sugar (TRS) and glucose produced. The catalytic activity of acidic ionic liquids with different cation types decreases in the order imidazolium > pyridinium > triethanol ammonium ...

The preparation of 5-bromo-2-naphthol (4) in three steps from 5-amino-2-naphthol (1) is described. A sulfonic acid group is introduced at the 1-position as an activating and protecting group for the Sandmeyer reaction. The sulfonate group allows for the use of only water and sulfuric acid as solvents. The sulfonic acid is introduced with three equivalents of sulfuric acid, and it is removed in ...

background: benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (btex) are the most important toxic volatile compounds in the air and could be easily absorbed through the respiratory tract. in recent years, the risk of exposure to btex compounds, especially benzene as a carcinogen, has been considered in petroleum depot stations. objective: to assess the occupational exposure of petroleum depot workers i...

Bio-oil is a promising alternative source of energy produced from fast pyrolysis of biomass. Increasing the viscosity of bio-oil during storage is a major problem that can be controlled by the addition of methanol or other alcohols. This paper reports the results of our investigation of the reactions of short chain alcohols with aldehydes and acids in bio-oil. The reaction of methanol with hydr...

A novel sulfate-reducing bacterium isolated from fuel-contaminated subsurface soil, strain PRTOL1, mineralizes toluene as the sole electron donor and carbon source under strictly anaerobic conditions. The mineralization of 80% of toluene carbon to CO2 was demonstrated in experiments with [ring-U-14C]toluene; 15% of toluene carbon was converted to biomass and nonvolatile metabolic by-products, p...

Catalytic materials bearing multiple sulfonic acid functional groups and positioned at varying distances from one another on the surface of mesoporous solids are prepared to explore the effects that the spatial arrangement of active sites have on catalytic activity and selectivity. A series of organosiloxane precursors containing either disulfide or sulfonate ester functionalities (synthons of ...