介绍了Kirk—Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology（化工技术百科全书）（第五版）电子图书网络版数据库，并对该数据库使用方法和检索途径作出了说明，且结合实例简单地介绍了该数据库的检索方法。

Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology数据库介绍及实例

Production of liquid biofuels from renewable resources

Progress and recent trends in biodiesel fuels

As the fossil fuels are depleting day by day, there is a need to find out an alternative fuel to fulfill the energy demand of the world. Biodiesel is one of the best available resources that have come to the forefront recently. In this paper, a detailed review has been conducted to highlight different related aspects to biodiesel industry. These aspects include, biodiesel feedstocks, extraction and production methods, properties and qualities of biodiesel, problems and potential solutions of using vegetable oil, advantages and disadvantages of biodiesel, the economical viability and finally the future of biodiesel. The literature reviewed was selective and critical. Highly rated journals in scientific indexes were the preferred choice, although other non-indexed publications, such as Scientific Research and Essays or some internal reports from highly reputed organizations such as International Energy Agency (IEA), Energy Information Administration (EIA) and British Petroleum (BP) have also been cited. Based on the overview presented, it is clear that the search for beneficial biodiesel sources should focus on feedstocks that do not compete with food crops, do not lead to land-clearing and provide greenhouse-gas reductions. These feedstocks include non-edible oils such as Jatropha curcas and Calophyllum inophyllum , and more recently microalgae and genetically engineered plants such as poplar and switchgrass have emerged to be very promising feedstocks for biodiesel production. It has been found that feedstock alone represents more than 75% of the overall biodiesel production cost. Therefore, selecting the best feedstock is vital to ensure low production cost. It has also been found that the continuity in transesterification process is another choice to minimize the production cost. Biodiesel is currently not economically feasible, and more research and technological development are needed. Thus supporting policies are important to promote biodiesel research and make their prices competitive with other conventional sources of energy. Currently, biodiesel can be more effective if used as a complement to other energy sources.

A comprehensive review on biodiesel as an alternative energy resource and its characteristics

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are formed during incomplete combustion. Domestic wood burning and road traffic are the major sources of PAHs in Sweden. In Stockholm, the sum of 14 different PAHs is 100-200 ng/m(3) at the street-level site, the most abundant being phenanthrene. Benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) varies between 1 and 2 ng/m(3). Exposure to PAH-containing substances increases the risk of cancer in humans. The carcinogenicity of PAHs is associated with the complexity of the molecule, i.e., increasing number of benzenoid rings, and with metabolic activation to reactive diol epoxide intermediates and their subsequent covalent binding to critical targets in DNA. B[a]P is the main indicator of carcinogenic PAHs. Fluoranthene is an important volatile PAH because it occurs at high concentrations in ambient air and because it is an experimental carcinogen in certain test systems. Thus, fluoranthene is suggested as a complementary indicator to B[a]P. The most carcinogenic PAH identified, dibenzo[a,l]pyrene, is also suggested as an indicator, although it occurs at very low concentrations. Quantitative cancer risk estimates of PAHs as air pollutants are very uncertain because of the lack of useful, good-quality data. According to the World Health Organization Air Quality Guidelines for Europe, the unit risk is 9 X 10(-5) per ng/m(3) of B[a]P as indicator of the total PAH content, namely, lifetime exposure to 0.1 ng/m(3) would theoretically lead to one extra cancer case in 100,000 exposed individuals. This concentration of 0.1 ng/m(3) of B[a]P is suggested as a health-based guideline. Because the carcinogenic potency of fluoranthene has been estimated to be approximately 20 times less than that of B[a]P, a tentative guideline value of 2 ng/m(3) is suggested for fluoranthene. Other significant PAHs are phenanthrene, methylated phenanthrenes/anthracenes and pyrene (high air concentrations), and large-molecule PAHs such as dibenz[a,h]anthracene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[k]fluoranthene, and indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene (high carcinogenicity). Additional source-specific indicators are benzo[ghi]perylene for gasoline vehicles, retene for wood combustion, and dibenzothiophene and benzonaphthothiophene for sulfur-containing fuels.

Cancer risk assessment, indicators, and guidelines for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the ambient air.

The kinetics of the transeterification of vegetable oil is known to follow a three-step reaction mechanism. The third step involves the transesterification of MG. In this study, the transesterification of MG obtained from crude Pongamia oil was achieved with methanol in the presence of KOH as the catalyst. A MG/methanol ratio of 1∶10 was used at different temperatures (30, 45, 55, and 60°C). 1H NMR was used to monitor the progress of transesterification. The study revealed that the kinetics of this reaction followed a reversible second-order model, with a good fit obtained for all temperatures except 30°C. This result is explained as arising out of the importance of transport effects at low temperatures. The forward rate constant increased with an increase in temperature, whereas the reverse rate constant showed a decreasing trend, suggesting that the proposed reverse reaction was not an elementary step.

Kinetic study of the base-catalyzed transesterification of monoglycerides from pongamia oil

A highly enantioselective one pot, novel biocatalytic method for the asymmetric reduction of aryl imines is reported. Treatment of aryl imines with Candida parapsilosis ATCC 7330 in aqueous medium produces the enantiomerically pure ( R )-secondary amines in moderate to good yields (55–80%) with excellent enantiomeric excesses (95–>99%).

Asymmetric reduction of aryl imines using Candida parapsilosis ATCC 7330

Bathochromic and hypsochromic shifts in the photo-luminescent spectra of doped and functionalized carbon nano-dots (CDs) arise due to the complex interaction between CDs and the solvent molecules around them. Nitrogen-functionalized carbon nano-dots (N-CDs) were synthesized from citric acid and urea using microwave assisted hydrothermal methods. Optical studies (absorption and photoluminescence) from the as-synthesized N-CDs were carried out in polar protic, aprotic and non-polar solvents. When excited at 355 nm, blue photoluminescence (PL) was observed from the N-CDs dispersed in polar aprotic solvents while green emission was observed in polar protic solvents. In addition to the general solvent effect, the analysis of the luminescence spectra in protic solvents suggests that hydrogen bonding plays a crucial role in regulating the photophysical characteristics of the system. Temperature dependent PL studies and time correlated single photon counting experiments in various solvent dispersions of N-CDs support the role of hydrogen bonding. This indicates that these results depend on the specific interactions observed from the N-CDs and can be thought of as the primary driving force which is then followed by solvent properties like dipole moments. Both the Lippert-Mataga model and Kamlet-Taft parameters were used to support the photophysical properties observed from N-CDs.

H-Bonding controls the emission properties of functionalized carbon nano-dots

The kinetics of transesterification of Pongamia oil using methanol at 60°C were studied. The forward as well as the reverse rate constants of all three steps involved in the transesterification of Pongamia oil are reported for the first time. Among the forward rate constants, the one governing the conversion of TG to DG was the highest and the one for DG to MG was the lowest. A distinct feature of the present work is the direct estimation of the equilibrium constants of all three steps by measuring the concentrations of TG, DG, and MG at very long reaction times. This reduced the number of parameters to be, determined from the kinetic data by one-half, thereby leading to more accurate estimation of the rate constants. The equilibrium constant of the final step involving the conversion of MG to methyl ester and glycerol was at least an order of magnitude greater than that of the first two reaction steps. A detailed comparison was made with kinetic parameters reported in literature. The trend in the relative magnitudes of the rate constants appears to be unique to Pongamia oil.

Kinetics of base-catalyzed transesterification of triglycerides from Pongamia oil

Biocatalytic deracemisaton of the racemic ethyl ester of 2-hydroxy-4-phenylbutanoic acid gives the ( S )-enantiomer exclusively in >99% e.e. and 85–90% yield. Ethyl and methyl esters of mandelic acid and the methyl ester of 2-hydroxy-4-phenylbutanoic acid also gave the ( S )-enantiomer exclusively. Whole cells of Candida parapsilosis (ATCC 7330) were used to effect this biotansformation.

Anju Chadha

Papers

Kinetic study of the base-catalyzed transesterification of monoglycerides from pongamia oil

Asymmetric reduction of aryl imines using Candida parapsilosis ATCC 7330

H-Bonding controls the emission properties of functionalized carbon nano-dots

Kinetics of base-catalyzed transesterification of triglycerides from Pongamia oil

Biocatalytic deracemisation of α-hydroxy esters: high yield preparation of (S)-ethyl 2-hydroxy-4-phenylbutanoate from the racemate