Solvay

About: Solvay is a company organization based out in Brussels, Belgium. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Catalysis & Polymer. The organization has 6083 authors who have published 7004 publications receiving 105745 citations.

Highly Selective Liquid-Phase Oxidation of Cyclohexane to KA Oil over Ti-MWW Catalyst: Evidence of Formation of Oxyl Radicals

Abstract: Various types of Ti-containing zeolites, i.e., Ti-MWW, TS-1, Ti-MOR, and Ti-BEA, have been evaluated as candidates for the liquid-phase oxidation of cyclohexane using t-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP, 7–8 wt %) as model oxidant. Ti-MWW zeolite displayed the highest activity for cyclohexanol and cyclohexanone (KA oil) with an overall selectivity higher than 90% at 80 °C, making this catalyst a candidate of choice for industrial KA oil production by deperoxidation of cyclohexyl hydroperoxide. The effect of the reaction temperature, reaction time, catalyst amount, and catalyst stability on Ti-MWW was surveyed in detail. The Ti-MWW catalyst showed a stable performance and could be recycled at least four times without detectable Ti leaching and loss of structural stability. The active sites for cyclohexane oxidation appeared to be located near external 12-ring cups in the Ti-MWW framework as suggested by a series of position-selective poisoning tests with tripropyl- and triphenylamine, impelling cyclohexane diffusi...

The dynamical system approach to scalar field cosmology

Abstract: A spatially flat FLRW universe (motivated by inflation) is studied; by a dimensional reduction of the dynamical equations of scalar field cosmology, it is demonstrated that a spatially flat universe cannot exhibit chaotic behaviour. The result holds when the source of gravity is a non-minimally coupled scalar field, for any self-interaction potential and for arbitrary values of the coupling constant with the Ricci curvature. The phase space of the dynamical system is studied, and regions inaccessible to the evolution are found. The topology of the forbidden regions, their dependence on the parameters, the fixed points and their stability character, and the asymptotic behaviour of the solutions are studied. New attractors are found, in addition to those known from the minimal coupling case, certain exact solutions are presented and the implications for inflation are discussed. The equation of state is not prescribed a priori , but rather is deduced self-consistently from the field equations.

The fate of atmospheric phosgene and the stratospheric chlorine loadings of its parent compounds: CCl4, C2Cl4, C2HCL3, CH3CCl3, and CHCl3

Abstract: A study of the tropospheric and stratospheric cycles of phosgene is carried out to determine its fate and ultimate role in controlling the ozone depletion potentials of its parent compounds. Tropospheric phosgene is produced from the OH-initiated oxidation of C2Cl4, CH3CCl3, CHCl3, and C2HCl3. Simulations using a two-dimensional model indicate that these processes produce about 90 pptv/yr of tropospheric phosgene with an average concentration of about 18 pptv, in reasonable agreement with observations. We estimate a residence time of about 70 days for tropospheric phosgene, with the vast majority being removed by hydrolysis in cloudwater. Only about 0.4% of the phosgene produced in the troposphere avoids wet removal and is transported to the stratosphere, where its chlorine can be released to participate in the catalytic destruction of ozone. Stratospheric phosgene is produced from the photochemical degradation of CCl4, C2Cl4, CHCl3, and CH3CCl3 and is removed by photolysis and downward transport to the troposphere. Model calculations, in good agreement with observations, indicate that these processes produce a peak stratospheric concentration of about 25-30 pptv at an altitude of about 25 km. In contrast to tropospheric phosgene, stratospheric phosgene is found to have a lifetime against photochemical removal of the order of years. As a result, a significant portion of the phosgene that is produced in the stratosphere is ultimately returned to the troposphere, where it is rapidly removed by clouds. This phenomenon effectively decreases the amount of reactive chlorine injected into the stratosphere and available for ozone depletion from phosgene's parent compounds. A similar phenomenon due to the downward transport of stratospheric COFCl produced from CFC-11 is estimated to cause a 7% decrease in the amount of reactive chlorine injected into the stratosphere from this compound. Our results are potentially sensitive to a variety of parameters, most notably the rate of reaction of phosgene with sulfate aerosols. However, on the basis of the observed vertical distribution of COCl2, we estimate that the reaction of COCl2 with sulfate aerosol most likely has a gamma less than 5 x 10(exp -5) and, as a result, has a negligible impact on the stratospheric chlorine loadings of the phosgene parent compounds.

A reverse-genetics system for Influenza A virus using T7 RNA polymerase.

Abstract: The currently available reverse-genetics systems for Influenza A virus are all based on transcription of genomic RNA by RNA polymerase I, but the species specificity of this polymerase is a disadvantage. A reverse-genetics vector containing a T7 RNA polymerase promoter, hepatitis delta virus ribozyme sequence and T7 RNA polymerase terminator sequence has been developed. To achieve optimal expression in minigenome assays, it was determined that viral RNA should be inserted in this vector in the negative-sense orientation with two additional G residues downstream of the T7 RNA polymerase promoter. It was also shown that expression of the minigenome was more efficient when a T7 RNA polymerase with a nuclear-localization signal was used. By using this reverse-genetics system, recombinant influenza virus A/PR/8/34 was produced more efficiently than by using a similar polymerase I-based reverse-genetics system. Furthermore, influenza virus A/NL/219/03 could be rescued from 293T, MDCK and QT6 cells. Thus, a reverse-genetics system for the rescue of Influenza A virus has been developed, which will be useful for fundamental research and vaccine seed strain production in a variety of cell lines.