Abstract: A process for converting lignocellulosic materials which are field residues such as cotton stalks and corn stover, process residues such as sugarcane bagasse and sweet sorghum bagasse, woody parts of energy crops such as switchgrass and miscanthus, forest residues or byproducts of the wood processing industries such as sawdust from sawmills to a liquid biofuel by a series of processing steps wherein the feed materials are hydrolysed in three stages and withdrawn as three product streams each consisting of solubilized fragments of one of the three major components of the feed materials and a set of concurrently operating processing steps wherein each of the three product streams is transformed through chemical or biochemical processes into products, such as pure lignin and ethanol, that have a high calorific value and process wherein these products with high calorific value are combined to form a liquid biofuel.

Abstract: A process for converting lignocellulosic materials which are field residues such as cotton stalks and corn stover, process residues such as sugarcane bagasse and sweet sorghum bagasse, woody parts of energy crops such as switchgrass and miscanthus, forest residues or byproducts of the wood processing industries such as sawdust from sawmills to a liquid biofuel by a series of processing steps wherein the feed materials are hydrolysed in three stages and withdrawn as three product streams each consisting of solubilized fragments of one of the three major components of the feed materials and a set of concurrently operating processing steps wherein each of the three product streams is transformed through chemical or biochemical processes into products, such as pure lignin and ethanol, that have a high calorific value and process wherein these products with high calorific value are combined to form a liquid biofuel.

Abstract: The present invention relates to compositions of matter comprising polyhedral structural units of empirical formula Si2O3, with silicon atoms at the vertices of the polyhedron and oxygen atoms at the center of each edge, arranged in an ordered manner with a repeat distance characteristic of such order in the range of 1 to 2 nanometers and organosilicon crosslinking groups tying these units together to form a polymeric material that exhibits Bragg reflection peaks in the X-ray region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The present invention further relates to methods of preparing such compositions. The nanocomposite materials according to the invention may be useful, for example, as electronics packaging materials, as resists for e-beam lithography, as protective coatings, as binders for refractory sands, as the matrix in polymer matrix composites and as reflective materials in soft X-ray telescopes and microscopes.

Abstract: The present invention provides a process for alkylating an olefin with an isoparaffin comprising contacting an olefin-containing feed with an isoparaffin-containing feed with a solid catalyst comprising zeolite Beta having a silica:alumina ratio in the as-synthesized state of less than about 18.

Abstract: The chemical vapor deposition of hydridospherosiloxane to generate films of SiO.sub.2 at low temperatures on substrates that cannot withstand high temperatures. The chemical vapor deposition process synthesized compounds with the general formula,(HSiO.sub.3/2).sub.n,with n being an even number ranging from 8 to a very large number. More particularly, it relates to the vapor deposition of oligomeric hydrogensilsesquioxanes, henceforth referred to as hydridospherosiloxanes. The hydridospherosiloxanes are used directly in a chemical vapor deposition reactor to generate films of SiO.sub.2 at low temperatures on substrates that cannot withstand high temperatures. Hydridospherosiloxanes and soluble hydrogensilsesquioxane resin are produced having the formula(HSiO.sub.3/2).sub.n,where n is an even integer greater than 8.

Abstract: There is provided a process for the net catalytic oxidative dehydrogenation of alkanes to produce alkenes. The process involves simultaneous equilibrium dehydrogenation of alkanes to alkenes and combustion of the hydrogen formed to drive the equilibrium dehydrogenation reaction further to the product alkenes. In the present reaction, the alkane feed is dehydrogenated over an equilbrium dehydrogenation catalyst in a first reactor, and the effluent from the first reactor is then passed into a second reactor containing a reducible metal oxide which serves to selectively combust hydrogen in an oxidation/reduction (REDOX) reaction. This particular mode of operation is termed a separate reactor, REDOX mode.

Abstract: The present invention provides a composition of matter having the formulaA.sub.x B.sub.1-x V.sub.y C.sub.1-y P.sub.3 O.sub.10-15wherein A is Nb or Ta, B is Sb, C is Ti or Sn, and 0.ltoreq.x,y.ltoreq.1, a composition of matter having the formulaM.sub.z A.sub.x B.sub.1-x V.sub.y C.sub.1-y P.sub.3 O.sub.10-15wherein M is selected from the group consisting of Cu, Ag, Na, K, and Cs, A is Nb or Ta, B is Sb, C is Ti or Sn, and 0.ltoreq.x,y,z .ltoreq.1, a composition of matter having the formulaM.sub.z A.sub.x B.sub.1-x V.sub.y C.sub.1-y P.sub.3-n Si.sub.n O.sub.10-15wherein M is selected from the group consisting of Cu, Ag, Bi, Na, K, Rb, and Cs, A is Nb or Ta, B is Sb or As, C is Ti, Zr, Sn, or Ge, and 0.ltoreq.x,z.ltoreq.1, 0<y.ltoreq.1, and 0.ltoreq.n.ltoreq.2, and conversion processes catalyzed by at least one of the composition.

Abstract: There is provided a process for the net catalytic oxidative dehydrogenation of alkanes to produce alkenes. The process involves simultaneous equilibrium dehydrogenation of alkanes to alkenes and combustion of the hydrogen formed to drive the equilibrium dehydrogenation reaction further to the product alkenes. In the present reaction, the alkane feed is passed into a reactor containing both an equilibrium dehydrogenation catalyst and a reducible metal oxide, whereby the alkane is dehydrogenated and the hydrogen produced is simultaneously and selectively combusted in oxidation/ reduction (REDOX) reaction with the reducible metal oxide. This particular mode of operation is termed a same reactor, REDOX mode. The equilibrium dehydrogenation catalyst may comprise platinum and the reducible metal oxide may contain bismuth, antimony, indium, or molybdenum, or a mixture thereof.

Abstract: There is provided a process for the net catalytic oxidative dehydrogenation of alkanes to produce alkenes. The process involves simultaneous equilibrium dehydrogenation of alkanes to alkenes and combustion of the hydrogen formed to drive the equilibrium dehydrogenation reaction further to the product alkenes. In the present reaction, the alkane feed is dehydrogenated over an equilbrium dehydrogenation catalyst in a first reactor, and the effluent from the first reactor, along with oxygen, is then passed into a second reactor containing a metal oxide catalyst which serves to selectively catalyze the combustion of hydrogen. This particular mode of operation is termed a separate reactor, cofed oxygen mode. The equilibrium dehydrogenation catalyst may comprise platinum and the selective metal oxide combustion catalyst may contain bismuth, antimony, indium, molybdenum, or a mixture thereof.

Abstract: There is provided a process for the net catalytic oxidative dehydrogenation of alkanes to produce alkenes. The process involves simultaneous equilibrium dehydrogenation of alkanes to alkenes and combustion of the hydrogen formed to drive the equilibrium dehydrogenation reaction further to the product alkenes. In the present reaction, the alkane feed is dehydrogenated over an equilbrium dehydrogenation catalyst in a first reactor, and the effluent from the first reactor is then passed into a second reactor containing a reducible metal oxide which serves to selectively combust hydrogen in an oxidation/reduction (REDOX) reaction. This particular mode of operation is termed a separate reactor, REDOX mode.

Abstract: The present invention provides a composition of matter having the formulaA.sub.x B.sub.1-x V.sub.y C.sub.1-y P.sub.3 O.sub.10-15wherein A is Nb or Ta, B is Sb, C is Ti or Sn, and 0.ltoreq.x,y.ltoreq.1, a composition of matter having the formulaM.sub.z A.sub.x B.sub.1-x V.sub.y C.sub.1-y P.sub.3 O.sub.10-15wherein M is selected from the group consisting of Cu, Ag, Na, K, and Cs, A is Nb or Ta, B is Sb, C is Ti or Sn, and 0.ltoreq.x,y,z.ltoreq.1, a composition of matter having the formulaM.sub.z A.sub.x B.sub.1-x V.sub.y C.sub.1-y P.sub.3-n Si.sub.n O.sub.10-15wherein M is selected from the group consisting of Cu, Ag, Bi, Na, K, Rb, and Cs, A is Nb or Ta, B is Sb or As, C is Ti, Zr, Sn, or Ge, and 0.ltoreq.x,z.ltoreq.1, 0<y.ltoreq.1, and 0.ltoreq.n.ltoreq.2, and conversion processes catalyzed by at least one of the composition.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for the synthesis of .beta.-diketonates such as Pb(fod).sub.2 and Pb(thd).sub.2 for use as precursors in metalorganic chemical vapor deposition processes. Lead oxide and a medium of pentane and a protonated ligand (H-fod or H-thd) are combined in a flask and subjected to reaction-promoting ultrasonic waves. The flask is immersed in a water bath to maintain a constant cool temperature, and the flask may include one or more arms for cooling and circulation of the medium during the reaction.

Abstract: Hydridospherosiloxanes and soluble hydrogensilsesquioxane resin are produced having the formula (HSiO.sub.3/2).sub.n, where n is an even integer greater than 8. A biphasic reaction medium is prepared, having a first solvent phase and a second solvent phase. The first solvent phase can contain a hydrocarbon solvent, such as an alcohol. The first solvent phase can be methanol or ethanol. The second solvent phase is a concentrated solution of a metal salt, such as Fe(III) in a polar organic solvent and water. A silicon compound represented by the formula: HSiX.sub.3, where X is a group which is hydrolyzable in the solvent of said first solvent phase, is added to the biphasic reaction medium. X can be Cl or OCH.sub.3. The first solvent phase is separated from the second solvent phase and then the separated first solvent phase is treated with a metal salt, such as sodium or potassium carbonate. Slow evaporation of the first solvent phase solvent is employed to isolate a mixture of crystals of (HSiO.sub.3/2).sub.