Abstract: The invention relates to a method for producing butanol through microbial fermentation, in which the butanol product is removed by extraction into a water immiscible organic extractant composition during the fermentation. The invention also relates to a method for producing butanol through microbial fermentation, in which the butanol product is removed during the fermentation by extraction into a water-immiscible extractant composition comprising a first solvent having a butanol partition coefficient of at least 3, and a second solvent having a butanol partition coefficient, wherein the butanol partition coefficient of the first solvent is higher than the butanol partition coefficient of the second solvent. Optionally, the first solvent has a higher concentration of hydrogen bonding sites than the second solvent. The invention further relates to a composition including butanol in the water immiscible organic extractant composition described above.

Abstract: A process for the hydrogenolysis of glycerol to produce propylene glycol as the major product comprising contacting the glycerol with hydrogen in the presence of a heterogeneous catalyst under conditions for the formation of propylene glycol is disclosed. In particular, propylene glycol is formed with a selectivity of greater than about 90%.

Abstract: In one embodiment, the present application discloses methods to selectively synthesize higher alcohols and hydrocarbons useful as fuels and industrial chemicals from syngas and biomass. Ketene and ketonization chemistry along with hydrogenation reactions are used to synthesize fuels and chemicals. In another embodiment, ketene used to form fuels and chemicals may be manufactured from acetic acid which in turn can be synthesized from synthesis gas which is produced from coal, biomass, natural gas, etc.

Abstract: A composition comprising 2,3-butanediol is dehydrated to methyl vinyl carbinol and/or 1,3-butadiene by exposure to a catalyst comprising (a) MxOy wherein M is a rare earth metal, a group IIIA metal, Zr, or a combination thereof, and x and y are based upon an oxidation state of M, or (b) M3a(PO4)b where M3 is a group IA, a group IIA metal, a group IIIA metal, or a combination thereof, and a and b are based upon the oxidation state of M3. Embodiments of the catalyst comprising MxOy may further include M2, wherein M2 is a rare earth metal, a group IIA metal, Zr, Al, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, 2,3-butanediol is dehydrated to methyl vinyl carbinol and/or 1,3-butadiene by a catalyst comprising MxOy, and the methyl vinyl carbinol is subsequently dehydrated to 1,3-butadiene by exposure to a solid acid catalyst.

Abstract: A catalyst including gold, or a compound thereof, and sulphur, a compound of sulphur, trichloroisocyanuric acid or a metal dichloroisocyanurate on a support, together with a process for manufacturing the catalyst and its use in a chemical process are described.

Abstract: A reactive-separation process converts glycerin into lower alcohols, having boiling points less than 200° C., at high yields. Conversion of natural glycerin to propylene glycol through an acetol intermediate is achieved at temperatures from 150° to 250° C. at pressures from 1 and 25 bar. The preferred applications of the propylene glycol are as an antifreeze, deicing compound, or anti-icing compound. The preferred catalyst for this process in a copper-chromium.

Abstract: A selective removal of chlorine and phosphorus that are detrimental to subsequent hydrothermal hydrocatalytic conversion from the biomass feed prior to carrying out catalytic hydrogenation/hydrogenolysis/hydrodeoxygenation of the biomass in a manner that does not reduce the effectiveness of the hydrothermal hydrocatalytic treatment while minimizing the amount of water used in the process is provided.

Abstract: The present invention relates to peptide copper catalysts capable of oxidizing hydrocarbons at room temperature.

Abstract: Furfural is produced through hydrolysis of the hemi-cellulose in corn stover. Furfural may also be produced from other biomass. The direct conversion of furfural to mono-alcohols which can be blended with gasoline is an attractive chemical process for providing biomass into the liquid fuel supply. Examples of such alcohols include 1-butanol, 1-pentanol, 2-pentanol and tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol. Preferred alcohols include C-4 and C-5 mono-alcohols that have suitable blending properties.

Abstract: A method for producing a cyclic aminoorganoxysilane compound is provided. The method comprises the step of conducting dehydrochlorination coupling of a chloroalkylalkoxysilane compound represented by the formula: wherein R1 is a straight or branched divalent C1-10 hydrocarbon group, R2 is hydrogen atom or an unsubstituted or substituted C1-10 monovalent hydrocarbon group, R3 and R4 are respectively a C1-10 monovalent hydrocarbon group, and n is 0, 1, or 2 and an aminoalcohol represented by the formula: wherein R5 is a straight or branched C2-10 divalent hydrocarbon group which may contain a heteroatom and R6 is hydrogen atom or a straight or branched C1-10 monovalent hydrocarbon group, and promoting intramolecular transesterification to thereby produce a cyclic aminoorganoxysilane compound represented by the formula: wherein R1 to R6 and n are as defined above.

Abstract: A process for producing an alkylated aromatic compound comprises contacting an aromatic starting material and hydrogen with a plurality of catalyst particles under hydroalkylation conditions to produce an effluent comprising the alkylated aromatic compound, the catalyst comprising a composite of a solid acid, an inorganic oxide different from the solid acid and a hydrogenation metal, wherein the distribution of the hydrogenation metal in at least 60 wt % of the catalyst particles is such that the average concentration of the hydrogenation metal in the rim portion of a given catalyst particle is Crim, the average concentration of the hydrogenation metal in the center portion of the given catalyst particle is Ccenter, where 0.2?Crim/Ccenter<2.0. Also disclosed are hydroalkylation catalyst and process for making phenol and/or cyclohexanone using the catalyst.

Abstract: The conversion method of T8 type Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxanes (POSS) into T10 type compounds, includes treating octasilsesquioxane of the general formula (RSiO1.5)8 (wherein R is hydride, ethyl, vinyl, 3-chloropropyl, 3-hydroxypropyl, phenyl, octyl, 3-decanaminepropyl, 3-benzamideamidepropyl group and 3-aminepropyl hydrochloride group) with at least 10-fold excess of organic acid giving decasilsesquioxane (RSiO1.5)10. The reaction is conducted in air.

Abstract: Provided is a method for causing a dehydrofluorination reaction of 1,1,1,3,3-pentafluoropropane in the gas phase and in the presence of a catalyst thereby producing 1,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene. In this method, the reaction is carried out at a pressure inside the reaction system of from 0.001 to 90 kPa (absolute pressure) at a reaction temperature ranging from 250 to 600° C.

Abstract: Subject-matter of the invention is a process for producing fatty alcohols by catalytic hydrogenation of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME), in which the FAME initially is hydrogenated to fatty alcohol (FA). The fractions of non-converted FAME remaining in the hydrogenation product are converted to wax ester and methanol in a succeeding transesterification step with FA. According to the invention, catalysts on the basis of magnesium oxide or hydrotalcite are used. After separating the methanol and the FA as target product, a stream enriched in wax ester is recirculated to the hydrogenation reactor.

Abstract: A process for producing a composition which is particularly rich in D-mannitol, the latter being present in the form of crystals having a volume average diameter greater than 20 pm, wherein the crystals correspond to a very large extent to the ? polymorph. This process makes use of the evaporative crystallization technique, in which the seeding and then the controlled growth of the crystals is carried out at different evaporation rates. Finally, very pure ? crystals are advantageously obtained, which have a better compressibility than the ? and ? homologues thereof and which, by virtue of the sizes thereof, result in a powder which is not subject to caking.

Abstract: A method of purifying an alcohol, such as isopropyl alcohol, includes a first ion exchange step of performing ion exchange treatment on an alcohol-containing liquid; a step of performing dehydration treatment using a dehydration membrane on the liquid treated in the first ion exchange step; a distillation step of performing distillation on the dehydration-treated liquid; and a second ion exchange step of further performing ion exchange treatment on the liquid obtained in the distillation step to obtain a purified alcohol.

Abstract: What is described is a process for continuously esterifying halosilanes of the formula I with alcohols of the formula II to give silane esters of the formula III in a single column (1) R1aSiHalb??(I) R2—(OH)??(II) R1aS—(OR2)b??(III) in which R1 is hydrogen or a monovalent organic radical, where any two R1 radicals within a molecule may be different within the scope of the given definitions, Hal is a halogen atom, a plurality of Hal atoms within a molecule may be different within the scope of the given definitions, R2 is a monovalent organic radical, a and b are integers from 0 to 4 and the sum total of a and b is 4, comprising the measures of: i) feeding the total amount of the halosilane of the formula I required for the reaction in liquid form through line (6) into the upper third of the column (1), ii) feeding at least 60% by weight of the alcohol of the formula II required for the reaction in liquid form through line (7) into the upper third of the column (1), iii) feeding the remainder of the a

Abstract: A method for producing hemp oil, comprising decarboxylation of CBDA in hemp oil; short-path evaporation of CBD from the decarboxylated hemp oil to produce CBD oil; selective THC to CBN conversion performed on the decarboxylated hemp oil.

Abstract: Energy savings in an integrated DCE/VCM plant, optionally also containing a PVC plant, is accomplished by using at least part of the vapor from a DEC quenching column to supply heat to an HCl column. The DCE plant has a high boiler column operating at superatmospheric pressure, and heat is removed from an overhead stream and used to supply heat to other portions of the process.

Abstract: Alkyl chlorosilanes from the manufacture of dialkyldichlorosilanes are rearranged in continuous fashion to dialkyldichlorosilane by a rearrangement reaction in a moving bed reactor employing a solid alumina catalyst containing aluminum chloride, spent catalyst being continuously removed from the reactor.