Abstract: An integrated facility for the co-production of ethanol and the pretreatment of impure vegetable oils, waxes and (animal) fats is provided. A by-product from the ethanol plant, such as distillers corn oil or distillers sorghum oil, can be directly refined on site to remove contaminants such as metals, phospholipids and inorganic anions, to enable use as ready feedstocks for a renewable diesel hydrotreatment plant. The utility of the ethanol plant infrastructure can be directly harnessed to pretreat and purify a variety of impure feedstock materials. The pretreatment reduces catalytic poisoning in the reduction process at refining facilities during the synthesis of renewable diesel. By-products of the pretreatment process are recycled to various parts of the ethanol plant for incorporation into the animal feed(s) produced by the ethanol plant or incorporated into the existing wastewater treatment and disposal system within the ethanol plant.

Abstract: A system for purifying edible oils includes a plurality of microchannel fiber reactors arranged in series. The edible oils may be first neutralized with an alkali solution and then washed with water to thereby remove impurities such as free fatty acids, mono- and diacylglycerols, phospholipids, glycolipids, trace metals, and unsaponifiable matter. The system allows for continuous, high-yield production of improved quality edible oils.

Abstract: Disclosed are methods for rerouting radical cascade cyclizations by using alkenes as alkyne equivalents. The reaction sequence is initiated by a novel 1,2 stannyl shift which achieves chemo- and regioselectivity in the process. The radical “hopping” leads to the formation of the radical center necessary for the sequence of selective cyclizations and fragmentations to follow. In the last step of the cascade, the elimination of a rationally designed radical leaving group via ?-C—C bond scission aromatizes the product without the need for external oxidant. The Bu3Sn moiety, which is installed during the reaction sequence, allows further functionalization of the product via facile reactions with electrophiles as well as Stille and Suzuki cross-coupling reactions. This selective radical transformation opens a new approach for the controlled transformation of enynes into extended polycyclic structures of tunable dimensions.

Abstract: Disclosed are methods for rerouting radical cascade cyclizations by using alkenes as alkyne equivalents. The reaction sequence is initiated by a novel 1,2 stannyl shift which achieves chemo- and regioselectivity in the process. The radical “hopping” leads to the formation of the radical center necessary for the sequence of selective cyclizations and fragmentations to follow. In the last step of the cascade, the elimination of a rationally designed radical leaving group via ?-C—C bond scission aromatizes the product without the need for external oxidant. The Bu3Sn moiety, which is installed during the reaction sequence, allows further functionalization of the product via facile reactions with electrophiles as well as Stille and Suzuki cross-coupling reactions. This selective radical transformation opens a new approach for the controlled transformation of enynes into extended polycyclic structures of tunable dimensions.