Category: Articles

12th November 2019  /  Articles

Perovskite-derived Ni catalysts offer the remarkable benefit of redox stability that allows their regeneration after deactivation through poisoning or Ni particle growth. Here, the catalytic activity of LaFe0.8Ni0.2O3 towards CO2 methanation was improved by increasing Ni reducibility and segregation to the perovskite surface through partial substitution of La by Sr (La1-xSrxFe0.8Ni0.2O3-δ, 0 ≤ × ≤ 0.1). Temperature programmed reduction, X-ray diffraction…

9th October 2019  /  Articles

Lignin is the most abundant aromatic polymer in nature and as such is an attractive source of aromatic molecules. Efficient lignin utilization will also likely play a key role in the economic success and sustainability of biomass valorization schemes. However, traditional strategies for lignin isolation and depolymerization suffer from repolymerization issues, which result in low yield of low molecular weight fragments…

9th October 2019  /  Articles

We studied and compared the hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) and depolymerization of aldehyde-stabilized lignin and 4-propylguaiacol (PG), a model lignin monomer. We demonstrated by liquid phase adsorption that PG HDO catalyzed by Ru/C can be achieved in isooctane but not in 1,4-dioxane due to competitive solvent binding to the active sites. Unfortunately, alkanes cannot be used as solvents for real lignin due to limited solubility…

9th October 2019  /  Articles

A novel method for the determination of linear and cyclic siloxane compounds (L2, L3, D3, D4, D5, and D6) in biogas was developed by combining gas chromatography (GC) with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Using a continuous liquid quench sampling system, biogas samples were collected from a Swiss biogas production plant processing manure and mixed organic wastes. Although significant…

9th October 2019  /  Articles

Heterogeneous catalysis has long been a workhorse for the chemical industry and will likely play a key role in the emerging area of renewable chemistry. However, renewable molecule streams pose unique challenges for heterogeneous catalysis due to their high oxygen content, frequent low volatility and the near constant presence of water. These constraints can often lead to the need for catalyst operation in harsh liquid phase conditions, which…