Author Archive

From chip fat to biofuel

Chips in deep fat fryer

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Researchers from Singapore and China have developed a cheap and green catalytic system for turning fatty acids into fuel that doesn’t require hydrogen or a solvent.

Hydrocarbon biofuels made from waste fats and oils, such as leftover cooking oil could help reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. Traditionally, these biofuels are synthesised by transesterifying lipids under harsh alkaline conditions; in addition to generating waste solvent, this technique does not remove enough oxygen, so the products are incompatible with diesel engines. The process also doesn’t work with fatty acids as they become soapy and deactivate the catalyst. Read the full article in Chemistry World»


Read the original journal article in Green Chemistry – it’s free to access until 17th August:
Effective deoxygenation of fatty acids over Ni(OAc)2 in the absence of H2 and solvent
Wenjing Li, Yongjun Gao, Siyu Yao, Ding Ma and Ning Yan 
DOI: 10.1039/C5GC01147G, Paper

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Bread leavening proves useful for energy storage

Freshly baked bread

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 Just like bread, hierarchically porous carbons (HPCs), are judged on their texture; so researchers in China have called on their baking know-how to cook up a sustainable method for producing these supercapacitor components

 HPCs could prove useful in energy storage because of their high surface area and short ion transport pathway. But existing synthetic methods for producing HPCs, including nanocasting and soft-templating, are unfeasible for industrial application as they require complex, expensive processes. Read the full article in Chemistry World» 


Read the original journal article in Green Chemistry – it’s free to access until 3rd August:
Inspired by bread leavening: one-pot synthesis of hierarchically porous carbon for supercapacitors
Jiang Deng, Tianyi Xiong, Fan Xu, Mingming Li, Chuanlong Han, Yutong Gong, Haiyan Wang and Yong Wang 
DOI: 10.1039/C5GC00523J, Pape

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Green Chemistry Strategies for Drug Discovery

It is rapidly becoming clear that by incorporating green chemistry techniques earlier in drug development, pharmaceutical companies can greatly speed the production of a drug candidate.

Integrating green chemistry protocol into the drug discovery discipline is a relatively new phenomenon, as the scale at which chemists operate in drug discovery is smaller than in process and manufacturing chemistry.

Written by experts pioneering green chemistry efforts within their own institutions, Green Chemistry Strategies for Drug Discovery provides a practical guide illustrating to both academic and industrial labs how to implement greener process approaches for the greatest return on their investment, and without slowing down their science.

The Editors have taken a comprehensive approach to this emerging field, covering the entire drug discovery process from molecule conception, through synthesis, formulation and toxicology, with specific examples and case studies where green chemistry strategies have been implemented. They also address cutting-edge topics like biologics discovery, continuous processing and intellectual property.

Green Chemistry Strategies for Drug Discovery is the newest publication in the RSC Drug Discovery series. Further details on the content and scope of this book can be found on its Books Publishing page. If you like what you read, Green Chemistry Strategies for Drug Discovery is available now as a hardback from our Royal Society of Chemistry Bookshop. It is also in our 2015 eBook collection.

Front cover of "Green Chemistry for Drug Discovery"

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Ionic liquid a perfect fit for rare earth recycling

Chemists in Belgium have shown how an intriguing ionic liquid they developed 10 years ago can recover valuable rare earth metals from stockpiles of used fluorescent lamps and magnets.

Rare earth metals are important in high tech applications, but China controls most of the world’s dwindling supply, periodically setting export quotas and driving up prices. They occur naturally elsewhere, but new production is time consuming and costly to establish.

Image of a lightbulb emerging from blue liquid
It is estimated that by 2020 stockpiled lamp phosphor waste will contain around 25,000 tons of rare earths

Read the full article in Chemistry World»

Read the  journal articles in Green Chemistry:

Rare-earth recycling using a functionalized ionic liquid for the selective dissolution and revalorization of Y2O3:Eu3+ from lamp phosphor waste
David Dupont and Koen Binnemans 
Journal Article
Green Chem., 2015,17, 856-868
DOI: 10.1039/C4GC02107J, Paper
Open Access

Recycling of rare earths from NdFeB magnets using a combined leaching/extraction system based on the acidity and thermomorphism of the ionic liquid [Hbet][Tf2N]
David Dupont and Koen Binnemans  
Green Chem., 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C5GC00155B, Paper
Free to access until 7 May 2015

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Congratulations to the poster prize winners at NSC2014

Congratulations to the poster prize winners at NSC2014 (16th Nordic Symposium on Catalysis). Green Chemistry and Catalysis Science & Technology were pleased to sponsor a poster prize each at the symposium, which were awarded as follows:

Green Chemistry poster prize
awarded to Aron Dombovari, University of Oulu
for “Photocatalytic processing of algae

Catalysis Science & Technology poster prize
awarded to Jacob O. Abildstrøm, Technical University of Denmark
for “Investigation of Mesoporous TS-1 for the Catalytic Formation of N-oxides

The prize winners received a certificate and a book from Royal Society of Chemistry Books.

You can read more about the Poster Award and find out about the Nordic Symposium on the UiO website.

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Hot papers in Green Chemistry

Here are the latest hot papers published in Green Chemistry, as recommended by the referees:

Water at elevated temperatures (WET): reactant, catalyst, and solvent in the selective hydrolysis of protecting groups
Wilmarie Medina-Ramos, Mike A. Mojica, Elizabeth D. Cope, Ryan J. Hart, Pamela Pollet, Charles A. Eckert and Charles L. Liotta  
Green Chem., 2014, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C3GC42569J


Laccase/TEMPO-mediated system for the thermodynamically disfavored oxidation of 2,2-dihalo-1-phenylethanol derivatives
Kinga Kędziora, Alba Diaz-Rodriguez, Iván Lavandera, Vicente Gotor-Fernández and Vicente Gotor  
Green Chem., 2014, Accepted Manuscript, DOI: 10.1039/C4GC00066H


Multicomponent Reactions: Advanced Tools for Sustainable Organic Synthesis
Razvan Cioc, E. Ruijter and Romano Orru  
Green Chem., 2014, Accepted Manuscript, DOI: 10.1039/C4GC00013G

 

 All the papers listed above are free to access for the next 4 weeks!

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The Cluster of Excellence “Tailor-Made Fuels from Biomass” – registration now open for 2nd conference

After a successful first edition of the International Conference of the Cluster of Excellence “Tailor-Made Fuels from Biomass” in 2013, we will hold the 2nd International Conference from June 16th to 18th, 2014 in the Eurogress, Aachen, Germany. As in 2013, contributions and presentations from researchers inside and outside of TMFB will be presented in combination with keynote lectures by recognized experts from both academia and industry. The conference will take place as follows:

2nd TMFB International Conference
of the Cluster of Excellence
“Tailor-Made Fuels from Biomass”
June16th-18th, 2014
Eurogress Aachen
Monheimsallee 48
52062 Aachen, Germany

The Cluster of Excellence “Tailor-Made Fuels from Biomass” invites you to participate in this conference. For the detailed time schedule, please see the attached preliminary conference agenda. The missing titles of the keynote lectures will be updated soon, the latest versions of the conference program will be uploaded to our webpage.

You can register for the conference until Saturday, May 30th, 2014.

On the registration page you will also find a link to the Aachen Tourist Service which you may use to book your hotel room for the conference. The contingent that can be accessed via that link will be available until 02.05.2014.

For further information please visit http://www.fuelcenter.rwth-aachen.de/index.php?id=297&L=2.

We are looking forward to welcoming you in Aachen.

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NSC2014 – 16th Nordic Symposium on Catalysis

NSC2014 – 16th Nordic Symposium on Catalysis
From fundamentals to industrial application

 June 15th–17th 2014, Oslo, Norway

Registration is now open for the 16th Nordic Sympo­sium on Catalysis, a biannual conference organised by the Nordic Catalysis Society. The symposium constitutes a unique meeting ground for researchers within all aspects of catalysis in the Nordic countries.

The topic of the 2014 conference is ‘From fundamentals to industrial application’. Confirmed plenary speakers include:

  • Prof. Johannes Lercher, Technische Universität München.
  • Prof. Matthias Beller, Leibniz-Institut für Katalyse e.V. an der Universität Rostock.
  • Dr. Martina Peters, Department Head – Chemical Catalysis, Bayer Technology Services

Four Nordic Keynote Lectures will also be given by younger researchers representing Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. These will include:

  • Prof. Vincent G.H. Eijsink , Department of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Food Science, Norwegian University of Life Sciences
  • Dr. Esa Toukoniitty, Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences
  • Dr. Christian Hulteberg, Department of Chemical Engineering, Lund University

The deadline for registration is May 16th 2014.

Visit the website for full details and to register: www.nsc2014.org

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Hot papers in Green Chemistry

Here are the latest hot papers published in Green Chemistry, as recommended by the referees:

Physical properties and hydrolytic degradability of polyethylene-like polyacetals and polycarbonates
Patrick Ortmann, Ilona Heckler and Stefan Mecking  
Green Chem., 2014, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C3GC42592D

C3GC42592D ga


Efficient chemical fixation of CO2 promoted by a bifunctional Ag2WO4/Ph3P system
Qing-Wen Song, Bing Yu, Xue-Dong Li, Ran Ma, Zhen-Feng Diao, Rong-Guan Li, Wei Li and Liang-Nian He 
Green Chem., 2014,16, 1633-1638, DOI: 10.1039/C3GC42406E

C3GC42406E ga


Water at elevated temperatures (WET): reactant, catalyst, and solvent in the selective hydrolysis of protecting groups
Wilmarie Medina-Ramos, Mike A. Mojica, Elizabeth D. Cope, Ryan J. Hart, Pamela Pollet, Charles A. Eckert and Charles L. Liotta  
Green Chem., 2014, Advance Article. DOI: 10.1039/C3GC42569J

C3GC42569J ga

All the papers listed above are free to access for the next 4 weeks!

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Shrimp shells to mine uranium from the ocean

Shrimp shells that would otherwise be thrown away by the seafood industry have been turned into tough fibres that can harvest valuable metals from water.

Robin Rogers, and his team at the University of Alabama in the US, had long been interested in using ionic liquids to process cellulose but the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 encouraged them to try something similar with chitin, the structural biopolymer that makes up the shells of various crustaceans. ‘We started working with the Gulf Coast Agricultural and Seafood Co-Op in Bayou La Batre, looking at uses for their shrimp shell waste, about the same time as the moratoriums on shrimping. It was quite clear that new products and profits were needed.’


Read the full article in Chemistry World»

Read the original journal article in Green Chemistry – it’s free to access until 9th April:
Surface modification of ionic liquid-spun chitin fibers for the extraction of uranium from seawater: seeking the strength of chitin and the chemical functionality of chitosan
Patrick S. Barber, Steven P. Kelley, Chris S. Griggs, Sergei Wallace and Robin D. Rogers  
Green Chem., 2014, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C4GC00092G, Paper

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