Crude Oil Production

Current data on crude oil, field/lease condensate, and natural gas liquids produced from NGL plants. Updated on a monthly basis.     

Enzymatic ring‐opening polymerization (ROP) of polylactones: roles of non‐aqueous solvents

Aliphatic polyesters such as polylactides (PLAs) and other polylactones are thermoplastic, biodegradable and biocompatible polymers with the potential to replace petro‐chemical‐based synthetic polymers. A benign route for synthesizing these polyesters is through the enzyme‐catalyzed ring‐opening polymerization (ROP) reaction; this type of enzymatic process is very sensitive to reaction conditions such as solvents, water content and temperature. This review systematically evaluates the crucial roles of different solvents (such as solvent‐free/in bulk, organic solvents, supercritical fluids, ionic liquids, and aqueous biphasic systems) on the degree of polymerization and polydispersity. In general, many studies suggest that hydrophobic organic solvents with minimum water contents lead to efficient enzymatic polymerization and subsequently high molecular weights of polyesters; the selection of solvents is also limited by the reaction temperature, e.g. the ROP of lactide is often conducted at above 100 °C, therefore, the solvent typically needs to have its boiling point above this temperature. The use of supercritical fluids could be limited by its scaling‐up potential, while ionic liquids have exhibited many advantages including their low‐volatility, high thermal stability, controllable enzyme‐compatibility, and a wide range of choices. However, the fundamental and mechanistic understanding of the specific roles of ionic liquids in enzymatic ROP reactions is still lacking. Furthermore, the lipase specificity towards l ‐ and d ‐lactide is also surveyed, followed by the discussion of engineered lipases with improved enantioselectivity and thermal stability. In addition, the preparation of polyester‐derived materials such as polyester‐grafted cellulose by the enzymatic ROP method is briefly reviewed. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry     

The Impact of [C16Pyr][Amp] on the Aggressiveness in Breast and Prostate Cancer Cell Lines

Breast (BrCa) and prostate (PCa) cancers are the most common malignancies in women and men, respectively. The available therapeutic options for these tumors are still not curative and have severe side effects. Therefore, there is an urgent need for more effective antineoplastic agents. Herein, BrCa, PCa, and benign cell lines were treated with two ionic liquids and two quinoxalines and functional experiments were performed—namely cell viability, apoptosis, cytotoxicity, and colony formation assays. At the molecular level, an array of gene expressions encompassing several molecular pathways were used to explore the impact of treatment on gene expression. Although both quinoxalines and the ionic liquid [C2OHMIM][Amp] did not show any effect on the BrCa and PCa cell lines, [C16Pyr][Amp] significantly decreased cell viability and colony formation ability, while it increased the apoptosis levels of all cell lines. Importantly, [C16Pyr][Amp] was found to be more selective for cancer cells and less toxic than cisplatin. At the molecular level, this ionic liquid was also associated with reduced expression levels of CPT2, LDHA, MCM2, and SKP2, in both BrCa and PCa cell lines. Hence, [C16Pyr][Amp] was shown to be a promising anticancer therapeutic agent for BrCa and PCa cell lines.     

离子液体/低共熔溶剂在煤基液体分离中的应用

为了实现煤基液体各组分利用价值最大化，本文综述了离子液体和低共熔溶剂对组分组成复杂的煤基液体进行高效萃取分离的研究进展。首先介绍了离子液体和低共熔溶剂的性质及分类；其次根据分离目标的不同，将离子液体和低共熔溶剂对煤基液体典型组分的萃取分离分为四个方面进行阐述：煤基液体提酚、燃料油萃取脱硫、燃料油萃取脱氮、芳烃和脂肪烃的分离。分析表明，离子液体和低共熔溶剂对实际煤基液体的提酚效果较好，能分离出绝大多数的酚类化合物；燃料油萃取脱硫时，离子液体和低共熔溶剂对实际煤基液体的单次脱硫率均不高，需3～5次重复萃取后才能获得理想效果；燃料油中的碱性及非碱性含氮化合物很难被同一种离子液体或低共熔溶剂一次性分离出，导致实际油品的脱氮率较低；大多数离子液体和低共熔溶剂进行芳烃和脂肪烃的分离时不能获得理想的分配系数和选择性，尚无法用于实际芳烃和脂肪烃的分离。氢键、π-π、CH-π、范德华力等分子间相互作用的差异是实现离子液体或低共熔溶剂进行煤基液体典型组分分离的主要原因。依据分离对象，设计合适的离子液体和低共熔溶剂，提高实际煤基液体分离时的萃取率和选择性；分析并解决离子液体和低共熔溶剂用于实际煤基液体各组分分离时可能出现的问题，势必会推进煤基液体高值化分离的工业化进程。     

离子液体在纳米材料合成中的应用

室温离子液体（ionic liquids, ILs）作为一种新型的绿色环保溶剂，由于其特殊的功能化结构及热稳定性好、挥发度低和溶解能力强等特点，目前被广泛应用于纳米材料的制备领域。本文重点介绍了离子液体在纳米材料制备中的应用及相关研究的最新进展，结合一些示例对本领域进行了概述，其中包括离子液体作为溶剂，例如作为反应介质和稳定剂；模板剂，例如利用离子液体的微结构（胶束和囊泡、液晶凝胶、乳液和微乳液）作为纳米材料合成中的模板和软模板；反应物，例如作为反应中的还原剂和反应组分；以及离子液体微乳液在纳米材料制备中的特殊用法进行了总结，并讨论了离子液体在快速发展的纳米材料制备领域中的存在挑战和机遇。     

Non-aqueous rechargeable Al–O2 battery with a bifunctional catalyst of carbon microspheres

Non-aqueous secondary Al-O₂ batteries have recently received much attention due to their high theoretical capacity, element richness, safety and low cost, although there are still many problems to be overcome. In this paper, a type of Al-O₂ battery using AlCl₃/[EMIm]Cl ionic liquid as electrolyte and carbon microspheres (CMs) as air electrode was considered. The batteries with CMs deliver a high specific capacity of 820 mAh g^?1 in the first cycle at the current density of 25 mA g^?1 and a low charge voltage. In addition, CMs show better redox catalytic activity for O₂ compared with super-p (SP) and the Al-O₂ batteries have two obvious oxygen reduction processes corresponding to two reductive peaks.     

Application of intensive hydrodynamic cavitation in liquids for synthesis of hydrogen and nanoparticles

In this paper, the results of experimental studies of hydrogen and nanoparticles production using intensive hydrodynamic cavitation in liquids are presented. Physicochemical processes occurring in a cavitation bubble at the last stage of its compression are very similar to processes occurring in the explosion chamber.The values of pressure and temperature achieved in this case ensure the thermodynamic stability of the reaction products and the production of a gaseous hydrogen and nanoclusters as a result of decomposition of molecules of liquid, which is confirmed by theoretical calculations.The controlled addition of hydrogen-containing liquids and the change in the compression conditions of cavitation bubbles make it possible to control the process of hydrogen synthesis, which is an important step in the development of modern high-tech alternative energy methods.The pulsation of a spherical cavity is described by the Kirkwood – Bethe equations, which are one of the most accurate mathematical models of pulsation processes at an arbitrary velocity of the cavity boundary. The model allows to describe the process of pulsations of cavitation cavities, conduct comprehensive parametric studies and evaluate the effect of various process parameters on the collapse of cavities.This work continues with the experiments on cavitation synthesis of carbon nanostructures. With the rapid movement of chemically pure hydrocarbons along the profiled channel in the form of a Venturi nozzle, cavitation bubbles form in the liquid, which are then compressed in the working chamber, in which a sharp pressure surge is created. The pressure in the shock wave, which reaches 80–90 MPa, ensures the collapse of cavitation bubbles close to adiabatic compression. As a result of the number of rapidly occurring physicochemical processes of evaporation, heating, and thermal dissociation of hydrocarbon vapors, a solid carbon phase including graphene oxide nanoparticles and a gaseous hydrogen-containing phase are synthesized in the cavitation, which is then subjected to separation. Synthesized graphene oxide nanoparticles possess activated surface due to the cavitation action and can be subsequently used as substrates for modification with functional nanoparticles, e.g. silver nanoparticles with antibacterial properties.The article is of great help to scientists and design engineers who are engaged in the development of promising hydrogen generating facilities and hydrogen complexes.