Hydrotreatment of jatropha oil over noble metal catalysts

Jatropha oil is a promising nonedible feedstock for producing renewable diesel. In this work, the hydrotreatment processing of jatropha oil was investigated. Instead of using conventional alumina-supported Co–Mo, Ni–Mo, and Ni–W catalysts that need sulfidation pretreatment, noble metals such as Pd and Ru were chosen. Trials were performed in an isothermal trickle-bed reactor and the reaction conditions were as follows: temperature 603–663?K, weight hourly space velocity (WHSV) 1 to 4/h, pressure 1.5–3?MPa, and H₂/oil ratio 200–800 (v/v). Yield of n-C₁₅ to n-C₁₈ hydrocarbons was maximized (70.3 and 43.8% for Pd/Al₂O₃ and Ru/Al₂O₃, respectively) at the following conditions: T?=?663 K, WHSV?=?2/h, P?=?3?MPa, and H₂/oil ratio?=?600 (v/v). Since Ru favored cracking reactions to a larger extent than Pd, the yield of C₁₅ to C₁₈ hydrocarbons over Ru/Al₂O₃ was lowered. Using simple first-order plots for oil conversion, activation energies for the hydrotreating process over Pd/Al₂O₃ and Ru/Al₂O₃ were found and they were equal to 109 and 121?kJ/mol, correspondingly.     

Densities and excess molar volumes of mixtures containing diesel,biodiesel and alkanols at temperatures from 288.15 to 313.15 K

The present work is focusing on the synthesization and physico-chemical properties of Jatropha curcas biodiesel with diesel and alcohols.The densities of binary diesel (2)+1-alkanols (C_3 or C_4)(3) and ternary Jatropha curcas biodiesel (1)+diesel (2)+1-alkanols (C_3or C_4)(3) blends have been reported over full range of composition at temperatures within range 288.15 to 313.15 K.Also densities of Jatropha curcas biodiesel (1)+diesel or 1-alkanols (C_3 or C_4)(2) blends have been measured at 313.15 K.Excess molar volumes,V~E,V~E_(123)of binary and ternary blends were calculated from the measured data and the derived properties were correlated to composition using Redlich–Kister equation.A reasonable agreement was found between the measured and estimated values.Further,densities and excess molar volumes data were reasoned to discuss molecular interactions taking into consideration effect of composition and temperature.     

麻疯树籽粕中毒蛋白的提取

研究了溶剂浸提法提取麻疯树籽饼粕中麻疯树毒蛋白时的各影响因素,考察了提取时间、提取温度、pH值、缓冲液浓度和无机盐浓度对麻疯树毒蛋白溶出的影响.结果表明:提取液pH值是影响麻疯树毒蛋白溶出的最重要因素,提取时间、缓冲液浓度及盐浓度对提取也有一定影响.通过正交试验获得最佳提取条件:提取时间3 h,提取温度25℃,提取液为浓度0.4 mol/L的NaCl溶液,pH=7.在此条件下得到的毒蛋白占去壳种仁的质量分数的0.39%.     

Improving the yield of Jatropha curcas's FAME through sol–gel derived meso-porous hydrotalcites

The conversion of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) from triglycerides using heterogeneous catalysis has gained increasing interest due to the prospect of increased yield at reduced operating costs and reaction conditions. In this paper, meso-porous hydrotalcite was used to catalyze jatropha oil into FAME with relatively higher yield at atmospheric pressure and relatively low reaction temperature. The molar ratio of methanol to oil required was relatively low and the conversion was completed within few hours of reaction time. The reaction was promoted when moderate calcination temperature was applied, the disordered structure of the catalyst was maintained, counterbalance anions was removed, and phase transitions within the oxide lattice was induced. Despite the observed deactivation during successive reaction cycles due to adsorption of residual triglycerides, the catalyst performance was restored effectively by air-re-calcination.     

Biophysicochemical evaluation and micropropagation study of Jatropha curcas and Ricinus communis for biodiesel production

The upcoming energy sources of Jatropha curcas and Ricinus communis promise to mitigate the energy crisis and environmental pollution belonging to the Euphorbiaceae family. Both of them have been researched in terms of availability, cost, and biochemical parameters. The seed oils of various jatropha and castor biotypes were screened out and evaluated for their physiochemical parameters viz. oil content (34–49%), biodiesel yield (30–81%), density (0.875–0.971 g/cm³), viscosity (0.6032–2.004 mm³/s), iodine value (75–450.45 mg/g), free fatty acid value (0.986–3.400 mg/g), saponification value (59.29–93.79 mg/g), flash point (133–218°C), fire point (163–262°C), fatty acid composition, and ash content (0.065–0.398%), and were estimated for comparison between jatropha and castor biotypes. Various combinations of auxins with cytokinins were used for a regeneration study. The best shoot regeneration (70%) was observed in MS medium supplemented with NAA (0.5 ppm) and BAP (2.5 ppm). Root induction (95%) was successfully obtained in plane MS. Acclimatization and hardening was quite successful with a survival rate of 70%.     

An economical and efficient protocol for total RNA isolation from Jatropha curcas

Jatropha curcas is an important non feed crop, increasingly important as a biofuel crop. It is hardy and resistant to different stress conditions in the field. In the wastelands of Gujarat (India), it is being grown for land reclamation and for socio-economic benefits. The long coastline in this state also promotes the growth of a large number of halophytes. Exploiting the genetic resource of Jatropha and halophytes for drought and salt-induced gene is an important area of research. For the isolation of genes and to study the molecular mechanism a good qualitative and quantitative RNA is a prerequisite. Jatropha leaves have latex, and therefore isolating RNA using guanidine thiocyanate or cetyltrimethylammonium bromide did not yield desirable quality of RNA. This paper reports a very simple and economical protocol for the isolation of good quality RNA from Jatropha and a few halophytes. The sodium dodecyl sulphate was used as a detergent for lysis of plant cells in the extraction buffer along with bentonite, which inhibits the ribonuclease’s activity. The addition of water saturated phenol in mortar-pestle, during grinding, facilitated better homogenisation of the tissues. Absolute RNA precipitation was obtained with the help of 2-butoxyethanol. Further this RNA was used successfully in preparation of complementary DNA and subsequently used for gene isolation.     

Solubilization Behavior of Phorbol Esters from Jatropha Oil in Surfactant Micellar Solutions

Phorbol esters (PEs) are important toxic compounds found in Jatropha curcas oil and pressed seeds. These compounds are tumor promoters; thus, their removal prior to further utilization of the pressed seed is important. This work aimed to investigate the solubilization behavior of PEs and Jatropha oil in nonionic [effect of the ethylene oxide number (EON), carbon‐chain length and temperature] and anionic (NaCl addition) surfactant systems. The results reveal that an increase in the EON of the nonionic surfactant molecules, rather than an increase in the carbon‐chain length, enhances PE solubilization. The hydrophile‐lipophile balance (HLB) value was correlated with PE solubilization for nonionic surfactant solutions. The solubilization of PEs decreased slightly with increasing temperature, in contrast to solubilization of the oil. Moreover, the mole fraction of PE solubilized in the micelle decreased with increasing electrolyte concentration in anionic surfactant solutions. The solubilization behavior of PEs in both nonionic and anionic solutions indicates that PE acts more like a polar compound than a nonpolar compound. In addition, the PEs in nonionic micelles are likely located in the palisade region (i.e., between the head group and the first few carbon atoms of the tail), whereas those in anionic micelles are likely near the outer core of the head group. This finding suggests that a nonionic surfactant with a higher EON has a greater potential to extract PE from Jatropha seeds. If an anionic surfactant is combined as co‐surfactant, a small amount of electrolyte should be added to increase PE solubilization.     

多效唑浸种对盐胁迫下麻疯树幼苗光合作用的影响

研究了200mmol.L-1NaCl处理（10d）下不同浓度（0、200、400、600、800、1 000mg.L-1）多效唑（PP333）浸种处理对麻疯树南油1号幼苗生长和光合作用的影响。结果表明：在盐胁迫下,不同浓度的PP333浸种处理均显著提高了盐胁迫下的植株干物质积累速率、根冠比和叶绿素含量,提高了净光合速率（Pn）、气孔导度（Gs）、蒸腾速率（Tr）和气孔限制值（Ls）,降低了细胞间隙CO2浓度（Ci）,其中600mg.L-1PP333浸种处理效果最好。可见,多效唑浸种能促进盐胁迫下麻疯树南油1号幼苗的生长,缓解盐胁迫对麻疯树幼苗的非气孔限制,改善光合作用,减缓盐胁迫的伤害。     

小桐子油及其生物柴油在旋流喷嘴中雾化特性数值模拟

为了掌握入射压力对生物质燃油在旋流喷嘴中雾化特性的影响规律,在不同入射压力条件下,采用Fluent数值模拟的方法对小桐子油和小桐子生物柴油进行雾化过程模拟仿真研究。结果表明:使用的旋流雾化喷嘴比普通喷嘴对索特平均直径(D32)有更好的优化效果,内螺旋结构增强了雾化的湍流强度,使得气液两相混合及对雾化液滴的破碎效果更好;在等温条件下,不同入射压力对D32、雾化总表面积、雾化速度、雾化贯穿距影响较大。入射压力越大,D32越小;入射压力越大,雾化总表面积、雾化速度、雾化贯穿距越大。入射压力对D32的影响存在临界值,即小桐子油雾化入射压力达到0.8 MPa、小桐子生物柴油雾化入射压力达到0.7 MPa后,D32趋于稳定,不会随入射压力的增大继续减小;通过曲线拟合及雾滴粒径数量密度分析,得到了不同入射压力距离喷嘴不同位置处轴向D32变化的拟合方程及雾化液滴不同粒径数量密度分布情况。     

甲醇萃取精制麻疯树油研究

碱催化酯交换反应制备生物柴油要求原料油的酸值低于1.5 mgKOH/g.以麻疯树毛油为原料,采用甲醇萃取法对原料油进行预处理,并运用正交试验法考察萃取剂用量、萃取温度、萃取时间和萃取次数等因素对萃取效率的影响规律.从正交试验结果并考虑降低成本和能耗得出最佳萃取工艺条件为:萃取剂体积用量占原料油体积的80%,萃取温度30℃,萃取时间5 min,萃取4次.甲醇萃取法较之传统的酸催化酯化法,具有工艺简单、处理效率高、不产生酸废水等特点,是一种精制麻疯树毛油的理想方法.