La-Faujasite zeolite activated with boron trifluoride: synthesis and application as solid acid catalyst for isobutane–isobutene alkylation

The sodium form of Faujasite Y (Na-FAU) zeolite has been synthesized by the hydrothermal method, and it has been exchanged with ammonium sulphate and later with lanthanum (III) chloride solutions to obtain the La-FAU catalyst. The three zeolites Na-FAU, NH4+-FAU and La-FAU have been characterized by microcrystalline X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, surface area, pore volume and Brönsted acid sites. The La-FAU catalyst has been successfully activated with boron trifluoride etherate, and it has been tested in the alkylation reaction of isobutane with isobutene up to 112 h of time on stream, since the raw La-FAU catalyst showed a rapid deactivation.

Evaluation of hybrid solvents featuring choline chloride-based deep eutectic solvents and ethanol as extractants for the liquid–liquid extraction of benzene from n-hexane: towards a green and sustainable paradigm

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have high viscosities, but known to be mitigated by addition of suitable co-solvent. The effect of such co-solvent on the extraction efficiency of the hybrid solvent is hardly known. This study examined the effect of ethanol on three choline chloride-based DESs (glyceline, reline, and ethaline) by mixing each in turn with ethanol in various volume proportions. The hybrid solvents were evaluated for the extraction of benzene from n-hexane. Pseudo-ternary liquid–liquid equilibrium data were obtained using the refractive index method at 303 K and 1 atm for the systems, n-hexane (1) + benzene (2) + hybrid solvent (glyceline/ethanol, ethaline/ethanol, reline/ethanol) (3), and used to evaluate distribution coefficient (D) and selectivity (S). Furthermore, the physicochemical properties of the hybrid solvents were also determined. The results indicate increase in selectivity with increasing ethanol addition up to 50% and decrease with further addition. All hybrid solvents with 50% ethanol outperform sulfolane and are suitable replacement for same as green and sustainable extractant for aromatics from aliphatics. The glyceline + 50% ethanol emerged the overall best with 49.73% elevation in selectivity and 41.15% reduction in viscosity relative to the neat glyceline. The finding of this study is expected to fillip the drive for paradigm shift in petrochemical industries.

Trending approaches on demulsification of crude oil in the petroleum industry

The complicated nature of crude oil emulsions is part of the major setbacks associated with the postulation of methods for phase separation and demulsification in the oil industry. Despite the increasing efforts in generating efficient and dependable demulsification methods, the majority of emulsions cannot be shattered in reduced times. This review examines the trending techniques of crude oil demulsification in the petroleum industry. Several approaches have been examined to discover the best method of demulsification. Hence, this reports reviewed the past studies on the emulsion, formation of oil emulsions, methods of demulsification, characteristics of demulsifier, mechanism of demulsification, kinetics in demulsification, operating parameters influencing the demulsification processes, the structure of demulsifier, and formulations that are involved in the demulsification. The formulations of crude oil demulsification have been investigated to unveil adequate demulsifiers for crude oil. Therefore, demulsification approaches have several applications due to wider varieties of crude oil, separation equipment, brines, chemical demulsifiers, the method in which demulsifiers is been formulated, and product specifications.

Synthesis and study of aroylethyl(ethyl)-xanthates as stabilizers of polymeric materials

The number of aroylethyl (ethyl)xanthates have been synthesized by the reaction of the exchange decomposition of β-dimethylaminopropiophenone hydrochlorides with potassium xanthate containing several functional groups (C=O, C=S, C–OH), which determine the use of these xanthates as stabilizers with internal synergy to polymeric materials. It was shown that the thermal stability of the compounds, depending on the nature of the substituent in the benzene ring of the molecule was observed in the temperature range of 149–196 °C. It was revealed that aroylethyl(ethyl)xanthates had a stabilizing effect due to the suppression of thermo-oxidative destruction of polyethylene; they increased the induction period of polyethylene oxidation by 2–6 times, and the oxidation rate was reduced by about 3–9 times. Among the studied compounds, 4-hydroxybenzoylethyl (ethyl)xanthate had the greatest stabilizing effect. The study of the mechanism of the stabilizing action of the compounds showed that xanthates react with cumene hydroperoxide (CHP), which proceeded through the stage of formation of an intermediate product that actively decomposed CHP, i.e., the oxidation chain was terminated by the decomposition of the CHP not by the initial xanthates but by their transformation products.

Industrially relevant ethylene trimerization catalysts and processes

Abstract1-Hexene is one of the comonomers used to produce mainly low linear density polyethylene (LLDPE) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE). The production of 1-hexene by ethylene trimerization method gained much interest in petrochemical industry due to its high selectivity towards 1-hexene in comparison to traditional ethylene oligomerization method. In literature, many catalyst systems are reported for ethylene trimerization reaction, but only few of them qualify for the commercial applications. In the present review, activity and selectivity of commercially viable catalyst systems and amount of polyethylene formed as a by-product on using these catalyst systems were discussed. Special attention is given to Chevron Phillips ethylene trimerization technology which is one of the dominant technologies in the production of 1-hexene. The challenges such as fouling issues at commercial plant due to polyethylene by-product formation were discussed and the progress made to overcome the challenges were also discussed. New generation nontoxic titanium catalysts look promising and challenges involved in commercializing these catalysts were presented in the review. Graphic abstract

Towards fuel antioxidants of new types

To find novel classes of potential fuel additives of multivalent activity, particularly antioxidants, a series of recently synthesized ethyl-6-amino-5-cyan-methyl-4-aryl-4H-pyran-3-carboxylates have been investigated using model oxidative reactions. The compounds studied appear to be prospective inhibitors of hydrocarbons oxidation. Some of them are antioxidants of combined action, breaking the chains of the oxidative reactions with cumene peroxide radicals and catalytically decomposing cumene hydroperoxide.

The effect of support on RhFe/Al2O3 for ethanol synthesis via CO hydrogenation

Different alumina samples prepared with sol–gel, chemical precipitation and hydrothermal synthesis were used as supports of Fe-promoted Rh-based catalysts for ethanol synthesis via CO hydrogenation. The samples were characterized by means of N2-adsorpotion, XRD, H2-TPR, XPS, STEM, H2-TPD, DRIFTS, H2 and CO chemisorption. The results indicated that the Al2O3 prepared by hydrothermal synthesis exhibited nano-fiber morphology and constituted of mixed crystal phases, while Al2O3 prepared by sol–gel and chemical precipitation shows no changes of morphology and crystal phases compared with the commercial Al2O3. In addition, nano-fiber Al2O3-supported Rh-based catalyst shows higher ethanol selectivity, which is ascribed to the lower metal–support interaction, higher dispersion and stronger CO insertion ability.

Laboratory evaluation of caricaceae plant as a locally sourced surfactant for gas hydrate inhibition in a laboratory mini flow loop

The oil and gas business is serious business and involves millions of dollars so whatever mitigates flow assurance is taken seriously. One of such things is natural gas hydrates. Hydrates are crystalline solids formed when water under low temperatures and high pressures encapsulated natural gases (C1–C4). They form blockages and impede the flow of gas which can lead to the loss of millions of dollars and at times lead to personnel death. Mitigation of gas hydrates has always been with chemicals especially for areas like deep offshore where accessibility is difficult. The chemicals that are in use currently are generally synthetic, expensive and hazardous to lives and environment hence the need for readily available locally sourced materials that are eco-friendly. This study considers and screens a locally sourced surfactant from the plant family caricaceae’ Extract (CE) as a gas hydrate inhibitor in a locally fabricated 39.4-inch mini flow loop of ½ inch internal diameter (ID) which mimics the offshore environment. Various pressure plots (pressure versus time, initial and final pressure versus time and change in pressure versus time) show that the CE performed better than MEG with percentage volumes of gas left in the system for 0.01–0.05 wt% of the extract having values that ranged from 76.7 to 87.33, while volume left for MEG ranged between 70 and 74.67% (1–5 wt%). The CE performed better in small doses compared to those of MEG, in all weight percentages of study. Furthermore, the inhibition capacities which show the level of performance of the inhibitors was also used as a measure of inhibition for both inhibitors. The CE inhibited systems had values of 69.3, 80.7, 78.07, 79.82, and 83.3%, while that of the MEG inhibited system was 60.53, 55.26, 73.68, 72.81, and 66.67% for the various weight percentages considered. The CE should be developed as gas hydrate inhibitors due to its effectiveness and eco-friendliness.

Effect of the chemical composition of six hydrotreated light cycle oils for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene production by a hydrocracking process

The effect of the chemical composition of the hydrotreated light cycle oil (HDT LCO) on the benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX) production by a hydrocracking (HCK) procedure, is presented. Six different types of HDT LCOs were obtained by submitting two types of LCOs to hydrotreating (HDT) with different catalysts and experimental conditions. The products were analyzed as mono-, di- and tri-aromatic compounds using the supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) method (ASTM D5186). The HDT LCOs were subjected to HCK with a 50/50 in weight mixture of nickel-molybdenum on alumina (NiMo/Al2O3) and H-ZSM5 (NiMo/H-ZSM5, 50/50) at 375 °C, 7.5 MPa, 1.2 h−1, and 750 m3/m3 H2/Oil. The HCK products were analyzed by gas chromatography with a flame ionization detector (GC-FID) and divided into five groups: gas, light hydrocarbons (LHCs), BTEX, middle hydrocarbons (MHCs), and heavy hydrocarbons (HHCs).The results showed that the BTEX formation ranged from 27.0 to 29.8 wt.% and it did not show a significant dependence on the mono-aromatic (59.9 and 75.6 wt.%), total aromatic (61.1–84.2 wt.%) contents or MHCs conversion (58.3–64.3 wt.%) from the departing HDT LCO feedstock. This result implies that, contrary to previous expectations, the BTEX formation does not directly depend on the amounts of total or mono-aromatic compounds when departing from real feedstocks. A GC-PIONA (paraffin, isoparaffin, olefin, naphthene, aromatic) characterization method (ASTM D6623) for mechanism understanding purpose was also carried out.