@article { ISI:000374626200017, title = {Catalytic decarboxylation of non-edible oils over three-dimensional, mesoporous silica-supported Pd}, journal = {Journal of Molecular Catalysis A-Chemical}, volume = {417}, year = {2016}, month = {JUN}, pages = {126-134}, publisher = {ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV}, address = {PO BOX 211, 1000 AE AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS}, abstract = {

Deoxygenation of fatty acids (oleic and stearic acids) and non-edible oil (jatropha oil) over Pd(1-5 wt\%) supported on two structurally different, three-dimensional, mesoporous silica (SBA-12 and SBA-16) catalysts was investigated. Pd/SBA-16 (cubic mesoporous structure with space group Im (3) over barm) showed higher catalytic activity than Pd/SBA-12 (hexagonal mesoporous structure with space group p6(3)/mmc). The influence of reaction parameters like temperature, H-2 pressure and Pd content as well as the nature of the feedstock on catalytic activity and product selectivity was studied. A temperature of above 320 degrees C, reaction time of 5 h and Pd content (on silica surface) of 3 wt\% enabled complete conversion of the fatty compounds into diesel-range hydrocarbons. Deoxygenation proceeded through hydrodeoxygenation and decarboxylation mechanisms when a saturated (stearic) acid was used as a feed while it advanced mainly through decarboxylation route when an unsaturated (oleic) acid was employed. Higher surface hydrophobicity and smaller size particles of Pd are the possible causes for the superior catalytic activity of Pd/SBA-16. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

}, keywords = {Biofuel, Deoxygenation, Diesel-range hydrocarbons, Mesoporous silica, Supported palladium, Vegetable oil}, issn = {1381-1169}, doi = {10.1016/j.molcata.2016.03.023}, author = {Raut, Ravindra and Banakar, Vikram V. and Darbha, Srinivas} } @article {46018, title = {Highly efficient Pt-MoOx/ZrO2 catalyst for green diesel production}, journal = {Catalysis Communications}, volume = {125}, year = {2019}, month = {MAY}, pages = {70-76}, type = {Article}, abstract = {

Bimetallic Pt-MoOx supported on ZrO2 exhibits higher catalytic activity than known catalysts for converting fatty acids into green diesel at as low as 200 degrees C. A change in selectivity from decarboxylation/decarbonylation to hydrodeoxygenation and enhancement in the deoxygenation activity of Pt were observed when MoOx was also present in the catalyst composition. In X-ray photoelectron spectra, Pt 4f lines of 4Pt-8MoO(x)/ZrO2 occurred at lower binding energies than those for 4Pt/ZrO2. Part of Mo was reduced from +6 to +5 oxidation state in the presence of Pt. There seems to exist some electronic interaction between the support and metal, making 4Pt-8MoO(x)/ZrO2 a highly efficient and selective deoxygenation catalyst.

}, keywords = {Bimetallic catalyst, Biofuel, Deoxygenation of fatty acids, Green Diesel, Hydrocarbons, Supported platinum catalyst}, issn = {1566-7367}, doi = {10.1016/j.catcom.2019.03.027}, author = {Janampelli, Sagar and Darbha, Srinivas} } @article {46827, title = {Catalytic conversion of HMF into ethyl levulinate - a biofuel over hierarchical zeolites}, journal = {Catalysis Communications}, volume = {140}, year = {2020}, month = {JUN}, pages = {105998}, type = {Article}, abstract = {

Catalytic conversion of 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfuraldehyde (HMF, a biomass-derived platform chemical) into ethyl levulinate (EL) is an attractive approach for producing renewable transport fuels for mitigating global warming. We report here the application of hierarchical zeolites (DZSM-5 and MZSM-5 synthesized by desilication and mesoporous templating approaches, respectively) as solid acid catalysts for this transformation. Hierarchical structure of these zeolites was confirmed by X-ray diffraction, nitrogen-physisorption and electron microscopy, and acidity was determined by temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia. HMF conversion of 94.2\% with EL selectivity of 90.8\% was achieved over the MZSM-5 catalyst. Acidity, pore size and surface properties affected the catalytic activity.

}, keywords = {5-Hydroxymethyl-2-furfuraldehyde (HMF), Biofuel, ethyl levulinate, Hierarchical zeolite, ZSM-5}, issn = {1566-7367}, doi = {10.1016/j.catcom.2020.105998}, author = {Chithra, P. A. and Darbha, Srinivas} } @article {48220, title = {Lignocellulose degradation by Penicillium janthinellum enzymes is influenced by its variable secretome and a unique set of feedstock characteristics}, journal = {Bioresource Technology}, volume = {365}, year = {2022}, month = {DEC}, pages = {128129}, type = {Article}, abstract = {

Substrate characteristics and proteins that affect lignocellulose-hydrolysis by the hypercellulolytic fungus Peni-cillium janthinellum NCIM 1366 (PJ-1366) were investigated. The hydrolysis rate of PJ-1366 enzymes was very high, with upto 75 \% of the reaction being completed in initial 4 h. Comparison of the hydrolytic efficiencies on differently pretreated biomass indicated that the greatest (negative) effect was imparted by lignin, suggesting that improving ligninase activity of the PJ-1366 enzymes may help to improve hydrolysis. Larger pore sizes and higher crystallinity of substrates, which favor enzyme penetration and processive hydrolysis, positively influ-enced hydrolysis efficiency. For alkali-pretreated substrates, 16 FPU/g of PJ-1366 cellulases released the sugar -equivalent of using 10 FPU/g of a commercial biomass hydrolyzing enzyme. By correlation analysis, 41 proteins, including 20 CAZymes were identified, whose abundance in the secretome positively correlated with the cellulase activities of the culture filtrate. These proteins may be considered as the primary drivers of FPase/ CMCase/pNPGase/xylanase activity in PJ-1366.

}, keywords = {Biofuel, CAZyme, Cellulase, Penicillium, Secretome}, issn = {0960-8524}, doi = {10.1016/j.biortech.2022.128129}, author = {Christopher, Meera and Sreeja-Raju, Athiraraj and Sankar, Meena and Gokhale, Digambar Vitthal and Pandey, Ashok and Sukumaran, Rajeev K.} }