Chemical Engineering & Technology

A microreactor setup with internal recirculation operated in continuous mode was used to demonstrate Beckmann rearrangement of cyclohexanone oxime dissolved in cyclooctane with oleum to ϵ-caprolactam. At 100 °C, the conversion of cyclohexanone oxime was complete; selectivity towards ϵ-caprolactam was 99 %. However, cyclooctane as solvent reduced the purity of the produced ϵ-caprolactam.

CaCO₃ particles can be synthesized by mixing CaCl₂-containing liposome suspension and CO₂-saturated water as demonstrated by scanning transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The liposomal reaction system can be applied to the formation of fine CaCO₃ particles through sequestration of CO₂ under optimized conditions.

For the first time it is demonstrated that the conventional dimethyl ether DME purification and methanol recovery distillation sequence can be effectively converted into a single-step separation based on the dividing-wall column (DWC) technology. The novel proposed DWC alternative decreases the energy requirements by 28 % and the equipment costs by 20 %.

Melt crystallization is a promising technology for the production of enriched unsaturated fatty acid mixtures from polysaturated and unsaturated fatty acid mixtures obtained by hydrolysis of natural plant oils. The effects of supercooling and cooling rates on deciding factors affecting crystallization were evaluated by high-resolution polarized-light microscopy.

Yarrowia lipolytica lipase was immobilized on economical bamboo charcoal to catalyze the resolution of the model enantiomers (R,S)-1-phenylethanol in heptane, exhibiting a significantly improved enzymatic catalysis in comparison to free lipase. In contrast to activated charcoal, on bamboo charcoal more lipase with high enzymatic efficiency can be immobilized.