by Kuldeep Saini  , Vinay Mohan Pathak  , Arpit Tyagi  and Rani Gupta

Received: 11 June 2022;  Published: 22 September 2022;  doi: 10.21926/cr.2203029

Cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase (CGTase) is a multifunctional enzyme that hydrolyzes the α-glycosidic bond between two sugar molecules and synthesizes cyclodextrins (CDs) and other transglycosylation products. It is a ubiquitously present extracellular enzyme that offers the CGTase-producing organism the sole right onto starch substrates over other microbes. The present review provides a brief account of diversity among CGTase-producing microbes, CGTase production in different heterologous hosts (wherein extracell [...]

by Le Thanh Mai Pham  , Kai Deng  , Trent R. Northen  , Steven W. Singer  , Paul D. Adams  , Blake A. Simmons  and Kenneth L. Sale

Received: 26 July 2022;  Published: 20 September 2022;  doi: 10.21926/cr.2203028

Lignin is the most abundant renewable source of aromatics on earth, and conversion of it to chemicals and fuels is needed to build an economically viable renewable biofuels industry. Biological routes to converting lignin to fuels and chemicals involve depolymerizing lignin using lignin-degrading enzymes that catalyze the breaking of ether and carbon-carbon bonds in the phenolic and non-phenolic subunits of lignin. Laccases are a crucial class of lignin-degrading enzymes and are copper-containing enzymes capable of [...]

by Mikhail Kipnis  , Elvira Volnina  , Igor Belostotsky  , Roman Galkin  , Natalya Zhilyaeva  , Ivan Levin  , Sergey Kottsov  and Alexander Ezhov

Received: 09 September 2021;  Published: 19 September 2022;  doi: 10.21926/cr.2203027

A precursor CuO/ZnO/Al2O3 catalyst for methanol synthesis has been prepared at room temperature by introducing a ternary salt solution into the excess of sodium carbonate solution following the reverse co-precipitation method. The catalyst was tested for the synthesis of methanol from synthesis gas. The composition (vol. %) has been presented: CO, 22; CO2, 5.8; N2, 5.5; H2, balance. The methanol productivity was recorded to be 2.7 kg kgcat–1 h–1 at a temperature of 260 °С, a pressure of 3 MPa, and a space velocity [...]

by Gabriel Santos Viana  , Jorge Álef Estevam Lau Bomfim  , Gabriel Pereira da Silva  , José Faustino Souza de Carvalho Filho  , Miriam Sanae Tokumoto  , Fernando Cesário Rangel  and Rosenira Serpa da Cruz

Received: 30 June 2022;  Published: 13 September 2022;  doi: 10.21926/cr.2203026

Technological development made in the field of biomass application allows synthesizing several high-value products, such as furfuraldehyde. Furfural, produced through sequential hydrolysis and dehydration reactions from biomass, is considered a platform molecule and a precursor of several other chemicals and biofuels that are generated following reactions such as hydrogenation, hydrodeoxygenation, and decarboxylation. This review aims to reveal the environmental-friendly mechanisms followed for producing furfural d [...]

by Jiaqiang Wang  , Jiao He  , Liang Jiang  , Lulu Xie  , Juanxue Kang  and Wei Wang

Received: 16 July 2022;  Published: 09 September 2022;  doi: 10.21926/cr.2203025

TiO2 photocatalyst was prepared using cellulase as a biotemplate through a hydrothermal process. The as-prepared catalyst was characterized based on physicochemical techniques and was used to remove As(III) from contaminated water. The cellulase templated TiO2 photocatalyst (TiO2-cellulase) had a large specific surface area, which reached 166.6 m2·g–1. It also had a strong oxidation ability and, thus, behaved well in both photocatalytic oxidation of As(III) and dark adsorption. The pH of the solution had a negligib [...]

by Dafné Silva  , Laís Nerys  , Carlos Silva  , Elizabeth Borba  , Tonny Leite  , Teresinha Silva  and Amanda Sena

Received: 27 May 2022;  Published: 25 August 2022;  doi: 10.21926/cr.2203024

Macambira plant (Bromelia laciniosa Mart. Ex Shult. & Schult. f.) is a species belonging to the family Bromeliaceae, which is distributed widely in the hinterlands of northeastern Brazil, from Bahia to Piauí states. The plants of this species contain an enzyme complex named bromelain, which has great potential for therapeutic applications. In the present study, bromelain derived from Bromelia laciniosa leaves was assessed for its thermodynamic properties and in vitro cytotoxic and healing activities. Bromelain was [...]

by Virginia M.R. Menezes  , Gustavo M. Paula  , Liliane A. Lima  , Meiry G.F. Rodrigues  and Fabiano A.N. Fernandes

Received: 05 May 2022;  Published: 16 August 2022;  doi: 10.21926/cr.2203023

In this study, we investigated the oligomerization mechanism of the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis catalyzed by a cobalt-based catalyst supported by SBA-15. The Co/SBA-15 catalyst contained 20% w/w of cobalt. It was prepared by the wet impregnation method and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2 adsorption-desorption, temperature-programmed reduction (TPR), and scanning electron microscopy coupled to X-ray energy dispersion spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). The FT synthesis was conducted in a slurry bed reactor operating [...]

by Olushola S. Ayanda  , Cecilia C. Oforkansi  , Omolola H. Aremu  , Oluwakemi E. Ogunjemiluyi  , Ololade L. Olowoyeye  and Cecilia O. Akintayo

Received: 26 June 2022;  Published: 25 July 2022;  doi: 10.21926/cr.2203022

In this study, we investigated the degradation of amido black dye in an aqueous solution using ultra-violet (UV) light catalyzed by iron oxide nanoparticles (nano-Fe). The nano-Fe was synthesized by sodium borohydride reduction of ferric chloride solution and was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray fluorescence spectrophotometry (XRF). The SEM of the nano-Fe showed regular spherical particles, the XRD examination showed a weak and broad peak at Fe (1 1 0), and the [...]

by Anilkumar Mettu  , Ninad Loke  , Vilas Patil  , Rahul Panday  and Sreenivasarao Gajula

Received: 10 January 2022;  Published: 19 July 2022;  doi: 10.21926/cr.2203021

In this study, we present selective hydrocracking of poly (di and tri) aromatic compounds to monoaromatics, such as benzene, toluene, and xylenes (BTX), over a mixture of Pt/Al2O3 and Y zeolites. The polyaromatic compounds feed is a combined simulated model feed, which is similar to light cycle oil (LCO) in composition. The feed is processed in a fixed bed reactor over a catalyst mixture: in the first step, selective hydrogenation of di and tri-aromatic compounds occurs in the presence of Pt/Al2O3 catalyst, followe [...]

by Luiz Felipe da M. Rocha  , Leonardo C. Ferreira  , Maria de Fatima V. Marques  , Rodrigo S. Bitzer  and Marco Antônio Chaer Nascimento

Received: 18 May 2022;  Published: 06 July 2022;  doi: 10.21926/cr.2203020

We synthesized and spectroscopically characterized a new heterotrimetallic {Ti2Ni} ethylene (co)polymerization precatalyst containing one (α-diimine)NiBr2 and two (phenoxy-imine)TiCl4 scaffolds. Its calculated structure was investigated at the DFT B3LYP/LACVP** level. Our calculations showed that the titanium(IV) centers were in a slightly distorted trigonal bipyramidal environment, and the average Ti···Ni distance was 8.76 Å. The precatalyst was used for synthesizing polyethylene and ethylene copolymers. The resul [...]