Sci-Tech Information: In Future, Clothes Could Be Made From Sugar
Researchers at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) have discovered a new chemical process that can convert adipic acid directly from sugar.
Adipic acid is an important chemical used to produce nylon for apparel and other everyday products like carpets, ropes and toothbrush bristles.
Commercially, it is produced from petroleum-based chemicals through the nitric acid oxidation process, which emits large amounts of nitrous oxides, a major greenhouse gas that causes global warming.
IBN Executive Director Professor Jackie Y Ying said: "In the face of growing environmental concerns over the use of fossil fuels and diminishing natural resources, there is an increasing need for a renewable source for energy and chemicals.
"We have designed a sustainable and environmentally friendly solution to convert sugar into adipic acid via our patented catalytic process technology."
Bio-based adipic acid can be synthesised from mucic acid, which is oxidised from sugar; and the mucic acid can be obtained from fruit peels.
Current processes are either performed using multiple steps with low product efficiency and yield, or under harsh reaction conditions using high-pressure hydrogen gas and strong acids, which are costly and unsafe.
IBN said the new chemical catalytic protocol it has designed is simple, efficient and green.
To convert the two, the target reaction is deoxydehydration - oxygen and water will be removed simultaneously by reduction and dehydration.
The researchers found that by combining deoxydehydration and the transfer hydrogenation reaction - adding an alcohol solvent - in one reactor, they could obtain a high yield at 99 per cent of the starting material.
Existing protocols can only achieve a yield of around 60 per cent.
IBN said this method is ideal for industrial development because the process can be performed in one or two steps, the end product is pure, and the reaction conditions are mild and safe.
Dr Yugen Zhang, IBN group leader in green chemistry and energy, said: "This work shows the tremendous potential of developing bio-based adipic acid.
"We are excited that our new protocol can efficiently convert adipic acid from sugar, bringing us one step closer toward industrialisation. To complete this green technology, we are now working on using raw biomass as the feedstock."
This finding was published recently in the leading chemistry journal Angewandte Chemie International Editionwork.
Researchers Grow 3D Graphene Using Sugar Blowing Technique
Researchers from China and Japan have engineered 3D graphene structures inspired by a form of ancient food art known as "blown sugar."
Graphene sheets are often hailed as a super materials as they are incredibly strong, lightweight and excellent conductors of electricity. Until now, however, the preparation of 3D graphene has proven to be difficult and expensive.
Led by researchers at the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) in Japan, the researchers developed a sugar blowing technique to grow 3D self-supported graphene structures, which they termed strutted graphene (SG).
SG is a mix of graphene bubbles, each of them composed by a few graphene sheets and held together by graphene struts. The researchers started with a syrup of glucose and ammonium chloride, which was slowly and gradually heated to form a glucose-based material termed melanoidin. This intermediate compound was then blown into bubbles using ammonium gas at high temperatures. The bubble structure allows free movement of electrons throughout the compound, meaning that SG retains the full conductivity that was so far seen only in 2D graphene sheets.
The resultant mechanical strength and elasticity of SG was found to be superior: it can be compressed down to 80 percent of its original size without losing its conductivity and structure.
The method is also economically feasible; production costs were approximately US$0.50 per gram, a significant reduction from the previous US$50 per gram. The authors say that the method is scalable, such that large amounts of SG can be produced easily for application as catalysts, reservoirs, gas sensors, air filters and sound absorbers.
sources: [http://en.twwtn.com/Information/23_63511.html]
Adipic acid is an important chemical used to produce nylon for apparel and other everyday products like carpets, ropes and toothbrush bristles.
Commercially, it is produced from petroleum-based chemicals through the nitric acid oxidation process, which emits large amounts of nitrous oxides, a major greenhouse gas that causes global warming.
IBN Executive Director Professor Jackie Y Ying said: "In the face of growing environmental concerns over the use of fossil fuels and diminishing natural resources, there is an increasing need for a renewable source for energy and chemicals.
"We have designed a sustainable and environmentally friendly solution to convert sugar into adipic acid via our patented catalytic process technology."
Bio-based adipic acid can be synthesised from mucic acid, which is oxidised from sugar; and the mucic acid can be obtained from fruit peels.
Current processes are either performed using multiple steps with low product efficiency and yield, or under harsh reaction conditions using high-pressure hydrogen gas and strong acids, which are costly and unsafe.
IBN said the new chemical catalytic protocol it has designed is simple, efficient and green.
To convert the two, the target reaction is deoxydehydration - oxygen and water will be removed simultaneously by reduction and dehydration.
The researchers found that by combining deoxydehydration and the transfer hydrogenation reaction - adding an alcohol solvent - in one reactor, they could obtain a high yield at 99 per cent of the starting material.
Existing protocols can only achieve a yield of around 60 per cent.
IBN said this method is ideal for industrial development because the process can be performed in one or two steps, the end product is pure, and the reaction conditions are mild and safe.
Dr Yugen Zhang, IBN group leader in green chemistry and energy, said: "This work shows the tremendous potential of developing bio-based adipic acid.
"We are excited that our new protocol can efficiently convert adipic acid from sugar, bringing us one step closer toward industrialisation. To complete this green technology, we are now working on using raw biomass as the feedstock."
This finding was published recently in the leading chemistry journal Angewandte Chemie International Editionwork.
Researchers Grow 3D Graphene Using Sugar Blowing Technique
Researchers from China and Japan have engineered 3D graphene structures inspired by a form of ancient food art known as "blown sugar."
Graphene sheets are often hailed as a super materials as they are incredibly strong, lightweight and excellent conductors of electricity. Until now, however, the preparation of 3D graphene has proven to be difficult and expensive.
Led by researchers at the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) in Japan, the researchers developed a sugar blowing technique to grow 3D self-supported graphene structures, which they termed strutted graphene (SG).
SG is a mix of graphene bubbles, each of them composed by a few graphene sheets and held together by graphene struts. The researchers started with a syrup of glucose and ammonium chloride, which was slowly and gradually heated to form a glucose-based material termed melanoidin. This intermediate compound was then blown into bubbles using ammonium gas at high temperatures. The bubble structure allows free movement of electrons throughout the compound, meaning that SG retains the full conductivity that was so far seen only in 2D graphene sheets.
The resultant mechanical strength and elasticity of SG was found to be superior: it can be compressed down to 80 percent of its original size without losing its conductivity and structure.
The method is also economically feasible; production costs were approximately US$0.50 per gram, a significant reduction from the previous US$50 per gram. The authors say that the method is scalable, such that large amounts of SG can be produced easily for application as catalysts, reservoirs, gas sensors, air filters and sound absorbers.
sources: [http://en.twwtn.com/Information/23_63511.html]
Source...