The review paper deals with catalytic systems based on porphyrin complexes of metals used for stimulation of reactions of olefins and carbon dioxide. It is shown that these porlhyrin complexes may behave as effective catalysts for carboxylation of epoxides. Specific features of catalysis of the interaction between oxiranes and carbon dioxide in the presence of homogeneous and heterogenized porphyrin complexes of metals, including those comprising various promoters, are considered.

Various methods for preparation of 2,3,5-trimethyl-1,4-benzoquinone (TMQ) – the key semiproduct for synthesis of vitamin E – through catalytic oxidation of 2,3,6-trimethylphenol (TMP) are considered. Potentials of aqueous solutions of Mo-V-P heteropoly acids (HPA) as catalysts for oxidation of TMP with oxygen are shown. Various technological modes of application of HPA for the said reaction are analyzed, among which are a one-stage homogeneous acetic acid oxidation of TMP and a two-phase two-stage method. The efficiency of the two-stage method is demonstrated; it provides a high (up to 99.5 %) selectivity to TMQ and a high productivity of the catalyst for the target reaction (ca 600–800 g TMQ·Lcat^–1·h^–1).

Nickel-based catalysts for hydrodeoxygenation of vegetable oils are an alternative to the systems based on noble metals and sulfide catalysts for hydrotreatment. Modification of the nickel catalysts with molybdenum and copper allows the yield of target products to be increased and the corrosion resistance of the catalytic system to be improved. The studies were aimed at establishing relationships between temperature, contact time and activity of the modified nickel-containing catalyst to hydroxygenation of esters of fatty carboxylic acids, as well as at determining effective kinetic parameters of the reactant consumption. A flow reactor with the fixed catalyst bed was used for experimental studies at Р_Н2 = 0.25 MPa, temperatures 270, 285, 300 and 315 °C, contact time varied from 600 to 1800 s. It was shown that the selectivity to the main reaction products – nonane and decane – did not change upon varying the reaction temperature and contact time. The experimental data were used for determining the effective rate constants and activation energy of the reaction.

The influence of the composition of the active component of copper-doped nickel catalysts on the activity and selectivity to hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of model vegetable oils (esters) to eliminate oxygen and produce alkanes was studied. The Ni/Al₂O₃ andNi-Cu/Al₂O₃ catalysts were shown to be active to this process. They catalyzed HDO of a mixture of methyl ester of hexadecane acid and ethyl ester of decane acid to produce C₆–C₁₆ alkanes and oxygen-containing compounds, methane and ethane being detected in the gas phase. A decrease in the Ni/Cu ratio in the catalyst led to a decrease in the ester conversion and in the catalyst activity to hydrogenolysis of C–C bonds. Hence, the introduction of copper may favor preservation of the carbon skeleton of HDO-produced alkanes and a decrease in the methane yield. XRD studies revealed the formation of solid solutions Ni_1–xCu_x upon addition of copper to the Ni/Al₂O₃ catalyst. From XPS data, an increase in the copper proportion in the Ni-Cu/Al₂O₃ catalyst resulted in a decrease in the Ni/Cu ration on the catalyst surface.

The studies were focused on changes in the structure, texture and acid properties of the Mg-HZSM-5/Al₂O₃ catalyst upon its treatment at different temperatures (400 and 500 °С) and times (6 and 12 h). Physicochemical techniques such as X-ray fluorescence analysis, XPS, solid-state ²⁷Al NMR, nitrogen adsorption, DRIFT spectroscopy, ammonia TPD were used for sample characterization. The catalytic activitites of the initial and treated samples were studied regarding conversion of dimethyl ether (DME) to lower olefins. It was shown that the initial activity of the Mg-containing zeolite catalyst was dependent of the total acidity of the surface and independent of the initial strength distribution of the acid sites, and the catalyst stability depended on the morphology.

In the review paper, main application areas and technological potentialities of immobilized oxidoreductase enzymes are analyzed. The structure and mechanisms of catalytic action of most important enzymes of the oxidoreductase class are described; main factors affecting the enzyme behavior, procedures for their immobilization, and examples of effective applications of immobilized oxidoreductases in technological processes are discussed. Main trends in R&D in the field are analyzed.

A biocatalytic process for synthesis of acrylic acid was studied in the presence of Rhodococcus erythropolis 4-1 and Alcaligenes faecalis 2 strains with the pronounced amidase activity. The optimal pH of the process was 6–7 for R. erythropolis 4-1 and 7–7.5 for A. faecalis 2, optimal temperature 20–50 °C for both strains, optimal concentration of acrylamide 150 mM for R. erythropolis 4-1 and 250 mM for A. faecalis 2. At the stepwise addition of the substrate, the synthesis was more effective with A. faecalis 2 than with R. erythropolis 4-1. Freezing at –20 °C was shown preferable for storing the biocatalysts. The amidase activity of both humid and dry stored A. faecalis 2 cells immobilized on activated glutaric aldehyde and non-activated chitosan was not decreased.