Reproducibility of measurements of two main parameters (peak area and retention time) of components (carbon dioxide and sulfur compounds) of the model mixture with the composition close to natural gas was compared on two columns: a newly developed capillary column with a nonpolar phase poly(1-trimethylsilyl-1-propine) (PTMSP), size 30 m × 0.53 mm, and film thickness of the sorbent 2.8 mm, and a commercial column Rt-Q-BOND with a length 30 m, diameter 0.32 mm, and 10 m thick layer of nonpolar polydivinylbenzene sorbent. The application of such columns provides a satisfactory reproducibility of chromatographic characteristics of the compounds being analyzed: the relative root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) for retention times does not exceed 0.10 %, and RMSD for the measured peak areas is below 1.92 %. An insignificant deviation in the peak areas for sulfur dioxide and carbon disulfide (five consecutive injections of a sample) was observed on a capillary column Rt-Q-BOND. The corresponding RMSD values were 4.22 and 2.52 %. The signal response from analytes was recorded using a microcatharometer. The detection limit of sulfur-containing compounds on the column with PTMSP varies from 0.40·10^–3 to 0.82·10^–3mg/ml. It was demonstrated for the first time that it is possible to selectively separate methane macrozone and propane-butane  fraction from microimpurities of hydrocarbons and sulfur compounds, including carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide and mercaptans, on a capillary column with the film thickness 2.8 mm PTMSP.

Silica-supported catalysts with the cationic gross composition V0.3Mo1Te0.23Nb0.12 were synthesized by the slurry method upon variation of the initial support compound (TEOS, silica sol, silica gel, aerosil). The synthesized catalysts were characterized by means of nitrogen thermal desorption, chemical and X-ray diffraction analysis, and high resolution electron microscopy. The catalytic properties were examined in oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane at a temperature of 400 °C in the reaction mixture with the composition С2Н6 : О2 : N2 = 10 : 10 : 80 (vol.%). The maximum activity was observed for the samples obtained with the use of silica gel, which is caused by the formation of nanodomains of the active phase M1 in amorphous matrix of the support and by its partial dispersion.

A cobalt catalyst supported on titania-doped silicon carbide for the Fischer – Tropsch synthesis was synthesized and comprehensively studied using various physicochemical methods. The dynamics of behavior and deactivation of the catalyst, which showed a stable operation for 1500 hours, was studied in a continuous pilot-plant lifecycle test with periodic variation of flow rate, syngas pressure and process temperature. This catalyst has two types of active sites on which products with different parameters of the Schulz – Flory distribution are formed. Depending on the process mode, the efficient formation of «soft waxes» or products with a higher molecular weight can occur.

Owing to its low toxicity, ethyl acetate is a marketable solvent for food and medical industries. A conventional method of ethyl acetate synthesis is etherification of acetic acid by ethanol in the presence of sulfuric acid or cationites. An alternative advanced method for the production of ethyl acetate is dehydrogenation of ethanol on a heterogeneous catalyst; this process can be implemented as its classical variant or in a combination with rectification. For any variant of the process implementation, it is important to test the heterogeneous catalyst for long stable operation. The paper is devoted to testing of commercial catalyst NTK-4 in the long-term operation on a pilot plant. The catalyst demonstrated stable operation with no loss in activity for 1250 hours. Characteristics of the process and compositions of the reaction mixture upon variation of the operation mode are reported.

The process of NO desorption from the surface of supported copper-containing catalysts CuO/γ-Al2O3 was studied in dependence on temperature. Therewith, the preliminary adsorption of NO was carried out both in an inert argon medium and in the presence of oxygen. It was shown that the presence of oxygen considerably increased the capacity of samples with respect to NO owing to the additional redox mechanism. Besides, the desorption temperature maximum shifted toward higher temperatures. For the sample with the highest capacity to NO, the desorption was performed in the presence of hydrogen or propane as a reductant. Desorption in the presence of hydrogen led to the reduction of adsorbed species at a temperature of 160–190 °C. In the presence of propane, NOx was desorbed mostly due to thermal destruction of adsorbed nitrogen species to NO in the temperature range of 180–250 °C, similar to the case of inert atmosphere. The contribution of reduction due to the presence of propane showed up at a temperature of 260–300 °C.

Lignin is a bulky waste of the hydrolysis and paper-pulp industry. To solve the problem of its utilization, approaches to deep processing of wood biomass are being developed; they are based on a preliminary catalytic fractionation of wood biomass into main components, which are processed into target products. For the first time, the reductive catalytic fractionation of larch was studied in a supercritical ethanol medium in the presence of 3%Ru/С bifunctional catalyst containing acid groups. The goal of the study was to reveal the effect of the catalyst and features of a hydrogen donor (ethanol, H2, formic acid) on the yields and composition of the products. It was shown that wood hemicelluloses efficiently (ca. 95 wt.%) depolymerize to ethanol at 250 °С. The use of hydrogen in the presence of the catalyst makes it possible to increase the conversion of lignin to 61 wt.% with retaining 47 wt.% cellulose in a solid residue. The maximum conversion of lignin equal to 67 wt.% was obtained in the presence of formic acid; however, the indicated conditions lead to undesirable depolymerization of cellulose (the conversion of 66 wt.%). The main monomeric products of lignin conversion on the catalyst are propenylguaiacol and propylguaiacol. In the liquid products obtained with ethanol and formic acid as the reductants, the content of propenylguaiacol reaches 36 and 33 rel.%, respectively. In the products obtained with hydrogen, the content of propylguaiacol increases to 33 rel.% in the presence of the catalyst.

It was shown that the hydrolysis-hydrogenolysis of cellulose to alcohols can be catalyzed by a two-component system Ca(OH)2 – composite material containing tungsten carbides (W2C/WC), which are obtained by a combination of mechanochemical activation and self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) using an exothermic mixture of tungsten oxide, metallic magnesium and carbon black. The introduction of inert additives (metallic tungsten or calcium carbonate) in the exothermic mixture allowed controlling the amount and ratio of tungsten carbides (W2C, WC). The introduction order of reagents in the exothermic mixture and their activation affected the textural properties of materials. Advantages of the SHS method over mechanical activation were demonstrated. The catalytic properties of these materials were studied in the hydrolysis- hydrogenolysis of cellulose. Phase composition of the composite materials was found to affect the yield of ethylene glycol (EG) and 1,2-propylene glycol (1,2-PG) and their ratio. The maximum total yield of EG and 1,2-PG (25–31 %) was obtained in the presence of a sample with high W2C content.

A promising way for oat hulls utilization is their bioconversion to industrial bioethanol. To improve economic efficiency of the process, it is necessary to increase the concentration of bioethanol in the wash. Here, bioethanol was produced using a combination of enzymatic hydrolysis and alcoholic fermentation, i.e. a combination of biocatalytic steps; in addition, a delayed introduction of inoculum was used. The aim of the work was a comparative study of the indicated processes at the initial concentration of substrate 60 g/l (single loading of the substrate) and upon its increase to 120 g/l by enzyme-substrate replenishment (loading of the substrate in the concentration 60 g/l at the beginning of the process, and replenishment after 4 and 8 h with 30 g/l of the substrate). The substrate was represented by oat hulls treated with 4 wt.% nitric acid on a pilot production plant; enzymatic hydrolysis was carried out using a multienzyme composition of commercial enzyme preparations Cellolux-A and Ultraflo Core; alcoholic fermentation was performed with the yeast Saccharomyces сerevisiae Y-1693 (Russian Collection of Industrial Microorganisms); equipment – a fermenter of volume 11 l. A twofold increase in the substrate concentration via the replenishment led to an increase in bioethanol concentration by a factor of 1.7 (from 2.4 to 4.0 vol.%) but decreased its yield by 11.4 %. The replenishment modes providing an increased concentration of bioethanol in the wash without a decrease in its yield are under development.

he improvement of technologies for the production of foodstuffs and dietary supplements from vegetable feedstock using natural and efficient biocatalytic systems is a promising direction in the development of agroindustrial complex. At present, enzyme preparations produced in Russia are virtually absent at the market; therewith, high cost of their imported analogs increases the prime cost of products. A study on efficiency of the domestic broad-spectrum enzyme preparation Glucanofoetidin, which was developed at the Russian Scientific Research Institute of Food Biotechnology, toward fruit and berry feedstock and corn showed an increase in the yield of extractive substances (amino acids, sugars, phenol compounds, and carotenoids), particularly the biologically active components (tocopherols, anthocyanins, and vitamins), by 7–18 % as well as the quality improvement and an increase in the yield of target products (juices and extracts) by 10–44 %. Practical importance of Glucanofoetidin consists in a more rational use of vegetable feedstock as compared to conventional technology without enzymatic treatment, and also in a considerable (twofold) shortening of the process time. The multienzyme composition of Glucanofoetidin makes it promising for use in juice, confectionary, brewing, oil-and-fat and baking industries.