ABSTRACT
In order to achieve a viable biodiesel industry, new catalyst technology is needed which can process a variety of less expensive waste oils, such as yellow grease and brown grease. However, for these catalysts to be effective for biodiesel production using these feedstocks, they must be able to tolerate higher concentrations of free fatty acids (FFA), water, and sulfur. We have developed a class of zirconia supported metaloxide catalysts that achieve high FAME yields through esterification of FFAs while simultaneously performing desulfurization and de-metallization functions. In fact, methanolysis, with the zirconia supported catalysts, was more effective for desulfurization than an acid washing process. In addition, using zirconia supported catalysts to convert waste grease, high in sulfur content, resulted in a FAME product that could meet the in-use ASTM diesel fuel sulfur specification (<500 ppm). Possible mechanisms of desulfurization and de-metallization by methanolysis were proposed to explain this activity.
Subject(s)
Biofuels/analysis , Fatty Acids, Nonesterified/chemistry , Industrial Oils , Sulfur/chemistry , Sulfur/isolation & purification , Zirconium/chemistry , Catalysis , EsterificationABSTRACT
Biodiesel produced by transesterification is a promising green fuel in the future. A new heterogeneous catalyst, Zn/Al complex oxide, was prepared for biodiesel production. The results showed that the catalyst derived from a hydrotalcite-like precursor with a zinc/aluminum atom ratio of 3.74:1 and calcined at 450 degrees C gave the highest conversion of 84.25%. Analysis of XRD, XPS, FI-IF, TG-DTA, BET and alkalinity tests demonstrated that it is the unique structure of hydrotalcite-like compound precursor that gave the catalyst a high alkalinity greater than 11.1. The optimal reaction condition for Zn/Al complex oxide was under methanol sub-critical condition: 200 degrees C, 2.5MPa, 1.4% (wt) catalyst dosage, and 24:1 methanol to oil ratio. Under these conditions, the conversion reached 84.25% after 90min, which was better than Mg/Al complex oxides. The excellent tolerance to water and free fatty acid was exhibited when the oil feed had fewer than 6% FFA or 10% water content with a conversion greater than 80%.
Subject(s)
Aluminum Oxide/chemistry , Biofuels , Biotechnology/methods , Zinc Oxide/chemistry , Aluminum Hydroxide/chemistry , Aluminum Oxide/chemical synthesis , Esterification , Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated , Magnesium Hydroxide/chemistry , Methanol/chemistry , Microscopy, Electron, Scanning , Particle Size , Plant Oils/chemistry , Rapeseed Oil , Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared , Temperature , X-Ray Diffraction , Zinc Oxide/chemical synthesisABSTRACT
Hypoxia is recognized as an important factor contributing to cancer development and drug resistance. Cetuximab, a chimeric monoclonal antibody to EGFR, is known to inhibit HIF-1 alpha expression levels and to enhance the cytotoxicity of chemotherapeutic agents. We demonstrated that hypoxia induced drug resistance in gastric cancer cells. Cetuximab enhanced oxaliplatin-induced cytotoxicity and apoptosis in normoxia and caused a reversal of drug resistance in hypoxia. Normoxic and hypoxic gastric cancer cells were treated with cetuximab, oxaliplatin or the combination and assessed for cell growth, proliferation, and apoptosis. Combination treatment resulted in a marked inhibition of HIF-1 alpha expression levels in hypoxic cells and caused a significant reduction in the expression of activated phosphorylated AKT, ERK1/2, p-BAD and VEGF in both normoxia and hypoxia with greater levels of inhibition in hypoxia. In summary, cetuximab inhibits HIF-1 alpha expression via the MAPK/ERK and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways and functions to overcome drug resistance induced by hypoxia. Cetuximab-oxaliplatin combination therapy may therefore emerge as an attractive treatment strategy for advanced gastric cancer.
