Green Diesel Production by Catalytic Hydrodeoxygenation of Vegetables Oils.

Non-renewable fossil fuels and the air pollution associated with their combustion have made it necessary to develop fuels that are environmentally friendly and produced from renewable sources. In addition, global warming and climate change have brought to the attention of many countries the need to develop programs and reforms, such as the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations and the European Green Deal, that finance and promote the conversion of all socio-economic activities in favor of sustainable and environmentally friendly development. These major projects include the development of non-polluting biofuels derived from renewable sources.

Multi-Elemental Composition Data Handled by Chemometrics for the Discrimination of High-Value Italian Pecorino Cheeses.

The multi-elemental composition of three typical Italian Pecorino cheeses, Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) Pecorino Romano (PR), PDO Pecorino Sardo (PS) and Pecorino di Farindola (PF), was determined by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES). The ICP-OES method here developed allowed the accurate and precise determination of eight major elements (Ba, Ca, Fe, K, Mg, Na, P, and Zn). The ICP-OES data acquired from 17 PR, 20 PS, and 16 PF samples were processed by unsupervised (Principal Component Analysis, PCA) and supervised (Partial Least Square-Discriminant Analysis, PLS-DA) multivariate methods.

Selective Catalytic Hydrogenation of Vegetable Oils on Lindlar Catalyst.

Selective hydrogenation of vegetable oils is a significant step in the synthesis of several precursors for the preparation of bioplastics and biodiesel. In this work, a commercial Lindlar catalyst (palladium on calcium carbonate; poisoned with lead) was used as an efficient catalyst in the selective partial hydrogenation of canola and sunflower oils. Different operating conditions (pressure, temperature, and catalyst amount) were tested, and results were achieved by gas chromatography analysis of methyl esters obtained by the transesterification of the triglycerides.

Geographical discrimination of red garlic (Allium sativum L.) produced in Italy by means of multivariate statistical analysis of ICP-OES data.

Sixty-five samples of red garlic (Allium sativum L.) coming from four different production territories of Italy were analysed by means of inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry. The garlic samples were discriminated according to the geographical origin using the content of seven elements (Ba, Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn, Na and Sr).

Electrochemically promoted C-N bond formation from acetylenic amines and CO2. Synthesis of 5-methylene-1,3-oxazolidin-2-ones.

[reaction: see text] An efficient electrochemical synthesis of 5-methylene-1,3-oxazolidin-2-ones (2a-h) from acetylenic amines (1a-h) and carbon dioxide has been achieved by direct electrolysis of solution of MeCN and Et4NPF6 containing the amine, with subsequent CO2 bubbling and heating. The yields vary from good to excellent, the conditions are mild, and the use of toxic and harmful chemicals and catalysts is avoided.

A safe and mild synthesis of organic carbonates from alkyl halides and tetrabutylammonium alkyl carbonates.

A safe and mild procedure for the synthesis of mixed organic carbonates is described. Reaction of commercially available tetrabutylammonium methoxide and ethoxide with carbon dioxide yields the corresponding methyl and ethyl tetrabutylammonium carbonates (TBAMC and TBAEC). The reactions of these new compounds with several different alkyl halides give methyl and ethyl carbonates in high yields.