University of Minnesota

Other

University of Massachusetts

Georgia Tech Research Corporation

Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties Inc

University of Delaware

Khalifa University of Science and Technology

Michael Tsapatsis

Paul J Dauenhauer

Hae-Kwon Jeong

Limin Ren

Joern Ilja Siepmann

Yasser Al Wahedi

Sankar Nair

Saleh Al Hashimi

Kumar Varoon Agrawal

William John Koros

Tracy Margaret Davis

Frank Steven Bates

Marc Andrew Hillmyer

Jungkyu Choi

Lanny D Schmidt

Raul Francisco Lobo

Lorraine F Francis

Aditya Bhan

Sudeep Maheshwari

Mark A Snyder

Paige Novak

Wei Fan

Dae Sung Park

Charles S Spanjers

Eva Marand

Xueyi Zhang

Omar A Abdelrahman

J Alex Lee

Zhiping Lai

Todd W Pechar

Hong Je Cho

Santiago Romero-Vargas Castrillon

Mi Young Jeon

Anndee Huff

Veerappan Vaithilingam Balasubramanian

Pyung-Soo Lee

Qiang Xiao

Han Zhang

Donghun Kim

Bahman Elyassi

Xiaoli Ma

Prashant Kumar

Peng Bai

K Andre Mkhoyan

Methods and phosphorus-containing solid catalysts for catalyzing dehydration of cyclic ethers (e.g., furans, such as 2,5-dimethylfuran) and alcohols (e.g., ethanol and isopropanol). The alcohols and cyclic ethers may be derived from biomass. One example includes a tandem Diels-Alder cycloaddition and dehydration of biomass-derived 2,5-dimethyl-furan and ethylene to renewable p-xylene. The phosphorus-containing solid catalysts are also active and selective for dehydration of alcohols to alkenes.

Phosphorus-containing solid catalysts and reactions catalyzed thereby, including synthesis of p-xylene

A nanocomposite including a mesoporous, macroporous, or a combination thereof oxide and a zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF) that is filling the pores of the oxide to form a ZIF phase embedded and at least substantially confined mostly within the oxide. Methods of making nanocomposites including the steps of depositing an oxide in the pores of a mesoporous oxide; and further treating the resulting material with vapor, liquid, or supercritical COcomprising an azole-based compound, a carboxylate based compound, or a combination thereof. Use of disclosed articles to separate propylene and propane in a mixture thereof.

Nanocomposite membranes and methods of forming the same

An example method of removing hydrogen sulfide from an input gas includes exposing an adsorbent material to an input gas to obtain an output gas. A concentration of hydrogen sulfide of the output gas is less than a concentration of hydrogen sulfide of the input gas. The adsorbent material includes copper oxide, magnesium oxide, and aluminum oxide. An atomic ratio of copper to magnesium to aluminum of the adsorbent material is X:Y:Z, where X is greater than or equal to 0.6 and less than or equal to 0.9, where Y is greater than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to 0.2, where Z is greater than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to 0.2, and where X+Y+Z is equal to 1.

Adsorbent material for removal of hydrogen sulfide

An example material includes a planar layer of MFI zeolite. The planar layer has a thickness in a range between 4 nm and 10 nm for at least 70% of a basal area of the planar layer. In one embodiment, the planar layer includes an embedded particle of an MFI zeolite.

Direct synthesis of high-aspect ratio zeolite nanosheets

Forming a diene includes contacting a reactant including at least one of a cyclic ether and a diol with a heterogeneous acid catalyst to yield a reaction mixture including a diene. The heterogeneous acid catalyst includes at least one of a Lewis acid catalyst, a supported Lewis-acid catalyst, a Brnsted acid catalyst, a solid acid catalyst, a supported phosphoric acid catalyst, and a sulfonated catalyst. The dehydration of cyclic ethers and diols with high selectivity to yield dienes completes pathways for the production of dienes, such as isoprene and butadiene, from biomass in high yields, thereby promoting economical production of dienes from renewable resources.

Forming dienes from cyclic ethers and diols, including tetrahydrofuran and 2-methyl-1,4-butanediol

The present disclosure relates to wastewater treatment systems for attracting and retaining anaerobic ammonia oxidizing (anammox) bacteria, methods of treating wastewater using such wastewater treatment systems, and the like.

Systems and methods for treating wastewater

Methods for forming two-dimensional (2D) zeolite nanosheets include exposing a multi-lamellar (ML) zeolite material including an organic structure directing agent (OSDA) to a mixture including sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide under conditions sufficient to remove substantially all of the OSDA from the ML zeolite material; and after exposing the ML zeolite material, treating a solution containing the ML zeolite material to sonication and/or mixing under conditions sufficient to substantially exfoliate layers of the ML zeolite to obtain porous two-dimensional zeolite nanosheets that are substantially free of the OSDA. In some cases, without further treatment such as secondary growth of the zeolite coating layer, a deposit of the OSDA-free nanosheets on polymer support exhibits hydrocarbon isomer selectivity.

Pore opened zeolite nanosheets and their suspensions and methods and uses related thereto

The disclosure relates to copper oxide-based sorbents, and processes for preparing and using them. The sorbents are preferably used to remove one or more sulfur species from gas streams. The sorbents comprise a porous silica support material impregnated with CuO nanoparticles. The nanoparticles are uniformly distributed throughout the porous silica support and sulfur compounds are adsorbed on the nanoparticles.

Regenerable system for the removal of sulfur compounds from a gas stream

A process for separating ethanol from a mixture including ethanol and water comprises contacting the mixture with a sorbent or membrane including one or more zeolites having a high adsorption selectivity toward ethanol over water, wherein at least a fraction of the ethanol from the mixture is adsorbed by the sorbent or membrane and an unadsorbed portion of the mixture forms a raffinate having a lower concentration of ethanol than the mixture. The process further includes releasing adsorbed ethanol from the sorbent or membrane as a retentate or a permeant to produce an ethanol extract having a higher concentration of ethanol than the mixture.

Zeolites for separation of ethanol and water

A process for making a mechanically strong, high permeance, and relatively inexpensive support structure for zeolite membranes is described. In an example implementation, a process includes forming a silica powder from silica fibers, mixing the silica powder and a polymer solution to form a mixture, forming the mixture into a shaped mixture, and sintering the shaped mixture to form a silica support.

Silica support structure for a zeolite membrane

Oxide materials, thin films, coatings, and methods of preparing the same are disclosed herein. In certain embodiments the oxide material can have an MWW type framework or an MFI type framework. In one embodiment, the method includes: providing a suspension of an exfoliated layered oxide material in a solvent; and filtering the suspension through a porous support to provide a film of the oxide material, optionally directly on the porous support. Secondary grown films of the oxide material and methods of preparing the same are also provided. Thin zeolite films are attractive for a wide range of applications including molecular sieve membranes and catalytic membrane reactors, permeation barriers, low dielectric constant materials for microelectronics and sensor components for selective sensing.

Zeolite nanosheet membrane

A method for making a pentasil zeolite material includes forming an aqueous solution that includes a structure directing agent and a silica precursor; and heating the solution at a sufficient temperature and for sufficient time to form a pentasil zeolite material from the silica precursor, wherein the structure directing agent includes a quaternary phosphonium ion.

One-step synthesis of mesoporous pentasil zeolite with single-unit-cell lamellar structural features

A thermal processing method for polycrystalline porous films is disclosed. The method and the resulting firms including zeolite films are claimed.

Molecular sieve membranes and thermal treatment methods of making the same

Methods and reactors for producing a fuel are disclosed herein. In some embodiments, the method uses a biomass feedstock and alkane and/or alcohol feedstock, which can be contacted with a metal-containing catalyst to form products including a bio-oil. In some embodiments, oxygen-containing functional groups can be removed from a bio-oil using one or more zeolite thin films.

Method and apparatus for producing a fuel from a biomass or bio-oil

A novel oxide material (MIN-I) comprising YO; and XO, wherein Y is a tetravalent element and X is a trivalent element, wherein X/Y=O or Y/X=30 to 100 is provided. Surprisingly, MIN-I can be reversibly deswollen. MIN-I can further be combined with a polymer to produce a nanocomposite, depolymerized to produce predominantly fully exfoliated layers (MIN-2), and pillared to produce a pillared oxide material (MIN-3), analogous to MCM-36. The materials are useful in a wide range of applications, such as catalysts, thin films, membranes, and coatings.

Layered zeolite materials and methods related thereto

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Edina, MN, United States of America

Michael Tsapatsis