<p>Over time, the Baltic Sea has been contaminated by increasing discharges of pollutants from human activities. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have caused toxic effects in wildlife and excess of nutrients have led to eutrophication. Furthermore, there are indications that certain polyhalogenated compounds similar in structure to man-made POPs are produced by the biota present in this sea. In the late 1990’s both methoxylated polybrominated diphenyl ethers (MeO-PBDEs) and hydroxylated-PBDEs (OH-PBDEs) were identified in fish and seals living in this environment. OH-PBDEs can originate from metabolism of PBDEs, but both OH- and MeO-PBDEs are also known to be natural products in marine environments. Another group of POPs, the polybrominated dibenzo-<i>p</i>-dioxins (PBDDs), are not produced commercially, but are known to be by-products of chemical industry and of the combustion of, e.g., brominated flame retardants (BFRs). In contrast to the OH- and MeO-PBDEs, PBDDs have not previously been shown to be natural products, although certain related compounds have been indicated to have a natural origin.</p><p>This thesis describes the identification of PBDDs, OH-PBDEs and MeO-PBDEs in algae, blue mussels and fish living in the Baltic Sea. Several of these compounds were also detected in cyanobacteria. Moreover, PBDDs were present in fish, mussels, shrimp and crabs from different regions of the Baltic Sea and from the west coast of Sweden, but not in organisms from freshwater environments. The levels of these compounds in Baltic fish generally exceeded those of their chlorinated analogues. The origin of the PBDDs identified is somewhat unclear, but the high levels present in blue mussels and the pattern of congeners observed indicate natural production. The presence of PBDDs, OH-PBDEs and MeO-PBDEs in fish and shellfish constitutes a potential risk to both humans and wildlife and requires further investigation.</p>

Over time, the Baltic Sea has been contaminated by increasing discharges of pollutants from human activities. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have caused toxic effects in wildlife and excess of nutrients have led to eutrophication. Furthermore, there are indications that certain polyhalogenated compounds similar in structure to man-made POPs are produced by the biota present in this sea. In the late 1990’s both methoxylated polybrominated diphenyl ethers (MeO-PBDEs) and hydroxylated-PBDEs (OH-PBDEs) were identified in fish and seals living in this environment. OH-PBDEs can originate from metabolism of PBDEs, but both OH- and MeO-PBDEs are also known to be natural products in marine environments. Another group of POPs, the polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PBDDs), are not produced commercially, but are known to be by-products of chemical industry and of the combustion of, e.g., brominated flame retardants (BFRs). In contrast to the OH- and MeO-PBDEs, PBDDs have not previously been shown to be natural products, although certain related compounds have been indicated to have a natural origin. This thesis describes the identification of PBDDs, OH-PBDEs and MeO-PBDEs in algae, blue mussels and fish living in the Baltic Sea. Several of these compounds were also detected in cyanobacteria. Moreover, PBDDs were present in fish, mussels, shrimp and crabs from different regions of the Baltic Sea and from the west coast of Sweden, but not in organisms from freshwater environments. The levels of these compounds in Baltic fish generally exceeded those of their chlorinated analogues. The origin of the PBDDs identified is somewhat unclear, but the high levels present in blue mussels and the pattern of congeners observed indicate natural production. The presence of PBDDs, OH-PBDEs and MeO-PBDEs in fish and shellfish constitutes a potential risk to both humans and wildlife and requires further investigation.

Les éthers de cellulose (EC) sont des agents rétenteurs d'eau très utilisés dans les matériaux de construction: ils limitent fortement la perte d'eau due principalement à l'absorption dans le substrat pendant la cure, favorisant ainsi les réactions d'hydratation du ciment nécessaires à la prise qui assurent de bonnes propriétés mécaniques pour le matériau final. Cependant les causes exactes de ce phénomène de rétention d'eau restent encore incomprises à ce jour. Dans ce travail de thèse, afin d'analyser les mécanismes de la rétention, nous tentons de mieux comprendre pourquoi et comment les transferts hydriques sont modifiés en présence d'EC. Dans un premier temps, nous montrons, grâce à des tests de filtration et par les méthodes usuelles de caractérisation (microscopie, diffusion de la lumière) que les EC en solution forment des agrégats polydisperses de plusieurs dizaines de microns de diamètre. Nous montrons ensuite qu'une solution d'EC passant à travers un matériau poreux modèle (tamis) bouche progressivement ce tamis, même si la taille de maille est nettement supérieure à celle des agrégats, du fait d'un effet de blocage statistique. Cet effet de coincement se produit également lors de l'écoulement à travers un milieu poreux 3D (empilements de billes de verre), ce qui conduit à l'arrêt du fluide après une certaine hauteur de pénétration dans le milieu. Enfin, en revenant aux tests standards de rétention avec le matériau réel (mortier) puis en les comparant au test de filtration à travers un tamis nous montrons que ce dernier est un bon test alternatif qui permet de caractériser la capacité de rétention des EC / In building materials, such as mortars, cellulose ethers (CE) are used as water-retention agents. They prevent the loss of water due to absorption into the substrate during curing stage. They maintain wet conditions for proper hardening and final properties. However, the cause of retention remains unknown. First, we show through filtration tests and usual characterization methods (microscopy, light scattering) that CE solutions are composed of polydisperse aggregates of several tens of microns in diameter. We then show that a CE solution passing through a model porous medium (sieve) progressively block the sieve, even if the mesh size is much larger than the aggregates diameter, due to a statistical effect of blocking. This jamming effect also occurs during the flow through a 3D porous medium (stacks of glass beads), which led to the stopping of the fluid after a certain penetration depth of the medium. Finally, coming back to the retention standard tests with the real material (mortar) and comparing them to the filtration test we show that the latter is a good alternative test to characterize the CE retention capacity

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2007. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 102-117). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Les carburants synthétisés à partir de la biomasse représentent une alternative crédible aux carburants conventionnels. La biomasse lignocellulosique présente en effet une importante disponibilité et son traitement physico-chimique permet d’obtenir une grande variété de composés aux propriétés intéressantes. La structure de ces biocarburants fait cependant intervenir des fonctions oxygénées, qui rendent la compréhension des phénomènes d’oxydation complexes. Le projet 2G-CSAFE, dans lequel s’inscrit le travail présenté ici, a pour objectif d’explorer la cinétique d’oxydation de certains de ces carburants. Les fonctions chimiques étudiées lors de ce travail sont les fonctions cétone, éther et ester. La combinaison de deux de ces fonctions (comme dans le cas des lévulinates) est également étudiée. Après une étude bibliographique qui vise à identifier les informations apportées par les études passées sur les composés les plus simples de chaque famille (acétone, diméthyl-éther et formiate de méthyle), l’accent est mis sur les rares travaux disponibles liés à la butanone, la cyclopentanone, la cyclohexanone, le dibutyl-éther, le formiate de butyle et le lévulinate de méthyle. La cinétique d’oxydation de ces composés est ensuite étudiée par des approches numériques et expérimentales. Des calculs de chimie théorique sont menés dans un premier temps pour étudier l’impact des fonctions oxygénées sur la structure du carburant et pour obtenir les constantes de vitesse relatives aux principales réactions mises en jeu. Des expériences en réacteur auto-agité par jets gazeux sont ensuite réalisées sur une gamme de température pouvant aller de 450 à 1250 K, à des pressions de 1 ou 10 atm et pour des richesses allant de 0,5 à 2. Les données ainsi collectées sont enfin utilisées pour développer des mécanismes cinétiques. L’accord entre les simulations et les données expérimentales est globalement satisfaisant pour des composés aussi complexes et les résultats présentés ici pourront être source d’analogies pour la modélisation d’autres carburants oxygénés. / Fuels produced from biomass are an interesting alternative to conventional fuels. Lignocellulosic biomass is indeed highly available and a wide variety of compounds can be obtained through its physico-chemical conversion. However, the structure of the fuels obtained from such processes involves oxygenated groups that make complicated the understanding of the oxidation chemistry. The work presented here is part of the 2G-CSAFE project, which aims at exploring the oxidation kinetics of these fuels. Chemical functions studied in this work include ketones, ethers and esters. The combination of two functions (as for levulinates) is also investigated. After a literature review aiming at collecting the information reported on the simplest compound of each group (acetone, dimethylether and methylformate), available studies on butanone, cyclopentanone, cyclohexanone, dibutyl-ether, butyl-formate and methyl levulinate are considered. The oxidation of these compounds is thereafter studied by numerical and experimental approaches. Ab initio calculations are performed to study the impact of the oxygenated groups on the structure and to derive rate constants for the major chemical pathways. Experiments are then carried out in a jet-stirred reactor for temperatures ranging from 450 to 1250 K, pressures of 1 or 10 atm and equivalence ratios from 0.5 to 2. The data obtained through these two approaches are finally used to develop and validate kinetic mechanisms. The overall agreement between experiments and simulations is satisfactory and results presented here can be used as a source of analogy for the future modeling of other similar oxygenated fuels.

Les molécules polycycliques, et notamment les éthers spirocycliques, sont des structures présentant un fort intérêt dans le domaine de la chimie des parfums. Cette thèse est dédiée au développement de nouvelles cycloisomérisations de dérivés d’éthers d’énol catalysées par le triflate de bismuth(III). Une étude bibliographique a ainsi été consacrée aux réactions de cyclisation catalysées par Bi(OTf)3. Une réaction de cycloisomérisation d’éthers d’énol alléniques permettant la formation rapide de produits cyclopenténiques et dihydrofuraniques a été développée. Des dérivés oxaspirocycliques ont été obtenus à partir de substrats trifonctionnels possédant un éther d’énol cyclique et une fonction alcool additionnelle. La chimiodivergence de ces réactions a été étudiée avec l’activation préférentielle de l’allène par des catalyseurs à base d’or(I) menant à d’autres structures cyclopenténiques. Une réaction de double cyclisation a été développée donnant un accès privilégié à des produits polycycliques pontés comportant un motif oxaspirocyclique. Des études mécanistiques ont été effectuées et une nouvelle cyclisation tandem impliquant un transfert d’hydrure-1,5 a été étudiée. La réaction de double cyclisation de dérivés du campholénal énantioenrichis a ensuite été développée pour la formation de bis-éthers tétracycliques et de cétones tricycliques. La plupart de ces nouveaux composés présentent des notes remarquables, principalement dans les familles olfactives aromatiques et boisées. / Polycyclic compounds and more specifically, spirocyclic ethers are of particular interest in fragrance chemistry. This thesis is dedicated to the development of new cycloisomerisations of enol ether derivatives by bismuth(III) triflate catalysis. In this way, a bibliographic study has been carried out on cyclisations catalysed by bismuth(III) triflate. A cycloisomerisation of allenic enol ethers has been developed for the straightforward synthesis of cyclopentene and dihydrofuran derivatives. New oxaspirocyclic compounds have been obtained starting from trifunctional substrates containing a cyclic enol ether and an additional hydroxyl group. The chemodivergence of this reaction has been studied by means of gold(I) catalysis to access different cyclopentenic structures via the preferential activation of the allene. A double cyclisation reaction has been developed leading to bridged polycyclic compounds featuring an oxaspirocyclic moiety. Mechanistic studies have been performed and a tandem cyclisation involving a 1,5-hydride shift has been studied. The double cyclisation of enantioenriched campholenic aldehyde derivatives has been investigated for the formation of tetracyclic diethers and tricyclic ketones. Most of the new compounds presented interesting notes, mainly in the aromatic and woody olfactory family.

Poly Brominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) are known flame retardants with highly persistent and lipophilic in nature. The continued usage of PBDE in various products amplifies the human burden of PBDEs. It is therefore, important to study the potential toxicological and/or biological effects of PBDE exposure in human. In this study we investigated the mode of action of PBDE induced toxicity in human liver by exposing human hepatocarcinoma cells in a time (24-72h) and dose (0-100μM) dependent manner. The highest test dose caused an inhibition in cell viability up to 50% after 72h, whereas lower doses (<50μM) showed slight increase in cell viability. Likewise, higher doses caused significant accumulation of intracellular ROS over time. Further, increase in caspase-3 enzyme levels and DNA fragmentation showed that, lower brominated PBDEs induce liver toxicity through accumulation of toxic metabolites and reactive oxygen species over time leading to caspase-mediated apoptotic cell death.

The theoretical model of Beratan and Onuchic predicts a large attenuation of ET rates through hydrogen bonds; however, the effect of individual hydrogen bond on electron transfer reaction has not been systematically studied. The organic complexes in this study are a series of crown ether/ammonium salt, which incorporate a redox partner on each component of the complex. The dimethoxynaphthalene redox donor was attached to the crown ether and a series of ammonium salts was synthesized which bear substituted quinone and naphthoquinone acceptor. The complexes characterization and preliminary electron transfer rate measurement were completed with UV/Vis and steady-state emission spectroscopy.

This thesis concerns the development of metal-free reactions to obtain carbon-heteroatom and carbon-carbon bonds. This is achieved by transferring carbon ligands from hypervalent iodine reagents to suitable nucleophiles. The bulk of the work presented herein concerns arylation of oxygen and nitrogen nucleophiles, using the well-known diaryliodonium salts as aryl sources. In the first project, O-arylation of the oxime ethyl acetohydroxamate was studied. It was found that electron-poor as well as electron-rich aryl moieties could be transferred successfully to this nucleophile. Furthermore, the protocol could be extended to a sequential one-pot synthesis of benzo[b]furans. This method allowed for a fast synthesis of the natural product stemofuran A and formal syntheses of other natural products. In a successive project, O-arylation of hydroxide and aliphatic alkoxides was investigated. It is known that electron-poor aryl moieties can be transferred to these nucleophiles in moderate to high yields. However, combined with more electron-rich diaryliodonium salts, a large amount of side products were formed. These were suppressed upon addition of aryne traps, suggesting that aryne pathways are competing with the desired ligand coupling. It was also observed that secondary alcohols were oxidized to the corresponding ketones. The mechanism for this oxidation was investigated and aryne pathways could be excluded. Instead we suggest that the carbinol hydrogen gets deprotonated via an internal mechanism, after the alkoxide has coordinated to the iodonium salt. Highly sterically congested alkyl aryl ethers could be obtained in high yields by combining tertiary alcohols with ortho-blocked diaryliodonium salts.  Next, N-arylation of secondary acyclic amides was studied using acetanilide as the model substrate. This procedure was suitable for transfer of electron-poor as well as ortho-substituted aryl moieties, but attempts to transfer very electron-rich aryl groups were unsuccessful. On the other hand, the amides displayed a complementary reactivity, allowing phenylation of electron-rich amides.  In the final project, a one-pot synthesis of the cyclic iodonium reagent vinylbenziodoxolone is presented. These compounds have not been explored as reagents earlier. Initial screenings showed that the vinyl moiety could be transferred to nitrocyclohexane with opposite regioselectivity compared to the acyclic analogue of the reagent. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2: Manuscript.</p>

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Engineering, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2016. / Separation processes in the chemical process industries is dependent on the science of chemical thermodynamics. In the field of chemical separation process engineering, phase equilibrium is a primary area of interest. This is due to separation processes such as distillation and extraction which involves the contacting of different phases for effective separation. The focal point of this research project is the measurement and modeling of binary vapour-liquid equilibrium (VLE) phase data of systems containing ether-alcohol organic compounds. The VLE data were measured with the use of the modified apparatus of Raal and Mühlbauer, (1998). The systems of interest for this research arose from an industrial demand for VLE data for systems containing ether-alcohol organic compounds. This gave rise to the experimental VLE data isotherms being measured for the following binary systems: a) Methyl tert-butyl ether (1) + 1-pentanol (2) at 317.15 and 327.15 K b) Methyl tert-butyl ether (1) + 2, 2, 4-trimethylpentane (2) at 307.15, 317.15 and 327.15K c) 2, 2, 4-Trimethylpentane (1) + 1-pentanol (2) at 350.15, 360.15 and 370.15K d) Diisopropyl ether (1) + 2,2,4-trimethylpentane (2) at 320.15, 330.15 and 340.15K e) Diisopropyl ether (1) + 1-propanol (2) at 320.15, 330.15 and 340.15K f) Diisopropyl ether (1) + 2-butanol (2) at 320.15, 330.15 and 340.15K The data for all the measured binary systems investigated at these temperatures are currently not available in the open source literature found on the internet and in library text resources. The systems were not measured at the same temperatures because certain system isotherm temperatures correlate to a pressures above 1 bar. This pressure of 1 bar is the maximum operating pressure specification of the VLE apparatus used in this project. The experimental VLE data were correlated for model parameters for both the  and methods. For the method, the fugacity coefficients (vapour-phase non-idealities) were tabulated using the virial equation of state and the Hayden-O’Connell correlation (1975); chemical theory and the Nothnagel et al. (1973) correlation method. The activity coefficients (liquid phase non-idealities) were calculated using three local-composition based activity coefficients models: the Wilson (1964) model, the NRTL model (Renon and Prausnitz, 1968); and the UNIQUAC model (Abrams and Prausnitz, 1975). Regarding the direct method, the Soave-Redlich-Kwong (Redlich and Kwong, 1949) and Peng-Robinson (1976) equations of state ii were used with the temperature dependent alpha-function (α) of Mathias and Copeman (1983) with the Wong-Sandler (1992) mixing rule. Thermodynamic consistency testing, which presents an indication of the quality and reliability of the data, was also performed for all the experimental VLE data. All the systems measured showed good thermodynamic consistency for the point test of Van Ness et al. (1973) - the consistency test of choice for this research. This however, was based on the model chosen for the data regression of a particular system. Therefore, the combined method of VLE reduction produced the most favourable results for the NRTL and Wilson models. / M