SUMMARY The current doctoral thesis studies the synthesis of Mo-V-Te-containing mixed metal oxides and the characterization of their physico-chemical and catalytic properties for alkanes selective oxidation reactions, such as the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane and the partial oxidation of propane into acrylic acid. First, the study focuses on the effect of promoters (cations of Ga, Al or Nb) in Mo-V-Te mixed oxide catalysts prepared by hydrothermal synthesis, incorporated by wet impregnation or directly through the synthesis gel. In general, an improvement in the catalytic behavior of promoted Mo-V-Te catalysts for propane partial oxidation to acrylic acid has been observed for all the promoters studied using both incorporation methods. In the case of Ga, the best results have been observed for the impregnation method, which seems to favor the Ga incorporation mainly on the catalyst surface decreasing the density and strength of acid sites responsible for overoxidation reactions. On the other hand, the addition of Ga directly through the synthesis gel leads to its partial incorporation into the crystalline phase responsible for the activation and selective transformation of the alkane, the so-called M1 phase. This incorporation appears to be dependent on the Ga/V ratio in the synthesis gel, due to the competition found between both elements (Ga and V) to occupy similar sites in the M1 structure. Since the occupation preference is for vanadium, the lower the the Ga/V ratio in the synthesis gel, the lower the Ga amount incorporated into the catalysts frame. On the other hand, the addition of cations Al or Nb cations as promoters in Mo-V-Te mixed oxide catalysts, by impregnation method, leads to an improvement of the catalytic behavior for propane partial oxidation to acrylic acid, compared to any of the Mo-V-Te catalysts with Ga incorporated as promoter. The best results have been reached with the Nb-containing catalyst for which either the catalytic activity or the selectivity to acrylic acid are enhanced, while only the selectivity is improved in the case of Al. Those materials have been also tested as catalysts for oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of ethane to ethylene. In this case, the differences in the catalytic behavior, among promoted Mo-V-Te catalysts or those and the pristine Mo-V-Te catalyst are not as marked as for propane partial oxidation. This fact is related to the effect of the promoter especially on the acid-base surface properties, and to the different nature of the reaction product in each case, i.e. olefin (for ethane) and unsaturated carboxilic acid (for propane). The formation and stability of the latter more sensitive to changes on the catalyst surface acidity. Finally, a new method has been optimized to develop efficient Mo-V-Te-Nb mixed oxide catalysts for partial alkane oxidation reactions, based on the precipitation by reflux synthesis of the catalyst precursor. The influence of different parameters for the reflux synthesis, such as temperature, time, pH and type of vanadium reactant, have been investigated and optimized in order to favor the formation of the so-called M1 phase, responsible for the activation and selective transformation of the alkane. The catalysts optimized in a short period with this new method show catalytic properties, for either ethane or propane partial oxidation, comparable to those obtained with catalysts after many years of optimization using traditional methods, i.e. hydrothermal and dry-up or co-precipitation methods. Due to the nature of the new method based on reflux synthesis, comprehension on some aspects of the synthesis mechanism of these materials has been advanced / RESUMEN La presente tesis doctoral se centra en el estudio de la síntesis de óxidos mixtos de Mo-V-Te, la caracterización de sus propiedades físico-químicas y su aplicación como catalizadores en reacciones de oxidación selectiva de alcanos, como la deshidrogenación oxidativa de etano a etileno y la oxidación parcial de propano a ácido acrílico. En primer lugar se ha estudiado el efecto de promotores (cationes de Ga, Al ó Nb) en catalizadores de Mo-V-Te preparados por el método hidrotermal, incorporados por impregnación húmeda o en el gel de síntesis. En general, se observa una mejora en el comportamiento catalítico para la oxidación parcial de propano a ácido acrílico sobre todos los catalizadores óxidos de Mo-V-Te modificados con los promotores aquí estudiados, independientemente de las diferencias respecto al método de incorporación empleado. En el caso del Ga, los mejores resultados se han observado por impregnación, así se favorece principalmente la incorporación de Ga en la superficie del catalizador, disminuyendo la densidad y la fortaleza de los centros ácidos, responsables de la descomposición del producto oxigenado de oxidación parcial deseado. Por otro lado, la adición de cationes Ga directamente en gel de síntesis dirige a su incorporación parcial dentro de la estructura cristalina responsable de la activación y transformación selectiva del alcano, conocida con el nombre de fase M1. Esta incorporación ha mostrado una dependencia importante con la relación Ga/V de partida en el gel de síntesis, debido a una competición entre ambos elementos (Ga y V) por ocupar centros de red equivalentes en la estructura de la fase M1. La preferencia de ocupación parece ser para el V, y por tanto, la incorporación de Ga menor cuanto menor es la relación Ga/V en el gel de síntesis. La adición por impregnación de cationes Al ó Nb como promotores en catalizadores Mo-V-Te, dirige a una mejora del comportamiento catalítico de estos materiales para la oxidación parcial de propano a ácido acrílico, superior a la de cualquier catalizador Mo-V-Te con Ga como promotor. Los mejores resultados se han obtenido sobre el catalizador con Nb, para el cual, tanto la actividad catalítica como la selectividad a ácido acrílico aumentan con respecto al catalizador de partida Mo-V-Te-O sin promotor, para el caso del Al únicamente aumenta la selectividad. También se ha evaluado la aplicación de estos materiales como catalizadores para la deshidrogenación oxidativa de etano a etileno. En este caso, las diferencias en el comportamiento catalítico, entre los catalizadores, no son tan acusadas como en el caso de la oxidación parcial de propano. Este hecho está relacionado con el efecto de los promotores sobre las propiedades ácido-base superficiales y a la diferente naturaleza del producto de reacción en cada caso: olefina (para etano) y ácido carboxílico insaturado (para propano). Finalmente, se ha optimizado un nuevo método para desarrollar catalizadores Mo-V-Te-Nb eficientes en reacciones de oxidación parcial de alcanos, basado en la precipitación a reflujo de los precursores catalíticos. Por eso, se ha investigado la influencia de diferentes parámetros de la síntesis a reflujo, como temperatura, tiempo, pH y el tipo de reactivo de vanadio; optimizando la síntesis para favorecer la formación de la fase M1, responsable de la activación y transformación selectiva del alcano. Los catalizadores optimizados mediante este nuevo método alcanzaron propiedades catalíticas, tanta para la DHO de etano como para la oxidación parcial de propano, comparables a las obtenidas con catalizadores optimizados durante años empleando los métodos tradicionales de síntesis: hidrotermal y co-precipitación. Gracias a las características de este método basado en la síntesis a reflujo, hemos podido realizar avances en la comprensión de algunos aspectos del mecanismo de síntesis de estos materiales. / RESUM La present tesi doctoral se centra en l'estudi de la síntesi d'òxids mixtes de Mo-V-Te, la caracterització de les seues propietats fisicoquímiques i la aplicació com catalitzadors en reaccions d'oxidació selectiva d'alcàns, com ara la deshidrogenació oxidativa d'età a etilé i l'oxidació parcial de propà a àcid acrílic. En primer lloc s'ha estudiat l'efecte dels promotors (cations de Ga, Al o Nb) en catalitzadors òxids de Mo-V-Te preparats pel mètode hidrotermal, be incorporats per impregnació humida o directament en el gel de síntesi. En general, s'observa una millora en el comportament catalític per a l'oxidació parcial de propà a àcid acrílic sobre tots els catalitzadors òxids de Mo-V-Te modificats amb els promotors estudiats, independentment de les diferències respecte al mètode d'incorporació empleat. En el cas del Ga, els millors resultats s'han observat pel mètode d'impregnació, el qual pareix afavorir principalment la incorporació de Ga en la superfície del catalitzador, disminuint tant la densitat com la fortalesa dels centres àcids, responsables de la descomposició del producte oxigenat d'oxidació parcial desitjat. D'altra banda, l'addició de cations Ga directament al gel de síntesi dirigix a la seua incorporació parcial dins de l'estructura cristal·lina responsable de l'activació i transformació selectiva de l'alcà, coneguda amb el nom de fase M1. Esta incorporació ha mostrat una dependència important amb la relació Ga/V de partida en el gel de síntesi, a causa d'una competició entre ambdós elements (Ga i V) per ocupar centres de xarxa equivalents en l'estructura de la fase M1. La preferència d'ocupació pareix ser per al V, i per tant, la incorporació de Ga en el catalitzador és menor quant menor és la relació Ga/V en el gel de síntesi. D'altra banda, l'addició per impregnació de cations Al o Nb com a promotors en catalitzadors òxids de Mo-V-Te, dirigix a una millora del comportament catalític d'estos materials per a l'oxidació parcial de propà a àcid acrílic, superior a la de qualsevol catalitzador Mo-V-Te amb Ga com a promotor. Els millors resultats s'han obtingut sobre el catalitzador amb Nb, per al qual, tant l'activitat catalítica com la selectivitat a àcid acrílic augmenten respecte al catalitzador de partida Mo-V-Te-O sense promotor, mentres que per al cas del Al únicament augmenta la selectivitat. També s'ha avaluat l'aplicació d'estos materials com a catalitzadors per a la deshidrogenació oxidativa d'età a etilé. En este cas, les diferències en el comportament catalític no són tan acusades com en el cas de l'oxidació parcial de propà. Este fet està relacionat amb l'efecte dels promotors sobre les propietats àcid-base superficials, especialment, i a la diferent naturalesa del producte de reacció en cada cas: olefina (per a età) i àcid carboxílic insaturat (per a propà). Finalment, s'ha realitzat l'optimització d'un nou mètode per al desenvolupament de catalitzadors òxids de Mo-V-Te-Nb eficients en reaccions d'oxidació parcial d'alcàns, basat en la precipitació a refluxe dels precursors catalítics. Per això, s'ha investigat la influència de diferents paràmetres de la síntesi a reflux, com ara temperatura, temps, pH i el tipus de reactiu de vanadi; optimitzant la síntesi a fi d'afavorir la formació de l'estructura coneguda com a fase M1, responsable de l'activació i transformació selectiva de l'alcà. Els catalitzadors optimitzats amb este nou mètode van aconseguir propietats catalítiques, tant per a la DHO d'età com per a l'oxidació parcial de propà, comparables a les obtingudes amb els catalitzadors optimitzats durant anys emprant els mètodes tradicionals de síntesi: hidrotermal i co-precipitació. Gràcies a les característiques pròpies d'este nou mètode basat en la síntesi a refluxe, hem pogut realitzar avanços en la comprensió d'alguns aspectes del mecanisme de síntesi d'estos materials. / Massó Ramírez, A. (2017). OXIDACIÓN SELECTIVA DE PROPANO Y ETANO EMPLEANDO CATALIZADORES BASADOS EN OXIDOS MULTICOMPONENTES [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/90463

Catalisadores à base de óxidos metálicos têm sido muito utilizados nas indústrias do petróleo, de química fina e no controle de poluição. A seleção adequada do óxido metálico como suporte, do catalisador e o uso de coberturas superficiais menores que uma monocamada dos componentes ativos, onde somente espécies MOx estão presentes sobre a superfície dos óxidos suportes, pode ser uma exigência para modificar as propriedades catalíticas de modo a obter uma boa eficiência do catalisador durante a reação. Óxidos metálicos do grupo V suportados têm uma grande variedade de aplicações catalíticas, e têm sido extensivamente investigados nos últimos anos. Catalisadores à base de óxido de vanádio suportado possuem excelentes propriedades redox e são principalmente empregados como catalisadores em processos de oxidação seletiva. Óxido de tântalo mássico é um sólido ácido com propriedades catalíticas e diversas aplicações têm sido reportadas. O suporte foi preparado pelo método de coprecipitação, utilizando proporções de 15 e 30% p/p de Ta2O5 em Al2O3. A adição de V2O5 sobre o suporte Ta2O5-Al2O3 foi realizada através de impregnação úmida com excesso de solvente, água, formando catalisadores com 2, 4 e 8 átomos de vanádio/nm². A fim de alcançar o objetivo deste trabalho, as seguintes técnicas de caracterização foram utilizadas: volumetria de N2 para determinação da área específica e volume de poros, redução à temperatura programada (RTP), difratometria de raios-X (XRD), espectroscopia na região do infravermelho com transformada de Fourier (FTIR), FTIR com adsorção de piridina e espectroscopia Laser Raman. As propriedades ácidas e/ou básicas dos suportes e catalisadores foram avaliadas através da reação de decomposição do isopropanol. As propriedades texturais do suporte foram modificadas pela adição crescente do vanádio ao suporte, efeito este atribuído ao bloqueio dos microporos pelas espécies de vanádio superficiais. A metodologia empregada na preparação do suporte revelou um material amorfo ao DRX. Nos catalisadores, a adição crescente de vanádio promove a formação de cristais de V2O5 superficiais nas amostras com 4 e 8 átomos de V/nm². Nos resultados de RTP, os catalisadores apresentaram um único pico de redução do vanádio que corresponde à redução de V2O5 a V6O13. Nas análises de FTIR com adsorção de piridina verificou-se a diminuição da força dos sítios ácidos de Lewis, presentes em todos os catalisadores, com a adição de vanádio. Somente nos catalisadores com 8 átomos de V/nm² foram detectadas bandas referentes a sítios ácidos de Br?nsted. Nas análises de espectroscopia Raman não foi observada nenhuma banda característica de espécies VOx isoladas nas amostras, porém para coberturas abaixo de uma monocamada de V foram observadas bandas de espécies poliméricas. Bandas Raman de cristais de V2O5 foram características somente na amostra com 8 átomos de V/nm². A presença de sítios ácidos foi confirmada pela presença de propeno e éter diisopropílico como produtos da desidratação do isopropanol em todos os catalisadores. Com a adição de vanádio, sítios básicos ou redox também foram verificados pela presença de acetona produzida pela desidrogenação do isopropanol. / Metal oxides based catalysts have been very used in petroleum industry, fine chemical and pollution control. The adequate selection of the metal oxide as a support and catalyst, and the use of superficial covering with active compounds lower than a monolayer, where only MOx species are present on the support oxide surface, can be a requirement to modify the catalytic properties in order to have a good catalyst efficiency during the reaction. Supported metal oxides of group V have a large variety of catalytic applications, and have been widely investigated in the last years. Supported vanadium oxide based catalysts have excellent redox properties and they are mainly used as selective oxidation catalyst. Tantalum oxide is an acid solid with catalytic properties and many applications of supported tantalum oxide based catalysts have been reported. The supports were prepared by coprecipitation method, using the proportions of 15 and 30% of Ta2O5 in Al2O3. The addition of V2O5 on the support Ta2O5-Al2O3 was performed using the wet impregnation method with excess of solvent, water, forming catalysts with 2, 4 and 8 atoms of V/nm². In order to achieve the purpose of this work, the following characterization techniques were used: N2 volumetry to determine specific area and pore volume, temperature programmed reduction (TPR), X-ray difratometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Laser Raman spectroscopy. The acid/ basic properties of the support and catalysts were evaluated through isopropanol decomposition reaction. The textural properties of the supported were modified by the increasing addition of vanadium, effect attributed to micropores blocked by superficial vanadium species. The used methodology in the support preparation showed an amorphous material to XRD. In the catalysts, the increasing addition of vanadium promotes the formation of V2O5 superficial crystals in the samples with 4 and 8 atoms of V/nm². In the TPR results, the catalysts presented only one reduction peak corresponding to the V2O5 a V6O13 reduction. In the FTIR analysis with adsorbed pyridine, it was observed a decrease of acidity at Lewis acid sites, which were present in all catalysts samples. In the Raman spectroscopy analysis, it was not observed any characteristic band of isolated VOx species in the sample, although covering lower than a monolayer of vanadium, it was observed V=O bands due to surface polymeric vanadium oxide species. V2O5 crystal Raman bands were characteristics only in samples with 8 atoms of V/nm². The presence of acid sites was confirmed by the production of propane and diisopropyl ether as product of isopropanol dehydratation, observed for all catalysts. With V charge, basic and redox sites were verified as well by the production of acetone at isopropanol dehydrogenation.

Catalisadores à base de óxidos metálicos têm sido muito utilizados nas indústrias do petróleo, de química fina e no controle de poluição. A seleção adequada do óxido metálico como suporte, do catalisador e o uso de coberturas superficiais menores que uma monocamada dos componentes ativos, onde somente espécies MOx estão presentes sobre a superfície dos óxidos suportes, pode ser uma exigência para modificar as propriedades catalíticas de modo a obter uma boa eficiência do catalisador durante a reação. Óxidos metálicos do grupo V suportados têm uma grande variedade de aplicações catalíticas, e têm sido extensivamente investigados nos últimos anos. Catalisadores à base de óxido de vanádio suportado possuem excelentes propriedades redox e são principalmente empregados como catalisadores em processos de oxidação seletiva. Óxido de tântalo mássico é um sólido ácido com propriedades catalíticas e diversas aplicações têm sido reportadas. O suporte foi preparado pelo método de coprecipitação, utilizando proporções de 15 e 30% p/p de Ta2O5 em Al2O3. A adição de V2O5 sobre o suporte Ta2O5-Al2O3 foi realizada através de impregnação úmida com excesso de solvente, água, formando catalisadores com 2, 4 e 8 átomos de vanádio/nm². A fim de alcançar o objetivo deste trabalho, as seguintes técnicas de caracterização foram utilizadas: volumetria de N2 para determinação da área específica e volume de poros, redução à temperatura programada (RTP), difratometria de raios-X (XRD), espectroscopia na região do infravermelho com transformada de Fourier (FTIR), FTIR com adsorção de piridina e espectroscopia Laser Raman. As propriedades ácidas e/ou básicas dos suportes e catalisadores foram avaliadas através da reação de decomposição do isopropanol. As propriedades texturais do suporte foram modificadas pela adição crescente do vanádio ao suporte, efeito este atribuído ao bloqueio dos microporos pelas espécies de vanádio superficiais. A metodologia empregada na preparação do suporte revelou um material amorfo ao DRX. Nos catalisadores, a adição crescente de vanádio promove a formação de cristais de V2O5 superficiais nas amostras com 4 e 8 átomos de V/nm². Nos resultados de RTP, os catalisadores apresentaram um único pico de redução do vanádio que corresponde à redução de V2O5 a V6O13. Nas análises de FTIR com adsorção de piridina verificou-se a diminuição da força dos sítios ácidos de Lewis, presentes em todos os catalisadores, com a adição de vanádio. Somente nos catalisadores com 8 átomos de V/nm² foram detectadas bandas referentes a sítios ácidos de Br?nsted. Nas análises de espectroscopia Raman não foi observada nenhuma banda característica de espécies VOx isoladas nas amostras, porém para coberturas abaixo de uma monocamada de V foram observadas bandas de espécies poliméricas. Bandas Raman de cristais de V2O5 foram características somente na amostra com 8 átomos de V/nm². A presença de sítios ácidos foi confirmada pela presença de propeno e éter diisopropílico como produtos da desidratação do isopropanol em todos os catalisadores. Com a adição de vanádio, sítios básicos ou redox também foram verificados pela presença de acetona produzida pela desidrogenação do isopropanol. / Metal oxides based catalysts have been very used in petroleum industry, fine chemical and pollution control. The adequate selection of the metal oxide as a support and catalyst, and the use of superficial covering with active compounds lower than a monolayer, where only MOx species are present on the support oxide surface, can be a requirement to modify the catalytic properties in order to have a good catalyst efficiency during the reaction. Supported metal oxides of group V have a large variety of catalytic applications, and have been widely investigated in the last years. Supported vanadium oxide based catalysts have excellent redox properties and they are mainly used as selective oxidation catalyst. Tantalum oxide is an acid solid with catalytic properties and many applications of supported tantalum oxide based catalysts have been reported. The supports were prepared by coprecipitation method, using the proportions of 15 and 30% of Ta2O5 in Al2O3. The addition of V2O5 on the support Ta2O5-Al2O3 was performed using the wet impregnation method with excess of solvent, water, forming catalysts with 2, 4 and 8 atoms of V/nm². In order to achieve the purpose of this work, the following characterization techniques were used: N2 volumetry to determine specific area and pore volume, temperature programmed reduction (TPR), X-ray difratometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Laser Raman spectroscopy. The acid/ basic properties of the support and catalysts were evaluated through isopropanol decomposition reaction. The textural properties of the supported were modified by the increasing addition of vanadium, effect attributed to micropores blocked by superficial vanadium species. The used methodology in the support preparation showed an amorphous material to XRD. In the catalysts, the increasing addition of vanadium promotes the formation of V2O5 superficial crystals in the samples with 4 and 8 atoms of V/nm². In the TPR results, the catalysts presented only one reduction peak corresponding to the V2O5 a V6O13 reduction. In the FTIR analysis with adsorbed pyridine, it was observed a decrease of acidity at Lewis acid sites, which were present in all catalysts samples. In the Raman spectroscopy analysis, it was not observed any characteristic band of isolated VOx species in the sample, although covering lower than a monolayer of vanadium, it was observed V=O bands due to surface polymeric vanadium oxide species. V2O5 crystal Raman bands were characteristics only in samples with 8 atoms of V/nm². The presence of acid sites was confirmed by the production of propane and diisopropyl ether as product of isopropanol dehydratation, observed for all catalysts. With V charge, basic and redox sites were verified as well by the production of acetone at isopropanol dehydrogenation.

Ce travail est relatif à la synthèse et à la caractérisation d'oxydes mixtes Pr1-zCezO2-y et Pr1-xZrxO2-y. Différentes compositions chimiques associées à une valence mixte Pr4+/Pr3+ concomitant à un taux précis de lacunes d'oxygènes ont été isolées tant pour les composés à l'état oxydé que pour ces derniers réduits sous Ar/H2. A l'état réduit, différentes surstructures de la maille fluorine ont été caractérisées par diffraction des RX et de neutrons. Sur la base de mesures magnétiques, d'analyses par spectroscopie d'absorption X (XANES-EXAFS) aux seuils K du Zr et LIII du Ce/Pr et d'analyses thermogravimétriques et/ou TPR (Temperature Programmed Reduction), les évolutions des taux de Pr4+/Pr3+ dans cette série ont été déterminées. Enfin, des mesures in-situ sous atmosphère réductrice par diffraction de neutrons et EELS (Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy) ont été réalisées dans l'objectif de corréler compositions chimiques- édifices structuraux et propriétés de réductibilité.

The global oil refining industry with its present product distribution essentially shifted towards fuels such as gasoline and diesel will most likely hold the fort for considerable time. However, conditions are changing and refinery survival will very much depend on long-term planning, process and product flexibility and being at the frontiers of refining technology, a technology where catalysts play leading roles. Today oil refiners are faced with the challenge of producing fuels that meet increasingly tight environmental specifications, in particular with respect to maximum sulphur content. At the same time, the average quality of crude oil is becoming poorer with higher amounts of aromatics, heteroatoms (sulphur and nitrogen) and heavy metals. In order to stay competitive, it is of decisive importance for refiners to upgrade dense petroleum fractions of low quality to highly value-added products. A practicable route, for example, is upgrading the catalytic cracking by-product Light Cycle Oil (LCO) into a high-quality diesel-blending component in a two-step catalytic process. In the first step the LCO is hydrotreated over a Pt Pd based acidic catalyst bringing about heteroatom and aromatic reduction and isomerization of C6 to C5 naphthenic structures. In the second step these naphthenic structures are selectively opened over an Ir-based catalyst to improve the cetane value. The present thesis is mainly devoted to the second catalytic step of LCO upgrading and was partly conducted within the framework of the European Union project RESCATS. From the patent literature it is evident that iridium-based catalysts could be good candidates for ring-opening purposes. A literature survey covering ring opening of naphthenic structures made in the beginning of the project (in 2001), showed the need for extending investigations to heavier hydrocarbons, more representative of the diesel fraction than model compounds such as alkylated mono C5 and C6 naphthenic rings frequently employed in previous academic studies. Ring-opening catalysts, mainly Pt-Ir based, were synthesised at KTH by two different techniques: the microemulsion and the incipient wetness techniques. Paper I is a review of the microemulsion technique and its applications in heterogeneous catalysis. Characterization of catalysts was performed employing a multitude of techniques including quantitative TPR, TEM-EDX, XPS, CO FT-IR, NH3-DRIFTS and XRF etc. Catalytic screening at 325 oC and atmospheric pressure with hydrogen and pure indan as model substance was conducted to investigate ring-opening activity in terms of conversion and selectivity to desired cetane-boosting products. This development process is the topic of Papers II-IV. The possible industrial implementation of the best catalyst candidate is demonstrated in Paper V. When designing a catalytic system aimed at refining petroleum, it is crucial to monitor the evolution of the sulphur distribution throughout the different stages of the process so that catalyst properties and reaction parameters may be optimised. The final section of this thesis and Paper VI are devoted to high-resolution sulphur-distribution analysis by means of a sulphur chemiluminescence detector (SCD) following gas chromatographic separation. / QC 20101014

This thesis summarizes the methods and major findings of Ni-W(P)/ã-Al2O3 nitride cata-lyst synthesis, characterization, hydrotreating activity, kinetic analysis and correlation of the catalysts activities to their synthesis parameters and properties.<p> The range of parameters for catalyst synthesis were W (15-40 wt%), Ni (0-8 wt%), P (0-5 wt%) and nitriding temperature (TN) (500-900 °C). Characterization techniques used included: N2 sorption studies, chemisorption, elemental analysis, temperature programmed studies, x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive x-ray, infrared spectroscopy, trans-mission electron microscopy and x-ray absorption near edge structure. Hydrodesulfurization (HDS), hydrodenitrogenation (HDN) and hydrodearomatization (HDA) were performed at: tem-perature (340-380 °C), pressure (6.2-9.0 MPa), liquid hourly space velocity (1-3 h-1) and hydro-gen to oil ratio (600 ml/ml, STP).<p> The predominant species on the catalyst surface were Ni3N, W2N and bimetallic Ni2W3N. The bimetallic Ni-W nitride species was more active than the individual activities of the Ni3N and W2N. P increased weak acid sites while nitriding temperature decreased amount of strong acid sites. Low nitriding temperature enhanced dispersion of metal particles. P interacted with Al2O3 which increased the dispersion of metal nitrides on the catalyst surface. HDN activity in-creased with Ni and P loading but decreased with increase in nitriding temperature (optimum conversion; 60 wt%). HDS and HDA activities went through a maximum with increase in the synthesis parameters (optimum conversions; 88. wt% for HDS and 47 wt% for HDA). Increase in W loading led to increase in catalyst activity. The catalysts were stable to deactivation and had the nitride structure conserved during hydrotreating in the presence of hydrogen sulfide.<p> The results showed good correlation between hydrotreating activities (HDS and HDN) and the catalyst nitrogen content, number of exposed active sites, catalyst particle size and BET surface area.<p> HDS and HDN kinetic analyses, using Langmuir-Hinshelwood models, gave activation energies of 66 and 32 kJ/mol, respectively. There were no diffusion limitations in the reaction process. Two active sites were involved in HDS reaction while one site was used for HDN. HDS and HDN activities of the Ni-W(P)/ã-Al2O3 nitride catalysts were comparable to the corre-sponding sulfides.

This thesis summarizes the methods and major findings of Ni-W(P)/ã-Al2O3 nitride cata-lyst synthesis, characterization, hydrotreating activity, kinetic analysis and correlation of the catalysts activities to their synthesis parameters and properties.<p> The range of parameters for catalyst synthesis were W (15-40 wt%), Ni (0-8 wt%), P (0-5 wt%) and nitriding temperature (TN) (500-900 °C). Characterization techniques used included: N2 sorption studies, chemisorption, elemental analysis, temperature programmed studies, x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive x-ray, infrared spectroscopy, trans-mission electron microscopy and x-ray absorption near edge structure. Hydrodesulfurization (HDS), hydrodenitrogenation (HDN) and hydrodearomatization (HDA) were performed at: tem-perature (340-380 °C), pressure (6.2-9.0 MPa), liquid hourly space velocity (1-3 h-1) and hydro-gen to oil ratio (600 ml/ml, STP).<p> The predominant species on the catalyst surface were Ni3N, W2N and bimetallic Ni2W3N. The bimetallic Ni-W nitride species was more active than the individual activities of the Ni3N and W2N. P increased weak acid sites while nitriding temperature decreased amount of strong acid sites. Low nitriding temperature enhanced dispersion of metal particles. P interacted with Al2O3 which increased the dispersion of metal nitrides on the catalyst surface. HDN activity in-creased with Ni and P loading but decreased with increase in nitriding temperature (optimum conversion; 60 wt%). HDS and HDA activities went through a maximum with increase in the synthesis parameters (optimum conversions; 88. wt% for HDS and 47 wt% for HDA). Increase in W loading led to increase in catalyst activity. The catalysts were stable to deactivation and had the nitride structure conserved during hydrotreating in the presence of hydrogen sulfide.<p> The results showed good correlation between hydrotreating activities (HDS and HDN) and the catalyst nitrogen content, number of exposed active sites, catalyst particle size and BET surface area.<p> HDS and HDN kinetic analyses, using Langmuir-Hinshelwood models, gave activation energies of 66 and 32 kJ/mol, respectively. There were no diffusion limitations in the reaction process. Two active sites were involved in HDS reaction while one site was used for HDN. HDS and HDN activities of the Ni-W(P)/ã-Al2O3 nitride catalysts were comparable to the corre-sponding sulfides.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:56:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2958.pdf: 1485003 bytes, checksum: 13ecfdc9482ce660829ef15f2081578e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-03-10 / Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / The ethanol dehydrocoupling in ethyl acetate distinguishes among the reactions of alcohol transformation in products with higher added value. Due to the possibility of obtaining ethanol from biomass in Brazil, the production of ethyl acetate is of great interest, being their production very economical. The ethanol dehydrocoupling in ethyl acetate was studied over Cu/ZrO2 catalysts prepared by impregnation method followed by calcinations in air. The samples with different Cu loadings were characterized by thermal analyze, X-Ray powder diffraction, determination of the specific surface area, temperature-programmed reduction (TPR), decomposition of N2O and X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). TPR results showed the formation of low temperature reduction Cu species (peaks &#945;1, &#945;2 e &#946;) predominant at low loadings of supported Cu in ZrO2, these species are attributed to CuO highly dispersed on support. The increase of Cu loading caused the formation of CuO bulk species with high temperature reduction (peaks &#947;1 e &#947;2). XPS results for Cu/ZrO2 reduced catalysts showed that an increase in the Cu loading caused a shift in the Cu 2p3/2 peak to regions of lower biding energy. The spectra of Cu Auger region suggest that a decrease in the Cu loading increases the ratio of Cu+/Cuo species. Catalytic tests for dehydrocoupling reaction of ethanol were carried out at atmospheric pressure and showed an increasing activity per Cu site for ethyl acetate formation with the increase in the dispersion of supported Cu. Furthermore, the by-products formation due the acetaldehyde via aldol condensation occurs on the ZrO2 support surface. Also, it could be seen that catalysts with Cu loading up to 20% showed an increase in the ethyl acetate selectivity with an increase in the Cu loading. This can be attributed to the higher ZrO2 coating by active phase providing the suppression of by-products that are formed via aldol condensation. / O desidroacoplamento do etanol em acetato de etila destaca-se dentre as reacoes de transformacao de alcoois em produtos de maior valor agregado. Devido a abundancia de etanol no Brasil e a possibilidade de sua obtencao a partir da biomassa, a producao de acetato de etila desperta grande interesse, sendo a sua producao muito economica. O desidroacoplamento do etanol em acetato de etila foi estudado sobre catalisadores de Cu/ZrO2 preparados pelo metodo de impregnacao, seguidos de calcinacao em ar. As amostras com diferentes cargas de Cu foram caracterizadas por analise termica, difracao de Raios X, determinacao da area superficial especifica, reducao a temperatura programada (TPR), decomposicao do N2O e espectroscopia de fotoeletrons excitados por Raios X (XPS). Resultados de TPR mostraram a formacao de especies de cobre de baixa temperatura de reducao (picos &#945;1, &#945;2 e &#946;) predominantes em baixas cargas de Cu suportados em ZrO2, estas especies sao atribuidas ao CuO altamente disperso no suporte. Com o aumento da carga de Cu obteve-se a formacao de especies de CuO massico de alta temperatura de reducao (picos &#947;1 e &#947;2). Resultados de XPS para catalisadores de Cu/ZrO2 reduzidos revelaram que com o aumento da carga de cobre suportado houve o deslocamento do pico da regiao Cu 2p3/2 para regioes de menor energia de ligacao. Os espectros da regiao Auger do Cu sugerem que com a diminuicao da carga de Cu tem-se o aumento da razao das especies Cu+/Cuo. Ensaios cataliticos para a reacao de desidroacoplamento do etanol foram realizados a pressao atmosferica e mostraram o aumento da atividade por sitio de Cu para a formacao de acetato de etila com o aumento da dispersao do cobre no suporte. Sobre a superficie do suporte ZrO2 ocorre a formacao de subprodutos devido a condensacao do acetaldeido via condensacao aldolica. Para catalisadores com carga de Cu de ate 20% verifica-se o aumento da seletividade a acetato de etila com o aumento da carga de cobre, em decorrencia do aumento do grau de recobrimento da ZrO2 pela a fase ativa proporcionando a supressao de subprodutos formados via condensacao aldolica.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is one of the most successful human pathogens, estimated to have infected close to one-third of the global human population. In order to survive within its host, M. tuberculosis utilises multiple signalling strategies, one of them being synthesis and secretion of universal second messenger cAMP. This process is enabled by the presence of sixteen predicted adenylyl cyclases in the genome of M. tuberculosis H37Rv, ten of which have been characterised in vitro. The synthesized cAMP is recognised by ten putative cAMP-binding proteins in which the cyclic AMP-binding domain is associated with a variety of enzymatic domains. The cAMP signal can be extinguished by degradation by phosphodiesterase’s, secretion into the extracellular milieu or via sequestration of the nucleotide by upregulation of a high-affinity cAMP-binding protein. Of the sixteen adenylyl cyclases (ACs) encoded by M. tuberculosis H37Rv, a subset of multidomain adenylyl cyclases remain poorly characterised, primarily due to challenges associated with studying these in vitro. The adenylyl cyclase domain in these proteins is associated with an NB-ARC domain (nucleotide binding domain common to APAF-1, plant R proteins and CED-4), a TPR domain (tetratricopeptide repeat) and an LuxR-type HTH motif (helix-turn-helix). This architecture places these multidomain mycobacterial ACs within a larger group of STAND (Signal transduction ATPase’s with numerous domains) proteins, and hence they will be referred to as STAND ACs. The STAND proteins are a recently recognised class of multidomain ATPases which integrate a variety of signals prior to activation. Activation is accompanied by formation of large oligomeric signalling hubs which facilitate downstream signalling events. While most STAND proteins have a single effector domain followed by an NB-ARC domain and a scaffolding domain, the STAND ACs distinguish themselves by retaining two effector domains, the AC domain and the HTH domain, at the N- and C- termini respectively. The cyclase, NB-ARC, TPR and HTH domains have widely divergent taxonomic distributions making the presence of these four domains in a single polypeptide rare. In fact, proteins with cyclase-NB-ARC-TPR-HTH (C-A-T-H) domain organisation were found to be encoded almost exclusively by slow growing mycobacterial species, a clade that harbours most mycobacterial pathogens, such as M. tuberculosis and M. leprae. Notably, one of the STAND ACs, Rv0386, is the only mycobacterial AC shown till date to be required for virulence of M. tuberculosis in mice. Using phylogenetic, the evolutionary underpinnings of this domain architecture were examined. The STAND ACs appear to have most likely evolved via a domain gain event from a cyclase-ATPase-TPR progenitor encoded by a strain ancestral to M. marina. Subsequently, the genes duplicated and diverged, sometimes leading to frameshift mutations splitting the cyclase domain from the C-terminal domains. Consequently, M. tuberculosis encodes for three ‘full-length’ STAND ACs, namely, Rv0386, Rv1358 and Rv2488c and one split STAND AC. The split STAND AC is made up of Rv0891c, containing the AC domain, and Rv0890c, containing the NB-ARC, TPR and HTH domains. rv0891c and rv0890c were found to be expressed as an operatic transcript, though they were translationally uncoupled. Pertinently, M. Canetti, an early-branching species of the M. tuberculosis complex, contains an orthologue of Rv0891c and Rv0890c where all four domains are present in a single polypeptide. Sequence analysis of the four STAND ACs in M. tuberculosis allowed predictions of significant divergence in function. These proteins showed high sequence conservation in their HTH domains, with substantial sequence divergence in their TPR, NB-ARC and AC domains. Biochemical analysis on the AC domains revealed that Rv0891c and Rv2488c possessed poor or no AC activity, respectively. On the other hand, the cyclase domain of Rv0386 could catalyse cAMP synthesis. Moreover, for both Rv0891c and Rv0386, presence of the C-terminal domains potentiated adenylyl cyclase activity, suggestive of allosteric regulation within the STAND AC module. Studies on Rv0891c also revealed that the protein could inhibit the adenylyl cyclase activity of Rv0386 in trans. This result thus provided a novel mechanism by which proteins harbouring poorly active/inactive adenylyl cyclase domains could contribute to cAMP levels, by acting as inhibitors of other adenylyl cyclases. The STAND ACs were found to be inactive ATPases. Additionally, incubation with nucleotides did not stimulate oligomerisation of these proteins, unlike what has been shown for several other STAND proteins. However, mutations in the NB-ARC domain perturbed the basal oligomeric state of these proteins, indicating that the NB-ARC domain can influence self- association. A subset of NB-ARC domain mutants also showed increased adenylyl cyclase activity, reiterating the inter-domain cross-talk in the STAND ACs. Since the AC activity of these proteins was meagre, the properties of the HTH domain were examined, as an alternative effector domain. Genomic SELEX was performed using the TPR-HTH domains of Rv0890c, and revealed a set of sequences that bound to this protein, though they lacked common sequence features. Further analysis revealed that Rv0890c bound to DNA in a sequence-independent manner, through the HTH domain. This binding was cooperative with multiple protein units engaging in DNA-binding. Due to the cooperative nature of binding and the lack of sequence preference, Rv0890c appeared coat the DNA molecule. This was further proved by the ability of Rv0890c to protect DNA from DNaseI-mediated degradation, and the requirement for long DNA sequences to form stable DNA-protein complexes. Studies also revealed that Rv0890c interacted with RNA and ssDNA. In fact, the protein as purified from heterologously expressing E. coli cells was bound to RNA. RNA-binding by a LuxR-type HTH has not been reported previously, providing a new function for this class of HTHs. Interestingly, nucleic acid-binding by a fusion Rv0891c-Rv0890c protein, similar to the one encoded in M. canetti, was shown to stimulate adenylyl cyclase activity. This was likely due to a relief of inhibitory interactions between the TPR-HTH and the AC domains, on DNA-binding. Given the high sequence similarity between the HTH domains of the STAND ACs, they were expected to bind to DNA in an identical manner. Indeed, the HTH domains of Rv0386 and Rv1358 engaged with DNA with an identical affinity as Rv0890c. Sequence comparisons in the HTH domain enabled identification of conserved basic residues, of which one, R850 was essential for nucleic acid-binding. Surprisingly however, Rv0386 and Rv1358 did not exhibit RNA-binding, pointing towards functional divergence of Rv0890c from its paralogues. Since the HTH domains of the STAND ACs were highly conserved, it was possible that the ability to bind to RNA was instead dictated by the adjacent TPR modules. To examine this possibility, TPR domains were swapped between Rv0890c and Rv0386. Interestingly, both the chimeric proteins showed a reduced ability to bind to DNA, while showing a complete absence of RNA- binding. These results suggested that the TPR domains were critical in modulating nucleic acid-binding. Moreover, the effect of the TPR domain was context-dependent, since the presence of non-cognate TPR domains hampered nucleic acid-binding. However, the ability to bind to RNA was not solely governed by the TPR domain since the Rv0890cTPR-Rv0386HTH chimeric protein did not show RNA-binding, in spite of containing a permissive TPR domain. To further dissect the molecular requirements for RNA-binding, the conservation of basic residues between the HTH domains of Rv0890c versus Rv1358 and Rv0386 was examined. Interestingly the HTH domain Rv0890c contained two additional positively charged residues over Rv1358 and Rv0386. Mutations of these abolished RNA-binding by Rv0890c. Thus the evolution of two basic residues permit Rv0890c to diverge in its nucleic acid-binding properties, a possible example of defunctionalisation following gene duplication. In summary, this thesis attempts to understand the evolution and functions of the STAND ACs, a group of pathogenically relevant and uniquely mycobacterial multidomain proteins. Phylogenetic analysis revealed an expansion of this gene family in slow growing mycobacteria. Biochemical characterisation showed that following gene duplication, the resulting proteins diverge both in their ability to synthesize cAMP and in their association with nucleic acids. Studies on these proteins also revealed novel mechanisms of regulation of mycobacterial cAMP levels. Additionally, these proteins exhibited indiscriminate binding to DNA/nucleic acids indicating that they may be responsible for global functions in the cell which extend beyond cAMP synthesis.

This diploma thesis defines the term indexing and in preamble are discussed known indexing algorithms and difference between indexing static and moving objects. The practical part of this diploma thesis is aimed to designing and implementing of indexing algorithm for open source application MaNGOS with respect to generic design pattern and effectiveness of spatial search queries for selection of the objects given properties in the specified area. At the end I present and discuss reached results.