• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.42-49
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• 2017

To replace phthalate plasticizer for PVC, acetylated monoglyceride (AMG) plasticizers were prepared from plant oil and their plasticization effects were also investigated. Transesterification of coconut oil by glycerol followed by acetylation with acetic anhydride gave AMG-CoCo (Coco : Coconut Oil). In addition, AMG-GMO (GMO : Glycerol monooleate) and AMG-GMO-Epoxy were synthesized by acetylation and epoxidation with glycerol monooleate. It was found that the thermal stability of AMG plasticizers increased in the following order: AMG-GMO-Epoxy > AMG-GMO > AMG-CoCo and all three plasticizers were thermally more stable than those of common petroleum-based plasticizer DOP (Dioctyl phthalate). The tensile strain values of the PVC containing AMG compounds were ca. 770~810%, while tensile strength values were ca. 19~22 MPa, which were higher than those of PVC containing DOP. DMA (Dynamic Mechanical Analysis) results showed that the miscibility of AMG-GMO-Epoxy in PVC was excellent and the $T_g$ of PVC containing AMG-GMO-Epoxy at 50 phr decreased down to $24^{\circ}C$. Finally, the leaching experiment result showed that the weight loss values of PVC containing AMG-GMO and AMG-GMO-Epoxy at 50 phr were as low as 2 and 1%, respectively, indicating that they have high water migration resistance. The above findings suggested that AMG-GMO-Epoxy could be one of plant oil-based PVC plasticizers to replace DOP.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.217-222
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• 2012

The synthesis of dimethyl carbonate(DMC) is a promising reaction for the use of naturally abundant carbon dioxide. DMC has gained considerable interest owing to its versatile chemical reactivity and unique properties such as high oxygen content, low toxicity, and excellent biodegradability. In this study, the synthesis of DMC through the transesterification of ethylene carbonate(EC) with methanol was investigated by using ionic liquid and metal oxide catalysts. The screening test of different catalysts revealed that choline hydroxide ([Choline][OH]) and 1-n-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium hydroxide([BMIm][OH]) had better catalytic performance than metal salts catalysts such as MgO, ZnO and CaO. The effects of reaction parameters such as reaction temperature, MeOH/EC mole ratio, and carbon dioxide pressure on the reactivity of [Choline][OH] catalyst were discussed. High temperature and high MeOH/EC mole ratio were favorable for high conversion of EC. However, the yield of DMC showed a maximum when carbon dioxide pressure was 1.34 MPa, and then it decreased for higher carbon dioxide pressure. Zinc chloride($ZnCl_2$) was used as co-catalyst with the ionic liquid catalyst. The mixed catalyst showed a synergy effect on the EC conversion and DMC yield probably due to the acid-base properties of the catalysts.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.314-325
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• 2000

Thermal degradation of thermoplasitc polyurethane modified polycarbonate has been investigated by means of DSC, GPC and FT-IR techniques. The polyurethanes used in this study are TPU-35 and TPU-53 containing 35.5 and 53.4 wt% of hard segments, respectively. The more content of hard segment, the higher the glass transition temperature (T$_{g}$) of TPU was observed. On the other hand, the T$_{g}$ of the TPU modified PC decreased with the content of TPU and the annealing temperature regardless of the hard segment contents. The latter behavior nay arise from the thermal degradation of TPU upon annealing process: the observed thermal degradation temperatures were at 240 and 25$0^{\circ}C$ for the PC/TPU-35 and PC/TPU-53, respectively. The molecular weight, molecular weight distribution and viscosity agree well with the DSC measurement, which implicates a thermal degradation of TPU. In addition, thermal stability of the TPU modified PC linearly decreased with an incorporation of TPU. Transesterification or any interaction was not observed using FT-IR: the evidence was no frequency shift or any variance betwere the carbonyl stretching and NH group. For the specimens prepared below the degradation temperature, the enhancement of the thickness dependent impact strength of the PC/TPU blend was observed, and the morphology of the two blends was compared.d.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.460-467
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• 2016

A filamentous cyanobacterium, Limnothrix sp. KNUA012, was axenically isolated from a freshwater bloom sample in Lake Hapcheon, Hapcheon-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do, Korea. Its morphological and molecular characteristics led to identification of the isolate as a member of the genus Limnothrix. Maximal growth was attained when the culture was incubated at 25℃. Analysis of its lipid composition revealed that strain KNUA012 could autotrophically synthesize alkanes, such as pentadecane (C₁₅H₃₂) and heptadecane (C₁₇H₃₆), which can be directly used as fuel without requiring a transesterification step. Two genes involved in alkane biosynthesis－an acyl-acyl carrier protein reductase and an aldehyde decarbonylase－were present in this cyanobacterium. Some common algal biodiesel constituents－myristoleic acid (C_14:1), palmitic acid (C_16:0), and palmitoleic acid (C_16:1)－were produced by strain KNUA012 as its major fatty acids. A proximate analysis showed that the volatile matter content was 86.0% and an ultimate analysis indicated that the higher heating value was 19.8 MJ kg⁻¹. The isolate also autotrophically produced 21.4 mg g⁻¹ phycocyanin－a high-value antioxidant compound. Therefore, Limnothrix sp. KNUA012 appears to show promise for application in cost-effective production of microalga-based biofuels and biomass feedstock over crop plants.

• Clean Technology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.102-110
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• 2012

In this study, the production of bio-diesel from animal oil by esterification and trans-esterification was investigated. There were three different extraction methods for oil extraction from raw animal fat. Heterogeneous catalysts such as Amberlyst-15 and Amberlyst BD-20 and a homogeneous catalyst such as sulfuric acid were used for esterification. Among three catalysts, the removal efficiency of Free Fatty Acid (FFA) was the highest in sulfuric acid. Response surface method was carried out to find the optimal esterification condition of sulfuric acid and methanol. After the esterification under the optimal condition, this animal fat was used for the trans-esterification. Animal oil used for trans-esterification was below 1% of FFA content and 0.09% of water content. The catalysts for trans-esterification were KOH, NaOH and $NaOCH_3$. To investigate the effects of catalyst type and amount on trans-esterification, The amount of catalyst were changed with 0.3, 0.6 and 0.9 wt%. The molar ratio of methanol/oil was changed with 4, 6, 9 and 12. The amount of catalyst was fixed to 0.8 wt%. The KOH catalyst showed the highest FAME conversion for trans- esterification, and the optimal methanol/oil weight ratio was 6. In the experiments of various catalysts and methanol molar ratios, the highest content of FAME is 96%. However, this FAME content was below Korean bio-diesel standard which is 96.5% of FAME content. After distillation, FAME content increased to 98%.