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Currently, researchers have indicated that inorganic minerals in reservoirs, such as clay minerals, carbonates and quartz, can catalyze the evolution of organic matter into oil and gas. Therefore it is reasonable to believe that the minerals in reservoirs may act as a catalyst support with the metal-containing catalyst added from outside during the thermal recovery of heavy oil. This paper studied the aquathermolysis of heavy oil catalyzed by minerals and transition metal. The reaction conditions of two heavy oil samples were investigated. The results show that the optimal reaction conditions of heavy oil from Xinjiang Baikouquan Oilfield (XBO) are the reaction temperature of 250 °C and the reaction time of 6 h; for the crude oil from Xinjiang Tahe Oilfield (XTO), the optimal reaction conditions are determined to be the reaction temperature of 250 °C and the reaction time of 12 h, the water–oil ratio of the two oils is 0.3. Under optimal conditions, viscosity and pour point of heavy oil are significantly reduced. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), GC-MS analysis, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and elemental analysis were used to study the properties of the two heavy oil samples before and after reaction to explore the mechanism of the catalyzed aquathermolysis of heavy oil. This work will benefit the related heavy oil recovery work in this field.

The present paper introduces soil as a complex system, so a multidisciplinary approach is needed to study not only the composition, abundance, and transport of microplastics (MPs) in terrestrial ecosystems but also soil properties and processes involved in their degradation and/or interaction with soil polyphasic matrix. Despite many researchers focusing their studies on the impact of MPs on the terrestrial ecosystem over the past years, little has been done about the use of biochemical indicators to study their effect on soil functionality.

It is a matter of strategic independence for many countries to urgently find processes that take into account environmental and economic issues when recycling critical metals. Liquid–liquid (L/L) extraction is a promising method for recovering rare-earth elements from electrical and electronic waste. However, an optimized process on an industrial scale has not yet been established. One of the main reasons is the lack of fundamental knowledge. Therefore, designing a cost-effective and adaptive formulation is still beyond the scope of possibilities. This requires deciphering the molecular forces that control ion transfer beyond the classical supramolecular complexation and developing predictive models compatible with the design and control needs of recycling processes. In all liquid/liquid processes, the high loading of the organic solvent with metal salts/acids or extractant can sometimes lead to a third phase formation. Phase modifiers are often added to the solvent phase in order to prevent the formation of this third phase. However, the effect of these additives on the extraction efficiency as well as their mechanisms of action are still poorly understood. The phase modifiers used in industrial processes are mainly fatty alcohols, called “lipotropes”. In this paper, we study a new class of molecules opening new possibilities beyond the commonly used phase modifiers (i.e., n-octanol). These are the “hydrotropic” molecules. We first show the role of a model hydrotrope (PnP) in preventing the third phase formation for different extraction systems. We also show that the role of modifiers can be understood according to three molecular mechanisms: as co-solvent, as co-surfactant and by preferential solvation. The dominant molecular effect can be identified and quantified by combining surface tension and neutron scattering experiments. In the case of phase modifiers that are hydrotropes, the co-solvent or co-surfactant effect is dominant. In the case of “lipotropes”, the preferential solvation mechanism is emphasized. Finally, the consequences of these mechanisms on the extraction efficiency and selectivity are discussed.

NiO-based catalysts are among the most active and selective catalytic systems for low-temperature oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of ethane into ethylene and, therefore, they have been extensively studied in the last twenty-five years. This paper reviews the most relevant works focusing on NiO-based catalysts for ethane ODH, including promoted and unpromoted, bulk and supported NiO. The effects of the nature of the promoter and of the support together with the influence of the method of preparation used on their activity in ethane ODH are discussed in detail as they were shown to be key factors controlling the catalytic performance, including the catalyst stability. The reaction mechanism involved in ethane ODH reaction over NiO-based catalysts is also presented and discussed.

The SCR-DeNOx commercial catalysts are reported as possible candidates to remove aromatic VOCs and NO$_{{x}}$ simultaneously. In this paper, we present the kinetic studies of the oxidation of benzene and its mono-halogenated derivatives over V$_{2}$O$_{5}$–WO$_{3}$/TiO$_{2}$ catalyst as typical high-dust SCR-DeNOx system. The kinetic investigation follows the influence of temperature on the conversion of aromatic VOCs to establish the apparent energy activation and dependence on between temperature and the effective constant rate of the catalytic oxidation reaction. The data shows that the catalytic oxidation process takes place after a combined kinetic mechanism, mass transport through pores—chemical transformation.

The California State Parks curators granted access to artifacts owned by Jack London that are in storage in their Sonoma Barracks in Sonoma, CA. A medicine case, drug vials, and various paper documents that covered the period of his life from 1906 to 1915 were examined for drug residues left on their surface. All the objects were tested with the non-invasive surface analysis EVA (ethylene-vinyl acetate) technology, which consist of a foil studded with ground mixed-bed cation/anion exchangers as well as with C$_{8}$ and C$_{18}$ resins. The harvested material collected by the foils was analysed via GC-MS and the following 12 drugs were identified: N-(4-ethoxyphenyl) acetamide, phenyl salicylic acid, morphine, 6-monoacetylmorphine, 3-acetylmorphine, diacetylmorphine, dipenteneglycol, quinine dihydrochloride, quinine base, atropine, scopolamine and hyoscyamine. Despite the claims by his biographers that he used opium, morphine, and heroin on a regular basis this assertion could not be confirmed by the chemical analyses of the objects here tested. Only two opioids were discovered, morphine and diacetylmorphine (heroin) both of which could have been derived from the use of common, legal (over-the-counter) flu and cough medications.

Most papers on kidney stones arising from infection concentrate on the mineral struvite. In this contribution, we would like to call attention to other mineral phases such as highly carbonated calcium phosphate apatite, ammonium urate, and whitlockite, by presenting clinical and chemical data. We start with epidemiological data which emphasize the increase in the prevalence of kidney stones related to infection. Then we present a statistical analysis of more than 85,000 stones which have been analysed at the Laboratoire des Lithiases of Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris which gives insights regarding the link between urinary tract infection and struvite, carbonated calcium phosphate apatite (carbapatite), and also surprisingly whitlockite. Some information regarding the pathogenesis of kidney stones linked to infection, the nature of the bacteria which have been identified, and the approach to precisely analyse infrared spectra to identify struvite, carbapatite, and whitlockite, conclude this first part. To complete this clinical description, we describe the crystallographic structure and the chemistry of three relevant compounds namely carbonated calcium phosphate, struvite, and whitlockite. To conclude this second part, the dependence of crystallite morphology of struvite on pH and on the presence, or absence, of bacteria, is described. Based on clinical and chemical data, it is becoming clear that struvite is not the only mineral intimately related to renal infectious processes, but that whitlockite and carbapatite with a high carbonation rate are strongly associated with urinary tract infection as well.

Hydrogen peroxide and peroxymonocarbonate anion-based bleach reactions are important for many applications such as paper bleach, waste water treatment and laundry. Nonheme iron(III) complexes, $[\mathrm{Fe}^{\mathrm{III}}(\mathrm{L}^{1-4})\mathrm{Cl}_{2}]$ with the 1,3-bis($2^{\prime}$-Ar-imino)isoindolines ligands ($\mathrm{HL}^{n}$, $n=$1–4, Ar $=$ pyridyl, thiazolyl, benzimidazolyl and N-methylbenzimidazolyl, respectively) have been shown to catalyze the oxidative degradation of morin as a soluble model of a bleachable stain by $\mathrm{H}_{2}\mathrm{O}_{2}$ in buffered aqueous solution. In these experiments the bleaching activity of the catalysts was significantly influenced by the Lewis acidity and redox properties of the metal centers, and showed a linear correlation with the $\mathrm{Fe}^{\mathrm{III}}/\mathrm{Fe}^{\mathrm{II}}$ redox potentials (in the range of 197–415 mV) controlled by the modification of the electron donor properties of the ligand introducing various aryl groups on the bis-iminoisoindoline moiety. A similar trend but with low yields was observed for the disproportionation of $\mathrm{H}_{2}\mathrm{O}_{2}$ (catalase-like reaction) which is a major side reaction of catalytic bleach with transition metal complexes. The effect of bicarbonate ions might be explained by the reduction of Fe(III) ions and/or the formation of peroxymonocarbonate monoanion, which is a much stronger oxidant and could increase the formation of the catalytically active high-valent oxoiron species.

In this paper, catalytic hydro-deoxygenation (HDO) of bio-oil’s model molecules (acetic acid, 4-ethylguaiacol, and furfural) using Ni$_{2}$P/HZSM-5 catalyst was carried out to better identify the products and make the modeling work of HDO process more reliable. Results showed that low temperatures favored the formation of acetaldehyde and acetone during acetic acid HDO, but disfavored the formation of aromatic hydrocarbons. Acetone was produced via the self-ketonization reaction of acetic acid. In most cases of 4-ethylguaiacol HDO, phenol, cresol, and 2, 4-dimethylphenol were the primary products. For furfural HDO, the major furan and CO products proved that the direct decarbonylation of furfural was the main reaction. Accordingly, the main pathways of acetic acid, 4-ethylguaiacol, and furfural HDO were proposed, which could provide significant guidance for the upgrading of crude bio-oil.