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The use of biodiesel shows innumerous advantages compared to fossil fuels, since biodiesel is a biodegradable and non-toxic fuel. Nowadays, most of the biodiesel commercialized in the world is produced by the transesterification reaction of vegetable oils with methanol and basic catalysis. Understanding the reaction kinetics and controlling its optimum progress for improving the quality of the final product and to reduce production costs is of paramount importance. The present work explores compact 1 H NMR spectroscopy to follow the course of the transesterification reaction in real time. For this purpose the magnet is integrated into a flow setup which allows one to transport the neat solution from the reactor into the measurement zone and back again into the reactor. A multivariate calibration model applying Partial Least Squares regression was built to analyze the measured data and to obtain information about the biodiesel conversion ratio with errors on the order of 1%. This information is used in combination with a Lorentzian deconvolution of the spectra to estimate the relative concentrations of methanol present in the ester-rich phase in comparison with the one in the glycerol phase, the second medium involved in the reaction mixture. Finally, we demonstrate that the conversion ratio can also be monitored by measuring the chemical shift of the hydroxylic protons of methanol and glycerol present in the ester-rich phase. These results demonstrate that a compact NMR spectrometer can provide spectra with good quality and time resolution suitable for real time quality control of biodiesel production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A new polymorphic form of ciprofloxacin saccharinate (CIP-SAC II) is presented, and compared with CIP-SAC I, a different polymorph which we had previously reported. The characterization techniques used were single crystal and powder X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetry analysis and infrared and 13C solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The results obtained from these techniques are consistent. Differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis showed that the reaction between the precursors is completed and the crystalline forms of both salts obtained (I and II) are highly pure. Infrared spectroscopy gave clear evidence of a salt formation. Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy would indicate some degree of qualitative similarity in the intermolecular interaction scheme in both polymorphs, while thermal analysis data might indicate a difference in quantitative terms. A thorough single crystal structure determination of the new form CIP-SAC II allowed disclosing the most important inter- and intramolecular interactions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]