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Polymer materials based on fossil resources have brought great convenience to various industries. However, environmental pollution is becoming increasingly conspicuous due to their difficult degradation in nature. Therefore, biodegradable composites are highly desired. In the present work, a simple and feasible preparation approach was presented to fabricate biodegradable and biocompatible composite films including methylcellulose/poly(d,l‐lactide‐co‐glycolide) (MC/PLGA) and methylcellulose/poly(1,4‐butylene succinate) (MC/PBS). The effects of MC/PLGA and MC/PBS mass ratios on the morphology, crystalline state, mechanical properties and thermal stability of the composite films were systematically investigated. At the same time, the influence of thermal compression treatment on mechanical properties (tensile strength and elongation) and the cyclic utilization of the composite films were also estimated. The composite films displayed enough good mechanical properties, re‐usability and thermal stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Olivine was used as a support with CeO2/MgO as promoters to synthesize a series of Ni-based catalysts by wet impregnation for reforming acetic acid as a model compound of bio-oil for H2 production. These catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, N2 physisorption, and scanning electron microscope, respectively. Catalytic steam reforming of the acetic acid was performed in a bench scale fixed bed reactor at temperature 750°C, using a molar ratio of steam/carbon (S/C) of 5, and gaseous hourly space velocity at 2987 h−1. The effect of catalyst type on carbon conversion and hydrogen yield was determined. The activity and stability of catalyst Ni/olivine were significantly improved by CeO2 and MgO addition. The 6%Ni-3%Ce-1%Mg/olivine catalyst exhibited the best performance with carbon conversion of almost 100% and hydrogen yield up to 75%. The catalyst can be sustained for 70 h without deactivation. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 2014 34: 915-922, 2015 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bio-oil produced from prolysis process of biomass cannot be directly used for transportation fuels, because of the poor quality. Catalytic hydrogenation is then used to upgrade bio-oil to engine-grade fuel. However, external H2 addition may not be cost effective to obtain high quality of oil. In this work, the feasibility of in situ hydrogen generation and hydrodeoxygenation is studied. Formic acid and acetic acid were selected as compounds for hydrogen generation by reforming reaction. Furfural and phenol were used as model bio-oil compounds and were hydrogenated by in situ generated hydrogen from these acids using commercial Pd/C and Nickel based catalysts, RZ409. The reaction was performed in a batch-scale reactor at 300°C for 3 h. The amount of H2 generation depended on the type of catalyst and substrate used. For example, 1 mol formic acid yielded 0.46 mol H2 (46% yield) and 0.46 mol CO2 with Pd/C, while it produced only 0.15 mol H2 and 0.15 mol CO2 with RZ490. The Furfural and phenol could be hydrogenrated and translated to different byproducts with in situ generated H2, with some byproducts identified. The results provide a clear rationale for utilization of in situ generated H2 for future bio-oil upgrading to reduce external H2 usage. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 33: 751-755, 2014 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]