Efficient one-pot transformation of furfural to pentanediol over Cu-modified cobalt-based catalysts.

Pentanediols are substances with significant market potential as the key monomers for advanced polymeric materials. In this study, we successfully achieved directly hydrogenolysis of biomass-based furfural to 1,5-pentanediol with a remarkable yield of 53.4 % using Cu-modified cobalt supported on cerium dioxide catalysts. Through comprehensive characterization techniques, including H2-TPR, NH3-TPD, XPS, EPR and Raman analysis, the study revealed that the introduction of Cu altered the dispersion of Co species, attenuated the interaction between Co species and cerium dioxide, enhanced its reduction extent, and fostered the formation of plentiful cobalt oxide species and oxygen vacancies on the catalyst's surface. The cooperative influence of Cu and Co heightened the selectivity of the hydrogenolysis reaction. This work provides a novel strategy for the development of greener and more efficient catalytic processes based on non-precious metals that for the selective conversion of biomass-derived furfural to high-value pentanediols.

Modification of myofibrillar protein structural characteristics: Effect of ultrasound-assisted first-stage thermal treatment on unwashed Silver Carp surimi gel.

The hardness properties of unwashed surimi gel are considered as the qualities of gelation defect. This research investigated the effect of ultrasound-assisted first-stage thermal treatment (UATT) on the physicochemical properties of unwashed Silver Carp surimi gel, and the enhancement mechanism. UATT could reduce protein particle size, which significantly reduced from 142.22 µm to 106.70 µm after 30 min of UATT compared with the nature protein. This phenomenon can promote the protein crosslinking, resulting in the hardness of surimi gel increased by 15.08 %. Partially unfolded structure of myofibrillar protein and exposures of tryptophan to water, lead to the increase in the zeta potential absolute value, driven by UATT. The reduced SH group level and the conformational conversion of proteins from random coiling to α-helix and ß-sheet, which was in support of intermolecular interaction and gel network construction. The results are valuable for processing protein gels and other food products.

Regulation of Protein Flexibility and Promoting the Cod Protein Gel Formation Using Ultrasound Treatment.

In order to obtain a soft-textured protein gel suitable for the elderly, the cod protein gel was prepared by improving the protein flexibility under ultrasound treatment. It has been found that the increase in ultrasonic power, protein flexibility, particle size, ζ-potential, surface hydrophobicity, and α-helix content of preheated cod protein exhibited an increasing trend. The improvement of protein flexibility promoted uniformity and density of the gel network, water retention, and texture properties. The flexibility of preheated cod protein increased to 0.189, the water holding capacity of the gel reached up to 99.41%, and the hardness increased to 49.12 g, as the ultrasonic power level increased to 400 W. Protein flexibility was correlated well with the cohesiveness of the gel. The storage modulus (G') initially decreased and then increased during the heating-cooling process. The attractive forces forming between the flexible protein molecules during cooling in the ultrasound treatment groups promoted protein self-assembly aggregation and formed the cod protein gel. The gel obtained at 100-400 W could be categorized as Level 6─soft and bite-sized according to the International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative (IDDSI) framework, indicating that the cod protein gel has potential as an easy-to-swallow diet for the elderly.

Advances in the Potential Application of 3D Food Printing to Enhance Elderly Nutritional Dietary Intake.

The contradiction between the growing demand from consumers for "nutrition & personalized" food and traditional industrialized food production has consistently been a problem in the elderly diet that researchers face and discuss. Three-dimensional (3D) food printing could potentially offer a solution to this problem. This article reviews the recent research on 3D food printing, mainly including the use of different sources of protein to improve the performance of food ink printing, high internal phase emulsion or oleogels as a fat replacement and nutrition delivery system, and functional active ingredients and the nutrition delivery system. In our opinion, 3D food printing is crucial for improving the appetite and dietary intake of the elderly. The critical obstacles of 3D-printed food for the elderly regarding energy supplements, nutrition balance, and even the customization of the recipe in a meal are discussed in this paper. By combining big data and artificial intelligence technology with 3D food printing, comprehensive, personalized, and customized geriatric foods, according to the individual traits of each elderly consumer, will be realized via food raw materials-appearance-processing methods. This article provides a theoretical basis and development direction for future 3D food printing for the elderly.

Highly Efficient One-Step Conversion of Fructose to Biofuel 5-Ethoxymethylfurfural Using a UIO-66-SO3H Catalyst.

In this study, a novel sulfonic acid-modified catalyst for MOFs (UIO-66-SO3H) was synthesized using chlorosulfonic acid as a sulfonating reagent and first used as efficient heterogeneous catalysts for the one-pot conversion of fructose into biofuel 5-ethoxymethylfurfural (EMF) in a cosolvent free system. The physicochemical properties of this catalyst were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and powder X-ray diffraction (XRD). The characterization demonstrated that the sulfonic acid group was successfully grafted onto the MOF material and did not cause significant changes to its morphology and structure. Furthermore, the effects of catalyst acid amount, reaction temperature, reaction time, and catalyst dosage on reaction results were investigated. The results showed that the conversion of fructose was 99.7% within 1 h at 140°C, while the EMF yield reached 80.4%. This work provides a viable strategy by application of sulfonic acid-based MOFs for the efficient synthesis of potential liquid fuel EMF from renewable biomass.

Effects of Structural and Compositional Changes of Nanochloropsis oceania after Enzyme Treatment on EPA-Rich Lipids Extraction.

Improved methods for the extraction of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), an essential and economically important polyunsaturated fatty acid, are urgently required. However, lipid extraction rates using food-grade solvents such as ethanol are usually low. To improve the ethanol-based extraction rate, and to elucidate the relevant mechanisms, we used cellulase and laccase to treat powdered Nannochloropsis, one of the most promising microalgal sources of EPA. Cellulase and laccase synergistically increased lipid yields by 69.31% and lipid EPA content by 42.63%, by degrading the amorphous hemicellulose and cellulose, improving crystallinity, and promoting the release and extraction of lysodiacylglyceryltrimethylhomoserine. Scanning electron microscopy showed that cell morphology was substantially altered, with cell-wall rupture, loss of cell boundaries, and the release of intracellular substances. In conclusion, Nannochloropsis lipid yields may be directly linked to cell-wall hemicellulose structure, and enzymatic treatment to alter this may improve lipid yields.

Efficient synthesis of 5-ethoxymethylfurfural from biomass-derived 5-hydroxymethylfurfural over sulfonated organic polymer catalyst.

Herein, we investigated catalytic potential of a functionalized porous organic polymer bearing sulfonic acid groups (PDVTA-SO3H) to the etherification of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 5-ethoxymethylfurfural (EMF) under solvent-free conditions. The PDVTA-SO3H material was synthesized via post-synthetic sulfonation of the porous co-polymer poly-divinylbenzene-co-triallylamine by chlorosulfonic acid. The physicochemical properties of the PDVTA-SO3H were characterized by FT-IR, SEM, TG-DTG, and N2 adsorption isotherm techniques. PDVTA-SO3H had high specific surface area (591 m2 g-1) and high density of -SO3H group (2.1 mmol g-1). The reaction conditions were optimized via Box-Behnken response surface methodology. Under the optimized conditions, the PDVTA-SO3H catalyst exhibited efficient catalytic activity with 99.8% HMF conversion and 87.5% EMF yield within 30 min at 110 °C. The used PDVTA-SO3H catalyst was readily recovered by filtration and remained active in recycle runs.

Field tests of in-well electrolysis removal of arsenic from high phosphate and iron groundwater.

Subsurface arsenic (As) removal has been proposed for in situ immobilizing As in aquifers at a low cost and without post-disposal of As-containing wastes. However, the results reported for field tests are very limited, particularly when high As, phosphate (P) and iron (Fe) coexist in the groundwater. Herein the performance of single- and multiple-well operations was evaluated for in situ removing groundwater As in Jianghan Plain, central China. To enhance groundwater oxygenation, in-well electrolysis was employed in both operation modes. The groundwater in confined aquifer in Jianghan Plain contains elevated concentrations of As (272-606 µg/L), Fe2+ (4.7-14.3 mg/L) and P (0.90-1.58 mg/L). In the single-well operation with cycles of injection and abstraction, groundwater Fe2+ was completely removed but As cannot be reduced to below the World Health Organization guideline (10 µg/L) due to the high concentration and the competition of coexisting P. In-well electrolysis is cost-effective for boosting dissolved oxygen (DO) and Fe2+ removal in single-well operations. In the multiple-well operation with one abstraction well surrounded by 6 in-well electrolysis wells, removals of groundwater As, Fe, P and Mn were not sufficient because of clogging of treatment wells and incomplete capture of groundwater flowing to the abstraction well. In comparison, single-well operation is more simple and efficient for in situ treatment of groundwater As and Fe than multiple-well operation. This study provides a field example of in situ removing high As in groundwater by both single- and multiple-well operations, and underscores the difficulty in treating the groundwater with coexistence of elevated As and P.