Two MWW zeolite catalysts, purely microporous MCM-22 (3D) and hierarchical ITQ-2 (2D), were synthesized and functionalized with dodecyltriethoxysilane. The functionalized zeolites were employed in a two-phase glycerol ketalization reaction with acetone. There are two crucial factors to consider in this reaction: (i) the kinetic diameter of glycerol is comparable to the size of catalyst pores, limiting its accessibility to the active sites and (ii) glycerol exhibits poor solubility in acetone, causing the reaction to predominantly occur at the interfaces. Therefore, it is essential to focus on enhancing the accessibility of chemicals to the inner catalyst pores and adjusting the hydrophilic–hydrophobic balance of the functionalized catalysts to improve the reaction performance. The accessibility of the catalysts was indirectly evaluated by the chemisorption of pyridine and 2,6-di-tert-butylpyridine, which confirmed that ITQ-2 had a superior capacity to accommodate bulkier chemicals. Moreover, contact angle measurements of glycerol on ITQ-2 zeolites indicated that the functionalized materials exhibited reduced interaction with glycerol due to their increased hydrophobic nature. As a result, the functionalized materials tended to accumulate in the interfacial region, facilitating the dispersion of glycerol droplets within the reaction medium and eliminating the need for an additional solvent to homogenize the system. However, the hydrophobic characteristic played a more significant role at the beginning of the reaction since, after reaching 25% conversion, the system transitioned into a single phase as the product acted as a solvent.

In this work, we unveil the potential of nitrogen (N₂) adsorption from Liquid Argon (LAr) through the molecular sieves (zeolites) Li-FAU Adsorbents. We report detailed studies about N₂ gas adsorption at T = 89 K using a commercial Micromeritics ASAP-2420 equipment and N₂ purification from LAr using the Purification Cryostat (PuLArC) at IFGW/Unicamp. We argue that the N₂ adsorption by the Li-FAU is possible thanks to the stronger interaction of N₂ with the lithium cations present in zeolite Li-FAU. In fact, the experiments performed in PuLArC have unequivocally shown that the Li-FAU adsorbent was capable of capturing N₂, reducing a N₂ contamination of 20–50 ppm to 0.1–1.0 ppm in 1–2 hours of circulation time in LAr for several runs. This result demonstrated the great potential of the Li-FAU adsorbent for N₂ capturing in LAr and invoke further tests of this material in larger scale LAr cryostats in order to confirm the innovative proposal of using the Li-FAU molecular sieve in replacement of Molecular Sieve 4A, currently used in LAr cryostats for neutrino experiments.

The incorporation of residues into rubber composites has gained attention as a sustainable strategy to address waste management challenges while replacing commercial fillers. In this study, we investigated the potential use of water filter cartridge residue after exhaustion, composed of activated carbon, as a reinforcing filler in vulcanized natural rubber composites. Samples were prepared with 5, 10, 15, and 20 phr (per hundred rubber) of residue and compared to unfilled natural rubber. Stress vs. strain tests reached 13.9 MPa of tension at rupture for composites containing 10 phr of carbon-activated residues, representing a 21.9% increase compared to natural rubber. Interestingly, the tension at rupture for NR/AC_10phr reached values close to those of NR/CB_5phr (with carbon black N330) attaining 14.4 MPa. These results indicate that, even at relatively low concentrations, the carbon filter can offer partial substitution for commercial fillers. Moreover, the use of activated carbon from filter cartridges as filler in rubber composites provides an environmentally favorable alternative to energy-intensive regeneration processes for activated carbon.