The purpose of this work was to create magnetic nanocatalysts that could be used for the oxidation of organic water pollutants – phenol and its derivatives – and to determine the physicochemical characteristics of the catalysts. The development of such active nanocomposite catalysts would solve the environmental problem in the Republic of Kazakhstan in the field of wastewater treatment from organic impurities, including phenols, and would also contribute to the subsequent creation of domestic production of oxygen-containing compounds, since almost the entire spectrum of oxygen-containing compounds for various industries is imported into the Republic. Nanosized magnetic composites based on Fe and Co were obtained by chemical deposition, in some cases, using polyethyleneimine and polyvinylpyrrolidone. It was shown that the interaction between nanoparticles and the polymer takes place in the case of a CoFe2O4 catalyst stabilized with polyvinylpyrrolidone or polyethyleneimine, which may indicate the efficient formation of nanocomposites. According to the IR study, for the CoFe2O4 nanocomposite stabilized with polyvinylpyrrolidone, the absorption bands at 735, 663, 649, 626 cm–1 are natural vibrations for the composite nanoparticles embedded in a polyvinylpyrrolidone matrix. The synthesized nanocomposites were tested in the oxidation of phenol with oxygen. The results demonstrate that the catalysts are promising both for the purification of industrial wastewater from phenol and for the synthesis of oxygen-containing compounds in the liquid phase under mild conditions.

This study investigated the macro- and microelement profiles and bioactive substances (BAS) in the herbaceous species of the genus Rheum collected from two villages near Almaty, Kazakhstan, and the accumulation of heavy metals (HMs) in wild plants of Eastern Kazakhstan. Representative zonal species from the steppes and desert–steppes (Eastern Kazakhstan) were analyzed—totaling one hundred samples across 18 species from six families. According to the research, different plant species have a selective ability to accumulate heavy metals, even when growing in the same type of soil. Long-term observations reveal dominant patterns of HM (Cu, Zn, Mn, Co, Pb, Cd) occurrence in dry-steppe vegetation. It was found that Cu and Co demonstrate moderate bioadsorption with minimal accumulation, while Zn, Mn, and Pb show strong biological enrichment. Cadmium falls under elements with pronounced biological retention. Copper and cobalt are classified as moderately absorbed with limited buildup. Native plants in this region contain substantially greater amounts of lead relative to cobalt, and reflect cadmium–zinc geochemical specificity: Cd 3.85, Zn 0.15, Mn 0.10, Pb 0.09, Co 0.07, Cu 0.04, per Clark’s concentration index. Samples of collected Rheum tataricum L. in the village of Miyaly were found to have higher levels of flavonoids, phenolic compounds, and organic acids, while raw materials from the village of Bakbakty showed increased accumulation of anthracene derivatives and tannins. Flavonoids constituted the largest proportion of the studied groups of biologically active substances in both samples, confirming the high biological and pharmacological value of the plant material studied. The results obtained during the research can be successfully applied to the development of a strategy for the conservation of plant biodiversity in the studied areas and the sustainable management of plant resources.

It is known that highly efficient catalysts for the catalytic oxidation of aromatic hydrocarbons can be obtained based on magnetic nanoparticles. The development of nanosized magnetically controlled catalysts for the oxidation of aromatic hydrocarbons with oxygen deserves especially close attention in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan, which does not have its own industrial production of oxygen-containing compounds. The aim of this work is to create catalysts based on Fe and Co nanoparticles stabilized with polymers: polyvinylpyrrolidone, chitosan, and polyethylenimine, study them by methods of physico-chemical research, and conduct preliminary tests of catalysts to predict their effectiveness. Magnetic nanoparticles were prepared by the co-precipitation method. Based on the results of the SEM analysis, it was concluded that polymers form composites together with metal nanocrystals. According to preliminary data, the most efficient oxidation of phenol in a non-flowing glass gradient-free thermostated duck-type reactor occurs on Fe₃O₄/chitosan, with the phenol conversion being 55–60%. Tests on the oxidation of phenol with oxygen showed a favorable prognosis for the use of such catalysts for the oxidative conversion of aromatic hydrocarbons in order to obtain valuable intermediates.

The development of technologies for processing oil residues is relevant and promising for Kazakhstan, since the main oil reserves of hydrocarbons in the country are in heavy oils. This paper describes the study of the influence of technological modes on the yield and hydrocarbon composition of products formed because of cracking of commercial fuel oil and fuel oil M-100 in the presence of air in the reactor. For catalysts preparation, natural Taizhuzgen zeolite and Narynkol clay were used. It was found that the introduction of air into the reaction zone, in which oxygen is the initiator of the cracking process, significantly increases the yield of the middle distillate fractions. In the presence of air, the yield of diene and cyclodiene hydrocarbons significantly increases compared to cracking in an inert atmosphere. According to the data of IR spectral analysis of M-100 grade oil fractions, in addition to normal alkanes, the final sample contains a significant amount of olefinic and aromatic hydrocarbons. On the optimal catalyst, owing to oxidative cracking of fuel oil, the following product compositions (in %) were established: Fuel oil M-100: gas – 0.8, gasoline – 1.1, light gas oil – 85.7, heavy residue – 11.9, loss – 0.5 and total – 100.0%; commodity Fuel oil (M-100): gas – 3.3, gasoline – 8.4, light gas oil – 84.3, heavy residue – 4.0, loss – 0 and total – 100.0%.

The paper describes the catalytic cracking of heavy petroleum feedstock on catalysts based natural Taizhuzgen zeolite and Narynkol clay (Kazakhstan). Catalytic cracking was studied on fuel oil of the M-100 brand taken from the LLP Pavlodar Oil Chemistry Refinery (Kazakhstan). Air was added into the reaction medium. It was found that under optimal conditions, the conversion of the heavy residue of M-100 fuel oil reaches 46.2%, when cracking the initial fuel oil, the yield of the middle distillate fraction is 85.7 wt. % due to the content of 41.1 wt. % residual light gas oil in the resulting products. The optimal composite catalyst allows carry out the cracking of heavy oil residues without preliminary purification and with a high degree ofconversion to diesel fraction.