This work reports the results of the ultrasound-assisted hydrothermal synthesis of two sets of V₂O₅ dispersed on SBA-15 and Zr doped SBA-15 catalysts used for the oxidation of dibenzothiophene (DBT) in a model diesel via the combination of oxidation, catalysis, and extraction technical route. These catalysts contained Lewis acidity as major and Brønsted acidity as minor. The amount of acidity varied with the content of vanadia and zirconium doping. It was found that DBT conversion is very sensitive to the Lewis acidity. DBT conversion increased by increasing the vanadium content and correlated well with the amount of surface Lewis acidity. Under the optimal experimental condition (Reaction temperature: 60 °C, reaction time 40 min, catalyst concentration: 1 g/L oil; H₂O₂/DBT mole ratio = 10), the 30% V₂O₅/SBA-15 and 30% V₂O₅/Zr-SBA-15 catalysts could convert more than 99% of DBT. Two reaction pathways of DBT oxidation involving vanadia surface structure, Lewis acidity, and peroxometallic complexes were proposed. When the vanadia loading V₂O₅ ≤ 10 wt%, the oxidative desulfurization (ODS) went through the Pathway I; in the catalysts with moderate vanadia content (V₂O₅ = 20–30 wt%), ODS proceeded via the Pathways II or/and the Pathway I.

Previous studies have shown that accumulation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) can be the cause of diabetic nephropathy (DN) in diabetic patients. Dihydrochalcone 3′-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl α,4,2′,4′,6′-pentahydroxy–dihydrochalcone (1) is a powerful antiglycation compound previously isolated from Eysenhardtia polystachya. The aim was to investigate whether (1) was able to protect against diabetic nephropathy in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice, which displayed renal dysfunction markers such as body weight, creatinine, uric acid, serum urea, total urinary protein, and urea nitrogen in the blood (BUN). In addition, pathological changes were evaluated including glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in the kidney, as well as in circulation level and pro-inflammatory markers ICAM-1 levels in diabetic mice. After 5 weeks, these elevated markers of dihydrochalcone treatment (25, 50 and 100 mg/kg) were significantly (p < 0.05) attenuated. In addition, they ameliorate the indices of renal inflammation as indicated by ICAM-1 markers. The kidney and circulatory AGEs levels in diabetic mice were significantly (p < 0.05) attenuated by (1) treatment. Histological analysis of kidney tissues showed an important recovery in its structure compared with the diabetic group. It was found that the compound (1) attenuated the renal damage in diabetic mice by inhibiting AGEs formation.

Biomass waste, as raw material for renewable energy, is an attractive alternative since it does not compete with human food supply. An emerging alternative for its treatment is supercritical water gasification (SCWG), due to the high moisture content of some types of biomass. On this regards, guava fruit (Psidium guajava L.) is one of the most wasted agro-food products in Mexico. This motivated us to evaluate gasification of guava waste on dry biomass base under supercritical water conditions for the first time, with the aim of analyzing the impact of moderate temperatures and feed ratios as reaction parameters on gas products. Temperature was varied in the range of 673.15–773.15 K and using a batch reactor loaded with biomass:water (B:W) mass ratios of 1:1, 1:4, and 1:6. Furthermore, the obtained solid, liquid, and gas phase products were characterized. Hydrogen (H₂), carbon dioxide (CO₂), carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH₄), ethane (C₂H₆), propane (C₃H₈), and butane (C₄H₁₀) were identified in gas phase and quantified by means of a gas chromatograph equipped with a TCD detector. Liquid and solid phase products were subjected to Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy analyses. This preliminary research indicated that high temperature operation and high biomass:water mass ratio enhanced gas yields (mol/kg) of about 4.137 for CH₄, 6.705 for CO₂, and 7.743 for H₂; whereas the selectivity and gas efficiency for hydrogen was 65.26% and 58.94%, respectively.

In this study, CuO was synthesized as a microwave absorber in the pyrolysis of a biomass model (sugarcane bagasse). CuO was synthesized for 5 min of irradiation using the following techniques: microwave (MW), ultrasound (US), combined mode (MW-US), and conduction heating (CH) as a reference material. The use of these treatments promotes changes in the morphology, as MW and US generate leaves and monolithic faceted morphologies, respectively. Changes were also generated in some textural characteristics such as crystal size, surface area, and volume-pore size. They were produced as a consequence of changes in the conditions during the crystallization stage produced by the different irradiation types. The microwave-assisted pyrolysis was performed aiming for the maximum liquid fraction (bio-oil) in the products. The reaction time, the size of the biomass, and the CuO synthesis method were also analyzed. The following particle size (ps) intervals were studied: ps < 0.5 mm, 0.5 mm < ps < 1.7 mm, 1.7 mm < ps < 3.5 mm. The best conditions at 1160 Watts in the microwave were: 4 min of reaction, particle size lower than 0.5 mm, and CuO synthesized by US. The use of CuO in the pyrolysis almost triples the amount of the obtained liquid fraction, when compared with the pyrolysis without the use of a microwave absorbent. The CuO was reduced to Cu₂O and Cu after the pyrolysis. In this work, a reduction in the reaction times from hours to minutes was achieved during the synthesis of CuO and the pyrolysis biomass. The liquid fraction (bio-oil) can be raw material to obtain value-added chemical products or biofuels.

Organic synthesis through semiconductor photocatalysis has become an important research area in photochemistry in the last two decades. Significant examples of organic transformations employed for synthetic purposes are oxidation and reduction reactions, isomerization reactions, C-H bond activations and C-C and C-N bond forming reactions. In this review, the use of irradiated semiconductors and different operation conditions in the reduction of organic compounds is surveyed. Here, the photocatalytic reduction of nitroarenes, aldehydes, ketones and miscellaneous compounds will be discussed. This review is concluded with some perspectives of our group on the directions toward which future research may be aimed.

This chapter deals with the ozonization process of the emu oil, the objective of this study was to quantitatively determine the peroxide value (PV) to measure the degree of ozonation, the peroxide value measures the number of peroxide groups in the ozonized oil. The ozone oxidizes the unsaturated chemical functions present in the oil giving a high cure rate for epidermal wounds. The healing process is not completely understood and there are different approaches, therefore, it was determined qualitatively if it has healing and inflammation properties, but the results of our studies have shown that the length and width of the wounds were healing quickly thanks to the peroxidation rate of the oils. In addition, both tests were correlated to obtain a greater appreciation of their functions, the mechanism involves a decrease in the inflammation of the wounds and stimulates the process of scar formation.