Hydrocarbon chains, synthesis

Oxidation of carbon side-chains has resulted in the synthesis of dithiazolyl ketone (82) and thiazolyl phenyl ketone (83). The hydrocarbon chain can also be dehydrogenated in acetic acid in the presence of... 

Fischer-Tropsch synthesis can be regarded as a surface polymerization reaction since monomer units are produced from the reagents hydrogen and carbon monoxide in situ on the surface of the catalyst. Hence, a variety of hydrocarbons (mainly n-paraffines) are formed from hydrogen and carbon monoxide by successive addition of C, units to hydrocarbon chains on the catalyst surface (Equation 12.1). Additionally, carbon dioxide (Equation 12.3) and steam (Equations 12.1 and 12.2) are produced C02 affects the reaction just a little, whereas H20 shows a strong inhibiting effect on the reaction rate when iron catalysts are used. 

For maximum yield of liquid hydrocarbons and minimum yield of gases, FT synthesis is optimised to produce predominantly heavy products (heavy paraffins),7 i.e., producing hydrocarbon chains as long as possible at maximum hydrocarbon chain growth probability. 

In this section, an example will be given in which a (small) library of a new type of cationic lipids was synthesized and screened for TE (63). For synthesis, combinatorial solid phase chemistry was used. All cationic lipids of the example library are structurally based on 3-methylamino-1,2-dihydroxy-propane as the polar, cationic lipid part. As nonpolar lipid part, different hydrocarbon chains are boimd to the amino group of the scaffold and the amino group was further methylated to get constantly cationic-charged lipids. Lipids were synthesized in both configurations and as racemats, and the counterions were varied as well. Table 1 summarizes the structural features of these lipids. 

Iron has a rich surface coordination chemistry that forms the basis of its important catalytic properties. There are many catalytic applications in which metallic iron or its oxides play a vital part, and the best known are associated with the synthesis of ammonia from hydrogen and nitrogen at high pressure (Haber-Bosch Process), and in hydrocarbon synthesis from CO/C02/hydrogen mixtures (Fischer-Tropsch synthesis). The surface species present in the former includes hydrides and nitrides as well as NH, NH2, and coordinated NH3 itself. Many intermediates have been proposed for hydrogenation of carbon oxides during Fischer-Tropsch synthesis that include growing hydrocarbon chains. 

In the synthesis of fatty acids the acetyl irnits are condensed and then are reduced to form straight hydrocarbon chains. In the oxo-acid chain elongation mechanism, the acetyl unit is introduced but is later decarboxylated. Tlius, the chain is increased in length by one carbon atom at a time. These two mechanisms account for a great deal of the biosynthesis by chain extension. However, there are other variations. For example, glycine (a carboxylated methylamine), under the influence of pyridoxal phosphate and with accompanying decarboxylation, condenses with succinyl-CoA (Eq. 14-32) to extend the carbon chain and at the same time to introduce an amino group. Likewise, serine (a carboxylated ethanolamine) condenses with... 

The composition of the free fatty acids is also unique. In both human and pig stratum cornea, the free fatty acid fraction consists mainly of long and saturated hydrocarbon chains [44,45], Oleic and linoleic acid are the only unsaturated free fatty acids detected in the stratum corneum. There are various sterols present in human stratum corneum, of which cholesterol predominates. Cholesterol is the only major lipid class that is present in both plasma membranes and the intercellular lipid lamellae. Cholesterol is synthesized in the epidermis and this synthesis is independent of the hepatic one. A minor fraction is sulfated to... 

Overview Fatty acid synthesis involves the condensation of two-carbon units, in the form of acetyl CoA, to form long hydrocarbon chains in a series of reactions. These reactions are carried out on the fatty acid synthase complex using NADPH as reductant. The fatty acids are covalently linked to acyl carrier protein (ACP) during their synthesis. 

The pathway The first committed step in fatty acid biosynthesis is the carboxylation of acetyl CoA to form malonyl CoA which is catalyzed by the biotin-containing enzyme acetyl CoA carboxylase. Acetyl CoA and malonyl CoA are then converted into their ACP derivatives. The elongation cycle in fatty acid synthesis involves four reactions condensation of acetyl-ACP and malonyl-ACP to form acetoacetyl-ACP releasing free ACP and C02, then reduction by NADPH to form D-3-hydroxybutyryl-ACP, followed by dehydration to crotonyl-ACP, and finally reduction by NADPH to form butyryl-ACP. Further rounds of elongation add more two-carbon units from malonyl-ACP on to the growing hydrocarbon chain, until the C16 palmitate is formed. Further elongation of fatty acids takes place on the cytosolic surface of the smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER). 

Figure 3.5 Incorporation of the label from [ l-13C]propionate into position 4 of 3-methylpentacosane, indicating that the methyl-branching group is incorporated as the second unit in hydrocarbon formation rather than at the end of the chain synthesis.

Selectivity in the Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis is directly related to carbon number distributions. These distributions were first discussed by Friedel and Anderson (i), who used an approach suggested by Herrington (2) to relate the rates of formation of hydrocarbon chains to the rates of chain termination. Later, it was shown (5) that the approach in Ref. (i) was similar to that used in... 

Alkylations of nitrophenylacetates, indole, and methyl benzylidene glycinate under dry conditions induced by microwaves have been studied, leading to the synthesis of arenes (66) linked by a long hydrocarbon chain (Abramovitch et al., 1995). Kumar et al. (1999) reported the enviromnental-friendly process for the synthesis of 2-alkylated hydroquinones (67) under microwave irradiation using 1,4-cyclohexanedione and aldehydes catalyzed by KF-AI2O3. An attractive methodology using microwave irradiation is described by Vanelle et al. (1999) for reactions of... 

The catalytic reduction of alkenes and alkynes are important methods for the synthesis of alkanes. The hydroboration and hydrosilylation of alkenes are alternatives to catalytic methods. Again, both the alkene and alkyne may have played an important role in the construction of the hydrocarbon chain. 

Higher intrapellet residence times increase the contribution of chain initiation by a-olefins to chain growth pathways. This intrapellet delay, caused by the slow diffusion of large hydrocarbons, leads to non-Flory carbon number distributions and to increasingly paraffinic long hydrocarbon chains during FT synthesis. But intrapellet residence time also depends on the effective diameter and on the physical structure (porosity and tortuosity) of the support pellets. The severity of transport restrictions and the probability that a-olefins initiate a surface chain as they diffuse out of a pellet also de-... 

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