A comparative study on the triterpenic acids composition of the outer barks of several Eucalyptus species (E. globulus, E. grandis, E. urograndis, E. maidenii and E. nitens) is reported. The contents of the main triterpenic acids identified in the five species varied between 4.5 g/kg in E. urograndis and 21.6 g/kg in E. nitens. It has been observed that, out of these Eucalyptus species outer barks, those from temperate and Mediterranean zones, namely E. nitens and E. globulus, are richer in triterpenic acids than the species from sub-tropical and tropical regions. Furthermore, E. globulus outer bark is clearly the richest in ursane acids, while E. nitens outer bark is the richest in oleanane and lupane acids.
In order to increase flexibility in tailoring the permeability and selectivity of supported ionic liquid membranes (SILMs) for flue gas separation and natural gas purification, this work explores the use of ionic liquid mixtures. For that purpose, gas permeation properties of CO2, CH4 and N2 in several binary ionic liquid mixtures based on a common cation ([C2mim]+) and different anions such as bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([NTf2]−), acetate ([Ac]−), lactate ([Lac]−), dicyanamide ([DCA]−) and thiocyanate ([SCN]−) were measured at 293 K using a time-lag apparatus. In addition to gas permeation results, the thermophysical properties of those mixtures, namely viscosity and density, were also determined so that trends between the two types of properties could be evaluated. The results show that mixing [Ac]− or [Lac]− with [NTf2]− promotes the decrease of gas permeability and diffusivity of the SILMs based on those binary mixtures, essentially due to their high viscosities. The pure ionic liquids containing anions with nitrile groups, [DCA]− or [SCN]−, and also their mixtures with [C2mim][NTf2] exhibit permselectivities ranging from 19.1 to 23.0 for CO2/CH4, and from 36.6 to 67.8 for CO2/N2, as a consequence of a reduction in the CH4 and N2 permeabilities, respectively. Furthermore, it is shown that mixing anions with different chemical features allows variations in ionic liquid viscosity and molar volume that impact the gas permeation properties of SILMs, offering a clear pathway for the optimization of their CO2 separation performances.
Crosslinked pyrrolidinium-based poly(ionic liquids) (Pyrr-PILs) were synthesized through a fast, simple, and solventless photopolymerization scheme, and tested as solid phase microextraction (SPME) sorbents. A series of Pyrr-PILs bearing three different alkyl side chain lengths with two, eight, and fourteen carbons was prepared, characterized, and homogeneously coated on a steel wire by using a very simple procedure. The resulting coatings showed a high thermal stability, with decomposition temperatures above 350 °C, excellent film stability, and lifetime of over 100 injections. The performance of these PIL-based SPME fibers was evaluated using a mixture of eleven organic compounds with different molar volumes and chemical functionalities (alcohols, ketones, and monoterpenes). The Pyrr-PIL fibers were obtained as dense film coatings, with 67 μm thickness, with an overall sorption increase of 90% and 55% as compared to commercial fibers of Polyacrylate (85 μm) (PA85) and Polydimethylsiloxane (7 μm) (PDMS7) coatings, respectively. A urine sample doped with the sample mixture was used to study the matrix effect and establish relative recoveries, which ranged from 60.2% to 104.1%.