Jami'ar Kimiyya da Fasaha ta Sarki Abdallah ta Saudiyya ce ta samar da wani ma'auni mai inganci wanda ke juyar da iskar propane zuwa iskar gas mai nauyi. (KAUST) masu bincike. Yana hanzarta haɓaka halayen sinadarai da aka sani da alkane metathesis, wanda za'a iya amfani dashi don samar da makamashin ruwa.

Mai kara kuzari yana sake tsara propane, wanda ya ƙunshi ƙwayoyin carbon guda uku, cikin wasu ƙwayoyin, kamar butane (mai ɗauke da carbons huɗu), pentane (mai carbons biyar) da ethane (tare da carbons biyu). Manoja Samantaray daga cibiyar KAUST Catalysis ya ce "Manufarmu ita ce mu canza alkanes masu nauyi zuwa ƙananan kwayoyin halitta zuwa alkanes na dizal mai daraja."

A cikin zuciyar mai kara kuzari akwai mahadi na karafa biyu, titanium da tungsten, wadanda aka kafa su zuwa saman silica ta hanyar kwayoyin oxygen. Dabarar da aka yi amfani da ita ita ce catalysis ta ƙira. Binciken da aka yi a baya ya nuna cewa monometallic catalysts sun shiga ayyuka guda biyu: alkane zuwa olefin sannan kuma olefin metathesis. An zaɓi titanium saboda ikonsa na kunna haɗin CH na paraffins don canza su zuwa olefins, kuma an zaɓi tungsten saboda babban aikinsa don metathesis na olefin.

Don ƙirƙirar mai kara kuzari, ƙungiyar ta zazzage silica don cire ruwa mai yawa kamar yadda zai yiwu sannan kuma ta ƙara hexamethyl tungsten da tetraneopentyl titanium, ta samar da foda mai haske-rawaya. Masu binciken sun yi nazarin abin da ke kara kuzari ta hanyar amfani da fasahar maganadisu ta nukiliya (NMR) don nuna cewa tungsten da titanium atoms suna kwance kusa da juna a saman silica, watakila kusa da ≈0.5 nanometers.

Masu binciken, karkashin jagorancin Darakta na cibiyar Jean-Marie Basset, sun gwada mai kara kuzari ta hanyar dumama shi zuwa 150 ° C tare da propane na kwanaki uku. Bayan inganta yanayin amsawa - alal misali, ta hanyar barin propane ya ci gaba da gudana a kan mai kara kuzari - sun gano cewa manyan samfuran halayen sune ethane da butane kuma kowane nau'i na tungsten da titanium atom na iya haifar da matsakaita na 10,000 hawan keke kafin. rasa ayyukansu. Wannan "lambar juzu'i" ita ce mafi girma da aka taɓa bayar da rahoto don amsawar propane metathesis.

Wannan nasarar na catalysis ta hanyar ƙira, masu binciken sun ba da shawara, ya faru ne saboda tasirin haɗin gwiwa da ake tsammanin tsakanin ƙarfe biyu. Na farko, atom na titanium yana cire hydrogen atom daga propane zuwa samar da propene sannan kuma wani makwabcin tungsten atom ya karya propene a buɗaɗɗen haɗin gwiwar carbon-carbon, yana haifar da gutsuttsura waɗanda zasu iya sake haɗuwa cikin wasu hydrocarbons. Masu binciken sun kuma gano cewa foda mai kara kuzari da ke dauke da tungsten ko titanium kawai ba su da kyau; ko da a lokacin da waɗannan foda biyu suka haɗu a jiki tare, aikinsu bai dace da abin da ke haifar da haɗin gwiwa ba.

Tawagar tana fatan zayyana madaidaicin mai kara kuzari tare da mafi girman adadin juyawa, da tsawon rayuwa. "Mun yi imanin cewa nan gaba kadan, masana'antu za su iya yin amfani da tsarinmu don samar da alkanes na dizal da kuma mahimmin haɓaka ta hanyar ƙira," in ji Samantaray.