A superacid polymeric catalyst having both Lewis acidity and Brnsted acidity is described, along with methods of making and methods of using the same.

Provided is a process for treating water, wherein the water comprises dissolved ions that comprise an undesired cation, wherein the processes comprises (a) providing a collection of specified polymeric beads wherein 90% or more of the beads by volume are uniform beads; (b) then passing the water through a bed of the collection of polymeric beads to exchange the undesired ion for ions (iv), (c) then passing a regeneration solution comprising dissolved ions (v) of the same species as ions (iv) through the bed of the collection of polymeric beads to exchange ions (v) for the undesired ions.

Provided is a process for producing 2,2-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)propane, comprising condensing phenol with acetone in the presence of an acid catalyst; wherein the acid catalyst comprises a collection of sulfonated polymeric beads, wherein the sulfonated polymeric beads comprise (i) 75 to 99% by weight, based on the weight of the bead, polymerized units of monofunctional vinyl monomer, and (ii) 1 to 25% by weight, based on the weight of the bead, polymerized units of multifunctional vinyl monomer; wherein 90% or more of the beads by volume are uniform beads.

The present disclosure relates to scalable processes for extracting, refining and fracationating extracts of natural products, such as plant material and for providing well controlled refined extracts.

A method of producing one or more glycerol ethers, the method comprising contacting glycerol and tertiary butanol (TBA) in the presence of an acidic catalyst to produce one or more glycerol ethers selected from mono-tert butyl glycerol ethers, di-tert butyl glycerol ethers, tri-tert butyl glycerol ethers, or a combination thereof; separating water and a stream comprising isobutylene, unreacted TBA, or a combination thereof from the one or more glycerol ethers; and recycling at least a portion of the stream comprising isobutylene, unreacted TBA, or a combination thereof to the contacting. Also disclosed is a process of co-producing isooctene, wherein the process involves contacting glycerol and tertiary butanol in the presence of a dehydrating catalyst and dimerizing/oligomerizing the dehydrated products in the presence of an oligomerizing catalyst to form isooctene, a precursor of isooctane and isomers thereof.

A method of producing one or more glycerol ethers, the method comprising contacting glycerol and tertiary butanol (TBA) in the presence of an acidic catalyst to produce one or more glycerol ethers selected from mono-tert butyl glycerol ethers, di-tert butyl glycerol ethers, tri-tert butyl glycerol ethers, or a combination thereof; separating water and a stream comprising isobutylene, unreacted TBA, or a combination thereof from the one or more glycerol ethers; and recycling at least a portion of the stream comprising isobutylene, unreacted TBA, or a combination thereof to the contacting. Also disclosed is a process of co-producing isooctene, wherein the process involves contacting glycerol and tertiary butanol in the presence of a dehydrating catalyst and dimerizing/oligomerizing the dehydrated products in the presence of an oligomerizing catalyst to form isooctene, a precursor of isooctane and isomers thereof.

A multi-catalytic material that includes a polyelectrolyte membrane and methods of preparing the same are provided herein.

The present invention is directed to methods of producing THC from CBD utilizing non-harsh methodology and resulting in substantially increased yields, as well as devices built upon these novel methods. The methods and devices are material efficient, and in certain embodiments, solvent-free. In particular, in certain embodiments, these methods and related devices are suitable for commercial production of THC from CBD. Furthermore, in certain embodiments, the present invention provides methods of producing THC from CBD in manner that affords tunability to select the ratio of THC-8 to THC-9.

The present invention is directed to methods of producing THC from CBD utilizing non-harsh methodology and resulting in substantially increased yields, as well as devices built upon these novel methods. The methods and devices are material efficient, and in certain embodiments, solvent-free. In particular, in certain embodiments, these methods and related devices are suitable for commercial production of THC from CBD. Furthermore, in certain embodiments, the present invention provides methods of producing THC from CBD in manner that affords tunability to select the ratio of THC-8 to THC-9.

A novel approach for the conversion of biomass based hemicellulose prehydrolysate to high value succinic acid has been investigated using a heterogeneous acid catalyst, Amberlyst 15 and hydrogen peroxide. A vital intermediate in this process, furfural, was oxidized in a biphasic system to produce succinic acid. Production of furfural in good yields is a limiting step in such processes for a number of reasons. Among the organic solvents evaluated, toluene was found to be an ideal solvent for furfural extraction and facilitated the conversion of furfural to succinic acid. Simultaneous extraction of furfural into the organic solvent as it is produced, increased the overall yield. It was observed that the developed method resulted in a succinic acid yield of 49% from the furfural obtained from hemicellulose prehydrolysate. It was found that 50 mg of Amberlyst 15 per mmole of furfural resulted in 100% FA conversion in less time.