Embodiments relate to generating non-thermal plasma to selectively convert a precursor to a product. More specifically, plasma forming material, a precursor material, and a plasma promoter material are provided to a reaction zone of a vessel. The reaction zone is exposed to microwave radiation, including exposing the plasma forming material, the precursor material, and the plasma promoter material to the microwave radiation. The exposure of the plasma forming material and the plasma promoter material to the microwave radiation selectively converts the plasma forming material to a micro-plasma. The precursor material is mixed with the plasma forming material and the precursor material is exposed to the micro-plasma. The exposure of the precursor material to the micro-plasma and the microwave radiation selectively converts the precursor material to a product.

This invention provides an innovative method to manufacture graphene layers or quantities and graphene oxide layers or quantities from graphite, coal slags, asphalt, and other carbon-rich sold materials in nature. The present invention uses controllable microwave irradiation to heat the mixtures of basic material, graphite, or coal slags, or asphalt, or their combinations with ionic liquids and surfactant plus environmentally friendly oxidation agents. This invention can generate the said-products of graphene layers and graphene oxides in a short time period of one second to 300 seconds. The present invention does not involve any concentrated sulfuric acid, nitric acid, nor huge water quantities needed for the purification, unlike the prior art. The as-produced graphene-based materials can be used for preparing conductive films for touch screens, producing graphene carbon fibers and three-dimensional porous graphene nanomaterials, and preparing graphene-based other intelligent nanocomposites for super-light-weight machines and vehicles.

A process and an apparatus for converting carbon dioxide CO.sub.2 into carbon monoxide CO using hydrocarbons are described. In further embodiments, processes and apparatuses for generating synthesis gas and processes and apparatuses for converting synthesis gas into synthetic functionalised and/or non-functionalised hydrocarbons using CO.sub.2 and hydrocarbons are described. The processes and apparatuses are adapted to convert CO.sub.2 emitted by industrial processes, and thus the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere may be reduced.

Removing GHGs from various industrial and agricultural sources while concurrently generating useful solid and/or gaseous output materials enables an environmentally-clean and scalable approach for permanently dissociating the GHGs. Intra-reactor conditions can be controlled such that the solids produced are useful in advanced materials (e.g., in carbon fibers, in cements and concretes, etc.), and/or controlled in a manner such that the generated gases are useful (e.g., as fuel in hydrogen powered vehicles, in aeronautical and aerospace applications, and in energy storage applications, etc.). Eradicating GHGs (i.e., by dissociating GHGs into constituent carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen, etc.) is facilitated through use of interconnected arc discharge reactors. Arc discharge reactors involve simple designs that are both energy efficient and highly scalable to virtually any specification. Moreover, the simplicity of arc discharge reactor designs lead to large scale configurations that can be reliably deployed into diverse geographies or environments having diverse operating conditions.

A modular photochemical reactor system having a plurality of fluidic modules each having i) a central planar process fluid layer and ii) two outer planar thermal control fluid layers for containing flowing thermal control fluid and a plurality of illumination modules, the illumination modules of the plurality each having a planar form with first and second major surfaces and each having at least a first array of semiconductor emitters, the emitters positioned to emit from or through the first major surface, wherein the first array of semiconductor emitters has at least a first emitter and a second emitter, the first emitter capable of emitting at a first center wavelength and the second emitter capable of emitting at a second center wavelength, the first and second center wavelengths differing from each other.

In a system and process for selectively purifying various pharmacologically-relevant components of a source plant such as cannabis, an initial step provides a low-temperature, robust essential oil/terpene capture that also dehydrates and decarboxylates the starting productfresh raw cannabisby means of a vacuum-assisted microwave distillation process. By doing the terpene capture under vacuum distillation temperature may be kept low. The low distillation temperature maximizes yields of thermally-sensitive components such as terpenes and cannabinoids. The system includes an oil/water separator configured to prevent leakage of ambient air into the system.

This invention provides an innovative method to manufacture graphene layers or quantities and graphene oxide layers or quantities from graphite, coal slags, asphalt, and other carbon-rich sold materials in nature. The present invention uses controllable microwave irradiation to heat the mixtures of basic material, graphite, or coal slags, or asphalt, or their combinations with ionic liquids and surfactant plus environmentally friendly oxidation agents. This invention can generate the said-products of graphene layers and graphene oxides in a short time period of one second to 300 seconds. The present invention does not involve any concentrated sulfuric acid, nitric acid, nor huge water quantities needed for the purification, unlike the prior art. The as-produced graphene-based materials can be used for preparing conductive films for touch screens, producing graphene carbon fibers and three-dimensional porous graphene nanomaterials, and preparing graphene-based other intelligent nanocomposites for super-light-weight machines and vehicles.

The present invention is directed in a first aspect to a process for forming a deep eutectic solvent chemical precursor. The process includes the steps of providing one or more metal ion donors, preferably one or more salts; providing one or more hydrogen bond donors, and combining the one or more salts with the one or more hydrogen bond donors. The present invention is directed in a second aspect to forming one or more metal oxides by reacting one or more of the deep eutectic solvents of the first aspect of the invention through the application of heat via methods such as flame spray pyrolysis or the application of microwaves.

A method of producing metal nanoparticles includes: dissolving an organic metal compound in a non-polar solvent, and mixing a polar solvent with the non-polar solvent to prepare a mixed liquid such that the polar solvent accounts for 5 volume % to 67 volume % of all solvents contained in the mixed liquid; and decomposing the organic metal compound by irradiating the prepared mixed liquid with a microwave, to produce metal nanoparticles. The organic metal compound includes: a non-polar group that is transparent to the microwave and that makes the organic metal compound soluble in the non-polar solvent; and a polar group that is disposed on a site of the organic metal compound, where a metal atom is present, and that absorbs the microwave.

An instrument and method for accelerating the solid phase synthesis of peptides are disclosed. The method includes the steps of deprotecting a protected first amino acid linked to a solid phase resin by admixing the protected linked acid with a deprotecting solution in a microwave transparent vessel while irradiating the admixed acid and solution with microwaves, activating a second amino acid, coupling the second amino acid to the first acid while irradiating the composition in the same vessel with microwaves, and cleaving the linked peptide from the solid phase resin by admixing the linked peptide with a cleaving composition in the same vessel while irradiating the composition with microwaves.