A method for producing hydrocarbons, includes at least the following steps: a) anaerobic fermentation of a fermentable raw material in order to produce volatile fatty acids, b) elongation of the volatile fatty acids produced in step a) by fermentation with at least one bacterium of the Megasphaera genus, extraction of the fatty acids produced from the fermentation broth, and c) production of hydrocarbons by subjecting the fatty acids produced in step b) to a Kolbe electrolysis.

Novel singly protected 2,2′-dihydroxybiaryls, electrochemical process for preparation of singly protected 2,2′-dihydroxybiaryls.

Novel 2,2′-diaminobiaryls having two secondary amines and an electrochemical process for preparation thereof.

Devices and methods that can detect and control an individual polymer in a mixture is acted upon by another compound, for example, an enzyme, in a nanopore are provided. The devices and methods also determine (˜>50 Hz) the nucleotide base sequence of a polynucleotide under feedback control or using signals generated by the interactions between the polynucleotide and the nanopore. The invention is of particular use in the fields of molecular biology, structural biology, cell biology, molecular switches, molecular circuits, and molecular computational devices, and the manufacture thereof.

Novel 2,2′-diamino biaryls of formula (I), (II) and (III), wherein R1-R10, R1′-R10′, X1-X3 and X1-X3′ are defined in claim 1. The invention also relates to an electrochemical method for the production thereof.

Novel 2,2′-diaminobiaryls having one primary and one secondary amine and an electrochemical process for preparation thereof.

Novel 2,2′-diaminobiaryls having two secondary amines and an electrochemical process for preparation thereof.

Alcohols are prepared by electrochemical reductive coupling of an aromatic vinyl compound and a carbonyl compound in a process which comprises electrolyzing an electrolyte solution in an electrochemical cell, the electrolyte solution comprising the aromatic vinyl compound, the carbonyl compound and a non-aqueous protic solvent, such as methanol, wherein the electrolyte solution is in contact with a carbon-based cathode Styrene is reacted with acetone to prepare 2-methyl-4-phenyl-2-butanol.

A method of producing oil, gas, and ash fertilizer from a feedstock includes inputting the feedstock into a reaction chamber having a wall, and combusting the feedstock in the reaction chamber. An electrical current flow is induced between the reaction chamber wall and the feedstock so as to cause arcing in the feedstock within the reaction chamber. Ash reaction byproducts migrate downward through the reaction chamber onto ash support structure, which is substantially electrically isolated from the reaction chamber wall. Gas and liquid reaction byproducts migrate upward through the reaction chamber to an upper chamber by a partial vacuum in the upper chamber, and are evacuated therefrom. The oil and gas are then separated from the evacuated gas/liquid products, providing the oil and the gas products. The oil is refinable, the gas is high in energy content, and the ash fertilizer is high in nitrogen.

There is disclosed an improved Kolbe reactor system for converting electrical power into a hydrocarbon fuel and hydrogen. More specifically, the present disclosure provides a Kolbe reactor system comprising an open cavity Kolbe reactor and an initial hydrocarbon chemical formulation comprising from about 3N to about 6N C2-C5 carboxylic acid and from about 2M to about 4M alkali C2-C5 carboxylate, wherein the C2-C5 carboxylate and carboxylic acid have the same carbon alkyl length. The Kolbe reactor system can be continuously fed with C2-C5 carboxylic acid to maintain the initial formulation for a continuous process. Electrical energy is stored by converting the carboxylic acid to hydrocarbon fuel and hydrogen, and is recovered by combustion of the hydrocarbon fuel and hydrogen, and or conversion in a hydrogen fuel cell.