Chapters authored
Supported Nickel-Based Catalysts for Partial Hydrogenation of Edible Oils
Nickel-based catalysts, supported on diatomite, silica gel and perlite, with high nickel loadings, have been prepared by precipitation-deposition method. Various nickel precursor salts were used for the preparation of catalyst precursors. In the precursor state, the catalysts were characterized using nitrogen physisorption, mercury porosimetry, infrared, and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy. The reducibility of catalyst precursors was evaluated using hydrogen temperature programmed reduction. Hydrogen chemisorption and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements were performed with the aim of characterizing the chemical state of the catalyst precursors. This research was focused on the study of some major factors on the state, dispersion and reducibility of a deposited Ni2+ phase by the combined use of mentioned experimental techniques. We have examined the influence of the nature of support and the use of modifiers on activity of nickel-based catalysts in the partial hydrogenation of sunflower and soybean oils. Nitrogen physisorption and mercury porosimetry data showed that synthesis operating conditions and pore structure of supports have a profound effect on the textural properties of catalyst precursors. The analysis of infrared and X-ray diffraction spectra showed the existence of chemical species and phases which indicate the different extent of interaction between the support and the active metal. Temperature programmed reduction study revealed that the reduction features depend on the identity of the nickel precursor salt and its interaction with the support. A stronger interaction of the supported Ni2+ phase with support hinders the reduction of catalyst precursors. Hydrogen chemisorption results showed the presence of nickel crystallites varying from 5 to 47 nm in size. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy data confirmed the formation surface species with different strength of interaction and different nickel crystallite sizes. The hydrogenation results showed significant differences, depending on the support and the modifier, as well as structural characteristics of reduced catalyst precursors. The results show the importance of modifiers in the control of the activity and selectivity of the partial hydrogenation process. The developed kinetic models of the hydrogenation of soybean and sunflower oils over studied catalytic systems were found useful in the prediction of the rate of reactions, product selectivity and catalytic activity.
Part of the book: New Advances in Hydrogenation Processes
Legal Services as Commodity: Reinventing the Lawyers’ Services
Business service is a very broad, highly fragmented, highly labor-intensive, and capital-adverse industry that provides nonfinancial business-related services to other firms. Due to the broad nature of the industry, the definition of business service includes various services. Recently, powerful forces have reshaped the market for legal advice delivered to corporations. The “new normal” is characterized by a higher price pressure (clients demanding another megatrend, transforming workflows and business models. The volume of data used in legal advice has increased exponentially—a pattern seen in many other industries as well. Legal industry (as a part of business services) has experienced a global paradigm shift in the delivery model for legal services, known as legal process outsourcing, which transfers the work of attorneys, paralegals, and other legal professionals to external vendors located domestically and overseas. Legal outsourcing (both onshore and offshore) is transforming more for less) the deconstruction of formerly homogeneous legal services into different activities and the rise of legal process outsourcing. The digitization of legal data constitutes law practice as law firms and corporate legal departments seek to minimize costs, increase flexibility, and expand their in-house capabilities. With the emergence of legal services outsourcing, the future generation will lead a more sophisticated life, with a higher value of legal work, at a higher level of quality and speed, and dramatically at a lower cost. In this chapter, the author deals with the process of the transformation of legal service into a legal product and points to some dilemmas during that process. This chapter argues that outsourcing ultimately will have a positive effect on the legal profession and development of the quality of legal services. In the second part of this chapter, the author also stresses out some information about different possibilities, how to organize virtual law firms (with legal tech) for low-budget legal services into the Slovenian case.
Part of the book: Positive and Negative Aspects of Outsourcing