Search results for: surface chloride concentration

Authors: E. S. Manuylovich, V. A. Astapenko, P. A. Golovinsky

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The dispersion relation binding the constant of propagation and frequency is calculated for silver cone. The evolution of the electric field of ultrashort pulse during its propagation in conical structure is considered. Increasing of electric field during pulse propagation to the top of the cone is observed. Reduction of the pulse duration at a certain distance is observed. The dependence of minimum pulse duration on initial chirp and cone angle is investigated.

Keywords: ultrashort pulses, surface plasmon polariton, dispersion, silver cone

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Authors: Aida Safiera, Andika Dwi Rubyantoro, Muhammad Bagus Prakasa

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Indonesia’s needs of diesel oil each year are increasing and getting urge. However, that problems are not supported by the amount of oil production that still low and also influenced by the fact of oil reserve is reduced. Because of that, the government prefers to import from other countries than fulfill the needs of diesel. To anticipate that problem, development of fuel based on renewable diesel is started. Renewable diesel is renewable alternative fuel that is hydrocarbon derivative from decarbonylation of non-edible oil. Indonesia is rich with natural resources, including nyamplung oil (Calophyllum inophyllum oil) and zeolite. Nyamplung oil (Calophyllum inophyllum oil) has many stearic acids which are useful on renewable diesel synthesis meanwhile zeolite is cheap. Zeolite is many used on high temperature reaction and cracking process on oil industry. Zeolite also has advantages which are a high crystallization, surface area and pores. In this research, the main focus that becomes our attention is on preparation and characterization of metal nanocrystal. Active site that used in this research is Nickel Molybdenum (NiMo). The advantage of nanocrystal with nano scale is having larger surface area. The synthesis of metal nanocrystal will be done with conventional preparation modification method that is called simple heating. Simple heating method is a metal nanocrystal synthesis method using continuous media which is polymer liquid. This method is a simple method and produces a small particles size in a short time. Influence of metal nanocrystal growth on this method is the heating profile. On the synthesis of nanocrystal, the manipulated variables are temperature and calcination time. Results to achieve from this research are diameter size on nano scale (< 100 nm) and uniform size without any agglomeration. Besides that, the conversion of synthesis of renewable diesel is high and has an equal specification with petroleum diesel. Catalyst activities are tested by FT-IR and GC-TCD on decarbonylation process with a pressure 15 bar and temperature 375 °C. The highest conversion from this reaction is 35% with selectivity around 43%.

Keywords: renewable diesel, simple heating, metal nanocrystal, NiMo, zeolite

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Authors: Kukuri Tavartkiladze, Nana Bolashvili

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The purpose of this paper was separation and study of the part of structure regime, which directly affects the process of desertification. A simple scheme was prepared for the assessment of desertification process; surface air temperature and precipitation for the years of 1936-2009 were analyzed.  The map of distribution of the Desertification Contributing Coefficient in the territory of Georgia was compiled. The simple scheme for identification of the intensity of the desertification contributing process has been developed and the illustrative example of its practical application for the territory of Georgia has been conducted.

Keywords: aridity, climate change, desertification, precipitation

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Authors: Shigeyuki Haruyama, Zefry Darmawan, Ken Kaminishi

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In the square tube subjected to the bending load, the rigidity of the entire square tube is reduced when a collapse occurs due to local stress concentration. Therefore, in this research, the influence of bending load on the square tube with attached energy absorbing part was examined and reported. The analysis was conducted by using Finite Element Method (FEM) to produced bending deflection and buckling points. Energy absorption was compared from rigidity of attached part and square tube body. Buckling point was influenced by the rigidity of attached part and the thickness rate of square tube.

Keywords: energy absorber, square tube, bending, rigidity

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Authors: N. Agon, T. Kavka, J. Vierendeels, M. Hrabovský, G. Van Oost

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A plasma jet model was developed with a rigorous method for calculating the thermophysical properties of the gas mixture without mixing rules. A simplified model approach to account for the anode effects was incorporated in this model to allow the valorization of the simulations with experimental results. The radial heat transfer was under-predicted by the model because of the limitations of the radiation model, but the calculated evolution of centerline temperature, velocity and gas composition downstream of the torch exit corresponded well with the measured values. The CFD modeling of thermal plasmas is either focused on development of the plasma arc or the flow of the plasma jet outside of the plasma torch. In the former case, the Maxwell equations are coupled with the Navier-Stokes equations to account for electromagnetic effects which control the movements of the anode arc attachment. In plasma jet simulations, however, the computational domain starts from the exit nozzle of the plasma torch and the influence of the arc attachment fluctuations on the plasma jet flow field is not included in the calculations. In that case, the thermal plasma flow is described by temperature, velocity and concentration profiles at the torch exit nozzle and no electromagnetic effects are taken into account. This simplified approach is widely used in literature and generally acceptable for plasma torches with a circular anode inside the torch chamber. The unique DC hybrid water/gas-stabilized plasma torch developed at the Institute of Plasma Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences on the other hand, consists of a rotating anode disk, located outside of the torch chamber. Neglecting the effects of the anode arc attachment downstream of the torch exit nozzle leads to erroneous predictions of the flow field. With the simplified approach introduced in this model, the Joule heating between the exit nozzle and the anode attachment position of the plasma arc is modeled by a volume heat source and the jet deflection caused by the anode processes by a momentum source at the anode surface. Furthermore, radiation effects are included by the net emission coefficient (NEC) method and diffusion is modeled with the combined diffusion coefficient method. The time-averaged simulation results are compared with numerous experimental measurements. The radial temperature profiles were obtained by spectroscopic measurements at different axial positions downstream of the exit nozzle. The velocity profiles were evaluated from the time-dependent evolution of flow structures, recorded by photodiode arrays. The shape of the plasma jet was compared with charge-coupled device (CCD) camera pictures. In the cooler regions, the temperature was measured by enthalpy probe downstream of the exit nozzle and by thermocouples in radial direction around the torch nozzle. The model results correspond well with the experimental measurements. The decrease in centerline temperature and velocity is predicted within an acceptable range and the shape of the jet closely resembles the jet structure in the recorded images. The temperatures at the edge of the jet are underestimated due to the absence of radial radiative heat transfer in the model.

Keywords: anode arc attachment, CFD modeling, experimental comparison, thermal plasma jet

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Authors: H. Aljabiry, L. Bailey, S. Young

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Qatar is a desert with an average temperature 37⁰C, reaching over 40⁰C during summer. Precipitation is uncommon and mostly in winter. Qatar depends on desalination for drinking water and on groundwater and recycled water for irrigation. Water consumption and network leakage per capita in Qatar are amongst the highest in the world; re-use of treated wastewater is extremely limited with only 14% of treated wastewater being used for irrigation. This has led to the country disposing of unwanted water from various sources in lagoons situated around the country, causing concern over the possibility of environmental pollution. Accordingly, our hypothesis underpinning this research is that the quality and quantity of water in lagoons is having an impact on the groundwater reservoirs in Qatar. Lagoons (n = 14) and wells (n = 55) were sampled for both summer and winter in 2018 (summer and winter). Water, adjoining soil and plant samples were analysed for multiple elements by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry. Organic and inorganic carbon were measured (CN analyser) and the major anions were determined by ion chromatography. Salinization in both the lagoon and the wells was seen with good correlations between Cl⁻, Na⁺, Li, SO₄, S, Sr, Ca, Ti (p-value < 0.05). Association of heavy metals was observed of Ni, Cu, Ag, and V, Cr, Mo, Cd which is due to contamination from anthropological activities such as wastewater disposal or spread of contaminated dust. However, looking at each elements none of them exceeds the Qatari regulation. Moreover, gypsum saturation in the system was observed in both the lagoon and wells water samples. Lagoons and the water of the well are found to be of a saline type as well as Ca²⁺, Cl⁻, SO₄²⁻ type evidencing both gypsum dissolution and salinization in the system. Moreover, Maps produced by Inverse distance weighting showed an increasing level of Nitrate in the groundwater in winter, and decrease chloride and sulphate level, indicating recharge effect after winter rain events. While E. coli and faecal bacteria were found in most of the lagoons, biological analysis for wells needs to be conducted to understand the biological contamination from lagoon water infiltration. As a conclusion, while both the lagoon and the well showed the same results, more sampling is needed to understand the impact of the lagoons on the groundwater.

Keywords: groundwater quality, lagoon, treated wastewater, water management, wastewater treatment, wetlands

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Authors: Rupas Kumar M., Saravana Kumar M., Amarendra Kumar S., Likhita Komal V., Sree Deepthi M.

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The demand for water is increasing at an alarming rate due to rapid urbanization and increase in population. Due to freshwater scarcity, Groundwater became the necessary source of potable water to major parts of the world. This problem of freshwater scarcity and groundwater dependency is very severe particularly in developing countries and overpopulated regions like India. The present study aimed at evaluating the Ground Water Quality Index (GWQI), which represents overall quality of water at certain location and time based on water quality parameters. To evaluate the GWQI, sixteen water quality parameters have been considered viz. colour, pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, turbidity, total hardness, alkalinity, calcium, magnesium, sodium, chloride, nitrate, sulphate, iron, manganese and fluorides. The groundwater samples are collected from Kadapa City in Andhra Pradesh, India and subjected to comprehensive physicochemical analysis. The high value of GWQI has been found to be mainly from higher values of total dissolved solids, electrical conductivity, turbidity, alkalinity, hardness, and fluorides. in the present study, citrus limetta (sweet lemon) peel powder has used as a coagulant and GWQI values are recorded in different concentrations to improve GWQI. Sensitivity analysis is also carried out to determine the effect of coagulant dosage, mixing speed and stirring time on GWQI. The research found the maximum percentage improvement in GWQI values are obtained when the coagulant dosage is 100ppm, mixing speed is 100 rpm and stirring time is 10 mins. Alum is also used as a coagulant aid and the optimal ratio of citrus limetta and alum is identified as 3:2 which resulted in best GWQI value. The present study proposes Citrus limetta peel powder as a potential natural coagulant to treat Groundwater and to improve GWQI.

Keywords: alum, Citrus limetta, ground water quality index, physicochemical analysis

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Authors: Sarah Nasser, Anne Moreau, Alain Hedoux, Romain Jeantet, Guillaume Delaplace

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Background: Spray dryed powders containing some caseins are commonly produced in dairy industry. It is widely admitted that the structure of casein evolves during powder storage, inducing a loss of solubility. However few studies evaluate accurately the destabilization mechanisms at molecular and mesoscopic level, in particular for Native Phospho Casein powder (NPC). Consequently, at the state of the art, it is very difficult to assess which secondary structure change or crosslinks initiate insolubility during storage. To address this issue, controlled ageing conditions have been applied to a NPC powder (which was obtained by spray drying a concentrate containing a higher content of casein (90%), whey protein (8%) and lactose (few %)). Evolution of structure and loss of solubility, with the effects of temperature and time of storage were systematically reported. Methods: FTIR spectroscopy, Raman and Circular Dichroism were used to monitor changes of secondary structure in dry powder and in solution after rehydration. Besides, proteomic tools and electrophoresis have been performed after varying storage conditions for evaluating aggregation and post translational modifications, like lactosylation or phosphorylation. Finally, Tof Sims and MEB were used to follow in parallel evolution of structure in surface and skin formation due to storage. Results + conclusion: These results highlight the important role of storage temperature in the stability of NPC. It is shown that this is not lactosylation at the heart of formation of aggregates, as advanced in others publications This is almost the rise of multitude post translational modifications (chemical cross link), added to disulphide bridges (physical cross link) wich contribute to the destabilisation of structure and aggregation of casein. A relative quantification of each kind of cross link, source of aggregates, is proposed. In addition, it has been proved that migration of lipids and formation of skin in surface during the ageing also explains the evolution of structure casein and thus the alterations of functional properties of NPC powder.

Keywords: casein, cross link, powder, storage

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Authors: Kinga Mylkie, Pawel Nowak, Marta Z. Borowska

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The most important proteins in human serum responsible for drug binding are human serum albumin (HSA) and α1-acid glycoprotein (AGP). The AGP molecule is a glycoconjugate containing a single polypeptide chain composed of 183 amino acids (the core of the protein), and five glycan branched chains (sugar part) covalently linked by an N-glycosidic bond with aspartyl residues (Asp(N) -15, -38, -54, -75, - 85) of polypeptide chain. This protein plays an important role in binding alkaline drugs, a large group of drugs used in psychiatry, some acid drugs (e.g., coumarin anticoagulants), and neutral drugs (steroid hormones). The main goal of the research was to obtain magnetic nanoparticles coated with biopolymers in a chemically modified form, which will have highly reactive functional groups able to effectively immobilize the glycoprotein (acid α1-glycoprotein) without losing the ability to bind active substances. The first phase of the project involved the chemical modification of biopolymer starch. Modification of starch was carried out by methods of organic synthesis, leading to the preparation of a polymer enriched on its surface with aldehyde groups, which in the next step was coupled with 3-aminophenylboronic acid. Magnetite nanoparticles coated with starch were prepared by in situ co-precipitation and then oxidized with a 1 M sodium periodate solution to form a dialdehyde starch coating. Afterward, the reaction between the magnetite nanoparticles coated with dialdehyde starch and 3-aminophenylboronic acid was carried out. The obtained materials consist of a magnetite core surrounded by a layer of modified polymer, which contains on its surface dihydroxyboryl groups of boronic acids which are capable of binding glycoproteins. Magnetic nanoparticles obtained as carriers for plasma protein immobilization were fully characterized by ATR-FTIR, TEM, SEM, and DLS. The glycoprotein was immobilized on the obtained nanoparticles. The amount of mobilized protein was determined by the Bradford method.

Keywords: glycoproteins, immobilization, magnetic nanoparticles, polysaccharides

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Authors: Xiao-Hua Zhu, Xin Yuan, Yi-Ran Zhao

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High-cadmium pollution in rice is a serious problem in many parts of China. Many kinds of remediation technologies have been tested and applied in many farmlands. Because of the productive function of the farmland, most technologies are inappropriate due to their destruction to the tillage soil layer. And the large labours and expensive fees of many technologies are also the restrictive factors for their applications. The conception of 'Root Micro-Geochemical Barrier' was proposed to reduce cadmium (Cd) bioavailability and the concentration of the cadmium in rice. Remediation and mitigation techniques were demonstrated on contaminated farmland in the downstream of some mine. According to the rule of rice growth, Cd would be absorbed by the crops in every growth stage, and the plant-absorb efficiency in the first stage of the tillering stage is almost the highest. We should create a method to protect the crops from heavy metal pollution, which could begin to work from the early growth stage. Many materials with repair property get our attention. The materials will create a barrier preventing Cd from being absorbed by the crops during all the growing process because the material has the ability to adsorb soil-Cd and making it losing its migration activity. And we should choose a good chance to put the materials into the crop-growing system cheaply as soon as early. Per plant, rice has a little root system scope, which makes the roots reach about 15cm deep and 15cm wide. So small root radiation area makes it possible for all the Cd approaching the roots to be adsorbed with a small amount of adsorbent. Mixing the remediation materials with the seed-raising soli and adding them to the tillage soil in the process of transplanting seedlings, we can control the soil-Cd activity in the range of roots to reduce the Cd-amount absorbed by the crops. Of course, the mineral materials must have enough adsorptive capacity and no additional pollution. More than 3000 square meters farmlands have been remediated. And on the application of root micro-geochemical barrier, the Cd-concentration in rice and the remediation-cost have been decreased by 90% and 80%, respectively, with little extra labour brought to the farmers. The Cd-concentrations in rice from remediated farmland have been controlled below 0.1 ppm. The remediation of one acre of contaminated cropland costs less than $100. The concept has its advantage in the remediation of paddy field contaminated by Cd, especially for the field with outside pollution sources.

Keywords: cadmium pollution, growth stage, cost, root micro-geochemistry barrier

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Authors: Pola Goldberg Oppenheimer, Stephan Hofmann, Sumeet Mahajan

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Owing to its fingerprint molecular specificity and high sensitivity, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is an established analytical tool for chemical and biological sensing capable of single-molecule detection. A strong Raman signal can be generated from SERS-active platforms given the analyte is within the enhanced plasmon field generated near a noble-metal nanostructured substrate. The key requirement for generating strong plasmon resonances to provide this electromagnetic enhancement is an appropriate metal surface roughness. Controlling nanoscale features for generating these regions of high electromagnetic enhancement, the so-called SERS ‘hot-spots’, is still a challenge. Significant advances have been made in SERS research, with wide-ranging techniques to generate substrates with tunable size and shape of the nanoscale roughness features. Nevertheless, the development and application of SERS has been inhibited by the irreproducibility and complexity of fabrication routes. The ability to generate straightforward, cost-effective, multiplex-able and addressable SERS substrates with high enhancements is of profound interest for miniaturised sensing devices. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been concurrently, a topic of extensive research however, their applications for plasmonics has been only recently beginning to gain interest. CNTs can provide low-cost, large-active-area patternable substrates which, coupled with appropriate functionalization capable to provide advanced SERS-platforms. Herein, advanced methods to generate CNT-based SERS active detection platforms will be discussed. First, a novel electrohydrodynamic (EHD) lithographic technique will be introduced for patterning CNT-polymer composites, providing a straightforward, single-step approach for generating high-fidelity sub-micron-sized nanocomposite structures within which anisotropic CNTs are vertically aligned. The created structures are readily fine-tuned, which is an important requirement for optimizing SERS to obtain the highest enhancements with each of the EHD-CNTs individual structural units functioning as an isolated sensor. Further, gold-functionalized VACNTFs are fabricated as SERS micro-platforms. The dependence on the VACNTs’ diameters and density play an important role in the Raman signal strength, thus highlighting the importance of structural parameters, previously overlooked in designing and fabricating optimized CNTs-based SERS nanoprobes. VACNTs forests patterned into predesigned pillar structures are further utilized for multiplex detection of bio-analytes. Since CNTs exhibit electrical conductivity and unique adsorption properties, these are further harnessed in the development of novel chemical and bio-sensing platforms.

Keywords: carbon nanotubes (CNTs), EHD patterning, SERS, vertically aligned carbon nanotube forests (VACNTF)

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Authors: İsmail Kavdır, M. Burak Büyükcan, Ferhat Kurtulmuş

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Table olive is a valuable product especially in Mediterranean countries. It is usually consumed after some fermentation process. Defects happened naturally or as a result of an impact while olives are still fresh may become more distinct after processing period. Defected olives are not desired both in table olive and olive oil industries as it will affect the final product quality and reduce market prices considerably. Therefore it is critical to sort table olives before processing or even after processing according to their quality and surface defects. However, doing manual sorting has many drawbacks such as high expenses, subjectivity, tediousness and inconsistency. Quality criterions for green olives were accepted as color and free of mechanical defects, wrinkling, surface blemishes and rotting. In this study, it was aimed to classify fresh table olives using different classifiers and NIR spectroscopy readings and also to compare the classifiers. For this purpose, green (Ayvalik variety) olives were classified based on their surface feature properties such as defect-free, with bruised defect and with fly defect using FT-NIR spectroscopy and classification algorithms such as artificial neural networks, ident and cluster. Bruker multi-purpose analyzer (MPA) FT-NIR spectrometer (Bruker Optik, GmbH, Ettlingen Germany) was used for spectral measurements. The spectrometer was equipped with InGaAs detectors (TE-InGaAs internal for reflectance and RT-InGaAs external for transmittance) and a 20-watt high intensity tungsten–halogen NIR light source. Reflectance measurements were performed with a fiber optic probe (type IN 261) which covered the wavelengths between 780–2500 nm, while transmittance measurements were performed between 800 and 1725 nm. Thirty-two scans were acquired for each reflectance spectrum in about 15.32 s while 128 scans were obtained for transmittance in about 62 s. Resolution was 8 cm⁻¹ for both spectral measurement modes. Instrument control was done using OPUS software (Bruker Optik, GmbH, Ettlingen Germany). Classification applications were performed using three classifiers; Backpropagation Neural Networks, ident and cluster classification algorithms. For these classification applications, Neural Network tool box in Matlab, ident and cluster modules in OPUS software were used. Classifications were performed considering different scenarios; two quality conditions at once (good vs bruised, good vs fly defect) and three quality conditions at once (good, bruised and fly defect). Two spectrometer readings were used in classification applications; reflectance and transmittance. Classification results obtained using artificial neural networks algorithm in discriminating good olives from bruised olives, from olives with fly defect and from the olive group including both bruised and fly defected olives with success rates respectively changing between 97 and 99%, 61 and 94% and between 58.67 and 92%. On the other hand, classification results obtained for discriminating good olives from bruised ones and also for discriminating good olives from fly defected olives using the ident method ranged between 75-97.5% and 32.5-57.5%, respectfully; results obtained for the same classification applications using the cluster method ranged between 52.5-97.5% and between 22.5-57.5%.

Keywords: artificial neural networks, statistical classifiers, NIR spectroscopy, reflectance, transmittance

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Authors: Okba Belahssen, Said Benramache

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This paper presents wear behavior of the plasma-nitrided 20MnCr5 steel. Untreated and plasma nitrided samples were tested. The morphology was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The plasma nitriding behaviors of 20MnCr5 steel have been assessed by evaluating tribological properties and surface hardness by using a pin-on-disk wear machine and microhardness tester. Experimental results showed that the nitrides ε-Fe2−3N and γ′-Fe4N present in the white layer improve the wear resistance.

Keywords: plasma-nitriding, alloy 20mncr5, steel, friction, wear

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Authors: Y. Sunita Rani, Y. Hari Krishna, M. V. Ramana Murthy, K. Sudhaker Reddy

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This article studied effects of radiation and chemical reaction on MHD casson fluoid flow past a Permeable Stretching Sheet in a Porous Medium. Suitable transformations are considered to transform the governing partial differential equations as ordinary ones and then solved by the numerical procedures like Runge- Kutta – Fehlberg shooting technique method. The effects of various governing parameters, on the velocity, temperature and concentration are displayed through graphs and discussed numerically.

Keywords: MHD, Casson fluid, porous medium, permeable stretching sheet

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Authors: Payman A. A. Zibari, Mosleh M. S. Duhoky

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These experiments were conducted at Tissue Culture Laboratory/ Faculty of Agriculture / University of Duhok during the period from January 2011 to May 2013. The objectives of this study were to study the effects of interaction between colchcine concentrations and treatment time duration of Creps capilaris (with and without 2B chromosome) on chromosome polyploidy during fifteen passages until regeneration of plants from the callus. Data showed that high percentage of chromosome polyploidy approximately can be obtained from high concentration of colchicin and long time of duration.

Keywords: polyploidy, Crepis capilaris, colchicine, B chromosome

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Authors: Usama Massoud, Abeer A. Kenawy, El-Said A. Ragab, Abbas M. Abbas, Heba M. El-Kosery

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Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) and Transient Electro Magnetic (TEM) survey have been applied for characterizing the groundwater aquifers at El Sadat industrial area. El-Sadat city is one of the most important industrial cities in Egypt. It has been constructed more than three decades ago at about 80 km northwest of Cairo along the Cairo–Alexandria desert road. Groundwater is the main source of water supplies required for domestic, municipal, and industrial activities in this area due to the lack of surface water sources. So, it is important to maintain this vital resource in order to sustain the development plans of this city. In this study, VES and TEM data were identically measured at 24 stations along three profiles trending NE–SW with the elongation of the study area. The measuring points were arranged in a grid like pattern with both inter-station spacing and line–line distance of about 2 km. After performing the necessary processing steps, the VES and TEM data sets were inverted individually to multi-layer models, followed by a joint inversion of both data sets. Joint inversion process has succeeded to overcome the model-equivalence problem encountered in the inversion of individual data set. Then, the joint models were used for the construction of a number of cross sections and contour maps showing the lateral and vertical distribution of the geo-electrical parameters in the subsurface medium. Interpretation of the obtained results and correlation with the available geological and hydrogeological information revealed TWO aquifer systems in the area. The shallow Pleistocene aquifer consists of sand and gravel saturated with fresh water and exhibits large thickness exceeding 200 m. The deep Pliocene aquifer is composed of clay and sand and shows low resistivity values. The water bearing layer of the Pleistocene aquifer and the upper surface of Pliocene aquifer are continuous and no structural features have cut this continuity through the investigated area.

Keywords: El Sadat city, joint inversion, VES, TEM

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Authors: R. Berrached, H. Ait Mahamed, A. Iddou

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Water pollution is nowadays a serious problem, due to the increasing scarcity of water and thus to the impact induced by such pollution on the human health. Various techniques are made use of to deal with water pollution. Among the most used ones, some can be enumerated: the bacterian bed, the activated sludge, lagoons as biological processes and coagulation-flocculation as a physic-chemical process. These processes are very expensive and a decreasing in efficiency treatment with the increase of the initial pollutants concentration. This is the reason why research has been reoriented towards the use of adsorption process as an alternative solution instead of the other traditional processes. In our study, we have tempted to explore the characteristics of hydroxides of Al and Fe to purify contaminated water by two industrial dyes SBL blue and SRL-150 orange. Results have shown the efficiency of the two materials on the blue SBL dye.

Keywords: metallic hydroxydes, dyes, purification, adsorption

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Authors: Mohammad Syed Ali Molla, Mohammed Azim, Mohammad Esharuzzaman

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Centrifugal-casting machine is used in manufacturing special machine components like multi-layer journal bearing used in all internal combustion engine, steam, gas turbine and air craft turboengine where isotropic properties and high precisions are desired. Moreover, this machine can be used in manufacturing thin wall hightech machine components like cylinder liners and piston rings of IC engine and other machine parts like sleeves, and bushes. Heavy-duty machine component like railway wheel can also be prepared by centrifugal casting. A lot of technological developments are required in casting process for production of good casted machine body and machine parts. Usually defects like blowholes, surface roughness, chilled surface etc. are found in sand casted machine parts. But these can be removed by centrifugal casting machine using rotating metallic die. Moreover, die rotation, its temperature control, and good pouring practice can contribute to the quality of casting because of the fact that the soundness of a casting in large part depends upon how the metal enters into the mold or dies and solidifies. Poor pouring practice leads to variety of casting defects such as temperature loss, low quality casting, excessive turbulence, over pouring etc. Besides these, handling of molten metal is very unsecured and dangerous for the workers. In order to get rid of all these problems, the need of an automatic pouring device arises. In this research work, a robot assisted pouring device and a centrifugal casting machine are designed, developed constructed and tested experimentally which are found to work satisfactorily. The robot assisted pouring device is further modified and developed for using it in actual metal casting process. Lot of settings and tests are required to control the system and ultimately it can be used in automation of centrifugal casting machine to produce high-tech machine parts with desired precision.

Keywords: bearing, centrifugal casting, cylinder liners, robot

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Authors: Mohd. Khaidir Abu Talib, Noriyuki Yasufuku, Ryohei Ishikura

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It is well recognized that peat can impede the proper hydration of cement because of high organic content, presence of humic acid and less solid particles. That means the large amount of cement is required in order to neutralize the acids or otherwise the process of the peat stabilization remains retarded. Nevertheless, adding a great quantity of cement into the peat is absolutely an unfriendly and uneconomical solution. Sugarcane production is world number one commodities and produced a lot of bagasse. Bagasse is burnt to generate power required for diverse activities in the factory and leave bagasse ash as a waste. Increasing concern of disposal of bagasse residual creates interest to explore the potential application of this material. The objective of this study is to develop alternative binders that are environment friendly and contribute towards sustainable management by utilizing sugarcane bagasse ash (SCBA) in the stabilization of peat soil. Alongside SCBA, Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), calcium chloride (CaCl2) and silica sand (K7) were used as additives to stabilize the peat that sampled from Hokkaido, Japan. In obtaining the optimal mix design, specimens of stabilized peat were tested in unconfined compression. It was found that stabilized peat comprising 20% and 5% (PCB1-20 and PCB2-5) partial replacement of OPC with SCBA 1 and SCBA 2 attain the maximum unconfined compressive strength (UCS) and discovered greater than untreated soil (P) and UCS of peat-cement (PC) specimen. At the optimal mix design, the UCS of the stabilized peat specimens increased with increasing of curing time, preloading during curing, OPC dosage and K7 dosage. For PCB1-20 mixture, inclusion of a minimum OPC dosage of 300 kg/m3 and K7 dosage of 500 kg/m3 along with curing under 20kPa pressure is recommendable for the peat stabilization to be effective. However for PCB2-5 mixture, it suggested to use more OPC and K7 dosage or alternatively increase the preloading during curing to 40kPa in order to achieve minimum strength target. It can be concluded that SCBA 1 has better quality than SCBA 2 in peat stabilization especially the contribution made by its fine particle size.

Keywords: peat stabilization, sugarcane bagasse ash utilization, partial cement replacement, unconfined strength

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Authors: Dan Cristian Popescu

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The new territorial identities and global dynamics have determined a change of policies of economics, social and cultural development from a vertical to a horizontal approach, which is based on cooperation networks between institutional actors, economic operators or civil society representatives. The European integration has not only generated a different patterns of competitiveness, economic growth, concentration of attractive potential, but also disparities among regions of this country, or even in the countryside within a region. To a better understanding of the dynamics of regional development and the impact of this concept on Romania, I chose as a case study the region Bucharest-Ilfov which is analyzed on the basis of predetermined indicators and of the impact of European programs.

Keywords: regional competition, regional development, rural, urban

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Authors: Mohamed dammak

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Great attention has been paid to the design and synthesis of novel organic-inorganic compounds in recent decades because of their structural variety and the large diversity of atomic arrangements. In this work, the structure for the novel dimethyl aminopyridine tetrachlorocobaltate (C₇H₁₁N₂)₂CoCl₄ prepared by the slow evaporation method at room temperature has been successfully discussed. The X-ray diffraction results indicate that the hybrid material has a triclinic structure with a P space group and features a 0D structure containing isolated distorted [CoCl₄]2- tetrahedra interposed between [C7H11N²⁻]+ cations forming planes perpendicular to the c axis at z = 0 and z = ½. The effect of the synthesis conditions and the reactants used, the interactions between the cationic planes, and the isolated [CoCl4]2- tetrahedra are employing N-H...Cl and C-H…Cl hydrogen bonding contacts. The inspection of the Hirshfeld surface analysis helps to discuss the strength of hydrogen bonds and to quantify the inter-contacts. A phase transition was discovered by thermal analysis at 390 K, and comprehensive dielectric research was reported, showing a good agreement with thermal data. Impedance spectroscopy measurements were used to study the electrical and dielectric characteristics over a wide range of frequencies and temperatures, 40 Hz–10 MHz and 313–483 K, respectively. The Nyquist plot (Z" versus Z') from the complex impedance spectrum revealed semicircular arcs described by a Cole-Cole model. An electrical circuit consisting of a link of grain and grain boundary elements is employed. The real and imaginary parts of dielectric permittivity, as well as tg(δ) of (C₇H₁₁N₂)₂CoCl₄ at different frequencies, reveal a distribution of relaxation times. The presence of grain and grain boundaries is confirmed by the modulus investigations. Electric and dielectric analyses highlight the good protonic conduction of this material.

Keywords: organic-inorganic, phase transitions, complex impedance, protonic conduction, dielectric analysis

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Authors: Mohamed Nasraoui

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Spatial ore distribution, ore heterogeneity and their links with geological processes involved in Niobium concentration are all factors for consideration when bridging field observations to extraction scheme. Indeed, mineralogy changes of Nb-hosting phases, their textural relationships with hydrothermal or secondary minerals, play a key control over mineral processing. This study based both on filed work and ore characterization presents data from several Nb-deposits related to carbonatite complexes. The results obtained by a wide range of analytical techniques, including, XRD, XRF, ICP-MS, SEM, Microprobe, Spectro-CL, FTIR-DTA and Mössbauer spectroscopy, demonstrate how geometallurgical assessment, at all stage of mine development, can greatly assist in the design of a suitable extraction flowsheet and data reconciliation.

Keywords: carbonatites, Nb-geometallurgy, Nb-mineralogy, mineral processing.

Procedia PDF Downloads 148

Authors: Marinna Madrid, Nabiha Saklayen, Marinus Huber, Nicolas Vogel, Christos Boutopoulos, Michel Meunier, Eric Mazur

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Delivering material into cells is important for a diverse range of biological applications, including gene therapy, cellular engineering and imaging. We present a plasmonic substrate for delivering membrane-impermeable material into cells at high throughput and high efficiency while maintaining cell viability. The substrate fabrication is based on an affordable and fast colloidal self-assembly process. When illuminated with a femtosecond laser, the light interacts with the electrons at the surface of the metal substrate, creating localized surface plasmons that form bubbles via energy dissipation in the surrounding medium. These bubbles come into close contact with the cell membrane to form transient pores and enable entry of membrane-impermeable material via diffusion. We use fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry to verify delivery of membrane-impermeable material into HeLa CCL-2 cells. We show delivery efficiency and cell viability data for a range of membrane-impermeable cargo, including dyes and biologically relevant material such as siRNA. We estimate the effective pore size by determining delivery efficiency for hard fluorescent spheres with diameters ranging from 20 nm to 2 um. To provide insight to the cell poration mechanism, we relate the poration data to pump-probe measurements of micro- and nano-bubble formation on the plasmonic substrate. Finally, we investigate substrate stability and reusability by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to inspect for damage on the substrate after laser treatment. SEM images show no visible damage. Our findings indicate that self-assembled plasmonic substrates are an affordable tool for high-throughput, high-efficiency delivery of material into mammalian cells.

Keywords: femtosecond laser, intracellular delivery, plasmonic, self-assembly

Procedia PDF Downloads 515

Authors: Sherif M. A. S. Keshk, Hisham S. M. Abd-Rabboh, Mohamed S. Hamdy, Ibrahim H. A. Badr

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Microwave radiation was applied to synthesize nanoparticles of nickel oxide supported on pretreated cellulose with metal acetate in the presence of NaOH. Optimization, in terms of irradiation time and metal concentration, was investigated. FT-IR spectrum of cellulose/NiO spectrum shows a band at 445 cm^-1 that is related to the Ni–O stretching vibration of NiO6 octahedral in the cubic NiO structure. cellulose/NiO showed similar XRD pattern of cellulose I and exhibited sharpened reflection peak at 2q = 29.8°, corresponding to (111) plane of NiO, with two weak broad peaks at 48.5°, and 49.2°, representing (222) planes of NiO. XPS spectrum of mercerized cellulose/NiO composite showed did not show any peaks corresponding to Na ion.

Keywords: cellulose, mercerized cellulose, cellulose/zinc and nickeloxides composite, FTIR, XRD, XPS, SEM, Raman spectrum

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Authors: Jaspreet Kaur, Parminder Nain, Vipin Saini, Sumitra Dahiya

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Elaeocarpus sphaericus has been traditionally used in the Indian traditional medicine system for the treatment of stress, anxiety, depression, palpitation, epilepsy, migraine and lack of concentration. The study was investigated to evaluate the neurological potential such as anxiolytic, muscle relaxant and sedative activity of methanolic extract of Elaeocarpus sphaericus stem bark (MEESSB) in mice. Preliminary phytochemical screening and acute oral toxicity of MEESSB was carried out by using standard methods. The anxiety was induced by employing Elevated Plus-Maze (EPM), Light and Dark Test (LDT), Open Field Test (OFT) and Social Interaction test (SIT). The motor coordination and sedative effect was also observed by using actophotometer, rota-rod apparatus and ketamine-induced sleeping time, respectively. Animals were treated with different doses of MEESSB (i.e.100, 200, 400 and 800 mg/kg orally) and diazepam (2 mg/kg i.p) for 21 days. Brain neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin and nor-epinephrine level were estimated by validated methods. Preliminary phytochemical analysis of the extract revealed the presence of tannins, phytosterols, steroids and alkaloids. In the acute toxicity studies, MEESSB was found to be non-toxic and with no mortality. In anxiolytic studies, the different doses of MEESSB showed a significant (p<0.05) effect on EPM and LDT. In OFT and SIT, a significant (p<0.05) increase in ambulation, rearing and social interaction time was observed. In the case of motor coordination activity, the MEESSB does not cause any significant effect on the latency to fall off from the rotarod bar as compared to the control group. Moreover, no significant effects on ketamine-induced sleep latency and total sleeping time induced by ketamine were observed. Results of neurotransmitter estimation revealed the increased concentration of dopamine, whereas the level of serotonin and nor-epinephrine was found to be decreased in the mice brain, with MEESSB at dose 800 mg/kg only. The study has validated the folkloric use of the plant as an anxiolytic in Indian traditional medicine while also suggesting potential usefulness in the treatment of stress and anxiety without causing sedation.

Keywords: anxiolytic, behavior experiments, brain neurotransmitters, elaeocarpus sphaericus

Procedia PDF Downloads 164

Authors: Priyanka Govender, S. Mtshali, Theresa Moonsamy, Zanele Mkwanazi, L. Mthembu

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Chemically enhanced primary treatment (CEPT) can be used at wastewater works to improve the quality of the final effluent discharge, provided that the plant has spare anaerobic digestion capacity. CEPT can transfer part of the organic load to the digesters thereby effectively relieving the hydraulic loading on the plant and in this way can allow the plant to continue operating long after the hydraulic capacity of the plant has been exceeded. This can allow a plant to continue operating well beyond its original design capacity, requiring only fairly simple and inexpensive modifications to the primary settling tanks as well as additional chemical costs, thereby delaying or even avoiding the need for expensive capital upgrades. CEPT can also be effective at plants where high organic loadings prevent the wastewater discharge from meeting discharge standards, especially in the case of COD, phosphates and suspended solids. By increasing removals of these pollutants in the primary settling tanks, CEPT can enable the plant to conform to specifications without the need for costly upgrades. Laboratory trials were carried out recently at the Umbilo WWTW in Durban and these were followed by a baseline assessment of the current plant performance and a subsequent full scale trial on the Conventional plant i.e. West Plant. The operating conditions of the plant are described and the improvements obtained in COD, phosphate and suspended solids, are discussed. The PST and plant overall suspended solids removal efficiency increased by approximately 6% during the trial. Details regarding the effect that CEPT had on sludge production and the digesters are also provided. The cost implications of CEPT are discussed in terms of capital costs as well as operation and maintenance costs and the impact of Ferric chloride on the infrastructure was also studied and found to be minimal. It was concluded that CEPT improves the final quality of the discharge effluent, thereby improving the compliance of this effluent with the discharge license. It could also allow for a delay in upgrades to the plant, allowing the plant to operate above its design capacity. This will be elaborated further upon presentation.

Keywords: chemically enhanced, ferric, wastewater, primary

Procedia PDF Downloads 287

Authors: Elsayed A. Elkhatib, Ahmed M. Mahdy, Mohamed L. Moharem, Mohamed O. Mesalem

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Mercury (Hg) is one of the most toxic and bio-accumulative heavy metal in the environment. However, cheap and effective in situ remediation technology is lacking. In this study, the effects of water treatment residuals nanoparticles (nWTR) on mobility, fractionation and speciation of mercury in an arid zone soil from Egypt were evaluated. Water treatment residual nanoparticles with high surface area (129 m 2 g-1) were prepared using Fritsch planetary mono mill. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy revealed that the nanoparticles of WTR nanoparticles are spherical in shape, and single particle sizes are in the range of 45 to 96 nm. The x-ray diffraction (XRD) results ascertained that amorphous iron, aluminum (hydr)oxides and silicon oxide dominating all nWTR, with no apparent crystalline iron–Al (hydr)oxides. Addition of nWTR, greatly increased the Hg sorption capacities of studied soils and greatly reduced the cumulative Hg released from the soils. Application of nWTR at 0.10 and 0.30 % rates reduced the released Hg from the soil by 50 and 85 % respectively. The power function and first order kinetics models well described the desorption process from soils and nWTR amended soils as evidenced by high coefficient of determination (R2) and low SE values. Application of nWTR greatly increased the association of Hg with the residual fraction. Meanwhile, application of nWTR at a rate of 0.3% greatly increased the association of Hg with the residual fraction (>93%) and significantly increased the most stable Hg species (Hg(OH)2 amor) which in turn enhanced Hg immobilization in the studied soils. Fourier transmission infrared spectroscopy analysis indicated the involvement of nWTR in the retention of Hg (II) through OH groups which suggest inner-sphere adsorption of Hg ions to surface functional groups on nWTR. These results demonstrated the feasibility of using a low-cost nWTR as best management practice to immobilize excess Hg in contaminated soils.

Keywords: release kinetics, Fourier transmission infrared spectroscopy, Hg fractionation, Hg species

Procedia PDF Downloads 217

Authors: Benjamin K. Ghansah, Richard K. Appoh, Iliya Nababa, Eric K. Forkuo

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The Nasia River is an important source of water for domestic and agricultural purposes to the inhabitants of its catchment. Major farming activities takes place within the floodplain of the river and its network of tributaries. The actual inundation extent of the river system is; however, unknown. Reasons for this lack of information include financial constraints and inadequate human resources as flood modelling is becoming increasingly complex by the day. Knowledge of the inundation extent will help in the assessment of risk posed by the annual flooding of the river, and help in the planning of flood recession agricultural activities. This study used a simple terrain based algorithm, Height Above Nearest Drainage (HAND), to delineate the floodplain of the Nasia River and its tributaries. The HAND model is a drainage normalized digital elevation model, which has its height reference based on the local drainage systems rather than the average mean sea level (AMSL). The underlying principle guiding the development of the HAND model is that hillslope flow paths behave differently when the reference gradient is to the local drainage network as compared to the seaward gradient. The new terrain model of the catchment was created using the NASA’s SRTM Digital Elevation Model (DEM) 30m as the only data input. Contours (HAND Contour) were then generated from the normalized DEM. Based on field flood inundation survey, historical information of flooding of the area as well as satellite images, a HAND Contour of 2m was found to best correlates with the flood inundation extent of the river and its tributaries. A percentage accuracy of 75% was obtained when the surface area created by the 2m contour was compared with surface area of the floodplain computed from a satellite image captured during the peak flooding season in September 2016. It was estimated that the flooding of the Nasia River and its tributaries created a floodplain area of 1011 km².

Keywords: digital elevation model, floodplain, HAND contour, inundation extent, Nasia River

Procedia PDF Downloads 437

Authors: E. T. L. Cöuras Ford, V. A. C. Vale, J. U. L. Mendes

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Two of the objective principal in the study of the aerodynamics of vehicles are the safety and the acting. Those objectives can be reached through the development of devices modify the drainage of air about of the vehicle and also through alterations in the way of the external surfaces. The front lowest profile of the vehicle, for instance, has great influence on the coefficient of aerodynamic penetration (Cx) and later on great part of the pressure distribution along the surface of the vehicle. The objective of this work was of analyzing the aerodynamic behavior that it happens on some types the trucks of vehicles, based on experimentation in aerodynamic tunnel, seeking to determine the aerodynamic efficiency of each one of them.

Keywords: aerodynamic, vehicles, wind tunnel, safety, acting

Procedia PDF Downloads 483

Authors: Monika Patel, Kazuaki Matsumura

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Synthetic hydrogels, with their unique properties such as porosity, strength, and swelling in aqueous environment, are being used in many fields from food additives to regenerative medicines, from diagnostic and pharmaceuticals to drug delivery systems (DDS). But, hydrogels also have some limitations in terms of homogeneity of drug distribution and quantity of loaded drugs. As an alternate, polymeric micelles are extensively used as DDS. With the ease of self-assembly, and distinct stability they remarkably improve the solubility of hydrophobic drugs. However, presently, combinational therapy is the need of time and so are systems which are capable of releasing more than one drug. And it is one of the major challenges towards DDS to control the release of each drug independently, which simple DDS cannot meet. In this work, we present an amphiphilic polypeptide based micelle hydrogel composite to study the dual drug release for wound healing purposes using Amphotericin B (AmpB) and Curcumin as model drugs. Firstly, two differently charged amphiphilic polypeptide chains were prepared namely, poly L-Lysine-b-poly phenyl alanine (PLL-PPA) and poly Glutamic acid-b-poly phenyl alanine (PGA-PPA) through ring opening polymerization of amino acid N-carboxyanhydride. These polymers readily self-assemble to form micelles with hydrophobic PPA block as core and hydrophilic PLL/PGA as shell with an average diameter of about 280nm. The thus formed micelles were loaded with the model drugs. The PLL-PPA micelle was loaded with curcumin and PGA-PPA was loaded with AmpB by dialysis method. Drug loaded micelles showed a slight increase in the mean diameter and were fairly stable in solution and lyophilized forms. For forming the micelles hydrogel composite, the drug loaded micelles were dissolved and were cross linked using genipin. Genipin uses the free –NH2 groups in the PLL-PPA micelles to form a hydrogel network with free PGA-PPA micelles trapped in between the 3D scaffold formed. Different composites were tested by changing the weight ratios of the both micelles and were seen to alter its resulting surface charge from positive to negative with increase in PGA-PPA ratio. The composites with high surface charge showed a burst release of drug in initial phase, were as the composites with relatively low net charge showed a sustained release. Thus the resultant surface charge of the composite can be tuned to tune its drug release profile. Also, while studying the degree of cross linking among the PLL-PPA particles for effect on dual drug release, it was seen that as the degree of crosslinking increases, an increase in the tendency to burst release the drug (AmpB) is seen in PGA-PPA particle, were as on the contrary the PLL-PPA particles showed a slower release of Curcumin with increasing the cross linking density. Thus, two different pharmacokinetic profile of drugs were seen by changing the cross linking degree. In conclusion, a unique charged amphiphilic polypeptide based micelle hydrogel composite for dual drug delivery. This composite can be finely tuned on the basis of need of drug release profiles by changing simple parameters such as composition, cross linking and pH.

Keywords: amphiphilic polypeptide, dual drug release, micelle hydrogel composite, tunable DDS

Procedia PDF Downloads 196