Search results for: thermopile infrared sensor

Authors: W. A. Gonçalves, E. P. Souza, C. R. Alcântara

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The ISCCP-Tracking database offers an opportunity to study physical and morphological characteristics of Convective Systems based on geostationary meteorological satellites. This database contains 26 years of tracking of Convective Systems for the entire globe. Then, Tropical Squall Lines which occur in Brazil are certainly within the database. In this study, we propose a methodology for identification of these systems based on the ISCCP-Tracking database. A physical and morphological characterization of these systems is also shown. The proposed methodology is firstly based on the year of 2007. The Squall Lines were subjectively identified by visually analyzing infrared images from GOES-12. Based on this identification, the same systems were identified within the ISCCP-Tracking database. It is known, and it was also observed that the Squall Lines which occur on the north coast of Brazil develop parallel to the coast, influenced by the sea breeze. In addition, it was also observed that the eccentricity of the identified systems was greater than 0.7. Then, a methodology based on the inclination (based on the coast) and eccentricity (greater than 0.7) of the Convective Systems was applied in order to identify and characterize Tropical Squall Lines in Brazil. These thresholds were applied back in the ISCCP-Tracking database for the year of 2007. It was observed that other systems, which were not Squall Lines, were also identified. Then, we decided to call all systems identified by the inclination and eccentricity thresholds as Linear Convective Systems, instead of Squall Lines. After this step, the Linear Convective Systems were identified and characterized for the entire database, from 1983 to 2008. The physical and morphological characteristics of these systems were compared to those systems which did not have the required inclination and eccentricity to be called Linear Convective Systems. The results showed that the convection associated with the Linear Convective Systems seems to be more intense and organized than in the other systems. This affirmation is based on all ISCCP-Tracking variables analyzed. This type of methodology, which explores 26 years of satellite data by an objective analysis, was not previously explored in the literature. The physical and morphological characterization of the Linear Convective Systems based on 26 years of data is of a great importance and should be used in many branches of atmospheric sciences.

Keywords: squall lines, convective systems, linear convective systems, ISCCP-Tracking

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Authors: Jae-Yong Lee, Gyu-Hyun Bae, Yun-Soo Chung, Dae-Sub Kim, Jae-Sung Bae

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In general, fabric is heat-treated using a stenter machine in order to dry and fix its shape. It is important to shape before the heat treatment because it is difficult to revert back once the fabric is formed. To produce the product of right shape, camera type weft straightener has been applied recently to capture and process fabric images quickly. It is more powerful in determining the final textile quality rather than photo-sensor. Positioning in front of a stenter machine, weft straightener helps to spread fabric evenly and control the angle between warp and weft constantly as right angle by handling skew and bow rollers. To process this tricky procedure, the structural analysis should be carried out in advance, based on which, its control technology can be drawn. A structural analysis is to figure out the specific contact/slippage characteristics between fabric and roller. We already examined the applicability of camera type weft straightener to plain weave fabric and found its possibility and the specific working condition of machine and rollers. In this research, we aimed to explore another applicability of camera type weft straightener. Namely, we tried to figure out camera type weft straightener can be used for fabrics. To find out the optimum condition, we increased the number of rollers. The analysis is done by ANSYS software using Finite Element Analysis method. The control function is demonstrated by experiment. In conclusion, the structural analysis of weft straightener is done to identify a specific characteristic between roller and fabrics. The control of skew and bow roller is done to decrease the error of the angle between warp and weft. Finally, it is proved that camera type straightener can also be used for the special fabrics.

Keywords: camera type weft straightener, structure analysis, control, skew and bow roller

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Authors: Beata Zima, Octavio A. Márquez Reyes, Masoud Mohammadgholiha, Jochen Moll, Luca de Marchi

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This document presents the approach of using compressed sensing in signal encoding and information transferring within a guided wave sensor network, comprised of specially designed frequency steerable acoustic transducers (FSATs). Wave propagation in a damaged plate was simulated using commercial FEM-based software COMSOL. Guided waves were excited by means of FSATs, characterized by the special shape of its electrodes, and modeled using PIC255 piezoelectric material. The special shape of the FSAT, allows for focusing wave energy in a certain direction, accordingly to the frequency components of its actuation signal, which makes available a larger monitored area. The process begins when a FSAT detects and records reflection from damage in the structure, this signal is then encoded and prepared for transmission, using a combined approach, based on Compressed Sensing Matching Pursuit and Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM). After codification of the signal is in binary chars the information is transmitted between the nodes in the network. The message reaches the last node, where it is finally decoded and processed, to be used for damage detection and localization purposes. The main aim of the investigation is to determine the location of detected damage using reconstructed signals. The study demonstrates that the special steerable capabilities of FSATs, not only facilitate the detection of damage but also permit transmitting the damage information to a chosen area in a specific direction of the investigated structure.

Keywords: data compression, ultrasonic communication, guided waves, FEM analysis

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Authors: Giorgio Visentin, Alexei A. Buchachenko

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Recent proposals to use Yb dimer as an optical clock and as a sensor for non-Newtonian gravity imply the knowledge of its interaction potential. Here, the ground-state Born-Oppenheimer Yb₂ potential energy curve is represented by a semi-analytical function, consisting of short- and long-range contributions. For the former, the systematic ab initio all-electron exact 2-component scalar-relativistic CCSD(T) calculations are carried out. Special care is taken to saturate diffuse basis set component with the atom- and bond-centered primitives and reach the complete basis set limit through n = D, T, Q sequence of the correlation-consistent polarized n-zeta basis sets. Similar approaches are used to the long-range dipole and quadrupole dispersion terms by implementing the CCSD(3) polarization propagator method for dynamic polarizabilities. Dispersion coefficients are then computed through Casimir-Polder integration. The semiclassical constraint on the number of the bound vibrational levels known for the ¹⁷⁴Yb isotope is used to scale the potential function. The scaling, based on the most accurate ab initio results, bounds the interaction energy of two Yb atoms within the narrow 734 ± 4 cm⁻¹ range, in reasonable agreement with the previous ab initio-based estimations. The resulting potentials can be used as the reference for more sophisticated models that go beyond the Born-Oppenheimer approximation and provide the means of their uncertainty estimations. The work is supported by Russian Science Foundation grant # 17-13-01466.

Keywords: ab initio coupled cluster methods, interaction potential, semi-analytical function, ytterbium dimer

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Authors: Muhammad Bilal Qadir, Danish Umer, Amir Shahzad

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The use of conductive materials in smart and interactive textiles is gaining significant importance for creating value addition, innovation, and functional product development. These products find their potential applications in health monitoring, military, protection, communication, sensing, monitoring, actuation, fashion, and lifestyles. The materials which are most commonly employed in such type of interactive textile include intrinsically conducting polymers, conductive inks, and metallic coating on textile fabrics and inherently conducting metallic fibre yarns. In this study, silver coated polyester filament yarn is explored for the development of multifunctional interactive gloves. The composite yarn was developed by covering the silver coated polyester filament around the polyester spun yarn using hollow spindle technique. The electrical and tensile properties of the yarn were studied. This novel yarn was used to manufacture a smart glove to explore the antibacterial, functional, and interactive properties of the yarn. The change in electrical resistance due to finger movement at different bending positions and antimicrobial properties were studied. This glove was also found useful as an interactive tool to operate the commonly used touch screen devices due to its conductive nature. The yarn can also be used to develop the sensing elements like stretch, strain, and piezoresistive sensors. Such sensor can be effectively used in medical and sports textile for performance monitoring, vital signs monitoring and development of antibacterial textile for healthcare and hygiene.

Keywords: conductive yarn, interactive textiles, piezoresistive sensors, smart gloves

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Authors: Erfan Rahimi, Hadi Bahari Far, Mojgan Shikhpour

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Background: Urinary tract infection is one of the most common nosocomial infections, especially among women. E. coli is one of the main causes of urinary tract infections and one of the most common antibiotics to fight this bacterium is ampicillin. As conventional antibiotics led to bacterial antibiotic resistance, modification of the pure drugs can address this issue. The aim of this study was to prepare nanofluids containing carbon nanotubes conjugated with ampicillin to improve drug performance and reduce antibiotic resistance. Methods: Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were activated with thionyl chloride by reflux system and nanofluids containing antibiotics were prepared by ultrasonic method. The properties of the prepared nano-drug were investigated by general element analysis, infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. After the treatment of the desired strain with nanofluid, microbial studies were performed to evaluate the antibacterial effects and molecular studies were carried out to measure the expression of the resistance gene AcrAB. Result: We have shown that the antimicrobial effect of ampicillin-functionalized MWCNTs at low concentrations performed better than that of the conventional drug in both resistant and ATCC strains. Also, a decrease in antibiotic resistance of bacteria treated with ampicillin-functionalized MWCNTs compared to the pure drug was observed. Also, ampicillin-functionalized MWCNTs downregulated the expression of AcrAB in treated bacteria. Conclusion: Because carbon nanotubes are capable of destroying the bacterial wall, which provides antibiotic resistance features in bacteria, their usage in the form of nanofluids can make lower dosages (about three times less) than that of the pure drug more effective. Additionally, the expression of the bacterial resistance gene AcrAB decreased, thereby reducing antibiotic resistance and improving drug performance against bacteria.

Keywords: urinary tract infection, antibiotic resistance, carbon nanotube, nanofluid

Procedia PDF Downloads 146

Authors: Junzhang Wu, Yifeng Zou, Alessandro Manzardo, Antonio Scipioni

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Dynamic expiration dates (DEDs) play an essential role in reducing food waste in the context of the sustainable cold chain and food system. However, it is unknown for the trades-off in retail benefits when setting an expiration date on fresh food products. This study aims to develop a multi-dimensional decision-making model that integrates DEDs with food waste based on wireless sensor network technology. The model considers the initial quality of fresh food and the change rate of food quality with the storage temperature as cross-independent variables to identify the potential impacts of food waste in retail by applying s DEDs system. The results show that retail benefits from the DEDs system depend on each scenario despite its advanced technology. In the DEDs, the storage temperature of the retail shelf leads to the food waste rate, followed by the change rate of food quality and the initial quality of food products. We found that the DEDs system could reduce food waste when food products are stored at lower temperature areas. Besides, the potential of food savings in an extended replenishment cycle is significantly more advantageous than the fixed expiration dates (FEDs). On the other hand, the information-sharing approach of the DEDs system is relatively limited in improving sustainable assessment performance of food waste in retail and even misleads consumers’ choices. The research provides a comprehensive understanding to support the techno-economic choice of the DEDs associated with food waste in retail.

Keywords: dynamic expiry dates (DEDs), food waste, retail benefits, fixed expiration dates (FEDs)

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Authors: Samira K. Al-Nasser, Siamak Noroozi, Roya Haratian, Adrian Harvey

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A total knee replacement (TKR) is a surgical procedure necessary when there is severe pain and/or loss of function in the knee. Surgeons balance the load in the knee and the surrounding soft tissue by feeling the tension at different ranges of motion. This method can be unreliable and lead to early failure of the joint. The ideal kinematics and load distribution have been debated significantly based on previous biomechanical studies surrounding both TKRs and normal knees. Intraoperative sensors like VERASENSE and eLibra have provided a method for the quantification of the load indicating a balanced knee. A review of the literature written about intraoperative sensors and tension/stability of the knee was done. Studies currently debate the quantification of the load in medial and lateral compartments specifically. However, most research reported that following a TKR the medial compartment was loaded more heavily than the lateral compartment. In several cases, these results were shown to increase the success of the surgery because they mimic the normal kinematics of the knee. In conclusion, most research agrees that an intercompartmental load differential of between 10 and 20 pounds, where the medial load was higher than the lateral, and an absolute load of less than 70 pounds was ideal. However, further intraoperative sensor development could help improve the accuracy and understanding of the load distribution on the surgical outcomes in a TKR. A reduction in early revision surgeries for TKRs would provide an improved quality of life for patients and reduce the economic burden placed on both the National Health Service (NHS) and the patient.

Keywords: intraoperative sensors, joint load forces, kinematics, load balancing, and total knee replacement

Procedia PDF Downloads 136

Authors: M. Kowalski, M. Brodowski, K. Dziabowska, E. Czaczyk, W. Bialobrzeska, N. Malinowska, S. Zoledowska, R. Bogdanowicz, D. Nidzworski

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Boron-doped-carbon nanowall (BCNW) electrodes are recently in much interest among scientists. BCNWs are good candidates for biosensor purposes as they possess interesting electrochemical characteristics like a wide potential range and the low difference between redox peaks. Moreover, from technical parameters, they are mechanically resistant and very tough. The production process of the microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (MPECVD) allows boron to build into the structure of the diamond being formed. The effect is the formation of flat, long structures with sharp ends. The potential of these electrodes was checked in the biosensing field. The procedure of simple carbon electrodes modification by antibodies was adopted to BCNW for specific antigen recognition. Surface protein D deriving from H. influenzae pathogenic bacteria was chosen as a target analyte. The electrode was first modified with the aminobenzoic acid diazonium salt by electrografting (electrochemical reduction), next anti-protein D antibodies were linked via 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide hydrochloride/N-hydroxysuccinimide (EDC/NHS) chemistry, and free sites were blocked by BSA. Cyclic voltammetry measurements confirmed the proper electrode modification. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy records indicated protein detection. The sensor was proven to detect protein D in femtograms. This work was supported by the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR) TECHMATSTRATEG 1/347324/12/NCBR/ 2017.

Keywords: anti-protein D antibodies, boron-doped carbon nanowall, impedance spectroscopy, Haemophilus influenzae.

Procedia PDF Downloads 173

Authors: Federica Laface, Cristina Pedà, Francesco Longo, Francesca de Domenico, Riccardo Minichino, Pierpaolo Consoli, Pietro Battaglia, Silvestro Greco, Teresa Romeo

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Plastics pollution represents one of the most important threats to marine biodiversity. In the last decades, different species are investigated to evaluate the extent of the plastic ingestion phenomenon. Even if the cephalopods play an important role in the food chain, they are still poorly studied. The aim of this research was to investigate the plastic ingestion in two commercial cephalopod species from the southern Tyrrhenian Sea: the common octopus, Octopus vulgaris (n=6; mean mantle length ML 10.7 ± 1.8) and the common cuttlefish, Sepia officinalis (n=13; mean ML 13.2 ± 1.7). Plastics were extracted from the filters obtained by the chemical digestion of cephalopods gastrointestinal tracts (GITs), using 10% potassium hydroxide (KOH) solution in a 1:5 (w/v) ratio. Once isolated, particles were photographed, measured, and their size class, shape and color were recorded. A total of 81 items was isolated from 16 of the 19 examined GITs, representing a total occurrence (%O) of 84.2% with a mean value of 4.3 ± 8.6 particles per individual. In particular, 62 plastics were found in 6 specimens of O. vulgaris (%O=100) and 19 particles in 10 S. officinalis (%O=94.7). In both species, the microplastics size class was the most abundant (93.8%). Plastic items found in O. vulgaris were mainly fibers (61%) while fragments were the most frequent in S. officinalis (53%). Transparent was the most common color in both species. The analysis will be completed by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy technique in order to identify polymers nature. This study reports preliminary data on plastic ingestion events in two cephalopods species and represents the first record of plastic ingestion by the common octopus. Microplastic items detected in both common octopus and common cuttlefish could derive from secondary and/or accidental ingestion events, probably due to their behavior, feeding habits and anatomical features. Further studies will be required to assess the effect of marine litter pollution in these ecologically and commercially important species.

Keywords: cephalopods, GIT analysis, marine pollution, Mediterranean sea, microplastics

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Authors: Shahrzad Zolfagharnassab, Abdul Rashid Mohamed Shariff, Reza Ehsani, Hawa Ze Jaffar, Ishak Aris

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Ripeness estimation of oil palm fresh fruit is important processes that affect the profitableness and salability of oil palm fruits. The adulthood or ripeness of the oil palm fruits influences the quality of oil palm. Conventional procedure includes physical grading of Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFB) maturity by calculating the number of loose fruits per bunch. This physical classification of oil palm FFB is costly, time consuming and the results may have human error. Hence, many researchers try to develop the methods for ascertaining the maturity of oil palm fruits and thereby, deviously the oil content of distinct palm fruits without the need for exhausting oil extraction and analysis. This research investigates the potential of infrared images (Thermal Images) as a predictor to classify the oil palm FFB ripeness. A total of 270 oil palm fresh fruit bunches from most common cultivar of oil palm bunches Nigresens according to three maturity categories: under ripe, ripe and over ripe were collected. Each sample was scanned by the thermal imaging cameras FLIR E60 and FLIR T440. The average temperature of each bunches were calculated by using image processing in FLIR Tools and FLIR ThermaCAM researcher pro 2.10 environment software. The results show that temperature content decreased from immature to over mature oil palm FFBs. An overall analysis-of-variance (ANOVA) test was proved that this predictor gave significant difference between underripe, ripe and overripe maturity categories. This shows that the temperature as predictors can be good indicators to classify oil palm FFB. Classification analysis was performed by using the temperature of the FFB as predictors through Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), Mahalanobis Discriminant Analysis (MDA), Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and K- Nearest Neighbor (KNN) methods. The highest overall classification accuracy was 88.2% by using Artificial Neural Network. This research proves that thermal imaging and neural network method can be used as predictors of oil palm maturity classification.

Keywords: artificial neural network, maturity classification, oil palm FFB, thermal imaging

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Authors: Irsa Ejaz, Siyang He, Wei Li, Naiyue Hu, Chaochen Tang, Songbo Li, Meng Li, Boubacar Diallo, Guanghui Xie, Kang Yu

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Background: Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR) is a non-destructive, fast, and low-cost method to measure the grain quality of different cereals. Previously reported NIR model calibrations using the whole grain spectra had moderate accuracy. Improved predictions are achievable by using the spectra of whole grains, when compared with the use of spectra collected from the flour samples. However, the feasibility for determining the critical biochemicals, related to the classifications for food, feed, and fuel products are not adequately investigated. Objectives: To evaluate the feasibility of using NIRS and the influence of four sample types (whole grains, flours, hulled grain flours, and hull-less grain flours) on the prediction of chemical components to improve the grain sorting efficiency for human food, animal feed, and biofuel. Methods: NIR was applied in this study to determine the eight biochemicals in four types of sorghum samples: hulled grain flours, hull-less grain flours, whole grains, and grain flours. A total of 20 hybrids of sorghum grains were selected from the two locations in China. Followed by NIR spectral and wet-chemically measured biochemical data, partial least squares regression (PLSR) was used to construct the prediction models. Results: The results showed that sorghum grain morphology and sample format affected the prediction of biochemicals. Using NIR data of grain flours generally improved the prediction compared with the use of NIR data of whole grains. In addition, using the spectra of whole grains enabled comparable predictions, which are recommended when a non-destructive and rapid analysis is required. Compared with the hulled grain flours, hull-less grain flours allowed for improved predictions for tannin, cellulose, and hemicellulose using NIR data. Conclusion: The established PLSR models could enable food, feed, and fuel producers to efficiently evaluate a large number of samples by predicting the required biochemical components in sorghum grains without destruction.

Keywords: FT-NIR, sorghum grains, biochemical composition, food, feed, fuel, PLSR

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Authors: Francesco Ruscio, Paolo Paoletti, Jens Thomas, Paul Myers, Sebastiano Fichera

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This paper presents the development of a low-cost monitoring system for a hydroponic urban vertical farm, enabling its automation and a quantitative assessment of the farm performance. Urban farming has seen increasing interest in the last decade thanks to the development of energy efficient and affordable LED lights; however, the optimal configuration of such systems (i.e. amount of nutrients, light-on time, ambient temperature etc.) is mostly based on the farmers’ experience and empirical guidelines. Moreover, even if simple, the maintenance of such systems is labor intensive as it requires water to be topped-up periodically, mixing of the nutrients etc. To unlock the full potential of urban farming, a quantitative understanding of the role that each variable plays in the growth of the plants is needed, together with a higher degree of automation. The low-cost monitoring system proposed in this paper is a step toward filling this knowledge and technological gap, as it enables collection of sensor data related to water and air temperature, water level, humidity, pressure, light intensity, pH and electric conductivity without requiring any human intervention. More sensors and actuators can also easily be added thanks to the modular design of the proposed platform. Data can be accessed remotely via a simple web interface. The proposed platform can be used both for quantitatively optimizing the setup of the farms and for automating some of the most labor-intensive maintenance activities. Moreover, such monitoring system can also potentially be used for high-level decision making, once enough data are collected.

Keywords: automation, hydroponics, internet of things, monitoring system, urban farming

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Authors: Nelson S. Andres, Robert O. Aguilar, Mar O. Tapia, Meeko C. Masangcap, John Denver Catapang, Greg C. Mallari

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This study focuses on exploring the possibility of using solar PV as an alternative for generating electricity to electrify the AGT System installed in BPSU Main Campus instead of using the power grid. The output of this study gives BPSU the option to invest on solar PV system to pro-actively respond to one of UN’s Sustainable Development Goals of having reliable, sustainable and modern energy sources to reduce energy pollution and climate change impact in the long run. Thus, this study covers the technical as well as the financial studies, which BPSU can also be used to outsource funding from different government agencies. For this study, the electrical design and requirements of the on-going DOST AGT system project are carefully considered. In the proposed design, the AGT station has installed with a rechargeable battery system where the energy harnessed by the solar PV panels installed on the rooftop of the station/NCEA building shall be directed to. The solar energy is then directly supplied to the electric double-layer capacitors (EDLC's) batteries and thus transmitted to other types of equipment in need. When the AGT is not in use, the harnessed energy may be used by NCEA building, thus, lessening the energy consumption of the building from the grid. The use of solar PV system with EDLC is compared with the use of an electric grid for the purpose of electrifying the AGT or the NCEA building (when AGT is not in use). This is to figure how much solar energy are accumulated by the solar PV to accommodate the need for coaches’ motors, lighting, air-conditioning units, door sensor, panel display, etc. The proposed PV Solar design, as well as the data regarding the charging and discharging of batteries and the power consumption of all AGT components, are simulated for optimization, analysis and validation through the use of PVSyst software.

Keywords: AGT, Solar PV, railway, EDLC

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Authors: Jixiang Lei, Alexander Fuchs, Franz Pernkopf, Katrin Ellermann

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Within the Space@Sea project, funded by the Horizon 2020 program, an island consisting of multiple platforms was designed. The platforms are connected by ropes and fenders. The connection is critical with respect to the safety of the whole system. Therefore, fault detection systems are investigated, which could detect early warning signs for a possible failure in the connection elements. Previously, a model-based method called Extended Kalman Filter was developed to detect the reduction of rope stiffness. This method detected several types of faults reliably, but some types of faults were much more difficult to detect. Furthermore, the model-based method is sensitive to environmental noise. When the wave height is low, a long time is needed to detect a fault and the accuracy is not always satisfactory. In this sense, it is necessary to develop a more accurate and robust technique that can detect all rope faults under a wide range of operational conditions. Inspired by this work on the Space at Sea design, we introduce a fault diagnosis method based on deep neural networks. Our method cannot only detect rope degradation by using the acceleration data from each platform but also estimate the contributions of the specific acceleration sensors using methods from explainable AI. In order to adapt to different operational conditions, the domain adaptation technique DANN is applied. The proposed model can accurately estimate rope degradation under a wide range of environmental conditions and help users understand the relationship between the output and the contributions of each acceleration sensor.

Keywords: fault diagnosis, deep learning, domain adaptation, explainable AI

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Authors: J. W. Choi, S. Y. Cho, H. J. Lee, W. Z. Oh, S. J. Choi

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Ionic liquids (ILs), which is alternative to conventional organic solvent, were used for extraction of Cs ions. ILs, as useful environment friendly green solvents, have been recently applied as replacement for traditional volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in liquid/liquid extraction of heavy metal ions as well as organic and inorganic species and pollutants. Thus, Ionic liquids were used for extraction of Cs ions from the liquid radioactive waste. In most cases, Cs ions present in radioactive wastes in very low concentration, approximately less than 1ppm. Therefore, unlike established extraction system the required amount of ILs as extractant is comparatively very small. This extraction method involves cation exchange mechanism in which Cs ion transfers to the organic phase and binds to one crown ether by chelation in exchange of single ILs cation, IL_cation+, transfer to the aqueous phase. In this extraction system showed solid-liquid separation in which the Ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonly)imide (C2mimTf2N) and the crown ether Dicyclohexano-18-crown-6 (DCH18C6) both were used here in very little amount as solvent and as extractant, respectively. 30 mM of CsNO3 was used as simulated waste solution cesium ions. Generally, in liquid-liquid extraction, the molar ratio of CE:Cs+:ILs was 1:5~10:>100, while our applied molar ratio of CE:Cs+:ILs was 1:2:1~10. The quantity of CE and Cs ions were fixed to 0.6 and 1.2 mmol, respectively. The phenomenon of precipitation showed two kinds of separation: solid-liquid separation in the ratio of 1:2:1 and 1:2:2; solid-liquid-liquid separation (3 phase) in the ratio of 1:2:5 and 1:2:10. In the last system, 3 phases were precipitate-ionic liquids-aqueous. The precipitate was verified to consist of Cs+, DCH18C6, Tf2N- based on the cation exchange mechanism. We analyzed precipitate using scanning electron microscopy with X-ray microanalysis (SEM-EDS), an elemental analyser, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The experimental results showed an easy extraction method and confirmed the composition of solid precipitate. We also obtained information that complex formation ratio of Cs+ to DCH18C6 is 0.88:1 regardless of C2mimTf2N quantities.

Keywords: extraction, precipitation, solid-liquid seperation, ionic liquid, precipitate

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Authors: Burcu Doymus, Fatma N. Kok, Sakip Onder

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Titanium and titanium-based materials are commonly used to replace or regenerate the injured or lost tissues because of accidents or illnesses. Hospital infections and strong bond formation at the implant-tissue interface are directly affecting the success of the implantation as weak bonding with the native tissue and hospital infections lead to revision surgery. The purpose of the presented study is to modify the surface of the titanium substrates with nano/microspheres for local drug delivery and to prevent hospital infections. Firstly, titanium surfaces were silanized with APTES (3-Triethoxysilylpropylamine) following the negatively charged oxide layer formation. Then characterization studies using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were done on the modified surfaces. Secondly, microspheres/nanospheres were prepared with chitosan that is a natural polymer and having valuable properties such as non-toxicity, high biocompatibility, low allergen city and biodegradability for biomedical applications. Antibiotic (ciprofloxacin) loaded micro/nanospheres have been fabricated using emulsion cross-linking method and have been immobilized onto the titanium surfaces with different immobilization techniques such as covalent bond and entrapment. Optimization studies on size and drug loading capacities of micro/nanospheres were conducted before the immobilization process. Light microscopy and SEM were used to visualize and measure the size of the produced micro/nanospheres. Loaded and released drug amounts were determined by using UV- spectrophotometer at 278 nm. Finally, SEM analysis and drug release studies on the micro/nanospheres coated Ti surfaces were done. As a conclusion, it was shown that micro/nanospheres were immobilized onto the surfaces successfully and drug release from these surfaces was in a controlled manner. Moreover, the density of the micro/nanospheres after the drug release studies was higher on the surfaces where the entrapment technique was used for immobilization. Acknowledgement: This work is financially supported by The Scientific and Technological Research Council Of Turkey (Project # 217M220)

Keywords: chitosan, controlled drug release, nanosphere, nosocomial infections, titanium

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Authors: Yaw Opoku-Damoah, Run Zhang, Hang Thu Ta, Zhi Ping Xu

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Gas therapy is still at an early stage of research and development. Even though most gasotransmitters have proven their therapeutic potential, their handling, delivery, and controlled release have been extremely challenging. This research work employs a versatile nanosystem that is capable of delivering a gasotransmitter in the form of a photo-responsive carbon monoxide-releasing molecule (CORM) for targeted cancer therapy. The therapeutic action was mediated by upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) designed to transfer bio-friendly low energy near-infrared (NIR) light to ultraviolet (UV) light capable of triggering carbon monoxide (CO) from a water-soluble amphiphilic manganese carbonyl complex CORM incorporated into a carefully designed lipid drug delivery system. Herein, gaseous CO that plays a role as a gasotransmitter with cytotoxic and homeostatic properties was investigated to instigate cellular apoptosis. After successfully synthesizing the drug delivery system, the ability of the system to encapsulate and mediate the sustained release of CO after light excitation was demonstrated. CO fluorescence probe (COFP) was successfully employed to determine the in vitro drug release profile upon NIR light irradiation. The uptake of nanoparticles enhanced by folates and its receptor interaction was also studied for cellular uptake purposes. The anticancer potential of the final lipid nanoparticle Lipid/UCNPs/CORM/FA (LUCF) was also determined by cell viability assay. Intracellular CO release and a subsequent therapeutic action involving ROS production, mitochondrial damage, and CO production was also evaluated. In all, this current project aims to use in vitro studies to determine the potency and efficiency of a NIR-mediated CORM prodrug delivery system.

Keywords: carbon monoxide-releasing molecule, upconversion nanoparticles, site-specific delivery, amphiphilic manganese carbonyl complex, prodrug delivery system.

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Authors: M. Jerold, V. Sivasubramanian, A. George, B.S. Ashik, S. S. Kumar

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Bioethanol is a sustainable biofuel that can be used alternative to fossil fuels. Today, third generation (3G) biofuel is gaining more attention than first and second-generation biofuel. The more lignin content in the lignocellulosic biomass is the major drawback of second generation biofuels. Algae are the renewable feedstock used in the third generation biofuel production. Algae contain a large number of carbohydrates, therefore it can be used for the fermentation by hydrolysis process. There are two groups of Algae, such as micro and macroalgae. In the present investigation, Macroalgae was chosen as raw material for the production of bioethanol. Two marine algae viz. Ulva Lactuca and Sargassum swartzii were used for the experimental studies. The algal biomass was characterized using various analytical techniques like Elemental Analysis, Scanning Electron Microscopy Analysis and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy to understand the physio-Chemical characteristics. The batch experiment was done to study the hydrolysis and operation parameters such as pH, agitation, fermentation time, inoculum size. The saccharification was done with acid and alkali treatment. The experimental results showed that NaOH treatment was shown to enhance the bioethanol. From the hydrolysis study, it was found that 0.5 M Alkali treatment would serve as optimum concentration for the saccharification of polysaccharide sugar to monomeric sugar. The maximum yield of bioethanol was attained at a fermentation time of 9 days. The inoculum volume of 1mL was found to be lowest for the ethanol fermentation. The agitation studies show that the fermentation was higher during the process. The percentage yield of bioethanol was found to be 22.752% and 14.23 %. The elemental analysis showed that S. swartzii contains a higher carbon source. The results confirmed hydrolysis was not completed to recover the sugar from biomass. The specific gravity of ethanol was found to 0.8047 and 0.808 for Ulva Lactuca and Sargassum swartzii, respectively. The purity of bioethanol also studied and found to be 92.55 %. Therefore, marine algae can be used as a most promising renewable feedstock for the production of bioethanol.

Keywords: algae, biomass, bioethaol, biofuel, pretreatment

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Authors: Luciana P. Mazur, Tatiana A. Pozdniakova, Rui A. R. Boaventura, Vitor J. P. Vilar

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The principal mechanism of metal ions sequestration by brown algae involves the formation of complexes between the metal ion and functional groups present on the cell wall of the biological material. To understand the role of functional groups on copper(II) uptake by Ascophyllum nodosum, some functional groups were chemically modified. The esterification of carboxylic groups was carried out by suspending the biomass in a methanol/HCl solution under stirring for 48 h and the blocking of the sulfonic groups was performed by repeating the same procedure for 4 cycles of 48 h. The methylation of amines was conducted by suspending the biomass in a formaldehyde/formic acid solution under shaking for 6 h and the chemical modification of sulfhydryl groups on the biomass surface was achieved using dithiodipyridine for 1 h. Equilibrium sorption studies for Cu2+ using the raw and esterified algae were performed at pH 2.0 and 4.0. The experiments were performed using an initial copper concentration of 300 mg/L and algae dose of 1.0 g/L. After reaching the equilibrium, the metal in solution was quantified by atomic absorption spectrometry. The biological material was analyzed by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Potentiometric Titration techniques for functional groups identification and quantification, respectively. The results using unmodified algae showed that the maximum copper uptake capacity at pH 4.0 and 2.0 was 1.17 and 0.52 mmol/g, respectively. At acidic pH values most carboxyl groups are protonated and copper sorption suffered a significant reduction of 56%. Blocking the carboxylic, sulfonic, amines and sulfhydryl functional groups, copper uptake decreased by 24/26%, 69/81%, 1/23% and 40/27% at pH 2.0/4.0, respectively, when compared to the unmodified biomass. It was possible to conclude that the carboxylic and sulfonic groups are the main functional groups responsible for copper binding (>80%). This result is supported by the fact that the adsorption capacity is directly related to the presence of carboxylic groups of the alginate polymer, and the second most abundant acidic functional group in brown algae is the sulfonic acid of fucoidan that contributes, to a lower extent, to heavy metal binding, particularly at low pH.

Keywords: biosorption, brown marine macroalgae, copper, ion-exchange

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Authors: Hossein Jafari, Xiangfang Li, Lijun Qian, Alexander Aved, Timothy Kroecker

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Traditionally in sensor networks and recently in the Internet of Things, numerous heterogeneous sensors are deployed in distributed manner to monitor a phenomenon that often can be model by an underlying stochastic process. The big time-series data collected by the sensors must be analyzed to detect change in the stochastic process as quickly as possible with tolerable false alarm rate. However, sensors may have different accuracy and sensitivity range, and they decay along time. As a result, the big time-series data collected by the sensors will contain uncertainties and sometimes they are conflicting. In this study, we present a framework to take advantage of Evidence Theory (a.k.a. Dempster-Shafer and Dezert-Smarandache Theories) capabilities of representing and managing uncertainty and conflict to fast change detection and effectively deal with complementary hypotheses. Specifically, Kullback-Leibler divergence is used as the similarity metric to calculate the distances between the estimated current distribution with the pre- and post-change distributions. Then mass functions are calculated and related combination rules are applied to combine the mass values among all sensors. Furthermore, we applied the method to estimate the minimum number of sensors needed to combine, so computational efficiency could be improved. Cumulative sum test is then applied on the ratio of pignistic probability to detect and declare the change for decision making purpose. Simulation results using both synthetic data and real data from experimental setup demonstrate the effectiveness of the presented schemes.

Keywords: CUSUM, evidence theory, kl divergence, quickest change detection, time series data

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Authors: Maria Altamirano, Alfonso Duran

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Biostimulation has recently become important in order to improve the stability and performance of the anaerobic digestion (AD) process. This strategy involves the addition of nutrients or supplements to improve the rate of degradation of a native microbial consortium. With the aim of biostimulate sytrophism between secondary fermenting bacteria and methanogenic archaea, improving metabolite degradation and efficient conversion to methane, the addition of conductive materials, mainly carbon based have been studied. This research seeks to highlight the effect that coconut biochar (CBC) has on the metanogenic conversion of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW), analyzing the surface chemistry properties that give biochar its capacity to serve as a redox mediator in the anaerobic digestion process. The biochar characterization techniques were electrical conductivity (EC) scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), Fourier Transform Infrared Transmission Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Cyclic Voltammetry (CV). Effect of coconut biochar addition was studied using Authomatic Methane Potential Test System (AMPTS II) applying a one-way variance analysis to determine the dose that leads to higher methane performance. The surface chemistry of the CBC could confer properties that enhance the AD process, such as the presence of alkaline and alkaline earth metals and their hydrophobicity that may be related to their buffering capacity and the adsorption of polar and non-polar compounds, such as NH4+ and CO2. It also has aromatic functional groups, just as quinones, whose potential as a redox mediator has been demonstrated and its morphology allows it to form an immobilizing matrix that favors a closer activity among the syntrophic microorganisms, which directly contributed in the oxidation of secondary metabolites and the final reduction to methane, whose yield is increased by 39% compared to controls, with a CBC dose of 1 g/L.

Keywords: anaerobic digestion, biochar, biostimulation, syntrophic metabolism

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Authors: Bummo Ahn

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Palpation is widely used to measure soft tissue firmness or stiffness in the living condition in order to apply detection, diagnosis, and treatment of tumors, scar tissue, abnormal muscle tone, or muscle spasticity. Since these methods are subjective and depend on the proficiency level, it is concluded that there are other diagnoses depending on the condition of the experts and the results are not objective. The mechanical property obtained by using the elasticity of the tissue is important to calculate a predictive variable for monitoring abnormal tissues. If the mechanical load such as reaction force on the foot increases in the same region under the same conditions, the mechanical property of the tissue is changed. Therefore, objective diagnosis is possible not only for experts but also for patients using this quantitative information. Furthermore, the portable system also allows non-experts to easily diagnose at home, not in hospitals or institutions. In this paper, we introduce a portable palpation system that can be used to measure the mechanical properties of human tissue, which can be applied to monitor diabetic foot ulceration patients with measuring the mechanical property change of foot tissue. The system was designed to be smaller and portable in comparison with the conventional palpation systems. It is consists of the probe, the force sensor, linear actuator, micro control unit, the display module, battery, and housing. Using this system, we performed validation experiments by applying different palpations (3 and 5 mm) to soft tissue (silicone rubber) and measured reaction forces. In addition, we estimated the elastic moduli of the soft tissue against different palpations and compare the estimated elastic moduli that show similar value even if the palpation depths are different.

Keywords: palpation probe, portable, diabetic foot ulceration, monitoring, mechanical property

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Authors: Sukhila Krishnan, Smita Mohanty, Sanjay K. Nayak

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Polylactide (PLA) and thermoplastic starch (TPS) are the most promising bio-based materials presently available on the market. Polylactic acid is one of the versatile biodegradable polyester showing wide range of applications in various fields and starch is a biopolymer which is renewable, cheap as well as extensively available. The usual increase in the cost of petroleum-based commodities in the next decades opens bright future for these materials. Their biodegradability and compostability was an added advantage in applications that are difficult to recycle. Currently, thermoplastic starch (TPS) has been used as a substitute for synthetic plastic in several commercial products. But, TPS shows some limitations mainly due to its brittle and hydrophilic nature, which has to be resolved to widen its application.The objective of the work we report here was to initiate chemical modifications on TPS and to build up a process to control its chemical structure using a solution process which can reduce its water sensitive properties and then blended it with PLA to improve compatibility between PLA and TPS. The method involves in cleavage of starch amylose and amylopectin chain backbone to plasticize with glycerol and water in batch mixer and then the prepared TPS was reacted in solution with diisocyanates i.e, 4,4'-Methylenediphenyl Diisocyanate (MDI).This diisocyanate was used before with great success for the chemical modification of TPS surface. The method utilized here will form an urethane-linkages between reactive isocyanate groups (–NCO) and hydroxyl groups (-OH) of starch as well as of glycerol. New polymer synthesised shows a reduced crystallinity, less hydrophilic and enhanced compatibility with other polymers. The TPS was prepared by Haake Rheomix 600 batch mixer with roller rotors operating at 50 rpm. The produced material is then refluxed for 5hrs with MDI in toluene with constant stirring. Finally, the modified TPS was melt blended with PLA in different compositions. Blends obtained shows an improved mechanical properties. These materials produced are characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectra (FTIR), DSC, X-Ray diffraction and mechanical tests.

Keywords: polylactic acid, thermoplastic starch, Methylenediphenyl Diisocyanate, Polylactide (PLA)

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Authors: Abdul Matin, Muhammad Ajmal, Uzma Yunus, Noaman-ul Haq, Hafiz M. Shohaib, Ambreen G. Muazzam

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Carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) have unique properties that are useful for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer due to their precise properties like small size (ideal for delivery within the body) stability in solvent and tunable surface chemistry for targeted delivery. Here, highly fluorescent, monodispersed and water-soluble CNPs were synthesized directly from a suitable carbohydrate source (glucose and sucrose) by one-step acid assisted ultrasonic treatment at 35 KHz for 4 hours. This method is green, simple, rapid and economical and can be used for large scale production and applications. The average particle sizes of CNPs are less than 10nm and they emit bright and colorful green-blue fluorescence under the irradiation of UV-light at 365nm. The CNPs were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, fluorescent spectrophotometry, Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometry, ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry and TGA analysis. Fluorescent CNPs were used as fluorescent probe and nano-carriers for anticancer drug. Functionalized CNPs (with ethylene diamine) were attached with anticancer drug-Methotrexate. In vitro bioactivity and biocompatibility of CNPs-drug conjugates was evaluated by LDH assay and Sulforhodamine B assay using human lung carcinoma cell lines (H157). Our results reveled that CNPs showed biocompatibility and CNPs-anticancer drug conjugates have shown potent cytotoxic effects and high antitumor activities in lung cancer cell lines. CNPs are proved to be excellent substitute for conventional drug delivery cargo systems and anticancer therapeutics in vitro. Our future studies will be more focused on using the same nanoparticles in vivo model system.

Keywords: carbon nanoparticles, carbon nanoparticles-methotrexate conjugates, human lung carcinoma cell lines, lactate dehydrogenase, methotrexate

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Authors: Mehrnaz Mostafavi

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Lung cancer is one of the most harmful forms of cancer. The long-term survival rate of lung cancer patients treated by conventional modalities such as surgical resection, radiation, and chemotherapy remains far from satisfactory. Systemic drug delivery is rarely successful because only a limited amount of the chemotherapeutic drug targets lung tumor sites, even when administered at a high dose. Targeted delivery of drug molecules to organs or special sites is one of the most challenging research areas in pharmaceutical sciences. By developing colloidal delivery systems such as liposomes, micelles and nanoparticles a new frontier was opened for improving drug delivery. Nanoparticles with their special characteristics such as small particle size, large surface area and the capability of changing their surface properties have numerous advantages compared with other delivery systems. Targeted nanoparticle delivery to the lungs is an emerging area of interest.Multimodal or combination therapy represents a promising new method to fight disease. Therefore, a combination of different therapeutic strategies may be the best alternative to improve treatment outcomes for lung cancer. Photothermal therapy was proposed as a novel approach to treatment. In this work, photothermal therapy with gold nanoparticles and near infrared laser (NIR) irradiation was investigated.Four types of small (<100nm), NIR absorbing gold nanoparticles (nanospheres, nanorods) were synthesized using wet chemical methods and characterized by transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering and UV-vis spectroscopy. Their synthesis and properties were evaluated, to determine their feasibility as a photothermal agent for clinical applications. In vitro cellular uptake studies of the nanoparticles into lung cancer cell lines was measured using light scattering microscopy.Small gold nanorods had good photothermal properties and the greatest cellular uptake, and were used in photothermal studies. Under 4W laser irradiation, an increase in temperature of 10°C and decrease in cell viability of up to 80% were obtained.

Keywords: photothermal, therapy, cancer, gold nanorods

Procedia PDF Downloads 245

Authors: Venkataraman Sivasankar, Kiyoshi Omine, Hideaki Sano

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The leaching of fluoride from Plaster Board Waste (PBW) is quite feasible in soil and water environments. The Ministry of Environment, Japan recommended the standard limit of 0.8 mgL⁻¹ or less for fluoride. Although the utilization of PBW as a substitute for cement is rather meritorious, its fluoride leaching behavior deteriorates the quality of soil and water and therefore envisaged as a demerit. In view of this fluoride leaching problem, the present research is focused on immobilizing fluoride in PBW. The immobilization experiments were conducted with four chemical systems operated by DAHP (diammonium hydrogen phosphate) and phosphoric acid carbonization of bamboo mass coupled with certain inorganic reactions using reagents such as calcium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, and aqueous ammonia. The fluoride immobilization was determined after shaking the reactor contents including the plaster board waste for 24 h at 25˚C. In the DAHP system, the immobilization of fluoride was evident from the leaching of fluoride in the range 0.071-0.12 mgL⁻¹, 0.026-0.14 mgL⁻¹ and 0.068-0.12 mgL⁻¹ for the reaction temperatures at 30˚C, 50˚C, and 90˚C, respectively, with final pH of 6.8. The other chemical systems designated as PACCa, PACAm, and PACNa could immobilize fluoride in PBW, and the resulting solution was analyzed with the fluoride less than the Japanese environmental standard of 0.8 mgL⁻¹. In the case of PACAm and PACCa systems, the calcium concentration was found undetectable and witnessed the formation of phosphate compounds. The immobilization of fluoride was found inversely proportional to the increase in the volume of leaching solvent and dose of PBW. Characterization studies of PBW and the solid after fluoride immobilization was done using FTIR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy), Raman spectroscopy, FE-SEM ( Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy) with EDAX (Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy), XRD (X-ray diffraction), and XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy). The results revealed the formation of new calcium phosphate compounds such as apatite, monetite, and hydroxylapatite. The participation of such new compounds in fluoride immobilization seems indispensable through the exchange mechanism of hydroxyl and fluoride groups. Acknowledgment: First author thanks to Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) for the award of the fellowship (ID No. 16544).

Keywords: characterization, fluoride, immobilization, plaster board waste

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Authors: Mthiyane Pretty, Mitsui Toshiake, Aycan Murat, Nagano Hirohiko

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Methane (CH₄) is one of the most dangerous greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted into the atmosphere by terrestrial ecosystems, with a global warming potential (GWP) 25-34 times that of CO2 on a centennial scale. Paddy rice cultivations are a major source of methane emission and is the major driving force for climate change. Thus, it is necessary to find out GHG emissions mitigation strategies from rice cultivation. A study was conducted at Niigata University. And the prime objective of this research was to determine the effects of rice varieties CH4 lowland (NU1, YNU, Nipponbare, Koshihikari) and upland (Norin 1, Norin 24, Hitachihatamochi) japonica rice varieties using different growth media which was paddy field soil and artificial soil. The treatments were laid out in a split plot design. The soil moisture was kept at 40-50% and 70%, respectively. The CH₄ emission rates were determined by collecting air samples using the closed chamber technique and measuring CH₄ concentrations using a gas chromatograph. CH₄ emission rates varied with the growth, growth media type and development of the rice varieties. The soil moisture was monitored at a soil depth of 5–10 cm with an HydraGO portable soil sensor system every three days for each pot, and temperatures were be recorded by a sensitive thermometer. The lowest cumulative CH4 emission rate was observed in Norin 24, particularly under 40 to 50% soil moisture. Across the rice genotypes, 40-50% significantly reduced the cumulative CH4 , followed by irrigation of 70% soil moisture. During the tillering stage, no significant variation in tillering and plant height was observed between and 70% soil moisture. This study suggests that the cultivation of Norin 24 and Norin 1 under 70% soil irrigation could be effective at reducing the CH4 in rice fields.

Keywords: methane, paddy fields, rice varieties, soil moisture

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Authors: Rafat Rob, Khaled Alotaibi, Dana Nour, Abdullah Albadrani, Abdulmohsen Mulhim

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Power systems digitization solutions provides a comprehensive smart, cohesive, interconnected network, extensive connectivity between digital assets, physical power plants, and resources to form digital economies. However, digitization has exposed the classical air gapped power plants to the rapid spread of cyber threats and attacks in the process delaying and forcing many organizations to rethink their cyber security policies and standards before they can augment their operation the new advanced digital devices. Cyber Security requirements for power systems (and industry control systems therein) demand a new approach, unique methodology, and design process that is completely different to Cyber Security measures designed for the IT systems. In practice, Cyber Security strategy, as applied to power systems, tends to be closely aligned to those measures applied for IT system purposes. The differentiator for Cyber Security in terms of power systems are the physical assets and applications used, alongside the ever-growing rate of expansion within the industry controls sector (in comparison to the relatively saturated growth observed for corporate IT systems). These factors increase the magnitude of the cyber security risk within such systems. The introduction of smart devices and sensors along the grid initiate vulnerable entry points to the systems. Every installed Smart Meter is a target; the way these devices communicate with each other may instigate a Denial of Service (DoS) and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. Attacking one sensor or meter has the potential to propagate itself throughout the power grid reaching the IT network, where it may manifest itself as a malware infiltration.

Keywords: supply chain, cybersecurity, maturity model, risk, smart grid

Procedia PDF Downloads 114

Authors: Manisha Choudhary, Sudarsan Neogi

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Malachite green (MG), an organic basic dye, has been widely used for the dyeing purpose, as well as a fungicide and antiseptic in aquaculture industry to control fish parasites and disease. However, MG has now turned out to be an extremely controversial compound due to its adverse impact on living beings. Due to high toxicity, proper treatment of wastewater containing MG is utmost important. Among different available technologies, adsorption process is one of the most efficient and cost-effective treatment method due to its simplicity of design, ease of operation and regeneration of used materials. Nonetheless, commercial activated carbon is expensive leading the researchers to focus on utilizing natural resources. In the present work, a species of cactus, Opuntia ficus-indica (OFI), was used to develop a highly efficient, low-cost powdered activated carbon by chemical activation using NaOH. The biosorbent was characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscope, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) and X-ray diffraction analysis. Batch adsorption studies were performed to remove MG from an aqueous solution as a function of contact time, initial solution pH, initial dye concentration, biosorbent dosages, the presence of salt and temperature. By increasing the initial dye concentration from 100 to 500 mg/l, adsorption capacity increased from 165.45 to 831.58 mg/g. The adsorption kinetics followed the pseudo-second-order model and the chemisorption mechanisms were revealed. The electrostatic attractions and chemical interactions were observed between amino and hydroxyl groups of the biosorbent and amine groups of the dye. The adsorption was solely controlled by film diffusion. Different isotherm models were used to fit the adsorption data. The excellent recovery of adsorption efficiency after the regeneration of biosorbent indicated the high potential of this adsorbent to remove MG from aqueous solution and an excellent cost-effective biosorbent for wide application in wastewater treatment.

Keywords: adsorption, biosorbent, cactus, malachite green

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