Search results for: inorganic nanotubes

Authors: Babak Sadeghi, Parisa Ghayomipour

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ZnO/Ag nanocomposites coated with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) were prepared by chemical reduction method, for anti-infection biomaterial application. There is a growing interest in attempts in using biomolecular as the templates to grow inorganic nanocomposites in controlled morphology and structure. By optimizing the experiment conditions, we successfully fabricated high yield of ZnO/Ag nanocomposite with full coverage of high-density polyvinyl chloride (PVC) coating. More importantly, ZnO/Ag nanocomposites were shown to significantly inhibit the growth of S. aureus in solution. It was further shown that ZnO/Ag nanocomposites induced thiol depletion that caused death of S. aureus. The coatings were fully characterized using techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Most importantly, compared to uncoated metals, the coatings on PVC promoted healthy antibacterial activity. Importantly, compared to ZnO-Ag -uncoated PVC, the ZnO/Ag nanocomposites coated was approximately triplet more effective in preventing bacteria attachment. The result of Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) indicates that, the ZnO/Ag nanocomposites are chemically stable in the temperature range from 50 to 900 ºC. This result, for the first time, demonstrates the potential of using ZnO/Ag nanocomposites as a coating material for numerous anti-bacterial applications.

Keywords: nanocomposites, antibacterial activity, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD)

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Authors: Nadeem Qaiser, Sherjeel Munsif Khan, Muhammad Mustafa Hussian, Vincent Tung

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One of the emerging fields in the detection of chronic diseases is based on the point-of-care (POC) early monitoring of the symptoms and thus provides a state-of-the-art personalized healthcare system. Nowadays, wearable and flexible sensors are being used for analyzing sweat, glucose, blood pressure, and other skin conditions. However, localized jaw-bone swelling called parotid-swelling caused by some viruses has never been tracked before. To track physical motion or deformations, strain sensors, especially piezoresistive ones, are widely used. This work, for the first time, reports carbon nanotubes (CNTs)-based piezoresistive sensing patch that is highly flexible and stretchable and can record muscle deformations in real-time. The developed patch offers an excellent gauge factor for in-plane stretching and spatial expansion with low hysteresis. To calibrate the volumetric muscle expansion, we fabricated the pneumatic actuator that experienced volumetric expansion and thus redefined the gauge factor. Moreover, we employ a Bluetooth-low-energy system that can send information about muscle activity in real-time to a smartphone app. We utilized COMSOL calculations to reveal the mechanical robustness of the patch. The experiments showed the sensing patch's greater cyclability, making it a patch for personal healthcare and an excellent choice for monitoring the real-time POC monitoring of the human muscle swelling.

Keywords: piezoresistive strain sensor, FEM simulations, CNTs sensor, flexible

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Authors: Kwangwon Seo, Haksoo Han

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Al-Si was synthesized and introduced in poly 2,2’-m-(phenylene)-5,5’-bibenzimidazole (PBI). As a result, a series of five Al-Si/PBI composite (ASPBI) membranes (0, 3, 6, 9, and 12 wt.%) were developed and characterized for application in high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (HT-PEMFCs). The chemical and morphological structure of ASPBI membranes were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometer and scanning electron microscopy. According to the doping level test and thermogravimetric analysis, as the concentration of Al-Si increased, the doping level increased up to 475%. Moreover, the proton conductivity, current density at 0.6V, and maximum power density of ASPBI membranes increased up to 0.31 Scm-1, 0.320 Acm-2, and 0.370 Wcm-2, respectively, because the increased concentration of Al-Si allows the membranes to hold more PA. Alternatively, as the amount of Al-Si increased, the tensile strength of PA-doped and -undoped membranes decreased. This was resulted by both excess PA and aggregation, which can cause serious degradation of the membrane and induce cracks. Moreover, the PA-doped and -undoped ASPBI12 had the lowest tensile strength. The improved performances of ASPBI membranes imply that ASPBI membranes are possible candidates for HT-PEMFC applications. However, further studies searching to improve the compatibility between PBI matrix and inorganic and optimize the loading of Al-Si should be performed.

Keywords: composite membrane, high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell, membrane electrode assembly, polybenzimidazole, polymer electrolyte membrane, proton conductivity

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Authors: Chayonnat Thanamun, Kreangkrai Maneeintr

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For petroleum industry, polymer flooding is the one of the main methods in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) that is used water-soluble polymer such as partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) to increase oil production. It is added to the flooding water to improve the mobility ratio in the flooding process. During the polymer flooding process, water is produced as a by-product along with oil and gas production. This produced water is a mixture of inorganic and organic compound. Moreover, produced water is more difficult to treat than that from water flooding. In this work, the effect of HPAM residue on the wastewater treatment from polymer flooding is studied. Polyaluminium chloride (PAC) is selected to use as a flocculant. Therefore, the objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of polymer residues in produced water on the wastewater treatment by using PAC. The operating parameters of this study are flocculant dosage ranging from 300,400 and 500 mg/L temperature from 30-50 Celsius degree and HPAM concentrations from 500, 1000 and 2000 mg/L. Furthermore, the turbidity, as well as total suspended solids (TSS), are also studied. The results indicated that with an increase in HPAM concentration, the TSS and turbidity increase gradually with the increasing of coagulant dosage under the same temperature. Also, the coagulation-flocculation performance is improved with the increasing temperature. This can be applied to use in the wastewater treatment from oil production before this water can be injected back to the reservoir.

Keywords: wastewater treatment, petroleum production, polyaluminium chloride, polyacrylamide

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Authors: Mohamed Izzharif Abdul Halim, Niamh Nic Daeid

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Determining the source of pen inks used on a variety of documents is impartial for forensic document examiners. The examination of inks is often performed to differentiate between inks in order to evaluate the authenticity of a document. A ballpoint pen ink consists of synthetic dyes in (acidic and/or basic), pigments (organic and/or inorganic) and a range of additives. Inks of similar color may consist of different composition and are frequently the subjects of forensic examinations. This study emphasizes on blue ballpoint pen inks available in the market because it is reported that approximately 80% of questioned documents analysis involving ballpoint pen ink. Analytical techniques such as thin layer chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography, UV-vis spectroscopy, luminescence spectroscopy and infrared spectroscopy have been used in the analysis of ink samples. In this study, application of Diamond Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR) FTIR is straightforward but preferable in forensic science as it offers no sample preparation and minimal analysis time. The data obtained from these techniques were further analyzed using multivariate chemometric methods which enable extraction of more information based on the similarities and differences among samples in a dataset. It was indicated that some pens from the same manufactures can be similar in composition, however, discrete types can be significantly different.

Keywords: ATR FTIR, ballpoint, multivariate chemometric, PCA

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Authors: F. Javier Benitez, Juan L. Acero, Francisco J. Real, Elena Rodriguez

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Five selected pollutants which are frequently present in waters and wastewaters have been degraded by the advanced oxidation process constituted by UV radiation activated with the additional presence of persulfate (UV/PS). These pollutants were 1H-benzotriazole (BZ), N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide or DEET (DT), chlorophene (CP), 3-methylindole (ML), and nortriptyline hydrochloride (NH).While UV radiation alone almost not degraded these substances, the addition of PS generated the very reactive and oxidizing sulfate radical SO₄⁻. The kinetic study provided the second order rate constants for the reaction between this radical and each pollutant. An increasing dose of PS led to an increase in the degradation rate, being the highest results obtained at near neutral pH. Several water matrices were tested, and the presence of bicarbonate showed different effects: a decrease in the elimination of DT, BZ, and NH; and an increase in the oxidation of CP and ML. The additional presence of humic acids (AH) decreased this degradation, because of several effects: light screening and radical scavenging. The presence of several natural substances in waters (both types, inorganic and organic matter) usually diminishes the oxidation rates of organic pollutants, but this combination UV/PS process seems to be an efficient solution for the removal of the selected contaminants when are present in contaminated waters.

Keywords: water purification, UV activated persulfate, kinetic study, sulfate radicals

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Authors: R. Tajau, R. Rohani, M. S. Alias, N. H. Mudri, K. A. Abdul Halim, M. H. Harun, N. Mat Isa, R. Che Ismail, S. Muhammad Faisal, M. Talib, M. R. Mohamed Zin

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Bio-based polymeric materials are increasingly used for a variety of applications, including surface coating, drug delivery systems, and tissue engineering. These polymeric materials are ideal for the aforementioned applications because they are derived from natural resources, non-toxic, low-cost, biocompatible, and biodegradable, and have promising thermal and mechanical properties. The nature of hydrocarbon chains, carbon double bonds, and ester bonds allows various sources of oil (edible), such as soy, sunflower, olive, and oil palm, to fine-tune their particular structures in the development of innovative materials. Palm oil can be the most eminent raw material used for manufacturing new and advanced natural polymeric materials involving radiation techniques, such as coating resins, nanoparticles, scaffold, nanotubes, nanocomposites, and lithography for different branches of the industry in countries where oil palm is abundant. The radiation technique is among the most versatile, cost-effective, simple, and effective methods. Crosslinking, reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT), polymerisation, grafting, and degradation are among the radiation mechanisms. Exposure to gamma, EB, UV, or laser irradiation, which are commonly used in the development of polymeric materials, is used in these mechanisms. Therefore, this review focuses on current radiation processing technologies for the development of various radiation-curable bio-based polymeric materials with a promising future in biomedical and industrial applications. The key focus of this review is on radiation curable palm oil-based products, which have been published frequently in recent studies.

Keywords: palm oil, radiation processing, surface coatings, VOC

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Authors: Ayodeji O. Falade, Leonard V. Mabinya, Uchechukwu U. Nwodo, Anthony I. Okoh

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Given the high-utility of peroxidase, its production in large amount is of utmost importance. Over the years, actinomycetes have been the major peroxidase-producing bacteria. Consequently, other classes of bacteria with peroxidase production potentials are underexplored. This study, therefore, sought to enhance peroxidase production by a Raoultella species, a new ligninolytic proteobacteria strain, by determining the optimum culture conditions (initial pH, incubation temperature and agitation speed) for peroxidase production under submerged fermentation using the classical process of one variable at a time and supplementing the fermentation medium with some lignin model and inorganic nitrogen compounds. Subsequently, the time-course assay was carried out under optimized conditions. Then, some agricultural residues were valorized for peroxidase production under solid state fermentation. Peroxidase production was optimal at initial pH 5, incubation temperature of 35 °C and agitation speed of 150 rpm with guaiacol and ammonium chloride as the best inducer and nitrogen supplement respectively. Peroxidase production by the Raoultella species was optimal at 72 h with specific productivity of 16.48 ± 0.89 U mg⁻¹. A simultaneous production of a non-peroxide dependent extracellular enzyme which suggests probable laccase production was observed with specific productivity of 13.63 ± 0.45 U mg⁻¹ while sawdust gave the best peroxidase yield under solid state fermentation. In conclusion, peroxidase production by the Raoultella species was increased by 3.40-fold.

Keywords: enzyme production, ligninolytic bacteria, peroxidase, proteobacteria

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Authors: Zihua Wu, Yueming He, Xiaoxiao Yu, Yuanyuan Wang, Huaqing Xie

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The match of Solar thermoelectric generator (STEG) and phase change materials (PCM) can enhance the solar energy storage and reduce environmental impact from the day-and-night transformation and weather changes. This work utilizes D-mannitol (DM) matrix as the suitable PCM for coupling with thermoelectric generator to achieve the middle-temperature solar energy storage performance at 165℃-167℃. DM/MWCNT composite phase change materials prepared by ball milling not only can keep a high phase change enthalpy of DM material but also have great photo-thermal conversion efficiency of 82%. Based on the self-made storage device container, the effect of PCM thickness on the solar energy storage performance is further discussed and analyzed. The experimental results prove that PCM-STEG coupling system can output more electric energy than pure STEG system because PCM can decline the heat transfer and storage thermal energy to further generate the electric energy through thermal-to-electric conversion when the light is removed. The increase of PCM thickness can reduce the heat transfer and enhance thermal storage, and then the power generation performance of PCM-STEG coupling system can be improved. As the increase of light intensity, the output electric energy of the coupling system rises accordingly, and the maximum amount of electrical energy can reach by 113.85 J at 1.6 W/cm2. The study of the PCM-STEG coupling system has certain reference for the development of solar energy storage and application.

Keywords: solar energy, solar thermoelectric generator, phase change materials, solar-to-electric energy, DM/MWCNT

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Authors: Friday Godwin Okibe, Christian Chinweuba Onoyima, Edith Bolanle Agbaji, Victor Olatunji Ajibola

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Polymer-inorganic nanocomposites are presently impacting diverse areas, specifically in biomedical sciences. In this research, hydroxyapatite-sodium alginate has been prepared, and characterized, with emphasis on the influence of sodium alginate on its characteristics. In situ wet chemical precipitation method was used in the preparation. The prepared nanocomposite was characterized with Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), with image analysis, and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). The FTIR study shows peaks characteristics of hydroxyapatite and confirmed formation of the nanocomposite via chemical interaction between sodium alginate and hydroxyapatite. Image analysis shows the nanocomposites to be of irregular morphologies which did not show significant change with increasing sodium alginate addition, while particle size decreased with increase in sodium alginate addition (359.46 nm to 109.98 nm). From the XRD data, both the crystallite size and degree of crystallinity also decreased with increasing sodium alginate composition (32.36 nm to 9.47 nm and 72.87% to 1.82% respectively), while the specific surface area and microstrain increased with increasing sodium alginate composition (0.0041 to 0.0139 and 58.99 m²/g to 201.58 m²/g respectively). The results show that the formulation with 50%wt of sodium alginate (HASA-50%wt), possess exceptional characteristics for biomedical applications such as drug delivery.

Keywords: nanocomposite, sodium alginate, hydroxyapatite, biomedical, FTIR, XRD, SEM

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Authors: M. G. Mostafa, Manjushree Chowdhury, Tapan Kumar Biswas, , Ananda Kumar Saha

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This study focused on effluents characterization and treatment process to reduce of toxicity from tannery effluents. Tanning industry is one of the oldest industries in the world. It is typically characterized as pollutants generated industries which produce wide varieties of high strength toxic chemicals. The study was conducted during the year 2008 to 2009 and the tannery effluents were collected three times in a year from the outlet of some selected leather industries located in Hagaribagh industrial zone Dhaka, Bangladesh. The analysis results of the raw effluents reveal that the effluents were yellowish-brown color, having basic pH, very high value of BOD5¬¬, COD, TDS, TSS, TS, and high concentrations of Cr, Na, SO42-, Cl- and other organic and inorganic constituents. The tannery effluents were treated with various doses of FeCl3 after settling and a subsequent filtration through sand-stone. The study observed that coagulant (FeCl3) 150 mg/L dose around neutral pH showed the best removal efficiency for major physico-chemical parameters. The analysis results of illustrate that the most of the physical and chemical parameters were found well below the prescribed permissible limits for effluent discharged. The study suggests that tannery effluents could be treated by a combined process consisting of settling, filtering and coagulating with FeCl3.

Keywords: characterization, effluent, tannery, treatment

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Authors: Ayat N. El-Shazly, Dina Magdy Abdo, Hamdy Maamoun Abdel-Ghafar, Xiangju Song, Heqing Jiang

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Product water recovery and draw solution (DS) reuse is the most energy-intensive stage in forwarding osmosis (FO) technology. Sucrose solution is the most suitable DS for FO application in food and beverages. However, sucrose DS recovery by conventional pressure-driven or thermal-driven concentration techniques consumes high energy. Herein, we developed a spontaneous and sustainable solar-driven evaporation process based on a photothermal membrane for the concentration and recovery of sucrose solution. The photothermal membrane is composed of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (f-MWCNTs)photothermal layer on a hydrophilic polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) substrate. The f-MWCNTs photothermal layer with a rough surface and interconnected network structures not only improves the light-harvesting and light-to-heat conversion performance but also facilitates the transport of water molecules. The hydrophilic PVDF substrate can promote the rapid transport of water for adequate water supply to the photothermal layer. As a result, the optimized f-MWCNTs/PVDF photothermal membrane exhibits an excellent light absorption of 95%, and a high surface temperature of 74 °C at 1 kW m−2 . Besides, it realizes an evaporation rate of 1.17 kg m−2 h−1 for 5% (w/v) of sucrose solution, which is about 5 times higher than that of the natural evaporation. The designed photothermal evaporation process is capable of concentrating sucrose solution efficiently from 5% to 75% (w/v), which has great potential in FO process and juice concentration.

Keywords: solar, pothothermal, membrane, MWCNT

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Authors: László Forró

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The organolead halide perovskite CH3NH3PbI3 and its derivatives are known to be very efficient light harvesters revolutionizing the field of solid-state solar cells. The major research area in this field is photovoltaic device engineering although other applications are being explored, as well. Recently, we have shown that nanowires of this photovoltaic perovskite can be synthesized which in association with carbon nanostructures (carbon nanotubes and graphene) make outstanding composites with rapid and strong photo-response. They can serve as conducting electrodes, or as central components of detectors. The performance of several miniature devices based on these composite structures will be demonstrated. Our latest findings on the guided growth of perovskite nanowires by solvatomorph graphoepitaxy will be presented. This method turned out to be a fairly simple approach to overcome the spatially random surface nucleation. The process allows the synthesis of extremely long (centimeters) and thin (a few nanometers) nanowires with a morphology defined by the shape of nanostructured open fluidic channels. This low-temperature solution-growth method could open up an entirely new spectrum of architectural designs of organometallic-halide-perovskite-based heterojunctions and tandem solar cells, LEDs and other optoelectronic devices. Acknowledgment: This work is done in collaboration with Endre Horvath, Massimo Spina, Alla Arakcheeva, Balint Nafradi, Eric Bonvin1, Andrzej Sienkievicz, Zsolt Szekrenyes, Hajnalka Tohati, Katalin Kamaras, Eduard Tutis, Laszlo Mihaly and Karoly Holczer The research is supported by the ERC Advanced Grant (PICOPROP670918).

Keywords: photovoltaics, perovskite, nanowire, photodetector

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Authors: Amthal Al-Gailani, Olujide Sanni, Thibaut Charpentier, Anne Neville

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Formation of inorganic scale on heat transfer surfaces is a serious problem encountered in industrial, commercial, and domestic heat exchangers and systems. Several industries use potable/groundwater sources such as rivers, lakes, and oceans to use water as a working fluid in heat exchangers and steamers. As potable/surface water contains diverse salt ionic species, the scaling kinetics and deposit morphology are expected to be different from those found in artificially hardened solutions. In this work, scale formation on the heat transfer surfaces from potable water has been studied using a once-through open flow cell under atmospheric pressure. The surface scaling mechanism and deposit morphology are investigated at high surface temperature. Thus the water evaporation process has to be considered. The effect of surface temperature, flow rate, and inhibitor deployment on the thermal resistance and morphology of the scale have been investigated. The study findings show how an increase in surface temperature enhances the crystallization reaction kinetics on the surface. There is an increase in the amount of scale and the resistance to heat transfer. The fluid flow rate also increases the fouling resistance and the thickness of the scale layer.

Keywords: fouling, heat exchanger, thermal resistance, crystallization, potable water

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Authors: Lynda Golea, Rachid Chebaki

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Schiff bases contain heterocyclic structural units with N and O donor atoms which plays an important role in coordination chemistry. Azomethine groups are a broad class of widely used compounds with applications in many fields, including analytical, inorganic chemistry and biological. Schiff's base is of promising research interest due to the widespread antibacterial resistance in medical science. In addition, the research is essential to generate Schiff base metal complexes with various applications. Schiff complexes have been used as drugs and have antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory properties. The various donor atoms they contain offer a special ability for metal binding. In this research on the physicochemical properties of azomethine groups, we synthesized and studied the Schiff base compounds by a condensation reaction of tryptamines and acetophenone in ethanol. The structure of the prepared compound was interpreted using 1H NMR, 13C NMR, UV-vis and FT-IR. A computational analysis at the level of DFT with functional B3LYP in conjunction with the base 6-311+G (d, p) was conducted to study its electronic and molecular structure. The biological study was performed on three bacterial strains usually causing infection, including Gram-positive and Gram-negative, for antibacterial activity. Results showed moderate biological activity and proportional activity with increasing concentration.

Keywords: azomethine, HOMO, LUMO, RMN, molecular docking

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Authors: H. Beisch, J. Marx, S. Garlof, R. Shvets, I. I. Grygorchak, A. Kityk, B. Fiedler

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Carbon materials, especially three-dimensional carbon foams, show very high potential in the application as electrode material for energy storage systems such as batteries and supercapacitors with unique fast charging and discharging times. Regarding their high specific surface areas (SSA) high specific capacities can be reached. Globugraphite is a newly developed carbon foam with an interconnected globular carbon morphology. Especially, this foam has a statistically distributed hierarchical pore structure resulting from the manufacturing process based on sintered ceramic templates which are synthetized during a final chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process. For morphology characterization scanning electron (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is used. In addition, the SSA is carried out by nitrogen adsorption combined with the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) theory. Electrochemical measurements in organic and inorganic electrolyte provide high energy densities and power densities resulting from ion absorption by forming an electrochemical double layer. All values are summarized in a Ragone Diagram. Finally, power densities up to 833 W/kg and energy densities up to 48 Wh/kg could be achieved. The corresponding SSA is between 376 m²/g and 859 m²/g. For organic electrolyte a specific capacity of 71 F/g at a density of 20 mg/cm³ was achieved.

Keywords: BET, CVD process, electron microscopy, Ragone diagram

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Authors: Kehinde T. Kareem

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The need to increase the production of cucumber has led to the use of inorganic fertilizers. This chemical affects the ecological balance of nature by increasing the nitrogen and phosphorus contents of the soil. Surface runoffs into rivers and streams cause eutrophication which affects aquatic organisms as well as the consumers of aquatic animals. Therefore, this study was carried out in the screenhouse to investigate the use of a plant growth-promoting fungus; Trichoderma longibrachiatum for the growth promotion of conventional and in-vitro propagated Ashley and Marketmoor cucumber. Before planting of cucumber, spore suspension (108 cfu/ml) of Trichoderma longibrachiatum grown on Potato dextrose agar (PDA) was inoculated into the soil. Fruits were evaluated for the presence of Trichoderma longibrachiatum using a species-specific primer. Results revealed that the highest significant plant height produced by in-vitro propagated Ashley was 19 cm while the highest plant height of in-vitro propagated Marketmoor was 19.67 cm. The yield of the conventional propagated Ashley cucumber showed that the number of fruit/plant obtained from T. longibrachiatum-fertilized plants were significantly more than those of the control. The in-vitro Ashely had 7 fruits/plant while the control produced 4 fruits/plant. In-vitro Marketmoor had ten fruits/plant, and the control had a value of 4 fruits/plant. There were no traces of Trichoderma longibrachiatum genes in the harvested cucumber fruits. Therefore, the use of Trichoderma longibrachiatum as a plant growth-promoter is safe for human health as well as the environment.

Keywords: biofertilizer, cucumber, genes, growth-promoter, in-vitro, propagation

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Authors: Ningombam Linthoingambi Devi, Amrendra Kumar

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The long term sampling at one of the most populated city in Indo-Gangetic region shows higher mass concentration of atmospheric aerosol (PM₂.₅) during spring season (144.70µg/m³), summer season (91.96 µg/m³), the autumn season (266.48µg/m³) and winter season (367.09 µg/m³) respectively. The concentration of PM₂.₅ in Patna across the year shows much higher than the limit fixed by the national ambient air quality level fixed by central pollution control board India (CPCB, India) and World Health Organization (WHO). Different water-soluble cation (Na⁺, K⁺, Ca²⁺, NH₄⁺ , and Mg²⁺) and anion (Cl⁻, NO₃⁻ , and SO₄²⁻) species were detected in PM₂.₅. Results show the significantly higher loaded of water-soluble ions during winter and spring seasons. The acidity of the atmosphere was revealed and calculated using selected major cations (K⁺, Ca²⁺ , and NH₄⁺) and anions (SO₄²⁻, and NO₃⁻). A regression correlation was analyzed to check the significant linkage between the acidity and alkalinity ions. During the winter season (r² = 0.79) and spring season (r² = 0.64) shows good significant correlation between the cations and anions. The ratio of NO₃⁻/SO₄²⁻ indicates the sources of secondary pollutants were mainly influenced by industrial and vehicular emission however SO₄²⁻ mostly emitted from industries during the winter season.

Keywords: aerosols, inorganic species, source apportionment, Indo-Gangetic region

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Authors: Ge Cui, Mei Fang Chien, Chihiro Inoue

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In this research, enrichment culture using an inorganic liquid medium collected soil contaminated with 1,2-dichlorobenzene (1,2-DCB) in Sendai, Japan, was added 1,2-DCB as the sole carbon source to create a stable consortium. The purpose of this research is to analysis dominant microorganisms in the stable consortium and enzyme system which play a role in the degradation of DCBs. The consortium is now at 30 generation and is still being cultured. By the result of PCR-DGGE and clone library, two bacteria are dominant. The bacteria named sk1 was isolated. 40mg/l of 1,2-DCB and 40mg/l of 1,4-DCB were completely degraded after 32 hours and 50 hours, respectively, but no degradation occurred in the case of 1,3-DCB. By PCR, tecA1 (α-subunit of DCB dioxygenase) gene which plays a role degrading DCB to DCB dihydrodiol, and tecB (dehydrogenase) gene which plays a role degrading DCB dihydrodiol to dichlorocatechol were amplified from strain sk1. Bacteria named sk100 was also isolated. 40mg/l of 1,2-DCB was completely degraded after 32 hours, but no degradation occurred in case of 1,3-DCB and 1,4-DCB. By the result of the catalytic core region of dioxygenase amplified by PCR, gene played a role degrading DCB was analyzed. The results of this study concluded that the isolated strains which have not been reported are able to degrade 1,2-DCB stably, and the characterization of degradation and the genomic analysis which is now in progress is helpful to have an overall view of this microbial degradation.

Keywords: DCB, 1, 2-DCB degrading strains, DCB dioxygenase, enrichment culture

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Authors: Mehdi Kazemi-Bonchenari, Esmaeil Manidari, Vahid Keshavarz

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This study was carried out to investigate the effects of increased level of sulfur by supplementing magnesium sulfate with or without biologically organic source in dairy cow close-up diets on dry matter intake (DMI) and some blood metabolites. The 24 multiparous close-up Holstein cows averaging body weight 687.94 kg and days until expected calving date 21.89 d were allocated in three different treatments (8 cows per each) in a completely randomized design. The first treatment (T1) has contained 0.21% sulfur (DM basis), the second treatment (T2) has contained 0.41% sulfur which entirely supplied through magnesium sulfate and the third treatment (T3) has contained 0.41% sulfur which supplied through combination of magnesium sulfate and an organic source of sulfur. All the cows were fed same diet after parturition until 21 d. The DMI for both pre-calving (P < 0.001) and post-calving was affected by treatments (P < 0.004) and T2 showed the lowest DMI among treatments. Among the blood metabolites, glucose, calcium, and copper were decreased in T2 (P < 0.05). However, blood concentrations of BHBA, NEFA, urea, CPK, and AST were increased in T2 (P < 0.05). The results of the present study indicate that although magnesium sulfate has negative effect on dairy cow health and performance, a combination of magnesium sulfate and biological organic source of sulfur in close-up diets could have positive effects on DMI and performance of Holstein dairy cows.

Keywords: organic sulfur, dairy cow, intake, blood metabolites

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Authors: Hubert Beisch, Janik Marx, Svenja Garlof, Roman Shvets, Ivan Grygorchak, Andriy Kityk, Bodo Fiedler

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Three-dimensional carbon materials can be used as electrode materials for energy storage systems such as batteries and supercapacitors. Fast charging and discharging times are realizable without reducing the performance due to aging processes. Furthermore high specific surface area (SSA) of three-dimensional carbon structures leads to high specific capacities. One newly developed carbon foam is Globugraphite. This interconnected globular carbon morphology with statistically distributed hierarchical pores is manufactured by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process from ceramic templates resulting from a sintering process. Via scanning electron (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the morphology is characterized. Moreover, the SSA was measured by the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) theory. Measurements of Globugraphite in an organic and inorganic electrolyte show high energy densities and power densities resulting from ion absorption by forming an electrochemical double layer. A comparison of the specific values is summarized in a Ragone diagram. Energy densities up to 48 Wh/kg and power densities to 833 W/kg could be achieved for an SSA from 376 m²/g to 859 m²/g. For organic electrolyte, a specific capacity of 100 F/g at a density of 20 mg/cm³ was achieved.

Keywords: BET, carbon foam, CVD process, electrochemical cell, Ragone diagram, SEM, TEM

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Authors: Shahid Iqbal, Haroon Z. Khan, Muhammad Arif

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A sustainable agricultural system involving the improvement in soil properties and crop performance cannot be developed without organic fertilizer use. The effects of poultry manure compost (PMC) and pressmud compost (PrMC) at different levels on improving the soil properties and maize performance has not been yet described by any study comprehensively. Thus, field experiments (2011 and 2012) were conducted at Agronomy Research Area, University of Agriculture Faisalabad (31°26'5" N and 73°4'6" E) in sandy loam soil to determine the improvement in soil properties and maize performance due to application of PMC and PrMC each at five different levels (2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 t ha-1). A control (unamended) treatment was also included for comparison. The results indicated that performance of PMC levels was superior to PrMC levels. Increasing both composts levels improved soil properties, maize growth, and stover yield. Results showed that during both years’ highest rates of PMC i.e. 10 and 8 t ha-1 improved the soil properties: ECe, pH, inorganic N, OM, and WHC higher than other treatments. While, 10 and 8 t PMC ha-1 also significantly increased leaf area index (LAI), crop growth rate (CGR) and net assimilation rate (NAR), and stover yield. Similarly, 10 and 8 t PMC ha-1 also improved the grain protein content, but contrarily, grain oil was lowest for 10 and 8 t ha-1 PMC during both years. Moreover, in both years highest gross and net income, and benefit cost ratio was also achieved by 10 and 8 t ha-1 PMC. It is concluded that PMC at rate of 10 and 8 t ha-1 sustainably improved soil properties and maize performance.

Keywords: compost, soil, maize, growth, yield

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Authors: Adnan Lanjawi

Abstract:

This paper is carried out to investigate the management of hazardous waste in the chemistry section which belongs to Dubai Police forensic laboratory. The chemicals are the main contributor toward the accumulation of hazardous waste in the section. This is due to the requirement to use it in analysis, such as of explosives, drugs, inorganic and fire debris cases. This leads to negative effects on the environment and to the employees’ health and safety. The research investigates the quantity of chemicals there, the labels, the storage room and equipment used. The target is to reduce the need for disposal by looking at alternative options, such as elimination, substitution and recycling. The data was collected by interviewing the top managers there who have been working in the lab more than 20 years. Also, data was collected by observing employees and how they carry out experiments. Therefore, a survey was made to assess their knowledge about the hazardous waste. The management of hazardous chemicals in the chemistry section needs to be improved. The main findings illustrate that about 110 bottles of reference substances were going to be disposed of in 2014. These bottles were bought for about 100,000 UAE Dirhams (£17,600). This means that the management of substances purchase is not organised. There is no categorisation programme in place, which makes the waste control very difficult. In addition, the findings show that chemical are segregated according to alphabetical order, whereas the efficient way is to separate them according to their nature and property. In addition, the research suggested technology and experiments to follow to reduce the need for using solvents and chemicals in the sample preparation.

Keywords: control, hazard, laboratories, waste,

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Authors: Xin Zhao

Abstract:

3D printing is used in creating bone grafts of various architectures by printing materials in a layer-by-layer manner. Traditionally, to make materials printable, heating up or dissolving materials in organic solvents have been used, compromising their capability in loading biomolecules. Photocrosslinkable materials which are initially liquid and printable, and solidified upon light exposure are therefore developed. However, the existing photocrosslinkable materials are either too soft to bear load or non-degradable with potential long-term biocompatibility problems. Here, photocrosslinkable nanocomposite ink is developed composed of poly (lactide-co-propylene glycol-co-lactide) dimethacrylate (PmLnDMA) and hydroxyethyl methacrylate-functionalized hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (nHAMA) mimicking the hairy setae of gecko that can strongly interact with its surroundings to bear high load. Incorporation of nHAMA into PmLnDMA endows the nanocomposite ink with several advantages in (1) improved organic/inorganic interfacial compatibility to increase mechanical strength, (2) readily modulated rheological behaviors, wettability, and biodegradation, (3) enhanced osteoconductivity and osteoinductivity. Moreover, the ink can be rapidly crosslinked upon light exposure, load, and long-term release growth factors, and be printed into 3D bone scaffolds of various shapes and structures according to the patients’ needs. Altogether, this innovation will benefit patients all over the world who suffer from bone fractures, tumors, infections.

Keywords: photocrosslinkable nanocomposite, 3D printing, bone ink, personalized medicine

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Authors: César Oliveira, Ana M. S. Bettencourt, Luciano Vilas Boas, Luís Gonçalves, Carlo Bottaini

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Funerary megalithic monuments are probably under the most remarkable remains of the Neolithic period of western Europe. Some monuments are well known for their paintings, sometimes associated with engraved motifs, giving the funerary crypts a character of great symbolic value. The engraved and painted motifs, the colors used in the paintings, and the offerings associated with the deposited corpses are archaeological data that, being part of the funeral rites, also reveal the ideological world of these communities and their way of interacting with the world. In this sense, the choice of colors to be used in the paintings, the pigments collected, and the proceeds for making the paints would also be significant performances. The present study will focus on the characterization of painted art from megalithic monuments located in different areas of North-Western Portugal (coastal and inland). The colorant composition of megalithic barrows decorated with rock art motifs was studied using a multi-analytical approach (XRD, SEM-EDS, FTIR, and GC-MS), allowing the characterization of the painting techniques, pigments, and the organic compounds used as binders. Some analyses revealed that the pigments used for painting were produced using a collection of mined or quarried organic and inorganic substances. The results will be analyzed from the perspective of contingencies and regularity among the different case studies in order to interpret more or less standardized behaviors.

Keywords: funerary megalithic monuments, painting motifs, archaeometrical studies, Northwest Iberia, behaviors

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Authors: Sumbul Farhat, Pratyay Vaibhav, Sarah Jain, Kapinder Kumar, Archna Kumar

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The Diamondback Moth, Plutella xylostella (Linnaeus), is a major pest of cole crops that causes approximately 50% loss in global production. The utilization of inorganic pesticides is reflected in the development of resistance to this pest. Thus, there is a great need for an eco-friendly, sustainable strategy for the control of this pest. Although this pest, several natural enemies are reported worldwide, none of them can control it efficiently. Therefore, a proposed study is planned to understand the Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) mediated signaling interaction mechanism of the plant, pest, and natural enemy. For VOCs collection during different deployment stages of Cabbage POI, Green Ball, Pusa Cabbage, Cabbage Local, Snowball 16, Kanchan Plus, Pusa Meghna, Farm Sona Hybrid F1, and Samridhi F1 Hybrid, the Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) method was employed. Characterization of VOCs was conducted by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). The impact of collected VOCs was assessed through Y-Tube Bioassays. The results indicate that the Cabbage variety Green Ball shows maximum repellency for P. xylostella (-100%). The cues present in this variety may be exploited for efficient management of P. xylostella in the cole crop ecosystem.

Keywords: Plutella xylostella, cole crops, volatile organic compounds, GC-MS, Green Ball

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Authors: Alparslan A. Balta, Hilmi Yurdakul, Orkun Tunckan, Servet Turan, Arife Yurdakul

Abstract:

Si2N2O (Sinoite) is an inorganic-based oxynitride material that reveals promising phosphor candidates for white light-emitting diodes (WLEDs). However, there is now limited knowledge to explain the synthesis of Si2N2O for this purpose. Here, to the best of authors’ knowledge, we report the first time the production of Si2N2O based phosphors by CeO2, SiO2, Si3N4 from main starting powders, and Li2O sintering additive through spark plasma sintering (SPS) route. The processing parameters, e.g., pressure, temperature, and sintering time, were optimized to reach the monophase Si2N2O containing samples. The lattice parameter, crystallite size, and amount of formation phases were characterized in detail by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Grain morphology, particle size, and distribution were analyzed by scanning and transmission electron microscopes (SEM and TEM). Cathodoluminescence (CL) in SEM and photoluminescence (PL) analyses were conducted on the samples to determine the excitation, and emission characteristics of Ce3+ activated Si2N2O. Results showed that the Si2N2O phase in a maximum 90% ratio was obtained by sintering for 15 minutes at 1650oC under 30 MPa pressure. Based on the SEM-CL and PL measurements, Ce3+: Si2N2O phosphor shows a broad emission summit between 400-700 nm that corresponds to white light. The present research was supported by TUBITAK under project number 217M667.

Keywords: cerium, oxynitride, phosphors, sinoite, Si₂N₂O

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Authors: Mohammad Abdel Fattah Mohammad Kewisha

Abstract:

Microbial deterioration of ancient materials became one of the biggest problems facing the workers in the field of cultural heritage protection because the microbial deterioration of artifacts causes detrimental effects on the aesthetic value of the monuments due to colonization, whether they are made of inorganic materials such as stone or organic like wood, textiles, wall paintings, and paper. So, the early identification of the bacterial strains that caused deterioration is the most important point for the protection of monument objects. The present study focuses on the Bacillus spp. group, which was isolated from some biodeterioration monuments from different areas of Egypt. The investigated objects in this study were made from organic materials (cellulose), paper, textile, and wood. Isolated strains were identified up to the species level biochemically. Eleven bacterial isolates were obtained from collected samples. They were taken from different archaeological objects, four microbicides, cetrimonium bromide, sodium azide, tetraethyl ammonium bromide, and dichloroxylenol, at various concentrations ranging from 25 ppm to 500 ppm. They were screened for their antibacterial activity against the Bacillus spp. isolates, and detection of Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). It was also necessary to indicate the ideal Minimum inhibitory concentration for each strain for the purpose of biotreatment of the infected monuments with less damaging effect on monument materials.

Keywords: microbial deterioration, ancient materials, heritage protection, protection of monuments, biodeteriorative monuments

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Authors: T. R. Sreekrishnan, Mukesh Khare, Dinesh Upadhyay

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In a Rotating Biological Contactor (RBC), the biological film responsible for removal of pollutants is formed on the surface of discs. Evaluation studies of a pilot RBC designed to treat sewage of 150 persons with BOD Loading Rate: 8.2–26.7 g/m2/d, Discharge: 57.6 – 115.2 m3/day, HRT 1.25 – 2.5 hrs, at STP Yamuna Vihar Delhi. Removal of organic materials through use of fixed film reactors such as RBC is accomplished by means of a biological film on the fixed media. May and June in Delhi are dry summer months where the ambient temperature is in the range of 35oC to 45oC. July is a wet monsoon month that receives occasional precipitation, cloud cover, high humidity, with ambient temperature in the range of 30oC to 35oC. The organic and inorganic loads to the RBC employed in this study are actual city sewage conditions. Average in fluent BOD concentrations have been 330 mg/l, 245 mg/l and 160 mg/l and the average COD concentrations have been 670 mg/l, 500 mg/l, and 275 mg/l. The city sewage also has high concentration of ammonia, phosphorous, total suspended solids (TSS). pH of the city sewage is near neutral. Overall, the substrate conditions of city sewage are conducive for biological treatment though aerobic process. The presentation is a part of the ongoing collaborative research initiative between IIT Delhi and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany which is going on for last 15 years or so in the treatment of sewage waste of Delhi using semi-decentralized treatment system based on Rotating Biological Contactor.

Keywords: Rotating Biological Contactor (RBC), COD, BOD, HRT, STP

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Authors: Maliheh Raji, Hossein Abolghasemi, Jaber Safdari, Ali Kargari

Abstract:

Dysprosium is a rare earth element which is essential for many growing high-technology applications. Dysprosium along with neodymium plays a significant role in different applications such as metal halide lamps, permanent magnets, and nuclear reactor control rods preparation. The purification and separation of rare earth elements are challenging because of their similar chemical and physical properties. Among the various methods, membrane processes provide many advantages over the conventional separation processes such as ion exchange and solvent extraction. In this work, selective extraction and separation of dysprosium from aqueous solutions containing an equimolar mixture of dysprosium and neodymium by emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) was investigated. The organic membrane phase of the ELM was a nanofluid consisting of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT), Span80 as surfactant, Cyanex 272 as carrier, kerosene as base fluid, and nitric acid solution as internal aqueous phase. Factors affecting separation of dysprosium such as carrier concentration, MWCNT concentration, feed phase pH and stripping phase concentration were analyzed using Taguchi method. Optimal experimental condition was obtained using analysis of variance (ANOVA) after 10 min extraction. Based on the results, using MWCNT nanofluid in ELM process leads to increase the extraction due to higher stability of membrane and mass transfer enhancement and separation factor of 6 for dysprosium over neodymium can be achieved under the optimum conditions. Additionally, demulsification process was successfully performed and the membrane phase reused effectively in the optimum condition.

Keywords: emulsion liquid membrane, MWCNT nanofluid, separation, Taguchi method

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