Search results for: pharmaceutical compounds

Authors: S. Mat Radzi, W.A.F. Mustafa, S.S Othman, H.M. Noor

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Nowadays, butyl acetate, a pineapple flavor has been applied widely in food, beverage, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. In this study, Butyl acetate, a flavor ester was successfully synthesized via green synthesis of enzymatic reaction route. Commercial immobilized lipase from Rhizomucor miehei (Lipozyme RMIM) was used as biocatalyst in the esterification reaction between acetic acid and butanol. Various reaction parameters such as reaction time (RT), temperature (T) and amount of enzyme (E) were chosen to optimize the reaction synthesis in solvent-free system. The optimum condition to produce butyl acetate was at reaction time (RT), 18 hours; temperature (T), 37°C and amount of enzyme, 25 % (w/w of total substrate). Analysis of yield showed that at optimum condition, >78 % of butyl acetate was produced. The product was confirmed as butyl acetate from FTIR analysis whereby the presence of an ester group was observed at wavenumber of 1742 cm-1.

Keywords: Butyl acetate, immobilized enyzme, esterification, flavor ester, green synthesis

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Authors: Chanin Park, Sundarapandian Thangapandian, Yuno Lee, Minky Son, Shalini John, Young-sik Sohn, Keun Woo Lee

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Hypertension is characterized with stress on the heart and blood vessels thus increasing the risk of heart attack and renal diseases. The Renin angiotensin system (RAS) plays a major role in blood pressure control. Renin is the enzyme that controls the RAS at the rate-limiting step. Our aim is to develop new drug-like leads which can inhibit renin and thereby emerge as therapeutics for hypertension. To achieve this, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation and receptor-based pharmacophore modeling were implemented, and three rennin-inhibitor complex structures were selected based on IC50 value and scaffolds of inhibitors. Three pharmacophore models were generated considering conformations induced by inhibitor. The compounds mapped to these models were selected and subjected to drug-like screening. The identified hits were docked into the active site of renin. Finally, hit1 satisfying the binding mode and interaction energy was selected as possible lead candidate to be used in novel renin inhibitors.

Keywords: Renin inhibitor, Molecular dynamics simulation, Structure-based pharmacophore modeling

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Authors: Hamad N. Altalyan, Brian G. Jones, John Bradd

Abstract:

A comprehensive study was conducted to examine the removal of inorganic contaminants that exist in surface and groundwater in the Illawarra and Sydney regions. The ability of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT), as a generation of membrane technology, was examined using a dead-end filtration cell setup. A set of ten compounds were examined in this study that represent the significant inorganic cations and anions commonly found in contaminated surface and groundwater. The performance of MWCNT buckypaper membranes in excluding anions was found to be better than that of its cation exclusion. This phenomenon can be attributed to the Donnan exclusion mechanism (charge repulsion mechanism). Furthermore, the results revealed that phosphate recorded the highest exclusion value reaching 69.2%, whereas the lowest rejection value was for potassium where no removal occurred (0%). The reason for this is that the molecular weight of phosphate (95.0 g/mol) is greater than the molecular weight of potassium (39.10 g/mol).

Keywords: Nanotechnology, buckypaper, carbon nanotube, CNT, multi-walled carbon nanotube, MWCNT, Botany Bay, Russell Vale.

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Authors: Hen Friman

Abstract:

Various categories of aqueous solutions are discharged within residential, institutional, commercial, and industrial structures. To safeguard public health and preserve the environment, it is imperative to subject wastewater to treatment processes that eliminate pathogens (such as bacteria and viruses), nutrients (such as nitrogen and phosphorus), and other compounds. Failure to address untreated sewage accumulation can result in an array of adverse consequences. Israel exemplifies a special case in wastewater management. Appropriate wastewater treatment significantly benefits sectors such as agriculture, tourism, horticulture, and industry. Nevertheless, untreated sewage in settlements lacking proper sewage collection or transportation networks remains an ongoing and substantial threat. Notably, the process of wastewater treatment entails substantial energy consumption. Consequently, this study explores the integration of solar energy as a renewable power source within the wastewater treatment framework. By incorporating renewable energy sources into the process, costs can be minimized, and decentralized facilities can be established even in areas lacking adequate infrastructure for traditional treatment methods.

Keywords: Renewable energy, solar energy, decentralized facilities, wastewater treatment.

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Authors: Vu Thu Trang, Lam Xuan Thanh, Samira Sarter, Tomoko Shimamura, Hiroaki Takeuchi　

Abstract:

Antimicrobial activities of aminoreductone (AR), a product formed in the initial stage of Maillard reaction, were screened against pathogenic bacteria. A significant growth inhibition of AR against all 7 isolates (Staphylococcus aureus ATCC® 25923™, Salmonella typhimurium ATCC® 14028™, Bacillus cereus ATCC® 13061™, Bacillus subtilis ATCC® 11774™, Escherichia coli ATCC® 25922™, Enterococcus faecalis ATCC® 29212™, Listeria innocua ATCC® 33090™) were observed by the standard disc diffusion methods. The inhibition zone for each isolate by AR (2.5 mg) ranged from 15±0mm to 28.3±0.4mm in diameter. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of AR ranging from 20mM to 26mM was proven in the 7 isolates tested. AR also showed the similar effect of growth inhibition in comparison with antibiotics frequently used for the treatment of infections bacteria, such as amikacin, ciprofloxacin, meropennem and levofloxacin. The results indicated that foods containing AR are valuable sources of bioactive compounds towards pathogenic bacteria.

Keywords: Pathogenic bacteria, aminoreductone, Maillard reaction, antimicrobial activity.

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Authors: K. Anusarn, P. Chuttrakul, M. Schmidt, T. Kangsadan, A. Pfennig

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Liquid-liquid extraction is a process using two immiscible liquids to extract compounds from one phase without high temperature requirement. Mostly, the technical implementation of this process is carried out in mixer-settlers or extraction columns. In real chemical processes, chemicals may have high viscosity and contain impurities. These impurities may change the settling behavior of the process without measurably changing the physical properties of the phases. In the current study, the settling behavior and the affected parameters in a high-viscosity system were observed. Batchsettling experiments were performed to experimentally quantify the settling behavior and the mixer-settler model of Henschke [1] was used to evaluate the behavior of the toluene + water system. The viscosity of the system was increased by adding polyethylene glycol 4000 to the aqueous phase. NaCl and Na2SO4 were used to study the influence of electrolytes. The results from this study show that increasing the viscosity of water has a higher influence on the settling behavior in comparison to the effects of the electrolytes. It can be seen from the experiments that at high salt concentrations, there was no effect on the settling behavior.

Keywords: Coalescence; electrolytes; liquid-liquid separation; high viscosity; mixer- settler.

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Authors: Markus Link, Manfred Spraul, Hartmut Schaefer, Fang Fang, Birk Schuetz

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High Resolution NMR Spectroscopy offers unique screening capabilities for food quality and safety by combining non-targeted and targeted screening in one analysis.

The objective is to demonstrate, that due to its extreme reproducibility NMR can detect smallest changes in concentrations of many components in a mixture, which is best monitored by statistical evaluation however also delivers reliable quantification results.

The methodology typically uses a 400 MHz high resolution instrument under full automation after minimized sample preparation.

For example one fruit juice analysis in a push button operation takes at maximum 15 minutes and delivers a multitude of results, which are automatically summarized in a PDF report.

The method has been proven on fruit juices, where so far unknown frauds could be detected. In addition conventional targeted parameters are obtained in the same analysis. This technology has the advantage that NMR is completely quantitative and concentration calibration only has to be done once for all compounds. Since NMR is so reproducible, it is also transferable between different instruments (with same field strength) and laboratories. Based on strict SOP`s, statistical models developed once can be used on multiple instruments and strategies for compound identification and quantification are applicable as well across labs.

Keywords: Automated solution, NMR, non-targeted screening, targeted screening.

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Authors: Amer M. Momani, Abdulaziz A. Ahmed

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The many feasible alternatives and conflicting objectives make equipment selection in materials handling a complicated task. This paper presents utilizing Monte Carlo (MC) simulation combined with the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to evaluate and select the most appropriate Material Handling Equipment (MHE). The proposed hybrid model was built on the base of material handling equation to identify main and sub criteria critical to MHE selection. The criteria illustrate the properties of the material to be moved, characteristics of the move, and the means by which the materials will be moved. The use of MC simulation beside the AHP is very powerful where it allows the decision maker to represent his/her possible preference judgments as random variables. This will reduce the uncertainty of single point judgment at conventional AHP, and provide more confidence in the decision problem results. A small business pharmaceutical company is used as an example to illustrate the development and application of the proposed model.

Keywords: Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), Materialhandling equipment selection, Monte Carlo simulation, Multi-criteriadecision making

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Authors: Amira Shakila Razali, Faridah Lisa Supian, Muhammad Mat Salleh, Suraini Abu Bakar

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Water contamination by toxic compound is one of the serious environmental problems today. These toxic compounds mostly originated from industrial effluents, agriculture, natural sources and human waste. These studies focus on modification of multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNTs) with nanoparticle of calixarene and explore the possibility of using this modification for the remediation of cadmium in water. The nanocomposites were prepared by dissolving calixarene in chloroform solution as solvent, followed by additional multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNTs) then sonication process for 3 hour and fabricated the nanocomposites on substrate by spin coating method. Finally, the nanocomposites were tested on cadmium ion (10 mg/ml). The morphology of nanocomposites was investigated by FESEM showing the formation of calixarene on the outer walls of carbon nanotube and cadmium ion also clearly seen from the micrograph. This formation was supported by using energy dispersive x-ray (EDX). The presence of cadmium ions in the films, leads to some changes in the surface potential and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR).The nanocomposites MWCNTs-calixarene have potential for development of sensor for pollutant monitoring and nanoelectronics devices applications.

Keywords: Calixarene, Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes, Cadmium, Surface Potential.

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Authors: M. Mehani, N. Salhi, T. Valeria, S. Ladjel

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Red River Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) is a tree of the genus Eucalyptus widely distributed in Algeria and in the world. The value of its aromatic secondary metabolites offers new perspectives in the pharmaceutical industry. This strategy can contribute to the sustainable development of our country. Preliminary tests performed on the essential oil of Eucalyptus camendulensis showed that this oil has antibacterial activity vis-à-vis the bacterial strains (Enterococcus feacalis, Enterobacter cloaceai, Proteus microsilis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and antifungic (Fusarium sporotrichioide and Fusarium graminearum). The culture medium used was nutrient broth Muller Hinton. The interaction between the bacteria and the essential oil is expressed by a zone of inhibition with diameters of MIC indirectly expression of. And we used the PDA medium to determine the fungal activity. The extraction of the aromatic fraction (essentially oilhydrolat) of the fresh aerian part of the Eucalyptus camendulensis was performed by hydrodistillation. The average essential oil yield is 0.99%. The antimicrobial and fungal study of the essential oil and hydrosol showed a high inhibitory effect on the growth of pathogens.

Keywords: Essential oil, Eucalyptus camendulensis, bacteria and Fungi.

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Authors: Tahvilian R., Siahi Shadbad MR., Hamishehkar H., Aghababa Gharehbagh V.

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Nowadays pharmaceutical care departments located in hospitals are amongst the important pillars of the healthcare system. The aim of this study was to evaluate quality of hospital drugstores affiliated with Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences. In this cross-sectional study a validated questionnaire was used. The questionnaire was filled in by the one of the researchers in all seventeen hospital drugstores located in the teaching and nonteaching hospitals affiliated with Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences. The results shows that in observed hospitals,24% of pharmacy environments, 25% of pharmacy store and storage conditions, 49% of storage procedure, 25% of ordering drugs and supplies, 73% of receiving supplies (proper procedure are fallowed for receiving supplies), 35% of receiving supplies (prompt action taken if deterioration of drugs received is suspected), 23.35% of drugs delivery to patients and finally 0% of stock cards are used for proper inventory control have full compliance with standards.

Keywords: Hospital pharmacy standards, Kermanshah, pharmacy management

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Authors: Mahmoud A. Rabah

Abstract:

The present study shows a method to recover lead metal from wastewater of wet scrubber in secondary lead smelter. The wastewater is loaded with 42,000 ppm of insoluble lead compounds (TSP) submicron in diameter. The technical background benefits the use of cationic polyfloc solution to flocculate these colloidal solids before press filtration. The polymer solution is injected in the wastewater stream in a countercurrent flow design. The study demonstrates the effect of polymer dose, temperature, pH, flow velocity of the wastewater and different filtration media on the filtration extent. Results indicated that filtration rate (¦_r), quality of purified water, purifying efficiency (¦_e) and floc diameter decrease regularly with increase in mass flow rate and velocity up to turbulence of 0.5 m.sec^-1. Laminar flow is in favor of flocculation. Polyfloc concentration of 0.75 – 1.25 g/m³ wastewater is convenient. Increasing temperature of the wastewater and pneumatic pressure of filtration enhances ¦_r. High pH value deforms floc formation and assists degradation of the filtration fabric. The overall efficiency of the method amounts to 93.2 %. Lead metal was recovered from the filtrate cake using carbon as a reducing agent at 900°C.

Keywords: Wastewater, wet scrubbers, filtration, secondary lead.

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Authors: S. Mat Radzi, N. J. Abd Rahman, H. Mohd Noor, N. Ariffin

Abstract:

Ferulic acid has widespread industrial potential by virtue of its antioxidant properties. However, it is partially soluble in aqueous media, limiting their usefulness in oil-based processes in food, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and material industry. Therefore, modification of ferulic acid should be made by producing of more lipophilic derivatives. In this study, a preliminary investigation of lipase-catalyzed trans-esterification reaction of ethyl ferulate and olive oil was investigated. The reaction was catalyzed by immobilized lipase from Candida antarctica (Novozym 435), to produce ferulate ester, a sunscreen agent. A statistical approach of Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to evaluate the interactive effects of reaction temperature (40-80°C), reaction time (4-12 hours), and amount of enzyme (0.1-0.5 g). The optimum conditions derived via RSM were reaction temperature 60°C, reaction time 2.34 hours, and amount of enzyme 0.3 g. The actual experimental yield was 59.6% ferulate ester under optimum condition, which compared well to the maximum predicted value of 58.0%.

Keywords: Ferulic acid, Enzymatic Synthesis, Esters, RSM.

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Authors: K. Obikeze, P. Mugabo, I. Green, D. Dietrich, A. Burger

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Leonotisleonurus a shrub indigenous to Southern Africa is widely used in traditional medicine to treat a variety of conditions ranging from skin diseases and cough to epileptic fits and ‘heart problems’. Studies on the aqueous extract of the leaves have indicated cycloxegenase enzyme inhibitory activity and an antihypertensive effect. Five methanol leaf extract fractions (MLEa - MLEe) of L. leonurus were tested on anaesthetized normotensive male Wistar rats (AWR) and isolated perfused working rat hearts (IWH). Fraction MLEc (0.01mg/kg – 0.05mg/kg) induced significant increases in BP and HR in AWR and positive chronotropic and inotropic effects in IWH (1.0mg/ml – 5.0mg/ml). Pre-administration of atenolol (2.0mg/kg) and prazosin (60μg/kg) significantly inhibited MLEc effect on HR and MAP respectively in vivo, while atenolol (7.0mg/ml) pre-perfusion significantly inhibited MLEc effect in vitro. The hypertensive effect of MLEc is probably via β1agonism. Results also indicate the presence of multiple cardioactive compounds in L. leonurus.

Keywords: Cardiovascular effect, in vitro, in vivo, isolated perfused working heart, Leonotis leonurus, rat.

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Authors: Eleni Galiotou, Angela Ralli

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In this paper we propose a computational model for the representation and processing of morpho-phonological phenomena in a natural language, like Modern Greek. We aim at a unified treatment of inflection, compounding, and word-internal phonological changes, in a model that is used for both analysis and generation. After discussing certain difficulties cuase by well-known finitestate approaches, such as Koskenniemi-s two-level model [7] when applied to a computational treatment of compounding, we argue that a morphology-based model provides a more adequate account of word-internal phenomena. Contrary to the finite state approaches that cannot handle hierarchical word constituency in a satisfactory way, we propose a unification-based word grammar, as the nucleus of our strategy, which takes into consideration word representations that are based on affixation and [stem stem] or [stem word] compounds. In our formalism, feature-passing operations are formulated with the use of the unification device, and phonological rules modeling the correspondence between lexical and surface forms apply at morpheme boundaries. In the paper, examples from Modern Greek illustrate our approach. Morpheme structures, stress, and morphologically conditioned phoneme changes are analyzed and generated in a principled way.

Keywords: Morpho-Phonology, Natural Language Processing.

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Authors: Ferial M. Abu-Salem, Hayam M. Ibrahim

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Plants are rich sources of bioactive compounds. In this study the photochemical screening of hexane, ethanolic and aqueous extracts of roots and latex of jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis) plant revealed the presence of saponins, tannins, alkaloids, steroids and glycosides. Ethanolic extract was found to be richer in these metabolites than hexane, aqueous extracts and latex. The extracts and latex displayed effective antimicrobial activity against Salmonella typhimurium, Bacillus cereus, Clostridium perfringens, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Candida albicans and Aspergillus flavus. The increase in volume of the extracts and latex caused more activity, as shown by zones of inhibition. Candida albicans growth was inhibited only by hexane extract. Jojoba latex was not effective against Candida albicans at 0.1 and 0.5 ml extracts concentration but showed 5mm zone of inhibition at (1.0 ml). Lower volume (0.1ml) of latex encouraged Aspergillus flavus growth, while at (1.00 ml) reduced its mycelial growth. Thus, jojoba root extracts and latex can be of potential natural antimicrobial agents.

Keywords: Antimicrobial activity, Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis), latex, photochemical, root Extracts.

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Authors: Goreti Botelho, Filomena Gomes, Fernanda M. Ferreira, Ilda Caldeira

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The strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo L.) is a small tree or shrub from botanical Ericaceae family that grows spontaneously nearby the Mediterranean basin and produce edible red fruits. A traditional processed fruit application, in Mediterranean countries, is the production of a spirit (known as aguardente de medronho, in Portugal) obtained from the fermented fruit. The main objective of our study was to contribute to the knowledge about the influence of the degree of maturation of fruits in the volatile composition and quality of arbutus spirit. The major volatiles in the three distillates fractions (head, heart and tail) obtained from fermentation of two different fruit maturation levels were quantified by GC-FID analysis and ANOVA one-way was performed. Additionally, the total antioxidant capacity and total phenolic compounds of both arbutus fruit spirits were determined, by ABTS and Folin-Ciocalteau method, respectively. The methanol concentration is higher (1022.39 g/hL a.a.) in the spirit made from fruits with highest total soluble solids, which is a value above the legal limit (1000 g/hL a.a.). Overall, our study emphasizes, for the first time, the influence of maturation degree of arbutus fruits in the spirit volatile composition and quality.

Keywords: Arbutus fruit, maturation, quality, spirit.

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Authors: Gitimoni Deka, Krishna G Bhattacharyya

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The textile industry produces highly coloured effluents containing polar and non-polar compounds. The textile mill run by the Assam Polyester Co-operative Society Limited (APOL) is situated at Rangia, about 55 km from Guwahati (26011' N, 91047' E) in the northern bank of the river Brahmaputra, Assam (India). This unit was commissioned in June 1988 and started commercial production in November 1988. The installed capacity of the weaving unit was 8000 m/day and that of the processing unit was 20,000 m/day. The mill has its own dyeing unit with a capacity of 1500-2000 kg/day. The western side of the mill consists of vast agricultural land and the far northern and southern side of the mill has scattered human population. The eastern side of the mill has a major road for thoroughfare. The mill releases its effluents into the agricultural land in the western side of the mill. The present study was undertaken to assess the impact of the textile mill on surface soil quality in and around the mill with particular reference to Cr, Mn, Ni and Zn. Surface soil samples, collected along different directions at 200, 500 and 1000 m were digested and the metals were estimated with Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. The metals were found in the range of: Cr 50.9 – 105.0 mg kg-1, Mn 19.2- 78.6 mg kg-1, Ni 41.9 – 50.6 mg kg-1 and Zn 187.8 – 1095.8 mg kg-1. The study reveals enrichment of Cr, Mn, Ni and Zn in the soil near the textile mill.

Keywords: Cr, Mn, Ni, Zn, soil quality, heavy metal enrichment.

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Authors: Vera Varazashvili, Murman Tsarakhov, Tamar Mirianashvili, Teimuraz Pavlenishvili, Tengiz Machaladze, Mzia Khundadze

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Standard Gibbs energy of formation ΔGfor(298.15) of lanthanide-iron double oxides of garnet-type crystal structure R3Fe5O12 - RIG (R – are rare earth ions) from initial oxides are evaluated. The calculation is based on the data of standard entropies S298.15 and standard enthalpies ΔH298.15 of formation of compounds which are involved in the process of garnets synthesis. Gibbs energy of formation is presented as temperature function ΔGfor(T) for the range 300-1600K. The necessary starting thermodynamic data were obtained from calorimetric study of heat capacity – temperature functions and by using the semi-empirical method for calculation of ΔH298.15 of formation. Thermodynamic functions for standard temperature – enthalpy, entropy and Gibbs energy - are recommended as reference data for technological evaluations. Through the structural series of rare earth-iron garnets the correlation between thermodynamic properties and characteristics of lanthanide ions are elucidated.

Keywords: Calorimetry, entropy, enthalpy, heat capacity, gibbs energy of formation, rare earth iron garnets.

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Authors: Ayu S. Muhamad, Michael Gleeson

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Immunomodulators are substances that alter immune system via dynamic regulation of messenger molecules. It can be divided into immunostimulant and immunosuppressant. It can help to increase immunity of people with a low immune system, and also can help to normalize an overactive immune system. Aim of this study is to investigate the effects of in vitro exposure to low and high doses of several immunomodulators which include caffeine, kaloba and quercetin on antigen-stimulated whole blood culture cytokine production. Whole blood samples were taken from 5 healthy males (age: 32 ± 12 years; weight: 75.7 ± 6.1 kg; BMI: 24.3 ± 1.5 kg/m2) following an overnight fast with no vigorous activity during the preceding 24 h. The whole blood was then stimulated with 50 μl of 100 x diluted Pediacel vaccine and low or high dose of immunomodulators in the culture plate. After 20 h incubation (5% CO2, 37°C), it was analysed using the Evidence Investigator to determine the production of cytokines including IL-2, IL-4, IL-10, IFN-γ, and IL-1α. Caffeine and quercetin showed a tendency towards decrease cytokine production as the doses were increased. On the other hand, an upward trend was evident with kaloba, where a high dose of kaloba seemed to increase the cytokine production. In conclusion, we found that caffeine and quercetin have potential as immunosuppressant and kaloba as immunostimulant.

Keywords: Caffeine, cytokine, immunomodulators, kaloba, quercetin.

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Authors: B. Kabane, G. G. Redhi

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An ammonium based ionic liquid (methyltrioctylammonium chloride) [N_{8 8 8 1}] [Cl] was investigated as an extraction potential solvent for volatile organic solvents (in this regard, solutes), which includes alkenes, alkanes, ketones, alkynes, aromatic hydrocarbons, tetrahydrofuran (THF), alcohols, thiophene, water and acetonitrile based on the experimental activity coefficients at infinite THF measurements were conducted by the use of gas-liquid chromatography at four different temperatures (313.15 to 343.15) K. Experimental data of activity coefficients obtained across the examined temperatures were used in order to calculate the physicochemical properties at infinite dilution such as partial molar excess enthalpy, Gibbs free energy and entropy term. Capacity and selectivity data for selected petrochemical extraction problems (heptane/thiophene, heptane/benzene, cyclohaxane/cyclohexene, hexane/toluene, hexane/hexene) were computed from activity coefficients data and compared to the literature values with other ionic liquids. Evaluation of activity coefficients at infinite dilution expands the knowledge and provides a good understanding related to the interactions between the ionic liquid and the investigated compounds.

Keywords: Separation, activity coefficients, ionic liquid, methyltrioctylammonium chloride, capacity.

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Authors: F. Hafdhi, T. Khir, A. Ben Yahia, A. Ben Brahim

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An Energetic and exergetic analysis is conducted on a Steam Turbine Power Plant of an existing Phosphoric Acid Factory. The heat recovery systems used in different parts of the plant are also considered in the analysis. Mass, thermal and exergy balances are established on the main compounds of the factory. A numerical code is established using EES software to perform the calculations required for the thermal and exergy plant analysis. The effects of the key operating parameters such as steam pressure and temperature, mass flow rate as well as seawater temperature, on the cycle performances are investigated. A maximum Exergy Loss Rate of about 72% is obtained for the melters, followed by the condensers, heat exchangers and the pumps. The heat exchangers used in the phosphoric acid unit present exergetic efficiencies around 33% while 60% to 72% are obtained for steam turbines and blower. For the explored ranges of HP steam temperature and pressure, the exergy efficiencies of steam turbine generators STGI and STGII increase of about 2.5% and 5.4% respectively. In the same way optimum HP steam flow rate values, leading to the maximum exergy efficiencies are defined.

Keywords: Steam turbine generator, energy efficiency, exergy efficiency, phosphoric acid plant.

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Authors: Natthawan Likitmongkonsakun, Tawan Limpiyakorn

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17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2) is a synthetic estrogen used as a key ingredient in an oral contraceptives pill. EE2 is an endocrine disrupting compound, high in estrogenic potency. Although EE2 exhibits low degree of biodegradability with common microorganisms in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), this compound can be biotransformed by ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) via a co-metabolism mechanism in WWTPs. This study aimed to investigate the effect of real wastewater on biotransformation of EE2 by AOB. A preliminary experiment on the effect of nitrite and pH levels on abiotic transformation of EE2 suggested that the abiotic transformation occurred at only pH <6.8. Biotransformation of EE2 under the presence of municipal or industrial wastewater demonstrated that different types of wastewater affect EE2 biotransformation differently. Organic matters in wastewater were believed to deteriorate EE2 biotransformation via the competition effect. At a lower initial ammonium concentration, EE2 biotransformation can be retarded and the extent of the deterioration was COD-concentration dependent. However, when an initial ammonium concentration was elevated, thisphenomena disappeared. This is because when increasing the amount of the primary substrate, more AMO enzymes can be produced resulting in unlimited transformation of all compounds in the tests reducing the competitive effect of organic matters on EE2.

Keywords: 17α-ethynylestradiol, ammonia-oxidizing bacteria, nitrifying activated sludge, wastewater.

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Authors: Diqiao S. Wei, M. Hossain, Zaid S. Saleh

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Polyphenolics and sugar are the components of many fruit juices. In this work, the performance of ultra-filtration (UF) for separating phenolic compounds from apple juice was studied by performing batch experiments in a membrane module with an area of 0.1 m2 and fitted with a regenerated cellulose membrane of 1 kDa MWCO. The effects of various operating conditions: transmembrane pressure (3, 4, 5 bar), temperature (30, 35, 40 ºC), pH (2, 3, 4, 5), feed concentration (3, 5, 7, 10, 15 ºBrix for apple juice) and feed flow rate (1, 1.5, 1.8 L/min) on the performance were determined. The optimum operating conditions were: transmembrane pressure 4 bar, temperature 30 ºC, feed flow rate 1 – 1.8 L/min, pH 3 and 10 Brix (apple juice). After performing ultrafiltration under these conditions, the concentration of polyphenolics in retentate was increased by a factor of up to 2.7 with up to 70% recovered in the permeate and with approx. 20% of the sugar in that stream.. Application of diafiltration (addition of water to the concentrate) can regain the flux by a factor of 1.5, which has been decreased due to fouling. The material balance performed on the process has shown the amount of deposits on the membrane and the extent of fouling in the system. In conclusion, ultrafiltration has been demonstrated as a potential technology to separate the polyphenolics and sugars from their mixtures and can be applied to remove sugars from fruit juice.

Keywords: Fouling, membrane, polyphenols, ultrafiltration.

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Authors: Cigdem Yangin-Gomec, Aigerim Jaxybayeva, Orhan Ince

Abstract:

In this study, the anaerobic treatability of chicken manure diluted with tap water (with an influent feed ratio of 1 kg of fresh chicken manure to 6 liter of tap water) was investigated in a lab-scale anaerobic sludge bed (ASB) reactor inoculated with the granular sludge already adapted to chicken manure. The raw waste digested in this study was the manure from laying-hens having average total solids (TS) of about 30% with ca. 60% volatile content. The ASB reactor was fed semi-continuously at ambient operating temperature range (17-23^◦C) at a HRT of 13 and 26 days for about 6 months, respectively. The respective average total and soluble chemical oxygen demand (COD) removals were ca. 90% and 75%, whereas average biomethane production rate was calculated ca. 180 lt per kg of COD_removed from the ASB reactor at an average HRT of 13 days. Moreover, total suspended solids (TSS) and volatile suspended solids (VSS) in the influent were reduced more than 97%. Hence, high removals of the organic compounds with respective biogas production made anaerobic stabilization of the diluted chicken manure by ASB reactor at ambient operating temperatures viable. By this way, external heating up to 35^◦C (i.e. anaerobic processes have been traditionally operated at mesophilic conditions) could be avoided in the scope of this study.

Keywords: Ambient anaerobic digestion, biogas recovery, poultry manure.

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Authors: Esther Lorrayne M. Pereira, Adriana Souza M. Batista, Fabíola A. S. Ribeiro, Adelina P. Santos, Clascídia A. Furtado, Luiz O. Faria

Abstract:

The combination of multi–walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with polymers offers an attractive route to reinforce the macromolecular compounds as well as the introduction of new properties based on morphological modifications or electronic interactions between the two constituents. As they are only a few nanometers in dimension, it offers ultra-large interfacial area per volume between the nano-element and polymer matrix. Nevertheless, the use of MWCNTs as a rough material in different applications has been largely limited by their poor processability, insolubility, and infusibility. Studies concerning the nanofiller reinforced polymer composites are justified in an attempt to overcome these limitations. This work presents one preliminary study of MWCNTs dispersion into the PVDF homopolymer. For preparation, the composite components were diluted in n,n-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) with mechanical agitation assistance. After complete dilution, followed by slow evaporation of the solvent at 60°C, the samples were dried. Films of about 80 μm were obtained. FTIR and UV-Vis spectroscopic techniques were used to characterize the nanocomposites. The appearance of absorption bands in the FTIR spectra of nanofilled samples, when compared to the spectrum of pristine PVDF samples, are discussed and compared with the UV-Vis measurements.

Keywords: Composites materials, FTIR, MWNTs, PVDF, UVVis.

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Authors: B. T. Aluko, O. I. Oloyede

Abstract:

Ocimum americanum L (Lamiaceae) is an annual herb that is native to tropical Africa. The in vitro and in vivo antioxidant activity of its aqueous extract was carefully investigated by assessing the DPPH radical scavenging activity, ABTS radical scavenging activity and hydrogen peroxide radical scavenging activity. The reducing power, total phenol, total flavonoids and flavonols content of the extract were also evaluated. The data obtained revealed that the extract is rich in polyphenolic compounds and scavenged the radicals in a concentration dependent manner. This was done in comparison with the standard antioxidants such as BHT and Vitamin C. Also, the induction of oxidative damage with paracetamol (2000 mg/kg) resulted in the elevation of lipid peroxides and significant (P < 0.05) decrease in activities of superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase and catalase in the liver and kidney of rats. However, the pretreatment of rats with aqueous extract of O. americanum leaves (200 and 400 mg/kg) and silymarin (100 mg/kg) caused a significant (P < 0.05) reduction in the values of lipid peroxides and restored the levels of antioxidant parameters in these organs. These findings suggest that the leaves of O. americanum have potent antioxidant properties which may be responsible for its acclaimed folkloric uses.

Keywords: Antioxidants, free radicals, Ocimum americanum, scavenging activity.

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Authors: Juan L. Acero, F. Javier Benitez, Francisco J. Real, Gloria Roldan, Francisco Casas

Abstract:

The bromination of five selected pharmaceuticals (metoprolol, naproxen, amoxicillin, hydrochlorotiazide and phenacetin) in ultrapure water and in three water matrices (a groundwater, a surface water from a public reservoir and a secondary effluent from a WWTP) was investigated. The apparent rate constants for the bromination reaction were determined as a function of the pH, and the sequence obtained for the reaction rate was amoxicillin > naproxen >> hydrochlorotiazide ≈ phenacetin ≈ metoprolol. The proposal of a kinetic mechanism, which specifies the dissociation of bromine and each pharmaceutical according to their pKa values and the pH allowed the determination of the intrinsic rate constants for every elementary reaction. The influence of the main operating conditions (pH, initial bromine dose, and the water matrix) on the degradation of pharmaceuticals was established. In addition, the presence of bromide in chlorination experiments was investigated. The presence of bromide in wastewaters and drinking waters in the range of 10 to several hundred μg L-1 accelerated slightly the oxidation of the selected pharmaceuticals during chorine disinfection.

Keywords: Pharmaceuticals, bromine, chlorine, apparent andintrinsic rate constants, water matrices, degradation rates

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Authors: C. A. Alves, A. Vicente, M. Evtyugina, C. A. Pio, A. Hoffer, G. Kiss, S. Decesari, R. Hillamo, E.Swietlicki

Abstract:

The concentrations of aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) were determined in atmospheric aerosol samples collected at a rural site in Hungary (K-puszta, summer 2008), a boreal forest (Hyytiälä,  April 2007) and a polluted rural area in Italy (San Pietro Capofiume, Po Valley, April 2008). A clear distinction between “clean" and “polluted" periods was observed. Concentrations obtained for Hyytiälä are significantly lower than those for the other two sites. Source reconciliation was performed using diagnostic parameters, such as the carbon preference index and ratios between PAH. The presence of an unresolved complex mixture of hydrocarbons, especially for the Finnish and Italian samples, is indicative of petrogenic inputs. In K-puszta, the aliphatic hydrocarbons are dominated by leaf wax n-alkanes. The long range transport of anthropogenic pollution contributed to the Finnish aerosol. Industrial activities and vehicular emissions represent major sources in San Pietro Capofiume. PAH in K-puszta consist of both pyrogenic and petrogenic compounds.

Keywords: Particulate matter, n-alkanes, PAH, BaPE, ruralsites, source reconciliation.

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Authors: Aditi Shukla, Ambarish S. Vidyarthi, Subir Samanta

Abstract:

The worldwide prevalence of H3N2 influenza virus and its increasing resistance to the existing drugs necessitates for the development of an improved/better targeting anti-influenza drug. H3N2 influenza neuraminidase is one of the two membrane-bound proteins belonging to group-2 neuraminidases. It acts as key player involved in viral pathogenicity and hence, is an important target of anti-influenza drugs. Oseltamivir is one of the potent drugs targeting this neuraminidase. In the present work, we have taken subtype N2 neuraminidase as the receptor and probable analogs of oseltamivir as drug molecules to study the protein-drug interaction in anticipation of finding efficient modified candidate compound. Oseltamivir analogs were made by modifying the functional groups using Marvin Sketch software and were docked using Schrodinger-s Glide. Oseltamivir analog 10 was detected to have significant energy value (16% less compared to Oseltamivir) and could be the probable lead molecule. It infers that some of the modified compounds can interact in a novel manner with increased hydrogen bonding at the active site of neuraminidase and it might be better than the original drug. Further work can be carried out such as enzymatic inhibition studies; synthesis and crystallizing the drug-target complex to analyze the interactions biologically.

Keywords: H3N2 Influenza, Neuraminidase, Oseltamiviranalogs, structure based drug designing

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