Recent Innovations in Chemical Engineering (Formerly Recent Patents on Chemical Engineering) - Volume 13, Issue 5, 2020

Objective: Cellulose acetate fabric was bio-treated by lipase enzyme. Afterwards, untreated and bio-treated fabrics were dyed with direct and disperse dyes to study the treatment effect. Methods: Bending length, fabric thickness, tensile strength and dyeing properties of the biotreated fabrics were studied. Change in the morphology of fibers was observed by SEM after enzymatic deacetylation. Results: Enzymatic deacetylation of cellulose acetate fibers led to an improvement in hydrophilicity. The whiteness index of cellulose acetate fabric slightly decreased from 95.81 to 95.79 after bio-pretreatment. Lipase pre-treatment also caused an increase in fiber diameter of up to 54.80%. Bending length decreased from 1.95 to 1.80 cm after enzymatic treatment while the number of threads per centimeter and fabric thickness increased. Bio-treated fabric showed lower tensile strength in comparison to untreated fabric. Conclusion: The lipase pretreatment increased the color strength by 19.04% and 18.50% for direct and disperse dyes respectively.

Objective: The reactivity and combustion performance of mixtures of lignite with peach kernel and cardoon were investigated, through thermal analysis experiments, for assessing the potential impacts of these wastes as co-firing fuels. Methods: Additionally, a control method was applied to reduce problematic elements from biomass ashes in order to mitigate deposition phenomena in co-firing units. The results showed that combustion performance of raw fuels followed the order cardoon>peach kernel>lignite, however in case of blends, this order was reversed lignite/peach kernel> lignite/cardoon, revealing synergistic effects between component fuels. Results: The combustion performance of lignite was improved by blending it with biomass fuels. Deposition problems should be expected in boilers firing peach kernel and cardoon fuels above 900^°C. Conclusion: After alkalis leaching, the reactivity and efficiency of woody materials and mixtures with lignite were enhanced, while the slagging/fouling propensity was reduced.

Aim: Evaluation of antidiabetic potential of polyherbal formulation containing copper nanoparticles. Background: Copper, popularly known as “Tamra”, is well known for its use as Bhasma (incinerated powder) in Ayurveda herbal preparations in Indian traditional system of medicine. Further, Trigonella foenum- graecum, Allium sativum, Aloe vera and Phyllanthus niruri leaves are extensively cultivated in all parts of India and are well known to possess antidiabetic and antihyperlipidemic properties. Objective: The objective of the present study is to investigate the effect of administration of incinerated copper nanoparticle alone, polyherbal extracts of four herbs alone and combination of incinerated copper nanoparticles-polyherbal extracts on streptozotocin induced type 2 diabetic rats. Materials and Methods: Copper nanoparticles were prepared by media milling of incinerated copper powder using a combination of Glycyrrhiza glabra and gum acacia as stabilizers. Aqueous extracts of Trigonella foenum seeds, Allium sativum bulbs, Aloe vera and Phyllanthus niruri leaves were prepared. The study was carried out for 28 days after drug administration. Blood glucose levels, body weight, haemoglobin, biochemical parameters of blood and antioxidant levels and histopathological parameters of liver, kidney and pancreas were studied. Results: The study revealed improvement in body weight and reduction in serum glucose level in rats that have been administered polyherbal extracts alone, copper nanoparticles alone and combination of polyherbal extract and copper nanoparticles as compared to those treated with streptozotocin only (diabetic rats). However, the response was found to be significantly less in case of rats of those groups, which were given either the extracts alone or nanoparticles alone compared to that in the animals of groups that were administered a combination therapy. Significant improvement in all the responses was observed in rats treated with high doses of copper nanoparticles as compared to those with lower dose. Maximum improvement in body weight and reduction in blood glucose was found in case of rats which were administered with 670 mg/kg polyherbal extract (low dose) + 3.5 mg/kg copper nanoparticles (high dose). This was followed by rats which were given the lower dose of combination therapy. Values of total haemoglobin, triglycerides, HDL, total cholesterol, VLDL, SGOT, SGPT, ALP, serum creatinine content, urea, and antioxidant levels of rats of group IX were almost similar to that of normal rats and glibenclamide treated rats (control). Conclusion: The results from the study clearly indicated protective effect of co-administration of copper nanoparticles and polyherbal extracts for effective treatment of diabetes over copper nanoparticles and polyherbal extracts alone.

Background: Corrosion is a major problem in most industries making use of metals across the world. The protection of metals and pipelines in the petroleum industry against different forms of corrosion has been of interest to stakeholders for many years. Objective: In this study, the effects of NaCl concentration, crevice scaling factor and immersion time on the percentage area attacked and the maximum depth of crevice attack in type- 304 stainless steels were investigated. Methods: The assembly and experimentation of crevice attack in type-304 stainless steels were according to ASTM G-78. Furthermore, the open circuit potential of the system was determined and numerical optimisation of the process factors was conducted. Results: The open-circuit potential for creviced SS-304 revealed a greater susceptibility to crevice corrosion at higher NaCl concentrations. It was observed that the percentage area attacked and the maximum depth of attack increased with increasing NaCl concentration and time. However, the higher scaling factors led to a lesser area and depth of attack. Numerical optimisation revealed that the optimum value (minimum) of % area attacked and the maximum depth of attack were 0.00005847% and 0.00984 mm at 2.43 wt% NaCl, 19.3 crevices scaling factor and 15 days, respectively. Conclusion: It can be concluded that by taking appropriate measures of maintenance and avoidance of moist environment (supplying O and H2O), the crevice corrosion of SS-304 can be mitigated.

Introduction: Although soap industry is known from hundreds of years, the development accompanied with this industry was little. The development implied the mechanical equipment and the additive materials necessary to produce soap with the best specifications of shape, physical and chemical properties. Objectives: This research studies the use of vacuum reactive distillation VRD technique for soap production. Methods: Olein and Palmitin in the ratio of 3 to 1 were mixed in a flask with NaOH solution in stoichiometric amount under different vacuum pressures from -0.35 to -0.5 bar. Total conversion was reached by using the VRD technique. The soap produced by the VRD method was compared with soap prepared by the reaction - only method which is known as the conventional method. The two kinds of soap were compared in yield, the reaction temperature, the volume of the co-product liquid and its composition, FTIR analysis, the density and the time of production. Results: It was shown that the yield of soap using VRD was 2.45 times that produced by the reaction - only method. The process temperature was reduced 0.11 times. The volume of the co-product liquid was reduced 95.76% consisting of water only. The analyses of FTIR were compared with a commercial soap regarded as a standard and they showed identical functional groups. Very little difference in density was recorded. The time of production was shorter than the conventional method giving another priority to the VRD method. Conclusion: It was beneficial to adopt VRD method in soap production in batch mode. Continuous mode of soap production using VRD method may be investigated in future study.

Objective: Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) is a tropical fruit that has high amylose content in its seeds similar to sago starch. Thus, jackfruit seeds and sago are suitable raw materials for the production of biodegradable plastic (BGP). The objective of this research is to investigate the physical and mechanical properties of BGP produced from the blend of jackfruit seed and sago starch. Methods: The BGP was prepared by mixing different ratios of the jackfruit seed flour to the sago flour in distilled water with the addition of 0.1 M hydrochloric acid (HCl). The mixture was stirred and heated at 80oC and later mixed with glycerol. The mixture was neutralized with 0.1 M sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and was cast by using the casting plate technique. Results: The results showed that the optimum tensile strength was obtained at 2.06 MPa. at the blend ratio of 7:3. The maximum absorption rate of water ranged from 32 % to 34 % occurred at the blend ratio of 1:9 while the lowest absorption rate ranged from 21% to 26% occurred at the blend ratio of 5:5. The degradability of BGP was indicated by decreasing the FT-IR spectra peaks intensity and broadening of the bandwidth due to the degradation of starch in the BGP. Conclusion: The blend ratio of 10:0 showed the highest degradability rate. Conclusively, that the physical and mechanical properties are affected by the blend ratios.

Objective: Rice husk has attracted considerable attention in recent years due to its chemical components that are beneficial for a wide range of applications. In this paper, silica aerogel from Rice Husk Ash (RHA) was prepared through sol-gel processing and ambient pressure drying. Methods: The silica RHA was extracted with sodium hydroxide solution to produce sodium silicate solution and neutralized with sulphuric acid to form silica gel. Then, the silica aerogel was further modified with an amine, 3-(aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES), because amine groups provide specific adsorption sides for CO2 adsorption. The functional group, surface morphology, and elemental composition of rice husk, silica aerogel, and modified silica aerogel were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electronic Microscopy (SEM) and Elemental Analysis (EA). Results: For amine-modified silica aerogel, it was found that the sample consists of N-H band at a certain peak. FTIR and SEM analysis revealed that the synthesized silica aerogel has fibrous morphology and indicates a similar trend with previous researches. The aminemodified silica aerogel (AMSA) is able to adsorb 0.88 mol CO2/kg AMSA. Concluson: This study shows that the rice husk silica aerogel modified with APTES could enhance the CO2 adsorption performance due to the physisorption and chemisorption.

Background: Renewable energies are in great demand because of the shortage of traditional fossil energy and the associated environmental problems. Ni and Se-based materials are recently studied for energy storage and conversion owing to their reasonable conductivities and enriched redox activities as well as abundance. However, their electrochemical performance is still unsatisfactory for practical applications. Objective: To enhance the capacitance storage of Ni-Se materials by modification of their physiochemical properties with Fe. Methods: A two-step method was carried out to prepare FeNi-Se loaded reduced graphene oxide (FeNi-Se/rGO). In the first step, metal salts and graphene oxide (GO) were mixed under the basic condition and autoclaved to obtain hydroxide intermediates. As a second step, selenization process was carried out to acquire FeNi-Se/rGO composites. Results: X-ray diffraction measurements (XRD), nitrogen adsorption at 77K, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were carried out to study the structures, porosities and the morphologies of the composites. Electrochemical measurements revealed that FeNi-Se/rGO notably enhanced capacitance than the NiSe/G composite. This enhanced performance was mainly attributed to the positive synergistic effects of Fe and Ni in the composites, which not only had an influence on the conductivity of the composite but also enhanced redox reactions at different current densities. Conclusion: NiFe-Se/rGO nanocomposites were synthesized in a facile way. The samples were characterized physicochemically and electrochemically. NiFeSe/rGO giving much higher capacitance storage than the NiSe/rGO explained that the nanocomposites could be an electrode material for energy storage device applications.

Background: Modified bio-based adsorbents from plant sources can be used for pollution remediation by adsorption due to their low cost and availability in large quantities. Objective: In this study, the competitive biosorption of Pb(II) and Cu(II) by Micropogonias undulates functionalised fish scales (FFS) was conducted. The functionalisation was done by wet impregnation with Fe²⁺. Methods: The biosorbent was characterised by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEMEDS) and Branueur-Emmett-Teller (BET) analyses. Results: The major constituents in the FFS were calcium and phosphorus from the collagen and apatite on the scales. Optimum removal efficiency for both metals was >99% at 10 g/l dosage. It was observed that the Langmuir isotherm model and the pseudo second order kinetics model were the best fit for the experimental data. The monolayer adsorption capacity of FFS for Pb(II) and Cu(II) was observed to be 96.15 mg/g and 100 mg/g, respectively. Conclusion: The study revealed that the competitive biosorption of heavy metals can be achieved (at a good adsorption capacity) using functionalised Micropogonias undulates fish scales.