Lipase enzyme has attracted a lot of attention in recent years because of its diverse biotechnological applications. The present study was conducted to screen germinated seeds of four crops, namely sunflower (Helianthus annuus), flaxor linseed (Linum usitatissimum ), peanut (Arachis hypogaea ) and castor bean (Ricinus communis), for the activity of their lipases. to the study also included the extraction and purification of lipase from the seeds of the most promising crop using different solvents. The results indicated that the maximum enzymatic activity (0.669 U/ml) was obtained when 0.1 M Tris-HCl buffer extract was used after 3 days of seed germination of all the tested species, as compared to the other test solvents (acetone and water). Sunflower germinated seeds showed the highest lipase activity, which was higher by 159.67, 185.32, and 285.90 % over the activities of castor bean, flax, and peanut seeds, respectively. Among the used ranges of saturation of ammonium sulfate, the ratio of 70% was the best in precipitating the crude enzyme, showing a highest specific activity of 2.576 U/ mg protein. The first stage of gel filtration chromatography column by Sephadex G-200 indicated the presence of two non-identical peaks, one for protein and another for lipase activity, between the fractions of 18 to 23. The active fractions were pooled and loaded again in the Sephadex G-200 column and the eluted fractions showed two identical peaks, one for protein and another for lipase activity, between the fractions of 19 to 23. The final purification step by gel filtration showed a specific activity of 6.482 U/mg proteins with a yield of 38.75 % and 11.33 folds of time of purification. The study revealed that sunflower seeds are a better source of lipase as compared to the other used plant seeds, which can be used in different industries.
Pharmaceuticals have been widely remaining contaminants in wastewater, and diclofenac is the most common pharmaceutical pollutant. Therefore, the removal of diclofenac from aqueous solutions using activated carbon produced by pyrocarbonic acid and microwaves was investigated in this research. Apricot seed powder and pyrophosphoric acid (45 wt%) were selected as raw material and activator respectively, and microwave irradiation technique was used to prepare the activated carbon. The raw material was impregnated in pyrophosphoric acid at 80◦C with an impregnation ratio of 1: 3 (apricot seeds to phosphoric acid), the impregnation time was 4 h, whereas the power of the microwave was 700 watts with a radiation time of 20 min. A series o
... Show MoreThis study investigates the impact of agricultural investment policy—represented by agricultural loans and investment allocations—on rice crop production in Iraq over the period 2003–2023, employing the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model. Using time-series econometric analysis, the study confirms a short-term positive and statistically significant effect of financial support on rice output, while revealing statistically insignificant long-term effects. The presence of a cointegration relationship suggests long-term equilibrium between agricultural policy variables and rice production. However, the absence of causality in the Yamamoto-Toda test implies that structural and institutional inefficiencies may dilute the long-term i
... Show MorePolycyclicacetal was prepared from the reaction of PEG with aldehyde derived from Erythro-ascorbic acid (pentulosono-ɣ-lactone-2,3-enedianisoate).All these compounds were characterized by Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) and FTIR spectra and aldehyde was also characterized by (U.V-Vis), 1HNMR, 13CNMR, and mass spectra.The inhibitory effect of prepared polymer on the activity of human serum AcetylCholinesterase has been studied in vitro. The polymer showed a remarkable activity at low concentration (4.7x10-3 – 4.7x10-8M).
Environmental pollution is experiencing an alarming surge within the global ecosystem, warranting urgent attention. Among the significant challenges that demand immediate resolution, effective treatment of industrial pollutants stands out prominently, which for decades has been the focus of most researchers for sustainable industrial development aiming to remove those pollutants and recover some of them. The liquid membrane (LM) method, specifically electromembrane extraction (EME), offers promise. EME deploys an electric field, reducing extraction time and energy use while staying eco-friendly. However, there's a crucial knowledge gap. Despite strides in understanding and applying EME, optimizing it for diverse industrial pollutant
... Show MoreThe possibility of using activated carbon developed from date palm seeds wastes as a permeable reactive barrier (PRB) to remove copper from polluted shallow groundwater was investigated. The activated carbon has been developed from date palm seeds by dehydrating methods using concentrated sulfuric acid. Batch tests were performed to characterize the equilibrium sorption properties of new activated carbon in copper-containing aqueous solutions, while the sandy soil (aquifer) was assumed to be inert. Under the studied conditions, the Langmuir isotherm model gives a better fit for the sorption data of copper by activated carbon than other models. At a pilot scale, One-dimensional column experiments were performed, and an integrated model ba
... Show MoreSamples of Iraqi bentonitic sediments, representing local montmorillonite brought from Traifawi region near the Syrian border. Mineralogical the samples were characterized as low grade of Ca-smectite, particle size, chemical analysis, XRD, and BET surface area analyses of the samples were carried out to examine the structure of bentonite before and after acid activation. The goal is to prepare a bleaching earth for edible oil production. Iraqi Bentonite was beneficiated and activated by series of physical and chemical steps, using 4N & 6N concentration of hydrochloric acid and at a temperature of 70-80 ° C. Surface area and pore volume of the samples were determined to assess the bleaching power
The current study investigated the stability and the extraction efficiency of emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) for Abamectin pesticide removal from aqueous solution. The stability was investigated in terms of droplet emulsion size distribution and emulsion breakage percent. The proposed ELM included a mixture of corn oil and kerosene (1:1) as a diluent, Span 80 (sorbitan monooleate) as a surfactant and hydrochloric acid (HCl) as a stripping agent without utilizing a carrier agent. Parameters such as homogenizer speed, surfactant concentration, emulsification time and internal to organic volume ratio (I/O) were evaluated. Results show that the lower droplet size of 0.9 µm and higher stable emulsion in terms of breakage percent of 1.12 % we
... Show MoreA laboratory experiment was carried out according to a completely randomized design with four repetitions on the seeds resulting from a field experiment applied for the two seasons, 2020 and 2021, to find out the effect of the cultivars (Ambar 33, Yasamin, Dijlah, Ambar Al-Baraka and Furat 1) and the harvest dates (at physiological maturity and after 7 and 14, 21 and 28 days of physiological maturity) on the vigour of rice seeds. The results showed the superiority of the seeds of the cultivar Anbar Al-Baraka at first and final counting, dry weight of the seedling, seedling vigor index and electrical conductivity, and the superiority of the seeds of Dijla cultivar at accelerated aging test and cold test without significant difference with th
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