In this study, the zinc oxide NPs have been synthesized from the fresh pomegranate peels extract using the precipitation method. The ZnO nanoparticles were produced from the reaction of fresh peels extract with zinc acetate salt which was used as zinc source in the presence of 2 M NaOH. The green synthesized nanoparticles were characterized through X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Vis diffuse reflection spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Atomic force microscopy (AFM). The XRD patterns confirm the formation of hexagonal wurtzite phase structure for ZnO synthesized using pomegranate peels extract with average crystalline size of 28 nm. FTIR spectra identify the presence of many active functional groups for the pomegranate extract which is ideal to bind with zinc acetate to produce the ZnO nanoparticles during the preparation method. The reflection spectra of green synthesis ZnO with pomegranate extract observed a blue shift towards lower wavelength with (8 nm) difference compared to ZnO without the addition of any extract. The provenance of such blue shift towards shorter wave length was due to the quantum size effect. The Atomic force microscopic (AFM) result shows average roughness value for ZnO nanoparticles of 6.26 nm. The decolorization efficiency of the methylene blue dye was investigated using the ZnO nanoparticles under sun light irradiation and it was compared with the bare ZnO synthesized without the addition of extract. The catalytic activity was about 88% after 60 min of sunlight irradiation for both prepared catalyst however, the decolorization efficiency of ZnO with the addition of extract was higher at the first 16 min compared to bare ZnO.
Biogas is one of the most important sources of renewable energy and is considered as an environment friendly energy source. The major goal of this research is to see if rice husk (Rh) waste and pomegranate peels (PP) waste are suitable for anaerobic digestion and what effect NaOH pre-treatment has on biogas generation. Rice husk and pomegranate peels were tested in anaerobic digestion under patch anaerobic conditions as separate wastes as well as blended together in equal proportions. The cumulative biogas output for the blank test (no pretreatment) was 1923 and 2526 ml, respectively using a single rice husk (Rh) and pomegranate peel (PP) substrates. The 50% rice husk digestion and 50% of pomegranate peels for blank test gave the result 224
... Show MoreThis study examines the removal of ciprofloxacin in an aqueous solution using green tea silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs). The synthesized Ag-NPs have been classified by the different techniques of SEM, AFM, BET, FTIR, and Zeta potential. Spherical nanoparticles with average sizes of 32 nm and a surface area of 1.2387m2/g are found to be silver nanoparticles. The results showed that the ciprofloxacin removal efficiency depends on the initial pH (2.5-10), CIP (2-15 mg/L), temperature (20-50°C), time (0-180 min), and Ag-NPs dosage (0.1-1g/L). Batch experiments revealed that the removal rate with ratio (1:1) (w/w) were 52%, and 79.8% of the 10 mg/L of CIP at 60, and 180 minutes, respectively with optimal pH=4. Kinetic models for adsorpti
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In this paper, the ability of using corn leaves as low-cost natural biowaste adsorbent material for the removal of Indigo Carmen (IC) dye was studied. Batch mode system was used to study several parameters such as, contact time (4 days), concentration of dye (10-50) ppm, adsorbent dosage (0.05-0.25) gram, pH (2-12) and temperature (30-60) oC. The corn leaf was characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy device before and after the adsorption process of the IC dye and scanning electron microscope device was used to find the morphology of the adsorbent material. The experimental data was imputing with several isotherms where it fits with Freundlich (R2 = 0.9
... Show MoreThe solar photocatalytic degradation of diuron, which is one of the herbicides, has been studied by a solar pilot plant in heterogeneous solar photocatalysis with titanium dioxide. The pilot plant was made up of compound parabolic collectors specially designed for solar photocatalytic applications. The influence of different variables such as, H2O2 initial concentration, TiO2 initial concentration, and diuron initial concentration with their relationship to the degradation efficiency were studied. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) found to increase the rate of diuron degradation. The best removal efficiency of heterogeneous solar photocatalytic TiO2 system was found to be 46.65 % and for heterogeneous solar photocatalytic TiO2/ H2O2 system was fo
... Show MoreBy extracting crystal violate dye (CV) from its aqueous solution, the photocatalytic decolorization performance of ZnO/MWCNT nanocomposite was evaluated. The nanocomposite was prepared by precipitation of ZnO and incorporates on the surface of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNT). ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized using the sol gel process with MWCNT acting as a template. They were then analyzed by XRD, SEM, and TEM, which revealed how the shape of the spherical nano ZnO interacts with the point of zero charge (pzc), which allows us to see the physical attributes. In the dipping photoreactor, which included a slurry of dye solution and ZnO/MWCNT nanocomposite, the effectiveness of decolorization was assessed. The photodecolori
... Show MoreOily wastewater is one of the most challenging streams to deal with especially if the oil exists in emulsified form. In this study, electrospinning method was used to prepare nanofiberous polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes and study their performance in oil removal. Graphene particles were embedded in the electrospun PVDF membrane to enhance the efficiency of the membranes. The prepared membranes were characterized using a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to verify the graphene stabilization on the surface of the membrane homogeneously; while FTIR was used to detect the functional groups on the membrane surface. The membrane wettability was assessed by measuring the contact angle. The PVDF and PVDF / Graphene membranes efficiency
... Show MoreThin films of ZnO nano crystalline doped with different concentrations (0, 6, 9, 12, and 18 )wt. % of copper were deposited on a glass substrate via pulsed laser deposition method (PLD). The properties of ZnO: Cu thin-nanofilms have been studied by absorbing UV-VIS, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopes (AFM). UV-VIS spectroscopy was used to determine the type and value of the optical energy gap, while X-ray diffraction was used to examine the structure and determine the size of the crystals. Atomic force microscopes were used to study the surface formation of precipitated materials. The UV-VIS spectroscopy was used to determine the type and value of the optical energy gap.
In this research, a low cost, portable, disposable, environment friendly and an easy to use lab-on-paper platform sensor was made. The sensor was constructed using a mixture of Rhodamine-6G and gold nanoparticles also Sodium chloride salt. Drop–casting method was utilized as a technique to make a platform which is a commercial office paper. A substrate was characterized using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, UV-visible spectrophotometer and Raman Spectrometer. Rh-6G Raman signal was enhanced based on Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy technique utilized gold nanoparticles. High Enhancement factor of Plasmonic commercial office paper reaches up to 0.9 x105 because of local surface pl
... Show MoreThe removal of fluoride ions from aqueous solution onto algal biomass as biosorbent in batch and continuous fluidized bed systems was studied. Batch system was used to study the effects of process parameters such as, pH (2-3.5), influent fluoride ions concentration (10- 50 mg/l), algal biomass dose (0–1.5 g/ 200 ml solution), to determine the best operating conditions. These conditions were pH=2.5, influent fluoride ions concentration= 10 mg/l, and algal biomass dose=3.5 mg/l. While, in continuous fluidized bed system, different operating conditions were used; flow rate (0.667- 0.800 l/min), bed depth (8-15 cm) corresponded to bed weight of (80- 150 g). The results show that the breakthrough time increases with the inc
... Show MoreDrastic threat to the natural system is caused by the uncontrolled release of synthetic pollutants, including azo dyes. This study centered on the decolorization and biodegradation of water soluble azo dye reactive blue (RB) in a batch mode sequential anaerobic-aerobic processes. A local sewage treatment plant was the source where activated sludge was collected to be used as non-adapted mixed culture with both free and the alginate immobilized cells for RB biodegradation. Under anaerobic conditions, the free and immobilized mixed cells were proved to completely decolorize 10 mg/ L of RB within 20 and 30 h, respectively. Alginate- immobilized mixed cells, resulted in 88%, 87%, and 87% maximum COD removals with samples con
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