Corncob is an agricultural biomass waste that was widely investigated as an adsorbent of contaminants after transforming it into activated carbon. In this research carbonization and chemical activation processes were achieved to synthesize corncob-activated carbon (CAC). Many pretreatment steps including crushing, grinding, and drying to obtain corncob powder were performed before the carbonization step. The carbonization of corncob powder has occurred in the absence of air at a temperature of 500 °C. The chemical activation was accomplished by using HCl as an acidic activation agent. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) facilitated the characterization of (CAC). The results showed the CAC has non-uniform morphological features with different shapes of its active sites. The prepared CAC was utilized in adsorption of sulfur in its highly complex form of dibenzothiophene (DBT). Particular adsorption parameters of contacting time, temperature, and adsorbent dose were optimized to select the best conditions. These certain conditions are then applied in the adsorption of different DBT concentrations. The maximum removal of DBT reached around 83% at optimal conditions of contacting time (30 min), temperature (60 °C), and adsorbent dose (3 g L-1). The removal efficiency was significantly increased by decreasing the initial concentration of DBT. The experimental data fitted well with the Freundlich isotherm model compared with the Langmuir one. The maximum capacity of CAC for adsorption of DBT at equilibrium was 833.3 mg g-1 at 60 °C. The findings of this research introduce the CAC as a feasible adsorbent for removal DBT from simulated liquid petroleum fuels.
Far infrared photoconductive detectors based on multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were fabricated and their characteristics were tested. MWCNTs films deposited on porous silicon (PSi) nanosurface by dip and drop coating techniques. Two types of deposited methods were used; dip coating sand drop –by-drop methods. As well as two types of detector were fabricated one with aluminum mask and the other without, and their figures of merits were studied. The detectors were illuminated by 2.2 and 2.5 Watt from CO2 of 10.6 m and tested. The surface morphology for the films is studied using AFM and SEM micrographs. The films show homogeneous distributed for CNTs on the PSi layer. The root mean square (r.m.s.) of the films surface roughness in
... Show MoreThe Bartholin gland cyst is a condition that occurs in approximately 2% of women, most of whom are of reproductive age. Although benign pathology, it is associated with significant patient discomfort. This disorder is caused by the obstruction and consequent dilation of the cyst duct. Definitive treatment involves the surgical removal of the entire cyst. Other alternative treatments include Marsupialization, Word catheter, and the use of CO2 laser. CO2 laser can be used either to vaporize or to excise the Bartholin gland cyst. The Objectives: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of (10600nm) CO2 laser in the treatment of Bartholin gland cyst. Patients, Materials & Methods: This study was done in laser medi
... Show MoreImitation learning is an effective method for training an autonomous agent to accomplish a task by imitating expert behaviors in their demonstrations. However, traditional imitation learning methods require a large number of expert demonstrations in order to learn a complex behavior. Such a disadvantage has limited the potential of imitation learning in complex tasks where the expert demonstrations are not sufficient. In order to address the problem, we propose a Generative Adversarial Network-based model which is designed to learn optimal policies using only a single demonstration. The proposed model is evaluated on two simulated tasks in comparison with other methods. The results show that our proposed model is capable of completing co
... Show MoreFreedom of opinion is one of the freedoms that constitutions and laws have guaranteed to protect and is exercised through the media. However, this freedom must be exercised within certain limits, which include respecting a person’s right to preserve his privacy, image and reputation. Just as the media has the freedom to exercise its right to publish and express its opinion with complete frankness, it is in return obligated to respect the rights of others and avoid defaming them and violating their privacy. If the media does this, the injured party has the right to demand compensation for the damage he has suffered as a result.
Most of the water pollutants with dyes are leftovers from industries, including textiles, wool and others. There are many ways to remove dyes such as sorption, oxidation, coagulation, filtration, and biodegradation, Chlorination, ozonation, chemical precipitation, adsorption, electrochemical processes, membrane approaches, and biological treatment are among the most widely used technologies for removing colors from wastewater. Dyes are divided into two types: natural dyes and synthetic dyes.
In this research, we discussed and analyzed the relationship between oil prices and the U.S. dollar exchange rate in Iraq. The study adopted the descriptive analysis and econometrics analysis. The descriptive analysis refers to the rise (fall) in crude oil price lead to appreciate (depreciate) in the Iraqi dinar exchange rate, though the channel of the international reserves. The econometrics analysis is based on monthly data covered the period (December/2002 – December/2011), the unit root test, co-integration test, vector error correction model, and Granger causality test have been adopted in this research to check the existence and direction of this relationship. The results refer to the lon
... Show MoreIntroduction: The study was intended for Roseomonas gilardii NTCC 13290 strain pigment extraction and characterization. Methodology: The pigment-producing bacterial were cultured on Columbia blood agar and nutrient media agar. Then the pigments were extracted by ethanol. The candidate pigment was further characterized by different biotechnological techniques: UV-Vis spectroscopy, FT-IR to analyze the functional group of the targeted pigment, and TLC media. Results: The cultivation of Roseomonas gilardii on media showed pink color and nearly runny texture. The bacterial colonies were microscopically gram stained and examined, the R. gilardii was seen as coccobacillus colonies that mostly form pairs arranged as short chains. The R. gilardii b
... Show MoreThe Early-Middle Miocene succession in Iraq is represented by the Serikagni, Euphrates and Dhiban formations, which deposited during the Early Miocene. The Jeribe and Fatha successions were deposited during Middle Miocene age. This study includes microfacies analysis, depositional environments, sequence stratigraphy and basin development of Early – middle Miocene in Hamrin and Ajeel oil fields and Mansuriyha Gas Field. The study area includes four boreholes in three oil fields located in central Iraq: Hamrin (Hr-2) and Ajeel (Aj-13, and 19) oil feilds, and Mansuriyha (Ms-2) Gas Field. Five facies associations were distinguished within the studied fields: deep marine, slop, platform-margin, open marine, restricted interior platform
... Show MoreIn this work, measurements of activity concentration of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) isotopes and their related hazard indices for several materials such as crude oil, sludge and water in Ahdeb oil fields in Waste governorate using high pure germanium coaxial detection technique. The average values for crude oil samples were174.72Bq/l, 43.46Bq/l, 355.07Bq/l, 264.21Bq/l, 122.52nGy/h, 0.7138, 1.1861, 0.601 mSv/y, 0.1503mSv/y and 1.8361 for Ra-226, Ac-228, K-40, Ra eq, D, H-external and H-internal respectively. According to the results; the ratio between 238U to 232Th was 4, which represents the natural ratio in the crust earth; therefore, one can be strongly suggested that the geo-stricture of the
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