Animal fats are a good, promising and ethical alternative source for biodiesel production, but they need more complex treatments than vegetable oils. Iraqi butchery plants waste fats (sheep fat) which are suggested as feedstock to produce biodiesel. This type of fat contains a large quantity of free fatty acids (FFAs) (acid number 49.13 mg KOH/g of fat). The direct transesterification of such fats produce high amount of soap instead of desired biodiesel, so a pre-treatment step (to reduce FFAs) is necessary before transesterification. This step was done by esterification of the free fatty acids in the fat by adding ethanol and using 1% acid catalyst (H2SO4) for 30 minutes. The results showed that the acid number of sheep fat after pre-treatment step reduced to 0.97 mg KOH/g of fat at esterification step. Transesterification of treated fats (produce from esterification) used to convert biodiesel. The maximum yield of biodiesel was about 85 vol. % for treated fats obtained with 25/100 ethanol/fat wt. ratio, 70° C reaction temperature and 50 minutes total treatment period (pre-treatment step and transesterification reaction). The suggested model of the production rate kinetic of transesterification reaction, found that the production rate is inversely proportional with the volume of biodiesel produced with activation energy of 25320 J/mole.
The detection of fungi contaminating maize grain and the effect of four plant extracts Azadirachta indica, Eucalyptus globulus Glycyrrhiza glabra and Zingiber officinale on the growth of A. flavus and its ability to produce AflatoxinB1. The results showed that the incidence of Aspergillus spp., was 52.75% of the isolated fungi, of which 29.50% was due to Aspergillus flavus, followed by Penicillium spp., with an incidence of 21.06%, and then Fusarium spp., with a rate of 18.13%. The percentage of toxin-producing A. flavus isolates reached 70.8% out of 24 isolates. The results showed the effect of alcoholic plant extracts at a concentration of 10 mg/ml on the fungal growth activity of A. flavus, the alcoholic extract of neem leaves was superi
... Show MoreIn this work, a vertical pulsating heat pipe heat exchanger (PHPHE) was designed for waste heat recovery, exchanging thermal energy between two air streams in a counterflow configuration. The heat exchanger consists of six rows, each row consists of one pulsating heat pipe (PHP), and each PHP has six turns. The working fluid used in the heat pipe was acetone with fill ratios of 50%, 60%, and 70%. The effect of evaporator inlet temperature at 40, 45, and 50°C and air velocity at 0.5, 0.7, and 0.9 m/s on the pulsating heat pipes consisting of three sections- evaporator, condenser, and adiabatic, whose dimensions were 25 x 25 x 10 cm, was studied. At the same time, the condenser temperature was maintained at 26°C. The system’s th
... Show MoreThe current study suggested a thermal treatment as a necessary proactive step in improving the adsorption capacity of bio-waste for contaminants removal in wastewater. This approach was based on the experimental and histological investigation of biowaste pods shell. This investigation showed that these shells compose of parenchyma cells that store secondary metabolites compounds produced from cells were exhibited in present study. The results also reported that these compounds are extracted directly from the cells as soon as they are exposed to an aqueous solution, hampering their use as an adsorbent material. The increase in the weight of bio-waste adsorbent at unit liquid volume increases the production of secondary metabolites compounds
... Show MoreThe present study utilised date palm fibre (DPF) waste residues to adsorb Congo red (CR) dye from aqueous solutions. The features of the adsorbent, such as its surface shape, pore size, and chemical properties, were assessed with X-ray diffraction (XRD), BET, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). The current study employed the batch system to investigate the ideal pH to adsorb the CR dye and found that acidic pH decolourised the dye best. Extending the dye-DPF waste mixing period at 25°C reportedly removed more dye. Consequently, the influence of the starting dye and DPF waste quantity on dye removal was explored in this study. At 5 g/L dye concentration, 48% d
... Show MoreThe aim of this study is to shed light on the importance of biofuels as an alternative to conventional energy, in addition to the importance of preserving agricultural crops, which are the main source of this fuel, to maintain food security, especially in developing countries. The increase in global oil prices, in addition to the fear of global warming, are among the main factors that draw the world’s attention to searching for alternative sources of traditional energy, which are sustainable on the one hand, and on the other hand reduce carbon emissions. Therefore, the volume of global investment in renewable energy in general, and in liquid biofuels and biomass in particular, has increased. Global fears emerged that the excessive convers
... Show MoreThe aim of this study is to shed light on the importance of biofuels as an alternative to conventional energy, in addition to the importance of preserving agricultural crops, which are the main source of this fuel, to maintain food security, especially in developing countries. The increase in global oil prices, in addition to the fear of global warming, are among the main factors that draw the world’s attention to searching for alternative sources of traditional energy, which are sustainable on the one hand, and on the other hand reduce carbon emissions. Therefore, the volume of global investment in renewable energy in general, and in liquid biofuels and biomass in particular, has increased. Global fears emerged that the excessive
... Show MoreMany strains of lactic bacteria produce antimicrobial peptides of bacteriocins that are antibiotics used against pathogenic strains. The present work aimed to use a banana peels medium in the fermentation process to replace the commercial MRS medium for decreasing the cost of bacteriocins LAB production. Based on the result, banana peel was a cost-effective and viable alternative carbon source for the production and development of bacteriocin-producing Lactobacilli. The growth of lactobacilli in commercial MRS medium and Banana Peel medium showed no differences, therefore banana peel waste can be used to produce Lactobacilli bacteriocins. Lactobacillus strains grew exceptionally well at 37 C and pH 6.0.