Optimization procedures using a variety of input parameters have gotten a lot of attention, but using three non-edible seed oils of Jatropha (Jatropha curcas), Sesame (Sesamum indicum), and Sweet Almond (Prunusamygdalus dulcis) has a few advantages, including availability and non-food competitiveness. Optimizing a two-stage trans-esterification process using a sodium hydroxide-based catalyst at a fixed catalyst (1.0wt %) and temperature (60 oC) while varying molar ratio (1:3, 1:6, 1:12), time (20–60 min), and mixing speed (500–1000 rpm), to produce optimal responses of yields were studied using response surface methodology (RSM). The optimization solution of molar ratio (1:3), time (40.9 min.), and speed (500 rpm) resulted in an 86.9 % for refined jatropha biodiesel (RJB), the optimization for refined sesame biodiesel (RJB) with molar ratio (1:6), time (41.7 min.), and speed (619 rpm) resulted in an 88.5 %, and the optimization for refined sweet almond biodiesel (RSAB) with the molar ratio (1:3), time (49.359 min.), and speed (500 rpm) resulted in an 88.7 % at the conditions. RJO, RJB, and RSAB had predicted biodiesel yields of 86.9 %, 88.5 %, and 88.7 %, with less than 0.2 % variation, respectively. The characteristics of biodiesel were studied, and the results were determined to meet both ASTM D6751 and EN14214 criteria. The effects of molar ratio, and time on biodiesel yield from their respective oils were important parameters that greatly influenced the yields, but speed only changed the yields marginally. This work has addressed important difficulties influencing mass production of biodiesel such as the utilization of low-cost feedstock such as non-edible vegetable oils, boosting production efficiency through variable optimization of process parameters, and lowering catalyst dosages through catalyst regeneration.
In this work chemical vapor deposition method (CVD) for the production of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been improved by the addition of S. Steel mesh container (SSMC) inside which the catalyst (Fe/Al2O3) was placed. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) investigation method used to study nanotubes produced, showed that high yield of two types of (CNTs) obtained, single wall carbon nanotube (SWCNTs) with diameter and length of less than 50nm and several micrometers respectively and nanocoil tubes with a diameter and length of less than 100nm and several micrometers respectively. The chemical analysis of (CNTs) reveals that the main component is carbon (94%) and a little amount of Al (0.32%), Fe (2.22%) the reminder is oxygen. It was also fou
... Show MoreIn the field of construction project management, time and cost are the most important factors to be considered in planning every project, and their relationship is complex. The total cost for each project is the sum of the direct and indirect cost. Direct cost commonly represents labor, materials, equipment, etc.
Indirect cost generally represents overhead cost such as supervision, administration, consultants, and interests. Direct cost grows at an increasing rate as the project time is reduced from its original planned time. However, indirect cost continues for the life of the project and any reduction in project time means a reduction in indirect cost. Therefore, there is a trade-off between the time and cost for completing construc
Iraqi oil crudes have some of the physical and chemical characteristics that distinguish it from other types of oil crudes in the world. Some of these features such us molecular composition, rheological, viscosity and emulsions are studied carefully by researchers. In this work, a comparative study of the linear and the non-linear optical properties for typical heavy and light crude oils of Iraqi origin was studied utilizing Z-scan technique. The He -Ne laser of wavelength 632.8 nm had been used for this purpose. These samples were collected from Basra and Kut oil fields. The values of the non-linear refractive index (n2), non-linear absorption coefficient (β), and third-order electrical susceptibility (χ3) were e
... Show MoreAs a marker of systemic inflammation, raised (C-reactive protein (CRP)) concentrations which are still within the normal range have been associated with an increased inflammation of chronic renal diseases (CRD). The current study aimed to establish potential determinats of raised CRP concentrations in patients who treated in Heamodialysis room,then study the relationship between CRP& some biochemical parameters related CRD We used a CRP latex reagents Kit which is based on an immunological reaction between CRP antisera bounded to the biologically inert latex particles or with CRP in the test specimens of 19 patients with (CRD) mean age 48 years ,range = 30?65 & in 21 healthy subjects as control group their age range = 30 ?45 years. The
... Show MoreIn this article, the nonlinear problem of Jeffery-Hamel flow has been solved analytically and numerically by using reliable iterative and numerical methods. The approximate solutions obtained by using the Daftardar-Jafari method namely (DJM), Temimi-Ansari method namely (TAM) and Banach contraction method namely (BCM). The obtained solutions are discussed numerically, in comparison with other numerical solutions obtained from the fourth order Runge-Kutta (RK4), Euler and previous analytic methods available in literature. In addition, the convergence of the proposed methods is given based on the Banach fixed point theorem. The results reveal that the presented methods are reliable, effective and applicable to solve other nonlinear problems.
... Show MoreIn medical practice, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are often used to treat osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Ibuprofen is a well-known NSAID, analgesic, and antipyretic medication. This chemical is an active ingredient of several oral medications that are offered in tablet, gel pellet, and syrup forms and has higher efficacy, tolerance, and side effect rates than other compounds, including pyrazolone derivatives. We present a unique plasma-assisted desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (PADI-MS) approach for improving pharmaceutically important solids using an ibuprofen tablet as a model solid sample. The goal of the study is to create an innovative mass spectrometric method that could be used for quick and accur
... Show MoreThe purpose of this paper is to solve the stochastic demand for the unbalanced transport problem using heuristic algorithms to obtain the optimum solution, by minimizing the costs of transporting the gasoline product for the Oil Products Distribution Company of the Iraqi Ministry of Oil. The most important conclusions that were reached are the results prove the possibility of solving the random transportation problem when the demand is uncertain by the stochastic programming model. The most obvious finding to emerge from this work is that the genetic algorithm was able to address the problems of unbalanced transport, And the possibility of applying the model approved by the oil products distribution company in the Iraqi Ministry of Oil to m
... Show MoreResearchers are increasingly using multimodal biometrics to strengthen the security of biometric applications. In this study, a strong multimodal human identification model was developed to address the growing problem of spoofing attacks in biometric security systems. Through the use of metaheuristic optimization methods, such as the Genetic Algorithm(GA), Ant Colony Optimization(ACO), and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) for feature selection, this unique model incorporates three biometric modalities: face, iris, and fingerprint. Image pre-processing, feature extraction, critical image feature selection, and multibiometric recognition are the four main steps in the workflow of the system. To determine its performance, the model wa
... Show MoreThis paper proposes a novel meta-heuristic optimization algorithm called the fine-tuning meta-heuristic algorithm (FTMA) for solving global optimization problems. In this algorithm, the solutions are fine-tuned using the fundamental steps in meta-heuristic optimization, namely, exploration, exploitation, and randomization, in such a way that if one step improves the solution, then it is unnecessary to execute the remaining steps. The performance of the proposed FTMA has been compared with that of five other optimization algorithms over ten benchmark test functions. Nine of them are well-known and already exist in the literature, while the tenth one is proposed by the authors and introduced in this article. One test trial was shown t
... Show More