Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME) produced from biomass offers several advantages such as renewability and sustainability. The typical production process of FAME is accompanied by various impurities such as alcohol, soap, glycerol, and the spent catalyst. Therefore, the most challenging part of the FAME production is the purification process. In this work, a novel application of bulk liquid membrane (BLM) developed from conventional solvent extraction methods was investigated for the removal of glycerol from FAME. The extraction and stripping processes are combined into a single system, allowing for simultaneous solvent recovery whereby low-cost quaternary ammonium salt-glycerol-based deep eutectic solvent (DES) is used as the membrane phase. Moreover, for the first time, diethyl ether was introduced as a strip phase to strip the free glycerol in the BLM system. The effects of DES composition, DES …
The beet armyworm (BAW), Spodoptera exigua (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a highly destructive pest of vegetables and field crops. Management of beet armyworm primarily relies on synthetic pesticides, which is threatening the beneficial community and environment. Most importantly, the BAW developed resistance to synthetic pesticides with making it difficult to manage. Therefore, alternative and environment-friendly pest management tactics are urgently required. The use of pesticidal plant extracts provides an effective way for a sustainable pest management program. To evaluate the use of pesticidal plant extracts against BAW, we selected six plant species (Lantana camara, Aloe vera, Azadirachta indica, Cymbopogon citratus, Nicotiana tabacum ,
... Show MoreIn this study, a low-cost biosorbent, dead mushroom biomass (DMB) granules, was used for investigating the optimum conditions of Pb(II), Cu(II), and Ni(II) biosorption from aqueous solutions. Various physicochemical parameters, such as initial metal ion concentration, equilibrium time, pH value, agitation speed, particles diameter, and adsorbent dosage, were studied. Five mathematical models describing the biosorption equilibrium and isotherm constants were tested to find the maximum uptake capacities: Langmuir, Freundlich, Redlich-Peterson, Sips, and Khan models. The best fit to the Pb(II) and Ni(II) biosorption results was obtained by Langmuir model with maximum uptake capacities of 44.67 and 29.17 mg/g for these two ions, respectively, w
... Show MoreAs the prices of the fuel and power had fluctuated many times in the last decade and new policies appeared and signed by most of the world countries to eliminate global warming and environmental impact on the earth surface and humanity exciting, an urgent need appeared to develop the renewable energy harnessing technologies on the short-term and long-term and one of these promising technologies are the vertical axis wind turbines, and mostly the combined types. The purpose of the present work is to combine a cavity type Savonius with straight bladed Darrieus to eliminate the poor self-starting ability for Darrieus type and low performance for Savonius type and for this purpose, a three-bladed Darrieus type with symmetric
... Show MoreThe present work aimed to make a comparative investigation between three different ionospheric models: IRI-2020, ASAPS and VOACAP. The purpose of the comparative study is to investigate the compatibility of predicting the Maximum Usable Frequency parameter (MUF) over mid-latitude region during the severe geomagnetic storm on 17 March 2015. Three stations distributed in the mid-latitudes were selected for study; these are (Athens (23.50o E, 38.00o N), Jeju (124.53o E, 33.6o N) and Pt. Arguello (239.50o W, 34.80o N). The daily MUF outcomes were calculated using the tested models for the three adopted sites, for a span of five-day (the day of the event and two days preceding and following the event day). The calculated datasets were co
... Show MoreDate palm silver nanoparticles are a green synthesis method used as antibacterial agents. Today,
there is a considerable interest in it because it is safe, nontoxic, low costly and ecofriendly. Biofilm bacteria
existing in marketed local milk is at highly risk on population health and may be life-threatening as most
biofilm-forming bacteria are multidrug resistance. The goal of current study is to eradicate biofilm-forming
bacteria by alternative treatment green synthesis silver nanoparticles. The biofilm formation by bacterial
isolates was detected by Congo red method. The silver nanoparticles were prepared from date palm
(khestawy) fruit extract. The formed nanoparticles were characterized with UV-Vis
Developing routes to produce cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) from high-lignin wood residues is essential for expanding sustainable nanocellulose feedstocks. In this work, Meranti (Shorea sp.) sawdust was valorized into CNCs by integrating ammonium persulfate (APS) pretreatment with subsequent sulfuric acid hydrolysis. To establish a severity map and define an operating window, APS pretreatment severity was systematically varied by adjusting APS concentration and the sawdust-to-APS (solid-to-liquid) ratio, and its influence on CNC structural properties was evaluated. APS pretreatment partially disrupted and oxidized the lignocellulosic matrix, enabling acid hydrolysis to liberate crystalline cellulose domains. XRD analysis confirmed th
... Show MoreArcology is a new vision of urban design for densely populated settlements. It is referred to as the urban formation aimed at achieving the highest level of utilization in the least area of land to reduce human impact on the environment. Moreover, the integration of this formation with the environment will work to reduce energy consumption, and achieve an economy that is characterized by adaptation and self-sufficiency, leading towards sustainable urbanism. The current study deals with this new concept in sustainable urban design, in an attempt to investigate its impact on traditional urban formation and to make a comparison between them. The lack of a clear conception of the term ‘arcology’ and comparing it with the organic compact urb
... Show MoreThis study involved the treatment of textile wastewater contaminated with direct blue 15 dye (DB15) using a heterogeneous photo-Fenton-like process. Bimetallic iron/copper nanoparticles loaded on bentonite clay were used as heterogeneous catalysts and prepared via liquid-phase reduction method using eucalyptus leaves extract (E-Fe/Cu@BNPs). Characterization methods were applied to resultant particles (NPs), including SEM, BET, and FTIR techniques. The prepared NPs were found with porous and spherical shapes with a specific surface area of particles was 28.589 m2/g. The effect of main parameters on the photo-Fenton-like degradation of DB15 was investigated through batch and continuous fixed-bed systems. In batch mode, pH, H2O2 dosage, DB15 c
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