Low grade crude palm oil (LGCPO) presents as an attractive option as feedstock for biodiesel production due to its low cost and non-competition with food resources. Typically, LGCPO contains high contents of free fatty acids (FFA), rendering it impossible in direct trans-esterification processes due to the saponification reaction. Esterification is the typical pre-treatment process to reduce the FFA content and to produce fatty acid methyl ester (FAME). The pre-treatment of LGCPO using two different acid catalysts, such as titanium oxysulphate sulphuric acid complex hydrate (TiOSH) and 5-sulfosalicylic acid dihydrate (5-SOCAH) was investigated for the first time in this study. The optimum conditions for the homogenous catalyst (5-SOCAH) were determined as: 1.5 wt% of acid catalyst dosage, 60 °C reaction temperature, 8:1 methanol molar ratio at 60 min. For the heterogeneous TiOSH, higher catalyst dosages such as 7 wt% is required with a methanol loading of 10:1 (molar ratio) at 120 min to reduce the initial FFA to less than 3%. Under these optimum conditions for both types of catalysts; the FFA levels were reduced from 11.3 % to less than 3 %, individually. This study introduces for the first time two types of acidic catalysts with high catalytic activity for the esterification of FFA content in low grade oils for biodiesel production which could be used for the treatment of wide range of low quality oils.
Static Synchronous Series Compensator (SSSC) is a well known device for effectively regulating the active power flow in a power system. In this paper, the SSSC linearized power flow equations are incorporated into Newton-Raphson algorithm in a MATLAB written program to investigate the control of active poweer flow and the transient stability of a five bus and a thirty bus IEEE test systems, during abnormal conduction (three phase fault near buses). A comparison of the results obtained for the base case without SSSC and with it to investigate the effectiveness of the device on both of the active power flow and the transient stability.
This research presents the possibility of using banana peel (arising from agricultural production waste) as biosorbent for removal of copper from simulated aqueous solution. Batch sorption experiments were performed as a function of pH, sorbent dose, and contact time. The optimal pH value of Copper (II) removal by banana peel was 6. The amount of sorbed metal ions was calculated as 52.632 mg/g. Sorption kinetic data were tested using pseudo-first order, and pseudo-second order models. Kinetic studies showed that the sorption followed a pseudo second order reaction due to the high correlation coefficient and the agreement between the experimental and calculated values of qe. Thermodynamic parameters such as enthalpy change (ΔH
... Show MoreThis work reports the development of an analytical method for the simultaneous analysis of three fluoroquinolones; ciprofloxacin (CIP), norfloxacin (NOR) and ofloxacin (OFL) in soil matrix. The proposed method was performed by using microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), solid-phase extraction (SPE) for samples purification, and finally the pre-concentrated samples were analyzed by HPLC detector. In this study, various organic solvents were tested to extract the test compounds, and the extraction performance was evaluated by testing various parameters including extraction solvent, solvent volume, extraction time, temperature and number of the extraction cycles. The current method showed a good linearity over the concentration ranging from
... Show MoreBackground and Objectives: Dyspepsia is a disorder characterized by difficulty in digestion and represents a major health concern. Therefore, it is crucial to identify functional dyspepsia linked to Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). This research aimed to determine the prevalence of H. pylori among patients with dyspepsia and to examine the potential risk factors associated with the infection. Materials and Methods: From August 14th to September 21st, 2024, a total of 105 patients with dyspepsia, who attended the Central Laboratory of Baghdad Medical City Complex (Iraq), were enrolled in this study. Data on nonsteroidal anti-inflam- matory drugs (NSAIDs), smoking, family history, fasting habits and frequent fast food consumption wer
... Show MoreDevelopment and population expansion have the lion's share of driving up the fuel cost. Biodiesel has considerable attention as a renewable, ecologically friendly and alternative fuel source. In this study, CaO nanocatalyst is produced from mango leaves as a catalysis for the transesterification of waste cooking oil (WCO) to biodiesel. The mango tree is a perennial plant, and its fruit holds significant economic worth due to its abundance of vitamins and minerals. This plant has a wide geographical range and its leaves can be utilized without any negative impact on its growth and yield. An analysis was conducted to determine the calcium content in the fallen leaves, revealing a significant quantity of calcium that holds potential fo
... Show MoreCiprofloxacin is widely used in treating adults infected with Gram-negative bacteria. It is contraindicated in children, growing adolescents and during pregnancy due to joint toxicity. Its toxicity concerning other organs needs to be clarified. Thus, this study was designed to study the possible cardiac damage induced by two selected doses of ciprofloxacin in juvenile rats.Eighteenth healthy juvenile rats (4 weeks old and their weight 30 ± 2 gm) were utilized in this study and divided into three groups. Group-I control; group II and group III, respectively injected IP with 25 mg/kg and 50 mg/kg ciprofloxacin every 12 hours for one week. Serum enzymes activities alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), cr
... Show MorePatient’s satisfaction with nursing care is thought to be a key component in determining how patients perceive service quality. Quantifying patient satisfaction in both private and public healthcare settings can offer essential evidence on performance; consequently, reflected on quality management.
This study aims to explore patients’ satisfaction with the quality of nursing care.
A descriptive-cross-sectional study
One hundred forty three of Klebsiellapneumoniae isolates had been collected from some hospitals in Baghdad city. The isolates were taken from different clinical specimens.Antimicrobial susceptibility test was carried out towards fifteen antimicrobial agents by using Vitek2 system with Antimicrobial susceptibility test cards. The results of antibiogram showed that the local isolates were possess highly resistance towards most antimicrobial agents under study. The high resistance wastoAmpicillin while the low resistance was to Imipenem.Two methods were used for detection of Extended Spectrum Beta Lactamases (ESBLs) production; first methods by using of Vitek2 system,thesecondmethods by using of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique to dis
... Show MoreCongenital adrenal hyperplasia is a group of autosomal recessive disorders. The most frequent one is 21-hydroxylase deficiency. Analyzing
We investigated at the optical properties, structural makeup, and morphology of thin films of cadmium telluride (CdTe) with a thickness of 150 nm produced by thermal evaporation over glass. The X-ray diffraction study showed that the films had a crystalline composition, a cubic structure, and a preference for grain formation along the (111) crystallographic direction. The outcomes of the inquiry were used to determine these traits. With the use of thin films of CdTe that were doped with Ag at a concentration of 0.5%, the crystallization orientations of pure CdTe (23.58, 39.02, and 46.22) and CdTe:Ag were both determined by X-ray diffraction. orientations (23.72, 39.21, 46.40) For samples that were pure and those that were doped with
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