THE PURIFICATION OF USED PALM OIL USING BAGASSE AND BANANA “KEPOK” PEELS AS AN ADSORBENT

The purpose of this research is to know the best ratio based on the combination of the bagasse and banana “kepok” peels to the used palm oil purification. This research used Randomized Block Design one factor, the ratio formula of the combination bagasse and banana “kepok” peels (7 times treatment that is control, 0:100, 20:80, 40:60, 60:40, 80:20, and 100:0, 4 times replication). The data analyzed by ANOVA 5%, if there is significant treatment, then it continued by Turkey’s (HSD Test). Data from hedonic analyzed by Friedman test. The result showed the combination of bagasse and banana “kepok” peels at ratio 100:0 is the best treatment. The quality of used oil are moisture content 0.35%, FFA 0.96%, relative density 0.956 g/mL, saponification 167.85 mg KOH/g and viscosity 0.56 cps. Organoleptic evaluation best result is colour 1.24 (yellow clear to bit yellow) and smell 1.4 (no rancid to bit rancid)

Dinuclear Lanthanide (III) coordination polymers in a domino reaction

A systematic study was performed to further optimise the catalytic room-temperature synthesis of trans-4,5- diaminocyclopent-2-enones from 2-furaldehyde and primary or secondary amines under a non-inert atmosphere. For this purpose, a series of dinuclear lanthanide (III) coordination polymers were synthesised using a dianionic Schiff base and their catalytic activities were investigated

An amide hydrogen bond templated [1]rotaxane displaying a peptide motif - demonstrating an expedient route to synthetic mimics of lasso peptides

The rapid synthesis of an amide hydrogen bond templated [1]rotaxane is reported - demonstrating a potential pathway to synthetic analogues of lasso peptides. The structures of the [1]rotaxane and its unthreaded isomer have been characterized by NMR spectroscopy and modelled using DFT calculations

Assessing the bioconcentration of heavy metals in Nypa Palm (Nypa fruticans (Wurmb) from selected mangrove forests in Rivers State, Nigeria

The bioconcentration of Pb, Zn, Cd, Cr and Ni in tissues of Nypa palm (Nypa fruticans) was investigated during wet and dry seasons from selected mangrove forests, using the randomized complete block design. Soil and plant samples were randomly collected from plant dominated growth stations and analyzed for heavy metal content using the Perkin Elmer Analysts 200 Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). The results obtained showed the bio-transfer factors of heavy metals at wet season as Pb (1.08mg/kg), Zn (1.42 mg/kg), Cd (6.14 mg/kg), Cr (0.56 mg/kg) Ni (0.90 mg/kg) and dry season as Pb (0.86 mg/kg), Zn (1.15 mg/kg), Cd (5.44 mg/kg), Cr (0.66 mg/kg), Ni (1.12 mg/kg). The result further showed the bio-translocation factors of the metals at wet seasons as Pb (0.59 mg/kg), Zn (0.76 mg/kg), Cd (3.25 mg/kg), Cr (0.22 mg/kg), Ni (0.54 mg/kg) and dry season as Pb (0.64 mg/kg), Zn (1.03 mg/kg) Cd (3.07 mg/kg), Cr (0.24 mg/kg), Ni (0.61 mg/kg) respectively. Findings indicate the study plant as a hyper accumulator of Ni, Cd and Zn, and non-hyper accumulator of Cr and Pb. It is thus recommended that N. fruticans be utilized for phytoremediation of Ni, Cd and Zn in polluted mangrove ecosystem

Effect of palm bunch ash treatment on remediation and growth performance of Zea mays in crude oil polluted soil

The effect of polluted hydrocarbon (PHC) soil altering the fertility of the soil for effective plant growth yield is a major concern. This study examines the use of oil palm bunch ash as biostimulation technique for bioremediation of PHC soils. Under strict compliance of oil treatment of 10g, 20g, 30g, 40g, 50g, and 60g with oil palm bunch ash on soil samples of 2kg weighed surface soil of 0-20cm polluted and non-polluted sites were collected randomly into perforated planting bags. Various results of residual and cumulative effect on treated soil of oil palm bunch ash enhances the improvement of Zea mays growth performance at 7WAP (7 weeks after planting) after eight months post-treated soils. The residual result shows that optimum treatment favoured 40g/2kg soil with plant emergence ( 41.67% ), plant height ( 22.77cm) and dry matter ( 0.7235g ), while cumulative treatment revealed 30g/2kg treatment as optimum with plant emergence ( 91.67% ), plant height ( 24.40 cm) and dry matter ( 0.8202g ). No doubt, this study of treating PHC soil with oil palm bunch ash at the above mentioned treatment levels improved soil performance for plant growth by reducing the hydrophobic nature of soils which resulted to improvement in the availability of water, oxygen and mineralization of soils. Key words: Biostimulation, Bioremediation, Residual, Cumulative, Plant Performance.

Epigallocatechin-3-gallate remodels apolipoprotein A-I amyloid fibrils into soluble oligomers in the presence of heparin

Amyloid deposits of wild-type apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I), the main protein component of high-density lipoprotein, accumulate in atherosclerotic plaques where they may contribute to coronary artery disease by increasing plaque burden and instability. Using CD analysis, solid-state NMR spectroscopy, and transmission EM, we report here a surprising cooperative effect of heparin and the green tea polyphenol (-)- epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a known inhibitor and modulator of amyloid formation, on apoA-I fibrils. We found that heparin, a proxy for glycosaminoglycan (GAG) polysaccharides that co-localize ubiquitously with amyloid in vivo, accelerates the rate of apoA-I formation from monomeric protein and associates with insoluble fibrils. Mature, insoluble apoA-I fibrils bound EGCG (KD = 30 ± 3 μM; Bmax = 40 ± 3 μM), but EGCG did not alter the kinetics of apoA-I amyloid assembly from monomer in the presence or absence of heparin. EGCG selectively increased the mobility of specific backbone and side-chain sites of apoA-I fibrils formed in the absence of heparin, but the fibrils largely retained their original morphology and remained insoluble. By contrast, fibrils formed in the presence of heparin were mobilized extensively by the addition of equimolar EGCG, and the fibrils were remodeled into soluble 20-nm-diameter oligomers with a largely α-helical structure that were nontoxic to human umbilical artery endothelial cells. These results argue for a protective effect of EGCG on apoA-I amyloid associated with atherosclerosis and suggest that EGCG-induced remodeling of amyloid may be tightly regulated by GAGs and other amyloid co-factors in vivo, depending on EGCG bioavailability

Rapid and simultaneous synthesis of a hydrogen bond template [3]rotaxane and its related [2]rotaxane molecular shuttle

The rapid preparation and spectroscopic characterisation of a hydrogen bond templated [3]rotaxane and its related [2]rotaxane is presented. VT NMR spectroscopy confirms that the [2]rotaxane acts as a molecular shuttle. DFT computational modelling provides some further insight into the non-covalent interactions present within the rotaxane species

Hydrodinamic Aspects of a High-Speed SWATH and New Hull Form

The main problems of high-speed ships operating in open seas are their insufficient seaworthiness and speed loss in high sea states. Small Water-plane Area Twin-Hulls (SWATH) are characterised by excellent seaworthiness, but the hull forms of a traditional SWATH are not suited for higher speeds. A new shape of underwater gondola has been developed for a semi-planing (S/P) SWATH. Additionally, hydrofoils can be applied to this ship to provide the optimal dynamic draught and trim, to mitigate motions in rough seas, and even to carry a part of the ship weight. The relative speed of this SWATH can be beneficially increased up to the displacement Froude number 3. Several concept designs addressing naval and civil transportation needs are outlined in this paper

3d/4f Coordination clusters as cooperative catalysts for highly diastereoselective Michael addition reactions

Michael addition (MA) is one of the most well studied chemical transformation in synthetic chemistry. Here, we re-port the synthesis and crystal structures of a library of 3d/4f coordination clusters (CCs) formulated as ZnII2YIII2L4(solv)X(Z)Y and study their catalytic properties towards the MA of nitrostyrenes with barbituric acid deriva-tives. Each CC presents two borderline hard/soft Lewis acidic ZnII centers and two hard Lewis acidic YIII centers in a defect dicubane topology that brings the two different metals into a proximity of {\~{}}3.3 {\AA}. DFT computational studies suggest that these tetrametallic CCs dissociate in solution to give two catalytically active dimers, each containing one 3d and one 4f metal which act cooperatively. The mechanism of catalysis has been corroborated via NMR, EPR and UV-Vis. The present work demonstrates for the first time the successful use of 3d/4f CCs as efficient and high diastereose-lective catalysts in MA reactions