Activating Carbon Fibers and Date Pits for Use in Liver Toxin Adsorption

Acute liver failure (ALF) is a rare, potentially fatal complication of severe hepatic illness. It is a syndrome that triggers a cascade of events, leading to multiple organ failures and often death. The work aimed at demonstrating the usefulness of activated raw date pits and carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP) in the management of ALF. The activated carbons produced are used for adsorption of albumin bound toxins from the liver of patients with ALF. The liver is not cured, however, patients are given the time they need to find a suitable donor. Initially, date pits are milled and epoxy is removed from the CFRP. Both materials then undergo pyrolysis and activation treatments. The activated carbon fiber (ACF) and powdered activated carbon (PAC) resulting are tested using FTIR and TGA analysis. FTIR spectrums provide information about functional groups present in the samples and TGA graphs illustrate weight loss as treatment temperature increases. From the data analysis carried out, it appears that the process of recycling both; date pits and CFRP was successful. This confirms the ability of PAC and ACFs to adsorb toxins and as potential candidates for consideration in the search for effective treatment options for liver failure

growth of zno nanorods on fto glass substrate

n/

Assessment of Tree Leaves Flakes Mixed with Crude Glycerol as a Bioenergy Source

The gasification and combustion of dry tree leaves and the cogasification of dry tree leaves soaking crude glycerol were studied experimentally. An updraft fixed bed gasification and combustion system was built. The operation was conducted at different air to fuel ratios. Results show more stable combustion and more effective heat transfer to furnace walls for the cases when tree leaves flakes are mixed with 20 percent (on mass basis) of crude glycerol, as compared with the case when only dry tree leaves are used as fuel. TGA analysis was also conducted for the two fuels used under both air and nitrogen environments. For the crude glycerol, four phases of pyrolysis and gasification were noticed under either of the two surrounding gaseous media (air or nitrogen). For the dry tree leaves, the pyrolysis under nitrogen shows only a simple smooth pyrolysis and gasification curve without showing the different distinct phases that were otherwise identified when the pyrolysis is conducted under air environment. Moreover, the air TGA results lead to more gasification due to the char oxidation at high temperatures. DTG results are also presented and discussed