Olive Oil Production in Albania, Chemical Characterization, and Authenticity

Olive tree is present to the Western and Southern regions of Albania, alongside Adriatic and Ionian Sea, two body waters of the Mediterranean basin. Genetic studies have revealed the existence of 22 native olive cultivars, while several introduced foreign olive cultivars are present. Two most important olive cultivars respectively, exploited in the olive oil production, and table olive, are Kalinjot and Kokërrmadh Berati. Olive fruit production ranks the country 20th in the world. Olive tree comprises an important permanent crop with considerable potential for the Albanian economy. Principal component analyses (PCA) of fatty acids in OO displays their differentiation according to the cultivar and their region. Chemometric analysis gives support to the differentiation of OO according to the olive cv. in terms of phenolic compounds. Secoiridoids are found in abundance, 3,4-DHPEA-EDA and p-HPEA-EDA as dominant compounds, especially in Kalinjot olive oils. Albanian OO shows high levels of aroma compounds with (E)-2-hexenal as the principal aroma compound. Its concentrations reach up to 40411 μg/kg in Kalinjot cv., much higher compared to Bardhi Tirana cv (27542.7 μg/kg). The authenticity of OOs constitutes an opportunity for domestic production and certification according to the geography or origin and present an important resource to the development of a sustainable economy

Alkyd resins based on waste PET for water-reducible coating applications

Simultaneous glycolysis and neutral hydrolysis of waste PET flakes obtained from grinding post-consumer bottles was carried out in the presence of xylene and an emulsifier at 170 A degrees C. The product was separated from ethylene glycol (EG), water, and xylene by filtration, and was extracted by water at boiling point thrice. The remaining solid was named water insoluble fraction (WIF). The filtrate was cooled to 4 A degrees C, and the crystallized solid obtained by filtration was named water soluble crystallizable fraction (WSCF). These fractions were characterized by acid value (AV) and hydroxyl value (HV) determinations. WSCF and WIF were used for preparation of the water-reducible alkyd resins. Three long oil alkyd resins were prepared from phthalic anhydride (PA; reference alkyd resin) or depolymerization product of the waste PET (PET-based alkyd resin), glycerin (G), fatty acids (FA), and glycol (EG; reference alkyd resin) or depolymerization product of the waste PET (PET-based alkyd resin). Film properties and thermal degradation stabilities of these alkyd resins were investigated. Physical properties (drying times and hardness) and thermal degradation stabilities of the PET-based alkyd resin is better than these properties of the reference alkyd resin

Removal of basic dyes from aqueous solutions by dimethyl terephthalate distillation residue

In this study the removal of basic dyes from aqueous solutions by residue acid mixture (RAM) obtained from dimethyl terephthalate distillation residue was investigated. Adsorption experiments were carried out at ambient temperature. A fixed amount of sample was immersed in 50 mL basic dye (500 mg/L) solutions. The amount of residual dye concentrations was determined using UV/Vis Spectrophotometer at wavelength 530 nm Safranine-T (ST), 622 nm Brilliant Cresyl Blue (BCB), 638 nm Nile Blue (NB) and 618 nm Brilliant Green (BG). Adsorption capacities of RAM for basic dyes decrease with the following order: BG>ST>NB>BCB. The maximum adsorption capacities for BG, NB, ST and BCB onto RAM were found to be 107, 22, 17, 13 mg/g, respectively. Adsorption kinetic data were tested using pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order models. The results show that the pseudo-second-order kinetic model fitted better than the data obtained from pseudo-first-order model for the adsorption of basic dyes onto RAM. Adsorption data were modeled using Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms. The result revealed that the adsorption of basic dyes onto RAM fit very well with the Langmuir isotherm model. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Competitive removal of nickel (II), cobalt (II), and zinc (II) ions from aqueous solutions by starch-graft-acrylic acid copolymers

Graft copolymerization of acrylic acid (AA) onto starch was carried out with ceric ammonium nitrate as initiator under nitrogen atmosphere. The grafting percentages (GP%) of starch-graft-acrylic acid (St-g-AA) copolymers were determined. The effect of GP% of St-g-AA copolymers on the competitive removal of CO2+, Ni2+, Zn (2+) ions from aqueous solution was investigated at different pH (2, 4, 6). The concentrations of each ion in aqueous solution 5 mmol/ L. Effects of various parameters such as treatment time, initial pH of the solution and grafting percentage of starch graft copolymers were investigated. Metal ion removal capacities of St-g-AA copolymers increased with Gp%. of the copolymers and pH. The results show that the removal of metal ions followed as given in the order Co2+ > Ni2+ > Zn2+. In this study, metal ion removal capacities were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). (C) 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Removal of Cu2+ ions from aqueous solutions by starch-graft-acrylic acid hydrogels

Gelatinized starch was prepared by constantly stirring a mixture of starch and water at 95 degrees C for 1 hour. Starch-graft-acrylic acid (S-g-AA) hydrogels were prepared by grafting acrylic acid ( AA) [monomer/starch (w/w) 0.5-1.5] onto gelatinized starch with ceric ammonium nitrate as initiator under nitrogen atmosphere. The surface morphology of samples was studied using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The hydrogels were evaluated for the removal of Cu2+ ion from aqueous solutions at different pH. The concentration of Cu2+ ion in aqueous solution was kept constant at 4 mmol/L. The metal ion removal capacities changed depending on treatment time, initial pH of the solution, and monomer/starch (w/w) ratio of the S-g-AA hydrogels. Cu2+ ion removal capacities were determined by atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS)

Alkyd-amino resins based on waste PET for coating applications

Waste polyethylene terephthalate (PET) flakes were depolymerized by using propylene glycol (PG) in the presence of zinc acetate as catalyst. Glycolysis reaction products of waste PET obtained by using PET/glycol molar ratio 1/2. Two short oil alkyd resins of high acid values (30-40 mgKOH/g) were prepared from phthalic anhydride (PA), glycerin (G), coconut oil fatty acids (COFA) and glycolyzed products of waste PET (PET-based alkyd resins) or glycols (PG) (reference alkyd resins). These alkyd resins were blended with 30%, 40%, and 50% of a commercial urea-formaldehyde, melamine-formaldehyde and urea-formaldehyde/melamine-formaldehyde mixture (1/1 weight ratio) and heated at 140 degrees C. The physical and chemical properties such as drying time, hardness, abrasion resistance, adhesion strength, water resistance, alkaline resistance, acid resistance, gelation time, and thermal oxidative degradation resistance (with thermogravimetric analysis, TGA) of these alkyd-amino resins were investigated. The properties of the waste PET-based resins were found to be compatible with the properties of the reference resins. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Competitive removal of heavy metal ions by starch-graft-acrylic acid copolymers

Graft copolymerization of acrylic acid ( AA) onto starch was carried out with ceric ammonium nitrate as initiator under nitrogen atmosphere. The structures of the synthesized graft copolymers were identified by Fourier transform infrared ( FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The grafting percentages (GP%) of starch-graft-acrylic acid (S-g-AA) copolymers were determined. Increasing the molar concentration of AA from 0.1 to 0.5 mol/L caused a significant increase in the GP%. The effect of GP% of S-g-AA copolymers on the competitive removal of Pb2+, Cu2+, Cd2+ ions from aqueous solution was investigated at pH 4.5. The concentrations of each ion in aqueous solution were equal to each other, which were kept constant at 4 mmol/L. Metal ion removal capacities were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). Metal ion removal capacities of S-g-AA copolymers rose with the increase in GP% of the copolymers and the order of the removal of heavy metal ions was Pb2+> Cu2+> Cd2+

Alkyd resins synthesized from postconsumer PET bottles

Simultaneous glycolysis and neutral hydrolysis of waste PET flakes obtained from grinding postconsumer bottles was carried out in the presence of xylene and an emulsifier at 180 degrees C. The product was separated from EG, water and xylene by filtration and was extracted by water at boiling point three times. The remaining solid was named water insoluble fraction (WIF). The filtrate was cooled to 4 degrees C and the crystallized solid obtained by filtration was named water-soluble crystallizable fraction (WSCF). These fractions were characterized by acid value (AV). hydroxyl value (HV) determinations. WSCF and WIF were used for preparation of the alkyd resins. Three long oil alkyd resins were prepared from phthalic anhydride (PA) (reference alkyd resin) or depolymerization product of the waste PET (PET-based alkyd resin), glycerin (G), sunflower oil fatty acids (SOFA) and glycol (EG) (reference alkyd resin) or depolymerization product of the waste PET (PET-based alkyd resin). Film properties and thermal degradation stabilities of these alkyd resins were investigated. Physical properties (drying times, hardness and abrasion resistance) and thermal degradation stabilities of the PET-based alkyd resins are better than these properties of the reference alkyd resin. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Alkyd resins synthesized from glycolysis products of waste PET

Waste polyethylene tereplithalate (PET) flakes were depolymerized by using ethylene glycol (EG) in the presence of zinc acetate as catalyst. Glycolysis reaction products of waste PET obtained by using PET/EG molar ratios 1/2, 1/4, and 1/6 were extracted three times with boiling water. Solid fraction was named water-insoluble fraction (WIF). The filtrate was cooled to 4 degrees C and the crystallized solid obtained by filtration was named water-soluble crystallizable fraction (WSCF). All of the products were reacted with phthalic anhydride (PA), penthaerythritol (PE), and fatty acid (FA) (iodine value 155, acid value 195) to get alkyd resins. The reactions were followed with acid value. The physical and chemical properties such as drying time, hardness, abrasion resistance, water AA resistance, alkaline resistance, and thermal oxidative degradation resistance (with thermogravimetric analysis, TGA) of these resins were investigated. The waste PET resins were compared with the reference resin prepared with PA, PE, FA, and EG. The properties of the waste PET-based resins were found to be compatible with the properties of the reference resin

Synthesis of Zn(II) Ion-Imprinted Polymeric Adsorbent for Selective Removal of Zinc from Aqueous Solutions

In this study, Zn(II)-imprinted polymer microbeads were synthesized for selective removal of Zn(II) from aqueous solutions. The microbeads were prepared using methacrylic acid and 1,4-vinyl pyrrolidone as functional monomers, zinc(II)acetate as zinc salt, ethylene glycol dimethacyrlate as a cross-linking agent, azo bisisobutyronitrile as an initiator and hydroxyethyl cellulose as surfactant. The non-imprinted polymer was also prepared for comparison, except without use of the Zn(II) salt. To determine the selectivity of Zn(II)-IIP beads, competitive adsorption experiments were investigated. According to the adsorption capacity values of the microbeads, Zn(II)-IIP beads show good selectivity for the target ion