Comparison Study of Sugarcane Leaves and Corn Stover as a Potential Energy Source in Pyrolysis Process

AbstractSugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) and corn (Zea mays, Linn.) is widely planted in Thailand. The pyrolysis process has been carried out in thermochemical processing of organic decomposition of biomass to increase the value of the biomass. The aim of this study was to research the probability of sugarcane leaves and corn stover for pyrolysis process. The proximate analysis results indicate that corn stover has a volatile content higher than sugarcane leaves. Sugarcane leaves have a higher ash content than corn stover. The heating value was obtained 14.47 and 20.91MJ/kg for sugarcane leaves and corn stover, respectively. TGA results show 4 stages: dehydration, active pyrolysis passive pyrolysis and completed combustion stage. Furthermore, the thermal degradation of biomass could be considered an optimization of temperature for pyrolysis process

The Potential of Rhodotorula graminis TISTR 5124 for Synthesis of Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) by Limitation of a Phosphorus and Nitrogen Sourc

Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) is one of the alternatively biodegradable plastics which can be synthesized from a particular micro-organism after the fermentation process, considering the optimization of nutrients. In this research, the yeast strain Rhodotorula graminis TISTR 5124 was selected to be fermented with a carbon source in the standard nutrient in order to conduct a preliminarily study on the best conditions for this yeast in PHA production. The growth rate curve of yeast in the composition of imbalanced nutrients, i.e. the limitation of phosphorus and nitrogen, was also investigated and compared with another sample cultured in standard nutrients. Experimental results indicated that the condition that gave the maximum growth rate of this yeast strain was a P-limited condition at 81 hours, whereby the cell number of 3.1×109cells/mL was obtained and corresponded to the optical density (OD) of 0.95 measured at a wavelength of 600 nm. The synthesized PHA extracted from yeast cells after 81 hours of incubation was examined by Fourier transform infra-red (FT-IR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy. The results indicated stretching vibrations similar to the copolymer PHBV (or a PHA derivative). Maximum PHA content of 54.4% was found in the P-limited condition which corresponded to a PHA yield of 65.1 (g/g-total sugar consumed) in which the yeast consumed the least glucose amount of 3.2 g/L, but grew the most rapidly. Rhodotorula graminis TISTR 5124 is therefore promising as a good candidate for alternatively biodegradable plastics, considering the potential to produce PHA and its derivatives.  This process can be beneficial as an option to replace conventional plastics in the future

Estimation of Sugar Content in Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) Variety Lumpang 92-11 (LK 92-11) and Khon Kaen 3 (KK 3) by Near Infrared Spectroscopy

In this study, a non-destructive measuring method, near-Infrared (NIR) technique was used to evaluate the quality of sugarcane. Two sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) varieties viz., Lumpang 92-11 and Khon Kaen 3 were chosen for the test. The samples were collected for 3 years. The sugar contents were measured in terms of °Brix, %Pol, %Fiber, and Commercial Cane Sugar (CCS) values using the NIR technique and conventional laboratory testing for comparison. The Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR) model was performed using 400 samples for each variety. The NIR models showed the coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.97, 0.90, 086 and 0.82 for °Brix, %Pol, %Fiber and CCS, respectively with the corresponding root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) of 0.246, 0.512, 0.353 and 0.542. The results indicated that the modelling using °Brix gave the best estimation with the highest R2 and lowest RMSEP, indicating high accuracy and reliability. The modelling with %Pol and %Fiber gave the moderate estimations and that with CCS value gave the lowest accuracy. However, all the four modelling predictions were within the acceptable range and could thus be used in crops trading instead of the traditional method. It was more reliable, quicker, more comfortable and more environmentally friendly than the traditional method as it did not involve the use of the chemical

EFFECT OF ULTRASONIC WASHING ON THE PROPERTIES OF SUPERHYDROPHOBIC COTTON FABRIC COATED WITH EPOXY COMPOSITE FILM

The objective of this work was to evaluate properties of cotton fabric samples coated with epoxy composite film filled with APTES-modified silica (SiO2) nanoparticles. The characteristics of superhydrophobic fabrics were investigated as function of the durability of ultrasonic washing. As-prepared samples, the fabric coated with 20 vol% SiO2 modified APTES exhibited typical characteristic of superhydrophobic material having high water contact angle (WCA) of 152° and low contact angle hysteresis (CAH). The values of WCA and CAH of fabrics slightly decreased with increasing number of washing cycles. But even after 10 washing cycles the samples showed almost spherical drops of common household liquids (water, coffee, juice, honey, and ketchup sauce) on their surface, indicating their excellent self-cleaning ability. Also stains of graphite powder (as model for dust) on the coated fabrics were easily rinsed out with water. Moreover, the coated specimens may have potential to be used for oil/water separation: their separation efficiency was higher than 99%, and was as high as 97% after 10 washing cycles

Strain gauge basedsensor for real-time truck freightmonitoring

This study aims to develop a weight monitoring sensor for trucks used in sugarcane harvesting. Finite element simulation of the behavior of the load of harvested sugarcane in the bin acting on the truck chassis was established. The position of the weight sensors was determined based on the stress distribution results. The weight sensors were then designed and constructed. A testing unit representing the truck chassis was constructed for calibration of the weight sensors. The results showed that sensors should be installed on the chassis at 180 mm above the rear wheel mounting position, where the maximum stress was 7.64 MPa. The designed weight sensor consisted of four strain gauges attached to the end of two 30 mm diameter bolts. All strain gauges were wired into a Wheatstone bridge circuit (full bridge). A linear relationship between the signals from the sensor and weight was found for weights greater than 1000 N. The weight of sugarcane can be monitored during harvest to do yield mapping and support the combine while it harvests the field

Green synthesis and photocatalytic dye degradation activity of CuO Nanoparticles

This project was supported by Researchers Supporting Project Number (RSP-2023R7) King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. S.A.C.C. acknowledges support from FCT/MCTES (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia and Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior) through projects UIDB/50006/2020 and UIDP/50006/2020 and for the Scientific Employment Stimulus—Institutional Call (CEECINST/00102/2018). The authors thank The Islamia University of Bahawalpur for providing basic facilities.The degradation of dyes is a difficult task due to their persistent and stable nature; therefore, developing materials with desirable properties to degrade dyes is an important area of research. In the present study, we propose a simple, one-pot mechanochemical approach to synthesize CuO nanoparticles (NPs) using the leaf extract of Seriphidium oliverianum, as a reducing and stabilizing agent. The CuO NPs were characterized via X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), photoluminescence (PL) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The photocatalytic activity of CuO NPs was monitored using ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy. The CuO NPs exhibited high potential for the degradation of water-soluble industrial dyes. The degradation rates for methyl green (MG) and methyl orange (MO) were 65.231% ± 0.242 and 65.078% ± 0.392, respectively. Bio-mechanochemically synthesized CuO NPs proved to be good candidates for efficiently removing dyes from waterpublishersversionpublishe

The combination of laccase and titanium dioxide for lignin degradation

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Investigating Laccase and Titanium Dioxide for Lignin Degradation

We assess whether biocatalytic and photocatalytic processes separately or in combination are successful for lignin degradation. Laccase from Trametes versicolor served as the biocatalyst, and TiO₂ served as the photocatalyst. The catalysts were used in single- and dual-step configurations. For comparison, lignin degradation by laccase and titania alone were studied. Operational conditions were 50 ± 1 °C, pH 5.0, and with a lignin concentration (molecular weight of 16 000–175 000) of 1.0 g/L. H₂O₂ was used as a mediator to increase laccase and TiO₂ degradation ability. The results show that H₂O₂ plays a significant role in improving lignin degradation by TiO₂ and that 100% decolorization and delignification was achieved. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis confirmed the presence of organic acids being a prominent compound class in TiO₂/H₂O₂ processes. We show that not only can laccase and TiO₂ completely degrade lignin but the process also yields highly desirable byproduct, such as succinic and malonic acids. Biorefinery opportunities for the processes demonstrated here are discussed

Effect of Temperature on Increasing Biogas Production from Sugar Industrial Wastewater Treatment by UASB Process in Pilot Scale

AbstractAn UASB system is anaerobic wastewater treatment that produces biogas with low operation cost. The main problem of this process is operating at temperatures below 25OC which occurs in the winter season in Thailand. The aim of this work was to improve the efficiency of UASB system by mixing water condensate from electrical power plant with sugar influent before delivery to UASB reactor. The optimized temperature was investigated. The result shows the efficiency of VFA and COD removal was obtained ca. 92% with temperature at 29-40°C. The maximum methane production (0.38 m3CH4/kgCOD) has higher than design parameters about 27.51% at 40OC. The methane production is reduced when the operating temperature is higher than 40OC. Furthermore, the UASB could be considered for decreasing LPG cost in sugar refinery process

Application of Al2O3 modified sulfate tailings (CaFe-Cake and SuFe) for efficient removal of cyanide ions from mine process water

© 2018 Elsevier Ltd A novel approach for the management of solid and liquid wastes of mining was implemented in this work. Unmodified and modified metallurgical solid wastes, sulfate tailings, were used as adsorbents for the removal of cyanide ions from synthetic mine process water. Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and nitrogen adsorption methods, based on Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) theory, were used for analysis of composition, structure and surface area of the adsorbents. A wet-granulation method was used for preparation of granules from sorbent powders with polyvinyl acetate as a binder and the further modification of the sorbent surface was carried out by atomic layer deposition (ALD) of Al 2 O 3 . The granules were used for the removal of cyanide ions from synthetic solutions by batch adsorption method. ALD-modified sorbent showed approximately 3.5 mmol g -1 adsorption capacity for cyanide ions. The adsorption isotherm was fitted with Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption models. The cyanide ions on the modified sorbent surface is enabled to form a stable and non-toxic cyanide complex in the solution, which can be reused as the complexing agent in the metallurgical industries