Fe2+/Persulfate / Clinoptilolite, catalytic oxidative treatment, as a cost effective process for Isocyanate and Meta Toluene Diamine Petrochemical unit wastewater

Background: Petrochemical wastewater from isocyanate units contains aromatic and hazardous compounds such as Diaminotoluenes, Mononitrotoluene, Dinitro-toluene, Nitro-phenol, Nitro-cresol. Persulfate and ferrous sulfate can produce sulfate radicals with strong standard oxidation potential. Clinoptilolite, a natural adsorbent; plus sulfate radicals can result in catalytic oxidation of these chemicals. The objective of this study is to evaluate the catalytic oxidation efficiency Fe2+/Persulfate/ Clinoptilolite and cost effectiveness of this process for treatment of petrochemical wastewater containing aromatics.Materials and methods: The effect of study variables including persulfate and ferrous sulfate concentrations, zeolite dosages, pH and oxidation time were investigated. The type and amount of aromatic compounds as well as COD and TSS removal efficiencies were determined. All procedures in study were conducted ethicallyResults: The COD and TSS removal efficiencies using catalytic oxidative treatment processes by Fe,Persulfate, Clinoptilolite were 96% and 95%, respectively. The corresponding COD and TSS removal efficiencies using Fe and Persulfate, without zeolite were 85% and 80%, respectively.Conclusion: The catalytic processes utilizing Fe2+/Persulfate/ Clinoptilolite demonstrates an excellent COD and TSS removal efficiency. Due to its natural nature, low cost compared to chemical oxidants, as well as improvements in the efficiency of advanced oxidation processes, Zeolite can be considered as anefficient and cost-effective alternative to upgrade the catalytic oxidative treatment

NE102A Plastic Scintillator Response to He-3 Ions

Plastic scintillators are widely used in detecting nuclear radiation due to their low construction cost, the ability to be produced in nearly any shape and size and relatively fast time response, among which NE102A (or its equivalents, BC400 and EJ-212) is one of the most famous and widely used scintillators in the focal plane of the particle magnetic spectrometers. In this study, the response of a large NE102A scintillator to He-3 ions was investigated in the energy range of 55-87 MeV. The experimental data were collected from the measurements carried out at the accelerator center of University of Groningen, the Netherlands (KVI-CART). The results of this research, acceptably consistent with previous published experimental data, confirmed that the response of the NE102A scintillator to He-3 ions with energies more than 10 MeV is approximately linear

<em>In vitro</em> cytotoxic and apoptotic activities of <em>Allium paradoxum</em> (M. Bieb.) G. Don extract on human breast cancer cell line

247-254Researchers from all pharmaceutical fields are trying to find new drugs from natural origin with less toxicity. In northern Hyrcanian forests Iran, Allium paradoxum (M. Bieb.) G. Don has traditionally used as food and vegetable. Previously studies reports, this plant has a medicinal potential for anti-oxidant and anti-hemolytic activities. In this regard, we evaluated the anti-tumor activity of hydroalcoholic extract of A. paradoxum (M. Bieb.) G. Don in different concentrations on human breast cancer cell line (MCF-7). MTT assay was performed with MCF-7 cancer cell line and also evaluation of apoptotic effect, Bax and Bcl-2 expression in MCF7 cells were analyzed by real time RT-PCR. The results showed that the A. paradoxum (M. Bieb.) G. Don extracts decrease the viability of MCF-7 cell line in a dose-dependent manner and the most effective concentration of this extracts after 24 h treatment was 100 μM. Apoptosis induction was confirmed by fluorescence microscopy and plant extracts display a pro-apoptotic effect by down-regulated and up-regulated the expression of Bcl-2 and BAX in tumor cells, respectively. In conclusion, the study was confirmed pro-apoptotic and cytotoxicity effect of A. paradoxum (M. Bieb.) G. Don extract against MCF-7 cell lines. Based on being natural, low cost, accessibility, and noteworthy advantages of this product, it seems that A. paradoxum (M. Bieb.) G. Don has a potential source for isolation of novel anticancer agents for a drug