Synthesis and characterization of rice husk biochar via hydrothermal carbonization for wastewater treatment and biofuel production.

The recent implication of circular economy in Australia spurred the demand for waste material utilization for value-added product generations on a commercial scale. Therefore, this experimental study emphasized on agricultural waste biomass, rice husk (RH) as potential feedstock to produce valuable products. Rice husk biochar (RB) was obtained at temperature: 180 °C, pressure: 70 bar, reaction time: 20 min with water via hydrothermal carbonization (HTC), and the obtained biochar yield was 57.9%. Enhancement of zeta potential value from - 30.1 to - 10.6 mV in RB presented the higher suspension stability, and improvement of surface area and porosity in RB demonstrated the wastewater adsorption capacity. Along with that, an increase of crystallinity in RB, 60.5%, also indicates the enhancement of the catalytic performance of the material significantly more favorable to improve the adsorption efficiency of transitional compounds. In contrast, an increase of the atomic O/C ratio in RB, 0.51 delineated high breakdown of the cellulosic component, which is favorable for biofuel purpose. 13.98% SiO2 reduction in RB confirmed ash content minimization and better quality of fuel properties. Therefore, the rice husk biochar through HTC can be considered a suitable material for further application to treat wastewater and generate bioenergy

Improving statistical inference on pathogen densities estimated by quantitative molecular methods: malaria gametocytaemia as a case study

BACKGROUND: Quantitative molecular methods (QMMs) such as quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (q-PCR), reverse-transcriptase PCR (qRT-PCR) and quantitative nucleic acid sequence-based amplification (QT-NASBA) are increasingly used to estimate pathogen density in a variety of clinical and epidemiological contexts. These methods are often classified as semi-quantitative, yet estimates of reliability or sensitivity are seldom reported. Here, a statistical framework is developed for assessing the reliability (uncertainty) of pathogen densities estimated using QMMs and the associated diagnostic sensitivity. The method is illustrated with quantification of Plasmodium falciparum gametocytaemia by QT-NASBA. RESULTS: The reliability of pathogen (e.g. gametocyte) densities, and the accompanying diagnostic sensitivity, estimated by two contrasting statistical calibration techniques, are compared; a traditional method and a mixed model Bayesian approach. The latter accounts for statistical dependence of QMM assays run under identical laboratory protocols and permits structural modelling of experimental measurements, allowing precision to vary with pathogen density. Traditional calibration cannot account for inter-assay variability arising from imperfect QMMs and generates estimates of pathogen density that have poor reliability, are variable among assays and inaccurately reflect diagnostic sensitivity. The Bayesian mixed model approach assimilates information from replica QMM assays, improving reliability and inter-assay homogeneity, providing an accurate appraisal of quantitative and diagnostic performance. CONCLUSIONS: Bayesian mixed model statistical calibration supersedes traditional techniques in the context of QMM-derived estimates of pathogen density, offering the potential to improve substantially the depth and quality of clinical and epidemiological inference for a wide variety of pathogens

Author Correction: Elucidating causative gene variants in hereditary Parkinson’s disease in the Global Parkinson’s Genetics Program (GP2)

Correction to: s41531-023-00526-9 npj Parkinson’s Disease, published online 27 June 2023 In this article the Global Parkinson’s Genetics Program (GP2) members names and affiliations were missing in the main author list of the Original article which are listed in the below

Protein purification in chromatographic media using multiwall carbon nanotubes

Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) had been synthesized by Double Stage Chemical Vapor Deposition (DS-CVD) at the gas phase with Hydrogen gas (H2) and acetylene (C2H2) as precursor gases. Moreover, the structure of CNTs, morphology and purity were characterized by using the Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA). Furthermore, the best conditions for the optimal CNT was reaction at temperature of 750°C, reaction time of 30 minutes, with gas flow rates H2 and C2H2 for 60 and 170 ml/min for respectively. The hydrochloric acid was used to purify produced CNT and then using the nitric acid and sulfuric treatment to functionalize. Moreover, functionalized CNTs, non-functionalized were used as column chromatographic media for skim latex protein purification. Thus, the results reveal that at pH7 and ionic strength 50 mM gives higher efficiency of protein removal from the skim latex

Microwave-assisted synthesis of multi-walled carbon nanotubes for enhanced removal of Zn(II) from wastewater

Removal of toxic metals is one of the biggest challenges in ensuring safe water for all as well as protecting the environment. Novel multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MCNTs) have been successfully synthesised by microwave techniques and improved to be an outstanding adsorbent for the removal of Zn(II) from wastewater. The adsorption of Zn(II) was studied and optimized as a function of pH, initial Zn(II) concentration, MCNT dosage, agitation speed, and adsorption time. In order to investigate the dynamic behavior of MCNTs as an adsorbent, the kinetic data were modeled using pseudo-first-order and second-order kinetic models. Different thermodynamic parameters, viz., ∆H°, ∆S° and ∆G° have also been evaluated and it has been found that the adsorption was feasible, spontaneous and endothermic in nature. Statistical analysis reveals that the optimum conditions for the highest removal (99.9 %) of Zn(II) are at pH 10, a MCNT dosage 0.05 g, an agitation speed and time of 160 rpm and 60 min, respectively, with an initial concentration of 10 mg/L. On the basis of the Langmuir model, qm was calculated to be 90.9 mg/g for microwave-synthesized MCNTs. Our results proved that MCNTs can be used as an effective Zn(II) adsorbent due to their high adsorption capacity as well as the short adsorption time needed to achieve equilibrium. Hence, MCNTs serve an important role in the removal of heavy metals from wastewater

Feasibility Study for Production of Hydrogen from Agricultural Solid Residue with Reference to Malaysia Using ASPEN Plus Simulation

© 2018, Springer Nature B.V. A technical and feasibility assessment has been conducted for gasification of solid agricultural residue to produce hydrogen in Malaysia. The availability and current technologies for using biomass has been reviewed. Flow sheet for the process has been conceptualized and the material and energy balances for the process along with a plant-wide simulation using the software ASPEN Plus have been undertaken. Powdered Nickle Oxide (NIO-B) has been proposed as catalyst to give approximately 95% purity. Furthermore, the economic analyses worst, base and best financial scenarios have been done and in all cases, the rates of investment (ROI) analysis have been undertaken. From the economic analysis, it has been observed that the total estimated cost for a base scenario, the plant would be USD $52,413,276 for an annual feed rate of 241,938,900 kg. Based on current market of hydrogen and carbon dioxide the payback period for the base case plant would be 1.51 years with the total annual profit of USD$11,045,497.79, which corresponds to a ROI of 12.43%