Extraction, characterization and application of cellulose from pandan leaves as grafted flocculant for dyes treatment

A new polyacrylamide grafted cellulose (PAM-g-cellulose) was successfully synthesised by using microwave assisted synthesis method. Cellulose was extracted from Pandan leaves by carrying out alkali and bleaching treatments. The determination of chemical composition was done which covers the percentage of lignin, hemicellulose and cellulose. Analysis of Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Thermogravimetric (TGA) were conducted to the raw Pandan leaves and extracted cellulose. For grafting synthesis study, the highest grafting percentage was achieved at 170%. The best grafted sample (i.e. highest percentage) then was characterized using SEM and FTIR. The PAM was successfully grafted onto the backbone of cellulose as confirmed by SEM and FTIR results. The grafting mechanism involved a synergism of microwave radiation and ceric ammonium nitrate (CAN) as chemical free radical initiator to initiate the free radical grafting reaction. The flocculation studies of the developed grafted copolymers have been evaluated in synthetic dye (Reactive Black 5 (RB5)) suspension. Response surface methodology (RSM) and Box-Behnken design (BBD) were employed to explore the relationship of process variables (i.e. initial dye concentration, flocculant dosage and pH) on percentage reduction of initial dye concentration and COD level of RB5 dye as well as to find the optimum process condition. The flocculant dosage and pH were the most significant factors in affecting the degree of flocculation efficiency. The optimum condition for reduction of initial dye concentration and COD were achieved at initial dye concentration of 0.03 g/l, flocculant dosage of 0.06 g and pH 11.72. Under this condition, the reduction of initial dye concentration and COD were 23.51% and 54.24%, respectively

Synthesis of mesoporous calcium titanate catalyst for transesterification of used cooking oil

Biodiesel is a promising alternative for conventional diesel fuel due to the unsustainable feature of the resources and unstable price of the fuels. However, the production cost is higher compared to the conventional ones and is significantly contributed from the feedstock. Realizing that a large portion of used cooking oil (UCO) is generated daily, this research aims to investigate and explore the production of biodiesel from UCO. In the production reaction process, undoubtedly, catalyst plays an important role. It has been shown that calcium oxide (CaO) is one of the best heterogeneous basic catalysts in transesterification reaction for biodiesel production. However, the catalyst has low surface area which restricts the active basic sites to disperse on the catalyst surface. Moreover, CaO catalyst faces leaching problem, poor stability and porosity which hinder its catalytic activity and reusability. Therefore, in this study, it is aimed to modify CaO supported titanium with a mesoporous structure by a sol-gel-hydrothermal method to overcome the limitations of CaO catalyst. The property of the mesoporous calcium titanate (MCT) catalyst was characterized via x-ray diffraction, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, nitrogen physisorption, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Fourier transform Raman spectroscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis, hydrogen thermal programmed-reduction and carbon dioxide thermal programmed-desorption. The catalytic activity of the MCT catalyst towards biodiesel production from UCO was evaluated by varying the transesterification reaction parameters. From the catalytic activity results, the highest biodiesel yield of 80 % was achieved under reaction conditions of 3:1 of methanol to UCO molar ratio, 0.2 wt. % catalyst loading at 65 °C for 1 h. Reusability study suggested that this catalyst can be recycled for five successive times. The kinetic studies revealed that the reaction follows a pseudo first order model. The activation energy of the transesterification reaction of UCO over MCT catalyst obtained was 21.25 kJ mol-1 that indicates the rate of reaction was diffusion limited or mass transfer limited. Meanwhile the thermodynamic parameters show results of enthalpy0. The tested fuel properties of the product were also in agreement with ASTM D6751 and EN 14214 standards. Additionally, it can be concluded that the synthesized MCT catalyst was found to achieve improvement in the catalyst characteristics as well as the catalytic activity compared to commercial CaO catalyst in transesterification reaction for biodiesel production from UCO

Biosorption of chromium (VI) ions using sustainable eggshell impregnated pandanus amaryllifolius roxb. biosorbent

Currently, wastewater containing heavy metals treatment has been included as a significant topic for research. This is due to the effluent that is concentrated with a toxic and hazardous content which needs for a proper treatment as to reduce the environmental impacts before it can be released as an effluent. Therefore, biosorption by waste material was proposed in this study as a treatment method for this type of wastewater. The objective is focus on the comparison of the characteristics and performance of raw eggshell waste biosorbent with prepared hybrid eggshell pandan biosorbent on the removal of Cr (VI) ions in aqueous solution. From the study, it showed that the prepared hybrid biosorbent perform higher percentage in the removal of Cr (VI) ions in aqueous solution compare to the raw eggshell waste with its optimum condition at 140 min of contact time, 0.5 g of biosorbent dosage at 50 °C and pH 4 in 0.8 mg/L of solution concentration. On the other hands, the optimum conditions for the raw eggshell waste biosorbent to achieve its highest percentage removal of Cr (VI) ions in aqueous solution is 140 mins of contact time, 0.5 g of biosorbent dosage in room temperature at pH 5 in 0.8 mg/L of solution concentration. The kinetic study revealed that the adsorption model of this study follows the pseudo-second-order kinetic model of Legergren with positive value of enthalpy (16.68 kJ/mol) and entropy change (0.0473 kJ/mol). In addition, hybrid eggshell-pandan biosorbent has a potential to become a candidate of biosorbent to the removal of Cr (VI) ions in wastewater

Banana peels sorbent : An alternative activated carbon material for food dye reduction in aqueous

Today, the most commonly adopted adsorbent is Activated Carbon. It has large surface area, excellent porosity, low density with high adsorption efficiency towards contaminants in aqueous solution. Besides that, this carbonaceous material has high physicochemical stability, mechanical strength and degree of surface reactivity, with large surface area responsible for the efficiency of adsorption reaction mechanism. Generally, it is derived from coal, a non-renewable carbon source with a relatively high price. Therefore, with an economic point of view, researchers have made extensive efforts to find a low-cost alternative material for Activated Carbon preparation from a range of lignocellulosic materials, biopolymer, coal, char, and fruit peels. Therefore, we have come out with a solution of Banana Peels as the potential material for Activated Carbon preparation

Enhancement of Stability and Biogas Production from Anaerobic Digestion of Food Waste and its Mixture with Raw Sludge

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a widely used technology applied globally for managing food waste (FW). However, biogas production has an issue with low yield due to the inhibition of microbial activities, consequently resulting in AD instability. In this study, sludge is used as an additive during AD of (FW) to investigate the enhancement of AD’s biogas production and stability. This work aims to critically analyse the sludge’s ability to produce biogas with and without sludge in AD of (FW) at 26°C. AD batch tests were performed at the laboratory scale operating three sets of digestors (500 ml glass bottle with 350 ml operating volume). The first set of digestors operated without sludge for (7, 14, 21 and 28 days), whereas the second set of digestors had different amounts of sludge dosage (1 g, 2 g, 3 g, and 4 g) for 14 days. The last set operated with a fixed sludge dosage of 4 g for (7, 14, 21 and 28 days). It was observed that biogas production increased when sludge was added to the AD. Furthermore, the characterisation analysis of sludge identified the -OH, C-H, C-C and C-O functions by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and the elemental composition of Si, Al, and O observed by scanning electron microscope equipped with energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) which enhanced the biogas production and the stability of AD

Synthesis of Biodiesel from Used Frying Oil Using Modified Banana Peel Waste as A Heterogeneous Catalyst

In this study, biodiesel was synthesised from a transesterification reaction of used frying oil (UFO) catalysed by modified banana peel waste (Modified-BPW). The catalyst properties were characterised using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analyses. The reaction parameters were varied to evaluate the optimal reaction parameters that could influence the biodiesel yield, such as methanol to oil molar ratio, catalyst loading amount and water content presence in the UFO at a fixed reaction time of 2 hours and a reaction temperature of 65°C. The catalytic activity resulted in the reaction condition of 12:1 of methanol to oil molar ratio, 1 wt.% of catalyst dosage and 0.5 wt.% water content in UFO, obtaining the highest biodiesel yield of 88.7%. The results indicated that the Modified-BPW could be a promising catalyst for biodiesel synthesis from UFO

Preliminary study of COF-based mixed matrix membranes for improved antifouling property

A covalent organic framework (COF) was successfully incorporated to construct a new ultrafiltration (UF) membrane via interfacial polymerization. A mixed-matrix UF membranes with concentrations COF range of 0 to 1 wt% have been prepared and characterized. The influence of COF concentration on the membrane morphology and antifouling property has been evaluated. Increasing COF concentration from 0 to 1 wt% could significantly enhance the rejection rate from 26.11% to 95.87% for bovine serum albumin (BSA). Moreover, membrane hydrophilicity significantly improved by 30.53%, with the decrease of water contact angle from 66.94° to 46.50°

Primary evaluation of COF-based mixed matrix membranes to antifouling property

Nowadays, anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBRs) are one of the considerable wastewater treatment technologies. However, the performance of AnMBRs in wastewater treatment is faded due to the membrane fouling issue. Due to that concern, it gives a reason to find a material with high quality properties to prepare an antifouling membrane for the application in AnMBRs. In this present study, a new ultrafiltration (UF) membrane incorporated covalent organic framework (COF) was successfully constructed by interfacial polymerization method. A mixed-matrix membranes (MMMs) in various concentrations of COF range of 0 to 1 wt% was prepared and characterized by SEM, XRD, FTIR and AFM analysis. The analysis has confirmed the incorporation of the COF to the UF membrane. The effect of various COF concentration towards the antifouling property of the prepared membranes were evaluated. The results show, the increasing of COF concentration from 0 to 1 wt% has led to the increasing in the rejection rate from 26.11% to 95.87%. Besides, the membrane hydrophilicity significantly improved by 30.53%, when the water contact angle decreased from 66.94° to 46.50°. These results suggested that the PES/COF MMMs has great potential to offer an efficient separation with superior antifouling membrane for AnMBRs

Synthesis and characterization of CaO-TiO2 for transesterification of vegetable palm oil

This study explores the potential of titanium oxide impregnated on calcium oxide (CaO-TiO2) as catalyst in transesterification of vegetable palm oil (VPO) to produce biodiesel. The biodiesel yield increased with catalyst calcination temperature and reaction time, and the usage of CaO-TiO2 led to higher yield of biodiesel production when compared to reaction catalyzed by CaO. Biodiesel yield of 93.33% was recorded when CaO-TiO2 was used at optimized reaction conditions. Catalyst characterizations showed that addition of TiO2 to CaO improved the catalytic property by increasing the surface area and strength of basic sites, hence increased the catalytic performance of CaO-TiO2. This study demonstrates the potential of CaO-TiO2 to convert VPO into biodiesel, and the potential of the catalyst in the conversion of waste cooking oil into renewable fuel

Characterization of banana peels waste adsorbent for preliminary study of methylene blue removal from aqueous solution

This paper presents the removal of methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solution using adsorbent produced from Banana peels waste (BPW). Banana peels waste adsorbent (BPWA) was prepared via carbonization in laboratory muffle furnace for 1 h. A preliminary study was performed on the adsorption reaction by varying the initial concentration of MB, adsorbent dosage, contact time, pH and temperature of the aqueous solution. Under the best conditions obtained, the maximum percentage removal of MB is approximately 99 %. The potential of BPWA as dyeing wastewater adsorbent was proven by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis, N2 adsorption-desorption analysis and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). From the results, the synthesized adsorbent shown a good percentage removal of MB. In addition, the optimum conditions for the adsorption study are 1 g of adsorbent in the 1 g L-1 of MB initial concentration, for 1 h at pH 8 in 65 ?C. This study reveals potential of BPW in removal of MB dyes from aqueous solution however, further studies are required to establish the applicability of the synthesized adsorbent for the treatment of wastewater from textile industry