Enhanced extraction of Synsepalum dulcificum (Miracle Fruit) leaves using green ultrasonication–hydrodistillation method

In this study, the phenolic compounds of Synsepalum dulcificum leaves were extracted via green sonication-hydrodistillation (UHD) method. The performance of UHD method was compared with conventional hydrodistillation (HD) method with UHD method resulting three-fold higher total phenolic content (TPC) of 124.82 mg GAE/g. The UHD method was further intensified by investigating the effect of extraction temperature ranging from 100 °C to 200 °C. The most intensified temperature was at 120 °C, indicating highest extraction yield of 102.95 mg/g. Different mathematical models namely rate law, Peleg's model and Fick's model were analysed and it was found that Fick's model was successfully predict the UHD process which confirms that diffusivity is the controlling factor in extracting phenolic compounds, instead of the capacity and the rate of reaction as proposed by Peleg's model and rate law, respectively. Hence, it can be concluded that UHD method effectively enhanced the extraction efficiency to increase the extraction yield of phenolic compounds in S. dulcificum leaves

Synergistic effect of probe sonication and ionic liquid for extraction of phenolic acids from oak galls

Phenolic acids of oak gall were extracted using ultrasonic-probe assisted extraction (UPAE) method in the presence of ionic liquid. It was compared with classical ultrasonic-bath assisted extraction (CUBAE) and conventional aqueous extraction (CAE) method, with and without the presence of ionic liquid. Remarkably, the UPAE method yielded two-fold higher extraction yield with the presence of ionic liquid, resulting 481.04 mg/g for gallic acids (GA) and 2287.90 mg/g for tannic acids (TA), while a decreased value of 130.36 mg/g for GA and 1556.26 mg/g for TA were resulted with the absence of ionic liquid. Intensification process resulted the highest yield of 497.34 mg/g and 2430.48 mg/g for GA and TA, respectively, extracted at temperature 50 °C with sonication intensity of 8.66 W/cm2 and 10% duty cycle, diluted in ionic liquid, 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, [Bmim][Tf2N] at concentration of 0.10 M with sample-to-solvent ratio 1:10 for 8 h. Peleg’s model successfully predicted the UPAE process confirming that extraction capacity is the controlling factor in extracting phenolic acids. Hence, it can be concluded that UPAE method and ionic liquid have synergistic effect as it effectively enhanced the extraction efficiency to increase the bioactive constituents yield

Dissolution of condensed tannin powder-based polyphenolic compound in water-glycerol-acid solution

Dissolution of polyphenolic compounds from condensed tannins powder from wattle species was carried out using water-glycerol mixtures and sulfuric acid (H2SO4) as a catalyst. The study focused on parameters that can be adjusted to maximize the dissolution. The parameters of the dissolution process (mass of glycerol, mass of tannin powder, temperature and stirring time) were screened using a one factor at a time (OFAT) technique, while the optimum conditions were obtained using response surface methodology (RSM). Effects of the mass of glycerol, mass of tannin powder, temperature, and stirring time used on the percentage of dissolved tannin residue was apparent. The amount of undissolved tannin was used as the direct measurement in this study since there is no established method available to test tannin dissolution in water-glycerolacid solution. The result from RSM based on 30 experimental sets showed that the lowest undissolved tannin powder value was 10% when 75 grams of tannin powder was mixed with 13.56 grams of glycerol, 86.44 grams of water, and 1.00 grams of sulphuric acid, at 75 °C temperature and 44.13 minutes stirring time

Modelling of wood resin interaction

There are 11 medium density fibreboard (MDF) and 11 particle board (PB) plants in Malaysia. The total production capacity is approx 2.5 million cubic ton per year. Wood based industries constitute fourth biggest export earnings for the country. Thermosetting resin such as Urea Formaldehyde (UF) and Phenol formaldehyde (PF) constitutes near about 50% of the cost of wood composites. Not many studies have been carried out to understand the behaviour of resin on wood fibre. Sometimes manufacturer’s spray resin more than required which is a waste of material and some time they spray less, which may cause low internal bonding and low modulus of rupture of wood composite. There is a need to develop better understanding, by means of experimental data and modelling. The present model studies the impact of various factors such as resin surface tension, diameter of wood pores, resin contact angle on the penetration rate of resin on the wood surface. The Matlab software is used for programming and running the simulations. The present model will help the wood composite industries to develop better understanding of wood-resin interaction and to optimize the parameters, to get the better bonding between wood fibres

Phenol formaldehyde resol resins with plant-based tannin for composite laminate applications

The use of phenol and formaldehyde in preparing resole resins had sparked some environmental concerns. This study investigated the feasibility of substituting or minimising the use of phenols and formaldehyde in the preparation of phenol formaldehyde resins by adding dissolved tannin into the formulations. The objectives of the research include assessing the effects of varying the molar ratio of phenol and formaldehyde in the preparation of phenol formaldehyde resins, evaluating the effects of minimising the use of phenol and formaldehyde and replacing it with dissolved tannin in the resins’ formulation, and analysing the curing kinetics of resins and profiling the heat transfer behaviour of the composite laminate using a computational fluid dynamics software. The analyses performed in this research cover the rheological, physical, thermal, chemical and mechanical properties as well as the microscopic imaging of the produced resins and the composite laminates. The phenol formaldehyde (PF) resin shows a shear thickening behaviour at all temperature sets, i.e., 40oC, 60oC, 80oC and 100oC. Water in formalin reduces the flexural and tensile properties of the PF composite laminates by 97.0% and 67.8%, respectively. The dissolved tannin reduces the amount of PF used by 20.0 % and improves the flexural and tensile properties of the PF composite laminates by 26.0% and 8.8%, respectively. Some reduction in the thermal properties of the resins were noted whilst the Ea values for both formulations were similar. Autocatalytic model can be used to represent the curing kinetics when the degree of cure is lower than 0.4 and 0.5 whilst the nth order model can be used to represent the curing kinetics when the degree of cure is higher than or equal to 0.4 and 0.5 for PF and dissolved tannin phenol formaldehyde (DTPF) resin, respectively. During curing the laminate, the heat was dissipated from the edges of the composite to the centre, while, during post curing, the heat was dispersed from the centre to the edges of the composite laminate. This study shows the feasibility of reducing the content of PF in the formulation of PF by adding dissolved tannin to the formulations. It is good to note that with the addition of dissolved tannin, the mechanical integrity of the composite laminate was improved

Statistical Investigation of Extraction Parameters of Keratin from Chicken Feather using Design-Expert

Uncontrolled disposal of feathers from the poultry industry and slaughterhouses is environmentally undesirable. The feathers are composed of approximately 90% of keratin which is an important ingredient of cosmetics, shampoos and hair treatment creams. This study aimed to determine the optimum conditions for the extraction of keratin from chicken feathers. The extraction of keratin using various reducing agents was studied using statistical experimental design. In the extraction process, pH, temperature, ratio of reducing agents, mass of chicken feathers and incubation time were analyzed. The keratin in the total extracted protein was purified by size exclusion chromatography, sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and further characterized using amino acids profile analysis. The surface morphology and chemical composition were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis. Sodium sulfide (Na2S) yielded 84.5% of keratin as compared to sodium hydroxide (43.8), urea mixture (50.6), mixture of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and sodium bisulfite (18.3) and a mixture of Na2S and sodium hydroxide (41.5%) under optimized conditions. The optimum yield of keratin was achieved at 80.9 °C in 9.5 h with 0.05 M sodium sulfide using response surface methodology (RSM). Among the five parameters screened, pH was found not to be significant because the p value was greater than 0.05

Extraction of Keratin Protein from Chicken Feather

The present research was conducted to extract keratin protein from chicken feathers. Protein is an important nutrient needed by our body to maintain body structures and is an important ingredient for cosmetic products. Chicken feathers have high level of keratin protein content and can become a suitable protein source. The main processes involved are first dissolving chicken feat hers using different reducing agents and later on separating the protein from chemicals. Reducing agents used are potassium cyanide, thioglycolic acid and sodium sulphide. Once the feathers are dissolved using reducing agents, ammonium sulfate solution is added to the solution for the precipitation of protein. The precipitated protein is washed with water several times and sodium hydroxide solution is used to obtain protein back in the solution form. Out of three different reducing agents used, sodium sulfide gives the highest efficiency in dissolving chicken feathers since the feathers are dissolved in a very short period of time. The percentage of keratin protein is evaluated by means of biuret test and FTIR analysis. The analysis by FTIR confirmed the presence of carboxyl acid and amino groups in the protein solution. The biuret test he lps in determining the concentration of protein obtained from different methods. Thus these two tests confirm the presence of protein in the solution. From this research, it can be concluded that protein can be extracted from chicken feathers. The keratin protein solution can be used for several purposes such as anti-aging cream, shampoo, and conditioner and for medical purposes such as bone replacement and bone graft