Insights into the Impacts of Synthesis Parameters on Lignin-based Activated Carbon and Its Application for: Methylene Blue Adsorption

In the current research, lignin was successfully extracted from industrial waste Kraft black liquor using the acid precipitation method. In the following step, powdered carbon was synthesized through the H3PO4-chemical activation method. The effects of synthesis parameters, including activation temperature (T) within the range of 400-600 ⁰C and two H3PO4/Lignin mass ratios (R) of 2 and 3 on activated carbon (AC) structure, were investigated. The physical and morphological properties of the ACs were obtained through BET, SEM, and FTIR analyses. The potential application of ACs was studied by measuring their adsorption capacity in the adsorption process of Methylene blue (MB) from an aqueous solution. The sensitized AC at R=2, and T= 500 ⁰C (AC-2-500) showed the highest specific surface area (1573.31 m2/g) and the pore volume (0.89 cm3/g), as well as the highest adsorption capacity of MB. This adsorbent was applied in the equilibrium adsorption experiments and kinetic description. The results from kinetic experiments and adsorption isotherms indicated that the pseudo-first-order model and Langmuir model were in correspondence with the experimental data most. The maximum adsorption capacity was 188 mg/g. The study proved there is a high potential for the conversion of black liquor to greatly porous Lignin-based adsorbents. Moreover, the considerable maximum adsorption capacity suggested a significant potential of Lignin-based AC for wastewater treatment

An overview of multi-ingredient kidney stone dissolving formulations from Traditional Persian Pharmacy

Kidney stone, as a third important urinary tract disease, is a common disease affecting 10-15% of the world population. Effective medical treatment for the disease is not yet well established. On the other hand, there is an increasing global demand to manage and control various diseases with natural medicine and medicaments originating from Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). Traditional Persian medicine (TPM), as one of the most popular schools in CAM, suggests numerous clinical interventions for kidney stones. This review provides various related compound formulations for kidney/bladder stones from the standpoints of Persian scholars. These remedies have been cited in a series of traditional pharmaceutical manuscripts of Persian medicine, namely Qarābādin or prescription. More than fifty multi-ingredient formulations for kidney/bladder stones have been found by reviewing five main Persian pharmacopeias. Various dosage forms have been reported for the management of kidney/bladder stones, such as Majoon (confection), Sharāb (syrup), Jawārish (semisolid confection), Qors (Tablet), and Safoof (oral powder). Considering the positive pharmacological or biological activities of the constituents of filtered formulations, many of those can be re-formulated and either experimentally or clinically evaluated to be introduced as new natural remedies in this field

Estimation of Short-term Mortality and Morbidity Attributed to Fine Particulate Matter in the Ambient Air of Eight Iranian Cities

Amongst the various pollutants in the air, particulate matters (PM) have significant adverse effects on human health. The current research is based on existing epidemiological literature for quantitative estimation of the current health impacts related to particulate matters in some selected principal Iranian megacities. In order to find the influence of air pollution on human health, we used the AirQ software tool presented by the World Health Organization (WHO) European Centre for Environment and Health (ECEH), Bilthoven Division. The adverse health outcomes used in the study consist of mortality (all causes excluding accidental causes), due to cardiovascular (CVD) and respiratory (RES) diseases, and morbidity (hospital admissions for CVD and RES causes). For this purpose, hourly PM10 data were taken from the monitoring stations in eight study cities during 2011 and 2012. Results showed annual average concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5 in all megacities exceeded national and international air quality standards and even reached levels nearly ten times higher than WHO guidelines in some cities. Considering the short-term effects, PM2.5 had the maximum effects on the health of the 19,048,000 residents of the eight Iranian cities, causing total mortality of 5,670 out of 87,907 during a one-year time-period. Hence, reducing concentrations and controlling air pollution, particularly the presence of particles, is urgent in these metropolises

Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Liquefied Petroleum Gas on Copper, Zinc and Iron Oxide Impregnated on MFI Zeolite Assisted by Electric Power

Olefin was produced with a non-conventional method using an electric field exerted on zeolites. The lattice oxygen mobility increases with a decrease in band gap, leading to an increase in olefin yield. By impregnating the transition metal, an increase in carrier concentration occurs. The external electric field changes the Fermi level. In this research, HZSM-5 was placed in an external DC electric field with strength appropriate for studying its catalytic performance. The Fermi level changed with the metal type and the external electric field. The increase in permittivity with temperature extracts higher energy from the external electric field. In catalytic reactions assisted by the external DC electric field, at 510 °C, the yield was approximately equal to the yield in a conventional reaction at 650 °C. With regard to TGA, in the catalytic reaction assisted by the external DC electric field, the produced coke declined. The results showed that the maximum yield value (50.54%) and conversion (92.81%) were be obtained at 650 °C with an input electrical current of 12 mA, a gap distance of 10 mm and a metal loading of 4 wt. % over FeHZSM-5

Olefins production from LPG via dehydrogenative cracking over three ZSM-5 catalysts

760-766The performance of protonated, Na-form, and Fe-modified ZSM-5 catalysts in dehydrogenative cracking of LPG to light olefins were investigated. The physico-chemical properties of the samples were obtained by XRD, FTIR, and NH3–TPD measurements. Overall, the acidic properties of the samples were suitable for olefin production so that LPG conversions up to 73.79% and product selectivities up to 67.95% were attained over H-ZSM-5 and Na-ZSM-5 catalysts, respectively. The highest olefins yield was 51.28% indicating a 422% improvement to the corresponding yield of thermal reactions alone. </span

Effect of Next-Nearest-Neighbor Aluminum Atoms in the HZSM‑5 Framework Synthesized with Various Aluminum Sources on Liquefied Petroleum Gas Transformation to Light Olefins

HZSM-5 catalysts with various aluminum distributions in their frameworks and different Si/Al_gel ratios were synthesized to investigate the product distribution in liquefied petroleum gas cracking. The characterization of synthesized zeolites was performed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller (BET) method, (scanning electron microscopy) SEM, NH₃-TPD, X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and direct reflectance (DR) UV–visible, and ²⁷Al MAS NMR analyses. The maximum proportion of 0NNN aluminum atoms (90.6–92.6%) were found in HZSM-5 synthesized with aluminum nitrate. The higher 0NNN aluminum atoms in the zeolite framework and lower content of aluminum at channel intersections enhanced the olefin yield and decreased the C₅⁺ yield. The amount of coke increased with increase of the 1NNN Al atoms. The optimum olefin yields for HZSM-5 synthesized with aluminum nitrate, aluminum chloride and aluminum hydroxide were found to be 47.22% with Si/Al_gel 50, 45.47% with Si/Al_gel 30, and 44.32% with Si/Al_gel 30, respectively. The propylene to ethylene ratio and catalytic stability increased with decrease of the acid strength distribution

Agreement of clinical examination and ultrasound methods for detection of joints involvements in rheumatoid arthritis

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by synovial tissue inflammation and destruction of articular components which if not controlled properly, can cause disability in patients. For this reason, evaluation of disease activity and its control is very important. In recent years using sonography is promising for the evaluation of disease activity. This study aimed to compare “clinical examination” and “ultrasonography” methods in the detection of disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted during 2015 in Al-Zahra Hospital of Isfahan. Based on the American College of Rheumatology 2010 criteria, ninety patients with rheumatoid arthritis who diagnosed by rheumatologist entered into the study. All patients, collaborator by radiologists were subjected to sonography of specific joints structures using two methods, i.e., high-resolution ultrasonography and power Doppler. Results: A total of 2520 joints from ninety patients were examined by physical examination and ultrasonography that 244 joints (9.7%) in physical examination and 348 joints (13.4%) in ultrasonography were involved and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Probably, ultrasonography can diagnose joint involvement better than physical examination in patients with Rheumatoid arthritis

Adsorption of Thiophenic Compounds from Model Diesel Fuel Using Copper and Nickel Impregnated Activated Carbons

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