Development of a heterogeneously catalyzed chemical process to produce biodiesel

It is well known fact that energy is a big issue for this world and substantial amount of research is going on worldwide for alternative fuels that are environmentally friendly, especially because of the fact that crude petroleum reserves are dwindling. Also, research on alternative fuels is essential for increased energy security. Biodiesel is a renewable, biodegradable, and nontoxic fuel. At present, when homogeneous catalysts are used, biodiesel is primarily produced in batch reactors in which the required energy is provided by heating accompanied by mechanical mixing. Alternatively, ultrasonic processing could be an effective way to attain required mixing while providing the necessary activation energy. We found that, using ultrasonication, a biodiesel yield in excess of 99% can be achieved in a short time duration of five minutes or less in comparison to one hour or more using conventional batch reactor systems. Homogeneous acid or base catalysts dissolve fully in the glycerol layer and partially in the fatty acid methyl esters (biodiesel) layer during the triglyceride transesterification process. Heterogeneous (solid) catalysts, on the other hand, can prevent catalyst contamination making product separation much easier. In the present work, one of the objective was to determine the transesterification kinetics of different pure metal oxide catalysts, mixed metal oxide catalysts, layered double hydroxides with their corresponding yield is presented. It was found that heterogeneous catalysts require much higher temperatures (215oC) and pressures to achieve acceptable conversion levels compared to homogeneous catalysts. For some of the mixed metal oxide solid catalysts a conversion level of 99% was observed. The present study also deals with the catalyst characterization on the basis of their acidity/ basicity and site strength, and surface area. Finally the deoxygenation of fatty acid methyl esters was carried out in order to upgrade the biodiesel. As a result, several aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons were detected in the mass spectrometric studies. This dissertation consists of five chapters. Chapter I presents a brief introduction to biodiesel production and the objectives of the study. Chapter II contains a review of literature. Chapter III contains the materials and methods used in this study. In this chapter different principles and theories will be mentioned with regard to the use of ultrasonication towards biodiesel production, reaction kinetics of biodiesel production, catalyst characterizations and thermodynamic analysis of deoxygenation of fatty acid methyl esters. Chapter IV presents the results and its discussions. Finally, Chapter V discusses the summary and conclusions of the study

ASSESMENT OF INDOR RADON, THORON AND THEIR PROGENY LEVELS IN RESIDENTIAL HOUSES OF HARDOI, UTTAR PRADESH, (INDIA)

Radon, thoron and their progeny levels are significant natural sources of radiation exposure for the general population in both living and working places. The concentration of radon varied from 15 Bq/m3 to 78 Bq/m3 with an average of 46 Bq/m3, while thoron concentration varied from 11 Bq/m3 to 26 Bq/m3 with an average of 18 Bq/m3. The concentration of radon progeny (EERC) varied from 10 Bq/m3 to 26 Bq/m3 with an average of 18 Bq/m3, while the concentration of thoron progeny (EETC) varied from 0.56 Bq/m3 to 1.91 Bq/m3 with an average of 1.11 Bq/m3. The value of the equilibrium factor for radon varied from 0.19 to 0.76 with an average of 0.37 while for thoron it varied from 0.02 to 0.12 with an average of 0.06. Our experimental finding confirmed that the indoor radon, thoron and their progeny concentration were within internationally accepted norms

Boron in crop production from soil to plant system: A review

The deficiency of boron is spreading rapidly in Indian soils. Boron deficiency in crops is more widespread than deficiency of any other essential micronutrient. However, imbalanced or excess use of boron fertilizers found to impose negative impact on crops due to very narrow range of boron deficiency and toxicity in soil and plants which increases production cost also. Therefore, optimized boron fertilizer supply in boron deficient soils is important in order to attain normal crop growth, yield and high-quality produce.  It this review the role of boron in crop production, its deficiency in crop plants has been discussed

Numerical Modelling of Pure Metal Solidification using OpenFOAM

In this article, the isothermal phase change of pure metal is studied by using an opensource CFD tool. The single-domain mass, momentum and energy conservation equations are implemented in OpenFOAM to study the solidifica-tion behavior of the pure metal. The Darcy drag source term was used in momentum conservation equation for accounting the fluid flow in mushy region and enthalpy-porosity method was used to update the liquid fraction in each cell. The developed solver is well validated with the existing experimental results. The validated solver is used to simulate the isothermal phase change behavior of the pure tin (Sn). The results are presented for the evolution of flow field, temperature field and the solid/liquid interface. Results showed that the numerical simulation predictions are in good agreement with experimental measurements

An Improved Generalized Estimation Procedure of Current Population Mean in Two-Occasion Successive Sampling

The present work is an attempt to make use of several auxiliary variables on both occasions for improving the precision of estimates for the current population mean in two-occasion successive sampling. A generalized exponential-cum-regression type estimator of the current population mean is proposed and its optimum replacement strategy has been discussed. Empirical studies are carried out to show the dominance of the proposed estimation procedure over the sample mean estimator and natural successive sampling estimator. Empirical results have been interpreted and suitable recommendations are put forward to survey practitioners

A CLINICAL STUDY TO EVALUATE THE EFFICACY OF VAMANA KARMA IN THE MANAGEMENT OF DYSLIPIDEMIA

Objective: The aim of the present study is to evaluate the efficacy of Vamana karma in the management of dyslipidemia.Methods: Patients were selected from the OPD and IPD at the Department of Panchakarma, Hospital of Rishikul Campus, Uttarakhand Ayurved University, Haridwar. Patients in Group A will be administered with two sittings of Vamana procedure. In Group B, 20 patients will be treated with atorvastatin for 60 days in dose of 10 mg once daily after meals with water.Results: The overall assessment of the therapy was decided on the basis of improvement in biochemical parameter (serum lipid profile) by applying statistics. Vamana karma had statistically highly significant result in all the objective parameters except high-density lipoprotein [HDL].Conclusion: Thus, it can be concluded that dyslipidemia is a form of Kaphavikara specifically may be Medodushti in the form of Abaddha meda. Vamana karma is highly effective in correcting serum lipid profile except HDL and very low-density lipoprotein but have better effect than the standard drug in both of them. Vamana karma can be used for the effective and safe management of dyslipidemia

AYURVEDIC MANAGEMENT OF PSORIASIS (EKAKUSHTA) WITH PANCHAKARMA CHIKITSA

Psoriasis is a non-infectious chronic relapsing inflammatory skin disease having unknown etiology, characterized by well-defined dry scaly erythematous patches and covered with adherent silvery white scales. The eruption is usually symmetrical and most commonly affects extensor surfaces of elbows, knees, scalp, nails and the sacral regions. Its incidence is 1-2% of world population. Psychological stress is emphasized as one of the major triggering factor in the exacerbation of the disease. Modern medical science treats psoriasis with PUVA and corticosteroids. But these therapies give serious side effects like hepato & nephrotoxicity, bone marrow depletion etc. Hence it is the need of time to find out safe and effective treatment for Psoriasis and here Ayurveda plays an important role. In Ayurveda, Psoriasis can be correlated with Ekakustha due to very much similarity in their symptoms. The unique treatment modality of Ayurveda provides long lasting results and a better life to patients through its three basic principles of treatment i.e. Shodhana, Shamana and Nidana Parivarjana. Panchakarma (Shodhana) therapy is a unique type of treatment for various chronic, auto-immune, hormonal, degenerative disorders etc, where other sorts of treatments have no satisfactory answer as well equally beneficial for the promotion and preservation of health. In addition of the Shamana Yoga & External Application (Lepan Chikitsa) of drugs is administered after taking the proper course of Shodhana then it provides additional relief and thus helps in eradication of the diseases (psoriasis) completely. The present article reviews the concept of psoriasis in Ayurveda and role of Panchakarma & Shaman Chikitsa in the management of psoriasis

In Silico Structural and Functional Insights into the Lipoxygenase Enzyme of Legume Cajanus Cajan

Lipoxygenases (LOX) are a family of enzymes known to play a key role in the plant response related to osmotic, drought and high-salinity stress. Plants contain multiple isoforms of the lipoxygenase (LOX) enzyme which differs in terms of its substrate preference, optimal pH, product formation, and stability. Till date, no study has been done to focus on the structural and functional aspect of lipoxygenase enzyme of Cajanus cajan, an important legume crop of Indian sub-continent. The present work revealed that the LOX enzyme of Cajanus cajanis a 96.65 kDa monomeric stable protein. It also contained an iron ion as a ligand in its predicted structure. Ramchandran’s analysis showed the modeled tertiary structure to be a stable one with 91.7% residues in the favoured regions. This study will be helpful to understand the structural aspects of LOX enzyme and would help future studies to enhance the expression of this enzyme in response to major abiotic (mainly salt stress) and biotic stresses