REVIEW ON PRODUCTION OF BENZENE FROM PETROLEUM ASSOCIATED GAS BY DEHYDROAROMATIZATION, PARTIAL OXIDATION OF METHANE AND METHANOL-TO-AROMATICS PROCESSES

Benzene is the most basic aromatic compound, which possesses diverse applications in the chemical industry. Benzene is mainly used as an intermediate chemical for styrene in the manufacturing of plastic materials. The benzene derivatives such as styrene, cumene, cyclohexane and nitrobenzene are the four most significant products, which are highly dependent on the benzene demand. However, there is a huge gap between the supply and demand of benzene, and fluctuation of the market price of benzene is also noticeable in recent years. Primarily, benzene is produced as a by-product especially from steam crackers, production of p-xylene and also in oil refineries. This caused the demand of benzene to follow strictly on gasoline, ethylene and also p-xylene in particular. Hence, in this review, three important benzene process pathways are studied and compared based on its economic, safety and environmental aspects in order to allow researchers to understand and able to compare different route of benzene production in terms of sustainability aspects for an on-purpose build of a benzene production plant, which is more economically viable. Three identified process are benzene from ethane (ETB), methane dehydroaromatization: Non-oxidative process (NO-MDA) and natural gas via Methanol synthesis (MTB). NO-MDA process was found to be the most sustainable process among the above. The processes are based on the decision matrix method

Immobilized enzyme/microorganism complexes for degradation of microplastics: A review of recent advances, feasibility and future prospects

Environmental prevalence of microplastics has prompted the development of novel methods for their removal, one of which involves immobilization of microplastics-degrading enzymes. Various materials including nanomaterials have been studied for this purpose but there is currently a lack of review to present these studies in an organized manner to highlight the advances and feasibility. This article reviewed more than 100 peer-reviewed scholarly papers to elucidate the latest advances in the novel application of immobilized enzyme/microorganism complexes for microplastics degradation, its feasibility and future prospects. This review shows that metal nanoparticle-enzyme complexes improve biodegradation of microplastics in most studies through creating photogenerated radicals to facilitate polymer oxidation, accelerating growth of bacterial consortia for biodegradation, anchoring enzymes and improving their stability, and absorbing water for hydrolysis. In a study, the antimicrobial property of nanoparticles retarded the growth of microorganisms, hence biodegradation. Carbon particle-enzyme complexes enable enzymes to be immobilized on carbon-based support or matrix through covalent bonding, adsorption, entrapment, encapsulation, and a combination of the mechanisms, facilitated by formation of cross-links between enzymes. These complexes were shown to improve microplastics-degrading efficiency and recyclability of enzymes. Other emerging nanoparticles and/or enzymatic technologies are fusion of enzymes with hydrophobins, polymer binding module, peptide and novel nanoparticles. Nonetheless, the enzymes in the complexes present a limiting factor due to limited understanding of the degradation mechanisms. Besides, there is a lack of studies on the degradation of polypropylene and polyvinyl chloride. Genetic bioengineering and metagenomics could provide breakthrough in this area. This review highlights the optimism of using immobilized enzymes/microorganisms to increase the efficiency of microplastics degradation but optimization of enzymatic or microbial activities and synthesis of immobilized enzymes/microorganisms are crucial to overcome the barriers to their wide application

Technologies for removing pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) from aqueous solutions: Recent advances, performances, challenges and recommendations for improvements

In recent years, the removal of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) from aqueous solutions has been gaining a lot of attention from researchers throughout the world. This is particularly due to the concern about their potential hazards and toxicities, as they are classified as emerging contaminants. Thus, there is an increasing need to investigate removal technologies for PPCPs at a deeper and more holistic level. This review aims to provide the latest developments in removal technologies for PPCPs. It first succinctly describes the types, characteristics, and hazards of PPCPs on the environment and human health. It then comprehensively covers a wide range of technologies for removing PPCPs from aqueous solutions, comprising the adsorption process (using carbon-based adsorbents, plant biomasses, clay and clay minerals, silica-based adsorbents, zeolite-based adsorbents, polymers and resins, and hybrid adsorbents), advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) (photocatalysis, Fenton or photo-Fenton or electro-Fenton, ozonation, ultrasonication, electrochemical oxidation, persulfate oxidation), membrane separation processes (ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, reverse osmosis), biodegradation processes (bacteria, fungi, and algae), and hybrid treatment (adsorption-AOP, AOP-membrane, membrane-biodegradation, and others). According to the specific experimental conditions, the reported removal efficiencies for adsorption, AOPs, membrane processes, biodegradation processes and hybrid treatment were 40–100%, 40–100%, 3–100%, 14–100% and 5–100%, respectively. This review paper also highlights the challenges in this field of research, particularly incomplete removal of certain PPCPs, high costs of some treatment technologies and generally insufficient understanding on the removal kinetics and mechanisms of PPCPs. This review offers recommendations for future works to further advance the technical performances to eventually realize the wider application of these technologies at the industrial scale

Ability Tracking and Social Capital in China's Rural Secondary School System

The goal of this paper is describe and analyze the relationship between ability tracking and student social capital, in the context of poor students in developing countries. Drawing on the results from a longitudinal study among 1,436 poor students across 132 schools in rural China, we find a significant lack of interpersonal trust and confidence in public institutions among poor rural young adults. We also find that there is a strong correlation between ability tracking during junior high school and levels of social capital. The disparities might serve to further widen the gap between the relatively privileged students who are staying in school and the less privileged students who are dropping out of school. This result suggests that making high school accessible to more students would improve social capital in the general population

Exploring the use of the Internet for health.

Through focus group and online survey, some key demographic characteristics of an online health searcher, the motivational factors for using the Internet for health-related matters, as well as how the Internet is perceived as a source of health information was revealed.​Master of Mass Communicatio

Valorization of palm oil mill effluent via enhanced oil recovery as an alternative feedstock for biodiesel production

Residual oil from palm oil mill effluent (POME) can be valorized into value-added products like biofuel. However, the complex structure in POME limits the full recovery of intracellular lipids. To address this challenge, low-frequency ultrasonication was used as a pre-treatment prior to oil recovery to improve the yield by liberating the entrapped oil via the cell disruption technique. This study focused on optimizing the ultrasound conditions (i.e., ultrasonication amplitude, ultrasonication duration, and probe immersion depth) to maximize the improvement of oil recovery yield using response surface methodology. The optimized conditions were 30.074% ultrasonication amplitude, 0.167 min ultrasonication duration, and 2 cm probe immersion depth. This resulted in an additional 42.50% improvement in oil recovery yield over non-ultrasonicated POME, which is in close agreement with the model prediction. Additionally, a cost–benefit analysis was incorporated to determine the feasibility of ultrasonication for enhancing oil recovery. The study also explored the synthesis of biodiesel from POME-recovered oil and characterized the fuel attributes according to American Society for Testing and Materials- and European Standards-prescribed procedures. The attributes of biodiesel produced from POME-recovered oil are comparable to those of palm-based biodiesel in Malaysia, demonstrating its potential as an alternative source for biodiesel production. HIGHLIGHTS An optimized study for ultrasound-enhanced oil recovery from palm oil mill effluent (POME) using response surface methodology was conducted.; Cost–benefit analysis revealed that ultrasound pre-treatment is a viable process.; POME-recovered oil was used for biodiesel production via a two-step esterification and transesterification process.; Biodiesel produced from POME-recovered oil met the fuel characteristics requirement of local and international standards.

The development and psychometric evaluation of the Perception of Play Questionnaire for older adults

The objective was to develop and test the psychometric properties of the Perception of Play Questionnaire among older adults. Item generation, content validation, scale piloting for item validation, and assessment of construct validity were employed to develop the questionnaire. A 17-item Perception of Play Questionnaire was developed. Items described how older adults view play from positive and negative prospective. Satisfactory results were found for content validity. The Cronbach’s alpha was.775. Correlations between perception of play and life satisfaction, happiness, and loneliness were demonstrated with statistical significance (p < 0.05). There were significant difference in multiple linear regression for frailty to Timed Up and Go Test (p < 0.01). The Perception of Play Questionnaire can help to understand how older people view the concept and their acceptance level of play. The data gathered using the questionnaire can aid in planning interventions to improve the health of older people