Instrumental Characterization of Unmodified and HDTMA-Br Modified Kaolinite Clay: SEM-EDX, Quantachrome and TGA-DTA

Kaolinite clay from Alkaleri Northeast Nigeria was pre-treated and beneficiated using physical process. The treated clay of cation exchange capacity (CEC) 9.5 meq/100 g was modified with cationic surfactant hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HDTMA-Br) with amount equivalent to and doubled the CEC. The unmodified kaolinite clay (UKC) and the resultant organo-kaolinite clays: monolayer modified clay (MMC) and bilayer modified clay (BMC) were characterized using the following instruments: Energy Dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDX), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Quantachrome and Thermogravimetric-Differential Thermal Analysis (TG-DTA). EDX profile analysis shows 22.41 % C, 56.17 % O & 10.56 % Al in UKC; 21.06 % C, 55.49 % O & 11.66 % Al in MMC and 18.98 % C, 54.59 % O & 12.14 % Al in BMC respectively; with Fe and K found in MMC. The SEM morphology shows UKC has high porosity and large particles, while MMC and BMC showed fine particles and darker than UKC with textural non-uniformity. TGA curve shows that UKC attains equilibrium decomposition at 997.20oC with 15.32 % weight loss, MMC 997.30 oC with 32.67 % weight loss and BMC 998.90 oC with 37.23 % weight loss. The revealed weight loss indicates water of hydration and dehydroxylation. The DTA curves show endothermic at 510 oC, 250 oC and 520 oC for UKC, MMC and BMC respectively. The single point surface area was 11.9754 m2/g, 3.0132 m2/g and 3.8225 m2/g for UKC, MMC and BMC with corresponding adsorption average pore width 355.0050 Å, 478.6275 Å and 752.8364 Å respectively. Clay materials being promising minerals when modified can achieve desired surface properties for best performance in adsorption applications

Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy Characterization of Adhesive Produced From Polystyrene Waste

In this study, the optimized adhesive formulated from polystyrene waste was characterized for Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) / Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, solubility, density and water absorption for identification of existing functional group(s), morphology, elemental compositions, etc. The results revealed that polystyrene, unsaturated hydrocarbon has been degraded to form a new product containing aromatic compounds. SEM morphology showed well mixed blended adhesive with silver-like appearance due to additives and EDX revealed 12 existing elemental compositions with their corresponding percentage atomic weights as follows; carbon 93.14 %, hafnium 1.44 %, vanadium 1.66 %, chromium 1.40 %, bromine 0.47 %, palladium 0.26 %, copper 0.43 %, nickel 0.31 %, cobalt 0.29 %, potassium 0.38 %, iron 0.15 % and manganese 0.08 %. The produced polystyrene adhesive was sparsely soluble in water after 30 minutes; it has a density of 1041 kg/m3 and does not absorb moisture. Because of these results, the adhesive from polystyrene waste could serve as green adhesive, since there are no threats of toxic substance emission from the spectral analysis since most of the elements are used as a supplement in pharmaceuticals and catalyst in process industries

Formulation and Characterization of Adhesive Produced From Polystyrene Waste Using Response Surface Optimization

Polystyrene is extensively used in building and construction industry, packaging and transportation of fragile equipment due its low density, high melting point, low thermal conductivity, low water absorption, etc. Polystyrene after usage is usually discarded thereby causing environmental problems. The post-usage of polystyrene has, therefore, been a subject of intense research in recent times. The aim of this work is to produce adhesive from polystyrene wastes. Polystyrene waste (PS) was collected, processed and dissolved in tackifyer and formulated with diphnyle amine and diethylene glycol dibenzoate additives to produce adhesive using 3 levels variables factors and 4 levels testing factors of design expert optimization software. The produced adhesive was further characterized for viscosity, pH, percentages solid and moisture contents for their response surfaces. The results showed that the best fit viscosity for each run was Run 1B> Run 5A > Run 5D> Run 5B>Run 4D based on the regression analysis and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The pH values obtained ranged from 4.0 to 6.3; percentage moisture content was in the order of Run 1B < 5A<4D<4B and percentage solid content was in the order of Run 1B<5A<4D. The best fitted adhesive was run 1B with 5.93 % moisture content; 5A has 7.57 % moisture content and 4D with 8.76% moisture content. The percentage solid content; Run 1B has 67.19 %, 5A has 68.16 % and 4D has 75.50 %. The produced adhesives were found within the standard range of adhesives used in production of particleboard

Characterisation of Natural and HDTMA-Br Modified Dijah-Monkin Bentonite Clay: FTIR, XRF, XRD and SEM

In this study, Dijah-Monkin bentonite clay was modified with a cationic surfactant hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HDTMA-Br) at the level of twice the cation exchange capacity (CEC). This process results in the development of hydrophobic organoclay with an improved adsorption capacity. The clay obtained from Zing LGA Taraba State, North-East Nigeria, was beneficiated and pulverised to a particle size of 125 µm. The modification was performed without acid activation to prevent damages to the clay’s crystal structure. The organoclay was characterised for chemical composition, functional groups, mineralogical and surface morphology using X-ray fluorescence (XRF), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. The XRD showed an increase in the basal spacing from 15.681Å to 17.758 Å, while the XRF revealed a 5.35% concentration of Br on the modified clay, indicating successful intercalation. The FTIR spectra also revealed the appearance of symmetric and asymmetric stretching bands at 2847.7cm-1 and 2914.8cm-1, respectively, as a consequence of the modification, resulting in more sites for adsorption

Retracted - Characterization of Cassia Tora Seed (CTS) Oil-Based Biodiesel-Diesel Blends

Because we identified the conflict of interest in “Characterization of Cassia Tora Seed (CTS) Oil-Based Biodiesel-Diesel Blends,” which was published on January 31, 2021, issue of the Journal, 1 we wish to retract the article.Authors: Saferiel Onatola Morakinyo, Umar Omeiza Aroke, Jibril Mohammed, Idris Misau Muhammad, Abdulwadud Abdulkarim Yusuf The paper reported on the characterization of CTS oil-based biodiesel-diesel blends. The study's primary objective are the physicochemical characterization of oil and biodiesel from Cassia Tora seed (CTS) oil, characterization of CTS oil-based biodiesel using FTIR and GCMS analysis. Extraction revealed the presence of 8.8% oil in Cassia Tora seed. The CTS biodiesel's viscosity was found to be 0.9092, which is well above the petroleum diesel.The physiochemical characterization showed that 5, 12.5 and 20 % CTS oil-based biodiesel-diesel blends are within acceptable limit for combustion engine without modification having viscosities of 0.8744, 0.8764, and 0.8787 respectively while 100% CTS oil-based biodiesel would require upgrading to meet up with the recommended standard for fuel used as diesel in internal combustion engines.FTIR and GCMS analysis showed functional groups and characteristic peaks of fatty acids and methyl ester with carbon range from C13–C17, C16 constituted the major Fatty acid group and contained 61.69 % Monounsaturated Fatty Acid (MUFA), and 38.31 % Saturated Fatty Acid (SFA) giving a 94.3% biodiesel yield

Physicochemical characteristics of surface modified Dijah-Monkin bentonite

The aim of this study was the evaluation of the physicochemical characteristics of surface modified Dijah-Monkin bentonite clay. The clay was modified by calcination and treatment with hydrochloric acid. The natural and modified clays were characterized by x-ray fluorescence (XRF), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), x-ray diffraction (XRD), electron dispersive x-ray (EDX), thermogravimetric analysis (TG), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), elemental composition, cation exchange capacity (CEC), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) specific surface area and methylene blue adsorption. The XRF displayed the presence of SiO2 and Al2O3 in the range of 61.6–65.6 wt% and 19.4–21.7 wt%, respectively. The FTIR spectra showed the existence of Al–OH, Al–O, Si–O, and Si–O–Si functional groups in all clay samples, confirming the presence of hydrated aluminosilicate in the clay. The BET surface area decreased from 23.5 to 17.1 m2/g after acid treatment, while the CEC of clay samples range between 40.7 and 20.2 mEq/100 g. The minerals present in clays are montmorillonite, quartz, kaolinite, and muscouvite. The maximum methylene blue adsorption were estimated as 59, 48, and 45.8 mg/g for natural, calcined, and acidified bentonite, respectively. The structural formula for one-layer unit of montmorillonite was determined as K0.722Ca0.155[Si7.686]iv[Al3.054Ti0.113(Formula presented.)]viO20(OH)4. The natural Dijah-Monkin bentonite is a promising adsorbent candidate for the removal of charged pollutants

Insight into kinetics and thermodynamics properties of multicomponent lead(II), cadmium(II) and manganese(II) adsorption onto Dijah-Monkin bentonite clay

Multicomponent adsorption of lead(II), cadmium(II) and manganese(II) by Nigerian Dijah-Monkin bentonite clay was investigated. The clay samples were characterized for elemental composition, cation exchange capacity and textural properties. Natural bentonite exhibits cation exchange capacity of 47.7 meq/100 g and specific surface area of 23.5 m2/g. Manganese(II) displays higher values of rate constant than lead(II) in multimetals adsorption. However, lead(II) is favorably adsorbed onto bentonite adsorbents at different concentrations studied. The multimetals adsorption onto bentonite clay samples is site selective and site specific. The pseudo-second-order kinetics model gave a better fit to the adsorption data, suggesting ion exchange and/or complex formation. The adsorption mechanism could be described by intraparticle diffusion with some restriction of metals diffusion due to film or boundary layer. Also, the multicomponent adsorption is endothermic and becomes more spontaneous as temperature increased from 303 to 338 K. Nigerian bentonite clay in its natural form is a promising adsorbent for multimetals removal in aqueous solution