Research Journal of Chemistry and Environment

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A Coupling of Chemical Reaction and Fluxes in Open Thermodynamic System

Teodorova Svetla

In spite of the significant development of Thermodynamics in the last two decades, some questions have not been answered satisfactory. For instance, a theory of direct coupling of chemistry and diffusion in membranes is not yet developed. The problems concerning open thermodynamic systems, where chemical reactions proceed and mater exchanges with the surroundings, are especially of interest in context of further applications to biological systems. The present paper is a simple effort to consider a possible formulating of a direct dependence between fluxes and chemical reaction proceeding in an open thermodynamic system. The existence of vectorial reciprocal coefficients, coupling chemical reaction and fluxes, when the reaction advances in anisotropic membrane, is discussed. The relaxation of the chemical affinity A to its steady state value is derived for a reaction coupled with fluxes exchanged with the surroundings. Formula of relaxation of the chemical affinity to equilibrium value is obtained as a particular case. The advancement of reaction e is defined in open thermodynamic systems and it is shown that e depends not only on the concentrations of the constituents but also on the fluxes. The results obtained could be used in investigations of some irreversible processes in open thermodynamic systems where a linear approximation of the phenomenological laws could be assumed.

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Effect of Nitrite on Benzene Degradation linked to Denitrification in Riverbed Sediments

Wu Yaoguo , Li Xiang, Hu Sihai, Zhang Yuezhou and Yin Dezhong

Microcosm tests were conducted to study the possibility of benzene degradation as well as the effects of nitrite on the degradation linked to denitrification with the coexistence of nitrite and nitrate in riverbed sediments. Although nitrite appeared and even accumulated in some cases, benzene was degraded in the riverbed sediments under denitrification conditions. At certain concentrations, nitrite had the potential to enhance rather than inhibit the degradation. When the initial concentration of total NO3--N and NO2--N was about 250 mg/L, enhancement was greatest when NO2--N was at 186.45 mg/L. When the initial concentration of NO3--N was 15.5 mg/L, enhancement was greatest when NO2--N was at 105.87 mg/L. During all the test processes, the reaction rates and their rate constants for nitrite were greater than for nitrate. This shows that nitrite is more readily used as an electron acceptor to denitrification and aid microbes, and this may be the reason that nitrite has the potential to enhance the degradation. Therefore, nitrite can be used to enhance benzene degradation in riverbed sediments under denitrification conditions, especially when the concentration of nitrate is low.

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Metal Recovery from Blast Furnace Sludge and Flue Dust using Leaching Technologies

Banerjee D.

The blast furnace sludge and flue dust of iron & steel industries have significant quantities of heavy metals that tend to hinder the process of recycling of the valuable minerals in these wastes and at the same time pose threat to the environment where they are disposed. The study was designed with the aim of verifying the metal recovery efficiencies of acid, water and biomass (microorganisms) from the solid wastes under laboratory conditions. Standard protocol was followed for the analysis of wastes, maintenance of biomass and experiments to produce minimal error. Chemical analysis revealed a high percent of iron in both type of waste. Treatment with acid and water resulted in recovery that was comparatively higher using 1 M H2SO4 for both sludge and dust. Water leaching proved inadequate for metal removal under these conditions. The bioleaching experiment proved that Thiobacillus ferrooxidans is more efficient in metal recovery than the fungal strains of Aspergilus niger & Penicillium sp. The fungal leaching efficiency was found to be very low and no appreciable metal values could be recovered. The residue analysis shows that the material after leaching could be disposed.

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Reactions of 2, 4, 6-Trichlororesorcinol and Pentachlororesorcinol with Monochloroamine in Methanol: Investigation of Products and Mechanisms

Heasley Victor L. ,Alexander Michael B., Baker Peter E., Boerneke Jeffery L., DeBoard Ryan H., Gardner Jeffrey T., Herman Erica E. , Michaelson Scott T., Miller Evan W., Ramirez Ashley M., Renfrow Ronald E., Royer Nicole R., Sator Lisa C., Wood Sarah A. and Shellhamer Dale F.

This paper presents a comparison of the reactions of two model compounds of the humic acids with monochloramine, NH2Cl. The humic acids, which are present in drinking water, react with chlorinating agents when water is chlorinated to give numerous contaminants. The model compounds discussed in this paper are 2, 4,6-trichlororesorcinol (3), called TCR here, and 2, 2, 4, 4, 6-pentachlorocyclohex-5-en-1,3-dione (4), which is often referred to as pentachlororesorcinol or PCR (the name used here). A few years ago we reported on the reactions of (3) and (4) with NH2Cl in ether, reactions which both gave the same products. For several years we investigated the reaction of (4) with NH2Cl in methanol, MeOH, where 2,2,4,4, 6-pentachloro-5-methoxy-1,3-dione (6) was the major product. Therefore, we were surprised when TCR (3) in MeOH with NH2Cl gave only a trace of (6) and the following major products: (E-, Z-) methyl 2, 2, 4, 6-tetrachloro-6-3-oxohex-4-enoate (8,9) and (E-, Z-) methyl 2,4,6-trichloro-2, 6-dimethoxy-3-oxohex-4-enoate (10, 11). The TCR (3) products were minor in the reaction of PCR (4) with NH2Cl in MeOH. Other products were formed in the two reactions and are listed in Table 1, but the differences in amounts between products (6), (8/9) and (10/11) confirmed that (3) was not on the reaction pathway to give (4) in MeOH, as had occurred in our earlier study in ether. In addition, the reaction of (3) with NH2Cl in MeOH was slow (24 hrs for completion); (4) and NH2Cl reacted rapidly (complete in 10 mins). We suggest that the reactions of (3) and (4) are both occurring by ion-radical mechanisms which are described in detail in this paper.

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Causes of Intraplate Seismicities in Indian Subcontinent

Ramanujam N. and Ravindran Antony

The overriding and stacking of the Eurasian and Indian continents created highest mountain peaks of the Himalaya, the longest Frontal Thrust faults and the highest Tibetan Plateau. The maximum convergence in the Himalaya is accommodated as geological shortening for the few million years. Because of the weight and immobility of the Himalaya and Tibet; the northward movement of the Indian plate has been mired, as a result of that, the long identified single Indo – Australian Plate has broken apart in the equatorial region. This deformation was first attributed to the intraplate and now recognized as diffusion zone in response to the Himalayan upliftment. Diffusion of plate boundaries is also identified is Bhuj region. The flexure of the Indian plate has formed as hidden chain of mountains parallel to the Himalaya and rises in the Central Indian Plateau. The frequency of the intraplate seismicities is more in the Indian plate when compared to the other tectonic plates. The horizontal forces generated due to convergences of plate boundaries in the north and in the east, and a part of energy at the time of great earthquake like December 2004 dissipated back.

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Development of Methods of Phosphorylation of Citral by Medial and Acidic Pho­sphites

Nizamov Il’yas S., Bolshakova Olga V., Nizamov 1Il’nar D., Sergeenko Gulnur G. , Mironov Vladimir F., Yambushev Farid D.1,Batyeva Elvira S. and Alfonsov Vladimir A.

The reactions of trimethyl phosphite with citral in the presence of ace­tic acid, triphenyl phosphite with citral in the presence of water and trimethyl phosphite with citral in the pre­sen­ce of water and triethylamine in the methanol solution were studied. On the basis of these studies, dienyl 1-hydroxyphos­phonates were obtained. A con­venient method of synthesizing unsaturated 1-hydroxyphosphonates was developed on the basis of reaction of dialkyl phosphites with citral in the presence of tri­ethyl­amine in molar ratio 4:2:8 in alcohol solutions.

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High Performance Liquid Chromatography reverse phase method for determination of Nitazoxanide from Pharmaceutical formulations (Oral Suspension and Tablets)

Harlikar Jayvant Narayan and Amlani Arun Mahendra

The aim of the study is to develop a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) assay method for rapid and accurate determination of Nitazoxanide from Pharmaceutical Formulations (Oral Suspension and Tablets). The experimental procedure involved Diode Array detector (at 240nm), mobile phase (0.005M tetra-butyl ammonium hydrogen sulphate and acetonitrile in the volume ratio of 35:65 with the flow rate of 1.0 mL per minute) and an Inertsil ODS 3V C-18 (250 mm x 4.6 mm, 5m size) column. A calibration curve of mean peak area vs. concentration showed good linearity within the LOQ (0.2%) and 180% of the test range. The recoveries ranged from 99% to 102%. The % RSD for Intra day and Inter day was = 2.0 for both oral suspension as well as tablets. Excipients present in the dosage forms did not show any interference with the Nitazoxanide.

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Kinetic and Equilibrium Studies of the Adsorption of Nitrates Ions in Aqueous Solutions by Activated Carbons and Zeolite

Mbadcam Joseph Ketcha, Ngomo Horace Manga, Kouotou Daouda and Ngamou Patrick Herve Tchoua

The batch removal of nitrates from aqueous solution using three adsorbents- Granular Activated Carbon (GAC), powdered activated Carbon (PAC) and a Zeolite (molecular sieve 5Å) was investigated in this study. The influence of initial concentration of nitrates ions (100 to 700 mg/ L) and pH (2.86 to 12.13) have been reported. Adsorption of nitrate ions is highly pH-dependent with the optimum pH for the removal found to be in the range 2.8 < pH < 6.5 for the three types of adsorbents. Comparison of a first order and second order kinetic model applied to the adsorption of the nitrate ions from solution showed better agreement of the experimental data with the second order kinetic model.

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Characterization of Lignin isolated from paper mill effluent.

Murali Krishna M.P.S., Moses G.S. and Murali Krishna K.V.S.G.

Waste is not a waste it will become resource if properly utilized. Instead of releasing lignin through effluents into water bodies from paper & coyer board manufacturing units, It may be better option to extract it from effluents and to use binder, dispersant, emulsifier, sequestrant in an eco friendly way. Here an attempt has been made to characterize the lignin isolated from effluents of Andhra Pradesh Paper Mill located at Rajahmundry by elemental analysis, methoxyl analysis and molecular weight analysis, UV, IR and 1H NMR spectroscopy. The C9 formula for lignin was C9 H9.36O4.56 (OCH3)1.23 and the lignin was guaiagyl-syringyl type.

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XPS, NMR and SBET Studies of Native Clinoptilolite Functionalized with Carbonaceous Substances

Chmielewská Eva

The paper deals with fabrication of carbonized and hydrophobized clinoptilolite based adsorbents using organic carbon rich substances which were pyrolytic combusted and covered the external zeolite surface. Hydrophobization of the zeolite external surface was accomplished by octadecylammonium surfactant. Both surface modified clinoptilolite dominated zeolites were examined and compared with each other in regard to organic (phenol) and inorganic (chromate, arsenate) pollutants removal from aqueous solutions and so far elaborated composites with surface adsorbed pollutant species were analysed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Surface of such a clinoptilolite-rich tuff composite and nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) measurements were undertaken to supplement the characterization of these advanced nanosized zeolite based materials respectively.

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Impact on the Quality of Water after Tsunami on the Dug wells in Chellanam- A Tsunami Affected Area in Southern India

Remya L. , Geetha R.1 , Chandramohanakumar N. and Mathews L.

The deadly Indian Ocean tsunami that swept across coastlines on 26 December 2004 took the lives of more than 2,00,000 people. The whole southern coast of India, including Kerala, was hit by the devastating tsunami. This study involves the water quality analysis of five dug wells from Chellanam, a Tsunami affected area in Kochi, Kerala. As the ocean water comes ashore, drinking water wells can become submerged and potentially contaminated with microorganisms and chemicals that adversely affect human health. The water quality parameters like temperature, pH, TDS, DO,BOD, COD, hardness, chloride, fluoride, phosphate, nitrate, sodium, potassium and cadmium were studied by various analytical techniques. It was found that most of the water quality parameters are not in the acceptable limits in accordance with WHO drinking water quality standards. Before Tsunami these waters were used for domestic and drinking purposes but after Tsunami most of the well water became contaminated by making the water salty.

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Primary and Secondary Pollutants Monitoring around an Urban Area in the State of Kuwait: A Three Years Study

Khan A. and Al-Salem S.

Data collected for a period of three years was analyzed and studied for the purpose of assessing the outdoor air quality of an urban area. The objective was to monitor major primary and secondary pollutants including benzene, toluene, NO2, Cl2, CH4, H2S, non-methane hydrocarbons (HCnM) and SO2 levels in the ambient. Data filtration was performed to execute a series of concentration roses to identify the main prevailing winds and major contributing air pollution sources. Local rules and regulations regarding ambient limits enforced by Kuwait Environment Public Authority (KUEPA) were cross referenced. The majority of the airborne pollutants was in an increasing trend for a number of industrial, over working conditions and specifications reasons.

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The Effects of Na+ and Nonionic Surfactant on the Biosorption of Lead (II) Using Sargassum ilicifolium

Caparanga Alvin R., Rodriguez Bayani I. Jr. and Aguilar Felicitos M.

Few studies on biosorption have considered the effects of the components present in actual wastewater. Nonionic surfactant Triton X-100 and Na+ were used to represent the impurities that could limit the uptake of heavy metal by the biomass prepared from Sargassum ilicifolium. In this investigation, four sets of batch experiments were done with each set consisting of lead biosorption system in the presence of the following other impurities: lead (II) alone, lead (II) + NaCl, lead (II) + Triton X-100, and lead (II) + NaCl + Triton X-100. This study attempts to elucidate the effects of interfering and competing species with lead (II) in water effluents from industrial plants. Compared to the sorbent performance in single-metal systems [lead (II) alone], the effect of both Triton X-100 and Na+ resulted in a considerable reduction in lead (II) uptake by the adsorbent. The effect of the wetting agent extends to all concentrations that lowered the equilibrium loading by 2 mg lead (II )/ g sorbent on the average; on the other hand, the decrease caused by Na+ was significant only in solutions with low starting concentration of the desired adsorbate. In the presence of both, however, the amount adsorbed by the biomass was greater compared to when only one of the two hindering species was added in the artificially prepared wastewater. Nevertheless, the presence of impurities reduced the mass of heavy metal extracted.

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Synthesis and Characterization of Mixed Ligand Cobalt(II) Complexes of Iminodiacetic Acid and Hippuric Acid

Kumar G.

Mixed ligand cobalt (II) complexes, Na [Co {NH (CH2COO)2} (C6H5CONH CH2 COO). H2O].8H2O and Na[Co{NH (CH2 COO)2}(C6H5 CO NH CH2 COO). H2O].4H2O formed with iminodiacetic acid and hippuric acid have been synthesized and characterized by their elemental analysis, infra-red spectra, electronic spectra and magnetic measurements. Iminodiacetic acid shows a tridentate behaviour with the coordination occurring through the carboxylate oxygen atoms and the nitrogen atom. Hippuric acid acts as a bidentate ligand coordinating through the carboxylate oxygen atom and the nitrogen of the amido group. The sixth coordination position is satisfied by the water molecule.

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Mini Review-Green Cluster: Multicomponent Reactions as a Green Approach

Eufrânio Nunes da Silva Júnior

A new, green, multicomponent reaction (MCRs) approach offers a straighforward route to generate complexity and diversity in a single operation. MCRs is great tool in combinatorial chemistry.

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Review Papers: Electrosorption: An Alternative Option for Desalination

Qi Daoduo, Zou Linda and Hu Eric

Electrosorption is generally defined as adsorption on the surfaces of charged electrodes by applying potential or current. Electrosorption deionization method is a low-pressure non-membrane deionization process, with the potential to be a low energy cost alternative for desalination in the future. In this paper, the principle and mechanism of the electrosorption deionization method are discussed, the materials and properties of the electrode used in electrosorption process are summarized and the application and prospect of this promising desalination method are reviewed.

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Flocculation in Paper and Pulp Mill Sludge Process

Hakkarainen Katja and Sillanpää Mika

The flocculation of activated sludge is an active process and depends upon physical, chemical and biological factors. The basis of activated sludge floc formation lies in the abilities of micro-organisms to stick to each other and to nonbiological particles. Flocculation is an important phenomenon in the sludge process. Well flocculated sludge settles better, is easier to dewater and leads to a better quality effluent than poorly flocculated sludge. This paper deals with the mechanisms of flocculation, parameters that affect on flocculation and improvement of flocculation.

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