Research Journal of Chemistry and Environment

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Dissolution Kinetics and Leaching of Ca, Mg, Na and Zn from Kaolin Mineral ore in Hydrochloric Acid

Ayanda Olushola, Sodeinde Kehinde, Lawal Olayide, Adeoye Yetunde, Nelana S. and Naidoo E.

Page No. 1-8

This study presents a detailed leaching and dissolution kinetics of a kaolin mineral ore sample in hydrochloric acid media. The ash and moisture contents, pH, elemental composition, morphology, functional group compositions, crystallographic and mineralogical analyses of the kaolin samples were carried out. The effects of HCl concentration, process temperature and leaching time on the dissolution rate were investigated. The characterization of the kaolin sample revealed a thick spongy-like morphology and the presence of Ca, Zn, Mg, Na, Si and O elements. Experimental results showed that the leaching order of the metals is Mg> Na> Ca > Zn. The dissolution of the metals from kaolin increased with increasing temperature and leaching time but decreased with increasing HCl concentration.

Approximately 81.2% kaolin of particle size 125 mm was successfully leached at optimum conditions of 0.5 M HCl, contact time of 25 min and at 100oC. The apparent rate constants for the chemically controlled reaction(kr) and diffusion-controlled reaction (kd) are 0.0163 min-1 and 0.0061 min-1 respectively. The kinetic data analysis showed that the dissolution mechanism followed the diffusion controlled shrinking core model with the surface diffusion reaction as the rate controlling step.

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Mineralogy of some cretaceous rocks around the South-East coast of South Africa and their Paleoenvironmental indications

Beatrice Omonike Otunola and Ken Liu

Page No. 9-15

The mineral composition, particularly clay mineralogy of Lower to Middle Cretaceous sediments (sandstones and mudstones) around the South-Eastern coast of South Africa was investigated in this study. Sediments from Enon, Kirkwood, Sundays River, Knysna and Robberg Formations were examined with the aim of determining paleoenvironment and climate changes at the time of deposition as well as sediment sources. This research was carried out using SEM-EDX and XRD to characterize clay and cement properties of the rocks.

The dominant mineralogy remains quartz while the most common clay mineral is smectite and the possible sources of the clay minerals include both diagenetic and detrital sources. The prevalent climatic condition for the Uitenhage Group sediments includes warm and humid fluvial environment to relatively cool climates and shallow marine environment while Knysna sediments are mostly flood plain or shallow marine environment and Robberg Formation was found to have been deposited in a shallow marine to estuarine environment with a cold and relatively dry climate.

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Adsorption isotherm and Kinetic study for removal of Crystal Violet and Brilliant green dyes from waste water using Castor leaf powder

Sohpal Vipan K.

Page No. 16-21

Castor leaf powder (CLP) was obtained from mature leaves of castor trees through chemical reaction. The CLP was chosen for its availability and a low-cost natural adsorbent. The CLP was used as an adsorbent for Crystal violet (CV) and Brilliant green (BG) in waste water of textile industry. The adsorption properties of CV and BG are discussed in terms of the adsorption isotherms (Langmuir and Freundlich) and the kinetic models (pseudo-first-order, pseudo second-order and intraparticle diffusion model).

It was shown that the experimental results best fitted the Langmuir isotherm model and pseudo second-order kinetic equation for both the dyes. The thermodynamic parameters show that the adsorption process is exothermic. The experimental result indicates that the CLP is a viable and naturally occurring material for removing CV and BG from waste water.

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Annual Effective Dose Equivalent of population staying in industrial area Bhilai, Chhattisgarh India estimated using Gamma dose rate measurements

Jindal Manoj Kumar, Sar Santosh Kumar, Arora Arun, Singh Shweta, Sahu Megha and Diwan Vijita

Page No. 22-27

Human beings are exposed to natural radiation which is present outside and inside the houses. This present study has been carried out in industrial regions, near the cement industries at Bhilai, Chhattisgarh India. The gamma radiation was measured in about 50 residential houses from the industrial area. The mean value of indoor and outdoor gamma radiation-dose rates observed was 191.7±5.7nSv/hr and 136.8±4.1nSv/hr respectively with an indoor to outdoor dose ratio of 1.40. This is equal to population weighted value reported by UNSCEAR.

Total average annual effective dose due to indoor and outdoor gamma radiation for study area was estimated as 1.11±0.03mSv. This is slightly higher than the world population weighted average value of 0.87mSv reported by UNSCEAR.

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Zinc and ruthenium resveratrol complexes as novel neuroprotective agents against chlorpyrifos-induced neurotoxicity in rats

Kobeasy Mohamed I., El-Naggar A.Y., Abdallah Amr A. and Refat Moamen S.

Page No. 28-37

The present study investigated the neuroprotective role of resveratrol, zinc (II)resveratrol complex and ruthenium (III)resveratrol complex in attenuating the toxicity induced by chlorpyrifos in rat brain. Complexes of Zn (II) and Ru (III) with resveratrol ligand were synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, conductometry, IR, X-ray diffraction analysis and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of solid samples.

The FTIR spectra confirmed that the resveratrol ligand behaves as a tri-basic monodentate ligand towards the central metal ion with deprotonated three oxygen's donor atoms of –OH groups. From the microanalytical data, the stoichiometry of the complexes 1:3 (metal:ligand) was suggested. Male albino rats received either oral chlorpyrifos (13.5 mg/kg body weight), resveratrol alone (20 mg/kg body weight) or combined with chlorpyrifos (13.5 mg/kg body weight), ZnIIresveratrol complex alone (20 mg/kg body weight) or combined with chloropyrifos (13.5 mg/kg body weight) and RuIIIresveratrol complex alone (20 mg/kg body weight) or with chloropyrifos (13.5 mg/kg body weight), for 4 weeks oral treatments.

The effects of these treatments were studied on various parameters in rat brain including lipid peroxidation and activity of antioxidant enzymes. Chlorpyrifos treatment resulted in a significant increase in lipids peroxidation and activity of catalase as well as a significant decrease in the levels of Glutathion content (GSH) and Glutathion-S- transferase (GST) activity. However, treatments with resveratrol plus chlorpyrifos, zinc (II)resveratrol complex to chlorpyrifos and ruthenium (III)resveratrol complex to chlorpyrifos normalized the otherwise raised levels of lipid peroxidation to within normal limits. Moreover, different treatments resulted in an elevation in the leaves of catalase, GSH and GST. Hence, the present study suggests the protective potential of resveratrol, ZnIIresveratrol complex and RuIIIresveratrol complex in alleviating the neurotoxicity induced by chlorpyrifos.

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Appraisal of Temporal Variation of Water Quality Status in terms of Water Quality Index (WQI) at Paradip Port, India

Satpathy Dharmendra, Mohapatra Ranjan Kumar, Acharya Chinmayee, Satapathy Deepty Ranjan and Panda Chitta Ranjan

Page No. 38-48

An assessment of the marine water quality at Paradip port involving various physicochemical parameters such as temperature, pH, salinity, turbidity, TSS, DO, BOD, nitrate, phosphate and ammonia was undertaken in three different seasons viz. pre-monsoon, monsoon and post monsoon. The presence of petroleum hydrocarbon and heavy metals (Cu, Ni, Co, Zn, Pb, Cr and Cd) was studied. Impact of above physicochemical parameters on the biological quality of the marine water was assessed by analysing total viable bacterial (TVB) count, total coliform bacteria (TCB) count, total E.coli bacteria(TEB) count, total phytoplankton count (TPC) and chlorophyll-a concentration. The water quality index (WQI) was synthesised using Delphi technique. The temporal and spatial variation of WQI values for all the stations throughout the sampling period varied between 56.0 (in Monsoon-2016) and 64.4 (in Post monsoon-2016); between 61.0 (at CHB) and 63.3 (at GCB) respectively.

Thus, the WQI values of the study site fall in the range of medium water quality category. The deteriorated water quality of monsoon was found to be recovered in the post monsoon period. From the correlation study among the analysed parameters, it was observed that some significant interrelationship exists among various water quality parameters like DO, pH, temperature, salinity, TSS, phosphate, Cd, Cr, Pb, Ni, TVB, TCB and TEB.

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Photocatalytic degradation of Methyl Orange dye using Chitosan Alumina Composite under Sunlight irradiation

Saraswathi P. and Makeswari M.

Page No. 49-53

Photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange as a pollutant in wastewater samples is investigated in this study. This photo degradation is investigated using Chitosan Alumina Composite (CAC) under solar irradiation method. The batch mode parameters such as effect of contact time, effect of pH, effect of composite dose and effect of initial dye concentration are studied. The maximum degradation efficiency for methyl orange on CAC is 92.48% at 90 minutes. Equilibrium data are well fitted with Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. The maximum degradation capacity at equilibrium condition qe is 22.75 mg/g.

Furthermore, the adsorption kinetics of methyl orange is analysed and the rate of adsorption is found to confirm the pseudo first order kinetics with a good correlation regression coefficient (R2=0.9904). The results showed that CAC can be attractive option for dye degradation from industrial effluents.

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Pyrolytic conversion of protein rich microalgae Arthrospira platensis to bio-oil

Gouda Narayan, Panda Achyut K., Singh R.K. and Ratha S.K.

Page No. 54-65

A protein-rich microalgae species Arthrospira platensis was pyrolyzed in a semi batch reactor using two clay catalysts kaolin and calcium bentonite to understand the effects of temperature and catalysts on the yield and composition of bio oil. The optimum temperature for a higher bio oil yield of 55.9 wt. % was 500°C. The bio-oil yield decreased in presence of both the clay catalysts. The effect was more pronounced with kaolin as compared to calcium bentonite.

The energy recovery in kaolin catalyzed pyrolysis was lower than thermal and calcium bentonite catalyzed reactions. The FTIR and GC/MS results of the algal bio-oil conform the presence of nitrogenous compounds, alcohols, acids, esters, phenols, hydrocarbons, carbonyl compounds and aromatic compounds. The aromatics fractions in the bio-oil increased significantly in presence of clay catalysts. The bio-oil was slightly alkaline with higher HHV, comparative specific gravity and viscosity as that of fossil fuel.

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Green algae as source for polyhydroxyalkanoate synthesis from food processing wastewater

Sathya A.B., Sivashankar R., Sivasubramanian V. and Santhiagu A.

Page No. 66-74

Biopolymers are a form of polymers derived from renewable biomass source unlike fossil fuel plastics. Limitation of petrochemical resources with an increase in oil price and environmental problems raises the interest in biopolymers. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) are a group of interesting biopolymers accumulated within cells as energy storage materials by different microorganisms. PHAs have an extensive variety of requisitions for biocompatibility and biodegradability in different commercial enterprises for example, biomedical division including tissue engineering, bio-implant patches and so on. Green algae offer the possibility to transform CO2 to biomass with light as the solitary energy source. Like many different prokaryotes, particularly under nutrient deprivation, maximum microalgae are capable of producing PHAs as intracellular energy and carbon storage compounds.

Chlorella pyrenoidosa, green algae were investigated for its capacity to accumulate PHA. Food processing wastewater is rich in fermentable nutrients such as lactose lipids and soluble proteins serving as an inexpensive substrate. The effects of nitrogen concentration, pH and temperature were studied on biomass and PHA production. The PHA yield obtained from cheese whey (79.8%) was found close to the yield obtained from defined medium (82.95%) at pH 7, temperature 35ºC and low nitrogen concentration (0.5g/L).

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In-vitro regeneration and propagation of Pistia stratiotes as a biotechnological approach for phytoremediation of textile effluent

Pavithra M. and Kousar Hina

Page No. 75-79

Environmental contamination has become a concerning issue worldwide due to number of risks it poses to human health and ecosystem. Contaminants present in soil or water can go up through the trophic chain via microbial or plant incorporation. Textile industry is a major contributor to water pollution possessing recalcitrant pollutants. The available chemical methods for treatment are found to be inefficient besides being extremely costly. Phytoremediation is an emerging technology for large-scale removal or detoxification of contaminants from the environment. It makes the use of plants to remove, transfer, or stabilize pollutants in an environmentally friendly manner.

The remedial capacity of plants can be significantly improved by genetic manipulation and plant transformation technologies. The present study was aimed on successful whole plant regeneration as a biotechnological tool in phytoremediation studies. Plant used for the micropropagation was Pistia stratiotes which was later introduced into textile effluent for treatment. Results revealed that after treatment with Pistia stratiotes, the concentration of most of the parameters of the effluent had reduced revealing that it is effective in treatment of textile wastewater.

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Adsorption of Acid Red 66 Dye from Aqueous Solution by Heat-Treated Rice Husk

Davoud Balarak and Ferdos Kord Mostafapour

Page No. 80-84

The removal of Acid Red 66 Dye (AR-66) from aqueous solution using a agricultural waste as biosorbent (Rice Husk) prepared from a heat-treated was studied. The biosorption studies were carried out under various parameters such as initial dye concentration and contact time. The experimental results show that the removal percentage of AR-66 increased from 45.2% to 98.1%, as contact increased from 10 to 75 min. The capacity adsorption was increased with an increase in the initial dye concentration in solution.

The experimental isotherms data were analyzed using Freundlich, Langmuir, Temkin and Dubinin-Radushkevich (D-R) isotherm equations. The best fit was obtained by Freundlich isotherm with high correlation coefficients. The value of energy calculated from the D-R isotherm was 4.84 KJ/mol suggesting that the adsorption of AR-66 dye on RH is physical.

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Synthesis and spectral characterization of Cu (II) tetra aza macrocyclic complexes

Kashyap Chitranjana and Pandey Yogesh

Page No. 85-89

A novel family of tetra aza Macrocyclic Cu (II) complexes Cu LX2 (where L = N4 donor macrocyclic ligand and X = Cl) has been synthesized. Characterization has been done on the basis of elemental analysis, molar conductance, UV visible, IR, magnetic susceptibility and XPS data. IR spectra and XPS data show that the ligand behaves as tetra dentate through 4 N atoms; the XPS data suggest octahedral geometry for Cu (II) macrocylic complexes.

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Phenolic content, HPLC analysis and antioxidant activity extract from Tamarix gallica and Tamarix articulata growing in Southeast of Algeria

Salemi Said, Gherraf Noureddine, Laouini Salah Eddine, Guerram Abdelmadjid, Berrani Djamel and Ali Tliba

Page No. 90-98

This work reports the phytochemical profile, phenolic content and flavonoid, in vitro antioxidant against DPPH, β-carotene radical and total antioxidant activity of methanolic leaves extract from Tamarix gallica and Tamarix articulata. Formore, HPLC analysis for identification of individual polyphenols was performed for different phenolic groups. The quantification of total phenolic and flavonoids content was realized by spectrophotometric methods. The antiradical capacities of extracts were evaluated against DPPH free radical and phosphomolybdenum method.

Total phenolic contents and flavonoid from an extract of Tamarix gallica were found high against Tamarix articulata, 334.19 ± 8.47, 395.62 ± 6.23 mg GAE /g DW for phenolic content and 159.73 ± 6.28, 117.47 ± 4.04 mg CE/g DW respectively. The HPLC analysis showed that at least 6 considerable phenolic compounds of leaves extract exist for the two extracts, the major ones being vanillic acid, naringin and caffeic acid. Similar results for antioxidant activity leaves extract from Tamarix gallica exhibited strong inhibition of free radical against DPPH against Tamarix articulata IC50= 5.70 ± 0.18, 7.69 ± 0.11 µg/ml and total antioxidant activity 341.69 ± 9.28, 287.64 ± 8.72 mg GAE/g DW respectively. The obtained results suggest that Tamarix gallica and Tamarix articulata could be a promising source for new drugs because of its antioxidant properties and phenolic compounds.

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Increasing the efficiency of dye sensitized solar cell by changes in the physical morphology

Suyash Oka, Jain Manish, Kumar Pankaj, Patel Jay and Chaudhari Ameya

Page No. 99-107

In this period of rapid exhaustion of fossil fuels, there is a urgent need to utilize alternative energy sources that are abundant in nature. Solar energy being one of the major energy sources is being utilized to generate energy via solar cells. DSSC (Dye Sensitized Solar cell) is a modern type of solar cell which converts solar energy into electrical energy. Due to its low cost, ease of fabrication and various other advantages, DSSC is invoking the researchers to do extensive research and find various ways to enhance its performance.

This review paper comprises of most of the information about DSSC regarding the various components of DSSC, its working principle, the ways by which its efficiency can be enhanced and its applications. The ways to improve efficiency have been discussed in detail.

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Food fortification of soy protein isolate for human health

Parate Vishal R., Sonawane Shriram S. and Munje Shyam S.

Page No. 108-115

Growing malnutrition and health problem in India can be well tackled with supplementary diet containing soy proteins as soy proteins are one of the best quality proteins offering many health benefits. Health care profession across the globe considers the quality of soy protein equivalent to that of other high-quality protein such as egg and milk.

Soy protein helps to prevent cancer, lowers cholesterol level, combat osteoporosis and regulate menopause. Presence of bioactive components arginine and isoflavones is responsible for the health benefit of soy protein. From food fortification point of view, soy protein isolate is best among all the sources of soy proteins. Biscuits are the ideal food vehicle for soy protein isolate fortification.

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