Research Journal of Chemistry and Environment

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Vol. 23(2) February 2019

Biosorption of copper and nickel by Sinorhizobium sp. SAR1: Effect of chemical and physical pre-treatment and binary metal solutions

Jobby Renitta, Vaidya Rujuta, Jha Pamela and Desai Neetin

Page No. 1-6

Heavy metals pose a huge threat to the environment because of their widespread use, distribution and particularly their toxicity to human beings as well as the biosphere. Development of economically acceptable, efficient and safe, pollution control technologies is the need of the present hour. Biosorption is an emerging tool for bioremediation of wastewater that has gained attention in the scientific community in the last few years.

In an attempt to increase the biosorption capacity, various physical and chemical pre-treatments were carried out on the biomass of Sinorhizobium sp. SAR1. Heat and calcium chloride treatments were found to be favourable for biosorption of copper as well as nickel. Alkali treatment with NaOH was found to favour only nickel biosorption. The acidic and EDTA treatments showed a decrease in biosorption capacity of the biomass. The biosorption studies for the binary solutions of copper and nickel showed the maximum biosorption capacity (qmax) to be 21.413 mg/g. The selectivity order for biosorption of the metals by Sinorhizobium biomass was found to be Cu > Ni. The equilibrium isotherms for the experiment indicated that the experiment was a good fit to both Langmuir and Freundlich models. These results emphasise the potential of using Sinorhizobium sp. in bioremediation of heavy metals.

Organophosphate Detoxification using 2-picolyamine derivatives- based Zinc(II) Complexes as Functional Hydrolyase Models

Mersal Gaber A.M., Ibrahim Mohamed M. and Salih Dalia I.

Page No. 7-18

The reaction of the ligand bis(2-picolyl)amine (BPA) with the chloride or perchlorate salts of zinc(II) ions yielded [(BPA)ZnCl2]•2H2O (1) and [(BPA)2Zn](ClO4)2 (2). The intermediate complex species namely the hydroxo [(BPA)Zn(OH)(H2O)](ClO4) (3) was successfully isolated in good yield and pure form. Complexes 1-3 were characterized in the solid state by using elemental analyses, FT-IR and thermal analyses as well as in solution by using 1H NMR titration and cyclic voltammetry (CV). Spectral features led to the conclusion that zinc(II) complexes 1 and 2 have square-pyramidal and octahedral environment around zinc(II) centers with coordination chromophores ZnN3Cl2 and ZnN6, respectively.

The hydrolase biomimetic catalytic activity of zinc(II) complex 3 was examined towards the toxic organophosphate insecticide, Fenitrothion. The results indicate that the hydroxoaqua complex [(BPA)Zn(H2O)(OH)]- 3 provided a strong evidence that this is the catalytically active species in the hydrolysis reaction.

Honeybee as a Biosensor: Detection of a Medicinal Plant Adrographis paniculata

Manjunatha Devagondanahalli Hadagali and Lee Suan Chua

Page No. 19-22

The detection of the medicinal plant, Andrographis paniculata (AP) has been carried out through the proboscis extension reflex of honeybees. The technique employed for the training of honeybees is the classical Pavlovian conditioning. The honey bees were exposed to the scents of the leaves of AP, with sugar solution as a reward for it. It was observed that honeybees responded well to the odors of AP. It was noticed that honeybees were able to memorize the odor(s) for a noticeable period of time which is evident by the repeated experiments carried out in the next day. This study suggests that honeybees have the capability to detect and differentiate the natural plants also upon their training. The proposed study is useful in identifying the plant material adulteration in ayurvedic medicinal industries.

Characterization and utilization of young coconut waste (Cocos nucifera L) for manufacturing fermented plant extracts having potential as natural fertilizer and pesticide

Refilda, Sabrina Yasmine and Zilfa

Page No. 23-30

Fermented Plant Extracts (FPE) had been produced by the utilization of young coconut waste (Cocos nucifera L) activated by Effective Microorganism-4 (EM-4). The FPE has been used as natural fertilizer and pesticide. A chemical profiling of young coconut waste was determined by phytochemical screening and GC-MS for organic content, X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) and Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS), spectrophotometry UV-Vis for C content and Kjeldahl method for N content. A variation of EM-4 volume was applied to optimize the producing of FPE.

The result indicated that the young coconut waste contained organic compound as alkaloid and tannins and anorganic content as N, P, K that formed FPE. The hight content of N, P, K, C in FPE was found in the mixture of 200 g young coconut waste, 45 mL EM-4, 25 mL red sugar 1 Kg/L and 980 mL water for 15 days. The FPE was applied to Ipomoea reptana plant, it could increase of plant height, a number of leaves and N, P, K in soil and a durability against insect attack compared to without FPE. This study demonstrates that the FPE of young coconut waste has a potential as natural fertilizer and pesticide.

Liquid phase O-methylation of phenol using K doped ZrO2/MoO3

Muftah Amal A. and Dagade Sharda P.

Page No. 31-38

K doped ZrO2/MoO3 mixed oxides catalyst were prepared by a sol-gel method, these catalysts were characterized by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and infrared spectroscopy. The catalyst was prepared at different concentration. The activity of these catalysts was evaluated towards liquid phase O-methylation of phenol at low temperature and the main reaction product i.e. anisole.

Higher selectivity of anisole was obtained with 92% conversion of phenol. Moderate acidic sites along with basic sites might have contributed for high conversion of phenol and high selectivity of anisole.

Exploring the Charge Density Distribution and Electrostatic properties of (1-methyl-1 H-tetrazol-5-ylsulfanyl)-acetic acid benzylidene-hydrazide

Saravanan D., Kannan A., Ponraj C. and Kandavelu V.

Page No. 39-50

The study of the charge density distribution and electrostatic properties of (1-methyl-1 H-tetrazol-5-ylsulfanyl)-acetic acid benzylidene-hydrazide molecule was made. The derived parameters of HF optimised molecule are consistently different from DFT methods in which DFT predicted values we found well with experimental data. The detailed analysis of the bond lengths reveals that the bond length of the C9-O11 bond is slightly less than the N1-N2 bond length in ring 1, which shows that these two bonds are the strongest bonds in the optimised structure.

Charge density analysis showed that the density is higher for the N-N bonds in the triazole ring than non-ring N-N bonds and the C=O bond at MAMH ring. Lowest electron density value is calculated for the thioether functional group, which reveals the stability of the group so as the connector. The bond charge polarization of each bond of the molecule was revealed from the bond path analysis and the shifting of BCP from the midpoint was also verified thoroughly and it was found that the bcp get shifted more in the case of C-N bonds and showed higher del d % value.

Computational analysis of methyl oleate in biodiesel produced from waste beef tallow

Raghavendra Srinivasan Gokul and Ranjitha Jambulingam

Page No. 51-59

This study deals with the computational analysis of methyl oleate; identified as dominant fatty acid alkyl ester produced by trans-esterifying beef tallow. The optimized parameters for biodiesel production were found to be 1:3 molar ratio (oil to methanol), 0.5% wt. catalyst concentration, 60oC reaction temperature and 2 hours reaction time. The computational analysis was carried out using Gaussian 09 software tool using DFT method (B3LYP/6-31G*). The average bond length between C-C bond, C=C bond was found to be 1.53Å and 1.38Å respectively.

The atomic charges exhibited negative charge for oxygen atoms, positive charges for hydrogen atoms and both negative and positive charge for carbon atoms in fatty acid chain. The molecular dipole moment was found to be 1.3671 Debye and quadrupole moment predicted the electronic dislocation in X+Z direction. The orbital and kinetic energies of HOMO and LUMO were found to be - 0.230290 a.u. and 0.013815 a.u. and 1.126274 a.u. and 2.057253 a.u. respectively. The electrostatic potential mapping was done on the oleate ester molecule.

Investigating the impact of diclofenac removal from aqueous solution using metallic iron as PRB reactive material

Tsamo Cornelius, Ndawaidam and Pantoway Jague Clement

Page No. 60-65

Diclofenac (DCF) has been detected in different water sources around the world with potential toxic effects. There exist many waste and low-cost available materials that can be used as permeable reactive barrier (PRB) materials. This work was aimed at investigating the impact of diclofenac removal using metallic iron, a waste material as PRB reactive material. Three systems were tested for 15 days; pure sand, pure metallic iron and metallic iron/sand mixtures. Pure sand showed higher removal efficiencies, but low long-term reactivity compared to iron containing systems with fluctuating removal percentages. Pure iron system had lowest DCF removal due to clogging from corrosion products.

Metallic iron/sand system was more effective at lower DCF concentrations. Significant amounts of iron were released in to solution for iron containing systems. A PRB using appropriate metallic iron/sand mixture as reactive material can effectively be used to treat effluents containing DCF.

Spectrophotometric determination of captan fungicide by the phenyl hydrazine method

Mannewar Kaushilya and Tiwari Kishore K.

Page No. 66-70

Captan fungicide react with thiophenol in the presence of diethylene amine in ethanol and acetonitrile to synthesized bis (phenyl) trithiocarbonate, diketon derivative and thiol derivative. The formed trithiocarbonate reacts with phenyl hydrazine in the presence of ethanol and concentrated HCl, as a result hydrazone is formed which changed into yellow colour benzenoids (salt form) solution at pH 3 to 4, the reaction temperature was maintained 40 ºC by heating solution mixture in water bath.

The yellow colour benzenoids solution shows maximum absorbance (λmax) at 473 nm. The colour system obeys Beer’s law in the range of 1-13 µg/ml. Accuracy of method was checked by standard addition method. The recovery range was found to be 95-99%. The method is free from interference of common ions and other fungicides, this shows that the method is applicable to analyse captan fungicide in various samples.

Batch adsorption study on removal of fluoride from aqueous solution by Darjeeling Tea Ash

Bhattacharya Joydeep and Mandal Sailendra Nath

Page No. 71-79

Fluoride present in drinking water beyond its permissible limit causes adverse effect on human health. Various methods have been adopted to remove fluoride from water. In this study, tea ash obtained from Darjeeling Tea waste is named here as Darjeeling Tea Ash (DaTA). This Darjeeling Tea Ash (DaTA) was used as an adsorbent to remove fluoride from contaminated water. The effect of pH, effect of adsorbent dose, effect of particle size of adsorbent etc. were investigated.

Kinetic study, adsorption equilibrium study and thermodynamic study were carried out. DaTA of 12 g L-1 accomplished removal of 83.8% fluoride from 10 mg L-1 fluoride solution for an equilibrium period of 60 minutes with agitation speed 150 rpm. The adsorption was favourable at pH 2 at 400C. The adsorption process was found best fit in Pseudo-second-order kinetic model as well as best fit in Freundlich isotherm model. Thermodynamic study indicated that the adsorption of fluoride onto DaTA was endothermic process and the activation energy was calculated as 14.849 kJ mol-1. This study revealed that DaTA was an adsorbent of heterogeneous nature and the adsorption of fluoride onto DaTA was a chemisorption process. The adsorption behaviour of DaTA was found different from that of tea ash experimented by previous researchers. Result shows that Darjeeling Tea Ash (DaTA) is a novel adsorbent for removal of fluoride from aqueous solution at low pH.

Adsorption of methyl violet from waste water using activated carbon prepared from copper pod

Saravanan N. and Rathika G.

Page No. 80-90

The ability of activated carbon produced from copper pod to adsorb methyl violet dye from aqueous solution has been investigated through batch experiment. Batch adsorption studies were conducted to examine the effects of contact time, adsorbent dosage, temperature and pH. Equilibrium data were analyzed using Langmuir isotherm, Freundlich isotherm models, Tempkin and Dubinin - Radushkevich isotherm. Kinetic data were studied using pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order kinetic models, Intraparticle diffusion and Elovich model. The morphology and functional groups present were investigated by scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction.

The results obtained shows that the adsorption of methyl violet dye on activated carbon is contact time, adsorbent dosage and pH dependent. The optimum contact time and adsorbent dosage are found to be at 60min, 1g respectively. Equilibrium data show that Freundlich isotherm models best describe the adsorption process and monolayer adsorption capacity of adsorbents. Kinetic studies show that pseudo-second-order kinetic model best describes the adsorption process. The mechanism of adsorption was described by intraparticle diffusion model.

Carbon Dioxide Adsorption on Chicken Manure or Biogas Sludge derived Biochar and its modification to enrich Methane Composition in Biogas

Margaretha Arnita Wuri, Ambar Pertiwiningrum, Rachmawan Budiarto and Misri Gozan

Page No. 91-98

Although biogas has multiple benefits, biogas implementation might fail in many developing countries. There are many challenges in its implementation and one of them is lower calorific value. The reduction of carbon dioxide enhances the calorific value. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of carbon dioxide adsorption using natural zeolite (Z-Z), the combination of natural zeolite and chicken manure based biochar (Z-B1), the combination of natural zeolite and biogas sludge based biochar (Z-B2), the combination of natural zeolite and modified chicken manure based biochar (Z-B1N) and the combination of natural zeolite and modified biogas sludge based biochar (Z-B2N) on methane composition in biogas. Modified biochar was carried out by immersion in ammonia solution. The adsorption of carbon dioxide was carried out at room temperature and gas pressure ranged between 5-7 bar.

The adsorbents were characterized with infrared (IR) spectroscopy, surface area analyzer (SAA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Methane composition increased after adsorption and the highest methane enrichment was performed by Z-B1 (28.92%) followed by Z-B2 (5.12%). Unfortunately, surface modification on biochar could not improve its capability in carbon dioxide adsorption. Carbon dioxide adsorption on Z-B1N and Z-B2N enhanced methane level by 11.27% and 3.43% respectively. Therefore, chicken manure and biogas sludge based biochars can be used as alternative carbon dioxide adsorbent in biogaspurification.

Exploring the utility of glucose as ecofriendly catalyst for microwave assisted green synthesis of Schiff base

Bedi Pooja and Pramanik Tanay

Page No. 99-104

A series of Schiff Bases were synthesized by using p-toluidine and different aromatic aldehydes as reactants where glucose is used as green catalyst and water was used as solvent for all the reactions. All the reactions were carried out under microwave irradiations. The synthesized products were purified via recrystallization and were characterized by melting point, FTIR, 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR. A new, simple, efficient, cost effective, ecofriendly method was developed for synthesis of Schiff Base in aqueous solvent system using Glucose as green catalyst.

Acute and repro-toxicity assessment of technical grade and commercial formulation of malathion on Daphnia magna

Montassir L., Berrebaan I., Ennaji M.M. and Bessi H.

Page No. 105-113

Acute and repro-toxicity of technical grade (98.7%) and commercial malathion formulation (50%) (Malyphos 50) were investigated on freshwater cladoceran Daphnia magna. 24 h and 48 h-EC50 values were 2.7 ± 0.365 µg L-1 and 2.35 ± 0.493 µg L-1 respectively for technical grade. For commercial malathion formulation, 24 h and 48 h-EC50 values were 0.3525 ± 0.017 µg L-1 and 0.3075 ± 0.0125 µg L-1 respectively. After 21 days of exposure, significant effects on survival were recorded at malathion concentration 0.456 and 0.123 µg L-1 respectively for technical grade and commercial formulation. The NOEC for number of neonates was recorded at 0.058 and 0.025 µg L-1 respectively for technical grade and commercial formulation. These values indicated high toxicity of commercial malathion formulation compared to technical grade.

Monolithic Columns for the Separation and Analysis of Proteins– A Review

Maelaningsih Firdha Senja, Sabarudin Akhmad and Hasanah Aliya Nur

Page No. 114-117

General protein preparation and analysis methods still have deficiencies regarding sensitivity and accuracy. Monolith columns are the best choice for the separation and analysis of proteins and its amino acids because they have many advantages of resolution, efficiency, and high sensitivity. Monolith columns can be used as stationary phase in chromatography due to easy preparation, high permeability, lower flow resistance and low back pressure. Monolith columns also can be used to clean up and for extraction from complex mixtures. This review summarizes the application of monolith columns in the separation and analysis of proteins as well as amino acids using chromatography.