A Consortium Blockchain Based Overseas Fund Transfer System

Domestic fund transfers are all the time immediate, handier and obtainable however in overseas fund transfer, funds are transferred from payers account to payees account through the correspondent banks, central bank and messaging network which involves intermediaries and allied charges. Blockchain Technology has grabbed the interest of financial systems due to its inventive benefits such as decentralised structure, faster speed, cost-effectiveness and more security over conventional approaches. Adopting Blockchain Technology for overseas fund transfer can overcome the transaction delays, intermediaries’ failures and recurring costs involved in the current system. In this paper, a Consortium Blockchain based overseas fund transfer process is proposed to achieve faster operations, security and transparency. Hyperledger Fabric Blockchain framework has been used for overseas fund transfer process and web-user interface is developed for the same. Simulation results demonstrate the significance of Blockchain as a promising technology for overseas fund transfer process to facilitate speed, security, transparency and efficiency for overseas fund transfer.

     

Fenton and Electro-Fenton Methods for Oxidation of H-Acid and Reactive Black 5

Oxidative treatment of H-acid (HA) and Reactive Black 5 (RB5) using Fenton reagent (Fe2+/H2O2) and the electro-Fenton (EF) method is reported. Optimization of doses of ferrous iron and hydrogen peroxide was carried out in each case using HA; and the oxidation of RB5 was also carried out under the optimized conditions. Approximately 71% chemical oxygen demand (COD) was removed in 2 h using the conventional Fenton method at optimized doses: Fe2+ = 0.3?g/L (5.37 mM), H2O2 = 6?mL/L (53.0 mM), H2O2/Fe2+ = 10. In contrast, more than 92% COD was removed in 15 min using the EF method with an optimized Fe2+ dose of 0.130?g/L (2.34 mM) and 8?ml/L (70.6 mM) of H2O2. The pseudo-first-order rate constants (k) for the Fenton reagent and EF method were 0.054 and 0.38?min?1. The COD removal through the EF method was seven times faster. The calculated energy requirement of the EF method was 0.82?kg?COD/kW?h at the minimum applied current (0.25 A) when approximately 92.5% COD was removed. In the case of RB5, about 67 and 87% COD was removed under optimized Fenton and electro-Fenton conditions, respectively. The higher efficiency of the EF method was attributed to incremental addition of Fe2+ and accompanying higher H2O2/Fe2+ molar ratio. The results are discussed in the light of the mechanism for Fenton’s oxidation.     

Hypocholesteremic effect of bile salt hydrolase from Lactobacillus buchneri ATCC 4005

The effect of oral administration of the immobilized bile salt hydrolase enzyme on serum cholesterol, triglyceride, high density lipoprotein levels and its application in the therapeutic treatment of hypercholesteremia was assessed. Culture conditions were optimized for the production of bile salt hydrolase, which resulted in 2.9-fold enhancement in activity. Bile salt hydrolase (BSH; E.C.3.5.1.24) was isolated from Lactobacillus buchneri ATCC 4005 and immobilized in 0.5% gellan gum gel. The immobilized enzyme was orally delivered in wistar rats, induced with hypercholesteremia by triton X-100. The serum cholesterol and triglycerides were reduced by 50% and 15%, respectively, in the group fed with immobilized enzyme 10 IU/kg dose whereas administration of 20 IU/kg immobilized enzyme resulted in reduction of serum cholesterol by 58% and triglycerides by 45%, respectively. The results indicate that bile salt hydrolase has potential cholesterol lowering property and oral administration of the immobilized enzyme is an alternative pharmacological approach to reduce serum cholesterol levels.     

A coupled photocatalytic-biological process for degradation of 1-amino-8-naphthol-3, 6-disulfonic acid (H-acid)

 There has been growing emphasis on the development of coupled treatment systems (e.g., advanced oxidation–biological) for treating poorly biodegradable wastewater. An attempt has been made in the present study to couple photocatalytic (TiO₂/UV) pretreatment with conventional activated sludge process to achieve improvement in the biodegradation of H-acid. The combination of titanium dioxide and UV light has been known to generate strong oxidants that degrade several organic pollutants into carbon dioxide via the formation of some intermediates. The intermediates formed may undergo biodegradation readily. Accordingly, photodegradation experiments were carried out initially at an optimized TiO₂ dose and the minimum pretreatment time required for transforming H-acid was identified. For this purpose, UV–vis spectrophotometry and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were extensively used. Subsequently, it was attempted to biodegrade untreated and pretreated H-acid using activated sludge from the textile industry acclimatized to H-acid. It was found that photocatalytic pretreatment of H-acid for 30 min, during which period approximately 8–10% chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal occurred, can be coupled to second-stage biological treatment for achieving enhanced biodegradation of H-acid.     

Buckminsterfullerene's (C60) octanol-water partition coefficient (Kow) and aqueous solubility

To assess the risk and fate of fullerene C60 in the environment, its water solubility and partition coefficients in various systems are useful. In this study, the log Kow of C60 was measured to be 6.67, and the toluene-water partition coefficient was measured at log Ktw = 8.44. From these values and the respective solubilities of C60 in water-saturated octanol and water-saturated toluene, C60's aqueous solubility was calculated at 7.96 ng/L(1.11 x 10(-11) M) for the organic solvent-saturated aqueous phase. Additionally, the solubility of C60 was measured in mixtures of ethanol-water and tetrahydrofuran-water and modeled with Wohl's equation to confirm the accuracy of the calculated solubility value. Results of a generator column experiment strongly support the hypothesis that clusters form at aqueous concentrations below or near this calculated solubility. The Kow value is compared to those of other hydrophobic organic compounds, and bioconcentration factors for C60 were estimated on the basis of Kow.     

Solubility of C60 in solvent mixtures

The potential large-scale production of fullerene C60 and its widespread use in consumer products may translate into occupational and public exposure and in long-term environmental exposure. To assess the risk and fate of C60 in the environment, it is important to understand its solvate formation in common industrial solvents as the solvates may affect various properties of C60 including reactivity and toxicity, particularly when solvates occur in C60 clusters. In this study, the solubility measurements in mixed solvent system can provide useful information about solvate formation. The solubility of C60 was measured in pure toluene, tetrahydrofuran, ethanol, and acetonitrile to be 3000, 11, 1.4, and 0.04 mg/L, respectively. Additionally, the solubility of C60 was measured in mixtures of toluene-acetonitrile, toluene-ethanol, toluene-tetrahydrofuran, and acetonitrile-tetrahydrofuran. The solubility data were modeled with some accuracy using Wohl's equation. The estimated crystal energy term for C60 in tetrahydrofuran was different than that in the other solvents, indicating that the C60 solid phase in equilibrium with tetrahydrofuran solution may be a solvated crystal.     

Comparative Study of Effect of Surfactant-Polymer Interactions on Properties of Alkyl Polyglucosides and Alpha Olefin Sulphonate

The properties of Alpha Olefin Sulphonate (AOS) and Alkyl polyglucosides (APG) were studied in the presence and absence of nonionic polymers such as polyethylene glycol, poly vinyl pyrrolidone and methyl cellulose and hydroxy propyl cellulose. Properties like surface tension, foaming, viscosity and emulsification were studied at a constant concentration of polymer (0.1%) and varying concentrations of surfactant. It was found that at low surfactant concentrations there is an association between surfactant and polymer at the liquid/air surface in the case of an anionic surfactant and a nonionic polymer, which is not seen in the case of nonionic surfactants and nonionic polymers. A nonionic polymer reduces the surface tension of AOS by forming a surfactant-polymer complex which in turn increases the foamability, emulsifying property and viscosity of solution. APG does not show any effect on its surface tension in the presence of nonionic polymers but its foamability and emulsifying properties are improved. Reduction in surface tension is not the only reason behind increased foamability in the presence of the polymer. Higher molecular weight polymers give a rich, creamy foam because of increased viscosity in the surfactant solution as compared to lower molecular weight polymers.     

A four parameter cubic equation of state with temperature dependent covolume parameter

A four-parameter, Ghoderao–Dalvi–Narayan 2 cubic equation of state(GDN2 CEOS), is presented which incorporates the following: 1. The experimental value of the critical compressibility factor has been used as a fixed input parameter for calculations; 2. All the parameters(a, b, c, d) of CEOS are temperature dependent functions in the subcritical region and are temperature independent functions in the supercritical region and; 3. A new α function is introduced with two compound specific parameters which are estimated by matching saturated vapor pressure at two fixed temperature points T_r= 0.5, 0.7. Our formalism enables us to cast three of the four parameters of the CEOS as a function of the remaining parameter. The proposed CEOS is used to predict properties of 334 pure compounds, including saturated vapor pressure and liquid density, compressed liquid density, heat capacities at the constant pressure and volume, enthalpy of vaporization, sound velocity. To calculate thermodynamic properties of a pure compound, the present CEOS require the critical temperature, the critical pressure, the Pitzer's acentric factor, the critical compressibility factor, and two parameters of the alpha function. The saturated liquid density predictions for pure fluids are very accurate when compared with GDN1(Ghoderao–Dalvi–Narayan 1),MPR(Modified Peng–Robinson), and PT(Patel–Teja) equations of state. Unlike MPR EOS, the proposed temperature dependent covolume parameter b in the present work satisfies all the constraints mentioned in the literature to avoid thermodynamic inconsistencies at the extreme temperature and pressure. Using van der Waals one-fluid mixing rule, the present CEOS is further used to predict bubble pressure and the vapor mole fraction of binary mixtures.