Developing eco-friendly methods for purification of compounds derived from hydrogenated cardanol

The present work made a comparative study between two purification methods, column chromatography and recrystallization, for compounds derived from cardanol, a by-product of the cashew industry (Anacardium occidentale L.). The compounds were successfully synthesized and characterized, focusing our attention to results obtained in terms of yield, purity, generation of solid waste and amount of solvent used in each purification process. For all the synthesized compounds, the amount of solvent used was greatly reduced in the recrystallization process, with purities above 80%, when compared to chromatographic column, which still demands high amounts of eluent.     

Disposable potentiometric citrate sensor based on polypyrrole‐doped films for indirect determination of sildenafil in pharmaceuticals formulations

A new sensitive and selective disposable potentiometric sensor based on polypyrrole (PPy) films for determination of sildenafil citrate (SC) was proposed. The pyrrole polymerization was performed in presence of citrate ions under galvanostatic conditions which resulted in a membrane of PPy doped with citrate anion at graphite pencil electrode surface. Experimental conditions (e.g., pH and conditioning time) and instrumental parameters (e.g., current density and electrical charge) were evaluated in order to reach the best potentiometric response for the proposed sensor. Under optimized conditions, the device presented a linear dynamic range (LDR) for citrate ions concentrations varying from 0.034 to 1.7 mmol L^?1 with a Nernstian slope of 57.2 mV dec^?1 and a limit of detection (LOD) of 30 µmol L^?1. The developed potentiometric sensor was applied for sildenafil citrate (SC) determination (pharmaceutical formulations) and results compared with an official spectrophotometric method indicating a good agreement for a confidence level of 95%. Effect of concomitants species on the potentiometric response of the proposed device and morphologic characterization using microscopy of atomic force (AFM) were realized. The surface roughness of PPy films (synthesized in citrate solution and chloride) showed poorly affected by changing the doping anion, probably because the polypyrrole nodules grow three‐dimensionally simultaneously. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43762.     

Application of nanostructured titanium dioxide pigments in paper coating: a comparison between prepared and commercially available ones

Nano-TiO₂ pigments in pure crystallographic anatase and rutile phases have been successfully prepared by hydrothermal at 120°C and hydrolysis methods, respectively. The laboratory-prepared pigments were characterized parallel to two commercial pigments of the same crystal structure. All pigments were applied in paper coating mixtures, and their influence on coated paper properties was systematically investigated. X-ray diffraction investigation showed that the laboratory-prepared pigments using the hydrothermal method at 120°C were pure anatase, whereas hydrolysis method produced pure rutile phase pigment. The application of the prepared nanopigments and the corresponding commercial TiO₂ phases in paper coating revealed that clay/rutile nano-TiO₂ pigments in paper coating mixture decreased coated paper roughness more than blending clay with anatase nano-TiO₂ pigments. Commercial nano-TiO₂ pigments increased porosity of coated paper at both the 30% and 50% addition of nano-TiO₂ pigments to clay, while laboratory-prepared nano-TiO₂ pigments highly decreased it at 30% addition of nano-TiO₂ to clay, compared to clay only. Blending of clay/nano-TiO₂ pigments improved both brightness and opacity of the coated paper where commercial pigments are more effective. Burst, tensile strength, stretching, and TEA were improved in the case of all pigments. The 50% addition of the prepared and commercial nanopigments in conjunction with clay improved the mechanical coated paper properties more than 30% addition (except the cases of stretching and TEA of the commercial pigments). The coated paper samples were offset printed. It was found that blending of clay/nano-TiO₂ pigments improved print density. Commercial nano-TiO₂ pigments improved print gloss more than the laboratory-prepared ones. This result was found consistent with the results of coated paper roughness.     

Application of titanium machining chips in welding consumables for wear-resistant hardfacing

Equipment of sugar cane plants and mineral extraction are submitted to severe abrasive wear conditions. Welded hardfacings are usually applied to repair this kind of damage, where commercial chromium/carbon-rich welding consumables have usually been employed. In the present work we investigated the microstructure of experimental hardfacings made by addition of residues (chips) collected from the machining of ASTM F67 (unalloyed Ti, grade 4) alloy. Mixtures with different carbide-formers (Cr/Nb ferro-alloys) were also tested. Two layers of ‘pure’ chips (Ti), chips plus Fe–Cr (Ti–Cr), and chips plus Fe–Nb (Ti–Nb) were applied on low-carbon steel specimens by the GTAW/TIG process. The microstructure of hardfacing layers was observed by optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with EDS microanalysis. The microstructural characterization has determined that carbide distributions change significantly with the chemical nature of the hardfacing. SEM observations coupled with EDS microanalysis have confirmed the formation of complex carbides within the metal weld, whose stoichiometry was determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Mixed carbides of MC type and some cementite have been found. As a result it was suggested that use of ASTM F67 chips as carbide formers for composition of welding consumables can contribute to improved wear resistance of hardfacings, if compared with traditional chromium-based hardfacings.     

Optimization of algal lipid extraction by mixture of ethyl acetate and ethanol via response surface methodology for biodiesel production

The effects of extraction time, extraction temperature, solvent to biomass ratio and solvent composition on lipid yield from lyophilized Chlorococcum sp. biomass using a mixture of ethyl acetate and ethanol (EAE), a new proposed solvent, were studied. Subsequently, the process conditions of extraction by EAE were optimized using Box-Behnken design (BBD). The results revealed that the extraction temperature had the greatest effect on lipid extraction efficiency, followed by volume ratio of ethyl acetate to ethanol (EA/E) and extraction time. The largest lipid extraction yield of 15.74% was obtained under the following extraction conditions: 40mL solvents per gram of biomass for 270 min with gentle stirring at 80 °C by EAE with an EA/E of 1.0. Furthermore, palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, and linoleic acid were the most abundant fatty acids in the lipids extracted, indicating the great potential of the proposed lipid extraction procedure for microalgae-based biodiesel production.     

Fatty acids,sterols, and tocopherols composition in seed oil extracts from four moroccan ecotypes of Ceratonia siliqua L.

Morphological characterization was investigated by agro-morphological criteria related to carob seed size in four different moroccan regions collected in 2018 and 2019. There was no significant difference (p ≤ 0.05) on the seeds lengths and widths. However, a significant difference between seeds thickness and total seeds weight per pod (p ≤ 0.05) were observed between these four populations. The fatty acid, sterol, tocopherol, hydrocarbon, and the unoxygenated composition of carob seed extracts (Ceratonia siliqua L.) were studied. The mean fat yield of the seeds obtained is 1.53%–2.17%, 2.14%–2.15%, 1.61%–1.62%, 1.71%–1.75% for, respectively, the P1 (Meknes), P2 (Fez), P3 (Khemisset), and P4 (Marrakech) in 2018 and 2019. The seed oil was extracted with hexane and the analysis of the fatty fraction was performed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). Results show that the major fatty acids for 2018 and 2019 are linoleic acid (61.48%–61.52%, 52.12%–52.14%, 57.76%–58.15%, 61.33%–61.52%), palmitic acid (15.78%–15.81%, 16.44%–16.45%, 19.11%–18.37%, 20.24%–20.32%), oleic acid (11.03%–11.04%, 8.72%–8.82%, 8.51%–8.61%, 8.41%–8.53%), stearic acid (4.35%–3.14%, 5.40%–5.43%, 3.12%–3.13%, 0.96%–1.56%), and cerotic acid (0.62%–0.53%, 4.51%–4.52%, 4.03%–4.06%, 3.84%–3.87%). The unsaturated fatty acids (69.39% in 2018 and 69.68% in 2019) are the most dominant in the four seed extracts compared to the saturated fatty acids. In addition, the oil carob seeds analysis revealed the presence of γ-tocopherol, α-tocopherol and four sterols that included campesterol, stigmasterol, and β-sitosterol. Moreover, the determination of hydrocarbon and un-oxygenated compounds confirmed the existence of major compounds such as heptadecane, 2-methyltriacontane, 1-iodo hexadecane and 1-iodo octadecane. The hierarchical analysis based on the morphological and chromatographic characterization of the seeds allowed the identification of three groups. Consequently, the first group consisted of populations from Marrakesh (P4) and Khemisset (P3), the second group consisted of the P1 from Meknes, and the P2 from Fez constituted the third group.     

Quartz Ore Beneficiation by Reverse Flotation for Silicon Production

Silicon - In this work the reverse flotation as beneficiation process for high-purity silica valorization from Draissa quartz deposits (Algeria) is studied as a potential raw material for...     

Regional forecasts of photovoltaic power generation according to different data availability scenarios: a study of four methods

The development of methods to forecast photovoltaic (PV) power generation regionally is of utmost importance to support the spread of such power systems in current power grids. The objective of this study is to propose and to evaluate methods to forecast regional PV power 1 day ahead of time and to compare their performances. Four forecast methods were regarded, of which two are new ones proposed in this study. Together, they characterize a set of forecast methods that can be applied in different scenarios regarding availability of data and infrastructure to make the forecasts. The forecast methods were based on the use of support vector regression and weather prediction data. Evaluations were performed for 1 year of hourly forecasts using data of 273 PV systems installed in two adjacent regions in Japan, Kanto, and Chubu. The results show the importance of selecting the proper forecast method regarding the region characteristics. For Chubu, the region with a variety of weather conditions, the forecast methods based on single systems' forecasts and the one based on stratified sampling provided the best results. In this case, the best annual normalized root mean square error (RMSE) and mean absolute error (MAE) were 0.25 and 0.15 kWh/kWh_avg, respectively. For Kanto, with homogeneous weather conditions, the four methods performed similarly. In this case, the lowest annual forecast errors were 0.33 kWh/kWh_avg for the normalized RMSE and 0.202 kWh/kWh_avg for the normalized MAE. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Characterization of rheological and thermophysical properties of HDPE–wood composite

The objective of this study is to develop a new biocomposite material with high deformation ability. In this regard, the thermal, rheological, and thermophysical properties of this new composite were characterized as a function of temperature and filler concentration. High density polyethylene (HDPE) was the matrix of this new composite which was reinforced with six sawdust concentrations 0%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, and 60%. Maleic anhydride grafted polyethylene (PE‐g‐MA) was used as coupling agent. Addition of sawdust with PE‐g‐MA increased significantly the complex viscosity, the storage modulus (G′), and loss modulus (G″) of the matrix. The superposition of the complex viscosity curves using temperature dependent shift factor, allowed the construction of a viscosity master curve covering a wide range of temperatures. Arrhenius law was used for the relationship of the shift factor to temperature. Furthermore, method of Van Gurp and Palmen (tan delta vs. G*) is also used to control the time–temperature superposition. The experimental results can be well fitted with the cross rheological model which allowed the prediction of the thermorheological properties of the composites over a broad frequency range. By increasing wood concentration, both the activation energy and relaxation time for the biocomposites determined using, respectively, the Arrhenius law and the cole–cole rule increased. By contrast, specific heat of the matrix decreased with sawdust addition while its dimensional stability improved. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40495.