An economical and efficient protocol for total RNA isolation from Jatropha curcas

Jatropha curcas is an important non feed crop, increasingly important as a biofuel crop. It is hardy and resistant to different stress conditions in the field. In the wastelands of Gujarat (India), it is being grown for land reclamation and for socio-economic benefits. The long coastline in this state also promotes the growth of a large number of halophytes. Exploiting the genetic resource of Jatropha and halophytes for drought and salt-induced gene is an important area of research. For the isolation of genes and to study the molecular mechanism a good qualitative and quantitative RNA is a prerequisite. Jatropha leaves have latex, and therefore isolating RNA using guanidine thiocyanate or cetyltrimethylammonium bromide did not yield desirable quality of RNA. This paper reports a very simple and economical protocol for the isolation of good quality RNA from Jatropha and a few halophytes. The sodium dodecyl sulphate was used as a detergent for lysis of plant cells in the extraction buffer along with bentonite, which inhibits the ribonuclease’s activity. The addition of water saturated phenol in mortar-pestle, during grinding, facilitated better homogenisation of the tissues. Absolute RNA precipitation was obtained with the help of 2-butoxyethanol. Further this RNA was used successfully in preparation of complementary DNA and subsequently used for gene isolation.     

改性膨润土对黄磷废水的深度处理

探讨了经Al^3改性的膨润土对含磷废水的吸附性能。考察了反应的pH值、温度、时间、吸附剂的用量等因素对改性膨润土吸附性能影响．结果表明：含1．0％ Al^3的改性膨润土对磷有较强的吸附去除作用。在pH=9及300r／min条件下搅拌吸附40min，当Al^3改性膨润土的用量为5g／L时，对13mg／L的含磷废水的吸附量达23．4mg／g；对含磷量不大于11mg／L的废水，其去除率大于95．5％，废水中剩余的磷含量小于0．5mg／L，达到了我国废水综合排放的一级标准。     

无卤阻燃增强硬质聚氨酯泡沫塑料的研究

采用聚醚多元醇、聚酯多元醇、多异氰酸酯、泡沫稳定剂、催化剂及发泡剂等为基本原料,以聚磷酸铵(APP)、可膨胀石墨(EG)及膨润土(BT)为阻燃剂及填料,通过一步发泡法制备了无卤阻燃增强硬质聚氨酯泡沫塑料。研究了APP、EG、BT对泡沫力学性能、阻燃性能以及泡孔结构的影响。结果表明,APP质量分数为15%,EG为7.5%,膨润土为2.5%时可以制得力学性能和阻燃性能均优良的聚氨酯泡沫塑料。在该条件下,泡沫的压缩强度为0.271 MPa,平均孔径为322μm,极限氧指数达到29.5%。     

钠基膨润土胶质价测试方法的改进

以两种人工钠化膨润土为研究对象,探讨了文献胶质价测试方法的不合理性、取土量和MgO量这两个关键因素。实验结果表明:用常规100 mL量筒测胶质价时,取土量和MgO量影响较大,有必要针对具体试样做条件试验,最佳条件是1#钠土为取3.00 g土、0.2 g MgO,2#钠土为取5.00 g土、0.33 g MgO。     

烷基季铵盐改性膨润土的膨胀性

用X射线衍射(XRD)、傅立叶红外光谱(FT-IR)和热重(TG)表征方法,考察了四甲基溴化铵(TMAB),四乙基溴化铵((Et)4NB),十二烷基三甲基溴化铵(DTAB),十六烷基三甲基溴化铵(CTAB)对膨润土膨胀性的影响。结果表明,不同季铵盐都已吸附到膨润土晶层间,短链季铵盐TMAB和(Et)4NB主要以单分子平躺在膨润土晶层之间,使膨润土的层间距比原土样降低,有很好的防膨作用。长链季铵盐DTAB和CTAB以假三层平卧、倾斜排列等方式排列,使膨润土的层间距比原土样增加,没有防膨作用。且膨润土对(Et)4NB和TMAB的吸附量低于DTAB和CTAB的。     

有机插层膨润土的制备及吸附性能研究

以溴代十六烷基三甲胺及氯化苄乙氧胺对膨润土原土进行改性,制备了一系列新型的有机插层膨润土材料。通过红外光谱、X-射线衍射及扫描电镜对膨润土及改性膨润土进行了表征,结果表明有机改性剂已经插层到膨润土内,并使其层间距增大。同时对该材料的吸附性能进行了研究,实验结果表明有机插层膨润土能有效的去除水溶液中的Cu2+、Zn2+、Ni 2+、Cd2+金属离子以及有机污染物苯酚。     

膨润土及改性膨润土在造纸行业中的应用

膨润土特殊的构造使其具有离子交换性、吸水性、膨胀性、触变性、粘结性、吸附性等多重性质,其常用改性方法有活化法和添加改性剂法两种。概括了近期的文献资料,对膨润土和改性膨润土在造纸行业中的应用情况进行了综述,对今后的发展提出了建议。     

Colza oil bleaching through optimized acid activation of bentonite. A comparative study

The acid activation of an Algerian bentonite was investigated using a factorial 3³ experiment design in order to improve the bleaching capacity in the colza oil processing. Optimized acid treatment of this bentonite gave rise to an effective bleaching earth in colza oil treatment. The 80 °C temperature value was regarded as being convenient in this study. For this purpose, the effects at 80 °C of three key parameters were investigated, namely the effects of the acid concentration in aqueous solution, the contact time and the clay to acid (S/L) ratio upon the clay effectiveness, regarded as the response function to be prone to modeling, simulation and optimization. The results showed that the acid concentration displays a stronger individual effect, as compared to the other parameters. In optimal activation conditions (acid concentration 31%, contact time 10 h and solid to liquid ratio 320 g/L), the highest bleaching capacity was found to be 99%. Comparison of the bleaching capacity from our bentonite shows that similar performances require less acid activated bentonite than any other bentonite. The acid acid-activated bentonite displayed also even higher color and chlorophyll removal than both the Tonsil and Maghnia standards, for similar bleaching earth amounts. The recommended features for the colza oil were obtained using only 1 wt.% of acid-activated bentonite, as compared to the Tonsil and Maghnia standard (1.2–1.4 and 2 wt.%, respectively). The model adequacy was also verified through additional bleaching experiment within the fixed parameters ranges, and was discussed.     

Gas migration properties through a bentonite/argillite interface

Among diversified industrial uses, see for instance Koch [Koch, Appl. Clay Sci., (21) 2002], and following positive in situ experiments, compacted bentonite blocks are potential candidates for sealing nuclear waste repositories, thanks to their swelling ability in a wet environment.As requested by Andra (French Agency for Nuclear Waste Management) and complementarily to in situ experiments, an original experimental laboratory set-up was designed in order to reproduce the introduction and swelling of bentonite plugs inside an argillite host rock. Once the argillite/bentonite interface is established, an increase in storage tunnel gas pressure is simulated and the interface gas migration pressure (or gas critical pressure) is evaluated. More precisely, a first experimental set-up provides bentonite swelling pressure and kinetics (i.e. mainly hydraulic cut-off, time to reach asymptotic swelling pressure and value of asymptotic swelling pressure) at given initial compaction and saturation rate. This phase is preparatory to reproducing the introduction and subsequent swelling of a bentonite plug inside the argillite host rock, which uses a similar test rig. Experimental results of water permeability and gas critical pressure are provided for MX80 compacted bentonite associated to Bure Callovo-Oxfordian argillite.