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Water-diesel emulsion fuel has been found as a prominent alternative fuel by various researchers. Alike this technology, cow-urine (Bos indicus urine) emulsified diesel fuel (GMD emulsion) has been explored in this study. Making of homogeneous and stable emulsion is a crucial aspect in this approach while maintaining the diesel standards. Hence, the applicability of this fuel has been examined based on physicochemical properties for diesel engine application. The stability was assessed by creaming index, droplet size, Pdi, and interfacial tension. The minimum droplet size (278 nm) and 0.282 Pdi was obtained with 5.72 HLB value, 4% (v/v) surfactant, and 10% (v/v) of cow-urine through ultra-sonication. The optimized 10% GMD emulsion was found stable for more than 80 days. Viscosity and density of the fuel got increased with cow-urine and surfactant; however, they found within the standard limits. The physicochemical analysis exhibited the feasibility of the GMD emulsion for diesel engine application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five bacterial strains for biodegradation study were initially isolated from quinalphos exposed soil from cotton field of Indian Agricultural Research Institute, India by Serial dilution and enrichment technique. Amongst them, two strains Pantoea agglomerans and Acinetobacter sp. dcm5A were exposed to different concentrations (50-250 ppm, parts per million) of quinalphos to evaluate their tolerance and the optimum concentration of quinalphos supported growth. Growth kinetics of the isolates was studied by means of optical density of the culture media (150 rpm, rotation per minute) at 30oC for 15 days. The optimal concentration of quinalphos for the growth of Pantoea agglomerans was 100 ppm, while for Acinetobacter sp. dcm5A was 200 ppm. Bacterial strains Pantoea agglomerans and Acinetobacter sp. dcm5A degraded quinalphos 60% and 79.7% respectively in 7 days incubation and 100% degradation by both strains was observed after 13 days of incubation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current investigation is presented the prospective substitution of cement and fine aggregates with fine slag material (Alccofine 1203) and coal bottom ash, respectively. The investigation was carried out in two steps, viz. Phase I and Phase II. In Phase I, a control mix was designed with basic ingredients of concrete, and then fine aggregates were partially replaced with five percentages (10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50%) of coal bottom ash (CBA). To improve the characteristics of coal bottom ash concrete mixtures, ultra-fine slag material, i.e., Alccofine 1203 (an innovative ultra-fine slag material, low calcium silicate, which offers reduced water demand depending upon the concrete performance) was used as a partial replacement of cement. In Phase II, the inspected effect of replacing 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% cement with Alccofine, a concrete mix containing 40% coal bottom ash, on concrete properties such as workability, compressive strength, split tensile strength, flexural strength, pulse velocity, rapid chloride penetration along with a microstructural analysis using SEM was studied. It was concluded from cost analysis that the 15% replacement of cement with ultra-fine material Alccofine in 40% coal bottom ash concrete achieved the properties of high-strength concrete, with an 8.14% increase in cost compared to the control increase. The significance of this work lies in the fact that we achieved a high-strength concrete by using 40% industrial waste, i.e., coal bottom ash, as a partial replacement of fine aggregates in combination with the 15% Alccofine inclusion as a partial replacement of cement. About 58% improvement in compressive strength was recorded for 40% coal bottom ash and 15% Alccofine mix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodiesel is a biological renewable source produced from the conversion of triglycerides to alkyl esters. Palm oil is one of the most used lipid feedstocks for biodiesel production. It becomes necessary to optimize the transesterification reaction parameters to reduce the cost and enhance the quality of biodiesel. This study focuses on the use of homogenous sulfuric acid as a catalyst for the transesterification of palm fatty acids to methyl esters in a batch-scale reactor. A novel examination of transesterification reaction input parameters using the technique for order performance by similarity to ideal solution optimization technique and the effect of these parameters on yield, viscosity, and density of palm biodiesel using 3D surface graphs is investigated in this research. The present optimization approach is implemented to find out the optimum ranking of biodiesel production. From the experimental and numerical simulation, optimum results were observed at the catalyst concentration of 6% (w/w), reaction temperature of 70 °C, the reaction time of 120 min, and alcohol to oil molar ratio of 30:1 at which yield of 95.35%, viscosity of 5.0 cSt, and density of 880 kg/m3 of palm biodiesel were obtained. The different physicochemical properties of produced palm methyl esters are obtained within standards set by international authorities. Selected optimized process parameters can be used for commercial-scale biodiesel production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Out of various strategies to extenuate the diesel engine emissions, use of water-blended diesel fuel in emulsified form is found to be a prominent option. The studies carried out by various researchers give quite inconsistent results for optimum water concentration, surfactant concentration, and HLB value. An effort has been made in this paper to analyze this inconsistency of water concentration and surfactant for engine emissions and performance along with the effect of compression ratio. The work has been carried out on a non-road, constant rpm, VCR (variable compression ratio) diesel engine. Different emulsions of 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% water-in-diesel with 3% emulsifier concentration were tested on the diesel-optimized engine at CR 21. The results showed that emulsion of 15% water-in-diesel is optimal on the basis of emissions and performance. Further, the selected 15% emulsion is tested with 4% emulsifier concentration. It improved the stability of emulsion and performance of the engine with slight adverse effects on the NOx emissions. Then, emulsion with 4% surfactant and 15% water is tested to determine optimum compression ratio for emulsified fuels. CR 20 is found in optimum. Remarkably 9.28% improvement in BTE is observed reaching up to 23.89% as compared to 21.86% with bare diesel. 25.1% reduction in NOx and more than 50% reduction in smoke is observed. Overall, it is concluded that the water-blended diesel emulsion could serve as a fuel-efficient cleaner combustion technology and needs to be standardized. Abbreviations HLB: Hydrophile–Lipophile Balance; Cv: Calorific Value; W/D: Water in Diesel; PM: Particulate matter; RPM: Rotation per minute; HC: Hydrocarbon; CR: Compression Ratio; EGT: Exhaust Gas Temperature; BTE: Brake Thermal Efficiency; NOx: Oxides of Nitrogen; BSFC: Brake specific fuel consumption [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of sampling constant was applied for the estimation of uncertainty in sample processing, carried out through double steps in two different processing equipments. The efficiency of both the sample processing equipment was determined by chlorpyriphos as internal standard. Samples analyzed were orange, lettuce, and mango. These matrixes were spiked with the treating solution prepared by mixture of pesticides (10 mg each) and were processed through two sets of experiment. The first set of experiment involved processing of sample at ambient conditions and in the second experiment processing was carried out at lower temperature conditions using dry ice. The recovery of multiresidues from the matrixes was above 70%, but the captan recovered lowest around 55-68%. The total uncertainty was below 2% from both the experiments. Second step of processing increased the extraction efficiency and 5 g analytical portion recovered highest from both the experimental conditions. Orange and mango recovered efficiently at ambient conditions and lettuce recovered better at lower temperature conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid depletion of conventional fuel reserves and the increase in environmental pollution prompted the search for a sustainable energy solution. Biodiesel is one of the most promising energy substitutes with similar properties as conventional diesel fuel. Surplus availability of palm oil makes it suitable for biodiesel production. Due to the lack of availability of review articles that cover the entire process of palm biodiesel production and its optimum use in diesel engines, the authors were motivated to write this article. Cultivation parameters of palm trees, extraction of oil, and physicochemical properties of palm oil–based biodiesel are explained in this review. The production of palm biodiesel from raw oil can be done through pyrolysis, micro-emulsification, blending, hydro-esterification, and transesterification processes. For high biodiesel yield and less cost of operation, the transesterification method is adopted. The performance and emission parameters of diesel engines that operated on palm biodiesel and its blends are also explained. There is a decrease in brake thermal efficiency and an increase in brake-specific fuel consumption observed with the use of palm biodiesel in diesel engines. A reduction in CO and HC emissions and an increase in NOx emissions are found due to the oxygenating nature of palm biodiesel. This article provides the scientific approach to find out the optimum parameters for palm biodiesel production and its efficient use in compression ignition engines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brucella is alpha-2 Proteobacteria mainly responsible for multi-factorial bacterial zoonotic disease brucellosis with low concentration (10–100 CFU) required to establish the infection. In this study, we developed sandwich ELISA with detection range of 102 to 108 cells mL−1 and limit of detection at 103 cells mL−1 by employing polyclonal rabbit IgG (capture antibody, 10 µg mL−1) and mice IgG (detection antibody, 50 µg mL−1) antibody for its detection. Surface Plasmon Resonance evaluated the interaction of detection antibody with whole cell spiked serum samples at LOD of 102 cells mL−1 along with non co-operative interaction of protein albumin. Further, kinetic evaluation study using detection antibody against cell envelope antigen was performed whereby, Equilibrium Dissociation Constant (KD) and Maximum Binding Capacity (Bmax) were found to be 16.48 pM and 81.67 m° for Brucella abortus S99 and 0.42 pM and 54.50 m° for Brucella melitensis 16 M, respectively. During interference study, sandwich ELISA assay cross-reacted with either of the polyclonal antibody of above Brucella species. Upon validation, no cross-reactivity observed with bacteria-closely related to Brucella. In conclusion, developed semi-quantitative sandwich immunoassay is sensitively rapid in whole cell detection of Brucella and will be useful in development of detection assays from environmental and clinical matrices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing environmental concern, human health and the continuous upgradation in the stringent standards of vehicular emissions have shown much interest in cleaner diesel fuels. Out of various strategies to mitigate the diesel engine emissions, use of water blended diesel in the form of emulsion has grabbed sufficient attention of the fuel research community. Various researches have shown that water-emulsified diesel has sufficient potential to improve the engine performance simultaneously with a significant reduction in the levels of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) emissions. Micro-explosion phenomenon of combustion in emulsion fuel helps to provide efficient and complete combustion which in turn improves brake thermal efficiency. The current study presents a comprehensive review of the usage of water-emulsified diesel fuel in CI engines. Focusing on the performance, combustion, and emission analysis, it also talks in detail about the principle and the chemistry involved in making of a stable and homogeneous water-diesel emulsion compatible for CI engine. The literature survey concludes two crucial points. First, the water-blended diesel emulsion serves as an economical, fuel efficient, and cleaner combustion technology. Second, the optimum blend ratio, emulsifier quantity, and proper process differs in almost all the research papers and hence needed to be standardized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract:Photoacoustic spectrophotometer (PAS) has emerged as the most promising technology with its promise to resolve unmet issues in various domains. The advantages of PAS are nonvulnerability of the sample, trace quantity sample analysis, and short response time. Though it showed distinguished features close to its emergence, it is bereft of its importance in the present scenario. Certainly, there exists a transparent gap in understanding the current situation in forensic crime scene management and the application of PAS within the same discipline. This article aims to consolidate all this information to fill an existing knowledge gap and tries to establish trajectory of research done up to now. This article will also pinpoint the reasons behind why this advanced technique could not accomplish its respectable feat inside the market and restraint of optical business toward inventing and commercializing this merchandise. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Various agricultural wastes such as peels of pea (Pisum sativum) pod, tea (Camellia sinensis), and ginger (Zingiber officinale) and banana (Musa lacatan) waste were used to adsorb Cr(VI) from the aqueous solutions. A comparative adsorption efficiency study for all these adsorbents was done in laboratory for various pH, adsorbent doses, initial chromium concentrations, contact time, adsorbent sizes, temperature, and mixing speeds up to the optimization. The equilibrium sorption data were fitted into Langmuir, Freundlich, and Temkin isotherms and also the various thermodynamic parameters were determined. The value of R2 was determined for Freundlich, Langmuir, and Temkin as 0.964, 0.963, and 0.858 (pea pod peels waste (PPP)), 0.969, 0.986, and 0.841(tea & ginger waste (T&G)), 0.985, 0.982, and 0.886 (banana peel waste (BW)). The maximum monolayer coverage (Q0) from Langmuir isotherm model for pea pod, tea & ginger and banana peels waste were found to be 4.33 mg/g, 7.29 mg/g, and 10 mg/g, respectively, with separation factors (RL) 0.0331, 0.0343, and 0.0756 which are well within favorable sorption. From Freundlich isotherm model, the sorption intensity (n) for the same adsorbents was also less than unity showing normal sorption. The heat of sorption (B) was also determined from Temkin isotherm model as 0.215, 0.271, and 0.271, respectively, vividly proving a favorable physical sorption. The Gibbs free energy was found maximum for BW as 6.0679 joule/ mole. Out of the above said combination, BW was found the best low-cost adsorbent with high potential for the removal of hexavalent chromium from aqueous solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]