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In present days, H2 is mainly produced via natural gas from thermochemical methods. The importance of renewable H2 production has increased due to energy issues, global environmental, fossil fuel depletion, and pure hydrogen demand. Biogas is produced from anaerobic digestion or carbon-based waste fermentation methods. It might be a substitute resource to the creation of hydrogen. Methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) are two significant constituents of biogas, and these are multipurpose feedstock materials for the generation of valuable chemicals and fuels. This paper presents major hydrogen generation techniques from biogas reforming in detail and a short discussion of biogas reforming's economic analysis. The effective operating parameters such as reaction temperature, gas hourly space velocity and O2/CH4 ratio are also discussed. Biogas has more potential; however, it needs more research on some issues such as deactivation of the catalyst, purification of biogas and removable of H2S. Various reforming methods can be nominated for H2 production depend on biogas composition, the need for hydrogen purity, investment availability and quantity of the desired hydrogen.

Novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread across the globe; and surprisingly, no potentially protective or therapeutic antiviral molecules are available to treat severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. However, zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) have been shown to exert protective effects due to their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiviral properties. Therefore, it is hypothesized that supplementation with Zn and Cu alone or as an adjuvant may be beneficial with promising efficacy and a favorable safety profile to mitigate symptoms, as well as halt progression of the severe form of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The objective of this review is to discuss the proposed underlying molecular mechanisms and their implications for combating SARS-CoV-2 infection in response to Zn and Cu administration. Several clinical trials have also included the use of Zn as an adjuvant therapy with dietary regimens/antiviral drugs against COVID-19 infection. Overall, this review summarizes that nutritional intervention with Zn and Cu may offer an alternative treatment strategy by eliciting their virucidal effects through several fundamental molecular cascades, such as, modulation of immune responses, redox signaling, autophagy, and obstruction of viral entry and genome replication during SARS-CoV-2 infection.

A new methodology is used to evaluate performance and emission characteristics with the use of energy audit. This is a method to check biodiesel feasibility as blends in diesel engine. This is one of the simple and fast methods to save time and energy. In this method, heat flow analysis comprises utilisation in brake power, cooling water heat loss, heat loss in exhaust gas and heat loss in radiation which have been calculated and compared. Brake-specific energy consumption, losses in friction power and smoke have also been chosen as important characteristics of performance and emission in energy audit. These parameters of energy audit have been calculated and compared. These parameters of energy audit have been found with 10, 20 and 30% blend of biodiesel at varying brake power of 0.5–3.5 kW at 1500 rpm speed. These parameters have been found satisfactory. Higher limit of conversion of fuel’s heat energy into useful work output for B20 is found to be 29.04, 29% for diesel, 28.3% for B10 and 27.92% for B30 at brake power of 3.5 kW with lesser smoke. Karanja B-20 blend test fuel has been found to be more suitable in preliminary energy audit method, and it would be tested further for other parameters.

This review paper provides a short insight on the solar energy and concentrating collectors, and it mainly comprises with the latest studies available in the literature regarding the application of solar thermal energy in power plants, linear Fresnel reflector (LFR), and its various important aspects, for instance, importance of LFR among the parabolic trough collector (PTC), performance analysis of LFR, and its application with the power plants. After reviewing a broad literature, it has been examined that reasonable price and economic feasibility of LFR could make it more viable for power plants. Additionally, past studies on optimization and economic analysis also have been reviewed in this work.

This research paper deals with production of biodiesel by transesterification using induction heating process. Optimization of process parameters for biodiesel production to obtain maximum yield using Taguchi technique has been performed, and the effect of changing molar ratio, time of reaction and power of the induction heater have been investigated, and the results are discussed. Signal-to-noise ratio, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and orthogonal array are implemented for its determination. Comparison for yield of biodiesel produced, optimal time and specific energy consumption has been made between different methods of biodiesel production such as induction heating, microwave irradiation, mechanical stirring and ultrasonic cavitation. The optimal time for maximization of yield was found to be 60 s, optimal molar ratio 8:1 and optimal power was found to be 1600 W for a yield of 92.45% for a sample size of 100 g which is comparable to other methods. The SEC of biodiesel formed by induction heating method was found to be 281 W h/kg which is lesser than magnetic stirring and hydrodynamic cavitation and comparable to ultrasonic cavitation.

Colorectal cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death worldwide. The adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene is mutated in hereditary colorectal tumors and in more than 80% of sporadic colorectal tumors. APC mutations impair β-catenin degradation, leading to its permanent stabilization and increased transcription of cancer-driving target genes. In colon cancer, impairment of β-catenin degradation leads to its cytoplasmic accumulation, nuclear translocation, and subsequent activation of tumor cell proliferation. Suppressing β-catenin signaling in cancer cells therefore appears to be a promising strategy for new anticancer strategies. Recently, we discovered a novel Vibrio cholerae cytotoxin, motility-associated killing factor A (MakA), that affects both invertebrate and vertebrate hosts. It promotes bacterial survival and proliferation in invertebrate predators but has unknown biological role(s) in mammalian hosts. Here, we report that MakA can cause lethality of tumor cells via induction of apoptosis. Interestingly, MakA exhibited potent cytotoxic activity, in particular against several tested cancer cell lines, while appearing less toxic toward nontransformed cells. MakA bound to the tumor cell surface became internalized into the endolysosomal compartment and induced leakage of endolysosomal membranes, causing cytosolic release of cathepsins and activation of proapoptotic proteins. In addition, MakA altered β-catenin integrity in colon cancer cells, partly through a caspase- and proteasome-dependent mechanism. Importantly, MakA inhibited β-catenin-mediated tumor cell proliferation. Remarkably, intratumor injection of MakA significantly reduced tumor development in a colon cancer murine solid tumor model. These data identify MakA as a novel candidate to be considered in new strategies for development of therapeutic agents against colon cancer.

The prices of fossil fuels are constantly increasing due to the limited resources and consistent rise in demand. Also, with each passing year emission regulation is getting stringent, hence alternative fuels resulting lesser exhaust emission at no expense of the performance is the need of the hour. The performance parameters and the engine emissions were investigated and compared with different dual fuel combination at varying load conditions using a single cylinder four-stroke CI engine which on modification worked as a dual fuel engine. CO, CO2, HC, and NOx are the exhaust emissions measured interpret at the various operating conditions. Two fuels, i.e., pilot fuel and gaseous fuel, when used simultaneously is referred as dual fuel mode, where we have used biogas as the gaseous fuel in this study. The three pilot fuels are injected separately inside the modified engine, namely diesel, soya–biodiesel (SBD), soya–biodiesel–ethanol (SBDE), while the biogas is primary gaseous fuel. A modification was made in the inlet air manifold of the engine by adding a gas mixer to achieve the purpose of proper blend of air and biogas before delivering the mixture to the combustion chamber of the engine. Also, a regulating lever was added to fluctuate the amount of input pilot fuel as per requirement. This investigation was done out to examine the feasibility of utilizing soya oil through blending in a CI engine. The investigation showed that the soya–biodiesel–ethanol blend can be the viable pilot fuel alternative for the CI engine. Also, the study shows that biogas is a useful entity to reduce the use of diesel fuel in CI engine due to the good liquid fuel replacement ratio.

Large amounts of domestic solid waste is generated every day, and most of the organic wastes which come out of the houses are not segregated properly, because most people do not use organic waste due to lack of knowledge or time management. Here, an effort has been made to develop a compact biogas plant that can be used to produce biogas on a small scale that can fulfill the essential requirement of common people from urban and rural areas for cooking, operating engines, and electricity. After that, the test evaluation of four-stroke single-cylinder diesel engine and dual fuel (diesel + biogas) in different load conditions and different entry parameters of the engine is calculated. Brake thermal efficiency (BTE) was found to be around 18.36% in diesel fuel and 21.79% in dual-fuel (DF) mode; indicated thermal efficiency (ITE) around 33.47% in DF mode and 25.61% in diesel fuel; and volumetric efficiency (VE) about 79.34% was found in DF mode and 75.24% in diesel fuel. Brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) and indicated specific fuel consumption (ISFC) were found to be slightly higher in DF mode.

Microalgae has a very large diversity compared to any other organism. They are a versatile group of plants that are found almost everywhere such as soil, water, bog and marsh and have evolved over the years to grow and survive in different environments. Most microalgae perform photosynthesis to synthesize food from carbon dioxide and sunlight. However, in the absence of sunlight, to grow and survive they either synthesize their food in the dark environment or feed on organic carbon sources. A number of microalgae species have evolved to feed on organic carbon sources and undergo respiration to facilitate heterotrophic growth. This research focuses on heterotrophic cultivation of algae with wastewater as the growth media and briefly looks at the various cultivation processes with different microalgal strains available. Various additives to instigate the growth of microalgal strains in different cultural mediums are also discussed. This paper can be used as a basis to carry out experiments for a more economical infrastructure.

Today, world is facing severe environmental problems of greenhouse gas emissions, urban pollution, and fossil fuel exhaustion directing energy security issues, for which electromobility possibly will be a preeminent option to counter these problems, as a road transport system in which vehicles utilize electricity for propulsion. In this transport system, power is obtained from a battery to drive the electric motor, which finally propels the vehicle. Hence, high-performance batteries of reasonable cost are the fundamental requirement for transferring the transport system from conventional (vehicles using IC engines for power requirement) to newer, i.e., electric vehicles (EVs). In India, lead–acid batteries are produced mainly, while Li-ion batteries are utilized by top brand cars for propulsion purpose. Challenging parameters for production of batteries were identified. Various important characteristics which are utilized for classification and performance evaluation of the battery technologies were studied. Some of the battery technologies were explained briefly. Simple additive weighting (SAW) method of multi-attribute decision-making (MADM) techniques were applied, for ranking the various battery technologies.

In the current study, four diesel–biodiesel–ethanol blends namely D90B5E5 (90% diesel, 5% biodiesel, and 5% ethanol), D85B10E5 (85% diesel, 10% biodiesel, and 5% ethanol), D75B15E10 (75% diesel, 15% biodiesel, and 10%) ethanol, and D70B20E10 (70% diesel, 20% biodiesel, and 10% ethanol) were used. Various physiochemical properties of all the blends and biodiesel were measured. The test runs of these blends were conducted on a constant speed diesel engine, and the results were compared with neat diesel. The emission results showed a considerable reduction in engine exhaust with the increase of biodiesel and ethanol concentrations in the blends. The results also showed higher emissions at higher loading conditions. The blend D70B20E10 showed the highest reduction of about 51% in CO emissions and nearly 45% reduction in HC emissions at higher load conditions, while an average increase of 4–45% in CO2 emission and 10–44% in NOX emission were also measured. Smoke opacity was a major problem for the diesel engine. The biodiesel blending reduced OPA percentage effectively; nearly 11.8% reduction was seen for D90B5E5 and 12–30% reduction was measured for D70B20E10 blend as compared to neat diesel. Thus, the experimentation showed that without compromising with the engine parameters, a noteworthy amount of pollution can be reduced by blending neat diesel with biodiesel and ethanol for IC engine fuel.

Solid waste management (SWM) including biomedical waste in this Covid-19 pandemic is one of the biggest challenges in India in terms of economical as well as environmental aspect. Improper practices for handling and management of solid waste drain natural resources which pollute an environment, and in turn, it causes threat to inhabitants. The purpose of the given review is to enhance understanding the concept of municipal solid waste management planning, infrastructure, components and strategies that are useful in the current Covid-19 outbreak. This paper aims to review rules and practical problem and implementation of various practices of SWM and biomedical waste. Appropriate management of solid waste could be quiet expensive in terms of resources and time as well. Systematic review has been done for the biomedical waste management system for its disposal and treatment for Covid-19. During this crisis, it is very important to find out various feasible options for properly managing and handling the waste in an effective manner which should be sustainable and safe too.

The present work emphasizes on observational analysis of modified domestic microwave oven-assisted transesterification in order to obtain bio-diesel (in two steps) from kalonji (Nigella sativa L.) oil. To improve the obtainable bio-diesel yield, different process parameters were optimized. The parameters include system wattage, reaction time, stirrer speed, methanol to oil ratio, and catalyst loading. The optimum values for different parameters were found to be 500 W, 20 min, 30 rpm, 9:1, and 1.5 (%w/w), respectively, for this study, and the obtained bio-diesel yield was recorded as 95.47%. The properties of produced bio-diesel comply with the fuel specifications laid down in the standard ASTM D6751. The result of the assistance of microwave oven in transesterification of kalonji oil promotes the production of bio-diesel and lessens the reaction time substantially, thereby making it a sustainable approach for small-scale production.

The world's largest randomized control trial against COVID-19 using remdesivir, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir and interferon-β1a appeared to have little or no effect on hospitalized COVID-19 patients. This has again led to search for alternate re-purposed drugs and/or effective “add-on” nutritional supplementation, which can complement or enhance the therapeutic effect of re-purposed drug. Focus has been shifted to therapeutic targets of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), which includes specific enzymes and regulators of lipid metabolism. Very recently, fenofibrate (cholesterol-lowering drug), suppressed the SARS-CoV-2 replication and pathogenesis by affecting the pathways of lipid metabolism in lung cells of COVID-19 patients. A preclinical study has shown synergistic effect of quercetin (a flavonoid) and fenofibrate in reducing the cholesterol content, which might be useful in COVID-19 treatment. Based on the scientific literature, use of quercetin and fenofibrate in COVID-19 seems meaningful in pharmaceutical and biomedical research, and warrants basic, experimental and clinical studies. In this article, we have summarized the contemporary findings about drug fenofibrate and its effect on membrane synthesis of COVID-19 virus along with emphasizing on possible synergistic effects of quercetin with fenofibrate.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a pandemic disease which has affected more than 6.2 million people globally, with numbers mounting considerably daily. However, till date, no specific treatment modalities are available for Covid-19 and also not much information is known about this disease. Recent studies have revealed that SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with the generation of thrombosis and coagulopathy. Fundamentally, it has been believed that a diverse array of signalling pathways might be responsible for the activation of coagulation cascade during SARS-CoV-2 infection. Henceforth, a detailed understanding of these probable underlying molecular mechanistic pathways causing thrombosis in Covid-19 disease deserves an urgent exploration. Therefore, in this review, the hypothetical crosstalk between distinct signalling pathways including apoptosis, inflammation, hypoxia and angiogenesis attributable for the commencement of thrombotic events during SARS-CoV-2 infection has been addressed which might further unravel promising therapeutic targets in Covid-19 disease.

The clinical features of COVID-19 pneumonia range from a mild illness to patients with a very severe illness with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure requiring ventilation and Intensive Care Unit admission.To provide a brief overview of the existing evidence for such differences in host response and outcome, and generate hypotheses for divergent patterns and avenues for future research, by highlighting similarities and differences in histopathological appearance between COVID-19 and influenza as well as previous coronavirus outbreaks, and by discussing predisposition through genetics and underlying disease.We assessed the available early literature for histopathological patterns of COVID-19 pneumonia and underlying risk factors.The histopathological spectrum of COVID-19 pneumonia includes variable patterns of epithelial damage, vascular complications, fibrosis and inflammation. Risk factors for a fatal disease include older age, respiratory disease, diabetes mellitus, obesity and hypertension.While some risk factors and their potential role in COVID-19 pneumonia are increasingly recognized, little is known about the mechanisms behind episodes of sudden deterioration or the infrequent idiosyncratic clinical demise in otherwise healthy and young subjects.The answer to many of the remaining questions regarding COVID-19 pneumonia pathogenesis may in time be provided by genotyping as well careful clinical, serological, radiological and histopathological phenotyping.

As the time for finding a definitive and safe cure as a vaccine for novel Corona Virus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) is still far, there is need to study in depth about the other potential drugs, which can save millions of lives due to Covid-19 pandemic. Right at the center of the debate is the use of drug “Hydroxychloroquine” as a prophylaxis as well as a treatment strategy against Covid-19 in conjunction with azithromycin. In this review, we will study the cellular and molecular aspects of hydroxychloroquine, which had driven its use in Covid-19 patients, as well as its chemistry and pharmacokinetics along with clinical trials going on worldwide using hydroxychloroquine against Covid-19. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s12291-020-00900-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The coronavirus (COVID‐19) pandemic is forcing the medical educators to innovate and embrace online education and assessment platform. One of the most significant challenges we are facing is the formative assessment of practical skills in the undergraduate medical biochemistry education. We have designed the electronic objectively structured practical examination to facilitate the formative assessment.

The Laplace transformation is a mathematical tool used in solving the differential equations. Laplace transformation makes it easier to solve the problem in engineering application and make differential equations simple to solve. In this paper, we will solve differential equations including Leguerre Polynomial via Laplace Transform Method. Dr. Dinesh Verma | Amit Pal Singh "Solving Differential Equations Including Leguerre Polynomial via Laplace Transform" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-4 | Issue-2 , February 2020, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd30197.pdf

Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), including microRNAs (miRNAs), are key regulators of differentiation and development. In the cell, transcription factors regulate the production of miRNA in response to different external stimuli. Copper (Cu) is a heavy metal and an essential micronutrient with widespread industrial applications. It is involved in a number of vital biological processes encompassing respiration, blood cell line maturation, and immune responses. In recent years, the link between deregulation of miRNAs’ functionality and the development of various pathologies as well as cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) has been extensively studied. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia in the elderly with a complex disease etiology, and its link with Cu abnormalities is being increasingly studied. A direct interaction between COMMD1, a regulator of the Cu pathway, and hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) HIF-1a does exist in ischemic injury, but little information has been collected on the role of Cu in hypoxia associated with AD thus far. The current review deals with this matter in an attempt to structurally discuss the link between miRNA expression and Cu dysregulation in AD and CVDs.

In the present research work, a promising and underutilized feedstock, Argemone Mexicana (AM) seed oil is converted into biodiesel through the two-step transesterification process using hot plate ma...

Spinal emergencies and urgent conditions must be recognized early so that the diagnosis can be quickly confirmed and treatment can be instituted to possibly prevent permanent loss of function. The American College of Radiology provides guidelines for recognition of patients presenting with myelopathy or acute low back pain who require further evaluation for suspicion of more serious problems and contribute to appropriate imaging utilization. Spinal emergencies include spinal cord compression secondary to vertebral fracture or space occupying lesion, spinal infection or abscess, vascular or hematologic damage, severe disc herniation, and spinal stenosis.

Hypnale hypnale (hump-nosed pit viper) is considered to be one among the medically important venomous snake species of India and Sri Lanka. In the present study, venom proteome profiling of a single Hypnale hypnale from Western Ghats of India was achieved using SDS-PAGE based protein separation followed by LC-MS/MS analysis. The identities of the proteins that were not established using the Mascot search were determined through de novo sequencing tools such as Novor followed by MS-BLAST based sequence similarity search algorithm and PEAKS proteomics software. The combined proteomics analysis revealed a total of 37 proteins belonging to nine different snake venom families, in which 7 proteins were exclusively identified through de novo strategies. The enzymatic and non-enzymatic venom protein families identified include serine proteases, metalloproteases, phospholipase A2, thrombin-like enzymes, phospholipase B, C-type lectins/snaclecs, disintegrins, cysteine rich secretory proteins and nerve growth factor. Among these, disintegrins, nerve growth factor, phospholipase B and cysteine rich secretory protein families were identified for the first time in HPV venom. This could possibly explain the regiospecific venom variation seen across snake species. Taken together, the venom proteome profiling on Indian Hypnale hypnale venom correlates with the clinical manifestations often seen in the envenomed victims.

The present study deals with the development of a biodiesel production reactor based on pressurized ultrasonic cavitation technique. Transesterification of Jatropha oil takes place by passi...

Two-phase flow in pipelines is very common in the oil and gas industries. Void fraction is one of the important parameters in two-phase flow. Measurement of void fraction plays an important role in various areas of industries. Two types of measurement techniques are commonly used in electrical methods for macroscale range- variable capacitance type and variable conductance type. A comparatively low cost and non-invasive design of the concave capacitive sensor is analytically evaluated and experimentally validated to measure the void fraction inside the non-metallic pipe. The design is effective to reduce the fringing effect. The electrical model of the concave capacitance sensor is analyzed, which involves all the parasitic capacitances along with the cable capacitances. The capacitance of the sensor varies for the whole range of void fraction (0–100%). If the two phases are distilled water and air, the capacitance value varies from 94.0134 pF to 3.4377 pF experimentally for void fraction variation of 0–100%. Uncertainty analysis for the proposed sensor design along with the uncertainty budget is presented, for the whole range of measurement. The standard uncertainty is less than 0.97 pF for the whole range of measurement. The procedure for analysis is also discussed in this paper.

Purpose Supplier selection for capital procurement is a major strategic decision for any automobile company. The decision determines the success of the company and must be taken systematically with the utmost transparency. The purpose of this paper is to construct capital procurement decision-making model to optimize supplier selection in the Indian automobile industry. Design/methodology/approach To achieve the stated objective, a combined approach of fuzzy theory and AHP-DEMATEL is applied. Evaluation parameters are identified through an extensive literature review and criteria validation has been introduced through a Fuzzy Delphi method by using fuzzy linguistic scales to handle the vagueness of information. AHP is employed to find the priority weight of criteria, although an inter-relationship map among criteria is not possible through AHP alone since it considers all criteria as independent. To overcome this, DEMATEL is used to establish cause-effect relationships among criteria. Findings The results show that the total cost of ownership (TOC) is the first weighted criterion in supplier selection for capital procurement, followed by manufacturing flexibility and maintainability, then conformity with requirement. The cause-effect model shows that supplier profile, TOC, service support and conformity with requirement are in the cause group and are considered to be the most critical factors in selecting the supplier. Originality/value The study’s outcome can help the automobile industry to optimize their selection process in selecting their suppliers for capital procurement; the proposed model can provide guidelines and direction in this regard.

In this study, the performance and emission characteristics of biodiesel blends of 10, 20, 30 and 50% from Schleichera Oleosa oil based on hydrodynamic cavitation were compared to diesel fuel, and found to be acceptable according to the EN 14214 and ASTM D 6751 standards. The tests have been performed using a single cylinder four stroke diesel engine at different loading condition with the blended fuel at the rated speed of 1500 rpm. SOME (Schleichera Oleosa Oil Methyl Ester) blended with diesel in proportions of 10%, 20%, 30% and 50% by volume and pure diesel was used as fuel. Engine performance (specific fuel consumption and brake thermal efficiency) and exhaust emission (CO, CO2 and NOx) were measured to evaluate the behaviour of the diesel engine running on biodiesel. The results show that the brake thermal efficiency of diesel is higher and brake specific fuel consumption is lower at all loads followed by blends of SOME and diesel. The performance parameter for B10, B20, B30 and B50 were also closer to diesel and the CO emission was found to be lesser than diesel while there was a slight increase in the CO2 and NOx. SOME produced by using hydrodynamic cavitation seems to be efficient, time saving and industrially viable. The experimental results revel that SOME-diesel blends up to 50% (v/v) can be used in a diesel engine without modifications. Keywords: Performance, Emission, Diesel engine, Schleichera Oleosa Oil, Biodiesel hydrodynamic cavitation (HC)

The aim of current research effort is to evaluate the performance of much less utilized Argemone Mexicana seed oil methyl ester in single cylinder, water-cooled, 4-S diesel engine. The Argemone Mexicana is an agricultural weed, a plant of wasteland; its use led to the resource conservation. The methyl ester or biodiesel obtained by Argemone Mexicana seed oil is produced by the course of transesterification process. This process consists of pretreatment of vegetable oil with acid catalyst due to high FFA content followed by base catalyzed transesterification. The essential properties of transesterified Argemone Mexicana seed oil are tested and compared with natural diesel. The biodiesel blends with diesel in the combination of B10, B20, B30, B40 and B50 are utilized in a compression-ignition engine, its performance parameters are examined and compared with natural diesel. The lower blends of biodiesel exhibits similar characteristics to diesel without any modification in the design of engine. This experimental work testified that the blending of diesel with biodiesel obtained from Argemone Mexicana oil in diesel engine is a feasible alternative for depletion of petroleum diesel.

Nowadays the research is focused on microalgae oil for biodiesel production because of high yield as compared to vegetable plant oil and it fixes carbon dioxide from atmosphere. It is a third-generation biofuel that can easily replace diesel which will deplete in couple of decades and can be used in diesel engine without any modification simultaneously cutting down the engine emissions. The biodiesel production from microalgae is a complex process which includes harvesting, drying, cell disruption, lipid extraction and biodiesel production. However, using direct in-situ transesterification these steps are reduced, and biodiesel production get simplified. Here in this wet algal biomass directly transesterified using alcohol, catalyst and solvents thus eliminating the drying and oil extraction process. This paper reviews the different methods used for direct transesterification in order to reduce the cost of production and increase the biodiesel yield. For cell different techniques are studied and analyzed the best technique from literature review.

This paper gives a brief study of the components, operating modes, merits and demerits of a four-wheel drive system over two-wheel drive system, and a case study of Mahindra Scorpio S11 is done for tractive effort by 4WD and 2WD (front wheel drive). The results for Mahindra Scorpio S11 showed that the tractive effort by 4WD system increases as the gear ratio decreases, i.e., highest for reverse gear (14362.96 Nm) with gear ratio 3.28:1, 1st gear (13000.00 Nm) with gear ratio 2.97:1, 2nd gear (9066.67 Nm) with gear ratio 2.07:1 whereas lowest for 6th gear (2451.85 Nm) with gear ratio 0.56:1. Similar results for tractive efforts by 2WD (front wheel drive) system can be depicted, i.e., highest tractive effort for reverse gear (7674.07 Nm), 1st gear (6940.74 Nm), 2nd gear (4837.04 Nm) whereas lowest for 6th gear (1311.11 Nm). As observed, the tractive effort by a 4WD system is comparatively higher than a 2WD (front wheel drive) vehicle. Thus, this results into reduced wheel slippage tendency, better climbing capability in hilly areas and better driving control over the vehicle on the low frictional surfaces such as wet/snowy surfaces. Whereas additional components in 4-wheel drive system adds on weight; increases cost, maintenance, repair, noise and vibrations; and makes the construction comparatively more complex.

An experimental investigation was done on an advanced evacuated tube-assisted solar drying system without and with load conditions at various water flow rates (10 L/h, 20 L/h, and 30 L/h) to evaluate its performance analysis. 79.56 °C maximum greenhouse air temperature was recorded without load at 30 L/h water flow rate with an average solar intensity of 850 W/m2. Highest value of drying rate (DR) is 1.48 kgH2O/kg dry solid/h and the maximum efficiency of solar collector (SC) and solar dryer (SD) is 43.62% and 55.28%, respectively, at 30 L/h water flow rate. Garlic was dehydrating from 70% to 8% (wb) moisture content (MC). The maximum exergy efficiency (EE) and minimum exergy loss were 57.64% at 30 L/h water flow rate and 4.58 W at 10 L/h water flow rate. Quality assessment is also carried out for dried garlic samples in the heat exchanger –evacuated tube assisted drying system (HE-ETADS). Color conservation (indices) of dehydrated garlic sample is best in HE-ETADS (Lo = 60.42, ao = −0.92, and bo = 11.54) in comparison to old-style (traditional) drying process (Lo = 58.89, ao = - 0.67, and bo = 5.99). Therefore, the developed drying system represented not only good financial returns but also better product quality. The present system provides interesting options for the entry of this type of collectors in medium-scale applications in the agricultural and industrial sectors.

In this present work, biodiesel is produced from Yellow Oleander oil using different methods such as hydrodynamic cavitation (HC), ultrasonic cavitation (UC) and conventional mechanical stirring (M...

In present research work, Prunus armeniaca L. (Wild Apricot) Seed oil has been investigated to produce biodiesel. The free fatty acid (FFA) content of the Prunus armeniaca oil (PAO) was

The present work deals about the performance, emission and combustion characteristics of a four-cylinder, direct injection, water-cooled, Indica diesel engine fuelled with biodiesel produced through the hydrodynamic cavitation method from an underutilised and potential feedstock Yellow Oleander (Thevetia peruviana) oil. Engine tests were performed with neat diesel and biodiesel blends of 10%, 20% and 30% from Yellow Oleander oil at different engine speeds. Experimental results showed that biodiesel produced through the hydrodynamic cavitation technique with a 1% w/w catalyst percentage, 6:1 molar ratio and 35 min reaction time was equal to 97.5%. During engine performance tests, biodiesel blends showed higher brake-specific fuel consumption, brake thermal efficiency (for lower blends up to 20%) and exhaust gas temperature than diesel fuel. Engine emissions showed higher nitrogen oxide, but a decreased amount of smoke opacity, carbon monoxide, unburned hydrocarbon and favourable p–θ diagram as comp...

In the present study, the oil extracted from the microalga Neochloris oleoabundans was used for producing biodiesel. The viscosity of microalgal oil was very high so transesterification was done by an ultrasonic method and a simple basic method. Free fatty acid content in oil was found high so a two-step transesterification reaction was used. Maximum yield of algal oil methyl ester was acquired by the ultrasonic method (98%) with improved physicochemical characteristics, whereas the biodiesel yield obtained by simple transesterification process was low (91%). The maximum oil content in N. oleoabundans was found to be 42% and major fatty acids include palmitic acid, oleic acid, and linoleic acid. Finally, it was conferred that the ultrasonic-assisted transesterification method is the best technique for biodiesel production from microalgal oil.

In this study effects of organic and inorganic wastes on the environment are studied and proper solutions to the various problems are suggested. After that, survey of various sites is done to understand how the waste management is done at a large scale. The end goal is to effectively implement the 3 R’s (Reuse, Reduce and Recycle) so that utilization of various resources can be reduced and the amount of waste generated can be reduced. Some simple ways for a sustainable living were suggested which are easy to implement in our daily lives.