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In the present study, the effect of various natural food condiments (garlic, ginger, pepper, tomato and onion) on the formation of heterocyclic amines (HAs) in cooked camel meat was studied. In control sample, the amount of HAs MeIQx, 4,8-DiMeIQx and PhIP were obtained between 2.10 and 5.22 ng/g, while, MeIQ and IQ were found less than quantification limit. The camel meat cooked with different food condiments, the HAs were found in lesser amounts. MeIQx, 4,8-DiMeIQx and PhIP were detected from 0.42 to 2.83 ng/g, however, MeIQ and IQ were not indentified in any analyzed samples. Consequently, camel meat cooked by various food condiments illustrates the capability to reduce the HAs formation. Such information may be elucidated because of the presence of antioxidants in such condiments which might have pro-oxidative effects with the subsequent formation of peroxyl radicals or by the scavenging of oxygen or free radicals. Practical Applications This is the first study relating to the inhibition of HAs by means of some common food condiments in cooked camel meat. In this work, five HAs such as MeIQx, 4,8-DiMeIQx, PhIP, MeIQ and IQ have been studied in camel meat samples thermally processed with or without food condiments. Our results evidently demonstrate that the formation of HAs in cooked camel meat is highly affected by using food condiments. The current study also illustrates that the concentrations of HAs can be kept at low levels by cooking the meat that include food condiments. The obtained results could be used to estimate the human intake of HAs either in Saudi Arabia or global and supplied to the search of good food condiments that reduce the threat of exposure to HAs, and thus to advance the food security and quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

EDTA-zirconium phosphate has been synthesized as a new amorphous hybrid cation-exchanger by the combination of the inorganic ion-exchanger zirconium phosphate and EDTA, thereby providing a new class of organic-inorganic hybrid ion-exchanger with better mechanical and granular properties, a good ion-exchange capacity (2.40 mequiv/g dry exchanger for Na+), good reproducibility, and a higher stability and selectivity towards heavy metal ions. It has been characterized using FT-IR, TGA/DTA, X-ray and SEM methods, in addition to ion-exchange studies such as the determination of its ion-exchange capacity, elution and distribution behaviour, to provide a better understanding of the ion-exchange behaviour of the material. On the basis of distribution studies, the material was found to be highly selective towards Th(IV) and its selectivity was examined by achieving some important binary separations such as Cd(II)-Th(IV), Ni(II)-Th(IV), Hg(II)-Th(IV), Zn(II)-Th(IV), Pb(II)-Th(IV) and Al(III)-Th(IV) by column means, indicating its utility in environmental pollution control in one way or other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The industry is looking for new materials which can respond to specific applications that exclusively advance materials can provide. In this context, nanoparticles and nanocomposites opened an interesting method for designing specific properties which can be modulated according to the requirements. The preparation of biomolecules supported trimetallic nanoparticles and some other derives is a good example of the complex systems that can be designed for getting exclusive properties. This study is based on the preparation of new cyclodextrin supported Fe/La/Zn trimetallic nanocomposite by the microemulsion technique. Photocatalytic degradation of amoxicillin was performed using cyclodextrin-Fe/La/Zn. 78% of amoxicillin photodegradation along 4 hours of photoirradiation was achieved. Finally, the catalytic nature of new material was explored for oxidation and esterification reactions. The present study revealed that this advanced multifunctional nanomaterial can be successfully employed for environmental remediation and catalytic activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a natural and the most abundant material, wood was used as a scaffold for the grafting of acrylonitrile (AN) and ethyl acrylate (EA) to develop a novel grafted wood. Thus, chemical modification of the wood was carried out by means of grafting. It is clear from the characterization techniques (FTIR, SEM, and XRD) that grafting of acrylonitrile (AN) and ethyl acrylate (EA) was successfully performed on the Pinus roxburghii wood. Monomer and initiator concentration, temperature, time, and pH parameters have been varied to obtain the maximum percent grafting yield. A significant influence was observed on the physicochemical properties, morphological structure, and bacterial resistant nature after the graft copolymerization of AN + EA on the raw wood. This approach of grafting of wood would lead to the construction of a new class of materials with better properties and will also promote innovative consumption of renewable wood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Demand for determining renewable lipids feedstock for the production of biodiesel is increasing with the rapid depletion of petroleum diesel. The present study was conducted to assess the feasibility of utilizing municipal sewage sludge (MSS) as a potential lipids feedstock for biodiesel production. The lipids' extraction and separation from MSS were conducted using supercritical CO2 (scCO2) with varying treatment time (15–120 min), temperature (30–80°C), pressure (10–50 MPa), and addition of cosolvents (1–10 wt.%). The modified Gompertz equation and Arrhenius equation were employed to evaluate lipids' extraction and kinetics behavior from municipal sewage sludge using scCO2. About 27% of lipids were extracted from MSS with scCO2 at a temperature of 60°C, pressure of 30 MPa, treatment time of 60 min, and 5 wt.% of ethanol (EtOH) as cosolvent. The modified Gompertz equation was adequately fitted with experimental data of the lipids' extraction from MSS using scCO2. The kinetics properties analyses revealed that the scCO2 extraction technology was highly dependent on pressure than the temperature for the extraction of the lipids from MSS. The physicochemical characteristics and fatty acid contents of the scCO2 extracted lipids from MSS and sewage sludge biodiesel were determined using a variety of analytical techniques. The physicochemical properties of the sewage sludge biodiesel were compared with the international standard specifications of biodiesel, such as the American Society for Testing and Materials specifications for diesel fuel (ASTM D6751) and European Standard (EN 14214) specifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The release of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) from consumer products into an environment has become a central issue for many countries. Despite that the fate and behaviors of AgNPs incorporated into a wastewater have been investigated by building a model of wastewater treatment process, the transport and retention behaviors of AgNPs influenced by the water flow in a river must be understood. The physical model of simulated river to mimic a natural flow of river was proposed to investigate the behaviors of AgNP transport in the river. The results showed that the large amount of AgNPs deposited on the riverbed as Ag sediment with only 1.26% of AgNPs remained in the water flow. The elemental content of Ag freely dispersed across the riverbed increases from the upstream to downstream area of the simulated river. Verification of the spatial distribution of Ag dispersed along the water flow may contribute to a better understanding of the fate and transport of AgNPs in the aquatic environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An amorphous sample of the new hybrid cation-exchanger EDTA-zirconium iodate was synthesized by the combination of the inorganic ion-exchanger zirconium iodate with the organic EDTA molecule, thereby providing a new class of organic-inorganic hybrid ion-exchangers with better mechanical and granular properties, good ion-exchange capacity (e.g. 2 mequiv Na+/g dry exchanger), good reproducibility, a higher stability and demonstrating selectivity towards heavy metal ions. The physicochemical properties of this material were examined by instrumental analyses, viz. FT-IR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction studies and TGA/DTA investigations. Assessments of the elution and distribution behaviour were made and pH titrations undertaken to obtain an understanding of the ion-exchange behaviour of the material. On the basis of the distribution studies, the material was found to be highly selective towards the Pb2+ ion, a highly toxic environmental pollutant. Its selectivity was assessed by examining its use for some important binary separations such as Mg2+-Pb2+, Cd2+-Pb2+, Hg2+-Pb2+, Zn2+-Pb2+, Cu2+-Pb2+ and Al3+-Pb2+ on a packed column of the material. The practical potential of EDTA-zirconium iodate was explored by separating Mg2+ and Al3+ ions quantitatively from a commercially available pharmaceutical formulation, viz. Digene.01. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nano-alumina-doped catechol formaldehyde polymeric composite was prepared, characterized, and applied as an adsorbent for the removal of an anionic dye Congo red (CR) and a cationic dye SafraninO (SF), by adsorption process especially from aqueous solutions. Characterizations such as particle size distribution, zeta potential, BET, FTIR, and FESEM-EDAX were carried out for the adsorbent prepared. All experiments were conducted at the batch condition to study the effects of initial dye concentration (CR: 30–90 mg/L and SF: 10–50 mg/L), pH (2–11), temperature (25–55°C), and adsorbent dosage (0.05–0.3 g) on dye removal. The isotherm models (Langmuir, Freundlich, and Temkin) were analyzed for this adsorption work. The kinetic data obtained were analyzed by the pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, Bangham, and Chien–Clayton equations. Dyes adsorption data were well fitted with the Freundlich isotherm equilibrium model and the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Study results suggested that the nano-alumina-polymeric composite could be an effective adsorbent for anionic dye rather than cationic dye. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work aims to investigate the ability of using waste foundry sand (WFS) resulting as inexpensive by-product from steel industry in the low permeability barrier (LPB) and permeable reactive barrier (PRB) technologies for restriction of the movement of lead and nickel ions in the groundwater. Outputs of flask and tank tests certified that this material could capture these ions with sorption efficiency greater than 95% at time, pH, sorbent dosage, and speed equal to 60 min, 4 for lead and 6 for nickel, 2.5 g/100 mL, and 250 rpm, respectively. Sorption isotherm measurements were represented in a good manner by Langmuir model in comparison with Freundlich model with coefficient of determination (R2) greater than 0.99. So, the chemisorption was the predominant mechanism which could be supported by O-H, H-O-H, C-O, O-Si-O, and Si-O functional groups based on the Fourier transform infrared analysis. The maximum sorption capacity of WFS was 13.966 and 4.227 mg/g for lead and nickel ions, respectively, with corresponding affinities equal to 0.647 and 0.099 L/mg. Measurements signified that the hydraulic conductivity of WFS was 3.8 × 10−7 cm/s which satisfies the requirements of LPB. To obtain the acceptable values of permeability and reactivity, PRB was prepared from mixing 18% WFS with 82% filter sand. COMSOL software was able to simulate the measurements of two-dimensional tank packed with Iraqi soil aquifer in combination with WFS-LPB and WFS-filter sand PRB. Thicker barriers have a high ability in the protection of locations in the down-gradient side because their longevity increased dramatically with increase of barrier thickness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reaction term in the transport equation which described the migration of metal ions in the porous medium is frequently represented by conventional kinetic models such as pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order, and others. Unfortunately, these models are applicable for the constant value of solution pH, and they cannot simulate the real situation in the field scale where this pH may be changed with time. Accordingly, the present study is a good attempt to derive the kinetic model that can simulate the change in the pH of the solution through solute transport. This was achieved by modifying the adsorption capacity and reaction constant to be functions in terms of solution pH by using semianalytical analysis and numerical approximation. The results proved that the kinetic model based on the numerical approximation (using exponential functions for adsorption capacity and reaction constant) symbolled as model 2 was more representative from other models applied for the description of interaction of nickel ions (with initial concentration of 400 mg/L) and cement kiln dust with sum of squared error ≤1.54913 and determination coefficient ≥0.889. Also, the developed models had high ability for recognizing between pure precipitation and pure adsorption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel attempt has been made to incorporate azomethine group in the backbone of polyurethane ether Pongamia oil fatty amide. The overall reaction was carried out in different steps like preparation of N,N-bis(2-hydroxyethyl) Pongamia glabra oil fatty amide, poly(ether fatty amide), and poly(urethane-ether) fatty amide. The hydroxyl terminated Schiff base, ethane 1,2-di(azomethine) bisphenol, reacts with fatty amide diol and is further treated with toluylene 2,4-diisocynate (TDI) to form poly(urethane-ether azomethine) fatty amide (PUEAF). These synthesized resins were characterized by FT IR, 1H NMR, and 13C NMR spectroscopic techniques. Molecular weight of PUEAF resin was measured by gel permeation chromatography (GPC), coating was made on mild steel strips, and evaluating their physicochemical and physicomechanical analysis was carried out by standard methods. The PUEAF25 coating showed highest scratch hardness (2.5 kg), gloss (90) at 45°, pencil hardness (4H), and impact resistance (150 lb/inch). Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC)/thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were used to determine the topography and thermal behavior of PUEAF. Corrosion studies of PUEAF coated mild steel were used in different corrosive media (3.5 wt% HCl, 5 wt% NaCl, and tap water) at room temperature using potentiodynamic polarization technique. The results of this study showed that PUEAF coatings exhibit good physicomechanical, anticorrosive properties and get application up to 180°C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]