Effect of pretreatment on mechanical properties of orange peel particulate (bio-waste) reinforced epoxy composites

Effects of chemical treatments with benzoyl chloride, acetone and alkali on the physical and mechanical properties of Orange Peel Particulate (OPP) reinforced epoxy composite materials have been studied. Hand lay-up technique was applied to manufacture the composites. The experimental results illustrate that chemical treatment with benzoyl chloride has a considerable impact. The properties of OPP reinforced composite material have been enhanced by 15% (for tensile test) and 30% (in case of flexural test) due to benzoyl chloride treatment as compared to raw OPP composites. It is evident from Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) that non cellulosic content was removed from the surface of the fiber due to benzoyl chloride treatment. After chemical treatment there was good interfacial bonding between matrix and filler material as observed in SEM micrographs. From the experimental observations, it can be seen that among all fabricated composites, set of composites with 30% filler loading yields excellent mechanical properties.

Production of Disinfectant by Utilizing Eco-enzyme from Fruit Peels Waste

Organic waste is waste that contains carbon compounds that come from living things, such as fruit and vegetable waste. However, the community is still not able to manage it optimally, even though organic and non-organic waste can still be processed into useful products. This effective way can be realized through the manufacture of eco-enzymes that can be applied at the household level. Eco-enzyme is a liquid extract produced from the fermentation of vegetable and fruit residues with brown sugar as a substrate. The eco-enzyme has a strong sweet and sour fermented aroma due to the peels of oranges, pineapples, and papayas. This environmentally friendly enzyme can be produced using fruit peel, brown sugar, and water. Eco-enzyme solution when mixed with water, will react and can be used as a liquid disinfectant. Disinfectants commonly used are generally derived from synthetic chemicals in the form of artificial chemicals. One of the natural ingredients that can be used as a disinfectant is eco-enzyme liquid. This study aims to make a disinfectant using an environmentally friendly enzyme liquid, namely eco-enzyme. The method used in this research is a mixed method of fermentation of orange peel waste, pineapple and papaya, brown sugar, and water with a ratio of 3:1:10. Analysis for eco-enzyme pH, and Phytochemicals, while for disinfectants include pH, total phenol content with UV-Vis Spectrophotometer, hard water emulsion stability, and antibacterial test. All samples of the disinfectant product met the requirements of SNI 06 – 1842 of 1995, besides that, the best disinfectant product was found in a ratio of 1:10 which could reduce bacterial growth.

Nanostructured Molybdenum-Oxide Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries: An Outstanding Increase in Capacity

This work aimed at synthesizing MoO3 and MoO2 by a facile and cost-effective method using extract of orange peel as a biological chelating and reducing agent for ammonium molybdate. Calcination of the precursor in air at 450 °C yielded the stochiometric MoO3 phase, while calcination in vacuum produced the reduced form MoO2 as evidenced by X-ray powder diffraction, Raman scattering spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy images showed different morphologies and sizes of MoOx particles. MoO3 formed platelet particles that were larger than those observed for MoO2. MoO3 showed stable thermal behavior until approximately 800 °C, whereas MoO2 showed weight gain at approximately 400 °C due to the fact of re-oxidation and oxygen uptake and, hence, conversion to stoichiometric MoO3. Electrochemically, traditional performance was observed for MoO3, which exhibited a high initial capacity with steady and continuous capacity fading upon cycling. On the contrary, MoO2 showed completely different electrochemical behavior with less initial capacity but an outstanding increase in capacity upon cycling, which reached 1600 mAh g−1 after 800 cycles. This outstanding electrochemical performance of MoO2 may be attributed to its higher surface area and better electrical conductivity as observed in surface area and impedance investigations.