Production and characterization of activated carbon from pineapple stubble for removal of methylene blue and surfactants.

The objective of this work was to produce activated carbon from the agricultural waste known as pineapple stubble, and to test its effectiveness in the removal of methylene blue and surfactants. Activated carbon was prepared using ZnCl2 and H3PO4 as activating agents and impregnation ratios of 2: 1 and 4:1 between the agent (mL) and the precursor (g) were evaluated. It was also investigated the need or not of a drying stage prior to carbonization. The produced activated carbon was characterized through FT-IR spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence, N2 physisorption analysis, elemental analysis and electron microscopy. Methylene blue adsorption tests were performed to determine the adsorption effectiveness of the different activated carbons produced. For such evaluation, a 23 factorial design was used, and statistical analysis determined that the activated carbon with the highest adsorption of methylene is produced under the following conditions: ZnCl2 as activating agent, an impregnation ratio of 4:1 and with no drying step prior to carbonization. This produced activated carbon is also effective in the adsorption of the surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate and for the surfactants present in the gray water obtained after washing clothes with commercial detergent. In these cases, removal efficiencies above 98 % were achieved. With respect to the characteristics of this activated carbon, it was observed a surface area of ​​685.5 m2/g, a total pore volume of 0.53 cm3/g, and an average pore diameter of 3.1 nm. Results achieved in the present study demonstrate that is possible to produce effective activated carbon for the removal of methylene blue and surfactants from an agricultural waste such as pineapple stubble.

Optimization and Modeling of Slightly Acidic Electrolyzed Water for the Clean-in-Place Process in Milking Systems

To find an environmentally friendly and energy efficient alternative to acidic detergent for a milking system clean-in-place (CIP) process, this study investigated the feasibility of applying slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW) alone to wash the system by cleaning soiled stainless steel (304) pipes, rubber gaskets, and PVC milk hoses, which were used in the milking system. The results showed that SAEW with appropriate parameters could achieve the same or even better hygienic effects compared with commercial detergent. Using response surface models, the SAEW parameters required to clean stainless steel were optimized at 9.9 min for the treatment time, 37.8 °C for the water temperature, and 60 mg/L for the available chlorine concentration; and were 14.4 min, 29.6 °C, and 60 mg/L for rubber gasket and PVC samples, respectively. After washing with the optimized parameter combination, bacteria and adenosine triphosphate on the three materials were almost non-detectable, indicating that SAEW has the potential to replace acidic detergents in CIP milking systems.

Thermostable acidic lipase of Bacillus glycinifermentans-MK840989 isolated from contaminated environment; its optimization, purification and exploring potential applications

This study is the first report about isolation, purification and optimization of lipase from Bacillus glycinifermentans. In this study, Bacillus glycinifermentansMK-840989 was isolated from a local petrol pump. The bacterium showed lipolytic zones of 0.19cm, 0.044cm, and 0.28cm on peptone yeast agar, olive oil hydrolysis agar and chromogenic plate agar, respectively. B. glycinifermentans also produced an extracellular lipase (55.1µmol/ml). This bacterium preferred acidic environment (pH 5) for growing optimally at 80˚C when the medium was supplemented with 1% olive oil. The olive oil induced its growth up to 9h. The protein content of the purified lipase was estimated about 75mg/ml as compared to its crude form, i.e. 350mg/ml. The purified lipase was found to be thermostable acidic in nature as its optimum activity was observed at 90˚C (0.08U/ml) and pH 5 (0.02U/ml). Other optimization factors included 1% olive oil (0.065U/ml), 0.1mM maltose (0.023U/ml), 0.1mM Ca (0.025U/ml), 1% yeast extract (16.8U/ml), 1% wheat waste (0.019U/ml), 1% commercial detergent (0.016U/ml) and 1% tween-20 (0.015 U/ml). The purified lipase showed a polypeptide of 26.7kDa on SDS-PAGE. These features such as thermostability, acidic nature, ability to show activity in wheat waste and tolerance to detergents render the lipase of B.glycinifermentans MK-840989 as an attractive choice for biotechnologists to employ it at industrial level. The purified lipase of B.glycinifermentans MK-840989 can be a potential candidate for detergent and oil-remediation industry. It can help to replace conventional synthetic detergent as it is cost-effective and eco-friendly.

Performance analysis of Polyvinylpyrrolidone

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to focus on the performance analysis of Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) – Chitosan composite dye transfer inhibitor (DTI) for household laundry. The developed composite DTI is tested against different commercial dyes and detergent powders normally used in the household laundry for its performance. Design/methodology/approach The DTI article is tested for its performance against five commercial dyes and five commercial detergent compositions. The dye re-deposition behaviour of the control fabric was measured in terms of the colour difference (ΔE) values. The influence of PVP on the washing efficiency of detergent was evaluated against tea, coffee and juice stains. Findings The results showed that there is an excellent performance of the developed product noted in terms of DTI performance against reactive, basic and sulfur dyes. The DTI product showed a significantly (p<0.05) less performance against acid and direct dyes. There is no significant differences noted in the stain removal efficiency of the detergent in the presence of PVP in the wash liquor (p>0.05). Originality/value The usage of DTI polymer in the household laundry has no significant influence on the detergents performance in terms of stain removing efficiency. The DTI polymer’s function in the wash liquor depends up on the type of polymer used, as they are sensitive to the type of detergent compositions used and the type of dyes bleeds in the wash liquor.

Coagulation of Chitosan Solution in Commercial Detergent as Adsorbent for Sorption Methylene Blue Dye

The chitosan resin forming with commercial detergent solution was used as adsorbent for removal of the methylene blue. The effect of the amount of adsorbent was thoroughly investigated through batch adsorption system. The percent adsorption of methylene blue increased in the same direction as the amount of chitosan resin. The experimental result showed that adsorption capacity onto 0.4 g of chitosan resin was 9.1 mg/g. The Langmuir and the Freundlich adsorption isotherms were applied to describe the methylene blue uptake, which could be explained by Freundlich adsorption isotherm onto chitosan resin. Single-state batch adsorption design of methylene blue onto chitosan resin has been studied, using on the Freundlich isotherm equation.