Production of Clay-based Ceramic Filter for Water Purification

The spread of Diseases like Cholera and Diarrhea, which leads to loss of lives in developing countries is commonly caused by use of contaminated water. In this study ceramic pot filters for rural area water purification were developed. The clay sample was tested for physical properties and the mixtures of the clay and sawdust were made in seven (7) proportions of 75/25, 70/30, 65/35, 60/40, 55/45, 50/50, 45/55. The soil tests conducted on the different portions of the clay and sawdust material revealed that the shrinkage of the sawdust blended clay reduced to the minimum of 6.3 compared to the pure clay with 13.7. A fluid dynamic test experiment on each filter was conducted; similarly total dissolved solids (TDS), pH and turbidity tests for both raw water and filtered water were conducted. From fluid dynamic test results, filter 50/50 % tends to have higher filtration rate compared to the other two filters. From the TDS, pH, and turbidity test, the results obtained show that the filtered water quality has fallen within the world health organization (WHO) standard. It can therefore be concluded that the filtered water is safe for consumption.

New Kinetic Turbidity Test Method and Prediction Model for Calcite Inhibition

Calcite, as one of the most common scales in oilfield can be inhibited by common scale inhibitors. The measurement of calcite nucleation and inhibition is a challenge, because of the difficulty to control pH as a result of CO2 partitioning in and out of the aqueous phase. A new kinetic turbidity test method was developed so that the partial pressure of CO2, pH, and SI can be precisely controlled. Calcite nucleation and inhibition batch tests were conducted under various conditions (SI = 0.24-2.41, T = 4-175 °C, and pH = 5.5-7.5) in the presence of common phosphonate and polymeric inhibitors. Based on experimental results, calcite nucleation and inhibition semi-empirical models are proposed, and the logarithm of the predicted induction time is in good agreement with the measured induction time. The models are also validated with laboratory and field observations. Furthermore, a new BCC CSTR Inhibition (BCIn) test method that applied the Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR) theory has been developed, for the first time. This BCIn method was used for calcite inhibitor screening tests and minimum inhibitor concentration (MIC) estimation. By only running one experiment (< 1 hour) for each inhibitor, BCIn method selected the effective inhibitors among 18 common inhibitors under the conditions of SI = 1.23 at 90 °C and pH = 6. It was also found that the critical concentration (Ccrit) from BCIn method has a correlation with the MIC from batch tests. This study provided a simple and reliable solution for conducting calcite scale inhibition tests in an efficient and low-cost way. Furthermore, the newly developed prediction models can be used as guidance for laboratory tests and field applications, potentially saving enormous amounts of time and money.

Isolation, Screening and Production of Bacterial Cellulase from Cow Dung

Cellulases are the most important industrial enzyme due to their potential application in various industries including pulp and paper, textile, laundry, biofuel production, food and feed industry, brewing and agriculture. The present study was carried out to isolate and characterize cellulase producing microorganisms from different cow dung samples. Four different cow dung samples were collected from variety of cows namely Gir, Holstein, Jersey and Desi and isolation and screening was done to check cellulase producing microorganisms. The obtained 11 isolates were screened for their cellulase activity by using CMC (carboxymethyl cellulose) agar medium. In the current study, 10 cellulase producing isolates were obtained and were characterized morphologically from which 8 isolates were found Gram negative and 2 were found Gram positive. All the 10 cellulase producers were further confirmed for their cellulase producing ability by performing turbidity test. Out of these 10 isolates, GN4 and HN2 with optical density 0.35 and 0.28, respectively were found to be best cellulase producer and were selected for cellulase enzyme production and other further studies. Botssh the isolates were tested for their enzymatic activities by performing DNSA method and protein estimation by Lowry’s method. Cellulase activities were found to be 7.33 µg/ml/min and 3.66 µg/ml/min and the total protein concentrations were found to be 40 µg/ml and 32 µg/ml for GN4 and HN2, respectively. Thus, dungs cow dung can be considered as the excellent source for cellulase producing bacteria.

Massive Survey on Bacterial–Bacteriophages Biodiversity and Quality of Natural Whey Starter Cultures in Trentingrana Cheese Production

This study focused on the microbial and bacteriophages identification and characterization in cheese-production facilities that use natural whey starter (NWS) cultures for Trentingrana production. Bacterial and phage screening was carried out on cooked not acidified whey and NWS samples isolated from six dairy factories, for 4 consecutive days in four different months. By means of a combined approach, using plate counts, bacterial isolation, and metataxonomic analysis Lactobacillus helveticus was found occurring as the dominant species in NWS cultures and Levilactobacillus brevis as codominant in the cheese factories where the temperature of NWS production was mainly lower than 40°C, suggesting that the variability in the parameters of the NWS culture preparation could differently modulate the bacterial species in NWS cultures. Using turbidity test approach on 303 bacterial isolates from the NWS cultures, 120 distinct phages were identified. L. helveticus phage contamination of NWS cultures was revealed in most of the analyzed samples, but despite the great recovery of bacteriophage contamination cases, the microbial quality of NWS cultures was high. Our results support the presence of natural bacteriophage resistance mechanisms in L. helveticus. The use of NWS cultures probably creates an ideal environment for the proliferation of different L. helveticus strains balanced with their phages without a clear dominance. It is evident, from this study, that the presence of a high biodiversity of NWS bacterial strains is relevant to avoid phages dominance in NWS cultures and consequently to keep a good acidification ability.

Enhancing flotation separation of chalcopyrite and magnesium silicate minerals by surface synergism between PAAS and GA

Separation effects of sodium polyacrylate (PAAS) and gum Arabic (GA) on flotation of chalcopyrite and magnesium silicate minerals using potassium butyl xanthate (PBX) as collector were investigated by micro-flotation experiments, zeta potential, Infrared spectral (IR), SEM–EDS, XPS analysis and copper sulphide ore beneficiation test. The micro-flotation experiments and zeta potential measurements showed that combined depressant consisting of PAAS and GA could efficiently reduce the recoveries of mixed minerals of serpentine and talc more than 25%, while that of chalcopyrite remained above 70% at pH 9.2. Infrared spectral (IR), SEM–EDS and XPS analysis showed that PAAS chemically reacted with Mg on the surface of serpentine, while GA adsorbed on talc surface mainly via physical interaction and hydrogen bond may also play a role. Surface synergism between PAAS and GA was investigated by turbidity test and its depression mechanism was proposed. The technology feasibility of using PAAS and GA to improve the copper sulphide ore flotation performance was verified through artificial mixed ore flotation and laboratory closed-flotation operation.

Analysis of Turbidity Test Bottled Drinking Water In Banyuwangi District

Bottled drinking water (AMDK) is raw water that is processed, packaged and safe to drink (meets physical, chemical and bacteriological requirements) including mineral water and demineralized water. The physical requirements for drinking water quality include color, taste, turbidity and odor. The purpose of this study is to determine the turbidity of bottled drinking water circulating in Banyuwangi with the measurement method using a Turbidimeter. This is observtional research was conducted in April 2019 with 13 samples. The sampling technique used is purposive sampling. The average result of measurement of water turbidity level is 0.31 NTU, meaning that it meets the SNI 01-3553-2006 standard on Bottled Drinking Water so that it is safe to consume if viewed from turbidity parameters. Bottled Drinking Water is said to be feasible and safe to consume if it meets the requirements specified in SNI 01-3553-2006 concerning Bottled Drinking Water, which does not exceed the maximum threshold value that has been determined. Turbidity or turbidity of bottled drinking water (AMDK) originating from mountain springs raw water sources has a lower value compared to turbidity AMDK with groundwater raw water sources.

The Effectiveness of Adsorbent Derived from Moringa Oleifera as A Water Treatment Agent

Clean, safe and readily available water is very crucial in everyday life, especially for health, hygiene, and the productivity of the community. Unfortunately, increase in contaminants in water supplies from human activities and industrialization is very worrying. Conventional wastewater treatment includes the usage of alum that will affect health with prolonged consumption. This research was carried out to focus on the development of wastewater treatment system using adsorbent from Moringa oleifera seeds. Adsorbent was successfully synthesized from the seeds of Moringa oleifera. Characterization of the sample was made using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), while the effectiveness of water treatment was analyzed using Turbidity Meter. Then, all samples were tested against kaolin wastewater. XRD results showed that all the adsorbent samples were amorphous in nature. FTIR results indicated that there were hydroxyl group and carboxylic group in the sample representing numerous oxygen-riddled functional groups on the surface. From SEM results, it was clearly shown that the pore structure and size of Moringa oleifera affected the capability of adsorption where the smaller the size, the more effective the sample. Turbidity test showed that the sample that worked best for wastewater treatment was adsorbent from Moringa oleifera seeds in size of 125µm that was heated for 4 hours with 93.76% turbidity removal. Therefore, this study proved that the adsorbent from Moringa oleifera seeds is very suitable for high turbidity wastewater treatment. Further studies investigating the combination of conventional activated carbon with adsorbent from Moringa oleifera seeds should be conducted before these samples are made available for further use so that we can compare which sample works best for wastewater treatment.

Pengaruh Karbon Aktif Komposit Hibrida pada Absorpsi Air Permukaan

Penelitian ini bertujuan mengetahui unjuk kerja komposit hibrida dalam proses adsorpsi air permukaan. Komposit hibrida merupakan bahan yang terdiri dari morninga olifera (MO) dan activated carbon (AC) sebagai fillers, dan tepung lengket sebagai polimer yang diproduksi menggunakan cetakan penekanan panas (hot-press mold) pada temperatur 200°C. Komposisi filler dan polimer didasarkan pada rasio fraksi berat yaitu 40% filler dan 60% polimer. Kualitas absorpsi komposit hibrida dilakukan melalui proses perendaman dan turbidity test. Hasil pengujian perendaman benda kerja selama dua minggu adalah waktu paling optimal dari kenaikan massa komposit hibrida yang direndam pada air permukaan untuk masing-masing variasi hibrida. Peningkatan jumlah prosentase AC pada benda uji meningkatkan kekeruhan air karena adanya pelepasan unsur C pada air sesuai dengan test turbiditasnya. Kemudian, kandungan coliform dan E-coli pada air permukaan menurun disebabkan oleh meningkatnya prosentase MO pada benda uji. Dari hasil tersebut, disimpulkan bahwa hibridisasi filler MO dan AC memberikan dampak positif terhadap kualitas air permukaan.