Wood ash is a highly alkaline material comprises of inorganic constituents. A limited information on use of wood ash as catalyst is available in literature. The present study was undertaken to ...investigate the catalytic activity of wood ash for transesterification of Jatropha oil. The thermal treatment (calcination) of wood ash was carried out at temperature in the range of 500–1200 °C to produce calcined wood ash catalysts (CWC). The wood ash was also chemically activated with K2CO3 and CaCO3 by double carbonate solid state reaction to yield activated wood ash catalysts (AWC). The prepared catalysts were characterized by analytical techniques for surface morphology, crystalline phases, textural characteristics and alkalinity. Methyl ester conversion of Jatropha oil was achieved in the range of 97–99% with CWC and AWC catalysts. The synthesized Jatropha methyl esters using CWC and AWC catalysts have been found meeting the critical physico-chemical properties of ASTM D-6751 standards of biodiesel. The present study revealed the possibility of producing potential heterogeneous catalyst from wood ash for biodiesel synthesis, which can find a way to utilize abundant wood ash and reduce the overall cost of biodiesel production.
► Alkaline wood ash used as CWC (calcined wood ash catalyst) and AWC (activated wood ash catalyst) catalysts for biodiesel synthesis. ► Higher alkalinity, lower surface area and increased particle size were major parameters for catalyst's activity. ► CWC800 and AkWC0.5 were best catalysts with max. 97–99% ester conversion of jatropha curcas oil. ► Catalysts could be reused up to 5 cycles. Provide fast reaction and trouble free work-up of reaction mixture.
Surface modification of precipitated calcium carbonate particles in a planetary ball mill using different dispersants such as stearic acid, oleic acid, palmitic acid, salicylic acid, oleyl amine, ...DDSA (dodecenyl succinic anhydride), ODSA (octadecenyl succinic anhydride), TPSA (tetra propenyl succinic anhydride) as modification agent was done in order to find out the potential of dispersant in surface modification and for making dispersion in hydrocarbon oil was investigated. Different dispersants were ball milled keeping all the parameters for processing (milling) like—milling time, ball ratios, sample dosage and milling constant. The physical properties of the hydrophobically modified calcium carbonate were measured; the particle size and morphology of the resulting samples were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The surface coating thickness was also estimated by geometric calculation using results of TEM and TGA considering the formation of core shell structure.
Surface modification & size reduction of calcium carbonate particles in a planetary ball mill using different dispersants were performed to find out the potential of dispersants in surface modification. Surface coating was analyzed by XRD and surface coating thickness was estimated based on the results of TEM and TGA considering the formation of core shell structure. Display omitted
► Synthesis of hydrophobic calcium carbonate nanoparticles ► Core shell type calcium carbonate particles using different surface modifier ► Capping agents alter the crystal morphology of calcium carbonate
Synthesis of surrogate molecules is particularly useful for generating in sight of structural-activity relationships, understanding processes and improving the performance. In order to improve upon ...the physico-chemical properties of biodiesel, methyl, ethyl, isopropyl and
n-butyl esters of β-branched fatty acid have been synthesized, initiating from β-branched alcohols. β-Branched alcohols upon oxidation gave corresponding acids, which were converted to their esters. The synthesized esters have substantially better oxidative stability, exhibited by Rancimat oxidation induction period of more than 24
h. The cloud point of synthesized esters is <−36
°C, pour point is <−42
°C and CFPP is <−21
°C, which is substantially better than fatty acid methyl esters. Besides achieving the objective of better oxidative stability and improved low temperature properties, the synthesized surrogate esters have viscosity in the range of 4.2–4.6
cSt at 40
°C, meeting the international diesel and biodiesel standards. The cetane number of synthesized esters is 62–69, which is much better than diesel and biodiesel. The blends of the synthesized esters in diesel at 5% and 10% meet Indian standards of diesel.
Given the success of Delhi’s CNG vehicle program, energy stakeholders are now investigating a transition to hydrogen-compressed natural gas (H-CNG) blends in the city. Past research has shown H-CNG ...can reduce tailpipe emissions of both criteria and greenhouse gas pollutants relative to diesel, CNG, and gasoline
1–3. However, an unanswered question is how Delhi will satisfy the potential hydrogen demand in a sustainable manner. We conduct a techno-economic assessment of hydrogen production from gasification of the three most abundant agricultural residues near Delhi – rice straw, cotton stalk, mustard stalk – and find these residues could provide the city with up to 270,700 metric tons per year of hydrogen. This quantity far exceeds what is needed to run all existing CNG vehicles on 18%–82% H-CNG blends. The cost of each step of the biohydrogen supply chain is calculated and the total cost is estimated at 149.6 rupees ($3.39) per kg. Lastly, we show that the price of H-CNG at the pump would be roughly equivalent to CNG on a per mile basis.
► H
2 needed to run all 344,000 CNG vehicles in Delhi on 18%/72% H-CNG: 12.8 kT/yr. ► Availability of rice straw, cotton and mustard stalk residues within 150 km of Delhi: 4717 kT/yr. ► The total cost of biohydrogen in Delhi: 149.6 rupees ($3.39) per kg. ► Sensitivity analysis: range of biohydrogen cost 123–199 rupees ($2.78-$4.51) per kg. ► The cost per mile of H-CNG is expected to be on par with CNG.
The PHENIX collaboration presents first measurements of low-momentum (0.4<p_{T}<3 GeV/c) direct-photon yields from Au+Au collisions at sqrts_{NN}=39 and 62.4 GeV. For both beam energies the ...direct-photon yields are substantially enhanced with respect to expectations from prompt processes, similar to the yields observed in Au+Au collisions at sqrts_{NN}=200. Analyzing the photon yield as a function of the experimental observable dN_{ch}/dη reveals that the low-momentum (>1 GeV/c) direct-photon yield dN_{γ}^{dir}/dη is a smooth function of dN_{ch}/dη and can be well described as proportional to (dN_{ch}/dη)^{α} with α≈1.25. This scaling behavior holds for a wide range of beam energies at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider and the Large Hadron Collider, for centrality selected samples, as well as for different A+A collision systems. At a given beam energy, the scaling also holds for high p_{T} (>5 GeV/c), but when results from different collision energies are compared, an additional sqrts_{NN}-dependent multiplicative factor is needed to describe the integrated-direct-photon yield.
Alterations in the anatomical structures, sap translocation and metabolic profiles in Jatropha curcas L. (Euphorbiaceae), infected with Jatropha mosaic virus (JMV) have been investigated using MRI ...and HR-MAS NMR spectroscopy. The contrast of MRI images distinguishes abnormalities in anatomical structures of infected and healthy stem. The HR-MAS NMR spectroscopic analysis indicated that viral infection significantly affected the plant metabolism. Higher accumulation of TCA cycle intermediates, such as citrate and malate, in JMV-infected plants suggested a higher rate of respiration. The respiration rate was more than twofold as compared to healthy ones. The viral stress also significantly increases the concentrations of alanine, arginine, glutamine, valine, GABA and choline as compared to healthy ones. Microscopic examination revealed severe hyperplasia caused by JMV with a considerable reduction in the size of stem cells. Lower concentration of glucose and sucrose in viral-infected stem tissues indicates decreased translocation of photosynthates from leaves to stem due to hyperplasia caused by JMV. The MR images distinguished stele, cortical and pith regions of JMV-infected and healthy stems. Contrast of T₁- and T₂-weighted images showed significant differences in the spatial distribution of water, lipids and macromolecules in virus-infected and healthy stem tissues. The results demonstrated the value of MRI and HR-MAS NMR spectroscopy in studying viral infection and metabolic shift in plants. The present methodology may help in better understanding the metabolic alterations during biotic stress in other plant species of agricultural and commercial importance.
Litchi chinensis is a subtropical fruit crop, popular for its nutritional value and taste. Fruits with small seed size and thick aril are desirable in litchi. To gain molecular insight into gene ...expression that leads to the reduction in the size of seed in Litchi chinensis, transcriptomes of two genetically closely related genotypes, with contrasting seed size were compared in developing ovules. The cDNA library constructed from early developmental stages of ovules (0, 6, and 14 days after anthesis) of bold- and small-seeded litchi genotypes yielded 303,778,968 high quality paired-end reads. These were de-novo assembled into 1,19,939 transcripts with an average length of 865 bp. A total of 10,186 transcripts with contrast in expression were identified in developing ovules between the small- and large- seeded genotypes. A majority of these differences were present in ovules before anthesis, thus suggesting the role of maternal factors in seed development. A number of transcripts indicative of metabolic stress, expressed at higher level in the small seeded genotype. Several differentially expressed transcripts identified in such ovules showed homology with Arabidopsis genes associated with different stages of ovule development and embryogenesis.
Aedes mosquito control has gained much importance nowadays in view of rise in number of reported cases of dengue and chikungunya in India and other countries. In the present study, C21 attracticide ...(containing a pheromone and an insect growth regulator—IGR, developed by Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE), Gwalior, India was tested for its feasibility for surveillance and control of Aedes mosquito in a multicentric mode from October 2007 to June 2012 in urban (Delhi, and Bengaluru district, Karnataka) and suburban (Alappuzha district, Kerala) settings of the country in three phases.
Across the randomly selected households in each study area, two to four containers treated with attracticide (experimental) and untreated (control) were placed and monitored by trained surveillance workers on weekly/ fortnightly basis for determining the presence of eggs, larvae and pupae. Container positivity, percent larvae, egg and pupae collected were determined during different phases and analyzed statistically using SPSS 18.0.
Container positivity was found statistically significant at Bengaluru and Alappuzha, Kerala while in Delhi, it was found non-significant. Eggs collected from experimental containers were significantly higher in comparison to control at all the locations except Delhi. Also larvae collected from control containers were significantly higher at all the locations except Bengaluru. Pupae collected from control containers remained significantly higher at all the locations as no pupal formation was recorded from experimental containers.
The use of C21 attracticide hampered pupal formation, thus inhibiting adult population in the study areas. The study established that C21 attracticide was efficacious in the field conditions and has potential for use in surveillance and management of dengue and chikungunya mosquitoes.
Detailed pathophysiological findings of secondary damage phenomena after spinal cord injury (SCI) as well as the identification of inhibitory and neurotrophic proteins have yielded a plethora of ...experimental therapeutic approaches. Main targets are (i) to minimize secondary damage progression (neuroprotection), (ii) to foster axon conduction (neurorestoration) and (iii) to supply a permissive environment to promote axonal sprouting (neuroregenerative therapies). Pre-clinical studies have raised hope in functional recovery through the antagonism of growth inhibitors, application of growth factors, cell transplantation, and vaccination strategies. To date, even though based on successful pre-clinical animal studies, results of clinical trials are characterized by dampened effects attributable to difficulties in the study design (patient heterogeneity) and species differences. A combination of complementary therapeutic strategies might be considered pre-requisite for future synergistic approaches. Here, we line out pre-clinical interventions resulting in improved functional neurological outcome after spinal cord injury and track them on their intended way to bedside.
A recently developed frequency-modulated thermal wave imaging (FMTWI) has been applied for subsurface defect detection of jute fibre-reinforced polypropylene (PP) matrix composite. Composites are ...subject to manufacturing and in-service defects like voids, delamination, cracks and so on. Active thermography like lock-in thermography (LT) and pulsed thermography (PT) has been widely used for non-destructive testing of composites and laminates. FMTWI may be viewed as a superposed LT, wherein multiple frequency response is obtained through single measurement. It is very much suitable for newly developed material for which the thermal properties are not well established, thereby impeding the choice of appropriate frequency for conventional LT. In this article, FMTWI is applied to detect and characterize artificially generated subsurface defects in jute–PP composite. The measurements also show the effect of frequency on the depth of defect detection and accuracy.
PDF
