An eco-friendly method for short term preservation of skins/hides using Semecarpus anacardium nut extract

Preservation or curing of hides and skins is performed as the primary step of leather processing. Common salt is employed as the conventional agent for curing purpose. Use of salt enhances the pollution load of tannery effluent which becomes highly contaminated with increased total dissolved solids and chlorides. To overcome this hurdle, researchers are in constant search of alternative preservation techniques which are either totally void of salt or use only a meager amount of salt. In the present study, we had explored the possibility of using Semecarpus anacardium nut extract as an alternative to salt for the curing process by assessing different parameters like hair slip, putrefaction odor, volatile nitrogen content, moisture content, bacterial count, and shrinkage temperature in comparison to the salt curing method. The antibacterial property of the plant extract was also investigated. The results obtained substantiated that the nut extract of S. anacardium effectively could preserve the skins for more than a month, by its antibacterial activity along with the dehydrating property of acetone.     

Photocatalytic degradation of phenol in water using TiO2 and ZnO

Photocatalytic degradation of chemical pollutants in water was investigated using semiconductor oxide catalysts, zinc oxide (ZnO) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) and phenol as the substrate. Influence of various parameters such as characteristics of the catalyst, irradiation time, substrate and catalyst concentrations, pH etc. has been studied and optimum conditions for the complete degradation of phenol in water have been identified. In terms of activity and durability TiO2 is far superior to ZnO. Mixing ZnO with TiO2 does not affect its activity significantly. The process is especially relevant in view of its potential for the treatment of wastewater containing pollutants, using solar radiation as the energy source.