Decolorization of synthetic dyes using a copper complex with glucaric acid

Selected azo, acridine, triphenyl methane, anthraquinone and thiazine-based dyes were decolorized using a catalytic system consisting of Cu(II)/glucaric acid/H(2)O(2). More than 90% decolorization was obtained with 100 ppm Acridine Orange, Azure B, Chicago Sky Blue, Crystal Violet, Methyl Orange, Poly B-411, Reactive Black 5, Reactive Blue 2, and Remazol Brilliant Blue R within 24 h. Seventy to eighty percent decolorization was achieved within the first 6 h. The decolorizaton was not affected by pH. The involvement of hydroxyl radicals produced in the system in the decolorization of the dye molecules was confirmed by electron spin resonance study.     

Lead induced spermatoxicity in mouse and MPG treatment

Protective efficacy of MPG (2-mercaptopropionyl glycine) was studied against the toxic effects of lead acetate in Swiss albino mice. The animals were treated with single dose of lead acetate @ 180, 200 and 250 mg/kg b.wt. in presence and absence of MPG. The results indicated that the body weight was slightly higher in MPG treated groups on day 10 as compared to only respective lead treated groups in all the three dose level. However, significantly lower body weight was observed in both lead treated and lead along with MPG treated groups as compared to control. Patten of mortality is similar in both lead treated and lead plus MPG treated groups. Conspicuous degenerative changes in testicular tissues and elevation in sperm head shape abnormality were observed in both lead treated and lead along with MPG treated groups but the sperm head shape abnormality and damage were more in lead treated groups as compared to lead plus MPG treated groups. But this difference was non-significant between the two groups. These observations suggest that MPG may not be significantly effective against lead induced damage in testicular tissues at cellular level. However, MPG is able to maintain slightly lower level of sperm abnormality in all the three dose level as compared to their respective lead treated groups. Further, studies are needed to find out the optimum dose of MPG for protection against the lower doses of lead induced lethality as MPG is not significantly effective against the higher doses of lead.     

The occurrence of glycolic acid in coastal sea water

A reasonably fast and reliable chemical method for the determination of glycolic acid in sea water is described in detail. It consists of adsorption of glycolic acid by alumina, followed by extraction with sulphuric acid and then colorimetry. The overall efficiency of recovery of this method, which is standardized internally, is approximately 67%, and about 20-fold concentration of glycolic acid is achieved. Using this method, the occurrence of glycolic acid in Ipswich Bay (Gulf of Maine, USA) was studied over a period of 6 months and was found to fluctuate between 0 and 80 g/l. The zero values occurred in January, when the phytoplankton chlorophyll values were also at their winter minimum.     

Preparation of jet engine range fuel from biomass pyrolysis oil through hydrogenation and its comparison with aviation kerosene

The Bio-oil was produced from the pyrolysis of agricultural wastes (Eucalyptus sawdust) and discarded soybean frying oil. The temperature of the pyrolysis system was initiated at 28°C and increased to 850°C. Atmospheric distillation of crude bio-oil was performed and a fraction at a temperature range 160–240°C (pyrolysis oil) was separated and subjected to GC-MS, ¹H-NMR, TGA and FTIR analysis to identify the different properties and compounds present in pyrolysis oil. It was noticed that there was an abundance of oxygen and nitrogen containing compounds as well as other reactive species in pyrolysis oil. To reduce the amount of these species, the pyrolysis oil was subjected to hydrogenation in the presence of NiMo as a catalyst. After hydrogenation, the atmospheric distillation of hydrogenated bio-oil was performed and another fraction at temperature range 160–240°C (hydrogenated bio-oil) was separated and analyzed by the same techniques. It was noticed that during hydrogenation, more than 60% oxygenated and other reactive species were converted into hydrocarbons. Hydrogenated bio-oil showed very similar physico-chemical properties such as distillation curve, density, viscosity, freezing point, flash point, the presence of hydrocarbons and enthalpy of combustion as aviation kerosene also known as QAV-1.     

Smart nanopackaging for the enhancement of food shelf life

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Food spoilage is a major global concern due to the lack of proper packaging technology. Nanotechnology is expected to improve food packaging. Indeed, novel...     

Manifestation of an advanced fuzzy logic model coupled with Geo-information techniques to landslide susceptibility mapping and their comparison with logistic regression modelling

Landslides are very common natural problems in the Selangor area of Malaysia due to the improper use of landcover and tropical rainfall. There are many landslide susceptibility analyses such as statistical, bivariate and data mining approaches exist in the literature. This paper presents the use of fuzzy logic relations for landslide susceptibility mapping on part of Selangor area, Malaysia, using a Geographic Information System (GIS) and remote sensing data. At first, landslide locations were identified in the study area from the interpretation of aerial photographs and satellite images, supported by extensive field surveys. Topographic and geological data and satellite images were collected, processed, and constructed into a spatial database using GIS and image processing. Thirteen landslide conditioning factors such as slope gradient, slope exposure, plan curvature, altitude, stream power index, topographic wetness index, distance from drainage, distance from road, lithology, distance from faults, soil, landcover and normalized difference vegetation index (ndvi) were extracted from the spatial database. These factors were analyzed using fuzzy logic relations to produce the landslide susceptibility maps. Using the landslide conditioning factors and the identified landslides, the fuzzy membership values were calculated. Then fuzzy algebraic operators were applied to the fuzzy membership values for landslide susceptibility mapping. Finally, the ROC curves for all landslide susceptibility models were drawn and the area under curve values were calculated. Landslide locations were used to validate results of the landslide susceptibility maps and the validation results showed 94% accuracy for the fuzzy gamma operator employing all parameters produced in the present study as the landslide conditioning factors. Results showed that, among the fuzzy relations, in the case in which the gamma operator (λ =  0.975) showed the best accuracy (94.73%) while the case in which the fuzzy algebraic Or was applied showed the worst accuracy (84.76%). The landslide susceptibility maps produced by the fuzzy gamma operators shows similar trends as those obtained by applying logistic regression procedure by the same author and indicate that fuzzy relations results perform slightly better than the earlier method. Qualitatively, the model yields reasonable results which can be used for preliminary land-use planning purposes.     

Spectrophotometric determination of trifluralin in commercial formulations and agricultural samples using factorial design

A simple spectrophotometric method was developed for determination of trifluralin in commercial formulation and food samples. The method was based on the hydrolysis of trifluralin with sodium hydroxide to form 2,6-dinitro-4-trifluoromethylaniline. The resultant aniline group was diazotized with nitrate in acidic media and the diazotized product was coupled with β-naphthol to form red colored product having λ_max 550 nm. The reaction conditions were optimized for hydrolysis as well as for the diazotization reaction. The Beer’s law was obeyed over the range of 0.2–17 μg mL⁻¹ with molar absorptivity of 1.5 × 10⁴ L mol⁻¹ cm⁻¹. The relative standard deviation was found to be 3.6%. A two level factorial design of 2³ was used for optimization of all parameters. The influence of different factors and their interactions on the final azo dye formation were also studied from these factorial designs. The method has been applied successfully for the analysis of commercial formulations and agricultural samples. The recovery for the determination of trifluralin was found to be in the range 95–97%.     

Migrants,land markets and carbon emissions in Jambi,Indonesia: Land tenure change and the prospect of emission reduction

Policies designed to reduce land-based carbon emissions require a good understanding of the complex connections between state-sanctioned concessions, forest conversion, informal land markets and migrants. Our case study in the peat forests of the Tanjung Jabung Barat (TanJaBar) regency of Jambi, Indonesia aimed to explore relations between four key stakeholder groups: the state, local communities, migrants, and state-sanctioned concessions. We hypothesized that current land use patterns are shaped by insecurity in formal forest tenure alongside informal land tenure arrangements with migrants. In analyzing the six two-way relationships between the four stakeholder groups, we found that interactions between the stakeholders have changed local norms and practice, causing land conflicts and contested claims that need to be explicitly addressed in efforts to reduce carbon emissions in TanJaBar. Relational concepts of land rights between migrants and local community leaders are informed by social identity, expectations of investment opportunities, insecure customary forest tenure and competing land use policies. Migrants act as intermediaries in shaping the land tenure system and shift the balance of power between local communities, the state, and business concessions. We conclude that effective and equitable implementation of national Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation+ (REDD+) programs will need to recognize underlying land ownership dynamics, power struggles and strategic positioning among stakeholders across scales. Obtaining free and prior informed consent (FPIC) from all relevant stakeholders is a major challenge given this complexity. Low emission development strategies will require recognition of a reality beyond large-scale concessions and traditional local communities.