Efficient arsenic depollution in water using modified maize powder

This article reports the synthesis of an efficient, low-cost material from maize powder to depollute arsenic-contaminated water. Arsenic is toxic for humans and other organisms even at low concentrations. The most well-known and severe case of arsenic poisoning through drinking water has been found in India and Bangladesh. Numerous inorganic materials have been tested for the removal of arsenic from water bodies over the last two decades. However, all such materials have several disadvantages such as unpredictable arsenic ion removal, high cost and the generation of toxic sludge that is often more difficult to manage. Alternatively, organic material from agricultural waste may be modified to enrich functional groups responsible for As sorption and, in turn, used to depollute contaminated waters. Here, Zea mays cob powder has been modified to remove arsenic species from water. Two modified materials were produced: an aminated maize powder and a thiolated maize powder. Amination was done using epichlorohydrin and dimethylamine. Thiolation was done using thioglycolic acids. Amination increased As (III) sorption from 70 to 75.8 % and As (V) sorption from 85 to 94.42 %, compared with unmodified maize powder. Thiolation increased As (III) sorption from 70 to 81.7 % and As (V) sorption from 85 to 90 %. Amination increased usability cycles from 3 to 5. Thiolation increased usability cycles from 3 to 6. The novel modified maize biosorbent has enough potential for the development of a low-cost technological pre-treatment step, prior to high-tech chemical treatments.     

Leaching studies for tin recovery from waste e-scrap

Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are the most essential components of all electrical and electronic equipments, which contain noteworthy quantity of metals, some of which are toxic to life and all of which are valuable resources. Therefore, recycling of PCBs is necessary for the safe disposal/utilization of these metals. Present paper is a part of developing Indo-Korean recycling technique consists of organic swelling pre-treatment technique for the liberation of thin layer of metallic sheet and the treatment of epoxy resin to remove/recover toxic soldering material. To optimize the parameters required for recovery of tin from waste PCBs, initially the bench scale studies were carried out using fresh solder (containing 52.6% Sn and 47.3% Pb) varying the acid concentration, temperature, mixing time and pulp density. The experimental data indicate that 95.79% of tin was leached out from solder material using 5.5M HCl at fixed pulp density 50g/L and temperature 90°C in mixing time 165min. Kinetic studies followed the chemical reaction controlled dense constant size cylindrical particles with activation energy of 117.68kJ/mol. However, 97.79% of tin was found to be leached out from solder materials of liberated swelled epoxy resin using 4.5M HCl at 90°C, mixing time 60min and pulp density 50g/L. From the leach liquor of solder materials of epoxy resin, the precipitate of sodium stannate as value added product was obtained at pH 1.9. The Pb from the leach residue was removed by using 0.1M nitric acid at 90°C in mixing time 45min and pulp density 10g/L. The metal free epoxy resin could be disposed-of safely/used as filling material without affecting the environment.     

Mechanical and Dynamic Mechanical Analysis of Woven Banana/Epoxy Composite

In this work, three types of woven (Plain, twill and Basket) composites are made of banana fibers/epoxy resin using hand-layup method. Mechanical properties (tensile, flexural and impact) of three types of woven composites are compared to evaluate the effect of weaving architecture on the properties. Dynamic Mechanical Analysis is carried out to analyse the visco-elastic behavior of the composite. Dynamic Mechanical Analysis is carried out in the temperature range of 40?C140?°C at 0.1,1,10?Hz frequencies. Scanning Electron Microscopic analysis is carried out to investigate the fracture behaviour of the composite. From the investigation it is found that plain type of woven composite has better mechanical and dynamic mechanical behaviour.     

Ggum-poly(Itaconic Acid) Based Superabsorbents Via Two-Step Free-Radical Aqueous Polymerization for Environmental and Antibacterial Applications

Ggum-based conducting hydrogels possessing dye removal and antibacterial property were developed by two-step free-radical aqueous polymerization method. Conductivity was introduced with polyaniline (PANI) chains incorporated within the crosslinked network of Ggum-poly(itaconic acid) superabsorbent. The material properties of the synthesized samples were characterized using FTIR spectroscopy, thermal analysis and scanning electron microscopy techniques. Results showed that synthesized samples exhibited the best antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria. Synthesized samples were found to be effective in removal of toxic methylene blue (MB) dye from the waste water. The adsorption kinetics of superabsorbents has been described by using pseudo first and pseudo second order kinetics models. Furthermore, application of hydrogels to improve the water retention properties of different soils was also studied for agricultural purpose.     

Tree species diversity and composition in logged and unlogged rainforest of Kudremukh National Park, South India

Species composition and diversity in logged and unlogged forests were assesed to understand the regeneration of the residual stand twenty years after logging in Kudremukh National Park, South India. Relative density, frequency and basal area were measured by Point Centered Quarter method to calculate the diversity and stand quality. The logged forest harbored lower stem density of mature trees (508 ha(-1)) than unlogged ones (630 ha(-1)). Indeed, logging operations increased the species diversity in the regenerative phase (seedling phase) due to the creation of larger canopy gaps. The extra radiation reaching the ground, facilitated the colonization of early and late secondary species. Ramakrishanan Index of Stand Quality (RISQ) values in logged forest was higher in comparison with unlogged forest, indicating the dominance of early and late secondary species, especially at sapling phase. The light demanding secondary forest species contribute higher percentage to the overall tree population in logged forest. It is observed from the study that a sufficient period of felling cycle should be practiced to reinstate the same set of species prevailed before logging.     

Spatial distribution of fossil fuel derived CO2 over India using radiocarbon measurements in crop plants

Examining the contribution of fossil fuel CO₂to the total CO₂changes in the atmosphere is of primary concern due to its alarming levels of fossil fuel emissions over the globe,specifi cally developing countries.Atmospheric radiocarbon represents an important observationa constraint and utilized to trace fossil fuel derived CO₂(CO_2ff) in the atmosphere.For the firs time,we have presented a detailed analysis on the spatial distribution of fossil fuel der...     

Rheological and Mechanical Properties of Poly(lactic acid)/Bio-Based Polyethylene/Clay Biocomposites Containing Montmorillonite and Vermiculite Clays

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - This work aims to investigate the effect of organically modified montmorillonite (OMMT) and vermiculite (OVT) clays on the properties of poly(lactic acid)...     

Cyhalofop‐p‐butyl mobility and distribution of residues in soil at various depths

This study was conducted to evaluate cyhalofop‐p‐butyl mobility in a sandy loam soil and subsequent distribution of residues at various depths under field conditions. Soil samples were taken from 0 to 150 cm depths at 3–90 d after rains in lysemeter of 1 and 2 m depths. Cyhalofop‐p‐butyl application at two rates and subsequent precipitation had a significant impact on soil, physico‐chemical properties and herbicide mobility. Precipitation caused substantial mobility of cyhalofop‐p‐butyl in the soil and 1.1–7.6 μg L^?1 of cyhalofop‐p‐butyl was found in leachates. Cyhalofop‐p‐butyl residues in the leachates were probably due to preferential flow through the soil. Cyhalofop‐p‐butyl residues were detected in significant amounts from the soil up to 10 d, later, residues were found below the detection limit but its three transformation products viz., cyhalofop acid, diacid, and phenol were detected.     

Synthesis and application of graphene-based sensors in biology: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Biosensors are gaining interest in biomedical and environmental sciences. In particular, graphene-based biosensors are promising due to the unique properties of...