Eco-friendly dyeing of wool using natural dye from weld as co-partner with synthetic dye

Since the last decade, the application of natural dyes on textile materials is gaining popularity all over the world, possibly because of increasing awareness of environment, ecology, and pollution control. In this research, extraction of dyes from weld using soxhlet apparatus has been studied. The color components extracted and isolated from weld plant were characterized by Column Chromatography, Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC), NMR, mass, IR techniques. The natural dye extract obtained from the weld was used for the dyeing of wool fiber. The results indicated that the exhaustion rate for the extracted dye increases by 49% compared to the raw dye. This, in turn, leads to a considerable decrease in the amount of the extracted dye used to reach the same desired results. Finally, for comparative studies between synthetic and this natural dye, all dyed specimens were tested for wash and light fastness properties, making weld a viable alternative to synthetic acid dyes.     

Solid state fermentation of lipopeptide antibiotic iturin A by using a novel solid state fermentation reactor system

A new solid state fermentation reactor (SSFR) for solid substrate was used for the production of lipopeptide antibiotic iturin A using Bacillus subtilis RB14-CS. Solid state fermentation (SSF) is the technique of cultivation of microorganisms on solid and moist substrates in the absence of free water. SSF has shown much promise in the development of several bioprocesses and products because of their several advantages like absence of free water that allows simplified downstream processing and low cost. SSFR allows agitation of the SSF culture with improved temperature control and air supply. Interestingly, when okara, the widely available waste product from the tofu industries, was used as the solid substrate for the SSFR, no iturin A production was observed. However, without agitation, production of iturin A was observed in the SSFR but the production level remained low. The low production of iturin A was found to be due to the heat generation and excess temperature rise inside the reactor system during the fermentation process. Maintaining the temperature within a range of 25–30°C, production of iturin A was significantly improved in the SSFR. This was comparable to the laboratory scale production, and signifies the potential application of the SSFR for SSF.     

Modeling carbon sequestration under zero-tillage at the regional scale. II. The influence of crop rotation and soil type

For policy decisions with respect to CO₂-mitigation measures in the agricultural sector, national and regional estimations of the efficiency of such measures are required. The conversion of ploughed cropland to zero-tillage is discussed as an option to reduce CO₂ emissions and promises at the same time effective soil and water conservation. Based on the upscaling of simulation results with the soil and land resources information system SLISYS-BW, estimations of CO₂-mitigation rates in relation to crop rotations and soil type have been made for the state of Baden-Württemberg (Germany). The results indicate considerable differences in the CO₂-mitigation rates between crop rotations ranging from 0.48 to 0.03 Mg C ha⁻¹ a⁻¹ for winter cereals–spring cereals–rape rotations and winter cereals–spring cereals–corn silage rotations, respectively. The efficiency of the crop rotations is strongly related to the total carbon input and in particular the amount of crop residues. Among the considered soil types, highest CO₂-mitigation rates are associated with Cumulic Anthrosols (0.62 Mg C ha⁻¹ a⁻¹) and the lowest with Gleysols (−0.01 Mg C ha⁻¹ a⁻¹). An agricultural extensification scenario with conventional plowing but conversion of the presently applied intensive crop rotations to a clover–clover–winter cereals rotation indicated a CO₂-mitigation potential of 466 Gg C a⁻¹. However, the present high market prices for cereals and increasing demand for energy production from biomass encourages an intensification of the agricultural production and an excessive removal of biomass which in future will seriously reduce the potential for carbon sequestration on cropland.     

Evaluation of physico-chemical properties of biochar-based mixtures for soilless growth media

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - This study was done to evaluate the suitability of biochar-based mixtures for growth media. Biochars from agricultural wastes were produced by slow...     

Synthesis,Characterization and Application of α, β, and γ Cyclodextrin-Conjugated Graphene Oxide for Removing Cadmium Ions from Aqueous Media

In this study, a novel and facile route for the synthesis of cyclodextrin-conjugated graphene oxide (CDs–GO) nanocomposites by esterification reaction in the presence of EDC/DMAP as catalyst, was developed. The formation of CDs–GO was successfully approved by FT-IR, SEM, TEM, TGA and BET analyses. Then competitive adsorption capacity of cadmium ion by CDs–GO composites and the impact of different empirical parameters like contact time, initial metal ion concentration, and initial pH on the adsorption process were studied. The results showed that β-CD–GO at pH 7 is suitable for removing Cd(II) with 90?% removal efficiency. Also, the adsorption capacity experiment at constant concentration of 50 ppm of Cd(II) showed that more than 50?% of Cd(II) ions could be adsorbed by γ-CD–GO reaching an equilibrium within 2 h. Therefore, the γ-CD–GO and α-CD–GO showed high adsorption capacity toward Cd²⁺ (222.22 mg/g) which were pointedly more than that of β-CD–GO (208.33 mg/g). Furthermore, adsorption kinetics, isotherm studies, and thermodynamic analyses were evaluated. The adsorption data exhibited excellent fit to the pseudo-second-order (R²?>?0.99) and Freundlich isotherm models.

     

Simultaneous Determination and Optimization of Titan Yellow and Reactive Blue 4 Dyes Removal Using Chitosan@hydroxyapatite Nanocomposites

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - Chitosan (CS) and hydroxyapatite (HA) nanocomposites have been prepared and used for the simultaneous removal of Titan Yellow (TY) and Reactive Blue 4 (RB...     

Management of landfill leachate in Iran: valorization,characteristics, and environmental approaches

Environmental Chemistry Letters - The quantity and quality of leachate generated in a landfill are very important when it comes to waste management. Sanitary landfill is still being considered as...     

Mid-depth oil concentration due to vertical oil dispersion in a regular wave field

An experimental program is organized to investigate the vertical oil dispersion of surface oil spills in a regular wave field. Various waves characteristics and different volumes of oil spills are tested to assess the oil concentration variations at two sampling stations. It is found that the oil concentration due to vertical oil dispersion follows an ascending diagram to reach a maximum and then decreases while oil slick passes the location. The maximum mid-depth oil concentration (C_max) at the farther sampling station is 30–50 % less than the concentration at the closer sampling station to the spill location. A 50 % increase in oil spill volume causes 30–60 % growth in oil concentrations. The relations between oil concentration and important parameters such as wave characteristics, amount of spilled oil and the distance of sampling stations from the spill location are indicated and also oil concentration variations are quantified. Two equations are derived through statistical analysis of the obtained experimental data, which estimate the magnitude and time of maximum oil concentration.