Natural Weathering Studies of Polypropylene

Polypropylene (PP) has achieved a dominating position and hence, their consumption increases thereby littering, which lead to environmental pollution. Photodegradation seems to be a better choice because of naturally available sunlight as energy source for degradation. The present work involves the study of the variation of degradation behavior of PP film during tropical summer and winter seasons. The photodegradation is followed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic technique. Various indices like hydroxyl, carbonyl, vinylidene, lactones, ester, carboxylic acid and crystallinity are calculated and these values increased after a brief induction period. The variation in the mechanical properties like tensile strength and elongation at break percentages are determined. The scanning electron microscopic (SEM) images of weathered PP showed surface cracks when carbonyl index value increases sharply and the mechanical properties show a sudden decrease. Attempted life time prediction using mathematical models showed that the carbonyl growth is more affected by ultraviolet (UV) and cumulative total solar radiation for PP weathered during summer. The loss in tensile strength of PP weathered during summer is more dependent on the average temperature and the UV portion of the total solar radiation whereas, intensity of UV radiation has profound effect on the tensile strength of PP weathered during winter.     

Electricity production using food waste: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Conventional treatments of food waste such as incineration, landfilling, and composting require large land areas and induce contamination in air, soil,...     

Synthesis and medicinal properties of plant-derived vilangin

This article reports for the first time the antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant and anticancer activities of vilangin synthesised from embelin isolated from Embelia ribes berries. E. ribes is widely used as traditional herbal medicine in India. E. ribes is used as appetiser, carminative, anthelmintic, alexiteric, laxative and alterative. This plant is also used to treat tumour, ascites, bronchitis, mental diseases, dyspnoea, heart diseases, urinary discharges, jaundice, hemicrania, and worms in wounds. Here the major compound, embelin, was isolated from the fruits of E. ribes. Vilangin was synthesised by condensation of embelin with formaldehyde in acetic acid solution. The biological activity of vilangin is unknown so far. Hence, we studied antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant and anticancer activities of vilangin. The minimum inhibitory concentration value of vilangin was 62.5 μg/mL against Staphylococcus epidermidis and Salmonella typhimurium. The radical scavenging activity was maximum at 1,000 μg/mL. Ferric reducing antioxidant power assay of vilangin showed a twofold higher value compared to the standard. Vilangin showed 61.95 % of cytotoxic activity in vitro against A549 lung adenocarcinoma cancer cell line at a dose of 500 μg/mL with half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) of 400 μg/mL. Vilangin can thus be further tested as a new drug.     

Adsorptive Removal of Diuron Herbicide on Carbon Nanotubes Synthesized from Plastic Waste

In this study, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were synthesized from waste polyethylene bottles and their use as an adsorbent for the removal of diuron herbicide from aqueous solution was evaluated. Batch adsorption was performed by varying adsorbent dosage, initial concentration, contact time, and temperature. Kinetic models applied to experimental data indicated that the pseudo-second-order model had the best fit. The equilibrium data were analyzed using different isotherm models. The adsorption capacity of CNTs for diuron removal, determined using the Hill isotherm, was approximately 40.37 mg/g at 303 K. From thermodynamic studies, the values of ΔH° (kJ/mol) and ΔS° [kJ/(mol K)] were calculated as ?17.307 and ?0.0528, respectively, which suggested that the adsorption process was exothermic. The negative values of ΔG° at three different temperatures indicated that adsorption of diuron on CNTs was favorable.     

Dye reduction-based electron-transfer activity monitoring assay for assessing microbial electron transfer activity of microbial fuel cell inocula

Microbial fuel cells (MFC) utilize microbes as catalysts to convert chemical energy to electricity. Inocula used for MFC operation must therefore contain active microbial population. The dye reduction-based electron-transfer activity monitoring (DREAM) assay was employed to evaluate different inocula used in MFCs for their microbial bioelectrical activity. The assay utilizes the redox property of Methylene Blue to undergo color change from blue to colorless state upon microbial reduction. The extent of Methylene Blue reduction was denoted as the DREAM assay coefficient. DREAM assay was initially performed on a microbial culture along with the growth curve and estimation of colony forming units (CFUs). DREAM coefficient correlated to the CFU/mL obtained over time as growth progressed. The assay was then extended to water samples (domestic sewage, lake and a man-made pond) serving as inocula in MFCs. Domestic wastewater gave the highest DREAM coefficient (0.300 ± 0.05), followed by pond (0.224 ± 0.07) and lake (0.157 ± 0.04) water samples. Power density obtained conformed to the DREAM coefficient values, with the three samples generating power densities of 46.45 ± 5.1, 36.12 ± 3.2 and 25.08 ± 4.3 mW/m² respectively. We have also studied the role of addition of various carbon sources and their concentrations towards improving the sensitivity of the assay. The DREAM assay is a rapid, easy-to-perform and cost-effective method to assess inocula for their suitability as anolytes in terms of electron transfer potential in MFCs.     

Environmental,economic, and performance assessment of solar air heater with inclined and winglet baffle

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - To investigate the solar air heater’s (SAH) effectiveness, experiments are conducted using flat plate and artificially roughened plate in terms...     

Size-dependent in vitro cytotoxicity assay of gold nanoparticles

Gold nanoparticles (AuNps) may serve as a promising model to address the size-dependent biological response of cell lines. Their size can be controlled with great precision during chemical synthesis. AuNps have potential applications in drug delivery, cancer diagnosis, and therapy, in the food industry, and for environmental remediation. However, some of the recent literature contains conflicting data regarding the cytotoxicity of gold nanoparticles. Against this background, a systematic study of water soluble gold nanoparticles stabilized by citrate ranging in size from 3?nm to 45?nm were synthesized. The cytotoxicity of these particles were tested by employing the (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide reduction assay), the neutral red cellular uptake assay, and lactate dehydrogenase release assay. Noticeable differences in the cytotoxic effects depending on the assay, and the nanoparticle size have been found. Citrate stabilized gold nanoparticles with sizes of 3?nm, 8?nm, and 30?nm were more sensitive to the cell lines and caused gradual cell death within 24?h at higher concentrations. This results in IC50 values ranging from 57 to 78?μgmL^?1 depending on the particle size, and cell line combinations. In contrast, AuNps with diameters of 5?nm, 6?nm, 10?nm, 17?nm, and 45?nm were nontoxic up to three to four fold higher concentrations, and at long-term exposure.     

Effects of radiation exposure on brain health: a state of the art and new challenges

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Good brain health refers to a condition in which a person may fully realize their talents and improve their psychological, emotional, cognitive, and...