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Sample records for green walnut husks

  1. A new naphthalenone isolated from the green walnut husks of Juglans mandshurica Maxim.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Guang; Pi, Xin-Mei; Yu, Chang-Yuan

    2015-01-01

    Phytochemical study of green walnut husks of Juglans mandshurica Maxim. led to the isolation of a new naphthalenone, (4R)-3,4-dihydro-4-butoxy-5-hydroxy-naphthalen-1(2H)-one (1), together with 16 known compounds. Compounds 4-6, 13, 14 and 17 were isolated from the genus Juglans for the first time, and their chemotaxonomic significance was also evaluated.

  2. Monitoring guidelines improve control of walnut husk fly in California

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Opp, Susan B.; Reynolds, Katherine M.; Pickel, Carolyn; Olson, William

    2000-01-01

    The walnut husk fly (WHF), Rhagoletis completa Cresson, is a key pest of walnuts (Juglans spp.) in California, where over 95% of the US and approximately two-thirds of the world's commercial walnuts are produced. The primary hosts of this monophagous fruit fly are J. regia L. (commercially grown English walnut), J. californica S. Wats. var. hindsii (northern California black walnut), J. californica var. californica (southern California black walnut) and J. nigra Thunb. (eastern black walnut). Some cultivars of the English walnut are more susceptible than others; the most heavily infested varieties of English walnut include Eureka, Franquette, Hartley, Mayette and Payne. Neither English walnuts nor the walnut husk fly are native to California. So-called 'English' walnuts are sometimes more appropriately called 'Persian' walnuts, in reference to Persia, the origin of J. regia. English walnuts were first planted in southern California in the 1860s. In contrast, the native range of WHF is the mid- and south-central United States where it attacks J. nigra (Boyce 1934). The fly was likely to have been introduced into southern California in the mid-1920s by tourists travelling from Kansas, New Mexico, Texas or Oklahoma. WHF was first documented in California in 1926 in the San Bernardino County when maggots were found in the husks of English walnuts (Boyce 1929). The fly gradually spread throughout walnut growing regions of California. In 1928, only three or four orchards in the San Bernardino County were known to be infested. By 1932, the fly was also found in the Los Angeles and Orange Counties (Boyce 1933), and by 1954, it was found in Ventura, Riverside, and the San Diego Counties, in addition to the northern California county of Sonoma (Anonymous 1966). The spread of the fly in northern California was rapid. By 1958, WHF was found in San Joaquin County; in 1963, the fly was in Amador, Lake, Solano, Tulare and Yolo Counties; in 1964, it was found in Fresno, Mendocino

  3. Studies on Cytotoxic Activity against HepG-2 Cells of Naphthoquinones from Green Walnut Husks of Juglans mandshurica Maxim.

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    Zhou, Yuanyuan; Yang, Bingyou; Jiang, Yanqiu; Liu, Zhaoxi; Liu, Yuxin; Wang, Xiaoli; Kuang, Haixue

    2015-08-26

    Twenty-seven naphthoquinones and their derivatives, including four new naphthalenyl glucosides and twenty-three known compounds, were isolated from green walnut husks, which came from Juglans mandshurica Maxim. The structures of four new naphthalenyl glucosides were elucidated based on extensive spectroscopic analyses. All of these compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxic activities against the growth of human cancer cells lines HepG-2 by MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazo l-2-yl)-2,5 diphenyl tetrazolium bromide] assay. The results were shown that most naphthoquinones in an aglycone form exhibited better cytotoxicity in vitro than naphthalenyl glucosides with IC50 values in the range of 7.33-88.23 μM. Meanwhile, preliminary structure-activity relationships for these compounds were discussed.

  4. Validation of the Antiproliferative Effects of Organic Extracts from the Green Husk of Juglans regia L. on PC-3 Human Prostate Cancer Cells by Assessment of Apoptosis-Related Genes

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    Ali A. Alshatwi

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available With the increased use of plant-based cancer chemotherapy, exploring the antiproliferative effects of phytochemicals for anticancer drug design has gained considerable attention worldwide. This study was undertaken to investigate the effect of walnut green husk extracts on cell proliferation and to determine the possible molecular mechanism of extract-induced cell death by quantifying the expression of Bcl-2, Bax, caspases-3, and Tp53. PC-3 human prostate cancer cells. In this study, we found that green husk extracts suppressed proliferation and induced apoptosis in a dose- and time-dependent manner by modulating expression of apoptosis-related genes. This involved DNA fragmentation (determined by TUNEL assay and significant changes in levels of mRNA and the expression of corresponding proteins. An increase in expressions of Bax, caspase-3, and tp53 genes and their corresponding proteins was detected using real-time PCR and western blot analysis in PC-3 cells treated with the green husk organic extracts. In contrast, Bcl2 expression was downregulated after exposure to the extracts. Our data suggest the presence of bioactive compound(s in walnut green husks that are capable of killing prostate carcinoma cells by inducing apoptosis and that the husks are a candidate source of anticancer drugs.

  5. Cytotoxicity of Triterpenes from Green Walnut Husks of Juglans mandshurica Maxim in HepG-2 Cancer Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Yuanyuan; Yang, Bingyou; Liu, Zhaoxi; Jiang, Yanqiu; Liu, Yuxin; Fu, Lei; Wang, Xiaoli; Kuang, Haixue

    2015-10-22

    Among the classes of identified natural products, triterpenoids, one of the largest families, have been studied extensively for their diverse structures and variety of biological activities, including antitumor effects. In the present study, a phytochemical study of the green walnut husks of Juglans mandshurica Maxim led to the isolation of a new dammarane triterpene, 12β, 20(R), 24(R)-trihydroxydammar-25-en-3-one (6), together with sixteen known compounds, chiefly from chloroform and ethyl acetate extracts. According to their structural characteristics, these compounds were divided into dammarane-type, oleanane- and ursane-type. Dammarane-type triterpenoids were isolated for the first time from the Juglans genus. As part of our continuing search for biologically active compounds from this plant, all of these compounds were also evaluated for their cytotoxic activities against the growth of human cancer cells lines HepG-2 by the MTT assay. The results were shown that 20(S)-protopanaxadiol, 2α,3β,23-trihydroxyolean-12-en-28-oic acid and 2α,3β,23-trihydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic acid exhibited better cytotoxicity in vitro with IC50 values of 10.32±1.13, 16.13±3.83, 15.97±2.47 μM, respectively. Preliminary structure-activity relationships for these compounds were discussed.

  6. Concentration Levels of Imidacloprid and Dinotefuran in Five Tissue Types of Black Walnut, Juglans nigra

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    Paul Merten

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Black walnut, a valuable economic and environmentally important species, is threatened by thousand cankers disease. Systemic imidacloprid and dinotefuran applications were made to mature black walnut trees to evaluate their translocation and concentration levels in various tissue types including leaf, twig, trunk core, nutmeat, and walnut husk. The metabolism of imidacloprid in plants produces a metabolite, olefin-imidacloprid, which has been documented to have insecticidal properties in other systems. Trunk CoreTect (imidacloprid soil pellets and a trunk spray of dinotefuran were applied to mature black walnuts in spring 2011. Imidacloprid concentrations were detected in both the lower and upper strata in all tissue types tested and progressively increased through month 12 post-treatment in twig and leaf tissue. Olefin-imidacloprid was detected in the nutmeat and walnut husk. Dinotefuran was only detected in the first sampling period and was found in low concentration levels in leaf and twig tissue types, and was not detected in the trunk, nutmeat or the walnut husk.

  7. RHAGOLETIS COMPLETA (DIPTERA; TEPHRITIDAE DISTRIBUTION, FLIGHT DYNAMICS AND INFLUENCE ON WALNUT KERNEL QUALITY IN THE CONTINENTAL CROATIA

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    Božena Barić

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Walnut husk fly (WHF, Rhagoletis completa Cresson 1929 is an invasive species spreading quickly and damaging walnuts in Croatia and neighbouring countries. We researched distribution of this pest in the continental part of Croatia, flight dynamics in Međimurje County and its influence on quality of walnut kernels. CSALOMON®PALz traps were used for monitoring the spread and flight dynamics of R. completa. Weight and the protein content of kernels and the presence of mycotoxin contamination were measured. Walnut husk fly was found in six counties (Istria County: pest reconfirmation, Zagreb County, The City of Zagreb, Varaždin County, Međimurje County and Koprivnica-Križevci County. The presence of the fly was not confirmed on one site in Koprivnica-Križevci County (locality Ferdinandovac and in the eastern part of Croatia (Vukovar-Srijem County: Vinkovci locality. The flight dynamics showed rapid increase in number of adults only a year after the introduction into new area. The weight of infested kernels was 5.81% lower compared to not infested. Protein content was 14.04% in infested kernels and 17.31% in not infested kernels. There was no difference in mycotoxins levels. Additional researches on mycotoxin levels in stored nuts, ovipositional preferences of walnut husk fly and protection measures against this pest are suggested.

  8. Cytotoxicity assay of biosynthesis gold nanoparticles mediated by walnut (Juglans regia) green husk extract

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    Izadiyan, Zahra; Shameli, Kamyar; Hara, Hirofumi; Mohd Taib, Siti Husnaa

    2018-01-01

    The unique properties of gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) produce in plant extract make them attractive for use in medical and industrial applications, it is necessary to develop environmentally friendly methods for their synthesis. This can be accomplished by replacing the traditional chemical compounds for the reduction of the gold ions to Au-NPs during synthesis with natural plant extracts or with plasmas atmospheric pressure. Here, the biosynthesis of Au-NPs using the Juglans regia (J. regia) green husk extract was investigated as the reducing and stabilizing agent. The formation of Au-NPs was initially monitored by visual observation and then characterized with the help of various characterization techniques. UV-vis spectroscopy results showed that Au-NPs synthesized using moderate temperature have a blue shifting, good distribution and smaller size compare with Au-NPs fabricated in room temperature. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results revealed the distinctive formation of the crystalline structure of Au-NPs with a spherical shape. According to transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the mean diameter and standard deviation of Au-NPs at room and moderate temperatures were 19.19 ± 4.7 and 14.32 ± 3.24 nm, respectively. The result of Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) are in good agreement with each other and confirm that by using the moderate temperature compare to the room temperature the yield of reaction increased. Based on the zeta potential result, Au-NPs has sufficient value for the stability of the solution. According to FTIR spectrum, the J. regia would be coated on the gold ions surface in a successful manner. The non-toxic effect of Au-NPs concentration below 250 μg/ml was observed in the studies of in vitro cytotoxicity on normal and cancerous cell lines, respectively. The dose-dependent toxicity made it a suitable candidate for various medical applications.

  9. Incidence of Escherichia coli in black walnut meats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyer, M T; Vaughn, R H

    1969-11-01

    Examination of commercially shelled black walnut meats showed inconsistent numbers of total aerobic bacteria, coliforms, and Escherichia coli; variation occurred among different meat sizes and within each meat size. The incidence of E. coli on meats of commercially hulled black walnuts depended on the physical condition of the nuts. Apparently tightly sealed ones contained only a few or none, whereas those with visibly separated sutures and spoiled meats yielded the most. This contamination was in part correlated to a hulling operation. Large numbers of E. coli on the husk of the walnuts contaminated the hulling water, subsequently also contaminating the meats by way of separated sutures. Chlorination of the hulling wash water was ineffective. Attempts were made to decontaminate the walnut meats without subsequent deleterious changes in flavor or texture. A treatment in coconut oil at 100 C followed by removal of excess surface oil by centrifugation was best.

  10. Use of the rice husk as an alternative substrate for growing media on green walls drip irrigation

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    Andrey Rivas-Sánchez, Yair; Fátima Moreno-Pérez, María; Roldán Cañas, José

    2017-04-01

    In the last years, we have been looking for alternatives to traditional growing mediums for green walls. Commercially available systems for green walls are commonly made with Sphagnum, rock wool or polymers that are unsustainable materials. In the design of the green wall, local components such as agricultural by-products should be considered more often. The objective of this research is to use alternative materials available in Andalusia that are suitable for use as a growing medium in green walls, using organic residues generated by agriculture as in this case the rice husk, compared to conventional and used materials as a growing media in green walls such as coconut fiber and rock wool. The physical-chemical characteristics of the water were analyzed through the collection of excess irrigation water, after passing through the prototypes of green walls, installed in the Rabanales Campus of the University of Córdoba between April and July 2016 and thus observe the feasibility of using rice husk as an alternative material. The 16 mm diameter irrigation pipes are at the top and middle of each module, with 12 adjustable drippers of 4 l / h for each module, 72 drippers in the whole experimental green wall prototype installed at every 15 centimeters of tube. Two different species of plant material (Lampranthus spectabilis) and (Lavandula stoechas), were selected, taking into account the solar exposition of the place of establishment of the prototype of the green wall and the easy acquisition of these plants in the region. Water samples were collected every day twice a day for 10 weeks of the experiment, taking a sample of the surplus runoff water from six green wall prototypes.PH 40 - pH - conductivity - TDS - temperature, CRISON. Differences in pH, electrical conductivity, turbidity and total solids of the treatments were examined by ANOVA with the test of normality and homogeneity of variances. It was observed that the substrates used in the prototypes of the

  11. RHAGOLETIS COMPLETA (DIPTERA; TEPHRITIDAE) DISTRIBUTION, FLIGHT DYNAMICS AND INFLUENCE ON WALNUT KERNEL QUALITY IN THE CONTINENTAL CROATIA

    OpenAIRE

    Božena Barić; Ivana Pajač Živković; Dinka Matošević; Milorad Šubić; Erzsébet Voigt; Miklós Tóth

    2015-01-01

    Walnut husk fly (WHF), Rhagoletis completa Cresson 1929 is an invasive species spreading quickly and damaging walnuts in Croatia and neighbouring countries. We researched distribution of this pest in the continental part of Croatia, flight dynamics in Međimurje County and its influence on quality of walnut kernels. CSALOMON®PALz traps were used for monitoring the spread and flight dynamics of R. completa. Weight and the protein content of kernels and the presence of mycotoxin contamination we...

  12. Use of hyghly reactive rice husk ash in the production of cement matrix reinforced with Green coconut fiber

    OpenAIRE

    Pereira, C.L.; Savastano, H. Jr; Paya Bernabeu, Jorge Juan; Santos, S. F.; Borrachero Rosado, María Victoria; Monzó Balbuena, José Mª; Soriano Martinez, Lourdes

    2013-01-01

    This study evaluated the influence of partial replacement of Portland cement by rice husk ash (RHA) to enable the use of green coconut husk fiber as reinforcement for cementitious matrix. The use of highly reactive pozzolanic ash contributes for decreasing the alkaline attack on the vegetable fiber, originated from waste materials. The slurry dewatering technique was used for dispersion of the raw materials in aqueous solution, followed by vacuum drainage of water and pressing for the product...

  13. Is the alpine divide becoming more permeable to biological invasions? - Insights on the invasion and establishment of the Walnut Husk Fly, Rhagoletis completa (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Switzerland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aluja, M; Guillén, L; Rull, J; Höhn, H; Frey, J; Graf, B; Samietz, J

    2011-08-01

    The Walnut Husk Fly, Rhagoletis completa Cresson (Diptera: Tephritidae), is native to North America (Midwestern US and north-eastern Mexico) and has invaded several European countries in the past decades by likely crossing the alpine divide separating most parts of Switzerland from Italy. Here, we determined its current distribution in Switzerland by sampling walnuts (Juglans regia L.) in ecologically and climatically distinct regions along potential invasion corridors. R. completa was found to be firmly established in most low altitude areas of Switzerland where walnuts thrive, but notably not a single parasitoid was recovered from any of the samples. Infested fruit was recovered in 42 of the 71 localities that were surveyed, with mean fruit infestation rate varying greatly among sites. The incidence of R. completa in Switzerland is closely related to meteorological mean spring temperature patterns influencing growing season length, but not to winter temperatures, reflecting survival potential during hibernation. Importantly, areas in which the fly is absent correspond with localities where the mean spring temperatures fall below 7°C. Historical data records show that the natural cold barrier around the Alpine divide in the central Swiss Alps corresponding to such minimal temperatures has shrunk significantly from a width of more than 40 km before 1990 to around 20 km after 2000. We hypothesize on possible invasion/expansion routes along alpine valleys, dwell on distribution patterns in relation to climate, and outline future research needs as the incursion of R. completa into Switzerland; and, more recently, other European countries, such as Germany, Austria, France and Slovenia, represent an example of alien species that settle first in the Mediterranean Basin and from there become invasive by crossing the Alps.

  14. Bioethanol production from coconut husk fiber

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    Mirelle Márcio Santos Cabral

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT: Population growth and the increasing search for healthy foods have led to a major consumption of coconut water and, hence, to an environmental impact caused by the inappropriate disposal of green coconut husks. This lignocellulosic biomass has deserved attention of researchers concerning the seeking of new usages, as, for example, in renewable fuels production technologies. This study examines the potential of green coconut husk fibers as a feedstock for the production of bioethanol. The coconut fibers were pretreated through an alkaline method, hydrolyzed enzymatically and submitted to ethanol fermentation with commercial yeasts of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Despite the significant loss of cellulose (4.42% in relation to the fiber and 17.9% concerning the original cellulose content, the alkaline pretreatment promoted an efficient solubilization of lignin (80%, turning the coconut fibers into a feasible raw material for 2G ethanol production studies. Enzymatic hydrolysis converted 87% of the sugars and the ethanolic fermentation consumed 81% of the substrate in the hydrolyzate, leading to a sugar to ethanol convertion efficiency of 59.6%. These results points out that green coconut husks are a promising alternative to the production of renewable energy.

  15. Biological control of olive fruit fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) by releases of Psyttalia cf. concolor (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) in California, parasitoid longevity in presence of the host, and host status of Walnut Husk Fly

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    Yokoyama, Victoria Y., E-mail: vyokoyama@fresno.ars.usda.go [U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA/ARS/SJVASC), Parlier, CA (United States). Agricultural Research Service. Subtropical Horticulture Research Station; Rendon, Pedro A., E-mail: prendon@aphisguate.co [U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA/APHIS), Guatemala City (Guatemala). Center for Plant Health Science and Technology. Animal and Plant Health Inspection.; Sivinski, John, E-mail: jsivinski@gainesville.usda.ufl.ed [U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA/ARS/CMAVE), Gainesville, FL (United States). Agricultural Research Service. Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology

    2006-07-01

    The larval parasitoid, Psyttalia cf. concolor, collected from tephritids infesting coffee in Kenya and reared on Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata Weidemann, in Guatemala by USDA-APHIS, PPQ, was imported into California for biological control of olive fruit fly, Bactrocera oleae (Gmelin), in olives, Olea europaea. Free releases of the parasitoids were made in olive trees infested with olive fruit fly at a coastal and inland valley location during the fall and early winter of 2005. The relative humidity during the releases was significantly higher at the coastal location. Mean percentage parasitism ranged from 0.5 to 4 and 1.5 to 30 at the coastal and inland valley locations respectively, based on same season recovery of the F1 generation. One parasitoid was found in infested olives in the next crop of the following year in San Jose. Survival of the parasitoid in the greenhouse in the presence of olive fruit fly infested olives was not significantly different than in the presence of non-infested olives. The greatest number of progeny was produced from female parasitoids that were 12-16 d old. In laboratory tests, a few individuals of the parasitoid successfully completed one life cycle in walnut husk fly, Rhagoletis completa Cresson, infested English walnuts, Juglans regia L. (author)

  16. Biological control of olive fruit fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) by releases of Psyttalia cf. concolor (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) in California, parasitoid longevity in presence of the host, and host status of Walnut Husk Fly

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yokoyama, Victoria Y.; Rendon, Pedro A.; Sivinski, John

    2006-01-01

    The larval parasitoid, Psyttalia cf. concolor, collected from tephritids infesting coffee in Kenya and reared on Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata Weidemann, in Guatemala by USDA-APHIS, PPQ, was imported into California for biological control of olive fruit fly, Bactrocera oleae (Gmelin), in olives, Olea europaea. Free releases of the parasitoids were made in olive trees infested with olive fruit fly at a coastal and inland valley location during the fall and early winter of 2005. The relative humidity during the releases was significantly higher at the coastal location. Mean percentage parasitism ranged from 0.5 to 4 and 1.5 to 30 at the coastal and inland valley locations respectively, based on same season recovery of the F1 generation. One parasitoid was found in infested olives in the next crop of the following year in San Jose. Survival of the parasitoid in the greenhouse in the presence of olive fruit fly infested olives was not significantly different than in the presence of non-infested olives. The greatest number of progeny was produced from female parasitoids that were 12-16 d old. In laboratory tests, a few individuals of the parasitoid successfully completed one life cycle in walnut husk fly, Rhagoletis completa Cresson, infested English walnuts, Juglans regia L. (author)

  17. An integrated green process: Subcritical water, enzymatic hydrolysis, and fermentation, for biohydrogen production from coconut husk.

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    Muharja, Maktum; Junianti, Fitri; Ranggina, Dian; Nurtono, Tantular; Widjaja, Arief

    2018-02-01

    The objective of this work is to develop an integrated green process of subcritical water (SCW), enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation of coconut husk (CCH) to biohydrogen. The maximum sugar yield was obtained at mild severity factor. This was confirmed by the degradation of hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin. The tendency of the changing of sugar yield as a result of increasing severity factor was opposite to the tendency of pH change. It was found that CO 2 gave a different tendency of severity factor compared to N 2 as the pressurizing gas. The result of SEM analysis confirmed the structural changes during SCW pretreatment. This study integrated three steps all of which are green processes which ensured an environmentally friendly process to produce a clean biohydrogen. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Solid State production of manganese peroxidases using arecanut husk as substrate

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    Akhila Rajan

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available The lignocellulosic biomass from arecanut husk (Areca catechu Linnaeus was evaluated as a new substrate for cultivation of Phanerochaete chrysosporium and Phanerochaete sp for solid state fermentation of manganese peroxidase (MnP. Arecanut had a moisture content of 79.84 % for ripe nut husk whereas green nut husk had 68.39 % moisture and a pH of 5.0, 3.0 and 7.0 for raw, ripe and dry husk. Reducing sugar content was 14.31, 19.21 and 1.77(mg/g of husk for raw, ripe and dry nut husk, respectively. Non reducing sugar was 1.04(mg/g of husk for raw and 0.68 (mg/g of husk for dry husk. Solid state fermentation carried out at different pH showed optimum enzyme production at pH 6.0 (52.60 IU/g for P.chrysosporium and pH 5.0 (44.08 IU/g for Phanerochaete sp. Optimum temperature was 30 ± 2º C for both the organisms. Lower concentration of MnSO4 (0.1 mM MnSO4 induced maximum enzyme production in P.chrysosporium whereas Phanerochaete sp. required 1 mM MnSO4 for induction. Absence of carbon and nitrogen stimulated enzyme production in P.chrysosporium while Phanerochaete sp. needed nitrogen. Enzyme was partially purified by ammonium sulphate precipitation followed by ion exchange chromatography.

  19. Influence of substrate and mycorrhizal fungus on the root and shoot architecture of coffee-shading walnut (Cordia alliodora [Ruiz et Pav.] Oken

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    Rodriguez Pérez Loyla

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available

    Cordia alliodora (coffee-shading walnut is a species of economic importance to Colombia because of its multiple uses for farmers and for reforestation as a timber and industrial resources, mainly in the central coffee region of the country. The aim of this research was to study parameters of C. alliodora shoot and root system architecture over the first year of development. Plants were established in Pacho municipality (Cundinamarca at an 2,150 m a.s.l. A split plot design with a randomized complete block and three replicates was applied. Within the main plot, we evaluated the substrates (soil, husk and compost 2:1:1; soil and husk 3:2; soil and husk 3:1, and withing the subplot, the mycorrhizal fungus (without fungus, Kuklospora colombiana, Glomus manihotis and Acaulospora lacunosa. Substrate type affected C. alliodora root and shoot architectural parameters. Plants transplanted into soil, husk and compost 2:1:1 had the best responses in architectural parameters: diameter of the base of the root (7.82 mm, number of secondary roots (48.4, root dry weight (5.38 g, number of leaves (47.33, dry weight of shoots (7.71 g, shoot length (72.64 g and leaf dry weight (6.28 g at 384 days after transplant. Since no fertilizer was applied to coffee-shading walnut plants, we conclude that the mycorrhizal fungi facilitated a better use and development of mineral elements present in the substrates.

  20. Evaluating Non-Linear Regression Models in Analysis of Persian Walnut Fruit Growth

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    I. Karamatlou

    2016-02-01

    of fruit growth according to length and width(diameter of fruit. Then to determine the most efficient model, different parameters of evaluation of model fitting were used. The best model was selected based on the highest value of R2and the lowest values for RMSE, AIC and BIC. The data were analyzed using SAS software (version 9.2 and Solver in Microsoft Excel. Results and Discussion Growth model based on fruit weight: According to the actual and estimated growth model based on fruit weight, double sigmoid function and logistic–monomolecular model showed a good prediction of fruit weight changes versus time data (days after full bloom. However, in general according to evaluation criteria, double sigmoid model was the best model to predict walnut fruit weight. Based on total fruit weight, fruit growth occurs at two stages: in the beginning of the growth phase, there is a slow growth for 30 days and then it is continued with a rapid growth until 60 days after full bloom. Thereafter, growth was again slow. At the beginning of the second phase of growth (70 to 85 days after full bloom, fruit growth increased again and then, walnut fruits started to ripe on the tree in summer, bright green husk (outer pericarp layer changed to a yellowish color and the growth again decreased (130 days after full bloom. Growth model based on fruit length and width measurements: Based on the actual and estimated growth pattern the Richard model describes the growth of fruit better than other models. The first phase lasted for about 15 days and the second phase of growth was very rapid and it lasted for 35 daysin most of genotypes. Then, fruit length and width did not change significantly until harvesting time. However, due to subtle changes of fruit length and width following fruit rapid growth stage, fruit weight is preferred for describing fruit growth of the Persian walnut. During the first phase of development, increasing size and weight are associated with the formation of new and

  1. Adsorption of malachite green and iodine on rice husk-based porous carbon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guo Yupeng; Zhang Hui; Tao Nannan; Liu Yanhua; Qi Juirui; Wang Zichen; Xu Hongding

    2003-01-01

    Adsorption isotherms of I 2 and malachite green (MG) by rice husk-based porous carbons (RHCs) from aqueous medium have been studied. Three samples of carbons prepared by NaOH-activation, three samples prepared by KOH-activation and two samples of commercial carbons have been studied. And the adsorption isotherms have been determined after modifying the carbon surfaces by oxidation with nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide and after degassing at 800 deg. C. The results have been found to follow the Freundlich adsorption isotherm. Three samples of N series have larger capacity for removing I 2 and MG from solution compared to that of the tested commercial carbons. The adsorption capacity of I 2 is similar for K series and commercial carbons. And the capacity of commercial carbons for MG is larger than K series. The adsorption capacity of I 2 on oxidation carbons has increased for hydrogen peroxide treatment and decreased for nitric acid, and that of MG is decreased. But the adsorption capacities of I 2 and MG increase on degassing. On the other hand, the adsorption of I 2 increases after modifying the carbon surfaces by HCl without oxidation. Suitable mechanisms have been proposed

  2. Extraction and Characterization of Natural Dye from Green Walnut Shells and Its Use in Dyeing Polyamide: Focus on Antibacterial Properties

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    Mohammad Mirjalili

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Extraction of dyes from walnut using Soxhlet apparatus has been studied. The color components extracted and isolated from walnut shells were characterized by column chromatography, thin layer chromatography (TLC, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR, mass spectroscopy (MS, and infrared (IR techniques. Natural dye extract obtained from the walnut was used in dyeing polyamide fabrics with different mordants. The dyed fabrics were evaluated for antibacterial activity against pathogenic strains of Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli bacteria. As such, the relationship between antibacterial activity and dye concentration is investigated. Durability of antibacterial activity to laundering is also discussed. Results indicate that the polyamide dyed with walnut displayed excellent antibacterial activity in the presence of ferric sulfate, cupric sulfate, and potassium aluminum sulfate and exhibited good and durable fastness properties.

  3. An efficient method for evaluating black walnut for resistance to walnut anthracnose in filed plots and the identification of resistant genotypes

    Science.gov (United States)

    K.E. Woeste; W.F. Beineke

    2001-01-01

    Black walnut is native to the eastern USA and prized for its high-quality timber. Walnut anthracnose, the most important foliar disease of black walnut, is caused by Gnomonia leptostyla. There is no germplasm available that is resistant to the disease. Ramets of 42 black walnut clones, comprising about one-third of the Midwestern USA black walnut...

  4. 7 CFR 984.64 - Disposition of substandard walnuts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ....64 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Marketing Agreements and Orders; Fruits, Vegetables, Nuts), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE WALNUTS... merchantable walnuts and with proper safeguards to prevent such walnuts from thereafter entering channels of...

  5. Effects of walnuts (Juglans regia) on learning and memory functions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haider, Saida; Batool, Zehra; Tabassum, Saiqa; Perveen, Tahira; Saleem, Sadia; Naqvi, Fizza; Javed, Huma; Haleem, Darakhshan J

    2011-11-01

    Walnut has been regarded as a health food that is delicious and nutritious. Both preventive and therapeutic effects of walnut are well documented. Walnuts are rich in omega-3 fatty acids that are reported to have beneficial effects on brain function. The present work was designed to evaluate the effects of walnuts on learning and memory in male rats. The effect of oral intake of walnut was also monitored on food intake. Walnut was given orally to rats for a period of 28 days. Memory function in rats was assessed by elevated plus maze (EPM) and radial arm maze (RAM). A significant improvement in learning and memory of walnut treated rats compared to controls was observed. Walnut treated rats also exhibited a significant decrease in food intake while the change in growth rate (in terms of percentage) remained comparable between the two groups. Analysis of brain monoamines exhibited enhanced serotonergic levels in rat brain following oral intake of walnuts. The findings suggest that walnut may exert its hypophagic and nootropic actions via an enhancement of brain 5-HT metabolism.

  6. Acute consumption of walnuts and walnut components differentially affect postprandial lipemia, endothelial function, oxidative stress, and cholesterol efflux in humans with mild hypercholesterolemia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berryman, Claire E; Grieger, Jessica A; West, Sheila G; Chen, Chung-Yen O; Blumberg, Jeffrey B; Rothblat, George H; Sankaranarayanan, Sandhya; Kris-Etherton, Penny M

    2013-06-01

    Walnut consumption improves cardiovascular disease risk; however, to our knowledge, the contribution of individual walnut components has not been assessed. This study evaluated the acute consumption of whole walnuts (85 g), separated nut skins (5.6 g), de-fatted nutmeat (34 g), and nut oil (51 g) on postprandial lipemia, endothelial function, and oxidative stress. Cholesterol efflux (ex vivo) was assessed in the whole walnut treatment only. A randomized, 4-period, crossover trial was conducted in healthy overweight and obese adults (n = 15) with moderate hypercholesterolemia. There was a treatment × time point interaction for triglycerides (P < 0.01) and increased postprandial concentrations were observed for the oil and whole walnut treatments (P < 0.01). Walnut skins decreased the reactive hyperemia index (RHI) compared with baseline (P = 0.02) such that a difference persisted between the skin and oil treatments (P = 0.01). The Framingham RHI was maintained with the oil treatment compared with the skins and whole nut (P < 0.05). There was a treatment effect for the ferric reducing antioxidant potential (FRAP) (P < 0.01), and mean FRAP was greater with the oil and skin treatments compared with the nutmeat (P < 0.01). Cholesterol efflux increased by 3.3% following whole walnut consumption in J774 cells cultured with postprandial serum compared with fasting baseline (P = 0.02). Walnut oil favorably affected endothelial function and whole walnuts increased cholesterol efflux. These 2 novel mechanisms may explain in part the cardiovascular benefits of walnuts.

  7. Sensory evaluation of commercial fat spreads based on oilseeds and walnut

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dimić Etelka B.

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The main focus of this study was on the sensory evaluation of commercial oilseeds spreads, as the most significant characteristic of this type of product from the consumers’ point of view. Sensory analysis was conducted by five experts using a quantitative descriptive and sensory profile test, applying a scoring method according to the standard procedure. Five different spreads were evaluated: sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, peanut, and walnut. Oil content and amounts of separated oil on the surface were determined for each spread. The results have shown that the color of spreads was very different, depending on the oilseed: gray for sunflower, brown for walnut, yellowish-brown for peanut butter, ivory for sesame and profoundly dark green for pumpkin seeds spread. The flavor and odor of the spreads were characteristic for the raw materials used; however, the sunflower and walnut spreads had a slight rancid flavor. Generally, the spreadability of all spreads was good, but their mouth feel was not acceptable. During the consumption, all of them were sticking immensely to the roof of the mouth, which made the swallowing harder. The highest total score of 16.20 points (max. 20 was obtained for the peanut butter, while the lowest (10.38 was achieved by the sunflower butter. Oil separation (various degrees was noticed in all spreads, which negatively influenced the appearance and entire sensorial quality of the products. The quantity of separated oil depended on the age and total amount of oil in the spreads, and was between 1.13% in the peanut butter and 12.15% in the walnut spread in reference to the net weight of the product. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR 31014: Development of the new functional confectionery products based on oil crops

  8. Sensory Quality Preservation of Coated Walnuts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grosso, Antonella L; Asensio, Claudia M; Grosso, Nelson R; Nepote, Valeria

    2017-01-01

    The objective of this study was to evaluate the sensory stability of coated walnuts during storage. Four walnut samples were prepared: uncoated (NC), and samples coated with carboxymethyl cellulose (NCMC), methyl cellulose (NMC), or whey protein (NPS). The samples were stored at room temperature for 210 d and were periodically removed from storage to perform a sensory descriptive analysis. A consumer acceptance test was carried out on the fresh product (storage day 0) to evaluate flavor. All samples exhibited significant differences in their sensory attributes initially and after storage. Intensity ratings for oxidized and cardboard flavors increased during storage. NC showed the highest oxidized and cardboard intensity ratings (39 and 22, respectively) and NMC exhibited the lowest intensity ratings for these negative attributes (8 and 17, respectively) after 210 d of storage. Alternatively, the intensity ratings for sweetness and walnut flavors were decreased for all samples. NMC had the lowest decrease at the end of storage for these positive attributes (75.86 in walnut flavor and 12.09 in sweetness). The results of this study suggest a protective effect of the use of an edible coating to preserve sensory attributes during storage, especially for samples coated with MC. The results of the acceptance test showed that addition of the coating negatively affected the flavor acceptance for NMC and NCMC coated walnuts. Edible coatings help to preserve sensory attributes in walnuts, improving their shelf-life, however, these coatings may affect consumer acceptance in some cases. © 2016 Institute of Food Technologists®.

  9. Discovery of Walnut Twig Beetle, Pityophthorus juglandis, Associated with Forested Black Walnut, Juglans nigra, in the Eastern U.S.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gregory J. Wiggins

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Thousand cankers disease (TCD is an insect-mediated disease of walnut trees (Juglans spp. involving walnut twig beetle (Pityophthorus juglandis and a fungal pathogen (Geosmithia morbida. Although first documented on walnut species in the western U.S., TCD is now found on black walnut (J. nigra in five states in the eastern U.S. Most collections of P. juglandis or G. morbida are from trees in agriculturally- or residentially-developed landscapes. In 2013, 16 pheromone-baited funnel traps were deployed in or near black walnuts in forested conditions to assess the risk of infestation of forested trees by P. juglandis. Four of the 16 funnel traps collected adult P. juglandis from three forested areas (one in North Carolina and two in Tennessee. These collections, while in forested settings, may still be strongly influenced by human activities. The greatest number of P. juglandis (n = 338 was collected from a forested location in an urbanized area near a known TCD-positive tree. The other two forested locations where P. juglandis (n = 3 was collected were in areas where camping is common, and infested firewood may have introduced P. juglandis unintentionally into the area. Future studies to assess P. juglandis on more isolated forested walnuts are planned.

  10. Allelopathic activity and chemical constituents of walnut (Juglans regia) leaf litter in walnut-winter vegetable agroforestry system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Qian; Xu, Zheng; Hu, Tingxing; Rehman, Hafeez Ur; Chen, Hong; Li, Zhongbin; Ding, Bo; Hu, Hongling

    2014-01-01

    Walnut agroforestry systems have many ecological and economic benefits when intercropped with cool-season species. However, decomposing leaf litter is one of the main sources of allelochemicals in such systems. In this study, lettuce (Lactuca sativa var. angustata) was grown in the soil incorporated with walnut leaf litter to assess its allelopathic activity. Lettuce growth and physiological processes were inhibited by walnut leaf litter, especially during early growth stage (1-2 euphylla period) or with large amount of litter addition. The plants treated by small amount of leaf litter recovered their growth afterwards, while the inhibition for 180 g leaf litter persisted until harvest. Twenty-eight compounds were identified in the leaf litter, and several of them were reported to be phytotoxic, which may be responsible for the stress induced by walnut leaf litter. Thus, for highest economic value of vegetables such as lettuce, excessive incorporation of leaf litter should be discouraged.

  11. Performance of irrigated green corn cultivars in different plant populations at sowing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José C. Soares Neto

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT This study aimed to evaluate the yield of green corn hybrids grown under irrigation in different plant populations at sowing. The assay was carried out in the experimental area located in the city of Arapiraca, Alagoas State, Brazil, from November 2015 to January 2016. A randomized complete block design (RCBD was used, in a 2 x 5 factorial scheme with four replicates. A double- and a single-cross hybrid (AG 1051 and BM 3061, which are suitable for green corn production, were cultivated in five spacings between plants at sowing (15.0, 17.5, 20.0, 22.5 and 25.0 cm. The characteristics photosynthetic rate (PR, ear length with rusk (HEL and without husk (UEL, husked ear weight (HEW, unhusked ear weight (UEW, percentage of marketable ears (%ME and weight of husk (HW were evaluated. The double- and single-cross hybrids AG 1051 and BM 3061 showed green ears with commercial standard. The cultivar BM 3061 showed the best results for most of the characteristics related to the performance of green corn (PR, HEL, UEL, UEW, HEW, %ME. The spacing of 17.5 cm between plants at sowing was the most indicated for irrigated green corn cultivation.

  12. Storage quality of walnut oil containing lycopene during accelerated oxidation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Chaonan; Ma, Zheng Feei; Li, Fang; Zhang, Hongxia; Kong, Lingming; Yang, Zhipan; Xie, Weifeng

    2018-04-01

    The purpose of investigation was to assess the effect of lycopene on the peroxide value, acid value, fatty acids, total phenolic content and ferric-reducing antioxidant power of walnut oil. Walnut oil was extracted from Xinjiang walnut variety using cold pressing method. Our study reported that after 45 days of accelerated oxidation at 60 °C (Schaal oven test), 0.005% lycopene exhibited the greatest antioxidant effect than other addition levels of lycopene. Therefore, under ambient storage conditions, the shelf-life of walnut oil could be extended up to 16 months by 0.005% lycopene. Moreover, 0.005% lycopene added to walnut oil had a significantly higher content of saturated fatty acid, unsaturated fatty acid, total phenol, reducing ability of the polar and non-polar components than the blank sample (walnut oil without any addition of lycopene). In conclusion, lycopene improved the quality of walnut oil because of its antioxidant effect against lipid oxidation.

  13. Genetic evaluation of domestic walnut cultivars trading on Korean ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Walnut (Juglans regia L.) is regarded as a healthy food because of its high nutritional composition and various health benefits. Although several walnut cultivars are being actively traded for domestic plantation or ornament in Korea, no particular effort has been made to evaluate genetic quality management of walnut ...

  14. Antimalarial and antiplasmodial activity of husk extract and fractions of Zea mays.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okokon, Jude E; Antia, Bassey S; Mohanakrishnan, Dinesh; Sahal, Dinkar

    2017-12-01

    Zea mays L. (Poacae) husk decoctions are traditionally used in the treatment of malaria by various tribes in Nigeria. To assess the antimalarial and antiplasmodial potentials of the husk extract and fractions on malaria parasites using in vivo and in vitro models. The ethanol husk extract and fractions (187-748 mg/kg, p.o.) of Zea mays were investigated for antimalarial activity against Plasmodium berghei using rodent (mice) malaria models and in vitro activity against chloroquine sensitive (Pf 3D7) and resistant (Pf INDO) strains of Plasmodium falciparum using the SRBR green assay method. Median lethal dose and cytotoxic activities against HeLa and HEKS cells were also carried out. The GCMS analysis of the most active fraction was carried out. The husk extract (187-748 mg/kg, p.o.) with LD 50 of 1874.83 mg/kg was found to exert significant (p antimalarial activity against P. berghei infection in suppressive, prophylactive and curative tests. The crude extract and fractions also exerted prominent activity against both chloroquine sensitive (Pf 3D7) and resistant (Pf INDO) strains of P. falciparum with the ethyl acetate fraction exerting the highest activity with IC 50 values of 9.31 ± 0.46 μg/mL (Pf 3D7) and 3.69 ± 0.66 μg/mL (Pf INDO). The crude extract and fractions were not cytotoxic to the two cell lines tested with IC 50 values of >100 μg/mL against both HeLa and HEKS cell lines. These results suggest that the husk extract/fractions of Zea mays possesses antimalarial and antiplasmodial activities and these justify its use in ethnomedicine to treat malaria infections.

  15. Acute Consumption of Walnuts and Walnut Components Differentially Affect Postprandial Lipemia, Endothelial Function, Oxidative Stress, and Cholesterol Efflux in Humans with Mild Hypercholesterolemia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walnut consumption improves cardiovascular disease risk; however, to our knowledge, the contribution of individual walnut components has not been assessed. This study evaluated the acute consumption of whole walnuts (85 g), separated nut skins (5.6 g), de-fatted nutmeat (34 g), and nut oil (51 g) on...

  16. Red oak and black walnut growth increased with minesoil ripping

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ashby, W.C.

    1996-01-01

    Red oak, black walnut, and black walnut with autumn olive, a 'nitrogen-fixing' shrub, were planted on graded, compacted cast overburden (topsoil substitute) coal mining minesoil with a dense ground cover consisting chiefly of all fescue grass. Compaction was mitigated by ripping on half the plots. Year 1 establishment of all species was equal or lower on the graded versus graded/ripped plots. After 12 years red oak survival was 9% where unripped versus 61% where ripped. Black walnut survival was respectively 41% and 74%. Red oak 12-year heights were 2.2 m on the graded and 4.5 m on the graded/ripped plots. Black walnut heights averaged 2.6 m and 5.5 m respectively. Diameter breast height similarly was greater with ripping for the oak and walnut. Deer damage was substantially greater on the red oak than on the black walnut trees. Black walnut was interplanted a year later with autumn olive on unripped and ripped graded minesoils. After 12 years survival of black walnut interplanted with autumn olive was 42% where unripped and 85% in two ripped plots. Corresponding heights averaged 3.8 m where graded and 5.7 to 6.4 m where graded/ripped. 16 refs., 1 fig., 4 tabs

  17. Extracting silica from rice husk treated with potassium permanganate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Javed, S.H.; Naveed, S.

    2008-01-01

    As an agro-waste material the rice husk is abundantly available is rice growing areas. In many areas rice husk after burning involves disposal problems because of higher quantities of silica present in it. Rice husk contains about 20 per cent silica, which is present in hydrated amorphous form. On thermal treatment the silica converts into crystobalite, which is a crystalline form of silica. However amorphous silica can be produced under controlled conditions ensuring high reactivity and large surface area. Leaching the rice husk with organic acids and alkalies removes the metallic impurities from its surface. How a dilute solution of potassium permanganate affects the rice husk is the subject of this research paper. The rice husk was treated with the dilute solution of potassium permanganate at room temperature and then analyzed by SEM, TGA and the ash by analytical treatment after burning under controlled temperature. The SEM results revealed that the protuberances of the rice husk were eaten away by the solution of potassium permanganate. Pyrolysis of rice husks showed that the thermal degradation of the treated rice husk was faster than the untreated rice husk where as analytical results confirmed the presence of more amorphous silica than untreated rice husk. (author)

  18. Diagnosis, characterization and management of food allergy : a tough (wal)nut to crack

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Blankestijn, M.A.

    2017-01-01

    Walnut (Juglans regia) is a known food allergen, able to elicit potentially severe allergic reactions. Threshold data from walnut challenged and allergic adults demonstrated that walnut is a potent allergen, with eliciting doses similar to hazelnut. Walnut 2S albumin Jug r 1 was the dominant walnut

  19. Phylogeography of the walnut twig beetle, Pityophthorus juglandis, the vector of thousand cankers disease in North American walnut trees

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paul F. Rugman-Jones; Steven J. Seybold; Andrew D. Graves; Richard. Stouthamer

    2015-01-01

    Thousand cankers disease (TCD) of walnut trees (Juglans spp.) results from aggressive feeding in the phloem by the walnut twig beetle (WTB), Pityophthorus juglandis, accompanied by inoculation of its galleries with a pathogenic fungus, Geosmithia morbida. In 1960, WTB was only known from four U.S. counties...

  20. Walnut tissue culture: research and field applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    2004-01-01

    Vitrotech Biotecnologia Vegetal began researching propagating Juglans regia (English walnut) and various Juglans hybrids by tissue culture in 1993 and has operated on a commercial scale since 1996. Since this time, more than one and a half million walnuts of different species have been propagated and field planted. Tissue cultured...

  1. Cocoa husks in diets of Italian heavy pigs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Magistrelli, D; Malagutti, L; Galassi, G; Rosi, F

    2012-12-01

    The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of cocoa husks feeding on liver composition of the Italian heavy pig. Cocoa husks are by-products derived from chocolate production and have a high content of proteins, lipids, and NDF. Cocoa husks are also rich in antioxidants, polyphenols in particular. Eight finishing pigs were divided into 2 groups: control group fed a traditional diet, based on cereals, and treatment group fed a diet obtained by substitution of 10% of the control diet with coarsely ground cocoa husks. The trial was conducted during the hot season and lasted 6 wk, at the end of which all the pigs were slaughtered. Cocoa husks diet reduced dry matter intake (P cocoa husks diet. Treatment did not influence carcass weight and hot dressing percentage but reduced liver weight (P cocoa husks increased liver ether extract (P = 0.05) without affecting cholesterol content. Liver weight loss, reduction of protein synthesis, and a shift toward glycogen use instead of fat oxidation are considered metabolic strategies to reduce heat production under hot conditions. It is possible, therefore, that cocoa husks feeding promoted the process of acclimation because pigs needed less feeding to reach similar body and carcass weight as control pigs.

  2. A rice husk gasifier for paddy drying

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mirani, A.A.; Kalwar, S.A.; Ahmad, M.

    2013-01-01

    Due to energy crisis and constant increase in the price of fossil fuels, the world's trend changes to renewable sources of energy like solar, wind and biomass gasification. Substantial biomass potential is available in Pakistan in the form of agriculture or forest residue (rice straw, rice husk, cotton stalks, corn cobs, wood chips, wood saw, etc.). These can be best utilised for the production of producer gas or synthetic gas that can be used for drying of agricultural crops. The drying process is an important activity of post harvest processing for long-term storage. Rice husk is nowadays commonly used for biomass gasification and its heat content value is about 15MJ/kg. It constitutes about 30 percent of rice production. A rice husk gasifier was developed and evaluated on paddy drying at Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Tsukuba International Center (TBIC), Japan. Rice husk gasifier has following major components; husk feeding system, ash chamber, burner, centrifugal fan, drying chamber, gasifier reactor, air duct and an electric motor of 0.37kW. The average drying plenum air temperature was recorded as 45 degree C during the drying process. The paddy 'IR 28' from initial moisture content of 24% was dried up to 14% moisture content for about 3.33h consuming 3kg/h of rice husk. The efficiency was found to be 58%. The rice husk gasifier can also be used for drying the fruits and vegetables, provided that heat exchanger should be attached with it. The overall performance of rice husk gasifier was satisfactory and will be beneficial for small scale farmers, food processors and millers as well. (author)

  3. 7 CFR 984.56 - Disposition of reserve walnuts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Marketing... Board may export or authorize the disposition in export to the destinations outside the United States... marketing year a handler may deliver reserve walnuts and any substandard walnuts meeting the minimum kernel...

  4. Nutritive composition of soybean by-products and nutrient digestibility of soybean pod husk

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sompong Sruamsiri

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available Soybean by-products (soybean germ, soybean milk residue, soybean hull, soybean pod husk and soybean stem were subjected to proximate analysis, and in vitro digestibility of DM (IVDMD, ADF (IVADFD and NDF (IVNDFD were determined after digesting the by-products in buffered rumen fluid for 24 or 48 h in 2 ANKOMII Daisy Incubators using Completely Randomised Design. Four native cattle (body weight 210 + 13.5 kg were used to determine nutrient digestibility of soybean pod husk. They were randomly assigned by Cross-over Design to receive two roughage sources, i.e. guinea grass and guinea grass + soybean pod husk (60:40 DM basis, in two experimental periods. Guinea grass was harvested on the 35th day after the first cut of the year and used as green forage. Total collection method was used to determine the digestibility coefficients and digestibility by difference was used to calculate nutrient digestibility of soybean pod husk.The nutritive composition showed that soybean germ was highest in CP content (42.27% of DM and EE content (5.07% of DM but lowest in NDF and ADF content (20.09 and 21.53% of DM respectively. The average CP content of soybean straw, soybean stem and soybean pod husk was low (4.91, 4.67 and 5.04% respectively, while ADF content was high (42.76, 38.01 and 42.08% respectively. In vitro digestibility of DM (IVDMD, ADF (IVADFD and NDF (IVNDFD showed that all of them, except soybean stem, can be used as cattle feed, e.g. as supplemented feed or admixture in concentrate feed. Digestibility coefficients of guinea grass were higher in CP, CF and EE when compared to the other groups. The apparent digestibility of CP and CF were highly different (P0.05. The digestibility of nutrients (DM, OM, CP, CF, NFE, NDF and ADF of soybean pod husk were 53.81 + 4.3, 59.69 + 4.6, 42.38 + 3.8, 30.71 + 3.2, 50.74 + 4.3, 75.26 + 4.0, 45.78 + 3.7 and 30.53 + 4.2 % respectively. Soybean pod husk was higher in total digestible nutrients (TDN (51.87 + 3.3 vs

  5. EKSTRAKSI SELULOSA DARI POD HUSK KAKAO MENGGUNAKAN SODIUM HIDROKSIDA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gatot Siswo Hutomo

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available EKSTRAKSI SELULOSA DARI POD HUSK KAKAO MENGGUNAKAN SODIUMHIDROKSIDA Cellulose Extraction from Cacao Pod Husk Using Sodium Hydroxide Gatot Siswo Hutomo, Djagal Wiseso Marseno, Sri Anggrahini, Supriyanto ABSTRAK Pod husk kakao banyak mengandung komponen kimia seperti pektin, lignin, hemiselulosa dan selulosa serta beberapakomponen yang lain yaitu caffein dan theobromine. Khusus selulosa dapat dilakukan modiÞ kasi sebagai turunanselulosa yang mempunyai banyak fungsi serta dapat diaplikasikan untuk pangan. Penelitian ekstraksi selulosa dari podhusk kakao telah dilakukan. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk memperoleh konsentrasi sodium hidroksida sebagaibahan untuk ekstraksi selulosa dari pod husk kakao. Selulosa pada pod husk kakao terikat sangat kuat dengan lignin,sodium hidroksida akan memutus dengan baik ikatan antara selulosa dengan lignin. Bleaching pada selulosa jugadilakukan dengan menggunakan sodium hipoklorida 3% dan sodium bisulÞ t 3% untuk meningkatkan lightness. SpektraFT-IR dan X-ray juga dilakukan untuk pendeteksian pada selulosa hasil ekstraksi. Hasil ekstraksi selulosa dari pod huskkakao menggunakan sodiumhidroksida 12% menghasilkan rendemen sekitar 26,09% (db dengan kristalinitas 27,14%,kadar abu 6,56% (db, WHC 5,87 g/g dan OHC 2,74 g/g. Dapat disimpulkan bahwa sodium hidroksida 12% adalahkonsentrasi yang paling baik untuk mengekstraksi selulosa dari pod husk kakao.Kata kunci: Selulosa, pod husk, kakao, ekstraksi ABSTRACT Cacao pod husk contains some compounds like pectin, lignin, hemicelluloses and cellulose, and other compounds suchas caffeine and theobromine. Especially for cellulose should be modiÞ ed as derivates which it have multi functionsin food application. Extraction cellulose from pod husk cacao was investigated. The aim of the research was to Þ ndthe concentration of sodium hydroxide for cellulose extraction from pod husk cacao. Bleaching for cellulose werecarried out twice using sodium hypochlorite 3% (oxydator and

  6. Recycling rice husks for high-capacity lithium battery anodes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jung, Dae Soo; Ryou, Myung-Hyun; Sung, Yong Joo; Park, Seung Bin; Choi, Jang Wook

    2013-07-23

    The rice husk is the outer covering of a rice kernel and protects the inner ingredients from external attack by insects and bacteria. To perform this function while ventilating air and moisture, rice plants have developed unique nanoporous silica layers in their husks through years of natural evolution. Despite the massive amount of annual production near 10(8) tons worldwide, so far rice husks have been recycled only for low-value agricultural items. In an effort to recycle rice husks for high-value applications, we convert the silica to silicon and use it for high-capacity lithium battery anodes. Taking advantage of the interconnected nanoporous structure naturally existing in rice husks, the converted silicon exhibits excellent electrochemical performance as a lithium battery anode, suggesting that rice husks can be a massive resource for use in high-capacity lithium battery negative electrodes.

  7. Process for production of high density/high performance binderless boards from whole coconut husk: Part 2: Coconut husk morphology, composition and properties

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dam, van J.E.G.; Oever, van den M.J.A.; Keijsers, E.R.P.; Putten, van der J.C.; Anayron, C.; Josol, F.; Peralta, A.

    2006-01-01

    For production of compression moulded boards from whole coconut husk the auto-adhesive properties are derived from the intrinsic high lignin content. Since the properties of manufactured boards for a large part will depend on the input husk material these properties are studied here. Husks of

  8. Genetic and ecological insights into glacial refugia of walnut (Juglans regia L..

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mallikarjuna Aradhya

    Full Text Available The distribution and survival of trees during the last glacial maximum (LGM has been of interest to paleoecologists, biogeographers, and geneticists. Ecological niche models that associate species occurrence and abundance with climatic variables are widely used to gain ecological and evolutionary insights and to predict species distributions over space and time. The present study deals with the glacial history of walnut to address questions related to past distributions through genetic analysis and ecological modeling of the present, LGM and Last Interglacial (LIG periods. A maximum entropy method was used to project the current walnut distribution model on to the LGM (21-18 kyr BP and LIG (130-116 kyr BP climatic conditions. Model tuning identified the walnut data set filtered at 10 km spatial resolution as the best for modeling the current distribution and to hindcast past (LGM and LIG distributions of walnut. The current distribution model predicted southern Caucasus, parts of West and Central Asia extending into South Asia encompassing northern Afghanistan, Pakistan, northwestern Himalayan region, and southwestern Tibet, as the favorable climatic niche matching the modern distribution of walnut. The hindcast of distributions suggested the occurrence of walnut during LGM was somewhat limited to southern latitudes from southern Caucasus, Central and South Asian regions extending into southwestern Tibet, northeastern India, Himalayan region of Sikkim and Bhutan, and southeastern China. Both CCSM and MIROC projections overlapped, except that MIROC projected a significant presence of walnut in the Balkan Peninsula during the LGM. In contrast, genetic analysis of the current walnut distribution suggested a much narrower area in northern Pakistan and the surrounding areas of Afghanistan, northwestern India, and southern Tajikistan as a plausible hotspot of diversity where walnut may have survived glaciations. Overall, the findings suggest that

  9. Gasification of rice husks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Marzetti, P. (ENEA, Rome (Italy). Dipt. Fonti Alternative e Risparmio Energetico)

    The paper outlines the thermochemical processes and equipment involved in the gasification of rice husks. An assessment is made of the feasibility (availability, technology requirements, economics of production and marketing) of this renewable energy source. Results, reported here in tabular form, of experimental trials at an Italian pilot plant (producing, with the use of 165 kg/h of rice husks, 350,000 kcal/h of gas with a conversion yield of 70%) indicated good feasibility. More research is required to improve the combustion qualities of the final product.

  10. High Purity Silica Production from Rice Husk Ash

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yaminn Lwin; April Nwayy Nwayy Htett

    2010-12-01

    In this research, two types of raw material source, rice husk and rice husk ash, were used. Among the rice husk samples, taungpyan sample was chosen because it contains the maximum silica content and treated with (1,3,5) wt% sulphuric acid (96% concentration) and citric acid (99% concentration). These acid treated taungpyan samples and nonacid treated taungpyan sample were burned at 900C for 30 min. For rice husk ash samples, ash samples from fluidized combustor, fluidized gasifier and brick factory were collected. All of the rice husk ash samples were purified by alkaline extraction method with (2-3) N NaOH solution and followed by acid precipitation method with 5 N H2SO4 solution. According to the analysis and characterization, acid treated taungpyan sample (5 wt% citric acid) with the highest silica content (99.906 wt% and crystallization form) was obtained.

  11. Amorphous silica from rice husk at various temperatures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Javed, S.J.; Feroze, N.; Tajwar, S.

    2008-01-01

    Rice husk is being used as a source of energy in many heat generating system because of its high calorific value and its availability in many rice producing areas. Rice husk contains approximately 20% silica which is presented in hydrated form. This hydrated silica can be retrieved as amorphous silica under controlled thermal conditions. Uncontrolled burning of rice husk produces crystalline silica which is not reactive silica but can be used as filler in many applications. Amorphous silica is reactive silica which has better market value due to its reactive nature in process industry. The present study deals with the production of amorphous silica at various temperatures from rice husk. Various ashes were prepared in tube furnace by changing the burning temperatures for fixed time intervals and analyzed by XRD. It has been observed that for two hours calculation's of rice husk renders mostly amorphous silica at 650 degree C where as at higher temperatures crystalline silica was obtained. (author)

  12. Regeneration systems for pyramiding disease resistance into walnut rootstocks

    Science.gov (United States)

    This study was conducted to regenerate selected walnut rootstocks adventitiously. This is an essential step to be able to produce transgenic walnut rootstocks with superior traits, such as disease resistance. A series of plant tissue culture experiments were conducted on RX1 and VX211 rootstocks wit...

  13. [Adsorption mechanism of furfural onto modified rice husk charcoals].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Yong; Wang, Xianhua; Li, Yunchao; Shao, Jing'ai; Yang, Haiping; Chen, Hanping

    2015-10-01

    To evaluate the absorptive characteristics of furfural onto biomass charcoals derived from rice husk pyrolysis, we studied the information of the structure and surface chemistry properties of the rice husk charcoals modified by thermal treatment under nitrogen and carbon dioxide flow and adsorption mechanism of furfural. The modified samples are labeled as RH-N2 and RH-CO2. Fresh rice husk charcoal sample (RH-450) and modified samples were characterized by elemental analysis, nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and Boehm titration. The results show that fresh rice husk charcoal obtained at 450 degrees C had a large number of organic groups on its surface and poor pore structure. After the modification under nitrogen and carbon dioxide flow, oxygenic organics in rice husk charcoals decompose further, leading to the reduction of acidic functional groups on charcoals surface, and the increase of the pyrone structures of the basic groups. Meanwhile, pore structure was improved significantly and the surface area was increased, especially for the micropores. This resulted in the increase of π-π dispersion between the surfaces of rice husk charcoals and furfural molecular. With making comprehensive consideration of π-π dispersion and pore structure, the best removal efficiency of furfural was obtained by rice husk charcoal modified under carbon dioxide flow.

  14. Genetic evaluation of domestic walnut cultivars trading on Korean ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Yomi

    2012-04-10

    Apr 10, 2012 ... Walnut (Juglans regia L.) is regarded as a healthy food because of its high nutritional composition and various health benefits. Although several walnut cultivars are being actively traded for domestic plantation or ornament in Korea, no particular effort has been made to evaluate genetic quality.

  15. Susceptibility of walnut and hickory species to Geosmithia morbida

    Science.gov (United States)

    Curtis Utley; Tivonne Nguyen; Tatiana Roubtsova; Mark Coggeshall; Tim M. Ford; L.J. Grauke; Andrew D. Graves; Charles A. Leslie; James McKenna; Keith Woeste; Mohammad A. Yaghmour; Steve Seybold; Richard M. Bostock; Ned. Tisserat

    2013-01-01

    Thousand cankers disease (TCD) of walnut is a result of feeding in the phloem by the walnut twig beetle (WTB), Pityophthorus juglandis, and subsequent canker formation caused by Geosmithia morbida around galleries. TCD has caused extensive morbidity and mortality to Juglans nigra in the western United States and, in 2010, was...

  16. Cocos nucifera Linn. (Palmae) husk fiber ethanolic extract: antioxidant capacity and electrochemical investigation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oliveira, Monika Bezerra dos Santos; Valentim, Iara Barros; de Vasconcelos, Camila Calado; Omena, Cristhiane Maria Bazílio; Bechara, Etelvino José Henriques; da Costa, João Gomes; Freitas, Mikael de Lima; Sant'Ana, Antônio Euzébio Goulart; Goulart, Marília Oliveira Fonseca

    2013-02-01

    The present study aims to determine the antioxidant capacity of the ethanolic extracts of husk fiber of four coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) varieties (yellow dwarf, green dwarf, giant and hybrid) and to evaluate the electrochemical behavior of these extracts on a glassy carbon electrode and on a modified glassy carbon electrode. The highest values of total phenolic content were obtained for the hybrid (531 ± 24 mg GAE g(-1) dry extract) and yellow dwarf (501 ± 29 mg GAE g(-1) dry extract) varieties and the lowest was for the green dwarf variety with 58 ± 9 mg GAE g(-1) dry extract. The ability of the extracts to scavenge DPPH˙ radicals was in the order of giant > yellow dwarf > hybrid > green dwarf and the IC50 values varied from 8.6 to 55.9 μg mL(-1). All varieties showed reducing potential by the use of FRAP and CUPRAC methods, with the lowest performance obtained for the green dwarf variety. Additionally, through the use of mimetic biomembranes, ethanolic extracts of coconut husk were shown to protect lipids against oxidative damage independent of the variety. The main antioxidants identified in the extract of yellow dwarf variety by UPLC-MS were quercetin and catechin. Cyclic voltammetric studies of the ethanolic extracts on glassy carbon electrode confirmed the presence of easily oxidized compounds, and the high antioxidant capacity of the varieties. This capacity was expressed as mg quercetin equivalents g(-1) dry extract and ranged from 25.9 up to 53.5 mg QE g(-1). A poly-xanthurenic acid (poly-Xa)/multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) / glassy carbon modified electrode (poly-Xa/MWCNT/GCE) was used for this purpose. Our findings suggest that these extracts are potentially important antioxidant supplements for the everyday human diet, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries, thereby aggregating value to the enormous amount of waste from the coconut industry, mostly used for burning purposes.

  17. Distribution, relationship, and risk assessment of toxic heavy metals in walnuts and growth soil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Yongxiang; Ni, Zhanglin; Li, Shiliang; Qu, Minghua; Tang, Fubin; Mo, Runhong; Ye, Caifen; Liu, Yihua

    2018-04-14

    Walnut is one of the most popular nuts worldwide and contains various mineral nutrients. Little is known, however, about the relationship between toxic heavy metals in walnuts and growth soil. In this study, we investigated the distribution, relationship, and risk assessment of five toxic heavy metals-lead (Pb), arsenic (As), chromium (Cr), cadmium (Cd), and mercury (Hg)-in walnuts and growth soil in the main production areas of China. The results showed that the main heavy metal pollution in walnut and soil was Pb and Cd. Regionally, positive relationships existed between heavy metals and the pH and organic matter of soil. In addition, we observed a notable uptake effect between walnut and growth soil. In this study, we found a significant correlation (r = 0.786, P toxic heavy metal pollution in walnuts and growth soil could be helpful to screen suitable planting sites to prevent and control heavy metal pollution and improve the quality and safety of walnut.

  18. Current research in Spain on walnut for wood production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neus Alet& #224; Neus NO-VALUE

    2004-01-01

    The Department of Mediterranean Trees at the Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentaries (IRTA) in Spain initiated a research program in 1993 to examine the variability among walnut species for wood production and to establish orchards with improved selections. The main objective of the programme is to obtain superior Persian walnut (Juglans regia...

  19. Anaerobic degradation of coconut husk leachate using UASB-reactor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neena, C; Ambily, P S; Jisha, M S

    2007-07-01

    Reffing of coconut husk, the majorprocess in quality coir fibre extraction, causes serious pollution with brackish water lagoons of Kerala. An attempt is made to treat the coconut husk leachate by using a laboratory scale UASB-reactor The experiment was conducted with loading of leachate from 1 kg of fresh coconut husk. The anaerobic treatment was done continuously The parameters like VFA, pH, COD and polyphenols were analysed regularly during the evaluation of the reactor performance. The polyphenol, VFA and COD were diminished gradually with time. The pH of the reactor during the study was found to be in the range of 6-8. The biogas production was increased with loading and about 82% of the total COD/kg husk could be converted to biogas. The maximum polyphenol loading in the reactor was reached to about 298.51 mg/l of husk.

  20. 7 CFR 984.91 - Relationship with the California Walnut Commission.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 8 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Relationship with the California Walnut Commission...) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Marketing Agreements and Orders; Fruits, Vegetables, Nuts), DEPARTMENT OF... Relationship with the California Walnut Commission. In conducting Board activities and other objectives under...

  1. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of rice husk surface modified with maleated polypropylene and silane

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, B.-D.; Wi, Seung Gon; Lee, Kwang Ho; Singh, A.P.; Yoon, Tae-Ho; Kim, Y.S.

    2004-01-01

    Rice husks were subjected to dry-grinding and steam-explosion to reduce their sizes. Subsequently, the surface of rice husk particles was modified using two different coupling agents, maleated polypropylene (MAPP) and γ-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (γ-APS, A-1100) to induce chemical reactions between the husk surface and the coupling agents used. The modified surface properties of rice husk were examined using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and FT-IR spectroscopy. Dry grinding, a simple method of fracturing husk, provided particulate segments, while steam explosion separated husk into fibrous components. When treated with MAPP, the O/C ratio of the husk surface decreased for both dry ground and steam-exploded husk. The γ-APS treatment resulted in an increase in the Si/O ratio for dry ground husk surface while this ratio decreased for steam-exploded husk particles. These results indicated that both coupling agents might be linked to the husk surface through chemical reactions. FT-IR results also supported the occurrence of ester and ether bonds after treatment of husks with MAPP and γ-APS. The present work suggested that the method of preparing rice husk particles had a great impact on their surface properties, and would therefore affect the interfacial adhesion in rice husk-thermoplastic composites

  2. VERMICOMPOST APPLICATION IMPROVING SEMIARID-GROWN CORN GREEN EAR AND GRAIN YIELDS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    PAULO SÉRGIO LIMA E SILVA

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Intensive corn farming quickly depletes soil organic matter in the nutrient-poor soils of the Brazilian semiarid region. Application of vermicompost, an excellent organic fertilizer, could help solve that problem. This study evaluated the effect of applying Eisenia fetida vermicompost in the seeding furrows, at 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 Mg.ha-1 application rates, on the green ear yield and grain yield of two corn cultivars. Treatments were replicated five times with split-plots (vermicompost application rates within plots in a completely randomized block design. The number of mature ears, number of kernels per ear (cultivar BR 106, and 100-kernel weight (cultivar AG 1051 were not affected by vermicompost application rate. However, vermicompost application increased total number and weight of unhusked and husked marketable green ears as well as grain yield. Total number of green ears was higher in cultivar BR 106 than in cultivar AG 1051. Conversely, grain yield and total ear weight and marketable weight of unhusked and husked green ears was higher in cultivar AG 1051, but responses in the latter two traits were dose-dependent.

  3. Phase identification of SiO/sub/2 in rice husk ash

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ikram, N.; Hussain, K.; Shah, M.A.

    1987-01-01

    Semiconductor grade silicon is generally used in the manufacture of highly efficient solar cells. In this paper, we describe rice husk ash (RHA) as a viable raw material for obtaining silica. Rice husk contains about 15 percent silica. Rice husk ash is prepared by first burning rice husk in air at a temperature of 300 degree centigrade and then firing it in alumina crucibles in a muffle furnace upto 1200 degree centigrade. Rice husk ash is then ground into fine powder and its X-ray diffraction pattern is obtained in order to studies its structure at various temperatures of preparation. (author/A.B)

  4. Effect of moderate walnut consumption on lipid profile, arterial stiffness and platelet activation in humans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Din, J N; Aftab, S M; Jubb, A W; Carnegy, F H; Lyall, K; Sarma, J; Newby, D E; Flapan, A D

    2011-02-01

    A large intake of walnuts may improve lipid profile and endothelial function. The effect of moderate walnut consumption is not known. We investigated whether a moderate intake of walnuts would affect lipid profile, arterial stiffness and platelet activation in healthy volunteers. A total of 30 healthy males were recruited into a single-blind randomized controlled crossover trial of 4 weeks of dietary walnut supplementation (15 g/day) and 4 weeks of control (no walnuts). Arterial stiffness was assessed using pulse waveform analysis to determine the augmentation index and augmented pressure. Platelet activation was determined using flow cytometry to measure circulating platelet-monocyte aggregates. There were no differences in lipid profile after 4 weeks of walnut supplementation compared with control. Dietary intake of α-linolenic acid was increased during the walnut diet (2.1±0.4 g/day versus 0.7±0.4 g/day, Pprofile, arterial stiffness or platelet activation in man. Our results suggest that the potentially beneficial cardiac effects of walnuts may not be apparent at lower and more practical levels of consumption.

  5. 78 FR 57101 - Walnuts Grown in California; Increased Assessment Rate

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-09-17

    ... rate currently in effect. The quantity of assessable walnuts for the 2013-14 marketing year is... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Agricultural Marketing Service 7 CFR Part 984 [Doc. No. AMS-FV-13-0056; FV13-984-1 PR] Walnuts Grown in California; Increased Assessment Rate AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing...

  6. 76 FR 67320 - Walnuts Grown in California; Increased Assessment Rate

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-11-01

    ... Justice Reform. Under the marketing order now in effect, California walnut handlers are subject to... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Agricultural Marketing Service 7 CFR Part 984 [Doc. No. AMS-FV-11-0062; FV11-984-1 FR] Walnuts Grown in California; Increased Assessment Rate AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing...

  7. Walnut mutation breeding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kudina, G.A.

    1989-01-01

    Full text: Walnut seeds were treated with 100-15000 R of gamma rays. Seedlings were subjected to measures of ''de-chimaerisation''. Fast-growing forms were obtained from doses below 2000 R, dwarf types at all doses but increasingly at higher doses. Among the fast growing forms, the promising ones are more precocious, flowering and fruiting at 6 years of age (one even already at 4 years). (author)

  8. Adsorptive property of rice husk for uranium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Feng Yuan; Yi Facheng

    2011-01-01

    The adsorption experiments were researched by using the rice husk powder as the adsorbent to remove the U(VI) from aqueous solution. The affecting factors on the U(VI) removal rate such as rice husk particle size, pH, initial concentration, adsorption time, temperature and dosage of adsorbent were evaluated, kinetics and adsorption isotherm law were analyzed, and mechanisms for U(VI) removal were discussed by SEM, FT-IR and energy spectrum analysis. The results show that U(VI) removal rate increases with the decrease of the size of adsorbent, and with the increase of adsorbent dosage and temperature. The process of adsorption can be described by an equation of pseudo 2nd-order mode, and the relation coefficient is 1. The process of adsorption also fits to Freundlich isotherm (R 2 =0.995 4). The adsorption of uranium on rice husk changes the surface form of rice husk. Hydroxyl, carboxylic, P-O and Si-O are the main functional groups in the reaction with U(VI). The adsorption mechanism is mixture adsorption, including the physical and chemical adsorption. (authors)

  9. Effect of a walnut meal on postprandial oxidative stress and antioxidants in healthy individuals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haddad, Ella H; Gaban-Chong, Natasha; Oda, Keiji; Sabaté, Joan

    2014-01-10

    In vitro studies rank walnuts (Juglans regia) among the plant foods high in antioxidant capacity, but whether the active constituents of walnuts are bioavailable to humans remains to be determined. The intention of this study was to examine the acute effects of consuming walnuts compared to refined fat on meal induced oxidative stress. At issue is whether the ellagitannins and tocopherols in walnuts are bioavailable and provide postprandial antioxidant protection. A randomized, crossover, and controlled-feeding study was conducted to evaluate a walnut test meal compared to one composed of refined ingredients on postprandial serum antioxidants and biomarkers of oxidative status in healthy adults (n = 16) with at least 1 week between testing sessions. Following consumption of a low phenolic diet for one day and an overnight fast, blood was sampled prior to the test meals and at intervals up to 24 hours post ingestion and analyzed for total phenols, malondiadehyde (MDA), oxidized LDL, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), hydrophilic and lipophilic oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), uric acid, catechins and urinary excretion of phenylacetate metabolites and of urolithin A. Mixed linear models demonstrated a diet effect (P < 0.001) for plasma γ-tocopherol but not for α-tocopherol with the walnut meal. Following the walnut test meal, the incremental 5 hour area under the curve (AUC(0-5h)) was reduced 7.4% for MDA, increased 7.5% for hydrophilic and 8.5% for lipophilic ORAC and comparable for total phenols, FRAP and uric acid. Oxidized LDL was reduced at 2 hours after the walnut meal. Plasma concentrations of gallocatechin gallate (GCG), epicatechin gallate (ECG) and epicallocatechin gallate (EGCG) increased significantly at 1 hour after the walnut test meal. Quantities of urolithin-A excreted in the urine were significantly higher following the walnut meal. Compared to the refined control meal, the walnut meal acutely increased postprandial

  10. 75 FR 55944 - Walnuts Grown in California; Decreased Assessment Rate

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-09-15

    ... Reform. Under the marketing order now in effect, California walnut handlers are subject to assessments... assessment rate currently in effect. The quantity of assessable walnuts for the 2010-11 marketing year is... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Agricultural Marketing Service 7 CFR Part 984 [Doc. No. AMS-FV-10-0060...

  11. Reactivity studies of rice husk combustion using TGA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ismail, A.F.; Shamsuddin, A.H.; Mahdi, F.M.A.

    2000-01-01

    The reactivity of rice husks combustion is systematically studied the thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). The kinetic parameters are determined from the Arrhenius plots based on the data of weight loss over temperature at different combustion heating rates. The results of proximate analysis (the moisture, volatile matters, fixed carbon, and ash contents) are also presented in this paper. The effects of process conditions on the self-ignition phenomenon of rice husk combustion are quantified. Finally, these results and compared with results for coal combustion. This research is part of the work to determine the optimal process conditions of rice husk combustion for energy production. (Author)

  12. Walnut twig beetle: update on the biology and chemical ecology of a vector of an invasive fatal disease of walnut in the western U.S.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steven J. Seybold; Andrew D. Graves; Tom W. Coleman

    2011-01-01

    The walnut twig beetle, Pityophthorus juglandis Blackman (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) (sensu Wood 2007), is a native North American bark beetle that has been recently implicated as the vector of thousand cankers disease of walnut trees in the western U.S. (Tisserat et al. 2009, Utley et al. 2009, Seybold et al. 2010).

  13. Utilization of Palm Oil Fuel Ash and Rice Husks in Unfired Bricks for Sustainable Construction Materials Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saleh A.M

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The production of sustainable construction component could prevent and control the pollution and environmental degradation in Malaysia. This is a key area in Malaysia’s Green Strategies (Ministry of Science, Technology and the environment, 2002. This paper reports on the laboratory investigation to establish the potential of utilizing Palm Oil Fuel Ash (POFA and Rice Husk (RH in developing green construction components. Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC reported that currently Malaysia’s contribution to world palm oil production is 39% and has taken 44% of world exports. Consequently it will increase the POFA production in palm oil manufacturing and this waste sometimes dispose in open area near the factory. On the other hand Malaysia also producing more 300k hectares of paddy production, thus rice husk is also a concern as an agricultural waste. The research objective is to study on the potential of utilizing of agricultural waste in developing of green bricks. This research involved laboratory investigations. In this research 2% - 10% of POFA and 1% - 5% RH were used in the mix composition of the brick’s weight. Addition of POFA was aimed to reduce the cement usage and RH was added to reduce sand in the bricks. The bricks were manually pressed in Materials Laboratory in Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying, UiTM Shah Alam. The result showed that the addition of POFA and RH are able to reduce the density but in contrast the compressive strength were decrease compare to the control unit.

  14. Ispaghula Husk-Based Extended Release Tablets of Diclofenac ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Purpose: To formulate extended-release tablets of diclofenac sodium based on ispaghula husk. Methods: Tablets with varying proportions of diclofenac sodium and ispaghula husk were formulated by wet granulation technique at a fixed compression force of 10 kN. The formulated tablets were evaluated for ...

  15. The dynamics of fat, protein and sugar metabolism during walnut ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The result shows that the developmental process of walnut fruit could be divided into four stages: Slow growth {within 30 days after florescence, (DAF)}, fast growth (30 to 60 DAF), fat accumulation (60 to 100 DAF) and fruit maturity (100 to 140 DAF). Fat content in walnut fruit increased continuously and the maximum ...

  16. MECHANICAL, ELECTRICAL, AND THERMAL PROPERTIES OF MALEIC ANHYDRIDE MODIFIED RICE HUSK FILLED PVC COMPOSITES

    OpenAIRE

    Navin Chand; Bhajan Das Jhod

    2008-01-01

    Unmodified and modified rice husk powder filled PVC composites were prepared having different amounts of rice husk powder. Mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties of these composites were determined. The tensile strength of rice husk powder PVC composites having 0, 10, 20, 30, and 40 weight percent of rice husk powder was found to be 33.9, 19.4, 18.1, 14.6, and 9.5 MPa, respectively. Adding of maleic anhydride- modified rice husk powder improved the tensile strength of rice husk powder...

  17. Annotated black walnut literature

    Science.gov (United States)

    J. W. Van Sambeek

    2006-01-01

    Many of our publications on the establishment, management, and utilization of black walnut, butternut, and associated high-value hardwoods are printed in conference proceedings or scientific journals that are not readily available at most public libraries or on the internet. As Chair of the Education Committee, I have tried to summarize for you the relevant findings of...

  18. Walnut (Juglans regia L.): genetic resources, chemistry, by-products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martínez, Marcela L; Labuckas, Diana O; Lamarque, Alicia L; Maestri, Damián M

    2010-09-01

    Walnut (Juglans regia L.) is the most widespread tree nut in the world. There is a great diversity of genotypes differing in forestry, productivity, physical and chemical nut traits. Some of them have been evaluated as promising and may serve as germplasm sources for breeding. The nutritional importance of the nut is related to the seed (kernel). It is a nutrient-dense food mainly owing to its oil content (up to 740 g kg(-1) in some commercial varieties), which can be extracted easily by screw pressing and consumed without refining. Walnut oil composition is dominated largely by unsaturated fatty acids (mainly linoleic together with lesser amounts of oleic and linolenic acids). Minor components of walnut oil include tocopherols, phospholipids, sphingolipids, sterols, hydrocarbons and volatile compounds. Phenolic compounds, present at high levels in the seed coat but poorly extracted with the oil, have been extensively characterised and found to possess strong antioxidant properties. The oil extraction residue is rich in proteins (unusually high in arginine, glutamic and aspartic acids) and has been employed in the formulation of various functional food products. This review describes current scientific knowledge concerning walnut genetic resources and composition as well as by-product obtainment and characteristics. Copyright 2010 Society of Chemical Industry.

  19. Effect of roasting conditions on the composition and antioxidant properties of defatted walnut flour.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos, Joana; Alvarez-Ortí, Manuel; Sena-Moreno, Estela; Rabadán, Adrián; Pardo, José E; Beatriz Pp Oliveira, M

    2018-03-01

    Walnut oil extraction by pressure systems produces a press cake as a by-product, with many of the beneficial walnut properties. The objective of this work was to evaluate the composition and antioxidant properties of walnut flours submitted to different roasting protocols (50, 100 and 150 °C during 30, 60 and 120 min). All walnut flours had about 42% protein and a significant amount of dietary fibre (17%), not being affected by the roasting process. Nonetheless, the fat content increased around 50% in walnuts flours subjected to longer and higher roasting temperatures (150 °C). The lipid fraction showed a good nutritional quality with a high vitamin E content (mainly γ-tocopherol) and fatty acid profile rich in linoleic and linolenic acids. The high phenolic content also provides great antioxidant capacity to the flours. Mild roasting of walnuts did not affect the quality of the flours that could be used as a functional ingredient in the food industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

  20. Effect of cocoa pod husk filler loading on tensile properties of cocoa pod husk/polylactic acid green biocomposite films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanyang, M. L.; Sapuan, S. M.; Haron, M.

    2017-10-01

    Over the years, cocoa-pod husk (CPH) generation significantly increased due to the growing global demand of chocolate products, since cocoa bean is the main ingredient for chocolate production. Proper utilization of CPH as natural filler for reinforcement of polymer composites provides economic advantages as well as environmental solutions for CPH waste disposal problems. In this study, CPH filled PLA composite films were developed using solution casting method. The effect of CPH loading on the tensile properties of CPH/PLA composite films were investigated. The obtained results manifested that increasing CPH loading from 0% to 10 % significantly increased tensile strength of CPH/PLA composite. However, further addition of CPH loading up to 15 % decreased the tensile strength of film samples. As CPH loading increased from 0% to 15%, tensile modulus of CPH/PLA composite films also increased from 1.5MPa to 10.4MPa, whereas their elongation at break reduced from 190% to 90%. These findings points out CPH as a potential natural filler for reinforcing thermoplastic polymer composites.

  1. Genetic diversity, structure and differentiation in cultivate walnut (Juglans regia L.)

    Science.gov (United States)

    M. Aradhya; K. Woeste; D. Velasco

    2012-01-01

    An analysis of genetic structure and differentiation in cultivated walnut (Juglans regia) using 15 microsatellite loci revealed a considerable amount of genetic variation with a mild genetic structure indicating five genetic groups corresponding to the centers of diversity within the home range of walnut in Eurasia. Despite the narrow genetic...

  2. Production of Flammulina velutipes on coffee husk and coffee spent-ground

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leifa Fan

    2001-01-01

    Full Text Available Solid state cultivation (SSC was carried out to evaluate the feasibility of using coffee husk and spent-ground as substrates for the production of edible mushroom Flammulina under different conditions of moisture and spawn rate. The strain of F. velutipes LPB 01 was adapted for a coffee husk extract medium. Best results were obtained with 25% spawn rate, though there was not much difference when lower spawn rates (10-20% were used. Ideal moisture content for mycelial growth was 60% and 55% for coffee husk and spent-ground, respectively. With coffee husk as substrate, first fructification occurred after 25 days of inoculation and the biological efficiency reached about 56% with two flushes after 40 days. With spent-ground as substrate, first fructification occurred 21 days after inoculation and the biological efficiency reached about 78% in 40 days. There was decrease in the caffeine and tannins contents (10.2 and 20.4%, respectively in coffee husk after 40 days. In coffee spent-ground, the tannin contents decreased by 28% after 40 days. These decrease was attributed to the degradation of caffeine or tannins by the culture because these were not adsorbed in the fungal mycelia. Results showed the feasibility of using coffee husk and coffee spent-ground as substrate without any nutritional supplementation for cultivation of edible fungus in SSC. Spent ground appeared better than coffee husk.

  3. Production of Nanocellulose from Rice Husk

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shaghayegh Rezanezhad

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available In this work, nanocellulose was produced from rice husk, as a lignocellulosic waste of rice. Initially, purified cellulose was produced with chemo-mechanical and soda-anthraquinone (soda/AQ pulping and bleaching. The purified cellulose was then sonicated for 15 min using an ultrasonic processor, resulted in nanocellulose. The nanocellulose obtained by sonification has been characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM, X-ray diffraction (XRD and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA. Diameter of nanocellulose from rice husk by chemical method was 30-40 nm and that of produced by soda-AQ pulping method were 10-20 nm. The nanocellulose crystallinity for chemical method obtained 60% and for that of produced with soda-AQ pulping method was 66%. The degradation onset temperature for nanocellulose from rice husk by chemical method was 165°C and that of produced with soda-AQ pulping method were 188°c. The thermal behaviors of nanocellulose and purified cellulose were almost the same, suggesting the ultrasonic treatment had minor effect on the thermal decomposition of the nanocellulose.

  4. Rethinking the history of common walnut (Juglans regia L.) in Europe: Its origins and human interactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pollegioni, Paola; Woeste, Keith; Chiocchini, Francesca; Del Lungo, Stefano; Ciolfi, Marco; Olimpieri, Irene; Tortolano, Virginia; Clark, Jo; Hemery, Gabriel E; Mapelli, Sergio; Malvolti, Maria Emilia

    2017-01-01

    Common walnut (Juglans regia L) is an economically important species cultivated worldwide for its high-quality wood and nuts. It is generally accepted that after the last glaciation J. regia survived and grew in almost completely isolated stands in Asia, and that ancient humans dispersed walnuts across Asia and into new habitats via trade and cultural expansion. The history of walnut in Europe is a matter of debate, however. In this study, we estimated the genetic diversity and structure of 91 Eurasian walnut populations using 14 neutral microsatellites. By integrating fossil pollen, cultural, and historical data with population genetics, and approximate Bayesian analysis, we reconstructed the demographic history of walnut and its routes of dispersal across Europe. The genetic data confirmed the presence of walnut in glacial refugia in the Balkans and western Europe. We conclude that human-mediated admixture between Anatolian and Balkan walnut germplasm started in the Early Bronze Age, and between western Europe and the Balkans in eastern Europe during the Roman Empire. A population size expansion and subsequent decline in northeastern and western Europe was detected in the last five centuries. The actual distribution of walnut in Europe resulted from the combined effects of expansion/contraction from multiple refugia after the Last Glacial Maximum and its human exploitation over the last 5,000 years.

  5. 75 FR 34950 - Walnuts Grown in California; Changes to the Quality Regulations for Shelled Walnuts

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-21

    ... customers that those products were derived from walnuts that meet quality standards under the order. The... process by eliminating the need for multiple inspections for the same product, and would improve handler... the size must be noted on the inspection certificate. The end product quality must be equal to or...

  6. The sorption of lead(II) ions on rice husk ash.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naiya, Tarun Kumar; Bhattacharya, Ashim Kumar; Mandal, Sailendranath; Das, Sudip Kumar

    2009-04-30

    Present study deals with the adsorption of Pb(II) from aqueous solution on rice husk ash. Rice husk is a by-product generally obtained from rice mill. Rice husk ash is a solid obtained after burning of rice husk. Batch studies were performed to evaluate the influences of various experimental parameters like pH, initial concentration, adsorbent dosage, contact time and the effect of temperature. Optimum conditions for Pb(II) removal were found to be pH 5, adsorbent dosage 5 g/L of solution and equilibrium time 1h. Adsorption of Pb(II) followed pseudo-second-order kinetics. The effective diffusion coefficient is of the order of 10(-10)m(2)/s. The equilibrium adsorption isotherm was better described by Freuindlich adsorption isotherm model. The adsorption capacity (q(max)) of rice husk ash for Pb(II) ions in terms of monolayer adsorption was 91.74 mg/g. The change of entropy (DeltaS(0)) and enthalpy (Delta H(0)) were estimated at 0.132 kJ/(mol K) and 28.923 kJ/mol respectively. The negative value of Gibbs free energy (Delta G(0)) indicates feasible and spontaneous adsorption of Pb(II) on rice husk ash. The value of the adsorption energy (E), calculated using Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherm, was 9.901 kJ/mol and it indicated that the adsorption process was chemical in nature. Application study was also carried out to find the suitability of the process in waste water treatment operation.

  7. Landscape genetics of Persian walnut (Juglans regia L.) across its Asian range

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paola Pollegioni; Keith E. Woeste; Francesca Chiocchini; Irene Olimpieri; Virginia Tortolano; Jo Clark; Gabriel E. Hemery; Sergio Mapelli; Maria Emilla. Malvolti

    2014-01-01

    Persian walnut (Juglans regia L) is an economically important species cultivated worldwide for its wood and nuts. Despite the increasing interest in the development of conservation strategies for walnut germplasm, an accurate and full-scale overview of wild genetic resources of J. regia has not been conducted because natural...

  8. Effects of coffee husk as floor covering on the behavior of boars

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariele Cristina Teles

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT The objective was to evaluate the influence of coffee husks as floor covering on the aspects of animal welfare such as behavioral characteristics, body surface temperature, and salivary cortisol levels of stabled boars. Sixteen boars were housed in individual stalls; eight were maintained in a conventional system with a concrete floor and eight were maintained on a concrete floor lined with coffee husks. The experimental period was 60 days. All animals were filmed two days prior to the start of the experiment, on both the 7th and 60th days after exposure to coffee husks, and finally two days after the removal of the material. During this period, the number of times that the animals ate, drank, stood, sat, lay down, and dug was recorded. Furthermore, both body surface temperature and salivary cortisol levels were measured at the beginning and end of the experiment. The use of coffee husks did not influence body surface temperature. Salivary cortisol levels increased during the experimental period only in the animals maintained on coffee husks. In the morning, the coffee husks decreased the number of times that the animals sat and increased the number of times that they lay down. In the afternoon, the use of coffee husks decreased the number of times that the animals stood, sat, or dug and increased the number of times that the animals lay down. Although coffee husks do not change the behavior of the animals in an expressive way, they should not be used as floor covering for boars.

  9. Production of technical silicon and silicon carbide from rice-husk

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Z. Issagulov

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available In the article there are studied physical and chemical properties of silicon-carbonic raw material – rice-husk, thermophysical characteristics of the process of rice-husk pyrolysis in nonreactive and oxidizing environment; structure and phase composition of products of the rice-husk pyrolysis in interval of temperatures 150 – 850 °С and high temperature pyrolysis in interval of temperatures 900 – 1 500 °С. There are defined the silicon-carbon production conditions, which meet the requirements applicable to charging materials at production of technical silicon and silicon carbide.

  10. Pozzolanicity and Some Engineering Properties of Rice Husk Ash ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Rice Husk Ash (RHA) is an agro-waste material. It is found locally in abundance in Nigeria and many other parts of the world. Rice Husks pose environmental nuisance in developing countries. Efforts have been made to convert the material to economic usage. RHA is a form of pozzolan, a potential cementitious material.

  11. Phenol metabolism and preservation of fresh in-hull walnut stored in modified atmosphere packaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jin; Li, Pan; Gong, Bi; Li, Shuying; Ma, Huiling

    2017-12-01

    The effects of modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) on phenol metabolism and preservation of fresh in-hull walnuts have been investigated. Fruit was packaged under MAP1 (film thickness, 30 μm), MAP2 (45 μm) and MAP3 (50 μm) and stored at -0.5 to 1.0 °C for up to 60 days. Firmness, soluble solid concentration, total phenols, total flavonoids and total antioxidant activity of the green hull were maintained at higher levels under the MAP conditions, whereas decay incidence was lower compared to the control during storage. Green hull of fruit under MAP conditions contained lower polyphenol oxidase activity than the control and the peroxidase activity was at a similar level to the control after 18 days. Phenylalanine ammonialyase activity was enhanced by MAP conditions, with two peaks on days 18 and 36. Until day 60, the peroxide value and acid value of kernel oils under MAP conditions were lower than that of the control. The MAP3 treatment was most effective for maintaining kernel quality. The protective role of MAP conditions on phenolic contents in green hull may contribute to the mitigation of decay and the maintenance of kernel quality. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

  12. Characterisation of Pomegranate-Husk Polyphenols and Semi-Preparative Fractionation of Punicalagin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aguilar-Zárate, Pedro; Wong-Paz, Jorge E; Michel, Mariela; Buenrostro-Figueroa, Juan; Díaz, Hugo R; Ascacio, Juan A; Contreras-Esquivel, Juan C; Gutiérrez-Sánchez, Gerardo; Aguilar, Cristóbal N

    2017-09-01

    Pomegranate-husk is the main by-product generated from the pomegranate industry. It is a potential source of compounds highly appreciated by different costumers. Punicalagin is the main compound present in pomegranate-husk. To characterise the pomegranate-husk total polyphenols by HPLC-ESI-MS and to establish a method for the recovery of punicalagin using a medium pressure liquid chromatography (MPLC) system. The characterisation of total pomegranate-husk polyphenols was carried out using liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. Thus, 200 mg of pomegranate-husk polyphenols were fractionated by MPLC. The isolated punicalagin was characterised by HPLC-MS and was tested as standard reagent for the measurement of its scavenging capacity reducing DPPH and ABTS radicals. Twenty peaks were identified by analytical HPLC-MS analysis from the pomegranate-husk polyphenols. The main compounds were the punicalagin anomers, punicalin and ellagic acid. The MPLC method allowed three fractions to be obtained. In fraction three 39.40 ± 8.06 mg of punicalagin anomers (purity > 97.9%) were recovered. The scavenging capacity of punicalagin showed an IC 50 of 109.53 and 151.50 μg/mL for DPPH and ABTS radicals, respectively. The MPLC system was an excellent tool for the separation of the main ellagitannins from pomegranate husk and for the isolation of punicalagin anomers. Fraction three was rich in high purity punicalagin anomers. The IC 50 was obtained for DPPH and ABTS radicals. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  13. Use of Agro-Residues (Rice Husk) in Removal of some Radioisotopes from their Waste Solutions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Omar, H.A.

    2011-01-01

    Removal of some radioisotopes namely ( 152 + 154 )Eu and 60 Co from radioactive waste solutions by natural rice husk (NRh) and modified rice husk with different concentrations of citric acid (MCA) had been investigated. The obtained results indicated that the modification of rice husk using citric acid generated large population of surface acid sites and improved the adsorption characteristics of adsorbent. Characterization by infrared spectroscopy and surface area were carried out for both non-modified and modified rice husk samples. The influences of ph, contact time and initial metal ion concentration on sorption had been reported. Pseudo first-order and intra particle diffusion models were used to analyze the sorption rate data. Equilibrium isotherms were determined to assess the maximum sorption capacity of both studied radionuclides on rice husk and modified rice husk. The equilibrium sorption data were analyzed using Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm models. The tested models fit the data reasonably well in terms of regression coefficients. The maximum sorption capacity of modified rice husk was found to be greater than that of rice husk for both ions.

  14. Influence of foliar fertilization on walnut foliar zinc levels and nut production in black walnut

    Science.gov (United States)

    William R. Reid; Andrew L. Thomas

    2013-01-01

    The impact of foliar zinc fertilizer application on nut-bearing black walnut (Juglans nigra L.) trees was studied. Foliar sprays were applied three times per season on two cultivars during four growing seasons by wetting the foliage of the entire crown using a tank mix containing 500 ppm zinc, starting at leaf burst and continuing at 2 week intervals...

  15. Immobilization of cellulose producing cells (sporotrichum cellulophilum) using irradiated rice husk as a substrate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lina, M.R.; Tamada, M.; Kumakura, M.

    1991-01-01

    An experiment to study the effect of irradiated rice husk as a substrate on cellulase production of free and immobilized cells of S. cellulophium was carried out. Radiation pretreatment of rice husk was done using electron beam accelerator (Dynamitron IEA 3000-25,2), with doses of 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1.0 MGy. The substrate used in cellulase production of free and immobilized cells were cellulose powder as a standard, and 1.0 MGy irradiated rice husk. Concentrations of cellulose powder for free and immobilized cells were 1, 2, 3, 5, and 8% (w/v). Irradiated rice husk concentrations for free cells were 3, 6, 9, 15, and 24% (w/v), whereas for immobilized cells were 3, 6, and 9% (w/v). Results showed that glucose concentration in 1.0 MGy irradiated rice husk was the highest of all irradiated and unirradiated rice husks. The GPA (glucose production activity) values used of free immobilized cells of S. cellulophium in medium containing 1.0 MGy irradiated rice husk were about 50% lower than in cellulose powder medium. Cellulase solution resulted by immobilized cells, either in cellulose powder or in irradiated rice husk media, were clear and did not contain mycelium. (authors). 7 refs, 7 figs

  16. Plant-water relationships and growth of black walnut in a walnut-forage multicropping regime

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daniel C. Dey; M. R. Conway; H. E. Garrett; T. S. Hinckley; G. S. Cox

    1987-01-01

    Eastern black walnut seedlings were planted on a 1.5 ? 1.5m spacing in the spring of 1976 and irrigated throughout the growing season. During the spring of 1977, forage plots consisting of Kentucky 31 tall fescue, orchard grass, or Kobe lespedeza measuring 1 m wide and 10.2 m long and centered on a row of trees, were established with and without irrigation. Soil-water...

  17. removal of heavy metal ions from aqueous solution using rice husks

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    User

    extraction (Rohaizer et al. 2013). ... activated carbon, zeolites, clays and mesoporous silicas ... Extraction of Silica from Rice Husks Ash. Rice husks ... for 16 hours after which the solid materials .... liquid phase and adsorbed phase, based on.

  18. Bioethanol produced from Moringa oleifera seeds husk

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ali, E. N.; Kemat, S. Z.

    2017-06-01

    This paper presents the potential of bioethanol production from Moringa oleifera seeds husk which contains lignocellulosic through Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation (SSF) process by using Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This paper investigates the parameters which produce optimum bioethanol yield. The husk was hydrolyzed using NaOH and fermented using Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast. Batch fermentation was performed with different yeast dosage of 1, 3, and 5 g/L, pH value was 4.5, 5.0 and 5.5, and fermentation time of 3, 6, 9 and 12 hours. The temperature of fermentation process in incubator shaker is kept constant at 32ºC. The samples are then filtered using a 0.20 μm nylon filter syringe. The yield of bioethanol produced was analysed using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The results showed that the highest yield of 29.69 g/L was obtained at 3 hours of fermentation time at pH of 4.5 and using 1g/L yeast. This research work showed that Moringa oleifera seeds husk can be considered to produce bioethanol.

  19. Utilization of Cacao Pod Husk (Theobroma cacao l.) as Activated Carbon and Catalyst in Biodiesel Production Process from Waste Cooking Oil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rachmat, Devita; Johar Mawarani, Lizda; Dewi Risanti, Doty

    2018-01-01

    Cocoa pod husk (Theobroma cacao l.) is a waste from cocoa beans processing. In this research we employ cocoa pod husk as activated carbon to decrease the value of FFA (Free Fatty Acid) in waste cooking oil and as K2CO3 catalyst in biodiesel production process from waste cooking oil. Cocoa pod husk was crusched and grounded into powder that passed thorugh 60 mesh-screen. As activated carbon, cocoa pod husk was firstly carbonized at three variant temperatures i.e 250°C, 300°C and 350°C. The activation process was done using HCl 2M as activator. Based on the results of XRD and FTIR, the carbonization at all variant temperatures does not cause a significant changes in terms of crystallite structure and water content. The pore of activated carbon started to form in sample that was carbonized at 350°C resulting in pore diameter of 5.14644 nm. This result was supported by the fact that the ability of this activated carbon in reducing the FFA of waste cooking oil was the most pronounced one, i.e. up to 86.7% of FFA. It was found that the performance of cocoa pod husk’s activated carbon in reducing FFA is more effective than esterification using H2SO4 which can only decrease 80.8%. On the other hand, the utilization as K2CO3 catalyst was carried out by carbonization at temperature 650°C and extraction using aquadest solvent. The extraction of cocoa pod husk produced 7.067% K2CO3 catalyst. According to RD results the fraction of K2CO3 compound from the green catalysts is the same as the commercial (SAP, 99%) that is ≥ 60%. From the obtained results, the best yield percentage was obtained using K2CO3 catalyst from cacao pod husk extract, i.e. 73-85%. To cope with biodiesel conversion efficiency, a two-step process consisting pretreatment with activated carbon carbonized at 350°C and esterification with K2CO3 from cocoa pod husk catalyst was developed. This two-step process could reach a high conversion of 85%. From the results it was clear that the produced

  20. Utilization of rice husk ash to enhance radon resistant potential of concrete

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jain, Ravinder; Kant, Krishan; Yadav, Mani Kant; Chauhan, R.P.

    2013-01-01

    The radiological and health implication posed by radon and their decay products are well known. The soil containing varying amount of radionuclides is the primary source of indoor radon. The indoor radon level depends upon its entrance through the pores of the ground and floor. Thus it is necessary to restrict the radon from soil to enter indoors by application of materials with low radon diffusion coefficient. The method used for radon shielding purpose in present study utilizes the rice husk ash for substitution with cement to achieve low diffusion coefficient. The study describes the method to optimize the condition of preparation of rice husk ash using X-ray diffraction and fluorescence spectroscopy techniques. The rice husk substitution with cement was optimized by compressive and porosity test of concrete cubes. The diffusion coefficient through concrete modified by rice husk ash was carried out by scintillation radon monitor and specially design radon diffusion chamber. The radon exhalation rates from concrete carried out using active technique decreasing radon emanation from concrete with increase of rice husk ash. The result of present study suggest substitution of 20-30% rice husk ash with cement to achieve lower radon diffusion and exhalation rates with higher compressive strength as compared to control concrete. (author)

  1. Effect of Neem Seed Husk Ash on Concrete Strength Properties ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Neem Seed Husk is a by-product obtained during industrial processing of Neem Seed to extract oil and produce fertilizer. Laboratory tests on Neem seed husk ash (NSHA) mixed with cement were conducted to find its effect on concrete strength and workability. Tests including slump test, compressive strength test, concrete ...

  2. Effects of thinning and mixed plantations with Alnus cordata on growth and efficiency of common walnut (Juglans regia L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giannini T

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Results about the effects of thinning and mixed plantations with Italian alder (Alnus cordata Loisel. on growth and efficiency of common walnut (Juglans regia L. plantations for wood production are reported. The study, carried out for six years on sixteen year old plantations, compared three theses: pure common walnut plantation (pure common walnut; 50% common walnut - 50% Italian alder plantation; 25% common walnut - 75% Italian alder plantation. Beyond annual surveys of girth at breast height, total height, stem volume and biomass, several variables, useful to describe canopy and foliage characteristics such as leaf area index (LAI, leaf biomass and photosynthetic active radiation below the canopy, were recorded. Data collected allowed to compare growth at individual and whole stand level, to calculate the net assimilation rate (NAR and to compare the growth efficiency of the three theses. Mixed plantations performed results significantly higher than the pure plantation in terms of growth, LAI and leaf biomass both before and after experimental thinning. With reference only to common walnut, growth in mixed plantations was higher than the pure plantation with differences ranging from +40% to +100%. More relevant differences among pure common walnut, 50% common walnut and 25% common walnut at canopy and foliage characteristics were observed, with LAI values of 1.07, 3.96 e 4.35 m2 m-2 respectively. Results accounted for a general positive effect of Italian alder as accessory tree species on growth and efficiency of mixed plantations, mainly due to the good performances induced in common walnut trees. Such performances were enabled by the good ecological integration between the two species and by the positive effects of N-fixing activity of Italian alder. Experimental thinning applied, although heavy, did not biased the dynamics observed before thinning both in pure and mixed plantations. In addition, they had positive effects on common walnut

  3. rice husk as filler rice husk as filler in the production of bricks using

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    eobe

    block [1].The effect of palm fruit fibre in clay bricks was also investigated by Akinyele and Abdulraheem,. [2], they observed ... the Rice Husk ash at 8% improves the compressive ... that 5% mix of the material acts as a filler in concrete because ...

  4. Mycoflora and mycotoxin of hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) and walnut (Juglans regia L.) seeds in Egypt.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdel-Hafez, A I; Saber, S M

    1993-03-01

    Fifty-one species and 3 varieties appertaining to 20 genera were collected from 20 samples of each of hazelnut and walnut seeds on glucose- and 40% (W/V) sucrose-Czapek's agar at 25 degrees C and 45 degrees C with the most common mesophiles were Aspergillus flavus, A. fumigatus, A. niger, Cladosporium cladosporioides, C. herbarum, Penicillium chrysogenum, P. citrinum and P. oxalicum. Fusarium (represented by F. equiseti, F. moniliforme and F. oxysporum) was recovered from walnut seeds in moderate frequency (on glucose-Czapek's agar). Eurotium (E. amstelodami, E. chevalieri, E. repens and E. rubrum) was completely absent on glucose agar, but it was isolated in high frequency from the two types of seeds on 40% sucrose-Czapek's agar. Aspergillus fumigatus and Rhizomucor pusillus were the most common thermophilic fungi in hazelnut and walnut seeds on glucose agar at 45 degrees C. Humicola grisea var. themoidae and Thermoascus aurantiacus were encountered rarely from walnuts. The nuts samples were assayed for natural occurrence of aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and G2, citrinin, ochratoxin A, patulin, sterigmatocystin, zearalenone, T-2 toxin and diacetoxyscirpenol by thin layer chromatography analysis. Aflatoxin was detected in 90% of hazelnut samples (25-175 micrograms/kg) and 75% of walnut samples (15-25 micrograms/kg). Zearalenone was detected in one sample of walnut (125 micrograms/kg). This is the first report for the presence of zearalenone in walnut. The other mycotoxins were not detected.

  5. Characterization of virgin walnut oils and their residual cakes produced from different varieties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ojeda-Amador, Rosa M; Salvador, María Desamparados; Gómez-Alonso, Sergio; Fregapane, Giuseppe

    2018-06-01

    This study addresses the composition and properties of different walnut varieties (Chandler, Hartley and Lara), in particular their virgin oils and residual cakes obtained by screw pressing employing different cultivars. Among nuts, walnut (Juglans regia L.) exhibits interesting nutritional value, mainly due to their high content in linoleic acid, phenolic and tocopherol compounds, which show antioxidant and other healthy properties. Valuable results related to fatty acid profile and minor components were observed. Virgin walnut oil is a rich source in linoleic acid (60-62%) and γ-tocopherol (517-554 mg/kg). Moreover, walnuts show a very high content in total phenolic compounds (10,045-12,474 mg/kg; as gallic acid), which contribute to a great antioxidant activity (105-170 mmol/kg for DPPH, and 260-393 mmol/kg for ORAC), being the hydrolysable tannins (2132-4204 mg/kg) and flavanols (796-2433 mg/kg) their main phenolic groups. Aldehydes account for the highest contribution to aromatic volatiles in virgin walnut oil (about 35% of total). As expected, polar phenolic compounds concentrate in the residual cake, after the separation of the oily phase, reaching a content of up to 19,869 mg/kg, leading to potential added value and applications as source of bioactive compounds to this by-product. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Nanotubes, nanobelts, nanowires, and nanorods of silicon carbide from the wheat husks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Qadri, S. B.; Rath, B. B.; Gorzkowski, E. P.; Feng, J.; Qadri, S. N.; Caldwell, J. D. [Materials Science and Component Technology Directorate, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, District of Columbia 20375 (United States)

    2015-09-14

    Nanotubes, nanowires, nanobelts, and nanorods of SiC were synthesized from the thermal treatment of wheat husks at temperatures in excess of 1450 °C. From the analysis based on x-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy, it has been found that the processed samples of wheat husk consisted of 2H and 3C polytypes of SiC exhibiting the nanostructure shapes. These nanostructures of silicon carbide formed from wheat husks are of technological importance for designing advance composites, applications in biotechnology, and electro-optics. The thermodynamics of the formation of SiC is discussed in terms of the rapid solid state reaction between hydrocarbons and silica on the molecular scale, which is inherently present in the wheat husks.

  7. Adaptability of black walnut, black cherry, and Northern red oak to Northern California

    Science.gov (United States)

    Philip M. McDonald

    1987-01-01

    When planted in sheltered sites in northern California, only 49% of black walnut (Juglans nigra L.) and 58% of black cherry (Prunus serotina Ehrh.) survived for 15 years, and 20% of northern red oak (Quercus rubra L.) survived for 10 years. The black walnut trees averaged 0.6 inches diameter at breast...

  8. Energy potential from rice husk through direct combustion and fast pyrolysis: A review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quispe, Isabel; Navia, Rodrigo; Kahhat, Ramzy

    2017-01-01

    Rapid population growth and consumption of goods and services imply that demand for energy and resources increases continuously. Energy consumption linked to non-renewable resources contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and enhances resource depletion. In this context, the use of agricultural solid residues such as rice husk, coffee husk, wheat straw, sugar cane bagasse, among others, has been widely studied as an alternative energy source in order to decrease the use of fossil fuels. However, rice husk is among those agricultural residues that are least used to obtain energy in developing countries. Approximately 134 million tonnes of rice husk are produced annually in the world, of which over 90% are burned in open air or discharged into rivers and oceans in order to dispose of them. This review examines the energetic potential of agricultural residues, focused on rice husk. The review describes direct combustion and fast pyrolysis technologies to transform rice husk into energy considering its physical and chemical properties. In addition, a review of existing studies analyzing these technologies from an environmental life cycle thinking perspective, contributing to their sustainable use, is performed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. COMPARISON OF PRETREATMENT STRATEGIES FOR CONVERSION OF COCONUT HUSK FIBER TO FERMENTABLE SUGARS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Teck Y. Ding,

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available In the present study, coconut husk was employed as biomass feedstock for production of bioethanol, due to its abundance in Malaysia. Due to the complex structures of coconut husk, a pretreatment process is crucial in extracting fermentable sugars from the embedded cellulose matrix for subsequent ethanol fermentation process. The ground coconut husk was subjected to three different pretreatment processes inclusive of thermal, chemical, and microwave-assisted-alkaline techniques, prior to enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation process. The composition profile of coconut husk was significantly altered upon the microwave-assisted-alkaline treatment as compared to the untreated sample, with the cellulose content increasing from 18-21% to 38-39% while lignin content decreased from 46-53% to 31-33%. Among the pretreatment methods applied, enzymatic hydrolysis of coconut husk pretreated by microwave-assisted-alkaline method recorded the highest yield of fermentable sugars, 0.279 g sugar/g substrate. SEM imaging showed the obvious and significant disruption of coconut husks’ structure after microwave-assisted-alkaline pretreatment. In conclusion, by employing suitable pretreatment technique in treating the lignocellulosic materials of coconut husk, the extracted fermentable sugar is a potential substrate for bioethanol production.

  10. Tree Canopy Light Interception Estimates in Almond and a Walnut Orchards Using Ground, Low Flying Aircraft, and Satellite Based Methods to Improve Irrigation Scheduling Programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosecrance, Richard C.; Johnson, Lee; Soderstrom, Dominic

    2016-01-01

    Canopy light interception is a main driver of water use and crop yield in almond and walnut production. Fractional green canopy cover (Fc) is a good indicator of light interception and can be estimated remotely from satellite using the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data. Satellite-based Fc estimates could be used to inform crop evapotranspiration models, and hence support improvements in irrigation evaluation and management capabilities. Satellite estimates of Fc in almond and walnut orchards, however, need to be verified before incorporating them into irrigation scheduling or other crop water management programs. In this study, Landsat-based NDVI and Fc from NASA's Satellite Irrigation Management Support (SIMS) were compared with four estimates of canopy cover: 1. light bar measurement, 2. in-situ and image-based dimensional tree-crown analyses, 3. high-resolution NDVI data from low flying aircraft, and 4. orchard photos obtained via Google Earth and processed by an Image J thresholding routine. Correlations between the various estimates are discussed.

  11. Anaerobic co-digestion of coffee husks and microalgal biomass after thermal hydrolysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Passos, Fabiana; Cordeiro, Paulo Henrique Miranda; Baeta, Bruno Eduardo Lobo; de Aquino, Sergio Francisco; Perez-Elvira, Sara Isabel

    2018-04-01

    Residual coffee husks after seed processing may be better profited if bioconverted into energy through anaerobic digestion. This process may be improved by implementing a pretreatment step and by co-digesting the coffee husks with a more liquid biomass. In this context, this study aimed at evaluating the anaerobic co-digestion of coffee husks with microalgal biomass. For this, both substrates were pretreated separately and in a mixture for attaining 15% of total solids (TS), which was demonstrated to be the minimum solid content for pretreatment of coffee husks. The results showed that the anaerobic co-digestion presented a synergistic effect, leading to 17% higher methane yield compared to the theoretical value of both substrates biodegraded separately. Furthermore, thermal hydrolysis pretreatment increased coffee husks anaerobic biodegradability. For co-digestion trials, the highest values were reached for pretreatment at 120 °C for 60 min, which led to 196 mLCH 4 /gVS and maximum methane production rate of 0.38 d -1 . Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Mechanical Properties of Rice Husk Biochar Reinforced High Density Polyethylene Composites

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qingfa Zhang

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Rice husk biochar was utilized to reinforce high-density polyethylene (HDPE and to prepare biochar/plastic composites (BPC by the extrusion method. Morphologies, non-isothermal crystallization behavior, and mechanical properties of the composites were investigated. The SEM (scanning electron microscope showed that HDPE was embedded into the holes of the rice husk biochar. The DSC (differential scanning calorimeter showed that biochar could reduce the crystallization rate and the higher the content of rice husk biochar, the slower the crystallization rate. Significantly, the bending and tensile strength of BPC could reach 53.7 and 20 MPa, far beyond WPC (wood plastic composites. With the increase of filler content, BPC were still stronger than WPC, although the impact strength of BPC and WPC all showed a general decline in the trend. The strong interaction was achieved by the utilization of rice husk biochar to reinforce HDPE.

  13. Experimental Investigation of Thermal Characteristics of Kiwira Coal Waste with Rice Husk Blends for Gasification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Deodatus Kazawadi

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Eminent depletion of fossil fuels and environmental pollution are the key forces driving the implementation cofiring of fossil fuels and biomass. Cogasification as a technology is known to have advantages of low cost, high energy recovery, and environmental friendliness. The performance/efficiency of this energy recovery process substantially depends on thermal properties of the fuel. This paper presents experimental study of thermal behavior of Kiwira coal waste/rice husks blends. Compositions of 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100% weight percentage rice husk were studied using thermogravimetric analyzer at the heating rate of 10 K/min to 1273 K. Specifically, degradation rate, conversion rate, and kinetic parameters have been studied. Thermal stability of coal waste was found to be higher than that of rice husks. In addition, thermal stability of coal waste/rice husk blend was found to decrease with an increase of rice husks. In contrast, both the degradation and devolatilization rates increased with the amount of rice husk. On the other hand, the activation energy dramatically reduced from 131 kJ/mol at 0% rice husks to 75 kJ/mol at 100% rice husks. The reduction of activation energy is advantageous as it can be used to design efficient performance and cost effective cogasification process.

  14. Lightweight Heat Resistant Geopolymer-based Materials Synthesized from Red Mud and Rice Husk Ash Using Sodium Silicate Solution as Alkaline Activator

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hoc Thang Nguyen

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Geopolymer is an inorganic polymer composite with potentials to replace Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC-based materials in the future because of its lower energy consumption, minimal CO2 emissions and lower production cost as it utilizes industrial waste resources. Hence, geopolymerization and the process to produce geopolymers for various applications like building materials can be considered as green industry. Moreover, in our study, the raw materials we used are red mud and rice husk ash, which are are industrial and agricultural wastes that need to be managed to reduce their impact to the environment. The red mud and rice husk ash combined with sodium silicate (water glass solution were mixed to form geopolymer materials. Moreover, the geopolymer specimens were also tested for heat resistance at a temperature of 1000°C for 2 hours. Results suggest high heat resistance with an increase of compressive strength after exposed at high temperature.

  15. Digestibility, Milk Production, and Udder Health of Etawah Goats Fed with Fermented Coffee Husk

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I. Badarina

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available This study was carried out to assess the utilization of coffee husk fermented by Pleurotus ostreatus as feed supplement by measuring the digestibility, milk production and udder health of Etawah goats suffered from subclinical mastitis (+1. There were three experimental diets consisted of T0 (control diet/basal diet without fermented coffee husk, T1 (basal diet with 6% fermented coffee husk and T2 (basal diet with 6% fermented coffee husk soaked in crude palm oil for an hour before using. Basal diet consisted of napier grass (60% and concentrate (40%. The results showed that supplementation of lactating Etawah does with fermented coffee husk did not affect the palatability of the diets, but increased the protein and crude fiber consumption (P<0.05. There was no significant effect on nutrient digestibility and milk production while milk composition (protein, fat, total solid increased in supplemented groups (P<0.05. The persistency of milk production and the somatic cells count were not different. There was an improvement of somatic cells count on supplemented groups. In conclusion, fermented coffee husk could be used as feed supplement without any negative effects on digestibility and milk production. The positive effects to udder health could be expected from including fermented coffee husk in diets.

  16. Evaluation by discrete element method (DEM) of gap-graded packing potentialities for green concrete design

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Stroeven, P.; Le, L.B.N.

    2013-01-01

    Partial replacement of Portland cement by pozzolanic mineral admixtures exerts direct positive effects on CO2 emissions. The green character is reinforced by making use of incinerated vegetable waste, such as rice husk ash (RHA). Gap-grading leads to improved particle packing density with RHA as the

  17. Fabrication and characterization of rice husk charcoal bio briquettes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suryaningsih, S.; Nurhilal, O.; Yuliah, Y.; Salsabila, E.

    2018-02-01

    Rice husk is the outermost part of the rice seed which is a hard layer and a waste material from rice milling. Rice husk includes biomass that can be exploited for various requirements such as industrial raw materials as well as energy sources or fuel but only a small group of people use it. This research is conducted utilizing the rice husk as an alternative fuel by making it as a charcoal briquette. To make the treatment easy, firstly the rice husk biomass was converted into charcoal powder by carbonization method using two kinds of furnace which have different heating behavior. The best carbonization results are obtained from the furnace, which has a constant temperature heating behavior. The process of making briquettes is prepared by adding tapioca starch of 6% concentration by weight as charcoal adhesive and then printed with the aid of pressing tools using loads at 1,000 kg/cm2. The resulting briquette has a calorific value about 3.126 cal/g, mass density is 0.86 g/cm3 and compressive strength is about 2.02 kg/cm2, so that the bio-briquette of charcoal produced can be used as alternative energy to replace the fossil fuel for domestic or household purposes.

  18. Seedling-sapling growth variation in a southern Illinios black walnut provenance/progeny test

    Science.gov (United States)

    George Rink; J. W. Van Sambeek

    1987-01-01

    Nursery root and shoot measurements and annual height, basal diameter and survival data for the 5 years after outplanting were used to describe black walnut growth variation in southern Illinois. At age 5 sapling height narrow-sense heritability was found to be 0.49 for 131 open-pollinated families from across the black walnut comercial range. Greatest height and...

  19. Proximate Composition, Extraction, and Purification of Theobromine from Cacao Pod Husk (Theobroma Cacao L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Van Tang Nguyen

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The aims of this study were to determine the proximate composition of cacao pod husk as well as the optimal conditions for extraction and purification of theobromine from cacao pod husk. The results indicated that cacao pod husk had high contents of moisture and carbohydrate (87.06% and 11.03% by fresh weight, respectively, but low contents of crude protein, crude lipid, and ash (0.31%, 0.12%, and 1.48% by fresh weight, respectively. The optimal conditions for extraction of theobromine from cacao pod husk were of 70% ethanol, with an extraction time of 90 min, and 1 as the number of extractions. A concentration of 10% by volume of 10% lead acetate solution was the best selection for purification of the crude extracts containing theobromine from cacao pod husk. Under these optimal conditions, theobromine content obtained from cacao pod husk was 6.79 mg/100 g dry weight. The finding from this study is a valuable contribution for obtaining theobromine from an abundant, inexpensive, renewable, and sustainable source for potential application in the nutraceutical, medical, and pharmaceutical industries.

  20. Biological detoxification of Cr(VI) using wood-husk immobilized Acinetobacter haemolyticus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zakaria, Zainul Akmar; Zakaria, Zainoha; Surif, Salmijah; Ahmad, Wan Azlina

    2007-01-01

    Acinetobacter haemolyticus, a Gram-negative aerobic locally isolated bacterium, immobilized on wood-husk showed the ability to detoxify Cr(VI) to Cr(III). Wood-husk, a natural cellulose-based support material, packed in an upward-flow column was used as support material for bacterial attachment. Around 97% of the Cr(VI) in wastewater containing 15 mg L -1 of Cr(VI) was reduced at a flow rate of 8.0 mL min -1 . The wastewater containing Cr(VI) was added with liquid pineapple wastewater as nutrient source for the bacteria. Electron microscopic examinations of the wood-husk after 42 days of column operation showed gradual colonization of the wood-husk by bacterial biofilm. The use of 0.1% (v/v) formaldehyde as a disinfecting agent inhibited growth of bacteria present in the final wastewater discharge. This finding is important in view of the ethical code regarding possible introduction of exogenous bacterial species into the environment

  1. Biological detoxification of Cr(VI) using wood-husk immobilized Acinetobacter haemolyticus

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zakaria, Zainul Akmar; Zakaria, Zainoha [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Skudai, Johor (Malaysia); Surif, Salmijah [Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor (Malaysia); Ahmad, Wan Azlina [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Skudai, Johor (Malaysia)], E-mail: azlina@kimia.fs.utm.my

    2007-09-05

    Acinetobacter haemolyticus, a Gram-negative aerobic locally isolated bacterium, immobilized on wood-husk showed the ability to detoxify Cr(VI) to Cr(III). Wood-husk, a natural cellulose-based support material, packed in an upward-flow column was used as support material for bacterial attachment. Around 97% of the Cr(VI) in wastewater containing 15 mg L{sup -1} of Cr(VI) was reduced at a flow rate of 8.0 mL min{sup -1}. The wastewater containing Cr(VI) was added with liquid pineapple wastewater as nutrient source for the bacteria. Electron microscopic examinations of the wood-husk after 42 days of column operation showed gradual colonization of the wood-husk by bacterial biofilm. The use of 0.1% (v/v) formaldehyde as a disinfecting agent inhibited growth of bacteria present in the final wastewater discharge. This finding is important in view of the ethical code regarding possible introduction of exogenous bacterial species into the environment.

  2. Collaborative monitoring in Walnut Creek, California

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heidi Ballard; Ralph Kraetsch; Lynn Huntsinger

    2002-01-01

    In 1995 and 2000, a monitoring program was designed and implemented to track oak regeneration and native grass populations in target management areas in the four Open Space Preserves of the City of Walnut Creek, California. The program resulted from a collaboration of scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, a group of interested citizens known as the...

  3. Evaluation of Kola-Pod Husk Meal in Broiler Finisher Diets ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Nigeria is the world's largest producer of kola nut. The pod husk, which constitutes over 50% of the kola fruit, has been a farm waste to date. Its crude protein content which is similar to that of maize suggests that it is possible to partially replace maize with pod husk meal (KPHM) in broiler finisher diets. In this study, KPHM ...

  4. analytical method to determine the potential of using rice husk for off

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    HOD

    electricity and heat from rice husk were analysed using sets of thermo-chemical and ... Keywords: rice husk ash, renewable energy, heat generation, CHP, gasifier-gas turbine CHP. 1. ... boiler to complete the Rankine cycle on which the.

  5. Fabrication of Activated Rice Husk Charcoal by Slip Casting as a Hybrid Material for Water Filter Aid

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tuaprakone, T; Wongphaet, N; Wasanapiarnpong, T

    2011-01-01

    Activated charcoal has been widely used as an odor absorbent in household and water purification industry. Filtration equipment for drinking water generally consists of four parts, which are microporous membrane (porous alumina ceramic or diatomite, or porous polymer), odor absorbent (activated carbon), hard water treatment (ion exchange resin), and UV irradiation. Ceramic filter aid is usually prepared by slip casting of alumina or diatomite. The membrane offers high flux, high porosity and maximum pore size does not exceed 0.3 μm. This study investigated the fabrication of hybrid activated charcoal tube for water filtration and odor absorption by slip casting. The suitable rice husk charcoal and water ratio was 48 to 52 wt% by weight with 1.5wt% (by dry basis) of CMC binder. The green rice husk charcoal bodies were dried and fired between 700-900 deg. C in reduction atmosphere. The resulting prepared slip in high speed porcelain pot for 60 min and sintered at 700 deg. C for 1 h showed the highest specific surface area as 174.95 m 2 /g. The characterizations of microstructure and pore size distribution as a function of particle size were investigated.

  6. Fabrication of Activated Rice Husk Charcoal by Slip Casting as a Hybrid Material for Water Filter Aid

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tuaprakone, T.; Wongphaet, N.; Wasanapiarnpong, T.

    2011-04-01

    Activated charcoal has been widely used as an odor absorbent in household and water purification industry. Filtration equipment for drinking water generally consists of four parts, which are microporous membrane (porous alumina ceramic or diatomite, or porous polymer), odor absorbent (activated carbon), hard water treatment (ion exchange resin), and UV irradiation. Ceramic filter aid is usually prepared by slip casting of alumina or diatomite. The membrane offers high flux, high porosity and maximum pore size does not exceed 0.3 μm. This study investigated the fabrication of hybrid activated charcoal tube for water filtration and odor absorption by slip casting. The suitable rice husk charcoal and water ratio was 48 to 52 wt% by weight with 1.5wt% (by dry basis) of CMC binder. The green rice husk charcoal bodies were dried and fired between 700-900 °C in reduction atmosphere. The resulting prepared slip in high speed porcelain pot for 60 min and sintered at 700 °C for 1 h showed the highest specific surface area as 174.95 m2/g. The characterizations of microstructure and pore size distribution as a function of particle size were investigated.

  7. Fabrication of Activated Rice Husk Charcoal by Slip Casting as a Hybrid Material for Water Filter Aid

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tuaprakone, T; Wongphaet, N; Wasanapiarnpong, T, E-mail: tonggogo@hotmail.com [Research Unit of Advanced Ceramic, Department of Materials Science, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok (Thailand)

    2011-04-15

    Activated charcoal has been widely used as an odor absorbent in household and water purification industry. Filtration equipment for drinking water generally consists of four parts, which are microporous membrane (porous alumina ceramic or diatomite, or porous polymer), odor absorbent (activated carbon), hard water treatment (ion exchange resin), and UV irradiation. Ceramic filter aid is usually prepared by slip casting of alumina or diatomite. The membrane offers high flux, high porosity and maximum pore size does not exceed 0.3 {mu}m. This study investigated the fabrication of hybrid activated charcoal tube for water filtration and odor absorption by slip casting. The suitable rice husk charcoal and water ratio was 48 to 52 wt% by weight with 1.5wt% (by dry basis) of CMC binder. The green rice husk charcoal bodies were dried and fired between 700-900 deg. C in reduction atmosphere. The resulting prepared slip in high speed porcelain pot for 60 min and sintered at 700 deg. C for 1 h showed the highest specific surface area as 174.95 m{sup 2}/g. The characterizations of microstructure and pore size distribution as a function of particle size were investigated.

  8. 7 CFR 984.35 - California Walnut Board.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 8 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false California Walnut Board. 984.35 Section 984.35 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Marketing... acreage within districts and within the production area during recent years; (2) The importance of new...

  9. the suitability of lime rice husk ash cement as construction material

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    NIJOTECH

    Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Enugu, Nigeria. ... It was therefore concluded that high percentage contents of silica, ... the Lime Rice Husk Ash cement when used as a construction material would depend ... thermal treatment of the silica in the husk .... test specimen in their moulds were stored in a.

  10. Effect of utilizing unground and ground normal and black rice husk ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    The aim of the present study is to investigate the effects of utilizing different processings of normal rice husk ash (RHA) and black rice husk ash (BRHA) on the mechanical and durability properties of high strength concrete (HSC). Mechanical and durability properties of HSC were evaluated on concrete mixes containing ...

  11. Antimicrobial properties of coconut husk aqueous extract on cariogenic bacteria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria B Cyriac

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Background and Objectives: The husk fibers of coconut (Cocos nucifera are reported to be used by people of rural areas of South India for daily cleaning their teeth. As the beneficial effects of this plant material, with respect to antimicrobial properties against common cariogenic bacteria, are not scientifically proven, the present study was conducted. Materials and Methods: The husk of coconut was collected and aqueous extract was prepared and antimicrobial properties against common oral pathogens like Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus salivarius, Streptococcus mitis, and Lactobacillus acidophilus were performed by agar well diffusion method. The values obtained were then subjected to statistical analysis using one way ANOVA and Tukey HSD. Results: Aqueous extract of coconut husk showed a concentration-dependent antimicrobial activity against different tested organisms with zone of inhibition ranging from 4.44 to 15.33 mms. However, the efficacy was less in comparison to chlorhexidine. Conclusion: Inhibitory action against cariogenic bacteria exhibited by aqueous extract of coconut husk indicate presence of highly effective active compounds in these extracts, which can be identified and incorporated into modern oral care systems for controlling dental caries.

  12. Infrared pre-drying and dry-dehulling of walnuts for improved processing efficiency and product quality

    Science.gov (United States)

    The walnut industry is faced with an urgent need to improve post-harvest processing efficiency, particularly drying and dehulling operations. This research investigated the feasibility of dry-dehulling and infrared (IR) pre-drying of walnuts for improved processing efficiency and dried product quali...

  13. Thermoelectric properties and nanostructures of materials prepared from rice husk ash

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pukird, S.; Tipparach, U.; Kasian, P. [Ubon Ratchathani Univ., Ubon Ratchathani (Thailand). Dept. of Physics; Limsuwan, P. [King Mongkut' s Univ. of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok (Thailand). Dept. of Physics

    2009-07-01

    Thailand produces large amounts of agricultural residues such as rice husk and coconut shells. Rice husk is considered to be a potential source for solar grade silicon. Studies have shown that reasonably pure polycrystalline silicon can be prepared from rice husk white ash by a metallothermic reduction process. This paper reported on a study that investigated the thermoelectric properties of ceramic material prepared by mixing silica from rice husk ash and carbon obtained from coconut shell charcoal. The thermoelectric properties of the materials were examined along with their microstructures. The materials were made from burning rice husk ash and coconut shell at different temperatures and then doped with metal oxides. Pellets were heated at temperature of 700 degrees C for 1-3 hours. The voltage on both sides of the pellets was observed. The electromotive force was found when different temperatures were applied on both sides of the pellet specimens. The Seebeck coefficient was then calculated. The results showed that these materials can be used as thermoelectric devices. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-rays (EDX) were used to investigate the source of materials and the products on the substrates. The images of SEM and EDX showed nanostructures of materials such as nanowires, nanorods and nanoparticles of the products and sources. 22 refs., 2 tabs., 9 figs.

  14. Removal of arsenic from drinking water using rice husk

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asif, Zunaira; Chen, Zhi

    2017-06-01

    Rice husk adsorption column method has proved to be a promising solution for arsenic (As) removal over the other conventional methods. The present work investigates the potential of raw rice husk as an adsorbent for the removal of arsenic [As(V)] from drinking water. Effects of various operating parameters such as diameter of column, bed height, flow rate, initial arsenic feed concentration and particle size were investigated using continuous fixed bed column to check the removal efficiency of arsenic. This method shows maximum removal of As, i.e., 90.7 % under the following conditions: rice husk amount 42.5 g; 7 mL/min flow rate in 5 cm diameter column at the bed height of 28 cm for 15 ppb inlet feed concentration. Removal efficiency was increased from 83.4 to 90.7 % by reducing the particle size from 1.18 mm to 710 µm for 15 ppb concentration. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were employed to discuss the adsorption behavior. The effect of different operating parameters on the column adsorption was determined using breakthrough curves. In the present study, three kinetic models Adam-Bohart, Thomas and Yoon-Nelson were applied to find out the saturated concentration, fixed bed adsorption capacity and time required for 50 % adsorbate breakthrough, respectively. At the end, solidification was done for disposal of rice husk.

  15. Dewatering and low-temperature pyrolysis of oily sludge in the presence of various agricultural biomasses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Song; Zhou, Xiehong; Wang, Chuanyi; Jia, Hanzhong

    2017-08-24

    Pyrolysis is potentially an effective treatment of waste oil residues for recovery of petroleum hydrocarbons, and the addition of biomass is expected to improve its dewatering and pyrolysis behavior. In this study, the dewatering and low-temperature co-pyrolysis of oil-containing sludge in the presence of various agricultural biomasses, such as rice husk, walnut shell, sawdust, and apricot shell, were explored. As a result, the water content gradually decreases with the increase of biomass addition within 0-1.0 wt % in original oily sludge. Comparatively, the dewatering efficiency of sludge in the presence of four types of biomasses follows the order of apricot shell > walnut shell > rice husk > sawdust. On the other hand, rice husk and sawdust are relatively more efficient in the recovery of petroleum hydrocarbons compared with walnut shell and apricot shell. The recovery efficiency generally increased with the increase in the biomass content in the range of 0-0.2 wt %, then exhibited a gradually decreasing trend with the increase in the biomass content from 0.2 to 1.0 wt %. The results suggest that optimum amount of biomass plays an important role in the recovery efficiency. In addition, the addition of biomass (such as rice husk) also promotes the formation of C x H y and CO, increasing the calorific value of pyrolysis residue, and controlled the pollution components of the exhaust gas discharged from residue incineration. The present work implies that biomass as addictive holds great potential in the industrial dewatering and pyrolysis of oil-containing sludge.

  16. Long term human impacts on genetic structure of Italian walnut inferred by SSR markers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paola Pollegioni; Keith Woeste; Irene Olimpieri; Danilo Marandola; Francesco Cannata; Maria E Malvolti

    2011-01-01

    Life history traits, historic factors, and human activities can all shape the genetic diversity of a species. In Italy, walnut (Juglans regia L.) has a long history of cultivation both for wood and edible nuts. To better understand the genetic variability of current Italian walnut resources, we analyzed the relationships among the genetic structure...

  17. Synthesis of SiC from rice husk in a plasma reactor

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Unknown

    air pollution and ash disposal has proven to be an unsatis- factory solution. Fortunately, rice husk contains the nece- ssary carbon and silica, intimately dispersed, to provide a nearly ideal source material for production of SiC, an industrially important ceramic material. Rice husk was first used by Cutler (1973) as a starting ...

  18. Partial Placement of Maize with Cocoa Husks Meals in Layers Mash ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The partial replacement value of cocoa husk meals for maize in laying hen diets were assessed under an on-farm condition, Urea-treated and untreated cocoa husk meals were each incorporated into the farmer's layer mash (FLM) to replace 25% of the maize portion. FLM contained 40% maize. Six groups of 15 laying hens ...

  19. Immobilization of Candida rugosa lipase by adsorption-crosslinking onto corn husk

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nuraliyah, A.; Wijanarko, A.; Hermansyah, H.

    2018-04-01

    Corn husk is one of the agricutural waste that has not been used optimally. corn husk waste allows to be used as immobilized support for biocatalyst because it is easy to obtain, available abundant, renewable and easy to decompose. This research was conducted in two phases, namely the adsorption of enzyme immobilization on the support, followed by cross- linking between the enzyme and support through the addition of glutaraldehyde. The optimum conditions for cross-linked adsorption immobilization using support of corn husk were achieved at concentrations of 0,75 mg / ml at 4 hour reaction time. The biggest unit activity value is obtained at 2,37 U / g support through 0.5% glutaraldehyde addition.

  20. Effect of different ripening stages on walnut kernel quality: antioxidant activities, lipid characterization and antibacterial properties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amin, Furheen; Masoodi, F A; Baba, Waqas N; Khan, Asma Ashraf; Ganie, Bashir Ahmad

    2017-11-01

    Packing tissue between and around the kernel halves just turning brown (PTB) is a phenological indicator of kernel ripening at harvest in walnuts. The effect of three ripening stages (Pre-PTB, PTB and Post-PTB) on kernel quality characteristics, mineral composition, lipid characterization, sensory analysis, antioxidant and antibacterial activity were investigated in fresh kernels of indigenous numbered walnut selection of Kashmir valley "SKAU-02". Proximate composition, physical properties and sensory analysis of walnut kernels showed better results for Pre-PTB and PTB while higher mineral content was seen for kernels at Post-PTB stage in comparison to other stages of ripening. Kernels showed significantly higher levels of Omega-3 PUFA (C18:3 n3 ) and low n6/n3 ratio when harvested at Pre-PTB and PTB stages. The highest phenolic content and antioxidant activity was observed at the first stage of ripening and a steady decrease was observed at later stages. TBARS values increased as ripening advanced but did not show any significant difference in malonaldehyde formation during early ripening stages whereas it showed marked increase in walnut kernels at post-PTB stage. Walnut extracts inhibited growth of Gram-positive bacteria ( B. cereus, B. subtilis, and S. aureus ) with respective MICs of 1, 1 and 5 mg/mL and gram negative bacteria ( E. coli, P. and K. pneumonia ) with MIC of 100 mg/mL. Zone of inhibition obtained against all the bacterial strains from walnut kernel extracts increased with increase in the stage of ripening. It is concluded that Pre-PTB harvest stage with higher antioxidant activities, better fatty acid profile and consumer acceptability could be preferred harvesting stage for obtaining functionally superior walnut kernels.

  1. Rice husk ash with high carbon content proves favourable for soil stabilization

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pham, P.V.; van der Star, WRL; van Paassen, L.A.; Ye, G.

    2015-01-01

    Rice husk ash is a promising pozzolanic material produced from rice husk burning and has significant potential a sustainable replacement for cement in construction and ground improvement applications. In this study the effect of burning conditions on the ash reactivity and its potential for soil

  2. Physical, chemical and mechanical properties of pehuen cellulosic husk and its pehuen-starch based composites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castaño, J; Rodríguez-Llamazares, S; Carrasco, C; Bouza, R

    2012-11-06

    Pehuen cellulosic husk was characterized and employed as reinforcement for composite materials. In this research, thermoplastic pehuen starch (TPS) and TPS/poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) composites, reinforced with 5 and 10% of pehuen husk, were prepared by melt-blending. Comparative samples of pehuen TPS and TPS/PLA/PVA blend were also studied. Physical, thermal, structural and mechanical properties of composites were evaluated. Pehuen husk mainly consists of cellulose (50 wt%), hemicellulose (30 wt%) and lignin (14 wt%). In respect to lipids, this husk has only a 0.6 wt%. Its surface is smooth and damage-free and it is decomposed above 325 °C. The incorporation of pehuen husk improved considerably the thermal stability and mechanical properties of the studied composites, mainly in TPS composites. Their thermal stability enhances since biofiber hinders the "out-diffusion" of volatile molecules from the polymer matrix, while mechanical properties could raise due to the natural affinity between husk and starch in the pehuen seed. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Potentials of raw and cooked walnuts (Tetracapidium conophorum) as sources of valuable nutrients for good health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moyib, O K; Falegbe, O; Moyib, F R

    2015-12-01

    The present study estimated nutrient composition of walnuts before and after cooking with respect to its potential as valuable source of nutrients for daily intake. Walnut fruits were purchased from five different markets in Ijebu-Ode local government area and its environs. The fruits samples were divided into two portions, labelled R (for raw) and C (cooked). The C samples were cooked at 100 degrees C for 1 hr and allowed to cool to room temperature. The seeds of both C and R samples were ground and analyzed for proximate, macro and micro minerals using methods of Association of Official Chemists. The results obtained showed that both raw and cooked walnuts are rich in fat, iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), and copper (Cu) in amounts that are within daily recommended intake per 100 g of walnut seeds. They also contained appreciable levels of protein, phosphorus (P), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg) but with low content of moisture (MC), carbohydrate, fiber, sodium (Na) and potassium (K). Boiling significantly affected the levels of protein, carbohydrate, ash, moisture content, fat, nitrogen, calcium, sodium, copper, zinc, phosphorus, potassium, manganese and iron The study reveals that walnut is nutritious due to its appreciable level of protein and presence of various essential and macro minerals. Its low content of sodium and potassium is beneficiary in hypertensive condition as snack. The study suggests future bio-fortification of walnut with zinc, which may bring about a co-increase in Ca and protein content.

  4. Legume ground covers alter defoliation response of black walnut saplings to drought and anthracnose

    Science.gov (United States)

    J. W. Van Sambeek

    2003-01-01

    Growth and premature defoliation of black walnut saplings underplanted 5 or 6 years earlier with six different ground covers were quantified in response to a summer drought or anthracnose. Walnut saplings growing with ground covers of hairy vetch, crownvetch, and to a lesser extent sericea lespedeza continued to have more rapid height and diameter growth than saplings...

  5. Characterization of amorphous silica obtained from KMnO/sub 4/ treated rice husk

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Javed, S.H.; Naveed, S.; Ramzan, N.

    2010-01-01

    Rice husk (RH) is available in large quantities in many rice producing areas of Pakistan. The use of rice husk as a fuel in heat generating systems adds to environmental pollution. Rice husk contains approximately 20 % silica which exists in hydrated form. This silica can be retrieved as amorphous silica under proper oxidizing conditions. In present study rice husk was treated with various dosages of potassium permanganate before subjecting to thermal treatment. Potassium permanganate acts as oxidizing agent during combustion process. Various ash samples were prepared by varying the potassium permanganate concentrations and the burning temperatures over long periods. Ash produced was characterized by XRD, FTIR and other analytical methods. It has been observed that low dosages of KMnO/sub 4/ favors the formation of amorphous silica along with low carbon contents. (author)

  6. Electricity generation from rice husk in Indian rice mills: potential and financial viability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kapur, T.; Kandpal, T.C.; Garg, H.P.

    1998-01-01

    Rice husk generated as a by-product of rice processing is an important energy resource. The availability of this resource in India has been assessed and the technologies for exploitation of its energy potential in the rice processing industry discussed. Nomographs have been developed for estimation of the husk required to meet the energy of parboiling, drying and milling operations. The unit cost of electricity using rice husk gasifier-based power generation systems has been calculated and its financial feasibility assessed in comparison with utility-supplied and diesel-generated electricity. With the cost and efficiency data assumed here, the unit cost of electricity produced by rice husk gasifier-dual fuel engine-generator system varies between Rs 2/kWh and Rs 7/kWh. (35 Rs approximates to SUS 1.). (author)

  7. Electricity generation from rice husk in Indian rice mills: potential and financial viability

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kapur, T.; Kandpal, T.C.; Garg, H.P. [Indian Inst. of Technology, Centre for Energy Studies, New Delhi (India)

    1998-12-31

    Rice husk generated as a by-product of rice processing is an important energy resource. The availability of this resource in India has been assessed and the technologies for exploitation of its energy potential in the rice processing industry discussed. Nomographs have been developed for estimation of the husk required to meet the energy of parboiling, drying and milling operations. The unit cost of electricity using rice husk gasifier-based power generation systems has been calculated and its financial feasibility assessed in comparison with utility-supplied and diesel-generated electricity. With the cost and efficiency data assumed here, the unit cost of electricity produced by rice husk gasifier-dual fuel engine-generator system varies between Rs 2/kWh and Rs 7/kWh. (35 Rs approximates to SUS 1.). (author)

  8. THE COMPRESSIVE AND FLEXURAL STRENGTHS OF SELF-COMPACTING CONCRETE USING RAW RICE HUSK ASH

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MD NOR ATAN

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available This study investigates the compressive and flexural strengths of self-compacting concrete incorporating raw rice husk ash, individually and in combination with other types of mineral additives, as partial cement replacement. The additives paired with raw rice husk ash were fine limestone powder, pulverized fuel ash and silica fumes. The mix design was based on the rational method where solid constituents were fixed while water and superplasticizer contents were adjusted to produce optimum viscosity and flowability. All mixes were designed to achieve SF1 class slump-flow with conformity criteria ≥ 520 mm and ≤ 700 mm. Test results show that 15% replacement of cement using raw rice husk ash produced grade 40 concrete. It was also revealed that 30% and 45% cement replacements using raw rice husk ash combined with limestone powder and raw rice husk ash combined with limestone powder and silica fume respectively, produced comparable compressive strength to normal concrete and improved flexural strengths.

  9. Development of Briquette from Coir Dust and Rice Husk Blend: An Alternative Energy Source

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Md. Hamidul Islam

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Biomass is one of the predominant renewable energy sources and the use of biomass for the energy generation has got much attention due to its environmental friendliness. Densification of coir dust into fuel briquette can solve waste disposal problem as well as can serve as an alternative energy source. The objective of this study was to investigate the possibility of producing briquette from coir dust and rice husk blend without binder. During this study, a briquetting experiment was conducted with different coir dust and rice husk blends (i.e. coir dust and rice husk ratio of 80:20, 60:40, 50:50, 40:60, 20:80 and 0:100. Briquetting operation was performed using a die-screw press type briquetting machine. The briquettes were tested to evaluate their density, compressive strength, calorific value, burning rate and water vaporizing capacity and it was found that mixing ratio had a significant effect on the physical, mechanical and combustion properties of the coir dust-rice husk briquettes. Density, compressive strength and calorific value and water vaporizing capacity were increased with increasing mixing ratio while burning rate was decreased. Coir dust-rice husk briquettes with mixing ratio of 20:80 had higher density (1.413 g/cm3, compressive strength (218.4 N/cm2, calorific value (4879 kcal/kg, water vaporizing capacity (0.853 l/kg and low burning rate (0.783 kg/hour followed by the mixing ratio 40:60, 50:50, 60:40 and 0:100. The results indicate that coir dust and rice husk blend briquettes were found to have better overall handling characteristics over rice husk briquette. However, production of briquettes from coir dust and rice husk at mixing ratio of 50:50 was found to be more suitable for commercial application in terms of cost effectiveness.

  10. Biosorption of Am-241 and Cs-137 by radioactive liquid waste by coffee husk

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ferreira, Rafael Vicente de Padua; Sakata, Solange Kazumi; Bellini, Maria Helena; Marumo, Julio Takehiro, E-mail: jtmarumo@ipen.b [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

    2011-07-01

    Radioactive Waste Management Laboratory of Nuclear and Energy Research Institute, IPEN-CNEN/SP, has stored many types of radioactive liquid wastes, including liquid scintillators, mixed wastes from chemical analysis and spent decontamination solutions. These wastes need special attention, because the available treatment processes are often expensive and difficult to manage. Biosorption using biomass of vegetable using agricultural waste has become a very attractive technique because it involves the removal of heavy metals ions by low cost biossorbents. The aim of this study is to evaluate the potential of the coffee husk to remove Am-241 and Cs-137 from radioactive liquid waste. The coffee husk was tested in two forms, treated and untreated. The chemical treatment of the coffee husk was performed with HNO{sub 3} and NaOH diluted solutions. The results showed that the coffee husk did not showed significant differences in behavior and capacity for biosorption for Am-241 and Cs-137 over time. Coffee husk showed low biosorption capacity for Cs-137, removing only 7.2 {+-} 1.0% in 4 hours of contact time. For Am-241, the maximum biosorption was 57,5 {+-} 0.6% in 1 hours. These results suggest that coffee husk in untreated form can be used in the treatment of radioactive waste liquid containing Am-241. (author)

  11. Walnut shells: replacement for natural gas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Goss, J R; Williams, R O

    1977-11-01

    A method of extracting useful energy from cracked walnut shells has been developed by the University of California in co-operation with Diamond/Sunsweet, Inc., and the California Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission. The technique involves converting the shells to producer gas, a low-Btu gas in which the major combustible components are carbon monoxide (20 to 30%) and hydrogen (10 to 15%).

  12. Hydrothermal carbonization of rice husk for fuel upgrading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suteerawattananonda, N.; Kongkaew, N.; Patumsawad, S.

    2018-01-01

    The biomass is popularly used as renewable energy. In Thailand rice is the most consume agricultural products. Agricultural residues from rice husk can be an energy resource. However, alkali and alkali earth materials (AAEMs) in biomass ash are the causes of corrosion and erosion problem in the heat exchanger equipment, while the acidity of ash affects the slagging agglomeration problem. Reduction of alkali and alkali earth materials can minimize the problem. In order to challenge the reduction of alkali and alkali earth materials in biomass ash, hydrothermal carbonization process was selected. Thai rice husk was used as sample to compare the result of treatment. The rice husk was heated under the condition of different temperature ranged from 180°C to 250°C, at operate pressure ranges from 12 bar to 42 bar with residence holding reaction time 1 hour. The results of proximate analysis show that the percentage by mass of fixed carbon are increased 2 times, but volatile matter is decreased by 40% and ash content is decreased by 11% due to the increment of temperature. Meanwhile, the X-Ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis results show the decreasing of alkali and alkali earth materials are reduced.

  13. Amino Acid Composition, Molecular Weight Distribution and Gel Electrophoresis of Walnut (Juglans regia L. Proteins and Protein Fractionations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaoying Mao

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available As a by-product of oil production, walnut proteins are considered as an additional source of plant protein for human food. To make full use of the protein resource, a comprehensive understanding of composition and characteristics of walnut proteins are required. Walnut proteins have been fractionated and characterized in this study. Amino acid composition, molecular weight distribution and gel electrophoresis of walnut proteins and protein fractionations were analyzed. The proteins were sequentially separated into four fractions according to their solubility. Glutelin was the main component of the protein extract. The content of glutelin, albumin, globulin and prolamin was about 72.06%, 7.54%, 15.67% and 4.73% respectively. Glutelin, albumin and globulin have a balanced content of essential amino acids, except for methionine, with respect to the FAO pattern recommended for adults. SDS-PAGE patterns of albumin, globulin and glutelin showed several polypeptides with molecular weights 14.4 to 66.2 kDa. The pattern of walnut proteins in two-dimension electrophoresis (2-DE showed that the isoelectric point was mainly in the range of 4.8–6.8. The results of size exclusion chromatogram indicated molecular weight of the major components of walnut proteins were between 3.54 and 81.76 kDa.

  14. Heartwood formation in four black walnut plantations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keith Woeste; Brian Beheler

    2003-01-01

    The amount of heartwood in black walnut (Juglans nigra L.) logs can vary widely, even among trees of the same age growing at the same location. There is little published data on the genetics, physiology, and development of heartwood in hardwoods, even though the volume of heartwood in a log can significantly influence its value.

  15. Application of walnut shell modified with Zinc Oxide (ZnO nanoparticles in removal of natural organic matters (NOMs from aqueous solution

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ali naghizadeh

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Background & Aims of the Study: Natural organic matters (NOMs are a mixture of chemically complex polyelectrolytes produced mainly from the decomposition of plant and animal residues that are present in all surface and groundwater resources. This paper evaluates the aqueous NOMs adsorption efficiency on walnut shell modified with Zinc Oxide (ZnO. Materials & Methods: This study examined the feasibility of removing NOMs from aqueous solutions using walnut shell modified with ZnO. The effects of NOMs concentration, modified walnut shell with ZnO dosage, and pH on adsorption of NOMs by modified walnut shell with ZnO were evaluated. Results: The adsorption capacities of modified walnut shell with ZnO in the best conditions were 37.93 mg/g. The results also demonstrated that adsorption capacity of NOMs on modified walnut shell with ZnO was higher in lower pHs due to significantly high electrostatic attraction exists between the positively charged surface of the adsorbent and negatively charged NOMs. And finally adsorption capacity decreases as adsorbent dose increase. Conclusion: Walnut shell modified with ZnO can be proposed as a natural adsorbent in the removal of NOMs from aqueous solutions

  16. Using cultural-historical activity theory to analyze social service practices evolving from the Norwegian HUSK projects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foot, Kirsten

    2015-01-01

    The HUSK projects catalyzed innovation in the practices of providing social services that could yield useful insights both within and outside of Norway if analyzed in these two ways: (a) retrospective analysis of the development of individual HUSK projects in light of their cultural-historical contexts, and (b) comparative analysis of the efforts to advance multi-sector collaboration in some of the HUSK projects. Such analyses require a practice-based research approach that takes into account culture and history. In this article the author explains how cultural-historical activity theory provides such an approach, illustrated via several HUSK cases. The author suggests five questions for future analyses of the HUSK projects and argues that insights gleaned from such analyses could contribute significantly to research on-and the provision of-social services.

  17. Study of Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Dilute Acid Pretreated Coconut Husk

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rudy Agustriyanto

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Coconut husk is classified as complex lignocellulosic material that contains cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, and some other extractive compounds. Cellulose from coconut husk can be used as fermentation substrate after enzymatic hydrolysis. In contrary, lignin content from the coconut husk will act as an inhibitor in this hydrolysis process. Therefore, a pretreatment process is needed to enhance the hydrolysis of cellulose. The objective of this research is to investigate the production of the glucose through dilute acid pretreatment and to obtain its optimum operating conditions. In this study, the pretreatment was done using dilute sulfuric acid in an autoclave reactor. The pretreatment condition were varied at 80°C, 100°C, 120°C and 0.9%, 1.2%, 1.5% for temperature and acid concentration respectively. The acid pretreated coconut husk was then hydrolyzed using commercial cellulase (celluclast and β-glucosidase (Novozyme 188. The hydrolysis time was 72 hours and the operating conditions were varied at several temperature and pH. From the experimental results it can be concluded that the delignification temperature variation has greater influence than the acid concentration. The optimum operating condition was obtained at pH 4 and 50°C which was pretreated at 100°C using 1.5% acid concentration. Copyright © 2012 by BCREC UNDIP. All rights reserved. (Selected Paper from International Conference on Chemical and Material Engineering (ICCME 2012Received: 28th September 2012, Revised: 2nd October 2012, Accepted: 4th October 2012[How to Cite: R. Agustriyanto, A. Fatmawati, Y. Liasari. (2012. Study of Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Dilute Acid Pretreated Coconut Husk. Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering & Catalysis, 7(2: 137-141. doi:10.9767/bcrec.7.2.4046.137-141] [How to Link / DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.9767/bcrec.7.2.4046.137-141 ] | View in 

  18. A preliminary study on the reduction of limonite ore by using rice husk as a reducing agent

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maksum, Ahmad; Husein, Michael Kelvin E.; Permana, Sulaksana; Rustandi, Andi; Wahyuadi Soedarsono, Johny

    2018-03-01

    The abundant of rice husk in Indonesia has encouraged researchers to study the feasibility of rice husk for substituting material that is more expensive or dangerous. In previous study, silica with a purity of 99.9% has been obtained from rice husk with calcinations process. Nevertheless, the gases resulting from the process were not used and left useless. Therefore, in this study, those gases derived from rice husk calcinations process were used as reducing agents during the ferronickel (Fe-Ni) production through a direct reduction process. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of the amount of rice husk in the pellets on the increase of nickel content in the limonite reduction process. The limonite ore were crushed to the size of less than 150 mesh using disc-mill, and then were mixed with rice husk powder (10, 20, 30 in wt % mass) before being pelletized using bentonite as a binder. The resulted pellets were roasted at 500°C for 60 minutes and then quenched in water media. After drying process, the reduction process of 40g pellets was conducted at 1000°C for 90 minutes with 20g rice husk in furnace. The effects of additional rice husk on the direct reduction of limonite ore pellets were qualitatively analyzed by using X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and quantitatively by Atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). Both analysis results showed that the reduction process followed the reaction scheme: Fe2O3→Fe3O4→FeO and NiO phase was detected in the sample with 20% rice husk addition. The optimum concentration of Ni 1.23% was obtained for 20% rice husk addition.

  19. Physical properties and pyrolysis characteristics of rice husks in different atmosphere

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xinsheng Wang

    Full Text Available This paper explores the physical properties and pyrolysis characteristics of rice husk combustion in air and in argon. The SEM results show that the outer epidermis of combusted RHIR (rice husk in air is well organized with features that include papillae shapes and full, straight, high ridges. The inner epidermis of the RHIR has long rectangular furrow tissues. The results also show that the outer epidermis of pyrolyzed RHR (rice husk in argon has ridges that are not as straight as for the RHIR and the top of the papillae have small holes. The inner surface of the RHR looks a some cracked. XPS analysis shows that the surfaces of RHIR and RHR contain carbon, oxygen, and silicon. The carbon was found to be in the elemental graphite form, the oxygen in the −2 oxidation state, and the silicon in the Si4+ form as SiO2. The DSC graphs have “camel peaks”, showing that an increase in rate of heating leads to an increase in the exothermic peaks. Calculations show that, initially, increased temperature leads to increased activation energy for pyrolysis, but as the temperature continues to increase, the activation energy decreases again. The frequency factor follows the same trend. In analysis of carbon content, rice husk volatile carbon content is the largest, it is about 33.94%, especially 700 °C, the carbon content of volatile minimum is about 0.33%. Keywords: Rice husk, Microstructure, Thermal analysis, Thermal properties, XPS

  20. Cold sterilisation of walnuts as potential component of bakery products

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koreňová, J.; Lopašovská, J.; Sádecká, J.; Kolek, E.

    2010-01-01

    Microbiological quality, sensory and chemical changes in volatile and lipid fractions of gamma-irradiated walnuts (Juglans regia L.) were evaluated using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), gas chromatography with flame-ionising detector (GC/FID) and sensory evaluation. Doses of gamma-radiation were with in the range 0.5 - 5 kGy, where 10 kGy represented the highest permitted dose for food applications. Microbiological analysis showed that gamma-irradiation was an effective sterilisation tool which eliminated prevalent microorganisms including coliform bacteria from initial count of 6.0 x 102 CFU/g with 1.5 kGy dose. The dose of only 0.5 kGy was found to be sufficiently effective for killing prevalent moulds. Quoted levels of ionising radiation were adequate for elimination of microbiological load for minimum storage duration of 2 kGy dose. Higher irradiation levels negatively affected organoleptic properties of studied walnuts. Significant changes in relative contents of certain fatty acids, mainly linoleic and linolenic acid, and closely related changes in relative contents of certain volatiles were observed due to the influence of ionising radiation. Unsaturated hydrocarbons as determined by GC/MS method are believed to be suitable markers of gamma-irradiation of walnuts even at 0.5 kGy dose of application

  1. Biosorption of Am-241 and Cs-137 by radioactive liquid waste by coffee husk

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ferreira, Rafael Vicente de Padua; Sakata, Solange Kazumi; Bellini, Maria Helena; Marumo, Julio Takehiro

    2011-01-01

    Radioactive Waste Management Laboratory of Nuclear and Energy Research Institute, IPEN-CNEN/SP, has stored many types of radioactive liquid wastes, including liquid scintillators, mixed wastes from chemical analysis and spent decontamination solutions. These wastes need special attention, because the available treatment processes are often expensive and difficult to manage. Biosorption using biomass of vegetable using agricultural waste has become a very attractive technique because it involves the removal of heavy metals ions by low cost biossorbents. The aim of this study is to evaluate the potential of the coffee husk to remove Am-241 and Cs-137 from radioactive liquid waste. The coffee husk was tested in two forms, treated and untreated. The chemical treatment of the coffee husk was performed with HNO 3 and NaOH diluted solutions. The results showed that the coffee husk did not showed significant differences in behavior and capacity for biosorption for Am-241 and Cs-137 over time. Coffee husk showed low biosorption capacity for Cs-137, removing only 7.2 ± 1.0% in 4 hours of contact time. For Am-241, the maximum biosorption was 57,5 ± 0.6% in 1 hours. These results suggest that coffee husk in untreated form can be used in the treatment of radioactive waste liquid containing Am-241. (author)

  2. Hydroxytyrosol extracts, olive oil and walnuts as functional components in chicken sausages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nieto, Gema; Martínez, Lorena; Castillo, Julian; Ros, Gaspar

    2017-08-01

    Olive oil, hydroxytyrosol and walnut can be considered ideal Mediterranean ingredients for their high polyphenolic content and healthy properties. Three extracts of hydroxytyrosol obtained using different extraction processes (HXT 1, 2, 3) (50 ppm) were evaluated for use as antioxidants in eight different chicken sausage formulas enriched in polyunsaturated fatty acids (2.5 g 100 g -1 walnut) or using extra virgin olive oil (20 g 100 g -1 ) as fat replacer. Lipid and protein oxidation, colour, emulsion stability, and the microstructure of the resulting chicken sausages were investigated and a sensory analysis was carried out. The sausages with HXT extracts were found to decrease lipid oxidation and to lead to the loss of thiol groups compared with control sausages. Emulsion stability (capacity to hold water and fat) was greater in the sausages containing olive oil and walnut than in control sausages. In contrast, the HXT extracts produced high emulsion instability (increasing cooking losses). Sensory analysis suggested that two of the HXT extracts studied (HXT 2 and HXT 3 ) were unacceptable, while the acceptability of the other was similar to that of the control products. Sausages incorporating HXT showed different structures than control samples or sausages with olive oil, related to the composition of the emulsion. These results suggest the possibility of replacing animal fat by olive oil and walnut in order to produce healthy meat products. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

  3. Effect of understory management on phenological responses of eastern black walnut on an alluvial Arkansas soil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Black walnut (Juglans nigra L.) is commonly grown in agroforestry practices for nuts and/or timber with little knowledge of how understory herbage management might affect tree phenology. We compared black walnut plant type (variety and wild-type) for phenological response in date of budburst, leaf ...

  4. The Effect of the Alcoholic Extract of Walnut on the Testis Tissue of Adult Male Rats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M Abedinzade

    2012-08-01

    Methods: In the present experimental study, forty adult male Wistar rats weighing 250-300 grams were divided into five groups. The control group did not receive any treatment. Normal saline was intraperitoneally injected to the control group. Experimental groups received three different doses of alcoholic extract of walnut: 10, 20 and 50 mg/ kg intraperitoneally/daily, respectively. The testes were removed from the abdomen and the tissue sections were studied. The gathered data were analyzed using One-way Analysis of variance and Tukey's range test. Results: Results indicated that walnut extract affect the development and maintenance of spermatogenesis to its final stages, and increased the number of sperms and interstitial cells in the testis. Alcoholic extract of walnut during the test instrument did not have much impact on the structure of the sperm tube tissue. Conclusion: The alcoholic extract of walnut led to the increased activity of the testis and interstitial cells, followed by an increase in sperm cells and reproductive activity of male rats.

  5. Effect of rice husk ash addition on CO2 capture behavior of calcium-based sorbent during calcium looping cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Yingjie; Zhao, Changsui; Ren, Qiangqiang; Duan, Lunbo; Chen, Huichao; Chen, Xiaoping

    2009-01-01

    Rice husk ash/CaO was proposed as a CO 2 sorbent which was prepared by rice husk ash and CaO hydration together. The CO 2 capture behavior of rice husk ash/CaO sorbent was investigated in a twin fixed bed reactor system, and its apparent morphology, pore structure characteristics and phase variation during cyclic carbonation/calcination reactions were examined by SEM-EDX, N 2 adsorption and XRD, respectively. The optimum preparation conditions for rice husk ash/CaO sorbent are hydration temperature of 75 C, hydration time of 8 h, and mole ratio of SiO 2 in rice husk ash to CaO of 1.0. The cyclic carbonation performances of rice husk ash/CaO at these preparation conditions were compared with those of hydrated CaO and original CaO. The temperature at 660 C-710 C is beneficial to CO 2 absorption of rice husk ash/CaO, and it exhibits higher carbonation conversions than hydrated CaO and original CaO during multiple cycles at the same reaction conditions. Rice husk ash/CaO possesses better anti-sintering behavior than the other sorbents. Rice husk ash exhibits better effect on improving cyclic carbonation conversion of CaO than pure SiO 2 and diatomite. Rice husk ash/CaO maintains higher surface area and more abundant pores after calcination during the multiple cycles; however, the other sorbents show a sharp decay at the same reaction conditions. Ca 2 SiO 4 found by XRD detection after calcination of rice husk ash/CaO is possibly a key factor in determining the cyclic CO 2 capture behavior of rice husk ash/CaO. (author)

  6. Database for estimating tree responses of walnut and other hardwoods to ground cover management practices

    Science.gov (United States)

    J.W. Van Sambeek

    2010-01-01

    The ground cover in plantings of walnut and other hardwoods can substantially affect tree growth and seed production. The number of alternative ground covers that have been suggested for establishment in tree plantings far exceeds the number that have already been tested with walnut and other temperate hardwoods. Knowing how other hardwood species respond to ground...

  7. Development of heat resistant geopolymer-based materials from red mud and rice husk ash

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thang, Nguyen Hoc; Nhung, Le Thuy; Quyen, Pham Vo Thi Ha; Phong, Dang Thanh; Khe, Dao Thanh; Van Phuc, Nguyen

    2018-04-01

    Geopolymer is an inorganic polymer composite developed by Joseph Davidovits in 1970s. Such material has potentials to replace Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC)-based materials in the future because of its lower energy consumption, minimal CO2 emissions and lower production cost as it utilizes industrial waste resources. Hence, geopolymerization and the process to produce geopolymers for various applications like building materials can be considered as green industry. Moreover, in this study, red mud and rice husk ash were used as raw materials for geopolymeric production, which are aluminum industrial and agricultural wastes that need to be managed to reduce their negative impact to the environment. The red mud and rice husk ash were mixed with sodium silicate (water glass) solution to form geopolymer paste. The geopolymer paste was filled into 5-cm cube molds according to ASTM C109/C109M 99, and then cured at room temperature for 28 days. These products were then tested for compressive strength and volumetric weight. Results indicated that the material can be considered lightweight with a compressive strength at 28 days that are in the range of 6.8 to 15.5 MPa. Moreover, the geopolymer specimens were also tested for heat resistance at a temperature of 1000oC for 2 hours. Results suggest high heat resistance with an increase of compressive strength from 262% to 417% after exposed at high temperature.

  8. Ultrastructural characterization of rice husk submitted to different pretreatments to optimize its fermentation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lhoneux, B de; Gerlache, L; Clemente, A; Roda-Santos, M L; Menaia, J A.G.; Fernandes, T H

    1988-01-01

    Silica distribution in rice husk was examined by scanning electron microscopy. Silica appeared as a solid structure in the outer epidermis and as a dispersed system inside the husk. Pretreatments (steam autoclaving, water autoclaving, alkaline leaching, gamma irradiation, and ultra sound) were applied in order to achieve an improvement in rice husk digestibility. Alkaline leaching removed a significant part of the silica structure, therefore allowing a larger area of exposure of the cell wall polymers to the degrading enzymes. Among the pretreatments, alkaline leaching appeared to be the most useful, while others seemed not to be very successful in attaining the desired effect.

  9. Encapsulation of phase change materials using rice-husk-char

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gondora, Wayne; Doudin, Khalid; Nowakowski, Daniel J.; Xiao, Bo; Ding, Yulong; Bridgwater, Tony; Yuan, Qingchun

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Rice-husk-char particles are successfully used in the encapsulation of phase change materials. • Carbon-based phase change microcapsules aim at using the high thermal conductivity of carbon materials. • Carbon from biomass can be used in low and intermediate heat harvest and storage. • Carbon in biomass is captured and to be used in improving energy efficiency. - Abstract: This paper explored a new approach to prepare phase change microcapsules using carbon-based particles via Pickering emulsions for energy storage applications. Rice-husk-char, a by-product in biofuel production, containing 53.58 wt% of carbon was used as a model carbon-based material to encapsulate hexadecane. As a model phase change material, hexadecane was emulsified in aqueous suspensions of rice-husk-char nanoparticles. Water soluble polymers poly(diallyldimethyl-ammonium chloride) and poly(sodium styrene sulfonate) were used to fix the rice-husk-char nanoparticles on the emulsion droplets through layer-by-layer assembly to enhance the structural stability of the microcapsules. The microcapsules formed are composed of a thin shell encompassing a large core consisting of hexadecane. Thermal gravimetrical and differential scanning calorimeter analyses showed the phase change enthalpy of 80.9 kJ kg"−"1 or 120.0 MJ m"−"3. Design criteria of phase change microcapsules and preparation considerations were discussed in terms of desired applications. This work demonstrated possible utilisations of biomass-originated carbon-based material for thermal energy recovery and storage applications, which can be a new route of carbon capture and utilisation.

  10. In-situ biogas upgrading during anaerobic digestion of food waste amended with walnut shell biochar at bench scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linville, Jessica L; Shen, Yanwen; Ignacio-de Leon, Patricia A; Schoene, Robin P; Urgun-Demirtas, Meltem

    2017-06-01

    A modified version of an in-situ CO 2 removal process was applied during anaerobic digestion of food waste with two types of walnut shell biochar at bench scale under batch operating mode. Compared with the coarse walnut shell biochar, the fine walnut shell biochar has a higher ash content (43 vs. 36 wt%) and higher concentrations of calcium (31 vs. 19 wt% of ash), magnesium (8.4 vs. 5.6 wt% of ash) and sodium (23.4 vs. 0.3 wt% of ash), but a lower potassium concentration (0.2 vs. 40% wt% of ash). The 0.96-3.83 g biochar (g VS added ) -1 fine walnut shell biochar amended digesters produced biogas with 77.5%-98.1% CH 4 content by removing 40%-96% of the CO 2 compared with the control digesters at mesophilic and thermophilic temperature conditions. In a direct comparison at 1.83 g biochar (g VS added ) -1 , the fine walnut shell biochar amended digesters (85.7% CH 4 content and 61% CO 2 removal) outperformed the coarse walnut shell biochar amended digesters (78.9% CH 4 content and 51% CO 2 removal). Biochar addition also increased alkalinity as CaCO 3 from 2800 mg L -1 in the control digesters to 4800-6800 mg L -1 , providing process stability for food waste anaerobic digestion.

  11. HPLC determination of phenolic acids, flavonoids and juglone in walnut leaves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nour, Violeta; Trandafir, Ion; Cosmulescu, Sina

    2013-10-01

    A high-performance liquid chromatographic method with gradient elution and diode-array detection was developed to quantify free phenolic acids (gallic, vanillic, chlorogenic, caffeic, syringic, p-coumaric, ferulic, sinapic, salycilic, elagic and trans-cinnamic), flavonoids (catechin, epicatechin, rutin, myricetin and quercetin) and juglone in walnut leaves. Chromatographic separation was performed on a Hypersil Gold C18 column (5 µm particle size, 250 × 4.6 mm) and detection was conducted at three different wavelengths (254, 278 and 300 nm) according to the absorption maxima of the analyzed compounds. Validation procedures were conducted and the method was proven to be precise, accurate and sensitive. The developed method has been applied to analyze walnut leaves samples from nine different cultivars, with the same agricultural, geographical and climatic conditions. The experimental results revealed high concentrations of myricetin, catechin hydrate and rutin, and low concentrations of quercetin and epicatechin aglycones. Ellagic acid was established as the dominating phenolic acid of walnut leaves, followed by trans-cinnamic, chlorogenic and caffeic acids. Juglone content varied between 44.55 and 205.12 mg/100 g fresh weight. Significant differences were detected among cultivars for the concentration levels of phenolics.

  12. Rice Husk as Filler in the Production of Bricks Using Gboko Clay ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Farmers and rice millers normally burn the rice husk (RH)as fuel in milling which leads to air pollution. This study looked at ways of converting the husk into materials for the construction industry. Chemical composition of RH and Gboko clay soil were investigated using X-ray diffraction test. Four grades (75, 150, 300, 425 ...

  13. Effect of rice husk Biochar (RHB) on some of chemical properties of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ADOWIE PERE

    ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the biochemical effects of rice husk biochar (RHB) obtained from pyrolysis of rice husk under limited oxygen conditions for three hours at temperature of 500 °C. Then, the effect of addition of 2 .... (pH = 7) and potassium non-binder with nitric acid a normal boiling water.

  14. Effect of rice husk Biochar (RHB) on some of chemical properties of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The purpose of this study is to evaluate the biochemical effects of rice husk biochar (RHB) obtained from pyrolysis of rice husk under limited oxygen conditions for three hours at temperature of 500 °C. Then, the effect of addition of 2 and 4% biochar to acidic soil was studied. The samples were stored in greenhouse ...

  15. Qualitative Analysis of Polyphenols in Macroporous Resin Pretreated Pomegranate Husk Extract by HPLC-QTOF-MS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdulla, Rahima; Mansur, Sanawar; Lai, Haizhong; Ubul, Ablikim; Sun, Guangying; Huang, Guozheng; Aisa, Haji Akber

    2017-09-01

    Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) husk is a traditional herbal medicine abundant in phenolic compounds and plays some roles in the treatment of oxidative stress, bacterial and viral infection, diabetes mellitus, and acute and chronic inflammation. Identification and determination of polyphenols in macroporous resin pretreated pomegranate husk extract by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-QTOF-MS). The total polyphenols of pomegranate husk were prepared by ethanol extraction followed by pretreatment with HPD-300 macroporous resin. The polyphenolic compounds were qualitatively analysed by HPLC-QTOF-MS in negative electrospray ionisation (ESI) mode at different collision energy (CE) values. A total of 50 polyphenols were detected in the extract of pomegranate husk, including 35 hydrolysable tannins and 15 flavonoids with distinct retention time, fragmentation behaviours and characteristics, and the accurate mass-to-charge ratios at low, moderate and high CE values. Of these, we identified nine compounds for the first time in the pomegranate husk, including hexahydroxydiphenoyl-valoneoyl-glucoside (HHDP-valoneyl-glucoside), galloyl-O-punicalin, rutin, hyperoside, quercimeritrin, kaempferol-7-O-rhahmano-glucoside, luteolin-3'-O-arabinoside, luteolin-3'-O-glucoside, and luteolin-4'-O-glucoside. To validate the specificity and accuracy of mass spectrometry in the detection of polyphenols, as compared to the fragmentation pathways of granatin B in detail, including the HHDP-valoneyl- glucoside was first identified from pomegranate husk. The study provides evidence for the quality control and development of novel drugs based on polyphenols from the pomegranate husk. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  16. Evaluation of some Phenological and Pomological Characteristics of Selected Walnut Genotypes from Shahroud-Iran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sara Akhiani

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available The first step in walnut breeding programs is to identify and evaluate superior genotypes of fruit trees. Hence, there are various walnut breeding programs in various areas of Iran. A study aimed to evaluate the morphological and chemical characteristics of selected superior genotypes of walnut was conducted in the Shahroud region in 2011-2012.  The following genotypes were selected in this study as the best walnut genotypes:  X-18 homogamous genotypes due to desirable late leafing;   genotype X-11 for its high percentage of kernel production, easily removal of shell, thin shell; genotype X-52 due to its kernel plumpness compared to other genotypes, thin shell and high percentage of kernel and genotype X-70 for its kernel brightness, easily kernel extracting and high percentage of kernels. The X-49 and X-5 genotypes had the highest amount of linoleic and linolenic fatty acids and higher nutritional quality compared to other genotypes. Three genotypes, X-3, X-11 and X-22, had the highest amount of oil. Genotypes X-9 and X-45 had the highest amount of protein. The difference between oil content and fatty acid compositions was presumably due to genetic diversity and ecological conditions of the studied genotypes cultivation.

  17. Walnut consumption increases satiation but has no effect on insulin resistance or the metabolic profile over a 4-day period.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brennan, Aoife M; Sweeney, Laura L; Liu, Xiaowen; Mantzoros, Christos S

    2010-06-01

    Obesity and diabetes have been associated with increased consumption of highly processed foods, and reduced consumption of whole grains and nuts. It has been proposed, mainly on the basis of observational studies, that nuts may provide superior satiation, may lead to reduced calorie consumption, and may decrease the risk of type 2 diabetes; but evidence from randomized, interventional studies is lacking. A total of 20 men and women with the metabolic syndrome participated in a randomized, double-blind, crossover study of walnut consumption. Subjects had two 4-day admissions to the clinical research center where they were fed an isocaloric diet. In addition, they consumed shakes for breakfast containing either walnuts or placebo (shakes were standardized for calories, carbohydrate, and fat content). Appetite, insulin resistance, and metabolic parameters were measured. We found an increased level of satiety (overall P value = 0.0079) and sense of fullness (P = 0.05) in prelunch questionnaires following the walnut breakfast as compared to the placebo breakfast, with the walnut effect achieving significance on day 3 and 4 (P = 0.02 and P = 0.03). We did not find any change in resting energy expenditure, hormones known to mediate satiety, or insulin resistance when comparing the walnut vs. placebo diet. Walnut consumption over 4 days increased satiety by day 3. Long-term studies are needed to confirm the physiologic role of walnuts, the duration of time needed for these effects to occur, and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms.

  18. The effect of walnut intake on factors related to prostate and vascular health in older men

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    West Sheila G

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Tocopherols may protect against prostate cancer and cardiovascular disease (CVD. Methods We assessed the effect of walnuts, which are rich in tocopherols, on markers of prostate and vascular health in men at risk for prostate cancer. We conducted an 8-week walnut supplement study to examine effects of walnuts on serum tocopherols and prostate specific antigen (PSA. Subjects (n = 21 consumed (in random order their usual diet +/- a walnut supplement (75 g/d that was isocalorically incorporated in their habitual diets. Prior to the supplement study, 5 fasted subjects participated in an acute timecourse experiment and had blood taken at baseline and 1, 2, 4, and 8 h after consuming walnuts (75 g. Results During the timecourse experiment, triglycerides peaked at 4 h, and gamma-tocopherol (γ-T increased from 4 to 8 h. Triglyceride – normalized γ-T was two-fold higher (P = 0.01 after 8 versus 4 h. In the supplement study, change from baseline was +0.83 ± 0.52 μmol/L for γ-T, -2.65 ± 1.30 μmol/L for alpha-tocopherol (α-T and -3.49 ± 1.99 for the tocopherol ratio (α-T: γ-T. A linear mixed model showed that, although PSA did not change, the ratio of free PSA:total PSA increased and approached significance (P = 0.07. The α-T: γ-T ratio decreased significantly (P = 0.01, partly reflecting an increase in serum γ-T, which approached significance (P = 0.08. Conclusion The significant decrease in the α-T: γ-T ratio with an increase in serum γ-T and a trend towards an increase in the ratio of free PSA:total PSA following the 8-week supplement study suggest that walnuts may improve biomarkers of prostate and vascular status.

  19. Developing new microsatellite markers in walnut (Juglans regia L.) from Juglans nigra genomic GA enriched library

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayat Topcu; Nergiz Coban; Keith Woeste; Mehmet Sutyemez; Salih. Kafkas

    2015-01-01

    We attempted to develop new polymorphic SSR primer pairs in walnut using sequences derived from Juglans nigra L. genomic enriched library with GA repeat. The designed 94 SSR primer pairs were subjected to gradient PCR in 12 walnut cultivars to determine their optimum annealing temperatures and to determine whether they produce bands. Then, the...

  20. Combined subcritical water and enzymatic hydrolysis for reducing sugar production from coconut husk

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muharja, Maktum; Junianti, Fitri; Nurtono, Tantular; Widjaja, Arief

    2017-05-01

    Coconut husk wastes are abundantly available in Indonesia. It has a potential to be used into alternative renewable energy sources such as hydrogen using enzymatic hydrolysis followed by a fermentation process. Unfortunately, enzymatic hydrolysis is hampered by the complex structure of lignocellulose, so the cellulose component is hard to degrade. In this study, Combined Subcritical Water (SCW) and enzymatic hydrolysis are applied to enhance fermentable, thereby reducing production of sugar from coconut husk. There were two steps in this study, the first step was coconut husk pretreated by SCW in batch reactor at 80 bar and 150-200°C for 60 minutes reaction time. Secondly, solid fraction from the results of SCW was hydrolyzed using the mixture of pure cellulose and xylanase enzymes. Analysis was conducted on untreated and SCW-treated by gravimetric assay, liquid fraction after SCW and solid fraction after enzymatic hydrolysis using DNS assay. The maximum yield of reducing sugar (including xylose, arabinose glucose, galactose, mannose) was 1.254 gr per 6 gr raw material, representing 53.95% of total sugar in coconut husk biomass which was obtained at 150°C 80 bar for 60 minutes reaction time of SCW-treated and 6 hour of enzymatic hydrolysis using mixture of pure cellulose and xylanase enzymes (18.6 U /gram of coconut husk).

  1. Composition, structure and functional properties of protein concentrates and isolates produced from walnut (Juglans regia L.).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mao, Xiaoying; Hua, Yufei

    2012-01-01

    In this study, composition, structure and the functional properties of protein concentrate (WPC) and protein isolate (WPI) produced from defatted walnut flour (DFWF) were investigated. The results showed that the composition and structure of walnut protein concentrate (WPC) and walnut protein isolate (WPI) were significantly different. The molecular weight distribution of WPI was uniform and the protein composition of DFWF and WPC was complex with the protein aggregation. H(0) of WPC was significantly higher (p structure of WPI was similar to WPC. WPI showed big flaky plate like structures; whereas WPC appeared as a small flaky and more compact structure. The most functional properties of WPI were better than WPC. In comparing most functional properties of WPI and WPC with soybean protein concentrate and isolate, WPI and WPC showed higher fat absorption capacity (FAC). Emulsifying properties and foam properties of WPC and WPI in alkaline pH were comparable with that of soybean protein concentrate and isolate. Walnut protein concentrates and isolates can be considered as potential functional food ingredients.

  2. Market analysis of food products for detection of allergenic walnut (Juglans regia) and pecan (Carya illinoinensis) by real-time PCR.

    Science.gov (United States)

    López-Calleja, Inés María; de la Cruz, Silvia; González, Isabel; García, Teresa; Martín, Rosario

    2015-06-15

    Two real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based assays for detection of walnut (Juglans regia) and pecan (Carya illinoinensis) traces in a wide range of processed foods are described here. The method consists on a real-time PCR assay targeting the ITS1 region, using a nuclease (TaqMan) probe labeled with FAM and BBQ. The method was positive for walnut and pecan respectively, and negative for all other heterologous plants and animals tested. Using a series of model samples with defined raw walnut in wheat flour and heat-treated walnut in wheat flour with a range of concentrations of 0.1-100,000 mg kg(-1), a practical detection limit of 0.1 mg kg(-1) of walnut content was estimated. Identical binary mixtures were done for pecan, reaching the same limit of detection of 0.1 mg kg(-1). The assay was successfully trialed on a total of 232 commercial foodstuffs. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Porous silica from rice husk ash for tundish lining

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahmed, Y.M.Z; Ewais, E.M.

    2007-01-01

    Type of materials as well as its compressive strength and degree of porosity are the determinal parameters for deciding the suitability of its usage as lining for tundish in continuous casting of steel. Silica is one of the materials suitable for such application. High porosity degree with high compressive strength of its compacts is special demands for increasing its efficiency. The suitability of producing porous silica compacts from the combustion of rice husk ash (RHA) appropriate for this application is the objective of the present work. Experimental design technique was used to evaluate the effect of different parameters (i.e. firing temperature, time and compaction pressure) controlling both porosity degree and compressive strength of rice husk ash compacts. The results revealed that while the porosity degree of the compacts decreased with increasing the entire studied parameters, its compressive strength exhibits another trend especially at lower soaking time. At lower soaking time, increasing firing temperature leads to a slight decrease in the compressive strength and then increased thereafter. Porous silica compacts having 30% porosity and > 25 kg/cm/sup 2/ compressive strength suitable for tundish lining could obtain from the combustion of rice husk ash compacts. (author)

  4. A cross sectional study of the association between walnut consumption and cognitive function among adult US populations represented in NHANES.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arab, L; Ang, A

    2015-03-01

    To examine the association between walnut consumption and measures of cognitive function in the US population. Nationally representative cross sectional study using 24 hour dietary recalls of intakes to assess walnut and other nut consumption as compared to the group reporting no nut consumption. 1988-1994 and 1999-2002 rounds of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Representative weighted sample of US adults 20 to 90 years of age. The Neurobehavioral Evaluation System 2 (NES2), consisting of simple reaction time (SRTT), symbol digit substitution (SDST), the single digit learning (SDLT), Story Recall (SRT) and digit-symbol substitution (DSST) tests. Adults 20-59 years old reporting walnut consumption of an average of 10.3 g/d required 16.4ms less time to respond on the SRTT, P=0.03, and 0.39s less for the SDST, P=0.01. SDLT scores were also significantly lower by 2.38s (P=0.05). Similar results were obtained when tertiles of walnut consumption were examined in trend analyses. Significantly better outcomes were noted in all cognitive test scores among those with higher walnut consumption (P < 0.01). Among adults 60 years and older, walnut consumers averaged 13.1 g/d, scored 7.1 percentile points higher, P=0.03 on the SRT and 7.3 percentile points higher on the DSST, P=0.05. Here also trend analyses indicate significant improvements in all cognitive test scores (P < 0.01) except for SRTT (P = 0.06) in the fully adjusted models. These significant, positive associations between walnut consumption and cognitive functions among all adults, regardless of age, gender or ethnicity suggest that daily walnut intake may be a simple beneficial dietary behavior.

  5. Decision making analysis of walnut seedling production on a small ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Yomi

    2011-12-21

    Dec 21, 2011 ... Walnut production does not constitute considerable share in this region. .... average farm's historical selling prices for the 2003-2008 period. The prices ... material costs, depreciation costs and insurance premium. Then, the ...

  6. Enhancing Nitrogen Availability, Ammonium Adsorption-Desorption, and Soil pH Buffering Capacity using Composted Paddy Husk

    Science.gov (United States)

    Latifah, O.; Ahmed, O. H.; Abdul Majid, N. M.

    2017-12-01

    Form of nitrogen present in soils is one of the factors that affect nitrogen loss. Nitrate is mobile in soils because it does not absorb on soil colloids, thus, causing it to be leached by rainfall to deeper soil layers or into the ground water. On the other hand, temporary retention and timely release of ammonium in soils regulate nitrogen availability for crops. In this study, composted paddy husk was used in studies of soil leaching, buffering capacity, and ammonium adsorption and desorption to determine the: (i) availability of exchangeable ammonium, available nitrate, and total nitrogen in an acid soil after leaching the soil for 30 days, (ii) soil buffering capacity, and (iii) ability of the composted paddy husk to adsorb and desorb ammonium from urea. Leaching of ammonium and nitrate were lower in all treatments with urea and composted paddy husk compared with urea alone. Higher retention of soil exchangeable ammonium, available nitrate, and total nitrogen of the soils with composted paddy husk were due to the high buffering capacity and cation exchange capacity of the amendment to adsorb ammonium thus, improving nitrogen availability through temporary retention on the exchange sites of the humic acids of the composted paddy husk. Nitrogen availability can be enhanced if urea is amended with composted paddy husk.

  7. Sorption of Pb2+ from Aqueous Solution unto Modified Rice Husk: Isotherms Studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. O. Dada

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Investigation of the sorption potential of rice husk, an agricultural waste, as an adsorbent was carried out. The rice husk was modified with orthophosphoric acid and was used for adsorption of lead (II ions (Pb2+ from aqueous solution. Physicochemical properties of the modified rice husk were determined. Equilibrium sorption data were confirmed with Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin adsorption isotherms. On the basis of adsorption isotherm graphs, R2 values were determined to be 0.995, 0.916, and 0.797 for Langmuir, Temkin, and Freundlich isotherms, respectively, indicating that the data fitted well into the adsorption isotherms, but Langmuir isotherm is a better model. The maximum monolayer coverage from Langmuir studies, Qmax=138.89 mg/g, Langmuir isotherm constant, KL=0.699 L/mg, and the separation factor, RL=1.41×10−2 at 100 mg/L of lead(II ions indicating that the sorption process, was favourable. The suitability of modified rice husk as an adsorbent for the removal of lead ions from aqueous solution and its potential for pollution control is established.

  8. The effect of partial substitution of pork back fat with vegetable oils and walnuts on chemical composition, texture profile and sensorial properties of meatloaf

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gabriel Dănuţ MOCANU

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The present study investigates the effects of the partial substitution of the pork back fat with different vegetable oils (sea buckthorn, walnut and sunflower and walnuts on the chemical composition, texture profile and sensory characteristics of meatloaves. The dry matter and ash content of meatloaf with vegetable oils and walnuts were higher than the control sample (P < 0.05. The cooking loss, energy values and lipid oxidation for the samples with walnuts and vegetable oils were lower than the control sample. The meatloaf sample containing walnuts and sea buckthorn oil had the highest total antioxidant capacity. The partial substitution of pork back fat showed a positive effect on textural and sensorial characteristics. Results reveal that the incorporation of vegetable oils and walnuts has successfully reduced the animal fat content in the finite products while improving the quality characteristics.

  9. 7 CFR 984.472 - Reports of merchantable walnuts shipped.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... MARKETING SERVICE (Marketing Agreements and Orders; Fruits, Vegetables, Nuts), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE... shipped; whether they were shipped into domestic or export channels; and for exports, the quantity by... remainder of that marketing year. (b) Reports of walnuts purchased directly from growers by handlers who are...

  10. Rheological Characterization of Isabgol Husk, Gum Katira Hydrocolloids, and Their Blends

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vipin Kumar Sharma

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The rheological parameters of Isabgol husk, gum katira, and their blends were determined in different media such as distilled water, 0.1 N HCl, and phosphate buffer (pH 7.4. The blend properties of Isabgol husk and gum katira were measured for four different percentage compositions in order to understand their compatibility in dispersion form such as 00 : 100, 25 : 50, 50 : 50, 75 : 25, and 100 : 00 in the gel strength of 1 mass%. The miscibility of blends was determined by calculating Isabgol husk-gum katira interaction parameters by Krigbaum and Wall equation. Other rheological properties were analyzed by Bingham, Power, Casson, Casson chocolate, and IPC paste analysis. The study revealed that the power flow index “p” was less than “1” in all concentrations of Isabgol husk, gum katira, and their blends dispersions indicating the shear-thinning (pseudoplastic behavior. All blends followed pseudoplastic behavior at thermal conditions as 298.15, 313.15, and 333.15°K and in dispersion media such as distilled water, 0.1 N HCl, and phosphate buffer (pH 7.4. Moreover, the study indicated the applicability of these blends in the development of drug delivery systems and in industries, for example, ice-cream, paste, nutraceutical, and so forth.

  11. Isolation, characterization and investigation of Plantago ovata husk polysaccharide as superdisintegrant.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pawar, Harshal; Varkhade, Chhaya

    2014-08-01

    Psyllium husk (Plantago ovata, Family: Plantaginaceae) contains a high proportion of hemicellulose, composed of a xylan backbone linked with arabinose, rhamnose, and galacturonic acid units (arabinoxylans). Polysaccharide was isolated from Psyllium husk using solvent precipitation method. The isolated polysaccharide was evaluated for various physicochemical parameters. The rheological behavior of polysaccharide (1% w/v in water) was studied using Brookfield viscometer. Polysaccharide derived from the husk of P. ovata was investigated as superdisintegrant in the fast dissolving tablets. Valsartan, an antihypertensive drug, was selected as a model drug. The tablets of Valsartan were prepared separately using different concentrations (1, 2.5, 5, 7.5% w/w) of isolated Plantago ovata (P. ovata) husk polysaccharide (Natural) and crospovidone as a synthetic superdisintegrant by direct compression method. The prepared tablets were evaluated for various pre-compression and post-compression parameters. The drug excipient interactions were characterized by FTIR studies. The formulation F4 containing7.5% polysaccharide showed rapid wetting time and disintegration time as compared to formulation prepared using synthetic superdisintegrant at the same concentration level. Hence batch F4 was considered as optimized formulation. The stability studies were performed on formulation F4. The disintegration time and in vitro drug release of the optimized formulation was compared with the marketed formulation (Conventional tablets). Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Efficacy of Heat Treatment for the Thousand Cankers Disease Vector and Pathogen in Small Black Walnut Logs

    Science.gov (United States)

    A. E. Mayfield; S. W. Fraedrich; A. Taylor; P. Merten; S. W. Myers

    2014-01-01

    Thousand cankers disease, caused by the walnut twig beetle (Pityophthorus juglandis Blackman) and an associated fungal pathogen (Geosmithia morbida M. Kolarõ´k, E. Freeland, C. Utley, and N. Tisserat), threatens the health and commercial use of eastern black walnut (Juglans nigra L.), one of the most economically...

  13. Effects of rice husk ash and termite hill types on the physical and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This waste can be recycled through inclusion as stabilizer in brick making, thereby eliminating the hazard posed to the environment. This paper examined the effects of rice husk ash (RHA) on the two termite clay soils in brick making. The two termite clay soils obtained from red and gray anthills were stabilized with rice husk ...

  14. Impact of coal and rice husk ash on the quality and chemistry of cement clinker

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nawaz, S.; Kanwal, S.; Rahim, U.; Sheikh, N.; Shahzad, K.

    2012-01-01

    Utilization of rice husk as an alternative fuel for coal is of interest due to its availability in huge quantities in Pakistan and also because its combustion is environmental pollution friendly as it generates much less SOX due to its much lower sulphur content (0.1-0.3%) compared to sulphur content in coals, particularly indeginous coals ranging from 0.6-14.8%. The purpose of present study was to examine the impact of co-firing of rice husk and coal on the quality of cement clinker so as to substitute expensive imported coal with the abundantly available cheaper rice husk to reduce the cost of production of the cement. For this investigation raw feed mix (mixture of limestone, clay, bauxite and laterite in predetermined proportions) used for cement manufacture was mixed with predetermined varying proportions of coal ash and rice husk ash and placed inside a muffle furnace at 1200 degree C - 1500 degree C i-e the temperatures prevailing in the industrial cement kilns, for various periods of time to obtain cement clinker. The quality and chemistry of cement clinker thus produced in the laboratory was experimentally studied to ensure the quality of cement clinker that would be obtained by co-firing of rice husk and coal in different proportions in industrial cement kilns as the coal ash and rice husk ash produced during combustion will get mixed with cement clinker in industrial kilns. The results indicated that there was decrease in the Lime Saturation Factor, Free Lime and Tricalcium Silicate (C3S) content and increase in the Dicalcium Silicate (C2S) content by increasing the rice husk ash and decreasing the coal ash proportion in the clinker. (author)

  15. Black walnut response to subsoiling, irrigation, and vegetation management on a site with a shallow fragipan

    Science.gov (United States)

    F. D. McBride; J. W. Van Sambeek

    1995-01-01

    Vegetation management with glyphosate and simazine proved to be more effective than preplant subsoiling or irrigation for achieving acceptable walnut biomass growth on an upland old field site (SI = 70 for white oak). In 1980, we direct seeded germinating black walnut seed on an upland, slightly eroded, old field ridge with a 45 to 60 cm deep fragipan. We tested all...

  16. Study of Genetic Diversity of Some Persian walnut Genotypes in Mashhad Commercial Orchards by using ISSR Marker

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shadi Attar

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Persian walnut (Juglans regia L., belonging to the Juglandaceae family, has its natural origin in the mountainous regions of central Asia and especially northern forests of Iran. Most walnut genotypes are seedling and sexually reproduced. Conducting studies on the genetic structure of these genotypes to identify, select and maintain their genetic resources is important. Identifying and collecting local varieties of fruit trees is considered as the first step on the path of breeding programs and lack of information regarding plants genetic characteristics causes the breeding work to be done slowly. Various methods have been used for studying genetic diversity and determining the genetic relationship between European and Asian varieties of walnut and identifying commercial walnut varieties, among which we can mention: Morphologic indices, Alozyme, Isozym, RFLP, RAPD, AFLP and ISSR markers. ISSR molecular marker was used in order to investigate genetic diversity of some genotypes of Persian walnut (Juglans regia L. in Mashhad orchards. . Materials and methods: To begin with, about 56 walnut trees from 4 orchards in Mashhad (Esteghlal (1, Golestan (2, Alandasht (3 and Emam Reza (4 were selected and tagged from 2014 to 2016. In the spring of 2014 with the beginning of trees growth and opening of leaves, a number of leaves from each genotype were collected. After DNA extraction, the quality of samples by agarose gel (1 percentage and electrophoresis method and quantity of them via spectrophotometer device at 260 and 280 nm wavelengths were determined. First, 24 primers of ISSR marker were prepared and after initial evaluation on 5 random genotypes, 9 primers with high polymorphism and repeatability were selected for further investigation. For PCR reaction, Amplicon kit (code 180 301, made in Denmark was used. Gel electrophoresis images of primers that produced polymorphic bands with suitable resolution were analyzed manually. After

  17. Study on the Ingredient Proportions and After-Treatment of Laser Sintering Walnut Shell Composites

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yueqiang Yu

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available To alleviate resource shortage, reduce the cost of materials consumption and the pollution of agricultural and forestry waste, walnut shell composites (WSPC consisting of walnut shell as additive and copolyester hot melt adhesive (Co-PES as binder was developed as the feedstock of selective laser sintering (SLS. WSPC parts with different ingredient proportions were fabricated by SLS and processed through after-treatment technology. The density, mechanical properties and surface quality of WSPC parts before and after post processing were analyzed via formula method, mechanical test and scanning electron microscopy (SEM, respectively. Results show that, when the volume fraction of the walnut shell powder in the WSPC reaches the maximum (40%, sintered WSPC parts have the smallest warping deformation and the highest dimension precision, although the surface quality, density, and mechanical properties are low. However, performing permeating resin as the after-treatment technology could considerably increase the tensile, bending and impact strength by 496%, 464%, and 516%, respectively.

  18. 7 CFR 999.500 - Safeguard procedures for walnuts and certain dates exempt from grade, size, quality, and maturity...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... and Orders; Fruits, Vegetables, Nuts), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SPECIALTY CROPS; IMPORT REGULATIONS... cannot be used for drying and sale as dried walnuts); walnuts used in non-competitive outlets such as use... the Marketing Order Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, and shall show the...

  19. Preparation of porous bio-char and activated carbon from rice husk by leaching ash and chemical activation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahiduzzaman, Md; Sadrul Islam, A K M

    2016-01-01

    Preparation porous bio-char and activated carbon from rice husk char study has been conducted in this study. Rice husk char contains high amount silica that retards the porousness of bio-char. Porousness of rice husk char could be enhanced by removing the silica from char and applying heat at high temperature. Furthermore, the char is activated by using chemical activation under high temperature. In this study no inert media is used. The study is conducted at low oxygen environment by applying biomass for consuming oxygen inside reactor and double crucible method (one crucible inside another) is applied to prevent intrusion of oxygen into the char. The study results shows that porous carbon is prepared successfully without using any inert media. The adsorption capacity of material increased due to removal of silica and due to the activation with zinc chloride compared to using raw rice husk char. The surface area of porous carbon and activated carbon are found to be 28, 331 and 645 m(2) g(-1) for raw rice husk char, silica removed rice husk char and zinc chloride activated rice husk char, respectively. It is concluded from this study that porous bio-char and activated carbon could be prepared in normal environmental conditions instead of inert media. This study shows a method and possibility of activated carbon from agro-waste, and it could be scaled up for commercial production.

  20. Population structure of Geosmithia morbida, the causal agent of thousand cankers disease of walnut trees in the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marcelo M. Zerillo; Jorge Ibarra Caballero; Keith Woeste; Andrew D. Graves; Colleen Hartel; Jay W. Pscheidt; Jadelys Tonos; Kirk Broders; Whitney Cranshaw; Steven J. Seybold; Ned Tisserat

    2014-01-01

    The ascomycete Geosmithia morbida and the walnut twig beetle Pityophthorus juglandis are associated with thousand cankers disease of Juglans (walnut) and Pterocarya (wingnut). The disease was first reported in the western United States (USA) on several Juglans species, but...

  1. Effects of gamma irradiation on the biochemical properties of walnut and pistachio nut in Syria, first phase: just after irradiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Othman, I; Karajoli, M; Moussa, A; Al-Kaed, A [Atomic Energy commission, Radiation Technology Unit, Damascus, (Syrian Arab Republic)

    1998-03-01

    The report describes a preliminary study that led to explore the possibility of preserving and extending the storage life of walnut and pistachio nut by gamma radiation. Syrian walnut and pistachio nut were irradiated in a Gamma cell (dose rate 0.08 kGy/min). Radiation doses used were 0.50 and 1.00 kGy and the samples were stored at room temperature (25 to 30 Centigrade) after packaging in polyethylene pouches. Fungi infestation was determined before and after gamma radiation treatment. A radiation dose of 1.00 kGy completely inhibited fungi infestation. The present study has, therefore, been conducted to investigate the effects of gamma radiation on the Biochemical properties of walnut and pistachio nut just after irradiation (first phase). Chemical analyses have shown the phosphorus and total proteins value decrease at 0.50 and 1.00 kGy and some significant changes were observed in carbohydrates. A slight decrease in the amount of converted sugars was also observed. Fats in walnut are less vulnerable to gamma radiation than pistachio nut due certainly to the high amount in unsaturated oleic and linoleic acids. In conclusion the effect of gamma radiation on walnut and pantheistic appears nutritionally significant in pistachio nut and less in walnut. More investigations are necessary after a long time of storage to prove their intact nutritional quality and eventually their good digestibility. (author). 6 refs.

  2. effects of gamma irradiation on the biochemical properties of walnut and pistachio nut in Syria, first phase: just after irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Othman, I.; Karajoli, M.; Moussa, A.; Al-Kaed, A.

    1998-01-01

    The report describes a preliminary study that led to explore the possibility of preserving and extending the storage life of walnut and pistachio nut by gamma radiation. Syrian walnut and pistachio nut were irradiated in a Gamma cell (dose rate 0.08 kGy/min). Radiation doses used were 0.50 and 1.00 kGy and the samples were stored at room temperature (25 to 30 Centigrade) after packaging in polyethylene pouches. Fungi infestation was determined before and after gamma radiation treatment. A radiation dose of 1.00 kGy completely inhibited fungi infestation. The present study has, therefore, been conducted to investigate the effects of gamma radiation on the Biochemical properties of walnut and pistachio nut just after irradiation (first phase). Chemical analyses have shown the phosphorus and total proteins value decrease at 0.50 and 1.00 kGy and some significant changes were observed in carbohydrates. A slight decrease in the amount of converted sugars was also observed. Fats in walnut are less vulnerable to gamma radiation than pistachio nut due certainly to the high amount in unsaturated oleic and linoleic acids. In conclusion the effect of gamma radiation on walnut and pantheistic appears nutritionally significant in pistachio nut and less in walnut. More investigations are necessary after a long time of storage to prove their intact nutritional quality and eventually their good digestibility. (author). 6 refs

  3. Microwave-induced torrefaction of rice husk and sugarcane residues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, M.J.; Huang, Y.F.; Chiueh, P.T.; Kuan, W.H.; Lo, S.L.

    2012-01-01

    This study utilized microwave irradiation to induce torrefaction (mild pyrolysis) of rice husk and sugarcane residues by varying different parameters, including microwave power level, processing time, water content, and particle size of biomass. Proper microwave power levels are suggested to be set between 250 and 300 W for the torrefaction of these two agricultural residues. With proper processing time, the caloric value can increase 26% for rice husk and 57% for sugarcane residue. Compared to dry rice husk, both maximum reaction temperature and mass reduction ratio increased with higher water content (not over 10%). Moreover, the particle size of biomass needs not to be very small. The mass reduction ratios were 65 wt.%, 69 wt.%, and 72 wt.%, when the sizes were 50/100 mesh, 100/200 mesh, and >200 mesh, respectively. Microwave-induced torrefaction reduces more oxygen/carbon ratio of biomass in comparison with traditional torrefaction. Microwave-induced torrefaction is considered as an efficient and promising technology with great potential. -- Highlights: ► Microwave-induced torrefaction is promising compared to conventional methods. ► Neither high microwave power nor small particle size is needed. ► High energy yield can be met under mild microwave power. ► Caloric value can increase up to about 60%.

  4. In vitro propagation of walnut - A review | Payghamzadeh | African ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    New challenges for refinements of protocols for high rate of shoot multiplication and development of cost effective methods has gained importance in the recent past. Importance of liquid and solid static culture for callus induction, embryogenesis, shoot proliferation and root induction for walnut is also discussed in the ...

  5. Effect Of Walnut Leaf, Coriander And Pomegranate On Blood ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Mechanism of most of herbal used for diabetes mellitus treatment has not been well defined. This study was performed to investigate hypoglycemic effect of walnut leaf (Juglans regia L.), coriander leaf (Coriandrum sativum L.) or pomegranate seed (Punica granatum L.), and their possible role on pancreatic tissue. Diabetes ...

  6. Characterisation of silica derived from rice husk (Muar, Johor, Malaysia) decomposition at different temperatures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azmi, M. A.; Ismail, N. A. A.; Rizamarhaiza, M.; W. M. Hasif. A. A., K.; Taib, H.

    2016-07-01

    Rice husk was thermally decomposed to yield powder composed of silica (SiO2). Temperatures of 700°C and 1000°C were chosen as the decomposition temperatures. X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), X-Ray Florescence (XRF), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) analyses were conducted on a synthetic silica powder (SS-SiO2) and the rice husk ash as for the comparative characterisation study. XRD analyses clearly indicated that the decomposed rice husk yielded silica of different nature which are Crystalline Rice Husk Silica (C-RHSiO2) and Amorphous Rice Husk Silica (A-RHSiO2). Moreover, it was found that SS-SiO2 was of Quartz phase, C-RHSiO2 was of Trydimite and Cristobalite. Through XRF detection, the highest SiO2 purity was detected in SS-SiO2 followed by C-RHSiO2 and A-RHSiO2 with purity percentages of 99.60%, 82.30% and 86.30% respectively. FTIR results clearly indicated silica (SiO2) bonding 1056, 1064, 1047, 777, 790 and 798 cm-1) increased as the crystallinity silica increased. The Cristobalite phase was detected in C-RH SiO2 at the wavelength of 620 cm-1. Morphological features as observed by FESEM analyses confirmed that, SS-SiO2 and C-RH SiO2 showed prominent coarse granular morphology.

  7. Studies on removal of NH4+-N from aqueous solution by using the activated carbons derived from rice husk

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhu, Kairan; Fu, Hao; Zhang, Jinghui; Lv, Xiaoshu; Tang, Jie; Xu, Xinhua

    2012-01-01

    Water pollution caused by ammonia nitrogen has attracted a great attention as its toxicity affects both the environment and human health. The objective of this paper was to investigate the adsorption behavior of NH 4 + -N from aqueous solution by activated carbons prepared from rice husk. The physico-chemical properties of the activated carbon were characterized by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) test, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was found that the NH 4 + -N adsorption on the rice husk derived carbons was dependent on adsorbent dosage and solution pH. The adsorption kinetics and isotherms of NH 4 + -N by rice husk carbon were also investigated, and good correlation coefficients were obtained for the pseudo-second order kinetic equation. Dubinin-Radushkevitch (D-R) adsorption isotherm model could better describe the adsorption behavior of NH 4 + -N on the rice husk carbon. Calculated by D-R model, the adsorption course of NH 4 + -N on the rice husk carbon was favored chemical ion-exchange mechanism. Moreover, the activated carbon adsorbed NH 4 + -N was highly fertilizer conservation especially for the nitrogen element. It was proposed that the amount of removed NH 4 + -N from aqueous solutions would increase evidently treated by rice husk carbon if combined with biological method. -- Highlights: ► The dosage of rice husk carbon and pH affected the removal of NH 4 + -N from aqueous solution. ► D-R model could better describe the adsorption behavior of NH 4 + -N on the rice husk carbon. ► The removing of NH 4 + -N would be risen by rice husk carbon if combined with biological method.

  8. Monitoring and research at Walnut Creek National Wildlife Refuge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roelle, James E.; Hamilton, David B.

    1993-01-01

    Walnut Creek National Wildlife Refuge-Prairie Learning Center (Walnut Creek or the Refuge) is one of the newest additions to the National Wildlife Refuge System, which consists of over 480 units throughout the United States operated by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service (the Service). Located about 20 miles east of Des Moines, Iowa, the Refuge has an approved acquisition boundary containing 8,654 acres (Figure 1). Acquisition is from willing sellers only, and to date the Service has purchased approximately 5,000 acres. The acquisition boundary encompasses about 43% of the watershed of Walnut Creek, which bisects the Refuge and drains into the Des Moines River to the southeast. Approximately 25%-30% of the Walnut Creek watershed is downstream of the Refuge. As authorized by Congress in 1990, the purposes of the Refuge are to (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1992): • restore native tallgrass pairie, wetland, and woodland habitats for breeding and migratory waterfowl and resident wildlife; • serve as a major environmental education center providing opportunities for study; • provide outdoor recreation benefits to the public; and • provide assistance to local landowners to improve their lands for wildlife habitat. To implement these purposes authorized by Congress, the Refuge has established the goal of recreating as nearly as possible the natural communities that existed at the time of settlement by Euro-Americans (circa 1840). Current land use is largely agricultural, including 69% cropland, 17% grazed pasture, and 7.5% grassland (dominantly brome) enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program). About 1,395 acres of relict native communities also exist on the Refuge, including prairie (725 acres), oak savanna and woodland (450 acres), and riparian or wetland areas (220 acres). Some of these relicts are highly restorable; others contain only a few prairie plants in a matrix of brome and will be more difficult to restore. When the

  9. What's killing my walnuts -- how to find help

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jerry Van Sambeek; Jenny. Juzwik

    2010-01-01

    For the last decade, we have watched as the granulate ambrosia beetle (GAB) formerly the Asian ambrosia beetle spread into the southern region of walnut. Now we are asked to watch for the possible invasion of the thousand canker disease (TCD) complex into the eastern United States assuming we cannot prevent its invasion from the western United States. For both pest...

  10. A Walnut-Enriched Diet Reduces Lipids in Healthy Caucasian Subjects, Independent of Recommended Macronutrient Replacement and Time Point of Consumption: a Prospective, Randomized, Controlled Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bamberger, Charlotte; Rossmeier, Andreas; Lechner, Katharina; Wu, Liya; Waldmann, Elisa; Stark, Renée G; Altenhofer, Julia; Henze, Kerstin; Parhofer, Klaus G

    2017-10-06

    Studies indicate a positive association between walnut intake and improvements in plasma lipids. We evaluated the effect of an isocaloric replacement of macronutrients with walnuts and the time point of consumption on plasma lipids. We included 194 healthy subjects (134 females, age 63 ± 7 years, BMI 25.1 ± 4.0 kg/m²) in a randomized, controlled, prospective, cross-over study. Following a nut-free run-in period, subjects were randomized to two diet phases (8 weeks each). Ninety-six subjects first followed a walnut-enriched diet (43 g walnuts/day) and then switched to a nut-free diet. Ninety-eight subjects followed the diets in reverse order. Subjects were also randomized to either reduce carbohydrates ( n = 62), fat ( n = 65), or both ( n = 67) during the walnut diet, and instructed to consume walnuts either as a meal or as a snack. The walnut diet resulted in a significant reduction in fasting cholesterol (walnut vs. -8.5 ± 37.2 vs. -1.1 ± 35.4 mg/dL; p = 0.002), non-HDL cholesterol (-10.3 ± 35.5 vs. -1.4 ± 33.1 mg/dL; p ≤ 0.001), LDL-cholesterol (-7.4 ± 32.4 vs. -1.7 ± 29.7 mg/dL; p = 0.029), triglycerides (-5.0 ± 47.5 vs. 3.7 ± 48.5 mg/dL; p = 0.015) and apoB (-6.7 ± 22.4 vs. -0.5 ± 37.7; p ≤ 0.001), while HDL-cholesterol and lipoprotein (a) did not change significantly. Neither macronutrient replacement nor time point of consumption significantly affected the effect of walnuts on lipids. Thus, 43 g walnuts/d improved the lipid profile independent of the recommended macronutrient replacement and the time point of consumption.

  11. Adsorptive studies of hazardous dye Tropaeoline 000 from an aqueous phase on to coconut-husk

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jain, Rajeev [Department of Environmental Chemistry, Jiwaji University, Gwalior 474011 (India)], E-mail: rajeevjain54@yahoo.co.in; Shrivastava, Meenakshi [Department of Environmental Chemistry, Jiwaji University, Gwalior 474011 (India)

    2008-10-30

    This contribution presents result pertaining to the adsorptive removal of water-soluble hazardous dye Tropaeoline 000, on to a low cost adsorbent-coconut-husk and its efficiency in the dye colour sorption was compared with activated carbon (AC). The results obtained from the batch experiments revealed the ability of the coconut-husk to remove the Tropaeoline 000 dye. The adsorption of dye was carried out at different pH, temperatures, amount of adsorbent, contact time, concentration of adsorbate (initial dye concentration) and particle size. The adsorption studies revealed that the ongoing adsorption validates both Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherm at temperatures 30, 40 and 50 deg. The adsorption isotherm data was also employed to calculate thermodynamic parameters like {delta}G{sup o}, {delta}H{sup o} and {delta}S{sup o}. The negative values of {delta}G{sup o} indicate that the dye adsorption process is a spontaneous in nature. The positive value of {delta}H{sup o} shows the endothermic nature of AC/coconut-husk system whereas negative value of {delta}H{sup o} indicates that the exothermic nature of AC/coconut-husk. The adsorption was found to undergo via a pseudo-second order adsorption kinetics and the results revealed that coconut-husk, an agricultural waste, proved to be an excellent low cost adsorbent.

  12. Adsorptive studies of hazardous dye Tropaeoline 000 from an aqueous phase on to coconut-husk

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jain, Rajeev; Shrivastava, Meenakshi

    2008-01-01

    This contribution presents result pertaining to the adsorptive removal of water-soluble hazardous dye Tropaeoline 000, on to a low cost adsorbent-coconut-husk and its efficiency in the dye colour sorption was compared with activated carbon (AC). The results obtained from the batch experiments revealed the ability of the coconut-husk to remove the Tropaeoline 000 dye. The adsorption of dye was carried out at different pH, temperatures, amount of adsorbent, contact time, concentration of adsorbate (initial dye concentration) and particle size. The adsorption studies revealed that the ongoing adsorption validates both Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherm at temperatures 30, 40 and 50 deg. The adsorption isotherm data was also employed to calculate thermodynamic parameters like ΔG o , ΔH o and ΔS o . The negative values of ΔG o indicate that the dye adsorption process is a spontaneous in nature. The positive value of ΔH o shows the endothermic nature of AC/coconut-husk system whereas negative value of ΔH o indicates that the exothermic nature of AC/coconut-husk. The adsorption was found to undergo via a pseudo-second order adsorption kinetics and the results revealed that coconut-husk, an agricultural waste, proved to be an excellent low cost adsorbent

  13. Characteristics of silica rice husk ash from Mojogedang Karanganyar Indonesia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suryana, R.; Iriani, Y.; Nurosyid, F.; Fasquelle, D.

    2018-05-01

    Indonesia is one of the countries in the world as the most abundant rice producer. Many researchers have demonstrated that the highest composition in the rice husk ash (RHA) is silica. Some of the advantages in utilizing silica as the raw material is the manufacture of ceramics, zeolite synthesis, fabrication of glass, electronic insulator materials, and as a catalyst. The amount of silica from rice husk ash is different for each region. Therefore, the study of silica from RHA is still promising, especially rice organic fertilizers. In this study, the rice came from Mojogedang Karanganyar Indonesia. Rice husk was dried under the solar radiation. Then the rice husk was heated in two steps: the first step at a temperature of 300°C and the second step at a temperature of 1200°C with a holding time at 2 h and 1 h, respectively. Furthermore, the temperature of the second step was varied at 1400 °C and 1600 °C. This heating process produced RHA. The content of RHA was observed on the EDAX spectrums while the morphology was observed from SEM images. The crystal structure of RHA was determined from XRD spectrums. The EDAX spectrums showed that RHA composition was dominated by elements Si and O for all the heating temperature. SEM images showed an agglomeration towards larger domains as heating temperatures increase. Analysis of XRD spectra is polycrystalline silica formed with the significant crystal orientation at 101, 102 and 200. The intensity of 101 increases significantly with increasing temperature. It is concluded that the crystal growth in the direction of 101 is preferred.

  14. UTILIZATION OF RICE HUSK AS RAW MATERIAL IN SYNTHESIS OF MESOPOROUS SILICATES MCM-41

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suyanta Suyanta

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available The research about synthesis and characterization of MCM-41 from rice husk has been done. Silica (SiO2 was extracted from rice husk by refluxing with 3M hydrochloric solution at 80 °C for 3 h. The acid-leached rice husk was filtered, washed, dried and calcined at 650 °C for 6 h lead the rough powder of rice husk silica with light brown in color. Characterization was carried out by X-ray diffraction (XRD and FTIR spectroscopy method. Rice husk silica was dissolved into the sodium hydroxide solution leading to the solution of sodium silicate, and used as silica source for the synthesis of MCM-41. MCM-41 was synthesized by hydrothermal process to the mixture prepared from 29 g of distilled water, 8.67 g of cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTMAB, 9.31 g of sodium silicate solution, and amount mL of 1 M H2SO4. Hydrothermal process was carried out at 100 °C in a teflon-lined stainless steel autoclave heated in the oven for 36 h. The solid phase was filtered, then washed with deionised water, and dried in the oven at 100 °C for 2 h. The surfactant CTMAB was removed by calcination at 550 °C for 10 h with heating rate 2 °C/min. The as-synthesized and calcined crystals were characterized by using FTIR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and N2 physisorption methods. In order to investigate the effect of silica source, the same procedure was carried out by using pure sodium silicate as silica source. It was concluded that silica extracted from rice husk can be used as raw materials in the synthesis of MCM-41, there is no significant difference in crystallinity and pore properties when was compared to material produced from commercial sodium silicate.

  15. Efficacy from Different Extractions for Chemical Profile and Biological Activities of Rice Husk

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Truong Ngoc Minh

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Rice husk is a by-product produced abundantly in rice production but it has low commercial value and causes environmental pollution. This study was conducted to examine different extracting solvents and conditions to optimize the efficacy of antioxidant and antimicrobial potentials, and chemical components in rice husk. By the use of distilled water at 100 °C, the ethyl acetate (EtOAc extract was potent in both total phenolic content (TPC, total flavonoid content (TFC, and DPPH scavenging activity. The treatment of either ethyl acetate (100 °C, 1 h, combined with MeOH 100%, showed the highest percent of lipid peroxidation inhibition (LPI (86%, meaning that the strongest antioxidant activity was by the β-carotene bleaching method. The treatment of distilled water at room temperature possessed the strongest antioxidant activity in the assay of the reducing power. The use of dried samples at 100 °C for 2 h, combined with methanol (MeOH 10%, provided the most potent antimicrobial activities against Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus subtilis, and Proteus mirabilis. The results suggested that the EtOAc extract from rice husk could be a potential source of natural antioxidants. In general, the use of temperature 100 °C for 2 h, combined with either EtOAc or 10% MeOH, can optimize chemical components and antioxidant and antimicrobial capacities in rice husk. Principal constituents putatively identified by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS revealed the presence of momilactones A and B (MA and MB, respectively, phenols, phenolic acids, and long-chain fatty acids, although yields of these compounds varied among extracts. The bioactive MA and MB were found in most of the extracts, except distilled water and MeOH ≤ 50%, at any temperature. Findings of this study provided optimal conditions for future production at an industrial scale for rice husk to exploit its potent biological properties. It

  16. Assessment of hazelnut husk as a lignocellulosic feedstock for the production of fermentable sugars and lignocellulolytic enzymes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pinar, Orkun; Karaosmanoğlu, Kübra; Sayar, Nihat Alpagu; Kula, Ceyda; Kazan, Dilek; Sayar, Ahmet Alp

    2017-12-01

    The present work focuses firstly on the evaluation of the effect of laccase on enzymatic hydrolysis of hazelnut husk which is one of the most abundant lignocellulosic agricultural residues generated in Turkey. In this respect, the co-enzymatic treatment of hazelnut husk by cellulase and laccase, without a conventional pretreatment step is evaluated. Using 2.75 FPU/g substrate (40 g/L substrate) and a ratio of 131 laccase U/FPU achieved the highest reducing sugars concentration. Gas chromatography mass spectrometry confirmed that the hydrolysate was composed of glucose, xylose, mannose, arabinose and galactose. The inclusion of laccase in the enzyme mixture [carboxymethyl cellulase (CMCase) and β-glucosidase] increased the final glucose content of the reducing sugars from 20 to 50%. Therefore, a very significant increase in glucose content of the final reducing sugars concentration was obtained by laccase addition. Furthermore, the production of cellulases and laccase by Pycnoporus sanguineus DSM 3024 using hazelnut husk as substrate was also investigated. Among the hazelnut husk concentrations tested (1.5, 6, 12, 18 g/L), the highest CMCase concentration was obtained using 12 g/L husk concentration on the 10th day of fermentation. Besides CMCase, P. sanguineus DSM 3024 produced β-glucosidase and laccase using hazelnut husk as carbon source. In addition to CMCase and β-glucosidase, the highest laccase activity measured was 2240 ± 98 U/L (8.89 ± 0.39 U/mg). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to report hazelnut husk hydrolysis in the absence of pretreatment procedures.

  17. Rice Husk Ash to Stabilize Heavy Metals Contained in Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Fly Ash: First Results by Applying New Pre-treatment Technology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura Benassi

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available A new technology was recently developed for municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI fly ash stabilization, based on the employment of all waste and byproduct materials. In particular, the proposed method is based on the use of amorphous silica contained in rice husk ash (RHA, an agricultural byproduct material (COSMOS-RICE project. The obtained final inert can be applied in several applications to produce “green composites”. In this work, for the first time, a process for pre-treatment of rice husk, before its use in the stabilization of heavy metals, based on the employment of Instant Pressure Drop technology (DIC was tested. The aim of this work is to verify the influence of the pre-treatment on the efficiency on heavy metals stabilization in the COSMOS-RICE technology. DIC technique is based on a thermomechanical effect induced by an abrupt transition from high steam pressure to a vacuum, to produce changes in the material. Two different DIC pre-treatments were selected and thermal annealing at different temperatures were performed on rice husk. The resulting RHAs were employed to obtain COSMOS-RICE samples, and the stabilization procedure was tested on the MSWI fly ash. In the frame of this work, some thermal treatments were also realized in O2-limiting conditions, to test the effect of charcoal obtained from RHA on the stabilization procedure. The results of this work show that the application of DIC technology into existing treatment cycles of some waste materials should be investigated in more details to offer the possibility to stabilize and reuse waste.

  18. Rice Husk Ash to Stabilize Heavy Metals Contained in Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Fly Ash: First Results by Applying New Pre-treatment Technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benassi, Laura; Franchi, Federica; Catina, Daniele; Cioffi, Flavio; Rodella, Nicola; Borgese, Laura; Pasquali, Michela; Depero, Laura E.; Bontempi, Elza

    2015-01-01

    A new technology was recently developed for municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) fly ash stabilization, based on the employment of all waste and byproduct materials. In particular, the proposed method is based on the use of amorphous silica contained in rice husk ash (RHA), an agricultural byproduct material (COSMOS-RICE project). The obtained final inert can be applied in several applications to produce “green composites”. In this work, for the first time, a process for pre-treatment of rice husk, before its use in the stabilization of heavy metals, based on the employment of Instant Pressure Drop technology (DIC) was tested. The aim of this work is to verify the influence of the pre-treatment on the efficiency on heavy metals stabilization in the COSMOS-RICE technology. DIC technique is based on a thermomechanical effect induced by an abrupt transition from high steam pressure to a vacuum, to produce changes in the material. Two different DIC pre-treatments were selected and thermal annealing at different temperatures were performed on rice husk. The resulting RHAs were employed to obtain COSMOS-RICE samples, and the stabilization procedure was tested on the MSWI fly ash. In the frame of this work, some thermal treatments were also realized in O2-limiting conditions, to test the effect of charcoal obtained from RHA on the stabilization procedure. The results of this work show that the application of DIC technology into existing treatment cycles of some waste materials should be investigated in more details to offer the possibility to stabilize and reuse waste. PMID:28793605

  19. Estimation of structural attributes of walnut trees based on terrestrial laser scanning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Estornell

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Juglans regia L. (walnut is a tree of significant economic importance, usually cultivated for its seed used in the food market, and for its wood used in the furniture industry. The aim of this work was to develop regression models to predict crown parameters for walnut trees using a terrestrial laser scanner. A set of 30 trees was selected and the total height, crown height and crown diameter were measured in the field. The trees were also measured by a laser scanner and algorithms were applied to compute the crown volume, crown diameter, total and crown height. Linear regression models were calculated to estimate walnut tree parameters from TLS data. Good results were obtained with values of R2 between 0.90 and 0.98. In addition, to analyze whether coarser point cloud densities might affect the results, the point clouds for all trees were subsampled using different point densities: points every 0.005 m, 0.01 m, 0.05 m, 0.1 m, 0.25 m, 0.5 m, 1 m, and 2 m. New regression models were calculated to estimate field parameters. For total height and crown volume good estimations were obtained from TLS parameters derived for all subsampled point cloud (0.005 m – 2 m.

  20. Effects of gamma irradiation on the biochemical properties of walnut and pistachio nut in Syria, first phase: just after irradiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Karajoli, M; Moussa, A; Al-Kaed, A; Othman, I [Atomic Energy Commission, Radiation Technology Unit, Irradiation Plant, Damascus (Syrian Arab Republic)

    1997-05-01

    The report describes a preliminary study that led to explore the possibility of preserving and extending the storage life of walnut and pistachio nut by gamma radiation. Syrian walnut and pistachio nut were irradiated in a Gamma cell (dose rate 0.08 kGy/min). Radiation doses used were 0.50 and 1.00 kGy and the samples were stored at room temperature (25 to 30 Centigrade) after packaging in polyethylene pouches. Fungi infestation was determined before and after gamma radiation treatment. A radiation dose of 1.00 kGy completely inhibited fungi infestation. The present study has, therefore, been conducted to investigate the effects of gamma radiation on the Biochemical properties of walnut and pistachio nut just after irradiation (first phase). Chemical analyses have shown the phosphorus and total proteins value decrease at 0.50 and 1.00 kGy and some significant changes were observed in carbohydrates. A slight decrease in the amount of converted sugars was also observed. Fats in walnut are less vulnerable to gamma radiation than pistachio nut due certainly to the high amount in unsaturated oleic and linoleic acids. In conclusion the effect of gamma radiation on walnut and pantheistic appears nutritionally significant in pistachio nut and less in walnut. More investigations are necessary after a long time of storage to prove their intact nutritional quality and eventually their good digestibility. (author). 6 refs., 6 figs., 22 tabs.

  1. Effects of gamma irradiation on the biochemical properties of walnut and pistachio nut in Syria, first phase: just after irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Karajoli, M.; Moussa, A.; Al-Kaed, A.; Othman, I.

    1997-05-01

    The report describes a preliminary study that led to explore the possibility of preserving and extending the storage life of walnut and pistachio nut by gamma radiation. Syrian walnut and pistachio nut were irradiated in a Gamma cell (dose rate 0.08 kGy/min). Radiation doses used were 0.50 and 1.00 kGy and the samples were stored at room temperature (25 to 30 Centigrade) after packaging in polyethylene pouches. Fungi infestation was determined before and after gamma radiation treatment. A radiation dose of 1.00 kGy completely inhibited fungi infestation. The present study has, therefore, been conducted to investigate the effects of gamma radiation on the Biochemical properties of walnut and pistachio nut just after irradiation (first phase). Chemical analyses have shown the phosphorus and total proteins value decrease at 0.50 and 1.00 kGy and some significant changes were observed in carbohydrates. A slight decrease in the amount of converted sugars was also observed. Fats in walnut are less vulnerable to gamma radiation than pistachio nut due certainly to the high amount in unsaturated oleic and linoleic acids. In conclusion the effect of gamma radiation on walnut and pantheistic appears nutritionally significant in pistachio nut and less in walnut. More investigations are necessary after a long time of storage to prove their intact nutritional quality and eventually their good digestibility. (author). 6 refs., 6 figs., 22 tabs

  2. The Effect of Walnut Oil Consumption on Blood Sugar in Patients With Diabetes Mellitus Type 2.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zibaeenezhad, Mohammadjavad; Aghasadeghi, Kamran; Hakimi, Hossein; Yarmohammadi, Hassan; Nikaein, Farzad

    2016-07-01

    Prevalence of diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM) is increasing globally. Considering the potential role of poly-unsaturated fatty acids in prevention of DM type 2 and lipid profiles improvement, some studies have been carried out on walnut. However, there are no studies on control of blood sugar in DM type 2 patients using walnut. The current study aimed to evaluate the effect of walnut oil on blood sugar in DM type 2 patients. This randomized control clinical trial was performed on 100 patients with DM type 2. For the experiment group (n = 50), walnut oil (15 g/day for three months) was added to their diet, while the control group (n = 50) did not undergo any interventions. Before initiation of the experiment and after the experiment, the systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP) levels, fasting blood sugar (FBS) and HbA1c were measured. The two groups were not significantly different for SBP, DBP, body weight, and Body Mass Index. HbA1c level decreased significantly in the experiment group by 7.86% ± 21.97 (P = 0.005) from 7.00 ± 1.08 before the intervention to 6.37 ± 1.29 after the intervention. Also, FBS level decreased significantly by 8.24% ± 16.77 (P = 0.001); from 158.37 ± 48.16 before the intervention to 137.91 ± 23.24 after the intervention in the experimental group. These changes in the control group were not significant. Consumption of walnut oil (15 g/day for three months) was shown to improve blood glucose level but, no changes were noted for bodyweight and blood pressure in type two diabetic patients.

  3. The Influence of Atmosphere on the Oxidation of Ground Walnut During Storage at 20 °C

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rajko Vidrih

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study is to determine the impact of atmosphere on the oxidation of ground walnut during storage at 20 °C. Seven varieties of walnut (Juglans regia L. were ground and stored under O2 or N2 atmospheres in hermetically sealed vials for 10 months at room temperature. Antioxidative potential, total phenolic content, fatty acid composition, and oxidative degradation products were determined after 10 months of storage. Cultivar, atmosphere and cultivar×atmosphere interactions significantly influenced the antioxidative potential. Cultivar and atmosphere significantly influenced the content of total polyphenols, with more polyphenols found in walnut stored in the N2 atmosphere. The mass fraction of unsaturated linolenic acid tended to decrease during storage under the O2 atmosphere; statistically significant differences were only found between individual varieties. The O2 atmosphere also resulted in an increase in the synthesis of oxidative degradation products. Among the degradation products, hexanal was the most abundant volatile compound, followed by 1-octen-3-ol, octanal, as well as the mixture of 2-octenal and 1-octen-3-ol. In general, higher concentrations of these degradation products were found in walnut stored under the O2 atmosphere, although these differences were statistically significant only between individual varieties for some compounds.

  4. Novel uses of rice-husk-ash (a natural silica-carbon matrix) in low-cost water purification applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malhotra, Chetan; Patil, Rajshree; Kausley, Shankar; Ahmad, Dilshad

    2013-06-01

    Rice-husk-ash is used as the base material for developing novel compositions to deal with the challenge of purifying drinking water in low-income households in India. For example, rice-husk-ash cast in a matrix of cement and pebbles can be formed into a filtration bed which can trap up to 95% of turbidity and bacteria present in water. This innovation was proliferated in villages across India as a do-it-yourself rural water filter. Another innovation involves embedding silver nanoparticles within the rice husk ash matrix to create a bactericidal filtration bed which has now been commercialized in India as a low-cost for-profit household water purifier. Other innovations include the impregnation of rice-husk-ash with iron hydroxide for the removal of arsenic from water and the impregnation of rice-husk ash with aluminum hydroxide for the removal of fluoride ions from water which together have the potential to benefit over 100 million people across India who are suffering from the health effects of drinking groundwater contaminated with arsenic and fluoride.

  5. RICE-HUSK ASH-CARBIDE-WASTE STABILIZATION OF ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper present results of the laboratory evaluation of the characteristics of carbide waste and rice husk ash stabilized reclaimed asphalt pavement waste with a ... of 5.7 % and resistance to loss in strength of 84.1 %, hence the recommendation of the mixture for use as sub-base material in flexible pavement construction.

  6. Sorption of Lead (II Ions on Activated Coconut Husk

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amin Jahangard

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Background: In recent years, various toxic chemicals/compounds have been widely detected at dangerous levels in drinking water in many parts of the world posing a variety of serious health risks to human beings. One of these toxic chemicals is lead, so this paper aimed to evaluate of efficiency coconut husk as cheap adsorbent for removal lead under different conditions. Methods: In the spring of 2015, batch studies were performed in laboratory (Branch of Hamadan, Islamic Azad University, to evaluate the influences of various experimental parameters like pH, initial concentration, adsorbent dosage, contact time and the effect of temperature on the adsorption capacity of coconut husk for removal lead from aqueous solution. Results: Optimum conditions for Pb (II removal were pH 6, adsorbent dosage 1g/100ml of solution and equilibrium time 120 min. The adsorption isotherm was also affected by temperature since the adsorption capacity was increased by raising the temperature from 25 to 45 °C. The equilibrium adsorption isotherm was better described by Freuindlich adsorption isotherm model. Conclusion: It is evident from the literature survey that coconut-based biosorbents have shown good potential for the removal of various aquatic pollutants. Coconut husk-based activated carbon can be a promising adsorbent for removal of Pb from aqueous solutions.

  7. Enhancing nutrient recovery and compost maturity of coconut husk by vermicomposting technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swarnam, T P; Velmurugan, A; Pandey, Sanjay Kumar; Dam Roy, S

    2016-05-01

    Vermicompost was prepared by five different treatments from relatively resistant coconut husk mixed with either pig slurry or poultry manure. The recovery of vermicompost varied from 35% to 43% and it resulted in significant increase in pH, microbial biomass carbon, macro and micro nutrients concentration. Among the treatments highest relative N (1.6) and K (1.3) recovery were observed for 20% feedstock substitution by pig slurry while poultry manure substitution recorded highest P recovery (2.4). Compost maturity parameters significantly differed and well correlated. The characteristics of different treatments established the maturity indices as C/N 15-20; Cw1.5 and HI>15.0. The manurial value of the coconut husk compost was improved by feedstock substitution with pig slurry (80:20). The results revealed the technical feasibility of converting coconut husk into valuable compost by feedstock substitution with pig slurry. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Husk to caryopsis adhesion in barley is influenced by pre- and post-anthesis temperatures through changes in a cuticular cementing layer on the caryopsis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brennan, M; Shepherd, T; Mitchell, S; Topp, C F E; Hoad, S P

    2017-10-23

    At ripeness, the outer husk of "covered" barley grains firmly adheres to the underlying caryopsis. A cuticular cementing layer on the caryopsis is required for husk adhesion, however the quality of adhesion varies significantly among cultivars which produce the cementing layer, resulting in the economically important malting defect, grain skinning. The composition of the cementing layer, and grain organ development have been hypothesised to influence the quality of husk adhesion. Plants of Hordeum vulgare 'Concerto' were grown at different temperatures pre- and post-anthesis to effect changes in the development of the husk, caryopsis and cuticular cementing layer, to determine how these variables influence the quality of husk-to-caryopsis adhesion. Warm conditions pre-anthesis decreased the quality of husk adhesion, and consequently increased the incidence of grain skinning. Cool post-anthesis conditions further decreased the quality of husk adhesion. The composition of the cementing layer, rather than its structure, differed with respect to husk adhesion quality. This cementing layer was produced at the late milk stage, occurring between nine and 29 days post-anthesis, conditional on the temperature-dependent growth rate. The compounds octadecanol, tritriacontane, campesterol and β-sitosterol were most abundant in caryopses with high-quality husk adhesion. The differences in adhesion quality were not due to incompatible husk and caryopsis dimensions affecting organ contact. This study shows that husk-to-caryopsis adhesion is dependent on cementing layer composition, and implies that this composition is regulated by temperature before, and during grain development. Understanding this regulation will be key to improving husk-to-caryopsis adhesion.

  9. Effect of gamma irradiation on storability of Syrian walnut

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Al-Bachir, M [Atomic Energy Commission, Damascus (Syrian Arab Republic). Dept. of Radiation Technology

    2001-12-01

    Walnut fruits of Baladi variety were irradiated with 0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 kGy of gamma irradiation. The irradiated and unirradiated fruits were stored at room temperature (15 to 18 Centigrade) and at a relative humidity of 50 to 70%. Fungal load, proximate composition, chemical changes and sensory properties of nuts were evaluated immediately after irradiation, 6 and 12 months of storage. The results indicated that gamma irradiation reduced the fungal load. Used doses did not cause any significant change in proximate composition of walnuts. Immediately after irradiation, gamma irradiation increased total acidity and decreased iodine value and the volatile basic nitrogen (VBN). whereas, after 12 months of storage, gamma irradiation decreased total acidity and peroxide value and increased iodine value and (VBN). Immediately after irradiation no significant differences were observed between irradiated and non-irradiated samples in flavor and aroma. Whereas, after 12 months of storage higher doses (1.5 and 2.0 kGy) had a negative effect on sensory characteristics. (author)

  10. Effect of gamma irradiation on storability of Syrian walnut

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Al-Bachir, M.

    2002-01-01

    Walnut fruits of Baladi variety were irradiated with 0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 kGy of gamma irradiation. The irradiated and unirradiated fruits were stored at room temperature (15 to 18 Centigrade) and at a relative humidity of 50 to 70%. Fungal load, proximate composition, chemical changes and sensory properties of nuts were evaluated immediately after irradiation, 6 and 12 months of storage. The results indicated that gamma irradiation reduced the fungal load. Used doses did not cause any significant change in proximate composition of walnuts. Immediately after irradiation, gamma irradiation increased total acidity and decreased iodine value and the volatile basic nitrogen (VBN). whereas, after 12 months of storage, gamma irradiation decreased total acidity and peroxide value and increased iodine value and (VBN). Immediately after irradiation no significant differences were observed between irradiated and non-irradiated samples in flavor and aroma. Whereas, after 12 months of storage higher doses (1.5 and 2.0 kGy) had a negative effect on sensory characteristics. (author)

  11. Walnut consumption in a weight reduction intervention: effects on body weight, biological measures, blood pressure and satiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rock, Cheryl L; Flatt, Shirley W; Barkai, Hava-Shoshana; Pakiz, Bilge; Heath, Dennis D

    2017-12-04

    Dietary strategies that help patients adhere to a weight reduction diet may increase the likelihood of weight loss maintenance and improved long-term health outcomes. Regular nut consumption has been associated with better weight management and less adiposity. The objective of this study was to compare the effects of a walnut-enriched reduced-energy diet to a standard reduced-energy-density diet on weight, cardiovascular disease risk factors, and satiety. Overweight and obese men and women (n = 100) were randomly assigned to a standard reduced-energy-density diet or a walnut-enriched (15% of energy) reduced-energy diet in the context of a behavioral weight loss intervention. Measurements were obtained at baseline and 3- and 6-month clinic visits. Participants rated hunger, fullness and anticipated prospective consumption at 3 time points during the intervention. Body measurements, blood pressure, physical activity, lipids, tocopherols and fatty acids were analyzed using repeated measures mixed models. Both study groups reduced body weight, body mass index and waist circumference (time effect p weight was -9.4 (0.9)% vs. -8.9 (0.7)% (mean [SE]), for the standard vs. walnut-enriched diet groups, respectively. Systolic blood pressure decreased in both groups at 3 months, but only the walnut-enriched diet group maintained a lower systolic blood pressure at 6 months. The walnut-enriched diet group, but not the standard reduced-energy-density diet group, reduced total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) at 6 months, from 203 to 194 mg/dL and 121 to 112 mg/dL, respectively (p weight loss that is comparable to a standard reduced-energy-density diet in the context of a behavioral weight loss intervention. Although weight loss in response to both dietary strategies was associated with improvements in cardiovascular disease risk factors, the walnut-enriched diet promoted more favorable effects on LDL-C and systolic blood pressure. The trial

  12. Nanostructured silicon nitride from wheat and rice husks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Qadri, S. B.; Rath, B. B.; Gorzkowski, E. P.; Wollmershauser, J. A.; Feng, C. R. [Materials Science and Component Technology Directorate, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C. 20375 (United States)

    2016-04-07

    Nanoparticles, submicron-diameter tubes, and rods of Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} were synthesized from the thermal treatment of wheat and rice husks at temperatures at and above 1300 °C in a nitrogen atmosphere. The whole pattern Rietveld analysis of the observed diffraction data from treatments at 1300 °C showed the formation of only hexagonal α-phase of Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} with an R-factor of 1%, whereas samples treated at 1400 °C and above showed both α- and β-phases with an R-factor of 2%. Transmission electron microscopy showed the presence of tubes, rods, and nanoparticles of Si{sub 3}N{sub 4}. In a two-step process, where pure SiC was produced first from rice or wheat husk in an argon atmosphere and subsequently treated in a nitrogen atmosphere at 1450 °C, a nanostructured composite material having α- and β-phases of Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} combined with cubic phase of SiC was formed. The thermodynamics of the formation of silicon nitride is discussed in terms of the solid state reaction between organic matter (silica content), which is inherently present in the wheat and rice husks, with the nitrogen from the furnace atmosphere. Nanostructures of silicon nitride formed by a single direct reaction or their composites with SiC formed in a two-step process of agricultural byproducts provide an uncomplicated sustainable synthesis route for silicon nitride used in mechanical, biotechnology, and electro-optic nanotechnology applications.

  13. COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF OXALIC ACID PRODUCED FROM RICE HUSK AND PADDY

    OpenAIRE

    P.I. Oghome; K.O.Amanze; C.I.O.Kamalu; A.C Nkwocha; S.O.Opebiyi

    2012-01-01

    In this research work, comparative analysis of Oxalic acid produced from Rice husk and Paddy was carried out in order to ascertain which waste sample produced a better yield. Nitric acid oxidation of carbohydrates was the method adopted in the production. The variable ratios of HNO3:H2SO4 used were 80:20, 70:30, 60:40, and 50:50. The variable ratio of 60:40 gave the maximum yield and at a maximum temperature of 75oC. Rice husk sample gave a percentage yield of 53.2, 64.4, 81.0, and 53.3 at te...

  14. Socio-economic potentials and threats to the African walnut in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The African walnut, Plukenetia conophora Mull-Arg (Syn. Tetracarpidium conophorum) is an important climber species that contributes immensely to food security and poverty alleviation in communities within the humid tropical forests of West and Central Africa. However, the challenges facing its year-round availability have ...

  15. Physico chemical evaluation of coffee husk, wastes of enset (Enset ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Physico chemical evaluation of coffee husk, wastes of enset (Enset ventricosum), vegetable and khat (Catha edulis) through vermicomposting employing an epigeic earthworm Dendrobaena veneta (Rosa, 1886)

  16. THE PAPER CHARACTERISTICS FROM COMBINATION OF RICE HUSKS AND EMPTY FRUIT BUNCHES

    OpenAIRE

    Yuli Ristianinsih; Hero Islami; Muhammad Sarwani

    2017-01-01

    Rice husk and empty fruit bunches are agricultural and plantation wastes which have fiber cellulose and hemicellulose, it can be converted to pulp and paper. This research aims to study the effect of NaOH concentration (2, 4, 6 and 8% w/v) and raw material composition to pulp yield and to study characteristics of the paper combination of rice husk and empty fruit bunches using soda process based on SEM and XRD analysis. This research using soda process because it is suitable for non-wood raw...

  17. THE PAPER CHARACTERISTICS FROM COMBINATION OF RICE HUSKS AND EMPTY FRUIT BUNCHES

    OpenAIRE

    Yuli Ristianingsih; Hero Islami; Muhammad Sarwani

    2017-01-01

    Abstract- Rice husk and empty fruit bunches are agricultural and plantation wastes which have fiber cellulose and hemicellulose, it can be converted to pulp and paper. This research aims to study the effect of NaOH concentration (2, 4, 6 and 8% w/v) and raw material composition to pulp yield and to study characteristics of the paper combination of rice husk and empty fruit bunches using soda process based on SEM and XRD analysis. This research using soda process because it is suitable for no...

  18. Managing black walnut in natural stands: the human dimension

    Science.gov (United States)

    H.E. " Hank" Stelzer

    2004-01-01

    In managing black walnut, or any forest tree species, the human dimension is often overlooked. As a result, both the number of landowners managing their land and the number of forested acres under management has not significantly increased over the past 30 years. Elements of the human landscape are explored and a roadmap for engaging landowners is proposed.

  19. Husk energy for boilers and furnaces

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Deven, M.

    1985-10-01

    In view of the technical feasibility and economic viability, industries located in rice, coconut, and cotton growing areas, can easily switch over from oil/coal fired furnace/boilers to husk fired ones and thereby effect fuel economy. The banks and financial institutions will readily agree to provide finance as per directions of the governments and in some cases they also offer subsidy for development and utilization of energy saving devices.

  20. Synthesis of biogenic silicon/silica (Si/SiO2) nanocomposites from rice husks and wheat bran through various microorganisms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaur, Taranjot; Pal Singh, Gurwinder; Kaur, Gurneet; Kaur, Sukhvir; Gill, Prabhjot Kaur

    2016-08-01

    Biosilification is an economically viable, energy saving and green approach for the commercial scale synthesis of oxide nanomaterials. The room temperature synthesis of oxide nanocomposites from cost effective agro-based waste is a particular example of biosilification. In this study, synthesis of Si/SiO2 nanocomposites from inexpensive agro-based waste material i.e. rice husks (RH) and wheat bran (WB) has been carried out by means of various eukaryotic microorganisms, i.e. Actinomycete, Fusarium oxysporum, Aspergillus niger, Trichoderma sp. and Penicillium sp., under ambient conditions. The XRD diffrectrograms represents that the synthesized nanomaterials exhibits silicon, amorphous silica and other crystal arrays such as cristobalite, trydimite and quartz, depending upon the type microorganism and time period used for extraction. All of the aforesaid microorganism bio transformed the naturally occurring amorphous silica to crystalline structures within the period of 24 h. However, the Actinomycete and Trichoderma sp. took 48 h in case of rice husks for biotransformation of naturally occurring plant silica to crystalline nanocomposite. While in case of wheat bran, Actinomycete and Trichoderma sp. took 24 h for biotransformation. The extracted nanocomposites exhibits band edge in the range 230-250 nm and blue emission. The procedure described in study can be used for commercial level production of Si/SiO2 nanocomposites from agro based waste materials.

  1. Oil-walnut hull fracs score in Saskatchewan

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pamenter, C B

    1967-02-01

    The fracturing of wells using crude oil and walnut shells was recently introduced in SE. Saskatchewan with remarkable success. This workover treatment showed an ability to penetrate deeply into the low capacity Mississippian carbonates, and to raise production rates by as much as 400% without affecting the acceptable oil/ water ratios. Two case histories are included that indicate some of the conditions under which the treatment can be of value. The monthly oil and water production is tabulated for each of these cases.

  2. Characterisation of silica derived from rice husk (Muar, Johor, Malaysia) decomposition at different temperatures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Azmi, M. A.; Ismail, N. A. A.; Rizamarhaiza, M.; Hasif, W. M. K. A. A.; Taib, H., E-mail: hariati@uthm.edu.my [Faculty of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, 86400 Batu Pahat, Johor (Malaysia)

    2016-07-19

    Rice husk was thermally decomposed to yield powder composed of silica (SiO{sub 2}). Temperatures of 700°C and 1000°C were chosen as the decomposition temperatures. X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), X-Ray Florescence (XRF), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) analyses were conducted on a synthetic silica powder (SS-SiO{sub 2}) and the rice husk ash as for the comparative characterisation study. XRD analyses clearly indicated that the decomposed rice husk yielded silica of different nature which are Crystalline Rice Husk Silica (C-RHSiO{sub 2}) and Amorphous Rice Husk Silica (A-RHSiO{sub 2}). Moreover, it was found that SS-SiO{sub 2} was of Quartz phase, C-RHSiO{sub 2} was of Trydimite and Cristobalite. Through XRF detection, the highest SiO{sub 2} purity was detected in SS-SiO{sub 2} followed by C-RHSiO{sub 2} and A-RHSiO{sub 2} with purity percentages of 99.60%, 82.30% and 86.30% respectively. FTIR results clearly indicated silica (SiO{sub 2}) bonding 1056, 1064, 1047, 777, 790 and 798 cm{sup −1}) increased as the crystallinity silica increased. The Cristobalite phase was detected in C-RH SiO{sub 2} at the wavelength of 620 cm{sup −1}. Morphological features as observed by FESEM analyses confirmed that, SS-SiO{sub 2} and C-RH SiO{sub 2} showed prominent coarse granular morphology.

  3. York University PhD Thesis about the voyage of the Walnut

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    2007-01-01

    York'i Ülikooli sotsiaalantropoloogia üliõpilase Lynda Männiku uurimistööst, mis käsitleb 1948. a. novembris ohtliku merereisi Briti miinilaeval "Walnut" Rootsist Kanadasse üle elanud inimeste, kelle hulgas oli ka Lynda isa, saatust

  4. A study on flexural and water absorption of surface modified rice husk flour/E-glass/polypropylene hybrid composite

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rassiah, K.; Sin, T. W.; Ismail, M. Z.

    2016-10-01

    This work is to study the effects of rice husk (RH)/E-Glass (EG)/polypropylene (PP) hybrid composites in terms of flexural and water absorption properties. The tests conducted are the flexural test and also the water absorption test using two types of water: distilled and sea water. The hybrid composites are prepared with various ratios of fibre weight fractions and the rice husk is treated using 2% Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) to improve interaction and adhesion between the non-polar matrix and the polar lignocellulosic fibres. It was found that the content of rice husk/E-Glass fillers affected the structural integrity and flexural properties of hybrid composites. In addition, a higher ratio of rice husk contributes to higher water absorption in the hybrid composites.

  5. Processing Methods of Alkaline Hydrolysate from Rice Husk

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olga D. Arefieva

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper devoted to finding processing methods of alkaline hydrolysate produced from rice husk pre-extraction, and discusses alkaline hydrolysate processing schemed and disengagement of some products: amorphous silica of various quality, alkaline lignin, and water and alkaline extraction polysaccharides. Silica samples were characterized: crude (air-dried, burnt (no preliminary water treatment, washed in distilled water, and washed in distilled water and burnt. Waste water parameters upon the extraction of solids from alkaline hydrolysate dropped a few dozens or thousand times depending on the applied processing method. Color decreased a few thousand times, turbidity was virtually eliminated, chemical oxygen demanded about 20–136 times; polyphenols content might decrease 50% or be virtually eliminated. The most prospective scheme obtained the two following solid products from rice husk alkaline hydrolysate: amorphous silica and alkaline extraction polysaccharide. Chemical oxygen demand of the remaining waste water decreased about 140 times compared to the silica-free solution.

  6. Mesoporous Silica from Rice Husk Ash

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S.A. Mandavgane

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Mesoporous silica is used as a raw material in several areas: in preparation of catalysts, in inks, as aconcrete hardening accelerator, as a component of detergents and soaps, as a refractory constituent etc.Sodium silicate is produced by reacting rice hull ash (RHA with aqueous NaOH and silica is precipitatedfrom the sodium silicate by acidification. In the present work, conversion of about 90% of silica containedin RHA into sodium silicate was achieved in an open system at temperatures of about 100 °C. The resultsshowed that silica obtained from RHA is mesoporous, has a large surface area and small particle size.Rice Husk is usually mixed with coal and this mixture is used for firing boilers. The RHA therefore, usuallycontains carbon particles. Activated carbon embedded on silica has been prepared using the carbon alreadypresent in RHA. This carbon shows good adsorption capacity. ©2010 BCREC UNDIP. All rights reserved(Received: 25th April 2010, Revised: 17th June 2010, Accepted: 24th June 2010[How to Cite: V.R. Shelke, S.S. Bhagade, S.A. Mandavgane. (2010. Mesoporous Silica from Rice Husk Ash. Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering and Catalysis, 5 (2: 63-67. doi:10.9767/bcrec.5.2.793.63-67

  7. The Tensile Strenght Properties Effect Of Rice-Husk Ash As On The Composite Of Plastic Drinking Bottle Waste

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maulida

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Rice-husk ash has a potential to be filler in composite. The study on rice-husk ash utilitation as afiller in polyethylene terephthalate PET matrix of plastic drinking bottle waste was conducted in order to find the ratio of rice-husk ask and PET matrix that would result the best tensile strength which was characterized by using scenning electron microscopy SEM. In this study the PET of plastic drinking bottle waste firstly was cut into smaller pieces and was extruded with the temperature of 265 o C. Then it was mixed with rice-husk ash on ratio of PET plastic drinking bottle waste and rice-husk ash of 955 9010 and 8515. After that it was extruded at temperature of 265 o C before it was pressed by hot press at temperature of 265 o C for five minutes. The highest tensile strength was achieved at 3462 MPa with elongation at break a round 14375 and youngs modulus of 34882 MPa for the ratio of 8515.

  8. Retrofit design of rice husk feeding system in the production of amorphous silica ash in a pilot scale fluidized bed combustor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abdul, A.; Rozainee, M.; Anwar, J.; Wan Alwi, R.S.

    2010-01-01

    Full text: Rice husk is among the most important recovery resources for silica that is produced annually in huge quantities in many countries such as Malaysia which produces 2.38 (MT) of rice paddy. Rice husks accounts for 14-35 % of the weight of the paddy harvested, depending on the paddy variety and because of its abundance it poses serious environmental problems in the rice producing countries. Therefore, the thermo-chemical conversion of rice husks to useful silica ash by fluidized bed combustion is the proven and cost-effective technology for converting the renewable waste husks by making commercial use of this rice husk ash because of its self sustaining ability. However, feeding of rice husk into the reactor bed has become a difficult problem hindering the production of amorphous silica. This is due to the poor penetration and low bulk density as well as the flaky, abrasive and joined nature of rice husk. Most of the researches into fluidized bed combustion are on laboratory or bench scale and none had discussed pilot scale combustion of rice husk into amorphous silica. A recent attempt to solve this feeding problem from an experimental investigation in a bench-scale culminates into a pilot-scale fluidized bed combustor designed with a combined screw conveyor and an inclined pneumatic feeding by direct injection, yet the problem persists. This paper presents a retrofit design of the existing 0.5 m internal diameter pilot scale fluidized bed combustor by the use of combined screw feeding system. It is envisaged that at the end of the experimental investigation the retrofit design will address the problem associated with rice husk feeding in bubbling fluidized bed combustors. (author)

  9. Comparing growth rate in a mixed plantation (walnut, poplar and nurse trees with different planting designs: results from an experimental plantation in northern Italy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francesco Pelleri

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available 800x600 Results of a mixed plantation with poplar, walnut and nurse trees established in winter 2003 in Northern Italy, are reported. Main tree species (poplar and walnut were planted according to a rectangular design (10 x 11m, with different spacings and alternate lines. The experimental trial was carried out to verify the following working hypotheses: (i possibility to combine main trees with different growth levels (common walnut, hybrid walnut, and different poplar clones and test two different poplar and walnut spacings (5.0 and 7.4 m in the same plantation; (ii opportunity to reduce cultivation’s workload, in comparison with poplar monoculture, using mixtures with different poplar clones and N-fixing nurse trees; (iii verifying the growth pattern of two new poplar clones in comparison with the traditional clones cultivated for different purposes in Italy.The use of different valuable crop trees’ mixtures intercropped with nurse trees and shrubs (including N-fixing trees allows to decrease the cultivation’s workload. In fact, a heavy reduction of cultural practices - fertilizers, weed control, irrigation and pesticides applications (-61% are the main concurrent, supplementary benefits. The best growth performances (DBH and tree height, associated with the higher competition towards walnuts, were recorded with the new clones Lena and Neva in comparison with the I214 and Villafranca. The closer spacing (5 m between poplar and walnut trees was found to be unsuited to get merchantable poplars sized 30 cm without developing a heavy competition towards walnut trees. The wider spacing (7.4 m resulted vice versa suitable to get poplar trees sized as requested by veneer factories and to maintain an acceptable competitive level with walnut. Within this plantation design, a shorter rotation (8 yrs is needed for Lena and Neva clones in comparison with I214 and Villafranca (10 yrs. Walnut intercropped with poplar showed cone-shaped crowns, light

  10. Decision making analysis of walnut seedling production on a small ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The decision has to be made between those three alternatives aiming at achievement of optimal/best economic result for the family farm. Summarizing results obtained from the decision tree, simulation and sensitivity analysis, the optimal solution for the family farm should be to continue production of walnut seedlings with ...

  11. Chemical and antimicrobial analysis of husk fiber aqueous extract ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A

    2013-05-01

    May 1, 2013 ... The industrial use of this plant generates large amounts of husk fiber as ... high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) grade and purchased from ..... Peng Z, Hayasaka Y, Iland PG, Sefton M, Hoj P, Waters EJ (2001).

  12. Study on concrete with partial replacement of cement by rice husk ash

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaarthik Krishna, N.; Sandeep, S.; Mini, K. M.

    2016-09-01

    Increase in the demand of conventional construction materials and the need for providing a sustainable growth in the construction field has prompted the designers and developers to opt for ‘alternative materials’ feasible for use in construction. For this objective, the use of industrial waste products and agricultural byproducts are very constructive. These industrial wastes and agricultural by products such as Fly Ash, Rice Husk Ash, Silica Fume, and Slag can be replaced instead of cement because of their pozzolanic behavior, which otherwise requires large tract of lands for dumping. In the present investigation, Rice Husk Ash has been used as an admixture to cement in concrete and its properties has been studied. An attempt was also done to examine the strength and workability parameters of concrete. For normal concrete, mix design is done based on Indian Standard (IS) method and taking this as reference, mix design has been made for replacement of Rice Husk Ash. Four different replacement levels namely 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% are selected and studied with respect to the replacement method.

  13. Evaluation of strategies for utilizing rice husk based on life cycle cost analysis in relation to Greenhouse Gas emissions in An Giang province, Vietnam

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mai Thao, Pham Thi; Kurisu, Kiyo H.; Hanaki, Keisuke

    2012-01-01

    To evaluate the cost effectiveness of rice husk utilization, a life cycle cost analysis was conducted for 18 scenarios developed in a previous study. The allocation of fuels other than rice husks was decided on the basis of current demand for and supply of rice husks. The production of rice husk briquettes is also discussed as a means of circumventing problems arising from the bulk of the material. In the power generation scenarios, differences between two generating capacities (5 and 30 MW) were analyzed. Costs savings are possible by using rice husk to replace fossil fuels for cooking. With regard to power generation, operation on a 30-MW scale by combustion of all available rice husk was identified as the most economically efficient scenario, followed by small-scale gasification scenarios (5 MW). The combustion of rice husk briquettes for power generation appeared to be less cost-efficient than direct combustion, whereas large-scale gasification scenarios and pyrolysis scenarios give rise to increases in cost compared with the baseline. When both GHG abatement and costs are taken into consideration, suitable scenarios that are practicable involve the use of rice husk for cooking, for large-scale combustion power generation, and for small-scale gasification. -- Highlights: ► Life cycle cost analysis was conducted to evaluate potentiality of rice husk use. ► The scenarios used rice husk for cooking showed a better cost effectiveness. ► While large-scale gasification and pyrolysis is less. ► In relation to GHG emission, the win–win scenarios are to use rice husk for cooking. ► Large-scale combustion and small-scale gasification also showed practical scenarios.

  14. Clay stabilization by using gypsum and paddy husk ash with reference to UCT and CBR value

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roesyanto; Iskandar, R.; Hastuty, I. P.; Dianty, W. O.

    2018-02-01

    Clays that have low shear strength need to be stabilized in order to meet the technical requirements to serve as a subgrade material. One of the usual soil stabilization methods is by adding chemicals such as Portland cement, lime, and bitumen. The clay stabilization research was done by adding gypsum and paddy husk ash. The research goals were to find out the value of engineering properties of clay due to the addition of 2% gypsum and 2% - 15% paddy husk ash. The soil was classified as Clay - Low Plasticity (CL) based on USCS and was classified as A-7-6 (10) based on AASHTO classification system. The UCT value of original soil was 1.41 kg/cm2. While the CBR soaked and unsoaked values of original soil were 4.41% and 6.23% respectively. The research results showed the addition of paddy husk ash decreased the value of unconfined compressive strength as well as CBR. The stabilized soil by 2% gypsum and 0% paddy husk ash gave maximum UCT value of 1.67 kg/cm2, while the maximum value of CBR were found 6.71% for CBR soaked and 8.00% for CBR unsoaked. The addition of paddy husk ash did not alter the soil classification according to AASHTO or USCS, even degrade the engineering properties of original soil.

  15. Chemical and antimicrobial analysis of husk fiber aqueous extract ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Chemical and antimicrobial analysis of husk fiber aqueous extract from Cocos nucifera L. Davi Oliveira e Silva, Gabriel Rocha Martins, Antônio Jorge Ribeiro da Silva, Daniela Sales Alviano, Rodrigo Pires Nascimento, Maria Auxiliadora Coelho Kaplan, Celuta Sales Alviano ...

  16. A Study of the Anechoic Performance of Rice Husk-Based, Geometrically Tapered, Hollow Absorbers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Nadeem Iqbal

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Although solid, geometrically tapered microwave absorbers are preferred due to their better performance, they are bulky and must have a thickness on the order of λ or more. The goal of this study was to design lightweight absorbers that can reduce the electromagnetic reflections to less than −10 dB. We used a very simple approach; two waste materials, that is, rice husks and tire dust in powder form, were used to fabricate two independent samples. We measured and used their dielectric properties to determine and compare the propagation constants and quarter-wave thickness. The quarter-wave thickness for the tire dust was 3 mm less than that of the rice husk material, but we preferred the rice-husk material. This preference was based on the fact that our goal was to achieve minimum backward reflections, and the rice-husk material, with its low dielectric constant, high loss factor, large attenuation per unit length, and ease of fabrication, provided a better opportunity to achieve that goal. The performance of the absorbers was found to be better (lower than −20 dB, and comparison of the results proved that the hollow design with 58% less weight was a good alternative to the use of solid absorbers.

  17. Ispaghula Husk-Based Extended Release Tablets of Diclofenac ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    1Vels College of Pharmacy, Pallavaram, Chennai, India, 2Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University, ... Keywords: Ispaghula husk, Extended release tablet, Diclofenac sodium, Release kinetics. .... release, i.e., Qt vs t, log (Q0-Qt) vs t and Qt vs .... Wallis TE, Textbook of Pharmacognosy, CBS.

  18. SUPPLEMENTATION OF COFFEE HUSK FERMENTED WITH Pleurotus ostreatus: EFFECT ON PERFORMANCE AND BLOOD PROFILE OF GASTROINTESTINAL NEMATODES INFECTED GOAT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I. Badarina

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to investigate the potency of coffee husk fermented with P.ostreatus as a natural anthelmintic supplement by measuring the performance and blood profile of goat suffered gastrointestinal nematodes infection. Eighteen local male goats of Kacang goat with body weight of 9.23 ± 1.71 kg and aged at ± 10 months were arranged into three treatments in completely randomized design. The treatments were T0 (group without chemical anthelmintic treatment and no supplementation of fermented coffee husk, T1 (without chemical anthelmintic treatment, but supplied with fermented coffee husk and T2 (group with chemical anthelmintic and no supplementation of fermented coffee husk. All goats were offered a basal diet in the ratio of 60% natural grasses along with 40% concentrate. Fermented coffee husk was added in the diet as much as 6% from the dry matter need. The result showed that there were no significant effect to dry matter intake, daily weight gain, PCV value and eosinophil counts (P>0.05. The supplementation of fermented coffee husk (T1 enhanced Hb and red blood cell (RBC value (P<0.05 while no significant difference to T2. There were no nematodes infection in T1 and T2 with the eggs count were zero while the animals in T0 were still infected. This result indicated that fermented coffee husk can be used as a promising natural anthelmintic supplement with the improvement of Hb value, RBC, egg counts and daily weight gain.

  19. Cellulose fibers extracted from rice and oat husks and their application in hydrogel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oliveira, Jean Paulo de; Bruni, Graziella Pinheiro; Lima, Karina Oliveira; Halal, Shanise Lisie Mello El; Rosa, Gabriela Silveira da; Dias, Alvaro Renato Guerra; Zavareze, Elessandra da Rosa

    2017-04-15

    The commercial cellulose fibers and cellulose fibers extracted from rice and oat husks were analyzed by chemical composition, morphology, functional groups, crystallinity and thermal properties. The cellulose fibers from rice and oat husks were used to produce hydrogels with poly (vinyl alcohol). The fibers presented different structural, crystallinity, and thermal properties, depending on the cellulose source. The hydrogel from rice cellulose fibers had a network structure with a similar agglomeration sponge, with more homogeneous pores compared to the hydrogel from oat cellulose fibers. The hydrogels prepared from the cellulose extracted from rice and oat husks showed water absorption capacity of 141.6-392.1% and high opacity. The highest water absorption capacity and maximum stress the compression were presented by rice cellulose hydrogel at 25°C. These results show that the use of agro-industrial residues is promising for the biomaterial field, especially in the preparation of hydrogels. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Removal of Ni(II), Zn(II) and Pb(II) ions from single metal aqueous solution using rice husk-based activated carbon

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Taha, Mohd F., E-mail: faisalt@petronas.com.my; Shaharun, Maizatul S. [Fundamental and Applied Sciences Department, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Bandar Seri Iskandar, 31750, Perak Darul Ridzuan (Malaysia); Shuib, Anis Suhaila, E-mail: anisuha@petronas.com.my; Borhan, Azry [Chemical Engineering Department, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Bandar Seri Iskandar, 31750, Perak Darul Ridzuan (Malaysia)

    2014-10-24

    An attempt was made to investigate the potential of rice husk-based activated carbon as an alternative low-cost adsorbent for the removal of Ni(II), Zn(II) and Pb(II) ions from single aqueous solution. Rice husk-based activated carbon was prepared via treatment of rice husk with NaOH followed by the carbonization process at 400°C for 2 hours. Three samples, i.e. raw rice husk, rice husk treated with NaOH and rice husk-based activated carbon, were analyzed for their morphological characteristics using field-emission scanning electron microscope/energy dispersive X-ray (FESEM/EDX). These samples were also analyzed for their carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen and silica contents using CHN elemental analyzer and FESEM/EDX. The porous properties of rice husk-based activated carbon were determined by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analyzer, and its surface area and pore volume were 255 m{sup 2}/g and 0.17 cm{sup 2}/g, respectively. The adsorption studies for the removal of Ni(II), Zn(II) and Pb(II) ions from single metal aqueous solution were carried out at a fixed initial concentration of metal ion (150 ppm) with variation amount of adsorbent (rice husk-based activated carbon) as a function of varied contact time at room temperature. The concentration of each metal ion was analyzed using atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). The results obtained from adsorption studies indicate the potential of rice husk as an economically promising precursor for the preparation of activated carbon for removal of Ni(II), Zn(II) and Pb(II) ions from single aqueous solution. Isotherm and kinetic model analyses suggested that the experimental data of adsorption studies fitted well with Langmuir, Freundlich and second-order kinetic models.

  1. Influence of operating conditions on the removal of brilliant vital red dye from aqueous media by bio-sorption using rice husk

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rehman, R.; Anwar, J.; Mahmud, T.; Salman, M.; Shafique, U.

    2011-01-01

    Bio-sorption is emerging as an economical and eco friendly methodology for the removal of hazardous and toxic chemicals from waste water. The operating conditions have a great influence on the efficiency of this process. Conventional and indigenous bio sorbents like bagasse, wheat husk and rice husk have been evaluated for their removing efficiency of Brilliant Vital Red dye from water. Rice husk is proved better among them. The effect of important operating conditions for the removal of the dye using rice husk were studied. The observed optimum values for various factors are; 0.2 g of bio sorbent, 25 ppm initial dye concentration, 30 deg. C temperature, 15 minutes contact time, 300 rpm stirring speed and 2.0 ph. Langmuir adsorption isotherm model was also applied to evaluate maximum adsorption capacity of rice husk for Brilliant Vital Red dye. Q/sub max/ value was 15.06 which indicated that rice husk can effectively be used for the removal of Brilliant Vital Red dye from wastewater using the optimized operational conditions. This study would be accommodative with regard to practical wastewater treatment. (author)

  2. THE PAPER CHARACTERISTICS FROM COMBINATION OF RICE HUSKS AND EMPTY FRUIT BUNCHES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuli Ristianingsih

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract- Rice husk and empty fruit bunches are agricultural and plantation wastes which have fiber cellulose and hemicellulose, it can be converted to pulp and paper. This research aims to study the effect of NaOH concentration (2, 4, 6 and 8% w/v and raw material composition to pulp yield and to study characteristics of the paper combination of rice husk and empty fruit bunches using soda process based on SEM and XRD analysis. This research using soda process because it is suitable for non-wood raw materials, low cost operations and not use sulfur compounds. Dry raw materials are mixed with NaOH and digesting using autoclave (100°C, 1 atm for 60 minutes. NaOH concentration optimum used in the pulping process a combination rice husk and empty fruit bunches (1:3, 1:2, 1:1, 2:1 and 3:1 and then cooled for 30 minutes. Pulp is bleached with NaClO 5.25% (v / v, then formed and dried as paper. The lowest pulp yield obtained in a ratio of 2: 1 is 27.6%. Based on the observation of SEM known the fiber of rice husk and empty fruit bunches is 5.88 to 9.8 μm and 8.82 to 14.71 μm, while based on XRD observations, chemical treatment can improve the characteristic of peak intensity on paper combination. The highest advances of peak intensity in the 1:3 ratio is 71.28% (cellulose I dan 83.33% (cellulose II.

  3. THE PAPER CHARACTERISTICS FROM COMBINATION OF RICE HUSKS AND EMPTY FRUIT BUNCHES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuli Ristianinsih

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Rice husk and empty fruit bunches are agricultural and plantation wastes which have fiber cellulose and hemicellulose, it can be converted to pulp and paper. This research aims to study the effect of NaOH concentration (2, 4, 6 and 8% w/v and raw material composition to pulp yield and to study characteristics of the paper combination of rice husk and empty fruit bunches using soda process based on SEM and XRD analysis. This research using soda process because it is suitable for non-wood raw materials, low cost operations and not use sulfur compounds. Dry raw materials are mixed with NaOH and digesting using autoclave (100°C, 1 atm for 60 minutes. NaOH concentration optimum used in the pulping process a combination rice husk and empty fruit bunches (1:3, 1:2, 1:1, 2:1 and 3:1 and then cooled for 30 minutes. Pulp is bleached with NaClO 5.25% (v / v, then formed and dried as paper. The lowest pulp yield obtained in a ratio of 2: 1 is 27.6%. Based on the observation of SEM known the fiber of rice husk and empty fruit bunches is 5.88 to 9.8 μm and 8.82 to 14.71 μm, while based on XRD observations, chemical treatment can improve the characteristic of peak intensity on paper combination. The highest advances of peak intensity in the 1:3 ratio is 71.28% (cellulose I dan 83.33% (cellulose II.

  4. Mechanical performance of porous concrete pavement containing nano black rice husk ash

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ibrahim, M. Y. Mohd; Ramadhansyah, P. J.; Rosli, H. Mohd; Ibrahim, M. H. Wan

    2018-01-01

    This paper presents an experimental research on the performance of nano black rice husk ash on the porous concrete pavement properties. The performance of the porous concrete pavement mixtures was investigated based on their compressive strength, flexural strength, and splitting tensile strength. The results indicated that using nano material from black rice husk ash improved the mechanical properties of porous concrete pavement. In addition, the result of compressive, flexural, and splitting tensile strength was increased with increasing in curing age. Finally, porous concrete pavement with 10% replacement levels exhibited an excellent performance with good strength compared to others.

  5. Synergistic anti-tumor effects of melatonin and PUFAs from walnuts in a murine mammary adenocarcinoma model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia, Carolina P; Lamarque, Alicia L; Comba, Andrea; Berra, María A; Silva, Renata A; Labuckas, Diana O; Das, Undurti N; Eynard, Aldo R; Pasqualini, Maria E

    2015-04-01

    The aim of this study was to determine the effects of some polyunsaturated fatty acids plus phytomelatonin from walnuts in the development of mammary gland adenocarcinoma. BALB/c mice were fed a semisynthetic diet supplemented with either 6% walnut oil and 8% walnut flour containing phytomelatonin (walnut diet: WD); or 6% corn oil plus commercial melatonin (melatonin diet: MD), or the control group (CD), which received only 6% of corn oil. Membrane fatty acids of tumor cells (TCs) were analyzed by gas liquid chromatography, cyclooxygenase (COX) and lipoxygenase (LOX) derivatives, and plasma melatonin by high-performance liquid chromatography; apoptosis and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes by flow cytometry. TCs from the MD and WD mice showed significant decreases in linoleic acid compared with the CD group (P < 0.05). Significantly lower levels of LOX-[13(S)-HODE] were found in TCs from the MD and WD group than in CD (P < 0.0001). COX-[12(S)-HHT] was lower and 12 LOX-[12(S)-HETE] was higher in TCs from the MD group than form the WD and CD arms (P < 0.05). Plasma melatonin, apoptosis, tumor infiltration, and survival time were significantly lower in CD mice than in MD and WD mice (P < 0.05). This study shows that melatonin, along with polyunsaturated fatty acids, exerts a selective inhibition of some COX and LOX activities and has a synergistic anti-tumor effect on a mammary gland adenocarcinoma model. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  6. Evaluation by discrete element method (DEM) of gap-graded packing potentialities for green concrete design

    OpenAIRE

    Stroeven, P.; Le, L.B.N.

    2013-01-01

    Partial replacement of Portland cement by pozzolanic mineral admixtures exerts direct positive effects on CO2 emissions. The green character is reinforced by making use of incinerated vegetable waste, such as rice husk ash (RHA). Gap-grading leads to improved particle packing density with RHA as the fine component, so that high strength concrete can be produced. Characteristics of the capillary pores developed in the hydrating binder have impact on the transport-based durability properties. Y...

  7. Magnesiothermic reduction of rice husk ash for electromagnetic wave adsorption

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Shu-Ting; Yan, Kang-kang; Zhang, Yuan hu; Jin, Shi-di; Ye, Ying; Chen, Xue-Gang, E-mail: chenxg83@zju.edu.cn

    2015-11-15

    The increase in electromagnetic pollution due to the extensive exploitation of electromagnetic (EM) waves in modern technology creates correspondingly urgent need for developing effective EM wave absorbers. In this study, we carried out the magnesiothermic reduced the rice husk ash under different temperatures (400–800 °C) and investigated the electromagnetic wave adsorption of the products. The EM absorbing for all samples are mainly depend on the dielectric loss, which is ascribed to the carbon and silicon carbide content. RA samples (raw rice husk ashed in air and was magesiothermic reduced in different temperatures) exhibit poor dielectric properties, whereas RN samples (raw rice husk ashed in nitrogen and was magesiothermic reduced in different temperatures) with higher content of carbon and silicon carbide display considerable higher dielectric loss values and broader bandwidth for RL<−5 dB and −10 dB. For RN samples, the maximum bandwidth for −5 dB and −10 dB decrease with carbon contents, while the optimum thickness decrease with increasing SiC content. The optimum thickness of RN400–800 for EM absorption is 1.5–2.0 mm, with maximum RL of between −28.9 and −68.4 dB, bandwidth of 6.7–13 GHz for RL<−5 dB and 3.2–6.2 GHz for RL<−10 dB. The magnesiothermic reduction will enhance the potential application of rice husk ash in EM wave absorption and the samples benefited from low bulk density and low thickness. With the advantages of light-weight, high EM wave absorption, low cost, RN400–800 could be promising candidates for light-weight EM wave absorption materials over many conventional EM wave absorbers. - Highlights: • RN400–800 samples are potential light-weight electromagnetic absorbers. • Carbon and SiC are considered as dominating contributions for the dielectric loss. • Magnesiumothermic reduction extends the EM wave absorption potential of RHN.

  8. Coffee husk waste for fermentation production of mosquitocidal bacteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poopathi, Subbiah; Abidha, S

    2011-12-01

    Coffee husk waste (CHW) discarded as bio-organic waste, from coffee industries, is rich in carbohydrates. The current study emphasizes the management of solid waste from agro-industrial residues for the production of biopesticides (Bacillus sphaericus, and B. thuringiensis subsp. israelensis), to control disease transmitting mosquito vectors. An experimental culture medium was prepared by extracting the filtrates from coffee husk. A conventional culture medium (NYSM) also was prepared. The studies revealed that the quantity of mosquitocidal toxins produced from CHW is at par with NYSM. The bacteria produced in these media, were bioassayed against mosquito vectors (Culex quinquefasciatus, Anopheles stephensi, and Aedes aegypti) and it was found that the toxic effect was statistically comparable. Cost-effective analysis have revealed that, production of biopesticides from CHW is highly economical. Therefore, the utilization of CHW provides dual benefits of effective utilization of environmental waste and efficient production of mosquitocidal toxins.

  9. Amino acid profile of raw and boiled seeds of african walnut ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Principal Component Analysis (PCA) explained close to 50% of the total variability in amino acid composition, identifying arginine, asparagine, lysine, methionine, valine, glutamic acid, leucine, cysteine, threonine, alanine and isoleucine as the key amino acids for describing African walnut seeds in the south-eastern zone of ...

  10. Preparation of methacrylic acid-modified rice husk improved by an experimental design and application for paraquat adsorption

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hsu, Shih-Tong; Chen, Lung-Chuan; Lee, Cheng-Chieh; Pan, Ting-Chung; You, Bing-Xuan; Yan, Qi-Feng

    2009-01-01

    Methacrylic acid (MAA) grafted rice husk was synthesized using graft copolymerization with Fenton's reagent as the redox initiator and applied to the adsorption of paraquat. The highest grafting percentage of 44.3% was obtained using the traditional kinetic method. However, a maximum grafting percentage of 65.3% was calculated using the central composite design. Experimental results based on the recipes predicted from the statistical analysis are consistent with theoretical calculations. A representative polymethacrylic acid-g-rice husk (PMAA-g-rice husk) copolymer was hydrolyzed to a salt type and applied to the adsorption of paraquat. The adsorption equilibrium data correlate more closely with the Langmuir isotherm than with the Freundlich equation. The maximum adsorption capacity of modified rice husk is 292.5 mg/g-adsorbent. This value exceeds those for Fuller's earth and activated carbon, which are the most common binding agents used for paraquat. The samples at various stages were characterized by solid-state 13 C NMR spectroscopy.

  11. Preparation of methacrylic acid-modified rice husk improved by an experimental design and application for paraquat adsorption

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hsu, Shih-Tong, E-mail: shihtong@mail.ksu.edu.tw [Department of Polymer Materials, Kun Shan University, No. 949 Da-Wan Rd., Yung-Kang City, Tainan Hsien, Taiwan (China); Chen, Lung-Chuan, E-mail: lcchen@mail.ksu.edu.tw [Department of Polymer Materials, Kun Shan University, No. 949 Da-Wan Rd., Yung-Kang City, Tainan Hsien, Taiwan (China); Lee, Cheng-Chieh, E-mail: etmediagoing@yahoo.com.tw [Department of Environmental Engineering, Kun Shan University, No. 949 Da-Wan Rd., Yung-Kang City 710, Tainan Hsien, Taiwan (China); Pan, Ting-Chung, E-mail: tcpan@mail.ksu.edutw [Department of Environmental Engineering, Kun Shan University, No. 949 Da-Wan Rd., Yung-Kang City 710, Tainan Hsien, Taiwan (China); You, Bing-Xuan, E-mail: kp2681@yahoo.com.tw [Department of Polymer Materials, Kun Shan University, No. 949 Da-Wan Rd., Yung-Kang City, Tainan Hsien, Taiwan (China); Yan, Qi-Feng, E-mail: rsrs0938@yahoo.com.tw [Department of Polymer Materials, Kun Shan University, No. 949 Da-Wan Rd., Yung-Kang City, Tainan Hsien, Taiwan (China)

    2009-11-15

    Methacrylic acid (MAA) grafted rice husk was synthesized using graft copolymerization with Fenton's reagent as the redox initiator and applied to the adsorption of paraquat. The highest grafting percentage of 44.3% was obtained using the traditional kinetic method. However, a maximum grafting percentage of 65.3% was calculated using the central composite design. Experimental results based on the recipes predicted from the statistical analysis are consistent with theoretical calculations. A representative polymethacrylic acid-g-rice husk (PMAA-g-rice husk) copolymer was hydrolyzed to a salt type and applied to the adsorption of paraquat. The adsorption equilibrium data correlate more closely with the Langmuir isotherm than with the Freundlich equation. The maximum adsorption capacity of modified rice husk is 292.5 mg/g-adsorbent. This value exceeds those for Fuller's earth and activated carbon, which are the most common binding agents used for paraquat. The samples at various stages were characterized by solid-state {sup 13}C NMR spectroscopy.

  12. Preparation of methacrylic acid-modified rice husk improved by an experimental design and application for paraquat adsorption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsu, Shih-Tong; Chen, Lung-Chuan; Lee, Cheng-Chieh; Pan, Ting-Chung; You, Bing-Xuan; Yan, Qi-Feng

    2009-11-15

    Methacrylic acid (MAA) grafted rice husk was synthesized using graft copolymerization with Fenton's reagent as the redox initiator and applied to the adsorption of paraquat. The highest grafting percentage of 44.3% was obtained using the traditional kinetic method. However, a maximum grafting percentage of 65.3% was calculated using the central composite design. Experimental results based on the recipes predicted from the statistical analysis are consistent with theoretical calculations. A representative polymethacrylic acid-g-rice husk (PMAA-g-rice husk) copolymer was hydrolyzed to a salt type and applied to the adsorption of paraquat. The adsorption equilibrium data correlate more closely with the Langmuir isotherm than with the Freundlich equation. The maximum adsorption capacity of modified rice husk is 292.5mg/g-adsorbent. This value exceeds those for Fuller's earth and activated carbon, which are the most common binding agents used for paraquat. The samples at various stages were characterized by solid-state (13)C NMR spectroscopy.

  13. Fabrication and Performance Test of Aluminium Alloy-Rice Husk Ash Hybrid Metal Matrix Composite as Industrial and Construction Material

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Md. Rahat Hossain

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Aluminium matrix composites (AMCs used extensively in various engineering fields due to their exceptional mechanical properties. In this present study, aluminium matrix composites (AMCs such as aluminium alloy (A356 reinforced with rice husk ash particles (RHA are made to explore the possibilities of reinforcing aluminium alloy. The stir casting method was applied to produce aluminium alloy (A356 reinforced with various amounts of (2%, 4%, and 6% rice husk ash (RHA particles. Physical treatment was carried out before the rice husk ash manufacturing process. The effect of mechanical strength of the fabricated hybrid composite was investigated. Therefore, impact test, tensile stress, compressive stress, and some other tests were carried out to analyse the mechanical properties. From the experimental results, it was found that maximum tensile, and compressive stress were found at 6% rice husk ash (RHA and aluminium matrix composites (AMCs. In future, the optimum percentages of rice husk ash (RHA to fabricate the hybrid composites will be determined. Also, simulation by finite element method (FEM will be applied for further investigation.

  14. Adsorption of arsenate from aqueous solution by rice husk-based adsorbent

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khan, Taimur; Chaudhuri, Malay

    2013-01-01

    Rice husk-based adsorbent (RHBA) was prepared by burning rice husk in a muffle furnace at 400°C for 4 h and adsorption of arsenate by the RHBA from aqueous solution was examined. Batch adsorption test showed that extent of arsenate adsorption depended on contact time and pH. Equilibrium adsorption was attained in 60 min, with maximum adsorption occurring at pH 7. Equilibrium adsorption data were well described by the Freundlich isotherm model. Freundlich constants K f and 1/n were 3.62 and 2, respectively. The RHBA is effective in the adsorption of arsenate from water and is a potentially suitable filter medium for removing arsenate from groundwater at wells or in households.

  15. Rice Husk Ash (RHA): radon remediations and other applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sethi, Beena; Sharma, Jyoti; Kant, Krishan

    2013-01-01

    Rice Husk Ash has been used to obstruct the diffusion of radon through building materials and it has been reported that the substitution of 20-30% rice husk ash with cement leads to lower radon diffusion and exhalation rates with higher compressive strength as compared to control concrete. It can also be used to treat dyes. The waste water containing dyes is very difficult to treat, since the dyes are recalcitrant organic molecules, resistant to aerobic digestion, and are stable to light, heat and oxidising agents. Light is one of the components which aquatic organisms require for their development and any deficit caused by coloured effluent leads to an imbalance of the ecosystem. Because of increasingly stringent restrictions on the organic content of industrial effluents, it is necessary and important to eliminate dyes from wastewater before it is discharged. In the present work, thermodynamic study of adsorption of Amaranth dye on to steam activated pigmented carbon prepared from rice husk (Oryza sativa) was investigated. The adsorbent was investigated under variable system parameters, such as initial concentration of dye, adsorbent dose and temperature. The adsorption equilibrium studied both by Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. Linearity of the Langmuir isotherm plots indicate the chemical nature of the interactions while the linear Freundlich isotherms point to non specific and energetically non - uniform nature of the adsorption sites. The values of Langmuir monolayer capacity (q m ) are between 0.9 and 1.0 mg/g. The results obtained indicate a potential use of SAPRHC for removing dyes like Amaranth dye from water. (author)

  16. Mesoporous Silica from Rice Husk Ash

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V.R. Shelke

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Mesoporous silica is used as a raw material in several areas: in preparation of catalysts, in inks, as a concrete hardening accelerator, as a component of detergents and soaps, as a refractory constituent etc. Sodium silicate is produced by reacting rice hull ash (RHA with aqueous NaOH and silica is precipitated from the sodium silicate by acidification. In the present work, conversion of about 90% of silica contained in RHA into sodium silicate was achieved in an open system at temperatures of about 100 °C. The results showed that silica obtained from RHA is mesoporous, has a large surface area and small particle size. Rice Husk is usually mixed with coal and this mixture is used for firing boilers. The RHA therefore, usually contains carbon particles. Activated carbon embedded on silica has been prepared using the carbon already present in RHA. This carbon shows good adsorption capacity. ©2010 BCREC UNDIP. All rights reserved(Received: 25th April 2010, Revised: 17th June 2010, Accepted: 24th June 2010[How to Cite: V.R. Shelke, S.S. Bhagade, S.A. Mandavgane. (2010. Mesoporous Silica from Rice Husk Ash. Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering and Catalysis, 5 (2: 63-67. doi:10.9767/bcrec.5.2.793.63-67][DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.9767/bcrec.5.2.793.63-67

  17. Chemical Weed Control in a Two-Year-Old Walnut Planting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gayne G. Erdmann; Leeroy Green

    1967-01-01

    Six herbicide mixtures were sprayed directly on broadleaf weeds and grasses competing with black walnut trees. Mixtures of papquat (1/2 lb/acre) with simazine (4 lb/acre) or atrazine (4 lb/acre), and amitrole (2 lb/acre) plus simazine (4 lb/acre) gave satisfactory weed control which resulted in significantly better tree height and diameter growth.

  18. Development of a method for the mineralization of coffee husk ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    hope&shola

    start and improve combustion, three types of fuel namely; cocoa husk, palm bunches and palm nut cake was ... Cameroon is one of the main coffee producing countries. Its annual .... American santosrican chemical society symposium series,.

  19. Biogas Production from Rice Husk Waste by using Solid State Anaerobic Digestion (SSAD) Method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matin, Hashfi Hawali Abdul; Hadiyanto

    2018-02-01

    An effort to obtain alternative energy is still interesting subject to be studied, especially production of biogas from agriculture waste. This paper was an overview of the latest development of biogas researches from rice husk waste by Solid State Anaerobic Digestion (SSAD). The main obstacle of biogas production from rice husk waste was the lignin content which is very difficult degraded by microbes. Various pretreatments have been conducted, either physically, chemically as well as biologically. The SSAD method was an attractive option because of the low water content of rice husk waste. The biogas yield by SSAD method gave more attractive result compared to Liquid Anaerobic Digestion (LAD) method. Various studies were still conducted in batch mode laboratory scale and also has not found optimum operating conditions. Research on a larger scale such as bench and pilot scale with continuous systems will be an increase trend in the future research.

  20. Evaluation of untreated coffee husks as potential biosorbents for treatment of dye contaminated waters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oliveira, Leandro S.; Franca, Adriana S.; Alves, Thiago M.; Rocha, Sonia D.F.

    2008-01-01

    The objective of this work was to propose an alternative use for coffee husks (CH), a coffee processing residue, as untreated sorbents for the removal of methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solutions. The effects of solution temperature, pH, biosorbent dosage and contact time on MB removal were investigated. The experimental adsorption equilibrium data were fitted to both Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption models. The biosorption kinetics was determined by fitting first and second-order kinetic models to the experimental data, with the second-order model providing the best description of MB adsorption onto coffee husks. pH variations did not present a significant effect on MB removal. Evaluation of thermodynamics parameters indicated that the adsorption is spontaneous and endothermic. The experimental data obtained in the present study demonstrated coffee husks to be suitable candidates for use as biosorbents in the removal of cationic dyes

  1. Studies on the properties of rice-husk-filled-PP composites: effect of maleated PP

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simone Maria Leal Rosa

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available Rice husk is a by-product of rice milling process that usually finds inadequate final disposal (burning, land filling. Thermoplastics composites filled with rice husk flour are materials that offer an alternative for using this agricultural resource viewing the production of low dense materials with some specific properties. In this work composites of polypropylene (PP and rice husk flour (RHF were prepared by melt extrusion. Maleic anhydride-modified PP (MAPP was added as a coupling agent. It was verified that tensile strength decreased with filler loading. The presence of MAPP improved this property showing a strong dependence on the MAPP/RHF ratio (MAPP/RHF = 0.03 produced the best results. The density of the composites slightly increased with filler and coupling agent in comparison to pure PP. The presence of MAPP diminished more than 20% water uptake in highly-loaded composites.

  2. Mechanical Properties of Millet Husk Ash Bitumen Stabilized Soil ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Akorede

    lateritic soil blocks using Millet Husk Ash (MHA) and Bitumen as additives so as to reduce its high cost and find ... eliminating the need for air-conditioning and are warm during the cold ... The mix properties were used in producing soil bricks of ...

  3. Walnut Polyphenol Extract Attenuates Immunotoxicity Induced by 4-Pentylphenol and 3-methyl-4-nitrophenol in Murine Splenic Lymphocyte

    OpenAIRE

    Lubing Yang; Sihui Ma; Yu Han; Yuhan Wang; Yan Guo; Qiang Weng; Meiyu Xu

    2016-01-01

    4-pentylphenol (PP) and 3-methyl-4-nitrophenol (PNMC), two important components of vehicle emissions, have been shown to confer toxicity in splenocytes. Certain natural products, such as those derived from walnuts, exhibit a range of antioxidative, antitumor, and anti-inflammatory properties. Here, we investigated the effects of walnut polyphenol extract (WPE) on immunotoxicity induced by PP and PNMC in murine splenic lymphocytes. Treatment with WPE was shown to significantly enhance prolifer...

  4. 76 FR 78231 - Notice of Decision To Authorize the Importation of Fresh Cape Gooseberry Fruit With Husks From Chile

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-16

    ... gooseberry fruit (Physalis peruviana L.) with husks from Chile. Based on the findings of a pest risk analysis... fresh Cape gooseberry fruit (Physalis peruviana L.) with husks from Chile. We solicited comments on the...

  5. Genetic diversity and genetic structure of Persian walnut (Juglans regia) accessions from 14 European, African, and Asian countries using SSR markers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aziz Ebrahimi; Abdolkarim Zarei; Shaneka Lawson; Keith E. Woeste; M. J. M. Smulders

    2016-01-01

    Persian walnut (Juglans regia L.) is the world's most widely grown nut crop, but large-scale assessments and comparisons of the genetic diversity of the crop are notably lacking. To guide the conservation and utilization of Persian walnut genetic resources, genotypes (n = 189) from 25 different regions in 14 countries on...

  6. Physiology and silviculture of black walnut for combined timber and nut production

    Science.gov (United States)

    J. W. Van Sambeek; George Rink

    1981-01-01

    Research literature was reviewed for evidence supporting the management of black walnut plantations for combined timber and nut production. The silviculture of the species is discussed in relation to dual cropping. Stimulation and phenology of flowering and fruiting are reviewed.

  7. Walnuts lower TRAMP prostate tumor growth by altering IGF-1, energy and cholesterol metabolism and is not due to their fatty acids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dietary changes could potentially reduce prostate cancer morbidity and mortality. Prostate tumor size, gene expression, metabolite and plasma responses to a 100 g of fat/kg diet (whole walnuts, walnut oil and other oils; balanced for macronutrients, tocopherols (a-and ' ) for 18 weeks were assessed ...

  8. Importance of husk covering on field infestation of maize by ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    STORAGESEVER

    2008-10-20

    Oct 20, 2008 ... An experiment was conducted to determine the importance of husk covering on field infestation of maize by the maize ... high yielding plants with no consideration for resistance ..... provided financial support for the study.

  9. Genetic variation of common walnut (Juglans regia in Piedmont, Northwestern Italy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ferrazzini D

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available The European or common walnut is a large tree prized as a multipurpose species: it provides valuable timber and produces a high-quality edible nut. The diffusion of the species in Italy has been largely influenced by the human activity, mainly through germplasm movement, selection of genotypes most suited for wood or fruit production and adaptation induced on fruit crop reproductive materials. As a consequence, genetic variability has been reduced, so that programs aimed at its preservation appear of the utmost importance. 104 walnut plants growing in Piedmont, northwestern Italy, were investigated through genetic variation scored at RAPD loci, yielded by PCR amplification of 10 decamer primers. Among the 101 studied loci, only 53 were polymorphic, showing a low level of genetic variation within the studied material. Genetic differentiation was estimated both at individual and geographical area level. Only in few cases trees growing in the same area showed to be genetically similar, while the differentiation between areas accounted for about 10% of the total variation, according to AMOVA. No significant correlation was found between genetic and geographic distances. The results of the study showed that also in Piedmont (such as it was already demonstrated in other parts of Italy the distribution of common walnut is a direct consequence of the human activity. The selection of individual trees, to be used as basic materials for seed supply, should therefore be based mainly on phenotypic traits, rather than ecological features of the location: in species characterized by artificial diffusion, the adoption of Region of Provenance has a scarce significance and prominence should be given to the phenotype selection.

  10. Antioxidant hydrolysed peptides from Manchurian walnut (Juglansmandshurica Maxim.) attenuate scopolamine-induced memory impairment in mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ren, Dayong; Zhao, Fanrui; Liu, Chunlei; Wang, Ji; Guo, Yong; Liu, Jingsheng; Min, Weihong

    2018-04-13

    Walnut protein, which is obtained as a by-product of oil expression, has not been used efficiently. Although walnuts are beneficial for cognitive functioning, the potential of their protein composition in strengthening learning and memory functions remains unknown. In this research, the inhibition of memory impairment by the Manchurian walnut hydrolyzed peptide (MWHP) was evaluated. Small-molecular-weight MWHP (<3 kDa) achieved the optimal antioxidative activity. Therefore, MWHP (<3 kDa) was subjected to the following mice trials to evaluate its attenuation effect on memory impairment. In the Morris water maze test, MWHP shortened the total path for searching the platform, reduced the escape latency, and increased the dwelling distance and time in the coverage zone. MWHP also prolonged the latency and diminished errors in the passive avoidance response tests. These behavioral tests demonstrated that MWHP could inhibit scopolamine-induced memory impairment. MWHP improved memory by reducing oxidative stress, inhibiting apoptosis, regulating neurotransmitter functions, maintaining hippocampal CA3 pyramidal neurons, and increasing p-CaMK II levels in brain tissues. Experimental results proved that MWHP exhibits potential in improving memory and should be used to develop novel functional food. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

  11. Non-isothermal degradation kinetics of filled with rise husk ash polypropene composites

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    2008-02-01

    Full Text Available The thermal stability and kinetics of non-isothermal degradation of polypropene and polypropene composites filled with 20 mass% vigorously grounded and mixed raw rice husks (RRH, black rice husks ash (BRHA, white rice husks ash (WRHA and Aerosil Degussa (AR were studied. The calculation procedures of Coats – Redfern, Madhysudanan et al., Tang et al., Wanjun et al. and 27 model kinetic equations were used. The kinetics of thermal degradation were found to be best described by kinetic equations of n-th order (Fn mechanism. The kinetic parameters E, A, ΔS≠, ΔH≠and ΔG≠for all the samples studied were calculated. The highest values of n, E and A were obtained for the composites filled with WRHA and AR. A linear dependence between lnA and E was observed, known also as kinetic compensation effect. The results obtained were considered enough to conclude that the cheap RRH and the products of its thermal degradation BRHA and WRHA, after vigorously grounding and mixing, could successfully be used as fillers for polypropene instead of the much more expensive synthetic material Aerosil to prepare various polypropene composites.

  12. Development Radar Absorber Material using Rice Husk Carbon for Anechoic Chamber Application

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zulpadrianto, Z.; Yohandri, Y.; Putra, A.

    2018-04-01

    The developments of radar technology in Indonesia are very strategic due to the vast territory and had a high-level cloud cover more than 55% of the time. The objective of this research is to develop radar technology facility in Indonesia using local natural resources. The target of this research is to present a low cost and satisfy quality of anechoic chambers. Anechoic chamber is a space designed to avoid reflection of EM waves from outside or from within the room. The reflection coefficient of the EM wave is influenced by the medium imposed by the EM wave. In laboratory experimental research has been done the development of material radar absorber using rice husk. The rice husk is activated using HCl and KOH by stirring using a magnetic stirrer for 1 Hours. The results of rice husk activation were measured using a Vector Network Analyzer by varying the thickness of the ingredients and the concentration of the activation agent. The VNA measurement is obtained reflection coefficient of -12dB and. -6.22dB for 1M HCL and KOH at thickness 10mm, respectively.

  13. Compressive Strength Of Rice Husk Ash-Cement Sandcrete Blocks ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    There is growing demand for alternative, low-cost building material in developing countries. The effect of partial substitution of ordinary Portland cement with Rice Husk Ash (RHA) on the compressive strength of hollow sandcrete block was investigated through laboratory experimental procedures. The specific gravity, initial ...

  14. Incidence of Agrobacterium tumefaciens biovar 1 in and on ‘Paradox’ (Juglans hindsii x Juglans regia) walnut seed collected from commercial nurseries

    Science.gov (United States)

    The walnut rootstock Paradox (Juglans hindsii (Jeps) Rehder x J. regia L.) is susceptible to Agrobacterium tumefaciens (7) which often results in a high incidence of crown gall in nursery or walnut production orchards. Though A. tumefaciens is susceptible to the commonly used preplant soil fumigant...

  15. Quantifying residues from postharvest fumigation of almonds and walnuts with propylene oxide

    Science.gov (United States)

    A novel analytical approach, involving solvent extraction with methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) followed by gas chromatography (GC), was developed to quantify residues that result from the postharvest fumigation of almonds and walnuts with propylene oxide (PPO). Verification and quantification of PPO,...

  16. Phenol Biodegradation by Free and Immobilized Candida tropicalis RETL-Crl on Coconut Husk and Loofah Packed in Biofilter Column

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shazryenna, D; Ruzanna, R; Jessica, M S; Piakong, M T

    2015-01-01

    Phenols and its derivatives are environmental pollutant commonly found in many industrial effluents. It is toxic in nature and causes various health hazards. However, they are poorly removed in conventional biological processes due to their toxicity. Immobilization of microbial cells has received increasing interest in the field of waste treatment and creates opportunities in a wide range of sectors including environmental pollution control. Live cells of phenol-degrading yeast, Candida tropicalis RETL-Crl, were immobilized on coconut husk and loofah by adsorption. The immobolized particle was packed into biofilter column which used for continuous treatment of a phenol with initial phenol concentration of 3mM. Both loofah and coconut husk have similar phenol biodegradation rate of 0.0188 gL −1 h −1 within 15 hours to achieve a phenol removal efficiency of 100%. However loofah have lower biomass concentration of 4.22 gL −1 compared to biomass concentration on coconut husk, 4.39 gL −1 . Coconut husk contain higher biomass concentration which makes it better support material than loofah. Fibrous matrices such as loofah and coconut husk provide adequate supporting surfaces for cell adsorption, due to their high specific surface area. Therefore, coconut husk and loofah being an agricultural waste product have the potential to be used as low-cost adsorbent and support matrix for microbial culture immobilization for the removal of organic pollutant from wastewater. (paper)

  17. Biogas Production from Rice Husk Waste by using Solid State Anaerobic Digestion (SSAD Method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hawali Abdul Matin Hashfi

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available An effort to obtain alternative energy is still interesting subject to be studied, especially production of biogas from agriculture waste. This paper was an overview of the latest development of biogas researches from rice husk waste by Solid State Anaerobic Digestion (SSAD. The main obstacle of biogas production from rice husk waste was the lignin content which is very difficult degraded by microbes. Various pretreatments have been conducted, either physically, chemically as well as biologically. The SSAD method was an attractive option because of the low water content of rice husk waste. The biogas yield by SSAD method gave more attractive result compared to Liquid Anaerobic Digestion (LAD method. Various studies were still conducted in batch mode laboratory scale and also has not found optimum operating conditions. Research on a larger scale such as bench and pilot scale with continuous systems will be an increase trend in the future research.

  18. Enhancement of polyethersulfone (PES) membrane performance by modification with rice husk nanosilica for removal of organic matter in water

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mulyati, S.; Armando, M. A.; Mawardi, H.; Azmi, F. A.; Pratiwi, W. P.; Fadzlina, A.; Akbar, R.; Syawaliah

    2018-03-01

    This paper reports the effects of rice husk nanosilica addition on the performance of polyethersulfone (PES) membrane. Polyethersulfone membrane (PES) was fabricated by using N-methyl-2-pyrolidone (NMP) as a solvent and rice husk nanosilica as a modifying agent. The influence of the rice husk nanosilica additive on the characteristics and performance of the membrane has been studied. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis confirmed that the manufactured membrane has an asymmetric morphological structure consisting of two layers. The upper part of the membrane is a thin layer, meanwhile in the bottom side is a porous layer. The addition of 5% nanosilica resulting a PES membrane to have a bigger porous than that of pristine PES. The pure water flux of nanosilica-modified membranes were greater in comparison to the pure water flux of unmodified PES membrane. The performance of all membranes were evaluated on humic acid removal. The highest selectivity was showcased by pure PES membrane. The introduction of rice husk nanosilica additive to the membrane declined the selectivity of the membrane to humic acid in the feed solution. This is caused by the pores enlargement and enhanced hydrophilicity of the membrane after modification with rice husk biosilica.

  19. Comparative utilization of biodegraded and undegraded rice husk in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Possible improvement in the nutritional composition of rice husk (RH) was attempted through Solid State Fermentation with the use of the fungus, Trichoderma viridii. A comparative utilization of the fermented RH (FRH), raw RH and a control diet was studied using parameters like performance and nutrient utilization ...

  20. Effect of microwave drying and oven drying on the water activity, color, phenolic compounds content and antioxidant activity of coconut husk (Cocos nucifera L.).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valadez-Carmona, Lourdes; Cortez-García, Rosa María; Plazola-Jacinto, Carla Patricia; Necoechea-Mondragón, Hugo; Ortiz-Moreno, Alicia

    2016-09-01

    The coconut ( Cocos nucifera L.) husk is basically composed by fiber and pith material and remained under-utilized. This is an important source of phenolic compounds that could be used as functional ingredients. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of: oven-drying (OD) and microwave drying (MD), on the water activity, color, phenolic compound content and antioxidant activity of coconut husk. The OD was performed at 60 °C for 12 h and MD was performed at 900 W for 10 min. The total phenolic content (TPC) in fresh coconut husk was 64.2 mg GAE/g dry wt and significant higher than observed after OD and MD of 35.8 and 45.5 mg GAE/g dry wt, respectively. Ten phenols were identified in fresh and dehydrated coconut husks. The husk MD showed an increase in the content of gallic, 4-hydroxybenzoic, ferulic and syringic acids and epicatechin compared with the fresh; while coconut husk OD and MD, showed a decrease in the content of vanillic acid, vanillin, catequin and kaempferol. The antioxidant activity decreased after both OD and MD. However, MD resulted in a better antioxidant activity in husk than OD. MD of husk resulted into better retention of preserved color, TPC and TFC than OD.

  1. Proximate composition and amino acid profile of rice husk ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Native rice husk (NRH) was fermented with Pleurotus ostreatus for 7, 14 and 21 days to improve the nutritional values. The proximate composition and amino acid profiles were determined. The results showed that crude fibre (CF), nitrogen free extract (NFE), acid detergent fibre (ADF), and neutral detergent fibre (NDF) were ...

  2. Synthesis of Monodisperse Walnut-Like SnO2 Spheres and Their Photocatalytic Performances

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jing Wang

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Novel walnut-like SnO2 spheres have been synthesized using a one-step hydrothermal reaction with SnCl2·2H2O and KOH as raw materials. The morphology, microstructure, and optical properties of the products were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD, Raman spectrum, scanning electron microscopy (SEM, transmission electron microscopy (TEM, selected area electron diffraction (SAED, and ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy. The detailed studies revealed that these synthesized spheres are highly monodisperse and have a uniform size of approximately 250 nm. Photocatalytic activity of the prepared SnO2 spheres was evaluated by the degradation of methylene orange. The synthesized SnO2 spheres exhibited excellent photocatalytic degradation. In addition, a possible formation mechanism of the walnut-like nanostructures was proposed based on reaction time-dependent experiments.

  3. Carotenoid content of husk tomato under the influence of growth regulators and gamma rays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Raghava, R.P.; Raghava, Nisha

    1990-01-01

    The present studies were conducted to study the effect of growth regulators and gamma rays on carotenoid content in husk tomato (Physalis peruviana L. and P. angulata L.). Results indicated that carotenoid content (in fruits) increased in all the treatments (except 200 and 500 ppm coumarin in case of P. peruviana and 100, 200 and 500 ppm coumarin in case of P. angulata). It is concluded that low doses of gamma rays may show stimulatory effect on carotenoid content in fruits of husk tomato. (author). 10 refs., 1 tab

  4. Stakeholder preferences towards the sustainable development of CDM projects: Lessons from biomass (rice husk) CDM project in Thailand

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parnphumeesup, Piya; Kerr, Sandy A.

    2011-01-01

    This research applies both quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate stakeholder preferences towards sustainable development (SD) priorities in Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects. The CDM's contribution to SD is explored in the context of a biomass (rice husk) case study conducted in Thailand. Quantitative analysis ranks increasing the usage of renewable energy as the highest priority, followed by employment and technology transfer. Air pollution (dust) is ranked as the most important problem. Preference weights expressed by experts and local resident are statistically different in the cases of: employment generation; emission reductions; dust; waste disposal; and noise. Qualitative results, suggest that rice husk CDM projects contribute significantly to SD in terms of employment generation, an increase in usage of renewable energy, and transfer of knowledge. However, rice husk biomass projects create a potential negative impact on air quality. In order to ensure the environmental sustainability of CDM projects, stakeholders suggest that Thailand should cancel an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) exemption for CDM projects with an installed capacity below 10 MW and apply it to all CDM projects. - Highlights: → Stakeholders rank increasing the usage of renewable energy as the highest priority. → Biomass (rice husk) CDM projects create a potential negative impact on air quality. → Rice husk CDM projects cannot give an extra income to farmers. → Preference weights expressed by experts and local residents are statistically different.

  5. Probiotic activity of lignocellulosic enzyme as bioactivator for rice husk degradation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lamid, Mirni; Al-Arif, Anam; Warsito, Sunaryo Hadi

    2017-02-01

    The utilization of lignocellulosic enzyme will increase nutritional value of rice husk. Cellulase consists of C1 (β-1, 4-glucan cellobiohydrolase or exo-β-1,4glucanase), Cc (endo-β-1,4-glucanase) and component and cellobiose (β-glucocidase). Hemicellulase enzyme consists of endo-β-1,4-xilanase, β-xilosidase, α-L arabinofuranosidase, α-D-glukuronidaseand asetil xilan esterase. This research aimed to study the activity of lignocellulosic enzyme, produced by cows in their rumen, which can be used as a bioactivator in rice husk degradation. This research resulted G6 and G7 bacteria, producing xylanase and cellulase with the activity of 0.004 U mL-1 and 0.021 U mL-1; 0.003 ( U mL-1) and 0.026 (U mL-1) respectively.

  6. Adsorption of lead and copper ions from aqueous effluents on rice husk ash in a dynamic system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. G. A. Vieira

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available This study evaluated the kinetic adsorption of Pb and Cu ions using rice husk ash as adsorbent in a fixed bed. The maximum adsorption capacities obtained for lead and copper ions in the fixed bed were 0.0561 and 0.0682 mmol/g (at 20 ºC, respectively. The thermodynamic studies indicated that the lead adsorption process was exothermic and spontaneous, while the copper adsorption process was endothermic and spontaneous. Characterization results indicated the presence of several functional groups, amorphous silica and a fibrous and longitudinal structure of rice husks. Rice husk ash (RHA from northern Brazil can be used as a bioadsorbent for the individual removal of Pb(II and Cu(II ions from metal-containing effluents.

  7. Soil Structure and Mycorrhizae Encourage Black Walnut Growth on Old Fields

    Science.gov (United States)

    Felix Jr. Ponder

    1979-01-01

    Examination of black walnut seedlings grown in forest and field soils showed all root systems were infected with mycorrhizae; the amount of infection was influenced by treatments. Mean height and dry weight of tops and roots were greater for seedlings grown in forest than field soil. Seedling height growth was not increased by disturbing either soil; but, root dry...

  8. Sorption Characteristics of Activated Carbon Obtained from Rice Husks by Treatment with Lime

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hnin Nwe Aye; Aye Aye Maw; Nyunt Wynn

    2011-12-01

    The sorption studies of rice husk char prepared by carbonization and activation with lime, caustic soda and sulphuric acid have been investigated. Prior to impregnation with the lime; on a micro processing scale the pre-carbonization temperature of rice husk were determined by using TG-DTA thermal analysis. The impregnation with chemical was made after carbonization and the impregnated chars were subjected to activation at appropriate temperatures of about 300 C to 500 C depending on the impregnated chars. The physico-chemical properties of the prepared chars were tested by conventional and modern techniques. Sorption capacities with respect to colored dyes were determined for each of the char. These sorption capacities are indicative of the decolorizing nature and the acid or basic nature. The sorption capacities of the prepared chars towards the uptake of metals such as copper, iron, lead and cadmium were also studied and the lime activated char exhibits high adsorptive capacities for all the metals compared to other prepared chars as well as the commercial wood char. The evaluation of the sorption capacities of this chars were made on the basis of Freundlich and Langmuir monolayer coverage equations. Thus, based on batch dosage method and breakthrough flow method, the uptake of the metals were found to be in following order for the lime activated rice husk char; Cu > Fe > Pb > Cd. From this investigation, it can be inferred that a rice husk char impregnated with 20% technical grade CaO has the potential effect to be used as an effective metal adsorbent particularly for the uptake of toxic heavy metals in the secondary stage of water treatment processes.

  9. Binderless board and moulded products produced from whole coconut husks

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dam, van J.E.G.; Snijder, M.H.B.

    2002-01-01

    A simple and efficient technology has been developed to produce high strength - high density board materials from whole coconut husks, without the addition of chemical binders. The board material has been shown to exhibit excellent properties, which are comparable with or even superior to commercial

  10. Experimental study of Pb (II) solution sorption behavior onto Coffee Husk Bioactivated Carbon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fona, Z.; Habibah, U.

    2018-04-01

    Coffee husk which is abundantly produced in the coffee plantations is potential to be a challenging adsorbent. The fate of Pb (II) solution in the sorption mechanism onto the adsorbent has been investigated. This paper aimed to study the efficiency of Pb (II) aqueous solution removal using activated carbon from coffee husk (CAC). The sorption characteristics were using two isotherm models, Langmuir and Freundlich, were also reported. The coffee husk from local plantations in Middle Aceh was carbonized and sieved to 120/140 mesh. The charcoal was activated using hydrochloric acid before contacted with the different initial concentrations of Pb (II) solution. The remaining concentrations of the metal in the specified contact times were determined using Atomic Adsorption Spectrophotometer at 283.3 wavelength. The result showed that the equilibrium concentrations were obtained in about 30 minutes which depended on the initial concentration. The sorption mechanism followed Freundlich isotherm model where the adsorption constant and capacity were accordingly 1.353 and 1.195 mgg‑1. The iodine sorption was up to 1,053 mgg‑1. Based on the ash and moisture content, as well as iodine sorption, the activated carbon met the national standard.

  11. Effect of rice husk ash on some geotechnical properties of lateritic

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    hp

    Keywords: Rice Husk Ash (RHA), Lateritic soil, Sub-grade, Maximum Dry ... stabilizing agent (cement or lime) included ... soil and then with distilled water. The clay mineral identification was done using ... California Bearing Ratio (CBR). 22.05.

  12. Experimental data on the properties of natural fiber particle reinforced polymer composite material.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chandramohan, D; Presin Kumar, A John

    2017-08-01

    This paper presents an experimental study on the development of polymer bio-composites. The powdered coconut shell, walnut shells and Rice husk are used as reinforcements with bio epoxy resin to form hybrid composite specimens. The fiber compositions in each specimen are 1:1 while the resin and hardener composition 10:1 respectively. The fabricated composites were tested as per ASTM standards to evaluate mechanical properties such as tensile strength, flexural strength, shear strength and impact strength are evaluated in both with moisture and without moisture. The result of test shows that hybrid composite has far better properties than single fibre glass reinforced composite under mechanical loads. However it is found that the incorporation of walnut shell and coconut shell fibre can improve the properties.

  13. Anti-inflammatory effects of Zea mays L. husk extracts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roh, Kyung-Baeg; Kim, Hyoyoung; Shin, Seungwoo; Kim, Young-Soo; Lee, Jung-A; Kim, Mi Ok; Jung, Eunsun; Lee, Jongsung; Park, Deokhoon

    2016-08-19

    Zea mays L. (Z. mays) has been used for human consumption in the various forms of meal, cooking oil, thickener in sauces and puddings, sweetener in processed food and beverage products, bio-disel. However, especially, in case of husk extract of Z. mays, little is known about its anti-inflammatory effects. Therefore, in this study, the anti-inflammatory effects of Z. mays husk extract (ZMHE) and its mechanisms of action were investigated. The husks of Z. Mays were harvested in kangwondo, Korea. To assess the anti-inflammatory activities of ZMHE, we examined effects of ZMHE on nitric oxide (NO) production, and release of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) and eotaxin-1. The expression level of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) gene was also determined by Western blot and luciferase reporter assays. To determine its mechanisms of action, a luciferase reporter assay for nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kB) and activator protein-1 (AP-1) was introduced. ZMHE inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced production of NO in RAW264.7 cells. In addition, expression of iNOS gene was reduced, as confirmed by Western blot and luciferase reporter assays. Effects of ZMHE on the AP-1 and NF-kB promoters were examined to elucidate the mechanism of its anti-inflammatory activity. Activation of AP-1 and NF-kB promoters induced by LPS was significantly reduced by ZMHE treatment. In addition, LPS-induced production of sICAM-1 and IL-4-induced production of eotaxin-1 were all reduced by ZMHE. Our results indicate that ZMHE has anti-inflammatory effects by downregulating the expression of iNOS gene and its downregulation is mediated by inhibiting NF-kB and AP-1 signaling.

  14. Evaluation of Heavy Metals Contamination from Environment to Food Matrix by TXRF: The Case of Rice and Rice Husk

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fabjola Bilo

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper is devoted to the chemical analysis of contaminated soils of India and the rice grown in the same area. Total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy is a well-established technique for elemental chemical analysis of environmental samples, and it can be a useful tool to assess food safety. Metals uptake in rice crop grown in soils from different areas was studied. In this work soil, rice husk and rice samples were analyzed after complete solubilization of samples by microwave acid digestion. Heavy metals concentration detected in rice samples decreases in the following order: Mn > Zn > Cu > Ni > Pb > Cr. The metal content in rice husk was higher than in rice. This study suggests, for the first time, a possible role of heavy metals filter played by rice husk. The knowledge of metals sequestration capability of rice husk may promote some new management practices for rice cultivation to preserve it from pollution.

  15. EFFECT OF REPLACING COCOA HUSK FOR WHEAT BRAN ON ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Carcass yield, serum metabolites and economy of production of cockerels were studied for 12 weeks to determine the effect of replacing wheat bran with cocoa husk at 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% levels. Results of eviscerated yield were statistically different (P<0.05). Highest eviscerated yield of 70.52% was obtained from 25% ...

  16. Effect of Pleurotus ostreatus fermentation on cocoa pod husk ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Cocoa pod husk (CPH) is a major agro-industrial residue in Ghana with a potential value as a low-cost unconventional feedstuff for livestock. However, its effective use is limited by poor nutrient composition, mainly due to its high lignocellulose or fibre and also low protein levels. White–rot fungi such as Pleurotus species ...

  17. Influence of Rice Husk Ash and Clay in Stabilization of Silty Soils Using Cement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Widjajakusuma Jack

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Soil stabilization is needed to enhance the strength of the soil. One popular method of soil stabilization is using cement. Due to the environmental issue, it is a need to reduce the application of cement and/or to replace partially the cement with other environmental-friendly compounds. One of these compounds is rice husk ash (RSA, which is agricultural wastes. The objective of this paper is to study the influence of RSA and clay as partial replacement to cement in soil stabilization of silt soil with high plasticity (MH using cement. The cement used was ordinary Portland cement, while the RHA was obtained by burning rice husk at temperature of 250°C. The MH soil is stabilized with 4% cement, 4% cement and 3% rice husk ash and 4% cement, 3 % RHA and 3 % clay. The various tests were conducted on the pure and stabilized soils. Results have indicated that application of 4% cement, 3 % RHA and 3 % clay as silt soil stabilization is more favorable in increasing soil strength and reducing brittle behaviour of soil.

  18. Cementing Material From Rice Husk-Broken Bricks-Spent Bleaching Earth-Dried Calcium Carbide Residue

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muthengia Jackson Washira

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available A cementious material, coded CSBR (Carbide residue Spent bleaching earth Broken bricks and Rice husks, was made from dried calcium carbide residue (DCCR and an incinerated mix of rice husks (RH, broken bricks (BB and spent bleaching earth (SBE. Another material, coded SBR (Spent bleaching earth Broken bricks and Rice husk ash, was made from mixing separately incinerated RH, SBE and ground BB in the same ash ratio as in CSBR. When CSBR was inter-ground with Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC, it showed a continued decrease in Ca(OH2 in the hydrating cement as a function of curing time and replacement levels of the cement. Up to 45 % replacement of the OPC by CSBR produced a Portland pozzolana cement (PPC material that passed the relevant Kenyan Standard. Incorporation of the CSBR in OPC reduces the resultant calcium hydroxide from hydrating Portland cement. The use of the waste materials in production of cementitious material would rid the environment of wastes and lead to production of low cost cementitious material.

  19. Genotype and year variability of the chemical composition of walnut oil of Moroccan seedlings from the high Atlas Mountains

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kodad, O.; EstopaNan, G.; Juan, T.; Socias i Company, R.; Sindic, M.

    2016-07-01

    Protein and oil content, fatty acid composition and tocopherol concentration were determined for two years in the kernel of ten candidate walnut selections from the high Atlas Mountains in Morocco. Considerable variation between genotypes was found for all parameters. The ranges of protein content (11.58–14.5% of kernel dry weight, DW), oil content (54.4–67.48% of kernel DW), oleic (12.47–22.01% of total oil), linoleic (55.03–60.01%), linolenic (9.3–15.87%), palmitic (6.84–9.12%), and stearic (1.7–2.92%) acid percentages, ?-tocopherol (188.1–230.7 mg·kg-1 of oil), d-tocopherol (23.3–43.4 mg·kg-1), and a-tocopherol (8.9–16.57 mg·kg-1) contents agreed with previous results obtained from other commercial walnut cultivars. The effect of year was significant for all the chemical components, except for oil content and palmitic acid percentage. Some genotypes showed high oil contents and consistently high values of ?-tocopherol in both years of study. The introduction of these genotypes as new cultivars by vegetative propagation may result in a an increase in quality of the walnuts from the high Atlas Mountains of Morocco, and as a seed source for forest walnut propagation in the same region. (Author)

  20. Effect of utilizing unground and ground normal and black rice husk ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    SYAMSUL BAHRI

    2018-03-10

    Mar 10, 2018 ... Keywords. Rice husk ash; high-strength concrete; grinding; particle size; durability; low-cost material. .... which may be subjected to some minor contamination from soil ground. ...... oil fuel ash and rice husk–bark ash. Constr.

  1. Evaluation of corn husk fibers reinforced recycled low density polyethylene composites

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Youssef, Ahmed M., E-mail: amyoussef27@yahoo.com [Packing and Packaging Materials Department, National Research Center, Dokki, P.C. 12622, Cairo (Egypt); El-Gendy, Ahmed; Kamel, Samir [Cellulose and Paper Department, National Research Center, Dokki, Cairo (Egypt)

    2015-02-15

    Responding to the community demand for disposal of environmental problematic agricultural and polymer waste, composite sheets using recycled low-density polyethylene (R-LDPE) and corn husk fibers were prepared by melt compounding and compression molding. These composites were prepared in different concentrations (5, 10, 15, and 20%) of powder corn husk with 125 μ particle size based on R-LDPE matrix. Beside the importance of property improvement, an additional incentive was responding to the social demand for the disposal of environmental problematic agricultural waste. The influence of loading rate on R-LDPE crystallization behavior, mechanical, and swilling properties were investigated. Increasing in fiber loading led to increased moduli and tensile strength while hardness was decreased. X-ray diffraction (XRD) examinations indicated that introducing fiber to R-LDPE matrix did not change characteristic peak position. The thermal stability of the prepared composites was evaluated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) which displayed that the R-LDPE had significantly larger peak heat flow during cooling run than the blank R-LDPE, indicating higher crystallization rates for R-LDPE. The prepared composites materials can be used in packaging applications. - Highlights: • New composite based on recycled LDPE and corn husk fibers has been prepared. • The prepared composite has a benefit of minimizing solid waste problem. • The prepared composites were characterized using XRD, FTIR and DSC. • Crystallization behaviors, mechanical and swilling properties of the prepared composites were investigated.

  2. Evaluation of corn husk fibers reinforced recycled low density polyethylene composites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Youssef, Ahmed M.; El-Gendy, Ahmed; Kamel, Samir

    2015-01-01

    Responding to the community demand for disposal of environmental problematic agricultural and polymer waste, composite sheets using recycled low-density polyethylene (R-LDPE) and corn husk fibers were prepared by melt compounding and compression molding. These composites were prepared in different concentrations (5, 10, 15, and 20%) of powder corn husk with 125 μ particle size based on R-LDPE matrix. Beside the importance of property improvement, an additional incentive was responding to the social demand for the disposal of environmental problematic agricultural waste. The influence of loading rate on R-LDPE crystallization behavior, mechanical, and swilling properties were investigated. Increasing in fiber loading led to increased moduli and tensile strength while hardness was decreased. X-ray diffraction (XRD) examinations indicated that introducing fiber to R-LDPE matrix did not change characteristic peak position. The thermal stability of the prepared composites was evaluated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) which displayed that the R-LDPE had significantly larger peak heat flow during cooling run than the blank R-LDPE, indicating higher crystallization rates for R-LDPE. The prepared composites materials can be used in packaging applications. - Highlights: • New composite based on recycled LDPE and corn husk fibers has been prepared. • The prepared composite has a benefit of minimizing solid waste problem. • The prepared composites were characterized using XRD, FTIR and DSC. • Crystallization behaviors, mechanical and swilling properties of the prepared composites were investigated

  3. Esterification free fatty acid in sludge palm oil using ZrO2/SO42- - rice husk ash catalyst

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hidayat, Arif; Sutrisno, Bachrun

    2017-05-01

    Indonesia, as one of the biggest palm oil producers and exporters in the world, is producing large amounts of low-grade oil such as sludge palm oil (SPO) from palm oil industries. The use of SPO can lower the cost of biodiesel production significantly, which makes SPO a highly potential alternative feedstock for biodiesel production. In this paper, the esterification of free fatty acid on sludge palm oil was studied using rice husk ash as heterogeneous solid catalysts. Heterogeneous solid catalysts offer significant advantages of eliminating separation, corrosion, toxicity and environmental problems. In this paper the esterification of SPO, a by-product from palm oil industry, in the presence of modified rice husk ash catalysts was studied. The rice husk ash catalysts were synthesized by impregnating of Zirconia (Zr) on rice husk ash followed by sulfonation. The rice husk ash catalysts were characterized by using different techniques, such as FT-IR, XRD, and porous analysis. The effects of the mass ratio of catalyst to oil (1 - 10%), the molar ratio of methanol to oil (4:1 - 10:1), and the reaction temperature (40 - 60°C) were studied for the conversion of free fatty acids (FFAs) to optimize the reaction conditions. The results showed that the optimal conditions were an methanol to oil molar ratio of 10:1, the amount of catalyst of 10%w, and reaction temperature of 60°C.

  4. Co-combustion of risk husk with coal in a fluidized bed

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ghani, A.K.; Alias, A.B.; Savory, R.M.; Cliffe, K.R.

    2006-01-01

    Power generation from biomass is an attractive technology which utilizes agricultural residue waste. In order to explain the behavior of biomass-fired fluidized bed incinerator, biomass sources from agricultural residues (rice husk) was co-fired with coal in a 0.15 m diameter and 2.3 m high fluidized bed combustor. The combustion efficiency and CO emissions were studied and compared with those for pure coal combustion. Biomass waste with up to 70% mass fraction can be co-combusted in a fluidized bed combustor designed for coal combustion with a maximum drop of efficiency of 20% depending upon excess air levels. CO levels fluctuated between 200-700 ppm were observed when coal is added. It is evident from this research that efficient co-firing of rice husk with coal can be achieved with minimum modification of existing coal-fired boilers. (Author)

  5. Consumption of restructured meat products with added walnuts has a cholesterol-lowering effect in subjects at high cardiovascular risk: a randomised, crossover, placebo-controlled study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olmedilla-Alonso, B; Granado-Lorencio, F; Herrero-Barbudo, C; Blanco-Navarro, I; Blázquez-García, S; Pérez-Sacristán, B

    2008-04-01

    Diet and lifestyle are modifiable factors involved in the development and prevention of non-communicable diseases, including cardiovascular disease. Nut consumption, particularly walnut intake, has been inversely related to incident coronary heart disease (CHD) in observational studies and to improved lipid profiles in short-term feeding trials. To assess the potential functional effect associated with the regular consumption of walnut-enriched restructured meat products in subjects at risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). A crossover single-dose bioavailability study (n = 3) using gamma-tocopherol as exposure marker and a crossover unblinded dietary intervention study (5 weeks) in subjects at risk (n = 25). Dietary intervention consisted of regular consumption of the meat product, with or without walnuts, five times per week for five weeks with a 1-month washout in between. Overnight fasting blood samples were collected on days 0, 12, 21, 28 and 35, coinciding with blood pressure and body weight recordings. Participants were asked to complete a diet record throughout the study. The functional effects were assessed using clinically relevant and related biomarkers of CHD: serum total, HDL and LDL cholesterol, triacylglycerols, homocysteine, vitamins B(6) and B(12), folic acid, alpha-tocopherol and platelet function test (obturation time). The regular consumption of walnut-enriched meat products compared with that of the restructured meat products without added walnuts provokes a decrease in total cholesterol of 6.8 mg/dl (CI(95%): -12.8, -0.85). Compared to baseline (mixed diet), meat products with walnuts decreased total cholesterol (-10.7 mg/dl, CI(95%): -17.1, -4.2), LDL cholesterol (-7.6 mg/dl, CI(95%): -2.2, -13.0) and body weight (-0.5 kg, CI(95%): -0.1, -0.9) and increased gamma-tocopherol (8.9 mg/dl, CI(95%): 1.0, 16.8). The restructured meat products with added walnuts supplied in this study can be considered functional foods for subjects at high risk for

  6. Antimicrobial and antiviral activities of polyphenolics from Cocos nucifera Linn. (Palmae) husk fiber extract.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Esquenazi, Daniele; Wigg, Marcia D; Miranda, Mônica M F S; Rodrigues, Hugo M; Tostes, João B F; Rozental, Sonia; da Silva, Antonio J R; Alviano, Celuta S

    2002-12-01

    The decoction of Cocos nucifera L. husk fiber has been used in northeastern Brazil traditional medicine for treatment of diarrhea and arthritis. Water extract obtained from coconut husk fiber and fractions from adsorption chromatography revealed antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus. The crude extract and one of the fractions rich in catechin also showed inhibitory activity against acyclovir-resistant herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1-ACVr). All fractions were inactive against the fungi Candida albicans, Fonsecaea pedrosoi and Cryptococcus neoformans. Catechin and epicatechin together with condensed tannins (B-type procyanidins) were demonstrated to be the components of the water extract.

  7. SiOx/C composite from rice husks as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ju, Yanming; Tang, Joel A.; Zhu, Kai; Meng, Yuan; Wang, Chunzhong; Chen, Gang; Wei, Yingjin; Gao, Yu

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Rice husks were utilized to prepare SiO x /C as an anode material for lithium ion battery. • SiO x /C composite was prepared by a two-step fire process. • SiO x /C contains low valence silicon owing to thermal treatment at argon/hydrogen atmosphere. • SiO x /C exhibits a high specific capacity of nearly 600 mAh g −1 at 100 mA g −1 current density after 100 cycles. - Abstract: SiO x /C composite material derived directly from agricultural rice husk byproducts through an economically viable and environmentally benign approach has been explored to be used as an anode for rechargeable lithium batteries. Rice husks were converted into a SiO x /C composite directly by heat treatment under argon/hydrogen atmosphere, at a temperature of 900 °C. The composite contains SiO x surrounded by an amorphous carbon matrix. A steady state reversible capacity of nearly 600 mAh g −1 was delivered at 100 mA g −1 current density after 100 cycles. The improved performance of the SiO x /C composite anode over other agricultural byproduct derived carbon materials is believed to be due to the presence of low valence silicon. The filth-to-wealth conversion of rice husks to battery material is a highly energy efficient process with great economic and environmental benefits.

  8. Determination of Pb2+ metal ion level in liquid waste from adsorption process by combination adsorbent of rice husk and water hyacinth charcoal using solid-phase spectrophotometry (sps)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saputro, S.; Masykuri, M.; Mahardiani, L.; Hidayah, AN

    2018-03-01

    This research are to find out the influence of adsorbent composition between rice husk and water hyacinth in decreasing of Pb2+ ion in simulation liquid waste; the optimumcomposition of combination adsorbent of rice husk and water hyacinth charcoal on Pb2+ ion adsorption; and theeffectivenessof SPS as a method to determine the decreasing level of Pb2+ ion in simulation liquid waste by combination adsorbent of rice husk and water hyacinth charcoal in µg/L level. Rice husk and water hyacinth carbonization using muffle furnace at 350°C for 1 hour. Rice husk charcoal activation in a 2 N NaOH solution and water hyacinth charcoal activated in a 5 M HCl solution. Contacting the combination adsorbent of rice husk and water hyacinth charcoal with a Pb2+ solution with variation of mass composition, 1:0 ; 0:1 ; 1:1 ; 1:2 and 2:1. Analysis of the Pb2+ ion level using SPS method. Characterization of rice husk and water hyacinth charcoal using the FTIR. The results showed that the combination adsorbent composition of rice husk and water hyacinth charcoal have an impact on decreasing Pb2+ ion level. The optimum composition of combination adsorbent of rice husk and water hyacinth charcoal on the adsorption Pb2+ ion is 1:2. SPS is an effective method to determine the decreasing Pb2+ ion in simulation liquid waste from the adsorption process by combination adsorbent of rice husk and water hyacinth in µg/L, with Limit of Detection (LOD) was 0,06 µg/L.

  9. Investigation on the feasibility of coffee husk (endocarp) as efficient filler material for enhancing physical and mechanical properties of styrofoam based particleboard

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milawarni; Nurlaili; Ernayusnianti

    2018-03-01

    This research focuses on introducing a coffee husk as viable and efficient filler for enhancing physical and mechanical properties of Styrofoam based particleboard. Heat treatment method was adopted to produce the particleboard from the mixture of coffee husk (CH) with Styrofoam (PS). Styrofoam is material derived from polystyrene. The aim of this research is to get the appropriate weight composition between coffee husks with PS and to identify the physical and mechanical properties of the produced particleboard. The composition of coffee husk varies between 0-90%wt. The manufacture of particleboard i.e. coffee husk milled with size 20/10 mesh then soak with 10% NaOH for 2 hours, rinsed with clean water and dried and weight according to the composition. The mixture of CH and PS is inserted into mold and put into hot-press. The result shows from physical properties that density, water absorption and thick development test corresponding with SNI 03-2105-2006 standard, the mechanical properties shows MOR test meets the standard on the addition of CH 10-50%, while the MOE test has not meet the standard.

  10. palm kernel husk ash (pkha) as an admixture (accelerator) in concrete

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A.W. Otunyo. Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Port Harcourt, P.M.B. ... The main contribution of this technical paper is that PKHA can reduce the set- ting time of .... The palm kernel husks were washed to clean.

  11. Improving the Bond Strength of Rice Husk Ash Concrete by Incorporating Polymer: A New Approach

    OpenAIRE

    Bangwar, Daddan Khan; Ali Soomro, Mohsin; Ali Laghari, Nasir; Ali Soomro, Mukhtiar; Ali Buriro, Ahsan

    2018-01-01

    This paper gives an insight of how to improve the bond strength of cement in which concrete is replaced with rice husk ash. A concrete mix was prepared and was used in different types of mixes i.e. Control Mix, 10% cement substituted concrete with rice husk ash and polymer modified concrete by incorporation different dosages of polymer in the 10% cement substituted concrete. A bar of 12mm diameter, 300mm in length was placed in the center of the cylindrical specimens for pull out test. It was...

  12. Sustainable energy development of bio briquettes based on rice husk blended materials: an alternative energy source

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suryaningsih, S.; Nurhilal, O.

    2018-05-01

    Rice husk as an abundant waste of biomass up to 21 million tons/year, it is unfortunate if it is not utilized. By converting it into bio briquettes, the value of rice husk bio briquettes in some studies before obtaining a relatively low value of 3,221-3,350 cal/g. The purpose of this research is to increase the calorific value of rice husk bio briquettes by mixing with coconut shell charcoal or corncob charcoal at various composition ratios of 50:50 and 80:20, to reach the optimal value that the industrial sector needed. Carbonization process was carried out at a temperature of 250-350 °C for 1.5 hours. From the results of the proximate analysis test using selected carbonization temperature at 300 °C, it can be seen that the best briquette value is made by mixing rice husk and coconut shell charcoal at composition ratio of 50:50, resulting 47.92% fixed carbon, 8.52% moisture content, 23.40% volatile matter and 20.16% ash content. The highest calorific value of 4,886 cal/g at ratio composition of 50:50, is slightly higher than the East Kalimantan coal standard of 4,828 cal/g. Hence, this bio briquettes are suitable for small scale industry application and household community use.

  13. A short review on the potential of coffee husk gasification for sustainable energy in Uganda [version 1; referees: 2 approved

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gilbert John Miito

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Agricultural biomass is widely recognized as a clean and renewable energy source, with increasing potential to replace conventional fossil fuels in the energy market. Uganda, like other developing countries, has a high dependency (91% on wood fuel, leading to environmental degradation. With a coffee production of 233 Metric Tonnes per annum, relating to 46.6 Mega Tonnes of coffee husks from processing, transforming these husks into syngas through gasification can contribute to resolving the existing energy challenges. The objective of this article is to briefly review the energy potential of coffee husks through gasification, and how the gasification process could increase energy recoveries for coffee farmers. Previous  findings indicate that the 46.6 Mega Tonnes per year of coffee husks generated in Uganda, with a heating value of 18.34 MJ/kg, is capable of generating 24 GWh of energy. This will address a 0.7% portion of the energy situation in Uganda, while protecting the environment.

  14. Evaluation of Mechanical Properties and Morphological Studies of Rice Husk (Treated/Untreated)-CaCO3 Reinforced Epoxy Hybrid Composites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verma, Deepak; Joshi, Garvit; Gupta, Ayush

    2016-10-01

    Natural fiber reinforced composites are a very popular area of research because of the easy availability and biodegradability of these fibers. The manufacturing of natural fiber composite is done by reinforcing fibers in the particulate form, fiber form or in woven mat form. Natural fiber composites also utilize industrial wastes as a secondary reinforcements like fly ash, sludge etc. By keeping all these point of views in the present investigation the effect of rice husk flour (chemically treated/untreated) and micro sized calcium carbonate with epoxy resin have been evaluated. The diameter of rice husk flour was maintained at 600 µm through mechanical sieving machine. The husk flour was chemically treated with NaOH (5 % w/v). Mechanical properties like hardness, flexural impact and compression strength were evaluated and found to be superior in modified or chemically treated flour as compared to unmodified or untreated flour reinforced composites. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) study was also undertaken for the developed composites. SEM study shows the distribution of the rice husk flour and calcium carbonate over the matrix.

  15. Enhancement of Biogas Production from Rice Husk by NaOH and Enzyme Pretreatment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Syafrudin

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Biogas is a renewable energy source that can be used as an alternative fuel to replace fossil fuel such as oil and natural gas. This research aims to analyze the impact of NaOH (Sodium hydroxide and enzyme usage on the production of rice husk biogas using Solid State Anaerobic Digestion (SS-AD. Generally, SS-AD occurs at solid concentrations higher than 15%. The waste of rice husk are used as substrate with a C/N ratio of 25% and the total of solid that are used is 21%. Rice husk contains high lignin, therefore it is handled with chemical and biological treatment. The chemical preliminary treatment was using NaOH with various concentrations from 3%, 6% and 9% while the biological preliminary treatment was using enzyme with various concentration from 5%, 8%, and 11%. The biogas that is produced then measured every two days during 60 days of research with the biogas volume as a parameter observed. The result of the research shows that preliminary treatment with NaOH and enzyme can increase the production of biogas. The highest biogas production was obtained by the NaOH pretreatment using 6% NaOH which was 497 ml and by enzyme pretreatment using 11% enzyme which was 667,5 ml.

  16. Enhancement of Biogas Production from Rice Husk by NaOH and Enzyme Pretreatment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Syafrudin; Nugraha, Winardi Dwi; Agnesia, Shandy Sarima; Matin, Hashfi Hawali Abdul; Budiyono

    2018-02-01

    Biogas is a renewable energy source that can be used as an alternative fuel to replace fossil fuel such as oil and natural gas. This research aims to analyze the impact of NaOH (Sodium hydroxide) and enzyme usage on the production of rice husk biogas using Solid State Anaerobic Digestion (SS-AD). Generally, SS-AD occurs at solid concentrations higher than 15%. The waste of rice husk are used as substrate with a C/N ratio of 25% and the total of solid that are used is 21%. Rice husk contains high lignin, therefore it is handled with chemical and biological treatment. The chemical preliminary treatment was using NaOH with various concentrations from 3%, 6% and 9% while the biological preliminary treatment was using enzyme with various concentration from 5%, 8%, and 11%. The biogas that is produced then measured every two days during 60 days of research with the biogas volume as a parameter observed. The result of the research shows that preliminary treatment with NaOH and enzyme can increase the production of biogas. The highest biogas production was obtained by the NaOH pretreatment using 6% NaOH which was 497 ml and by enzyme pretreatment using 11% enzyme which was 667,5 ml.

  17. Impact of root growth and root hydraulic conductance on water availability of young walnut trees

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jerszurki, Daniela; Couvreur, Valentin; Hopmans, Jan W.; Silva, Lucas C. R.; Shackel, Kenneth A.; de Souza, Jorge L. M.

    2015-04-01

    Walnut (Juglans regia L.) is a tree species of high economic importance in the Central Valley of California. This crop has particularly high water requirements, which makes it highly dependent on irrigation. The context of decreasing water availability in the state calls for efficient water management practices, which requires improving our understanding of the relationship between water application and walnut water availability. In addition to the soil's hydraulic conductivity, two plant properties are thought to control the supply of water from the bulk soil to the canopy: (i) root distribution and (ii) plant hydraulic conductance. Even though these properties are clearly linked to crop water requirements, their quantitative relation remains unclear. The aim of this study is to quantitatively explain walnut water requirements under water deficit from continuous measurements of its water consumption, soil and stem water potential, root growth and root system hydraulic conductance. For that purpose, a greenhouse experiment was conducted for a two month period. Young walnut trees were planted in transparent cylindrical pots, equipped with: (i) rhizotron tubes, which allowed for non-invasive monitoring of root growth, (ii) pressure transducer tensiometers for soil water potential, (iii) psychrometers attached to non-transpiring leaves for stem water potential, and (iv) weighing scales for plant transpiration. Treatments consisted of different irrigation rates: 100%, 75% and 50% of potential crop evapotranspiration. Plant responses were compared to predictions from three simple process-based soil-plant-atmosphere models of water flow: (i) a hydraulic model of stomatal regulation based on stem water potential and vapor pressure deficit, (ii) a model of plant hydraulics predicting stem water potential from soil-root interfaces water potential, and (iii) a model of soil water depletion predicting the water potential drop between the bulk soil and soil-root interfaces

  18. Variability of some morphological traits of one-year old red oak, black walnut, birch and wild pear seedlings in the nurseries of Jastrebac region

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krstić Milun

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available Five morphological and quantitative characteristics of one-year old seedlings of Red oak (Quercus rubra L, Black walnut (Juglans nigra L, Wild pear (Pyrus pygrowser Borkh and Birch (Betula verrucosa Ehrh were studied. The seedlings were produced and cultivated in the controlled conditions of the nursery in the region of Jastrebac, by the classical method. Aboveground seedling height, root collar diameter, root length, number of secondary roots and the leaf assimilation area were analysed. Intraspecific and interspecific variability of morphological features of the above species were assessed by the comparative analysis and statistical methods The comparative analysis shows the great individual variability of seedlings, which can indicate their genetic potential, adaptation to environment conditions, further spontaneous selection and the development in natural conditions. This justifies the need of the quality assessment and the first selection already in the nursery, in order to ensure the quality planting material and to reduce the risk of afforestation failure One-year old birch seedlings have the lowest average height (18.8 cm. Black walnut and Wild pear seedlings are approximately twice as high, and Red oak about 2.5 times higher. At the same time Red oak seedlings have for about one-fourth greater height than Black walnut, and for one-third greater height than Wild pear. Wild pear seedlings attain the averagely twice larger root collar diameter than Birch (2.8 cm, Red oak seedlings about 2.5 times larger diameter, and Black walnut 3.5 times larger diameter. Black walnut has a larger root collar diameter than Red oak for about one third, and almost twice larger than Wild pear. Birch, Red oak and Wild pear have almost twice longer root (1.8-1.9 times, Black walnut about 2.25 times longer. The total assimilation area of a Birch seedling is averagely 89.0 cm2. Compared to birch, wild pear has approximately double assimilation area per tree, Red

  19. Magnetically modified peanut husks as an effective sorbent of heavy metals

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Rozumová, L.; Životský, O.; Seidlerová, J.; Motyka, O.; Šafařík, Ivo; Šafaříková, Miroslava

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 4, č. 1 (2016), s. 549-555 ISSN 2213-3437 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA13-13709S Institutional support: RVO:67179843 Keywords : Cadmium * Ions sorption * Lead * Magnetic modification * Peanut husks * Waste water Subject RIV: EI - Biotechnology ; Bionics

  20. Clay bricks prepared with sugarcane bagasse and rice husk ash – A sustainable solution

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Azhar Saleem Muhammad

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to characterize the clay bricks produced by the addition of the two agricultural waste materials i.e. sugarcane bagasse and rice husk ash. Disposing off these waste materials is a very challenging task and is a hazard to environment. The sugarcane bagasse and rice husk ash were collected locally from the cities of Peshawar and Wazirabad, respectively. These were mixed with the clay for brick manufacturing in three different proportions i.e. 5, 10 and 15% by weight of clay. Mechanical i.e. compressive strength and modulus of rupture and durability properties i.e. water absorption; freeze-thaw and sulphate resistance of these bricks were evaluated. Test results indicated that the sulphate attack resistance and efflorescence of clay bricks incorporating sugarcane bagasse and rice husk ash have been increased significantly. However, no significant effect on mechanical properties was observed. Furthermore, the additions of wastes have reduced the unit weight of bricks which decrease the overall weight of the structure leading to economical construction. Therefore, it can be concluded that the addition of waste materials in brick manufacturing can minimize the environmental burden leading towards more economical and sustainable construction.

  1. Effect of demineralization on the physiochemical structure and thermal degradation of acid treated indigenous rice husk

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aslam Umair

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Energy generation from biomass presents some serious problems like slagging, fouling and corrosion of boilers. To address these problems, demineralization of biomass is performed using different leaching agents. This study is focused on determining the influence of leaching agents and leaching time on the physiochemical structure of rice husk during demineralization. Dilute (5% wt solutions of HCl and H2SO4 were used for the demineralization of rice husk separately with leaching time of 15, 60 and 120 minutes. It is shown that H2SO4 exhibited higher removal of alkali and alkaline earth metals (AAEM comparatively as depicted by the 34.2% decrease in ash content along with an increase of 7.10% in the heating value. The acid has been seen to induce more notable changes in physiochemical structure as depicted by the FTIR spectra and SEM micrographs. The thermal degradation behavior of the demineralized rice husk has also been reported.

  2. Leachability of heavy metals in geopolymer-based materials synthesized from red mud and rice husk ash

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Hoc Thang; Pham, Vo Thi Ha Quyen; Dang, Thanh Phong; Dao, Thanh Khe

    2018-04-01

    Red mud is an industrial waste generated during aluminum production from bauxite whereas rice husk ash is an agricultural waste from burning of rice husk that could cause negative impact on the environment if not properly managed. This study demonstrates the utilization of red mud in combination with rice husk ash to form a geopolymer-based material which can be used as bricks or replacement for traditional cement materials. The focus of this study is on the leachability of heavy metals in the raw materials and the geopolymer as this would be significant in assessing the environmental impact of the product. Leachability of metals such as Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, Fe, and Cr was evaluated based on European (EN 124572-2 EU CEN TC292/ CEN TC 308) standard with pH value 7. Results indicate that the leachability of these metals in the geopolymer matrix is lower than that of the raw materials.

  3. Microbial Biotreatment of Actual Textile Wastewater in a Continuous Sequential Rice Husk Biofilter and the Microbial Community Involved

    OpenAIRE

    Forss, J?rgen; Lindh, Markus V.; Pinhassi, Jarone; Welander, Ulrika

    2017-01-01

    Textile dying processes often pollute wastewater with recalcitrant azo and anthraquinone dyes. Yet, there is little development of effective and affordable degradation systems for textile wastewater applicable in countries where water technologies remain poor. We determined biodegradation of actual textile wastewater in biofilters containing rice husks by spectrophotometry and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. The indigenous microflora from the rice husks consistently performed >90% de...

  4. Rice husk ash – A valuable reinforcement for high density polyethylene

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ayswarya, E.P.; Vidya Francis, K.F.; Renju, V.S.; Thachil, Eby Thomas

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► RHA is formed from the incineration of rice husk. ► RHA is mainly a mixture of silica with various metallic compounds. ► RHA is a valuable reinforcing material for HDPE. ► RHA can be incorporated into HDPE by the melt blending process. ► The best mechanical properties are observed at 1.5% RHA and 15% compatibilizer. -- Abstract: This paper presents the results of a study on the use of rice husk ash (RHA) for property modification of high density polyethylene (HDPE). Rice husk is a waste product of the rice processing industry. It is used widely as a fuel which results in large quantities of RHA. Here, the characterization of RHA has been done with the help of X-ray diffraction (XRD), Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICPAES), light scattering based particle size analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Most reports suggest that RHA when blended directly with polymers without polar groups does not improve the properties of the polymer substantially. In this study RHA is blended with HDPE in the presence of a compatibilizer. The compatibilized HDPE-RHA blend has a tensile strength about 18% higher than that of virgin HDPE. The elongation-at-break is also higher for the compatibilized blend. TGA studies reveal that uncompatibilized as well as compatibilized HDPE-RHA composites have excellent thermal stability. The results prove that RHA is a valuable reinforcing material for HDPE and the environmental pollution arising from RHA can be eliminated in a profitable way by this technique.

  5. Mechanical properties of millet husk ash bitumen stabilized soil block

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study presents an investigation into the improvement of strength and durability properties of lateritic soil blocks using Millet Husk Ash (MHA) and Bitumen as additives so as to reduce its high cost and find alternative disposal method for agricultural waste. The lateritic soil samples were selected and treated with 0%, ...

  6. Development of a method for the mineralization of coffee husk ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Every year, large quantities of husk resulting from the dry method of treatment of robusta coffee are dumped into nature. This generates multiple harmful ecological effects. The downward trend of coffee prices and the rise in the cost of manure has urged coffee farmers to better exploit the by-products of coffee transformation.

  7. Comparative studies of Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide as a potential filler in Polypropylene reinforced rice husk composite

    Science.gov (United States)

    Awang, M.; Mohd, W. R. Wan

    2018-04-01

    Arising global environmental issues have triggered the search of new products and processes that are compatible with the environment while maintaining novel properties of materials. In this work, green composites containing rice husk (RH), polypropylene (PP), and incorporated with two different fillers namely titanium dioxide (TiO2) and zinc oxide (ZnO) were prepared using an internal mixer and were injected into desired specimen by using an injection molding method. Mechanical properties of the composite were studied using Instron universal testing machine with load cell of 30kN capacity. Morphological of tensile fractured surface of composites was observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results show that the composites with the addition of TiO2 gave an excellent mechanical properties than the composites filled with ZnO. Furthermore, morphological image of PP/RH/TiO2 also shows a good interaction occurred between polymer matrix and RH particles as compared to that of PP/RH/ZnO.

  8. Combination of sawdust from teak wood and rice husk activated carbon as adsorbent of Pb(II) ion and its analysis using solid-phase spectrophotometry (sps)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saputro, S.; Mahardiani, L.; Wulandari, D. A.

    2018-03-01

    This research aimed to know the usage of sawdust of teak wood and rice husk waste as Pb (II) ion adsorbents in simulated liquid waste, the combined optimum mass required adsorbent to adsorb Pb(II) ion, the sensitivity of the solid-phase spectrophotometry (sps) method in determining the decrease of Pb (II) metal ion levels in the μg/L level. This research was conducted by experimental method in laboratory. Adsorbents used in this study were charcoal of sawdust sawdust activated using 15% ZnCl2 solution and activated rice husk using 2 N NaOH solution. The adsorption processes of sawdust and rice husk with Pb(II) solution was done by variation of mass combination with a ratio of 1: 0; 0: 1; 1: 1; 1: 2; and 2: 1. Analysis of Pb(II) ion concentration using SPS and characterization of sawdust and rice husk adsorbent ads using FTIR. The results showed that activated charcoal from sawdust of teak wood and rice husks can be used as Pb (II) metal ion adsorbents with adsorption capacity of 0.86 μg/L, charcoal from sawdust of teak wood and rice husk adsorbent with a combination of optimum mass contact of sawdust and rice husk is 2:1 as much as 3 grams can adsorb 42.80 μg/L. Solid-phase spectophotometry is a sensitive method for analysis of concentration decreasing levels of Pb(II) ion, after it was absorbed by sawdust of teak wood and rice husk with high sensitivity and has the limit of detection (LOD) of 0.06 μg/L.

  9. the potential use of fonio husk ash as a pozzolana in concrete

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    eobe

    2016-01-01

    Jan 1, 2016 ... up to a temperature of 6000C and converted into ash. The ... weather. Keywords: Keywords: Fonio, Husk Ash, Compressive Strength, Cement, Concrete, Pozzolana. ..... [14] Holmer S. Jnr and Moises F. “Pozzolanic Behavior of.

  10. Changes in soil organic carbon and total nitrogen in croplands converted to walnut-based agroforestry systems and orchards in southeastern Loess Plateau of China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Sen; Meng, Ping; Zhang, Jinsong; Yin, Changjun; Sun, Shiyou

    2015-11-01

    Limited information is available on the effects of agroforestry system practices on soil properties in the Loess Plateau of China. Over the last decade, a vegetation restoration project has been conducted in this area by converting cropland into tree-based agroforestry systems and orchards to combat soil erosion and degradation. The objective of the present study was to determine the effects of land use conversion on soil organic carbon and total nitrogen in southeastern Loess Plateau. The experiment included three treatments: walnut intercropping system (AF), walnut orchard (WO), and traditional cropland (CR). After 7 years of continual management, soil samples were collected at 0-10, 10-30, and 30-50-cm depths for three treatments, and soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) were measured. Results showed that compared with the CR and AF treatments, WO treatment decreased both SOC and TN concentrations in the 0-50-cm soil profile. However, similar patterns of SOC and TN concentrations were observed in the AF and CR treatments across the entire profile. The SOC stocks at 0-50-cm depth were 5.42, 5.52, and 4.67 kg m(-2) for CR, AF, and WO treatments, respectively. The calculated TN stocks at 0-50-cm depth were 0.63, 0.62, and 0.57 kg m(-2) for CR, AF, and WO treatments, respectively. This result demonstrated that the stocks of SOC and TN in WO were clearly lower than those of AF and CR and that the walnut-based agroforestry system was more beneficial than walnut monoculture in terms of SOC and TN sequestration. Owing to the short-term intercropping practice, the changes in SOC and TN stocks were slight in AF compared with those in CR. However, a significant decrease in SOC and TN stocks was observed during the conversion of cropland to walnut orchard after 7 years of management. We also found that land use types had no significant effect on soil C/N ratio. These findings demonstrated that intercropping between walnut rows can potentially maintain

  11. Purification of Industrial Phosphoric Acid using Silica Produced from Rice Husk (Part 1)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gad, H.M.H.; Awwad, N.S.; El-Khalafawy, A.; Daifullah, A.A.M.; El-Reefy, S.A.; Aly, H.F.

    2008-01-01

    In this work, silica was extracted from rice husk (RH) by different techniques and used for removal of some heavy metals from industrial phosphoric acid. The data obtained, showed that removal of Cu(II), Cd(II) and Pb(II) is efficient when the silica used is obtained by acidic treatment, while the removal of Fe(III) and Zn(II) is efficient when the silica used was obtained by alkaline treatment of RH. On the other hand, if silica used is obtained from rice husk ash (RHA) it was found more efficient for the removal of Mn. In all cases, the concentration of silica has been characterized by UV-Spectrophotometry. FTIR, SEM and EDX were used for predication of sorption mechanism

  12. Experimental data on the properties of natural fiber particle reinforced polymer composite material

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. Chandramohan

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents an experimental study on the development of polymer bio-composites. The powdered coconut shell, walnut shells and Rice husk are used as reinforcements with bio epoxy resin to form hybrid composite specimens. The fiber compositions in each specimen are 1:1 while the resin and hardener composition 10:1 respectively. The fabricated composites were tested as per ASTM standards to evaluate mechanical properties such as tensile strength, flexural strength, shear strength and impact strength are evaluated in both with moisture and without moisture. The result of test shows that hybrid composite has far better properties than single fibre glass reinforced composite under mechanical loads. However it is found that the incorporation of walnut shell and coconut shell fibre can improve the properties.

  13. Adsorption Behavior of Trinitrotoluene by Rice Husk Carbon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, Dan

    2018-03-01

    Trinitrotoluene could be adsorbed by many materials. The adsorption properties of Trinitrotoluene were studied in this paper by Rice husk carbon (RHC). The influence factors of pH value of Trinitrotoluene wastewater, adsorbent dosage and the ratio of dilution to wastewater were examined. The results of TG–DTA analysis showed that the main temperature ranges of thermal decomposition for the RHC was 324-467°C. The study indicates that RHC can be used in wastewater to removal Trinitrotoluene.

  14. Phytolith analysis for differentiating between foxtail millet (Setaria italica) and green foxtail (Setaria viridis).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Jianping; Lu, Houyuan; Wu, Naiqin; Yang, Xiaoyan; Diao, Xianmin

    2011-05-06

    Foxtail millet (Setaria italica) is one of the oldest domesticated cereal crops in Eurasia, but identifying foxtail millets, especially in charred grains, and differentiating it from its wild ancestor, green foxtail (Setaria viridis), in the archaeobotanical remains, is still problematic. Phytolithic analysis provides a meaningful method for identifying this important crop. In this paper, the silicon structure patterns in the glumes, lemmas, and paleas from inflorescence bracts in 16 modern plants of foxtail millet and green foxtail from China and Europe are examined using light microscopy with phase-contrast and a microscopic interferometer. Our research shows that the silicon structure of ΩIII from upper lemmas and paleas in foxtail millet and green foxtail can be correspondingly divided into two groups. The size of ΩIII type phytolith of foxtail millet is bigger than that from green foxtail. Discriminant function analysis reveals that 78.4% of data on foxtail millet and 76.9% of data on green foxtail are correctly classified. This means certain morphotypes of phytoliths are relatively reliable tools for distinguishing foxtail millet from green foxtail. Our results also revealed that the husk phytolith morphologies of foxtail millets from China and Eastern Europe are markedly different from those from Western Europe. Our research gives a meaningful method of separating foxtail millet and green foxtail. The implications of these findings for understanding the history of foxtail millet domestication and cultivation in ancient civilizations are significant.

  15. Phytolith analysis for differentiating between foxtail millet (Setaria italica and green foxtail (Setaria viridis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jianping Zhang

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Foxtail millet (Setaria italica is one of the oldest domesticated cereal crops in Eurasia, but identifying foxtail millets, especially in charred grains, and differentiating it from its wild ancestor, green foxtail (Setaria viridis, in the archaeobotanical remains, is still problematic. Phytolithic analysis provides a meaningful method for identifying this important crop. In this paper, the silicon structure patterns in the glumes, lemmas, and paleas from inflorescence bracts in 16 modern plants of foxtail millet and green foxtail from China and Europe are examined using light microscopy with phase-contrast and a microscopic interferometer. Our research shows that the silicon structure of ΩIII from upper lemmas and paleas in foxtail millet and green foxtail can be correspondingly divided into two groups. The size of ΩIII type phytolith of foxtail millet is bigger than that from green foxtail. Discriminant function analysis reveals that 78.4% of data on foxtail millet and 76.9% of data on green foxtail are correctly classified. This means certain morphotypes of phytoliths are relatively reliable tools for distinguishing foxtail millet from green foxtail. Our results also revealed that the husk phytolith morphologies of foxtail millets from China and Eastern Europe are markedly different from those from Western Europe. Our research gives a meaningful method of separating foxtail millet and green foxtail. The implications of these findings for understanding the history of foxtail millet domestication and cultivation in ancient civilizations are significant.

  16. Combination of rice husk and coconut shell activated adsorbent to adsorb Pb(II) ionic metal and it’s analysis using solid-phase spectrophotometry (sps)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rohmah, D. N.; Saputro, S.; Masykuri, M.; Mahardiani, L.

    2018-03-01

    The purpose of this research was to know the effect and determine the mass comparation which most effective combination between rice husk and coconut shell activated adsorbent to adsorb Pb (II) ion using SPS method. This research used experimental method. Technique to collecting this datas of this research is carried out by several stages, which are: (1) carbonization of rice husk and coconut shell adsorbent using muffle furnace at a temperature of 350°C for an hour; (2) activation of the rice husk and coconut shell adsorbent using NaOH 1N and ZnCl2 15% activator; (3) contacting the adsorbent of rice husk and coconut shell activated adsorbent with liquid waste simulation of Pb(II) using variation comparison of rice husk and coconut shell, 1:0; 0:1; 1:1; 2:1; 1:2; (4) analysis of Pb(II) using Solid-Phase Spectrophotometry (SPS); (5) characterization of combination rice husk and coconut shell activated adsorbent using FTIR. The result of this research show that the combined effect of combination rice husk and coconut shell activated adsorbent can increase the ability of the adsorbent to absorb Pb(II) ion then the optimum adsorbent mass ratio required for absorbing 20 mL of Pb(II) ion with a concentration of 49.99 µg/L is a ratio of 2:1 with the absorption level of 97,06%Solid-Phase Spectrophotometry (SPS) is an effective method in the level of µg/L, be marked with the Limit of Detection (LOD) of 0.03 µg/L.

  17. Characterization of Sodium Carbonate (Na2CO3) Treated Rice Husk Activated Carbon and Adsorption of Lead from Car Battery Wastewater

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanum, F.; Bani, O.; Izdiharo, A. M.

    2017-03-01

    The use of rice husk as adsorbent would not only reduce its disposal problems, but would also produce value-added products, such as activated carbon derived from rice husk. This study aimed to determine the optimum carbonization temperature for activated carbon production from rice husk and its adsorption performance on Pb in car battery wastewater. In this study, activated carbon was produced by carbonizing rice husk 400-600 °C for 90-150 minutes followed by chemical activation using 5% Na2CO3 and sieving to 100 meshes. Lead adsorption was measured using atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). Results suggested that highest carbon yield of 47.75% was obtained for carbonization at 500 °C for 150 minutes. At that condition, produced activated carbon contained 3.35% moisture, 30.86% ash, 18.04% volatile matter. The adsorption capacity was found to be 0.6007 mg lead/g adsorbent with % adsorpsi 58.08%

  18. Sensory evaluation of commercial fat spreads based on oilseeds and walnut

    OpenAIRE

    Dimić, Etelka B.; Vujasinović, Vesna B.; Radočaj, Olga F.; Borić, Bojan D.

    2013-01-01

    The main focus of this study was on the sensory evaluation of commercial oilseeds spreads, as the most significant characteristic of this type of product from the consumers’ point of view. Sensory analysis was conducted by five experts using a quantitative descriptive and sensory profile test, applying a scoring method according to the standard procedure. Five different spreads were evaluated: sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, peanut, and walnut. Oil content and ...

  19. Use of Rice Husk-Bark Ash in Producing Self-Compacting Concrete

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sumrerng Rukzon

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the use of blend of Portland cement with rice husk-bark ash in producing self-compacting concrete (SCC. CT was partially replaced with ground rice husk-bark ash (GRHBA at the dosage levels of 0%–40% by weight of binder. Compressive strength, porosity, chloride penetration, and corrosion of SCC were determined. Test results reveal that the resistance to chloride penetration of concrete improves substantially with partial replacement of CT with a blend of GRHBA and the improvement increases with an increase in the replacement level. The corrosion resistances of SCC were better than the CT concrete. In addition, test results indicated that the reduction in porosity was associated with the increase in compressive strength. The porosity is a significant factor as it affects directly the durability of the SCC. This work is suggested that the GHRBA is effective for producing SCC with 30% of GHRBA replacement level.

  20. Bio-softening of mature coconut husk for facile coir recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suganya, D S; Pradeep, S; Jayapriya, J; Subramanian, S

    2007-06-01

    Bio-softening of the mature coconut husk using Basidiomyceteous fungi was attempted to recover the soft and whiter fibers. The process was faster and more efficient in degrading lignin and toxic phenolics. Phanerochaete chrysosporium, Pleurotus eryngii and Ceriporiopsis subvermispora were found to degrade lignin efficiently without any appreciable loss of cellulose, yielding good quality fiber ideal for dyeing.

  1. Study of the rice husk ash utilization as filler polypropylene matrix and ionization radiation effect on this composite

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alfaro, Eduardo de Faria

    2010-01-01

    In the first step of this work, it was evaluated the possibility of using rice husk ash as a filler in polypropylene (PP) making a comparison with talc which is the most used mineral filler in polymers. This comparison was made by using polypropylene with 20% rice husk ash as well as polypropylene with 20% talc measuring their properties. Despite the properties of the PP with 20% rice husk ash decreased compared with the composite of polypropylene with 20% talc it can be said that the rice husk ash can be used as filler for or other utilization less noble of PP . This way it is being given a destination for this residue that it is disposable in the environment contributing to its preservation, moreover reducing the product cost. This work had also as an aim to study the ionizing radiation effect in the properties of these composites. It was used the coupling agent, maleic anhydride , to verify a best sample homogenization. According to the results it can be said that PP is a semicrystalline polymer, and so it has its morphology modified when exposed to the irradiation process. This fact is due to the scission mechanisms of the polymeric chains which it is in compliance to the literature. (author)

  2. Co-Production of Nattokinase and Poly (γ-Glutamic Acid Under Solid-State Fermentation Using Soybean and Rice Husk

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guangjun Nie

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACTThe aim of this work was to study the co-production of nattokinase and poly (γ-glutamic acid by Bacillus subtilis natto with soybean and rice husk under solid-state fermentation (SSF. The results showed that the size of soybean particle and rice husk significantly improved the co-production of nattokinase and poly (γ-glutamic acid, yielding 2503.4 IU/gs and 320 mg/gs, respectively in the improved culture medium composed of 16.7% soybean flour and 13.3% rice husk with 70% water content. The yields increased by approximate 7- and 2-fold factor relative to their original ones. Thus, the co-production of nattokinase and poly (γ-glutamic acid under SSF could be considered as an efficient method to exploit agro-residues for economical production of some higher-value products.

  3. Planted Black Walnut Does Well on Cleared Forest Sites -- if Competition is Controlled

    Science.gov (United States)

    John E. Krajicek

    1975-01-01

    After seven growing seasons, survival of black walnut seedlings planted in cleared forest openings did not differ by competition control treatments. The trees grew somewhat larger where all competing vegetation was controlled but almost as large where only herbaceous competition was controlled. Controlling only woody vegetation was no better than no control of any...

  4. Removal of mercury from water by carbonaceous sorbents derived from walnut shell

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zabihi, M.; Ahmadpour, A.; Asl, A. Haghighi

    2009-01-01

    The adsorption ability of a powdered activated carbon (PAC) derived from walnut shell was investigated in an attempt to produce more economic and effective sorbent for the control of Hg(II) ion from industrial liquid streams. Carbonaceous sorbents derived from Iranian walnut shell (WS) were prepared by chemical activation method using ZnCl 2 as an activating reagent. To the best of our knowledge, this adsorbent was not used before for removing mercury from water. Adsorption of Hg(II) from aqueous solutions was carried out under different experimental conditions by varying treatment time, metal ion concentration, adsorbent amount, pH and solution temperature. It was determined that Hg(II) adsorption follows both Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms as well as pseudo-second-order kinetics. It was also shown that Hg(II) uptake decreases with increasing pH of the solution. The proper choice of preparation conditions resulted in a microporous activated carbon with 0.45 g/cm 3 density, 737 mg/g iodine number and 780 m 2 /g BET surface area. The monolayer sorption capacity of this optimum adsorbent was obtained as 151.5 mg/g.

  5. Importance Role of Low-Cost Sorbent Produced from rice husk in Separation of zirconium from yttrium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kandil, S.A.

    2013-01-01

    The agricultural waste, rice husk, was used as a precursor for the production of low-cost sorbent. Rice husk, a by-product of the rice milling industry, accounts for about 20 % of the whole rice. The argro-residue sorbent extracted from rice husk was employed in separation of zirconium from yttrium. The separation of Zr from the binary systems (Zr-Y) was achieved in batch and column modes. In a batch mode, the adsorption behavior was studied in deferent media, namely, hydrochloric acid, 0.1 M citrate buffer and 0.1 M acetate buffer. In addition, other factors affecting the sorption process of each metal e.g. ph-value of the medium and metal ion concentration were also studied. The breakthrough experiments were carried in the form of mini-column with different bed depths of sorbent at flow rates of 20 ml/min and 40 ml/min. These studies were performed to elucidate the valuable of use of locally, available, agro-residue for separation of Zr from Y target as a promising sorbent for purification of 88 Zr, 89 Zr from Y.

  6. Kinetic and Thermodynamics Studies the Adsorption of Phenol on Activated Carbon from Rice Husk Activated by ZnCl2

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andi Muhammad Anshar

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to investigate the adsorption ability of activated carbon from rice husk in adsorbing phenol. Activated carbon used was in this studies burning risk husk at 300 and 400oC and then activated by 10% of ZnCl2. The from activated carbon was characterized using an Infrared Spectrometer, an X-ray diffraction, an Scanning Electron Microscope, and a gas sorption analyzer. The best activated carbon for adsorbing phenol was the activated carbon that prodused from the burning of rice husk at a temperature 400oC and activated with 10% of ZnCl2 for 24 hours. Adsorption capacity of the best activated carbon was 3.9370 mg/g adsorbent with Gibbs free energy of -25.493 kJ/mol.

  7. Chemical and amino acid composition of cooked walnut (juglans regia) flour

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Niyi, H.; Ogungbenle, N.

    2009-01-01

    The proximate analysis of cooked walnut (Juglans regia) flour revealed the composition as protein (14.18%), moisture (11.01%), ash (3.14%), crude fibre (3.03%), crude fat (10.22%), carbohydrate (58.42%), phytate (20.18 mg/g), oxalate (1.13 mg/g) and tannin (2.33%). Glutamic and aspartic acids were the most predominant amino acids in the sample with values of 151.6 mg/g and 89.5 mg/g, respectively. (author)

  8. Coffee husk associated with firewood as fuel for indirect heating of drying air

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Magalhaes, Edney Alves; Silva, Juarez de Sousa e; Silva, Jadir Nogueira da; Oliveira Filho, Delly [Universidade Federal de Vicosa (DEA/UFV), MG (Brazil). Dept. de Engenharia Agricola; Donzeles, Sergio Mauricio Lopes [Empresa de Pesquisa Agropecuaria de Minas Gerais (EPAMIG), Vicosa, MG (Brazil)

    2008-07-01

    The objective of this work was the performance analysis of a furnace, burning coffee husk associated with firewood to heat the drying air passing through a heat exchanger. For the analysis the temperature variation, the combustion quality, the heat losses and the furnace thermal efficiency were all monitored. Results showed that the furnace average efficiency was 58.3% and the heat losses in the exhaust were 24.3%. The presence of carbon monoxide in the exhaust gases (average 2982.8 ppm) had proven incomplete combustion, and suggesting that the combustion gases can not be used to directly drying of foods. Despite of indirect heating, the presented thermal efficiency indicates that the burning of coffee husks is one economic alternative for air heating in grain drying or in other agricultural processes. (author)

  9. effect of carbide waste on the properties of rice husk ash concrete.

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    DJFLEX

    KEY WORDS: Carbide Waste, Rice Husk Ash, Cement, Concrete and Rigid Pavement. INTRODUCTION .... and alumina components of the RHA, this ... Chemical analysis of CW, ... Kaduna, using X-ray analyzer together with. Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). ... determine the compressive strength at each level.

  10. Ancient humans influenced the current spatial genetic structure of common walnut populations in Asia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paola Pollegioni; Keith E. Woeste; Francesca Chiocchini; Stefano Del Lungo; Irene Olimpieri; Virginia Tortolano; Jo Clark; Gabriel E. Hemery; Sergio Mapelli; Maria Emilia Malvolti; Gyaneshwer. Chaubey

    2015-01-01

    Common walnut (Juglans regia L) is an economically important species cultivated worldwide for its wood and nuts. It is generally accepted that J. regia survived and grew spontaneously in almost completely isolated stands in its Asian native range after the Last Glacial Maximum. Despite its natural geographic isolation, J....

  11. Long term high resolution rainfall runoff observations for improved water balance uncertainty and database QA-QC in the Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bitew, M. M.; Goodrich, D. C.; Demaria, E.; Heilman, P.; Kautz, M. A.

    2017-12-01

    Walnut Gulch is a semi-arid environment experimental watershed and Long Term Agro-ecosystem Research (LTAR) site managed by USDA-ARS Southwest Watershed Research Center for which high-resolution long-term hydro-climatic data are available across its 150 km2 drainage area. In this study, we present the analysis of 50 years of continuous hourly rainfall data to evaluate runoff control and generation processes for improving the QA-QC plans of Walnut Gulch to create high-quality data set that is critical for reducing water balance uncertainties. Multiple linear regression models were developed to relate rainfall properties, runoff characteristics and watershed properties. The rainfall properties were summarized to event based total depth, maximum intensity, duration, the location of the storm center with respect to the outlet, and storm size normalized to watershed area. We evaluated the interaction between the runoff and rainfall and runoff as antecedent moisture condition (AMC), antecedent runoff condition (ARC) and, runoff depth and duration for each rainfall events. We summarized each of the watershed properties such as contributing area, slope, shape, channel length, stream density, channel flow area, and percent of the area of retention stock ponds for each of the nested catchments in Walnut Gulch. The evaluation of the model using basic and categorical statistics showed good predictive skill throughout the watersheds. The model produced correlation coefficients ranging from 0.4-0.94, Nash efficiency coefficients up to 0.77, and Kling-Gupta coefficients ranging from 0.4 to 0.98. The model predicted 92% of all runoff generations and 98% of no-runoff across all sub-watersheds in Walnut Gulch. The regression model also indicated good potential to complement the QA-QC procedures in place for Walnut Gulch dataset publications developed over the years since the 1960s through identification of inconsistencies in rainfall and runoff relations.

  12. The Use of Rice Husk Ash in Low - Cost Sandcrete Block Production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. ABDULLAHI

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available The compressive strength of some commercial sandcrete blocks in Minna, Nigeria was investigated. Rice Husk Ash (RHA was prepared using Charcoal from burning firewood. Preliminary analysis of the Constituent materials of the ordinary Portland Cement (OPC / Rice Husk Ash (RHA hollow sandcrete blocks were conducted to confirm their suitability for block making. Physical test of the freshly prepared mix was also carried out. 150mm´450mm hollow sandcrete blocks were cast cured and crushed for 1, 3, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days at 0, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 percent replacement levels. Test results indicate that most commercial sandcrete blocks in Minna town are below standard. The compressive strength of the OPC/RHA sandcrete blocks increases with age at curing and decreases as the percentage of RHA content increases. The study arrived at an optimum replacement level of 20%

  13. Production of granular activated carbon from food-processing wastes (walnut shells and jujube seeds) and its adsorptive properties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bae, Wookeun; Kim, Jongho; Chung, Jinwook

    2014-08-01

    Commercial activated carbon is a highly effective absorbent that can be used to remove micropollutants from water. As a result, the demand for activated carbon is increasing. In this study, we investigated the optimum manufacturing conditions for producing activated carbon from ligneous wastes generated from food processing. Jujube seeds and walnut shells were selected as raw materials. Carbonization and steam activation were performed in a fixed-bed laboratory electric furnace. To obtain the highest iodine number, the optimum conditions for producing activated carbon from jujube seeds and walnut shells were 2 hr and 1.5 hr (carbonization at 700 degrees C) followed by 1 hr and 0.5 hr (activation at 1000 degrees C), respectively. The surface area and iodine number of activated carbon made from jujube seeds and walnut shells were 1,477 and 1,184 m2/g and 1,450 and 1,200 mg/g, respectively. A pore-distribution analysis revealed that most pores had a pore diameter within or around 30-40 angstroms, and adsorption capacity for surfactants was about 2 times larger than the commercial activated carbon, indicating that waste-based activated carbon can be used as alternative. Implications: Wastes discharged from agricultural and food industries results in a serious environmental problem. A method is proposed to convert food-processing wastes such as jujube seeds and walnut shells into high-grade granular activated carbon. Especially, the performance of jujube seeds as activated carbon is worthy of close attention. There is little research about the application ofjujube seeds. Also, when compared to two commercial carbons (Samchully and Calgon samples), the results show that it is possible to produce high-quality carbon, particularly from jujube seed, using a one-stage, 1,000 degrees C, steam pyrolysis. The preparation of activated carbon from food-processing wastes could increase economic return and reduce pollution.

  14. Soil nutrient enhancement by rice husk in smallholder farms of the ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Soil fertility management is one of the most cherished natural resource that requires being safeguard at all cost. An adequate and better solution to combat soil constraint arising from nutrient depletion has been developed; a low external input technology, amending soils with an organic base fertilizer (rice husk) as it is high ...

  15. Further Studies on the Utilization of Cocoa Husk in Ruminant Rations

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The effect on body weight changes of sheep and goats and digestibility of maintenance rations in which cocoa husk constituted, 0%, 20%, 40% and 50% of the basal ration respectively were studied. These rations were fed to wethers and castrated goats (castrates) in two separate but concurrent digestibility trials. There was ...

  16. Analytical method to determine the potential of using rice husk for off ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Four power plants were considered: boiler steam turbine combination labelled ... Plant C and gasifier - Internal Combustion engine combination labelled Plant D. ... Keywords: rice husk ash, renewable energy, heat generation, CHP, gasifier - gas turbine CHP. Full Text: EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT

  17. Xylitol production from rice husk using candida guilliermondii

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Villalba C Marcela; Velez U Tatiana; Arias Z, Mario; Arrazola P, Guillermo

    2009-01-01

    In this study was used rice husk, previously hydrolyzed with diluted sulfuric acid at 121 Celsius degrade C and 15 psig, with a residence time 60 min. The initial concentration of substrate, inoculum, and relationship between media volume/flask volume and their combined effects were studied on the production of xylitol. The initial concentrations of 80 g/l xylose and 5 g/l inoculum led the best xylitol production (45.2 g/l), productivity (0.23 g/loH) and yield (0.57 g/g).

  18. The improvement of eggs quality of Mojosari duck (Anas javanica with soybean husk fermentation using cellulolytic bacteria of Spodoptera litura

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sri Hidanah

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Aim: This study was aimed to improve the quality of the eggs of Mojosari duck (Anas javanica through complete feeding containing soybean husk was fermented using cellulolytic bacteria of Spodoptera litura. Materials and Methods: This study consisted of three stages: The first stages, isolation and identification of cellulolytic bacteria from S. litura; the second stage, the fermentation of soybean husk through the application of bacterial cellulolytic isolate from the first stage; and the third stage, the application of the best complete feed formulation from the second stage to Mojosari duck. Results: There are four dominant bacteria: Bacillus sp., Cellulomonas sp., Pseudomonas sp., and Cytophaga sp. Furthermore, the best reduction of the crude fiber of soybean husks is the use of Cellulomonas sp. bacteria. The final of the study, the quality of the eggs of Anas javanica, was improved, as indicated by cholesterol decrease from the yolk without the decrease of egg weight and eggshell thickness, although the decrease in egg yolk color was inevitable. Conclusion: Soy husk fermentation using cellulolytic bacteria of S. litura was added to complete feeding can be performed to improve the quality of the eggs of Mojosari duck.

  19. Utilization of rice husk ash as filler for polyamide 6 and ionizing radiation effect studies on this composite

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ferro, Waldir Pedro

    2009-01-01

    In order to improve the dimensional stability, as well as, electrical, mechanical and thermal properties of polymers, new filler to this purpose has been developed. The mos applied filler to propitiate the features previously mentioned are the glass and carbon fibers, the mineral filler as the calcium carbonate, the talc and the micro glass sphere. The main aim of this work was to study the rice husk ash as filler for polyamide 6 and ionizing radiation effect studies on this composite, irradiated by electron beam at different doses, since it is constituted of at least 90% of silicon dioxide, and compared with the talc which is the most applied mineral filler. This comparison was made from a compound made through the refined rice husk ash and the polyamide 6 (PA 6), which is one of the main engineering plastic with applications in several productive areas. The samples were injected and irradiated in a electron accelerator. Afterwards, their mechanical and thermal properties were measured. It was also inject automotive parts to verify the processing of the PA 6 with CCA. The results showed that the use of the rice husk ash as filler for polyamide 6 composite is technically and economically viable. The irradiation of the studied composite (PA 6 with 30% of rice husk ash) did not provide any improvement for the mechanical and thermal properties previously appraised. (author)

  20. Walnut Polyphenol Extract Attenuates Immunotoxicity Induced by 4-Pentylphenol and 3-methyl-4-nitrophenol in Murine Splenic Lymphocyte

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lubing Yang

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available 4-pentylphenol (PP and 3-methyl-4-nitrophenol (PNMC, two important components of vehicle emissions, have been shown to confer toxicity in splenocytes. Certain natural products, such as those derived from walnuts, exhibit a range of antioxidative, antitumor, and anti-inflammatory properties. Here, we investigated the effects of walnut polyphenol extract (WPE on immunotoxicity induced by PP and PNMC in murine splenic lymphocytes. Treatment with WPE was shown to significantly enhance proliferation of splenocytes exposed to PP or PNMC, characterized by increases in the percentages of splenic T lymphocytes (CD3+ T cells and T cell subsets (CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, as well as the production of T cell-related cytokines and granzymes (interleukin-2, interleukin-4, and granzyme-B in cells exposed to PP or PNMC. These effects were associated with a decrease in oxidative stress, as evidenced by changes in OH, SOD, GSH-Px, and MDA levels. The total phenolic content of WPE was 34,800 ± 200 mg gallic acid equivalents/100 g, consisting of at least 16 unique phenols, including ellagitannins, quercetin, valoneic acid dilactone, and gallic acid. Taken together, these results suggest that walnut polyphenols significantly attenuated PP and PNMC-mediated immunotoxicity and improved immune function by inhibiting oxidative stress.

  1. Walnut Polyphenol Extract Attenuates Immunotoxicity Induced by 4-Pentylphenol and 3-methyl-4-nitrophenol in Murine Splenic Lymphocyte.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Lubing; Ma, Sihui; Han, Yu; Wang, Yuhan; Guo, Yan; Weng, Qiang; Xu, Meiyu

    2016-05-12

    4-pentylphenol (PP) and 3-methyl-4-nitrophenol (PNMC), two important components of vehicle emissions, have been shown to confer toxicity in splenocytes. Certain natural products, such as those derived from walnuts, exhibit a range of antioxidative, antitumor, and anti-inflammatory properties. Here, we investigated the effects of walnut polyphenol extract (WPE) on immunotoxicity induced by PP and PNMC in murine splenic lymphocytes. Treatment with WPE was shown to significantly enhance proliferation of splenocytes exposed to PP or PNMC, characterized by increases in the percentages of splenic T lymphocytes (CD3+ T cells) and T cell subsets (CD4+ and CD8+ T cells), as well as the production of T cell-related cytokines and granzymes (interleukin-2, interleukin-4, and granzyme-B) in cells exposed to PP or PNMC. These effects were associated with a decrease in oxidative stress, as evidenced by changes in OH, SOD, GSH-Px, and MDA levels. The total phenolic content of WPE was 34,800 ± 200 mg gallic acid equivalents/100 g, consisting of at least 16 unique phenols, including ellagitannins, quercetin, valoneic acid dilactone, and gallic acid. Taken together, these results suggest that walnut polyphenols significantly attenuated PP and PNMC-mediated immunotoxicity and improved immune function by inhibiting oxidative stress.

  2. Characterization a binderless particleboard of coffee husk using Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) and Ferrous Sulfate (FeSO4)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milawarni; Nurlaili; Sariyadi

    2018-05-01

    Binderless particleboard is particleboard that can be made of a lignocellulose material which is formed into a board only by heat pressing without the addition of adhesive or resin. The particleboard in this study was made from coffee husk (endocarp) using H2O2 and FeSO4 catalyst to activate lignin coffee husk component by oxidation method. Initial treatment of coffee husk is the variation of steam then Oxidation (S + O) and Oxidation without steaming (O). In this study H2O2 and FeSO4 catalysts were varied, including H2O2 levels of 10,20,30 wt% based on particle dry weight and FeSO4 is 5 and 7.5 wt% based on H2O2 weight. From the results of the study, it can be concluded that the coffee husk particleboard whose raw material is treated oxidation without steam can improve the physical properties of binderless particleboard. Increased wt% of H2O2 and FeSO4 catalysts in the oxidation process of coffee husk particles produce binderless particleboard with good physical characteristics such as density, water content, water absorption and swelling thickness. Therefore, considering the efficient aspects of the use of chemicals, the combination of H2O2 and FeSO4 catalysts that can be made according to JIS A 5908 2003 standard are 20% H2O2 and 7.5% FeSO4. The ester linkages were detected by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, indicated that cross-link due to the incorporation of phenoxyl radicals.

  3. Process for production of high density/high performance binderless boards from whole coconut husk : part I : Lignin as intrinsic thermosetting binder resin

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dam, van J.E.G.; Oever, van den M.J.A.; Teunissen, W.; Keijsers, E.R.P.; Peralta, A.G.

    2004-01-01

    Coconuts are abundantly growing in coastal areas of tropical countries. The coconut husk is available in large quantities as residue from coconut production in many areas, which is yielding the coarse coir fibre. The husk comprises ca. 30 wt.% coir fibres and 70 wt.% pith. Both fibre and pith are

  4. Relative efficacy of cocoa pod husk-based compost on growth and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The effect of cocoa pod husk-based compost on growth and nutrient uptake of cocoa seedlings was compared with conventional NPK 15-15-15 fertilizer at the nursery in a randomized complete block design experiment. Poly bags were filled with either top soil or compost alone, and also with mixtures of top soil, compost ...

  5. Utilisation of rice husk ash for improvement of deficient soils in Nigeria

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The studies generally showed improvement in the geotechnical properties of soils, either modified or stabilised with the ash, thus indicating the potentials of using this agricultural waste for improvement of geotechnical properties of ... Keywords: Black cotton soil, Deficient soil, Laterite, Rice husk ash, Soil improvement ...

  6. Preparation of Silicon by Calcium Reduction of Purified Rice Husk Ash

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Swe Zin Tun

    2011-12-01

    This research has studied on the possibility of production and preparation of silicon powder from rice husk ash (RHA) as raw material. RHA from gasifier, a waste product of the rice mill is rich in silica which contains 90.43% of silica. RHAs were purified by precipitation method using 1.5N, 2N, 2.5N and 3N of sodium hydroxide solution and 4.5N, 5N, 5.5N and 6.5N of sulphuric acid solution. The highest yield percent of silica was given by using 2.5N sodium hydroxide solution and 5N sulphuric acid solution X-ray fluoresence (XRF), X-rays diffraction (HRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTRI) spectra were applied for determination of mineral content and chemical bonding in extracted silica and rice husk ash. Metallothermic reduction of purified extracted silica with calcium was investigated within the temperacture range of 700-900 C. The reduction product was characterized by XRD, XRF and scanning electron microcopy (SEM). The effect of temperature and reaction time in which reduction process was studied in this research.

  7. Localized gene expression changes during adventitious root formation in black walnut (Juglans nigra L.)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Micah E Stevens; Keith E Woeste; Paula M Pijut

    2018-01-01

    Cutting propagation plays a large role in the forestry and horticulture industries where superior genotypes need to be clonally multiplied. Integral to this process is the ability of cuttings to form adventitious roots. Recalcitrance to adventitious root development is a serious hurdle for many woody plant propagation systems including black walnut (Juglans...

  8. Effect of organic calcium compounds on combustion characteristics of rice husk, sewage sludge, and bituminous coal: thermogravimetric investigation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Lihui; Duan, Feng; Huang, Yaji

    2015-04-01

    Experiments were conducted in a thermogravimetric analyzer to assess the enhancement of combustion characteristics of different solid fuels blended with organic calcium compounds (OCCs). Rice husk, sewage sludge, and bituminous coal, and two OCC were used in this study. Effect of different mole ratios of calcium to sulfur (Ca/S ratio) on the combustion characteristics were also investigated. Results indicated that combustion performance indexes for bituminous coal impregnated by OCC were improved, however, an inverse trend was found for sewage sludge because sewage sludge has lower ignition temperature and higher volatile matter content compared to those of OCC. For rice husk, effect of added OCC on the combustion characteristics is not obvious. Different solid fuels show different combustion characteristics with increases of Ca/S ratio. The maximum combustion performance indexes appear at Ca/S ratios of 1:1, 2:1, and 3:1 for OCC blended with Shenhua coal, rice husk, and sewage sludge, respectively. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Synthesis and characterization of cellulose acetate from rice husk: eco-friendly condition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Das, Archana M; Ali, Abdul A; Hazarika, Manash P

    2014-11-04

    Cellulose acetate was synthesized from rice husk by using a simple, efficient, cost-effective and solvent-free method. Cellulose was isolated from rice husk (RH) using standard pretreatment method with dilute alkaline and acid solutions and bleaching with 2% H2O2. Cellulose acetate (CA) was synthesized successfully with the yield of 66% in presence of acetic anhydride and iodine as a catalyst in eco-friendly solvent-free conditions. The reaction parameters were standardized at 80 °C for 300 min and the optimum results were taken for further study. The extent of acetylation was evaluated from % yield and the degree of substitution (DS), which was determined by (1)H NMR and titrimetrically. The synthesized products were characterized with the help modern analytical techniques like FT-IR, (1)H NMR, XRD, etc. and the thermal behavior was evaluated by TGA and DSC thermograms. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Oxidative damage and cell-programmed death induced in Zea mays L. by allelochemical stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ciniglia, Claudia; Mastrobuoni, Francesco; Scortichini, Marco; Petriccione, Milena

    2015-05-01

    The allelochemical stress on Zea mays was analyzed by using walnut husk washing waters (WHWW), a by-product of Juglans regia post-harvest process, which possesses strong allelopathic potential and phytotoxic effects. Oxidative damage and cell-programmed death were induced by WHWW in roots of maize seedlings. Treatment induced ROS burst, with excess of H2O2 content. Enzymatic activities of catalase were strongly increased during the first hours of exposure. The excess in malonildialdehyde following exposure to WHWW confirmed that oxidative stress severely damaged maize roots. Membrane alteration caused a decrease in NADPH oxidase activity along with DNA damage as confirmed by DNA laddering. The DNA instability was also assessed through sequence-related amplified polymorphism assay, thus suggesting the danger of walnut processing by-product and focusing the attention on the necessity of an efficient treatment of WHWW.

  11. Use or rice husk ash an addition in mortar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sánchez de Rojas, M. Isabel

    1986-09-01

    Full Text Available With the aid of a 400-litre capacity pilot furnace, in which 40 Kg of rice husk is submitted to controlled combustion, an ash (RHA is obtained for use as an addition, the physicochemical properties of which form the focal point of this work. Results will also be presented for the combustion power of the husk ≃ 4000 kcal/kg, being greater than half the value for normal bituminous coals. Conglomerates have been obtained by mixing RHA with different proportions of lime and portland cement, and their properties are studied with regard to both mortars and concretes. The ultimate aim of the work is to demonstrate how rice husk (world production of which is estimated at 500.106 m3 per annum may be feasibly applied as an addition, without forgetting its excellent properties as a fuel, which makes it particularly suitable for developing countries with a shortage of cement and energy resources.

    Mediante la utilización de un horno-piloto de unos 400 litros de capacidad, en el que se realiza la combustión controlada de unos 40 kg de cáscara de arroz, se consigue una ceniza (RHA, sobre cuyas propiedades físico-químicas se centra el trabajo, para su empleo como adición. Se presentan igualmente resultados sobre el poder de combustión de la cascara ≃ 4.000 kcal/kg, superior a la mitad del valor de los carbones bituminosos normales. Mediante mezclas de RHA con distintas proporciones de cal o de cemento portland, se han conseguido conglomerantes cuyas propiedades se estudian, tanto sobre morteros, como sobre hormigones. El objetivo último del trabajo es mostrar la factible aplicabilidad de la cascara de arroz (cuya "producción" mundial se estima en 500.106 m3 anuales como adición, sin olvidar sus excelentes cualidades como combustible lo que hace especialmente idónea en países en vías de desarrollo, deficitarios en cemento y recursos energéticos.

  12. Optimization of binder addition and particle size for densification of coffee husks briquettes using response surface methodology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raudah; Zulkifli

    2018-03-01

    The present research focuses on establishing the optimum conditions in converting coffee husk into a densified biomass fuel using starch as a binding agent. A Response Surface Methodology (RSM) approach using Box-Behnken experimental design with three levels (-1, 0, and +1) was employed to obtain the optimum level for each parameter. The briquettes wereproduced by compressing the mixture of coffee husk-starch in a piston and die assembly with the pressure of 2000 psi. Furthermore, starch percentage, pyrolysis time, and particle size were the input parameters for the algorithm. Bomb calorimeter was used to determine the heating value (HHV) of the solid fuel. The result of the study indicated that a combination of 34.71 mesh particle size, 110.93 min pyrolysis time, and 8% starch concentration werethe optimum variables.The HHV and density of the fuel were up to 5644.66 calgr-1 and 0.7069 grcm-3,respectively. The study showed that further research should be conducted to improve the briquette density therefore the coffee husk could be convert into commercialsolid fuel to replace the dependent on fossil fuel.

  13. Effect of Rice Husk Ash on Cement Stabilized Laterite

    OpenAIRE

    Musa ALHASSAN; Alhaji Mohammed MUSTAPHA

    2007-01-01

    Laterite soil collected from Maikunkele area of Minna, classified as an A-7-6 on AASHTO classification, was stabilized with 2-8% cement by weight of the dry soil. Using British Standard Light (BSL) compaction energy, the effect of Rice Husk Ash (RHA) on the soil was investigated with respect to compaction characteristics, California Bearing Ratio (CBR) and Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) tests. Results obtained, indicate a general decrease in Maximum Dry Density (MDD) and increase in Op...

  14. Performance And Egg Quality Of Hens Fed Cocoa Husk Based Diet ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Lowman Brown hens, 37 - week - old, were used to study the effect of dietary inclusion of 10 and 20% cocoa husk meal (CHM) at the expense of maize on hen performance and egg quality. The trial was conducted for 10 weeks. Egg production (EP), egg weight (EW), egg mass (EM), feed consumption (FC), and feed ...

  15. Utilization of maize cob biochar and rice husk charcoal as soil amendments for improving acid soil fertility and productivity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nurhidayati

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The decline in soil fertility in agricultural land is a major problem that causes a decrease in the production of food crops. One of the causes of the decline in soil fertility is declining soil pH that caused the decline in the availability of nutrients in the soil. This study aimed to assess the influence of alternative liming materials derived from maize cob biochar and rice husk charcoal compared to conventional lime to improve soil pH, soil nutrient availability and maize production. The experiment used a factorial complete randomized design which consisting of two factors. The first factor is the type of soil amendment which consists of three levels (calcite lime, rice husk charcoal and cob maize biochar. The second factor is the application rates of the soil amendment consisted of three levels (3, 6 and 9 t/ha and one control treatment (without soil amendment. The results of this study showed that the application of various soil amendment increased soil pH, which the pH increase of the lime application was relatively more stable over time compared to biochar and husk charcoal. The average of the soil pH increased for each soil amendment by 23% (lime, 20% (rice husk charcoal and 23% (biochar as compared with control. The increase in soil pH can increase the availability of soil N, P and K. The greatest influence of soil pH on nutrient availability was shown by the relationship between soil pH and K nutrient availability with R2 = 0.712, while for the N by R2 = 0.462 and for the P by R2 = 0.245. The relationship between the availability of N and maize yield showed a linear equation. While the relationship between the availability of P and K with the maize yield showed a quadratic equation. The highest maize yield was found in the application of biochar and rice husk charcoal with a dose of 6-9 t/ha. The results of this study suggested that biochar and husk charcoal could be used as an alternative liming material in improving acid soil

  16. Rice husk as dyes removal from impregnated cotton wastes generated in sports industries of sialkot, pakistan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Junaid, M.; Khan, M.U.; Malik, R.N.

    2014-01-01

    The current study was designed to the potential dyes removal present in solid wastes of cotton (Generated from sports industries). Sport products were colored with different shaded dyes with the help of cotton that are disposed to the different environmental compartment. Cost effective and eco-friendly adsorbents (rice husk) has been collected and used as an ideal alternative to the conventional method of dyes removal for disposed cotton wastes. The effect of pH, contact time, adsorbent dose, shaking speed and amount of dyes solution of rice husks on dyes removal have been evaluated and optimized. Maximum and efficient dyes removal was observed at pH (3.0), contact time (240 min), adsorbent dose (8.0 g), shaking speed (300 rpm) and amount of dyes solution (200 ml). All these conditions have ensured dyes removal up to 91, 93, 92, 90 and 93% respectively. This process highlighted the advantage of recovery of methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) and dyes which may be used again after modification. Furthermore the present study encourages that the rice husks generated as biological waste can be used as promising tool for dyes removal. (author)

  17. The Potential of Coffee Husk and Pulp as an Alternative Source of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In Ethiopia enormous amounts of coffee husk and pulp are generated anually from coffee processing industries. However, they have been poorly utilized or left to decompose or otherwise dumped in the environment. Therefore, this research was conducted at Teppi and Limu coffee farms in Ethiopia to produce briquettes ...

  18. Analysis of Chemical and Physical Properties of Biochar from Rice Husk Biomass

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armynah, Bidayatul; Atika; Djafar, Zuryati; Piarah, Wahyu H.; Tahir, Dahlang

    2018-03-01

    Chemical and physical properties of Rice Husk as a potential energy resource were analyzed by means Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and energy disperse spectroscopy (EDS). Rice husk is heated with varied temperature of 250°C, 350°C, 450°C and 30, 60, 90 minutes respectively combine with time variation. The results show that the calorific value decreases whenever the temperature and time increase. The heating time of 30 minutes at 250 °C of temperature gives calorific value of 10.4 MJ/Kg. While at the 450°C of temperature, the calorific value decrease to 4.7 MJ/Kg. The EDS shows that the time of heating is an important parameter where carbon and nitrogen were decreasing with the increment of the heating time while the oxygen increase when the heating time increase. The XRD shows that the broad (002) reflections between 20° and 30° indicate carbon disordered with small domains of coherent and parallel stacking of the graphene sheets, which consists of surface morphology from SEM. FTIR shows that the O-H stretching pronounced at around 3452 cm-1 and 3412 cm-1 and pronounced clearly at the highest temperature. The aromatic group from lignin gives rise to C=C asymmetric stretching at cm-1 as a G band corresponds to the sp2-hybradization bonding of carbon atoms and C-H bending modes at 2927 at 796 cm-1. This results of the characteristic of chemical and physical properties of the rice husk examination provide the prominent source of useful energy that can eventually replace the fossil fuel.

  19. Utilization of construction and agricultural waste in Malaysia for development of Green Concrete: A Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tambichik, M. A.; Mohamad, N.; Samad, A. A. A.; Bosro, M. Z. M.; Iman, M. A.

    2018-04-01

    Green Concrete (GC) is defined as a concrete that utilize a waste material for at least one of its component. The production of GC has been increasing due to the drawback of conventional concrete that create many environmental problems. In Malaysia, the amount of waste generates from agricultural and construction industries were increasing every year. Hence, one of the solutions to reduce the impact of conventional concrete and limited landfill spaces due to excessive waste is by utilizing it in concrete. This paper reviews the possible use of construction waste (Recycle Concrete Aggregate) and agricultural waste (Palm Oil Fuel Ash, Rice Husk Ash and Palm Oil Fibre) as partial replacement for the basic material in a concrete to produce an innovative Green Concrete. The optimum replacement level for each type of waste was also been review. Green Concrete also has the potential to reduce environmental pollution and solve the depletion of natural sources. The result from this review shows that the addition of agricultural waste or construction waste in concrete indicate positive and satisfactory strength when compared to normal concrete. Finally, a mass production of Green Concrete can fulfil the Construction Industry Transformation Plan (CITP) 2016-2020 made by CIDB that emphasizes on a construction system which is environmentally sustainable.

  20. Removal of Dissolved Cadmium by Adsorption onto Walnut and Almond Shell Charcoal: Comparison with Granular Activated Carbon (GAC

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohsen Saeedi

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available In the present study, adsorption of dissolved Cadmium (Cd onto walnut and almond shell charcoal and the standard granular activated carbon (GAC has been investigated and compared. The effect of pH value, initial concentration of dissolved Cadmium and amount of adsorbent on the adsorption of Cd by the mentioned adsorbents were investigated. Results showed that the adsorption process was highly dependent on pH. Maximum Cd removal was achieved when the final pH of the mixture fell within 6.5-7. Adsorption test results revealed that Cd adsorption on the studied adsorbents could be better described by Longmuir isotherm. Maximum Cd removal efficiencies were obtained by walnut shell charcoal (91%, almond shell charcoal (85%, and GAC (81%.

  1. Sorting in-shell walnuts using near infrared spectroscopy for improved drying efficiency and product quality

    Science.gov (United States)

    In the current walnut drying practice, dryers comingle nuts with varying moisture contents (MC) which results in over drying of nuts with low MC and thereby decrease product quality. The objectives of this research were to investigate correlations among near infrared (NIR) spectral data and MC of fr...

  2. Rice husk-derived sodium silicate as a highly efficient and low-cost basic heterogeneous catalyst for biodiesel production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roschat, Wuttichai; Siritanon, Theeranun; Yoosuk, Boonyawan; Promarak, Vinich

    2016-01-01

    Graphical abstract: Rice husk-derived sodium silicate exhibits high potential as a low-cost solid catalyst for industrial biodiesel production. - Highlights: • Rice husk-derived sodium silicate was employed as a high performance catalyst for biodiesel production. • 97% yield of FAME was achieved in 30 min at 65 °C. • The room-temperature transesterification gave 94% yield of FAME after only 150 min. - Abstract: In the present work, rice husk-derived sodium silicate was prepared and employed as a solid catalyst for simple conversion of oils to biodiesel via the transesterification reaction. The catalyst was characterized by TG–DTA, XRD, XRF, FT-IR, SEM, BET and Hammett indicator method. Under the optimal reaction conditions of catalyst loading amount of 2.5 wt.%, methanol/oil molar ratio of 12:1, the prepared catalysts gave 97% FAME yield in 30 min at 65 °C, and 94% FAME yield in 150 min at room temperature. The transesterification was proved to be pseudo-first order reaction with the activation energy (Ea) and the frequency factor (A) of 48.30 kJ/mol and 2.775 × 10"6 min"−"1 respectively. Purification with a cation-exchange resin efficiently removed all soluble ions providing high-quality biodiesel product that meets all the ASTM and EN standard specifications. Rice husk-derived sodium silicate showed high potential to be used as a low-cost, easy to prepare and high performance solid catalyst for biodiesel synthesis.

  3. Combination of Palm Kernel Husk Ash (PKHA) and Free Lime (CaO ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Almost all admixtures used in concrete construction in Nigeria are imported. In this study, various proportions of free Lime (CaO), Palm Kernel Husk Ash (PKHA) and Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) were mixed and the setting times of various mix proportions were determined and compared with that of only OPC.

  4. Potential of Rice Husk and Cassava Peel as Carriers for Bio-fertilizer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The quality of carrier is a vital factor in determining microbial load and shelf life of biofertilizers. Rice husk and cassava peels are abundant and practically of no economic value in many developing countries and thus satisfy two important requirements of biofertilizer-carrier materials. This study evaluated other properties ...

  5. The Influence of Container Type and Potting Medium on Growth of Black Walnut Seedlings

    Science.gov (United States)

    David T. Funk; Paul L Roth; C. K. Celmer

    1980-01-01

    Container size and shape, potting medium, and genotype interacted to influence the growth of black walnut (Juglans nigra L.) seedlings. Larger containers tended to produce larger trees. In tall, narrow, vent-pipe containers, different, proportions of peat and sand in potting media had no effect on total weight; a higher proportion of peat than of very fine sand in...

  6. Biodegradable aliphatic-aromatic copolyester/corn starch blend composite reinforced with coffee parchment husk

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Silva, Valquiria A.; Teixeira, Jaciele G.; Gomes, Michelle G.; Ortiz, Angel V.; Oliveira, Rene R.; Scapin, Marcos A.; Moura, Esperidiana A.B.; Colombo, Maria A.

    2013-01-01

    In recent years, studies have shown that the addition of natural fiber or proper filler is an effective strategy for achieving improved properties in biodegradable polymer materials. Moreover, is especially important if such fibers are residues of agro-industrial processes. In this work, a promising technique to develop biodegradable polymer matrix composite based on aliphatic-aromatic copolyester/corn starch blend (Evela®) and coffee parchment husk, which is residue from coffee processing is described. The biodegradable polymeric blend (Evela®) with 5 % (w/w) of ball-milled coffee parchment husk fiber powder, with size ≤250 μm, without any modification was prepared by melt-mixing processing, using a twin screw extruder machine and then pelletized. In a second step, the pelletized Evela®)/coffee parchment (Composite) was then dried at 70 ± 2 deg C for 24 h in a circulating air oven, fed into injection molding machine and test specimens were obtained. The Composite specimen samples were irradiated using an electron beam accelerator, at radiation dose of 20 and 40 kGy, at room temperature in presence of air. The irradiated and non-irradiated samples were characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-Ray diffraction (XRD), tensile tests and sol-gel analysis and the correlation between their properties was discussed. In addition, coffee parchment husk fiber characterization by SEM, EDS, XRD and WDXRF have also been carried out with a view to evaluate its importance in determining the end-use properties of the composite. (author)

  7. Biodegradable aliphatic-aromatic copolyester/corn starch blend composite reinforced with coffee parchment husk

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Silva, Valquiria A.; Teixeira, Jaciele G.; Gomes, Michelle G.; Ortiz, Angel V.; Oliveira, Rene R.; Scapin, Marcos A.; Moura, Esperidiana A.B. [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil); Colombo, Maria A., E-mail: valquiriaalves36@yahoo.com.br [Faculdade de Tecnologia da Zona Leste (FATEC), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

    2013-07-01

    In recent years, studies have shown that the addition of natural fiber or proper filler is an effective strategy for achieving improved properties in biodegradable polymer materials. Moreover, is especially important if such fibers are residues of agro-industrial processes. In this work, a promising technique to develop biodegradable polymer matrix composite based on aliphatic-aromatic copolyester/corn starch blend (Evela®) and coffee parchment husk, which is residue from coffee processing is described. The biodegradable polymeric blend (Evela®) with 5 % (w/w) of ball-milled coffee parchment husk fiber powder, with size ≤250 μm, without any modification was prepared by melt-mixing processing, using a twin screw extruder machine and then pelletized. In a second step, the pelletized Evela®)/coffee parchment (Composite) was then dried at 70 ± 2 deg C for 24 h in a circulating air oven, fed into injection molding machine and test specimens were obtained. The Composite specimen samples were irradiated using an electron beam accelerator, at radiation dose of 20 and 40 kGy, at room temperature in presence of air. The irradiated and non-irradiated samples were characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-Ray diffraction (XRD), tensile tests and sol-gel analysis and the correlation between their properties was discussed. In addition, coffee parchment husk fiber characterization by SEM, EDS, XRD and WDXRF have also been carried out with a view to evaluate its importance in determining the end-use properties of the composite. (author)

  8. VEGETABLE PEELS: A PROMISING FEED RESOURCE FOR LIVESTOCK

    OpenAIRE

    Md. Emran HOSSAIN; Syeda Ayesha SULTANA; Mohammad Hasanul KARIM; Md. Imran AHMED

    2016-01-01

    The study was undertaken to find out the chemical composition of different vegetable peels available in Rangunia, Chittagong, Bangladesh. Total 10 different vegetable peels i.e., Banana blossom (Musa sapientum), Bottle gourd peel (Lagenaria siceraria), Brinjal peel (Solanum melongena), Gram husk (Cicer arietinum), Green banana peel (Musa sapieutum), Green coconut peel (Cocos nucifera), Pea husk (Pisum sativum), Potato peel (Solanum tuberosum), Pumpkin peel (Cucurbita maxima), Ripe banana peel...

  9. Improving the Bond Strength of Rice Husk Ash Concrete by Incorporating Polymer: A New Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. K. Bangwar

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available This paper gives an insight of how to improve the bond strength of cement in which concrete is replaced with rice husk ash. A concrete mix was prepared and was used in different types of mixes i.e. Control Mix, 10% cement substituted concrete with rice husk ash and polymer modified concrete by incorporation different dosages of polymer in the 10% cement substituted concrete. A bar of 12mm diameter, 300mm in length was placed in the center of the cylindrical specimens for pull out test. It was observed that the bond strength between concrete and steel decreases with the replacement of cement with ash, conversely the bond strength improves with the addition of polymer dosages.

  10. Studies on the Effect of Rice Husk Ash as Cement Admixture * M.U ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    acer

    Studies on the Effect of Rice Husk Ash as Cement Admixture. *. 1. M.U Dabai,. 1 ... production of durable concrete and at the same time it is a ... indigenous and waste, materials in concrete. One .... (4.08%). The Iron oxide may be from laterite.

  11. Replacement value of cocoa husk meal as a substitute for maize in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Twenty crossbred weaner (Newzealand x Chinchilla) of six weeks of age were used to determine the effects of replacing maize with graded levels (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100%) of cocoa husk meal (CHM) on the performance of rabbits in a completely randomized design for an eight week period. Feed intake increased ...

  12. Synthesis of molybdenum and tungsten modified composite systems based on bisorbent from rice husk

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Duisek Haisagalievich Kamysbaev

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The article presents results of the synthesis of a new composite material modified with polyvalent metals. Rice husk was chosen as a raw material for obtaining a carrier – a bisorbent consisting of carbon and amorphous silicon oxide. The sorption material was obtained from the products of thermal decomposition of rice husks. Further it was modified with ammonium salts of molybdenum and tungsten: (NH46Mo7O24·4H2O and (NH42O·12WO3·5H2O in Mo/W ratios: 5/5 wt. %, 10/5 wt. % and reducted by heating in a stream of hydrogen. The registration of the voltammetric curves in the medium of 1-methyl-4-piperidone was carried out in various background electrolytes: 0.2 M Li2SO4, pH = 6.36 and 0.1 M KOH, pH = 13, 2,5·10–2 M K2HPO4 + 2,5·10–2 M NaH2PO4, pH = 6.86. Differential voltammetric curves were analyzed. The electrochemical activity of the obtained modified composites in the potential range from -1.2 V to 0.5 V was determinated. The mechanism of the proceeding electrochemical processes on these modified electrode materials has been studied. The possibility of further use of synthesized composite systems based on bisorbents from the rice husk for the electrochemical reduction of 1-methyl-4-piperidone was shown.

  13. Microbial Biotreatment of Actual Textile Wastewater in a Continuous Sequential Rice Husk Biofilter and the Microbial Community Involved

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindh, Markus V.; Pinhassi, Jarone; Welander, Ulrika

    2017-01-01

    Textile dying processes often pollute wastewater with recalcitrant azo and anthraquinone dyes. Yet, there is little development of effective and affordable degradation systems for textile wastewater applicable in countries where water technologies remain poor. We determined biodegradation of actual textile wastewater in biofilters containing rice husks by spectrophotometry and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. The indigenous microflora from the rice husks consistently performed >90% decolorization at a hydraulic retention time of 67 h. Analysis of microbial community composition of bacterial 16S rRNA genes and fungal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) gene fragments in the biofilters revealed a bacterial consortium known to carry azoreductase genes, such as Dysgonomonas, and Pseudomonas and the presence of fungal phylotypes such as Gibberella and Fusarium. Our findings emphasize that rice husk biofilters support a microbial community of both bacteria and fungi with key features for biodegradation of actual textile wastewater. These results suggest that microbial processes can substantially contribute to efficient and reliable degradation of actual textile wastewater. Thus, development of biodegradation systems holds promise for application of affordable wastewater treatment in polluted environments. PMID:28114377

  14. Microbial Biotreatment of Actual Textile Wastewater in a Continuous Sequential Rice Husk Biofilter and the Microbial Community Involved.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jörgen Forss

    Full Text Available Textile dying processes often pollute wastewater with recalcitrant azo and anthraquinone dyes. Yet, there is little development of effective and affordable degradation systems for textile wastewater applicable in countries where water technologies remain poor. We determined biodegradation of actual textile wastewater in biofilters containing rice husks by spectrophotometry and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. The indigenous microflora from the rice husks consistently performed >90% decolorization at a hydraulic retention time of 67 h. Analysis of microbial community composition of bacterial 16S rRNA genes and fungal internal transcribed spacer (ITS gene fragments in the biofilters revealed a bacterial consortium known to carry azoreductase genes, such as Dysgonomonas, and Pseudomonas and the presence of fungal phylotypes such as Gibberella and Fusarium. Our findings emphasize that rice husk biofilters support a microbial community of both bacteria and fungi with key features for biodegradation of actual textile wastewater. These results suggest that microbial processes can substantially contribute to efficient and reliable degradation of actual textile wastewater. Thus, development of biodegradation systems holds promise for application of affordable wastewater treatment in polluted environments.

  15. Production process for high density high performance binderless boards from whole coconut husk

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dam, van J.E.G.; Oever, van den M.J.A.; Keijsers, E.R.P.

    2004-01-01

    Coconuts are typically growing in coastal areas of tropical countries. The husk is abundantly available as cheap residue from coconut production in many areas, which is known to yield the coarse coir fibre. In this project a simple and efficient technology has been developed to produce high

  16. The influence of rice husk and tobacco waste biochars on soil quality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amir Hamzah

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Heavy metal pollution in agricultural land threatens soil and food quality. Soil pollution could be remediate using biochar, but the effectiveness of biochar on soil quality improvement is determined by types of feedstock and pyrolysis temperature. This study was aimed to explore the effect of different types of biochar on soil properties.  Biochar from rice husk and tobacco waste was applied to soil contaminated with lead and mercury. This study was conducted at Sumber Brantas, Malang East Java, and used a completely randomized design with three replicates. Heavy metals content was measured using AAS. The results of measurements were analyzed using analysis of variance at 5% and 1% significance levels. The initial analysis of the soil properties at the research site showed that the soil nutrient status was low, i.e. N (0.2 %, K (0.50 cmol+/kg, and CEC (5.9 me/100g respectively, but soil pH was neutral (6.8. The research site also has crossed the threshold of heavy metal content for Hg (0.5 ppm, Pb (25.22 ppm, Cd (1.96 ppm, and As (0.78 ppm. Biochar added had a positive influence on soil characteristics improvement. It could increase the content of organic C, i.e. 35.12% and 31.81% and CEC (cation exchange capacity, i.e.30.56 me/100g and 28.13 me/100 g for rice husk biochar and tobacco waste biochar, respectively.  However, N, P, and K contents were low i.e. N ( 0.33 and 0.30 %; P2O5 (148.79 and 152 ppm; K (1.58 and 2.11 mg/100g for rice husk biochar and tobacco waste biochar, respectively.

  17. Utilization of graded levels of corn cobs and cowpea husk on growth ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Corncob (CC) and cowpea husk (CH) are by – products of maize and cowpea production respectively. They can be used as alternative feed resources for ruminants especially during the dry season. A 70d study was conducted to determine the effects of CC and CH based diets on performance of WAD rams. Sixteen ewes ...

  18. Quantitative estimates of uptake and internal cycling of 15N-depleted fertilizer in mature walnut trees

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weinbaum, S.; Kessel, C. van

    1998-01-01

    In mature fruit trees, internal recycling is an important source of N for the growth of new wood, leaves and fruits. Using 15 N-depleted fertilizer, i.e. 14 N-enriched, N-uptake efficiency and the magnitude of internal N cycling were studied in mature walnut trees. Two kg of 14 N-labelled ammonium sulfate N were applied per tree, and compartmentation of N was followed over a period of 6 years by analyzing catkins, pistillate flowers, leaves and fruits each year for total N content and isotopic composition. Subsequently, two of the six labelled trees were excavated and analyzed for labelled-N content. The data indicate that mature walnut uses most of the N accumulated from soil and fertilizer for storage purposes, to be remobilized for new growth within 2 years, and about half of the total-N pool in a mature tree is present as non-structural compounds, available for recycling. (author)

  19. Effect of incorporation of walnut cake (Juglans regia in concentrate mixture on degradation of dry matter, organic matter and production of microbial biomass in vitro in goat

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohsin Ahmad Mir

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Aim: This study was carried out to investigate the effect of incorporation of different level of walnut cake in concentrate mixture on in vitro dry matter degradation in order to determine its level of supplementation in ruminant ration. Materials and Methods: Walnut cake was used @ 0, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30% level to formulate an iso-nitrogenous concentrate mixtures and designated as T1, T2, T3, T4, T5 and T6 respectively. The different formulae of concentrate mixtures were used for in vitro gas production studies using goat rumen liquor with wheat straw in 40:60 ratio. Proximate composition, fiber fractionation and calcium and phosphrous content of walnut cake were estimated. Result: The per cent IVDMD value of T1 and T2 diets was 68.42 ± 1.20 and 67.25 ± 1.37 respectively which was found highest (P<0.05 T3, T4, T5 and T6. Similar trend was also found for TDOM and MBP. Inclusion of walnut cake at 10% level in the concentrate mixture does not affect in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD, truly degradable organic matter (TDOM, mg/200 mg DM, total gas production, microbial biomass production (MBP and efficiency of microbial biomass production (EMP. Conclusion: It is concluded that walnut cake incorporation up to 10% level in the iso -nitrogenous concentrate mixture has no any negative effect on in vitro digestibility of dry matter (DM, TDOM, MBP, EMP and total gas production in goat.

  20. Some blood indices in finisher broiler chickens fed cocoa pod husk ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The dietary effects of pre-treated cocoa pod husk (CPH) on some blood indices of 21-day old COBB-500 finisher broiler chicks were evaluated in a 35-day experiment with a completely randomized design. The birds were allotted to seven treatments (diets) having 0-g kg-1, 100- g kg-1, 200-g kg-1 and 300-g kg-1 of either ...

  1. Supercritical fluid extraction from spent coffee grounds and coffee husks: antioxidant activity and effect of operational variables on extract composition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andrade, Kátia S; Gonçalvez, Ricardo T; Maraschin, Marcelo; Ribeiro-do-Valle, Rosa Maria; Martínez, Julian; Ferreira, Sandra R S

    2012-01-15

    The present study describes the chemical composition and the antioxidant activity of spent coffee grounds and coffee husks extracts, obtained by supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) with CO(2) and with CO(2) and co-solvent. In order to evaluate the high pressure method in terms of process yield, extract composition and antioxidant activity, low pressure methods, such as ultrasound (UE) and soxhlet (SOX) with different organic solvents, were also applied to obtain the extracts. The conditions for the SFE were: temperatures of 313.15K, 323.15K and 333.15K and pressures from 100 bar to 300 bar. The SFE kinetics and the mathematical modeling of the overall extraction curves (OEC) were also investigated. The extracts obtained by LPE (low pressure extraction) with ethanol showed the best results for the global extraction yield (X(0)) when compared to SFE results. The best extraction yield was 15±2% for spent coffee grounds with ethanol and 3.1±04% for coffee husks. The antioxidant potential was evaluated by DPPH method, ABTS method and Folin-Ciocalteau method. The best antioxidant activity was showed by coffee husk extracts obtained by LPE. The quantification and the identification of the extracts were accomplished using HPLC analysis. The main compounds identified were caffeine and chlorogenic acid for the supercritical extracts from coffee husks. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Effect of weed control treatments on total leaf area of plantation black walnut (Juglans nigra)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jason Cook; Michael R. Saunders

    2013-01-01

    Determining total tree leaf area is necessary for describing tree carbon balance, growth efficiency, and other measures used in tree-level and stand-level physiological growth models. We examined the effects of vegetation control methods on the total leaf area of sapling-size plantation black walnut trees using allometric approaches. We found significant differences in...

  3. Characterization, treatment and utilization of rice husk ash in production processes of the industrial branch

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stracke, Marcelo Paulo; Schmidt, Julia Isabel; Steffen, Ana Cristina; Sokolovicz, Boris; Kieckow, Flavio

    2016-01-01

    The rice husk ash (CCA) is a black powder rich in silica (contents above 90%) with many industrial applications. The ash was obtained from a rice processing industry in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. In this work the purpose is to characterize the rice husk ash and eliminate the residual carbon by methods such as acid leaching. The white ash is obtained by a chemical process followed by heating between 600 and 800 °C. The results were analyzed in DR-X, TGA and DSC. The DR-X analysis showed that the samples present high levels of silica in the crystalline form of quartz, cristobalite and tridymite. The white ash was obtained with high purity and presented a good result in the manufacture of paints. (author)

  4. Comparison of Neuroprotective and Cognition-Enhancing Properties of Hydrolysates from Soybean, Walnut, and Peanut Protein

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wenzhi Li

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Hydrolysates were prepared from soybean, walnut, and peanut protein by papain, respectively. Their amino acid compositions and molecular weight distributions, the effects of various hydrolysates on H2O2-induced injury PC12 cells, and cognition of mice were investigated, respectively. Results showed that the three hydrolysates were dominated by the peptides with 1–3 KDa with large amount of neurotrophic amino acids. All the hydrolysates exhibited much stronger inhibitory activity against H2O2-induced toxicity than cerebrolysin, and soy protein hydrolysate showed the highest activity. Moreover, the hydrolysates also could reduce the rate of nonviable apoptotic cells at the concentration of 2 mg/mL. The test of animal’s cognition indicated that three hydrolysates could present partly better effect of improving recurred memory ability of normal mice and consolidated memory ability of anisodine-treated mice than piracetam. Therefore, soybean, walnut, and peanut protein hydrolysates were recommended as a potential food raw material for prevention or treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.

  5. Removal of Zn(II) and Pb (II) ions Using Rice Husk in Food Industrial ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Michael Horsfall

    The removal of mentioned heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions was studied by batch ... The binding process was strongly affected by pH and the optimum. pH for Zn2+ and .... on the rice husks are protonated and positively-charged, their.

  6. Sustainable gasification–biochar systems? A case-study of rice-husk gasification in Cambodia, Part II: Field trial results, carbon abatement, economic assessment and conclusions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shackley, Simon; Carter, Sarah; Knowles, Tony; Middelink, Erik; Haefele, Stephan; Haszeldine, Stuart

    2012-01-01

    In part I we described the gasification technology and characterised the physio-chemical properties and environmental impacts of the rice husk char (RHC) by-product. In part II we present summary results from field trials using the RHC, and provide an estimate of the carbon abatement and economic evaluation of the system. Statistically significant yield increases are demonstrated for RHC addition in irrigated rice cultivation (33% increase in paddy rice yield for a 41.5 t (dry weight) RHC application per hectare). The carbon abatement from the RHC addition is approximately 0.42 t CO 2 t −1 rice husk; including energy generation from gasification this increases to ca. 0.86 tCO 2 t −1 . Assuming a carbon value of $5 t CO 2 t −1 , and agronomic value of $3 t −1 RHC based on the field trials, the economic value of the RHC varies from $9 t −1 (including only recalcitrant carbon) to $15 t −1 (including avoided emissions from energy production). We summarise results from parts I and II, concluding that the gasification–biochar system meets many of the criteria of sustainability, but requires better waste water management and more field trials to demonstrate repeatable agronomic efficacy of RHC application. - Highlights: ► Field trials show statistically significant rice yield increases using rice husk char (RHC). ► Carbon abatement of 0.42 t CO 2 t −1 rice husk from RHC production. ► Bioenergy generation via gasification gives carbon abatement of 0.44 t CO 2 t −1 husk. ► Total carbon abatement is therefore ca. 0.86 t CO 2 t −1 husk. ► Agronomic value from trials is $3 t −1 char; assuming $5 CO 2 t −1 , the total value of RHC is $9–$15 t −1 .

  7. Coffee husk composting: An investigation of the process using molecular and non-molecular tools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shemekite, Fekadu; Gómez-Brandón, María; Franke-Whittle, Ingrid H.; Praehauser, Barbara; Insam, Heribert; Assefa, Fassil

    2014-01-01

    Various parameters were measured during a 90-day composting process of coffee husk with cow dung (Pile 1), with fruit/vegetable wastes (Pile 2) and coffee husk alone (Pile 3). Samples were collected on days 0, 32 and 90 for chemical and microbiological analyses. C/N ratios of Piles 1 and 2 decreased significantly over the 90 days. The highest bacterial counts at the start of the process and highest actinobacterial counts at the end of the process (Piles 1 and 2) indicated microbial succession with concomitant production of compost relevant enzymes. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of rDNA and COMPOCHIP microarray analysis indicated distinctive community shifts during the composting process, with day 0 samples clustering separately from the 32 and 90-day samples. This study, using a multi-parameter approach, has revealed differences in quality and species diversity of the three composts. PMID:24369846

  8. Pile composting of two-phase centrifuged olive husk residues: technical solutions and quality of cured compost.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alfano, G; Belli, C; Lustrato, G; Ranalli, G

    2008-07-01

    The present work proposed an economically sustainable solution for composting olive humid husks (OHH) and leaves (OL) at a small/medium sized olive oil mill. We planned and set up a composting plant, the prototype taking the form of a simplified low-cost turning machine, and evaluated the use of an inoculum of one year-old composted humid husks (CHH) and sheep manure (SM) to facilitate the starting phase of the process. Trials were carried out using four piles under different experimental conditions (turnover, static, and type of inoculum). The best results were achieved with turnover and an inoculum that induced fast start-up and a correct evolution of the composting process. The final product was a hygienically clean, cured compost.

  9. Electricity production potential and social benefits from rice husk, a case study in Pakistan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Obaidullah Mohiuddin

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Pakistan has been experiencing energy crisis owing to its sole dependence on fossil fuels. Reduction in local fossil fuel reserves has led to an increase in their prices, thereby increasing the cost of electricity. Since the tariff remains the same, Pakistan is over-burdened with circular debts and observes a daily power shortfall of about 12–14 h. Being an Agra-economic country, many major and minor crops are produced and exported in large quantities. This results in a bulk of the agricultural waste which are not utilized. The waste can be utilized to meet the country’s energy demand while mitigating climate change and its impact. The study examines the electricity production potential and social benefits of rice husk in Pakistan. It is estimated in this study that if 70% of rice husk residues are utilized, there will be annual electricity production of 1,328 GWh and the cost of per unit electricity by rice husk is found at 47.36 cents/kWh as compared to 55.22 cents/kWh of electricity generated by coal. Importantly, the study will increase the awareness of the benefits of utilizing agricultural waste for useful products such as silica, with several social and environmental benefits such as a reduction of 36,042 tCO2e/yr of methane, reducing carbon dioxide emissions, improving the air quality, and providing 4.5 k new jobs. The paper concludes with the policy recommendations based on this study.

  10. COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF RICE HUSK ASH, POWDERED GLASS AND CEMENT AS LATERITIC SOIL STABILIZERS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adebisi Ridwan

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper compares the stabilizing effects of three different materials, namely: rice husk ash, powdered glass, and cement on the properties of lateritic soil. The basic properties of the lateritic soil were first obtained through colour, moisture content determination, specific gravity, particle size distribution and Atterberg limits tests. Each of the stabilizing materials was then mixed with the lateritic soil in varying percentages of 2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, 10%, 12.5% and 15% by weight of the soil. Thereafter, compaction and California bearing ratio (CBR tests were carried out on the sample mixes to determine the effects of the materials on the lateritic soil. Chemical tests were also carried out on the samples to determine their percentage oxides composition. The compaction test showed that the highest maximum dry densities (MDD obtained for the mixed samples were 2.32 g/cm3 (at 2.5% cement addition, 2.28g/cm3 (at 5% powdered glass (PG addition and 2.18 g/cm3 (at 5% rice husk ash (RHA addition with corresponding optimum moisture contents (OMC of 10.06%, 14.3% and 12.31% respectively. The CBR tests showed that the CBR values increased in all cases as the materials were added with those of the cement and powdered glass giving the highest values and showing close semblance under unsoaked conditions. The chemical test showed that the significant oxides present in the cement, powdered glass and rice husk ash were CaO (53.60%, SiO2 (68.45% and SiO2 (89.84% respectively.

  11. Walnut supplementation reverses the scopolamine-induced memory impairment by restoration of cholinergic function via mitigating oxidative stress in rats: a potential therapeutic intervention for age related neurodegenerative disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haider, Saida; Batool, Zehra; Ahmad, Saara; Siddiqui, Rafat Ali; Haleem, Darakhshan Jabeen

    2018-02-01

    The brain is highly susceptible to the damaging effects of oxidative reactive species. The free radicals which are produced as a consequence of aerobic respiration can cause cumulative oxygen damage which may lead to age-related neurodegeneration. Scopolamine, the anti-muscarinic agent, induces amnesia and oxidative stress similar to that observed in the older age. Studies suggest that antioxidants derived from plant products may provide protection against oxidative stress. Therefore, the present study was designed to investigate the attenuation of scopolamine-induced memory impairment and oxidative stress by walnut supplementation in rats. Rats in test group were administrated with walnut suspension (400 mg/kg/day) for four weeks. Both control and walnut-treated rats were then divided into saline and scopolamine-treated groups. Rats in the scopolamine group were injected with scopolamine (0.5 mg/kg dissolved in saline) five minutes before the start of each memory test. Memory was assessed by elevated plus maze (EPM), Morris water maze (MWM), and novel object recognition task (NOR) followed by estimation of regional acetylcholine levels and acetylcholinesterase activity. In the next phase, brain oxidative status was determined by assaying lipid peroxidation, and measuring superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and catalase (CAT) activities. Results showed that scopolamine-treatment impaired memory function, caused cholinergic dysfunction, and induced oxidative stress in rats compared to that saline-treated controls. These impairments were significantly restored by pre-administration of walnut. This study demonstrates that antioxidant properties of walnut may provide augmented effects on cholinergic function by reducing oxidative stress and thus improving memory performance.

  12. Characteristics of a β-1,4-D endoglucanase from Trichoderma virens wholly applied in a palm-fruit husk-based diet for poultry layers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olubusola A. Odeniyi

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The characteristics of an endoglucanase produced by a Trichoderma virens strain T9 newly isolated from a palm-fruit husk dump site, its physiological characteristics and enzyme production were studied. Whole cells of the depolymerizing-enzyme producing T. virens were applied to palm-fruit husk and bird performance characteristics when employed as poultry diet additive were considered. Endoglucanase activity in submerged fermentation was 1.6 nkat. Optimum activity was recorded at pH 6.0 and 55ºC. The enzyme retained 50% residual glucanase activity at 70ºC for 10 minutes. 1.0% Tween-80 and SDS yielded endoglucanase activity 2.15 times higher than the control. Activity wasboosted by 20mM Ca2+ (115.0%; 10mM K+ (106.5%; and was totally inhibited by 1mM Hg2+. The addition of T. virens -fermented palm-fruit husk with other layer feed components on the bird characteristics showed that change in bird weight between the control and test birds were not significantly different (p>0.05 but differed in terms of daily feed ingested (p0.05. The shell thickness (0.64mm and yolk content (23.61% were highest in the microbially-modified husk diet. The alternative to maize based diets proffered by the application of T. virens -modified palm-fruit husk in poultry nutrition in terms of bird weight and feed to weight-gain ratio affords the poultry farmer an economic advantage and allows for a greater utilization of the maize in human diets.

  13. Intake, digestibility and toxic effects of vine husks and pips fed to ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Veekunde

    Abstract. The potential of red vine husks and pips as a component of animal feed was investigated. Twenty-five. Dohne Merino ram lambs (mean live weight ± s.d. = 41.4 ± 2.3 kg) were used. A completely randomised design was used and the animals were assigned to five diets including 0, 12.5, 25.0, 37.5 and 50% vine ...

  14. Cacao pod husks as a source of low-methoxyl, highly acetylated pectins able to gel in acidic media.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vriesmann, Lúcia Cristina; de Oliveira Petkowicz, Carmen Lúcia

    2017-08-01

    Cacao pod husks, the main by-product from cocoa production, have been investigated for pectin isolation. In the present study, the rheological properties of two low-methoxyl (LM) pectins isolated from cacao pod husks using different extraction conditions were evaluated. One pectin was obtained from optimized conditions employing aqueous nitric acid as an extractant, and the other one was extracted with boiling water. Pectin gels (0.99% galacturonic acid equivalent, w/w) were prepared at pH 2.5-3.0 in the presence of 60% sucrose (w/w) and subjected to rheological analysis. Dynamic oscillatory experiments at 25°C indicated that better gels were obtained at the lowest pH (2.5). Steady shear measurements revealed a shear-thinning behavior. The apparent viscosities of the samples increased as pH decreased. Gelation with calcium ions was not observed for either of the highly acetylated LM pectins analyzed. The rheological analysis results showed that despite their high acetyl content, LM pectins extracted by different methods from cacao pod husks were able to form gels at low pH under reduced water activity, suggesting a possible application in acidic products. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Adsorption of Safranin-T from wastewater using waste materials- activated carbon and activated rice husks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gupta, Vinod K; Mittal, Alok; Jain, Rajeev; Mathur, Megha; Sikarwar, Shalini

    2006-11-01

    Textile effluents are major industrial polluters because of high color content, about 15% unfixed dyes and salts. The present paper is aimed to investigate and develop cheap adsorption methods for color removal from wastewater using waste materials activated carbon and activated rice husk-as adsorbents. The method was employed for the removal of Safranin-T and the influence of various factors such as adsorbent dose, adsorbate concentration, particle size, temperature, contact time, and pH was studied. The adsorption of the dye over both the adsorbents was found to follow Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherm models. Based on these models, different useful thermodynamic parameters have been evaluated for both the adsorption processes. The adsorption of Safranin-T over activated carbon and activated rice husks follows first-order kinetics and the rate constants for the adsorption processes decrease with increase in temperature.

  16. Accumulation and distribution of elements in rice (seed, brand layer, husk) by neutron activation analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tran Van, L.; Teherani, D.K.

    1988-01-01

    Various rice samples (seed, brand layer, husk) from Vietnam were analyzed for Se, Hg, Cr, Ni, Sc, Rb, Fe, Zn and Co by neutron activation analysis. The concentration values found (seed) were as follows: Se 0.04-0.07 ppm, Hg 0.02-0.07 ppm, Cr 2.13-8.65 ppm, Ni 1.56-4.95 ppm, Sc 0.02-0.06 ppm, Rb 0.84-2.71 ppm, Fe 26.31-96.07 ppm, Zn 10.65-27.39 ppm and Co 0.02-0.15 ppm. The values were reported in ppm (dry weight). Statistical analysis showed that the content of elements varies in different parts of rice; the content of Rb, Fe, Ni, Cr of husk was significantly higher than in seed and brand layer. (author) 12 refs.; 2 figs.; 1 tab

  17. Study of the Mechanical and Morphology Properties of Recycled HDPE Composite Using Rice Husk Filler

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jia Ying Tong

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available WPCs are being used in a large number of applications in the automotive, construction, electronic, and aerospace industries. There are an increasing number of research studies and developments in WPC technology involving rice husk as fillers. This study investigated the effects of different compositions of rice husk (RH filler on the mechanical and morphological properties of recycled HDPE (rHDPE composite. The composites were prepared with five different loading contents of RH fibers (0, 10, 20, 30, and 40 wt% using the twin screw extrusion method. Maleic acid polyethylene (MAPE was added as a coupling agent. Results showed that tensile and flexural properties improved with increasing RH loading. However, the impact strength of the composites decreased as the RH loading increased. SEM micrographs revealed good interfacial bonding between the fiber and polymer matrix.

  18. Environmentally-Friendly Dense and Porous Geopolymers Using Fly Ash and Rice Husk Ash as Raw Materials

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniele Ziegler

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper assesses the feasibility of two industrial wastes, fly ash (FA and rice husk ash (RHA, as raw materials for the production of geopolymeric pastes. Three typologies of samples were thus produced: (i halloysite activated with potassium hydroxide and nanosilica, used as the reference sample (HL-S; (ii halloysite activated with rice husk ash dissolved into KOH solution (HL-R; (iii FA activated with the alkaline solution realized with the rice husk ash (FA-R. Dense and porous samples were produced and characterized in terms of mechanical properties and environmental impact. The flexural and compressive strength of HL-R reached about 9 and 43 MPa, respectively. On the contrary, the compressive strength of FA-R is significantly lower than the HL-R one, in spite of a comparable flexural strength being reached. However, when porous samples are concerned, FA-R shows comparable or even higher strength than HL-R. Thus, the current results show that RHA is a valuable alternative to silica nanopowder to prepare the activator solution, to be used either with calcined clay and fly ash feedstock materials. Finally, a preliminary evaluation of the global warming potential (GWP was performed for the three investigated formulations. With the mix containing FA and RHA-based silica solution, a reduction of about 90% of GWP was achieved with respect to the values obtained for the reference formulation.

  19. Does the phenotypic selection affect the genetic structure and diversity? A study case on Walnut in eastern central Italy (the region of Marche

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fulvio Ducci

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available The Persian walnut (Juglans regia L. is widely planted in western Europe, either for fruit either for high quality timber production. This tree is generally considered non authoctonous, probably introduced from East some 7000 years ago and spread by several ancient civilisations. The possible artificial origin seems confirmed by the low intra-specific variation and the higher individual variability recorded by several Authors as well as by the lack of natural populations. Indeed, only wider fruit cultivation areas or small groups, lines or isolated walnut trees can be recorded in Italy. The occurrence of walnuts in forest, escaped from cultivation areas, is very rare. Due to the increased interest of planters, walnut plantations have been extended several ten thousands hectares throughout all western Europe. As a consequence of that it was evident the necessity of selected suitable basic populations in order to supply high quality reproductive materials. The conventional method based on the organisation of a wide and exhaustive seed procurement from the native range to establish provenance tests is at the present impossible. Thus it is necessary to study methods of selection which consider basic materials growing within the western European range. This study is aimed to test the efficiency of the multi-trait Selection Index method, in preserving levels of genetic diversity and structures compatible with the standards observed within a reference system of extended Italian populations. As a consequence of the relatively recent introduction, the genetic structure of the species shows individual variation higher than inter-population diversity. Those genetic structure characteristics were revealed also during a survey of walnut resources in the region of Marche, central Italy. The survey was the starting point for selecting and preserving basic materials for high quality woody production, possibly interesting for forest nurseries in the region. The

  20. Quantitative estimates of uptake and internal cycling of {sup 15}N-depleted fertilizer in mature walnut trees

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Weinbaum, S; Kessel, C van [University of California at Davis, Davis, CA (United States)

    1998-11-01

    In mature fruit trees, internal recycling is an important source of N for the growth of new wood, leaves and fruits. Using {sup 15}N-depleted fertilizer, i.e. {sup 14}N-enriched, N-uptake efficiency and the magnitude of internal N cycling were studied in mature walnut trees. Two kg of {sup 14}N-labelled ammonium sulfate N were applied per tree, and compartmentation of N was followed over a period of 6 years by analyzing catkins, pistillate flowers, leaves and fruits each year for total N content and isotopic composition. Subsequently, two of the six labelled trees were excavated and analyzed for labelled-N content. The data indicate that mature walnut uses most of the N accumulated from soil and fertilizer for storage purposes, to be remobilized for new growth within 2 years, and about half of the total-N pool in a mature tree is present as non-structural compounds, available for recycling. (author) 31 refs, 2 figs, 4 tabs

  1. Synthesis and Characterizations of Fine Silica Powder from Rice Husk Ash

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khin Muyar Latt

    2011-12-01

    The silica content of rice husk ash obtained from the uncontrolled burning temperature of gasifier was 90.4%. The obtained rice husk ash was an amorphous form of silica with low crystallization by XRD. The sodium hydroxide solution, 1.5N, 2N, 2.5N and 3N, respectively was used to prepare sodium silicate solution by extraction method. The product silica was produced by acid precipitation method used 4.5N, 5.5N and 6.5N sulphuric acid solution. The highest yield percent of product silica extraced by 2.5N sodium hydroxide solution at 5N sulphuric acid solution was 88.84%. The crystallize size of product silica containing silicalite as a source of silica was 86nm at this condition. The fine silica powder was produced by acid refluxing mothod used 5.5N, 6N and 6.5N hydrochloric acid solution. 98% of pure fine silica powder can be produced from the product silica by refluxing method. The crystallize size of fine silica powder was 54nm. The distribution of the crystallize size of product silica powder could be found uniform in size and agglomeration. The Fourier Transform Infrared Spectra indicate the hydrogen bonded silinol groups and siloxane groups in product silica and fine silica powder.

  2. SOLUBILIZATION OF POTASSIUM FROM ALTERNATIVE ROCKS BY HUMIC AND CITRIC ACIDS AND COFFEE HUSK

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rodrigo Souza Pessoa

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Brazil imports most of the potassium that it consumes in agriculture, however, such huge external dependence can be minimized with the use of alternative local K bearing rocks. This experiment was conducted with the objective of evaluating the solubility of nepheline syenite and glauconite as a function of three organic matrices, humic acid, citric acid and coffee husk. Incubation of low grade K rocks and organic matrices were done in laboratory conditions, in a completely randomized design. Each rock was mixed with five different doses of each organic matrix and the potassium solubilized was measured periodically, during 180 days. Regardless of the organic matrix and its dose investigated, nepheline syenite samples released more K than the modified glauconite. Soluble K increased as the incubation time increased and its release was greater as the organic matrix dose increased. There was more soluble K when the coffee husk was mixed with the potassic rocks, in relation to the humic and citric acids.

  3. Coffee husk composting: an investigation of the process using molecular and non-molecular tools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shemekite, Fekadu; Gómez-Brandón, María; Franke-Whittle, Ingrid H; Praehauser, Barbara; Insam, Heribert; Assefa, Fassil

    2014-03-01

    Various parameters were measured during a 90-day composting process of coffee husk with cow dung (Pile 1), with fruit/vegetable wastes (Pile 2) and coffee husk alone (Pile 3). Samples were collected on days 0, 32 and 90 for chemical and microbiological analyses. C/N ratios of Piles 1 and 2 decreased significantly over the 90 days. The highest bacterial counts at the start of the process and highest actinobacterial counts at the end of the process (Piles 1 and 2) indicated microbial succession with concomitant production of compost relevant enzymes. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of rDNA and COMPOCHIP microarray analysis indicated distinctive community shifts during the composting process, with day 0 samples clustering separately from the 32 and 90-day samples. This study, using a multi-parameter approach, has revealed differences in quality and species diversity of the three composts. Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  4. Effect of dietary garlic bulb and husk on the physicochemical properties of chicken meat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Y J; Jin, S K; Yang, H S

    2009-02-01

    This study was carried out to compare the physicochemical and sensory properties of chicken thigh muscles from broilers fed different levels of garlic bulb (GB) and garlic husk (GH). Two hundred male Arbor Acre broiler chickens were fed either a control diet (based on corn and soybean meal) or the control diet supplemented with 2 and 4% of GB and GH powder for 5 wk. There were no differences among diets in moisture and ash contents. However, dietary supplementation with GB and GH resulted in significantly greater protein content and lower fat content in chicken thigh muscle compared with muscle from birds fed nonsupplemented diets (Pchicken diets with garlic can produce chicken meat with favorable lipid profiles and can enhance eating quality because sensory panels found that thigh meat from chickens fed a garlic-supplemented diet had better texture and flavor. Therefore, the treatment with the most significant effects in this study was that with the high level of garlic husk.

  5. Enhancing enzymatic hydrolysis of coconut husk through Pseudomonas aeruginosa AP 029/GLVIIA rhamnolipid preparation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Araújo, Cynthia Kérzia Costa; de Oliveira Campos, Alan; de Araújo Padilha, Carlos Eduardo; de Sousa Júnior, Francisco Canindé; do Nascimento, Ruthinéia Jéssica Alves; de Macedo, Gorete Ribeiro; Dos Santos, Everaldo Silvino

    2017-08-01

    This work investigated the influence of chemical (Triton X-100) and biological surfactant preparation (rhamnolipids) in coconut husk hydrolysis that was subjected to pretreatment with acid-alkali or alkaline hydrogen peroxide. The natural and pretreated biomass was characterized using the National Renewable Energy Laboratory protocol analysis as well as X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The results demonstrated that in terms of the total reducing sugars, there was no significant difference between the hydrolysis using Triton X-100 and rhamnolipids, regardless of the pretreatment. A cellulosic conversion value as high as 33.0% was obtained in experiments with rhamnolipids. The coconut husk was observed to be a potential biomass that could produce second generation ethanol, and the rhamnolipid preparation can be used to support for the enzymatic hydrolysis, enhancing the advantage of cellulose conversion into glucose over chemical surfactants because it is an environmentally friendly approach. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Mechanical properties of epoxy composites with plasma-modified rice-husk-derived nanosilica

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hubilla, Fatima Athena D.; Panghulan, Glenson R.; Pechardo, Jason; Vasquez, Magdaleno R., Jr.

    2018-01-01

    In this study, we explored the use of rice-husk-derived nanosilica (nSiO2) as fillers in epoxy resins. The nSiO2 was irradiated with a capacitively coupled 13.56 MHz radio frequency (RF) plasma using an admixture of argon (Ar) and hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO) or 1,7-octadiene (OD) monomers. The plasma-polymerized nSiO2 was loaded at various concentrations (1-5%) into the epoxy matrix. Surface hydrophobicity of the plasma-treated nSiO2-filled composites increased, which is attributed to the attachment of functional groups from the monomer gases on the silica surface. Microhardness increased by at least 10% upon the inclusion of plasma-modified nSiO2 compared with pristine nSiO2-epoxy composites. Likewise, hardness increased with increasing loading volume, with the HMDSO-treated silica composite recording the highest increase. Elastic moduli of the composites also showed an increase of at least 14% compared with untreated nSiO2-filled composites. This work demonstrated the use of rice husk, an agricultural waste, as a nSiO2 source for epoxy resin fillers.

  7. Arsenate Removal: Comparison of FSM-16 with Low Cost Modified Rice Husk

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Daifullah, A.A.M.

    2004-01-01

    The recently discovered meso porous molecular sieve FSM-16 was tested as an absorbent for arsenic (V) sorption from aqueous solutions. Its adsorption behavior was evaluated and compared with a low cost sorbent prepared from available agroresidue, rice husk, (boiled with 5% KOH followed by 10 % HCl). Factors affecting sorption of arsenate ions by the two sorbents (e.g., porosity, surface area of the sorbent, equilibrium time, adsorption rate, ph and temperature) were studied using ICP-MS for analysis. The data of adsorption of the two systems were described according to the S-Langmuir type according to the initial slope. The monolayer coverage was 92 and 68 mg/g for FSM-16 and modified rice husk (MRH),respectively, due to the silica content of the former is higher than the latter. The thermodynamic parameters were evaluated and indicated that this adsorption is endothermic process.It was found that the adsorptive capacity for arsenate using MRH represents 75% of that FSM-16. Therefore, the MRH is useful in the removal of arsenate ions due to its low cost, availability, and its good efficiency in this application and no need to be regenerated

  8. A COST-REDUCTION OF SELF-COMPACTING CONCRETE INCORPORATING RAW RICE HUSK ASH

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. AWANG

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The higher material cost of self-compacting concrete (SCC as compared to normal vibrated concrete is mainly due to its higher cement content. In order to produce economical SCC, a significant amount of cement should be replaced with cheaper material options, which are commonly found in byproduct materials such as limestone powder (LP, fly ash (FA and raw rice husk ash (RRHA. However, the use of these byproduct materials to replace the high volumes of cement in an SCC mixture will produce deleterious effects such as strength reduction. Thus, the objective of this paper is to investigate the optimum SCC mixture proportioning capable of minimizing SCC’s material cost. A total of fifteen mixes were prepared. This study showed that raw rice husk ash exhibited positive correlations with fly ash and fine limestone powder and were able to produce high compressive and comparable to normal concrete. The SCC-mix made with quaternary cement-blend comprising OPC/LP/FA/RRHA at 55/15/15/15 weight percentage ratio is found to be capable of maximizing SCC’s material-cost reduction to almost 19% as compared with the control mix

  9. Rooting and Other Characteristics of a Transgenic Walnut Hybrid (Juglans hindsii x J. regia) Rootstock Expressing rolABC

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kourosh Vahdati; James R. McKenna; Abhaya M. Dandekar; Charles A. Leslie; Sandie L. Uratsu; Wesley P. Hackett; Paola Negri; Gale H. McGranahan

    2002-01-01

    Walnuts (Juglans spp.) are difficult-to-root woody plants. The rolABC genes (rolA + rolB + rolC), derived from the bacteria Agrobacterium rhizogenes, have been shown to increase the rooting potential of other difficult-to-root woody plants. We inserted the...

  10. Process Development in the Preparation and Characterization of Silicon Alkoxide From Rice Husk

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khin San Win; Toe Shein; Nyunt Wynn

    2011-12-01

    The preparation and characterization of silicon alkoxide (silicon isopropoxide) from rice husk char has been studied. In the investigation, four kinds of Myanmar paddies were chemically assayed. Analyses showed the silicon contend varies from 73-92% . Based on the silicon content, the process development in the production of silicon isopropoxide was carried out. In the process development, silicon isopropoxide with a yield of 44.21% was achieved by the direct reaction of isopropanol in situ by silicon tetrachloride, which was directly produced by the chlorination of rice husk char at the high temperature range of 900-1100 C. The novelity of the process was that, silicon isopropoxide was achieved in situ and not by using the old process, where generally isopropanol was reacted with silicon tetrachloride. The physiochemical properties of silicon isopropoxide was confirmed by conventional and modern techniques. In the investigation, the starting materials, silica in the reaction products were characterized, identified and confirmed by modren techniques. Silicon isopropoxide can be a sources of pore silica whereby silicon of 97-99% of purity can be achieved.

  11. luminium alloy - rice husk ash composites production and analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdullahi Mohammed USMAN

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available This study was carried out to produce and analyse the properties of Aluminium Alloy-Rice Husk Ash composites. Rice husk ash (RHA with high silica content of up to 97.095% was used for the study with the RHA varied from 0vol% – 30vol% at intervals of 5vol% in the aluminium alloy as reinforcement. The density and some mechanical properties of the composites including tensile strength, impact strength, hardness and fatigue strength were investigated. The results showed that the density of the composite decreases with the percentage increase of reinforcement from 2840.242 kgm-3 for the control sample to 2402.899 kgm-3 for 30vol% RHA. The Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS varies from 164.374 MNm-2 at 0% RHA to 176.837 MNm-2 with maximum value at 10% RHA, impact strength values varies from 84.020kJm-2 at 0% RHA to 155.244 kJm-2 with maximum value at 10% RHA, hardness value varies from 70.467 RHV at 0% RHA to 109.367 RHV with maximum value at 25% RHA and fatigue strength varies from 0.224x106 cycles to 2.582x106 cycles with maximum cycle at 20% RHA. The results of analysis of variance showed that there are significant differences among the means of each property of the composites at different levels of replacement of the ash addition (P<0.05. It was concluded that the produced composites could be used to make engineering components such as automobile body parts, piston and block engine etc.

  12. Effect of torrefaction pre-treatment on physical and combustion characteristics of biomass composite briquette from rice husk and banana residue

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amira Atan Nor

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Biomass is an alternative renewable energy sources that can generates energy almost same as fossil fuel. The depletion sources of fossil fuel had increase the potential use of biomass energy. In Malaysia, rice husk and banana residues are abundantly left and not treated with proper disposal method which later may contribute to environment and health problems. Thus the development of biomass composite briquette made from rice husk and banana residue is one of the potential ways to reduce the problems and hence may contribute the better way to treat the waste by recycling the waste into a form of biomass product. The biomass briquettes are used for thermal applications because it can produce a complete combustion as it has a consistent quality and high burning efficiency. However, the quality of the biomass briquette can be added by application of torrefaction pre-treatment method. Torrefaction is a thermal method that can produce more high quality of the briquette with high calorific value, high fixed carbon content, low volatile matter, and low ash content. This study was conducted to assess the physical and combustion characteristic of the biomass briquette from rice husk and banana residue which was produced through torrefaction process. The biomass briquette, were densified by using hot press machine with temperature of 180°C for about 30 minutes. The briquette produce are 150 μm in particle size with varies in mixing ratio of rice husk to banana residue which are 100:0, 80:20 and 60:40. After the briquetting process, the biomass fuel briquettes have been undergoes parameter testing and the data have been analysed. Result showed the best biomass briquette is developed from torrefied rice husk and banana residue mixed at ratio of 60:40. Moreover, SEM image reveal that torrefaction pre-treatment has shrinkage the fibres size which confirming the thermal stability of the briquette.

  13. A mind cleared by walnut oil: The effects of polyunsaturated and saturated fat on extinction learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Holly C; Struyf, Dieter; Baptist, Pascale; Dalile, Boushra; Van Oudenhove, Lukas; Van Diest, Ilse

    2018-04-07

    The treatment of anxiety-based psychopathology often hinges upon extinction learning. Research in nutritional neuroscience has observed that the regular consumption of perilla oil (50% alpha-linolenic acid (ALA)) facilitates extinction learning in rats (Yamamoto et al., 1988). However, acute facilitation of extinction learning by oils rich in ALA has not been reported for rats or humans, though the acute consumption of rapeseed oil (10% ALA) has been observed to improve cognitive processing speed in humans (Jones, Sünram-Lea, & Wesnes, 2012). For this reason, the present laboratory work examined the effects of adding walnut oil (12% ALA) to a chocolate milkshake on the acquisition, generalization, and extinction of a fear-based prediction in young adults. It compared performance between subjects. The other participants consumed a similar milkshake with either an equicaloric amount of cream (saturated fat), or with no added fat (control). Acquisition and generalization of the fear-based prediction were similar for all groups. However, those who consumed walnut oil extinguished most rapidly and profoundly. Implications for extinction learning are discussed. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  14. Gibbons (Nomascus gabriellae) provide key seed dispersal for the Pacific walnut (Dracontomelon dao), in Asia's lowland tropical forest

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hai, Bach Thanh; Chen, Jin; McConkey, Kim R.; Dayananda, Salindra K.

    2018-04-01

    Understanding the mutualisms between frugivores and plants is essential for developing successful forest management and conservation strategies, especially in tropical rainforests where the majority of plants are dispersed by animals. Gibbons are among the most effective seed dispersers in South East Asia's tropical forests, but are also one of the highly threatened arboreal mammals in the region. Here we studied the seed dispersal of the Pacific walnut (Dracontomelon dao), a canopy tree which produces fruit that are common in the diet of the endangered southern yellow-cheeked crested gibbon (Nomascus gabriellae). We found that gibbons were the most effective disperser for this species; they consumed approximately 45% of the fruit crop, which was four times more than that consumed by macaques - the only other legitimate disperser. Gibbons tracked the temporal (but not spatial) abundance of ripe fruits, indicating this fruit was a preferred species for the gibbon. Both gibbons and macaques dispersed the majority (>90%) of the seeds at least 20 m away from parent crowns, with mean dispersal distances by gibbons measuring 179.3 ± 98.0 m (range: 4-425 m). Seeds defecated by gibbons germinated quicker and at greater rates than seeds spat by macaques, or in undispersed fruits. Gibbon-dispersed seeds were also more likely to be removed by unknown seed predators or unknown secondary dispersers. Overall, gibbons play a key role in the regeneration of the Pacific walnut. Our findings have significant implications both for the management of the Pacific walnut tree dominating tropical rainforest as well as the reintroduction program of the Southern yellow-cheeked crested gibbon.

  15. Extraction of rice bran oil from local rice husk

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anwar, J.; Zaman, W.; Salman, M.; Jabeen, N.

    2006-01-01

    Rice Bran Oil is widely used in pharmaceutical, food and chemical industries due to its unique properties and high medicinal value. In the present work, extraction of rice bran oil from different samples of rice husk collected from local rice shellers by solvent extraction method has been studied. Experiments were conducted using a soxhelt apparatus, to extract rice bran oil using hexane, petroleum ether, ethanol and methanol as the solvents and the yields obtained under different conditions were compared. Batch extraction tests showed that the rate of extraction decreases with time and the solution approaches saturation at an exponential rate. (author)

  16. Effect of Walnut Consumption on Serum Lipid Profiles, High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein and Nitric Oxide in Patients With Coronary Artery Disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kalantarian

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Background Coronary artery disease (CAD is one of the major causes of death worldwide. There is a direct relationship between increased levels of blood cholesterol, triglycerides (TG, low density lipoproteins (LDL, high density lipoproteins (HDL, nitric oxide (NO, and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP and the CAD. Walnut may reduce these factors and consequently decrease the risk of CAD. Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of walnut consumption on TG, LDL, cholesterol, HDL, NO, and hs-CRP in patients with CAD and healthy people. Patients and Methods In this randomized crossover clinical trial, 70 patients with CAD were divided into two groups: case and control groups. The patients were given 40 g walnuts daily for 4 weeks. After 4 weeks, the TG, LDL, cholesterol, HDL, NO and hs-CRP levels were measured. The experiment was also carried out on healthy people (3 groups with normal range of lipid. The LDL, HDL, cholesterol, and hs-CRP levels were measured using commercially available kits. The nitric oxide level was measured using the Griess reaction method. Results The cholesterol and LDL levels decreased significantly from 202.43 to 187.46 and 123.80 to 108.63 mmol/L (7.9% and 13.9 %, respectively in healthy subjects after the treatment (P < 0.01. In the experimental group, there was no significant difference in cholesterol (P = 0.110 and LDL levels (P = 0.176 before and after the treatment. Moreover, no significant difference was observed in other parameters between the two groups. Conclusions The walnut consumption did not affect cholesterol levels in patients with CAD; however, it might be administered as an agent for reducing the cholesterol, which is one of the risk factors associated with CAD.

  17. A Randomised, Controlled Comparison of Low-Dose Polyethylene Glycol 3350 plus Electrolytes with Ispaghula Husk in the Treatment of Adults with Chronic Functional Constipation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Hui-Ji; Liang, Xiao-Mei; Yu, Zhong-Lin; Zhou, Li-Ya; Lin, San-Ren; Geraint, Mike

    2004-01-01

    To compare the efficacy and safety of polyethylene glycol (PEG) 3350 plus electrolytes (PEG+E; Movicol((R))) with that of ispaghula husk (psyllium; Konsyl((R))) in the treatment of constipation. Male or female adults with chronic functional constipation. This was a randomised, controlled, open-label, parallel-group trial. Study treatment was either PEG+E 13.8g/sachet dissolved in water twice daily or ispaghula husk 3.5g/sachet dissolved in water twice daily for a period of 2 weeks. Assessments were at baseline and after 1 and 2 weeks' therapy and by patient daily diary card. The primary outcome measures were weekly defaecation rate, stool consistency according to the Bristol Stool Form scale, time to first defaecation, and overall efficacy, which combined defaecation rate, stool consistency and difficulty on defaecation. Adverse effects were recorded and laboratory assessments were performed before and at the end of the treatment period. Sixty-three patients were randomised to each treatment group. Treatment was highly effective in 50/63 patients in the PEG+E group compared with 26/63 in the ispaghula husk group, and the overall efficacy rates were 92% and 73%, respectively (p = 0.005). PEG+E increased the mean weekly defaecation rate from 1.18 (SD 0.77) at baseline to 7.95 (SD 3.49) after 1 week and 8.48 (SD 3.55) after 2 weeks. In the ispaghula husk group the mean weekly defaecation rate increased from 1.33 (SD 0.68) at baseline to 5.33 (SD 2.81) after 1 week and to 5.71 (SD 2.49) after 2 weeks. The treatment differences for defaecation rates were all statistically significant (p PEG+E or ispaghula husk normalised stools in 55/63 (87.3%) and 42/63 (66.7%) of patients (p PEG 3350 plus electrolytes is more effective and more rapid in its onset of action than ispaghula husk, and is equally well tolerated.

  18. Polyphenolic content, in vitro antioxidant activity and chemical composition of extract from Nephelium lappaceum L. (Mexican rambutan) husk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hernández, Cristian; Ascacio-Valdés, Juan; De la Garza, Heliodoro; Wong-Paz, Jorge; Aguilar, Cristóbal Noé; Martínez-Ávila, Guillermo Cristian; Castro-López, Cecilia; Aguilera-Carbó, Antonio

    2017-12-01

    To determinate the recovery of total polyphenolic compounds content, in vitro antioxidant activity and HPLC/ESI/MS characterization of extract from Nephelium lappaceum L. (Mexican rambutan). The rambutan husk extract was obtained by aqueous extraction and a polyphenolic fraction was recovered using Amberlite XAD-16. The total polyphenolic compounds content was determined by the Folin Ciocalteu and butanol-HCI methods. In vitro antioxidant activity was performed using ABTS and ferric reducing antioxidant power methods. Mexican rambutan husk showed a total polyphenolic content of 582 mg/g and an evident antioxidant activity by ABTS and ferric reducing antioxidant power analysis. The HPLC/ESI/MS assay allowed the identification of 13 compounds, most of which belong to ellagitannins. Geraniin, corilagin and ellagic acid were present in the sample; the mineral composition was also evaluated. Rambutan husk cultivated in Mexico is a promising source for the recovery of added value bioactive compounds with antioxidant activity, which have potential applications as bioactive antioxidant agents for the treatment of diseases. Copyright © 2017 Hainan Medical University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Laser altimeter measurements at Walnut Gulch Watershed, Arizona

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ritchie, J.C.; Humes, K.S.; Weltz, M.A.

    1995-01-01

    Measurements of landscape surface roughness properties are necessary for understanding many watershed processes. This paper reviews the use of an airborne laser altimeter to measure topography and surface roughness properties of the landscape at Walnut Gulch Watershed in Arizona. Airborne laser data were used to measure macro and micro topography as well as canopy topography, height, cover, and distribution. Macro topography of landscape profiles for segments up to 5 km (3 mi) were measured and were in agreement with available topographic maps but provided more detail. Gullies and stream channel cross-sections and their associated floodplains were measured. Laser measurements of vegetation properties (height and cover) were highly correlated with ground measurements. Landscape segments for any length can be used to measure these landscape roughness properties. Airborne laser altimeter measurements of landscape profiles can provide detailed information on watershed surface properties for improving the management of watersheds. (author)

  20. Synthesis of Na-A and/or Na-X zeolite/porous carbon composites from carbonized rice husk

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Katsuki, Hiroaki; Komarneni, Sridhar

    2009-01-01

    Na-A and/or Na-X zeolite/porous carbon composites were prepared under hydrothermal conditions by NaOH dissolution of silica first from carbonized rice husk followed by addition of NaAlO 2 and in situ crystallization of zeolites i.e., using a two-step process. When a one-step process was used, both Na-A and Na-X zeolites crystallized on the surface of carbon. Na-A or Na-X zeolite crystals were prepared on the porous carbonized rice husk at 90 deg. C for 2-6 h by changing the SiO 2 /Al 2 O 3 , H 2 O/Na 2 O and Na 2 O/SiO 2 molar ratios of precursors in the two-step process. The surface area and NH 4 + -cation exchange capacity (CEC) of Na-A zeolite/porous carbon were found to be 171 m 2 /g and 506 meq/100 g, respectively, while those of Na-X zeolite/porous carbon composites were 676 m 2 /g and 317 meq/100 g, respectively. Na-A and Na-X zeolites are well-known microporous and hydrophilic materials while carbonized rice husk was found to be mesoporous (pores of ∼3.9 nm) and hydrophobic. These hybrid microporous-mesoporous and hydrophilic-hydrophobic composites are expected to be useful for decontamination of metal cations as well as organic contaminants simultaneously. - Graphical Abstract: Novel Na-X zeolite/porous carbon composite.

  1. Partial oxidation of methane to methanol over catalyst ZSM-5 from coal fly ash and rice husk ash

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mirda Yanti Fusia

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Methane is one of the greenhouse gases that can be converted into liquid fuels such as methanol to retain most of the energy of methane and produce a cleaner environment. The conversion of methane to methanol using ZMS-5 represents a breakthrough in the utilization of methane. However, material sources for zeolite synthesis as catalyst usually are pro-analysis grade materials, which are expensive. Therefore, in this research, coal fly ash and rice husk ash were used as raw materials for mesoporous ZSM-5 zeolite synthesis. First, coal fly ash and rice husk were subjected to pre-treatment to extract silicate (SiO44− and aluminate (AlO45− and impurities separation. The ZSM-5 zeolite was synthesized through hydrothermal treatment using two types of templates. After ZSM-5 was synthesized, it was modified with Cobalt through impregnation method. The catalytic activity of both ZSM-5 and Co/ZSM-5 zeolites as heterogeneous catalysts in partial oxidation of methane were preliminary tested and compared with that commercial one. The result showed that the zeolite catalyst ZSM-5 from fly ash coal and rice husk ash has the potential to be used as catalysts in the partial oxidation of methane to methanol.

  2. Evaluations and modifications of semi-selective media for improved isolation of Agrobacterium tumefaciens biovar 1 from cultivated walnut

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agrobacterium tumefaciens, the causal agent of crown gall of walnut, is an aerobic, Gram negative bacterium belonging to the family Rhizobiaceae. Like many in this group, A. tumefaciens is a common inhabitant of soil and plant host tissue. Isolation from these complex environments is difficult even ...

  3. Quantifying Residues from Postharvest Propylene Oxide Fumigation of Almonds and Walnuts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jimenez, Leonel R; Hall, Wiley A; Rodriquez, Matthew S; Cooper, William J; Muhareb, Jeanette; Jones, Tom; Walse, Spencer S

    2015-01-01

    A novel analytical approach involving solvent extraction with methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) followed by GC was developed to quantify residues that result from the postharvest fumigation of almonds and walnuts with propylene oxide (PPO). Verification and quantification of PPO, propylene chlorohydrin (PCH) [1-chloropropan-2-ol (PCH-1) and 2-chloropropan-1-ol (PCH-2)], and propylene bromohydrin (PBH) [1-bromopropan-2-ol (PBH-1) and 2-bromopropan-1-ol (PBH-2)] was accomplished with a combination of electron impact ionization MS (EIMS), negative ion chemical ionization MS (NCIMS), and electron capture detection (ECD). Respective GC/EIMS LOQs for PPO, PCH-1, PCH-2, PBH-1, and PBH-2 in MTBE extracts were [ppm (μg/g nut)] 0.9, 2.1, 2.5, 30.3, and 50.0 for almonds and 0.8, 2.2, 2.02, 41.6, and 45.7 for walnuts. Relative to GC/EIMS, GC-ECD analyses resulted in no detection of PPO, similar detector responses for PCH isomers, and >100-fold more sensitive detection of PBH isomers. NCIMS did not enhance detection of PBH isomers relative to EIMS and was, respectively, approximately 20-, 5-, and 10-fold less sensitive to PPO, PCH-1, and PCH-2. MTBE extraction efficiencies were >90% for all analytes. The 10-fold concentration of MTBE extracts yielded recoveries of 85-105% for the PBH isomers and a concomitant decrease in LODs and LOQs across detector types. The recoveries of PCH isomers and PPO in the MTBE concentrate were relatively low (approximately 50 to 75%), which confound improvements in LODs and LOQs regardless of detector type.

  4. Rice Husk Ash as a Renewable Source for the Production of Value Added Silica Gel and its Application: An Overview

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ram Prasad

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available In recent years, silica gels have developed a lot of interest due to their extraordinary properties and their existing and potential applications in science and technology. Silica gel has a wide range of applications such as a desiccant, as a preservation tool to control humidity, as an adsorbent, as a catalyst and as a cata-lyst support. Silica gel is a rigid three-dimensional network of colloidal silica, and is classified as: aqua-gel, alco-gel, xero-gel and aero-gel. Out of all known solid porous materials, aero-gels are particularly known for their high specific surface area, high porosity, low bulk density, high thermal insulation value, ultra low dielectric constant and low index of refraction. Because of these extraordinary properties silica aero-gel has many commercial applications such as thermal window insulation, acoustic barriers, super-capacitors and catalytic supports. However, monolithic silica aero-gel has been used extensively in high energy physics in Cherenkov radiation detectors and in shock wave studies at high pressures, inertial confinement fusion (ICF radio-luminescent and micrometeorites. Silica gel can be prepared by using various sol gel precursors but the rice husk (RH is considered as the cheapest source for silica gel production. Rice husk is a waste product abundantly available in rice producing countries during milling of rice. This review article aims at summarizing the developments carried out so far in synthesis, properties, characterization and method of determination of silica, silica gel, silica aero-gel and silica xero-gel. The effect of synthesis parameters such as pH, temperature of burning the rice husk, acid leaching prior to formation of rice husk ash (RHA on the properties of final product are also described. The attention is also paid on the application of RH, RHA, sil-ica, silica aero-gel and silica xero-gel. Development of economically viable processes for getting rice husk silica with specific

  5. Cassava root husks powder as green adsorbent for the removal of Cu(II) from natural river water

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jorgetto, A.O.; Silva, R.I.V.; Saeki, M.J.; Barbosa, R.C. [IB-UNESP, Dept. Química e Bioquímica, C.P. 510, 18618-000 Botucatu, SP (Brazil); Martines, M.A.U. [UFMS – Dept. Química, 79074-460 Campo Grande, MS (Brazil); Jorge, S.M.A.; Silva, A.C.P. [IB-UNESP, Dept. Química e Bioquímica, C.P. 510, 18618-000 Botucatu, SP (Brazil); Schneider, J.F. [USP – Instituto de Física de São Carlos, 13566-590 São Carlos, SP (Brazil); Castro, G.R., E-mail: castrogr@ibb.unesp.br [IB-UNESP, Dept. Química e Bioquímica, C.P. 510, 18618-000 Botucatu, SP (Brazil)

    2014-01-01

    Through a series of simple processes, cassava root husks were turned into a fine powder of controlled particle size (63–75 μm). FTIR spectrum demonstrated the existence of alcohol, amine and carboxylic groups; and elemental analysis confirmed the presence of elements of interest such as sulphur, nitrogen and oxygen. Cross-polarized {"1H}-{sup 13}C NMR technique indicated the existence of methionine and thiamine through the signals observed at 55 ppm and 54 ppm, respectively, and the point of zero charge (pH{sub pzc}) was achieved at pH 5.2. The material was applied in solid-phase extraction of Cu(II) via batch experiments. Optimum adsorption pH was found to be in range of 3–6 and in the kinetic experiment the equilibrium was attained in 1 min. The highest adsorption capacity was 0.14 mmol g{sup −1}. The adsorption data were fit to the modified Langmuir equation, and the maximum amount of metal species extracted from the solution, N{sub s}, was determined to be ∼0.14 mmol g{sup −1}, which is an indicative that the main adsorption mechanism is through chemisorption. Under optimized conditions, the material was utilized in preconcentration experiments, which culminated in an enrichment factor of 41.3-fold. With the aid of the enrichment factor, experiments were carried out to determine the Cu(II) content in tap water and natural water. Preconcentration method was also applied to a certified reference material (1643e) and the concentration found was 23.03 ± 0.79 μg L{sup −1}, whereas the specified Cu(II) concentration was 22.7 ± 0.31 μg L{sup −1}.

  6. The influence of activating agents on the performance of rice husk-based carbon for sodium lauryl sulfate and chrome (Cr) metal adsorptions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arneli; Safitri, Z. F.; Pangestika, A. W.; Fauziah, F.; Wahyuningrum, V. N.; Astuti, Y.

    2017-02-01

    This research aims to study the influence of activating agents to produce rice husk based-carbon with high adsorption capacity and efficiency for either hazardous organic molecules or heavy metals which are unfriendly for the environment. Firstly, rice husk was burned by pyrolysis at different temperatures to produce rice husk-based carbon. To improve its ability as an adsorbent, carbon was treated with activating agents, namely, H3PO4 and KOH at room and high temperature (420 °C). The performance of carbon was then tested by contacting it with surfactant (SLS). Finally, the surfactant-modified active carbon was applied for chrome metal removal. The result shows that activation of carbon using phosphate acid (H3PO4) was more effective than potassium hydroxide (KOH) conducted at high temperature to adsorb sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and chrome metal with the adsorption capacity 1.50 mgg-1 and 0.375 mgg-1, respectively.

  7. In silico Coding Sequence Analysis of Walnut GAI and PIP2 Genes and Comparison with Different Plant Species

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mahdi Mohseniazar

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Dwarfism is one of the important traits in breeding of crops and horticulture plants. A dwarfing rootstock will produce trees with 15-50% of standard trees size. In modern intensive fruit tree orchards, dwarfing rootstocks are commonly used to reduce trees size, enabling high-density planting and easy management, thus achieving higher yield. Trees on dwarfing rootstocks can also exhibit other economically important traits, such as precocious flowering, increased yield and increased disease resistance. Dwarf rootstocks have been extensively studied and released in stone and pome fruits, because of presence of genetic materials and the simplicity of budding methods. Control of tree size using genetically dwarf rootstocks for achievement to higher density and mechanized orchard systems is now very important for walnut production in the world especially in Iran. Many different genes can be involved in appear of this. Mutations in GAI and PIP2 genes cause dwarf trait by two different mechanisms in some plant species. In this case, we study in silico analysis of GAI and PIP2 genes consist of conserved sequences and domains, exon and intron number, function of their proteins, targeting, secondary and tertiary structure, and post translational modification. Materials and methods: The GAI and PIP2 mRNA and protein sequences (FASTA format belonging to 17 monocotyledon and dicotyledon were downloaded from NCBI (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov accessed, on September 2014. Several online web services and software were used for analysis of GAI and PIP2 mRNA and Proteins in plants. Comparative and bioinformatics analyses of PIP2 and GAI proteins were performed online at two websites NCBI (http://www.ncbi.nih.gov and EXPASY (http://expasy.org/tools. Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis (MEGA; version 4 program and CLUSTAL-W with default parameters were used for multiple alignments of sequences. The phylogenetic analysis of GAI and PIP2 protein was

  8. In silico Coding Sequence Analysis of Walnut GAI and PIP2 Genes and Comparison with Different Plant Species

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mahdi Mohseniazar

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Dwarfism is one of the important traits in breeding of crops and horticulture plants. A dwarfing rootstock will produce trees with 15-50% of standard trees size. In modern intensive fruit tree orchards, dwarfing rootstocks are commonly used to reduce trees size, enabling high-density planting and easy management, thus achieving higher yield. Trees on dwarfing rootstocks can also exhibit other economically important traits, such as precocious flowering, increased yield and increased disease resistance. Dwarf rootstocks have been extensively studied and released in stone and pome fruits, because of presence of genetic materials and the simplicity of budding methods. Control of tree size using genetically dwarf rootstocks for achievement to higher density and mechanized orchard systems is now very important for walnut production in the world especially in Iran. Many different genes can be involved in appear of this. Mutations in GAI and PIP2 genes cause dwarf trait by two different mechanisms in some plant species. In this case, we study in silico analysis of GAI and PIP2 genes consist of conserved sequences and domains, exon and intron number, function of their proteins, targeting, secondary and tertiary structure, and post translational modification. Materials and methods: The GAI and PIP2 mRNA and protein sequences (FASTA format belonging to 17 monocotyledon and dicotyledon were downloaded from NCBI (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov accessed, on September 2014. Several online web services and software were used for analysis of GAI and PIP2 mRNA and Proteins in plants. Comparative and bioinformatics analyses of PIP2 and GAI proteins were performed online at two websites NCBI (http://www.ncbi.nih.gov and EXPASY (http://expasy.org/tools. Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis (MEGA; version 4 program and CLUSTAL-W with default parameters were used for multiple alignments of sequences. The phylogenetic analysis of GAI and PIP2 protein was

  9. Conversion of rice husk into fermentable sugar by two stage hydrolysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salimi, M. N.; Lim, S. E.; Yusoff, A. H. M.; Jamlos, M. F.

    2017-10-01

    Rice husks, a complex lignocellulosic biomass which comprised of high cellulose content (38-50%), hemicellulose (23-32%) and lignin (15-25%) possesses the potential to pursue as low cost feedstock for production of ethanol. Dilute sulfuric acid at concentration of 1, 2, 3 (%, v/v) were used for pretreatments at varied hydrolysis time (15-60 min) and enzymatic saccharification at range of 45-60˚C and pH 4.5-6.0 were evaluated for conversion of rice husk’s cellulose and hemicellulose to fermentable sugars. The maximum yield of fermentable sugars from rice husks by dilute sulfuric acid (2%, 60 minutes) was 0.0751 g/l. Total fermentable sugar was identified using dinitrosalicylic acid (DNS) method and expressed in g/l. Enzymatic hydrolysis for conversion of cellulose to fermentable sugar has been studied by applying response surface methodology (RSM) and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Two independent variables namely initial pH and incubation temperature were considered using Central Composite Design (CCD). The determination coefficient, R2 obtained was 0.9848. This indicates that 98.48% capriciousness in the respond could be clarified by the ANOVA. Based on the data shown by Design Expert software, the optimum condition for total sugar production was at pH 6.0 and temperature 45˚C as it produced 0.5086 g/l of total sugar.

  10. Rice husk (RH) as additive in fly ash based geopolymer mortar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yahya, Zarina; Razak, Rafiza Abd; Abdullah, Mohd Mustafa Al Bakri; Rahim, Mohd Azrin Adzhar; Nasri, Armia

    2017-09-01

    In recent year, the Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) concrete is vastly used as main binder in construction industry which lead to depletion of natural resources in order to manufacture large amount of OPC. Nevertheless, with the introduction of geopolymer as an alternative binder which is more environmental friendly due to less emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) and utilized waste materials can overcome the problems. Rice husk (RH) is an agricultural residue which can be found easily in large quantity due to production of paddy in Malaysia and it's usually disposed in landfill. This paper investigated the effect of rice husk (RH) content on the strength development of fly ash based geopolymer mortar. The fly ash is replaced with RH by 0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% where the sodium silicate and sodium hydroxide was used as alkaline activator. A total of 45 cubes were casted and their compressive strength, density and water absorption were evaluated at 1, 3, and 7 days. The result showed compressive strength decreased when the percentage of RH increased. At 5% replacement of RH, the maximum strength of 17.1MPa was recorded at day 7. The geopolymer has lowest rate of water absorption (1.69%) at 20% replacement of RH. The density of the sample can be classified as lightweight geopolymer concrete.

  11. Cellulose nanowhiskers from coconut husk fibers: effect of preparation conditions on their thermal and morphological behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cellulose nanowhiskers were prepared by sulfuric acid hydrolysis from coconut husk fibers which had previously been submitted to a delignification process. The effects of preparation conditions on the thermal and morphological behavior of the nanocrystals were investigated. Cellulose nanowhisker sus...

  12. Superabsorbent nanocomposite synthesis of cellulose from rice husk grafted poly(acrylate acid-co-acrylamide)/bentonite

    Science.gov (United States)

    Helmiyati; Abbas, G. H.; Kurniawan, S.

    2017-04-01

    Superabsorbent nanocomposite synthesis of cellulose rice husk as the backbone with free radical polymerization method in copolymerization grafted with acrylic acid and acrylamide monomer. The cellulose was isolated from rice husk with mixture of toluene and ethanol and then hemicellulose and lignin were removed by using potassium hydroxide 4% and hydrogen peroxide 2%. The obtained cellulose rendement was 37.85%. The functional group of lignin analyzed by FTIR spectra was disappeared at wavenumber 1724 cm-1. Crystal size of the obtained isolated cellulose analyzed by XRD diffraction pattern was 34.6 nm, indicated the nanocrystal structure. Copolymerization was performed at temperature of 70°C with flow nitrogen gas. Initiator and crosslinking agent used were potassium persulfate and N‧N-methylene-bis-acrylamide. The swelling capacity of water and urea showed the results was quite satisfactory, the maximum swelling capacity in urea and water were 611.700 g/g and 451.303 g/g, respectively, and can be applied in agriculture to absorb water and urea fertilizer.

  13. Crystallization kinetic study of the lithium-disilicate bioceramic obtained from rice-husk silica starting powder

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santos, F.A.; Santos, C.; Pinatti, D.G.; Davim, E.; Fernandes, M.H.F.V.

    2011-01-01

    In this work, the study of crystallization of the lithium disilicate glass-ceramic produced for alternative source (rice husk silica), and comparatively by commercial source (commercial silica) it was carried through. The stoichiometry 66%.mol SiO_2: 33%.mol LiO_2 was used. The kinetic studies of crystallization and calculations had been carried through thermal analysis (DTA), and were possible to study the behavior of the curves in accordance with the variation of taxes (5; 10; 15; e 20°C/min), of the granulometries 63 μm, 250μm and 1mm), and for the influence of the substitution commercial SiO_2 by rice husk. The structural characterization was carried through by X-Ray diffractometry (DRX) and scanning electron microscopy (MEV), for chemical characterization used X-Ray fluorescence (FRX). The preliminary results show that the substitution of the silica source is sufficiently promising, since the gotten properties are similar. (author)

  14. The Effect of Alkaline Concentration on Coconut Husk Crystallinity and the Yield of Sugars Released

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sangian, H. F.; Widjaja, A.

    2018-02-01

    This work was to analyze the effect of alkaline concentration on coconut coir husk crystallinity and sugar liberated enzymatically. The data showed that the employing of alkaline on lignocellulose transformed the crystallinity. The XRD peaks increased highly which indicated that cellulose was more opened and exposed. After pretreatment, the chemical compositions (cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin) were changed significantly. The employing 1% alkaline, the cellulosic content inclined if compared to that of non-pretreatment. When the alkaline concentration was added to 4%, the cellulose was decreased slightly which indicated that a part of cellulose and hemicellulose was dissolved into solution. It was found the alkaline pretreatment influenced by the biochemical reaction of treated substrates in producing the reducing sugars. The amounts of sugar liberated enzymatically of coconut husk treated by 1% and 4% alkaline increased to 0.26, and 0.24 g sugar/g (cellulose+hemicellulose), respectively, compared to that of native solid recorded at 0.18 g sugar/g (cellulose+hemicellulose).

  15. Evaluation of the antiplasmodial and cytotoxicity potentials of husk fiber extracts from Cocos nucifera, a medicinal plant used in Nigeria to treat human malaria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adebayo, J O; Santana, A E G; Krettli, A U

    2012-03-01

    Nigeria is an African country where transmission of malaria occurs all year round and where most inhabitants use plants as remedies against parasitic diseases, including malaria. Some of such medicinal plants have their antimalarial efficacies already demonstrated experimentally, active compounds isolated and the mechanism of drug action suggested. Decoction of Cocos nucifera husk is used in the middle belt region of Nigeria as an antimalarial remedy. In our current studies, we tested extracts from husks of four varieties of C. nucifera, all collected in Brazil, where the plant fruit is popularly named 'coco'. The husks of coco mestiço, amarelo, anão and gigante collected in the Northeast of Brazil were used to prepare extracts at the Chemistry Department, Federal University of Alagoas (UFAL), which were then tested for their antiplasmodial activities, cytotoxicities and hemolytic activities in vitro. Only the hexane extract of coco mestiço was active against the blood forms of Plasmodium falciparum human malaria parasite maintained in continuous culture. Most extracts presented selectivity indices of coco mestiço had a selectivity index of 35, meaning that the extract is not toxic. The isolation of the active compounds from coco mestiço husks has not yet been done.

  16. Deep RNA-Seq profile reveals biodiversity, plant-microbe interactions and a large family of NBS-LRR resistance genes in walnut (Juglans regia) tissues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chakraborty, Sandeep; Britton, Monica; Martínez-García, P J; Dandekar, Abhaya M

    2016-03-01

    Deep RNA-Seq profiling, a revolutionary method used for quantifying transcriptional levels, often includes non-specific transcripts from other co-existing organisms in spite of stringent protocols. Using the recently published walnut genome sequence as a filter, we present a broad analysis of the RNA-Seq derived transcriptome profiles obtained from twenty different tissues to extract the biodiversity and possible plant-microbe interactions in the walnut ecosystem in California. Since the residual nature of the transcripts being analyzed does not provide sufficient information to identify the exact strain, inferences made are constrained to the genus level. The presence of the pathogenic oomycete Phytophthora was detected in the root through the presence of a glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase. Cryptococcus, the causal agent of cryptococcosis, was found in the catkins and vegetative buds, corroborating previous work indicating that the plant surface supported the sexual cycle of this human pathogen. The RNA-Seq profile revealed several species of the endophytic nitrogen fixing Actinobacteria. Another bacterial species implicated in aerobic biodegradation of methyl tert-butyl ether (Methylibium petroleiphilum) is also found in the root. RNA encoding proteins from the pea aphid were found in the leaves and vegetative buds, while a serine protease from mosquito with significant homology to a female reproductive tract protease from Drosophila mojavensis in the vegetative bud suggests egg-laying activities. The comprehensive analysis of RNA-seq data present also unraveled detailed, tissue-specific information of ~400 transcripts encoded by the largest family of resistance (R) genes (NBS-LRR), which possibly rationalizes the resistance of the specific walnut plant to the pathogens detected. Thus, we elucidate the biodiversity and possible plant-microbe interactions in several walnut (Juglans regia) tissues in California using deep RNA-Seq profiling.

  17. Effect of acetic acid on rice seeds coated with rice husk ash

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lizandro Ciciliano Tavares

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Flooded rice cultivation promotes anaerobic conditions, favoring the formation of short chain organic acids such as acetic acid, which may be toxic to the crop. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of acetic acid on rice seeds coated with rice husk ash. The experiment was arranged in a 2 x 5 x 5 factorial randomized design, with two cultivars (IRGA 424 and BRS Querência, five doses of coating material (0, 2, 3,4 e 5 g kg-1 seed and five concentrations of acetic acid (0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 mM, with 4 replications, totaling 50 treatments. The variables first count of germination, germination, shoot and root length, dry weight of shoots and roots were recorded. The results showed that coating rice seeds with rice husk ash up to 5 g kg-1 seed does not influence the performance of rice seeds of cultivars IRGA 424 and BRS Querência when exposed to concentrations of 12 mM acetic acid. The presence of acetic acid in the substrates used for seed germination reduced the vigor and viability of seeds of cultivars IRGA 424 and BRS Querência, as well as seedling development, affecting mainly the roots of BRS Querência.

  18. Energetic characterization of the husk of the castor bean fruits of the variety Guarani

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Teramoto, Erico Tadao; Sousa, Frederico Faula; Castro Neto, Pedro [Universidade Federal de Lavras (DEG/UFLA), MG (Brazil). Dept. de Engenharia; Trugilho, Paulo Fernando [Universidade Federal de Lavras (DCF/UFLA), MG (Brazil). Dept. de Ciencias Florestais; Fraga, Antonio Carlos [Universidade Federal de Lavras (DAG/UFLA), MG (Brazil). Dept. de Agricultura; Nunes, Ramon Rachide [Universidade Federal de Lavras (DAG/UFLA), MG (Brazil). Dept. de Quimica

    2008-07-01

    The knowledge of the physical properties and of the calorific power and of the immediate chemical analysis certain products are interesting for the development of new technologies and equipment for your processing or use as fuel. This way, due to the scarce readiness of referring works for the husk of the castor bean fruits, the present study seeks complemental the available data in the literature. For such were certain the following properties of the husk of the castor bean fruits of variety Guarani: angle of repose, hectolitre weigh, moisture, ash content, volatile material content, fixed carbon content and superior calorific power and inferior calorific power. The following values were found: 42 deg for the angle of repose, 13.92 kg for the hectolitre weight, 4223.19 kcal/kg for the superior calorific power, 3829.92 kcal/kg for the inferior calorific power, 8.21% for the moisture, 9.86% for the ash content, 73.67% for the volatile material content and 8.26% for the fixed carbon content. (author)

  19. The Fabrication and Characterization of PCL/Rice Husk Derived Bioactive Glass-Ceramic Composite Scaffolds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Farnaz Naghizadeh

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The present study was conducted to fabricate a 3D scaffold using polycaprolactone (PCL and silicate based bioactive glass-ceramic (R-SBgC. Different concentrations of R-SBgC prepared from rice husk ash (RHA were combined with PCL to fabricate a composite scaffold using thermally induced phase separation (TIPS method. The products were then characterized using SEM and EDX. The results demonstrated that R-SBgC in PCL matrix produced a bioactive material which has highly porous structure with interconnected porosities. There appears to be a relationship between the increase in R-SBgC concentration and increased material density and compressive modulus; however, increasing R-SBgC concentration result in reduced scaffold porosity. In conclusion, it is possible to fabricate a PCL/bioactive glass-ceramic composite from processed rice husk. Varying the R-SBgC concentrations can control the properties of this material, which is useful in the development of the ideal scaffold intended for use as a bone substitute in nonload bearing sites.

  20. Potency and Utilization of Cocoa Pod Husk as an Alternative Feed for Ruminants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wisri Puastuti

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Cocoa pod husk (CPH is potential as an alternative source of feed for ruminants due to its quantity and quality. The availability of CPH in Indonesia during the harvest season is abundant and able to feed around 635,305 animal unit (AU per year. Cocoa pod husk as a feedstuff which contains crude protein between 6.80-13.78%; NDF 55.30-73.90% and ADF 38.31-58.98% is a source of fiber and can replace grass. However, CPH also contains antinutritional compounds such as lignin, tannin and theobromine. In order to optimize the use of CPH as feed, treatments are needed to improve the nutritive value and digestibility, to reduce negative effects and to extend shelf life. Processing methods can be conducted physically, chemically and microbiologically. Processing can improve the nutritional value of CPH especially the protein content. Feeding livestock using processed CPH showed better weight gain than that of unprocessed CPH. Besides, the attempt to utilize CPH as feed can overcome the shortage of forage, especially during dry season and increase ruminant productivity around the area of cocoa plantations.

  1. Chemical Modification of Oryza sativa Linnaeus Husk with Urea for Removal of Brilliant Vital Red and Murexide Dyes from Water by Adsorption in Environmentally Benign Way

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rehman, R.; Mahmud, T.; Kanwal, F.; Aslam, M.N.; Nisar, H.

    2013-01-01

    Oryza sativa Linnaeus is an important food item all around the world. Due to its huge consumption, a large amount of rice husk is generated as agrowaste which can be used for water treatment by adsorption. Its adsorption capacity further can be enhanced by chemical medication. In the present study, urea modified rice husk has been used for removing Brilliant Vital Red and Murexide form water in an efficient way. After optimizing operating conditions, isothermal and thermodynamical studies were carried out, which showed that maximum adsorption capacity of urea modified rice husk for removing Brilliant Vital Red and Murexide dyes were 28.93 and 30.74 mg.g/sup -1/. Adsorbent characterization was carried out by recording its FT-IR spectra. (author)

  2. Technological, economic and environmental evaluation of rice husk gasification in a biorefinery context to produce indirect energy as jet fuel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan Jacobo Jaramillo Obando

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Higher alcohol 1-octanol was evaluated as jet fuel potential. The synthesis of the 1-octanol was modeled and the technological, economic and environmental evaluation of the global production process of the rice husk gasification was performed. The best operating conditions to 1-octanol synthesis were obtained in packed bed reactor PBR using Matlab software. Mass and energy balances were calculated using Aspen Plus Software. Economic assessment was developed using Aspen Process Economic Analyzer Software. Environmental impact evaluation was carried out using the waste reduction algorithm WAR. Process yield was 0.83 kg of 1-Octanol by kg of rice husk. Total production cost obtained was USD 0.957 per kg of 1-octanol and the total PEI of product leave the system is 0.08142 PEI/kg with a PEI mitigated of 12.97 PEI/kg. Production process of high alcohols from rice husk shows a high potential technological, economical and environmental as a sustainable industry at take advantage of an agroindustrial residue and transformed in products with added value and energy. 1-octanol as jet fuel has a potential but need to be more studied for direct use in jet motors.

  3. Stabilisation of Clay Soil with Lime and Melon Husk Ash for use in Farm Structures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I. S. Mohammed

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available The rising cost of traditional stabilising agents and the need for economical utilisation of industrial and agricultural waste for beneficial engineering purposes has encouraged an investigation into the stabilization of clay soil with lime and melon husk ash. The chemical composition of the melon husk ash that was used in stabilising clay soil was determined. The clay soil was divided into two parts, one part was used to determine the index properties while the other part was treated at British Standard Light (BSL compaction energy with 0 %, 2 %, 4 %, 6 % and 8 % melon husk ash by dry weight of the soil and each was admixed with 2 %, 4 %, 6 % and 8 % lime. The stabilised clay soil was cured for 7, 14 and 28 days before the unconfined compressive strength were determined while the coefficients of permeability of the stabilised clay soil were also determined at 28 days of curing. The data obtained from the experiment was subjected to analysis of variance to examine the significance at 5% level. Results showed that the natural clay soil belong to A-7-6 or CH (clay of high plasticity in the American Association of State Highway Transportation Official (AASHTO and Unified Soil Classification System (1986. The chemical composition of the ash had aluminum oxide, iron oxide and silicon dioxide values of 18.5%, 2.82% and 51.24% respectively. The unconfined compressive strength and coefficient of permeability of the natural clay soil was determined to be 285 kN/m2 and 1.45 x 10-5 cm/s, respectively. Increase in melon husk ash and lime percent increases the unconfined compressive strength (UCS of the stabilised clay soil significantly (p < 0.05 and decrease the coefficient of permeability when compared with the natural clay soil. The peak values of unconfined compressive strength for 7, 14 and 28 days of curing are 1200 kN/m2, 1598 kN/m2 and 1695 kN/m2 respectively at 6% MHA and 8% lime content while the lowest value for coefficient of permeability was 0

  4. Performance of rice husk ash produced using a new technology as a mineral admixture in concrete

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nehdi, M.; Duquette, J.; El Damatty, A.

    2003-01-01

    This article investigates the use of a new technique for the controlled combustion of Egyptian rice husk to mitigate the environmental concerns associated with its uncontrolled burning and provide a supplementary cementing material for the local construction industry. The reactor used provides efficient combustion of rice husk in a short residency time via the suspension of processed particles by jets of a process air stream that is forced though stationary angled blades at high velocity. Investigations on the rice husk ash (RHA) thus produced included oxide analysis, X-ray diffraction, carbon content, grindability, water demand, pozzolanic activity index, surface area, and particle size distribution measurements. In addition, concrete mixtures incorporating various proportions of silica fume (SF) and Egyptian RHA (EG-RHA) produced at different combustion temperatures were made and compared. The workability, superplasticizer and air-entraining admixture requirements, and compressive strength at various ages of these concrete mixtures were evaluated, and their resistance to rapid chloride penetrability and deicing salt surface scaling were examined. Test results indicate that contrary to RHA produced using existing technology, the superplasticizer and air-entraining agent requirements did not increase drastically when the RHA developed in this study was used. Compressive strengths achieved by concrete mixtures incorporating the new RHA exceeded those of concretes containing similar proportions of SF. The resistance to surface scaling of RHA concrete was better than that of concrete containing similar proportions of SF. While the chloride penetrability was substantially decreased by RHA, it remained slightly higher than that achieved by SF concrete

  5. Investigation of sorption of Hg(II) ions onto coconut husk from aqueous solution using radiotracer technique

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hasany, S.M.; Ahmad, R.; Chaudhary, M.H. [Nuclear Chemistry Div., Pakistan Inst. of Nuclear Science and Technology, Islamabad (Pakistan)

    2003-07-01

    The sorption of Hg(II) ions onto coconut (Cocos nucifera) husk has been studied using radiotracer technique. Maximum sorption (96%) of Hg(II) ions (7.39 x 10{sup -6} M) onto sorbent surface is achieved from 10{sup -3} M HNO{sub 3} solution in 30 min agitation time using 100 mg of coconut husk. The sorption data follow the Freundlich and Dubinin-Radushkevich (D-R) isotherms. Sorption capacity (6.84{+-}0.45 mmol g{sup -1}) and sorption energy (10.6{+-}0.13 kJ mol{sup -1}) have been evaluated using these isotherms. Among the ions tested to monitor their influence on the sorption, Ba(II), fluoride and tartarate increased the sorption, while thiosulfate, bromide and thiocyanate reduced (< 63 > 26%) the sorption. The cations K(I), Ce(III), Cr(III), Fe(III) and Zr(IV) partially suppressed the sorption. The variation of sorption with temperature yields thermodynamic parameters {delta}H = -37.4{+-}2 kJ mol{sup -1} {delta}S = -105{+-}7 J mol{sup -1} K{sup -1} and {delta}G = -2.58{+-}0.05 kJ mol{sup -1} at 298 K. The negative values of enthalpy and free energy reflect the spontaneous and exothermic nature of sorption, respectively. The selectivity studies of sorbent show that the coconut husk column can be used to separate Hg(II) ions from Se(IV), Zn(II), I(I) and Tc (VII). The sorbent has a potential in radiochemistry to separate gamma energies of {sup 203}Hg (279 keV) from {sup 75}Se (265 and 280 keV). (orig.)

  6. Investigation of sorption of Hg(II) ions onto coconut husk from aqueous solution using radiotracer technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hasany, S.M.; Ahmad, R.; Chaudhary, M.H.

    2003-01-01

    The sorption of Hg(II) ions onto coconut (Cocos nucifera) husk has been studied using radiotracer technique. Maximum sorption (96%) of Hg(II) ions (7.39 x 10 -6 M) onto sorbent surface is achieved from 10 -3 M HNO 3 solution in 30 min agitation time using 100 mg of coconut husk. The sorption data follow the Freundlich and Dubinin-Radushkevich (D-R) isotherms. Sorption capacity (6.84±0.45 mmol g -1 ) and sorption energy (10.6±0.13 kJ mol -1 ) have been evaluated using these isotherms. Among the ions tested to monitor their influence on the sorption, Ba(II), fluoride and tartarate increased the sorption, while thiosulfate, bromide and thiocyanate reduced ( 26%) the sorption. The cations K(I), Ce(III), Cr(III), Fe(III) and Zr(IV) partially suppressed the sorption. The variation of sorption with temperature yields thermodynamic parameters ΔH = -37.4±2 kJ mol -1 ΔS = -105±7 J mol -1 K -1 and ΔG = -2.58±0.05 kJ mol -1 at 298 K. The negative values of enthalpy and free energy reflect the spontaneous and exothermic nature of sorption, respectively. The selectivity studies of sorbent show that the coconut husk column can be used to separate Hg(II) ions from Se(IV), Zn(II), I(I) and Tc (VII). The sorbent has a potential in radiochemistry to separate gamma energies of 203 Hg (279 keV) from 75 Se (265 and 280 keV). (orig.)

  7. Performance of a modified multi-stage bubble column reactor for lead(II) and biological oxygen demand removal from wastewater using activated rice husk

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sahu, J.N.; Agarwal, S.; Meikap, B.C.; Biswas, M.N.

    2009-01-01

    The excessive release of wastewater into the environment is a major concern worldwide. Adsorption is the one of the most effective technique for treatment of wastewater. In this work activated carbon prepared from rice husk has been used as an adsorbent. In the present investigation a three phase modified multi-stage bubble column reactor (MMBCR) has been designed to remove lead and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) from wastewater by means of its adsorption onto the surface of activated rice husk. The multi-staging has been achieved by hydrodynamically induced continuous bubble generation, breakup and regeneration. Under optimum conditions, maximum lead and BOD reduction achieved using activated rice husk was 77.15% and 19.05%, respectively. Results showed MMBCR offered appreciated potential benefits for lead removal from wastewater and BOD removal, even this extent of removal is encouraging and the MMBCR can be used a pretreatment unit before subjecting the wastewater to biological treatment

  8. Performance of a modified multi-stage bubble column reactor for lead(II) and biological oxygen demand removal from wastewater using activated rice husk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sahu, J N; Agarwal, S; Meikap, B C; Biswas, M N

    2009-01-15

    The excessive release of wastewater into the environment is a major concern worldwide. Adsorption is the one of the most effective technique for treatment of wastewater. In this work activated carbon prepared from rice husk has been used as an adsorbent. In the present investigation a three phase modified multi-stage bubble column reactor (MMBCR) has been designed to remove lead and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) from wastewater by means of its adsorption onto the surface of activated rice husk. The multi-staging has been achieved by hydrodynamically induced continuous bubble generation, breakup and regeneration. Under optimum conditions, maximum lead and BOD reduction achieved using activated rice husk was 77.15% and 19.05%, respectively. Results showed MMBCR offered appreciated potential benefits for lead removal from wastewater and BOD removal, even this extent of removal is encouraging and the MMBCR can be used a pretreatment unit before subjecting the wastewater to biological treatment.

  9. Towards green loyalty: the influences of green perceived risk, green image, green trust and green satisfaction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chrisjatmiko, K.

    2018-01-01

    The paper aims to present a comprehensive framework for the influences of green perceived risk, green image, green trust and green satisfaction to green loyalty. The paper also seeks to account explicitly for the differences in green perceived risk, green image, green trust, green satisfaction and green loyalty found among green products customers. Data were obtained from 155 green products customers. Structural equation modeling was used in order to test the proposed hypotheses. The findings show that green image, green trust and green satisfaction has positive effects to green loyalty. But green perceived risk has negative effects to green image, green trust and green satisfaction. However, green perceived risk, green image, green trust and green satisfaction also seems to be a good device to gain green products customers from competitors. The contributions of the paper are, firstly, a more complete framework of the influences of green perceived risk, green image, green trust and green satisfaction to green loyalty analyses simultaneously. Secondly, the study allows a direct comparison of the difference in green perceived risk, green image, green trust, green satisfaction and green loyalty between green products customers.

  10. Walnut and almond oil screw-press extraction at industrial scale: Effects of process parameters on oil yield and quality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. L. Martínez

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Walnut and almond kernels are highly nutritious mainly due to their high oil contents. In this study, 32 factorial experimental designs were used to optimize processes for oil extraction by screw-pressing at industrial scale. Experimental designs included seed moisture content (SMC, and restriction die (RD as the main processing parameters. Theoretical models were scanned against experimental data in order to optimize oil extraction conditions. The response variables analyzed were oil yield (OY, fine solid content (FC in oil, and oil quality parameters. Fitted models for OY indicated maximum predicted values similar to the highest experimental values. Walnut oil extractions showed a maximum OY (84.5 ± 2.3 % at 7.21% SMC, and 10 mm RD. For almond kernels, maximum OY (71.9 ± 3.5% was obtained at 9.42% SMC, and 12 mm RD. Chemical quality parameters from both oils were in the ranges stated in Codex (FAO/WHO standards for virgin (non-refined oils.

  11. Walnut and almond oil screw-press extraction at industrial scale: Effects of process parameters on oil yield and quality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martínez, M. L.; Bordón, M.G.; Bodoira, R. M.; Penci, M.C.; Ribotta, P.D.; Maestri, D.M.

    2017-01-01

    Walnut and almond kernels are highly nutritious mainly due to their high oil contents. In this study, 32 factorial experimental designs were used to optimize processes for oil extraction by screw-pressing at industrial scale. Experimental designs included seed moisture content (SMC), and restriction die (RD) as the main processing parameters. Theoretical models were scanned against experimental data in order to optimize oil extraction conditions. The response variables analyzed were oil yield (OY), fine solid content (FC) in oil, and oil quality parameters. Fitted models for OY indicated maximum predicted values similar to the highest experimental values. Walnut oil extractions showed a maximum OY (84.5 ± 2.3 %) at 7.21% SMC, and 10 mm RD. For almond kernels, maximum OY (71.9 ± 3.5%) was obtained at 9.42% SMC, and 12 mm RD. Chemical quality parameters from both oils were in the ranges stated in Codex (FAO/WHO) standards for virgin (non-refined) oils. [es

  12. Changing pollutants to green biogases for the crop food cycle chain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zong, B Y; Xu, F J; Zong, B D; Zhang, Z G

    2012-09-01

    When fossil fuels on the Earth are used up, which kind of green energy can be used to replace them? Do every bioenergy generation or crop food chain results in environmental pollution? These questions are major concerns in a world facing restricted supplies of energy and food as well as environmental pollutions. To alleviate these issues, option biogases are explored in this paper. Two types of biogas generators were used for modifying the traditional crop food chain [viz. from atmospheric CO(2) photosynthesis to crops, crop stem/husk biowastes (burnt in cropland or as home fuels), to livestock droppings (dumping away), pork and people foods, then to CO(2)], via turning the biowaste pollutants into green bioenergies. By analyzing the traditional food chain via observation method, the drawbacks of by-product biowastes were revealed. Also, the whole cycle chain was further analyzed to assess its "greenness," using experimental data and other information, such as the material balance (e.g., the absorbed CO(2), investment versus generated food, energy, and wastes). The data show that by using the two types of biogas generators, clean renewable bioenergy, crop food, and livestock meat could be continuously produced without creating any waste to the world. The modification chain largely reduced CO(2) greenhouse gas and had a low-cost investment. The raw materials for the gas generators were only the wastes of crop stems and livestock droppings. Thus, the recommended CO(2) bioenergy cycle chain via the modification also greatly solved the environmental biowaste pollutions in the world. The described two type biogases effectively addressed the issues on energy, food, and environmental pollution. The green renewable bioenergy from the food cycle chain may be one of suitable alternatives to fossil and tree fuels for agricultural countries.

  13. Surface Water Interim Measures/Interim Remedial Action Plan/Environmental Assessment and Decision Document, South Walnut Creek Basin, Operable Unit No. 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1991-01-01

    Volume 2 of this IM/IRA Plan contains OU 2 surface water, sediment, ground water and soil chemistry data, as well as the South Walnut Creek Basin Surface Water IM/IRA schedule and a tabulation of ARARs. (FL)

  14. Agro-industrial by-products as roughage source for beef cattle: Chemical composition, nutrient digestibility and energy values of ensiled sweet corn cob and husk with different levels of Ipil – Ipil leaves.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sompong Sruamsiri

    2007-07-01

    Full Text Available This experiment was carried out to determine the nutritive value of agro-industrial by-products and nutrient digestibility of ensiled sweet corn cob and husk with different levels of Ipil - Ipil leaves (Leucaena leucocephala. Four native cattle were assigned by Latin Square Design to receive all dietary treatments in four experimental periods i.e. ensiled sweet corn cob and husk (ESCH, ensiled sweet corn cob and husk + 10 % Ipil - Ipil leaves (ESCH + 10% IL, ensiled sweet corn cob and husk + 20% Ipil - Ipil leaves (ESCH + 20% IL and ensiled sweet corn cob and husk + 30% Ipil - Ipil leaves (ESCH + 30% IL, respectively. Total collection method was used to determine the digestibility coefficients. Results showed that digestibility coefficients in ESCH were low (P>0.05 in all the nutrients. Supplementation of Ipil - Ipil leaves in ESCH increased digestibility coefficients. Total digestible nutrients (TDN and digestible energy were higher in the silages supplemented with Ipil - Ipil leaves. Average TDN contents of ESCH, ESCH + 10% IL, 20% IL and 30% IL were 62.78 + 6.14, 70.41 + 4.04, 72.73 + 2.78 and 63.07 + 4.06 %DM, respectively.

  15. Response of northern red oak, black walnut, and white ash seedlings to various levels of simulated summer deer browsing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robert C. Morrissey; Douglass F. Jacobs; John R. Seifert

    2008-01-01

    Understanding the response of tree seedlings to browsing by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus Zimmerman) is critical to the management of high value hardwood plantations in the Central Hardwood Forest Region. One-year-old black walnut (Juglans nigra L.), northern red oak (Quercus rubra L.), and white ash...

  16. The Walnut Gulch - Santa Rita Wildland Watershed-Scale LTAR Sites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodrich, D. C.; Heilman, P.; Scott, R. L.; Nearing, M. A.; Moran, M. S.; Nichols, M.; Vivoni, E. R.; Archer, S. R.; Biederman, J.; Naito, A. T.

    2015-12-01

    The 150 km2 Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed (WGEW), a Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) site, near Tombstone, Arizona was established in 1953 by the USDA-ARS Southwest Watershed Research Center in Tucson. It is one of the most intensively instrumented semiarid experimental watersheds in the world with elevation ranging from 1220 to 1950 m with mean annual temperature and precipitation equal to 17.7°C and 312 mm. Desert shrubs dominate the lower two thirds of the watershed and grasses the upper third. Spatial variation in precipitation is measured with a network of 88 weighing-type recording rain gauges. Surface runoff is quantified over a range of scales (0.002 to 0.06 km2) to characterize interactions between rainfall intensity, soils and vegetation at nine sub-watersheds. Channel network processes and rainfall spatial variability are studied using 11 nested watersheds (2 to 150 km2). Sediment from the small sub-watersheds is sampled. Meteorological, soil moisture and temperature, and energy/water/CO2 flux measurements are made within two vegetation/soil complexes. Parallel investigations dating back to 1974 have also been conducted on eight small experimental watersheds at the Santa Rita Experimental Range (SRER) 80 km west of Walnut Gulch. In contrast to the creosote bush-grass WGEW, the mesquite-grass SRER is publicly owned, which ensures control and consistent reporting of management for research purposes. A key LTAR objective is to contrast a "business as usual" to an alternate management strategy presumed to have the potential of significantly improving forage and livestock production and diversification of ecosystem services. Consequently, a new ARS-U. of Arizona-Arizona State U. partnership will assess the watershed-scale impacts of brush management, a common land use practice typically applied in conjunction with livestock grazing, on a suite of ecosystem services at the SRER including provisioning (forage production, water yield), supporting

  17. Removal of Cd (II from Aqueous Media by Adsorption onto Chemically and Thermally Treated Rice Husk

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    María Camila Hoyos-Sánchez

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Chemically and thermally treated rice husks were evaluated as a potential decontaminant of toxic Cd (II in aqueous media. Rice husk (RH, a by-product from rice milling, was chemically treated with HCl and NaOH. Then, thermal treatments to 300, 500, and 700°C were applied. The chemical composition and morphological characteristics of RH were evaluated by different techniques. The specific surface area analysis of RH samples by BET nitrogen adsorption method provided specific surface areas ranging from 6 to 14 m2/g. SEM, FTIR, and EDX analyses of RH were carried out to determine the surface morphology, functional groups involved in metal binding mechanism, and C/O and C/Si ratios, respectively. The maximum Cd (II adsorption capacity was 28.27 mg/g at an optimum pH, 6.0. The kinetic studies revealed that adsorption process followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model.

  18. Air gasification of rice husk in bubbling fluidized bed reactor with bed heating by conventional charcoal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Makwana, J P; Joshi, Asim Kumar; Athawale, Gaurav; Singh, Dharminder; Mohanty, Pravakar

    2015-02-01

    An experimental study of air gasification of rice husk was conducted in a bench-scale fluidized bed gasifier (FBG) having 210 mm diameter and 1600 mm height. Heating of sand bed material was performed using conventional charcoal fuel. Different operating conditions like bed temperature, feeding rate and equivalence ratio (ER) varied in the range of 750-850 °C, 25-31.3 kg/h, and 0.3-0.38, respectively. Flow rate of air was kept constant (37 m(3)/h) during FBG experiments. The carbon conversion efficiencies (CCE), cold gas efficiency, and thermal efficiency were evaluated, where maximum CCE was found as 91%. By increasing ER, the carbon conversion efficiency was decreased. Drastic reduction in electric consumption for initial heating of gasifier bed with charcoal compared to ceramic heater was ∼45%. Hence rice husk is found as a potential candidate to use directly (without any processing) in FBG as an alternative renewable energy source from agricultural field. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Synthesis and Thermomechanical Properties of Polyurethanes and Biocomposites Derived from Macauba Oil and Coconut Husk Fibers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rafael L. Quirino

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available This work reports on a very effective route to produce bio-based polyurethanes (PUs and composites with high content of renewable carbon sources. The PUs are prepared with polyols synthesized from macauba oil (Acrocomia aculeata and methylene diphenyl diisocyanate, at different [NCO]/[OH] molar ratios. Later, biocomposites are prepared with the as-obtained PUs reinforced with coconut husk fibers. The successful synthesis of natural oil-based polyols is ascribed to the hydroxylation and consumption of carbon-carbon double bonds in the fatty acid chains of the original starting oil as attested by FTIR spectroscopy. According to different thermal analysis techniques (TG, DTG, and DTA, the increase in the [NCO]/[OH] molar ratio improves the thermal stability of PUs, likely due to an increase of crosslinks. Dynamic mechanical analysis evidences the reinforcement effect of coconut husk fibers in bio-based PUs. The present PUs and composites are of low-cost and environmentally friendly materials for structural applications.

  20. A comparative fluctuating asymmetry study between two walnut (Juglans regia L.) populations may contribute as an early signal for bio-monitoring

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kourmpetis, Y.I.A.; Aravanopoulos, F.A.

    2010-01-01

    Developmental stability, the ability of an individual to eliminate environmental disturbances while expressing a heritable phenotypic trait, was compared in two walnut (Juglans regia L.) populations, a natural and an artificial. Bilateral leaf morphometrics were used to estimate fluctuating