Facilitated Transport of Cr(VI) through Polymer Inclusion Membrane System Containing Calix[4]arene Derivative as Carrier Agent

Chromium(VI) is one of the major toxic elements present in environmental samples. The polymer inclusion membrane (PIM), has been developed to provide metal ion transport with high selectivity. This study was conducted to discover efficient methods for removing Cr(VI) from wastewater. A functionalized calix[4]arene carrier 1 in a PIM system was used to transport Cr(VI) from an acidic aqueous donor phase solution to an acceptor phase that contained an acetic acid/ammonium acetate solution at pH 6. The prepared PIM was characterized with Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and the Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) techniques as well as with contact angle measurements. The efficiency of Cr(VI) transport through the PIM was investigated by studying the effects of carrier concentration on the membrane phase as well as by measuring the amount of plasticizer in the membrane, the pH in the acceptor phase and the membrane's stability and thickness. The kinetic parameters were calculated as rate constant (k), permeability coefficient (P), flux (J) and diffusion coefficient (D_o). The transport efficiency of Cr(VI) was observed to be 98.61% after 10 h under optimized conditions. The experimental results show that Cr(VI) can transport from the donor phase to the acceptor phase with high efficiency through the PIM. The results also suggest that the transport efficiency of the PIM was reproducible and that a PIM is effective for long-term separation processes.     

Characteristics of nanosized LiNi x Fe1−x PO4/C (x = 0.00–0.20) composite material prepared via sol–gel-assisted carbothermal reduction method

Pure LiFePO₄ and LiNi _x Fe_1?x PO₄/C (x?=?0.00–0.20) nanocomposite cathode materials have been synthesized by cheap and convenient sol–gel-assisted carbothermal reduction method. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and inductively coupled plasma have been used to study the phase, morphology, and chemical composition of un-doped and Ni-doped materials. XRD patterns display the slight shrinkage in crystal lattice of LiFePO₄ after Ni²⁺ doping. The SEM images have revealed that Ni-doped particles are not agglomerated and the particle sizes are practically homogeneously distributed. The particle size is found between 50 and 100 nm for LiNi_0.20Fe_0.80PO₄/C sample. The discharge capacity at 0.2 C rate has increased up to 155 mAh g^?1 for the LiNi_0.05Fe_0.95PO₄/C sample and good capacity retention of 99.1 % over 100 cycles, while that of the unsubstituted LiFePO₄/C and pure LiFePO₄ has showed only 122 and 89 mAh g^?1, respectively. Doping with Ni has a noticeable effect on improving its electrical conductivity. However, serious electrochemical declension will occur when its doping density is beyond 0.05 mol LiNi_0.20Fe_0.80PO₄/C electrode shows only 118 mAh g^?1, which is less than un-doped LiFePO₄/C sample at 0.2 C. The cycling voltammogram demonstrates that Ni-doped LiNi_0.05Fe_0.95PO₄/C electrode has more stable lattice structure, enhanced conductivity, and diffusion coefficient of Li⁺ ions, in which Ni²⁺ is regarded to act as a column in crystal lattice structure to prevent the collapse during cycling process.     

Processing impact on tocopherols and triglycerides composition of soybean oil and its deodorizer distillate evaluated by high-performance liquid chromatography

In the present study, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used for the separation of tocopherols and triglycerides of processed soybean oil and deodorizer distillate (DD). The results of normal and reversed-phase modes of HPLC revealed that concentrations of tocopherols and triglycerides content were decreased during the neutralization, bleaching, and deodorization processes. The loss of individual tocopherols ranged between 55.16% and 63.25%. During processing, triglycerides containing stearic-oleic-linoleic (SOL) moieties and palmitic-palmitic-linoleic (PPL) fragments showed greater reduction up to 38.14% and 37.69%, respectively. Among tocopherols and triglycerides; γ-tocopherol and oleic-oleic-oleic (OOO) were found to be in greater concentrations 5.53% and 19.78%, respectively in DD as compared to their counterparts. A maximum reduction of tocopherols was observed in the deodorization step. DD was found to be a rich source of bioactive components; therefore, it could be used for many industrial applications including pharmaceutical formulations, cosmetics, and food industries.     

Comparison of antioxidant capacities and antioxidant components of commercial bitter melon (Momordica charantia L.) products

In this study, the total phenolic contents and total antioxidant capacities of some commercial bitter melon products (powder, packaged powder, capsule, paste in olive oil), and of unripe and ripe fruits were determined by spectrophotometric and chromatographic methods. The total antioxidant capacities of unripe and ripe bitter melon samples, determined by using the CUPRAC (cupric reducing antioxidant capacity assay) and ABTS (2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazolin-6-sulfonic acid))/HRP (horseradish peroxidase) methods, were 42.5 and 36.3 µmol TRE (Trolox equivalent) g–1, and 8.7 and 7.0 µmol TRE g–1, respectively. The TAC (total antioxidant capacity) order of the studied samples using the same 2 methods were determined as follows: capsule (CUPRAC value, 140.8; ABTS/HRP value, 143.6 µmol TRE g–1) > packaged powder (129.6; 126.1) > powder (52.3; 64.3) > unripe fruit (42.5; 36.3) > paste in olive oil (17.6; 14.4) > ripe fruit (8.7; 7.0). The order of phenolic content was found as follows: unripe fruit (193.2 µmol GAE (gallic acid equivalent) g-1) > capsule (162.0) > packaged powder (160.6) > powder (83.6) > paste in olive oil (38.3) > ripe fruit (14.6).     

Arsenic speciation and other parameters of surface and ground water samples of Jamshoro,Pakistan

This study evaluated and interpreted complex data sets of water samples collected from different sampling origins of ground water (hand pump and tube well) and surface water (municipal, river and canal). The aim was to provide information concerning the apportionment of pollution sources to obtain better information about water quality and possible distribution of As with respect to its speciation. The As (III) formed complex with ammonium pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate (APDC) and extracted by surfactant-rich phases in the non-ionic surfactant Triton X-114, while total iAs in water samples was adsorbed on titanium dioxide (TiO₂) and determined by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. The accuracy of the proposed methodologies was confirmed by standard addition method. The recoveries of As (III) and total inorganic arsenic (iAs) were found to be >98%. The results revealed that the ground water of the area under study was more contaminated as compared to surface water samples. The mean concentration of As (III) and As (V) in the surface water samples was found to be 15.8 and 6.00?µg?L^?1, respectively, whereas, in the case of ground water samples, the contents of As (III) and As (V) ranged from 6.20 to 51.0 and 6.40 to 53.0?µg?L^?1, respectively. Principal component analysis performed on a combined (tube well and hand pump) samples data set extracted two significant factors explaining more than 60% of total variance, which suggested that the contamination sources might be natural or anthropogenic.     

Synthesis of a novel calix[4]azacrown ionophore and its extraction ability toward Cr(VI)

The present study describes the synthesis of a novel extractant p-tert-butyl-calix[4]azacrown ionophore (5) and evaluation of its extraction capability toward dichromate ion from aqueous solution. At first, p-tert-butyl-calix[4]azacrown ionophore (5) has been synthesized from the condensation of p-tert-butyl-calix[4]arene diamine (3) with N-(4-formylphenyl)-aza-15-crown-5 (4). The studies regarding the removal of dichromate ion from the aqueous solutions have been carried out in the liquid–liquid extraction systems. The extraction results showed that p-tert-butyl-calix[4]azacrown derivative (5) exhibited generally higher affinity towards dichromate ion than both 3 and 4 at all studied pHs.     

Synthesis of novel Schiff base doped sol–gel silicas

Sulfonamide Schiff bases were doped uniformly in silica sol–gels prepared from liquid precursors by a fast and easy way at room temperature and processed to form xerogels. Schiff bases are efficient chelating agents, bioactive and catalytically active compounds. The structures of the newly synthesized Schiff base doped xerogels were elucidated by their physical (morphology, surface area, porosity), spectral (FTIR) and analytical (CHNSO/Si) data. The powder X-ray diffraction studies were carried out to confirm the formation of single phase. Characterization confirmed that Schiff base molecules are entrapped inside the pores as well as physically bound onto the silica surface. All Schiff base doped xerogels are stable mesoporous materials showing hydrophilic properties. Loadings of Schiff bases from 0.10 to 0.23 g/g of xerogel were obtained resulting amorphous materials. The doping of Schiff bases with xerogel caused change in surface area, pore volume and pore diameter of xerogel without damaging the main framework of siliceous skeleton. Morphology and colour of xerogel was also changed after doping. The entrapment of Schiff bases in xerogel caused increase in their decomposition temperatures. The final Schiff base doped xerogels show remarkable thermal stability.     

An integer programming model for hierarchical workforce scheduling problem

In this paper, an integer programming model for the hierarchical workforce problem under the compressed workweeks is developed. The model is based on the integer programming formulation developed by Billionnet [A. Billionnet, Integer programming to schedule a hierarchical workforce with variable demands, European Journal of Operational Research 114 (1999) 105–114] for the hierarchical workforce problem. In our model, workers can be assigned to alternative shifts in a day during the course of a week, whereas all workers are assigned to one shift type in Billionnet’s model. The main idea of this paper is to use compressed workweeks in order to save worker costs. This case is also suitable for the practice. The proposed model is illustrated on the Billionnet’s example problem and the obtained results are compared with the Billionnet’s model results.