Chemical and Natural Resources Engineering Journal
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TECHNO-ECONOMIC EVALUATION FOR INTEGRATED CULTIVATION OF COFFEE AND STINGLESS BEES IN WEST JAVA, INDONESIA: INTEGRATED CULTIVATION OF COFFEE AND STINGLESS BEES
No full text: In 2018, Indonesia is the fourth largest coffee producing country globally. Unfortunately, coffee productivity in Indonesia was gradually decreasing between 2017 and 2018. This could reduce the income of coffee farmers and affects the national supply chain of coffee. A biorefinery concept may be applied to raise the economic value of coffee bioindustry. This study investigates techno-economic analysis for integrated cultivation of coffee and stingless bees in Cibodas, Indonesia. Three scenarios were proposed and compared with each other in terms of gross profit margin. The first scenario considered only the production of green coffee bean, whereas the second scenario included additional utilization of coffee pulp by-product from the production of green coffee bean to produce cascara. The third scenario integrated the production of green coffee bean and cascara with the cultivation of stingless bees, Tetragonula laeviceps, using Modular Tetragonula Hives to produce propolis and honey. A techno-economic analysis was carried out for the latter scenario because it had the highest value of gross profit margin (13.7). The production cost of propolis extract from the proposed system was estimated at $15.1/kg with a breakeven point of 1817 kg. The proposed system also produced green coffee bean, cascara and honey as the co-products. A sensitivity analysis was also carried out to determine the influence of production capacity, price of raw materials and employees’ salary on the production of propolis. The employees' salary has a very strong influence on the production cost of propolis followed by price of raw materials and production capacity
IDENTIFICATION OF GENETIC DIVERSITY AMONG BASIL (OCIMUM SP.) ACCESSIONS COLLECTED FROM AFRICA, EUROPE, ASIA, AND USA
Get PDFBasil (Ocimum sp.), belonging to family Lamiaceae are very important for their therapeutic potentials and medicinal properties. In the present study, 62 basil accessions collected from different regions of the world were analysed for the assessment of genetic diversity using inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR). Four primers generated a total of 36 amplified fragments with an average of nine polymorphic bands per primer. The maximum number of fragments was produced by the primers 807 and 872 with 100% polymorphism, while the minimum number of fragments was produced by the primers 841 and 858 with 100% polymorphism. The highest similarity index was 0.59 and the least similarly index was 0.04. The weighted pair- group method was done using UPGMA clustering, classified the studied accessions in two major groups. It was concluded that high genetic variations were detected among the 62 Basil accessions. Based on the findings of this study, the ISSR markers are very useful for analysing the genetic variations for exploitation of basil in industrial applications
INVESTIGATION OF THE USE OF DATE SEED FOR REMOVAL OF BORON FROM SEAWATER
Get PDFBoron has been classified as a pollutant of drinking water in many countries. Boron is harmful to many plants especially sensible plants and human health. Therefore, boron level needs to be decreased to 0.3 mg/L for drinking water and from 0.5 mg/L to 1 mg/L for irrigation water. In this study, various operational parameters are investigated to determine the potential of using date seed (or date pit or date stone) to remove boron from seawater. The main objective of this study was to determine boron adsorption capacities of date seeds prepared by various methods (i.e., powdered, activated, acid treated and defatted seed) by batch adsorption process using boron contaminated synthetic seawater. The process parameters of the selected biosorbent among the four date seed preparations methods were optimized. The surface characteristics were analysed by using FTIR and SEM. The results showed that acid treated date seed was the best biosorbent in terms of removal of boron from aqueous solution with 89.18% of removal of boron at neutral pH, liquid to solid ratio of 5 within 2 hours of reaction time at room temperature (25°C±2°C)
CARBON CAPTURE AND STORAGE WITH LIPID PRODUCTION IN INTEGRATED SYSTEM OF AQUEOUS AMMONIA WITH MARINE MUTANT SYNECHOCOCCUS PCC 7002 IIUM01: CARBON CAPTURE AND STORAGE IN AQUEOUS AMMONIA WITH MUTANT SYNECHOCOCCUS PCC 7002 IIUM01
No full textCarbon capture and storage (CCS) involve capturing, transporting and storing CO2 underground geological permanently. Carbon capture using solvent such as amine and aqueous ammonia has been extensively studied by many researchers. However, this capture technology for CCS scheme is comparatively costly. Alternatively, CO2 emission can be captured and stored by utilizing the well-understood natural photosynthetic process of marine cyanobacteria. However, the capturing process is very slow compared to chemical absorption. Hence, this study concentrates on carbon capturing and storing using integrated of aqueous ammonia and mutated marine cyanobacteria (Synechococcus PCC 7002 IIUM01). The objective of the study was to identify conditions that would maximize CO2 reduction under varying conditions namely CO2 flow rate, absorption temperature and aqueous ammonia concentrations. The effectiveness of the mutant cyanobacteria was quantified by measuring the cell concentration, percentage reduction in carbon dioxide concentration, and lipid content. Synechococcus PCC 7002 IIUM01 showed it robustness by growing in aqueous ammonia solution at concentration between 0.5 to 1%(w/v) which the parent strain was not able to tolerate. The best conditions maximizing CO2 capture and storage while sustaining growth optimally and being a potential biofuel source was 0.5 Lpm of 15% CO2 gas flow rate, 0.75% (w/v) of ammonia concentration and at 33oC of optimum temperature. At this condition, around 68% of CO2 removal was achieved with 9% yield of lipid and more than 13% (w/v) of cell concentratio
EFFECTS OF DAIDZIN AND ANALOGUE OF GANODERMA SINENSE ON BACTERIALLY-EXPRESSED HUMAN HEXOKINASE ISOFORM 2 FOR ANTI-DENGUE DRUG DESIGN
Get PDFDengue disease, which is caused by dengue virus (DENV) has been a major worldwide concern, with increased number of cases each year. Currently, there are no specific medications to treat the disease. Hence, there is a dire need to develop novel drugs for disease treatment. Glycolysis is a metabolic pathway that serves as the main source of energy for DENV replication and targeting the pathway is one of the ideal approach to discover new anti-DENV drugs. This paper focuses on the inhibition of the human hexokinase isoform 2 (HK2) enzyme, which is one of the important enzymes in glycolysis, in the quest to disrupt DENV replication. In order to search for potential inhibitors, two methods were conducted, which are ligand-based screening and structure-based screening approaches. The docking of Daidzin, which was derived from Kudzu, a Japanese plant, has shown the nearest binding affinity score (-7.94 kcal/mol) to Glucose‘s (GLC), which is -8.15 kcal/mol. Meanwhile, from the ligand-based screening, Ethyl (2R)-2-[[3-[2-[(4-methylbenzoyl)amino]ethyl]-[1,2,4]triazolo[4,3-b]pyridazin-6-yl]sulfanyl]butanoate, a compound which is the analogue of Ganoderma sinense with a binding score of -8.43 kcal/mol was chosen for the subsequent inhibition studies. These compounds were further analysed in an inhibition assay to determine the effects of of the potential naturally-derived inhibitors on the activity of HK2. The outcome from the inhibition study shows that both compounds exhibited substantial inhibition on HK2 enzyme, where Daidzin, at 0.5 mM, resulted in HK2 remaining activity of 88.98%, while Ethyl (2R)-2-[[3-[2-[(4-methylbenzoyl)amino]ethyl]-[1,2,4]triazolo[4,3-b]pyridazin-6-yl]sulfanyl]butanoate (Ethyl (2R)) resulted in 69.58% of HK2 remaining activity, also at 0.5 mM concentration. In conclusion, this study has served as a platform for the development of anti-dengue drugs based on naturally-derived compounds, which is anticipated to be a safer option for dengue treatmen
SURFACE FUNCTIONALIZATION OF MESOPOROUS HOLLOW CARBON NANOPARTICLES USING UV/OZONE TREATMENT
No full textCarbon nanoparticles have been widely used in various applications. However, they are commonly known to have low dispersibility and chemical inertness which limit their practicallability in medical or biological area. Some studies have been performed to modified carbon nanoparticles such as carbon nanotubes using UV-Ozone system. However, little is known on the effect of such system towards other types of carbon nanoparticles such as mesoporous hollow carbon nanoparticles (MHCNs). Thus in this study, improvement of MHCNs physiochemical properties have been studied using UV-Ozone treatment for the first time. The treatment was conducted in water as dispersant agent at ozone flowrate of 1.0 L/min and exposure time of 45 min. SEM images observed that MHCNs morphology and surface structure remain intact after the treatment. Observations on the dispersibility of MHCNs in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) solution shows that the dispersibility was improved compared to the untreated ones. This was supported by the low Z-average and PDI values of treated MHCNs obtained at ~400 nm and 0.2 respectively when compared to untreated MHCNs which obtained at 970 d.nm and 0.417 respectively. Thermogalvimetric analysis (TGA) also shows an increased in weight loss of treated MHCNs at lower temperature compared to untreated ones. Results from fourier transform infrared (FTIR) shows an increased number of new functional groups that include carboxylic acid group presence at surface of treated MHCNs which contributed to the improvement of their dispersibility, thermal properties and chemical functionality. These findings opened a new possibility of using UV/Ozone treatment to improve physicochemical properties of MHCNs for medical area such as in drug delivery application in addition to their excellent drug storage and carrier system
AGARWOOD BRANCH ETHANOLIC EXTRACT: OPTIMAL EXTRACTION PROCESS CONDITIONS AND CYTOTOXIC EFFECTS
Get PDFUninfected agarwood branch is readily available as raw material in agarwood plantation as new practices of agarwood plantation scheme were opted as substitute to the endangered wild type agarwood. The uninfected branch can be easily obtained during pruning process (one of plantation’s common maintenance procedure), throughout the years before inoculation stage. This current study aimed to investigate the optimal extraction process conditions of agarwood branch using ethanol as solvent system for maximal yield, and assess its cytotoxic effects towards MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Uninfected branch of Aquilaria subintegra was subjected to One Factor at a Time (OFAT) and Response Surface Methodology (RSM)-guided ethanolic extraction to achieve maximal yield. The extract was then subjected to cytotoxicity, cell attachment and cell viability assays, respectively. Optimization Run 2 (temperature 45 °C, solid-liquid ratio of 1:30, 16 hours maceration) gave the highest agarwood branch ethanolic extract (ABEE) yield of 44.70 ± 18.9 mg/g dried material (DM). Meanwhile Run 7 (temperature 45 °C, solid-liquid ratio of 1:10, 16 hours of maceration) gave the lowest yield (19.34 ± 14.1 mg/g DM). However, while maintaining the 16 hour-maceration, the model predicted a slightly lower yield of 30.232 ± 0.266 mg/g DM of ABEE with process conditions of 45 °C and solid-liquid ratio of 1:19 when the desirable parameters were factored in namely using (i) the most suitable temperature (that does not risk the bioactivities of the extract), and (ii) an economical volume of solvent. Crude ABEE obtained from the optimal process conditions resulted in cytotoxicity effects on MCF-7 breast cancer cells with IC50 estimate of 3.645 ± 0.099 µg/mL. The extract also affected MCF-7 cell attachment and viability with altered morphology. More work to elucidate the mechanism of actions of the extract are warranted; which could further lead to development of breast cancer natural product-based therapeutics
INTERACTION EFFECT OF CO-DIGESTION SEWAGE SLUDGE AND FOOD WASTE FOR PRODUCTION OF BIOGAS
Get PDFSolid wastes increase as the population increase, so do the urbanization and industrial industries. Food waste (FW) and sewage sludge (SS) are some of solid wastes. Co-digesting of both substrates may improve process stabilization to increase biogas production and overcome the nutrients imbalance. Thus, anaerobic co-digestion has been recognized as a technology that could provide a clean renewable energy source and help reduce the landfill problem. In this study, the interaction between FW & SS as co-substrates in anaerobic digestion was studied. The experiments were conducted using modified Schott bottle as a reactor with a working volume of 500 mL. There were five different ratios of substrates in percent: 0:100, 25:75, 50:50, 75:25, and 100:0 (FW: SS). The reactor was maintained at a constant temperature of 36°C (±0.5). The substrates were filled in the reactor and left for fermentation for 14 days. There are four different parameters used to identify the characteristics of FW and SS, which are pH, Dinitrosalicylic Acid (DNS), Total Solid (TS), and Total Carbohydrate (TC). Furthermore, to record the biogas yield by a different combination of substrates, a water displacement method was used. The experimental results showed that the highest biogas yield was from the composition of 50:50 (FW: SS) with biogas volume of 1150.14 mL, while the least was the composition of 0:100 (FW: SS) with 170.47 mL biogas produced. The results for substrate degradation showed that the composition of 100:0 (FW: SS) has the highest percentage degradation for reducing sugar with percentage of 56%, while the minimum was of 0:100 (FW: SS) with percentage of 35%. Besides, for TC, the highest percentage degradation was the composition 50:50 (FW: SS) with 84%, and the least was 0:100 (FW: SS) with 44%. Finally, this study proves the using food waste and sewage sludge enhances the biogas production as well as reduced the current issues of waste disposal
SELECTION OF VARIOUS COAGULANTS FOR SUGAR INDUSTRY WASTEWATER TREATMENT
Get PDFSugar industry is one of the industries that produce a high amount of pollutant which if it is discharged without a proper treatment into the watercourse, it can cause problem to aquatic life and environment. For the primary treatment process, sugar wastewater can be treated by using chemical precipitation method which involves coagulation process. Currently, ferric chloride has been used as the coagulant however it consumes more alkalinity and corrosive. In this study, the suitable coagulant to be used to treat the wastewater from sugar industry and the optimum conditions to achieve high percentage removal of COD was determined. Before any treatment of the wastewater, the characteristic of the wastewater was determined. By using aluminium sulphate, ferric chloride and polyaluminium chloride as coagulant, the most suitable coagulant to be used for the treatment was studied by determining their efficiency to reduce COD and TSS in the wastewater at different dosage. The optimum condition of the coagulant (pH, coagulant dosage, fast mixing speed) was determined by using Design Expert software. The result shown that alum can be used to effectively remove 42.9% of COD and 100% of TSS at high dosage (50mg/l). The optimum condition of alum was at pH 5.2, 10mg/l of alum and 250rpm fast mixing speed. This shows that at optimum condition, alum can be used to treat wastewater from sugar industry
POTENTIAL INHIBITORS OF α-GLUCOSIDASE AND α-AMYLASE ENZYMES FROM LOCALLY AVAIALABLE FRUIT WASTES BY SOLID STATE FERMENTATION
Get PDFABSTRACT: A therapeutic approach for treating diabetes is to decrease the post-prandial hyperglycaemia. This is done by retarding the absorption of glucose through the inhibition of the carbohydrate hydrolyzing enzymes, α-amylase and α-glucosidase, in the digestive tract. Inhibition of both the enzymes help to reduce the glucose level in the blood of a diabetic patient. This study was aimed to investigate the production of α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitors from local fruit wastes (honeydew skin, banana peel, and pineapple skin) using solid state fermentation. Each of the fruit wastes was fermented with three different types of white rot fungus Phenarochaete chrysosporium (P.chrysosporium), Panus tigrinus MQR609 (M6) and RO2) for 7 days. Sampling was carried out starting from day 4 to day 7 to determine the enzyme inhibition activity. The samples were extracted using water prior to enzyme analysis. Most of the fruit samples showed varying degree of percentage inhibition activity depending on the sampling time. Extract of fermented banana peels with RO2 on day 4 showed higher potential of α-glucosidase inhibition (56.57±0.32%). Followed with honeydew extract fermented with the same fungus on the same day showed 39.68±0.05%. Extracts of each fruit wastes sample fermented with P.chrysosporium showed least potential of α-glucosidase inhibition (below15%). While for α-amylase inhibition activity, the extract from fermented honeydew skins with P.chrysosporium on day 7 showed the highest potential inhibition activity 98.29±0.63%. The least potential inhibition activity (43.37±0.54%) was observed in extract from honeydew skins fermented with M6 on day 5. All the positive result showed that fruit waste could be an alternative source for antidiabetic agent especially for α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitors