The soap content in biodiesel is an important challenge during the production and purification processing of biodiesel. Natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) have recently attracted considerable interest as an environmentally suitable substitute for traditional solvents in the biodiesel industry. This work investigates the soap removal from the contaminated biodiesel using NADES. Eight choline chloride‐based deep eutectic solvents (DESs) were screened using the conductor‐like screening model for real solvents (COSMO‐RS) to identify the most suitable solvent for soap removal and were validated experimentally. The effect of NADES molar ratio, NADES:biodiesel ratio, mixing speed and extraction time on the extraction efficiency were investigated. COSMO‐RS screening revealed that the malonic acid‐based NADES possess higher soap elimination, and this is compatible with the experimental screening. The higher extraction efficiency of 99.18% was achieved under the optimum conditions of 1:3 of NADES molar ratio, 1:1 DES:biodiesel, 150 rpm and 15 min of extraction time. The soap removal followed the first‐order kinetic equation with a rate constant of 0.183 min−1. This technique offers innovative and environmentally friendly routes for downstream processing of contaminated biodiesel.
Sea level rise (SLR) due to climate change is affecting the coastline, causing shoreline changes, the degradation of mangrove forests, and the destruction of coastal resources. This is the cause of a huge amount of mangrove degradation in many parts of the Ganges–Brahmaputra–Meghna delta. A total of 90% of people have been forced to migrate from the island due to extreme weather conditions. In this study, remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS) techniques were used for LULC change and shoreline shift analyses of Ghoramara Island. LULC classification was carried out using thirty years of Landsat datasets with intervals of ten years (1990 and 2000) and intervals of five years (2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020). The classific
... Show MoreThis study investigated the shear performance of concrete beams with GFRP stirrups vs. traditional steel stirrups. Longitudinal glass fiber‐reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars were used to doubly reinforce the tested beams at both the top and bottom of their cross sections. To accomplish this, several stirrup spacings were provided. Eight beam specimens, measuring 300 × 250 × 2400 mm, were used in an experimental program to test under a two‐point concentrated load with an equal span‐to‐depth ratio until failure. Four beams in Group I have standard mild steel stirrups of 8 mm diameter, while four beams in Group II have GFRP stirrups with the same adopted diameter. The difference betwe
Combining ultrasonic irradiation and the Fenton process as a sono-Fenton process, the chemical oxygen demand (COD) in refinery wastewater was successfully eliminated using response surface methodology (RSM) with central composite design (CCD). The impact of two main influential operational parameters (iron dosage and reaction time) on the COD removal from wastewater generated by an Iraqi petroleum refinery facility was explored. Removal of 85.81% was attained under the optimal conditions of 21 minutes and 0.289 mM of concentration. Additionally, the results revealed that the concentration of has the highest effect on the COD elimination, followed by reaction time. The high R2 value (96.40%) validated the strong fit of the mo
... Show MoreThis work investigates experimentally the effect of using a skirt with a square foundation of 100 mm width resting on dry gypseous soil (i.e., loose soil with 33% relative density), and subjected to an inclined load. Previous works did not study the use square skirted foundation rested on gypseous soil and subjected to inclined load. The investigated soil was brought from Tikrit city with 59% gypsum content. Standard physical and chemical tests on selected soil were carried out. Model laboratory tests were carried out to determine the effect of using a skirt with a square foundation on the load-settlement behavior of gypseous soil and subjected to inclined load with various Skirt depth (Ds) to foundation width (B) ratio
... Show MoreBiologically active natural compounds are molecules produced by plants or plant-related microbes, such as endophytes. Many of these metabolites have a wide range of antimicrobial activities and other pharmaceutical properties. This study aimed to evaluate (in vitro) the antifungal activities of the secondary metabolites obtained from Paecilomyces sp. against the pathogenic fungus Rhizoctonia solani. The endophytic fungus Paecilomyces was isolated from Moringa oleifera leaves and cultured on potato dextrose broth for the production of the fungal metabolites. The activity of Paecilomyces filtrate against the radial growth of Rhizoctonia solani was tested by mixing the filtrate with potato dextrose agar medium at concentrations of 15%,
... Show MoreThe temperature control process of electric heating furnace (EHF) systems is a quite difficult and changeable task owing to non-linearity, time delay, time-varying parameters, and the harsh environment of the furnace. In this paper, a robust temperature control scheme for an EHF system is developed using an adaptive active disturbance rejection control (AADRC) technique with a continuous sliding-mode based component. First, a comprehensive dynamic model is established by using convection laws, in which the EHF systems can be characterized as an uncertain second order system. Second, an adaptive extended state observer (AESO) is utilized to estimate the states of the EHF system and total disturbances, in which the observer gains are updated
... Show MoreBackground: Cyclophosphamide is an alkylating agent that is effective against a broad spectrum of tumors, with nephrotoxicity as a side effect. Irigenin is a natural isoflavonoid isolated from the rhizome of Belamcanda chinensis that has been reported to exert antioxidant activities. Objective: Evaluating the possible protective effects of irigenin on cyclophosphamide-induced nephrotoxicity in male rats. Methods: Fifty apparently healthy male albino rats were divided into five groups: (control, induction, irigenin, irigenin with cyclophosphamide, and vitamin E with cyclophosphamide. At the end of the experiment (day 29), all rats were sacrificed. Different parameters were evaluated, including urea and creatinine serum concentration,
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