Biodiesel is becoming one of the most attractive alternative biofuels for petroleum-based diesel fuels. The castor plant is one of the abundant non-edible oils found in many countries. This paper aims to study Libyan castor oil and its potential for diesel conversion. Experiments were carried out in the laboratories of the Specific Center for Training in the Oil Industries in Al-Zawiya. The oil was extracted using a Soxhlet extractor and n-hexane solvent at 60 °C. Transesterification reactions were conducted in a batch reactor (a three-neck flask was used, where the middle opening carries a reflux condensation unit) at 65 °C. The methanol-to-castor oil molar ratio was 6:1, with a catalyst concentration of 1 wt.% relative to the castor oil, and the reaction time was 30 min. Castor oil was analysed and found to have a fatty acid content of 0.7%. The productivity of biodiesel exhibited 80% yield. Standard test methods of analysis were conducted to determine the biodiesel’s properties. Results indicated that the kinematic viscosity at 40 °C was 14.24 cSt, the density was 0.924 g/cm3, the cetane number (CN) was 54 and the pour point was −15 °C, indicating that castor oil biodiesel is of high quality, with a high CN and a low pour point.
The present study addresses adopting the organic and nutritious materials in dairy wastewater as media for cultivation of microalgae, which represent an important source of renewable energy. This study was carried out through cultivation of three types of microalgae; Chlorella sp., Synechococcus, and Anabaena. The results shows the success the cultivation of the Synechococcus and Chlorella Sp, while the Anabaena microalgae were in low-growth level. The highest growth was in the Synechococcus farm, followed by Chlorella and Anabaena. However, the growth of Synechococcus required 10 days to achieve this increase that re
... Show MoreThe aim of this research was to estimate the production function to measure returns to scale and distribution efficiency of resources used in the production of wheat. Cross sectional data used of a random sample of 130 farmers in Dhi Qar Province. The results of the quantitative analysis of estimating production function showed that the double logarithmic form was the best estimated model based on economic and statistical indicators. However, that form suffered from heteroscedasticity and autocorrelation, so the robust regression technique was chosen. Value of returns to scale was 0.89 and this indicates decreasing returns to scale. This means that production function is in the second stage of the function. The results of the dist
... Show MoreThe study was conducted in the poultry field, College of Agriculture, Al-Muthanna University from 1/3/2018 to 6/4/2018 to determine the effect of commercial Ascomax powder produced from seaweed (Ascophyllum nodocum) on some productive performance of broilers. A total of 400, one day, Ross 308 broiler chicks were used for 35 days. The chicks were randomly distributed to 4 treatments, four replicates per treatment (25 chick / replicate). The treatments were as follows: T1: (control treatment), while T2, T3 and T4 added diet by Ascomax powder by 1, 1.5 and 2 g per 1 kg of the basal diet, respectively. The results of the study showed a significant superiority (P <0.05) for the added Ascomax powder treatments compared to the treatment of control
... Show MoreThis study was aimed to determine the impact of Conocarpus erectus L. compost fertilizer, and some micronutrients on growth and production of potato. This research was conducted at one of the fields of the College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences - University of Baghdad. The experiment was implemented using factorial arrangement (4X3X3) within randomized complete block design with three replicates. Conocarpus fertilizer was represented the first factor with three levels (7.5, 15, 30 ton.ha-1), which symbolized (C2, C3, C4). Chemical fertilizer as recommended dose as a control, which symbolized (C1). The second factor was foliar spraying with three levels of iron (0, 100, 200 mg.L-1), which symbolized (F0, F1, F2). The third fact
... Show MoreVisceral leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease on the rise in different regions of Iraq, especially in areas with poor hygiene and among refugee populations. The effectiveness of existing chemotherapy for leishmaniasis is constrained by its high toxicity, cost, and the development of drug resistance. The current research examined various concentrations (ranging from 125 to 1000 μM) of lupeol to evaluate its ability to boost the generation of nitric oxide, which has anti-leishmanial properties, in an ex-vivo macrophage model. Griess assay was used to detect the nitric oxide (NO) production in Leishmania donovani infected U937 cell-line macrophages along 24 and 48 hours post treated. The nitric oxide concentration was signifi
... Show MoreThe ideas and information obtained by the viewer in the cinema have always been the source of the visual image, but that doesn’t negate the fact that the mental image can produce a lot of the information and ideas in the cinematic art and the most important means to achieve this mental image in the film is the eloquent cinematic sound. This research is conducted to show this important and effective contribution of the sound in the production of the mental image. Hence the importance of this research is in that it addresses an important issue which is the eloquent performance of the sound and its role in the production of the mental image inside the space of the feature film. This research concerns those working the field of cinema and
... Show MoreThis study focuses on the implementation of interfaces for human machine interaction (HMI) control and monitor automatic production line. The automatic production line can performance feeding, transportation, sorting functions. The objectives of this study are implemented two SCADA/HMI system using two different software. TIA portal software is used to build HMI, alarm, and trends in touch panel which is helped an operator to control and monitor the production line. LabVIEW software is used to build HMI and trends in the computer screen and is linked with Microsoft Excel (ME) to generate information table helped to monitor the performance of the pneumatic equipment. The production line can do performance feeding, transportation, sorting fun
... Show MoreThe seedlings of vegetables are exposed to stress states, especially through the first period, due to injuring their roots by transplanting or heavy rain , so it is necessary to provide an available nutrient to recover the growth and increase their early yield, which means more income for farmers. In this regard, an experiment was conducted in the College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences, Agriculture Faculty, University of Baghdad, Iraq to study the effect of different types and concentrations of mineral fertilizers as starter solutions by using high nitrogen (N), high phosphorus (P) and neutral fertilizers (Q) at three levels which were 4 g/l (S1), 8 g/l (S2) and 12 g/l (S3) on broccoli growth and yield. The results showed tha
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