Introduction: Although soap industry is known from hundreds of years, the development accompanied with this industry was little. The development implied the mechanical equipment and the additive materials necessary to produce soap with the best specifications of shape, physical and chemical properties. Objectives: This research studies the use of vacuum reactive distillation VRD technique for soap production. Methods: Olein and Palmitin in the ratio of 3 to 1 were mixed in a flask with NaOH solution in stoichiometric amount under different vacuum pressures from -0.35 to -0.5 bar. Total conversion was reached by using the VRD technique. The soap produced by the VRD method was compared with soap prepared by the reaction - only method which is known as the conventional method. The two kinds of soap were compared in yield, the reaction temperature, the volume of the co-product liquid and its composition, FTIR analysis, the density and the time of production. Results: It was shown that the yield of soap using VRD was 2.45 times that produced by the reaction - only method. The process temperature was reduced 0.11 times. The volume of the co-product liquid was reduced 95.76% consisting of water only. The analyses of FTIR were compared with a commercial soap regarded as a standard and they showed identical functional groups. Very little difference in density was recorded. The time of production was shorter than the conventional method giving another priority to the VRD method. Conclusion: It was beneficial to adopt VRD method in soap production in batch mode. Continuous mode of soap production using VRD method may be investigated in future study.
This work describes the enhancement of phenol red decolorization through immobilizing of laccase in chitosan and enzyme recycling. Commercial laccase from white rot fungus, Trametesversicolor (Tvlac), was immobilizedin to freshly prepared chitosan beads by using glutaraldehyde as a cross linker. Characterization of prepared chitosan was confirmed by FTIR and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Tvlac (46.2 U/mL) immobilized into chitosan beads at 0.8 % glutaraldehyde (v/v) within 24 hrs. Synthetic (HBT) and natural (vanillin) mediators were used to enhance dye decolorizoation. It was found that 89 % of phenol red was decolorized by chitosan beads within 180 min. in the absence of enzyme and mediator, while decolorization percenta
... Show MoreRandom matrix theory is used to study the chaotic properties in nuclear energy spectrum of the 24Mg nucleus. The excitation energies (which are the main object of this study) are obtained via performing shell model calculations using the OXBASH computer code together with an effective interaction of Wildenthal (W) in the isospin formalism. The 24Mg nucleus is assumed to have an inert 16O core with 8 nucleons (4protons and 4neutrons) move in the 1d5/2, 2s1/2 and 1d3/2 orbitals. The spectral fluctuations are studied by two statistical measures: the nearest neighb
Zubair Formation is one of the richest petroleum systems in Southern Iraq. This formation is composed mainly of sandstones interbedded with shale sequences, with minor streaks of limestone and siltstone. Borehole collapse is one of the most critical challenges that continuously appear in drilling and production operations. Problems associated with borehole collapse, such as tight hole while tripping, stuck pipe and logging tools, hole enlargement, poor log quality, and poor primary cement jobs, are the cause of the majority of the nonproductive time (NPT) in the Zubair reservoir developments. Several studies released models predicting the onset of borehole collapse and the amount of enlargement of the wellbore cross-section. However, assump
... Show MoreA large number of researchers had attempted to identify the pattern of the functional relationship between fertility from a side and economic and social characteristics of the population from another, with the strength of effect of each. So, this research aims to monitor and analyze changes in the level of fertility temporally and spatially in recent decades, in addition to estimating fertility levels in Iraq for the period (1977-2011) and then make forecasting to the level of fertility in Iraq at the national level (except for the Kurdistan region), and for the period of (2012-2031). To achieve this goal has been the use of the Lee-Carter model to estimate fertility rates and predictable as well. As this is the form often has been familiar
... Show MoreThe neutron, proton, and matter densities of the ground state of the proton-rich 23Al and 27P exotic nuclei were analyzed using the binary cluster model (BCM). Two density parameterizations were used in BCM calculations namely; Gaussian (GS) and harmonic oscillator (HO) parameterizations. According to the calculated results, it found that the BCM gives a good description of the nuclear structure for above proton-rich exotic nuclei. The elastic form factors of the unstable 23Al and 27P exotic nuclei and those of their stable isotopes 27Al and 31P are studied by the plane-wave Born approximation. The main difference between the elastic form factors of unstable nuclei and the
... Show MoreSewer sediment deposition is an important aspect as it relates to several operational and environmental problems. It concerns municipalities as it affects the sewer system and contributes to sewer failure which has a catastrophic effect if happened in trunks or interceptors. Sewer rehabilitation is a costly process and complex in terms of choosing the method of rehabilitation and individual sewers to be rehabilitated. For such a complex process, inspection techniques assist in the decision-making process; though, it may add to the total expenditure of the project as it requires special tools and trained personnel. For developing countries, Inspection could prohibit the rehabilitation proceeds. In this study, the researchers propos
... Show MoreThe spread of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has resulted in chaos around the globe. The infected cases are still increasing, with many countries still showing a trend of growing daily cases. To forecast the trend of active cases, a mathematical model, namely the SIR model was used, to visualize the spread of COVID-19. For this article, the forecast of the spread of the virus in Malaysia has been made, assuming that all Malaysian will eventually be susceptible. With no vaccine and antiviral drug currently developed, the visualization of how the peak of infection (namely flattening the curve) can be reduced to minimize the effect of COVID-19 disease. For Malaysians, let’s ensure to follow the rules and obey the SOP to lower the