Corncob is an agricultural biomass waste that was widely investigated as an adsorbent of contaminants after transforming it into activated carbon. In this research carbonization and chemical activation processes were achieved to synthesize corncob-activated carbon (CAC). Many pretreatment steps including crushing, grinding, and drying to obtain corncob powder were performed before the carbonization step. The carbonization of corncob powder has occurred in the absence of air at a temperature of 500 °C. The chemical activation was accomplished by using HCl as an acidic activation agent. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) facilitated the characterization of (CAC). The results showed the CAC has non-uniform morphological features with different shapes of its active sites. The prepared CAC was utilized in adsorption of sulfur in its highly complex form of dibenzothiophene (DBT). Particular adsorption parameters of contacting time, temperature, and adsorbent dose were optimized to select the best conditions. These certain conditions are then applied in the adsorption of different DBT concentrations. The maximum removal of DBT reached around 83% at optimal conditions of contacting time (30 min), temperature (60 °C), and adsorbent dose (3 g L-1). The removal efficiency was significantly increased by decreasing the initial concentration of DBT. The experimental data fitted well with the Freundlich isotherm model compared with the Langmuir one. The maximum capacity of CAC for adsorption of DBT at equilibrium was 833.3 mg g-1 at 60 °C. The findings of this research introduce the CAC as a feasible adsorbent for removal DBT from simulated liquid petroleum fuels.
A significant increase in the incidence of non-O157 verotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) infections have become a serious health issues, and this situation is worsening due to the dissemination of plasmid mediated multidrug-resistant microorganisms worldwide. This study aims to investigate the presence of plasmid-mediated verotoxin gene in non-O157 E. coli. Standard microbiological techniques identified a total of 137 E. coli isolates. The plasmid was detected by Perfectprep Plasmid Mini preparation kit. These isolates were subjected to disk diffusion assay, and plasmid curing with ethidium bromide treatment. The plasmid containing isolates were subjected to a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for investigating
... Show MoreA simple and novel membraneless paper-based microfluidic fuel cell was presented in this study. The occurrence of laminar flow was employed to ensure no mixing of the fuel and oxidant fluids along the bath of reaction. The acidic wastewater was used as a fuel. It was an air-breathing cell, so air and tab water were used as oxidants. Both the fuel and tab water flowed continuously under gravity. Whatman filter paper was used for preparation of the fuel cell channel and two carbon fibre electrodes were used and firmed on the edges of the cell. The performance of the cell was examined over three consecutive days. The results indicated that the present cell has the potential to generate electric power, but an extensive study is required to harv
... Show MoreHeavy metals contamination in aquatic ecosystems is considered one of the most important threats of aquatic life. Submerge aquatic plants Ceratophyllum demersum in its non living form used for the removal of trace elements. This article studied the ability of the fine powder of C.demersum for the removal of some heavy metals (HM) like copper, cadmium, lead and chrome from aqueous solution with in variable experimental factors. The study occupy two treatments the first included different hydrogen ions pH within a range of 4, 5,6and 8 with a constant HM concentration (1000 ppm).While the second treatment represented by using variable HM concentrations within a range of (250,500,750and 1000 ppm) with a constant pH=7.In both treatments the a
... Show MoreA new ligand [N- (1,5- dimethyl -3- oxo- 2 – phenyl - 2 ,3 – dihydro -1H- pyrazol -4- ylcarbamothioyl) acetamide] (AAD) was synthesized by reaction of acetyl isothiocyanate with 4-aminoantipyrine, The ligand was characterized by micro elemental analysis C.H.N.S., FT-IR ,UV-Vis and 1H-13CNMR spectra, some transition metals complex of this ligand were prepared and characterized by FT-IR, UV-Vis spectra, conductivity measurements, magnetic susceptibility and atomic absorption. From the obtained results the molecular formula of all prepared complexes were [M(AAD)2(H2O)2]Cl2 (M+2 = Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd and Hg),the proposed geometrical structure for all complexes were octahedral.
Tight oil reservoirs have been a concerned of the oil industry due to their substantial influence on oil production. Due to their poor permeability, numerous problems are encountered while producing from tight reservoirs. Petrophysical and geomechanical rock properties are essential for understanding and assessing the fracability of reservoirs, especially tight reservoirs, to enhance permeability. In this study, Saadi B reservoir in Halfaya Iraqi oil field is considered as the main tight reservoir. Petrophysical and geomechanical properties have been estimated using full-set well logs for a vertical well that penetrates Saadi reservoir and validated with support of diagnostic fracture injection test data employing standard equations
... Show MorePolyimide/MWCNTs nanocomposites have been fabricated by solution mixing process. In the present study, we have investigated electrical conductivity and dielectric properties of PI/MWCNT nanocomposites in frequency range of 1 kHz to 100 kHz at different MWCNTs concentrations from 0 wt.% to 15 wt.%. It has been observed that the electrical conductivity and dielectric constants are enhanced significantly by several orders of magnitude up to 15 wt.% of MWCNTs content. The electrical conductivity increases as the frequency is increased, which can be attributed to high dislocation density near the interface. The rapid increase in the dielectric constant at a high MWCNTs content can be explained by the form
There are no single materials which can withstand all the extreme operating conditions in modern technology. Protection of the metals from hostile environments has therefore become a technical and economic necessity.
In this work, for enhancing their wear-resistance, boride layers were deposited on the surface of low carbon steel by a pack cementation method at 850 °C for (2, 4, and 6) h using vacuum furnace. The boronizing process was achieved using different concentration of boron source (20, 25, and 30) % wt. into coating mixture to optimize the best conditions which ensure the higher properties with lower time. The coating was characteristic by X ray diffraction (XRD), and it is confirmed t
... Show MoreThe need for wireless sensing technology has rapidly increased recently, specifically the usage of electromagnetic waves which becoming more required as a source of information. Silicon carbide (SiC) Nano particles has been used in this study, the material under test (MUT) was exposed directly to a microwave field to examine the electromagnetic behavior. The permittivity and permeability were investigated with different filler materials to approach best and optimal electromagnetic absorbing characteristics to assist engineers to monitor structure-based composite for defects evaluation that may occur during operation conditions or through manufacturing process. XRD, FESEM and both complex permittivity and permeability were measured f
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