Carbon capture and storage (CCS) involves capturing, transporting and storing CO2 geologically underground 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 costly. As an alternative, CO2 emission can be cost-effectively captured and stored by utilizing the well-understood natural photosynthetic process of marine cyanobacteria. In contrast, the capturing process using cyanobacteria is very slow compared to the chemical absorption mentioned prior. Hence, this study aimed to investigate carbon capturing and storing process using integrated aqueous ammonia and mutated marine cyanobacteria (Synechococcus PCC 7002 IIUM01). The conditions that can maximize CO2 reduction under various conditions; CO2 flow rate (Lpm), absorption temperature (C) and aqueous ammonia concentrations (% (w/v)) were to be identified. The effectiveness of the mutant cyanobacteria was quantified by measuring the cell concentration, percentage reduction in CO2 concentration and lipid content. Synechococcus PCC 7002 IIUM01 showed it robustness by growing in aqueous ammonia solution at the concentration of 0.5 to 1% (w/v) at which the parent strain was not able to tolerate. The best conditions in maximizing CO2 capture and storage while sustaining growth optimally and being a potential biofuel source was observed at 0.5 Lpm of 15% CO2 gas flow rate, 0.75% (w/v) of ammonia concentration and 33C of absorption temperature. At this specified condition, around 68% of CO2 removal was achieved with 9% (w/w) yield of lipid and more than 13% (w/v) of cell concentration obtained.
Curcuma longa L. uses widely as a traditional medicine especially in India and China for the treatment of diabetic wounds, inflammatory, hepatic, and digestive disorders. These effects lead to the research of this plant for the treatment of chronic diseases. To assess the tumour inhibition effect of curcumin in animal models by integrating various studies into a systematic literature review (SLR) and meta-analysis. Studies of curcumin treatment in tumor-induced animal models were searched in electronic databases. The assessment of the quality of the studies included and the tumor inhibition effect used SYRCLE’s Risk of Bias tool and Review Manager (The Cochrane Collaboration) software. From the 732 articles identified, only 11 studies met the selection criteria and included in the analysis. Curcumin significantly inhibited the tumor volume in the animal models in overall, and the subgroup analyses revealed that high dose, long-duration curcumin treatment, and intervention by injection have a more significant effect compared to the opposite group. Curcumin was effective in inhibiting tumor volume in animal models. The study quality and heterogeneity of the meta-analysis can probably be improved if a larger-scale bases of animal models and a well-designed study were available
Green chemical method was applied to synthesize nanoparticles using recombinant
bromelain. Among the numerous applications of recombinant bromelain, there is still no research
on nanoparticles synthesis which encourages its utilization in this study. Four chemicals which are
copper (II) chloride dihydrate (CuCl2.2H2O), cerium nitrate hexahydrate (Ce(NO3)3.6H2O), sodium
selenite (Na2SeO3), and iron (III) chloride hexahydrate (FeCl3.6H2O) were selected to be screened
for the suitability in nanoparticles biosynthesis by recombinant bromelain. The nanoparticles
formed were characterized by using UV-visible absorption spectra. The biosynthesis process then
was optimized by varying the centrifugation speed, temperature, and time to get the maximum
absorption and weight of nanoparticles through central composite design (CCD) tool. Only
CuCl2.2H2O showed a positive result for the screening process which was represented by the
formation of colloidal solution and a maximum absorption at 580 nm. Thus, optimization was
carried out for this chemical. Based on the optimization model, maximum absorption and weight
were predicted at 67.5°C, 2 hrs, and 9,600 rpm. These optimal conditions were validated by
repeating the biosynthesis process. The absorption and weight of the nanoparticles depended on the
reaction of the chemical with recombinant bromelain. 3D plots showed that the optimal condition
for high responses mostly depends on temperature and time.
Citric acid (CA) has a high demand due to its various uses in the food and pharmaceutical industries. However, the natural supply of CA is minimal compared to its growing industrial demand. The increasing demand for CA can be fulfilled by using biotechnological processes. This study utilized liquid state bioconversion by Aspergillus niger for CA production using sugarcane molasses as the primary substrate. Sugarcane molasses which is agricultural waste consists of significant proportion of organic matters such as lipids and carbohydrates. This makes sugarcane molasses as a potential and alternative source of producing CA at a lower cost. In this study, statistical optimization was applied to improve CA production using submerged fermentation in shake flasks. Aspergillus niger was cultured in potato dextrose agar. Then, inoculum spores were introduced into the fermentation media for a specific duration according to the experimental design from Central Composite Design (CCD) tool under Response Surface Methodology (RSM) in Design Expert 6.0 software. Three parameters were chosen to be optimized at 32⁰C i.e.agitation rate (160, 80, 200 rpm), substrate concentration (47, 60, 73%) and fermentation time (24, 72, 120 h). High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR) analyses were conducted to measure CA yield. The optimization study showed that the media incubated for 72 hours with a substrate concentration of 60% and an agitation speed of 180 rpm produced the highest CA yield(21.2 g/L).The analysis of variance (ANOVA) also showed that CCD quadratic model was significant with P-value< 0.0104 and R2is0.8964.
Boron has been classified as a drinking water pollutant in many countries. It is harmful to many plants, exceptionally sensible plants, and human health. Therefore, boron level needs to be decreased to 0.3 mg/L for drinking water and within 0.5 mg/L to 1 mg/L for irrigation water. In this study, various operational parameters namely pH, contact time and liquid/solid ratio were investigated to determine the potential of using date seed (or date pit or date stone) to remove boron from seawater. This study's main objective 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 analyzed by using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The results showed that acid-treated date seed was the best biosorbent in terms of removing 89.18% boron from aqueous solution at neutral pH, liquid to solid ratio of 5 within 2 hours of reaction time at room temperature (25°C±2°C).
: Studies on bacterial growth pattern from the conventional approach are defective due
to their failure to explain the interactions or simply the complementary effects of the factors
influencing the bacterial growth. In this study, the individual and collaborative effects of
Pseudomonas putida growth variables were evaluated using a 2-level fractional factorial design of
experiment (FFDOE). The growth of the organism was found to respond remarkably to different
concentrations of nutrient media (carbon source) and the other independent variables. Factorial
models were developed from the experimental design to study the individual and interactive effects
of the studied parameters on the response. The studied parameters and their levels were as follows:
nutrient concentration (4-16 g/L), acclimatization time (24-72 hrs), agitation (140-200 rpm), and
temperature (30-40oC). These parameters were statistically validated using analysis of variance
(ANOVA) and the results revealed that the model terms were statistically significant with an Fvalue of 415.17 at P temperature > nutrient concentration versus temperature >
agitation > nutrient concentration versus agitation. Based on the R
2
and the adjusted R
2
values of
>95%, the estimated variables showed a high degree of relationship between the observed and the
predicted values; thus, the predictive ability of the models was suggested. It could, therefore, be
concluded that nutrient concentration, temperature, and agitation can greatly influence the growth
of P. putida within a specific range.
Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) is a very important food additive as well as for its therapeutic and cosmetic potential. The composition of essential oils in plants is affected by genetics and environmental conditions, which is determined by growth region and harvesting time in terms of ontogenetical variability. This study was carried out to assess the effect of plant ontogeny (pre-flowering, at flowering, fruiting) on essential oil content and chemical constituents for four sweet basil cultivated under irrigation conditions in the experimental farm of the National Oilseed Processing Research Institute (NOPRI), University of Gezira, Sudan. The essential oils were hydro-distilled from the leaves using Clevenger apparatus and the chemical constituents were determined by GC-MS. The results reveal that the essential oil yield content ranged from 0.1% to 0.2% at pre-flowering stage, whereas the oil content obtained at post-flowering stage was 0.1% for the investigated accessions. The highest essential oil content was recorded at flowering stage (0.2-0.5%), where the two Sudanese accessions had the maximum content (0.5%). The major chemical constituents, linalool, citral, methyleugenol, and eucalyptol reported at different developmental stages, punctuated between 5.73% and 32.93% in the four investigated accessions.