Sharif Digital Repository

In this study ethanol was produced without using expensive commercial enzymes from sugarcane bagasse. Alkali pretreatment was used to prepare biomass before enzymatic hydrolysis. The comparison between NaOH, KOH and Ca(OH)2 revealed that NaOH has been more effective on bagasse structure. The required enzymes for biomass hydrolysis were produced by bagasse solid state fermentation using three fungi: Trichoderma longibrachiatum, T. reesei and Aspergillus niger. Results indicated enzyme solution produced by A. niger has functioned better than the other two in cellulose conversion during sole hydrolysis. Ethanol was produced by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) with on-site... 

An experimental study was conducted on the desulfurization of non-hydrotreated kerosene with oxidation followed by liquid-liquid extraction. Various types of solvents including acetonitrile, methanol, and ethanol have been examined in the extraction of oxidized sulfur-containing compounds of kerosene. The performance of these solvents has been carefully examined and compared. It was found that their performance follows the order: acetonitrile > methanol > ethanol. The effects of number of extraction stages and solvent to kerosene ratio on the desulfurization and recovery of kerosene have been investigated. The experimental results show that for all three solvents, solvent/kerosene ratio and... 

The solvatochromic parameters (ETN, normalized polarity parameter; π*, dipolarity/polarizability; β, hydrogen-bond acceptor basicity; α, hydrogen-bond donor acidity) were determined for binary solvent mixtures of 1-(1-butyl)-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([bmim]BF4) with water, methanol, and ethanol at 25°C over the whole range of mole fractions. In nonaqueous solutions, the ETN value of the mixture increases with mole the fraction of [bmim]BF4 and then decreases gradually to the value of pure [bmim]BF4. Positive deviation from ideal behavior was observed for the solvent parameters ETN, π*, and α, whereas the deviation of the β parameter is negative. The applicability of the combined... 

The alcoholic suspensions of titania nano-particles were prepared using the methanol, ethanol, isopropanol and butanol as the solvents as well as triethanolamine (TEA) as an dispersant. The colloidal stability of suspensions, both in the absence as well as presence of TEA, was studied by measuring the zeta potential, sedimentation, pH and electrical conductivity of suspensions, dispersant adsorption and particles size distribution. Results showed that in the absence of TEA, the stability of the suspensions increases with the molecular size of alcohol (from methanol to butanol), while the zeta potential decreases. It was also observed that with the addition of TEA up to the optimum dosage (4... 

Bioactive glass is coated on implant's surface to improve corrosion resistance and osseointegration, when placed in the body. Bioactive glass particles were synthesized through a sol-gel process and deposited along with chitosan to form a composite coating on a stainless steel substrate using electrophoretic deposition technique. Stable suspensions of chitosan-bioactive glass were prepared using bioactive glass particles (<1 μm) and 0.5 g/l chitosan solution. The influence of ethanol-water ratio on deposition yield was investigated. For all process conditions, best results were achieved with suspension of 30 vol% water in ethanol-water containing 2 g/l bioactive glass. FTIR studies showed... 

A steady-state equilibrium-stage model based on MESH equations was proposed to simulate saline extractive distillation columns. The interaction parameters between each component of water-CaCl 2 and ethanol-water were obtained from mean ionic activity coefficients and vapor-liquid equilibrium (VLE) experimental data. Additionally, the interaction coefficients for the ethanol-CaCl 2 pair were fitted to experimental VLE data which were reported by Nishi for the ethanol-water-CaCl 2 system. It should be noted that adjustable parameters between each pair were considered to be temperature dependent. The results confirmed that the proposed model could accurately predict the experimental... 

Biofuels are important alternative fuel in recent years. In this work, the bioethanol supply chain planning is performed by BioEnergy Supply Model to optimally find the best pathways using economic and environmental objective functions in Iran. Then, different sustainability criteria focusing on environmental, economic, and social concerns are assessed for possible routes of the bioethanol production from available resources. Although agriculture residues and wastes, decrease the greenhouse gas emissions but municipal solid wastes are more economic and require less water. The agricultural wastes and residues improve the sustainability. Then, criteria focusing on environmental, economic, and... 

The main goal of this research is to use the biomass productivity, carbohydrate content, and carbohydrate productivity as useful responses for optimization of macronutrients concentrations (K2HPO4, NaHCO3, and NaNO3) in cultivation of Spirulina microalgae as a feedstock for bioethanol production. In this study, individual and synergistic effects of medium components on the mentioned responses were investigated. The culture medium was optimized using central composite design for achieving the maximize biomass productivity (165 mg L−1 day−1 at K2HPO4: 438 mg L−1, NaHCO3: 15.92 g L−1, and NaNO3: 0.5 g L−1), carbohydrate content (42.0% of dry mass at K2HPO4: 192 mg L−1, NaHCO3: 5.71 g L−1, and... 

BACKGROUND: Hybrid distillation–membrane setups have attracted attention in recent years due to their lower energy usage for ethanol purification. Membrane separation processes operate without heating that reduces energy demand. However, it is somewhat challenging to select the optimal material and process for a membrane purifying ethanol, especially to get an ethanol purity of 99.99% with maximum recovery. RESULTS: In this study, three different configurations of hybrid distillation–membrane setups are proposed consisting of distillation–pervaporation/vapor permeation processes by considering ceramic, polymeric and composite membranes. The design of hybrid processes is performed by coupling... 

In this work, we present the design and fabrication of a novel nanocomposite based on noble metal and metal oxide nanoparticles dispersed on highly porous carbon obtained via the pyrolysis of an inorganic complex and metal-organic frameworks. This nanocomposite is prepared by a two-step procedure: first, the composite support of nanoporous carbon (NPC) is obtained by the direct carbonization of the Cr-benzene dicarboxylic ligand (BDC) MOF in an Argon atmosphere at 500 °C (Cr2O3-NPC). A mixture containing Cr2O3-NPC and [PtCl(SnCl3)(SMe2)2] is then prepared, and underflow of Argon is heated to 380 °C. Finally, Pt-SnO2 nanoparticles are loaded on the Cr2O3-NPC support, and the obtained... 

CdS nanocrystals were thermochemically (thermally activated) synthesized thorough the reaction between CdSO4 and Na2S 2O3 in an aqueous solution. Thioglycolic Acid (TGA) was used as the capping agent and catalyst of the reaction. The method was based on heat activated dissociation of Na2S2O3 and controllable release of S and free electrons in the solution. CdS NCs were formed by heating the sample solution at 96 C for 1 h. The results of optical spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy demonstrated round shape NCs with sizes about 3.0 nm. The nanocrystals were also luminescent and represented a broad emission with a peak located at 515 nm and FWHM of 160 nm. Several samples were... 

Zirconia/Hydroxyapatite composites containing 20-50 wt.% 8YSZ were prepared on Ti/TiO2 substrates by electrophoretic deposition (EPD)/micro-arc oxidation (MAO) process. Titania, as an inner layer, was grown on the Ti plates using MAO treatment in order to form a strong join between substrate and HAp. These composites were produced by EPD in ethanol containing ZrO2/HAp particles at 50, 100 and 150 V in 1 min. Asprepared samples were sintered at 900, 1100 and 1300 °C. HAp, β-TCP, CaZrO3 phases were identified using X-ray diffractometry analysis (XRD). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) utilized to study the surface morphology indicated a crack free microstructure at 1300 °C  

Electro-oxidation of alcohols (methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol and 2-propanol) on nickel dispersed into a thick layer of poly-o-aminophenol on graphite electrode (GE/POAP-SDS/Ni) was investigated. Ni-doping into the polymeric film was achieved chemically followed by enrichment of Ni(III) through cycling the potential. The electro-oxidation of alcohols on GE/POAP-SDS/Ni were found to be dominated by direct electro-oxidation with some contribution from Ni(II)/Ni(III) couple. Rate constants for the electro-oxidation of methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol and 2-propanol as derived by chronoamperometry were 1.65 × 105, 1.31 × 105, 2.53 × 104 and 1.40 × 104 cm3 mol-1 s-1, respectively. Impedance... 

A simple gelating process is developed for the conventional acetonitrile-based electrolyte of dye solar cells, based on ethyl cellulose as the gelator. The electrolyte becomes quasi-solid-state upon addition of an ethanolic solution of ethyl cellulose to the conventional acetonitrile-based liquid electrolyte. The photovoltaic conversion efficiency with the new gel electrolyte is only slightly lower than with the liquid electrolyte, e.g., 6.5 % for liquid electrolyte versus 5.9 % for gel electrolyte with 5.8 wt% added ethyl cellulose. Electrolyte gelation has small effect on the ionic diffusion coefficient of iodide, and the devices are remarkably stable for at least 550 h under irradiation... 

The electrodeposition of Zn-SiO2 nanocomposites has been investigated with different electrolytes: triethanolamine as a dispersing agent, and cetyl trimethylammonium bromide and dodecyl dimethylamine oxide as ionic (cationic) and non-ionic surfactants. Appropriate electrophoretic potentials for each solution were obtained using cyclic voltammetry. The results show that the most stable SiO2 nanoparticles with zeta potential range of 25 to 41 mV, along with highest SiO2 mobility of 0.4 to 0.7 m2/V.s were dispersed by triethanolamine in ethanol and the resulting coating adhesion improved up to 5.87 MPa in the standard pull off test, with the enhanced hardness of... 

The extraction and purification of lipids from the microalgae Chlorella vulgaris have been investigated. First, a mixture of hexane and ethanol was used to extract lipids from the algal biomass. Ultrasonication was employed to disrupt the cell wall and increase the extraction performance. Under these conditions, over 90% of the fatty acids in the biomass were extracted. Second, a biphasic system was formed by adding water and hexane to the extracted crude oil. In this way, fatty acids were mainly distributed in the organic phase (mostly hexane and ethanol) while most of the contaminants remained in the aqueous phase (mostly water and ethanol). Equilibrium distribution data between the phases...