Simple Pretreatment Process Research Articles

Nanoarchitectonics of self-supporting porous carbon electrode with heteroatoms co-doped: For high-performance supercapacitors

Wood possesses a uniform hierarchical porous structure and high mechanical strength, rendering it an excellent precursor for the preparation of self-supporting carbon electrodes without binders and conductive agents. This paper presents an efficient method for synthesizing a self-supporting carbon electrode (HCW-0.7) with high specific surface area, hierarchical pore structure and abundant surface functional groups, utilizing simple hydrothermal pre-treatment and one-step thermochemical conversion process. The HCW-0.7 electrode demonstrates remarkable electrochemical performance, achieving an excellent specific capacitance of 298.52 F g−1 under a current density of 0.5 A g−1. The wood-based symmetrical supercapacitor (HSC) constructed with HCW-0.7 as the electrode has excellent energy density, power density and rate performance. At the power density of 287.5 W kg−1, HSC demonstrates an energy density of 9.43 Wh kg−1, exhibits its excellent electrochemical performance. Notably, even when subject to a higher power density of 5750 W kg−1, the energy density remains at 5.16 Wh kg−1. Furthermore, even after 20,000 charge and discharge cycles, HSC demonstrates a remarkable capacity retention rate of 96.24 %.

JUJUNCAO-Stem-Based Interfacial Solar-Driven Evaporator with Natural Two-Phase Composite Structures of Functional Partition and Inherent Ultralow Vaporization Enthalpy of Water for Stable and Efficient Steam Production.

The interfacial solar-driven evaporation has been deemed as an environmentally friendly approach for freshwater generation. Nevertheless, there is still a challenge to obtain solar evaporators with efficient vapor production from low-cost and renewable biomass through a simple preparation process. Herein, the JUJUNCAO stem was selected as the substrate material, and a kind of interfacial solar-driven evaporator with natural two-phase composite structures and inherent ultralow water vaporization enthalpy was constructed by a dip-coating process. The natural two-phase composite structures were utilized as independent functional partition: the low-tortuosity and hydrophilic vascular bundles served as hierarchical channels for rapid water transportation and continuous steam escape, and the honeycomb-like parenchyma cells were considered natural heat insulators for effective thermal management. Furthermore, the JUJUNCAO stem exhibited inherent ultralow water vaporization enthalpy which was only 1.15 kJ g-1. Benefiting from the natural two-phase composite structures of functional partition and inherent ultralow water vaporization enthalpy, the C-Js evaporator could achieve an evaporation rate of 2.77 kg m-2 h-1 with an efficiency of 85.6% under 1 sun illumination. Meanwhile, the C-Js exhibited a stable and ideal evaporation performance and metal ion rejection behavior in the actual brine desalination process. Owing to the cost-effective and simple pretreatment process, the C-Js evaporator has the potential for freshwater generation in undeveloped areas.

Improving the practicality of recombinant Escherichia coli biosensor in detecting trace Cr(VI) by modifying the cryogenic storage conditions of biosensors and applying simple pretreatment

Hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) is a global environmental pollutant. To reduce the risk caused by Cr(VI), a simple, accurate, reproducible, and inexpensive method for quantifying Cr(VI) in water and soil should be developed. In this study, three types of recombinant Escherichia coli biosensors (namely T7-lux-E. coli, T3-lux-E. coli, and SP6-lux-E. coli biosensor) containing promoters (T7, T3, and SP6), chromate-sensing regulator chrB, and the reporter gene luxAB were constructed. This study investigated the effects of cryogenic freezing temperature and time on trace Cr(VI) measurement by using recombinant E. coli biosensors. The results indicated that the activity of thawed frozen SP6-lux-E. coli cells stored at −20 °C for 270 days did not differ from that of freshly prepared cells. Turbidity and conductivity in water samples and organic matter in soil interfered with Cr(VI) measurement using the biosensor. The SP6-lux-E. coli biosensor exhibited a wide measurement range and a low deviation of <5% for measuring Cr(VI) in various Cr(VI)-contaminated water and soil samples and required only a simple pretreatment or extraction process even after 270-day storage at −20 °C. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to report the use of recombinant biosensors for accurately measuring Cr(VI) in both water and soil.

A three-dimensional gold nanoparticles spherical liquid array for SERS sensitive detection of pesticide residues in apple

High-performance plasmonic substrates have recently attracted much research attention. Herein, a three-dimensional gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) spherical liquid array (SLA) with high “hot spots” and tunable nanometer gap by optimizing the proportion of AuNPs colloids over chloroform was synthesized based on a water–oil interfacial self-assembly strategy. The substrate demonstrated excellent surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) performance using tetrathiafulvalene and rhodamine 6G (R6G) as probe molecules. With a simple extraction and soaking pretreatment process, the SLA exhibited high sensitivity for analysing triazophos on apple peels, with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.005 µg/mL and recovery ranging from 96 to 110 %. Particularly, the chloroform produced an inherent characteristic peak at 665 cm−1, which was used as the internal standard to correct SERS signal fluctuation, leading to an improvement of the corresponding coefficient R2 from 0.97 to 0.99, thus improving the reproducibility. Therefore the SLA substrate possesses the potential for quantitative analysis of food contaminants.

Rapid Determination of Bucinnazine in Blood by UPLC-MS/MS.

To establish a rapid method for the analysis of bucinnazine in blood by UPLC-MS/MS and to apply the method to the practical case. After the internal standard was added to blood, the protein was precipitated with 900 μL mixed solution (Vacetonitrile∶Vwater=8∶2). After vortex and centrifugation, the protein was measured through 0.22 μm filter membrane. The separation was performed on C18 chromatography column, with acetonitrile and 5 mmol/L ammonium acetate containing 0.1% formic acid aqueous as mobile phase gradient elution at the flow rate of 0.4 mL/min. Multiple reaction monitoring scan was performed in electrospray positive ion mode, quantitative measurement was performed by internal standard method, and methodological verification was carried out. The linear relationship of bucinnazine in blood was good in the range of 0.5-200 μg/L, the correlation coefficient (r) was 0.999 7, the limit of detection was 0.1 μg/L, the limit of quantitation was 0.5 μg/L, and the recovery was 78.3%-83.8% at 1, 10 and 100 μg/L mass concentration levels. The matrix effect was 69.4%-73.8%, the intra-day precision was 1.9%-2.8%, and the inter-day precision was 2.8%-3.2%, the accuracy was 3.1%-3.5%. The stability test results of 1 and 100 μg/L mass concentrations at -25 ℃ showed that the accuracy (bias) of 10 d was less than 4.5%. This method has the advantages of simple pre-treatment process, fast sample processing speed, high sensitivity of instrument analysis, good stability of content determination and reliable identification results, and can meet the needs of case identification.

Quantification of cow milk in adulterated goat milk by HPLC-MS/MS using N-acetylglucosamine as a reliable biomarker of cow milk

This study aimed to develop a non-protein-based method for quantify cow milk in adulterated goat milk. The raw cow milk and raw goat milk samples were mixed separately with the same volume of cold acetone and centrifuged to remove their proteins. The supernatants were evaporated, and the residues were derivatized by silylation followed by GC-MS analysis. N-acetylglucosamine was identified as a thermostable non-protein biomarker of cow milk. Its concentration in the raw cow milk (146.7 mg/L) was 32 times higher than that in the raw goat milk. On this basis, a HPLC-MS/MS method using positive-ion electrospray ionization in parallel reaction monitoring mode was developed for quantifying cow milk in adulterated goat milk by determining peak area of the biomarker. The method showed good linearity over cow milk concentrations of 1–100% and could detect as low as 0.3% cow milk in adulterated goat milk. Besides, the method was characterized by a simple sample pretreatment process, rapid detection, high accuracy, and high precision. With this method, a sample could be analyzed in 10 min. The present study demonstrated the feasibility of quantifying cow milk in adulterated goat milk using N-acetylglucosamine as a biomarker of cow milk.

Rapid Detection of Volatile Organic Metabolites in Urine by High-Pressure Photoionization Mass Spectrometry for Breast Cancer Screening: A Pilot Study.

Despite surpassing lung cancer as the most frequently diagnosed cancer, female breast cancer (BC) still lacks rapid detection methods for screening that can be implemented on a large scale in practical clinical settings. However, urine is a readily available biofluid obtained non-invasively and contains numerous volatile organic metabolites (VOMs) that offer valuable metabolic information concerning the onset and progression of diseases. In this work, a rapid method for analysis of VOMs in urine by using high-pressure photon ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPPI-TOFMS) coupled with dynamic purge injection. A simple pretreatment process of urine samples by adding acid and salt was employed for efficient VOM sampling, and the numbers of metabolites increased and the detection sensitivity was improved after the acid (HCl) and salt (NaCl) addition. The established mass spectrometry detection method was applied to analyze a set of training samples collected from a local hospital, including 24 breast cancer patients and 27 healthy controls. Statistical analysis techniques such as principal component analysis, partial least squares discriminant analysis, and the Mann-Whitney U test were used, and nine VOMs were identified as differential metabolites. Finally, acrolein, 2-pentanone, and methyl allyl sulfide were selected to build a metabolite combination model for distinguishing breast cancer patients from the healthy group, and the achieved sensitivity and specificity were 92.6% and 91.7%, respectively, according to the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. The results demonstrate that this technology has potential to become a rapid screening tool for breast cancer, with significant room for further development.

Improving polishing efficiency of RB-SiC through femtosecond laser pretreatment

It is a great technical challenge to precisely and efficiently polish RB-SiC substrates due to their two-phase structure and extreme hardness, especially for large-optics fabrication. Here, a simple laser pretreatment process is demonstrated for improving the polishing efficiency using femtosecond laser to modify the RB-SiC surface pre-coated with silicon powder. Material characterization and finite-element analyses reveal that the pre-coated surface is oxidized under femtosecond laser irradiation. As oxidation gradually penetrates deeper into the interface, the modified layer forms a bonding with the RB-SiC substrate. By optimizing laser scanning parameters to adjust the oxidation depth, a high-quality modified layer with stronger adhesion strength can be obtained. The approach is capable of delivering a modified layer that is easier to polish and tightly bonded to the RB-SiC substrate with an adhesion strength of 55.46 N. Thanks to the femtosecond laser modification, the surface roughness of the pretreated RB-SiC can be reduced to Sq 4.5 nm in just a few hours of polishing, which increases polishing efficiency over 3 times compared with direct abrasive polishing. Low requirements for substrate surface profile and simple operation make this laser pretreatment approach possible to be applied to more complex RB-SiC surfaces and significantly improve polishing efficiency.

Simultaneous determination of triclosan，triclocarban and p-chloro-m-xylenol in disinfectant，personal care products and oiltment by nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis

Triclosan （TCS）， triclocarban （TCC）， and p-chloro-m-xylenol （PCMX） are some of the most widely used antibiotics because of their broad-spectrum and highly-efficient bactericidal effects. In the context of disinfection， the National Standard GB 38598-2020 stipulates that the contents of the effective ingredients present in a disinfectant must be specified， wherein their range must fall within 90%-110% of the specified central value. To ensure a suitable product quality， analysis by high performance liquid chromatography （HPLC） is recommended by both the GB/T 27947-2020 and GB/T 34856-2017. However， the results analyzed according to the National Standard method often exceed the declared contents， thereby indicating the necessity to establish a new method based on a completely different principle （e. g.， capillary electrophoresis）， especially since it was not possible to analyze TCS， TCC， and PCMX in a single injection using the National Standard method. Moreover， using this method， large amounts of methanol were consumed， which could be potentially harmful to both operators and the environment. In terms of their water solubilities， this decreases in the order of PCMX>TCS>TCC， wherein TCC is insoluble in water. As such， the use of nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis （NACE） based on running buffer solutions prepared in pure organic solvents （e. g.， methanol or acetonitrile） is necessary. In this paper， a new NACE approach combined with an ultraviolet detection method was developed for the simultaneous analysis of TCS， TCC， and PCMX in disinfectants， personal care products， and ointments. For this purpose， an uncoated fused silica capillary （20 cm×50 μm， total length=30.2 cm） was used as the separation column with a separation buffer composed of 14 mmol/L sodium borate， 2 g/L polyethylene glycol （PEG） 20000， and 0.5 mmol/L dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide （DTAB） in methanol. Following optimization of the separation parameters， the complete and simultaneous separation of TCS， TCC， and PCMX was achieved when the sample solution was prepared using 5 g/L PEG 20000 in methanol-acetonitrile （50∶50， v/v）. It was possible to directly inject the sample into the analysis system after a simple dilution with the sample medium， and no interference was observed in any of the sample electropherograms when a separation voltage and detection wavelength of -12 kV and 214 nm were employed， respectively. Furthermore， TCS， TCC， and PCMX showed good linear relationships with their corrected peak areas within a mass concentration range of 1-100 mg/L， and the correlation coefficients （r） were all greater than 0.99. Moreover， the limits of detection （LODs， S/N=3） and limits of quantification （LOQs， S/N=10） were determined to be 0.2 and 1 mg/L， respectively. The spiked recoveries ranged from 94.5% to 104.4% with relative standard deviations of ≤4.8% in all cases. Subsequently， the established method was used to analyze 31 commercial samples， including hand sanitizer， disinfectant， baby powder， and antibacterial cream. A comparative analysis of HPLC， the developed NACE method， and our previously reported micellar electrokinetic chromatographic （MEKC） method was also carried out for the quantitative determination of TCS， TCC， and PCMX. Although no statistically significant differences were observed among the three methods， the results determined for 16 out of the 31 samples did not match the claimed contents. These results therefore indicate the necessity to further control the compositions of disinfectant products. Our results indicate that the newly established NACE method can be an important alternative to HPLC for routine laboratory analyses， especially considering that it minimizes waste generation， requires only a simple sample pretreatment process， and exhibits a good selectivity to the target compounds. It is therefore hoped that the NACE method will be incorporated into the National Standard method in the near future.

Development of analytical methods for the determination of 3-hydroxy fatty acids and muramic acid as bacterial markers in airborne particles and settled dust

Inhalation of airborne bacteria in indoor environments is known to be associated with respiratory diseases. Analytical methods for the determination of 3-hydroxy fatty acids (3-OHFAs) and muramic acid (MA) as chemical markers of gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria, respectively, were developed for airborne particle and dust samples in this study. 3-OHFAs as markers of endotoxin were released and esterified during the hydrolysis process under methanolic acid conditions, and their hydrolysates, i.e., 3-OHFA methyl esters, were cleaned up by solid-phase extraction using silica sorbent that provided more effective separation from interferents than polymeric sorbent through elution pattern. The SPE eluent was analyzed by GC-MS/MS measurement after the trimethylsilylation reaction. The recovery of the method ranged from 82.1 % to 103.2 %, with a limit of detection ranging from 0.5 to 1.1 ng/filter and good linearity (R2 > 0.991). For the analysis of MA, muramic acid methyl ester (MAME), a product formed during methanolic hydrolysis, was selected as a specific marker of peptidoglycan. It was the first proposed compound identified and confirmed with MS and MS/MS spectra using high-resolution measurement. In particular, the measurement of MAME providing 12.5 times greater sensitivity than MA with the application of the LC-MS/MS method is one of the notable findings of this study. The recovery by simple liquid extraction was 99.4 % following the removal of the hydrophobic matrix and neutralization with solvent reconstruction. The method displayed a LOD of 0.7 ng/filter and linearity (R2) of 0.997 through a simple pretreatment process. Both developed methods were applied and evaluated by determining 3-OHFAs and MA in airborne particles collected from multipurpose facilities and settled dust in the laboratory and office.

Superhydrophobic 3D-Assembled Metallic Nanoparticles for Trace Chemical Enrichment in SERS Sensing.

The performance of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is determined by the interaction between highly diluted analytes and boosted localized electromagnetic fields in nanovolumes. Although superhydrophobic surfaces are developed for analyte enrichment, i.e., to concentrate and transfer analytes toward a specific position, it is still challenging to realize reproducible, uniform, and sensitive superhydrophobic SERS substrates over large scales, representing a major barrier for practical sensing applications. To overcome this challenge, a superhydrophobic SERS chip that combines 3D-assembled gold nanoparticles on nanoporous substrates is proposed, for a strong localized field, with superhydrophobic surface treatment for analyte enrichment. Intriguingly, by concentrating droplets in the volume of 40µL, the sensitivity of 1nm is demonstrated using 1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)-ethylene molecules. In addition, this unique chip demonstrates a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 2.2% in chip-to-chip reproducibility for detection of fentanyl at 1µgmL-1 concentration, revealing its potential for quantitative sensing of chemicals and drugs. Furthermore, the trace analysis of fentanyl and fentanyl-heroin mixture in human saliva is realized after a simple pretreatment process. This superhydrophobic chip paves the way toward on-site and real-time drug sensing to tackle many societal issues like drug abuse and the opioid crisis.

Determination of Acetamiprid Residues in Vegetables by Indirect Competitive Chemiluminescence Enzyme Immunoassay.

Acetamiprid (ACE) is widely used in various vegetables to control pests, resulting in residues and posing a threat to human health. For the rapid detection of ACE residues in vegetables, an indirect competitive chemiluminescence enzyme immunoassay (ic-CLEIA) was established. The optimized experimental parameters were as follows: the concentrations of coating antigen (ACE-BSA) and anti-ACE monoclonal antibody were 0.4 and 0.6 µg/mL, respectively; the pre-incubation time of anti-ACE monoclonal antibody and ACE (sample) solution was 30 min; the dilution ratio of goat anti-mouse-HRP antibody was 1:2500; and the reaction time of chemiluminescence was 20 min. The half-maximum inhibition concentration (IC50), the detection range (IC10–IC90), and the detection limit (LOD, IC10) of the ic-CLEIA were 10.24, 0.70–96.31, and 0.70 ng/mL, respectively. The cross-reactivity rates of four neonicotinoid structural analogues (nitenpyram, thiacloprid, thiamethoxam, and clothianidin) were all less than 10%, showing good specificity. The average recovery rates in Chinese cabbage and cucumber were 82.7–112.2%, with the coefficient of variation (CV) lower than 9.19%, which was highly correlated with the results of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The established ic-CLEIA has the advantages of simple pretreatment and detection process, good sensitivity and accuracy, and can meet the needs of rapid screening of ACE residues in vegetables.

All-Solid-State Potassium Polymer Batteries Enabled by the Effective Pretreatment of Potassium Metal

K metal disk electrodes, prepared by putting a chunk of K metal in a 1,2-dimethoxyethane (DME) solution containing potassium bis(fluorosulfonyl)amide (KFSA) and 1,3,2-dioxathiolane 2,2-dioxide (DTD), exhibited suppressed polarization and interfacial resistance in continuous metal stripping–deposition reactions of a symmetric half-cell comprising a cross-linked polymer electrolyte. This simple and effective pretreatment process enhances passivation layer formation, enabling fabrication of the first 3 V-class all-solid-state K-ion battery operated at room temperature.

Laser-textured High-throughput Hydrophobic/Superhydrophobic SERS platform for fish drugs residue detection

Surface-enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) possesses unique advantages including convenient operation, label free, simple pretreatment process, non-destructive inspection and reliable test results. Aimed at practical applications, the SERS substrates need comprehensive properties in low-cost, rapid detection, high sensitivity, uniformity, stability and universality. Facile fabrication such as laser ablation and high-throughput detection can greatly reduce the cost and improve the detection efficiency. Meanwhile, superhydrophobic surfaces can increase the sensitivity and uniformity via evaporation enrichment. Herein, we report a patterned hydrophobic/superhydrophobic SERS platform, achieving the detection of 10-14mol/L Rhodamine 6G with an effect factor up to 2.1 × 1011 and high-throughput detection for at least nine different samples simultaneously. Notably, considering the abuse of hazardous fish drugs, we further apply this platform to detect crystal violet, malachite green, methylene blue, their mixtures and the crystal violet residue on contaminated fish scales. These results demonstrate that this SERS platform can not only maintain its relatively high sensitivity but also perform excellent distinguishing ability, offering valuable information on the application fields including food safety evaluation.

Preparation of a high bonding performance soybean protein-based adhesive with low crosslinker addition via microwave chemistry

Human health and environmental protection demand wood-based panel industry for innovative soy-based adhesives with high production efficiency, straightforward synthesis processes, non-toxicity, and high bonding performance. A simple and efficient microwave pretreatment process and low addition of bio-derived crosslinking agent was used in this study to prepare a non-toxic and high-bonding performance soybean protein-based adhesive. After 4 min of microwave pretreatment time, the complex quaternary structure of soybean protein molecule unfolds, the soybean protein disperses evenly and stably, and active groups of soybean protein molecules are exposed. After adding 3.85% crosslinking agent, the moisture absorption rate of the soybean protein-based adhesive decreases by 41.77%, the residual rate increases by 3.68%, and the wet shear strength of the resultant plywood increases to 1.12 MPa, which satisfies requirement of interior use plywood. Compared with previously reported soy-based adhesives, this adhesive is dependent on fewer chemical reagents, but has good bonding performance. The 204.41% of relative cell viability indicates the resultant adhesive was non-toxic. The proposed high-efficiency, high-performance, non-toxic biomass adhesive has great prospects for the industrial application.

Xylose recovery and bioethanol production from sugarcane bagasse pretreated by mild two-stage ultrasonic assisted dilute acid

Pretreatment can improve biomass biodegradability. Here, a novel sugarcane bagasse (SCB) pretreatment process based on two-stage ultrasonic assisted dilute H2SO4 (TUDA) under mild conditions was reported. After optimization, the pretreatment was shown to significantly degrade hemicellulose (92.40%) and remove lignin (57.41%) of SCB, leading to reduction of inhibitors and an ethanol fermentation efficiency of 93.37% by SSCF under cellulase 10 FPU/g SCB and 30% pretreated SCB loading. Physical characterization revealed that two-stage ultrasonic could better disrupt SCB than traditional ultrasonic by amplifying the collapse effect and synergistically promoting lignin removal through dilute H2SO4. Furthermore, xylose was also effectively recovered from pretreatment supernatant by biochar derived from bagasse. This study established a simple and efficient pretreatment process for high value-added recycling of SCB from solid residue to pretreatment liquid.

An Analytical Method Based on Electrochemical Sensor for the Assessment of Insect Infestation in Flour.

Uric acid is an important indicator of the insect infestation assessment in flour. In this work, we propose a method for uric acid detection based on voltammetry. This technique is particularly considered for the physicochemical properties of flour and contains a simple pretreatment process to rapidly achieve extraction and adsorption of uric acid in flour. To achieve specific recognition of uric acid, graphene and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) were used for the adsorption and concentration of uric acid in flour. The adsorbed mixture was immobilized on the surface of a screen-printed electrode for highly sensitive detection of the uric acid. The results showed that electrocatalytic oxidation of uric acid could be achieved after adsorption by graphene and PEDOT. This electrocatalytic reaction allows its oxidation peak to be distinguished from those of other substances that commonly possess electrochemical activity. This voltammetry-based detection method is a portable and disposable analytical method. Because it is simple to operate, requires no professional training, and is inexpensive, it is a field analysis method that can be promoted.

Simultaneous determination of eight catechins and four theaflavins in bottled tea by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for forensic analysis.

Tea, and particularly bottled tea, is widely consumed worldwide and is often encountered at crime scenes in poisoning cases or used in place of urine in drug abuse monitoring. Tea is a rich source of polyphenols, such as catechins and theaflavins, and these compounds are useful for identification of trace quantities of tea samples. However, information on the contents of catechins and theaflavins in bottled tea is limited. In this study, a method was developed for simultaneous analysis of eight catechins and four theaflavins in tea using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The concentrations of these polyphenols were determined in bottled black, oolong, and green teas after a simple pretreatment process by the standard addition method. The developed LC-MS/MS method was rapid and all tested polyphenol compounds were separated within ~14min. All tea types contained all the catechins, at varying concentrations, but not all the theaflavins were present in all the tea types. This indicates that the theaflavin composition reflects the degree of the fermentation and could be used for discrimination among different types of tea. All the green tea samples contained all eight catechins; however, the concentrations of these compounds varied among the tea samples. Principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis were useful for discrimination of samples. It has been unclear whether the variations of chemical components are useful for forensic discrimination. Our results demonstrate that, in addition to identification of tea varieties, catechins and theaflavins can be used for the discrimination of bottled tea samples.

Preparation of cellulose nanocrystals from deinked waste newspaper and their usage for papermaking

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) were successfully prepared from waste newspapers through a simple pretreatment and hydrolysis process. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) result for the CNC suggested that no new chemical bonds were formed during the preparation of CNC. X-ray diffraction results indicated that the crystallinities of the deinked and untreated waste newspapers were 66% and 73.8%, respectively. Greater smoothness of the deinked waste newspapers fibers could be clearly observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM), which was attributed to the removal of ink from the chemical treatment. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) results of the CNC revealed a needle-like natural fiber with a length of 300 nm to 600 nm, a diameter of 10 nm to 30 nm, and an aspect ratio in the 10 to 60 range. The obtained CNC particles were found to improve the physical properties of paper sheets, specifically that of the tear, tensile, and burst indices. The maximum increase in the physical properties was achieved with a 5.5% CNC addition.

Valorization of poultry slaughterhouse sludge oil: a strategy to reduce Brazil’s dependency on soybean oil in the biodiesel industry

ABSTRACT During the poultry industrialization process the so-called sludge oil, a residual chicken fat, is recovered in the wastewater treatment plant and its use presents potential as raw material for biodiesel production. Thus, the aim of the study was to prepare blends of sludge oil with soybean oil to obtain fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) through the homogeneous alkaline transesterification reaction. To perform this study, a simple pre-treatment process – heating and subsequent filtration – was used, allowing sludge oil to be mixed with soybean oil to compose blends, without the need to use more sophisticated pre-treatment processes. After this step, blends ranging from 5% to 90% (m/m) of sludge oil mixed with soybean oil were prepared. The results showed that the molar ratio (1:6 oil blend:methanol), catalyst concentration 0.5% NaOH (mcat/moil), at 65 °C for 60 min yielded FAME above 99.0 and 90.0% (m/m) for blends with up to 5 and 15% sludge oil, respectively. By increasing the temperature to 70 °C, under the same selected parameters, the blend with 10% sludge oil provided yield above 99.0% (m/m), presenting appropriate physicochemical properties, within the parameters required by National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP). These findings show the great potential sludge oil provides to reduce Brazil’s dependency on soybean oil for biodiesel production. Highlights Sludge oil, a waste raw material for biodiesel production, is not yet explored in Brazil. A procedure for biodiesel production using soybean oil and sludge oil blends was proposed. The best reaction condition was 1:6 oil blend:MeOH molar ratio; 0.5% NaOH (mcat/moil), at 70 °C for 60 min. Biodiesel yield was higher than 99% (m/m) under optimal reaction conditions. Sludge oil represents a promising waste raw material for biodiesel production.