Microalgae are known as an alternative source of biomass energy to replace fossil fuels. The aim of the present study is to optimise the growth conditions and increase the lipid, carbohydrate and biomass productivity of Tetradesmus obliquus UPSI-JRM02 using response surface methodology with Design Expert software. Four variables (nitrogen concentration, temperature, pH, and light intensity) were optimised to enhance T. obliquus productivity. The highest lipid (33 ± 1.2mg/L/day), carbohydrate (51 ± 1.5 mg/L/day) and biomass (115 ± 1.4 mg/L/day) productivity were produced at a nitrogen concentration of 400 mg/L NO3
at 36 C with pH of 9.8, and light intensity of 23500 lux. The fatty acid methyl ester contains polyunsaturated fatty acid (C18:2, C18:3) and saturated fatty acid (C16:0). These results demonstrate the potential of T. obliquus to produce promising feedstock for biofuel production.  ..

4896 hits

In recent years, the development of nanoparticle materials for water treatment has received great attention. From an industrial technological view point, the application of nanomaterials in the twenty-first century for water treatment will be the focal point of advanced materials design, processing and progress. In this context, the potential utilisation of different types of flocculants to clean up contaminated water becomes important to address the tremendous increase of water pollution resulting from continued high-level global industrialisation. A number of researchers have investigated the effectiveness of various nanoflocculants for this purpose. Although these nanoflocculants have been reported to successfully treat contaminated water, their flocculation performances are different. To the best of our knowledge, there is no review article which summarises the application and performance of nanoflocculants in the treatment of water containing various types of contaminants. This re.....

600 hits

Lavender essential oil is a concentrated plant extract obtained through steam distillation. It is well known for its properties as a good anxiety and stress reliever, for wound healing, for insect repellency and as an insomnia fighter. However, there are many volatile chemical compounds in the essential oil. Hence, formulating a lavender essential oil nanoemulsion is a potential solution to prolong those exclusive applications of the essential oil. Lavender essential oil-based nanoemulsion (LEONE) was prepared with tragacanth gum and Triton X-100 by a combined method of ultrasonic and high-speed homogenisation. This study focused on the physicochemical and morphological characterisation effects of fabrics treated with LEONE. Morphological and physicochemical evaluation of nanoemulsions were conducted by optical microscopy (OM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy was util.....

61 hits

Mosquito-repellent textiles are classified as protective textiles designed to mitigate the presence of mosquito species recognised as vectors for diseases such as malaria and dengue fever. This study aimed to explore the feasibility of employing a nanoemulsion system containing lemongrass essential oil encapsulated with biopolymers, specifically tragacanth gum and cationic guar gum, as finishing materials on cotton and polyester fabrics. Being anionic biopolymer, tragacanth gum has resulted in outstanding zeta potential, polydispersity index, particle size and encapsulation efficiency with the values of − 38.1 mV, 0.2, 14.1 nm and 99%, respectively. The positively charged guar gum that interacted with aluminium chloride led to precipitation, which disfavoured retention and repellency properties. Based on correlation coefficient (R2) values for tragacanth gum (0.9832) and cationic guar gum (0.9761)-based nanoemulsions, the release of lemongrass essential oil from nanoemulsions follo.....

56 hits