Applied Chemistry

Modal is one of the vital regenerated cellulosic fibres used in textile industries. It contains almost all the properties required for the textile applications. In this paper the physical properties, dyeing effects and antimicrobial characteristics of modal, cotton and modal / cotton (50 : 50 blend) fabrics are studied. Modal fabrics in original and in blended (50 : 50) form with cotton show good properties towards k/s value, wash, light and rubbing fastnesses and also for antimicrobial behavior.

This paper deals with the physico-chemical parameters and some heavy metals in sediment samples of the Brass River, Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Physico-chemical parameters and heavy metals such as pH, chloride, sulphate, magnesium, potassium, sodium, copper, chromium, zinc, cadmium, lead, manganese, iron and nickel were analyzed. In this present study, all heavy metals investigated showed low concentration of the Brass River. This means that there is a low source of pollution arriving to the Brass River. Potential ecological risk index assessment of heavy metals and comparison with DPR / FEPA standards was employed to infer anthropogenic input from natural input. The heavy metals concentration and potential ecological risk were evaluated systematically using geoaccumulation index (Igeo) and potential ecological risk index (RI). The results showed that the geoaccumulation index placed Brass River under practically unpolluted (Igeo < 0). Furthermore, the potential ecological risk index of both single and multi-element placed the Brass River under the category of low ecological risk (Eir < 40).and RI<150) respectively. In general, the ranking of heavy metals in surficial sediments samples of the Brass River in terms of potential ecological risk coefficient (Eir) was as follows: Cu > Pb > Ni > Zn. Compared to the heavy metals permissible limit in DPR/FEPA standards copper, chromium, zinc, cadmium, lead, manganese, iron and nickel showed lower concentration, possibly indicating that the origin of these heavy metals is lithogenic.

A study has been conducted on Acoustic Parameters of Spindle oil- Ethanol system, on different concentration’s [0.2%, 0.4%, 0.6%, 0.8% and 1.6%] at temperature of 303K using Ultrasonic interferometer. Parameters like Ultrasonic velocity, Viscosity, Density, Adiabatic compressibility, Acoustic Impedance, Free length, Free Volume, Relation Time, Relative Association, Adsorption Coefficient and Molar compressibility are measured and it is helpful for correlation of Molecular interaction of binary mixture spindle oil-ethanol system.

In the present study, we report a theoretical study on molecular structure, electronic and thermodynamical properties of 2-amino-1,3-benzothiazole tautomers by using density functional theory (DFT) methods employing B3LYP exchange correlation with different basis;6-311,6-311++, and 6-311++G(d,p) basis set. The Synchronous Transit-Guided Quasi-Newton (STQN) method was used to locate the transition structures. The reactants and products were fully optimized at the DFT level of theory using 6-311++G (d,P) basis set in gas phase and the equilibrium constant and rate of reaction were calculated. Global descriptors such as ionization energy (I), electron affinity (EA), molecular hardness (?), chemical potential (?), electrophilicity (?), and frontier molecular energy gaps (?Eg) were determined and used to identify the differences in the reactivity of reactant and product. The bond lengths of transition state were lie between the reactant and product. From the values of ?, ? and ? suggested that product is more energetically stable and less reactive, that reactant is more electronegative than the product and reactant is a good electrophile and product is a good nucleophile.

The antibacterial properties of picolinic acid was tested against selected test organisms which includes serratia marcescens, micrococcus luteus, proteus vulgaris, proteus mirabilis, bacillus cereus, bacillus subtilis, klebsiella pneumoniae, escherichia coli, shigella flexneri, lactococcus lactis, enterobacter cloacae, staphylococcus aureus. The results obtained established that picolinic acid has antibacterial activities against S. marcescens, K. pneumoniae, E. coli, S. flexneri, B .cereus, P. vulgaris, M . luteus with minimum inhibitory concentration of 0.5mg/mL. It also had great antibacterial activity against P. mirabilis at minimum inhibitory concentration of 1.5mg/L. Picolinic acid evoked a strong antibacterial activities against B. subtilis, S.aureus and L. lactis at minimum inhibitory concentration of 2.0mg/mL and against E . cloacace at minimum inhibitory concentration of 1.0mg/mL. The diameter of zones of inhibition ranges between 7.0mm and 14.0mm.

The study was carried out to find the status of Sombo spring water of Jimma town in respect to physico-chemical water quality parameters during 2015 and 2016 following standard methods of sampling and testing. For this study, samples were collected from two sample sites. The physico-chemical Parameters included turbidity, pH, EC, temperature, total dissolved solid, dissolved oxygen, Chloride, total alkalinity, Calcium and Magnesium were analyzed. The observed values of various physico-chemical parameters of the spring water samples were compared with standard values and the result showed that seven out of ten tested parameters were within the permissible limits. Turbidity of the Sombo water was above the permissible limit while pH and dissolved oxygen values were below permissible limit range recommended by WHO for drinking water. Thus, the sombo spring water could affect human health, since the nearby community using it for drinking purpose. Therefore, it is recommended to have a frequent monitoring of the physico-chemical parameters and need the attention of the concerned body to treat the water or find other alternative safe drinking water source.

Synthetic dyes are essential raw materials in numerous industrial processes, which include textile, food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries. However, they constitute environmental pollutants when discharged as wastewater effluents without adequate treatment. This work is focused on the treatment of a dye, Eosin Red, through the photocatalytic degradation process using anatase nano titanium dioxide. The light source for this experiment is an 8 W monochromatic UV bulb, which provides wavelength of sufficient energy to overcome the anatase titanium dioxide band energy of 3.2 eV. Dye concentration reduction was determined using a UV/Vis Spectrophotometer, with 519 nm as the wavelength of maximum absorbance of Eosin Red dye. The result obtained showed a significant degree of ER photodegration and highlighted the dependence of the photodegradation process on some influencing parameters like initial concentration of dye, catalytic loading, contact time, and pH. The kinetic study in this research indicates that the photodegradation of Eosin red dye strongly follows pseudo-first-order kinetics, as is evident in the R2 and k’ values of 0.998 and 0.0115 min-1 respectively of 10ppm Eosin red 

In this present work, we have studied the hydraulic conductivity of soils in Na, Mg, Ca and their Different types of soil Mixture under different condition with distilled water. Different types of soil samples have been collected from the specific area of the Gujarat state like Ahmedabad, Surat and Ghandhidham. In this work, mixed soil samples were prepared and Study of hydraulic conductivity has been measured with distilled water.

Biodiesel production encountered many problems such as low energy balance and food verses energy problems. To solve these problems in-situ transesterification of Jatropha curcas seed oil was carried out, with 1:1 (v/v) of n-hexane – methanol co-solvent and calcium oxide derived from egg-shell as catalyst at 65? temperature for 2 hours. The soxhlet extraction apparatus was used and the effect of catalyst doses was studied, it was found that all the catalyst used in this research produced fatty acid methyl esters (biodiesel) with acceptable fuel properties with the exception of acid value which is higher than the ASTM biodiesel standard limit. GC/MS results revealed that Jatropha curcas oil biodiesel consists of 9-Octadecenoic acid (Z) - methyl ester, Octadecanoic acid, methyl ester, 9,12-Octadecadienoic acid,13-methyl, methyl ester, 8-Octadecenoic acid, methyl ester (E) and Hexadecanoic acid, methyl ester which indicated that this method is an alternative way of biodiesel production with lower energy input as compared to conventional method.

The proximate, minerals and fatty acids composition of sugar ant (Coponotus consubrinus) was conducted. The results showed that it contained high amounts of protein 31.86±0.24%) with moisture, ash, crude fibre, crude fat, carbohydrate levels and energy level being 2.95±0.09%, 4.24±0.11%, 6.49±0.87%, 13.29±0.39%, 41.16±1.55% and 1733.07±0.21KJ/ 100g respectively. The insect was found to be a good source of minerals which contained high proportions of Na, K, P, Ca, Zn and Fe as 121.45±0.45, 83.40±0.45, 107.87±1.50, 18.60±0.58, 15.53±1.03, 15.13±2.64 and 98.27±2.08mg/100g respectively. The results of fatty acids compositions revealed that sugar ant contain 1.08% TUFA/TSFA ratio which indicated that, this insect have lowest desirable level of cholesterol with reduced coronary heart problem. The results of this finding revealed that, this insect could serve as an alternative source of protein, crude fat, carbohydrate and essential minerals needed for a well balanced nutritional diet for humans and as a feed supplement.