First report of the Golden Mantis Shrimp, Lysiosquilla tredecimdentata Holthuis, 1941 (Crustacea: Stomatopoda) from Chennai coastal waters, Southeast India

The golden mantis shrimp, Lysiosquilla tredecimdentata was reported for the first time from Chennai coastal waters, Southeast India. One adult male specimen was found in the trawl by-catch near Kasimedu fishing harbour on September, 2014. The specimen was identified, described, illustrated and morphometrically measured. 

Laser-Induced Silver Nanoparticles on Titanium Oxide for Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue

Silver nanoparticles doped on titanium oxide (TiO2) were produced by laser-liquid interaction of silver nitrate (AgNO3) in isopropanol. Characteristics of Ag/TiO2 (Ag doped TiO2) nanoparticles produced by the methods presented in this article were investigated by XRD, TEM, SEM, EDX, and UV-Vis. From the UV-Vis measurements, the absorption of visible light of the Ag/TiO2 photocatalysts was improved (additional absorption at longer wavelength in visible light region) obviously. The photocatalytic efficiency of Ag/TiO2 was tested by the degradation of methylene blue (MB) in aqueous solution. A maximum of 82.3% MB degradation is achieved by 2.0 wt% Ag/TiO2 photocatalyst under 2 h illumination with a halogen lamp

A kinetic and thermodynamic investigation into the removal of methyl orange from wastewater utilizing fly ash in different process configurations

The removal of methyl orange using coal fly ash, which is a widely available low-cost adsorbent, has been investigated. Adsorption studies for dye removal were conducted using various configurations such as batch, column and heap adsorption at various temperatures and adsorbent dosages at neutral pH. The Langmuir, Freundlich and Tempkin isotherm models were used to describe the process. The Freundlich model best represented the adsorption. Kinetic studies show the adsorption followed pseudo-second-order kinetics. Thermodynamic studies show that the process is spontaneous, endothermic and random. Column configuration was found to be the most efficient with a dye removal percentage of 99.95%, followed by heap adsorption at 99.25% removal and lastly batch configuration with 96.68% removal. Economic analysis shows that column operation would be the most effective for practical implementation

Effect of Enhancers and Inhibitors on Photocatalytic Sunlight Treatment of Methylene Blue

In view of the fatal illnesses caused by methylene blue (MB) which is contained in the dye wastewater, the present study focused on the use of natural sunlight in heterogeneous photocatalysis to decolorize and degrade MB. The present study also investigated the effects of enhancers (hydrogen peroxide and persulfate ion) and inhibitors (chloride and carbonate ions) on photodecolorization of MB. Pseudo-first-order rate constants for each studied effect were determined through Langmuir-Hinshelwood model. The recommended conditions to photodecolorize 60 ppm of MB under natural sunlight were 1.0 g/L of titanium dioxide nanopowder at initial pH 10.5 in order to achieve 85.3 % decolorization (rate constant of 10.8 × 10−3 min−1). The addition of 4,080 ppm of hydrogen peroxide and persulfate ion significantly enhanced the decolorization efficiency up to 96.6 and 99.3 %, respectively (rate constants of 66.2 and 91.0 × 10−3 min−1, respectively). However, the addition of 2,000 ppm of chloride and carbonate ions reduced the decolorization efficiency of MB to 74.7 and 70.2 %, respectively (rate constants of 7.8 and 7.3 × 10−3 min−1, respectively). The present study implied that it was possible to use natural sunlight as a light source for photocatalytic treatment of dye in tropical countries like Malaysia

Potential of pineapple waste extract (PWE) as co-substrate in anaerobic digestion of rice straw washwater (RSWW): enhancement of biogas production

This study aims to investigate the potential methane yield by mono-anaerobic digestion of rice straw washwater (RSWW) and pineapple waste extract (PWE) as well as the co-digestion of both RSWW and PWE at a ratio of 50:50 (v/v). The experiment was conducted at a controlled mesophilic temperature of 37 °C in Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) reactor for a period of approximately 55 days. The process performances were evaluated based on the efficiency of COD removal and methane production in relation to other parameters such as pH, organic loading rate (OLR) and alkalinity ratio. This study confirmed that the rate of COD removal for RSWW, PWE, and RSWW:PWE (50:50) were achieved the stable condition at 81, 89, and 86% respectively. The alkalinity ratio value and pH throughout the experimental period remained below 0.30 and kept in the range of 6.5–7.0 indicated the stable and good environment existed for anaerobic digestion within the UASB reactor. This study implies that the co-digestion of RSWW:PWE found to improve the efficiency of COD removal and production of methane during the mono-digestion of RSWW from 81 to 86% and 0.093 to 0.13 LCH4/g CODrem by the increment of 6.2 and 40%, respectively

Application of Agricultural Wastes Activated Carbon for Dye Removal – An Overview

Dyes are an important class of pollutants and can even be identified by the human eyes. Disposal of dyes in precious water resources must be avoided especially those that are not easily biodegradable, however, and for that various treatment technologies are in use. Among various methods adsorption occupies a prominent place in dye removal. The growing demand for efficient and low-cost treatment methods and the importance of adsorption has given rise to agricultural waste. This review highlights and provides an overview of these activated carbons prepared by non-woody and woody materials and their application for dyes removal. From a comprehensive literature review, it was found that many researchers used non-woody material as activated carbons to removal dye contaminants