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Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) was synthesized using some factors influencing such as the polyethylene glycol (PEG) as a stabilizing agent at different pH and temperatures. The best conditions for preparing ZnO NPs were at pH 11, 0.1 M (7.5 mL) of PEG with molecular weights of 20000 and 60 oC. Properties of synthesized ZnO NPs were confirmed using different techniques (FTIR, UV-Vis, XRD, SEM and TEM). Obviously, UV-Vis spectrum of ZnO NPs showed an adsorption peak at 268 and 362 nm with a direct bandgap of 3.39 eV. PL spectra of ZnO NPs showed an emission peak at 420 nm. The average sizes calculated of ZnO NPs powder using the XRD line broadening method were 19.71 nm. TEM observation showed that the prepared ZnO NPs is spherical with different diameters in the range 22.2–27.8 nm. Moreover, the ZnO NPs prepared have an excellent adsorption capacity for the removal of some cations from water. The adsorption capacities were 391.6 and 437.2 mg/g for Mn(II) and Cd(II) respectively. Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin models would be well described the adsorption process. Thermodynamically, the adsorption processes of ZnO NPs were spontaneous, endothermic, and physical in nature. The good removal efficiency of Mn(II) and Cd(II) by ZnO NPs with their exceptional adsorption capability suggests that the ZnO NPs have great potential applications in environmental protection.
This study highlights the potential impact of magnetic fields on water quality, which could have implications for plant growth and development. Theoretical estimates of changes in surface tension, pH, and some other properties due to passing water through a magnetic field for a certain period were experimentally validated in this study. Overall, the results revealed changes in the physicochemical properties of water after magnetic field application. In accordance, pH significantly (p < 0.05) increased from 2 to 2.25, from 4 to 4.5, from 6 to 6.45, from 7.3 to 7.8, and from 8 to 8.7 and except at pH10, which decreased from 10 to 9.7. In addition, the model developed in this study indicated that the change of electrical conductivity (EC) decreased from 9 to 6.11 dS m-1 with an increasing number of run flow through the magnetic field. The decline in EC can be described as follows: magnetically treated water contains fine colloidal molecules and electrolytic chemicals that respond to a magnetic field by enhancing their ability for precipitation, resulting in a fall in EC. Moreover, the Hardness values of recirculated water were decreased after magnetic field application. This corroborates the decline of calcium carbonate adhesion and surface tension values as increases in hydrogen bonding between protons and water molecules and changes in the distribution of molecules in magnetized water. As the internal electrical field grew and the hydration shells surrounding the constituent ions weakened, EC decreased. Lastly, by using an electronic microscope, observing the water in regular, such as regular hexagonal tree shape instead of random irregular shapes after magnetic field application, confirming that the magnetic field had a significant effect on the physical properties of water molecules. In conclusion, magnetic behavior may improve water quality, resulting in increased development and plant growth.
The bioconversion of environmental wastes into energy is gaining much interest in most developing and developed countries. The current study is concerned with the proper exploitation of some industrial wastes. Cellulosic fiber waste was selected as a raw material for producing bioethanol as an alternative energy source. A combination of physical, chemical, and enzymatic hydrolysis treatments was applied to maximize the concentration of glucose that could be fermented with yeast into bioethanol. The results showed that the maximum production of 13.9 mg/mL of glucose was achieved when 5% cellulosic fiber waste was treated with 40% HCl, autoclaved, and followed with enzymatic hydrolysis. Using SEM and FTIR analysis, the instrumental characterization of the waste fiber treatment confirmed the effectiveness of the degradation by turning the long threads of the fibers into small pieces, in addition to the appearance of new functional groups and peak shifting. A potent yeast strain isolated from rotten grapes was identified as Starmerella bacillaris STDF-G4 (accession number OP872748), which was used to ferment the obtained glucose units into bioethanol under optimized conditions. The maximum production of 3.16 mg/mL of bioethanol was recorded when 7% of the yeast strain was anaerobically incubated at 30 °C in a broth culture with the pH adjusted to 5. The optimized conditions were scaled up from flasks to a fermentation bioreactor to maximize the bioethanol concentration. The obtained data showed the ability of the yeast strain to produce 4.13 mg/mL of bioethanol after the first 6 h of incubation and double the amount after 36 h of incubation to reach 8.6 mg/mL, indicating the efficiency of the bioreactor in reducing the time and significantly increasing the product.