Nikolajs Vedernikovs^*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.8, No.6, pp. 661-674, 2020, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2020.09274

Abstract The main principles of the technological realisation of the furfural obtaining process have been formulated by Ricard [1]. Based on his recommendations, all investigators proceeded from the assumption that the depolymerisation of pentosans and the dehydration of pentoses in the one-step production of furfural from raw plant material must be accelerated with diluted catalyst solutions. According to this theory, uniform impregnation of the raw material with a catalyst solution is considered necessary. The reduction in the amount of the catalyst solution down to 30–40% of the mass of the dry raw material, suggested by Miner et al. [2], made the… More >

Jianglin Zhao¹, Xiaotong Zhang¹, Weiwei Lei¹, Xingqi Ji¹, Xin Zhou^1,2,*, Yong Xu^1,2

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.8, No.1, pp. 79-88, 2020, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2020.08761

Abstract Amorphophallus konjac is rich in glucomannan, which can be hydrolyzed into glucose and mannose, thereby acting as an economic raw material for the acquisition of glucose and mannose. The total sugar yield was 91.2% when konjac powder was treated with 0.75% hydrochloric acid at 121°C for 1 h. Thus, dilute acid hydrolysates of konjac powder were used as a carbon source for obtaining value-added products. Here we showed that the microbial production of ethanol and mannonic acid was obtained by employing Candida shehatae (C. shehatae) and Gluconobacter oxydans (G. oxydans). Through a step-by-step bioprocess, glucose is the first selectively converted… More >

ANURADHA SEHRAWAT AND VIJAY KUMAR^*

BIOCELL, Vol.36, No.2, pp. 63-71, 2012, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2012.36.063

Abstract The flower of Butea monosperma (Lam.) (Fabaceae) has been used in traditional Indian medicine in the treatment of many ailments including liver disorders. To understand the pharmacological basis of its beneficial effects, the extracts of dried flowers in water, methanol, butanol, ethyl acetate and acetone were evaluated for free radical scavenging and pro-apoptotic activities in cell cultures (human hepatoma Huh-7 cell line and immortalized AML-12 mouse hepatocytes). Butrin and butein -the active constituents of flower extracts- were used as reference molecules. The levels of cell injury markers like lactate dehydrogenase, glutathione and lipid peroxidation and primary antioxidant enzymes glutathione S-transferase… More >

Osorio-Córdoba J¹, LL Rodriguez-Verástegui¹, F Díaz de León-Sánchez², E Bosquez-Molina¹, JR Verde-Calvo¹, HB Escalona-Buendía¹, LJ Pérez-F lores², C Pelayo-Zaldívar¹

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.84, No.2, pp. 375-384, 2015, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2015.84.375

Abstract Cactus stems, the cladodes of Opuntia spp. cacti, are consumed in Mexico and other countries due to their fresh and herbaceous flavor, and because of their widely known nutraceutical benefits. In order to extend the postharvest life of this vegetable, the effect of a modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) was studied in cactus stems of the cultivar Atlixco stored at 4 ± 1 °C for 20 days under three types of atmospheres: (1) air (passive atmosphere), (2) 5 kPa O₂ + 4 kPa CO₂, and (3) N₂. During storage, the titratable acidity decreased and the color of cladodes became darker and… More >

Ochoa Fuentes YM¹, E Cerna Chávez¹, J Landeros Flores¹, S Hernández Camacho², JC Delgado Ortiz¹

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.81, pp. 69-73, 2012, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2012.81.069

Abstract We evaluated the in vitro antifungal activity of extracts of peruvian peppertree (Shinu smolle), cherimoya (Annona cherimola), cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) and tobacco (Nicotiana glauca) on the mycelial growth and sporulation of Fusarium oxysporum, Fusarium culmorum and Fusarium solani. The research was conducted at the Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes (UAA) and the Universidad Autónoma Agraria Antonio Narro (UAAAN). The species of Fusarium were previously identified in the UAA Laboratory of Parasitology. The extracts were obtained in the laboratory of Toxicology of the UAAAN. The methodology of poisoned culture medium was used to determine the (1) inhibition of mycelial growth, (2) average… More >

Manilal¹ A, S Sujith², J Selvin³, C Shakir⁴, G Seghal Kiran⁵

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.78, pp. 161-166, 2009, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2009.78.161

Abstract The antibacterial property of the red algae, Falkenbergia hillebrandii (Born) collected from the southwest coast of India (Indian Ocean) was evaluated against three multidrug resistant human pathogens. Four different solvents: ethyl acetate, dichloromethane, methanol and phosphate buffer saline (PBS) were used with this purpose. Dried samples extracted with methanol showed broadest and highest antimicrobial activity when compared to other solvents. However, PBS extract showed no antibacterial activity. The highly active compounds red alga, F. hillebrandii were fractionated and purified using different chromatographic systems, including reverse phase HPLC and GCMS. The analysis revealed that the most abundant metabolite was the oleic… More >

Hui Qiao¹, Jingzhao Cui¹, Shuiping Ouyang¹, Jinjie Shi², Jia Ouyang^1,3,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.11, pp. 1197-1207, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.07735

Abstract As an important agricultural waste, corn cob is one of the most abundant lignocellulosic biomass. In this work, dilute acid pretreatment using seven different organic acids were compared for compositional analysis of corn cob. The first pKa of organic acids, influenced by the number and type of the side group and distance between two carboxylic groups, played a crucial role in the pretreatment effect. Citric acid was found to have better pretreatment performance than other tested dicarboxylic acids. Under the condition of 30 mM, 160°C and 60 min, the level of xylose reached 22.64 g/L in pretreatment liquid, and the… More >

Jinghui Jiang¹, Yinshi Li^1,2,*, Jiarong Liang¹, Huaxing Xu¹

The International Conference on Computational & Experimental Engineering and Sciences, Vol.22, No.3, pp. 159-159, 2019, DOI:10.32604/icces.2019.05378

Abstract Water flooding in the cathode is considered as one of the most important factors that impede the performance of direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) during the operation of high current density. Therefore, it is essential to study water management of cathode in DMFC. In this work, a two-dimensional, steady-state, two-phase, mass-transport model of DMFC with micro-porous layer (MPL) was developed considering methanol crossover and water crossover processes. Emphasis is placed on investigating parameter design of cathode to relieve flooding in DMFC, further to improve cell performance. The effects of MPL parameters, including porosity and thickness, on water distribution in cathode… More >

O. Gil-Castell^1,2, R. Cerveró¹, R. Teruel-Juanes¹, J. D. Badia^1,2, A. Ribes-Greus^1,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.7, pp. 655-665, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.04401

Abstract Crosslinked poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) based composite films were prepared as polyelectrolyte membranes for low temperature direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFC). The membranes were functionalised by means of the addition of graphene oxide (GO) and sulfonated graphene oxide (SGO) and crosslinked with sulfosuccinic acid (SSA). The chemical structure was corroborated and suitable thermal properties were found. Although the addition of GO and SGO slightly decreased the proton conductivity of the membranes, a significant reduction of the ethanol solution swelling and crossover was encountered, more relevant for those functionalised with SGO. In general, the composite membranes were stable under simulated service conditions.… More >

Maha L. Shrestha^{1, 2,*}, Mihail Ionescu¹, Xianmei Wan¹, Zoran S. Petrović¹

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.6, No.5, pp. 504-516, 2018, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634187

Abstract Biobased aromatic-aliphatic polyols were previously synthesized from a thermal thiol-ene reaction of propoxylated cardanol with 2-mercaptoethanol (ME) in the presence of azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as a radical initiator. Cardanol used for this purpose was obtained as a dark-brown liquid (Gardner Color Reference ∼18). The photochemical thiol-ene reaction can also be used to prepare aromatic-aliphatic polyols by employing cardanol. Via the photochemical thiol-ene reaction, 2-mercaptoethanol was added successfully to C=C double bond of cardanol, suggesting that phenolic group may not play an inhibitory role in the radical thiol-ene reaction. However, we preferred to alkoxylate the phenolic hydroxyl group of cardanol, which is… More >