Green synthesized metal nanoparticles play a significant role in biomedical applications. This investigation focused on eco-friendly synthesized iron nanoparticles using marine brown algae Spatoglossum asperum which was evaluated for its anticancer and free radical scavenging activity against glioblastoma. The formation of iron nanoparticles confirmed the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peak at 400 nm by UV visible Spectrum. X-ray diffraction spectroscopy analysis confirmed the crystalline structure of iron nanoparticles. Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy analysis was used to identify the functional groups in the algae extract that are involved in the ferrous ion oxidation into iron nanoparticles (Fe3O4NPs). Scanning electron microscope images indicated that the produced nanoparticles were spherical and 16 nm in size, as had been predicted. The S. asperum-mediated Fe3O4NP has shown potential antioxidant activities against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrayl and H2O2 activity and its scavenging inhibition was 80.13% and 62.21% determined at 50 µg/mL. The anticancer activity of the synthesized Fe3O4NP against human glioblastoma cells (LN-18) was analyzed and the Fe3O4NPs half inhibitory concentration was found to be 19.24 µg/mL. The findings of the investigation evaluated the binding affinities of different proteins expressed in glioblastoma with bioactive compounds in the S. asperum by performing molecular docking by autodock vina version 4.2. The results of the present investigation revealed that S. asperum-mediated iron oxide nanoparticles exhibited antioxidant potential and effectively suppressed the proliferation of glioblastoma cancer cells.

The main objective of the current research work was to fabricate polyethylene glycol-based hydrogels for the controlled delivery of Ketorolac. Polyethylene glycol was chemically cross-linked with acrylic acid using 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate as a cross-linker with ammonium persulfate and sodium metabisulphite as initiators. To determine the efficiency of the synthesized system, it was subjected to various structural characterization, such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Differential scanning calorimetry, Thermogravimetric analysis, and Scanning electron microscopy. All the results obtained from structural characterizations confirmed a well-cross-linked, thermally stable, and a porous system. Swelling and in-vitro release studies performed in pH 1.2 and 7.4 showed pH responsiveness as more swelling and drug release were observed in pH 7.4 as compared to pH 1.2. The drug release was considered as non-Fickian transport from kinetic modeling and partially controlled by the viscoelastic relaxation of hydrogel. Sol-gel fraction depicted that gel content was increased as the concentrations of the polymer, monomer, and cross linker were increased. Similarly, the results obtained from stability studies confirmed a stable synthesized system. Moreover, statistical analysis was also employed for a better comparison of the swelling and in-vitro results.

We have presented varied shaped CdSe nanoparticles (NPs) synthesized by solution-based one-pot hot injection colloidal method by varying the precursor salt of Cd (i.e., cadmium oxide, cadmium chloride, and cadmium acetate) at an optimized Cd/Se ratio (2:1). CdSe nanoparticles of varied shapes and sizes (5–25 nm) were synthesized by using Butylamine and Octadecene as capping ligands and the nucleation and growth mechanism has been explained using LaMer’s diagram. It has been found that Butyl amine owing to its improved capping effect and better surface-traps passivation, aids in emission intensity enhancement of CdSe QD’s. The optical properties of the as-synthesized CdSe colloidal NPs have been investigated in terms of quantum confinement effects to reveal their suitability as a pursuing material for UV-LED. Variation in the morphology of CdSe NPs synthesized using different precursor sources leads to changes in the bandgap for its potential application in QD-based LEDs. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first-hand report on the synthesis of CdSe QD’s from varied Cd-precursor sources using butyl amine and octadecene as capping ligands via hot injection technique for UV-LED applications.

The nuclear waste at the Hanford site represents one of the single largest environmental cleanup efforts currently underway. Decades of nuclear weapons production have produced a highly radioactive sludge waste. Effective disposition of this waste will require processing the sludge to reduce the overall volume of the final waste form. Because of the expense and difficulty in obtaining samples from these tanks, a method was developed to assess the relative difficulty associated with treating waste through either crossflow filtration or settling. By assessing the relationship between centrifuged solids loading and sample chemistry, it was possible to identify which tanks would pose the greatest challenge for these processing methods. Tanks with >200,000 microg/g of Al or >49,000 microg/g of P were identified as at risk for poor separation performance and represent nearly 50% of the high-volume sludge tanks. As such, altering the process approach or blending the difficult-to-process feeds with a less challenging feed are recommended for the processing of these wastes.

In the present study, it was aimed to clean fine coal with waste engine oil using the ultrasound process. The influence of ultrasound on the oil agglomeration of coal was determined using ultrasound at the pretreatment stage and at the agglomeration stage. In this context, the use of ultrasound at the pretreatment stage improved the oil agglomeration of coal, but the use of ultrasound at the agglomeration stage reduced the recovery of combustible matter. Also, the power of ultrasound and the time of treatment affected the success of agglomeration, and the optimal values were achieved at a power of 30 W of ultrasound and a treatment time of 3 min. In addition, the best ash content and combustible matter recovery values were obtained at the oil dosage value of 3 mL, but higher oil dosages adversely affected the success of agglomeration. Under optimal conditions, coal with an ash content of 15.02% was obtained with an efficiency of 61.29% in conventional experiments, while coal with an ash content of 9.65% with ultrasound pretreatment was obtained with an efficiency of 71.04%. These results show that ultrasound pretreatment is an effective method for the enrichment of fine particle coal.

The radical increase in daily use of metal matrix composites with ceramic reinforcements tangibly increases scrap, which contains valuable ceramic materials. As hard ceramic materials are cost-intensive, there is a significant necessity for their recovery and recycling at all times. This work attempts to recover valuable titanium carbide particles from a scrap of in-situ synthesized AA7075-TiC composites for reuse as reinforcements. The TiC particles were recovered by the corrosive chemical extraction method and analyzed for morphologies, such as shape, phase, and size using scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and dynamic light scattering techniques. Further, Al-Mg-Cu-Zn powder was blended with various percentages of the recovered TiC particles to investigate the characteristics of the blends. The compressibility behavior of various blends is correlated with linear and non-linear models, which identified that the Kawakita and modified Cooper-Eaton models showed better fitness in the experimental results, which also explained the mechanisms of compressibility behavior. The extent of the effective percentage addition of recovered TiC as reinforcement in the Al-Mg-Cu-Zn alloy was identified based on the green strength obtained using the diametrical compression test. The best suitable sintering temperature was also determined using thermogravimetric analysis or differential scanning calorimetry and the estimated sinterability index.

The aim of the present research is to investigate the role of three composites samples based on ZrSiO4/Al2O3 ratios (ZA91, ZA73, and ZA55) on the attenuation of gamma rays and fast neutrons. The sintering of the samples at 1450 °C/3h show the formation of composite of zircon and corundum and their microstructure varying from irregular and directed rods and scattered particles in ZA91 to clear quadrant euhedral crystals in ZA55. The heavy metal (ZA91) designated higher attenuation of gamma rays compared to ZA73 and ZA55 using photon energy of 0.662, 1.173, and 1.332 MeV, which may be attributed to the higher density of ZA91 (4.1910 g/cm3). In contrast, the attenuation property of light metal (ZA55) for fast neutrons is higher related to other composites. This may be correlated to the high interaction scattering cross-section of alumina content compared to that of zircon. The microstructure and mineralogical features were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. In addition to the gamma transmission parameters of linear attenuation coefficients (µ) and half value layer of the composite for the radio cesium (Cs137) and cobalt (Co60) as gamma source are measured. Likewise, the effective removal cross-section of fast neutrons (ΣR) spectra by composite for californium radioisotope (Cf252) as neutrons source was deliberated. Hence, it could be decided that the optimum ratios of composites based on zircon (ZrSiO4) and corundum (Al2O3) will be governed by the type of radiation emitted by the nuclear facility.

Zinc oxide (ZnO) can adsorb ionic dyes to generate hybrid pigments. Porous zinc oxide was prepared by combining gelled citrus pectin (80 °C) with zinc nitrate, followed by calcination (600 °C). The product had a high surface area (25 m2 g−1), pore volume (0.049 cc g−1), and pore radius (17 Å), indicative of a macroporous structure. ZnO comprised the wurtzite phase, as characterized by X-ray diffraction. Owing to its textural properties, ZnO effectively removed textile dyes, such as carcinogenic Congo red, from aqueous media. The adsorption of Congo red on the porous ZnO was monitored using UV–vis spectroscopy at aqueous dye concentrations ranging from 100 to 250 mg L−1. Porous ZnO with the adsorbed dye was applied as a hybrid pigment and dispersed in white real estate paint. The resulting colors were evaluated by colorimetry measurements, according to the CIE L*a*b* method.

Fluidized bed dryer (FBD) is an excellent drying method due to its high degree of mass and heat transfer rate. Generally, increasing the temperature in the range of 30 and up to 140 °C can significantly improve the drying rate. However, for heat-sensitive materials, excessive heat can diminish their quality and nutrients. For example, up to 57% of rice is damaged due to drying in FBD at 80 °C. Due to higher moisture content, some materials become sticky and may form agglomerates. Hence, this article reviews basic drying, drying models, and state of the art of FBD drying, its modification and agglomerates breaking without heating by pulsation-assisted fluidized bed dryer (PFBD). Improving the drying rate will involve treatment process to the bed material, such as pretreatment, tempering, and addition of inert particles; or modification of the fluidized bed dryer itself; adding dielectric heating, swirling nozzle distributor, and pulsed flow. PFBD has been reported to improve drying rate especially for sticky and difficult- to-fluidize particles. Thus, for heat-sensitive sticky materials, drying performance can be improved further through combinations of various FBD modifications with minimal effect toward its quality.

Particle clusters play a significant role in gas-solid flow systems. Cluster motions are experimentally studied in a multistage circulating fluidized bed. Cluster characteristics including spatial distribution, breakup process, and size are discussed. Dynamic parameters (frequency, duration, and time fraction) are also obtained to characterize cluster behavior by employing the digital image analysis method. The results show that cluster motions gradually weaken along radial and axial directions in the enlarged section. Cluster breakup tends to increase in the enlarged section due to gas turbulence and cluster collision. Cluster frequency, duration, and time fraction decrease with the increasing gas velocity but increase with the increasing solid mass flux. Compared with the conventional riser, cluster size reduces in the enlarged section. Furthermore, the analysis results from cluster dynamic parameters indicate that cluster motions are restricted under the low solid loading.