Preparation and properties of waste tea leaves particleboard

Urea-formaldehyde （UF） adhesive is the main source of formaldehyde emission from UF-bonded boards. The components in waste tea leaves can react with formaldehyde to serve as a raw material in the production of low formaldehyde emission boards. In our study, waste tea leaves and UF adhesive were employed in the preparation of waste tea leaves particleboard （WTLB）. An orthogonal experimental method was applied to investigate the effects of process parameters on formaldehyde emission and mechanical properties of WTLB. The results indicated that： 1） waste tea leaves had the ability to abate formaldehyde emission from boards; and 2） density of the WTLB was a significant factor affecting its modulus of rupture （MOR）, modulus of elasticity （MOE） and internal bonding （IB）.

Development and validation of an analytical method for detecting chlorantraniliprole residues in fresh tea leaves

An efficient method using multiwalled carbon nanotubes(MWCNTs)as dispersive solid-phase extraction sorbent was established for determining chlorantraniliprole residues in fresh tea leaves,which are known to be a troublesome matrix containing abundant pigments,via gas chromatography with an electron capture detector.Acetonitrile was used as the extraction solvent,with sodium chloride enhancing the analyte partition in the organic phase.The optimal mixture of MWCNTs and primary secondary amine(PSA)was based on the distribution of the target analyte recovery and on the clean-up efficiency;while matrix-matched calibration was recommended to combat the matrix effect.Mean recoveries of 95.2%–108.8%were obtained with intraday and interday precisions of less than 7.9%and 10.3%,respectively.Good linearity was observed for concentrations of 0.02–1.0 mg/kg with a correlation coefficient of 0.9984.The limits of detection and quantification were 0.005 mg/kg and 0.02 mg/kg,respectively.The method was employed to investigate the dissipation dynamics of chlorantraniliprole in fresh tea leaves with real field samples.Consequently,the dissipation rates of chlorantraniliprole in fresh tea leaves followed pseudo-first-order kinetics with a half-life of 1.9 d,and the average chlorantraniliprole residue content was below 0.02 mg/kg with a harvest withholding period of 14 d.

Determination of 18 Kinds of Amino Acids in Fresh Tea Leaves by HPLC Coupled with Pre-column Derivatization

A rapid and accurate quantitative method of high performance liquid chromatography( HPLC) with fluorescence detector has been developed for the analysis of 18 kinds of amino acids in fresh tea leaves. The samples were minced and mixed,and extracted with ultra pure water at 90℃ for 20 min. The 6-aminoquinolyl N-hydroxy-succinimidyl carbamate( AQC) was used as pre-column derivatization reagent. Gradient HPLC separation was performed on a C_(18) column( Symmetry C_(18),3. 9 mm × 15 cm,4 μm). Good linearity between concentrations and peak areas was achieved in the concentration range of 5. 0-250 μmol/L for 18 kinds of amino acids. The method was validated by the analysis of five replicates. The 18 kinds of amino acid standards were spiked in fresh tea leaf samples and the average recovery rate was 86. 25%-109. 05% with relative standard deviations( n = 5) ranging from 6. 03% to 10. 56%. The limit of detection( LOD) for the analytes was0. 05-1. 27 μmol/L. The method was successfully applied to the analysis of the 18 kinds of amino acids in fresh tea leaves from east Dongting and west Dongting mountains in Suzhou. The results indicate that the method is simple,rapid,precise and reliable.

Utilization of Infused Tea Leaves (Camellia sinensis) for the Removal of Pb2+, Fe2+ and Cd2+ Ions from Aqueous Solution: Equilibrium and Kinetic Studies

In this study, infused tea leaves as a low-cost adsorbent have been used in the removal of the Pb2+, Fe2+ and Cd2+ ions from aqueous solution. The adsorption study was carried out in a batch process and the effects of parameters such as initial pH, adsorbent dose, contact time and initial metal ion concentration were investigated. Experimental results showed that the maximum adsorption of metal ions occurred at pH 5 for Pb2+ and Fe2+ and at pH 6 for Cd2+. Adsorption of metal ions increased with increasing adsorbent concentration and contact time. The isothermal data for the adsorption of metal ions by infused tea leaves were found to fit well with the Langmuir equations. Based on the experimental data of the Langmuir isotherm model, the maximum adsorption capacities of the metal ions onto the infused tea leaves were found in the order of Pb2+ > Cd2+ > Fe2+ with the adsorption capacities of 26.32 mg·gǃ, 14.29 mg·gǃ and 12.38 mg·gǃ respectively. The adsorption process followed the pseudo-second order reaction and the corresponding rate constant were found to be 4.30 × 10Dž g·mgǃ·minǃ, 1.75 × 10ǃ g·mgǃ·minǃ and 1.45 × 10DŽ g·mgǃ·minǃ for Pb2+, Fe2+ and Cd2+ ions respectively.

Degradation of Dye Wastewater by Pulsed High-Voltage Discharge Combined with Spent Tea Leaves

Degradation of methylene blue （MB） was performed using the pulsed discharge process （PDP） combined with spent tea leaves （STLs）. The effects of STL dosage, concentration of initial solution, and pH were analyzed in the combined treatment. Results showed that the combined treatment was effective for dye wastewater degradation; when the dosage of STLs was 3.2 g/L, the degradation efficiency reached 90% after 15 rain treatment, and STLs showed a good repeatability. The degradation rate decreased with increasing initial MB concentration but not related to the solution pH in the combined treatment. Fourier-transform infrared spectra and N2 adsorption suggested that the number of acidic and basic groups in the STL surface increased after the treatment, but the surface area and pore volume remained unchanged.

Adsorptive Removal of Heavy Metals from Aqueous Solution with Environmental Friendly Material—Exhausted Tea Leaves

In this study adsorptive removal of Pb(II) and Cu(II) from aqueous solution by using environmental friendly natural polymers present in exhausted tea leaves has been studied. The biosorbent was modified with dimethylamine to introduce N-functional groups on the surface of adsorbent. The modified adsorbent was characterized by elemental analysis, zeta potential analysis, SEM, DRFTIR, XRD and TG/DTA analysis to conform the modification. Adsorption capacity of the adsorbent was determined as the function of pH of the solution, initial concentration of the solution and contact time. The adsorption experiments were performed using batch experiments. The maximum adsorption capacities of the adsorbent were found to be 91.68 and 71.20 mg/g for Pb(II) and Cu(II), respectively. To minimize the process cost, regeneration of the biosorbent and recovery of metal ions was explored by desorption study. The results indicate that the adsorbent holds great potential for the sequestration of Pb(II) and Cu(II) from their aqueous solution. Hence the modified exhausted tea leaves (MTL) have been investigated as a new cost effective and efficient biosorbent for removal of Pb(II) and Cu(II) from their aqueous solution.

Changes in Polyphenols and Antioxidant Activities of Yingshan Yunwu Tea during Digestion in Vitro

[Objectives]To explore the change rule of polyphenol content and antioxidant activity of coarse old leaves of Yingshan Yunwu Tea in the process of human digestion.[Methods]The coarse and old leaves of Yunwu tea in Yingshan,Huanggang,Hubei Province were selected as the research object,and their digestion in vitro was simulated.The total polyphenol content was determined by Folin-phenol reagent colorimetric method,and the DPPH radical scavenging activity and total antioxidant activity were determined.[Results]After simulated gastrointestinal digestion in vitro,the polyphenol content and antioxidant activity of coarse old leaf tea soup showed a downward trend.After gastrointestinal digestion,the polyphenol content in tea infusion separately decreased by 31.8%and 8.5%;the scavenging rate of DPPH free radical was 97%before digestion,decreased to 92%after gastric digestion and 65%after intestinal digestion,which decreased by 5%and 27%,respectively;after gastrointestinal digestion,the total antioxidant capacity of tea soup decreased by 4.7%and 3.1%,respectively.[Conclusions]This study provided a reference for the development and application of coarse old leaves of Yingshan Yunwu tea,and provided a reference for the nutritional value evaluation and comprehensive utilization of coarse old leaves,so as to make the best use of coarse tea leaves and reduce the waste of resources.

Study of ciprofloxacin removal by biochar obtained from used tea leaves

In this study, used tea leaves （UTLs） were pyrolyzed to obtain used tea-leaf biochar （UTC）, and then the UTC was used as an adsorbent to remove ciprofioxacin （CIP） from aqueous solutions. Batch experiments were conducted to investigate the CIP adsorption performance and mechanism. The results showed that the CIP-adsorbing ability first increased and then declined as the UTC pyrolysis temperature increased. The UTC obtained at 450℃ presented excellent CIP-absorbing ability at pH 6 and 40℃. The maximum monolayer adsorption capacity was 238.10 mg/g based on the Langrnuir isotherm model. The pseudo-second-order kinetic equation agreed well with the CIP adsorption process, which was controlled by both external boundary layer diffusion and intra-particle diffusion. The characterization analysis revealed that the - OH groups, G=C bonds of aromatic rings, C- H groups in aromatic tings and phenolic C - O bonds play vital roles in the CIP adsorption process, and that the N - C, N - O, O- C-O and C- OH groups of UTC were consumed in large quantities. π-π interactions, hydrogen bonding and electrostatic attraction are inferred as the main adsorption mechanisms. The present work provides not only a feasible and promising approach for UTLs utilization but also a potential adsorbent material for removing high concentrations of CIP from aqueous solutions.

Real-time monitoring of optimum timing for harvesting fresh tea leaves based on machine vision

The harvesting time of fresh tea leaves has a significant impact on product yield and quality.The aim of this study was to propose a method for real-time monitoring of the optimum harvesting time for picking fresh tea leaves based on machine vision.Firstly,the shapes of fresh tea leaves were distinguished from RGB images of the tea-tree canopy after graying with the improved B-G algorithm,filtering with a median filter algorithm,binary processing with the Otsu algorithm,and noise reduction and edge smoothing using open and close operations.Then the leaf characteristics,such as leaf area index,average length,and leaf identification index,were calculated.Based on these,the Bayesian discriminant principle and method were used to construct a discriminant model for fresh tea-leaf collection status.When this method was applied to a RGB tea-tree canopy image acquired at 45°shooting angle,the fresh tea-leaf recognition rate was 90.3%,and the accuracy for fresh tea-leaf harvesting status was 98%by cross validation.Hence,this method provides the basic conditions for future tea-plantation operation and management using information technology,automation,and intelligent systems.

Optimization of methyl orange removal from aqueous solution by response surface methodology using spent tea leaves as adsorbent

The effective disposal of redundant tea waste is crucial to environmental protection and comprehensive utilization of trash resources. In this work, the removal of methyl orange （MO） from aqueous solution using spent tea leaves as the sorbent was investigated in a batch experiment. First, the effects of various parameters such as temperature, adsorption time, dose of spent tea leaves, and initial concentration of MO were investigated. Then, the response surface methodology （RSM）, based on Box- Behnken design, was employed to obtain the optimum adsorption conditions. The optimal conditions could be obtained at an initial concentration of MO of 9.75 mg·L-1, temperature of 35.3℃, contact time of 63.8 min, and an adsorbent dosage 3.90 g· L-1. Under the optimized condi- tions, the maximal removal of MO was 58.2%. The results indicate that spent tea leaves could be used as an effective and economical adsorbent in the removal of MO from aqueous solution.

The Spectral Emission Characteristics of Laser Induced Plasma on Tea Samples

Laser induced breakdown spectroscopy （LIBS） provides a useful technique for food security as well as determining nutrition contents. In this paper, optical emission studies of laser induced plasma on commercial tea samples were carried out. The spectral intensities of Mg, Mn, Ca, A1, C and CN vibration bands varying with laser energy and the detection delay time of an intensified charge coupled device were studied. In addition, the relative concentrations of six microelements, i.e., Mg, Mn, Ca, Al, Na and K, were analyzed semi-quantitatively as well as H, for four kinds of tea samples. Moreover, the plasma parameters were explored, including electron temperature and electron number density. The electron temperature and electron number density were around 11000 K and 1017 cm-3, respectively. The results show that it is reasonable to consider the LIBS technique as a new method for analyzing the compositions of tea leaf samples.

Natural tea-leaf-derived, ternary-doped 3D porous carbon as a high-performance electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction

To commercialize fuel cells and metal-air batteries, cost-effective, highly active catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction （ORR） must be developed. Herein, we describe the development of low-cost, heteroatom （N, P, Fe） ternary-doped, porous carbons （HDPC）. These materials are prepared by one-step pyrolysis of natural tea leaves treated with an iron salt, without any chemical and physical activation. The natural structure of the tea leaves provide a 3D hierarchical porous structure after carbonization. Moreover, heteroatom containing organic compounds in tea leaves act as precursors to functionalize the resultant carbon frameworks. In addition, we found that the polyphenols present in tea leaves act as ligands, reacting with Fe ions to form coordination compounds; these complexes acted as the precursors for Fe and N active sites. After pyrolysis, the as-prepared HDPC electrocatalysts, especially HDPC-800 （pyrolyzed at 800℃）, had more positive onsets, half-wave potentials, and higher catalytic activities for the ORR, which proceeds via a direct four-electron reaction pathway in alkaline media, similar to commercial Pt/C catalysts. Furthermore, HDPC-X also showed enhanced durability and better tolerance to methanol crossover and CO poisoning effects in comparison to commercial Pt/C, making them promising alternatives for state-of-the-art ORR electrocatalysts for electrochemical energy conversion. The method used here provides valuable guidelines for the design of high-performance ORR electrocatalysts from natural sources at the industrial scale.