Mass-Based Environmental Factor and Energy Assessment of Microwave-Assisted Synthesized Transition Metal Nanostructures

This paper describes mass-based energy phase-space projection of microwave-assisted synthesis of transition metals (zinc oxide, palladium, silver, platinum, and gold) nanostructures. The projection uses process energy budget (measured in kJ) on the horizontal axes and process density (measured in kJg−1) on the vertical axes. These two axes allow both mass usage efficiency (Environmental-Factor) and energy efficiency to be evaluated for a range of microwave applicator and metal synthesis. The metrics are allied to the: second, sixth and eleventh principle of the twelve principle of Green Chemistry. This analytical approach to microwave synthesis (widely considered as a useful Green Chemistry energy source) allows a quantified dynamic environmental quotient to be given to renewable plant-based biomass associated with the reduction of the metal precursors. Thus allowing a degree of quantification of claimed “eco-friendly” and “sustainable” synthesis with regard to waste production and energy usage.

Microwave-assisted Synthesis of Al_(4)SiC_(4) and Its Effect on Properties of MgO-C Refractories

Al_(4)SiC_(4) was synthesized from Al powder, silicon carbide, and graphite by microwave sintering, and characterized by XRD and SEM. Then the synthesized material was added to the magnesia carbon refractory brick to study its effect on the oxidation resistance, apparent porosity, bulk density, elastic modulus, and modulus of rupture. It is found that Al_(4)SiC_(4) can be synthesized by microwave sintering at 1 300 ℃ and the addition of Al_(4)SiC_(4)-containing material as an antioxidant can enhance the oxidation resistance of the magnesia carbon refractory brick.

Technology for Enzymolysis of Jellyfish Brain Protein by Bromelain

[Objective] This study aimed to investigate the optimal technology for en- zymolysis of jeUyfish brain protein by bromefain. [Method] Effects of enzymolysis temperature, the amount of added enzyme, solid/liquid ratio, enzymolysis time and pH on the enzymolysis of total protein were investigated through single factor ex- periments, and some technical parameters were optimized by orthogonal experi- ments. [Result] The results revealed that enzymolysis temperature of 55℃, the amount of added enzyme of 4 000 U/g, solid/liquid ratio of 1：4, the amount of added enzyme time for 5 h and pH 7 were the optimal combination of parameters for the enzymolysis; the average degree of hydrolysis obtained from the verification tests was 36.9%, indicating that the optimized results of the orthogonal experiment were credible. [Conclusion] This study provides the optimized conditions reliable theo- retical foundation and technical support for the exploitation and utilization of jellyfish resources as medicines or functional food in China.

Optimization of Microwave-assisted Extraction Technology of Polyphenols from Loropetalum chinense(R. Br.) Oliv

In order to optimize the microwave-assisted extraction technology of polyphenols from Loropetalum chinense （R. Br.） Oliv., the effects of microwave power, ethanol concentration, solid to liquid ratio and extraction time on polyphenols extraction rate were investigated. On the basis of single-factor test, a four-factor and three-level orthogonal test was designed by response surface method to establish a mathematical model between the response value and various factors. The results showed that the intensity of effect of different influencing factor on polyphenols ex- traction rate ranked as microwave power＇s〉solid to liquid ratio＇s〉extraction time＇s〉 ethanol concentration＇s. The optimum microwave-assisted extraction conditions for polyphenols from L. chinense were as follows： extraction power 254 W, ethanol concentration 60%, extraction time 12.5 rain and solid to liquid ratio 1：17. Under the optimum extraction conditions, the extraction rate of polyphenols from L. chinense was 19.17%.

MICROWAVE-ASSISTED EXTRACTION OF GLYCYRRHIZIC ACID FROM LICORICE ROOT-EFFECT OF THE PROPERTY OF SOLUTION ON EXTRACTION OF GA

The property of extraction solution is an important factor influencing the extraction efficiency. In the present work, the effect of the property of solution on extraction of GA was studied, which including the concentration of ethanol, ammonia and cation (M+), pH of extraction solution, different kinds of organic solvent etc. The results show that 50%-60%(v/v) ethanol can reach high percentage extraction of GA. If 1% (v/v) ammonia solution was added into 60%(v/v) ethanol, the percentage extraction can be increased from 2.0% to 2.31%. Without ammonia, 50mmol/L [M+] (M+ = K+, NH4+) was added into 60%(v/v) ethanol, percentage extraction of GA can reach about 2.26%. If pH of solution (60% ethanol) was adjust to pH=4.0, it can reach high percentage extraction. If pH of solution (60% ethanol + 50mmol [M+], pH=6.1) was adjust tO PH=4.0, especially M+ is K+ or NH4+, it can reach almost same extraction efficiency as that of 1% ammonia solution + 60% ethanol, and the operation environment can be greatly improved.

Microwave-assisted extraction of polysaccharides from solanum nigrum

The microwave-assisted method was used to extract polysaccharides from solanum nigrum. The optimum experimental parameters, mechanism of the extraction and the effect of microwave-assisted extraction process on the structures of polysaccharides were investigated. The extract was analyzed by the modified phenol-sulfuric acid method at 490nm. The optimum experimental parameters were obtained by orthogonal experiments as follows: extraction time 15min, microwave radiation power 455W and the process ratio of materials mass to solvent volume 1∶20. The results show that compared with the conventional reflux extraction, the microwave-assisted extraction has a higher yield in shorter time, with no effect on the finally obtained polysaccharides as seen from the FT-IR spectra. The scanning electron microscopy images reveal that the mechanism of the extraction is related to the structural changes of the plant cells in different extracting conditions.

Treatment of Enzymolysis Wastewater by Centrifugation- Coagulation- Fenton Reagent Oxidation- Adsorption Process

[ Objective ] The study aimed to discuss the optimal conditions for the treatment of enzymolysis wastewater by centrifugation - coagu- lation - Fenton reagent oxidation - adsorption process. [ Metbod] According to the water-quality characteristics of wastewater from a heparin so- dium production factory of Jiangsu Province, enzymolysis wastewater was segregated from intestinal lavage wastewater and treated through cen- trifugation- coagulation- Fenton reagent oxidation-adsorption process, and the optimal technical parameters were determined. E Resultl After enzymolysis wastewater was centrifuged at a speed of 4 000 rpm, 0.6 g/L CTS as the coagulant was added to the supematant. Hereafter, pH of the coagulated effluent was adjusted to 3, and then 1.5% （V/V） H2O2 was added to the coagulated effluent; a certain amount of ferrous sul- fate （n H2O2-.n FeSO4 . 7H2O =8：1 ） was added to the mixture; the reaction conducted for 30 min, and then solution pH was adjusted to about 9. Finally, the oxidized effluent flowed through a resin red until the adsorptive capacity reached 240 BV, and COD of the effluent water was lower than 100 mg/L, meeting the Grade-I standard of Comprehensive Discharge Standard of Sewage （GB8978-1996）. [Condusio] The research could provide a new process for the treatment of enzymolysis wastewater.

Low temperature microwave-assisted vs conventional pyrolysis of various biomass feedstocks

A comparison between conventional pyrolysis and a novel developed low-temperature microwave-assisted pyrolysis methodology has been performed for the valorisation of a range of biomass feedstocks including waste residues. Microwave pyrolysis was found to efficiently deliver comparable evolution of bio-gases in the system as compared with conventional pyrolysis at significantly reduced temperatures （120-180 ℃vs 250-400 ℃）. The gas obtained from microwave-assisted pyrolysis was found to contain CO2, CH4 and CO as major components as well

Microwave-assisted Extraction of Isoflavones from Belamcanda chinensis

Microwave-assisted extraction （MAE） of isoflavones from Belamcanda chinensis was studied using ethanol as the solvent. The single factor experiment and the orthogonal method were used to optimize the MAE condition. It was concluded that two doses of intermittent microwave power radiation, 300 W each for 4 rain, were needed for extraction. The mass ratio of solvent to material was 8：1 and the alcohol mass fraction was 80%. The extracted liquor was then concentrated under vacuum and degreased with petroleum ether. The yield of total isofiavones was about 8.8% and the contents of tectoridin and iridin were 67.6% and 16.3% respectively. Compared with direct-heating extraction （DHE）, MAE may shorten extracting duration, reduce solvent consumption, and improve yield and purity of isoflavones from Belamcanda chinensis.

Oxidative depolymerization of lignin improved by enzymolysis pretreatment with laccase

A new lignin depolymerization approach for improving the yield of aromatic monomers（YAM） by enzymolysis pretreatment was investigated, in which lignin was pretreated with laccase followed by oxidative depolymerization. It was found that lignin depolymeirzation was enhanced significantly by enzymolysis. The oxidative depolymerization contributed to 21.37% of YAM after the enzymolysis pretreatment,whereas the conventional oxidative depolymerization only gave 14.10% of YAM. The addition of ethanol in enzymatic pretreatment process improved the efficiency of enzymolysis, which effectively improved the solubility of pretreated lignin and depolymerization degree（DD） of lignin. The enzymolysis pretreatment increased the content of syringyl（S） style aromatic monomers, which hindered the recondensation among polymerized products. As lignin has low solubility in acidic aqueous solution, ethanol was added into enzymolysis system to improve the efficiency. However, the enzymolysis of lignin should be carried out for a limited period of time to prevent the inactivation of laccase.

Microwave-assisted Extraction of Effective Compounds from Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine Ciwujia

Microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) for active ingredients in Ciwujia was studied by using ethanol as the extractant. Comparing MAE with conventional methods, the former can save the extracting time and increase the content of the active ingredients in product. As to the operation in MAE, the continuous radiation process is more convenient for the extraction for traditional Chinese medicine than the intermittent radiation process. Optimized by uniform design, MAE was proved to be an effective and novel process for extracting active ingredients in Ciwujia. The optimized MAE conditions are as follows: the microwave power is 510W, the radiation time 30min, the alcohol concentration at 80%, the ratio of solvent to solid material being 5:1, the soaking time 0.5h, and the herbal particle size is (520±19)μm.

Effect of microwave-assisted acidification on the microstructure of coal:XRD,^(1)H-NMR, and SEM studies

Microwave heating contributes to coal fracturing and gas desorption. However, problems of low penetration depth, local overheating and fracture closure exist. Coal demineralisation by acids has advantages in coal unblocking and permeability improvement, while it is difficult for acid to enter microcracks.Microwave-asisted acidification may offer an alternative. In this work, XRD,^(1)H-NMR, and SEM were used to evaluate the effect of microwave-assisted acidification on the microstructure of coal. Results show that kaolinite, calcite, and dolomite can be dissolved by acid. After microwave irradiation, the graphitization of microcrystalline structure of carbon improves. Microwave-assisted acidification erodes minerals in coal and enhances the graphitization degree of microcrystalline structure. Compared to individual microwave irradiation or acidification, the pore volume and pore connectivity can be greatly enhanced by microwave-assisted acidification. The NMR permeability of coal increased by 28.05%. This study demonstrates the potential of microwave-assisted acidification for coalbed methane recovery.

Microwave-assisted Extraction of Rutin and Quercetin from Flos Sophorae

Three microwave-assisted extraction(MAE) procedures were studied. The first procedure was household microwave oven dynamic extraction(HMODE). The second procedure was special microwave oven bath extraction(SMOBE). The third procedure was microwave resonant cavity dynamic extraction(MRCDE). The results obtained by the three microwave-assisted extraction procedures were compared with those obtained by using traditional Soxhlet extraction. The results indicate that the MAE not only took a shorter time, but also simplified the procedure, and made the extraction a higher yield. At the same time the results obtained by the three MAE procedures were also compared with each other.

Optimization of microwave-assisted extraction of bioactive alkaloids from lotus plumule using response surface methodology

In this work,a fast and efficient microwave-assisted extraction(MAE) method was developed to extract main bioactive alkaloids from lotus plumue.To optimize MAE conditions,three main factors were selected using univariate approach experiments,and then central composite design(CCD).The optimal extraction conditions were as follows:methanol concentration of 65%,microwave power of 200 W,and extraction time of 260 s.A high performance liquid chromatography–diode array detector(HPLC–DAD) method was established to quantitatively analyze these phytochemicals in different lotus plumule samples and in different part of lotus.Chromatographic separation was carried out on an Agilent Zorbax Extend-C_(18) column(4.6 mm×150 mm,3.5 μm).Gradient elution was applied with the mobile phase constituted with 0.1% triethylamine in water(A)and acetonitrile(B):40%-70% B at 0-8 min,70%-100% B at 8–9 min,100% B for 2 min,and then equilibrated with 40% B for 2 min.

Microwave-assisted Micellar Extraction and Determination of Glycyrrhizic Acid and Liquiritin in Licorice Root by HPLC

The feasibility of emploving non-ionic surfactant （Triton X-100） as an alternative and effective solventfor the microwave-assisted extraction of glycyrrhizic acid （GA） and liquiritin （LQ） from licorice root was studied.The optimal extraction parameters based on the microwave-assisted micellar extraction technique were determined.Under the optimal conditions, i.e. 5% （by volume） Triton X-100, microwave-assisted extraction for 3--5min at 373K, the percentage extraction of active ingredients reached the highest value. The preconcentration tactor for GA and L＇Q （about 13.5） and the extraction efficiency for these two ingredients approached 100% showed the coupling of microwave-assisted extraction and cloud-point extraction could be employed as a new and. effective techniquefor the rapid extraction and preconcentration of pharrnacologically active ingredients from medicinal plants SUCh aslicorice root without disturbing chromatographic analysis.

Microwave-assisted solvent extraction of castor oil from castor seeds

This study was aimed at evaluating the physicochemical properties and oxidation stability of castor oil using microwave-assisted solvent extraction(MAE). MAE was performed using 5% ethanol in hexane as solvent at different extraction times, power intensities and solvent-to-feed(S/F, ml of solvent to gram of feed) ratios.The process parameters were optimized by statistical approach using historical data design of response surface method(RSM). The oils were characterized for yield, physicochemical properties, dielectric properties and oxidation stability, and comparison was also made with oil extracted using Soxhlet method. Results show that the maximum oil yield of 37% was obtained at 20 min with microwave power intensity of 330 W and S/F ratio of 20. The main fatty acid composition of castor oil is ricinoleic acid. The density, refractive index, dielectric properties and oxidation stability of oils are not affected by the extraction methods and extraction parameters of MAE. However, the MAE-extracted oil is more viscous compared to that by Soxhlet method. With extra caution on oil oxidation, MAE could be a promising solvent extraction method with an 86% less in processing time and a higher yield.

Dynamic microwave-assisted extraction combined with liquid phase microextraction based on the solidification of a floating drop for the analysis of organochlorine pesticides in grains followed by GC

A convenient,cost-effective and fast method using dynamic microwave-assisted extraction and liquid phase microextraction based on the solidification of a floating drop was proposed to analyze organochlorine pesticides in grains including rice,maize and millet.Twelve samples can be processed simultaneously in the method.During the extraction process,10%acetonitrile-water solutions containing 110μL of n-hexadecane were used to extract organochlorine pesticides.Subsequently,1.0 g sodium chloride was placed in the extract,and then centrifuged and cooled.The n-hexadecane drops containing the analytes were solidifi ed and transferred for determination by gas chromatography-electron capture detector without any further filtration or cleaning process.Limits of detection for organochlorine pesticides were 0.97–1.01μg/kg and the RSDs were in the range of 2.6%–8.5%.The developed technology has succeeded in analyzing six real grains samples and the recoveries of the organochlorine pesticides were 72.2%–94.3%.Compared with the published extraction methods,the developed method was used to analyze organochlorine pesticides in grains,being more environmentally friendly,which is suitable for the daily determination of organochlorine pesticides.

Green evaluation of microwave-assisted leaching process of high titanium slag on life cycle assessment

A greenness evaluation index and system of microwave-assisted leaching method were established.The effects of the life cycle assessment variables,such as the resource consumption,environment impact,cost,time and quality,were investigated,and the concept of green degree was applied in the production of synthetic rutile.An analytic hierarchy process was utilized to assess matrix of greenness evaluation.The Gauss-Seidel iterative matrix method was employed to solve the assessment matrix and obtain the weights and membership functions of all evaluation indexes.A fuzzy decision-making method was applied to build the greenness evaluation model,and then the scores of green degree in microwave-assisted leaching process was obtained.The greenness evaluation model was applied to the life cycle assessment of the microwave-assisted leaching process.The results show that the microwave-assisted leaching process has advantages over the conventional ones,with respect to energy-consumption,processing time and environmental protection.

Microwave-assisted extraction of Shenfu coal and its macromolecule structure

Coals consist of some molecules trapped within an organic matrix from which some organic compounds can be extracted by solvents. The Soxhlet technique has been widely used for extracting organic compounds. Microwave heating methods may be successfully applied in the field of coal science. Acetone extraction yields and the chemical composition of the extract were investigated using a typical Chinese coal, Shenfu coal, with microwave-assisted extraction. The acetone extract and residue were analyzed by GC/MS and carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy respectively. The carbon spectra were converted into several numerical parameters, fa, Ha, Xb, which indicate the difference in macromolecular structure between Shenfu coal and its residue. Furthermore, a hybrid genetic algorithm was employed using these parameters to approximate a coal macromolecule by assembling the structural fragments or functional groups into a large and complicated structure.

Microwave-assisted Polymerization of D,L-Lactide with Stannous Octanoate as Catalyst

Poly (lactic acid) (PLA) was synthesized by microwave-assisted ring-opening polymerization of D, L-lactide with stannous octanoate (SnOct(2)) as catalyst. Its weight-average molar mass (M-w) ranged from 39000 to 67000 and the polydispersity index from 1.3 to 1.7. The polymerization rate was much faster than that of the conventional thermal polymerization. A degradation of newly formed PLA in reaction mixture by microwave irradiation was observed.