Optimization of a continuous ultrasound assisted oxidative desulfurization(UAOD) process of diesel using response surface methodology(RSM) considering operating cost

A continuous-flow ultrasound-assisted oxidative desulfurization(UAOD)of partially hydro-treated diesel has been investigated using hydrogen peroxide-formic acid as simple and easy to apply oxidation system.The effects of different operating parameters of oxidation stage including residence time(2–24 min),formic acid to sulfur molar ratio(10–150),and oxidant to sulfur molar ratio(5–35)on the sulfur removal have been studied using response surface methodology(RSM)based on Box–Behnken design.Considering the operating costs of the continuous-flow oxidation stage including chemical and electrical energy consumption,the appropriate values of operating parameters were selected as follows:residence time of 16 min,the formic acid to sulfur molar ratio of 54.47,and the oxidant to sulfur molar ratio of 8.24.In these conditions,the sulfur removal and the volume ratio of the hydrocarbon phase to the aqueous phase were 86.90%and 4.34,respectively.By drastic reduction in the chemical consumption in the oxidation stage,the volume ratio of the hydrocarbon phase to the aqueous phase was increased up to 10.Therefore,the formic acid to sulfur molar ratio and the oxidant to sulfur molar ratio were obtained 23.64 and 3.58,respectively,which lead to sulfur removal of 84.38%with considerable improvements on the operating cost of oxidation stage in comparison with the previous works.

Ultrasound-assisted Extraction of Kamebakaurin from Rabdosia excisa by Response Surface Methodology

For the efficient extraction of kamebakaurin（KA）, the ultrasound-assisted extraction（UAE） of KA from Rabdosia excisa（R, excisa） via response surface methodology（RSM） was investigated with high-performance liquid chromatography（HPLC）. Effects of the experimental parameters such as extraction solvent, ratio of liquid to plant material, extraction time and extraction temperature on the extracting efficiency of KA from R. excisa were evaluated, and the purity of KA in residual was calculated. The optimized conditions were 65.5%（volume fraction） acetone, 35 ℃, time of 24.6 min with ultrasound of 80 W/L, 40 kHz, ratio of liquid to plant material at 30：1（mL/g）. The maximum yield of KA is 0.708 mg/kg, with mean purity of 6.09%, indicating that ultrasound-assisted extraction is a feasible and useful method for extracting KA from R. excisa.

Determination of contents of eight alkaloids in fruits of Macleaya cordata (Willd) R. Br. from different habitats and antioxidant activities of extracts

A reliable ultrasound-assisted extraction （UAE） method combined with HPLC-UV for quantification of eight active alkaloids in fruits of Macleaya cordata （Willd） R. Br. was developed. The optimization conditions of UAE were obtained by using Box-Behnken design of response surface methodology. Chromatography was carried out using a Kromasil C18 column by gradient elution with 0.1% phosphoric acid aqueous solution for HPLC-UV. All calibration curves showed good linear correlation coefficients （R^2〉0.999 6） and recoveries （from 97.3% to 104.9%） were acceptable. 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl （DPPH） method was employed to test the antioxidant activity of the extract from the samples. The proposed method was successfully applied to quantifying eight components in nine samples of M.cordata, and significant variations of alkaloid contents and antioxidant aetivity of the samples from different habitats were demonstrated. It presents a powerful proof for the selection of the best sources to extract eight kinds of alkaloids.

Preparation of ferric oxide-aluminium oxide carbon nanofiber nanocomposites for ultrasound-assisted dispersive magnetic solid phase extraction of 17-beta estradiol in wastewater

In this work,Fe3O4-Al2O3@CNFs nanocomposite was synthesised and used as a nanosorbent in the ultrasound-assisted dispersive magnetic solid phase extraction(UA-DMSPE)of 17-beta estradiol(E2)in wastewater samples.The quantification of E2 was achieved using high performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detector(HPLC-DAD).Various parameters affecting the efficiency of this sample preparation technique were optimised to achieve excellent sensitivity and high recoveries of E2.Response surface methodology was utilised for optimisation of these parameters.Using the optimised conditions,the linear dynamic range was achieved in the range of 0.1e1000 mgL^-1and the correlation coefficient was found to be 0.9981.The preconcentration factor,enrichment factor,limit of detection(LOD)and limit of quantification(LOQ)were 67,169,0.025 mgL^-1and 0.083 mg L1,respectively.The relative standard deviation(%RSD)for the intraday(n?10)and interday(n?5 working days)were 1.8%and 3.3%,respectively.The developed UA-DMSPE/HPLC-DAD method was applied for the preconcentration and determination of E2 in wastewater samples.The obtained results indicated that E2 was present in the wastewater samples.