Development and Characterization of Eco-Friendly Non-Isocyanate Urethane Monomer from Jatropha curcas Oil for Wood Composite Applications

The aim of this research work was to evaluate the potential of using renewable natural feedstock,i.e.,Jatropha curcas oil(JCO)for the synthesis of non-isocyanate polyurethane(NIPU)resin for wood composite applications.Commercial polyurethane(PU)is synthesized through a polycondensation reaction between isocyanate and poly-ol.However,utilizing toxic and unsustainable isocyanates for obtaining PU could contribute to negative impacts on the environment and human health.Therefore,the development of PU from eco-friendly and sustainable resources without the isocyanate route is required.In this work,tetra-n-butyl ammonium bromide was used as the activator to open the epoxy ring with 3-Aminopropyltriethoxisylane as a catalyst to yield urethane of JCO(UJCO).The UJCO were characterized by Fourier Transform Infra-Red spectroscopy(FTIR)and their oxirane,and hydroxyl values were measured.The result showed that a decrease in oxirane value was found while the hydroxyl value was increased during the time,confirming that the urethane group was formed.The presence of functional groups in FTIR spectra at wave numbers 1732.08,1562.34,and 3348.42 cm^(−1) indicates the functional groups of C=O(urethane carbonyl),–NH,and–OH,respectively confirmed this finding.The potential applications of NIPU in the wood composite were also outlined.

<i>In</i><i>Silico</i>Mining of EST-SSRs in Jatropha curcas L. towards Assessing Genetic Polymorphism and Marker Development for Selection of High Oil Yielding Clones

In recent years, Jatropha curcas L. has gained popularity as a potential biodiesel plant. The varying oil content, reported between accessions belonging to different agroclimatic zones, has necessitated the assessment of the existing genetic variability to generate reliable molecular markers for selection of high oil yielding variety. EST derived SSR markers are more useful than genomic markers as they represent the transcriptome, thus, directly linked to functional genes. The present report describes the in silico mining of the microsatellites (SSRs) using J. curcas ESTs from various tissues viz. embryo, root, leaf and seed available in the public domain of NCBI. A total of 13,513 ESTs were downloaded. From these ESTs, 7552 unigenes were obtained and 395 SSRs were generated from 377 SSR-ESTs. These EST-SSRs can be used as potential microsatellite markers for diversity analysis, MAS etc. Since the Jatropha genes carrying SSRs have been identified in this study, thus, EST-SSRs directly linked to genes will be useful for developing trait linked markers.

Synthesis of biodiesel from Jatropha curcas L. seed oil using artificial zeolites loaded with CH3COOK as a heterogeneous catalyst

An environmentally benign process was devel-oped for the transesterification of Jatropha curcas L. seed oil with methanol using artificial zeolites loaded with potassium acetate as a heterogeneous catalyst. After calcination for 5 h at 823 K, the catalyst loaded with 47 wt.% CH3COOK exhibited the highest efficiency and best catalytic activity. The easily prepared cata-lysts were characterized by means of X-ray dif-fraction and IR spectroscopy, as well as Hammett indicator titration. The results revealed a strong dependence of catalytic activity on ba-sicity. The optimum reaction conditions for transesterification of J. curcas oil were also in-vestigated. The methyl ester content in the bio-diesel product exceeded 91% after 4h reaction at reflux temperature in the presence of 2% solid catalyst and no water washing process is needed during workup.

Growth and Transpiration of <i>Jatropha curcas</i>L. Seedlings under Natural Atmospheric Vapour Pressure Deficit and Progressive Soil Drying in Semi-Arid Climate

During the last decade, Jatropha curcas L. (J. curcas) has gained much attention worldwide as biofuel crop. Although its cultivation is promoted in the Sahel, there is a surprising lack of data on its water use regulation and growth in this region. Here, we investigated, in semi-controlled conditions, leaf transpiration and growth of six accessions of J. curcas at seedling stage under natural changing in vapour pressure deficit (VPD) and progressive soil drying in Senegal. The experimental layout was a randomized complete bloc design and after 3 months of growth arranged to a split-plot at the implementation of water stress to facilitate irrigation. Under well water condition, there was no significant difference between accessions for leave transpiration that was positively correlated to VPD with high values recorded between 13 h and 14 h pm. Accessions of J. curcas used in this study showed closed thresholds at which transpiration declined except accession from Ndawene that threshold was lower (0.30). There is no significant difference between accessions for growth during the experimentation period. In 3 months, we recorded 23.57 g for the aboveground dry biomass and seedlings had about 14 leaves and 24.3 cm height. Positive linear correlation was recorded between aboveground biomass and root dry weight (p J. curcas might need complement irrigation for a better growth of seedlings especially during the dry season.

Development of a New Bio-Based Insulating Fluid from <i>Jatropha curcas</i>Oil for Power Transformers

The present work aims to develop a new vegetable insulating fluid for power transformers based on Jatropha curcas oil. Besides its technical benefits, Jatropha curcas oil has a socio-economic role by promoting income to rural families, contributing to the countryside development and avoiding rural exodus. Thus, the entire transformer oil production (extraction, processing, characterization and accelerated aging) was covered and a new process was developed. For oil extraction, the most suitable process was the solvent extraction (5 mL of hexane per gram of crushed non-peeled seeds during 30 minutes) with an oil yield of 32%. In raw oil processing stage, the degumming, with 0.4 g of phosphoric acid per 100 g of oil, at 70°C, was used to remove phosphatides. Then, free fatty acids were 96% neutralized with a sodium hydroxide solution (0.5% w/w) at room temperature. For the oil clarification, the combination of 5% w/woil of activated carbon and 1% w/woil of MgO resulted in a bright, odorless and clear oil with an acid number of 0.04 mgKOH·g﹣1. The oil drying in a vacuum rotary evaporator, at 70°C, for 2 hours reduced the water content to 177 ppm. The processed oil was characterized following ASTM D6871 methods. This oil presented higher dielectric breakdown voltage (55 kV) than commercial transformer fluids (BIOTEMP?, EnvirotempFR3?, and Bivolt?), which increases transformer safety, capacity and lifetime. In addition, the processed oil has a lower viscosity than BIOTEMP? fluid, which can enhance the heat dissipation efficiency in the transformer. Moreover, the processed oil flash and fire points of 310°C and >340°C, respectively, confirm the great security of vegetable insulating fluids. The analyzed properties of the processed oil fulfill all the ASTM D6871, ABNT NBR 15422 and IEC 62770 specifications. Therefore, Jatropha curcas oil is a potential substitute formineral insulating fluids.

Pyrolysis Oil from the Fruit and Cake of Jatropha curcas Produced Using a Low Temperature Conversion (LTC) Process: Analysis of a Pyrolysis Oil-Diesel Blend

Background: The LTC process is a technique that consists of heating solid residues at a temperature of 380oC - 420oC in an inert atmosphere and their products are evaluated individually: these products include pyrolysis oil, pyrolytic char, gas and water. The objective of this study was to compare the effects of the use of oils obtained by pyrolysis of Jatropha curcas as an additive for diesel in different proportions. Results: A Low Temperature Conversion (LTC) process carried out on samples of Jatropha curcas fruit and generated pyrolysis oil, pyrolyic char, gas and aqueous fractions in relative amounts of 23, 37, 16 and 14% [w/w] respectively for Jatropha curcas fruit and 19, 47, 12 and 22% [w/w] respectively for Jatropha curcas cake. The oil fractions were analyzed by FTIR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, GCMS and physicochemical analysis. The pyrolysis oil was added to final concentrations of 2, 5, 10 and 20% [w/w] to commercial diesel fuel. The density, viscosity, sulfur content and flash point of the mixtures were determined. Conclusions: The results indicated that the addition of the pyrolysis oil maintained the mixtures within the standards of the diesel directive, National Petroleum Agency (ANP no 15, of 19. 7. 2006), with the exception of the viscosity of the mixtures containing 20% pyrolysis oil.

Response of Jatropha on a Clay Soil to Different Concentrations of Micronutrients

In recent years Jatropha curcas L. has emerged as a biofuel crop with potential for its production in marginal land with application of treated sewage water. Since this is a new crop for its profitable cultivation, additional research is needed to develop optimal management programs, including macro and micronutrients applications. A pot experiment was conducted in a Greenhouse at the National Research Center, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt, during 2010 summer to evaluate effects of varying concentrations of iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), and zinc (Zn) in irrigation water (0, 50, 100, 150, 200 and 250 ppm) on the growth, biomass production, photosynthetic pigments, and mineral nutrients status in the plants. Increasing concentrations of Fe, Mn, and Zn in irrigation water up to 150 ppm increased the biomass weight, photosynthetic pigments, and nutrient uptake by Jatropha plants. Further increase in concentrations of micronutrients showed negative effects on the above response parameters. Therefore, this study demonstrates that Jatropha can be grown under irrigation using waste water containing reasonable concentrations of micronutrients and heavy metals. This property of Jatropha provides some support for potential use of this crop for phytoremediation of metal contaminated soils. However, long term field research is needed to further verify both the above beneficial effects.

Production, Characterisation and Fatty Acid Composition of <i>Jatropha curcas</i>Biodiesel as a Viable Alternative to Conventional Diesel Fuel in Nigeria

Ethyl ester biodiesel has been produced from a non-edible Jatropha curcas oil. Oil was extracted from the plant seed using n-hexane at 60°C and pretreated by alkaline refining process to reduce the free fatty acid level to less than 1%. Base-catalysed transesterification reaction with absolute ethanol using potassium hydroxide catalyst was adopted for the conversion. Various physicochemical properties of the refined Jatropha curcas oil were investigated. The ethyl ester biodiesel produced was characterised for its fuel properties such as specific gravity at 15°C, flash point, pour point, kinematic viscosity, cetane number, iodine value and higher heating value using American Society for Testing and Materials Standard Methods. The crude and refined Jatropha curcas oil yields were 58.16% and 52.5%. The physicochemical analysis revealed FFA, saponification value and peroxide value of refined Jatropha curcas oil to be 0.58 mg KOH/g, 159.9 and 1.92 m E/kg respectively. The fatty acid composition obtained from gas chromatography (GC) revealed that the oil contained 44.85% oleic acid as the dominant fatty acid, while Margaric 0.01% and Behenic 0.02% the least. The biodiesel yield was 57.6%, and its measured fuel properties conformed with ASTM 6751 and EN 14214 standards.

Gene cloning,expression analysis of JcACP (Acyl Carrier Protein) in Jatropha curcas L. and its prokaryotical expression

Objective To clone the ACP(acyl carrier protein)gene in Jatropha curcas L.,a potential anti-tumour and anti-fungal plant.And to determinate the expression of ACP in Jatropha curcas L.Methods A cDNA clone encoding ACP(acyl carrier protein)was isolated from Jatropha curcas L.endosperm cDNA library by random sequencing.The expression of ACP gene was investigated by semi-quantitative RT-PCR in leaves,stems and seeds of J.curca.The expression of ACP was also investigated in germinating seeds.The fragment encoding ACP protein in J.curca.was inserted into a prokaryotic expression vector pET28a(+).The gene was overexpressed in E.coli BL21 to produce abundant protein.Immunohistochemical analysis was used to detect the expression of ACP in different tissues of J.curca.Results The cDNA sequence was 806 bp in length and the ORF was 393 bp.The predicted molecular weight of the putative protein was 14.4 kD,pI=5.2.It contained a 4'-phosphopantetheine-binding motif.This prosthetic group can be combined with Serine of ACP protein.Semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis showed that ACP gene was expressed in leaves,stems and seeds of J.curcas.The expression level of ACP was the highest in seeds and it was not detected in roots.After seeds germinated,the expression level of ACP in seeds increased progressively and reached a peak at 96 h.After induced by IPTG,SDS-PAGE analysis showed that the ACP protein of 20 kD was expressed.Immunohistochemical analysis showed that ACP specifical expressed abundantly in embyo of the seeds,and it was not detected in roots and the emdosperm while expressed in leaves and stems.Conclusions A cDNA clone encoding ACP which had all the typical characteristics of ACPs was isolated.It was expressed successfully in E.coli.The results of semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis and immunohistochemical analysis were very similar,which showed that the expression of ACP in J.curcas.was abundant in seeds.The results indicated the expression related to the high metabolism.

Determination of External Mass Transfer Model for Hydrolysis of Jatropha Oil Using Immobilized Lipase in Recirculated Packed-Bed Reactor

In this study, a simple and effective technique for establishing an external mass transfer model in a recirculated packed-bed batch reactor (RPBBR) with an immobilized lipase enzyme and Jatropha oil system is presented. The external mass transfer effect can be represented with a model in the form of Colburn factor JD = K Re-(1–n). The value of K and n were derived from experimental data at different mass flow rates.The experiment shows an average increment of 1.51% FFA for calcium alginate and 1.62% FFA for carrageenan after the hydrolysis took place. Based on different biopolymer material used in immobilized beads, JD = 1.674 Re-0.4 for calcium alginate and JD = 1.881 Re-0.3 for k-carrageenan were found to be adequate to predict the experimental data for external mass transfer in the reactor in the Reynolds number range of 0.2 to 1.2. The purposed model can be used for the design of industrial bioreactor and scale up. Besides, the external mass transfer coefficients for the hydrolysis of Jatropha oil reaction and the entrapment efficiency for the two biopolymer materials used were also investigated.

Cloning and expression analysis of HXK1 gene from Jatropha curcas L.

HXK(Hexokinase)gene family and the role of JcHXK1 in Jatropha curcas L.were explored.Totally 4 HXK genes JcHXK1,JcHXK2,JcHXK3 and JcHKL1 were identified and complete ORF of JcHXK1 was cloned.Functional domain,phylogenetic evolution and low-temperature expression characteristics were analyzed.Results showed that full-length JcHXK1 cDNA was 1497 bp,encoding 498 amino acids with molecular weight of 53.81 kDa and pI of 5.03.Further phylogenetic evolutionary analysis demonstrated HXK1 protein was clustered into 6 small branches and 2 large branches.Sequence alignment showed that HXK1 contained several conserved glycine residues and hydrophobic channels.Prokaryotic expression vector of JcHXK1 was constructed and 12%SDS-PAGE detection showed that it was highly expressed in E.coli.These research was expected to lay a foundation for further gene functional verification and cold signal transduction mechanism for HXK1 in Jatropha curcas L.

麻疯树(Jatropha curcas L．)幼苗生长和光合作用对盐胁迫的响应

为探讨盐胁迫对麻疯树幼苗生长和叶片光合生理的影响,在温室不同浓度NaCl处理下,对生长、光合色素含量、净光合速率Pn等光合参数、叶片MDA含量和电解质相对外渗率EL进行测定。结果表明:①25～50mmol·L-1NaCl处理促进幼苗生长,尤其是50mmol·L-1NaCl处理,鲜重较对照显著增加44.3%,100～150mmol·L-1NaCl对生长影响不大,200～250mmol·L-1NaCl使生长受抑制,鲜重较对照分别显著下降39.3%和70.2%。②50mmol·L-1NaCl时,Pn较对照显著增加17.2%,100～150mmol·L-1NaCl时与对照无显著差异,200～250mmol·L-1NaCl时分别比对照显著下降73.2%和77.9%,Gs和Tr呈相同趋势,MDA含量、EL则相反。③叶绿素Chl在25～50mmo.lL-1NaCl时递增,100～250mmol·L-1NaCl时递减,但Chla/Chlb值变化小;类胡萝卜素Car在25mmol·L-1NaCl时显著增加,100mmol·L-1NaCl后缓慢下降,但Car/Chl值呈上升趋势。④25～150mmo.lL-1NaCl时幼苗水分利用效率WUE与对照无显著差异,200～250mmol·L-1NaCl时比对照显著下降。综上所述,25～50mmol·L-1NaCl时,麻疯树幼苗通过增加气孔开张、增强光合膜等细胞膜稳定性和膜功能,使Pn显著增加,促进植株生长和提高耐盐性,100～150mmo.lL-1NaCl时,通过稳定的WUE使Pn下降不显著,生长受影响小,具有较好的耐盐性,200～250mmo.lL-1NaCl时,光合膜等生物膜功能减弱,使Pn显著下降,幼苗诱导活性氧清除系统并通过减小生长来提高耐盐性,具有较好的耐盐适应性。150mmol·L-1NaCl以下是麻疯树幼苗生长的适宜浓度。

金沙江干热区麻疯树(Jatropha curcas L.)杂交育种技术的初步研究

对金沙江干热区麻疯树生物特性、开花特性、结实特性进行观测,并开展不同地理种源麻疯树杂交育种试验。结果表明,麻疯树在本区域生长发育较好,可持续开花结果至1月初,雌雄花比例可达1∶10左右。通过麻疯树杂交育种试验,研究了麻疯树雌雄花分辨、雌花可授粉时间、套袋材料及去袋时间等特性。通过对金沙江干热区麻疯树主要特性和杂交育种技术试验研究,有利于提高育种效果,加速育种进程,提高育种工作的预见性。

麻疯树(Jatropha curcas L.)高含油量单株无性系筛选评价

利用初步筛选出的种仁含油量大于65%的10个麻疯树地理种源单株,以种仁含油量为目标,在元谋干热河谷区,经过3次无性繁殖复选,并对其种仁含油量进行测定评价。结果表明:由于生长环境的改变,10个单株材料的种仁含油量都有不同程度的下降,但来自元谋物茂乡、双柏大庄乡和云南永仁县的3个单株材料种仁含油量下降幅度较小,且连续表现稳定,可作为进一步品种选育和生产使用的无性系材料。

Distribution and development strategy for Jatropha curcas L. in Yunnan Province, Southwest China

Yunnan Province is the main distributing area ofJatropha curcas L. This plant is abundant in several drainage areas of the dry-hot, dry-warm and sub-humid valleys in the south subtropical area of Yunnan Province. The seeds that were picked from trees blossoming between April and May and fructifying between September and October will have large seed yield and fine quality. For developing bio-diesel stock forest ofJ. curcas in areas with adaptive climate, seeding measures for afforestation should be taken and techniques on breeding, fast-growing, and high-yielding plantation cultivation are very important.

Chemical constituents from leaves of Jatropha curcas

Objective:To investigate the chemical constituents from the leaves of Jatropha curcas and evaluate their inhibition on lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-activated BV-2 microglia cells.Methods:The n-BuOH extract of the leaves of J.curcas was isolated by macroporous adsorption resin,silica gel,ODS,column chromatography and semi-preparative HPLC.The structures of the compounds were identified by MS,NMR,ECD,and other spectroscopic methods.In addition,anti-neuroinflammatory effects of isolated compounds were evaluated by measuring the production of nitric oxide(NO)in overactivated BV-2 cells.Results:Seventeen compounds,including(7R,8S)-crataegifin A-4-O-β-D-glucopyranoside(1),(8R,8’R)-arctigenin(2),arctigenin-4’-O-β-D-glucopyranoside(3),(-)-syringaresinol(4),syringaresinol-4’-O-β-Dglucopyranoside(5),(-)-pinoresinol(6),pinoresinol-4’-O-β-D-glucopyranoside(7),buddlenol D(8),(2R,3R)-dihydroquercetin(9),(2S,3S)-epicatechin(10),(2R,3S)-catechin(11),isovitexin(12),naringenin-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside(13),chamaejasmin(14),neochamaejasmin B(15),isoneochamaejasmin A(16),and tomentin-5-O-β-D-glucopyranoside(17)were isolated and identified.Compounds 2,4and 8 significantly inhibited the release of NO in BV-2 microglia activated by LPS,with IC50values of18.34,29.33 and 26.30μmol/L,respectively.Conclusion:Compound 1 is a novel compound,and compounds 2,3,8,14–17 are isolated from Jatropha genus for the first time.In addition,the lignans significantly inhibited NO release and the inhibitory activity was decreased after glycosylation.

Differential Growth of Genotypes of Physic Nut Conditioned by Nitrogen Fertilization

The adequate supply of nitrogen is essential for the plant metabolism. This nutrient has an irreplaceable role on the vegetative and reproductive growth of physic nut;therefore the correct management of the fertilization is very important, particularly in tropical regions, which present considerable losses of nitrogen by leaching and volatilization processes. This study was made with the objective of evaluating the growth of genotypes of physic nut conditioned by nitrogen fertilization. The experiment was conducted in controlled environment, following a factorial scheme 12 × 4, with 12 Brazilian genotypes of Jatropha curcas L. and 4 levels of nitrogen fertilization (0%, 50%, 100% and 150% of the recommendation), in completely randomized design, with four replications. The growth of the genotypes was evaluated at 100 days of cultivation. Positive response to the increase in the nitrogen supply was observed in most genotypes, with gain in plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves, leaf area and root volume. The levels of nitrogen fertilization promoted differential growth between genotypes, being possible to identify genotypes with superior growth for each level.

Improvement of Biodiesel Product Yield during Simple Consecutive-Competitive Reactions

Biodiesel is a renewable fuel that can be made from vegetable oil and waste restaurant greases by catalysed transesterification reactions. Over 5 billion gallons of biodiesel was produced in 2010. The European Union and United States are seeing the sigmoidal portion of the growth curve in biodiesel production. Economic analysis such as profitability and annualized worth (AW) of a biodiesel plant in Taiwan is presented. With the revenue from glycerine byproduct recovery and with lower raw material costs, biodiesel may be profitable especially during days of higher gasoline prices. Multiple reactions of the consecutive-competive type may be used to model the methonolysis of trigylcerides. The reaction rate constant ratios and residence time in the reactor are important parameters in determining higher selectivity of FAME, fatty acid methyl ester product yield over glycerol by-product production. Illustrations of higher FAME yield, higher glycerol yield and cross-over from FAME to glycerol are shown for some values of reaction rate constant ratios and reaction scheme from triglycerides to diglycerides, monoglycerides and glycerol along with formation of FAME in each step by addition of methanol and catalyst is shown. Product distribution curves are presented in Figures 2-5 for different values or reaction rate constant ratios.

VKT多肽介导的固定化疏棉状嗜热丝孢菌脂肪酶催化制备生物柴油

生物柴油是一种环境友好的生物液体燃料,对于酶法生产生物柴油,迫切需要找到廉价和高效的固定化脂肪酶。本研究利用固体结合肽(SBPs)VKT,将其与疏棉状嗜热丝孢菌脂肪酶(Thermomyces lanuginosus lipase,TLL)融合构建融合脂肪酶,并将其固定化在硅基材料上,获得了一种新型的生物催化剂。在所测试的硅基材料(ZSM-5、Na-Y、SAR-100、MCM-41和SiO_(2)微粉)中,固定在ZSM-5沸石上的TLL-VKT(TLL-VKT@ZSM-5)表现出最佳的固定化效率和最大负载,且具有优异的pH、温度、储存和洗脱稳定性。以TLL-VKT@ZSM-5为生物催化剂,对麻疯树籽油进行转酯化反应,48h生物柴油得率即达到93.9%。此外,TLL-VKT@ZSM-5还表现出较高的重复使用性能,在7次重复使用后,生物柴油得率依然保持71.9%。本研究的酶固定化方法具有简单高效、稳定性高和重复使用性能高等优点。本研究显示VKT肽在酶蛋白固定化的应用方面具有较好前景。