International Journal of Engineering, Science and Technology

Nutrient evaluation, minerals quantification and antibacterial potential of Mentha longifolia (L.) flower, leaves and stem against foodborne bacterial pathogens

Javid Ali, Arshad Hussain, Zia Ur Rahman, Inayat ur Rehman — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This study was conducted for the assessment of the nutrition, minerals and antibacterial activities of leaves, stem and flower of Mentha longifolia (wild mint). Proximate compositions were carried out using standards methods, mineral analysis were determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer and Flame Photometer, antibacterial activities were assessed using Zone of Inhibition Assay. Broth dilution method was used to determine the Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC). The proximate composition of Mentha longifolia observed that moisture was found in the range of 2.3-2.8%, ash was 2.5-7.5%, crude fat was 0.5-2.1%, crude fiber was 8.5-22.5%, protein was 2.1-4.5%, carbohydrate was 69.6-78.7% and energy was 291.3-347.7 Kcal/100 g dw. Sodium concentration was found in the range of 1250-1590 mg/kg, Potassium was 3240-4820 mg/kg, Calcium was 12400-24000 mg/kg, Magnesium was 4800-9600 mg/kg, Zinc was 32-64 mg/kg, Iron was 140-498 mg/kg, Manganese was 32-107 mg/kg and Chromium was 3-6 mg/kg in Mentha longifolia leaves, flower and stem. The highest zone of inhibition (23±0.2) of Mentha longifolia leaves extract (tincture) was calculated against Bacillus cereus. Similarly the highest zone of inhibition of Mentha longifolia flower and stem was noted against Bacillus cereus in tincture extract were 17±01 mm and 16±01 mm respectively. The Mentha longifolia leaves MIC range was 40–120 mg/mL and MBC 60–200 mg/mL. The flower extracts MIC range 70–220 mg/mL and MBC 110–300 mg/mL. Generally the antibacterial activities of wild mint leaves extracts were higher as compared to flower and stem extracts (p<0.05). The results commonly observed Gram-negative bacteria are typically high opposed to the Mentha longifolia extracts as compared to Gram-positive bacteria. The proximate and minerals analysis concludes that this herb is used to formulate nutraceutical products and their extracts can be used against multi drug resistance bacteria accomplished of causing foodborne diseases.

Analysis and insights of groundwater quality and water quality index values with reference to different sources: a case study

B. Vamsi, Sk. Apsar, S. Eswar, G. Viraj, B. Chandrsekhar, M. Gopi Kiran — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Groundwater quality variation due to consequent changes in the standard of living of a community is of great unease owing to the fact that the groundwater is regarded as one of the significant water supply sources available. For the sustainable use of water resources and water quality management, monitoring and assessment of water quality acts a catalyst for an appropriate judgment on the water quality. In this study, groundwater samples were collected from Lingayas Institute of Management and Technology (LIMAT), Vijayawada campus and Mudirajupalem, Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh, India for monitoring and assessing the water quality for alkalinity, total dissolved solids (TDS), pH, acidity and total hardness (TH) using standard methods. Very high values of pH and TDS were obtained in the groundwater collected from Mudirajupalem, which is within the vicinity of agricultural fields. Added to this, Student’s t test analysis of TDS values signposted a noteworthy P value (<0.001) for which the mean difference was substantial statistically. The groundwater collected from Mudirajupalem further affirmed that the water is unfit for drinking, which is evident from water quality index (WQI) values. This study emphasizes on implementing various locale specific rainwater garnering schemes, which is one of the solution for augmenting the groundwater recharge and maintaining the groundwater balance.

Additional chapter for evaluation indeterminate limits of functions and series in teaching mathematics for engineering education

Çiğdem Dinçkal — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Infinity divided by infinity, zero divided by zero, one divided by zero are the most important indeterminate forms obtained when evaluating limits for single variable functions and series. Well-known method; L' Hôpital rule has been employed to simplify and resolve these indeterminate forms' limits such that 0/0, ∞/∞ , 1/0 in terms of quotients of their derivatives. In some cases, L' Hôpital rule is applied more than once to solve indeterminate limits. Besides, it is so complicated to take the derivative for some functions of a single variable and series, so L' Hôpital rule is ineffective and not practical to solve limits with indeterminate forms for those functions and series. L' Hôpital rule is also impractical for the indeterminate limits in the form: - ∞∙0By considering all these facts, new approaches including Central Finite Difference (CFD), Forward Finite Difference (FFD), Backward Finite Difference (BFD), High Accurate Central Finite Difference (HACFD), High Accurate Forward Finite Difference (HAFFD), High Accurate Backward Finite Difference (HABFD) methods are presented that provides efficient ways to solve these limits. Taking derivative is not required in all approaches. HACFD with step size: 0.0001 is the most preferred technique here to obtain exact results among all other techniques.

On the one-chart schemes for joint monitoring of the two parameters of a zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP) process

Surajit Pal, Susanta Kumar Gauri — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

One-chart scheme for joint monitoring of two parameters allows the practitioners to focus on a single chart and thus, it offers significant operational advantages. Recently, four one-chart schemes are reported in literature for joint monitoring of the two parameters (, ) of a zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP) process. One of these schemes, namely - Gamma chart, is developed assuming samples of large size will be inspected and other three charts, namely DS-chart, Max-chart and LR chart, are developed assuming samples of small size will be inspected after every certain interval. The plotting statistics of these three charts are computed using the estimated ZIP parameters. However, unless the sample size () is sufficiently large, the excessive number of zeros in the ZIP process may offer a sample of zeros only. Therefore, these three schemes require estimation of ZIP parameters and subsequent computation of the plotting statistic based on the accumulated samples till the sampling stage. Because of the accumulation of samples, these schemes suffer from several limitations. In this paper, these one-chart schemes are modified for large sample size to make them free from their limitations. Subsequently, the performances of the four one-chart schemes are evaluated extensively using simulation studies. The results reveal that among the three modified charts likelihood ratio (LR) chart is the most preferable with respect to in-control and out-of-control average run length (ARL) performances. However, all these three modified charts give false alarms when the process parameter(s) shift towards desirable direction(s) implying process improvement. On the other hand, the Gamma chart is slightly inferior with respect to out-of-control ARL performances. But it does not give false alarm when there is a process improvement. Further, since Gamma chart directly monitors the average number of defects, it offers significant advantages in terms of implementation and interpretations.

Distillation plant performance implications of high distillate-purity during ethanol-water pre-concentration

Samwel Victor Manyele — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This paper presents the effect of distillate purity on the performance of ethanol-water distillation column before azeotrope. The factors affected include the required number of stages, reflux ratio, reboiler and condenser duties, investigated using different feed thermal conditions. The model was set using Aspen Plus® V10 simulation software and used to establish the impact of operating conditions due to high distillate purity. The aim was to increase distillate purity while minimizing energy consumption. The research highlights the importance of modeling and simulation for optimizing distillation processes to reduce energy consumption. The feed flow rate was 1000 kmol/h, with composition ranging from 0.1 to 0.6 mol/mol. The number of stages varied from 8 to 20 while the reflux ratio ranged between 1 and 8. The required number of stages, reflux ratio, condenser and reboiler duties increased with increasing desired distillate purity. The reboiler and condenser duties increased with distillate purity according to 3rd order polynomial functions. It was concluded that the pre-concentration column can concentrate dilute solutions to higher purity closer to the azeotropic point. Further studies were recommended on the non-linear behavior and large energy consumption.

The effect of reflux ratio and feed thermal conditions on ethanol-water distillation process performance

Samwel Victor Manyele — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Demand for ethanol has increased globally due to the need for energy and consumer chemicals, necessitating use of distillation to concentrate dilute sources. This paper presents the effect of reflux ratio, number of stages, feed thermal conditions (FTCs), feed composition (XF), and feed plate location on the performance of a normal distillation column separating ethanol-water mixtures ranging between 0.1 and 0.6 mol/mol. The model was created using Aspen Plus® Software. The FTCs studied include: feed at room temperature (FRT), partially vaporized feed (PVF), feed at its boiling point (FBP), superheated vapor (SHV) and feed at dew-point (FDP). The performance factors studied were: distillate composition (XD), reboiler and condenser duties. The axial profiles of temperature and ethanol concentration in the liquid across the column revealed stronger dependence on XF in the stripping section and on feed plate location. Increasing reflux ratio increased distillate composition, reboiler and condenser duties. Increasing feed composition increased distillate composition and lowered reboiler and condenser duties depending on the FTCs. Locating the feed plate further down the column increased the distillate composition. The QR was highest for FRT while QC values were highest for FTC and SHV. The FBP led to minimum energy demands for both QR and QC. To minimize energy, switch all FTCs to FBP was recommended, with highest savings observed for switching from FRT to FBP.

A new chemotype of Cananga odorata flowers for improved extraction of essential oils with bioeconomic perspectives in Eastern Africa

Léopold Havyarimana, Steve De Cliff — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Due to its geographical position, Burundi benefits from several soil genesis factors and large variations in microclimates to which are added water resources, which give to Burundi a floral heritage of great diversity. This study therefore aimed to assess the physicochemical properties (density, refractive index, acid index and ester index) as well as the associated organoleptic characteristics (odor, color and appearance), of the essential oil extracted by hydrodistillation from fresh flowers of Annonaceae family tropical trees C. Odorata, a chemotype cultivated and grown in Bujumbura, Burundi. Analyses of physicochemical properties values were done and compared to reference values. It appears that for the refractive index, density and acid number, the findings of this study are within the pre-established standards. More interesting, the value of ester number was very beyond the norm by a factor of almost two, breaking the record already registered by AFNOR, therefore suggesting of an essential oil of exceptional quality. The findings presented in this study also highlight the importance of C. Odorata chemotype from the plains of Burundi as a promising potential candidate for bio-based products of public interests such as bio-based cosmetics and bio-based pharmaceuticals products, and therefore offer new insights bioeconomics in health and well-being. Finally, this plant can easily be cultivated, not only in Burundi, but also in countries of the Eastern Africa that share the same geoclimatic conditions as the Great African Rift.

The influence of feed molar flow rate on key streams properties and duties in ethanol-water azeotropic distillation process

Justin Jeremiah, Emmanuel Monge, Mahir Mohamed, Neema Msuya, Samwel Manyele — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Investigation on the influence of near azeotropic feed molar flow rate on properties of key streams connecting main process units of an ethanol-water azeotropic distillation pilot processis presented. The heterogeneous azeotropic distillation model with cyclohexane entrainer was configured in Aspen Plus® V10 commercial simulation software. Property analysis and prediction of plant’s performancewere achieved using Non-Random Two Liquid Redlich-Kwong thermodynamic model. Both residual curve maps and ternary diagrams were used to determineseparation possibility and presence of ethanol-water azeotrope in the formed ternary mixtureduring distillation synthesis. The process convergence was addressed using flowsheet convergence and balance node. Distillation of ethanol- water azeotropic mixture was simulated at constant recycle ratio (R = 5), numberof stages (N = 12) and pressure (P = 1 atm). Data obtained were analysed in MS Excel 2013. Results showed that simultaneous increase ofmolar flow rate of the near azeotropic feed and feed ethanol concentration improves ethanol purity but results in retrograde phenomenon which may humper plant’s performance and increase stream flow rates and therefore increase energy duties. The condenser duty of the main column wasaround 90.94% higher than the recycle column’scondenser duty. Also, reboiler duty of the main column were nearly 90.25% higher than the recycle column’s reboiler duty.It was concluded that setting 18 to 20 kmol/h feed molar flow rate enhances higher energy efficiency and improves ethanol product purity. Careful distillation synthesis and plant’s monitoring are recommended to improve ethanol-water azeotropic distillation plant’s performance and address retrograde phenomena.