Causes of dropout from health insurance program: An experience from Lumbini Province, Nepal.

The Health Insurance Program (HIP) in Nepal is experiencing low enrolment and high dropout rates, but the causes of these issues have remained unknown. This study aimed to explore the causes of dropouts of the HIP implemented by the Health Insurance Board, Nepal. We employed an exploratory qualitative research design.

Techno-economic feasibility of a recycling plant for the extraction of metals and boehmite from hazardous petroleum spent catalysts.

Petroleum spent hydroprocessing catalysts are hazardous solid waste, the efficient recycling of which is a serious challenge to refineries. However, information on the economic feasibility of spent catalysts recycling plants is scarce, which is critical for environmental authorities and decision-makers. In this work, an innovative recycling scheme targeting hydrometallurgical recovery of base metals (Ni, Mo, and V) and transforming low-value Al residue into a high-value boehmite (γ-AlOOH) as the key product was considered an efficient way to beneficiate the hazardous spent hydroprocessing catalysts.

Synthesis of graphene derivatives from asphaltenes and effect of carbonization temperature on their structural parameters.

A method for synthesizing graphene derivatives from asphaltene is proposed in this work. The graphene derivatives are mainly composed of few-layer graphene-like nano-sheets of randomly distributed heteroatoms; mainly sulfur and nitrogen. The proposed method is based on a thermal treatment in which asphaltene is carbonized in a rotating quartz-tube furnace under an inert atmosphere at a temperature in the range of 400-950 °C.

Development of a novel chelation-based recycling strategy for the efficient decontamination of hazardous petroleum refinery spent catalysts.

The conventional hydrometallurgical methods for recycling refinery spent hydroprocessing catalysts are ineffective in simultaneously removing all metals (Ni, V, and Mo) in a single-stage operation. In this study, a novel octadentate chelating agent, diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA-CHNO), has been proposed for the first time to remove toxic metals (Ni, V, and Mo) in a single stage of operation from an industrial spent atmospheric residue desulfurization (ARDS) catalysts. It was discovered that the efficient formation of metal-DTPA complexes was attained under the optimum experimental conditions (60 °C, stirring - 150 rpm, S/L ration (w/v) of 2.

A new liposomal nanocarrier for co-delivery of gedunin and p-glycoprotein siRNA to target breast cancer stem cells.

Gedunin is a secondary metabolite found in neem tree. Since the first discovery of this compound, its bio-active properties have been continuously evaluated. However, the low hydrophobicity of gedunin decreases its bioavailability and pharmacokinetic profile.

Feasibility of bioleaching integrated with a chemical oxidation process for improved leaching of valuable metals from refinery spent hydroprocessing catalyst.

Bioleaching is considered an eco-friendly technique for leaching metals from spent hydroprocessing catalysts; however, the low bioleaching yield of some valuable metals (Mo and V) is a severe bottleneck to its successful implementation. The present study reported the potential of an integrated bioleaching-chemical oxidation process in improved leaching of valuable metals (Mo and V) from refinery spent hydroprocessing catalysts. The first stage bioleaching of a spent catalyst (coked/decoked) was conducted using sulfur-oxidizing microbes.

Pyrolysis of Asphaltenes Derived from Residual Oils and Their Thermally Treated Pitch.

Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was employed to investigate the thermal stability of asphaltenes at different environments (inert and oxidizing atmosphere) and identify their refractory nature. TGA and differential scanning calorimetry were carried out at a temperature range of 50-700 °C, for asphaltene samples obtained from atmospheric residues, vacuum residues (VRs), and aromatic petroleum pitch samples, which were obtained from the cracking of VRs at different temperatures. The TGA results clearly indicate that thermal degradation of asphaltene takes place in a single process that starts around 350 °C and ends at 500 °C, giving ash contents of less than 2%.

Metal leaching from refinery waste hydroprocessing catalyst.

The present study aims to develop an eco-friendly methodology for the recovery of nickel (Ni), molybdenum (Mo), and vanadium (V) from the refinery waste spent hydroprocessing catalyst. The proposed process has two stages: the first stage is to separate alumina, while the second stage involves the separation of metal compounds. The effectiveness of leaching agents, such as NHOH, (NH)CO, and (NH)SO, for the extraction of Mo, V, Ni, and Al from the refinery spent catalyst has been reported as a function of reagent concentration (0.