Physico-chemical changes in cladodes of Opuntia ficus-indica as a function of the growth stage and harvesting areas.

The physicochemical properties of cladodes Opuntia ficus-indica (OFI) vary widely during maturation. However, few studies have been performed to evaluate changes in chemical characteristics on the pad depending on the maturity stages. Chemical proximate analysis like the content of total sugars, protein, dry matter, pH, conductivity and ash, depending on the variation of weight of the pad and the growing region was done to determine the changes of characteristics of nopal.

Comparison of novel Ziziphus lotus adsorbent and industrial carbon on methylene blue removal from aqueous solutions.

In this work, the use of a novel low-cost adsorbent derived from Ziziphus lotus (ZL) and industrial carbon (IC) has been successfully applied to the removal of methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solutions. The efficiency of this material was studied through Lagergren pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order kinetic models. The process for the novel activated carbon and the IC were best represented by the pseudo-second-order rate model.

A novel biochar from Manihot esculenta Crantz waste: application for the removal of Malachite Green from wastewater and optimization of the adsorption process.

The adsorptive removal of Malachite Green (MG) by a novel biochar namely Cassava Rind Carbon (CRC) was studied in a batch system. Moreover, Box-Behnken Response Surface Methodology was used to optimize operating conditions of the adsorption process. Characterization was done by Thermo Gravimetric Analysis (TGA), Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infra-Red Spectroscopy (ATR/FTIR), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and pH zero charge point (pH).