Extraction of Hyssopus officinalis L. essential oil using instant controlled pressure drop process.

To determine the optimum condition for the extraction of Hyssopus officinalis L. essential oil (EO) by instant controlled pressure drop (in French: Détente Instantanée Contrôlée or DIC), the influential parameters of pressure, heating time per cycle, number of cycles, mean particle diameter of the herb, and water concentration in the steam generator feed were evaluated using response surface methodology (RSM). The impact of using an ethanol-water mixture to generate the required vapor in the DIC process on EO extraction was investigated.

Optimized photocatalytic degradation of Reactive Blue 2 by TiO2/UV process.

The photocatalytic degradation of synthetic dye solution of Reactive Blue 2 was investigated using UV irradiation in aqueous suspension of nanotitania as photocatalyst and H2O2 as electron acceptor in a slurry photoreactor. To determine the optimum condition of decolorization, the influential parameters including initial dye concentration, catalyst quantity, hydrogen peroxide concentration, pH value and UV light intensity were evaluated using the Taguchi statistical method. The results indicated that compared to the other parameters, UV light intensity was the most effective.