• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.49-55
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• 2023

Currently, the demand for green technologies toward a sustainable future is rapidly increasing due to growing concern over environmental issues. Methanol is biodegradable and can provide clean combustion to reduce sulfur oxide and nitrogen oxide emissions, and therefore it is a candidate fuel for marine engines. However, the effect of methanol on tribological characteristic degradation should be addressed for methanol-fueled engines. In this study, the methanol addition effects on tribological characteristic degradation is experimentally assessed using a pin-on-disk tribo-tester. Ni-based alloy is used as a target material due to its broad applicability as an engine component material. For a lubricant, engine oil with and without methanol are used. The tests are conducted for up to 10,000 cycles under boundary lubrication while the change in friction force is monitored. Additionally, the wear rate is determined based on laser scanning confocal microscope data. An additional test in which methanol is added at regular intervals is performed with an aim to directly observe its effect on friction. Overall, the friction coefficient increases slightly with increasing methanol concentration. Furthermore, the wear rate of the pin and disk increase significantly with methanol addition. The results also indicate that the friction increases instantaneously with methanol addition at the contacting interface. These findings may be useful for better understanding the methanol effect on the tribological characteristics of Ni-based alloys for methanol-fueled engines with improved performance.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.24 no.9
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• pp.988-994
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• 2014

The effluents of chemical and petroleum industries often contain non-biodegradable aromatic compounds, with phenol being one of the major organic pollutants present among a wide variety of highly toxic organic chemicals. Phenol is toxic upon ingestion, contact, or inhalation, and it is lethal to fish even at concentrations as low as 0.005 ppm. Phenol biodegradation has been studied in detail using bacterial strains. However, these microorganisms suffer from substrate inhibition at high concentrations of phenol, whereby growth is inhibited. A phenol-degrading bacterium, P21, was isolated from oil-contaminated soil. The phenotypic characteristics and a phylogenetic analysis indicated the close relationship of strain P21 to Rhodococcus pyridinovorans. Phenol biodegradation by strain P21 was studied under shaking condition. The optimal conditions for phenol biodegradation by strain P21 were 0.09% $KNO_3$, 0.1% $K_2HPO_4$, 0.3% $NaH_2PO_4$, 0.015% $MgSO_4{\cdot}7H_2O$, 0.001% $FeSO_4{\cdot}7H_2O$, initial pH 9, and $20-30^{\circ}C$, respectively. When 1,000 ppm of phenol was added to the optimal medium, the strain P21 completely degraded it within two days. Rhodococcus pyridinovorans P21 could grow in up to 1,500 ppm of phenol as the sole carbon source in a batch culture, but it could not grow in a medium containing above 2,000 ppm. Moreover, strain P21 could utilize toxic compounds, such as toluene, xylene, and hexane, as a sole carbon source. However, no growth was detected on chloroform.

• Clean Technology
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.24-31
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• 2022

Petroleum-based plastics are used for various purposes and pose a significant threat to the earth's environment and ecosystem. Many efforts have been taken globally in different areas to find alternatives. As part of these efforts, this study manufactured alginate-based polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) blended films by casting from an aqueous solution prepared by mixing 10 wt% petroleum-based PVA with biodegradable, marine biomass-derived alginate. Glutaraldehyde was used as a cross-linking agent, and cardanol, an alkyl phenol-based bio-oil extracted from cashew nut shell, was added in the range of 0.1 to 2.0 wt% to grant antibacterial activity to the films. FTIR and TGA were performed to characterize the manufactured blended films, and the tensile strength, degree of swelling, and antibacterial activity were measured. Results obtained from the FTIR, TGA, and tensile strength test showed that alginate, the main component, was well distributed in the PVA by forming a matrix phase. The brittleness of alginate, a known weakness as a single component, and the low thermal durability of PVA were improved by cross-linking and hydrogen bonding of the functional groups between alginate and PVA. Addition of cardanol to the alginate-based PVA blend significantly improved the antibacterial activity against S. aureus and E. coli. The antibacterial performance was excellent with a death rate of 98% or higher for S. aureus and about 70% for E. coli at a contact time of 60 minutes. The optimal antibacterial activity of the alginate-PVA blended films was found with a cardanol content range between 0.1 to 0.5 wt%. These results show that cardanol-containing alginate-PVA blended films are suitable for use as various antibacterial materials, including as food packaging.