School Of Environment And Earth Sciences

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Author: search.filters.author.Mittal, S.Has files: Yes

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    Influence of anion induced proton abstraction on Cu(II) adsorption by alginic acid
    (Elsevier B.V., 2015) Vaid, U.; Mittal, S.; Nagendra Babu, J.
    Alginic acid (AA) synthesized by acidification of commercial sodium alginate was investigated for its Cu(II) adsorption efficiency in the presence of different counter ions. The results of batch adsorption studies indicated an adsorption of 169.86 mg/g of Cu(II) by AA in the presence of acetate ions, however, it significantly decreased in the presence of chloride (126.36 mg/g), sulphate (115.24 mg/g) and nitrate (113.28 mg/g) as counter ions. This can be accounted to the tendency of conjugate base (anion) to abstract proton from AA, which determines the extent of deprotonation of carboxylic acid. The FTIR and TGA/DTA studies support the difference in the coordination of carboxylate to Cu(II) in the presence of various counter anions. Acetate showed strong chelate coordination between Cu(II) and AA, whereas in the presence of Cl-, NO3- and SO42 -, Cu(II) was complexed by weak bridging coordination with AA. � 2015 Elsevier B.V.
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    Characterization, activity and process optimization with a biomass-based thermal power plant's fly ash as a potential catalyst for biodiesel production
    (Royal Society of Chemistry, 2015) Kumar, P.; Aslam, M.; Singh, N.; Mittal, S.; Bansal, A.; Jha, M.K.; Sarma, A.K.
    A typical thermal power plant operated using a solid biomass mixture as fuel, which comprised 70-80% gram straw, 10-15% cotton straw, 5-10% wheat straw and leaves (2%) with a small quantity of coal (1-2%) initially used for smooth ignition, produces a residue called Biomass-Based Thermal Power Plant Fly Ash (BBTPFS). BBTPFS was investigated for composition and structural characterization using different techniques. The versatile composition of the BBTPFS was confirmed by XRF analysis that indicated the weight percent of different components viz. CaO (30.74%), SiO2 (27.87%), K2O (13.96%), MgO (6.67%), SO3 (4.83%), Cl (3.36%), Al2O3 (2.83%), Fe2O3 (2.36%), P2O5 (1.34%), Na2O (1.14%), small quantities of TiO2, SrO, MnO, BaO, ZrO2, ZnO, Rb2O, Br, Cr2O3, CuO, NiO and As2O3 as active ingredients. The SEM and TEM image analysis showed the surface morphology of the BBTPFS which was found to be mixed in nature, having 1 to 500 nm range particles with meso, micro and macro porosity. BBTPFS was used as a catalyst for transesterification of Jatropha curcas oil having a high percentage of free fatty acids and appropriate process optimization was achieved using the Taguchi-ANOVA method. It was observed that at a temperature of 225?C and an internal vapour pressure of 3.2 MPa in a batch reactor with 5% catalyst loading, 1:9 mol mol-1 of oil-alcohol and 3 h reaction time, the optimum yield of biodiesel obtained was ?93.9%, which is in agreement with the theoretical value. The product quality was assessed and found to conform to ASTM and EN-standards. ? The Royal Society of Chemistry 2015.
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    Effects of Environmental Pesticides on the Health of Rural Communities in the Malwa Region of Punjab, India: A Review
    (2014) Mittal, S.; Kaur, G.; Vishwakarma, G.S.
    The Malwa region of Punjab, India, is facing an unprecedented crisis of environmental health linked to indiscriminate, excessive, and unsafe use of pesticides, fertilizers, and poor groundwater quality. The region has been described as India's "cancer capital" due to abnormally high number of cancer cases, which have increased 3-fold in the last 10 years. Studies of this region have also highlighted a sharp increase in many other pesticide-related diseases, such as mental retardation and reproductive disorders. The most affected individuals are the agricultural workers who are directly exposed to pesticides. The Malwa region of Punjab, India, is less than 15% of the total area of Punjab (only 0.5% of the total geographical area of India), but it consumes nearly 75% of the total pesticides used in Punjab. The high use of pesticides, along with environmental and social factors, is responsible for the high concentration of pesticide residues in the food chain of this region. Moreover, many banned and restricted pesticides are still in use in this region, warranting strict periodical health checkups and other interventions. The present review describes occupational, environmental, and social factors associated with pesticide use in the Malwa region of Punjab, India, and proposes some risk reduction interventions. ? 2014 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.