Faculty Publications

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    Biological sulfide oxidation using autotrophic Thiobacillus sp.: Evaluation of different immobilization methods and bioreactors
    (2009) Ravichandra, P.; Gopal, M.; Jetty, A.
    Aims: Evaluation of various immobilization methods and bioreactors for sulfide oxidation using Thiobacillus sp. was studied. Methods and Results: Ca-alginate, K-carrageenan and agar gel matrices (entrapment) and polyurethane foam and granular activated carbon (adsorption) efficacy was tested for the sulfide oxidation and biomass leakage using immobilized Thiobacillus sp. Maximum sulfide oxidation of 96% was achieved with alginate matrix followed by K-carrageenan (88%). Different parameters viz. alginate concentration (1%, 2%, 3%, 4% and 5%), CaCl2 concentration (1%, 2%, 3%, 4% and 5%), bead diameter (1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 mm), and curing time (1, 3, 6, 12 and 18 h) were studied for optimal immobilization conditions. Repeated batch experiments were carried out to test reusability of Ca-alginate immobilized beads for sulfide oxidation in stirred tank reactor and fluidized bed reactor (FBR) at different sulfide concentrations. Conclusions: The results proved to be promising for sulfide oxidation using Ca-alginate gel matrix immobilized Thiobacillus sp. for better sulfide oxidation with less biomass leakage. Significance and Impact of the Study: Biological sulfide oxidation is gaining more importance because of its simple operation. Present investigations will help in successful design and operation of pilot and industrial level FBR for sulfide oxidation. © 2009 The Society for Applied Microbiology.
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    Air quality assessment of Dhanbad District, India - A case study
    (2010) Anantharamu, A.; Singh, G.; Venkat Reddy, D.
    Ambient air pollution status in Dhanbad district is studied and presented in this article. The selection of Dhanbad is made considering its importance and the nature of activities taking place around the district. For the assessment of ambient air quality in Dhanbad, the following five locations were chosen: Main Gate of Indian School of Mines(ISM), Dhanbad: It is a site representing purely commercial activities and road traffic. Bankmore: It is one of the busiest marketing centres of the district and is surrounded by residential areas. All the vehicles going to Bokaro pass by this place and thus the traffic density is pretty high. Kusunda: It is a place 10.9 kilometres from Dhanbad Railway Station. It is just beside one of the coal mines, hence, all vehicles going to the mine passes through this place. Steel Gate: It consists of a small market. Trucks and other heavy vehicle are more frequent during night as this road connects to a highway. ISM Admin Block: It can be considered as a sensitive area since it is a very calm place where the usage of vehicles is minimum throughout the day. Monitoring of ambient air quality is done following the standard procedure prescribed in IS: 5182. In addition, the concentration of lead, zinc, cadmium, copper, manganese and iron metals in SPM is also monitored. The ambient air quality assessment was done in the month of June, 2009. The concentration of SPM was higher than the permissible limit in three locations namely ISM Main Gate, Bankmore and Steel Gate, while it was less than the permissible limit in other two locations, ISM Admin Block and Kusunda. Since the generation of SPM was mainly due to vehicular traffic it was expected to cross the limit in the above mentioned three locations as density of vehicular movement is very high. © 2010 CAFET-INNOVA TECHNICAL SOCIETY.
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    Synthesis, microhardness, FT-IR, and thermal decomposition of semiorganic antimony thiourea bromide monohydrate single crystals
    (2012) Mahesha Upadhya, K.; Udayashankar, N.K.
    Antimony thiourea bromide monohydrate (ATBM) single crystals were grown by a solution growth technique at room temperature. Microhardness studies on the grown crystal were carried out using the Vickers microhardness tester to estimate the mechanical strength of the crystal. The FT-IR analysis ascertains the presence of a metal-sulphur bond in ATBM crystals. The thermal decomposition of ATBM crystals was investigated by means of thermogravimetric analysis. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011.
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    Behavior of Alloying Elements during Electro-Slag Remelting of Ultrahigh Strength Steel
    (2012) Bandyopadhyay, T.R.; Rao, P.K; Prabhu, N.
    The paper deals with the behavior of principal constituents of an ultrahigh strength steels during ESR. The multiple analyses show no significant variation in the concentrations of silicon, manganese, vanadium, molybdenum, sulphur and phosphorus while concentrations of carbon, chromium, aluminium and titanium in the ESR ingot are found to be within the range of ± 0.01, ± 0.12, ± 0.008 and ± 0.01% respectively. Silicon and manganese show a loss of 0- 55 and 2-13% respectively whereas the degree of desulphurization is in the range of 0 (in Ar shield) to 52 (in air). The lower carbon and chromium content of the electrode than the aimed value can be corrected by adding ferrochromium in-situ during ESR. The recovery of carbon from FeCr was nearly 100% in most of the melts while the recovery of chromium varied over a fairly wide range. The distributions of carbon and chromium are also uniform along the height and width of ESR ingots. The recovery of the inoculant titanium was relatively low at the bottom of the ingot and it increases with height and reached a constant value above 100-150 mm height. For the same addition of titanium, its recovery decreases during ESR with argon shielding. © Metallurgical and Mining Industry.
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    Biosynthesis of cobalt oxide nanoparticles using endophytic fungus Aspergillus nidulans
    (Academic Press, 2018) Vijayanandan, A.S.; Mohan Balakrishnan, R.M.
    Metallic oxide nanoparticles have profound applications in electrochemical devices, supercapacitors, biosensors and batteries. Though four fungi were isolated from Nothapodytes foetida, Aspergillus nidulans was found to be suitable for synthesis of cobalt oxide nanoparticles, as it has proficient tolerance towards metal under study. The broth containing precursor solution and organism Aspergillus nidulans had changed from pink to orange indicating the formation of nanoparticles. Characterization by x-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and energy dispersive x-ray analysis (EDX) confirmed the formation of spinel cobalt oxide nanoparticles at an average size of 20.29 nm in spherical shape with sulfur-bearing proteins acting as a capping agent for the synthesized nanoparticles. The nanoparticles could be applied in energy storage, as a specific capacitance of 389 F/g showed competence. The study was a greener attempt to synthesize cobalt oxide nanoparticles using endophytic fungus. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd
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    Toxic-free surface level sulphur doped 1D Ti-Ox-Sy nanorods for superstrate heterojunction CZTS thin-film solar cells
    (Elsevier Ltd, 2021) Varadharajaperumal, S.; Alagarasan, D.; Sripan, C.; Ganesan, R.; Satyanarayan, M.N.; Hegde, G.
    Surface level sulphur (S) doped TiO2 nanorods (S-TNRs) were fabricated via toxic-free novel three-step processes such as low-temperature hydrothermal method followed by thermal evaporation (S layer) and post-annealing (350 °C, 450 °C and 550 °C) techniques. Present work focuses on the comprehensive studies of surface level doping, structure, morphology and compositional properties of different temperature annealed S-TNRs for CZTS thin-film (Au/CZTS/S-TNRs/TNRs/FTO) solar cells. The oxidation states of incorporated S atoms in the TiO2 matrix were identified from X-ray photoelector spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. A reduction in bandgap for 350 °C annealed S-TNRs film was observed from UV-Vis spectroscopy. The electrical characteristics showed the fabricated solar cells strongly depend on the S-TNRs annealing temperature. Proposed technique would be useful in effective and controlled (surface level) doping of S atoms into any desired nanostructured metal oxides for optoelectronic applications and, further useful in fabricating cadmium (Cd) free buffer layer in chalcogenide solar cells. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd
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    Study on Durability Properties of Sustainable Alternatives for Natural Fine Aggregate
    (Springer, 2021) Arpitha, D.; C, C.
    The present work focused on the durability performance of copper slag (CS) and processed granulated blast furnace slag (PGBS) as a partial replacement (0% to 50%) for natural fine aggregate (NFA) in concrete, cured for 365 days. This work was carried out to determine the ingression of chloride, sulphate, and sodium ions. Compressive strength test and splitting tensile test conducted for the specimens showed that PGBS concrete attained higher strength followed by CS concrete when compared to conventional concrete. The ingression of chloride and sulphate ions decreased in both CS and PGBS concrete after 90 days of curing. Sodium ions ingression also decreased after 180 days of curing. Microstructure studies were carried out using scanning electron microscope (SEM) which showed the dense formation of C–S–H gel in the matrix and high amount of Ca and Si ions in CS and PGBS concrete was observed using energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis. The basic properties like particle size and water absorption of CS and PGBS aggregates have majorly contributed in the reduction in voids in concrete. PGBS concrete has found to be an effective alternative in terms of performance, cost, availability, and environmentally friendly when compared to already exiting CS aggregates and NFA. © 2021, The Institution of Engineers (India).
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    Efficient Lubricity Improvers Derived from Methyl Oleate for Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel (ULSD)
    (Pleiades Publishing, 2022) Sruthi, H.; Udayakumar, D.U.; Hegde, P.; Manjunatha, M.G.; Nandakumar, V.
    Abstract: A new series of lubricity improvers for ultra-low sulphur diesel (ULSD) was synthesized starting from methyl oleate through simple chemical reactions. In the first step methyl oleate was epoxidized using formic acid and hydrogen peroxide mixture. Then the epoxide was subjected to esterification using different long chain (C4–C18 alkyl groups) organic acids to get the final diesters. The lubricating property of the newly synthesized diesters was studied by dosing them to ULSD at 300 ppm (wt/vol) concentration. Amongst them, diester LAMOSA derived from stearic acid showed the best lubrication enhancing property at 300 ppm dosage level. The SEM and EDS spectra of the HFRR (high frequency reciprocating rig) specimen also confirms the formation of metal-oxygen interaction supporting the friction reducing properties of LAMOSA. The study reveals that the newly synthesized methyl oleate derived diesters are promising materials as lubricity additives for ULSD. [Figure not available: see fulltext.] © 2022, Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.
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    Transformation of refinery cracked naphtha stream into efficient lubricity improvers for ULSD
    (Springer, 2022) Sruthi, H.; Udayakumar, D.U.; Hegde, P.; Manjunatha, M.G.; Karthick, R.; Nandakumar, V.
    A new route for the conversion of refinery light cracked naphtha (LCN) stream into lubricity improvers for ultra-low sulphur diesel (ULSD) was developed through a simple chemical process involving olefin epoxidation and esterification reactions. Two different methods viz., H2O2/glacial acetic acid and m-chloroperbenzoic acid (m-CPBA), were found to be suitable for the epoxidation of LCN. The LCN epoxide was subjected to an esterification reaction via epoxide ring opening using different long chain (C4 - C18 alkyl groups) organic acids to get the hydroxy ester derivatives of LCN. The lubricating property of the newly synthesized hydroxy esters was studied by dosing them with ULSD at 300 and 150 ppm (wt/vol) concentrations. Amongst them, LCN hydroxy ester derived from stearic acid showed the best lubrication-enhancing property at both dosage levels. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) image and energy dispersive spectra (EDS) of the high-frequency reciprocating rig (HFRR) specimen support the lubricating action of the LCN esters through the formation of a protective layer between the metallic surfaces. The synergy of simple chemical processes and efficient lubricity action makes these LCN esters as promising materials for low-cost and scalable additives for ULSD. Graphical abstract: The olefin-rich light cracked naphtha obtained from the fluidized catalytic cracker unit of the oil refinery was converted into hydroxy esters through an epoxidation reaction followed by the esterification with different carboxylic acids. The hydroxy esters at low dosage levels (150/300 ppm) enhance the lubricating property of ultra-low sulfur diesel. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]. © 2022, Indian Academy of Sciences.
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    Fatty acid, fatty alcohol and acrylate derivatives as friction depressive additives for ultra-low sulphur diesel
    (Elsevier Ltd, 2023) Sruthi, H.; Udayakumar, D.; Hegde, P.; Manjunatha, M.G.
    Herein we report the synthesis of some fatty acid, fatty alcohol and acrylate derivatives as friction depressive additives for ultra-low sulphur diesel (ULSD). The high frequency reciprocating rig (HFRR) was employed to measure the wear scar diameter (WSD) of the samples. The lubricating property of the newly synthesized samples [2a, (4a-c) and (5a-c)] was studied by dosing them to ULSD at 200 ppm (wt/vol) concentrations. Amongst them, ester derived from OLA/Polyol (4c) showed the best lubrication enhancing property (WSD 328 µm) at 200 ppm(wt/vol) dosage level. Interestingly, it maintains lubricity characteristics even at a lower blending concentration of 100 ppm with a WSD value (446 µm) lower than the than the accepted value (460 µm). Notably, additives containing polar functional groups and long non-polar carbon backbone exhibited significant lubricity properties with low WSD values. Moreover, it possesses long term antiwear stability when blended with the diesel fuel and do not alter or negatively influence the physical and chemical parameters of the diesel. The FESEM and EDS analysis revealed the formation of thin defensive layer of the additive between the moving metal surfaces supporting the friction reducing properties of the additives. © 2023