Rapid determination of alpha tocopherol in olive oil adulterated with sunflower oil by reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography.

A new method is developed to determine the presence of sunflower oil in olive oil. α-tocopherol is selected as discriminating parameter for detecting sunflower oil adulterant in olive oil. Admixtures of olive oil and sunflower oil (5 %, 10 %, 15 % and 20 % sunflower oil in olive oil) are prepared. These admixtures are analysed by reversed phase high pressure liquid chromatography coupled with fluorescence detector. The sample preparation does not require saponification or addition of antioxidant. The chromatographic system consists of a C18 column with methanol: acetonitrile (50:50) mobile phase. Fluorescence detector excitation wavelength is set at 290 nm and emission wavelength is set at 330 nm. The α tocopherol concentration increases linearly in olive oil adulterated with sunflower oil. The method is simple, selective, sensitive and is precise (RSD = 2.65 %) for α tocopherol. The present method can precisely detect 5 % sunflower oil in olive oil.

Effect of thickness on nanostructured SnO2 thin films by spray pyrolysis as highly sensitive H2S gas sensor.

Nanostructured SnO2 thin films were prepared by spray pyrolysis technique onto glass substrates with different thickness by varying quantity of precursor solution. The structural, optical and electrical properties of these films have been studied. The crystallographic structure of the films was studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD). It is found that the films are tetragonal with (110) orientation. The grain size increases with thickness. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) showed that the nanocrystalline nature of the films with porous nature. The grain size increased 14 to 29 nm with increase in film thickness. The studies on the optical properties show that the direct band gap value decreases from 3.75 to 3.50 eV. The temperature dependence of the electrical conductivity was studied. The activation energies of the films are calculated from the conductance temperature characteristics. The nanostructured SnO2 thin films were used as sensing layers for resistive gas sensors. The dependence of gas sensing properties on the thickness of SnO2 thin films was investigated. The gas response of the SnO2 thin films towards the H2S gas was determined at an operating temperature of 150 degrees C. The sensitivity towards H2S gas is strongly depending on surface morphology of the SnO2 thin films.

A preliminary analysis of incident investigation reports of an integrated steel plant: some reflection.

Large integrated steel plants employ an effective safety management system and gather a significant amount of safety-related data. This research intends to explore and visualize the rich database to find out the key factors responsible for the occurrences of incidents. The study was carried out on the data in the form of investigation reports collected from a steel plant in India. The data were processed and analysed using some of the quality management tools like Pareto chart, control chart, Ishikawa diagram, etc. Analyses showed that causes of incidents differ depending on the activities performed in a department. For example, fire/explosion and process-related incidents are more common in the departments associated with coke-making and blast furnace. Similar kind of factors were obtained, and recommendations were provided for their mitigation. Finally, the limitations of the study were discussed, and the scope of the research works was identified.

Improvement of shelf life of soymilk using immobilized protease of Oerskovia xanthineolytica NCIM 2839.

Protease enzyme has lot of commercial applications, so the cost-effective production of protease using sunflower oil seed waste was carried out from Oerskovia xanthineolyitca NCIM 2839. The maximum protease production was after 24 h of incubation with 2.5 % oil seed waste concentration. O. xanthineolytica was found to produce two proteases-P1 and P2. The proteases were purified using 60 % cold acetone precipitation and DEAE-cellulose ion exchange chromatography. SDS-PAGE revealed molecular weight of P1 and P2 was 36 and 24 kDa, respectively. P1 and P2 were optimally active at pH 7.0 and pH 7.5 at temperature 35 and 40 °C, respectively. Analysis of hydrolyzed product of P1 and P2 by HPLC reveals that the P1 has endoprotease and P2 has exoprotease activity. The treated soy milk with immobilized proteases showed increased shelf life and removal of off flavor.