Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute

Pomegranate peel-derived Cu/hydrochar nanocomposites: a sustainable catalyst for biodiesel production via oleic acid esterification

Abstract Transforming pomegranate peel waste into a biodiesel catalyst advances waste-to-resource circularity. A facile hydrothermal carbothermal reduction method was used to synthesize copper-decorated hydrochar nanocomposites derived from peel bio-waste and CuSO 4 , with Cu(II)...

High-performance PVDF ultrafiltration membranes modified with ZIF-8@g-C₃N₄ nanohybrids for enhanced humic acid removal and antifouling performance

In this work, a novel metal-organic framework (MOF) hybrid, referred to as ZGCN (ZIF-8@g-C₃N₄), was incorporated into polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)-based ultrafiltration membranes fabricated via the phase inversion method. The ZGCN nanohybrid was synthesized through a two-step p...

Optical, thermal, and thermomechanical tailoring of PVA/CMC/CNT nanocomposites via CdS incorporation

In this study, polyvinyl alcohol/carboxymethyl cellulose (PVA/CMC) nanocomposite films reinforced with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and 1, 2, and 3 wt% CdS nanoparticles were successfully fabricated via a facile solution-casting method. XRD and FTIR analyses confirmed the preservation...

Comprehensive Physicochemical Characterization and Pyrolysis Kinetics of Halfa Grass ( Desmostachya bipinnata ) for Sustainable Bioenergy Applications

ABSTRACT Halfa grass ( Desmostachya bipinnata ) is an abundant lignocellulosic biomass with potential for thermochemical conversion and biochar production. This study investigated its physicochemical characteristics, pyrolysis kinetics, reaction mechanism, and thermodynamic behav...

Nanocube-size-dependent Fermi level positioning in Cu2O/TiO2 S-scheme heterojunctions for optimized VOC photodegradation

Precise tuning of the Cu 2 O Fermi-level position is achieved by tailoring its crystal size (30, 55, and 315 nm). The Fermi-level position of Cu 2 O and the resulting interfacial electronic structure of Cu 2 O/TiO 2 S-scheme heterojunctions (CT-x: x= edge length in nm) have been...

Enhancing biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using bacterial consortia and biofilm

Abstract The release of petroleum and its constituents, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), into the environment poses a significant global threat due to their toxic, genotoxic, mutagenic, and/or carcinogenic properties. Using indigenous PAH-degrading bacteria to dec...

Sulfur‐Free Ultrahigh‐Refractive‐Index Polymers Enabled by Densely Packed Oxygen‐Bridged Dibenzofuran‐Cardo Architectures

ABSTRACT Sulfur‐free polymeric materials simultaneously achieving ultrahigh refractive index ( n > 1.8), low optical dispersion, high visible transparency, and thermal robustness have remained elusive due to the fundamental polarizability–dispersion trade‐off. Here, we introdu...