Last decade in Kosovo fuel oil it was used as a primary combustion heating material in most of public institutions, schools, powerplants etc. Our research focus is to characterize chemical composition of fuel oil before combustion by FTIR –Spectroscopy and other conventional physico-chemical parameters. Investigated results confirms high level of pollutants such as aromatic compounds, sulphur compounds and other oxygenated compounds based on their chemical analysis by different methods. This investigations suggest removing fuel oil from direct application as a combustion material and initiate investigation for separation of their components for different kind of application.

Characterization of radioactive waste is a process first hand regarding the effectiveness and cost management. Before starting any type of radioactive waste action is necessary to determine the content of their activity, the type of radioisotope, physical and chemical form and the risks associated with their management. This is achieved through a combination of quality assurance processes such as inventory radioisotope balance of activities present in the residue, the composition of the waste material and by direct measurements. The investigation was performed entirely in the ground and was undertaken because of source certification lacks or any other indication for their classification and activity. Waste separation process helps to realize a more effective characterization of them as well as to determine the path of waste management. Probability that a gamma radiation detector and interact with to produce a pulse represents the effectiveness of the detector. In general, large-volume detectors are much more effective by those with small volume. Characterization is essential in the case of waste composition and origin unknown. This is a complex process that is the foundation of gamma radiation spectrometry.

A solid phase was developed by the fictionalization of silica fume with 8- hydroxyquinoline (SF-8HQ) through microwave-assisted solvent-free synthesis process for separation, removal and determination of Pb(II) in aqueous solutions. SF-8HQ was characterized by FTIR, XRD and SEM. The experimental conditions such as pH, shaking time, weight of sorbent and concentration of Pb(II) were optimized. It was found that SF-8HQ showed higher percentage of extraction (100.0 %) for Pb(II) and adsorption capacity value (171.55 mg g –1 ). The sorption kinetic data of Pb(II) on SF-8HQ was fitted to pseudo-second-order (r2 = 1). Moreover, the adsorption isotherm data for adsorption of Pb(II) was fitted to Langmuir and Freundlish isotherm models (r2 = 1). Breakthrough curves were analyzed at different bed heights as well as flow rates using fixed bed column. The practical applicability of SF-8HQ was examined to determine a trace amounts of Pb(II) in environmental water samples with high recovery values.

The mechanical and thermo-properties of hybrid composites produced from palm kernel fibres and palm kernel shells were determined. The palm wastes of three different sieve sizes (75 µm, 150 µm and 300 µm) were blended in the weight ratios (fibre/kernel) of 50:50. Composites were produced at 10 wt%, 20 wt%, 30 wt%, 40 wt% and 50 wt% particulate reinforcement after which mechanical and thermo-mechanical properties were determined. A total of fifteen samples were produced, five representing each sieve size using hand lay-up method with epoxyresin as a binder. The particle size and particulate reinforcement were seen to affect the physical, mechanical and thermo-mechanical properties of the hybrid samples produced. The overall result of water taken in by the samples showed that 300 µm absorbed the highest water, while 75 µm had the least density. Sample from 300 µm particle size with 10 % particulate reinforcement gave the optimum Young modulus and flexural strength values of 89.277 MPa and 10.7760 MPa. The optimum value of impact strength was given by sample B (300 µm particle size) with 20 % particulate reinforcement was 10000 J/m2. It can be concluded that hybrid composites produced from palm kernel fibre and palm kernel shell can be utilized as materials for car bumper, interior decoration in automobile industries.

Multiple analytical techniques were applied to testing inorganic pigments and renders on the surviving ruins of the temple of Ptolemy XII (117?51 BC) at Tell Atrib, Upper Egypt. The samples were analyzed by handheld digital microscope, the visible reflectance spectroscopy (VRS), the environmental scanning electron together with the energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis unit (ESEM-EDXMA), and the attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR). The results showed that the blue pigment is a kind of Egyptian blue characterized with its semi-fined texture, while the green tonalities were produced using green earth pigments “dioctahedral mica group”. The residues of the dark reddish-brown pigment were identified as red ochre. The underlying smoothed render layer consists mainly of gypsum and calcite. The detection of calcium oxalate films on the painted reliefs was also reported.

The influence of the variation of particle size and content on the mechanical properties of polyester when reinforced with coconut husk ash (CHA) have been studied. Clean and pretreated coconut husk was burnt in open air and ash particles were obtained using 75, 150 and 300 µm British standard sieves. Unsaturated polyester resin (matrix) was used to produce polymer composite by hand lay-up technique with 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 percent by weight CHA particles. Three samples per particle size per percent by weight of CHA were used to perform tensile, flexural, impact and hardness tests according to ASTM standards, and their average values obtained. The results show that, for each particle size, the impact energy of the composite increased to maximum values of 0.37 KJ/m2 , 0.58 KJ/m2 and 0.38 KJ/m2 respectively for 75, 150 and 300 µm, with progressive addition of CHA particles; respective values for 75 µm, 150µm and 300µm particle size reinforcement of other properties generally increased to maximum values of 17.72 MPa, 28.61 MPa and 20.00 MPa for tensile strength, 12.6 HRF, 11.3 HRF and 10.5 HRF for hardness, 21.7 MPa, 38.57 MPa and 37.00 MPa for modulus of rupture and 599.17 MPa, 909.95 MPa and 947.12 MPa for modulus of elasticity, but decreased thereafter with 150µm particle size presenting better properties

The current work focuses on the extraction of gold using alpha-cyclodextrin (a-CD) from the Kimpese quarry in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, through an environmentally friendly gold process as an alternative to the amalgamation process. The ore was sampled and characterized using atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) prior to the experiments, and the analysis revealed 0.08% of gold. The ore was then leached with modified aqua regia (MAR). Time, HBr concentration, pH, and stirring speed were all varied during leaching to highlight the parameters that influence the leaching yield. The optimum conditions were determined using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and response surface methodology (RSM), implying time, HBr concentration, pH, and stirring speed of 6 hours, 80g/l, 1, and 800rpm, respectively, and a leaching percentage of 98.6928%. Following leaching, neutralization tests with potassium hydroxide (KOH) were performed by varying the following parameters: time, KOH concentration, and pH. The following factors were varied in the extraction tests after neutralization: time, a-CD concentration, pH. The optimal parameters were as follows: time of 30 minutes, a-CD concentration of 8.8639g/l, and pH of 6, with yield of 89.7350%. This method of recovering gold from ore using a-CD is inexpensive and does not harm the environment.