Vania Bundjaja

Bio: Vania Bundjaja is an academic researcher from National Taiwan University of Science and Technology. The author has contributed to research in topics: Adsorption & Chemical engineering. The author has an hindex of 4, co-authored 9 publications receiving 26 citations. Previous affiliations of Vania Bundjaja include The Catholic University of America.

Saponin-intercalated organoclays for adsorptive removal of β-carotene: Equilibrium, reusability, and phytotoxicity assessment

Abstract: Acid-activated clays play an essential role in the edible oil refining industry to remove colored pigments and impurities to meet consumer demands and specific purposes. Despite its high bleaching activity, the use of highly corrosive acids in significant quantities for producing the activated clay raises safety and environmental concerns. Herein, we demonstrate an environmentally friendly and low-cost preparation of organoclay-type bleaching earth via aqueous phase intercalation of bentonite with natural surfactant (rarasaponin) under microwave irradiation. The influence of the rarasaponin concentrations on the textural and chemical characteristics of the resultant organoclays was investigated with relevant techniques, including SEM, XRD, FTIR, and N2 sorption. The results revealed that the intercalation of rarasaponin causes a basal spacing increase to 1.50 nm, surface area to 99.5 m2/g, and pore volume to 0.85 cm3/g, while the cation exchange capacity (CEC) value decreased to 19.1 ± 4.4 meq/100 g; where the untreated bentonite has a basal spacing of 1.39 nm, a surface area of 86.8 m2/g, a pore volume of 0.69 cm3/g, and a CEC value of 30.1 ± 3.6 meq/100 g. The RSB-2 organoclay exhibits the best bleaching activity, with ~91% β-carotene removal efficiency achieved in degummed palm oil compared to the untreated bentonite (72% efficiency). The equilibrium behavior of β-carotene adsorption onto RSB-2 organoclay) was best fit with the Redlich–Peterson isotherm model, giving the theoretical maximum sorption capacity (qmax) 78.09 mg g−1, which represents the best-reported values among the investigated samples. A reusability study of the spent bleaching clay demonstrates that the adsorptive removal of β-carotene remained greater than 90% after five consecutive cycles. The spent RSB-2 organoclays also showed no appreciable phytotoxicity toward Arabidopsis seed germination but a slight inhibitory activity on the root development, suggesting environmentally friendly behavior and allowing for the landfill disposal.

A Review of Lignocellulosic-Derived Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery Applications: Lignin Nanoparticles, Xylan Nanoparticles, and Cellulose Nanocrystals.

Abstract: Due to their biocompatibility, biodegradability, and non-toxicity, lignocellulosic-derived nanoparticles are very potential materials for drug carriers in drug delivery applications. There are three main lignocellulosic-derived nanoparticles discussed in this review. First, lignin nanoparticles (LNPs) are an amphiphilic nanoparticle which has versatile interactions toward hydrophilic or hydrophobic drugs. The synthesis methods of LNPs play an important role in this amphiphilic characteristic. Second, xylan nanoparticles (XNPs) are a hemicellulose-derived nanoparticle, where additional pretreatment is needed to obtain a high purity xylan before the synthesis of XNPs. This process is quite long and challenging, but XNPs have a lot of potential as a drug carrier due to their stronger interactions with various drugs. Third, cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) are a widely exploited nanoparticle, especially in drug delivery applications. CNCs have low cytotoxicity, therefore they are suitable for use as a drug carrier. The research possibilities for these three nanoparticles are still wide and there is potential in drug delivery applications, especially for enhancing their characteristics with further surface modifications adjusted to the drugs.

Effect of Type of Bleaching Earth on Final Color of Refined Palm oil

Abstract: Abstract Although studies indicate chemical changes during bleaching such as carotene and unsaturated fatty acids oxidation, which are probably responsible for the color fixation of palm oil, this process is not very clear. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of type and amount of bleaching earth (BE) on the final quality of refined palm oils, especially on the oxidative state and color. Two types of bleaching earth were tested, one natural (NBE) and one acid-activated (ABE) (0.5–3.0% w/w). Crude palm oils were bleached at 105 °C, during 30 min at 50 mmHg pressure. Afterwards, a deodorization step was performed at 260 °C, 3 mbar, 1.5% steam during 60 min. These refining procedures were evaluated after each step by measuring β-carotene, color, peroxide (PV) and p-anisidine (pAV) values. It was observed that both BE can decompose peroxides. However, a maximum pAV followed by a decrease was observed for ABE while the pAV remains approximately constant at a maximum for NBE, suggesting only ABE catalytically decomposes secondary oxidation products. The color after deodorization was inversely proportional to pAV when bleaching was performed with ABE, even though the oil has a lighter color after deodorization.