POTENSI BIJI JARAK PAGAR SEBAGAI RODENTISIDA ALAMI

[JATROPHA SEED POTENTIAL AS A NATURAL RODENTICIDE]. The controlling of rat's pest attacks often use chemical control that adversely affects non-target animals and leaves a residue for the environment. One of the recommended controls is to use natural rodenticides derived from jatropha seeds and do not harm non-target animals that are environmentally friendly. This research aims to determine the interaction and the best combination of bait mixed with jatropha seeds on the death of Mus musculus, as well as the type of bait and the best dose of jatropha seeds on the death of Mus musculus. The design in this study used a completely randomized design consisting of two factors, the first factor was the bait and the second factor was the dose of jatropha seeds. The results showed that there was an interaction between the type of bait and the dose of jatropha seeds on the amount of feed consumed by Mus musculus. The combination of bait type and dose of jatropha seeds that was best for the mortality of Mus musculus was found in the treatment of rice flour with 3.0 g of jatropha seeds, cornflour with 3.0 g of jatropha seeds, and fish meal with 3.0 g of jatropha seeds. The best dose of jatropha seeds in reducing the bodyweight of Mus musculus, accelerating the time of death, and increasing the percentage of death was 3.0 g of jatropha seeds with an average decrease in body weight of Mus musculus reaching 75%, and the fastest death for five days, and able to kill 100% of Mus musculus.

Morphological and thermal properties of composites prepared with poly(lactic acid), poly(ethylene-alt-maleic anhydride), and biochar from microwave-pyrolyzed jatropha seeds

The morphological and thermal properties of composites containing a bioplastic blend and micro/nano-sized biochar from pyrolyzed jatropha seeds from microwave pyrolyzed jatropha seeds were investigated using scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry. The biocomposite samples exhibited a brittle structure with a slightly ductile chip-like appearance. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy results for the PLA/PEMA/BC bio-composites were comparable to the PLA/BC biocomposites. A lower bio-filler content had more pronounced peak intensities than the higher bio-filler content biocomposites. The added PEMA compatibilizer in the PLA/PEMA/BC biocomposite showed more pronounced peaks, which indicated slightly improved bonding/interaction between the bio-filler and the matrix. Overall, increasing bio-filler content did not drastically affect the functional groups of the biocomposites. Thermogravimetric and differential scanning calorimetry analysis showed the developed biocomposites had a slight improvement in thermal stability, in comparison to the PLA sample. Improvements in the thermal stability of the PLA/PEMA/BC biocomposite could be attributed to the additional hydroxyl group, which was due to the added PEMA in the PLA and PLA/BC. According to the results of the analysis of the developed biocomposites, the biocomposites were more brittle and had reasonable thermal stability.

Effects of Different Extraction Solvents on Oil Extracted from Jatropha Seeds and the Potential of Seed Residues as a Heat Provider

The present study focuses on the determination of oil contents of thirteen different jatropha seed collections from Ethiopia. The oil was extracted with a Soxhlet extractor using n-hexane which was selected out of four different solvents: diethyl ether, ethanol, n-heptane, and n-hexane. Cotton and thimble were used as filter for the extractions. Some properties of the oil of Chali seed collection and a sample of mixed oils (a mixture of equal volume of oils from thirteen different seed collections) were determined. The energy contents of selected de-oiled jatropha seed residues were also estimated. In the extraction with cotton and thimble, the largest percentage of oil yield was obtained from Dana seed (48.29%) and Chali seed (45.79) collections, respectively. The acid value (1.32 mg KOH/g) and percentage of free fatty acids (%FFA) (0.66%) of Chali seed oil were lower than the acid value (2.12 mg KOH/g) and %FFA (1.06%) of the mixed oil, and thus, the former oil is more suitable for alkaline-catalyzed biodiesel production. The iodine values of both Chali seed oil (116.02 g/100 g) and mixed oil (109.24 g/100 g) did not exceed the maximum standard for biodiesel according to the European EN 14214 specification, and the oils could be used for biodiesel production. The gross calorific values of de-oiled jatropha seed residues after oil extraction were found to range from 18.57 to 24.03 MJ/kg, and with the average value of 19.64 MJ/kg. Thus, the de-oiled seed residues can be used as the source of heat.

Synthesis and characterization of micro-nano carbon filler from Jatropha seeds

Biochar was synthesized from biomass (jatropha seeds) through a low microwave pyrolysis temperature of 180 °C with microwave power of 2kW. A ball milling process reduced the jatropha seed biochar size and converted it into micro-nano carbon biofiller. After ball milling, the biochar size was reduced from 1 to 3 mm to the 10 µm to 600 nm range, which is around a 90% reduction in size. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis were used to determine the jatropha seed biofillers properties with respect to the ball milling processes. BET results revealed increasing surface area from 0.10 to 3.67 m2/g, and EDS results revealed the elemental composition of the jatropha seed biofillers. The carbon mass percentage increased from 72.6 to 81.2%. Both results were after ball milling for 30 hours. The FTIR results revealed an increase in transmittance intensity and some reduction in peaks after ball milling. Production of micro-nano carbon fillers from microwave pyrolysis jatropha seeds biochar are applicable as reinforcement fillers for high strength composite material fabrications. Scanning electron microscopy, EDS, FTIR, and BET analysis results indicated size reduction of the biochar with increased carbon content from 72.6 to 81.2% as surface area increased from 0.10 to 3.67 m2/g after 30 hours of ball milling.