This study focuses on the synthesis and application of glycerol carbonate (GC) as an emulsifier for light crude oil. GC was synthesized from glycerol and dimethyl carbonate via transesterification, achieving a 90% yield. Characterization through ¹H-NMR, ¹³C-NMR, and FT-IR confirmed its structure. The emulsification properties of GC were tested by mixing it with light crude oil and water, demonstrating effective emulsification and forming stable emulsions. Stability tests with GC concentrations of 60/40, 70/30, and 80/20 revealed that emulsions remained stable for over 24 h. A particle size analysis indicated that higher GC concentrations produced smaller droplet sizes, enhancing the emulsification efficiency. This study highlights the potential applications of GC in oil spill remediation and enhanced oil recovery, emphasizing its biodegradability and low toxicity as environmental benefits. Overall, GC is presented as an effective and eco-friendly emulsifier for light crude oil, offering stable emulsions and promising industrial applications.

The use of biowaste materials as additives in polymeric matrices has generated interest. Garlic is a seed that has wide application areas, not only in the food industry, because it has good bactericidal and antioxidant properties. Polypropylene (PP) is a commodity polymer that has a wide range of applications, including containers, construction materials, automotive parts, domestic issues, etc. In the present work, the obtaining of composite materials based on a Polypropylene with a medium melt flow index as a matrix and as a reinforcing agent garlic husk particles (GHP). The addition of GHP in different contents was evaluated (2 to 10 PHR), and the composites were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and X-ray diffraction (×RD). According to the results, the thermal stability of PP-GHP decreases with the GHP, in addition to the results of DSC and XRD, that showed that the crystallinity of PP-GHP composites was higher compared to the pristine PP. DMA results allow us to identify that the addition of GHP generates a reinforcing effect on PP matrix, which means that this waste material can be considered a bioadditive with positive effects on polymeric matrices.

Multiple nanostructures of graphene oxide (GO) and Zinc oxide (ZnO) have been prepared via alcoholic reduction of GO, where took place the ZnO incorporation with different weight ratios. The X ray diffraction patterns shown the ZnO anchored between GO sheets consequently produce a significant displacement of the GO characteristic pattern to lowers angles. In addition, the alcoholic reduction process allows generating another Zinc Nanostructure, the presence of Zinc Peroxide (ZnO₂) is confirmed by two signals at 37.8° and 43.1° in XRD. The metallic semiconductor anchored is evident in Raman Spectra, because a displacement of D and G band. The ZnO characteristics bands appear in the spectra, however, near to 474 cm⁻¹ a small band is shown, this band indicates the presence of ZnO₂, reaffirming the observed in XRD. In thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) the materials (GO, rGO/ZnO) shown similar tendencies, but, in DTG curves is observed different reactions because the species presents in the materials. Bandgap estimation was calculate by Reflectance UV-vis spectroscopy, adjusted by Kubelka-Munk, all rGOZnO material presents visible light activation. By photodegradation of Methylene Blue (MB) under sunlight confirms the Bandgap estimation obtained by Kubleka Munk. In this work, the alcoholic reduction of GO for metallic semiconductors anchored is a viable method, improving optical and electronic properties of ZnO, allowing these material multiple applications such as optoelectronic, photovoltaic devices and photocatalysis.

This investigation implemented the nanomaterial rGOTiO₂ for photodegradation of 2-nitrophenol solution at high concentrations. The 2-nitrophenol photodegradation was carried out in the presence of three kinds of light sources in the visible range spectrum. The results demonstrate that the nanomaterial rGOTiO₂ is capable of pollutant degradation even in the low power light source (10 W), and have high activity under sunlight. The degradation of 2-nitrophenol was monitored by UV–vis spectroscopy, adjusting method by least squares for nonlinear functions. The equation represents the material photocatalytic activity under sunlight, which excludes climatic and variance factors. This equation predicts the pure rGOTiO₂ behavior under sunlight; this will enable future research to develop more advanced processes.