The purpose of this research was to develop chitosan beads as an oil adsorbent in household grease traps. The results showed that chitosan beads, synthesized from 3% w/v chitosan flakes in 5% v/v acetic acid and formed the beads in 2.0 M NaOH, provided the best characteristics. The white colored beads were slightly hard with maximum average weight and maximum diameter of 0.0925 ± 0.0101 g and 0.67 ± 0.06 cm. respectively. SEM images revealed that the beads had spherical shapes and homogenously distributed pores. The maximum adsorption capacity was 1667.93 ± 39.61 mg/g (83.40 ± 1.98%) at the optimum adsorbent dosage of 10 g/l, initial oil concentration 20 g/l, pH 5 and 303 K with 25 min of contact time. The adsorption was fitted to the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Our results indicated that the adsorption was monolayer and chemisorption, and C m increased with increasing temperature. The kinetic study was correlated with the pseudo-second order, and the intraparticle diffusion was the rate controlling step. The adsorption of oil in the household grease trap showed a significant decrease in Fat, Oil & Grease (FOG), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) (p < 0.05), while the pH did not change. Also, oil removal in real wastewater was lower than synthetic oil-in-water due to the competition for the biding sites between oil and other compositions presented in wastewater and the formation of stable micelle droplets by the surfactant. Nevertheless, the values of oil concentration in the household wastewater were lower than the standard limit of domestic discharge in Thailand, whereas the values in the treated wastewater from a noodle shop were over the standard value.

This research is the first to evaluate brittle wort (Chara corallina) extract for phytochemical content and inhibitory effects against a-glucosidase and a-amylase activities. An ethanolic extract of C. corallina had the strongest enzyme inhibitory effect. The inhibition efficiencies of all extracts against a-amylase were more potent than those against a-glucosidase, with IC50 values of 8.43±0.18 mg/mL against a-glucosidase and 1.78±0.07 against a-amylase. Inhibition efficiency was related to total phenolic content, DPPH radical scavenging activity, ATBS radical scavenging activity and metal-chelation activity of the extracts. Phytochemical screening of the ethanolic extract demonstrated the presence of the triterpenoid β-sitosterol. These findings provide useful supporting data for further applications of C. corallina extract.