The photocatalytic pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass to oxidize lignin and increase biomass stability has gained attention during the last few years. Conventional pretreatment methods are limited by the fact that they are expensive, non-renewable and contaminate the anaerobic digestate later on. The present study was focused to develop a metal-derived photocatalyst that can work with visible electromagnetic spectra light and oxidize commercial lignin liquor. During this project the advanced photocatalytic oxidation of lignin was achieved by using a quartz cube tungsten T3 Halogen 100 W lamp with a laboratory manufactured TiO2-ZnO nanoparticle (nanocomposite) in a self-designed apparatus. The products of lignin oxidation were confirmed to be vanillic acid (9.71 ± 0.23 mg/L), ferrulic acid (7.34 ± 0.16 mg/L), benzoic acid (6.12 ± 0.17 mg/L) and p-coumaric acid (3.80 ± 0.13 mg/L). These all products corresponded to 85% of the lignin oxidation products that were detectable, which is significantly more than any previously reported lignin pretreatment with even more intensity. Furthermore, all the pretreatment samples were supplemented in the form of feedstock diluent in uniformly operating continuously stirred tank reactors (CSTRs). The results of pretreatment revealed 85% lignin oxidation and later on these products did not hinder the CSTR performance at any stage. Moreover, the synergistic effects of pretreated lignin diluent were seen that resulted in 39% significant increase in the methane yield of the CSTR with constant operation. Finally, the visible light and nanoparticles alone could not pretreat lignin and when used as diluent, halted and reduced the methane yield by 37% during 4th HRT.

Aim:The sustained release tablets of Aceclofenac were prepared and evaluated for the sustained release drug profile with an aim to reduce dosing frequency and provide patient compliance. Materials and Method: The tablets were prepared by using different percentages of Kollidon SR, Carbopol 934P and Eudragit L100 and their combination thereof by wet granulation method. The tablets were analyzed for post compression studies including thickness, diameter, mechanical strength and uniformity of content.The in vitro dissolution studies were carried out in pH 1.2 for first 2 h and in pH 6.8 buffer for total of 12 h. Results: The tablets exhibited acceptable physicochemical characteristics as per USP limits. The formulation containing Eudragit L100 failed to give the desired sustained release effect where as a slow drug release was observed in formulations containing Carbopol 934P. Therefore, a combination of pH dependant polymer (Eudragit L100) and pH independent polymer (Carbopol 934P) combination was used. The formulations were also prepared by Carbopol 934P with plastic polymer (Kollidon SR). The desired sustained release effect was given by latter combination at 2:1 concentration. Conclusion: This formulation, U13, followed zero order kinetics with non-Fickian drug release mechanism. When compared to the marketed brand by fit factor, U13 gave the ƒ2 value greater than 50 indicating closer proximity to the approved brand.