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Undergraduate Theses

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Committee Chair: search.filters.chair.Cainglet, Rica P.

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    Mud crab (Scylla serrata) shells for the removal of humic acids from Santa Barbara well water
    Asdillo, Reina Jean A. (Department of Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines Visayas, 2010-04)
    The chemical contamination of drinking water from a wide range of contaminants such as humic acids can potentially lead to health-related in living organisms, especially humans. In rural areas of the Philippines, the use of low cost methods to remove water pollutants is, therefore, of great interest. In this study, osterized mud crab (Scylla serrata) shells or exoskeletons from cooked crab wastes were used to remove humic acids from the Santa Barbara well water. Adsorption experiments were done to evaluate its capacity to remove humic acids from the well water. Adsorption Isotherms and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy were employed to study the characteristics of the adsorption of humic acids onto the OSSE (osterized Scylla serrata exoskeletons). Adsorption experiments showed that at an average 1.0010 g of OSSE and after six hours of agitation, an average 74.95% of humic substances were removed from 50 mL of Montinola, Santa Barbara well water sample. Isotherm experiments showed that the experimental data can be fitted in both Langmuir and Freundlich models with low K values of 0.0235 L/mg and 0.4450 (mg/g)(L/mg), respectively. Based on the results of the above experiments, OSSE is a good adsorbent for humic acids in well waters (although more research need to be done on the removal of the substances remaining in the water after OSSE treatment) and the U-OSSE (used osterized Scylla serrata exoskeletons) can possibly be recycled.
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    Sodium and potassium concentration ratio in mangrove leaves as sublethal indicator of oil stress in mangrove trees, Taklong Island National Marine Reserve (TINMAR), Nueva Valencia, Guimaras
    Alianza, Carmen Gabrielle H. (Department of Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines Visayas, 2009-04)
    This study is in the second year of the five-year research that was assigned to UPV to monitor the effects of the oil spill in TINMAR. This research primarily focuses on the Sodium and Potassium ion concentration ratios in the leaves of the mangroves which will be used as sub-lethal indicators of oil stress in the mangrove trees. Specifically, this study determined the total amount of Sodium and Potassium ions present in the mangrove leaves using Flame-Atomic Absorption Spectrometer, compared the Potassium and Sodium ion concentrations among the different species and between sampling sites and determined the sensitivity of the species based on the changes in Na/K ratio. Results showed that the total Sodium concentrations were within the values under normal conditions except for Rhizophora apiculata and Rhizophora mucronata and the total Potassium concentrations were also within the values under normal conditions except for the Sonneratia alba species in Bagatnan. The Na/K ratio determined the sensitivity of the mangrove species studied to oils stress. A lower ratio of Na/K compared to the control area means that the mangroves trees were able to cope up with stress and an elevated Na/K ratio means the mangrove trees are still undergoing stress. The Control area, however, have elevated Na/K ratio because of high Sodium concentrations and very low concentrations of Potassium in the plant leaves tissues.
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    Efficiency of constructed filters in removing heavy metals (Cd,Cu,Pb and Zn) from chemical wastewater
    Albaladejo, Anthony Salvador B. (Department of Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines Visayas, 2012-04)
    The presence of heavy metals at elevated concentrations is a major concern due to its toxic effects to aquatic organisms, plants and humans. Untreated wastewaters from chemistry laboratories could be the key source of heavy metal contamination if not properly processed before disposal to the environment. In this study, the efficiency of the constructed filter, made up of plant-based materials, in removing heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn) from chemical wastewater was determined. Characterization of the untreated and treated chemical wastewaters was also performed using different water quality parameters such as temperature, pH, TDS, TSS, COD, heavy metals and toxicity. Results show that the untreated chemical wastewater contains high concentrations of Zn, Cu, Pb and Cd which did not pass the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) standards and considered harmful when released to the environment. The physico-chemical characteristics, such as TSS and TDS, of the untreated wastewater also did not pass the standards set by DENR except for pH, temperature and COD. The quality of the treated wastewater failed to pass the DENR standards for TSS and TDS thus the constructed filter was not efficient in improving the said physico-chemical characteristics of the wastewater. Rice hull was efficient in removing Zn, Cu and Pb. Bagasse was efficient in removing Pb and saw dust was efficient in removing Cu. The constructed filter was able to significantly reduce the concentrations of heavy metals from 18-L chemical wastewater. The removal efficiency was not significantly different from the 9-L volume treatment. Pb concentration was within the DENR standards after treatment while Zn, Cu and Cd concentrations were above the requirement. The initial concentration of the metal in wastewater greatly affects the removal efficiency of the constructed filter. Furthermore, the constructed filter was able to minimize the toxicity of the chemical wastewater. These findings could be of significance in the design of the treatment facility that could address the problem of heavy metal pollution.
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    Anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activities of Batuan (Garcinia binucao) fruits
    Albano, Zella Faye (Department of Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines Visayas, 2010)
    In this study, fresh fruits of batuan (Garcinia binucao) was evaluated for its antiinflammatory and antibacterial activities. The anti-inflammatory assay using Carrageenan-Induced Paw Edema Method showed that n-hexane extracts (65.79%) and dichloromethane extracts (64.91%) exhibited anti-inflammatory activities comparable to Indomethacin, the positive control (67.11%). The antibacterial assay using Paper Disk Diffusion Method showed that crude methanolic extracts, n-hexane extracts and dichloromethane extracts at 1000pg/mL were most effective against Staphylococcus aureus. The microbial indexes were 0.39, 0.47 and 0.50 respectively. The positive control, Amoxicillin has a 3.39 microbial index. The components of the three most active extracts (crude methanolic, n-hexane and DCM extracts) from both assays were separated through Thin Layer Chromatography and subjected to phytochemical tests. Crude methanolic extracts contained alkaloids, phenolic compounds and cardiac glycosides. Both n-hexane and DCM extracts contained terpenes, alkaloids, saponins, phenolic compounds and cardiac glycosides. These bioactive compounds present may have been responsible for the antiinflammatory and antibacterial activities of the extracts.
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    Partial purification of pH indicator extracted from Rhoeo spathacea
    Apa, Junna T. (Department of Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines Visayas, 2009-04)
    pH test papers are still utilized nowadays despite the prevalence of pH meters, because it is more convenient to use in measuring the pH of a certain substance. The use of natural dye as a pH indicator can serve as a good substitute for an expensive commercial dye that most high schools cannot afford. The pH test papers were prepared by impregnation of 0.03% pure dye extracted from Rhoeo spathacea. TLC was performed to partially remove other plant dye components from the pH active ingredient. The color transition chart was then created at pH ranging from 1.0-13.0 at one unit interval using phosphate buffer. The color transition chart of pure dye extract was compared to the color transition chart of crude dye extract at different pH. Paper impregnated with 0.03% partially purified indicator dye extracted from Rhoeo spathacea showed color transitions from pink to red violet at pH 1.0-3.0; red violet to lavender at pH 3.0-4.0; lavender to blue at pH 4.0-7.0; blue to blue green at pH 7.0-8.0; blue green to green at pH 8.0-11.0; green to yellow green at pH 11.0-12.0; and yellow green to yellow at pH 12.0-13.0. Results also showed that the purified dye extract is a better pH indicator in comparison with the crude dye extract. Spectrophotometric determination of pKa of the indicator was unsuccessful due to the strong overlapping of the UV-Vis spectrum of the acidic and basic forms of the plant dye extract. Titration results showed that the plant indicator can serve as a substitute for the methyl red and phenolphthalein indicators for strong acid-strong base and weak acid-strong base titration, but not for weak acid-weak base titration.