Undergraduate Theses
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Item Bioaccumulation of cadmium, copper and lead by Hydrilla (Hydrilla vericillata)Baniago, Arjay C. (Division of Pysical Sciences and Mathematics, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines Visayas, 2007-04)Bioaccumulation of cadmium, copper, and lead by Hydrilla (Hydrilla verticillata) were tested to 5 different initial concentrations. The water contaminant sample was composed of mixed cadmium, copper and lead metals supplied as nitrate salts. These were analyzed for the decrease in concentrations at 24-hour intervals for 5 days using the SpectrAA 55B Atomic Absorption Spectrometer. Plants exposed only for 5 days were digested and analyzed. The plant growth was normal at lower concentrations and showed higher removal efficiency. H. verticillata showed maximum removal percentage on the 5th day of exposure at 5 mg L-1 for cadmium (90.47%) and copper (95.20%) but for lead was on the 1st day (96.74%). The order of metal ion removal and the actual uptake for the three metals by H. verticillata is Pb>Cu>Cd, but at lower concentration, cadmium was absorbed more than copper. The copper and lead uptakes by H. verticillata are superior as compared to other aquatic plants uptakes. Lead uptake at higher concentrations might be due to physicochemical adsorption of the metal to the plant components and not on metabolism-mediated uptake, because plant condition does not have an adverse effect on the uptakeItem Antioxidant property, total phenolics, manganese and iron content of humic acid obtained from Sta. Barbara, Iloilo artesian well waterBaltazar, Lenmark Anthony M. (Division of Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines Visayas, 2016-06)The town of Santa Barbara in Iloilo is famous for its reddish browncolored well water due to the presence of humic acid which makes up most of the water’s natural organic matter content. Because the well water is used by the local townsfolk for drinking and other domestic activities, it is imperative that a study must be made to assess its potential health benefits and risks. In this study, the DPPH radical scavenging activity of the extracted humic acid was investigated. It was determined that the sample contains antioxidants capable of reducing DPPH with an IC5o of 51.552± 0.652 ppm. Prussian Blue Assay for total phenolic content also showed that a 76.5 ppm humic acid sample has 14.169 ± 1.151 ppm in GAE. Flame-AAS analysis showed that the humic acid sample contains iron (0.8376 ± 0.0581 ppm). The manganese content of the sample was below the detection limit of the instrument. The results suggest that the humic acid extracted from the well water contains potential antioxidants which can be exploited for various commercial and medical applications.Item Determination of the fungal flora in the rearing water, eggs, larvae and post-larvae of Penaeus monodon in a large-scale hatchery systemBaes, Glanee F. (Division of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines Visayas, 1995-03)The rearing water and homogenized. eggs, larvae, post-larvae of Penaeus monodon were taken front the large-scale hatchery system. These were counted, isolated and identified. Analysis was done by determining the mean, standard deviation and skewness of the data. The result showed that the skewness of the yeast and mold counts in the rearing water were 0.93 and 0.64, respectively 'while that in the homogenized samples were 0.92 and 1.09, respectively. These showed that the data were positively skewed, hence, fungi were greater in the early larval stages than in the later stages. The mean showed that yeast yielded greater counts as compared to the molds. Furthermore, rearing water have also higher fungal count than that of the homogenized prawns. The fungi identified were Aspergillus, Balanium, Bispora, Cladosporium and Phialomysis. In the study, the fungi identified were the normal mycoflora which did not adversely harm the prawn due to favorable hatchery conditions, there being no disease outbreak during the duration of the study.Item Mud crab (Scylla serrata) shells for the removal of humic acids from Santa Barbara well waterAsdillo, 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.Item The growth and yield performance of oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus Fries) using fish wastewater as fertilizerArroyo, Karen T. (Division of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines Visayas, 2000-04)Oyster mushroom, Pleurotus ostreatus, is an edible wood-inhabiting fungi that continues to gain popularity in the Philippines, as well as in other tropical countries. With the use of modern technology, this mushroom can be grown in the Philippines, provided sufficient moisture is present. Its present cultivation is limited, perhaps due to insufficiency of planting materials and the limited knowledge about its culture. The main objective of the study was to establish the possibility of the replacement of urea, the commonly used fertilizer for mushroom cultivation by fish wastewater. The study also aimed to compare the effects of different concentrations of fish wastewater on the growth of mushrooms and determine which treatment produced the best results. A total of five groups were used: two control groups (positive and negative - using urea and water, respectively) and three experimental groups, the latter with different concentrations of fish wastewater serving as alternative fertilizer (A: 10%, B: 20%, C: 30%). Fruiting bags were inoculated with oyster mushroom spawn, and after a month of incubation, the growing mushrooms were assessed using the parameters of number, weight, length, and diameter. Results showed that the weight of oyster mushrooms was heaviest when the substrate was sprayed with plain water. However, the number of mushrooms harvested, their length, and the width of the pilei were not affected by spraying the substrate with urea or moistening these with up to 30% fish wastewater. The conclusions reached were: 1) when using sawdust as substrate for oyster mushroom cultivation, it is best to simply use water to maintain the moisture of the material; 2) sawdust used in combination with low concentration of fish wastewater (10%) can result in good production; 3) neither nitrogen nor urea may be a critical factor for the growth of oyster mushroom on sawdust; and 4) high amount of phosphorus and low potassium content of fish wastewater are favorable for oyster mushroom growth.Item Preparation and characterization of chitin-humic acid hybrid and chitin-humic acid hybrid hydrogel as absorbent for Cu(II)Balgos, Blyth Angela C. (Department of Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines Visayas, 2017-06)Gelatinous chitin was functionalized with humic acid to produce a chitinhumic acid hybrid. The gelatinous chitin was protonated using HC1 and humic acid was deprotonated by using NaOH in separate containers. The protonated gelatinous chitin and the deprotonated humic acid were then mixed to form Hie chitin-humic acid hybrid. A portion of the chitin-humic acid hybrid was used to prepare the chitin-humic acid hydrogel. The chitin-humic acid hybrid hydrogel was then prepared using 1,2,3,4- butanetetracarboxylic dianhydride(BTCA) as crosslinker. The chitin-humic acid hybrid hydrogel was then characterized using FT-IR and swelling test. The degree of swelling of the chitin-humic acid hydrogel was found to be 38.10 ± 3.06. It can also be inferred from the results of the swelling test that the chitin-humic acid hybrid hydrogel has a low crosslink density. Characterization by FT-IR suggested successful immobilization for the hybrid and BTCA crosslinking for the hydrogel. The potential of chitin-humic acid hybrid and chitin-humic acid hybrid hydrogel to adsorb Cu(II) in a solution was then evaluated. The process was done by subjecting the chitin-humic acid hybrid to Cu(II) adsorption. The results for Cu(II) adsorption test was subjected to a Shapiro- Wilk test for normality and was determined to have normally distributed data. One- sample T-test was then used to compare the adsorption capacity of the hybrid and hydrogel. The mean % Cu(II) Removal of the chitin-humic acid hybrid and chitinhumic acid hybrid hydrogel were 41.36 ± 2.35% and 51.21 ± 1.32%, respectively. Results suggested that the chitin-humic acid hybrid hydrogel has significantly higher % Cu(II) Removal compared to the chitin-humic acid hybridItem Treatment of Vibrio harveyi-infected Penaeus monodon using Alibutbut (Tabernaemontana pandacaqui Poir.) plant powderBacaling, Marivic T. (Division of Physical Sciences and Mathematics, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines Visayas, 2005-04)The cytotoxicity test of crude methanolic leaf extract using Brine Shrimp Lethality Assay revealed that Alibutbut (Tabernaemontana pandacaqui Poir.) is safe to use in treating vibrio-infected penaeid shrimps. The effectiveness of the alibutbut powder against vibriosis was examined through the determination of the post-larvae 20 (PL 20) penaeid shrimp mortality and the water microbial assay after 48 hours. Percent penaied shrimp mortality (0-6.67%) and microbial count (2.91 x 10^4- 3.26 x 104 cfu/mL) of the plant treatments were significantly lower compared to the negative control (no treatment) that exhibited 50% penaeid shrimp mortality and a microbial count greater than 6.00 x 10^4 cfu/mL. The results of the experiment showed that Alibutbut plant powder is indeed effective in controlling Vibrio harveyi bacteria.Item Efficiency of constructed filters in removing heavy metals (Cd,Cu,Pb and Zn) from chemical wastewaterAlbaladejo, 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.Item Physico-chemical assessment of the groundwater in Barangay Mohon, Arevalo District, Iloilo CityAdenix, Kimberly V. (Division of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines Visayas, 2017-06)Water analysis determines the stability and reliability of natural water sources. Determining the physical and chemical compositions of water would indicate its safety for use and consumption. In this scientific study, water analysis was conducted to evaluate the quality of potable water from eight water pumps, commonly used for drinking, in Brgy. Mohon, Arevalo District, Iloilo City. Aside from drinking, most residents also used these groundwater sources for cooking, bathing, washing, and laundry purposes. The parameters tested were pH, temperature, alkalinity, phosphate, nitrite, dissolved oxygen, and heavy metals (e.g., lead, copper, and cadmium) content. The analyses were conducted from February to April with same time of collection (9:00 am-12:00 nn) and the samples were stored under dark and cold conditions (4 °C). During the analyses, the following methods were used: titrimetric for alkalinity and dissolved oxygen content, colorimetric and UV/Vis spectrophotometry for phosphate and nitrite-nitrogen, and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) for heavy metals. Results showed that all sampling sites were determined to have alkaline waters (7.29- 7.77), because of the high pH and alkalinity values. Also, it was found that the water sources contained very high phosphate levels (0.54-1.29 mg/L PO4-P) that contributed to very low DO levels (0.12-0.14 mg/L DO). Other parameters, such as nitrite-nitrogen and heavy metal determinations showed no significant difference based on the standard limits set by different environmental institutions.Item Optimization of parameters for the fe-humic acid complex formation using fluorescence spectroscopyAraniador, Glaicyl Dame Ann B. (Department of Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines Visayas, 2019-06)Humic acid was extracted from an artesian well located at Sta. Barbara, Iloilo. It was black in color and had a powdery texture after oven-drying. Humic acid samples were used to prepare complexes with Fe3+ ions to determine the ideal conditions to maximize the binding of the metal ion. Using the fluorescence data of the ligand as a comparative measure to confirm complex formation, varying concentration and pH conditions were used in preparing Fe-HA complexes. The excitation spectra of the different concentration ratios prepared showed that pH 6 favored the complex formation. The emission spectra showed that pH 6 exhibited high fluorescence signals. The EEMs of different concentration ratios at pH 6 showed that it is the optimal range for complex formation. In pH 8 and pH 10, no consistent pattern in their EEMs can be observed. This indicates that alkaline conditions, complex formation is not favored.