In the present study, to establish the optimum gelatin extraction conditions from pangasius catfish (Pangasius sutchi) bone, Response Surface Methodology (RSM) with a 4-factor, 5-level Central Composite Design (CCD) was conducted. The model equation was proposed with regard to the effects of HCl concentration (%, X 1 ), treatment time (h, X 2 ), extraction temperature (°C, X 3 ) and extraction time (h, X 4 ) as independent variables on the hydroxyproline recovery (%, Y) as dependent variable. X 1 02.74 %, X 2 021.15 h, X 3 074.73°C and X 4 05.26 h were found to be the optimum conditions to obtain the highest hydroxyproline recovery (68.75 %). The properties of optimized catfish bone gelatin were characterized by amino acid analysis, SDS-PAGE, gel strength, TPA and viscosity in comparison to bovine skin gelatin. The result of SDS-PAGE revealed that pangasius catfish bone gelatin consisted of at least 2 different polypeptides (α 1 and α 2 chains) and their cross-linked chains. Moreover, the pangasius catfish bone gelatin was found to contain 17.37 (g/100 g) imino acids (proline and hydroxyproline). Pangasius catfish bone gelatin also indicated physical properties comparable with that of bovine and higher than those from cold water fish gelatin. Based on the results of the present study, there is a potential for exploitation of pangasius catfish bone for gelatin production. Furthermore, RSM provided the best method for optimizing the gelatin extraction parameters.

Pretreatments with different types of alkali and acid were compared to determine their effects on gelatin extraction from African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) skin. The study was divided into three parts. In the first part, the skins were only treated with alkaline (Ca(OH)2 or NaOH) solution or pretreated with acetic acid solution. For second part, combination of alkali and acid pretreatment was carried out. For the third part, the skins were first treated with NaOH solution, followed by the treatment with acetic acid, citric acid or sulfuric acid solution. Functional properties including the yield of protein recovery, gel strength, viscosity, pH and viscoelastic properties were determined on gelatins obtained with different pretreatment conditions. Pretreatment with alkali removed noncollagenous proteins effectively, whilst acid pretreatment induced some loss of collagenous proteins. Combination of alkali and acid pretreatment not only removed the noncollagenous proteins and caused a significant amount of swelling, but also provided the proper pH condition for extraction, during which some cross-linkages could be further destroyed but with less breakage of intramolecular peptide chains. Pretreatment of catfish skins with 0.2 N NaOH followed by 0.05 M acetic acid improved yield of protein recovery, gel strength, viscosity, melting temperature and gelling temperature of gelatin extract.

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Results of the interaction of process variables and the consequential mixture of phenolic compounds adsorption study are expected to shed brighter light on the wastewater treatment applications. Accordingly, the aims of this research are to model and optimize the process variables which impinged on the simultaneous adsorption of phenol and 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) in the binary solution by spherical activated carbon (SAC). Batch assessments were designed using response surface methodology software. The process variables, namely SAC dosage and pH were varied over the 1.50-3.50 g/L and 4.00-9.00 g/L ranges, respectively, were experimented. The analysis of variance results showed the significant models could precisely predict the percentage removals of phenol and 4-CP, indicating models reliability. The interaction of process variables was inconspicuous for the case of phenol adsorption. However, increasing the pH would deteriorate the 4-CP adsorption which was partially offset by raising the SAC dosage. Considering the environmental benefits, optimization taken place at the SAC dosage and pH of 3.50 g/L and 7.60 g/L, respectively, was selected. By employing the optimized conditions of SAC dosage of 3.50 g/L at pH 7.60 for the adsorption process, the predicted phenol and 4-CP removal percentages were found to be 85.4 % (73.1 mg/g) and 96.2 % (82.6 mg/g), respectively, which were in agreement with the experimental runs.

The degradation of o-cresol using immobilised acclimated biomass in PVA-alginate hydrogel and cryogel beads was investigated. The results show that the PVA-hydrogel-immobilised biomass achieved better o-cresol removal efficiency than the PVA-cryogel-immobilised biomass. However, the cryogel beads showed better bead stability and reusability. Based on o-cresol removal, the optimum dry biomass density in the cryogel beads of 3-4 mm diameter was found to be 0.02 g•cm -3 . An enhancement in the performance of PVA-cryogel-immobilised biomass for o-cresol removal was observed when 0.5% (w/v) powdered activated carbon (PAC) was added into the polymeric matrix. In the reusability and stability test, the cryogel beads containing biomass augmented by PAC were able to sustain 9 cycles of use with a removal efficiency of over 82% per cycle, when treating 300 mg•ℓ -1 of o-cresol, without much biomass leakage being detected.