Shailaja V. Kamble , Dr. Y.C. Bhattacharyulu
Lignin biomass was obtained from black liquor, using acid H3PO4. The residue so obtained was used for preparation of soil conditioner by artificial ammoxidation process in a batch reactor. The process parameters identified were composition of oxidizing agent (H2O2+ammonia), reaction time, and temperature. The present study also encompasses optimization of process parameters involved by the application of response surface methodology (RSM), so as to understand the interaction of these parameters. The statistical significance of the model equation was evaluated by the F-test for analysis of variance, which showed that the model is statistically significant at 95% confidence level. The model F-value of 228.48 for ammoxidation process implied that the model was statistically significant. To test the fit of the model, the regression equation and determination coefficient, R2 were evaluated. In this case, the value of the determination coefficient R2 = 0.9942 indicated that the model could explain 99.42% of the variability.