College of Basic and Applied Sciences

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https://jewlscholar.mtsu.edu/handle/mtsu/4208
The College of Basic and Applied Sciences (CBAS) is a diverse set of departments that includes the basic sciences (Biology, Chemistry, and Physics), Mathematics, and Computer Science as well as Aerospace, Agriculture, Concrete Industry Management, Engineering Technology, and Military Science. We believe that science holds the hope of our country's continued success and are working hard to improve K-12 education in the basic and applied sciences. We are excited you have taken time to visit our site!

The largest of the university's five undergraduate colleges in terms of the overall number of declared majors, the college has 4000+ undergraduate, over 300 master's, 90 doctoral students. This college offers 16 undergraduate major programs, including 56 different emphasis areas. Seven of the ten departments within the college offer programs leading to a master's degree. The college also offers three interdisciplinary Ph.D. degrees in the areas of Computational Science, Molecular Biosciences, and Mathematics and Science Education.

Our talented faculty work one-on-one with a large number of majors, teach many general education classes in mathematics and the sciences, provide service to the professional community, and engage in basic and applied research. The college currently has 195 full-time faculty.

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Browsing College of Basic and Applied Sciences by Subject "Glucose"
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    Overcoming the Recalcitrance for the Conversion of Kenaf Pulp to Glucose via Microwave-Assisted Pre-Treatment Processes
    ( 2011-02-21) Ooi, Beng Guat ; Rambo, Ashley L. ; Hurtado, Miguel A.
    This study evaluates the pre-treatment of cellulose from kenaf plant to yield sugar precursors for the production of ethanol or butanol for use as biofuel additives. In order to convert the crystalline cellulosic form to the amorphous form that can undergo enzymatic hydrolysis of the glycosidic bond to yield sugars, kenaf pulp samples were subjected to two different pre-treatment processes. In the acid pre-treatment, the pulp samples were treated with 37.5% hydrochloric acid in the presence of FeCl3 at 50 °C or 90 °C whereas in the alkaline method, the pulp samples were treated with 25% sodium hydroxide at room temperature and with 2% or 5% sodium hydroxide at 50 °C. Microwave-assisted NaOH-treatment of the cellulose was also investigated and demonstrated to be capable of producing high glucose yield without adverse environmental impact by circumventing the use of large amounts of concentrated acids i.e., 83-85% phosphoric acid employed in most digestion processes. The treated samples were digested with the cellulase enzyme from Trichoderma reesei. The amount of glucose produced was quantified using the Quantichrom glucose bioassay for assessing the efficiency of glucose production for each of the treatment processes. The microwave-assisted alkaline pre-treatment processes conducted at 50 °C were found to be the most effective in the conversion of the crystalline cellulose to the amorphous form based on the significantly higher yields of sugar produced by enzymatic hydrolysis compared to the untreated sample.