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Woody and agricultural wastes are important fuels in many countries, and have the potential of being even more important in the future. The main problems of plant biomass combustion are low ash melting temperatures and increased emissions. The most widely used treatment to solve the problem of low ash melting point is blending a fuel with an additive. In this work, pellets were produced from wheat straw containing wood sawdust and paper sludge in the following proportions 40:40:20 and 45:45:10 (straw/sawdust/paper sludge). The purpose of this work was to study the influence of sludge and dendromass on the straw pellet parameters and combustion process. The highest calorific value of 15.71 MJ kg&minus, 1 was registered for a sample with a 10% paper sludge concentration. The effectiveness of paper sludge was proved, and the ash melting temperature was increased from 1025 to 1328 &deg, C for the same sample.

To explore whether the brain contains pattern differences in the rock–paper–scissors (RPS) imagery task, this paper attempts to classify this task using fNIRS and deep learning. In this study, we designed an RPS task with a total duration of 25 min and 40 s, and recruited 22 volunteers for the experiment. We used the fNIRS acquisition device (FOIRE-3000) to record the cerebral neural activities of these participants in the RPS task. The time series classification (TSC) algorithm was introduced into the time-domain fNIRS signal classification. Experiments show that CNN-based TSC methods can achieve 97% accuracy in RPS classification. CNN-based TSC method is suitable for the classification of fNIRS signals in RPS motor imagery tasks, and may find new application directions for the development of brain–computer interfaces (BCI).

This paper deals with the valorization of waste paper fly ash (WPFA) as a binder for soil stabilization. The mineralogical characterization shows the presence of free lime, as well as some non-reactive and cementitious phases. The hydration of lime is an expansive reaction and can be problematic in soil stabilization. Therefore, to study its effect on stabilized soil, an in-house experimental set-up is proposed to measure the possible expansion. Furthermore, to study the effect of water reduction and delay time on strength, unconfined compressive strength with different mixes is conducted. The obtained results showed that using WPFA causes expansion in stabilized soil, but a delay time of 30 min, after mixing the material with water and then compacting it, can decrease the expansion. Additionally, decreasing the water content by a point of Proctor can be essential for improving the strength in soil samples, even reaching the same strength values as control samples cured at 7 days. Finally, all the results obtained in this study have shown that WPFA is a suitable material for use as a binder for soil stabilization while reducing its optimum water content, adding a proper delay time, and taking into consideration WPFA&rsquo, s expansive behavior at the moment of its use.

Paper and pulp industries produce effluents with high phosphorus concentrations, which need to be treated before their discharge in watercourses. The use of microalgae for this purpose has attracted the attention of researchers because: (i) microalgae can assimilate phosphorus (one of the main nutrients for their growth), and (ii) growing on effluents can significantly reduce the costs and environmental impact of microalgal biomass production. This study evaluated the growth and ability of Chlorella vulgaris to remove the phosphorus from a secondary-treated effluent of a Portuguese paper company. Batch experiments were performed for 11 days using different dilutions of the effluent to evaluate its inhibitory effect on microalgae. Results showed that the non-diluted effluent inhibited microalgal growth, indicating that this bioremediation process is possible after a previous dilution of the effluent. Regarding phosphorus removal, promising results were achieved, especially in the experiments conducted with the most diluted effluent: removal efficiencies obtained in these conditions were (54 &plusmn, 1)%. Another interesting finding of this study was microalgal growth in flakes&rsquo, form (mainly due to the compounds present in the effluent and to the pH values achieved), which can be an important economic advantage for biomass recovery after the remediation step.

A hybrid montmorillonite (Mt)-rich/chitosan composite (MCC) with high adsorption performance was synthesized for the decolorization of water used in the joss paper process. The performance was reported in terms of the dye removal. The composite expressed higher performance than chitosan or Mt-rich clay, respectively. The optimum condition for complete dye removal was achieved when using at least 0.6 g of the composite over a wide pH range (3&ndash, 10) and initial dye concentration (10&ndash, 100 mg L&minus, 1). The composite showed good reusability without the requirement of regeneration, adsorbing the dye completely for up to eight successive cycles of adsorption (&gt, 1.33 gdye gMCC&minus, 1). Thermodynamic analyses revealed the degree of spontaneity and the endothermic adsorption process. From the isotherm studies, the Koble&ndash, Corrigan isotherm model fitted very well to the experimental data, revealing that the composite had a heterogeneous surface with various active sites to adsorb the dye molecules. This also evidenced the synergistic electrostatic attraction and hydrophobic interaction between the dye and the composite. The pseudo-second-order model best explained the kinetic rate of adsorption. From evaluation of the adsorption process using the Webber and Morris equation and Boyd model, the rate-limiting step consisted of film diffusion and intra-particle diffusion.

Cyber Physical Systems (CPSs) are systems that are developed by seamlessly integrating computational algorithms and physical components, and they are a result of the technological advancement in the embedded systems and distributed systems domains, as well as the availability of sophisticated networking technology. Many industrial CPSs are subject to timing predictability, security and functional safety requirements, due to which the developers of these systems are required to verify these requirements during the their development. This position paper starts by exploring the state of the art with respect to developing timing predictable and secure embedded systems. Thereafter, the paper extends the discussion to time-critical and secure CPSs and highlights the key issues that are faced when verifying the timing predictability requirements during the development of these systems. In this context, the paper takes the position to advocate paramount importance of security as a prerequisite for timing predictability, as well as both security and timing predictability as prerequisites for functional safety. Moreover, the paper identifies the gaps in the existing frameworks and techniques for the development of time- and safety-critical CPSs and describes our viewpoint on ensuring timing predictability and security in these systems. Finally, the paper emphasises the opportunities that artificial intelligence can provide in the development of these systems.

The surface charge and space charge accumulation in paper used in oil&ndash, paper insulation system may distort electric field distribution and lead to the flashover and breakdown of insulation system. In this paper, the effect of gas-phase fluorination on the surface charge and space charge characteristics of oil-impregnated Nomex paper was investigated. Nomex T410 was fluorinated at 25 &deg, C using F2/N2 mixtures with 20% F2 in volume at 0.05 MPa for 15, 30 and 45 min. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) proved that the molecular chain scission and cleavage occurred during gas-phase fluorination. Furthermore, the surface charge and space charge characteristic of the original and fluorinated oil-impregnated paper were measured using an electrostatic voltmeter and Pulsed Electroacoustic (PEA) equipment respectively. Furthermore, the hole and electron trap distribution of the samples were obtained by Isothermal Surface Potential Decay (ISPD) model. The results showed that both the positive and negative charge decay rates were accelerated by gas-phase fluorination and the hole, electron trap energy and density of the fluorinated samples were reduced by fluorination. It is suggested that the space charge dissipation was also accelerated by fluorination, indicating that gas-phase fluorination is an effective approach to modify the charge dynamics of oil-impregnated Nomex paper.

Defects related to degradation were observed in an ancient book paperboard cover through nuclear magnetic resonance relaxometry and infrared thermography. Data collected with this combined method allowed identifying areas with moisture content and thermal diffusivity anomalies within the front board, corresponding to the different conservation status of the cellulose-based material. Non-destructive testing analytical procedures provide comprehensive knowledge for preserving precious library archives.

In this article, we report a facile method to fabricate free-standing reduced graphene oxide paper (rGOP) by vacuum filtration. Pt nanoparticles were electrodeposited on reduced graphene oxide paper to construct a sensitive and flexible hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) sensor. The properties of Pt/rGOP were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The electrochemical characterizations of the resulting sensor were carried out by cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The Pt/rGOP hybrid electrode had an excellent electrochemical property, with superb electrocatalytic activity, a large electrochemical active surface area, flexibility and high stability. The linear ranges of the as-prepared sensor for H2O2 detection were divided into two linear sections: 0.2 μmol/L to 2.0 mmol/L and 2.0 to 8.5 mmol/L, with a detection limit of 100 nmol/L (S/N = 3) and a response time of less than 5 s. The proposed sensor has great potential to become a reliable and flexible tool in biosensor and point-of-care medical devices.

In this perspective article, some of the latest paper and fiber-based bio-analytical platforms are summarized, along with their fabrication strategies, the processing behind the product development, and the embedded systems in which paper or fiber materials were integrated. The article also reviews bio-recognition applications of paper/fiber-based devices, the detected analytes of interest, applied detection techniques, the related evaluation parameters, the type and duration of the assays, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each technique. Moreover, some of the existing challenges of utilizing paper and/or fiber materials are discussed. These include control over the physical characteristics (porosity, permeability, wettability) and the chemical properties (surface functionality) of paper/fiber materials are discussed. Other aspects of the review focus on shelf life, the multi-functionality of the platforms, readout strategies, and other challenges that have to be addressed in order to obtain reliable detection outcomes. Keywords: paper-based bio-analytical devices; shelf life; equipment-free bio-recognition; flow rate; readout strategies; multi-functional platforms

Applied Sciences has achieved a major milestone this year: it is the 10th anniversary of the journal [...]

This Special Issue on “Selected Papers from IEEE ICASI 2018” includes excellent papers presented at the IEEE ICASI 2018 regarding the “applied system innovation” topic. Mechanical engineering and design innovations are both academic and practical engineering fields, which involve systematic technological materialization through scientific principles and engineering designs. Technological innovations in mechanical engineering include IT-based intelligent mechanical systems, mechanics and design innovations, and applied materials in nanosciences and nanotechnology. The aim is to encourage the attendees at the IEEE ICASI 2018 to publish their experimental and theoretical research relating to applied system innovation.

MDPI´s Applied Sciences reached a remarkable milestone in 2020 when the 10th volume of the journal was published and an impact factor of 2 [...]

Although good field emission from graphene has been demonstrated from a wide variety of different microfabricated structures, very few of them can be used to improve the design of cold field emitters for electron microscopy applications. Most of them consist of densely packed nano-emitters, which produce a large array of defocused overlapping electron beams, and therefore cannot be subsequently focused down to a single nanometer electron probe. This paper reviews the kind of single-tip cathode structures suitable in cold field emission guns for instruments such as scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscope or scanning transmission electron microscopy, and reviews progress in fabricating them from graphene-based materials.

The use of waste from the regional production of waste wood, waste paper, and cardboard in the form of briquettes may be causing an increase in local emissions, both of major elements and trace elements. When burning paper and cardboard briquettes, more than 70% of Mn, Zn, As, and Pb is released into the air from the total content of trace elements in the fuel. The largest amounts of major and trace elements are released when burning paper briquettes (56 g/kg of fuel), half of these amounts are released from burning briquettes from waste wood and coal (23 g/kg of fuel). The pursuit of alternative uses for those cardboard components that are not suitable for recycling cannot be directed to the production of briquettes for residential combustion in the framework of the application of the principles of the circular economy. In particular, the high concentrations of undesirable elements in the emissions released in the gas phase into the atmosphere are an obstacle existing even when the parameters of the PM10 emissions of a boiler are met. This is related to the high ash content of the cardboard (13.5%). Waste paper or cardboard could be added to waste wood at a maximum of 10% to make the pollution produced comparable to the burning of coal briquettes.

The manufacturing of Portland cement is responsible for a big amount of energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission. Therefore, to date, it is imperative to find alternative materials to replace a major part of cement for sustainable concrete constructions. The present study forms a part of an on-going research project on the application of new cementitious matrices produced using different types of recycled materials. In particular, it focuses on the use of pulp and waste paper to partially replace Portland cement at varying percentages for producing a new lightweight mortar, frequently named papercrete. The development of this economical and eco-friendly material may permit of recycling a big amount of waste paper leading to lower housing costs with also ecological benefits. To this scope, an experimental campaign in the laboratory is carried out to characterize this new innovative material from a physical and mechanical point of view. The preliminary results of this on-going experimental campaign are illustrated and commented on in this paper. The obtained results confirm the possibility of applying this partially-recycled material as a possible alternative for strengthening existing panels of masonry.

The present research shows the results obtained from the biosorption process of Pb, using coffee pulp as a biosorbent in synthetic waters. To do this, the lignin and cellulose content and the percentage of removal of Pb2+ ions was determined, additionally, the sorption’s optimal variables, such as the optimum pH, the point of zero charge (pHpzc), the kinetics and the adsorption isotherm, were determined. A comparison was made with other by-products derived from coffee crops. According to the results obtained in this research, the cellulose percentage was 29.12 ± 0.22% and the lignin percentage was 19.25 ± 0.16% in the coffee pulp, the optimum pH was 2.0 units and the kinetic model, which adjusted to the biosorption’s process, was the pseudo-second order of Ho and McKay, presenting an isotherm of Langmuir’s model and pHpzc of 3.95 units. Lastly, the removal of the pollutant was 86.45%, with a capacity of maximum adsorption of 24.10 mg·g−1 obtained with a particle size of 180 µm, time of contact of 105 min and at 100 RPM. Finally, we express that (a) the coffee pulp can be used as a sustainable alternative for the removal of the pollutant mentioned in synthetic and/or industrial wastewater matrices, to meet goals 3.9 and 6.9 of the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 agenda, and (b) the novelty of this research is the use of an agricultural waste of easy acquisition as a sorbent, without chemical modification, since it presented a high percentage of efficiency in the removal of Pb2+ ions. In turn, the challenge of this research is implementing this green technology on a pilot, semi-industrial and/or industrial scale in wastewater treatment systems.

The results of research on the efficiency and technological reliability of domestic wastewater purification in two household wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) with activated sludge are presented in this paper. The studied facilities were located in the territory of the Roztocze National Park (Poland). The mean wastewater flow rate in the WWTPs was 1.0 and 1.6 m3/day. In 2017–2019, 20 series of analyses were done, and 40 wastewater samples were taken. On the basis of the received results, the efficiency of basic pollutant removal was determined. The technological reliability of the tested facilities was specified using the Weibull method. The average removal efficiencies for the biochemical oxygen demand in 5 days (BOD5) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) were 66–83% and 62–65%, respectively. Much lower effects were obtained for total suspended solids (TSS) and amounted to 17–48%, while the efficiency of total phosphorus (TP) and total nitrogen (TN) removal did not exceed 34%. The analyzed systems were characterized by the reliability of TSS, BOD5, and COD removal at the level of 76–96%. However, the reliability of TN and TP elimination was less than 5%. Thus, in the case of biogenic compounds, the analyzed systems did not guarantee that the quality of treated wastewater would meet the requirements of the Polish law during any period of operation. This disqualifies the discussed technological solution in terms of its wide application in protected areas and near lakes, where the requirements for nitrogen and phosphorus removal are high.

An increasing number of industrial plants integrate the anaerobic digestion (AD) of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) with a subsequent composting phase. To improve the plant productivity, a fraction of OFMSW digestate can be converted into a carbonaceous material, called hydrocar (HC), through Hydrothermal Carbonization (HTC), and then composted together with the OFMSW digestate itself, to produce “hydrochar co-compost”. The aim of this paper is to present the design and assembly of batch bioreactors, built in-house to investigate the co-composting process of OFMSW digestate and its HC, and to provide some preliminary results. The OFMSW digestate from an industrial plant was carbonized at 200 °C for 3 h in a 2 L HTC reactor, to produce wet HC after filtration. The ratio of OFMSW digestate and green waste (1:1) used as bulking medium was reproduced in four bioreactors with an increasing percentage of HC substituting the OFMSW digestate (0, 25, 50, 75%). The bioreactors managed to effectively compost the solid wet biomasses in a wet environment with temperature and oxygen control, while measuring online the oxygen consumption and thus the dynamic respirometric index (DRI). The DRI24,max measured with AIR-nl solid respirometer (standardized offline measurement) started from values above 800 mg O2 kgVS−1 h−1 before composting and dropped at the end of the process to values in the range 124–340 mg O2 kgVS−1 h−1 for the four mixes, well below the recommended limit of 500 mg O2 kgVS−1 h−1 for high-quality compost stability. These offline DRI values were confirmed by the online DRI measurements. This research is part of the international C2Land Project funded by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology Climate Knowledge and Innovation Community (EIT Climate-KIC), which is greatly acknowledged.

A pre-hydrolysate is an aqueous stream obtained during the production of hardwood kraft dissolving pulp. It is rich in sugars and contains dissolved organic matters. The purpose of this study is to investigate the optimization of lignin recovery from wood pre-hydrolysates and to characterize the extracted lignin. The optimal conditions for lignin extraction have been determined to be (a) a filtration temperature of 40 &deg, C, (b) a sulfuric acid concentration of 8.5 kg.m&minus, 3, and (c) a coagulation time of 180 min. Using these conditions, high filtration rates have been obtained and the extracted lignin has a low content of impurities (8.3%), a low molecular weight (1270 Da), and a very low polydispersity (Mw/Mn = 1.22). Compared to kraft lignin, the pre-hydrolysate lignin has a much lower molecular weight and could be a potential candidate for niche applications. A high lignin recovery rate is possible (52% of the total lignin content in the pre-hydrolysate).

In the development of packaging products, the considerations are not limited to the food shelf-life, safety, and practicality, but also environmental sustainability. This paper reports a life cycle assessment (LCA) analysis of a proposed natural fiber-reinforced biopolymer composite takeout food container. The study focuses on the damage assessment of the whole product system, including disposal scenarios of the thermoformed sugar palm fiber (SPF)-reinforced sago starch composite takeout food container. The analysis performed was to anticipate the environmental impact of the cradle-to-grave approach. The results exhibited the total human health damage of 2.63 &times, 10&minus, 5 DALY and ecosystem damage of 9.46 &times, 8 species.year per kg of containers. The main contributor was the carbon dioxide emission from fossil fuel combustion for energy generation that contributed to climate change and caused human health and the ecosystem damages with low-level metrics of 1.3 &times, 5 DALY and 7.39 &times, 8 species.yr per kg of containers, respectively. The most contributed substances in the &lsquo, Particulate matter formation&rsquo, impact categories that caused respiratory diseases were from air/nitrogen oxides, air/particulates, &lt, 2.5 &micro, m, and air/sulphur dioxide with the metrics of 2.93 &times, 6 DALY, 2.75 &times, 6 DALY, and 1.9 &times, 6 DALY per kg containers, correspondingly. Whereas, for the &lsquo, Agricultural land occupation&rsquo, which contributed to ecosystem damage, almost the total contributions came from raw/occupation, forest, intensive with the metric of 1.93 &times, 9 species.yr per kg of containers. Nevertheless, from the results, all impact categories impacted below than 0.0001 DALY for the Human Health damage category and below 0.00001 species.yr for the ecosystem damage category. These results would provide important insights to companies and manufacturers in commercializing the fully biobased takeout food containers.

The use of secondary mining resources to replace conventional constituents in mortars production has proved the effectiveness to preserve the quality of mechanical, physical, and chemical properties. However, minimal research has been performed to quantify the environmental impacts of mortars with mining residues. In the present work, a life cycle assessment of 10 mortars was carried out. A reference mortar (100% of cement binder) and mortars with cement substitutions in 10, 25, and 50% by raw, electrodialytic treated, and electrodialytic plus thermal treated mining residues were analysed. The impacts were studied in six environmental categories: (1) abiotic depletion, (2) global warming, (3) ozone depletion, (4) photochemical ozone creation, (5) acidification, and (6) eutrophication potentials. The results demonstrated that mortars formulated with raw mining residues may decrease the environmental impacts, namely in global warming potential (55.1 kg CO2 eq./t modified mortar). Considering the treatments applied to mining residues, the major mitigations were reported in photochemical ozone creation (−99%), ozone depletion (−76 to −98%), and acidification potential (−90 to −94%), mainly due to the disposal impacts avoided in comparison to the reference mortar. Analysing all mortars’ constituents and their management options, products with electrodialytic treated mining residues showed higher influence in ozone depletion (18 to 52%). Coupling a thermal procedure, mining residues contributed for 99% of the abiotic depletion potential of mortars.

The study tried to contribute to solving two serious environmental issues: CO2 reducing and sewage sludge disposal. Thus, sewage-sludge-derived materials were obtained in order to be evaluated for CO2 adsorption capacity. Therefore, the char resulted after the sewage sludge pyrolysis was subjected to oxidation and chemical activation processes by using different quantities of alkaline hydroxide. One of the obtained materials, activated with a lower quantity of alkaline hydroxide, was also treated with acid chloride. Further, the materials were structural and texturally characterized, and material treated with acid chloride was used for CO2 adsorption tests, due to high surface area and pore volume. The handmade system coupled to a gas chromatograph allowed the adsorption efficiency evaluation using different feed gases (rich and poor in CO2) by completed purge of pipe line and on-line check. Additionally, the adsorption capacity, separation efficiency, and CO2 recovery were calculated. Taking into account the values for adsorption capacity (separation efficiency and CO2 recovery), it can be concluded that the sewage sludge derived material could be a promising solution for CO2 reduction and waste disposal.

In this investigation, biodiesel was produced from Moringa oleifera oil through a transesterification process at operating conditions including a reaction temperature of 60 °C, catalyst concentration of 1% wt., reaction time of 2 h, stirring speed of 1000 rpm and methanol to oil ratio of 8.50:1. Biodiesel blends, B10 and B20, were tested in a compression ignition engine, and the performance and emission characteristics were analyzed and compared with high-speed diesel. The engine was operated at full load conditions with engine speeds varying from 1000 rpm to 2400 rpm. All the performance and exhaust pollutants results were collected and analyzed. It was found that MOB10 produced lower BP (7.44%), BSFC (7.51%), and CO2 (7.7%). The MOB10 also reduced smoke opacity (24%) and HC (10.27%). Compared to diesel, MOB10 also increased CO (2.5%) and NOx (9%) emissions.

Wood dust generated during woodworking—particularly from hardwood species during sanding—poses a health and safety hazard to workers in the wood industry. This study aimed to determine the particle-size distribution of selected hardwood species and the content of fine particles in dust created during machine sanding, which pose the highest health and safety hazards in the woodworking industry. Six hardwood species were studied: black alder, European ash, common walnut, pedunculate oak, hornbeam, and European beech. The sieve analysis method was used to determine the particle-size distribution and article mean arithmetic particle diameter, and laser diffraction analysis was used to determine the finest particle content. Two size ranges were assumed: &lt, 2.5 μm and &lt, 10 μm. Beech dust had the smallest mean particle diameter. Dust from wood species used in the test had similar contents of fine fractions of particles. The average content of particles smaller than 2.5 µm in wood dust from the tested hardwood species did not exceed 1.9%. In terms of occupational exposure to wood dust, machine sanding conditions of hardwoods should be properly adjusted to limit the formation of large amounts of dust.

Poultry slaughterhouse wastewater contains high concentrations of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSSs), fats, oil and grease (FOG), proteins and carbohydrates. It is important that the wastewater is treated to acceptable environmental discharge standards. In this study, the poultry slaughterhouse wastewater (PSW) was treated using two-stage processes consisting of a biological pre-treatment using a biodegrading agent (Eco-flushTM) coupled with a down-flow expanded granular bed reactor (DEGBR). The results showed that the biological pre-treatment was observed to be highly effective for removal of FOG, COD and TSS with a removal efficiency of 80 ± 6.3%, 38 ± 8.4% and 56 ± 7.2%, respectively. The DEGBR showed a stable performance in terms FOG, COD and, TSS removal, with average removal efficiencies of 89 ± 2.8%, 87 ± 9.5%, and 94 ± 3.7%, respectively. The overall removal rate performance of the integrated system of pre-treatment and DEGBR in terms FOG, COD and TSS, was 97 ± 0.8%, 92 ± 6.3% and 97 ± 1.2%. Furthermore, the average volatile fatty acid/alkalinity (VFA/Alkalinity) ratio of 0.2 was reported, which indicated that the DEGBR was stable throughout the operation.

International audience; Pharmaceutical products have become a necessary part of life. Several studies have demonstrated that indirect exposure of humans to pharmaceuticals through the water could cause negative effects. Raw sewage and wastewater effluents are the major sources of pharmaceuticals found in surface waters and drinking water. Therefore, it is important to consider and characterize the efficiency of pharmaceutical removal during wastewater and drinking-water treatment processes. Various treatment options have been investigated for the removal/reduction of drugs (e.g., antibiotics, NSAIDs, analgesics) using conventional or biological treatments, such as activated sludge processes or bio-filtration, respectively. The efficiency of these processes ranges from 20-90%. Comparatively, advanced wastewater treatment processes, such as reverse osmosis, ozonation and advanced oxidation technologies, can achieve higher removal rates for drugs. Pharmaceuticals and their metabolites undergo natural attenuation by adsorption and solar oxidation. Therefore, pharmaceuticals in water sources even at trace concentrations would have undergone removal through biological processes and, if applicable, combined adsorption and photocatalytic degradation wastewater treatment processes. This review provides an overview of the conventional and advanced technologies for the removal of pharmaceutical compounds from water sources. It also sheds light on the key points behind adsorption and photocatalysis.

With increasing coffee production and consumption, the amount of coffee by-product is also increasing. Therefore, there is growing worldwide interest in using these by-products as a renewable energy source. In this study, hydrothermal carbonization was conducted with subcritical water to improve the fuel characteristics of spent coffee grounds. The water content was varied, with the mass ratio between the dry sample and water set to 1:1.5 and 1:4. The reaction temperature was increased by 10 °C from 180 to 250 °C. The fuel and thermal characteristics of the reaction products were investigated through mass and energy yields, elemental, proximate, and heating value analysis. In analysis results, as the reaction temperature increased, carbon and fixed carbon content increased, and oxygen and volatile matter content decreased, resulting in an increase in calorific value. Thermogravimetric analysis, derivative thermogravimetry, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were also conducted on the reaction products. To investigate their storage characteristics, chemical oxygen demand analysis was conducted. The results showed that with increasing reaction temperature, the fixed carbon content and heating value increased, also, the fuel characteristics became similar to those of coal. In addition, the reaction products became more hydrophobic as the reaction temperature increased.

The solution of the sludge utilization problem and yield increase at processing plants have great importance today all over the world. Disasters associated with the tailings dams failures have madeus develop technologies of tailings sludge utilization as a commercial product, reducing the environmental damage on the regions of mineral extraction. This research aimed to provide new data, methods and an analytical approach to solve the saponite sludge accumulation problem on mining enterprises with silicate coagulant to increase the rate of cycle water clarification for the enrichment process and the recycling of sludge to reduce its hazardous effect. Samples were taken in the deposit located in the north of the European part of Russia, where diamond bearing ore contain montmorillonite minerals, mostly saponite, which is considered to be a perspective secondary product. The content of this mineral in the sludge is above 20 wt.%. Saponite is a clay mineral with the general chemical formula (Ca,Na)0.3(Mg, Fe2+)3(Si, Al)4O10(OH)2·4H2O. The mineral has high adsorption, ion exchange, and catalytic and filtration properties, due to the developed diffuse layer, saponite particles are highly stable in an aqueous medium—the resulting suspension is highly stable and has slow sedimentation. During the research, a positive effect on the sedimentation process of clay saponite particles was established, due to the introduction of a coagulant containing 70% tricalcium silicate, at a dosage of 2 g/dm3 coagulant, the degree of purification of water containing the saponite clay suspension is 99%. The condensed sediment after the thermal drying and with the limestone addition can be used again as a coagulant or secondary product with enhanced properties, therefore, the sludge will be processed, and not stored.

The sugarcane industry has assumed an increasingly important role at a global level, with countries such as Brazil and India dominating the field. However, this causes environmental problems, since the industry produces large amounts of waste, such as sugarcane bagasse. This by-product, which is energetically partially recovered in sugar mills and in the pulp and paper industry, can make a significant contribution to the general use of biomass energy, if the usual disadvantages associated with products with low density and a high moisture content are overcome. From this perspective, thermochemical conversion technologies, especially torrefaction, are assumed to be capable of improving the fuel properties of this material, making it more appealing for potential export and use in far-off destinations. In this work, sugarcane samples were acquired, and the process of obtaining bagasse was simulated. Subsequently, the bagasse was dried and heat-treated at 200 and 300 &deg, C to simulate the over-drying and torrefaction process. Afterward, product characterization was performed, including thermogravimetric analysis, elemental analysis, calorimetry, and energy densification. The results showed significant improvements in the energy content, from 18.17 to 33.36 MJ&middot, kg&minus, 1 from dried bagasse to torrefied bagasse at 300 &deg, C, showing that despite high mass loss, there is potential for a future value added chain for this waste form, since the increment in energy density could enhance its transportation and use in locations far off the production site.

Fluorite is an important industrial mineral composed of calcium and fluorine (CaF2). This mineral is widely distributed through different deposits. However, in most cases, fluorite is tightly associated with gangue, such as calcite and quartz. In this paper, different depressants are tested in the flotation of fluorite in two different laboratory configurations&mdash, cell and column. Quebracho tree (QT) was tested as the main depressant in combination with white dextrin (WD), potato starch (PT), carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), and sodium hexametaphosphate (SHMP). The optimum pulp pH of the flotation of fluorite was determined as approximately 9.5&ndash, 10. The best results are obtained using a combination of quebracho and white dextrin as depressants, reaching 74% of fluorite grade for modified column flotation and 70.5% for cell flotation. Additionally, the metallurgical recovery obtained higher values when the flotation was carried out in the modified column and using the same combination of depressant agents&mdash, 75% for modified column flotation and 60% for flotation cell.

This paper presents the combustion and emissions characteristics including volatile organic compound (VOC) of a common rail direct injection diesel engine fueled with palm oil biodiesel blends contained 0%, 10%, 30%, and 100% (by volume) biodiesel at low idle speed, i.e., 750 rpm. The nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions of biodiesel blends were lower than that of pure diesel and NOx tended to decrease as the blending ratio increased. Soot opacity and hydrocarbon (HC) were reduced with an increasing blend ratio. Carbon monoxide (CO) varied with the engine load conditions. Under low load, CO emissions tended to decrease with increasing blending ratio and increased under high load. Alkane and aromatic VOCs were mostly emitted. Benzene and tetrahydrofuran accounted for the largest percentage of total detected VOCs in all test conditions. Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene (BTEX, toxic aromatic VOCs) were detected for all tests. Among BTEX, benzene has the highest emission ratio, followed by xylene, toluene, and ethylbenzene. Benzene increased for all tests. At low engine load, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene decreased with increasing blend ratio. However, these increased at high engine load. When pure palm oil biodiesel was applied at high engine load, benzene decreased.

Microalgal harvesting is one of the most challenging processes in the development of algal research and development. Several methods, such as centrifugation, flocculation and filtration, are available at the laboratory scale. However, the requirement for expensive pieces of equipment and the possibility of biomass contamination are recurring gaps that hinder the development of microalgae R&amp, D (research and development) in different parts of the world. Recently, electroflotation has been proved to be a suitable method for the harvesting of different species of microalgae and cyanobacteria. To this day, there are no companies that sell laboratory-scale electroflotation equipment, this is mainly due to the gap in the knowledge of which factors (time, mixing rate, number of electrodes and others) will affect the efficiency of concentration without reducing the biomass quality. This paper aims to build an innovative, low-cost electroflotation system for under 300 USD (United States dollar) with cheap and resistant materials. To achieve our goal, we tested the interaction of three variables (time, mixing rate and amount of electrodes). Results showed that an efficiency closer to 100% could be achieved in under 20 min using &gt, 10 electrodes and 150 rpm (round per minute). We hope this innovative approach can be used by different researchers to improve our knowledge of the concentration and harvesting of algae and cyanobacteria.

This paper describes an organosolv pretreatment of corncob waste to improve its anaerobic digestion for biogas production. Through a thermochemical process based on the use of ethanol and acetic acid, it was possible to separate the fractions of lignin, considered to be a natural inhibitor of anaerobic digestion processes. In addition, with this organosolv pretreatment, the available sugars in the carbohydrates present as monosaccharides, or simple sugars, were depolymerised, facilitating the digestion process. The obtained results include the chemical characterisation of the corncob, the hydrolysate, and the mixture with cow manure, finding that these substrates have potential to be used in anaerobic digestion. The total reducing sugars consumed were 96.8%, and total sugars were 85.75%. It was clearly observed that with the use of pretreatment with organosolv, the production of biogas was superior, because 484 NmL/gVS was obtained compared to the other reported treatments. It was also observed that adding the hydrolysate organosolv increased the production because the values of the control without hydrolysate were 120 NmL/gVS in the bottle experiment. When the experiment was scaled to the 5L reactor, the total volumes of biogas that were accumulated in 15 days of production were 5050 NmL/gVS and 1212 NmL/gVS with and without hydrolysate, respectively. This indicates that the organosolv pretreatment of corncob waste is effective in improving biogas production.

This paper studies a new convenient method to prepare microfibrillated cellulose from a bleached eucalyptus kraft pulp. First, the wood pulp was reacted with urea to produce cellulose carbamate (CC), and then the CC was treated with colloid mill in an acidic medium. A feasible preparation process for CC was to soak the pulp with the urea solution, and then the cellulose pulp was dewatered, dried, and reacted with urea at high temperatures above the melting point of urea. The Kjeldahl method, infrared spectroscopy, and solid 13C NMR were used to confirm the effectiveness of the reaction. On the basis of CC with the degree of substitution, DS = 0.123, the aqueous suspension with 2% content of CC at pH values of 1, 3, or 7 was severally ground by a colloid milling. After centrifugation, the nanocellulose carbamate fiber (CCNF) in the supernatant was obtained. X-ray diffraction showed that CC and CCNF had the same crystal form as the cellulose pulp, but the crystallinity decreased successively. The nanometer diameter of the CCNF fiber was observed with scanning electron microscopy. Results showed that when the pH value of the CC suspension decreased during the colloid milling, the crystallinity of the CCNF decreased along with the decrease of fiber diameter, and the zeta potential of the supernatant increased. This indicated that carbamate side groups of CC were protonated at low pHs and the cation repulsion between cellulose molecular chains enhanced the driving force of the pulp separation to CCNF. Interestingly, the thermal stability of CCNF is comparable to that of the original cellulose, and the enhancement effect of CCNF on starch can be clearly observed even at a relatively low loading of CCNF.

The AHP–GTMA (analytic hierarchy process and graph theory and matrix approach) has been applied to select the best paper shredder before a company was making a bulk purchase order. However, there is a question as to whether one such relatively recent approach is effective to aid the selection decision problems in industrial/commercial practice. In this paper, a novel multi-measure, rank-based comparative research flow is proposed. The real decision problem case mentioned above is solved using the AHP–GTMA and the AHP–TOPSIS methods, respectively, with relevant datasets sourced. Several measures in the proposed flow, i.e., the arithmetical, geometrical, or even statistical ones, are multiplexed and used to validate the similarity between the rank order vectors (ROVs) (and thus between the final preferential orders determined over the alternatives) that are obtained using these two different methods. While AHP–TOPSIS is a confident multi-attribute decision-making (MADM) approach which has been successfully applied to many other fields, the similarity validated between these individual results using the proposed method is used to confirm the efficacy of the AHP–GTMA approach and to determine its applicability in practice. In addition, along with this study, some contributable points are also rendered for implementing the decision models, e.g., the optimized recursive implementation in R to compute the permanent value of a square ASAM (alternative selection attribute matrix, which is the computational basis required by AHP–GTMA) of any dimension. The proposed methodological flow to confirm the similarity based on the ordinal rank information is not only convenient in operational practice with ubiquitous tool supports (e.g., the vector-based R statistical platform), but also generalizable (to verify between another pair of results obtained using any other MADM methods). This gives options for future research.

The research on the environmental impacts of corn-derived products has been mainly on cultivation techniques and the production of biofuels, so there is limited information on the impacts produced by the transformation of corn for human consumption. The tortilla is a millennial product derived from corn of which consumption is increasing in North America. The aim of this study is to identify the environmental hotspots of the tortilla using a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach. The process studied included only the corn&ndash, nixtamalisation&ndash, dough&ndash, tortillas production. The functional unit is one kg of tortillas packed in kraft paper. The impacts of the tortilla production process were evaluated using SimaPro 8.5.0 software, considering ReCiPe Midpoint. The production has the greatest impact in 15 of the 18 impact categories. The normalisation reveals that the most significant impacts concentrate in the categories terrestrial acidification (TA), particulate matter formation (PMF), marine ecotoxicity (MET) and fossil fuel depletion (FD). Improvements in the cultivation could mean more environmentally friendly tortilla production.

A novel nanopositioning platform (referred as NanoPla) in development has been designed to achieve nanometre resolution in a large working range of 50 mm &times, 50 mm. Two-dimensional (2D) movement is performed by four custom-made Halbach linear motors, and a 2D laser system provides positioning feedback, while the moving part of the platform is levitating and unguided. For control hardware, this work proposes the use of a commercial generic solution, in contrast to other systems where the control hardware and software are specifically designed for that purpose. In a previous paper based on this research, the control system of one linear motor implemented in selected commercial hardware was presented. In this study, the developed control system is extended to the four motors of the nanopositioning platform to generate 2D planar movement in the whole working range of the nanopositioning platform. In addition, the positioning uncertainty of the control system is assessed. The obtained results satisfy the working requirements of the NanoPla, achieving a positioning uncertainty of &plusmn, 0.5 &micro, m along the whole working range.

Future energy and environmental issues are the major driving force towards increased global utilization of biomass, especially in developing countries like Pakistan. Lignocellulosic residues are abundant in Pakistan. The present study investigated the best-mixed proportion of mechanically pretreated lignocellulosic residues i.e., wheat straw and rice straw (WSRS), bagasse and wheat straw (BAWS), bagasse, and rice straw (BARS), bagasse, wheat straw, and rice straw (BAWSRS) through anaerobic co-digestion. Anaerobic batch mode bioreactors comprising of lignocellulosic proportions and control bioreactors were run in parallel at mesophilic temperature (35 °C) for the substrate to inoculum (S/I) ratio of 1.5 and 2.5. Maximum and stable biomethane production was observed at the substrate to inoculum (S/I) ratio of 1.5, and the highest biomethane yield 339.0089123 NmLCH4/gVS was achieved by co-digestion of wheat straw and rice straw (WSRS) and lowest 15.74 NmLCH4/gVS from bagasse and rice straw (BARS) at 2.5 substrates to inoculum ratio. Furthermore, anaerobic reactor performance was determined by using bio-kinetic parameters i.e., production rate (Rm), lag phase (λ), and coefficient of determination (R2). The bio-kinetic parameters were evaluated by using kinetic models, first-order kinetics, Logistic function model, Modified Gompertz Model, and Transference function model. Among all kinetic models, the Logistic function model provided the best fit with experimental data followed by Modified Gompertz Model. The study suggests that a decrease in methane production was due to lower hydrolysis rate and higher lignin content of the co-digested substrates, and mechanical pretreatment leads to the breakage of complex lignocellulosic structure. The organic matter degradation evidence will be utilized by the biogas digesters developed in rural areas of Pakistan, where these agricultural residues are ample waste and need a technological solution to manage and produce renewable energy.

Anaerobic treatment is a viable alternative for the treatment of agro-industrial waste. Anaerobic digestion reduces organic load and produces volatile fatty acids (VFA), which are precursors of value-added products such as methane-rich biogas, biohydrogen, and biopolymers. Nowadays, there are no low-cost diagnosis and monitoring systems that analyze the dynamic behavior of key variables in real time, representing a significant limitation for its practical implementation. In this work, the feasibility of using the multiscale analysis to diagnose and monitor the key variables in VFA production by anaerobic treatment of raw cheese whey is presented. First, experiments were carried out to evaluate the performance of the proposed methodology under different operating conditions. Then, experimental pH time series were analyzed using rescaled range (R/S) techniques. Time-series analysis shows that the anaerobic VFA production exhibits a multiscale behavior, identifying three characteristic regions (i.e., three values of Hurst exponent). In addition, the dynamic Hurst exponents show satisfactory correlations with the chemical oxygen demand (COD) consumption and VFA production. The multiscale analysis of pH time series is easy to implement and inexpensive. Hence, it could be used as a diagnosis and indirect monitoring system of key variables in the anaerobic treatment of raw cheese whey.

The European research project CLARA (chemical looping gasification for sustainable production of biofuels, G.A. 817841) investigated chemical looping gasification of wheat straw pellets. This work focuses on pretreatments for this residual biomass, i.e., torrefaction and torrefaction-washing. Devolatilizations of individual pellets were performed in a laboratory-scale fluidized bed made of sand, at 700, 800, and 900 °C, to quantify and analyze the syngas released from differently pretreated biomasses, experimental data were assessed by integral-average parameters: gas yield, H2/CO molar ratio, and carbon conversion. A new analysis of devolatilization data was performed, based on information from instantaneous peaks of released syngas, by simple regressions with straight lines. For all biomasses, the increase of devolatilization temperature between 700 and 900 °C enhanced the thermochemical conversion in terms of gas yield, carbon conversion, and H2/CO ratio in the syngas. Regarding pretreatments, the main evidence is the general improvement of syngas quality (i.e., composition) and quantity, compared to those of untreated pellets, only slighter differentiations were observed concerning different pretreatments, mainly thanks to peak quantities, which highlighted an improvement of the H2/CO molar ratio in correlation with increased torrefaction temperature from 250 to 270 °C. The proposed methods emerged as suitable straightforward tools to investigate the behavior of biomasses and the effects of process parameters and biomass nature.

As vermicomposting has become a viable alternative for the valorization of organic waste, the objectives of this research were to (1) assess the feasibility of said process for corn cob waste (corn cobs and corn husks) and (2) evaluate the operation conditions for the biodegradation of different mixtures with load material (LM). LM did not include animal excreta as a nitrogen source, a practice widely used in a range of studies. The experiment consisted of an initial phase of pre-composting in order to obtain a partially stabilized substrate. Subsequently, four separate mixtures were made consisting of corn cob waste mixed with consistent load material (LM) containing vegetable waste and eggshells (CR, M1, M2, M3) to obtain a balance substrate able to facilitate degradation using Eisenia fetida earthworms. The following parameters were analyzed during the control process: temperature, pH, humidity, organic material (OM), total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN) and carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratio. The analysis of the final values of the stabilized mixtures showed that vermicomposting is indeed a feasible alternative for the degradation of corn cob waste for use as a soil improver.

It is important to develop renewable bio-coagulants to treat turbid water and efficient use of these bio-coagulants requires process optimization to achieve robustness. This study was conducted to optimize the coagulation process using bio-coagulant of deshelled Carica papaya seeds by employing response surface methodology (RSM). This bio-coagulant was extracted by a chemical-free solvent. The experiments were conducted using the Central Composite Design (CCD). Initially, the functional groups and protein content of the bio-coagulant were analyzed. The Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy analysis showed that the bio-coagulant contained OH, C=O and C-O functional groups, which enabled the protein to become polyelectrolyte. The highest efficiency of the bio-coagulant was obtained at dosage of 196 mg/L, pH 4.0 and initial turbidity of 500 NTU. At the optimum conditions, the bio-coagulant achieved 88% turbidity removal with a corresponding 83% coagulation activity. These findings suggested that the deshelled Carica papaya seeds have potential as a promising bio-coagulant in treating the polluted water.

Sanitary landfill leachate (LL) composition varies according to climate variables variation, solid waste characteristics and composition, and landfill age. Leachate treatment is essentially carried out trough biological and physicochemical processes, which have showed variability in efficiency and appear a costly solution for the management authorities. Electrocoagulation (EC) seems a suitable solution for leachate treatment taking into account the characteristics of the liquor. One of the problems of EC is the electrode passivation, which affects the longevity of the process. One solution to this problem could be the replacement of the electrode by one made of recyclable material, which would make it possible to change it frequently and at a lower cost. The objective of the present work was to evaluate the removal of heavy metals (As, Ba, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mn, Ni, Se and Zn) and coliforms from a LL by EC using electrodes made from steel swarf (SfE) up to 8 h. Removal efficiencies of detected heavy metals were 51%(Cr), 59%(As), 71%(Cd), 72%(Zn), 92%(Ba), 95%(Ni) and &gt, 99%(Pb). The microbial load of coliforms in leachate was reduced from 10.76 × 104 CFU/mL (raw leachate) to less than 1 CFU/mL (after treatment with SfE) (i.e., approximately 100% reduction). The use of SfE in EC of LL is very effective in removing heavy metals and coliforms and can be used as alternative treatment solution for such effluents.

Residual biomass from agri-food production chain and forestry are available in huge amounts for further valorisation processes. Delignification is usually the crucial step in the production of biofuels by fermentation as well as in the conversion of cellulose into high added-value compounds. High-intensity ultrasound (US) and hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) have been widely exploited as effective pretreatment techniques for biomass conversion and in particular for cellulose recovery. Due to their peculiar mechanisms, cavitational treatments promote an effective lignocellulosic matrix dismantling with delignification at low temperature (35–50 °C). Cavitation also promotes cellulose decrystallization due to a partial depolymerization. The aim of this review is to highlight recent advances in US and HC-assisted delignification and further cellulose recovery and valorisation.

The corn crop is one of the most important crops worldwide. However, the management of the residues generated is not efficient enough, which diminishes the competitiveness of this crop. An interesting option for the valorization of these wastes is their thermal use. In order to make the management of this residue as much efficient as possible, it is vital to know the different processes related to a corn harvest, and try to adapt the use of this waste depending on its characteristics. Thus, in this work, and on the basis of a conventional corn harvest, a differentiated analysis of the residue generated was carried out, including its characterization and assessing its behavior during pyrolysis and combustion. The results pointed out the importance of collecting residue immediately after its generation and avoiding its contact with the soil as this factor tends to worsen its thermal properties and ash content. Concerning the selective collection, it is highly advisable if the subsequent thermal use is going to be a pyrolytic process. In the case of combustion, even though the samples that contain corn stalk showed better combustion properties, this improvement did not outweigh the adverse effects related to the increase in ash content, especially for its pelletizing.

Torrefaction is a thermal pretreatment technique usually adopted for improving biomass properties to be on par with that of coal for energy production. In this study, the torrefaction characteristics of blended fuel of sewage sludge (SS) and sugarcane bagasse (BG) biomass were investigated for the purpose of gasification. The thermal degradation behavior of the blended biomass sample was tested in an inert atmosphere from ambient temperature to 900 °C using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The obtained TGA data aided in the determination of thermochemical parameters that are of necessity in gasification. Morphological changes in the blended torrefied samples were examined through scanning electron microscopy. Further changes in the chemical structure of the samples were investigated through Fourier-transform infrared analysis. The blend ratio of 75% SS + 25% BG torrefied at 350 °C gave the highest energy value (HHV) of 23.62 MJ/kg, fixed carbon of 51.37 wt % and fuel ratio of 1.70. The obtained fuel ratio is comparable to that required for optimum combustion performance of coal. The morphological structure of the samples showed that there was an aggregation of the biomass particles into small lumps at higher torrefaction temperature for 50% SS + 50% BG and 75% SS + 25% BG blend indicating a better grind ability of the biomass material. Thus, it can be concluded that the blend and torrefaction enhanced the properties of the biomass materials.

Multiple recycling of waste concrete has attracted widespread attention. This study presented the carbonation behavior of repeatedly recycled aggregate concrete (RRAC) used in a micro-frozen region. The effects of freeze–thaw cycles on the carbonation depth of three generations of RRAC with 25%, 75%, and 100% of replacement rate were evaluated. All RRAC specimens after different numbers of freeze–thaw cycles were rapidly carbonated for 28 d indoors to test the carbonation resistance of concrete. The results suggested that the carbonation depth of RRAC subjected to freeze–thaw cycles is higher than that in the non-freeze–thaw condition. This is because the freeze–thaw damages cause the internal structure of RRAC to become porous and and prone to cracking, thus providing convenient channels for CO2 to react with the alkali in the cementitious materials. With the growth of replacement rate or recycling number, RRAC reveals serious freeze–thaw damage and inferior carbonation resistance, which is due to the continuous deterioration repeatedly recycled concrete aggregate (RRCA) quality. However, when the replacement rate was 25%, the carbonation depth for the third generation of RAC was comparable to the second generation of RAC at a 75% replacement rate, and even the first generation of 100% RAC. To ensure better carbonation resistance durability of multiple recycling RAC, the low replacement rate of RRCA should be considered. For the third generation of RAC with the 100% replacement rate, its highest carbonation depth after freeze–thaw cycles was 9.16 mm, which still met the design requirements for structural use in a micro-frozen region. This indicates that it is feasible for three generations of RRAC to be used in the micro-frozen environment and that RRAC has great engineering application potential and promotional value.

Animal waste is generated at an increased rate, and its disposal is attracting wide public attention. Anaerobic digestion is considered the most promising option for reducing this waste, and simultaneously, it produces renewable energy. Lignin contained in lignocellulosic biomass is hardly biodegradable, thus pre-treatment has to be considered prior to digestion. The possibility of biological pre-treatment of chicken manure with sawdust using Pleurotus ostreatus fungi was investigated in our study. This animal waste was used as a substrate for further biogas production. To provide a better nutrient balance, we added two different co-substrates, wheat straw and Miscanthus. Mixtures with different mass ratios of chicken manure with sawdust/ordinary wheat straw, as well as chicken manure with sawdust/pre-treated wheat straw were incubated for 30 d. The same experiments were performed with Miscanthus. During incubation, samples were taken at predetermined time intervals, and the concentration of acid-insoluble lignin was determined. Additionally, concentrations of glucose and xylose in the filtrate taken at the end of the Klasson procedure were determined in the initial samples and in the samples after 30 d of incubation. Despite our expectations, almost no lignin degradation was observed. Insignificant decreases in glucose and xylose concentrations after 30 d is attributed to fungi ingestion. Obtained results show that Pleurotus ostreatus, as a white-rot fungi with a unique enzymatic system and as generally preferred organisms for lignin degradation, is, therefore, not suitable for delignification of this particular animal waste.

Carbonation of cementitious binders implies gradual capture of CO2 and significant compensation for the abundant cement-related CO2 emissions. Therefore, one should always look at the CO2-sequestration-to-emission ratio (CO2SP/EM). Here, this was done for High-Volume Fly Ash (HVFA) mortar (versus two commercial cement mortars). Regarding their CO2 sequestration potential, effects of accelerated testing (at 1–10% CO2) on as such estimated natural carbonation degrees and rates were studied. Production related CO2 emissions were evaluated using life cycle assessment with no/economic allocation for fly ash. Natural carbonation rates estimated from accelerated tests significantly underestimate actual natural carbonation rates (with 29–59% for HVFA mortar) while corresponding carbonation degrees are significantly overestimated (67–74% as opposed to the actual 58% for HVFA mortar). It is advised to stick with the more time-consuming natural tests. Even then, CO2SP/EM values can vary considerably depending on whether economic allocation coefficients (Ce) were considered. This approach imposes significant portions of the CO2 emissions of coal-fired electricity production onto fly ash originating from Germany, China, UK, US and Canada. Ce values of ≥0.50% lower the potential CO2SP/EM values up to a point that it seems no longer environmentally worthwhile to aim at high-volume replacement of Portland cement/clinker by fly ash.