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Energy security and pollution are becoming critical issues in the context of climate change and the circular economy, calling for sustainable resources. Asteraceae species, commonly referred as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, are among the largest flowering plants with 23,000 species belonging to 1600 genera, and are a major source of biomass. Here we review botanical characteristics and applications of Asteraceae for bioenergy, remediation, nanotechnology, medicine, food and agriculture. Sunflower is the most used to produce bio-oils with a yearly production of 47 million tons. Sunflower is also used for phytoremediation of heavy metals such as cadmium, lead, uranium, and chromium. Artichoke, chicory, purple coneflower, and wormwood display medicinal potential with 27–103 bioactive compounds. Artemisia, calendula, and sunflower oil are precursors for cosmetic and perfume production. Asteraceae species exhibited high efficiencies of 90−96% for removal of remazol red, and reactive blue dyes. Asteraceae species are used for fabrication of nanoparticles, biochar, activated carbon and biocomposites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a minimum-run resolution IV and central composite design have been developed to optimize tetracycline removal efficiency over mesoporous carbon derived from the metal-organic framework MIL-53 (Fe) as a self-sacrificial template. Firstly, minimum-run resolution IV, powered by the Design–Expert program, was used as an efficient and reliable screening study for investigating a set of seven factors, these were: tetracycline concentration (A: 5–15 mg/g), dose of mesoporous carbons (MPC) (B: 0.05–0.15 g/L), initial pH level (C: 2–10), contact time (D: 1–3 h), temperature (E: 20–40 °C), shaking speed (F: 150–250 rpm), and Na+ ionic strength (G: 10–90 mM) at both low (−1) and high (+1) levels, for investigation of the data ranges. The 20-trial model was analyzed and assessed by Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) data, and diagnostic plots (e.g., the Pareto chart, and half-normal and normal probability plots). Based on minimum-run resolution IV, three factors, including tetracycline concentration (A), dose of MPC (B), and initial pH (C), were selected to carry out the optimization study using a central composite design. The proposed quadratic model was found to be statistically significant at the 95% confidence level due to a low P-value (<0.05), high R2 (0.9078), and the AP ratio (11.4), along with an abundance of diagnostic plots (3D response surfaces, Cook's distance, Box-Cox, DFFITS, Leverage versus run, residuals versus runs, and actual versus predicted). Under response surface methodology-optimized conditions (e.g., tetracycline concentration of 1.9 mg/g, MPC dose of 0.15 g/L, and pH level of 3.9), the highest tetracycline removal efficiency via confirmation tests reached up to 98.0%–99.7%. Also, kinetic intraparticle diffusion and isotherm models were systematically studied to interpret how tetracycline molecules were absorbed on an MPC structure. In particular, the adsorption mechanisms including "electrostatic attraction" and "π–π interaction" were proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chloramphenicol (CAP) is commonly employed in veterinary clinics, but illegal and uncontrollable consumption can result in its potential contamination in environmental soil, and aquatic matrix, and thereby, regenerating microbial resistance, and antibiotic-resistant genes. Adsorption by efficient, and recyclable adsorbents such as mesoporous carbons (MPCs) is commonly regarded as a "green and sustainable" approach. Herein, the MPCs were facilely synthesized via the pyrolysis of the metal–organic framework Fe3O(BDC)3 with calcination temperatures (x °C) between 600 and 900 °C under nitrogen atmosphere. The characterization results pointed out mesoporous carbon matrix (MPC700) coating zero-valent iron particles with high surface area (~225 m2/g). Also, significant investigations including fabrication condition, CAP concentration, effect of pH, dosage, and ionic strength on the absorptive removal of CAP were systematically studied. The optimal conditions consisted of pH = 6, concentration 10 mg/L and dose 0.5 g/L for the highest chloramphenicol removal efficiency at nearly 100% after 4 h. Furthermore, the nonlinear kinetic and isotherm adsorption studies revealed the monolayer adsorption behavior of CAP onto MPC700 and Fe3O(BDC)3 materials via chemisorption, while the thermodynamic studies implied that the adsorption of CAP was a spontaneous process. Finally, adsorption mechanism including H-bonding, electrostatic attraction, π–π interaction, and metal–bridging interaction was proposed to elucidate how chloramphenicol molecules were adsorbed on the surface of materials. With excellent maximum adsorption capacity (96.3 mg/g), high stability, and good recyclability (4 cycles), the MPC700 nanocomposite could be utilized as a promising alternative for decontamination of chloramphenicol antibiotic from wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, we described the use of exfoliated graphene- (EG-) decorated magnetic MnFe2O4 nanocomposite (EG@MnFe2O4) for the removal and adsorption of Congo red (CR) dye from wastewater. Firstly, the precursors (EG, MnFe2O4) and EG@MnFe2O4 were fabricated, characterized using several physical analytical techniques such as X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and N2adsorption/desorption isotherm measurement. For the adsorption experiments, the effect of contact time (0–240 min), concentration (10–60 mg/L), solution pH (2–10), adsorbent dosage (0.03–0.07 g), and temperature (283–313 K) was rigorously studied. To elucidate the adsorption mechanism and behaviour of CR over EG@MnFe2O4 and MnFe2O4 adsorbents, the kinetic models (pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, Elovich, and Bangham) and isotherm models (Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin, and Dubinin–Radushkevich) have been adopted. The kinetic results indicated that models adhered to the pseudo-second-order equation, exhibiting the chemisorption mechanism in heterogeneous phrase. Meanwhile, the isotherm results revealed the adsorption of CR over EG@MnFe2O4 obeyed the monolayer behaviour (Langmuir model) rather than multilayer behaviour (Freundlich equation) over MnFe2O4. The thermodynamic study also suggested that such adsorption was an endothermic and spontaneous process. With high maximum adsorption capacity (71.79 mg/g) and good recyclability (at least 4 times), EG@MnFe2O4 can be a potential alternative for the adsorptive removal of CR dye from water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]