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Heavy metal contamination of water is a burning global issue, and enormous importance has been given on easily applicable watertreatment methods namely adsorption. However, search for an efficient and reusable adsorbent is ever-evolving. In this study, activated carbon from highly ligno-cellulosic jute stick (JS-AC), the agricultural by-product of jute (Corchorus olitorius), was evaluated as a new adsorbent for removing cadmium (Cd) from the aqueous medium. The direct and interaction effects of four independent adsorption factors namely, initial Cd(II) concentration (20–100 mg/L), adsorbent dose (0.5–1 g/L), solution pH (3–7), and time (30–180 min) were investigated by applying response surface methodology (RSM). A 24 Box-Behnken matrix model with 3 centre points indicated that the maximum % Cd(II) removal was achieved at the initial concentration, dose, pH and time of 60.87 mg/L, 0.5 g/L, 7, and 30 min, respectively. The adsorption equilibrium was investigated by applying Freundlich, Langmuir, Temkin, and Jovanoic isotherm models while Langmuir isotherm exhibited the best fit (R2 = 0.99). The maximum Cd(II) adsorption capacity value of JS-AC was 73.53 mg/g. Finally, JS-AC was regenerated with 0.1M HNO3 as the desorption medium and reused for five successive cycles. This study indicated that jute stick, the under-utilised agro-residue of a cash crop, could be converted into a valuable product like JS-AC which offers immense application potential as an efficient and reusable adsorbent to treat Cd(II) contaminated aqueous medium before releasing in the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Banana (Musa sapientum) plant aptly called as 'kalpataru', a gigantic herb, a food fruit crop, an ancient species is cultivated all over the world. India is the largest producer of banana in the world. Banana plant not only gives the delicious fruit but it is also a source of textile fibre known as the banana fibre. The plant is grown in all kind of soils but most commonly found in hot tropical climate. All varieties of banana plants have fibres in abundance. These fibres are obtained after the fruit is harvested and fall in the group of bast fibres. This plant has been a good source for high quality textiles in many parts of the world, especially in Japan and Nepal. Banana fibre has the potentiality to be used in the manufacture of handicrafts, home decorative items, home furnishing items and paper. The paper made out of banana fibre has very good export potential. The fruitful utilization of these sterns is therefore an important issue related to banana cultivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the advancements in the field of biotechnology and genetic engineering a totally new dimension have been developed. It had become possible, by genetic manipulation of genes obtained from one species to another to produce transgenics -having resistance to both biotic and abiotic stresses, which have been also proved to yield higher crop productivity. Proper standard to regulate the genetically modified foods have not been developed yet, although bioengineers have begun creating hundreds of new genetically engineered crops. Their impact on human being and environment had not been scientifically carried out. This review paper provides some aspects of genetically modified foods with their benefits, hazards and future prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sisal is a perennial plant identified by its 50 - 150 thick, spiky, long and rigid spirally arranged leaves. Upon maturation, pale yellow/shiny white fibre can be extracted from leaves by retting followed by washing and drying. Easy to raise on wastelands in a wide range of agroclimates, sustained fibre yield for a considerable long duration and versatility of the fibre as a potential input material for various applications makes it a viable option for employment generation and rural development thus leading to sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, jute stick (JS), the underexplored by‐product of jute (Corchorus olitorius) cultivation system, has been used as a novel low‐cost adsorbent to remove methylene blue (MB), a cationic dye, from an aqueous medium. Box–Behnken design matrix and response surface methodology (RSM) have been used to evaluate the effect of four important process factors namely, solution pH (3–11), adsorbent dose (0.5–5 g L−1), initial dye concentration (50–200 mg L−1), and time (60–180 min). JS was characterized by physico‐chemical parameters, pHzpc (zero‐point charge), FTIR for the functional groups and SEM–EDX for surface morphology. The direct and interaction effects of adsorption parameters were studied. The optimum values of pH, dose, initial concentration, and time for maximum % dye removal were 10.27, 5 (g L−1), 200 (mg L−1), and 66.06 min. Regeneration and recycling studies were also carried out. The present study indicated that JS, a bio‐waste of jute cultivation system, can be effectively utilized as an adsorbent to treat MB contaminated aqueous medium/ wastewater before environmental disposal. © 2019 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 38:e13146, 2019 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]