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Non-targeted analysis and suspect screening of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in various matrices have gained traction with advancements in accurate mass analytical instruments. This study employed ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry for PFAS suspect screening of paper grades used in the paper recycling chain. The samples were prepared using two extraction techniques; selective accelerated solvent extraction with weak anionic exchange solid-phase extraction and non-selective ultrasonic-assisted extraction. A suspect screening protocol was established to tentatively identify suspected PFAS against spectral databases using a systematic approach of peak filtering and study-specific thresholds for reporting, linked to a confidence level. The possible prevalence of previously unreported PFAS in several paper materials across the various collection sites in the paper recycling chain was inferred by the common detection of short-chain polyfluoroalkyl ketones and diketones in the paper recycling chain. The suspect screening tentatively identified 41 unique PFAS, with 3 common to both pre-treatment techniques. The detection of unique PFAS by the two sample pre-treatment techniques highlighted the significance of both selective and non-selective extraction in PFAS screening endeavours. Further, it showed the importance of understanding the acquisition mechanisms employed in mass spectrometry where data-dependent acquisition triggered fragmentation in certain identified compounds, and not in others. The tentatively identified PFAS indicated that there were several previously unreported PFAS in the paper recycling chain and that additional studies were required to investigate their abundance, possible persistence, bioaccumulation and toxicity, in relation to their functional groups and carbon chains., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests:Nondumiso Mofokeng reports funding was provided by Mpact Operations Pty (Ltd). All other authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

The large use and emission of p-nitrophenol (p-NP) seriously pollute the environment and endanger human health. In this work, a hydrazone-linked fluorescent covalent organic framework (BATHz-COF) was simply synthesized at room temperature and covalently linked N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NALC) via the "thiol-ene" click reaction, where carboxyl groups were introduced to improve dispersion and fluorescence intensity. As a rapid, good selectivity and reusability fluorescence sensor, the obtained COF-NALC has been used for quantitative analysis of p-NP predicated on the internal filtering effect (IFE). Under optimal conditions, COF-NALC enabled quantitative detection of p-NP with a linear range of 5-50 μM and the detection limit was 1.46 μM. The application of COF-NALC to the detection of p-NP in river water samples was successful, and the satisfactory recoveries were 98.0%-109.3%. Furthermore, the fluorescent COF paper chips constructed by in situ growth were combined with a smartphone to build a visual platform for the quick and real-time detection of p-NP, providing an excellent illustration for the development of intelligent fluorescence sensing in environmental analysis., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

The deinking in the paper industry is in great demand, and microbial enzymes are key players. In the present study, the endoglucanase production from newly isolated fungi Aspergillus niger MPS25 is reported. The optimization of endoglucanase production was carried out using one factor at a time approach resulting in endoglucanase activity (2.37 IU/ml) at 45 °C and pH 8 in submerged fermentation (SmF), which shows optimum enzyme activity at 60 °C. Interestingly, the metal ions viz. Co 2+ stimulated the endoglucanase activity, whereas Mn 2+ reduced the enzyme activity, which shows that this enzyme can be used for effluent treatment released through deinking. The enzymatic hydrolysis of wheat straw produced 26.96 ± 0.108 mg/g of reducing sugars, indicating its potential in saccharification and the biofuel industry. Furthermore, the validation of the deinking efficiency of this enzyme resulted in improved deinking of mixed office waste and old newspapers by 31.5% and 20.4%, respectively. The strength properties, viz. burst factor and tear index, breaking length, and tensile index of the handmade paper sheets, were also improved which were analyzed by the scanning electron micrographs. The FTIR and XRD analysis of pulp provided insights into the changes in functional groups and cellulose crystallinity, respectively. These results indicate that multi-efficient endoglucanase from Aspergillus niger MPS25 is suitable for enzyme-based eco-friendly deinking for waste paper recycling and lignocellulosic biomass saccharification., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Aim of this research was to treat the organics enriched Paper and Pulp Industry (PPI) effluents using multi-metal tolerant predominant indigenous bacterial species. In addition, assessing the potential of treated bacterial biomass as a single cell protein (SCP). The multi-metal tolerant Streptomyces tuirus OS1 was enumerated from the Paper and Pulp Industry (PPI) effluents was identified through standard molecular characterization. S. tuirus OS1 proficiently ameliorated organic contaminants in PPI effluent in the in study at 35 °C, 45 °C, and 25 °C. Fortunately, the S. tuirus OS1 considerably increased the dissolved oxygen level in treated PPI effluent in 30 days of bioremediation process. Interestingly, at 35 °C of bioremediation process the S. tuirus OS1 demonstrated increased dried biomass (7.1 g L -1 ) with the total crude protein (SCP) as 5.3 g L -1 (78.79%) in 30 days of bioremediation process. These findings suggest that S. tuirus OS1 is capable of reducing organic pollutants in PPI effluents and producing biomass with enriched protein content., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Due to the presence of various organic contaminants, improper disposal of pulp-paper wastewater poses harm to the environment and human health. In this work, pulp-paper sludge (PPS) after secondary treatment were collected from M/s Century Pulp-paper Mills in India, the chemical nature of the organic pollutants was determined after solvent extraction. All the isolates were able to produce lipase (6.34-3.93 U ml -1 ) which could account for the different fatty acids detected in the PPS. The dominant strains were in the classes of α and γ Proteobacteria followed by Firmicutes. The Shannon-Weiner diversity indexes for phylotype richness for the culturable and non-culturable bacterial community were 2.01 and 3.01, respectively, indicating the non-culturable bacterial strains has higher species richness and diversity compared to the culturable bacterial strains. However, the culturable strains had higher species evenness (0.94 vs 0.90). Results suggested only a few isolated strains were resistant to the POPs in the PPS, where as non-cultural bacteria survived by entering viable but non-cultural state. The isolated strains (Brevundimonas diminuta, Aeromonas punctata, Enterobacter hormaechei, Citrobacter braakii, Bacillus pumilus and Brevundimonas terrae) are known for their multidrug resistance but their tolerance to POPs have not previously been reported and deserved further investigation. The findings of this research established the presence of POPs which influence the microbial population. Tertiary treatment is recommended prior to the safe disposal of pulp paper mill waste into the environment., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

A laboratory scale (LS) and a field-based pilot plant (PP), designed to simulate aerobic stabilization basin (ASB) operation, were utilized to assess the potential impacts of changes in pulp and paper (P&P) mill operations on full-scale (FS) ASB performance. Two stages of investigation were conducted. The first was undertaken to determine the potential of pre-alum treatment of pulp mill wastewaters on ASB performance. The second investigation was conducted to assess ASB performance where wastewaters transitioned from being coagulated pulp and paper mill wastewaters to paper mill wastewaters only. Simulation ASB performance was assessed based on removals of BOD 5 , colour, UV@254 nm and nutrients [total phosphorus (TP) and nitrogen compounds (TN)]. Pre-alum treatment of pulp mill wastewaters with subsequent ASB treatment following mixing with paper mill wastewaters showed high percentage removals of BOD 5 . Despite low TP concentrations (≤0.05 mg/L) and low nutrient to BOD 5 ratios of wastewaters in the LS-ASB trial, the high % BOD 5 removal indicated recycling of nutrients from sludge [sourced from the FS-ASB]. Despite coagulation of pulp mill wastewater being performed using a very high alum dose (∼2000 mg/L) to remove colour and its precursors, colour formation remained high throughout the simulated ASB trials. Simulation of discontinuation of pulping indicated that colour would reduce rapidly to low levels in ASB wastewaters, but that TP and TN concentrations would persist for longer periods of time and decline slowly. Survey data of water qualities of the FS-ASB system obtained before, during and 2 years after discontinuation of pulping are presented., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The article presents the research results of the oxidation of watered toxic waste from the pulp and paper industry (sludge-lignin, the empirical formula of organic matter CH 1.51 N 0.05 S 0.03 Cl 0.01 O 0.54 ) in supercritical water-oxygen (SCW/O 2 ) fluid. The experiments were carried out using a flow tube reactor at a pressure of 25 MPa, temperature gradient along its vertical axis (from top to bottom: 390-600 °C), sludge-lignin flow rate of 9.5-14.5 g/min, oxygen ratio OR = 0.73-2.52, using NaOH (1.6 wt%) as a catalyst. Employing gas chromatography - mass spectrometry, polychlorophenols were identified in the composition of sludge-lignin, in which 2,4,6-trichlorophenol was the main component. The total yield of extracted phenols and chlorophenols per sludge-lignin organic matter was 20.82 and 2.88 μg/g, respectively. It is revealed that the conversion rate of sludge-lignin in SCW/O 2 fluid is limited by heterogeneous oxidation of the carbonized residue, and is determined by the O 2 content in the reaction mixture. At OR ≥ 1.16, only CO 2 , CO, N 2 , and N 2 O were detected in the volatile oxidation products. An increase in OR from 0.73 to 2.52 leads to a decrease in the total content of phenols (from 45540.1 to 129.3 μg/dm 3 ) and chlorophenols (from 51.4 to 2.2 μg/dm 3 ) in the water collected at the reactor outlet. It is shown that 2,6-dichlorophenol and 2-chlorophenol are the most resistant to oxidation. From the analysis of the initial sludge-lignin and mineral residues, it follows that the bulk of the chlorine contained in its organic matter is converted into NaCl in the course of oxidation., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The landfilling of paper mill sludge (PMS) has been restricted or even banned in many countries due to the raised concern about greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and contamination of the soil and water, calling for a sustainable PMS management approach. The potential valorization of PMS to nanomaterials combined with traditional biorefinery was examined in this work. Three types of PMS-derived cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) were prepared and evaluated: enzymatically assisted CNF (AU: with in-house produced enzyme and CT: with commercial enzyme), mechanically pretreated CNF (BT), and chemically pretreated CNF by TEMPO oxidation (TEMPO). It was found that enzyme-assisted mechanical fibrillation-derived CNFs had a comparable average diameter (27.9 nm for AU and 22.7 nm for CT) with that produced from mechanical pretreatment (26.5 nm for BT) and TEMPO oxidation pretreatment (20.0 nm for TEMPO), and they showed the best drainage properties among the three types of CNF. The CNFs resulting from enzymatic pretreatment reduced 15% of energy consumption compared to the mechanical method and had better thermostability than TEMPO oxidation method. In addition, the on-site produced enzyme showed similar performance to the commercial enzymes towards the CNF properties. These findings provide new insights into a promising integrated strategy in engineering CNF from PMS with on-site enzyme production as a novel and sustainable approach for PMS management and valorization., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In this study, Moringa oleifera (M. oleifera) performance as an eco-friendly coagulant in the enhanced primary treatment of paper mill effluent was investigated. Its performance in terms of turbidity removal and COD abatement was examined. Local M. oleifera seed powder from ADRAR-city, South of Algeria, was used. Conventional jar tests were conducted for enhancing the primary treatment of paper mill effluent from paper factory. For this reason, comparative coagulation tests were performed using aluminum sulfate (alum). Indeed, in terms of turbidity abatement, 96.02% and 97.1% were obtained for Moringa and alum, respectively. However, in the case of COD abatement, the abatement rate of M. oleifera seeds was slightly higher than that of alum, 97.28% and 92.67%, respectively. Because M. oleifera is a natural resource that is locally available, an eco-friendly coagulant, non-toxic, and biodegradable and does not affect the pH of water; thus, its use allows to avoid numerous disadvantages of conventional coagulants like alum., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Thermal paper contains potentially toxic compounds such as bisphenol A (BPA), which is used as a color developer. BPA has been reported in thermal paper in concentrations up to 42,600 μg g -1 . The exposure to BPA via dermal transfer has been recently discussed as a significant contribution to the overall human exposure and the estimated daily intake (EDI) has been reported up to 218 μg d -1 . BPA has been also detected in recycled paper with concentrations up to 46 μg g -1 . Due to the fact that BPA is a known endocrine disruptor and migrates from materials, regulatory restrictions have been established to prevent risks for the human health. As a consequence, structural analogues, such as bisphenol S (BPS) have been introduced into the market. Little is known about the presence and toxicity of these emerging replacements, and concern has risen about them. The present review gives an overview of the occurrence and levels of BPA and replacements in thermal paper. BPA is still the most common color developer found in thermal paper, followed by BPS. The analytical methods used for quantification of BPA and BPA replacements in paper products are also reviewed. BPA is transferred from thermal paper products to the finger pads upon handling it. Paper-skin transfer followed by penetration of BPA depends on conditions (e.g. greasiness of fingers and use of hand cream). It is, however, still debated whether thermal paper as a source for human exposure contributes significantly to the overall internal BPA exposure., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

A lignin peroxidases-producing Serratia liquefaciens was used for bioremediation of pulp and paper (P&P) mill effluent. The treatment led to reduction of chemical oxygen demand (COD), colour, lignin and phenolic content by 84%, 72%, 61% and 95%, respectively. The effluent detoxification was studied by genotoxicity assays using Allium cepa L. (onion) root tip cells. Genotoxicity studies included measuring mitotic index (MI), chromosomal aberrations (CA) and nuclear abnormalities (NA) in root tip cells following treatment with 25, 50, 75 and 100% (v/v) of effluent. The root tip cells grown in untreated effluent showed a significant decrease in MI from 69% (control) to 32%, 27%, 22% and 11% at 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% effluent concentration, respectively. This indicated that the untreated effluent was highly cytotoxic in nature. Further, root tip cells, when treated with different concentrations of effluent showed various CA and NA including c-mitosis, stickiness, chromosome loss, chromosome break, anaphase bridge, multipolar anaphase, vagrant chromosomes, micronucleated and binucleated cells. The MI observed in root tip cells grown in bacterial treated effluents at similar concentrations (25, 50, 75 and 100% v/v) showed an increase of 33%, 36%, 42% and 66%. CA showed a substantial decrease and in some instances, complete absence of CA was also observed. The findings suggest that S. liquefaciens culture could be a potential bacterial culture for bioremediation of P&P mill effluent, as it is effective in substantial lowering of pollutants load as well as reduces the cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of effluent., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This study firstly investigated the species, concentration variation, and emission factors of mercury emitted from the burning of incenses and joss papers in an Asian temple. Both indoor and outdoor speciated mercury (GEM, GOM, and PHg) were sampled by manual samplers, while ambient GEM at an indoor site was in-situ monitored by a continuous GEM monitor. Field measurement results showed that the total atmospheric mercury (TAM) concentrations in indoor and outdoor environments were in the range of 8.03-35.72 and 6.03-31.35 ng/m 3 , respectively. The indoor and outdoor ratios (I/O) of TAM in the daytime and at nighttime were in the range of 0.64-0.90 and 1.50-2.04, respectively. The concentrations of GEM, GOM, and PHg during the holiday periods were approximately 1-4 times higher than those during the non-holiday periods. GEM was the dominant mercury species in the indoor and outdoor environments and accounted for 63-81% of TAM, while the oxidized mercury accounted for 19-37% of TAM. Burning incenses and joss papers in a combustion chamber showed that the concentration of GEM from joss paper burning ranged from 4.07 to 11.62 μg/m 3 , or about 13.97 times higher than that of incense burning, while the concentration of PHg from incense burning ranged from 95.91 to 135.07 ng/m 3 , or about 3.29 times higher than that of joss paper burning. The emission factors of incense burning were 10.39 ng/g of GEM and 1.40 ng/g of PHg, while those of joss paper burning were 12.65 ng/g of GEM and 1.27 ng/g of PHg, respectively. This study revealed that speciated mercury emitted from worship activities had significant influence on the indoor and outdoor mercury concentrations in an Asian temple. Higher intensity of worship activities during holidays resulted in a higher concentration of speciated mercury in indoor and outdoor air, which might cause health threats to worshipers, staffs, and surrounding inhabitants through long-term exposure., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The study was conducted with an aim to remediate effluent from a pulp and paper mill, after treating it for 28 days with an aquatic fern, Salvinia cucullata. The effluent had high BOD, COD, TS, TSS, TDS, P, hardness and chloride, and several heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb, Mg, Mn, Fe and Zn) above national limits. However, the plant survived a wide range of effluent concentrations (25%, 50%, 75% and 100%, v/v), and flourished well, particularly at 25% (v/v), resisted membrane injury and generation of H2O2 and O2, showed better growth and induced all the major antioxidant enzymes. The plants also induced lipid peroxidation. Most of the elemental profiles were higher than the toxic levels stipulated for plants, indicating tolerance to metal. In fact, barring Fe, for Cr, Cu, Pb, Zn, Mg and P, at all the effluent doses, and for Cd, Ni and Mn, up to 75% (v/v) effluent, greater concentrations were observed in leaf than in root. This plant was more suited for nutrient removal, as it effectively reduced BOD, Zn, Fe, Ni, Mg, P and increased dissolve oxygen. Further, pH, hardness, chloride, TS and Mn was reduced optimally by 25-50% (v/v) treatments. SEM revealed prominent structural damages from 50 to 100% treatments. Presence of Pb as well as Fe in the EDX peaks were observed in the cortex rather than in the root vascular zone. This plant could be suggested to be an effective phytoremediator of multi-contaminant effluent with maximum benefit at low doses (25-50%, v/v)., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

As a typical advanced oxidation process, Fe 2+ -persulfate (PDS) oxidation technology has been widely and efficiently reported for enhancing sludge dewaterability. However, higher dosage of Fe 2+ must be added, which will restrain the oxidation efficiency of Fe 2+ -PDS process. In this work, the oxalic acid (OA)/Fe 2+ -PDS process was studied to improve paper sludge dewatering. With the OA dosage of 6 μmol (g total solid (TS)) -1 , Fe 2+ dosage of 0.3 mmol (g TS) -1 , and PDS dosage of 0.6 mmol (g TS) -1 , sludge dewaterability was improved more efficiently. The specific resistance to filtration and water content of sludge cake were decreased by 70.7% and 8.0%, respectively. In comparison with Fe 2+ -PDS process, the viscosities of sludge suspension and supernatant were further reduced by 3.73% and 51.77%, respectively, and the contents of extracellular polymeric substances fractions were increased. The improved sludge dewaterability in OA/Fe 2+ -PDS process was mainly contributed by the synergistic effect of oxidative disintegration by free radicals and flocs re-flocculation, the contributions of which were the orders: metal cations > sulfate radical > hydroxyl radical. OA enhanced the efficient disintegration of sludge flocs, released more bound water, generated more Fe 3+ -oxalate complexes, and finally increased the sludge particle size significantly, forming a larger aggregation and obvious cracks. Additionally, the stabilization of several heavy metals was improved due to the chelating capacity of OA. These works will provide a novel approach for sludge dewatering in the PDS oxidation process., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Recycling of industrial wastewater meeting quality standards for agricultural and industrial demands is a viable option. In this study, paper and pulp industrial wastewater were treated with three biological treatments viz. aerobic, anaerobic and sequential (i.e. 20 days of anaerobic followed by 20 days of aerobic cycle), associated with simulation modeling by Mamdani Fuzzy Logic (MFL) model of some selected parameters. Electric air diffuser and minimal salt medium in sealed plastic bottles at control temperature were used for aerobic and anaerobic treatments, respectively. The significant reduction in chemical (COD: 81%) and biological oxygen demand (BOD: 71%), total suspended (TSS: 65%), dissolved solids (TDS: 60%) and turbidity (68%) was recorded during sequential treatment. The treated water was irrigated to determine its phytotoxic effects on seed germination, vigor and seedling growth of mustard (Brassica campestris). Sequential treatment greatly reduced phytotoxicity of wastewater and showed the highest germination percentage (90%) compared to aerobic (60%), anaerobic (70%) treatments and untreated wastewater (30%). Regression analysis also endorsed these findings (R2 = 0.76–0.95 between seed germination, seedling growth and vigor). MFL technique was adopted to simulate sequential treatment process. The results support higher performance of MFL model to predict TDS, TSS, COD, and BOD based on the physico-chemical water quality parameters of raw wastewater, time of treatment and treatment type variation. Based on these findings, we conclude that the sequential treatment could be a more effective strategy for treatment of pulp and paper industrial wastewater with efficiency to be used for agricultural industry without toxic effects. Image 10 • Pulp and paper wastewater was subjected to aerobic, anaerobic and sequential treatment. • Sequential treatment significantly reduced COD, BOD, TSS, TDS and turbidity. • Mamdani Fuzzy Logic technique was adopted to simulate sequential treatment process. • Sequentially treated wastewater improved seed germination, seedling growth and vigor index. • Sequential treatment is more efficient as compared to sole aerobic and anaerobic treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic toxins are persistent chemicals of global concern capable of accumulating in environment and food. Surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a promising technique that facilitates onsite detection of organic toxins. However, the fabrication of a SERS substrate is complicated and difficult to provide flexibility, fastness and cost-effectiveness. This study aims to develop a paper-based SERS method using grape skin-gold nanoparticles/graphene oxide (GE-AuNPs/GO) as SERS substrate and evaluate its efficiency with rhodamine 6G (Rh6G) as a model organic toxin and a real water and food contaminant. GE-AuNPs synthesized by green method using grape skin waste extract and GE-AuNPs/GO showed a surface plasmon resonance at 536 and 539 nm, particle size 18.6 and 19.5 nm, and zeta potential -44.6 and -59.7 mV, respectively. Paper-based SERS substrates were prepared by coating a hydrophobic thin-film of 30% polydimethylsiloxane solution in hexane on Whatman no. 1 filter paper, followed by drop-casting GE-AuNPs or GE-AuNPs/GO and drying. The SERS signals of Rh6G showed an enhancement factor of 5.8 × 10 4 for GE-AuNPs and 1.92 × 10 9 for GE-AuNPs/GO, implying that a combination of electromagnetic surface plasmon, charge transfer and molecular resonances may be responsible for a higher enhancement of signal by the latter. A low detection limit of 7.33 × 10 -11  M in the linear range of 10 -11 -10 -5  M was obtained for GE-AuNPs/GO, while the relative standard deviation of repeatability and reproducibility was 9.6 and 12.6%, respectively. Paper-based GE-AuNPs/GO SERS substrate was highly stable as <20% loss in efficiency was shown over a 60-day storage period. Application to real samples showed a high recovery of Rh6G from tap water (93.9-100.8%) as well as food samples such as red chilli powder (91.0-95.4%), red glutinous rice ball (96.6-98.3%) and tomato ketchup (98.9-102.3%) after QuEChERS extraction. Collectively, the developed paper-based GE-AuNPs/GO can be a potential substrate for sensitive onsite detection of rhodamine 6G by SERS method., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The graphene quantum dots (GQDs) was synthesized using potato starch and water by hydrothermal method and further used for reduction of tetracholoroauric acid to form graphene quantum dots-gold (GQDs@AuNPs) nanocomposite. The GQDs/GQDs@AuNPs were analyzed using FTIR, UV-Vis, Flourometry and HR-TEM. The synthesized GQDs@AuNPs were further used for fabrication of cost-effective screen-printed paper electrode (SPPE) based DNA sensor for the detection of O. tsutsugamushi using htrA gene specific 5'NH2 linked DNA probe. Modification of SPPE using GQDs@AuNPs nanocomposite and ssDNA probe was monitored using EIS, FTIR, FE-SEM and AFM. The sensor detection limit (LOD) was assessed as 0.002 ng/μl from the standard calibration curve with the correlation coefficient, R 2  = 0.993. The sensitivity of the DNA sensor was calculated as 7700 μA/cm 2 /ng for ssGDNA of O. tsutsugamushi using cyclic voltammetry. The sensor validation was done using scrub typhus patient's blood DNA samples. The sensor showed good storage stability at 4 °C for six months with just a loss of 12% of the initial current values. The SPPE/DNA sensor developed is very specific, sensitive, stable and detects O. tsutsugamushi in less time., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The pulp and paper industry consumes enormous quality of freshwater, leading to wastewater. It must be treated to remove pollutants, particularly residual dyestuffs, before releasing them to water bodies to avoid adverse environmental effects. The traditional wastewater treatment methods used for the pulp and paper industry are less efficient in colour and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal. The current study is aimed at developing a novel catalyst for the catalytic ozonation of pulp and paper wastewater with better colour and COD removal for sustainable resources of clean water. The proposed catalyst is impregnated by iron on natural zeolites. Various parameters such as catalyst dose, pH, ozone dose, initial COD concentration, and reaction time are studied and optimized. The performance was evaluated by comparing the results with the single ozonation process (SOP) and catalytic ozonation process (COP). The highest COD and colour reduction efficiencies have been achieved, i.e., 71%, and 88% at a natural pH of 6.8. The proposed process achieved higher COD and colour efficiencies than the single ozonation process and catalytic ozonation process using raw zeolites. The improvement in efficiencies are 23% and 29% for SOP and 17% and 19% for COP, respectively. Hence, the results proposed the sustainability and applicability of COP to treat paper and pulp sector effluent., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In the present study, the concurrent fixed-bed dual technology (photocatalysis and photo-Fenton) was performed as a polishing step for the color removal of tertiary treated agro-based paper & pulp industry effluent. For this purpose, the cheap and visibly dynamic Fe-TiO 2 composite was prepared using industrial waste materials which also promoted the idea of the circular economy. The effectiveness of the prepared composite and the dual process was evaluated in terms of color removal efficiency and rate constant along with optimizing the process factors. Various kinetic models namely Log-linear, Weibull, and Biphasic with shoulder were used for the comparative study of three different processes i.e. photocatalysis, photo-Fenton, and dual process. Several parameters such as pH (4.5), % surface area covered (100%), and H 2 O 2 dose (525 mgL -1 ) were optimized which gave the best output using dual-process i.e. 91.6% of color reduction along with good R 2 values i.e. 0.874, 0.981 and, 0.998 for Log-linear, Weibull and, Biphasic with Shoulder model respectively. The proposed composite was durable enough to retain its dual catalytic ability with minor activity reduction of 5-10% even after 50 recycles. Thus, this innovative technology with the dual effect of photocatalysis and photo-Fenton can be a potential bet as a tertiary treatment option in the existing industrial wastewater treatment system for removing color from the final treated effluent., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Bisphenol A (BPA) was commonly used as color developer for thermal paper such as cash register receipts, labels or tickets. Therefore, thermal paper was considered by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) as the main source of human exposure to BPA beside epoxy based food contact materials. In this study, a German market analysis on the use of BPA and alternative color developers in thermal paper receipts is provided for the years 2015, 2016 and 2017.114 (2015), 98 (2016) and 99 (2017) samples were randomly collected and analyzed by HPLC-DAD. In summary, BPA was still the most frequently found color developer (48.2% in 2015, 46.9% in 2016 and 52.5% in 2017). The most commonly used alternative was the phenol-free substance Pergafast ® 201 (34.2%, 33.7%, 40.4%). The bisphenol analogs bisphenol S (BPS; 11.4%, 9.2%, 6.1%) and D8 (6.1%, 7.1%, 1.0%) were less common. Another phenol-free substituent, a urea urethane compound (UU), was also detected (3.1% in 2016). Concentrations of color developers in thermal paper ranged from 1.4 to 32.4 mg/g (median values between 2.5 and 15.9 mg/g). Concentrations of BPA were found to be highest followed by BPS, UU, Pergafast ® 201 and D8. In addition, two pharmacologically active substances, dapsone (6.0 mg/g) and tolbutamide (5.5 mg/g), were detected in a non-marketed thermal paper, that was supposed to use ascorbic acid as initial color developer. Different release experiments of the detected color developers were performed. Sensitizers 1,2-diphenoxy-ethane, 1-phenylmethoxy-naphthalene and diphenylsulfone, used frequently in the thermal paper processes, were quantified., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Considerable amount of bottom ash (BA) is produced by tea and paper factories in Northeast India. This significantly deteriorates soil and surface water quality through rapid acidification, releasing sulfur compounds and heavy metals. The present investigation endeavoured to convert this waste to organic manure through vermicomposting by Eisenia fetida. Substantial increment in bioavailability of N, P, K, Fe, Mn and Zn along with remarkable decline in toxic metal like Cr due to vermicomposting was noteworthy. Furthermore, vermicomposted mixtures of Tea Factory BA (TFBA) or Paper Mill BA (PMBA) with organic matter (OM) attributed profuse pod yield of French Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Hence, bioconversion of TFBA and PMBA is highly feasible through vermicomposting and the converted materials can be utilized as potential organic fertilizer., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The use of waste wood as an energy carrier has increased during the last decade. However, elevated levels of alkali metals and chlorine in waste wood compared to virgin biomass can cause increased deposit formation and higher concentrations of organic pollutants. In this study, we investigated the effect of the ChlorOut technique on concentrations of organic pollutants. Ammonium sulfate was injected into the combustion system to inhibit formation of KCl (which causes deposits) and persistent organic pollutants, namely polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and biphenyls (PCBs). The results showed that concentrations of the toxic congeners of PCDD, PCDF and PCB decreased in the presence of ammonium sulfate., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Current study presents the effect of irrigation with different compositions (0%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 100%) of PBM effluent on growth and antioxidant potential of Brassica rapa var. rapa L. plants. Seeds were exposed to different PBM effluent compositions, which resulted in significant decrease in their germination potential with elevated delay index. Significant changes in growth parameters (plant height, number of leaves and leaf area) were recorded for turnip plants at regular intervals (25, 50 and 75 d) as function of PBM effluent proportion. Response of biochemical and antioxidant constituents in different parts of turnip, against stress induced by PBM effluent, was assessed by estimating the contents of chlorophyll (a+b), carotenoids, protein, phenolics, flavonoids, ascorbic acid and malondialdehyde. Antioxidant activity was evaluated by measuring DPPH radical scavenging potential. The results of this study suggest that the impact of PBM effluent irrigation is dependent on concentration of effluent in irrigation mixture and is very clear on plant growth and antioxidant attributes. Maximum benefits were secured at 40% PBM effluent to irrigate turnip plants till maturity while higher concentrations were found useful for shorter period (25-50 d)., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Facing the huge output of food waste (FW) and paper waste (PW), long-term semi-continuous experiments were carried out to investigate the effect of the substrate organic composition on mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic co-digestions (Co-ADs) of their mixtures. The experimental results showed that the organic composition of the substrate affected the biogas and methane production and yield of the two Co-ADs of the FW and PW mixtures, and its effect on thermophilic Co-AD (Co-TAD) was lower than that on mesophilic Co-AD (Co-MAD). The two Co-ADs had similar biogas (2.158 ± 0.136 L/L/d and 2.183 ± 0.142 L/L/d) and methane production (1.245 ± 0.082 L/L/d and 1.279 ± 0.088 L/L/d), and organic matter degradation (81.79 ± 1.07% and 83.81 ± 1.09%) when the substrate organic composition was carbohydrates:proteins:lipids = 6.8:1.8:1 (low carbohydrate composition, FW:PW = 4:1). When the substrate organic composition was carbohydrates:proteins:lipids = 13.5:2:1 (high carbohydrate composition, FW:PW = 1:1), the thermophilic temperature was more favorable than the mesophilic temperature for the Co-AD of FW and PW mixtures. The characteristics (pH, total ammonia, total volatile fatty acids, and total alkalinity) of the Co-TAD digestate were more sensitive to changes in the organic composition of the substrate than those of the Co-MAD digestate. Increasing the carbohydrate content of the FW:PW mixture lowered the production of biogas and methane, and degradation of organic matter in both Co-ADs., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Bisphenol A (BPA) a synthetic, high production volume chemical identified as endocrine disruptor and toxic to reproduction is mainly used in the production of polycarbonate plastics, in epoxy resins, polyvinylchloride, thermal papers as color developer, and is present in a wide range of consumer goods such as food packaging materials, storage containers, and cash receipts. Due to its effects on health and legal restrictions, BPA is increasingly replaced by other bisphenols. In this study, BPA and 13 alternatives including BPS, Bisphenol F (BPF), Bisphenol B (BPB), Bisphenol C (BPC), Bisphenol Z (BPZ), Bisphenol M (BPM), Bisphenol P (BPP), Bisphenol AF (BPAF), Bisphenol FL (BPFL), Bisphenol C12 (BPC12), Tetramethylbisphenol A (tmBPA), 4,4-bisphenol (BP-4,4), and p,p-oxybisphenol were analyzed in thermal paper cash receipts (content) and migration studies were carried out in BPA-free labelled reusable plastic drinking bottles using a sensitive UHPLC-MS/MS method. The receipts contained almost only BPA and BPS, whereas BPS was found in all samples ranging at levels up to 38 μg/g. BPA was detected at low concentrations, only in one sample 11,000 μg/g were found, exceeding the EU limit of BPA in thermal paper of 0.02% per weight. In leaching solutions from the drinking bottles BPA, BPS and BPF were found at concentrations up to 0.047 μg/L BPA, 0.043 μg/L BPS, and <0.01 μg/L BPF. No other analogues were detected. However, these levels identified are far below the legal limits. In addition, a theoretical exposure assessment was conducted indicating that exposures were within the current regulatory guidelines., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) are widely used as multi-purpose surfactants or water/oil repellents. In order to understand the contamination level and compositional profiles of PFAAs in aqueous environment in textile, leather, and paper making industrial areas, surface waters and tap waters were collected along the watershed of the Qiantang River where China's largest textile, leather, and paper making industrial bases are located. For comparison, surface water and tapwater samples were also collected in Hangzhou and its adjacent areas. 17 PFAAs were analyzed by solid phase extraction-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The results show that the total concentrations of PFAAs (ΣPFAAs) in the Qiantang River waters ranged from 106.1 to 322.9 ng/L, averaging 164.2 ng/L. The contamination levels have been found to be extremely high, comparable to the levels of the most serious PFAA contamination in surface waters of China. The PFAA composition profiles were characterized by the dominant PFOA (average 58.1% of the total PFAAs), and PFHxA (average 18.8%). The ΣPFAAs in tap water ranged from 9.5 to 174.8 ng/L, showing PFAA compositional pattern similar to the surface waters. Good correlations between PFAA composition profiles in tap waters and the surface waters were observed., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Chlorine bleaching technology (C process, CEH process, H process and theirs combination), which was identified as a primary formation source of PCDD/Fs, is still widely used by the vast majority of Chinese non-wood pulp and paper mills (non-wood PMs). The purpose of this study was to provide information and data support for further eliminating dioxin for non-wood PMs in China, and especially to evaluate the PCDD/Fs release reduction for those mills converting their pulp bleaching processes from CEH to ECF. The PCDD/Fs concentrations of the bleached pulp and bleaching wastewater with ECF bleaching were in the ranges of 0.13-0.8 ng TEQ kg -1 , and 0.15-1.9 pg TEQ L -1 , respectively, which were far lower than those with CEH process, indicating that the ECF process is an effective alternative bleaching technology to replace CEH in Chinese non-wood PMs to reduce dioxin release. The release factor via flue gas of the alkali recovery boiler in Chinese non-wood PMs was first reported to be 0.092 μg TEQ Ad t -1 in this study. On the assumption that pulp bleaching processes of all Chinese non-wood PMs were converted from CEH to ECF, the annual release of PCDD/Fs via the bleaching wastewater and bleached pulp would be reduced by 79.1%, with a total of 1.60 g TEQ., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)