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A comprehensive study was carried out to assess the effectiveness of solar assisted alkali pretreatment (SAAP) on garden biomass (GB). The pretreatment efficiency was assessed based on lignocellulose degradation, conversion of cellulose into reducing sugars, changes in the ultra-structure and functional groups of lignocellulose and impact on the crystallinity of cellulose, etc. SAAP was found to be efficient for the removal of lignin and hemicellulose that facilitated enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose. FTIR and XRD studies provided details on the effectiveness of SAAP on lignocellulosic moiety and crystallinity of cellulose. Scanning electron microscopic analysis showed ultra-structural disturbances in the microfibrils of GB as a result of pretreatment. The mass balance closer of 97.87% after pretreatment confirmed the reliability of SAAP pretreatment. Based on the results, it is concluded that SAAP is not only an efficient means of pretreatment but also economical as it involved no energy expenditure for heat generation during pretreatment., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In this study a prospective life cycle assessment of biorefinery system from vetiver leaves was carried out to know the environmental benefits of this system over conventional systems considering the geographical context of India. The composition of vetiver leaves from the experimental analysis revealed that vetiver is rich in cellulose (32.6%), hemicellulose (31.5%) and lignin (17.3%) that could be used as a feedstock for biorefinery. The comparative life cycle assessment results show that the carbon dioxide emission and fossil oil depletion could be reduced by 95% and 23% respectively in case of standalone bioethanol system, and 99% and 17% respectively in case of bioethanol and furfural system compared to that of conventional petrol and furfural systems. The sensitivity study indicates that the impact could be further reduced if vetiver biomass is used as a source of energy in biorefinery plant instead to the coal., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This study explored the feasibility of utilizing a novel adsorbent, poly(hydroxyethylmethacrylate)-grafted coconut coir pith with carboxyl functionality (PGCP-COOH) for the removal of cadmium(II) from water and wastewater. Maximum removal of 99.9% was observed for an initial concentration of 25 mg/L at pH 6.0 and adsorbent dose of 2.0 g/L. The first-order reversible kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm model were resulted in high correlation coefficients and described well the adsorption of Cd(II) onto PGCP-COOH. The complete removal of 22.4 mg/L Cd(II) from fertilizer industry wastewater was achieved by 2.0 g/L PGCP-COOH. The reusability of the PGCP-COOH for several cycles was demonstrated using 0.1 M HCl solution.

India has a pressing need for renewable transportation fuels and bio-ethanol is considered as one of the most important options. Currently the country mandates use of 5% ethanol blending in motor gasoline in several states. The ethanol for this is mainly sourced from molasses feedstock, but this is barely sufficient to meet the current demand. Lignocellulosic biomass is the alternative but the availability of this resource is poorly documented. Also the technologies for ethanol production from lignocellulosic biomass are under preliminary stages of development which warrants extensive R&D in this field. The review discusses the current status of molasses based ethanol production in India and its limitations, the state of technologies for second generation ethanol production and the availability of feedstock for bio-ethanol production., (Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In the present investigation, a total of 51 marine fungi were obtained from wood samples collected from four locations of Tamil Nadu (Tuthukudi, Chennai, Kanyakumari and Pichavaram), India. Out of these 51, 28 were ascomycetes, one was basidiomycete and 22 were mitosporic fungi. Maximum fungal diversity was encountered from Tuthukudi, followed by Chennai, Kanyakumari, and the minimum from Pichavaram. Periconia prolifica was the only species common to all the four locations.