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Renewable resources have immense potential, as a cost-effective and sustainable energy alternative. Lignin is the most abundant organic material after cellulose and aromatic biopolymer. A total of four distinct raw materials, including lignocellulosic biomass from almond shells, walnut biomass shells, barks of babul tree, and bark of neem tree, were utilized to extract lignin. Following their pretreatment, proximate, ultimate analyses, EDS, and SEM techniques were used to describe the biomass and extracted lignin. Substrates like walnut shell, and babul tree bark were projected to have the highest concentration of lignin recovery when compared to other biomasses, while neem tree bark and almond shell had the lowest carbon content compared to neem tree bark. By laboratory experiment, we observed that walnut shell yield is 13 %, which is compared with BTB extracted lignin yield 11 % obtained. This report discusses the general biofuel usage scenario in Pakistan. The financial benefits of switching from accustomed fuels to biofuels. Thus, yield extraction with this technique can benefit society financially and reduce the need to dispose of biomass in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synthetic pollutants are a looming threat to the entire ecosystem, including wildlife, the environment, and human health. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are natural biodegradable microbial polymers with a promising potential to replace synthetic plastics. This research is focused on devising a sustainable approach to produce PHAs by a new microbial strain using untreated synthetic plastics and lignocellulosic biomass. For experiments, 47 soil samples and 18 effluent samples were collected from various areas of Punjab, Pakistan. The samples were primarily screened for PHA detection on agar medium containing Nile blue A stain. The PHA positive bacterial isolates showed prominent orange–yellow fluorescence on irradiation with UV light. They were further screened for PHA estimation by submerged fermentation in the culture broth. Bacterial isolate 16a produced maximum PHA and was identified by 16S rRNA sequencing. It was identified as Stenotrophomonas maltophilia HA-16 (MN240936), reported first time for PHA production. Basic fermentation parameters, such as incubation time, temperature, and pH were optimized for PHA production. Wood chips, cardboard cutouts, plastic bottle cutouts, shredded polystyrene cups, and plastic bags were optimized as alternative sustainable carbon sources for the production of PHAs. A vital finding of this study was the yield obtained by using plastic bags, i.e., 68.24 ± 0.27%. The effective use of plastic and lignocellulosic waste in the cultivation medium for the microbial production of PHA by a novel bacterial strain is discussed in the current study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]