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Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential thermal gravimetric (DTG) were used to study the efficiency of slow pyrolysis of chicken skin waste (CSW) through determining the apparent activation energy. CSW was heated from 50°C to 900°C at 5°C/min, 10°C/min, 15°C/min, and 20°C/min. The CSW was further investigated in pyrolysis using a fixed bed reactor where the maximum production of bio-oil was achieved at 550°C. The crude bio-oil products demonstrated different classes of organic and complex mixture of hydrocarbons compound. The proposed decomposition pathway suggested that most CSW was cracked around 340–440°C even at a low heating rate to produce mostly long-chain hydrocarbons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antibiotics are extensively used in treating infectious diseases for both humans and animals. However, they are generally not fully digested in the body and are released as active compounds into aquatic systems through domestic sewage treatment plants, where they can cause chronic toxicity and some potentially major health and environmental risks. Many researchers reported that conventional wastewater treatment processes cannot completely eradicate antibiotic residue and that these residues may be discharged to the receiving rivers and streams. Adsorption was claimed to be able to remove these contaminants even at low concentrations and under a variety of pH conditions. Biomass-based adsorbent materials have recently been used to remove antibiotics due to their wide availability, eco-friendly nature, good surface characteristics, and low cost. This study conducted a systematic review of biomass-based carbon adsorbents used for antibiotic removal. The surface chemistry and maximum antibiotic adsorption capacities were reviewed and discussed based on the type of biomass and chemical modification. The effect of influential variables such as pH, initial concentration of antibiotics and adsorbent dosage was also discussed in detail. After the screening process, four articles were found to be suitable for the detail analysis on reusable efficiency. Results of the detail analysis shows coconut shell and sawdust based-carbon adsorbent could remove antibiotics with 89% reusable efficiency after the fourth cycle of reuse. Overall, this systematic review ascribes the research work for synthesizing an excellent performance of biomass-based carbon adsorbent. • A systematic review on chemically modified biomass-based carbon adsorbent for the removal of antibiotics in water. • The performance of carbon adsorbent depends on the chemical and physical properties of the adsorbent surface. • Chemical modification is effective to enhance adsorption capacity for antibiotics removal. • Reusable efficiency of 89% is possible after four cycles of antibiotics removal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The disposal of discarded disposable diapers (D3) is a critical eco-technological problem that is exacerbated by the exponential increase in global consumption each year. Global production of D3 is increasing exponentially and approximately 20 billion used diapers are sent to landfills each year, generating more than 3.5 million tonnes of diaper waste that requires almost 500 years to be fully decomposed. The disposal of D3 has resulted in significant environmental issues and public health hazards. The objective of this study was to provide a systematic review and in-depth discussion of the strategies, challenges, and recent breakthroughs in addressing the problems resulting from the generation and disposal of D3. A systematic literature search was conducted using three electronic databases (Google Scholar, Scopus, and ScienceDirect). Four peer-reviewed studies were selected from the 2287 articles found. Thermochemical technology is claimed to be suitable for the treatment and recycling of used diapers, especially with regard to the use of potentially safer and cleaner technologies with minimal costs. It was established that pyrolysis of D3 could yield useful end products with a wide range of applications, hence providing a future research direction to improve the efficiency of these processes in recycling this waste. • Production of D3 is increasing exponentially and approximately 20 billion used diapers are sent to landfills each year. • The temperature setting for the thermochemical procedure of D3 depends on the technique applied (200 – 900 ℃). • Chemical activation slightly enhanced lead removal from 96.2% to 98.2% (KOH) – 99.8% (ZnCl 2). • Reaction conditions (temperature, pressure, and time) are critical impact D3 biochar yield and product quality in pyrolysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]