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Essential biosensor use has become increasingly important in drug discovery and recognition, biomedicine, food safety, security, and environmental research. It directly contributed to the development of specialized, reliable diagnostic instruments known as biosensors, which use biological sensing components. Traditional biosensors have poor performance, so scientists need to develop advanced biosensors with promising selectivity, sensitivity, stability, and reusability. These are all parameter modifications associated with the characteristics of the sensing material. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and MXenes are promising as targeted sensing agents in advanced functional materials because of their promising chemical and physical properties and limited toxic effects. Based on available data and sensing performance, MXene is better for biosensing applications than CNTs. Because of their large specific surface area (SSA), superior electrical conductivity, and adaptable surface chemistry that facilitates simple functionalization and robust interactions with biomolecules, MXenes are typically regarded as the superior option for biosensors. Additionally, because of their hydrophilic nature, they are more suited to biological settings, which increases their sensitivity and efficacy in identifying biological targets. MXenes are more suitable for biosensing applications due to their versatility and compatibility with aquatic environments, even if CNTs have demonstrated stability and muscular mechanical strength. However, MXenes offer better thermal stability, which is crucial for applications in diverse temperature environments. This study reviews and compares the biosensing capabilities, synthesis methods, unique properties, and toxicity of CNTs and MXenes. Both nanomaterials effectively detect various pollutants in food, biological substances, and human bodies, making them invaluable in environmental monitoring and medical diagnostics. In conclusion, CNTs work better for biosensors that must be strong, flexible, and long-lasting under different conditions. MXenes, on the other hand, work better when chemical flexibility and compatibility with wet environments are essential.

Dye wastewater consists of high solids concentrations, heavy metals, minor contaminants, dissolved chemical oxygen demand, and microorganisms. Nanoflowers are nanoparticles that resemble flowers when viewed at a microscopic level. Inorganic metal oxide nanoflowers have been discovered to be a potential source for overcoming this situation. Their flower-like features give them a higher surface area to volume ratio and porosity structure, which can absorb a significant amount of dye. The metal oxide nanoflower synthesized from different synthesis methods is used to compare which one is cost-effective and capable of generating a large scale of nanoflower. This review has demonstrated outstanding dye removal efficiency by applying inorganic nanoflowers to dye removal. Since both adsorption and photocatalytic reactions enhance the dye degradation process, complete dye degradation could be achieved. Meanwhile, the inorganic metal oxide nanoflowers' exemplary reusability characteristics with negligible performance drop further prove that this approach is highly sustainable and may help to save costs. This review has proven the momentum of obtaining high dye removal efficiency in wastewater treatment to conclude that the metal oxide nanoflower study is worth researching., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests:Yie Hua Tan reports financial support was provided by Curtin University. If there are other authors, they 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 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The synthesis of metal nanoparticles through bio-reduction is environmentally benign and devoid of impurities, which is very important for biological applications. This method aims to improve ZnO nanoparticle's antibacterial and anti-biofilm activity while reducing the amount of hazardous chemicals used in nanoparticle production. The assembly of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) is presented via bio-reduction of an aqueous zinc nitrate solution using Echinochloacolona (E. colona) plant aqueous leaf extract comprising various phytochemical components such as phenols, flavonoids, proteins, and sugars. The synthesized nano ZnO NPs are characterized by UV-visible spectrophotometer (UV-vis), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (X-RD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and elemental composition by energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The formation of biosynthesized ZnO nanoparticles was confirmed by the absorbance at 360-370 nm in the UV-vis spectrum. The average crystal size of the particles was found to be 15.8 nm, as calculated from XRD. SEM and TEM analysis of prepared ZnO NPs confirmed the spherical and hexagonal shaped nanoparticles. ZnO NPs showed antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae with the largest zone of inhibition (ZOI) of 17 and 18 mm, respectively, from the disc diffusion method. Furthermore, ZnO NPs exhibited significant anti-biofilm activity in a dose-dependent manner against selected bacterial strains, thus suggesting that ZnO NPs can be deployed in the prevention of infectious diseases and also used in food preservation., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Photocatalysis is essential for wastewater cleanup and clean energy, and in this current study, we have synthesized nanomaterials (iron oxide-based) for photocatalytic pollution degradation and hydrogen production. The performance of aluminium oxide/ferric oxide (Al 2 O 3 /Fe 2 O 3 ), samarium oxide/ferric oxide (Sm 2 O 3 /Fe 2 O 3 ) and yttrium oxide/ferric oxide (Y 2 O 3 /Fe 2 O 3 ) were compared for the production of hydrogen (H 2 ) and degradation of dye under natural sunlight. Various characterisation equipment was used to characterize these photocatalysts' structure, morphology, elemental content, binding energy and band gap. The hydrogen recovery efficiency of iron oxide-based photocatalysts from sulphide-containing wastewater is assessed. Y 2 O 3 /Fe 2 O 3 has shown the highest hydrogen production of 340 mL/h. The influence of operating factors such as sulphide ion concentration, catalyst quantity, and photocatalyst photolytic solution volume on hydrogen production is studied. The optimal values were 0.25 M, 0.2 g/L, and 1L, respectively. The developed photocatalyst passed multiple cycles of stability testing. Fe 2 O 3 has shown the highest Rhodamine B (RhB) dye degradation efficiency of 94% under visible light., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Ionic liquids (ILs) are highly effective for capturing carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). The prediction of CO 2 solubility in ILs is crucial for optimizing CO 2 capture processes. This study investigates the use of deep learning models for CO 2 solubility prediction in ILs with a comprehensive dataset of 10,116 CO 2 solubility data in 164 kinds of ILs under different temperature and pressure conditions. Deep neural network models, including Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), were developed to predict CO 2 solubility in ILs. The ANN and LSTM models demonstrated robust test accuracy in predicting CO 2 solubility, with coefficient of determination (R 2 ) values of 0.986 and 0.985, respectively. Both model's computational efficiency and cost were investigated, and the ANN model achieved reliable accuracy with a significantly lower computational time (approximately 30 times faster) than the LSTM model. A global sensitivity analysis (GSA) was performed to assess the influence of process parameters and associated functional groups on CO 2 solubility. The sensitivity analysis results provided insights into the relative importance of input attributes on output variables (CO 2 solubility) in ILs. The findings highlight the significant potential of deep learning models for streamlining the screening process of ILs for CO 2 capture applications., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

A series of novel chromone derivatives of (N-(4-oxo-2-(trifluoromethyl)-4H-chromen-6-yl) benzamides) were synthesized by treating 7-amino-2-(trifluoromethyl)-4H-chromen-4-one with K 2 CO 3  and/or NaH, suitable alkyl halides and acetonitrile and/or 1,4-dioxane. The obtained products are in high yields (87 to 96%) with various substituents in short reaction times with no more by-products and confirmed by FT-IR,  1 H, and  13 C-NMR Spectral data. The in vitro cytotoxic activity was examined against two human cancer cell lines, namely the human lung adenocarcinoma (A-549) and the human breast (MCF-7) cancer cell line. Compound 4h showed promising cytotoxicity against both cell lines with IC 50  values of 22.09 and 6.40 ± 0.26 µg/mL respectively, compared to that of the standard drug. We also performed the in vitro antioxidant activity by DPPH radical, hydrogen peroxide, NO scavenging, and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) assay methods, and they showed significant activities. The possible binding interactions of all the synthesized chromone derivatives are also investigated against selective pharmacological targets of human beings, such as HERA protein for cytotoxic activity and Peroxiredoxins (3MNG) for antioxidant activity which showed closer binding free energies than the standard drugs and evidencing the above two types of activities., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is considered an innovative and promising tool for estimating community exposure to a wide range of chemical and biological compounds by analyzing wastewater. Despite scholars' interest in WBE studies, there are uncertainties and limitations associated with this approach. This current review focuses on the feasibility of the WBE approach in assessing environmental pollutants, including pesticides, heavy metals, phthalates, bisphenols, and personal care products (PCPs). Limitations and challenges of WBE studies are initially discussed, and then future perspectives, gaps, and recommendations are presented in this review. One of the key limitations of this approach is the selection and identification of appropriate biomarkers in studies. Selecting biomarkers considering the basic requirements of a human exposure biomarker is the most important criterion for validating this new approach. Assessing the stability of biomarkers in wastewater is crucial for reliable comparisons of substance consumption in the population. However, directly analyzing wastewater does not provide a clear picture of biomarker stability. This uncertainty affects the reliability of temporal and spatial comparisons. Various uncertainties also arise from different steps involved in WBE. These uncertainties include sewage sampling, exogenous sources, analytical measurements, back-calculation, and estimation of the population under investigation. Further research is necessary to ensure that measured pollutant levels accurately reflect human excretion. Utilizing data from WBE can support healthcare policy in assessing exposure to environmental pollutants in the general population. Moreover, WBE seems to be a valuable tool for biomarkers that indicate healthy conditions, lifestyle, disease identification, and exposure to pollutants. Although this approach has the potential to serve as a biomonitoring tool in large communities, it is necessary to monitor more metabolites from wastewater to enhance future studies., Competing Interests: Competing interestsThe authors of this review declare that they have no conflict of interest., (© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Tehran University of Medical Sciences 2024. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.)

Plastic waste is being manufactured for the production of hydrogen. The amount of plastic waste collected annually is 189,953 tonnes from adjacent nations like Indonesia and Malaysia. Polyethylene (PE), Polypropylene (PP), Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and Polystyrene (PS) are the five most prevalent forms of plastic found in most waste. Pyrolysis, water gas shift and steam reforming reaction, and pressure swing adsorption are the three main phases utilized and studied. In this research, authors examines the energy consumption on every stage. The plastic waste can be utilized to manufacture many hydrocarbons using the pyrolysis reaction. For this process, fast pyrolysis is being used at a temperature of 500 °C. A neutralization process is also needed due to the presence of Hydrochloric acid from the pyrolysis reaction, with the addition of sodium hydroxide. This is being carried to prevent any damage to the reactor during the process. Secondly, the steam reforming process continues after the water gas shift reaction has produced steam and carbon monoxide, followed by carbon dioxide and hydrogen formation. Lastly, pressure swing adsorption is designed to extract H 2 S and CO 2 from the water gas shift and steam reforming reaction for greater purity of hydrogen. From the simulation study, it is observed that using various types of plastic waste procured (total input of 20,000 kg per hour of plastics) from, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia and Indonesia, can produce about 340,000 tons of Hydrogen per year. Additionally, the annual profit of the Hydrogen production is estimated to be between $ 271,158,100 and $ 358,480,200. As per the economic analysis, it can be said that its a good to start hydrogen production plant in these regions., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

This study synthesized a highly efficient KOH-treated sunflower stem activated carbon (KOH-SSAC) using a two-step pyrolysis process and chemical activation using KOH. The resulting material exhibited exceptional properties, such as a high specific surface area (452 m 2 /g) and excellent adsorption capacities for phenol (333.03 mg/g) and bisphenol A (BPA) (365.81 mg/g). The adsorption process was spontaneous and exothermic, benefiting from the synergistic effects of hydrogen bonding, electrostatic attraction, and stacking interactions. Comparative analysis also showed that KOH-SSAC performed approximately twice as well as sunflower stem biochar (SSB), indicating its potential for water treatment and pollutant removal applications. The study suggests the exploration of optimization strategies to further enhance the efficiency of KOH-SSAC in large-scale scenarios. These findings contribute to the development of improved materials for efficient water treatment and pollution control., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Research studies have been carried out to accentuate Fennel Seed Spent, a by-product of the Nutraceutical Industry, as an inexpensive, recyclable and operational biosorbent for bioremediation of Acid Blue 113 (AB113) in simulated water-dye samples and textile industrial effluent (TIE). The physical process of adhesion of AB113 on the surface of the biosorbent depends on various parameters, such as the initial amount of the dye, amount and expanse of the biosorbent particles, pH of the solution and temperature of the medium. The data obtained was analyzed using three two-parameter and five three-parameter adsorption isotherm models to glean the adsorbent affinities and interaction mechanism of the adsorbate molecules and adsorbent surface. The adsorption feature study is conducted employing models of Weber-Morris, pseudo 1st and 2nd order, diffusion film model, Dumwald-Wagner and Avrami model. The study through 2nd order pseudo and Avrami models produced complementary results for the authentication of experimental data. The thermodynamic features, ΔG 0 , ΔH 0 , and ΔS 0 of the adsorption process are acclaimed to be almost spontaneous, physical in nature and endothermic in their manifestation. Surface characterization was carried out using Scanner Electron Microscopy, and identification and determination of chemical species and molecular structure was performed using Infrared Spectroscopy (IR). Maximum adsorption evaluated using statistical optimization with different combinations of five independent variables to study the individual as well as combined effects by Fractional Factorial Experimental Design (FFED) was 236.18 mg g -1 under optimized conditions; pH of 2, adsorbent dosage of 0.500 g L -1 , and an initial dye concentration of 209.47 mg L -1 for an adsorption time of 126.62 min with orbital shaking of 165 rpm at temperature 49.95 °C., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Oxides of vanadium, titanium and graphitic carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4 ) are well known for their catalytic activities. In order to achieve synergic catalytic effects, a novel nanocomposite (NC) i.e. V 2 O 5 /TiO 2 /g-C 3 N 4 has been synthesized by a very simple, ecofriendly and nonhazardous hydrothermal method. The fabricated NC was characterized employing UV-Visible, FTIR, SEM, and XRD techniques. UV-Visible and FTIR analysis indicated the formation of the nanocomposite and XRD analysis confirmed the association of V 2 O 5 and TiO 2 with g-C 3 N 4 in nanocomposite. SEM study indicated the hetero-structure of NC having size ranging from 50 to 80 nm and it was found having hexagonal crystallite structure. The synthesized nanocomposite exhibited excellent scavenging of free radicals DPPH ● (91%) and ABTS ●+ (64%) that are responsible for the oxidation of biomolecules. Therefore, NC can be claimed having biomolecule oxidation protective potential. In addition, photocatalytic ability for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO) was also achieved up to 94% and 89% respectively. The synthesized novel nanocomposite exhibited excellent potential to remove free radicals and dyes from aqueous medium which can be further used for the environmental remediation., 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 Inc. All rights reserved.)

Discharging untreated dye-containing wastewater gives rise to environmental pollution. The present study investigated the removal efficiency and adsorption mechanism of Acid Red 18 (AR18) utilizing hexadecyl-trimethyl ammonium chloride (HDTMA.Cl) modified Nano-pumice (HMNP), which is a novel adsorbent for AR18 removal. The HDTMA.Cl is characterized by XRD, XRF, FESEM, TEM, BET and FTIR analysis. pH, contact time, initial concentration of dye and adsorbent dose were the four different parameters for investigating their effects on the adsorption process. Response surface methodology-central composite design was used to model and improve the study to reduce expenses and the number of experiments. According to the findings, at the ideal conditions (pH = 4.5, sorbent dosage = 2.375 g/l, AR18 concentration = 25 mg/l, and contact time = 70 min), the maximum removal effectiveness was 99%. The Langmuir (R 2  = 0.996) and pseudo-second-order (R 2  = 0.999) models were obeyed by the adsorption isotherm and kinetic, respectively. The nature of HMNP was discovered to be spontaneous, and thermodynamic investigations revealed that the AR18 adsorption process is endothermic. By tracking the adsorption capacity of the adsorbent for five cycles under ideal conditions, the reusability of HMNP was examined, which showed a reduction in HMNP's adsorption effectiveness from 99 to 85% after five consecutive recycles., (© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.)

Both the environment and human health have suffered as a result of excessive and irrational pesticide use. The human body is vulnerable to a wide range of illnesses brought on by prolonged exposure to or intake of food contaminated with pesticide residues, including immunological and hormonal abnormalities and the development of certain tumors. Sensors based on nanoparticles stand out from more conventional spectrophotometry analytical methods due to their low detection limits, high sensitivity, and ease of use; that is why the demand for simple, fast, and less expensive sensing methods increases daily and presents myriad uses. Such demands are fulfilled by employing paper-based analytical devices having intrinsic properties. The presented work reports an on-site, easy-to-handle, and disposable paper-based sensing device for performing fast screening along with readout from a smartphone. The fabricated device utilizes luminescent silica quantum dots, immobilized into a paper cellulose matrix, and the resonance energy transfer phenomenon is employed. The silica quantum dots probes were fabricated from citric acid and, by undergoing physical adsorption, were confined on the nitrocellulose substrate in small wax-traced spots. The silica quantum dots were excited by smartphone ultraviolet LED, acting as an energy source and for capturing the image. The obtained LOD is 0.054 μM, and the coefficient of variation is less than 6.1%, comparable to the result obtained by UV-Visible and fluorometric analysis under similar experimental conditions. In addition, high reproducibility (≥9.8%) and high recovery ≥90% were obtained in spiked blood samples. The fabricated sensor sensitively detected pesticides giving a LOD of 2.5 ppm along with the development of yellow color within a short period of 5 min. The sensor functions well when sophisticated instrumentation is not accessible. The presented work shows the potential of the paper strip for the on-site detection of pesticides in biological and environmental samples., 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 Inc. All rights reserved.)

4-Chlorophenol pollution is a significant environmental concern. In this study, powdered activated carbon modified with amine groups is synthesized and investigated its efficiency in removing 4-chlorophenols from aqueous environments. Response surface methodology (RSM) and central composite design (CCD) were used to investigate the effect of different parameters, including pH, contact time, adsorbent dosage, and initial 4-chlorophenol concentration, on 4-chlorophenol removal efficiency. The RSM-CCD approach was implemented in R software to design and analyze the experiments. The statistical analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to describe the roles of effecting parameters on response. Isotherm and kinetic studies were done with three Langmuir, Freundlich, and Temkin isotherm models and four pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, Elovich, and intraparticle kinetic models in both linear and non-linear forms. The synthesized adsorbent was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses. The results showed that the synthesized modified activated carbon had a maximum adsorption capacity of 316.1 mg/g and exhibited high efficiency in removing 4-chlorophenols. The optimal conditions for the highest removal efficiency were an adsorbent dosage of 0.55 g/L, contact time of 35 min, initial concentration of 4-chlorophenol of 110 mg/L, and pH of 3. The thermodynamic study indicated that the adsorption process was exothermic and spontaneous. The synthesized adsorbent also showed excellent reusability even after five successive cycles. These findings demonstrate the potential of modified activated carbon as an effective method for removing 4-chlorophenols from aqueous environments and contributing to developing sustainable and efficient water treatment technologies., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

A limited experimental work was on multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)-water nanofluid with surfactant in the solar parabolic collector at low volume concentrations. At high-volume concentrated nanofluid, the pressure drop was more due to an increase in the viscosity of the working fluid and an increase in the nanoparticle cost; hence it is not economical. This report attempted to use Sodium Dodecyl Benzene Sulfonate (SDBS) surfactant in the low-volume concentrated MWCNT-water nanofluid to establish effective heat transfer in solar parabolic collector applications. The stable MWCNT-water nanofluid was prepared at 0.0158, 0.0238, and 0.0317 volume concentrations. The experiments were conducted from 10:00 to 16:00 at 6, 6.5 and 7 L/min flow rates concerning ASHRAE Standards. At the 7 L/min flow rate of the working fluid, having a minimum temperature difference between the working fluid and absorber tube leads to better heat transfer. The increased volume concentration of MWCNT in the water enhances the surface area interaction between water and MWCNT nanoparticles. This results in maximum solar parabolic collector efficiency at 0.0317 vol% with a 7 L/min flow rate and 10-11% higher than the distilled water., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

The presence of heavy metal, chromium (VI), in water environments leads to various diseases in humans, such as cancer, lung tumors, and allergies. This review comparatively examines the use of several adsorbents, such as biosorbents, activated carbon, nanocomposites, and polyaniline (PANI), in terms of the operational parameters (initial chromium (VI) concentration (C o ), temperature (T), pH, contact time (t), and adsorbent dosage) to achieve the Langmuir's maximum adsorption capacity (q m ) for chromium (VI) adsorption. The study finds that the use of biosorbents (fruit bio-composite, fungus, leave, and oak bark char), activated carbons (HCl-treated dry fruit waste, polyethyleneimine (PEI) and potassium hydroxide (KOH) PEI-KOH alkali-treated rice waste-derived biochar, and KOH/hydrochloric acid (HCl) acid/base-treated commercial), iron-based nanocomposites, magnetic manganese-multiwalled carbon nanotubes nanocomposites, copper-based nanocomposites, graphene oxide functionalized amino acid, and PANI functionalized transition metal are effective in achieving high Langmuir's maximum adsorption capacity (q m ) for chromium (VI) adsorption, and that operational parameters such as initial concentration, temperature, pH, contact time, and adsorbent dosage significantly affect the Langmuir's maximum adsorption capacity (q m ). Magnetic graphene oxide functionalized amino acid showed the highest experimental and pseudo-second-order kinetic model equilibrium adsorption capacities. The iron oxide functionalized calcium carbonate (IO@CaCO 3 ) nanocomposites showed the highest heterogeneous adsorption capacity. Additionally, Syzygium cumini bark biosorbent is highly effective in treating tannery industrial wastewater with high levels of chromium (VI)., Competing Interests: 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., (© 2023 The Authors.)

MXene is a magical class of 2D nanomaterials and emerging in many applications in diverse fields. Due to the multiple advantageous characteristics of its fundamental components, such as structural, physicochemical, optical, and occasionally even biological characteristics. However, it is limited in the biomedical industry due to poor physiological stability, decomposition rate, and lack of controlled and sustained drug release. These limitations can be overcome when MXene forms composites with other 2D materials. The efficiency of pure MXene in biomedicine is inferior to that of MXene-based composites. The availability of functionality on the exterior part of MXene has a key role in the modification of their surface and their characteristics. This review provides an extensive discussion on the synthesizing of MXene and the role of the surface functionalities on the efficiency of MXene. In addition, a detailed discussion of the biomedical applications of MXene, including antibacterial activity, regenerative medicine, CT scan capability, drug delivery, diagnostics, MRI and biosensing capability. Furthermore, an outline of the future problems and challenges of MXene-based materials for biomedical applications was narrated. Thus, these salient features showcase the potential of MXene-based material and will be a breakthrough in biomedical applications in the near future., 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 Inc. All rights reserved.)

Over the last few years, electroanalysis has made significant advancements, particularly in developing electrochemical sensors. Electrochemical sensors generally include emerging Photoelectrochemical and Electrochemiluminescence sensors, which combine optical techniques and traditional electrochemical bio/non-biosensors. Numerous EC-detecting methods have also been designed for commercial applications to detect biological and non-biological markers for various diseases. Analytical applications have recently focused significantly on one of the novel nanomaterials, the MXene. This material is being extensively investigated for applications in electrochemical sensors due to its unique mechanical, electronic, optical, active functional groups and thermal characteristics. This study extensively discusses the salient features of MXene-based electrochemical sensors, photoelectrochemical sensors, enzyme-based biosensors, immunosensors, aptasensors, electrochemiluminescence sensors, and electrochemical non-biosensors. In addition, their performance in detecting various substances and contaminants is thoroughly discussed. Furthermore, the challenges and prospects the MXene-based electrochemical sensors are elaborated., 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 Inc. All rights reserved.)

To date, the development of renewable fuels has become a normal phenomenon to solve the problem of diesel fuel emissions and the scarcity of fossil fuels. Biodiesel production has some limitations, such as two-step processes requiring high free fatty acids (FFAs), oil feedstocks and gum formation. Hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) is a newly developed international renewable diesel that uses renewable feedstocks via the hydrotreatment process. Unlike FAME, FFAs percentage doesn't affect the HVO production and sustains a higher yield. The improved characteristics of HVO, such as a higher cetane value, better cold flow properties, lower emissions and excellent oxidation stability for storage, stand out from FAME biodiesel. Moreover, HVO is a hydrocarbon without oxygen content, but FAME is an ester with 11% oxygen content which makes it differ in oxidation stability. Waste sludge palm oil (SPO), an abundant non-edible industrial waste, was reused and selected as the feedstock for HVO production. Techno-economical and energy analyses were conducted for HVO production using Aspen HYSYS with a plant capacity of 25,000 kg/h. Alternatively, hydrogen has been recycled to reduce the hydrogen feed. With a capital investment of RM 65.86 million and an annual production cost of RM 332.56 million, the base case of the SPO-HVO production process was more desirable after consideration of all economic indicators and HVO purity. The base case of SPO-HVO production could achieve a return on investment (ROI) of 89.03% with a payback period (PBP) of 1.68 years. The SPO-HVO production in this study has observed a reduction in the primary greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emission by up to 90% and the total annual production cost by nearly RM 450 million. Therefore, SPO-HVO production is a potential and alternative process to produce biobased diesel fuels with waste oil., 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 Inc. All rights reserved.)

Water is one of the major sources that spread human diseases through contamination with bacteria and other pathogenic microorganisms. This review focuses on microbial hazards as they are often present in water and wastewater and cause various human diseases. Among the currently used disinfection methods, sonochemical reactors (SCRs) that produce free radicals combined with advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have received significant attention from the scientific community. Also, this review discussed various types of cavitation reactors, such as acoustic cavitation reactors (ACRs) utilizing ultrasonic energy (UE), which had been widely employed, involving AOPs for treating contaminated waters. Besides ACRs, hydrodynamic cavitation reactors (HCRs) also effectively destroy and deactivate microorganisms to varying degrees. Cavitation is the fundamental phenomenon responsible for initiating many sonochemical reactions in liquids. Bacterial degradation occurs mainly due to the thinning of microbial membranes, local warming, and the generation of free radicals due to cavitation. Over the years, although extensive investigations have focused on the antimicrobial effects of UE (ultrasonic energy), the primary mechanism underlying the cavitation effects in the disinfection process, inactivation of microbes, and chemical reactions involved are still poorly understood. Therefore, studies under different conditions often lead to inconsistent results. This review investigates and compares other mechanisms and performances from greener and environmentally friendly sonochemical techniques to the remediation of microbial hazards associated with water and wastewater. Finally, the energy aspects, challenges, and recommendations for future perspectives have been provided., 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 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In the present work, the synthesis of cellulose nanowhiskers (CNW)/chitosan nanocomposite films via deep eutectic solvents (DES) changing the chemical structures were carried out. It was observed that a pure chitosan film has broadband at 3180-3400 cm -1 , indicating amide and hydroxyl groups. Upon CNW incorporation, the peak gets sharper and stronger and shifts to a greater wavelength. Further, the addition of DES infuses more elements of amide into the nanocomposite films. Moreover, the mechanical properties incorporating CNW filler into a chitosan matrix show an enhancement in tensile strength (TS), Young's modulus (YM), and elongation at break. The TS and YM increase while the elongation decrease as the CNW concentration increases. The YM of biocomposite films is increased to 723 MPa at 25% CNW into chitosan films. Besides, the TS has enhanced to 11.48 MPa at 15% CNW concentration in the biocomposite films. The elongation at break has decreased to 11.7% at 25% CNW concentration. Hence, incorporating CNW into the chitosan matrix via DES can still improve the mechanical properties of the nanocomposite films. Therefore, the application of DES results in a lower YM and TS as the films are hygroscopic. In conclusion, DES can be considered the new green solvent media for synthesizing materials. It has the potential to replace ionic liquids due to its biodegradability and non-toxic properties while preserving the character of low-vapour pressure. Besides that, chitosan can be used as potential material for applications in process industries, such as the biomedical and pharmaceutical industries. Thus, DES can be used as a green solvent and aim to reduce the toxic effect of chemicals on the environment during chemical production., 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 Inc. All rights reserved.)

The present study assessed the human health risk exposure from the consumption of poor quality groundwater in the Lucknow area, a part of Central Ganga alluvial plain in India. Around 27 (n = 27) groundwater samples were collected from the study area. The analytical results of the samples (n = 27) collected indicate silicate and carbonate weathering is the dominant process along with cation exchange, sulfide oxidation, and reverse ion exchange. The type of groundwater is Ca 2 -Na-HCO 3 - type having all cations and anions within permissible WHO limits except for iron (Fe 2+ ) and nitrate (NO 3 - ). The high concentrations of Fe 2 and NO 3 - in samples indicate the possibility of a non-geogenic point source for the same in an urban-influenced environment. The ionic concentration of dissolved constituents is used in weighted overlay analysis to generate the water quality index (WQI). WQI indicates that most urban areas (~ 98.52%) have fallen in the good to excellent category except few situated in the highly populated parts of Lucknow. The ionic concentrations of Fe 2+ and NO 3 - have been further used to estimate human health risk by integrating regional urban population density data in Lucknow. The risk map shows alarming risks in the west-central part, where nearly ~ 35% of the total area is at moderate to high health risk., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

MXenes are an innovative class of 2D nanostructured materials gaining popularity for various uses in medicine, chemistry, and the environment. A larger outer layer area, exceptional stability and conductivity of heat, high porosity, and environmental friendliness are all characteristics of MXenes and their composites. As a result, MXenes have been used to produce Li-ion batteries, semiconductors, water desalination membranes, and hydrogen storage. MXenes have recently been used in many environmental remediations, frequently surpassing conventional materials, to treat groundwater contamination, surface waters, industrial and municipal wastewaters, and desalination. Due to their outstanding structural characteristics and the enormous specific surface area, they are widely utilized as adsorbents or membrane materials for the desalination of seawater. When used for electrochemical applications, MXene-composites can deionize via Faradaic capacitive deionization (CDI) and adsorb various organic and inorganic pollutants to treat the water. In general, as compared to other 2D nanomaterials, MXene has superb characteristics; because of their magnificent characteristics and they exhibit strong desalination capability. The current review paper discusses the desalination capability of MXenes and their composites. Focusing on the desalination capacity of MXene-based nanomaterials, this study discusses the characteristics and synthesis techniques of MXenes their composites along with their ion-rejection capability and pervaporation desalination of water via MXene-based membranes, capacitive deionization capability, solar desalination capability. Furthermore, the challenges and prospects of MXenes and their composites are highlighted., 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.)

Multiple ecological contaminants in gaseous, liquid, and solid forms are vented into ecosystems due to the huge growth of industrialization, which is today at the forefront of worldwide attention. High-efficiency removal of these environmental pollutants is a must because of the potential harm to public health and biodiversity. The alarming concern has led to the synthesis of improved nanomaterials for removing pollutants. A path to innovative methods for identifying and preventing several obnoxious, hazardous contaminants from entering the environment is grabbing attention. Various applications in diverse industries are seen as a potential directions for researchers. MXene is a new, excellent, and advanced material that has received greater importance related to the environmental application. Due to its unique physicochemical and mechanical properties, high specific surface area, physiological compatibility, strong electrodynamics, and raised specific surface area wettability, its applications are growing. This review paper examines the most recent methods and trends for environmental pollutant removal using advanced 2D Mxene materials. In addition, the history and the development of MXene synthesis were elaborated. Furthermore, an extreme summary of various environmental pollutants removal has been discussed, and the future challenges along with their future perspectives have been illustrated., 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.)

Yoga therapy has been widely accepted as part of the evidence-based modern healthcare system. Although research publications are growing in leaps and bounds, many methodological issues pose stumbling blocks. In this narrative review, various issues like standalone or add-on treatment, blinding, randomization, nature of dependent and intervening variables, duration of intervention, sustainability of effects, attrition bias, adherence and accuracy, all or none performance, diverse schools, heterogeneity and multidimensionality, assortment, permutations, and combinations of different components, neglect of essential ingredients, mindfulness, catch-22 situation, credentials of the instructors, cultural factors, naivety, multicentric studies, duration of collection of data, primary or standard treatment, interdisciplinary research, statistical lapses, qualitative research, biomedical research are discussed. There is a need to frame guidelines for conducting yoga therapy research and publication., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2023 Indian Journal of Psychiatry.)

Water consumption has grown in recent years due to rising urbanization and industry. As a result, global water stocks are steadily depleting. As a result, it is critical to seek strategies for removing harmful elements from wastewater once it has been cleaned. In recent years, many studies have been conducted to develop new materials and innovative pathways for water purification and environmental remediation. Due to low energy consumption, low operating cost, and integrated facilities, membrane separation has gained significant attention as a potential technique for water treatment. In these directions, MXene which is the advanced 2D material has been explored and many applications were reported. However, research on MXene-based membranes is still in its early stages and reported applications are scatter. This review provides a broad overview of MXenes and their perspectives, including their synthesis, surface chemistry, interlayer tuning, membrane construction, and uses for water purification. Application of MXene based membrane for extracting pollutants such as heavy metals, organic contaminants, and radionuclides from the aqueous water bodies were briefly discussed. Furthermore, the performance of MXene-based separation membranes is compared to that of other nano-based membranes, and outcomes are very promising. In order to shed more light on the advancement of MXene-based membranes and their operational separation applications, significant advances in the fabrication of MXene-based membranes is also encapsulated. Finally, future prospects of MXene-based materials for diverse applications were discussed., 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.)

Mg-Al-Zn alloys are widely preferred in many applications by considering their excellent properties of high stiffness-to-weight ratio, lightweight, high strength-to-weight ratio, low density, castability, high-temperature mechanical properties, machinability, high corrosion resistance, and great damping. Improving the properties of such alloys is challenging due to their hexagonal crystal structure and other alloying limitations. This study aims to synthesize Mg-Al-Zn alloy by incorporating the alloying elements 8.3 wt% Al, 0.35 wt% Zn on pure magnesium (Control specimen). Then synthesize Mg-Al-Zn/BN/B 4 C hybrid composite by reinforcing B 4 C at three weight proportions (3 wt%, 6 wt%, 9 wt%) along with constant solid lubricant BN (3 wt%) through a stir casting process. The hybrid composite samples were characterized and compared with the performances of the control specimen. The results reveal that 9 wt% B 4 C reinforced samples outperformed through recording the improvement of tensile strength by 28.94%, compressive strength by 37.89%, yield strength by 74.63%, and hardness by 14.91% than the control specimen. Apart from this, it has reduced the corrosion area (37.81%) and noticed negligible changes in density (increased by 0.03%) and porosity (decreased by 0.01%) than the control specimen. The samples were characterized using SEM, XRD, and EDAX apparatus., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Selenium in wastewater is of particular concern due to its increasing concentration, high mobility in water, and toxicity to organisms; therefore, this study was carried out to determine the removal efficiency of selenium using iron and manganese-based bimetallic micro-composite adsorbents. The bimetallic micro-composite adsorbent was synthesized by using the chemical reduction method. Micro-particles were characterized by using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy for elemental analysis after adsorption, which confirms the adsorption of selenium on the surface of the micro-composite adsorbent, scanning electron microscopy, which shows particles are circular in shape and irregular in size, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller which results from the total surface area of particles were 59.345m 2 /g, Zeta particle size, which results from average particles size were 39.8 nm. Then it was applied to remove selenium ions in an aqueous system. The data revealed that the optimum conditions for the highest removal (95.6%) of selenium were observed at pH 8.5, adsorbent dosage of 25 mg, and contact time of 60 min, respectively, with the initial concentration of 1 ppm. The Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models match the experimental data very well. The results proved that bimetallic micro-composite could be used as an effective selenium adsorbent due to the high adsorption capacity and the short adsorption time needed to achieve equilibrium. Regarding the reusability of bimetallic absorbent, the adsorption and desorption percentages decreased from 50 to 45% and from 56 to 53%, respectively, from the 1st to the 3rd cycle., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

A continuous mode fixed-bed up-flow column adsorption analysis was conducted utilizing Acacia nilotica sawdust activated carbon (ASAC) as an adsorbent for the adsorption treatment of toxic Indigo Carmine Dye (ICD). The effect on the adsorption characteristics of ASAC of the influent ICD concentration, flow rate, and column bed depth has been investigated. According to the column study, the highest efficiency of ICD removal was approximately 79.01% at a preliminary concentration of 100 mg/L with a flow rate of 250 mL/h at a bed depth of 30 cm and adsorption power of 24.67 mg/g. The experimental work confirmed the dependency of break-through curves on dye concentration and flow rate for a given bed depth. Kinetic models were implemented by Thomas, Yoon-Nelson, and Bed-depth-service-time analysis along with error analysis to interpret experimental data for bed depth of 15 cm and 30 cm, ICD concentration of 100 mg/L and 200 mg/L and flow rate of 250 mL/h, and 500 mL/h. The analysis predicted the breakthrough curves using a regression basin. It indicated that all three models were comparable for the entire break-through curve depiction. The characteristic parameters determined by process design and error analysis revealed that the Thomas model was better followed by the BDST and Yoon-Nelson models in relating the procedure of ICD adsorption onto ASAC. B-E-T surface area and B-E-T pore volume of ASAC were 737.76 m 2 /g and 0.2583 cm 3 /g, respectively. S-E-M and X-R-D analysis reveal the micro-porous and amorphous nature of ASAC. F-T-I-R spectroscope indicate distinctive functional assemblies like -OH group, C-H bond, C-C bond, C-OH, and C-O groups on ASAC. It could be computed that the ASAC can be used efficiently as an alternative option for industrial wastewater treatment., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Due to rapidly deteriorating water resources, the world is looking forward to a sustainable alternative for the remediation of noxious pollutants such as heavy metals and organic and gaseous contaminants. To address this global issue of environmental pollution, nanoporous carbon materials (NPCMs) can be used as a one-stop solution. They are widely applied as adsorbents for many toxic impurities and environmental contaminants. The present review provides a detailed overview of the role of different synthesis factors on the porous characteristics of carbon materials, activating agents, reagent-precursor ratio and their potential application in the remediation. Findings revealed that synthetic parameters result in the formation of microporous NPCMs (S BET : >4000 m 3 /g; V Total (cm 3 /g) ≥ 2; V Micro (cm 3 /g) ≥ 1), micromesoporous (S BET : >2500 m 3 /g; V Total (cm 3 /g) ≥ 1.5; V Micro (cm 3 /g) ≥ 0.7) and mesoporous (S BET : >2500 m 3 /g; V Total (cm 3 /g) ≥ 1.5; V Micro (cm 3 /g) ≥ 0.5) NPCMs. Moreover, it was observed that a narrow pore size distribution (0.5-2.0 nm) yields excellent results in the remediation of noxious contaminants. Further, chemical activating agents such as NaOH, KOH, ZnCl 2 , and H 3 PO 4 were compared. It was observed that activating agents KОН, H 3 PO 4 , and ZnCl 2 were generally used and played a significant role in the possible large-scale production and commercialization of NPCMs. Thus, it can be interpreted that with a well-planned strategy for the synthesis, NPCMs with a "tuned" porosity for a specific application, in particular, microporosity for the accumulation and adsorption of energetically important gases (CO 2 , CH 4 , H 2 ), micro-mesoporosity and mesoporosity for high adsorption capacity for towards metal ions and a large number of dyes, respectively., 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 B.V. All rights reserved.)

Endotoxins as the outer membrane of most Gram-Negative Bacteria (GNB) and typical toxic biochemical produced by microorganisms are identified as one of the emerging pollutants. These microbial by-products are harmful compounds that can be present in various environments including air, water, soil, and other ecosystems which were discussed in detail in this review. Environmental and occupational exposure caused by endotoxin occurs in water and wastewater treatment plants, industrial plants, farming, waste recovery, and composting facilities. Even though the health risk related to endotoxin injection in intravenous and dialysis are well identified, the harmful effects of ingestion, inhalation, and other way of exposure are not well quantified and there is insufficient information on the potential health risks of endotoxins exposure in water environments, and another exposure. Because of limited studies, the outbreaks of diseases related to endotoxins in the various source of exposure not been well documented. Endotoxin removal from different environments are investigated in this review. The results of various studies have shown that conventional treatment methods have been unable to remove endotoxins from water and wastewater, therefore, monitoring the effectiveness of these processes in controlling this contaminant and also using the appropriate removal method is essential. However, management of water and wastewater treatment processes and the use of advanced processes such as Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) can be effective in monitoring and reducing endotoxin levels during water and wastewater treatment. One of the limitations of endotoxin monitoring is the lack of sufficient information to develop monitoring levels. In addition, the lack of guidelines and methods of controlling them at high levels may cause irreparable disaster., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This paper studies an adjacent accumulation discrete grey model to improve the prediction of the grey model and enhance the utilization of new data. The impact of COVID-19 on the global economy is also discussed. Two cases are discussed to prove the stability of the adjacent accumulation discrete grey model, which helped the studied model attain higher forecasting accuracy. Using the adjacent accumulation discrete grey model, non-renewable energy consumption in G20 countries from 2022 to 2026 is predicted based on their consumption data from 2011 to 2021. It is proven that the adjacent accumulation exhibits sufficient accuracy and precision. Forecasting results obtained in this paper show that energy consumption of all the non-renewable sources other than coal has an increasing trend during the forecasting period, with the USA, Russia, and China being the biggest consumers. Natural gas is the most consumed non-renewable energy source between 2022 and 2026, whereas hydroelectricity is the least consumed. The USA is the biggest consumer of Nuclear energy among the G20 countries, whereas Argentina consumed only 0.1 Exajoules of nuclear energy, placing it at the end of nuclear energy consumers., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Owing to the high toxicity of cerium toward living organisms, it is necessary to remove cerium from aqueous solutions. In this regard, the extraction of cerium (Ce (III)) from nitrate media by Cyanex 572 under different operating conditions was examined in this study. The effect of contact time, pH, extractant concentration, and nitrate ion concentration were investigated to characterize the extraction behavior of cerium and based on these outcomes, an extraction mechanism was suggested. The analysis of infrared spectra of Cyanex 572 before and after the extraction of cerium indicated that cerium extraction was performed via a cation-exchange mechanism. Then, the predictive models based on intelligent techniques [artificial neural network (ANN) and hybrid neural-genetic algorithm (GA-ANN)] were developed to predict the cerium extraction efficiency. The GA-ANN model provided better predictions that resulted higher R 2 and lower MSE compared to ANN model for predicting the extraction efficiency of cerium by Cyanex 572. The interactive effects of each process variable on cerium extraction were also investigated systematically. pH was the most influential parameter on cerium extraction, followed by extractant concentration, nitrate ion concentration and contact time. Finally, the separation of cerium from other rare earth elements like La (III), Nd (III), Pr (III), and Y (III) was conducted and observed that the present system provides a better separation of cerium from rare heavy earth than light rare earths., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Wastewater consisting of different pharmaceuticals and drug residues is quite challenging to treat and dispose of. This situation poses a significant impact on the health aspect of humans and other biotic organisms in the environment. The main concern of hospital wastewater (HWW) is the resistivity towards treatment using the different conventional methods. For the treatment of HWW, this study was performed using an electro bioreactor using hospital wastewater. The electro reduction overcomes the effect of toxic elements in hospital wastewater, and biodegradation removes organic matter and nutrients from wastewater. This study investigated electro bioreactor performance for treating hospital wastewater connected with tubesettler. The parameters of chemical oxygen demand, nitrate, and phosphate concentration were analyzed to evaluate an influent and effluent from electro bioreactor and tubesettler. Also, Kinetic modelling for chemical oxygen demand, nitrate, and phosphate removal was done. The chemical oxygen demand was reduced by 76% in electro bioreactor, and 31% in tubesettler, 84%. The nitrate and phosphate were reduced within permissible discharge limits with a final effluent concentration of 1.4 mg L -1 and 3 mg L -1 . Further studies are required to assess the impact of pharmaceutical compounds in hospital wastewater on the system's performance., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Heavy metals are perceived as a significant environmental concern because of their toxic effect, bioaccumulation, and persistence. In this work, a novel sodium alginate (SA) and carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) entrapped with fly ash derived zeolite stabilized nano zero-valent iron and nickel (ZFN) (SA/CMC-ZFN), followed by crosslinking with CaCl 2 , is synthesized and applied for remediation of Cu(II) and Cr(VI) from industrial effluent. The characterization of the adsorbent and its surface mechanism for removing metals were investigated using advanced instrumental techniques, including XRD, FT-IR, SEM-EDX, BET, and XPS. The outcomes from the batch experiments indicated that monolayer adsorption on homogeneous surfaces (Langmuir isotherm model) was the rate-limiting step in both heavy metals sorption processes. The maximum adsorption capacity of as-prepared SA/CMC-ZFN was 63.29 and 10.15 mg/g for Cu(II) and Cr(VI), respectively. Owing to the fact that the wastewater released from industries are large and continuous, a continuous column is installed for simultaneous removal of heavy metal ions from real industrial wastewater. The outcomes revealed the potential of SA/CMC-ZFN as an efficient adsorbent. The experimental breakthrough curves fitted well with the theoretical values of Thomas and Yoon-Nelson models. Overall, the results indicated that SA/CMC-ZFN is a viable, efficient, and cost-effective water treatment both interms of batch and column processes., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Pb(II) is a heavy metal that is a prominent contaminant in water contamination. Among the different pollution removal strategies, adsorption was determined to be the most effective. The adsorbent and its type determine the adsorption process's efficiency. As part of this effort, a magnetic reduced graphene oxide-based inverse spinel nickel ferrite (rGNF) nanocomposite for Pb(II) removal is synthesized, and the optimal values of the independent process variables (like initial concentration, pH, residence time, temperature, and adsorbent dosage) to achieve maximum removal efficiency are investigated using conventional response surface methodology (RSM) and artificial neural networks (ANN). The results indicate that the initial concentration, adsorbent dose, residence time, pH, and process temperature are set to 15 mg/L, 0.55 g/L, 100 min, 5, and 30 °C, respectively, the maximum removal efficiency (99.8%) can be obtained. Using the interactive effects of process variables findings, the adsorption surface mechanism was examined in relation to process factors. A data-driven quadratic equation is derived based on the ANOVA, and its predictions are compared with ANN predictions to evaluate the predictive capabilities of both approaches. The R 2 values of RSM and ANN predictions are 0.979 and 0.991 respectively and confirm the superiority of the ANN approach., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Increased industrialization demand using synthetic dyes in the newspaper, cosmetics, textiles, food, and leather industries. As a consequence, harmful chemicals from dye industries are released into water reservoirs with numerous structural components of synthetic dyes, which are hazardous to the ecosystem, plants and humans. The discharge of synthetic dye into various aquatic environments has a detrimental effect on the balance and integrity of ecological systems. Moreover, numerous inorganic dyes exhibit tolerance to degradation and repair by natural and conventional processes. So, the present condition requires the development of efficient and effective waste management systems that do not exacerbate environmental stress or endanger other living forms. Numerous biological systems, including microbes and plants, have been studied for their ability to metabolize dyestuffs. To minimize environmental impact, bioremediation uses endophytic bacteria, which are plant beneficial bacteria that dwell within plants and may improve plant development in both normal and stressful environments. Moreover, Phytoremediation is suitable for treating dye contaminants produced from a wide range of sources. This review article proves a comprehensive evaluation of the most frequently utilized plant and microbes as dye removal technologies from dye-containing industrial effluents. Furthermore, this study examines current existing technologies and proposes a more efficient, cost-effective method for dye removal and decolorization on a big scale. This study also aims to focus on advanced degradation techniques combined with biological approaches, well regarded as extremely effective treatments for recalcitrant wastewater, with the greatest industrial potential.

Biosorption using modified biochar has been increasingly adopted for the sustainable removal of uranium-contaminated from an aqueous solution. In this research study, the facile preparation and surface characteristics of magnetized biochar derived from waste watermelon rind to treat U(VI) contaminated water were investigated. The porosity, specific surface area, adsorption capacity, reusability, and stability were effectively improved after the magnetization of biochar. The kinetics and isotherm studies found that the U(VI) adsorption was rate-limiting monolayer sorption on the homogeneous surface of magnetized watermelon rind biochar (MWBC). The maximum adsorption capacity was found to be 323.56 mg of U(VI) per g of MWBC at pH 4.0 and 293 K that was higher than that of watermelon rind biochar (WBC) (135.86 mg g -1 ) and other sourced biochars. The surface interaction mechanism, environmental feasibility, applicability for real-filed water treatment studied in the electromagnetic semi-batch column, and reusability of MWBC were also explored. Furthermore, salient raised the ion exchange and complexation action capacity of MWBC due to the presence of Fe oxide. The overall results indicated that MWBC was not only inexpensive and had a high removal capacity for U(VI), but it also easily enabled phase separation from an aqueous solution, with more than three times reusability at a minimum removal capacity of 99%., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Oil spills are a major contributor to water contamination, which sets off a significant impact on the environment, biodiversity, and economy. Efficient removal of oil spills is needed for the protection of marine species as well as the environment. Conventional approaches are not efficient enough for oil-water separation; therefore, effective strategies and efficient removal techniques (and materials) must be developed to restore the contaminated marine to its normal ecology. Several research studies have shown that nanotechnology provides efficient features to clean up these oil spills from the water using magnetic nanomaterials, particularly carbon/polymer-based magnetic nanocomposites. Surface modification of these nanomaterials via different techniques render them with salient innovative features. The present review discusses the advantages and limitations of conventional and advanced techniques for the oil spills removal from wastewater. Furthermore, the synthesis of magnetic nanocomposites, their utilization in oil-water separation, and adsorption mechanisms are discussed. Finally, the advancement and future perspectives of magnetic nanocomposites (particularly of carbon and polymer-based magnetic nanocomposites) in environmental remediation are presented., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Industrial effluents contain several organic and inorganic contaminants. Among others, dyes and heavy metals introduce a serious threat to drinking waterbodies. These pollutants can be noxious or carcinogenic in nature, and harmful to humans and different aquatic species. Therefore, it is of high importance to remove heavy metals and dyes to reduce their environmental toxicity. This has led to an extensive research for the development of novel materials and techniques for the removal of heavy metals and dyes. One route to the removal of these pollutants is the utilization of magnetic carbon nanotubes (CNT) as adsorbents. Magnetic carbon nanotubes hold remarkable properties such as surface-volume ratio, higher surface area, convenient separation methods, etc. The suitable characteristics of magnetic carbon nanotubes have led them to an extensive search for their utilization in water purification. Along with magnetic carbon nanotubes, the buckypaper (BP) membranes are also favorable due to their unique strength, high porosity, and adsorption capability. However, BP membranes are mostly used for salt removal from the aqueous phase and limited literature shows their applications for removal of heavy metals and dyes. This study focuses on the existence of heavy metal ions and dyes in the aquatic environment, and methods for their removal. Various fabrication approaches for the development of magnetic-CNTs and CNT-based BP membranes are also discussed. With the remarkable separation performance and ultra-high-water flux, magnetic-CNTs, and CNT-based BP membranes have a great potential to be the leading technologies for water treatment in future., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In the present study, the adsorptive removal of organophosphate diazinon pesticide using porous pumice adsorbent was experimentally investigated in a batch system, modelled and optimized upon response surface methodology (RSM) and artificial neural network-genetic algorithm (ANN-GA), fitted to isotherm, kinetic and thermodynamic models. The quantification of adsorbent elements was determined using EDX. XRD analysis was utilized to study the crystalline properties of adsorbent. The FT-IR spectra were taken from adsorbent before and after adsorption to study the presence and changes in functional groups. The constituted composition of the adsorbent was determined by XRF. Also, the ionic strength and adsorbent reusability were explored. The influences of operational parameters like pH, initial pesticide concentration, adsorbent dosage and contact time were investigated systematically. ANN-GA and RSM techniques were used to identify the optimal process variables that result in the highest removal. Based on the RSM approach, the optimization conditions for maximum removal efficiency is obtained at pH = 3, adsorbent dosage = 4 g/L, contact time = 30 min, and initial pesticide concentration = 6.2 mg/L. To accurately identify the parameters of nonlinear isotherm and kinetic models, a hybrid evolutionary differential evolution optimization (DEO) is applied. Results indicated that the equilibrium adsorption data were best fitted with Langmuir and Temkin isotherms and kinetic data were well described by pseudo-first and second-order kinetic models. The thermodynamic parameters such as entropy, enthalpy and Gibbs energy were evaluated to study the effect of temperature on pesticide adsorption.

In the present study, reactive red 198 (RR198) dye removal from aqueous solutions by adsorption using municipal solid waste (MSW) compost ash was investigated in batch mode. SEM, XRF, XRD, and BET/BJH analyses were used to characterize MSW compost ash. CNHS and organic matter content analyses showed a low percentage of carbon and organic matter to be incorporated in MSW compost ash. The design of adsorption experiments was performed by Box-Behnken design (BBD), and process variables were modeled and optimized using Box-Behnken design-response surface methodology (BBD-RSM) and genetic algorithm-artificial neural network (GA-ANN). BBD-RSM approach disclosed that a quadratic polynomial model fitted well to the experimental data (F-value = 94.596 and R 2  = 0.9436), and ANN suggested a three-layer model with test-R 2  = 0.9832, the structure of 4-8-1, and learning algorithm type of Levenberg-Marquardt backpropagation. The same optimization results were suggested by BBD-RSM and GA-ANN approaches so that the optimum conditions for RR198 absorption was observed at pH = 3, operating time = 80 min, RR198 = 20 mg L -1 and MSW compost ash dosage = 2 g L -1 . The adsorption behavior was appropriately described by Freundlich isotherm, pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Further, the data were found to be better described with the nonlinear when compared to the linear form of these equations. Also, the thermodynamic study revealed the spontaneous and exothermic nature of the adsorption process. In relation to the reuse, a 12.1% reduction in the adsorption efficiency was seen after five successive cycles. The present study showed that MSW compost ash as an economical, reusable, and efficient adsorbent would be desirable for application in the adsorption process to dye wastewater treatment, and both BBD-RSM and GA-ANN approaches are highly potential methods in adsorption modeling and optimization study of the adsorption process. The present work also provides preliminary information, which is helpful for developing the adsorption process on an industrial scale.

In this study, fluoride removal from polluted potable water using magnetic carbon-based adsorbents derived from agricultural biomass was thoroughly investigated. An experimental matrix is designed considering the interactive effects of independent process variables (pH, adsorbent dose, contact time, and initial fluoride concentration) on the removal efficiency. Isotherms and kinetics studies, as well as anions interactions, were also investigated to understand the adsorption mechanisms further. The model parameters of isotherms and kinetics are estimated using nonlinear differential evolution optimization (DEO). Approaches like adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) and response surface methodology (RSM) are implemented to predict the fluoride removal and identify the optimal process values. The optimum removal efficiency of GAC-Fe 3 O 4 (89.34%) was found to be higher than that of PAC-Fe 3 O 4 (85.14%). Kinetics experiments indicated that they follow the intraparticle diffusion model, and adsorption isotherms indicated that they follow Langmuir and Freundlich models. Both PAC-Fe 3 O 4 and GAC-Fe 3 O 4 adsorbents have shown an adsorption capacity of 1.20 and 2.74 mg/g, respectively. The model predictions from ANFIS have a strong correlation with experimental results and superior to RSM predictions. The shape of the contours depicts the nonlinearity of the interactive effects and the mechanisms in the adsorption process., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Numerous contaminants in huge amounts are discharged to the environment from various anthropogenic activities. Waterbodies are one of the major receivers of these contaminants. The contaminated water can pose serious threats to humans and animals, by distrubing the ecosystem. In treating the contaminated water, adsorption processes have attained significant maturity due to lower cost, easy operation and environmental friendliness. The adsorption process uses various adsorbent materials and some of emerging adsorbent materials include carbon- and polymer-based magnetic nanocomposites. These hybrid magnetic nanocomposites have attained extensive applications in water treatment technologies due to their magnetic properties as well as combination of unique characteristics of organic and inorganic elements. Carbon- and polymer-related magnetic nanocomposites are more adapted materials for the removal of various kinds of contaminants from waterbodies. These nanocomposites can be produced via different approaches such as filling, pulse-laser irradiation, ball milling, and electro-spinning. This comprehensive review is compiled by reviewing published work of last the latest recent 3 years. The review article extensively focuses on different approaches for producing various carbon- and polymer-based magnetic nanocomposites, their merits and demerits and applications for sustainable water purification. More specifically, use of carbon- and polymer-based magnetic nanocomposites for removal of heavy metal ions and dyes is discussed in detail, critically analyzed and compared with other technologies. In addition, commercial viability in terms of regeneration of adsorbents is also reviewed. Furthermore, the future challenges and prospects in employing magnetic nanocomposites for contaminant removal from various water sources are presented.

Modified multi-walled carbon nanotubes (f-MWCNTs) and hydroxyapatite nanorods (n-HA) were reinforced into polypropylene (PP) with the support of a melt compounding approach. Varying composition of f-MWCNTs (0.1-0.3 wt.%) and nHA (15-20 wt.%) were reinforced into PP, to obtain biocomposites of different compositions. The morphology, thermal and mechanical characteristics of PP/n-HA/f-MWCNTs were observed. Tensile studies reflected that the addition of f-MWCNTs is advantageous in improving the tensile strength of PP/n-HA nanocomposites but decreases its Young's modulus significantly. Based on the thermal study, the f-MWCNTs and n-HA were known to be adequate to enhance PP's thermal and dimensional stability. Furthermore, MTT studies proved that PP/n-HA/f-MWCNTs are biocompatible. Consequently, f-MWCNTs and n-HA reinforced into PP may be a promising nanocomposite in orthopedics industry applications such as the human subchondral bone i.e. patella and cartilage and fabricating certain light-loaded implants.