Search

The escalating accumulation of textile waste in landfill sites poses a significant environmental hazard that requires immediate intervention. This study focused on the sustainable and value-enhancing management of used fabrics via chemical recycling. The acid hydrolysis of six distinct types of cotton-based fabric waste (FW) has been conducted for the first time using a milder concentration (10%) of acid. The experiments resulted in the successful extraction of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). The product underwent various analytical techniques, such as XRD, FTIR, FESEM, TGA, DTG, and PL spectroscopy, to verify the presence of microcrystalline cellulose (I-cellulose). The various sources of cellulose yielded varying results for MCC in terms of the yield (ranging from 28.2% to 80.2%), crystallinity index (ranging from 83.9% to 87%), crystallite size (ranging from 5.287 to 5.952 nm), thermal stability (ranging from 310 °C to 327 °C), and heat of fusion (ranging from 302 to 364 J g−1). The physico-chemical parameters of these six MCC samples were similar, with the carbon content ranging from 38.7% to 47%. The samples exhibited a range of bulk density values between 0.077 and 0.1975 g cc−1, and a water retention value (WRV) between 91.3% and 95.5%. The efficient retrieval of cellulose from various fabric waste sources offers an eco-friendly and sustainable approach to bolster waste management initiatives for fabric-related refuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ionic liquids (IL) have emerged as the potential class of solvents for various chemical processes and reactions, including gelatinization and chemical modification of starch. Through various studies it has been established that expensive nature of ILs can be counter balanced by employing the mixture of IL/water instead of pure ILs. The IL/water system has the advantage to plasticize starch more effectively due to their synchronal effect and rational viscosity. The properties of ILs can be tempered by preferring particular cations/anions according to the specific type of starch which may be helpful in convenient dissolution and modification of starch. Starch can be modified by esterification or etherification reaction in IL medium to alter their properties and to use it in various application areas. Starch dissolution is subjected to various parameters like type of starch, nature of IL, ratio of IL/water, and temperature which has been discussed elaborately in the present review paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food grade dyes pose severe health hazards when consumed in excessive amounts or enter body via contaminated water. Despite its harmful effects, Allura Red (AR) is very less explored dye for its removal, especially using agricultural/fruit waste. This study presents efficient removal of an important and unsafe food grade dye, AR via adsorption. Waste watermelon peel waste has been used for the first time for treatmenting wastewater contaminated with AR. Waste was converted to two types of adsorbents, with and without subjecting it to pyrolysis. Both the adsorbents were characterized for functionality and crystallinity and used for conducting adsorption studies. Removal of dye was evaluated by intrinsic strategy of monitoring the model solutions under pre‐ and post‐adsorption conditions. Removal percentage of dye was determined by calculating its initial (Co) and final (Cf) concentrations in solution using the formula (see Eq. (1)). Various reaction parameters important for adsorption, viz. pH, adsorbent dose, residence time, reaction temperature and particle size were optimized. Results indicate that ~80 % and >92 % dye could be removed using 0.5 g/L adsorbent before and after pyrolysis respectively in 3.5 h from its 2 ppm concentration in modelled water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starch-based biopolymers occupy a significant place in polymer world for replacing plastics derived from petrochemicals. Their non-toxicity, bio-compatible nature and comparable mechanical and degradation properties make them suitable candidates for various applications, including packaging sector. Starch derived from a variety of agricultural waste is converted to bio-composites by chemical modification in the presence of plasticisers and other chemical moieties. These bio-polymers are biodegradable in nature; however, they are associated with certain disadvantages, such as brittleness, moisture sensitivity, and poor thermal and mechanical properties. Efforts are being made by researchers to overcome these challenges by various strategies in order to make it at par to the conventional plastic. Few companies have initiated using starch-based biopolymers for producing commercial products, but scientific world definitely demands significant studies that can enhance the properties of this material to an appreciable extent. This will also help in reducing the production cost and improving the overall economy of biopolymers' segment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 Pandemic have caused severe impact on lives in various ways, but our environment has experienced a positive outcome due to the lockdown which was imposed all over world including Himalayan region of India. The worldwide spread of COVID 19 has reduced movement of vehicles, industries and all tourism activities. Due to shutdown of all the commercial activities and traffic has helped the environment to reclaim naturally. The Himalayas is one of the world's most fragile and sensitive hotspots to global climate change, with impacts manifesting at a particularly rapid rate. The Himalayan glaciers are the water towers of Asia, and the source of many of the world's great rivers. In this research paper, an attempt has been made to describe the improvement in physiochemical characteristics of surface water, all parameters were compared with BIS standard of drinking water quality during pre lockdown and lockdown period. The ambient air quality have also been significantly improved and noise level were also found under permissible limit of Ambient air quality Standard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to the scarcity of raw materials and environmental concerns, concrete industry demands a suitable environment friendly material, which can substitute it partially while maintaining its required characteristics. Biochar from agricultural biomass is sustainable product for construction uses without any adverse effect on environment. It acts as effective binder/filler for enhancing performance of construction material, including mechanical/rheological properties, water absorbing capacity, insulating nature, chemical stability and environmental safety. This review presents significant aspects of biochar as additive to cementitious materials. It highlights its role in improving the performance of concrete for various applications in construction industry. It also suggests that a suitable permutation and combination is necessary for optimizing its properties and effectiveness. It can be derived from the studies carried out in this domain that on average, 1–3% addition of biochar derived from various lignocellulosic biomass can serve as optimum concentration for enhancing performance in building constituents. The review also highlights the economic viability and environmental benefits of biochar addition in cementitious composition. This article will provide deep insight and understanding about appropriateness of biochar as important constituent in construction industry. It will be encouraging for the researchers to strengthen their observations and outcomes, helping in categorizing biochar as 'green concrete' in upcoming time. Biochar is an efficient binder for cement to be used for costruction/buildings. Advantages offered by it to buildings include mainly improved rheology, chemical stability, water retention ability and protection from cracks. It helps in maintaining indoor temperature of builidngs. It is an economically feasible additive for construction purpose and reduces environmental pollution by sequestring CO2. Being able to be produced from agricultural wastes, it acts as a measure to waste management also. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymer nanocomposites offer enhancement in thermomechanical and physicochemical properties of polymers with the presence of a little amount of nanostructured fillers such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, and layered silicates. A facile and rapid preparation of hytrel (HTL)-graphene oxide (GO) nanocomposites is done via a solution mixing method. The influence of GO content (0.1, 0.5, 1, 2, and 5 wt%) on mechanical and thermal properties of GO/HTL nanocomposites has been evaluated by using various techniques such as tensile testing, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, and dynamic mechanical analysis. The thermal stability and mechanical properties of GO/HTL nanocomposites were increased with increasing GO content. The composites have valuable improvement in tensile strength (139%) and storage modulus (72%) for HTL composite containing 5 wt% GO. The incorporation of GO into HTL polymer shows enhancement in thermal and mechanical properties due to the presence of strongest noncovalent interaction (π–π stacking) between the interface of nanocomposites. These enhanced physical properties of GO/HTL composites show its potential use in structural application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]