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The developed CS/CAEE edible active films possess UV-Vis light blocking property with ∼27% enhanced antioxidant activity and ∼60% reduced WVP. The edible coatings are nontoxic and extended the shelf life of green chillies at room temperature.

In this study, combined effect of ozonolysis (Oz) and temperature on rice straw (RS) hydrolysis was studied. At ozone dosage of 0.006 gO3/g RS, 19% disintegration in the RS fiber crystallinity was observed with 17% reduction in the total carbon content. Thermal (55 °C, 4d) treatment followed after Oz showed the generation of total volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and reducing sugars of 537.20 ± 17.09 mg/L/d and 1.18 ± 0.06 mg/L/d, respectively. Biomethane assays after pretreatment of RS showed 26% enhancement in the RS hydrolysis rate constant (k = 0.1885 d−1) with methane yield of 374 ± 6 ml CH4/g-VSsubstrate. The potential scale up feasibility was estimated by calculating net energy balance. A net positive gain of 0.5763 kWh/kg RS was obtained using this pretreatment.

Open-field burning of rice straw contributes significantly to deterioration of air quality. Similarly, defatted algal residue is a surplus by-product of the algal biofuel industry. This study emphasizes on the two-step conversion of agro-industrial residues (rice straw and Scenedesmus obliquus deoiled biomass) into biodiesel and carotenoids using oleaginous red yeast Rhodotorula mucilaginosa R2. The effect of biological pretreatment on degradation of lignocellulosic substrates followed by catalytic saccharification was evaluated using suitable analytical techniques. Mixed biomass favoured the growth and secretion of extracellular cellulose degrading enzymes by Penicillium citrinum PKB20 resulting in the highest specific activity of endoglucanase (83.02 IU/mg), xylanase (103 IU/mg) and β-glucosidase (13.8 IU/mg) under solid-state fermentation. The hydrolysis of pre-treated substrate was achieved with a saccharification yield of 41.41 %. Batch fermentation of detoxified hydrolysate amended with synthetic yeast propagation or lipid production media (YEPD or C/N 75) resulted in maximum lipid content and lipid yield of 30.43 % and 1.19 g/L respectively. GC analysis revealed that oleic acid (29.4-50.39 %) was the predominant fatty acid. The crude carotenoid extract was composed of torularhodin, torulene and β-carotene and exhibited strong antioxidant activity.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the potential of isolated novel bacterial strains for rice straw (RS) hydrolysis in terms of total sugar and COD (chemical oxygen demand) solubilization to improve overall biomethane yield. Four out of seven pretreatment setup with isolated bacterial strains i.e., Bacillus paralicheniformis VKVVG3 (CDf), Perlucidibaca piscinae VKVVG6 (CDd1), Bacillus clausii VKAK2 (RSa1) and Bacillus mojavensis VKAK1 (CDb1) exhibited higher saccharification compared to untreated RS. The CDf pretreated RS showed highest efficiency with 137% COD solubilization and 320% sugar accumulation at optimal dosage of 109 CFU/mL within 4-day of incubation. The batch reactor (20L) study with CDf pretreated RS produced 476 mL/g VSsubstrate compared to 310 mL/g VSsubstrate for untreated RS which corresponds to 53.6% higher than untreated RS. The FESEM, FTIR, and XRD analysis also support the overall results, indicating excellent degradation of the structural morphology of the RS microcrystalline structure. Furthermore, the fitting error in bio-kinetic parameters using modified Gompertz, Fitzhugh, and Monomolecular models were 5.47, 2.44, and 4.28% respectively, with R2 values above 0.99, also supports the experimental data. The results of this study revealed many positive interpretations concerning the future expansion of the existing system for bacterial pretreatment of RS.

Passiflora edulis is an exotic fruit found in limited parts of India. The pulp of the fruit is mainly consumed while the rind and seeds are discarded. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the physicochemical, nutritional, antioxidant and antibacterial properties of unused rind and seeds from yellow passion fruit (YPF) and purple passion fruit (PPF) collected from Northeast India. Physical investigation of biomass showed low ash and moisture content. Elements like K, Ca and Mg were the major macro elements present in both YPF and PPF rind and seed. A significant quantity of vitamin C, carbohydrate and reducing sugar was observed in the rinds, whereas total protein content was predominant in seeds. Methanolic extract of the rind of YPF showed the highest TPC and TFC followed by acetone extracts. High antioxidant activity (DPPH scavenging, ABTS (2,2-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) and metal chelating) were displayed by methanolic and acetone extracts from rinds and seeds. The global antioxidant score was mathematically calculated to classify the best extract among the rind and seed samples. The presence of gallic acid, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, quercetin, myercetin and kaempferol in different extracts of YPF and PPF was confirmed from HPLC analysis. Gallic acid was found ranging from 17.52–83.00 mg/g, where flavonol glycosides were found ranging from 1.64–10.84 mg/g in both YPF and PPF rind and seed extract. Methanolic extracts of seeds showed the best antibacterial activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, followed by rind extracts. The obtained findings could help understand the nutritional and therapeutic values of passion fruit from Northeast India for their food and pharmaceutical applications.

Attached cultivation system has emerged as a cost-effective approach for the cultivation of microalgae. However, few microalgae species are still restricted to grow as biofilm due to the lack of adhesive element known as extracellular polymeric substance (EPS). The main objective of our study is to develop a novel attached cultivation strategy for EPS-lacking microalgae, Scenedesmus sp. DDVG I. We also aimed to identify cost-effective substratum showing good performance for biofilm growth. The approach was experimentally studied by conditioning a variety of substrata with EPS derived on varying days from cyanobacteria, Limnothrix sp. DDVG II. The EPS-coated substrata were used for the attached cultivation system of Scenedesmus sp. Additionally, we compared the biochemical properties of the EPS matrix derived on varying days using different extraction methods, their performance on adhesion strength, and microalgal growth. As a result, rough substrata were highly prone to the colonization of the EPS matrix than the normal one. The EPS derived from 12-day-old Limnothrix sp. culture (EPS-12) showed the highest potential on adhesion strength. Rough substrata coated with EPS-12 showed the maximum growth of Scenedesmus sp. DDVG I as a biofilm. Among the rough substrata, rough polylactic acid (rPLA) sheet coated with EPS-12 was found to be the best substratum showing the highest adhesion capability of 94.60 ± 4.2% and the maximum aerial biomass productivity of 31.6 ± 1.20 g/m2/day. The results indicate that EPS-lacking Scenedesmus sp. can be cultured with the attached cultivation technique to improve its biomass productivity.

In the present investigation, a paper-based pH indicator was developed using anthocyanin from purple rice bran for rapid food quality monitoring. The efficiency of the indicator was studied in different buffer solutions of pH range 2–10. The indicator was made with 150 mg/L anthocyanin concentration shows a distinct L, a, and b values of color. Furthermore, the indicator was tested in different liquid foods with varying pH and indicating distinct color in every pH value. The degradation behavior of a value (redness) of the indicator was investigated in 4 and 25 °C. The degradation behavior at 4 and 25 °C was best fitted with first-order kinetics (R2 = 0.99 and 0.97) than zero-order (R2 = 0.98 and 0.96). In addition, the performance of the indicator was compared with the previous research observations. The present study manifested a green route of monitoring for liquid food quality using low-cost and highly sensitive pH indicator.

The objective of this study is to evaluate and compare the quality of oils extracted from yellow and purple passion fruit seeds endemic to Northeast India. In this context, physicochemical properties (acid value, iodine value, etc), thermo physical analysis such as TGA and DSC was performed. Further, the antioxidant properties of seed oils were determined by TPC, TFC, DPPH and ABTS.+ analysis and their interrelation was analysed from Pearson correlation. Lower acid value (2–4.4 mg KOH g−1) and peroxide value (4.2–4.5 mg eq 1000 g−1) confirmed the good quality of oil. The thermal stability of different oils was found to be in the high range of 334.4 °C to 349.5 °C. Fatty acid composition of oils by GC analysis revealed abundance presence of approximately 70% of PUFA and the calculated oxidizability value suggested high oxidative stability in the oils. The universal oil quality score was observed to be high (>50%) when compared to other standard edible oil. Lowest radical inhibitory concentration was observed in yellow passion fruit seed oil from Manipur (70.7 ± 1.7 µg/ml in DPPH and 85.3 ± 5.5 µg/ml in ABTS). Profound antibacterial activity of oils was observed against K. Pneumonia (7.5 ± 0.35 to 12 ± 0.7 cm), B. Subtilis (5 ± 0.7 to 11 ± 0.7 cm), P. aeruginosa (2 to 11.5 ± 0.7 cm) and M. luteus (5 to 10 ± 0.7 cm). This work could add more information on uncommon passion fruit seed oil from Northeast India and further employ in various food and pharmaceutical sectors.

In this work, physicochemical properties and rheological behaviour of waste cooking oil (WCO), castor oil (CO), rubber seed oil (RSO) and their methyl esters (ME), as well as ME blends (5, 10 and 15 vol%) with diesel fuel were investigated. Rheological properties of samples were measured in the range of 25–80 °C temperature and 5–300 s−1 shear rate. Similarly, rheological behaviour of WCO, CO and RSO based methyl esters (WCOME, COME, ROSME) and its blends (5, 10, and 15 vol%) with diesel fuel were also studied. Power law model was used to study the flow behaviour of all the samples. The viscosity behaviour of oils (WCO, CO and RSO), methyl esters (WCOME, COME and RSOME) and their blends with diesel fuel showed Newtonian nature in the temperature range of 25–80 °C. The viscosity values of the chemically modified oil samples (via transesterification) were found to be lower than the original oil samples. However, WCO, CO and their methyl esters showed a slight deviation from Newtonian behaviour between shear rate intervals of 5–100 s−1. The dynamic viscosity of RSO (25.58 mPa.s) was less than that of WCO (49.91 mPa.s) and CO (338.08 mPa.s). At 40 °C, the kinematic viscosity values of RSOME (3.81 mm2/s) and WCOME (3.36 mm2/s) were lower than the value of COME (10.59 mm2/s). The dynamic viscosities of the samples were found to be dependent on fatty acids chain length, unsaturation and temperature. According to fatty acid composition and physicochemical properties of the oils samples, WCO, CO and RSO are suitable for substituting edible feedstock to make biodiesel production sustainable. The fuel properties of the methyl esters and their blends with diesel were estimated as per ASTM D6751 biodiesel standards.

Biodiesel obtained from yeast derived single cell oil (SCO) is considered as an alternative to conventional biodiesel derived from plant oils, having the potential to substitute petroleum-derived transport fuels. In this work, we have developed a heterogeneous potassium hydroxide catalyst (K-RAC) supported on Rhodotorula mucilaginosa deoiled cake activated carbon (RAC) to enhance the conversion of R. mucilaginosa isolate R2 derived SCO as well as waste cooking oil (WCO) to biodiesel. The prepared catalyst was characterized by XRD, FTIR, EDX, SEM, BET and TGA. Basicity of the catalyst was determined by CO2-TPD and the hammet indicator test. The maximum fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) conversion of 96.6% and 98.66% for SCO and WCO respectively were obtained at optimized parameters i.e. 9:1 molar ratio (methanol/oil), 3 wt % of K-RAC loading at 60 °C and reaction time of 3 h. 1H NMR and GCMS was used to confirm the formation of biodiesel. The K-RAC was recycled effectively for five consecutive cycles.

A spontaneous micro emulsifying carrier system has been designed for enhanced solubility and low surfactant to ginger oleoresin ratio. A range of food-grade excipients was studied, followed by constructing pseudoternary diagrams and optimization by D-optimal mixture design. The final formulation contained 45.5 wt% ginger oleoresin, which was stable for 90 days in accelerated storage, and its water dispersion was stable for 24 h. The mean droplet size was 47.7 nm, with −13.02 mV zeta potential and polydispersity index of 0.22. The in-vitro release study of the developed formulation in a wide range of pH confirmed an enhancement by a minimum of 79.8 % in the solubility of ginger actives over pure ginger oleoresin. Finally, incorporation of the developed formulation in a candied mango product resulted in a substantial enhancement of the flavor, nutraceutical profile, and 90 days in shelf-life at 25 °C when compared with the non-treated product.

Transformation of renewable biomass into value-added chemicals and biofuels has evolved to be a vital field of research in recent years. Accurate estimation of reducing sugars post pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass has been very inconsistent. For a few decades, 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid (DNS) assay has been widely employed for the estimation of reducing sugars derived from pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass. This assay tests for the presence of free carbonyl group (C=O), the so-called reducing sugars. This involves the oxidation of the aldehyde functional group present to the corresponding acid while DNS is simultaneously reduced to 3-amino-5-nitrosalicylic acid under alkaline conditions. However, the presence of other active carbonyl groups can potentially also react with DNS leading to incorrect yields of reducing sugars. Therefore, a detailed study has been carried out to evaluate the influence of active carbonyl compounds like furfural and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) in the overall estimation of reducing sugars (glucose, xylose and arabinose) by DNS assay. In addition to this, reducing sugars estimation in the presence of furans were also investigated, it reveals that reducing sugars estimation was found to be 68% higher than actual sugars. Therefore, current findings strongly indicate that the employment of DNS assay for quantifying the reducing sugars in the presence of furans is not appropriate.

The primary motivation behind this study was to explore the energy potential of the residual defatted microalgae biomass by anaerobic co-digestion with rice straw (RS). Two defatted microalgae species Chlorella CG12 and Desmodesmus GS12 were co-digested with RS at C/N ratio of 30. A considerable cumulative biomethane yield of 382 mL/g-VS obtained in the co-digestion of CG12 + RS followed by GS12 + RS (311 mL/g-VS) shows 49.87% and 22.26% increment, respectively, as compared to the control. The sludge on the 40th day of the anaerobic digestion was reutilized to cultivate the fresh batch of microalgae. The microalgal growth was studied at a light intensity of 3000 Lux, 22 ± 2 °C and pH of 7–7.5. The maximum lipid content of 19% on a dry cell weight basis (dcw) was seen at 20% sludge concentration in GS12. Total microalgal biomass was found to be increased by 22% compared to the control, i.e., in BG-11 media. This combined use of microalgae with RS helped in enhanced energy recovery. It also provides a sustainable approach for the development of a microalgae-based biorefinery for the production of biodiesel and biogas as an energy fuel.

Biogas production from agricultural residue by anaerobic digestion is the most favourable option for providing sustainable energy and reducing the environmental pollution. The experimental methane potential of co-digested rice straw and food waste were measured for different carbon to nitrogen (C/N) ratios in 1 L anaerobic reactor. Co-digesting rice straw with food waste for C/N 25, 30 and 35 almost showed the similar methane yield 294.17 ± 3.78 mL/g-VSadded, with an increase of 134.53 mL/g-VSadded (71.09%) than mono-digestion. After optimizing the C/N ratio for co-digestion, interactive effect of initial pH and food/microorganism (F/M) ratio were also explored in this study using central composite design – response surface methodology (CCD-RSM). Results from the optimization study showed significant interaction, and validation experiment for optimum condition (C/N 30, pH 7.32, F/M 1.87) showed a methane yield of 323.78 mL/g-VSadded (94.41%), 166.54 mL/g-VSadded higher than the mono-digestion (control).

Employing sustainable techniques that utilize waste resources for the generation of valuable products are pivotal towards establishing economically-sound technologies. Moreover, directing these techniques towards creating entities that aid in alleviating environmental pollution concerns are highly desirable. Rice husks (RH) are abundantly available biomasses that are usually destroyed via inefficient means. Their utilization via thermochemical processes such as pyrolysis, yields fruitful, high-utility products like bio-char and bio-oil. Bio-char presents ideal platforms for developing highly-porous organic adsorbents. This work utilizes slow pyrolysis method for converting RH to bio-char under various temperatures in presence of a CO2 environment. Utilization of CO2 influences the textural and chemical nature of the developed bio-char and its deployment also lends an environmentally-conscious facet to this work, as it helps lower the overall carbon-footprint. As-prepared bio-char was activated in presence of an alkali that enhanced its overall surface area to 440 m2/g. Activated bio-char was utilized as an adsorbent for removal of commonly-found pharmaceutical pollutant, Ranitidine. Different parametric studies such as variation in pH, adsorbent dosage and pyrolysis temperature, were performed to understand their effect on adsorption capacity of prepared adsorbents. Adsorption of 50 ppm ranitidine on the activated bio-char at pH 9, resulted in the removal of 88.3% reactant, when 100 mg adsorbent dosage was provided. Activated bio-char displayed a maximum adsorption capacity of 65.8 mg/g under those conditions. Adsorption kinetics followed a pseudo-second order pathway while the adsorption isotherm could be described by the Langmuir model.

This study emphasizes the use of different thermal pretreatment methods (i.e., hot air oven, hot water bath, autoclave and microwave) on pretreatment of rice straw prior to anaerobic degradation. These pretreatment methods resulted in reasonably high solubilization of recalcitrant biomass. Maximum solublisation was attained by microwave (190 °C; exposure time-4 min) (66.6%) followed by autoclave, hot air oven and hot water bath methods. Accelerated cumulative methane yield of microwave pretreated sample achieved was 367.71 mL/g-VSadded, which was 160.68 mL/g-VSadded higher than the control. Combining this high temperature conditions with lesser exposure time also improved the energy balance of the process. The physicochemical characteristics of pretreated rice straw were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), FESEM analysis showed the increased porosity of the rice straw, FTIR analysis showed the omission of hemicellulose from the matrix and with XRD analysis reduced value of crystallinity index supports the destruction of the crystalline matrix.

The physico-chemical, polyphenols, antioxidant and antibacterial properties of berries and mixture of male and female leaves of Hippophae salicifolia were investigated. The mineral, vitamin C, sugar, total protein, and total tannin contents of the berries and the leaves were evaluated. Further, the extracts of berries and mixture of leaves samples obtained by successive solvent extraction were investigated for their polyphenols, antioxidant and antibacterial properties. Total phenolic content was highest in leaves-methanol extract (157.97 ± 2.09 mg GAE/g) followed by berries-aqueous extract (48.45 ± 1.94 mg GAE/g), while total flavonoid was predominant in leaves-acetone extract (75.64 ± 3.21 mg QE/g) and berries-methanol extract (28.93 ± 2.08 mg QE/g). Gallic acid, caffeic acid, and rutin were the major polyphenols confirmed by HPLC analysis. Berries-aqueous and leaves-methanol extracts showed excellent global antioxidant score. Best antibacterial activity was observed by methanol extracts against eight different strains. Overall, the leaves and berries of Hippophae salicifolia collected from Northeast India exhibited good antioxidant and antibacterial activity and can be utilized by food and pharmaceutical sectors. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10068-021-00988-8.

Exploration of biodegradable materials for conventional application has taken a rising interest across the world. The presented work primarily focused on exploring the effectiveness of isolated CNCs from marine de-oiled green algae biomass residue (Dunaliella tertiolecta) in synthesized poly(ɛ-caprolactone) (PCL). The washed algae biomass residue (WABR) and algae derived CNCs were explored as two different bio-fillers incorporated into PCL for comparison and development of biodegradable and flexible bio-composites with varying bio-filler loading. FTIR, XRD, TGA, UTM, DSC, POM, and SAXS characterized the developed PCL/WABR and PCL/CNC bio-composites. Improved thermal stability was observed in PCL/CNC bio-composites by ~10 °C rise. Besides, increased modulus of 18.38 MPa and tensile strength was obtained in PCL/CNC/1 bio-composites. However, the isothermal kinetics study (at 45 °C) revealed the reduction in the degree of crystallinity of bio-composites, and the axialite formation was visualized via POM. Moreover, CNCs was found as an excellent nucleating agent and effective bio-filler as compared to WABR.

Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) from Cr(VI) resistant acid-tolerant biofilm forming bacterium (CrRAtBb) Lysinibacillus sphaericus RTA-01 was used for synthesis of magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (MIONPs) in removal of Cr(VI). MIONPs synthesized in EPS matrix were characterized by UV-Vis, DLS, ATR-FTIR, XRD, FESEM, HRTEM and VSM. Primarily, the synthesis of MIONPs was established by the formation of black-colored precipitate through surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peak in between 330 and 450 nm. The size of the spherical MIONPs with diameter range 13.75–106 nm was confirmed by DLS, XRD and FESEM analysis. HRTEM study confirmed the size of the MIONPs in the range of 10–65 nm. Moreover, the EDX and SAED confirmed the purity and polycrystalline nature of MIONPs. The ATR-FTIR peaks below 1000 cm−1 designated the synthesis of MIONPs. Also, the magnetic property of MIONPs was confirmed for separation from the aqueous solution. MIONPs were further checked for the adsorption of Cr(VI) with initial concentration range of 50–200 mg L−1. An adsorption isotherm and thermodynamic study were also carried out and the experimental data was best fitted in Langmuir isotherm model with maximum adsorption percent of 1052.63 mg g−1 of Cr(VI). Post interaction with Cr(VI), the surface characteristic of MIONPs in EPS matrix was evaluated by zeta potential, EDX, ATR-FTIR and XRD. This study ascertained the adsorption of Cr(VI) over EPS stabilized MIONPs whereas the zeta potential and XRD analysis confirmed the presence of reduced Cr(IV) on the adsorbent surface.

This novel study is focused on estimating the electrohydrolysis pretreatment conditions using DC current (voltage and time) for enhancing the biodegradability of rice straw. The electrohydrolysis pretreatment was performed using graphite electrode with intermittent mode of input voltage fluctuating from 10 to 30 V (voltage study) and in continuous mode for 15–80 min (time study). The result implicated that electrohydrolysis pretreatment with 25 V and 60 min time achieved the maximum solublization (55%). The Batch tests (1 L) were performed to explore the accelerated biomethane production from enhanced solublization and to optimize the food/microorganisms ratio. The different F/M (0.5–3) ratios showed the cumulative methane production ranging from 236 to 319 mL/g-VSadded (control-224.01 mL/g-VSadded). Compositional characterization (FESEM, XRD and FTIR) studies showed the efficacy in disrupting the lignin layer and reducing the cellulose crystallinity of rice straw. The effect of pretreatment on methane production was also kinetically analysed by modified Gompertz, logistic and transference function models.

Anaerobic digestion of lignocellulosic biomass has gained huge attention in current years, especially for degrading agricultural waste (i.e. rice straw, wheat straw etc.). Challenges related to anaerobic digestion of agricultural waste are low biogas yield, poor buffering capacity, low quality end products and potential variability. These inadequacies are either because of low mass transfer (high solid contents, poor nutritional structure) or can be accredited to recalcitrant nature of agricultural residues. To overcome these challenges various techniques exists like pretreatment of feedstock, co-digestion with different substrate and inoculation efficiency have been considered to increase the performance of anaerobic process. This review includes the effect of these techniques on lignocellulosic degradation, synergistic interaction with high C/N ratio feedstock and improving the buffering capacity by inoculum ratio optimization. Furthermore, key parameters influencing the anaerobic digestion are included with proposed future study.

Rice straw is a widely existing lignocellulosic waste with high potential for methane production. However, high carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratio of rice straw causes the poor process stability for mono-digestion. This study investigated the co-digestion of rice straw and hydrilla verticillata (nitrogen rich co-substrate) at different C/N ratios to enhance biomass degradation. Different C/N ratios revealed notably enhanced process stability and higher volumetric methane yields than mono-digestion (control). C/N-25 (Co-digestion) showed the highest methane productivity with an increase of 40% than the control. This increase was caused by the improvement of the metabolic pathway due to proper nutritional structure (C/N). C/N-15 obtained the lowest methane yield due to ammonia inhibition (315 mg/L). Biodegradation reaction kinetics parameters were also calculated during the digestion process and it showed reasonably good agreement between the experimental and predicted value (R2 > 0.98) for modified gompertz model. The average Rmax of C/N-25 was 2.78% less than Rmax observed in control. The favourable reducing environment established during the degradation stage was represented by low oxidation-reduction potential (−312.8 mV) values. Since no added energy inputs are required for this process, it is highly practicable on farm-scale in contrast to pretreatment.

In this study, biofuels production through thermal and co-pyrolysis of rubber seed cake (RSC) with waste polystyrene (PS) using semi-batch reactor was investigated. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of RSC at heating rate of 10 °C/min showed that R50 value as 1.87%/min at about 361.84 °C. Effects of pyrolysis temperature (350 °C – 600 °C) and heating rate (10 °C/min–40 °C/min) on product distribution (liquid, gas and bio-char) were considered. During thermal decomposition of RSC, the temperature significantly affected the yield and properties of the products. The maximum yield of RSC pyrolytic bio-oil (21.58 vol/wt%), gas (25.58 wt%) and, carbon-rich RSC bio-char (26.18 wt%) were obtained at 500 °C temperature for heating rate of 20 °C/min. Furthermore, the bio-oil yield and its energy content were enhanced from 21.58 vol/wt% to 48.7 vol/wt% and 32.25 MJ/kg to 37.48 MJ/kg through co-pyrolysis of RSC (50 wt%) with waste polystyrene (50 wt%). Value-added organic compounds such as phenolic, amide, creosol, esters, 1-dodecyne and styrene compounds were identified in bio-oil sample using gas chromatography with mass spectroscopy (GC–MS). In depth analysis of physico-chemical-thermal properties of RSC and obtained products (bio-oil and bio-char) using various analytical techniques suggested that RSC with WPS can be considered as a suitable feedstock for the production of value added chemicals including fuel.