Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 43 in total

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  1. Ranjbari M, Shams Esfandabadi Z, Shevchenko T, Chassagnon-Haned N, Peng W, Tabatabaei M, et al.
    J Hazard Mater, 2022 01 15;422:126724.
    PMID: 34399217 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.126724
    Improper healthcare waste (HCW) management poses significant risks to the environment, human health, and socio-economic sustainability due to the infectious and hazardous nature of HCW. This research aims at rendering a comprehensive landscape of the body of research on HCW management by (i) mapping the scientific development of HCW research, (ii) identifying the prominent HCW research themes and trends, and (iii) providing a research agenda for HCW management towards a circular economy (CE) transition and sustainable environment. The analysis revealed four dominant HCW research themes: (1) HCW minimization, sustainable management, and policy-making; (2) HCW incineration and its associated environmental impacts; (3) hazardous HCW management practices; and (4) HCW handling and occupational safety and training. The results showed that the healthcare industry, despite its potential to contribute to the CE transition, has been overlooked in the CE discourse due to the single-use mindset of the healthcare industry in the wake of the infectious, toxic, and hazardous nature of HCW streams. The findings shed light on the HCW management domain by uncovering the current status of HCW research, highlighting the existing gaps and challenges, and providing potential avenues for further research towards a CE transition in the healthcare industry and HCW management.
  2. Madadi M, Elsayed M, Sun F, Wang J, Karimi K, Song G, et al.
    Bioresour Technol, 2023 Mar;371:128591.
    PMID: 36627085 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2023.128591
    A new cutting-edge lignocellulose fractionation technology for the co-production of glucose, native-like lignin, and furfural was introduced using mannitol (MT)-assisted p-toluenesulfonic acid/pentanol pretreatment, as an eco-friendly process. The addition of optimized 5% MT in pretreatment enhanced the delignification rate by 29% and enlarged the surface area and biomass porosity by 1.07-1.80 folds. This increased the glucose yield by 45% (from 65.34 to 94.54%) after enzymatic hydrolysis relative to those without MT. The extracted lignin in the organic phase of pretreatment exhibited β-O-4 bonds (61.54/100 Ar) properties of native cellulosic enzyme lignin. Lignin characterization and molecular docking analyses revealed that the hydroxyl tails of MT were incorporated with lignin and formed etherified lignin, which preserved high lignin integrity. The solubilized hemicellulose (96%) in the liquid phase of pretreatment was converted into furfural with a yield of 83.99%. The MT-assisted pretreatment could contribute to a waste-free biorefinery pathway toward a circular bioeconomy.
  3. Ghorbani M, Kianmehr MH, Sarlaki E, Angelidaki I, Yang Y, Tabatabaei M, et al.
    Sci Total Environ, 2023 Sep 20;892:164526.
    PMID: 37257609 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164526
    The livestock industry needs to use crop straws that are highly digestible to improve feed productivity and reduce ruminal methane emissions. Hence, this study aimed to use the ozonation and pelleting processes to enhance the digestibility and reduce the ruminal methane emissions of wheat straw enriched with two nitrogen sources (i.e., urea and heat-processed broiler litter). Various analyses were conducted on the pellets, including digestibility indicators, mechanical properties, surface chemistry functionalization, chemical-spectral-structural features, and energy requirements. For comparison, loose forms of the samples were also analyzed. The nitrogen-enriched ozonated wheat straw pellets had 43.06 % lower lignin, 28.30 % higher gas production for 24 h, 12.28 % higher metabolizable energy, 13.78 % higher in vitro organic matter digestibility for 24 h, and 28.81 % higher short-chain fatty acid content than the nitrogen-enriched loose sample. The reduction of methane emissions by rumen microorganisms of nitrogen-enriched wheat straw by ozonation, pelleting, and ozonation-pelleting totaled 89.15 %, 23.35 %, and 66.98 %, respectively. The ozonation process resulted in a 64 % increase in the particle density, a 5.5-time increase in the tensile strength, and a 75 % increase in the crushing energy of nitrogen-enriched wheat straw. In addition, ozone treatment could also reduce the specific and thermal energy consumption required in the pelleting process by 15.10 % and 7.61 %, respectively.
  4. Kiehbadroudinezhad M, Hosseinzadeh-Bandbafha H, Karimi K, Madadi M, Chisti Y, Peng W, et al.
    Sci Total Environ, 2023 Nov 15;899:165751.
    PMID: 37499830 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165751
    Life cycle assessment was used to evaluate the environmental impacts of phytoplanktonic biofuels as possible sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels. Three scenarios were examined for converting planktonic biomass into higher-value commodities and energy streams using the alga Scenedesmus sp. and the cyanobacterium Arthrospira sp. as the species of interest. The first scenario (Sc-1) involved the production of biodiesel and glycerol from the planktonic biomass. In the second scenario (Sc-2), biodiesel and glycerol were generated from the planktonic biomass, and biogas was produced from the residual biomass. The process also involved using a catalyst derived from snail shells for biodiesel production. The third scenario (Sc-3) was similar to Sc-2 but converted CO2 from the biogas upgrading to methanol, which was then used in synthesizing biodiesel. The results indicated that Sc-2 and Sc-3 had a reduced potential (up to 60 % less) for damaging human health compared to Sc-1. Sc-2 and Sc-3 had up to 61 % less environmental impact than Sc-1. Sc-2 and Sc-3 reduced the total cumulative exergy demand by up to 44 % compared to Sc-1. In conclusion, producing chemicals and utilities within the biorefinery could significantly improve environmental sustainability, reduce waste, and diversify revenue streams.
  5. He Y, Kiehbadroudinezhad M, Hosseinzadeh-Bandbafha H, Gupta VK, Peng W, Lam SS, et al.
    Environ Pollut, 2024 Feb 01;342:123081.
    PMID: 38072018 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.123081
    E-waste, encompassing discarded materials from outdated electronic equipment, often ends up intermixed with municipal solid waste, leading to improper disposal through burial and incineration. This improper handling releases hazardous substances into water, soil, and air, posing significant risks to ecosystems and human health, ultimately entering the food chain and water supply. Formal e-waste recycling, guided by circular economy models and zero-discharge principles, offers potential solutions to this critical challenge. However, implementing a circular economy for e-waste management due to chemical and energy consumption may cause environmental impacts. Consequently, advanced sustainability assessment tools, such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), have been applied to investigate e-waste management strategies. While LCA is a standardized methodology, researchers have employed various routes for environmental assessment of different e-waste management methods. However, to the authors' knowledge, there lacks a comprehensive study focusing on LCA studies to discern the opportunities and limitations of this method in formal e-waste management strategies. Hence, this review aims to survey the existing literature on the LCA of e-waste management under a circular economy, shedding light on the current state of research, identifying research gaps, and proposing future research directions. It first explains various methods of managing e-waste in the circular economy. This review then evaluates and scrutinizes the LCA approach in implementing the circular bioeconomy for e-waste management. Finally, it proposes frameworks and procedures to enhance the applicability of the LCA method to future e-waste management research. The literature on the LCA of e-waste management reveals a wide variation in implementing LCA in formal e-waste management, resulting in diverse results and findings in this field. This paper underscores that LCA can pinpoint the environmental hotspots for various pathways of formal e-waste recycling, particularly focusing on metals. It can help address these concerns and achieve greater sustainability in e-waste recycling, especially in pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical pathways. The recovery of high-value metals is more environmentally justified compared to other metals. However, biometallurgical pathways remain limited in terms of environmental studies. Despite the potential for recycling e-waste into plastic or glass, there is a dearth of robust background in LCA studies within this sector. This review concludes that LCA can offer valuable insights for decision-making and policy processes on e-waste management, promoting environmentally sound e-waste recycling practices. However, the accuracy of LCA results in e-waste recycling, owing to data requirements, subjectivity, impact category weighting, and other factors, remains debatable, emphasizing the need for more uncertainty analysis in this field.
  6. Fardi Z, Shahbeik H, Nosrati M, Motamedian E, Tabatabaei M, Aghbashlo M
    Environ Res, 2024 Feb 01;242:117614.
    PMID: 37996005 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.117614
    Waste-to-energy conversion presents a pivotal strategy for mitigating the energy crisis and curbing environmental pollution. Pyrolysis is a widely embraced thermochemical approach for transforming waste into valuable energy resources. This study delves into the co-pyrolysis of terrestrial biomass (potato peel) and marine biomass (Sargassum angastifolium) to optimize the quantity and quality of the resultant bio-oil and biochar. Initially, thermogravimetric analysis was conducted at varying heating rates (5, 20, and 50 °C/min) to elucidate the thermal degradation behavior of individual samples. Subsequently, comprehensive analyses employing FTIR, XRD, XRF, BET, FE-SEM, and GC-MS were employed to assess the composition and morphology of pyrolysis products. Results demonstrated an augmented bio-oil yield in mixed samples, with the highest yield of 27.1 wt% attained in a composition comprising 75% potato peel and 25% Sargassum angastifolium. As confirmed by GC-MS analysis, mixed samples exhibited reduced acidity, particularly evident in the bio-oil produced from a 75% Sargassum angastifolium blend, which exhibited approximately half the original acidity. FTIR analysis revealed key functional groups on the biochar surface, including O-H, CO, and C-O moieties. XRD and XRF analyses indicated the presence of alkali and alkaline earth metals in the biochar, while BET analysis showed a surface area ranging from 0.64 to 1.60 m2/g. The favorable characteristics of the products highlight the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of co-pyrolyzing terrestrial and marine biomass for the generation of biofuels and value-added commodities.
  7. Madadi M, Liu D, Qin Y, Zhang Y, Karimi K, Tabatabaei M, et al.
    Bioresour Technol, 2023 Sep;384:129370.
    PMID: 37343805 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2023.129370
    This work aimed to study an integrated pretreatment technology employing p-toluenesulfonic acid (TsOH)-catalyzed liquid hot water (LHW) and short-time ball milling for the complete conversion of poplar biomass to xylooligosaccharides (XOS), glucose, and native-like lignin. The optimized TsOH-catalyzed LHW pretreatment solubilized 98.5% of hemicellulose at 160 °C for 40 min, releasing 49.8% XOS. Moreover, subsequent ball milling (20 min) maximized the enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose from 65.8% to 96.5%, owing to the reduced particle sizes and cellulose crystallinity index. The combined pretreatment reduced the crystallinity by 70.9% while enlarging the average pore size and pore volume of the substrate by 29.5% and 52.4%, respectively. The residual lignin after enzymatic hydrolysis was rich in β-O-4 linkages (55.7/100 Ar) with less condensed structures. This lignin exhibited excellent antioxidant activity (RSI of 66.22) and ultraviolet absorbance. Thus, this research suggested a sustainable waste-free biorefinery for the holistic valorization of biomass through two-step biomass fractionation.
  8. Song G, Sun C, Madadi M, Dou S, Yan J, Huan H, et al.
    Bioresour Technol, 2024 Mar;395:130358.
    PMID: 38253243 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2024.130358
    This study investigated an innovative strategy of incorporating surfactants into alkaline-catalyzed glycerol pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis to improve lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) conversion efficiency. Results revealed that adding 40 mg/g PEG 4000 to the pretreatment at 195 °C obtained the highest glucose yield (84.6%). This yield was comparable to that achieved without surfactants at a higher temperature (240 °C), indicating a reduction of 18.8% in the required heat input. Subsequently, Triton X-100 addition during enzymatic hydrolysis of PEG 4000-assisted pretreated substrate increased glucose yields to 92.1% at 6 FPU/g enzyme loading. High-solid fed-batch semi-simultaneous saccharification and co-fermentation using this dual surfactant strategy gave 56.4 g/L ethanol and a positive net energy gain of 1.4 MJ/kg. Significantly, dual assistance with surfactants rendered 56.3% enzyme cost savings compared to controls without surfactants. Therefore, the proposed surfactant dual-assisted promising approach opens the gateway to economically viable enzyme-mediated LCB biorefinery.
  9. Mahyari KF, Sun Q, Klemeš JJ, Aghbashlo M, Tabatabaei M, Khoshnevisan B, et al.
    Sci Total Environ, 2022 Sep 01;837:155829.
    PMID: 35561899 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155829
    The world has been grappling with the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic for more than a year. Various sectors have been affected by COVID-19 and its consequences. The waste management system is one of the sectors affected by such unpredictable pandemics. The experience of COVID-19 proved that adaptability to such pandemics and the post-pandemic era had become a necessity in waste management systems and this requires an accurate understanding of the challenges that have been arising. The accurate information and data from most countries severely affected by the pandemic are not still available to identify the key challenges during and post-COVID-19. The documented evidence from literature has been collected, and the attempt has been made to summarize the rising challenges and the lessons learned. This review covers all raised challenges concerning the various aspects of the waste management system from generation to final disposal (i.e., generation, storage, collection, transportation, processing, and burial of waste). The necessities and opportunities are recognized for increasing flexibility and adaptability in waste management systems. The four basic pillars are enumerated to adapt the waste management system to the COVID-19 pandemic and post-COVID-19 conditions. Striving to support and implement a circular economy is one of its basic strategies.
  10. Aghbashlo M, Tabatabaei M, Soltanian S, Ghanavati H, Dadak A
    Waste Manag, 2019 Mar 15;87:485-498.
    PMID: 31109549 DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2019.02.029
    A comprehensive exergoeconomic performance analysis of a municipal solid waste digestion plant integrated with a biogas genset was conducted throughout this study in order to highlight its bottlenecks for further improvements. Exergoeconomic performance parameters of each component of the plant were determined by solving exergy and cost balance equations based on Specific Exergy Costing (SPECO) approach. The analysis was conducted to reveal the cost structure of the plant based on actual operating information and economic data. The exergy unitary cost of two main products of the plant, i.e., bioelectricity and biofertilizer were determined at 26.27 and 2.27 USD/GJ, respectively. The genset showed the highest overall cost rate (101.27 USD/h) followed by digester (68.41 USD/h). Furthermore, the net bioelectricity amounted to 67.81% of the overall cost rate of the products, while this value was 32.19% for both liquid and dewatered digestates. According to the results obtained, efforts should mainly focus on enhancing the efficiency of the genset in order to boost the overall performance of the system exergoeconomically. In addition, minimizing the investment-related cost of the digester could also substantially enhance the exergoeconomic performance of the plant.
  11. Hosseinzadeh-Bandbafha H, Tabatabaei M, Aghbashlo M, Sulaiman A, Ghassemi A
    Methods Mol Biol, 2020;1980:121-151.
    PMID: 30838603 DOI: 10.1007/7651_2018_204
    Life-cycle assessment (LCA) is one of the most attractive tools employed nowadays by environmental policy-makers as well as business decision-makers to ensure environmentally sustainable production/consumption of various goods/services. LCA is a systematic, rigorous, and standardized approach aimed at quantifying resources consumed/depleted, pollutants released, and the related environmental and health impacts through the course of consumption and production of goods/service. Algal fuels are no exception and their environmental sustainability could be well scrutinized using the LCA methodology. In line with that, this chapter is devoted to present guidelines on the technical aspects of LCA application in algal fuels while elaborating on major standards used, i.e., ISO 14040 and 14044 standards. Overall, LCA practitioners as well as technical experts dealing with algal fuels in both the public and private sectors could be the main target audience for these guidelines.
  12. Kazemi Shariat Panahi H, Dehhaghi M, Lam SS, Peng W, Aghbashlo M, Tabatabaei M, et al.
    Semin Cancer Biol, 2022 Nov;86(Pt 3):1122-1142.
    PMID: 34004331 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcancer.2021.05.013
    Human livelihood highly depends on applying different sources of energy whose utilization is associated with air pollution. On the other hand, air pollution may be associated with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) development. Unlike other environmental causes of cancer (e.g., irradiation), air pollution cannot efficiently be controlled by geographical borders, regulations, and policies. The unavoidable exposure to air pollution can modify cancer incidence and mortality. GBM treatment with chemotherapy or even its surgical removal has proven insufficient (100% recurrence rate; patient's survival mean of 15 months; 90% fatality within five years) due to glioma infiltrative and migratory capacities. Given the barrage of attention and research investments currently plowed into next-generation cancer therapy, oncolytic viruses are perhaps the most vigorously pursued. Provision of an insight into the current state of the research and future direction is essential for stimulating new ideas with the potentials of filling research gaps. This review manuscript aims to overview types of brain cancer, their burden, and different causative agents. It also describes why air pollution is becoming a concerning factor. The different opinions on the association of air pollution with brain cancer are reviewed. It tries to address the significant controversy in this field by hypothesizing the air-pollution-brain-cancer association via inflammation and atopic conditions. The last section of this review deals with the oncolytic viruses, which have been used in, or are still under clinical trials for GBM treatment. Engineered adenoviruses (i.e., DNX-2401, DNX-2440, CRAd8-S-pk7 loaded Neural stem cells), herpes simplex virus type 1 (i.e., HSV-1 C134, HSV-1 rQNestin34.5v.2, HSV-1 G207, HSV-1 M032), measles virus (i.e., MV-CEA), parvovirus (i.e., ParvOryx), poliovirus (i.e., Poliovirus PVSRIPO), reovirus (i.e., pelareorep), moloney murine leukemia virus (i.e., Toca 511 vector), and vaccinia virus (i.e., vaccinia virus TG6002) as possible life-changing alleviations for GBM have been discussed. To the best of our knowledge, this review is the first review that comprehensively discusses both (i) the negative/positive association of air pollution with GBM; and (ii) the application of oncolytic viruses for GBM, including the most recent advances and clinical trials. It is also the first review that addresses the controversies over air pollution and brain cancer association. We believe that the article will significantly appeal to a broad readership of virologists, oncologists, neurologists, environmentalists, and those who work in the field of (bio)energy. Policymakers may also use it to establish better health policies and regulations about air pollution and (bio)fuels exploration, production, and consumption.
  13. Khounani Z, Hosseinzadeh-Bandbafha H, Nazemi F, Shaeifi M, Karimi K, Tabatabaei M, et al.
    J Environ Manage, 2021 Feb 01;279:111822.
    PMID: 33348185 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111822
    The huge amount of agro-wastes generated due to expanding agricultural activities can potentially cause serious environmental and human health problems. Using the biorefinery concept, all parts of agricultural plants can be converted into multiple value-added bioproducts while reducing waste generation. This approach can be viewed as an effective strategy in developing and realizing a circular bioeconomy by accomplishing the dual goals of waste mitigation and energy recovery. However, the sustainability issue of biorefineries should still be thoroughly scrutinized using comprehensive resource accounting methods such as exergy-based approaches. In light of that, this study aims to conduct a detailed exergy analysis of whole-crop safflower biorefinery consisting of six units, i.e., straw handling, biomass pretreatment, bioethanol production, wastewater treatment, oil extraction, and biodiesel production. The analysis is carried out to find the major exergy sink in the developed biorefinery and discover the bottlenecks for further performance improvements. Overall, the wastewater treatment unit exhibits to be the major exergy sink, amounting to over 70% of the total thermodynamic irreversibility of the process. The biomass pretreatment and bioethanol production units account for 12.4 and 10.3% of the total thermodynamic inefficiencies of the process, respectively. The exergy rates associated with bioethanol, biodiesel, lignin, biogas, liquid digestate, seed cake, sodium sulfate, and glycerol are determined to be 5918.5, 16516.8, 10778.9, 1741.4, 6271.5, 15755.8, 3.4, and 823.5 kW, respectively. The overall exergetic efficiency of the system stands at 72.7%, demonstrating the adequacy of the developed biorefinery from the thermodynamic perspective.
  14. Atarod P, Khlaife E, Aghbashlo M, Tabatabaei M, Hoang AT, Mobli H, et al.
    J Hazard Mater, 2021 04 05;407:124369.
    PMID: 33160782 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.124369
    This study was set up to model and optimize the performance and emission characteristics of a diesel engine fueled with carbon nanoparticle-dosed water/‎diesel emulsion fuel using a combination of soft computing techniques. Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system tuned by particle ‎swarm algorithm was used for modeling the performance and emission parameters of the engine, while optimization of the engine operating parameters and the fuel composition was conducted via multiple-objective particle ‎swarm algorithm. The model input variables were: injection timing (35-41° CA BTDC), engine load (0-100%), nanoparticle dosage (0-150 μM), and water content (0-3 wt%). The model output variables included: brake specific fuel consumption, brake thermal efficiency, as well as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and unburned hydrocarbons emission concentrations. The training and testing of the modeling system were performed on the basis of 60 data patterns obtained from the experimental trials. The effects of input variables on the performance and emission characteristics of the engine were thoroughly analyzed and comprehensively discussed as well. According to the experimental results, injection timing and engine load could significantly affect all the investigated performance and emission parameters. Water and nanoparticle addition to diesel could markedly affect some performance and emission parameters. The modeling system could predict the output parameters with an R2 > 0.93, MSE 
  15. Sarlaki E, Kermani AM, Kianmehr MH, Asefpour Vakilian K, Hosseinzadeh-Bandbafha H, Ma NL, et al.
    Environ Pollut, 2021 Sep 15;285:117412.
    PMID: 34051566 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117412
    The use of agro-biowaste compost fertilizers in agriculture is beneficial from technical, financial, and environmental perspectives. Nevertheless, the physical, mechanical, and agronomical attributes of agro-biowaste compost fertilizers should be engineered to reduce their storage, handling, and utilization costs and environmental impacts. Pelletizing and drying are promising techniques to achieve these goals. In the present work, the effects of process parameters, including compost particle size/moisture content, pelletizing compression ratio, and drying air temperature/velocity, were investigated on the density, specific crushing energy, and moisture diffusion of agro-biowaste compost pellet. The Taguchi technique was applied to understand the effects of independent parameters on the output responses, while the optimal pellet properties were found using the iterative thresholding method. The soil and plant (sweet basil) response to the optimal biocompost pellet was experimentally evaluated. The farm application of the optimal pellet was also compared with the untreated agro-biowaste compost using the life cycle assessment approach to investigate the potential environmental impact mitigation of the pelletizing and drying processes. Generally, the compost moisture content was the most influential factor on the density and specific crushing energy of the dried pellet, while the moisture diffusion of the wet pellet during the drying process was significantly influenced by the pelletizing compression ratio. The density, specific crushing energy, and moisture diffusion of agro-biowaste compost pellet at the optimal conditions were 1242.49 kg/m3, 0.5054 MJ/t, and 8.2 × 10-8 m2/s, respectively. The optimal biocompost pellet could release 80% of its nitrogen content evenly over 98 days, while this value was 28 days for the chemical urea fertilizer. Besides, the optimal pellet could significantly improve the agronomical attributes of the sweet basil plant compared with the untreated biocompost. The applied strategy could collectively mitigate the weighted environmental impact of farm application of the agro-biowaste compost by more than 63%. This reduction could be attributed to the fact that the pelletizing-drying processes could avoid methane emissions from the untreated agro-biowaste compost during the farm application. Overall, pelletizing-drying of the agro-biowaste compost could be regarded as a promising strategy to improve the environmental and agronomical performance of farm application of organic biofertilizers.
  16. Yek PNY, Peng W, Wong CC, Liew RK, Ho YL, Wan Mahari WA, et al.
    J Hazard Mater, 2020 08 05;395:122636.
    PMID: 32298946 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.122636
    We developed an innovative single-step pyrolysis approach that combines microwave heating and activation by CO2 or steam to transform orange peel waste (OPW) into microwave activated biochar (MAB). This involves carbonization and activation simultaneously under an inert environment. Using CO2 demonstrates dual functions in this approach, acting as purging gas to provide an inert environment for pyrolysis while activating highly porous MAB. This approach demonstrates rapid heating rate (15-120 °C/min), higher temperature (> 800 °C) and shorter process time (15 min) compared to conventional method using furnace (> 1 h). The MAB shows higher mass yield (31-44 wt %), high content of fixed carbon (58.6-61.2 wt %), Brunauer Emmett Teller (BET) surface area (158.5-305.1 m2/g), low ratio of H/C (0.3) and O/C (0.2). Activation with CO2 produces more micropores than using steam that generates more mesopores. Steam-activated MAB records a higher adsorption efficiency (136 mg/g) compared to CO2 activation (91 mg/g), achieving 89-93 % removal of Congo Red dye. The microwave pyrolysis coupled with steam or CO2 activation thereby represents a promising approach to transform fruit-peel waste to microwave-activated biochar that remove hazardous dye.
  17. Yek PNY, Wan Mahari WA, Kong SH, Foong SY, Peng W, Ting H, et al.
    Bioresour Technol, 2022 Mar;347:126687.
    PMID: 35007740 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.126687
    Thermal co-processing of lignocellulosic and aquatic biomass, such as algae and shellfish waste, has shown synergistic effects in producing value-added energy products with higher process efficiency than the traditional method, highlighting the importance of scaling up to pilot-scale operations. This article discusses the design and operation of pilot-scale reactors for torrefaction, pyrolysis, and gasification, as well as the key parameters of co-processing biomass into targeted and improved quality products for use as fuel, agricultural application, and environmental remediation. Techno-economic analysis reveals that end product selling price, market dynamics, government policies, and biomass cost are crucial factors influencing the sustainability of thermal co-processing as a feasible approach to utilize the biomass. Because of its simplicity, pyrolysis allows greater energy recovery, while gasification has the highest net present value (profitability). Integration of liquefaction, hydrothermal, and fermentation pre-treatment technology has the potential to increase energy efficiency while reducing process residues.
  18. Lu L, Fan W, Meng X, Xue L, Ge S, Wang C, et al.
    Sci Total Environ, 2023 Jan 15;856(Pt 1):158798.
    PMID: 36116663 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.158798
    The rapid development of the textile industry and improvement of people's living standards have led to the production of cotton textile and simultaneously increased the production of textile wastes. Cotton is one of the most common textile materials, and the waste cotton accounts for 24% of the total textile waste. To effectively manage the waste, recycling and reusing waste cotton are common practices to reduce global waste production. This paper summarizes the characteristics of waste cotton and high-value products derived from waste cotton (e.g., yarns, composite reinforcements, regenerated cellulose fibers, cellulose nanocrystals, adsorptive materials, flexible electronic devices, and biofuels) via mechanical, chemical, and biological recycling methods. The advantages and disadvantages of making high-value products from waste cotton are summarized and discussed. New technologies and products for recycling waste cotton are proposed, providing a guideline and direction for merchants and researchers. This review paper can shed light on converting textile wastes other than cotton (e.g., bast, silk, wool, and synthetic fibers) into value-added products.
  19. Wan Mahari WA, Waiho K, Azwar E, Fazhan H, Peng W, Ishak SD, et al.
    Chemosphere, 2022 Feb;288(Pt 2):132559.
    PMID: 34655643 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.132559
    Global production of shellfish aquaculture is steadily increasing owing to the growing market demands for shellfish. The intensification of shellfish aquaculture to maximize production rate has led to increased generation of aquaculture waste streams, particularly the effluents and shellfish wastes. If not effectively managed, these wastes could pose serious threats to human health and the ecosystem while compromising the overall sustainability of the industry. The present work comprehensively reviews the source, composition, and environmental implications of shellfish wastes and aquaculture wastewater. Moreover, recent advancements in the valorization of shellfish wastes into value-added biochar via emerging thermochemical and modification techniques are scrutinized. The utilization of the produced biochar in removing emerging pollutants from aquaculture wastewater is also discussed. It was revealed that shellfish waste-derived biochar exhibits relatively higher adsorption capacities (300-1500 mg/g) compared to lignocellulose biochar (<200 mg/g). The shellfish waste-derived biochar can be effectively employed for the removal of various contaminants such as antibiotics, heavy metals, and excessive nutrients from aquaculture wastewater. Finally, future research priorities and challenges faced to improve the sustainability of the shellfish aquaculture industry to effectively support global food security are elaborated. This review envisages that future studies should focus on the biorefinery concept to extract more useful compounds (e.g., carotenoid, chitin) from shellfish wastes for promoting environmental-friendly aquaculture.
  20. Azwar E, Chan DJC, Kasan NA, Rastegari H, Yang Y, Sonne C, et al.
    J Hazard Mater, 2022 02 15;424(Pt A):127329.
    PMID: 34601414 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.127329
    Aquatic weeds pose hazards to aquatic ecosystems and particularly the aquatic environment in shellfish aquaculture due to its excessive growth covering entire freshwater bodies, leading to environmental pollution particularly eutrophication intensification, water quality depletion and aquatic organism fatality. In this study, pyrolysis of six aquatic weed types (wild and cultured species of Salvinia sp., Lemna sp. and Spirodella sp.) were investigated to evaluate its potential to reduce and convert the weeds into value-added chemicals. The aquatic weeds demonstrated high fixed carbon (8.7-47.3 wt%), volatile matter content (39.0-76.9 wt%), H/C ratio (1.5-2.0) and higher heating value (6.6-18.8 MJ/kg), representing desirable physicochemical properties for conversion into biofuels. Kinetic analysis via Coats-Redfern integral method obtained different orders for chemical reaction mechanisms (n = 1, 1.5, 2, 3), activation energy (55.94-209.41 kJ/mol) and pre-exponential factor (4.08 × 104-4.20 × 1017 s-1) at different reaction zones (zone 1: 150-268 °C, zone 2: 268-409 °C, zone 3: 409-600 °C). The results provide useful information for design and optimization of the pyrolysis reactor and establishment of the process condition to dispose this environmentally harmful species.
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