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  1. Liew RK, Azwar E, Yek PNY, Lim XY, Cheng CK, Ng JH, et al.
    Bioresour Technol, 2018 Oct;266:1-10.
    PMID: 29936405 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2018.06.051
    A micro-mesoporous activated carbon (AC) was produced via an innovative approach combining microwave pyrolysis and chemical activation using NaOH/KOH mixture. The pyrolysis was examined over different chemical impregnation ratio, microwave power, microwave irradiation time and types of activating agents for the yield, chemical composition, and porous characteristic of the AC obtained. The AC was then tested for its feasibility as textile dye adsorbent. About 29 wt% yield of AC was obtained from the banana peel with low ash and moisture (<5 wt%), and showed a micro-mesoporous structure with high BET surface area (≤1038 m2/g) and pore volume (≤0.80 cm3/g), indicating that it can be utilized as adsorbent to remove dye. Up to 90% adsorption of malachite green dye was achieved by the AC. Our results indicate that the microwave-activation approach represents a promising attempt to produce good quality AC for dye adsorption.
  2. Azwar E, Wan Mahari WA, Rastegari H, Tabatabaei M, Peng W, Tsang YF, et al.
    Bioresour Technol, 2022 Jan;344(Pt A):126202.
    PMID: 34710598 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2021.126202
    Rapid growth of aquatic weeds in treatment pond poses undesirable challenge to shellfish aquaculture, requiring the farmers to dispose these weeds on a regular basis. This article reviews the potential and application of various aquatic weeds for generation of biofuels using recent thermochemical technologies (torrefaction, hydrothermal carbonization/liquefaction, pyrolysis, gasification). The influence of key operational parameters for optimising the aquatic weed conversion efficiency was discussed, including the advantages, drawbacks and techno-economic aspects of the thermochemical technologies, and their viability for large-scale application. Via extensive study in small and large scale operation, and the economic benefits derived, pyrolysis is identified as a promising thermochemical technology for aquatic weed conversion. The perspectives, challenges and future directions in thermochemical conversion of aquatic weeds to biofuels were also reviewed. This review provides useful information to promote circular economy by integrating shellfish aquaculture with thermochemical biorefinery of aquatic weeds rather than disposing them in landfills.
  3. Lam SS, Wan Mahari WA, Ma NL, Azwar E, Kwon EE, Peng W, et al.
    Chemosphere, 2019 Sep;230:294-302.
    PMID: 31108440 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.05.054
    Used baby diaper consists of a combination of decomposable cellulose, non-biodegradable plastic materials (e.g. polyolefins) and super-absorbent polymer materials, thus making it difficult to be sorted and separated for recycling. Microwave pyrolysis was examined for its potential as an approach to transform used baby diapers into value-added products. Influence of the key operating parameters comprising process temperature and microwave power were investigated. The pyrolysis showed a rapid heating process (up to 43 °C/min of heating rate) and quick reaction time (20-40 min) in valorizing the used diapers to generate pyrolysis products comprising up to 43 wt% production of liquid oil, 29 wt% gases and 28 wt% char product. Microwave power and operating temperature were observed to have impacts on the heating rate, process time, production and characteristics of the liquid oil and solid char. The liquid oil contained alkanes, alkenes and esters that can potentially be used as chemical additives, cosmetic products and fuel. The solid char contained high carbon, low nitrogen and free of sulphur, thus showing potential for use as adsorbents and soil additives. These observations demonstrate that microwave pyrolysis has great prospect in transforming used baby diaper into liquid oil and char products that can be utilised in several applications.
  4. Ren T, Feng H, Xu C, Xu Q, Fu B, Azwar E, et al.
    Chemosphere, 2022 Jan 22;294:133710.
    PMID: 35074326 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.133710
    The usage of fertilizer with high nitrogen content in many countries, as well as its enormous surplus, has a negative impact on the soil ecological environment in agricultural system. This consumption of nitrogen fertilizer can be minimized by applying biochar to maintain the sufficient supply of nitrogen as nutrient to the near-root zone. This study investigated the effects of various amounts of biochar application (450, 900, 1350, and 1800 kg/hm2) and reduction of nitrogen fertilizer amount (10, 15, 20, and 25%) on the nutrients and microorganism community structure in rhizosphere growing tobacco plant. The microorganism community was found essential in improving nitrogen retention. Compared with conventional treatment, an application of biochar in rhizosphere soil increased the content of soil available phosphorus, organic matter and total nitrogen by 21.47%, 26.34%, and 9.52%, respectively. It also increased the abundance of microorganisms that are capable of degrading and utilizing organic matter and cellulose, such as Actinobacteria and Acidobacteria. The relative abundance of Chloroflexi was also increased by 49.67-78.61%, and the Acidobacteria increased by 14.79-39.13%. Overall, the application of biochar with reduced nitrogen fertilizer amount can regulate the rhizosphere microecological environment of tobacco plants and their microbial population structure, thereby promoting soil health for tobacco plant growth while reducing soil acidification and environmental pollution caused by excessive nitrogen fertilizer.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. Su MH, Azwar E, Yang Y, Sonne C, Yek PNY, Liew RK, et al.
    J Hazard Mater, 2020 Sep 05;396:122610.
    PMID: 32298865 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.122610
    This study examined an aquaponic approach of circulating water containing ammonia excretions from African catfish grown in an aquaculture tank for bacterial conversion into nitrates, which then acted as a nutrient substance to cultivate lettuce in hydroponic tank. We found that microwave pyrolysis biochar (450 g) having microporous (1.803 nm) and high BET surface area (419 m2/g) was suitable for use as biological carrier to grow nitrifying bacteria (63 g of biofilm mass) that treated the water quality through removing the ammonia (67%) and total suspended solids (68%), resulting in low concentration of remaining ammonia (0.42 mg/L) and total suspended solid (59.40 mg/L). It also increased the pH (6.8), converted the ammonia into nitrate (29.7 mg/L), and increased the nitrogen uptake by the lettuce (110 mg of nitrogen per plant), resulting in higher growth in lettuce (0.0562 %/day) while maintaining BOD5 level (3.94 mg/L) at acceptable level and 100% of catfish survival rate. Our results demonstrated that microwave pyrolysis biochar can be a promising solution for growing nitrifying bacteria in aquaponic system for simultaneous toxic ammonia remediation and generation of nitrate for growing vegetable in aquaculture industry.
  9. Wan Mahari WA, Azwar E, Li Y, Wang Y, Peng W, Ma NL, et al.
    Sci Total Environ, 2020 Nov 10;742:140681.
    PMID: 33167298 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140681
    The deforestation and burning of the Amazon and other rainforests is having a cascade of effects on global climate, biodiversity, human health and local and regional socioeconomics. This challenging situation demands a sustainable exploitation of the region's resources in accordance with the United Nations (UNs) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in order to meet Good Environmental Status and reduce poverty. The management of forests sustainability spans across at least eight of the 17 UN SDGs mainly to combat desertification, halt biodiversity loss, and reverse land degradation. Significant changes are needed if we are to sustain the world's rainforests and thereby the global climate and biodiversity. These measures and mitigations are of global responsibility requiring both developed and developing nations such as the United States, EU, and China to change their policies and stand regarding their high demand for meat and hardwood. When possible, non-profit tree-planting internet browsers should be implemented by governments and institutions. So far, there is a lack of active use of the UN SDGs and the countries must therefore need to fully adopt the UN SDGs in order to help the situation. One way to enforce this could be through imposing economic penalties to governments and national institutions that do not adhere to for example publishing open access of data and other important information relevant for the mission of the UN SDGs.
  10. Azwar E, Mahari WAW, Liew RK, Ramlee MZ, Verma M, Chong WWF, et al.
    Sci Total Environ, 2023 Mar 08;876:162673.
    PMID: 36894104 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162673
    Fast growing Kariba weed causes major problems and pollution on freshwater and shellfish aquaculture systems by interfering with nutrient uptake of crops, restricting sunlight penetration, and decreasing water quality due to massive biomass of Kariba weed remnants. Solvothermal liquefaction is considered an emerging thermochemical technique to convert waste into high yield of value-added products. Solvothermal liquefaction (STL) of Kariba weed as an emerging contaminant was performed to investigate the effects of different types of solvents (ethanol and methanol) and Kariba weed mass loadings (2.5-10 % w/v) on treating and reducing the weed via conversion into potentially useful crude oil product and char. Up to 92.53 % of Kariba weed has been reduced via this technique. The optimal conditions for crude oil production were found to be at 5 % w/v of mass loading in methanol medium, resulting in a high heating value (HHV) of 34.66 MJ/kg and yield of 20.86 wt%, whereas the biochar production was found to be optimum at 7.5 % w/v of mass loading in methanol medium, resulting in 29.92 MJ/kg of HHV and 25.38 wt% of yield. The crude oil consisted of beneficial chemical compounds for biofuel production such as hexadecanoic acid, methyl ester (65.02 peak area %) and the biochar showed high carbon content (72.83 %). In conclusion, STL as a remediation for emerging Kariba weed is a feasible process for shellfish aquaculture waste treatment and biofuels production.
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