Electrocoagulation treatment of black liquor from soda-AQ pulping of wheat straw

Electrocoagulation using Ti/Ti for the remediation and reuse of aqueous Dispersive Blue-79

The entire ecology is contaminated by the synthetic dyes that are widely utilised in the textile industries. They can be handled using a variety of technologies, but an eco-friendly method called electrocoagulation has been used to prevent additional contamination. Textile wastewater containing disperse dyes are successfully treated in Electrocoagulation (EC) utilizing Al, Fe, and Stainless Steel (SS), but it is not cost effective, also the treated water contains certain mg/L of the metals used, along with dye components, which obstructs the reuse of the same. The effects of initial pH, applied voltage, dye concentration, supporting electrolyte, and treatment time on the colour removal efficiency (CRE) and consumption of energy were examined in EC process followed by activated charcoal filtration (hybrid process) with a monopolar Ti/Ti electrode on the remediation of aqueous solution of Dispersive Blue-79 (dye 3G). The maximum CREobtained was 99.4%, chemical oxygen demand (COD) 93%, and biological oxygen demand (BOD) 85%, under the following optimized operating conditions, applied voltage 15 V, pH = 7, concentration of dye, electrolyte 110 mg/L, 0.2 g/L and time = 15 min. The overall operating cost for the treatment of aqueous dye 3G was 0.455US/m3. The mechanism of EC was studied using XPS analysis in the sludge obtained. For the purpose of the reuse, FTIR, AAS, and ICP-OES analysis were done and compared with the aqueous dye 3G, after EC and hybrid process to ensure the maximum removal of the degraded dye components and metal. ICP-OES results showed that there were no traces of metal in the treated aqueous dye 3G using this method. Throughout the study, the experimental outcomes indicated that the hybrid process upgraded the quality of the treated aqueous dye 3G.

Effect of Hot-Pressing Temperature on Characteristics of Straw-Based Binderless Fiberboards with Pulping Effluent

This study aimed to improve straw-based fiberboard properties without resins by adding pulping effluent as well as to investigate the difference among boards under variable hot-pressing temperatures. The characterization of fiberboards produced from wheat straw under pressing temperatures ranging from 160 to 200 °C was first described. The surface appearance, surface chemistry, thermal transitions, and mechanical performance of the boards were evaluated to investigate the effect of varying hot-pressing temperature. The results indicated that the surface color of boards became darker when the temperature was above 190 °C. Additionally, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) measurements showed that more low-molecular constituents and hydrogen bonds were produced under higher pressing temperatures. Furthermore, the physical and mechanical property data were analyzed statistically using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey's tests (α = 0.05). The results demonstrated that straw-based fiberboards with effluent under 190 °C exhibited superior strength and water resistance capacities, and showed great potential in commercial decorating and packaging applications.

Environmental performance of straw-based pulp making: A life cycle perspective

Agricultural straw-based pulp making plays a vital role in pulp and paper industry, especially in forest deficient countries such as China. However, the environmental performance of straw-based pulp has scarcely been studied. A life cycle assessment on wheat straw-based pulp making in China was conducted to fill of the gaps in comprehensive environmental assessments of agricultural straw-based pulp making. On average, the global warming potential (GWP), GWP excluding biogenic carbon, acidification potential and eutrophication potential of wheat straw based pulp making are 2299kg CO₂-eq, 4550kg CO₂-eq, 16.43kg SO₂-eq and 2.56kg Phosphate-eq respectively. The dominant factors contributing to environmental impacts are coal consumption, electricity consumption, and chemical (NaOH, ClO₂) input. Chemical input decrease and energy recovery increase reduce the total environmental impacts dramatically. Compared with wood-based and recycled pulp making, wheat straw-based pulp making has higher environmental impacts, which are mainly due to higher energy and chemical requirements. However, the environmental impacts of wheat straw-based pulp making are lower than hemp and flax based pulp making from previous studies. It is also noteworthy that biogenic carbon emission is significant in bio industries. If carbon sequestration is taken into account in pulp making industry, wheat straw-based pulp making is a net emitter rather than a net absorber of carbon dioxide. Since wheat straw-based pulp making provides an alternative for agricultural residue management, its evaluation framework should be expanded to further reveal its environmental benefits.