Electrospun nanofibrous membrane for filtration of coconut neera

Fabrication of spirulina based activated carbons for wastewater treatment

The lack of safe drinking water is among the main problems to be faced by many areas of the world due to climate change, unrestrained population increases, and unsustainable usage of water sources. Therefore, research projects focusing on water quality, pollution, and control for sustainable water sources are in high demand to manage any unexpected changes in water sources. Drinking water sources may be contaminated with organic and inorganic chemicals, disinfection by-products, and microorganisms. Different treatment processes to remove these contaminants from water may be limited because of their high costs and time-consuming or require a multiple-barrier approach to improving performance. Therefore, there is a great need to develop an effective process for removing impurities. The primary objective of this study is to assess the effectiveness of algae-based activated carbons and develop a unique, low-cost sustainable process for wastewater treatment. Activated carbons were produced from pelletised algae powder using carbonisation and chemical activation. Chemical activation was carried out with calcium chloride (CaCl2) and zinc chloride (ZnCl2) as chemical agents. Furthermore, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) along with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques were used to analyse the morphology, surface area, as well as the porosity of the prepared activated carbons to build a water column filter. Based on the results, algae-based carbon with CaCl2 activation provided a better surface area (197.7486 m2/g) and cumulative pore volume (0.105284 cm3/g). The filtration process using algae-based activated carbon can be a promising technique for water treatment with some further improvement and modifications.

Encapsulation of Natural Bioactive Compounds by Electrospinning-Applications in Food Storage and Safety

Packaging is used to protect foods from environmental influences and microbial contamination to maintain the quality and safety of commercial food products, to avoid their spoilage and to extend their shelf life. In this respect, bioactive packaging is developing to additionally provides antibacterial and antioxidant activity with the same goals i.e., extending the shelf life while ensuring safety of the food products. New solutions are designed using natural antimicrobial and antioxidant agents such as essential oils, some polysaccharides, natural inorganic nanoparticles (nanoclays, oxides, metals as silver) incorporated/encapsulated into appropriate carriers in order to be used in food packaging. Electrospinning/electrospraying are receiving attention as encapsulation methods due to their cost-effectiveness, versatility and scalability. The electrospun nanofibers and electro-sprayed nanoparticles can preserve the functionality and protect the encapsulated bioactive compounds (BC). In this review are summarized recent results regarding applications of nanostructured suitable materials containing essential oils for food safety.