Reduction of chemical oxygen demand and color from the rice mill wastewater by chitosan/2(5H)-furanone-incorporated ultrafiltration membrane system

Chitin and chitosan from shellfish waste and their applications in agriculture and biotechnology industries

A shellfish processing plant generates only 30-40% of edible meat, while 70-60% of portions are considered inedible or by-products. This large amount of byproduct or shellfish processing waste contains 20-40% chitin, that can be extracted using chemical or greener alternative extraction technologies. Chitin and its derivative (chitosan) are natural polysaccharides with nontoxicity, biocompatible, and biodegradable properties. Due to their versatile physicochemical, mechanical, and various bioactivities, these compounds find applications in various industries, including: biomedical, dental, cosmetics, food, textiles, agriculture, and biotechnology. In the agricultural sector, these compounds have been reported to promote: plant growth, plant defense system, slow release of nutrients in fertilizer, plant nutrition, and remediate soil conditions, etc. Whereas, biotechnology applications indicated: enhanced enzyme stability and efficacy, water purification and remediation, application in fuel cells and supercapacitors for energy conversion, acting as a catalyst in chemical synthesis, etc. This review provides a comprehensive discussion on the utilization of these biopolymers in agriculture (fertilizer, seed coating, soil treatment, and bioremediation) and biotechnology (enzyme immobilization, energy conversion, wastewater treatment, and chemical synthesis). Additionally, various extraction techniques including conventional and non-thermal techniques have been reported. Lastly, concluding remarks and future direction have been provided.

Comprehensive review of industrial wastewater treatment techniques

Water is an indispensable resource for human activity and the environment. Industrial activities generate vast quantities of wastewater that may be heavily polluted or contain toxic contaminants, posing environmental and public health challenges. Different industries generate wastewater with widely varying characteristics, such as the quantity generated, concentration, and pollutant type. It is essential to understand these characteristics to select available treatment techniques for implementation in wastewater treatment facilities to promote sustainable water usage. This review article provides an overview of wastewaters generated by various industries and commonly applied treatment techniques. The characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages of physical, chemical, and biological treatment methods are presented.

Efficient removal of anionic, cationic textile dyes and salt mixture using a novel CS/MIL-100 (Fe) based nanofiltration membrane

The purification of hazardous textile dyeing wastewater has exhibited many challenges because it consists of a complex mixture, including dyestuff, additives, and salts. It is necessary to fabricate membranes with enhanced permeability, fouling resistance, stability, and superior dyes and salts removal from wastewater. Incorporating a highly water stable metal-organic framework (MOFs) into membranes would meet the requirements for the efficient purification of textile wastewater. In this study, nanofiltration (NF) membranes are fabricated by incorporating MIL-100 (Fe) into the chitosan (CS) through film casting technique. The effect of MIL-100 (Fe) loadings on chitosan characterized by FT-IR, XRD, contact angle measurement, FESEM-EDS, XPS, zeta potential, and surface roughness analysis. The membrane characterization confirmed the enhanced surface roughness, pore size, surface charge, and hydrophilicity. The CS/MIL-100 (Fe) membrane exhibited an improved pure water flux from 5 to 52 L/m²h as well as 99% rejection efficiency for cationic methylene blue (MB) and anionic methyl orange (MO). We obtained the rejection efficiency trend for the MB mixed salts in the order of MgSO₄ (Mg²⁺ - 51.6%, SO₄^2- - 52.5%) > Na₂SO₄ (Na⁺ - 26.3%, SO₄^2- - 29.3%) > CaCl₂ (Ca²⁺ - 21.4%, Cl^- - 23.8%) > NaCl (Na⁺ - 16.8%, Cl^- - 19.2%). In addition, the CS/MIL-100 (Fe) composite membrane showed excellent rejection efficiency and antifouling performances with high recycling stability. These stunning results evidenced that the CS/MIL-100 (Fe) nanofiltration membrane is a promising candidate for removing toxic pollutants in the textile dyeing wastewater.

Comprehensive review of water management and wastewater treatment in food processing industries in the framework of water-food-environment nexus

Food processing is among the greatest water-consuming industries with a significant role in the implementation of sustainable development goals. Water-consuming industries such as food processing have become a threat to limited freshwater resources, and numerous attempts are being carried out in order to develop and apply novel approaches for water management in these industries. Studies have shown the positive impact of the new methods of process integration (e.g., water pinch, mathematical optimization, etc.) in maximizing water reuse and recycle. Applying these methods in food processing industries not only significantly supported water consumption minimization but also contributed to environmental protection by reducing wastewater generation. The methods can also increase the productivity of these industries and direct them to sustainable production. This interconnection led to a new subcategory in nexus studies known as water-food-environment nexus. The nexus assures sustainable food production with minimum freshwater consumption and minimizes the environmental destructions caused by untreated wastewater discharge. The aim of this study was to provide a thorough review of water-food-environment nexus application in food processing industries and explore the nexus from different aspects. The current study explored the process of food industries in different sectors regarding water consumption and wastewater generation, both qualitatively and quantitatively. The most recent wastewater treatment methods carried out in different food processing sectors were also reviewed. This review provided a comprehensive literature for choosing the optimum scenario of water and wastewater management in food processing industries.

Agricultural and Biomedical Applications of Chitosan-Based Nanomaterials

Chitosan has emerged as a biodegradable, nontoxic polymer with multiple beneficial applications in the agricultural and biomedical sectors. As nanotechnology has evolved as a promising field, researchers have incorporated chitosan-based nanomaterials in a variety of products to enhance their efficacy and biocompatibility. Moreover, due to its inherent antimicrobial and chelating properties, and the availability of modifiable functional groups, chitosan nanoparticles were also directly used in a variety of applications. In this review, the use of chitosan-based nanomaterials in agricultural and biomedical fields related to the management of abiotic stress in plants, water availability for crops, controlling foodborne pathogens, and cancer photothermal therapy is discussed, with some insights into the possible mechanisms of action. Additionally, the toxicity arising from the accumulation of these nanomaterials in biological systems and future research avenues that had gained limited attention from the scientific community are discussed here. Overall, chitosan-based nanomaterials show promising characteristics for sustainable agricultural practices and effective healthcare in an eco-friendly manner.