Green Waste-Derived Substances Immobilized on SBA-15 Silica: Surface Properties, Adsorbing and Photosensitizing Activities towards Organic and Inorganic Substrates

Systematic literature review of solar-powered landfill leachate sanitation: Challenges and research directions over the past decade

Researchers have documented the negative effects of refractory chemicals and emergent pollutants in landfill leachate (LL) that cannot be degraded using conventional methods. The propagation, invasion, and deleterious effects of several LL hazards affect aquatic species, the environment, and food outlets, causing significant safety issues. These include cancer risks, chronic exposure, and reproductive consequences. Alternatively, solar energy is a sustainable solution for treating landfill leachate to benefit humans and the environment. In this work, a thorough bibliometric and systematic analysis of studies that employed solar energy for landfill leachate remediation over the past decade was conducted in order to determine trends, and future research areas. In addition to the energy demand, the economic aspect and the advantages of using solar power to treat landfill leachate were discussed. Additionally, the study gives specific suggestions for future research purposes and important problems. The reviewed literature revealed that combining solar-based physical-chemical and biological processes has proven to be the most efficient method for landfill leachate degradation. It also appears from the bibliometric study that more collaboration and contribution are needed to develop solar-based landfill leachate treatment. This study concludes that solar-powered landfill leachate remediation techniques would considerably increase the effectiveness of treated leachate reutilization, advancing the cause of environmental sustainability.

Removal of nutrients from pulp and paper biorefinery effluent: Operation, kinetic modelling and optimization by response surface methodology

This study investigated the effectiveness of extended aeration system (EAS) and rice straw activated carbon-extended aeration system (RAC-EAS) in the treatment of pulp and paper biorefinery effluent (PPBE). RAC-EAS focused on the efficient utilization of lignocellulosic biomass waste (rice straw) as a biosorbent in the treatment process. The experiment was designed by response surface methodology (RSM) and conducted using a bioreactor that operated at 1-3 days hydraulic retention times (HRT) with PPBE concentrations at 20, 60 and 100%. The bioreactor was fed with real PPBE having initial ammonia-N and total phosphorus (TP) concentrations that varied between 11.74 and 59.02 mg/L and 31-161 mg/L, respectively. Findings from the optimized approach by RSM indicated 84.51% and 91.71% ammonia-N and 77.62% and 84.64% total phosphorus reduction in concentration for EAS and RAC-EAS, respectively, with high nitrification rate observed in both bioreactors. Kinetic model optimization indicated that modified stover models was the best suited and were statistically significant (R² ≥ 0.98) in the analysis of substrate removal rates for ammonia-N and total phosphorus. Maximum nutrients elimination was attained at 60% PPBE and 48 h HRT. Therefore, the model can be utilized in the design and optimization of EAS and RAC-EAS systems and consequently in the prediction of bioreactor behavior.

A Systematic Literature Review on Waste-to-Resource Potential of Palm Oil Clinker for Sustainable Engineering and Environmental Applications

Several agro-waste materials have been utilized for sustainable engineering and environmental application over the past decades, showing different degrees of effectiveness. However, information concerning the wider use of palm oil clinker (POC) and its performance is still lacking. Therefore, as a solid waste byproduct produced in one of the oil palm processing stages, generating a huge quantity of waste mostly dumped into the landfill, the waste-to-resource potential of POC should be thoroughly discussed in a review. Thus, this paper provides a systematic review of the current research articles on the several advances made from 2005 to 2021 regarding palm oil clinker physical properties and performances, with a particular emphasis on their commitments to cost savings during environmental and engineering applications. The review begins by identifying the potential of POC application in conventional and geopolymer structural elements such as beams, slabs, and columns made of concrete, mortar, or paste for coarse aggregates, sand, and cement replacement. Aspects such as performance of POC in wastewater treatment processes, fine aggregate and cement replacement in asphaltic and bituminous mixtures during highway construction, a bio-filler in coatings for steel manufacturing processes, and a catalyst during energy generation are also discussed. This review further describes the effectiveness of POC in soil stabilization and the effect of POC pretreatment for performance enhancement. The present review can inspire researchers to find research gaps that will aid the sustainable use of agroindustry wastes. The fundamental knowledge contained in this review can also serve as a wake-up call for researchers that will motivate them to explore the high potential of utilizing POC for greater environmental benefits associated with less cost when compared with conventional materials.

The "Lab4treat" Outreach Experience: Preparation of Sustainable Magnetic Nanomaterials for Remediation of Model Wastewater

The Lab4treat experience has been developed to demonstrate the use of magnetic materials in environmental applications. It was projected in the frame of the European project Mat4Treat, and it was tested several times in front of different audiences ranging from school students to the general public in training and/or divulgation events. The experience lends itself to discuss several aspects of actuality, physics and chemistry, which can be explained by modulating the discussion depth level, in order to meet the interests of younger or more experienced people and expand their knowledge. The topic is relevant, dealing with the recycling of urban waste and water depollution. The paper is placed within the field of water treatment for contaminant removal; therefore, a rich collection of recent (and less recent) papers dealing with magnetic materials and environmental issues is described in the Introduction section. In addition, the paper contains a detailed description of the experiment and a list of the possible topics which can be developed during the activity. The experimental approach makes the comprehension of scientific phenomena effective, and, from this perspective, the paper can be considered to be an example of interactive teaching.

Lignocellulose Biomass as a Multifunctional Tool for Sustainable Catalysis and Chemicals: An Overview

Today, the theme of environmental preservation plays an important role within the activities of the scientific community and influences the choices of politics and the common population. In this context, the use of non-fossil substances should be promoted for different reasons: to avoid the depletion and damage of the areas involved in the fossil fuel extraction, decrease the impact of emissions/by-products related to the industrial transformation of fossil-based products and possibly exploit residual biomasses as sources of carbon. This latter aspect also can be viewed as a way to revalorize lignocellulose waste, generally destined to dump as putrescible matter or to be incinerated. In this review, we are aiming to present a concise overview of the multiple functions of lignocellulose biomass in the broad field of catalysis for a sustainable development. The originality of the approach is considering the lignocellulose-derived matter in three different aspects: (i) as a precursor to convert into platform molecules, (ii) as an active material (i.e., humic-like substances as photosensitizers) and (iii) as a green support for catalytic applications. We find that this perspective can widen the awareness level of scientists involved in the catalysis field for the exploitation of residual biomass as a valuable and complementary resource.

Waste Cleaning Waste: Combining Alginate with Biowaste-Derived Substances in Hydrogels and Films for Water Cleanup

Biowaste-derived substances isolated from green compost (BBS-GC) are environmentally friendly reactants similar to humic substances, which contain multiple functionalities, that are suitable for adsorbing different kinds of pollutants in wastewater. Herein, sodium alginate (derived from brown algae) cross-linked with both Ca2+ ions and BBS-GC in the form of hydrogels and dried films are proposed as green, easy-to-form, and handleable materials for tertiary water treatments. The results show that both hydrogels and films are mechanically stable and can effectively remove differently charged dyes through an adsorption mechanism that can be described by the Freundlich model. BBS-GC-containing gels always performed better than samples prepared without BBS-GC, revealing that such unconventional materials can integrate waste valorization and water decontamination, potentially providing social and environmental benefits.

A Way to Close the Loop: Physicochemical and Adsorbing Properties of Soybean Hulls Recovered After Soybean Peroxidase Extraction

Soybean hulls are one of the by-products of soybean crushing and find application mainly in the animal feed sector. Nevertheless, soybean hulls have been already exploited as source of peroxidase (soybean peroxidase, SBP), an enzyme adopted in a wide range of applications such as bioremediation and wastewater treatment, biocatalysis, diagnostic tests, therapeutics and biosensors. In this work, the soybean hulls after the SBP extraction, destined to become a putrescible waste, were recovered and employed as adsorbents for water remediation due to their cellulose-based composition. They were studied from a physicochemical point of view using different characterization techniques and applied for the adsorption of five inorganic ions [Fe(III), Al(III), Cr(III), Ni(II), and Mn(II)] in different aqueous matrixes. The behavior of the exhausted soybean hulls was compared to pristine hulls, demonstrating better performances as pollutant adsorbents despite significant changes in their features, especially in terms of surface morphology, charge and composition. Overall, this work evidences that these kinds of double-recovered scraps are an effective and sustainable alternative for metal contaminants removal from water.

Behavior of Muscle-Derived Stem Cells on Silica Nanostructured Substrates

The aim of the present work was to evaluate the responses of rat muscle-derived stem cells (rMDSCs) to growth on silica nanostructured substrates (SN) with nanoscale topographic surfaces. SN of different sizes (SN-60, SN-150, SN-300, SN-500, and SN-700) were prepared using silica nanoparticles with sizes of 60-700 nm. The prepared SN showed roughness at the nanoscale level. The total number of adherent cells on SN increased with increasing nanoscale level and incubation time. The rMDSCs attached to SN-500 and SN-700 were extensively flattened, whereas those grown on SN-60, SN-150, and SN-300 were more rounded. The rank order of the cell length and height of attached rMDSCs at 5 d on different surfaces was SN-60 ≈ SN-150 >> SN-300 > SN-500 > SN-700 > glass. Compared with rMDSCs grown on SN-60, SN-150, or SN-300, those attached to SN-500 and SN-700 exhibited a distinct morphology with filopodial extensions and stronger expression of focal adhesion, integrin, and actin. An evaluation of the gene expression of adhered rMDSCs showed that rMDSCs grown on SN-300 exhibited a higher environmental stress response than those grown on glass or SN-700. Collectively, our data provide fundamental insight into the cellular response and gene expression of rMDSCs grown on nanostructured substrates.

Simultaneous Catalysis of Sulfite Oxidation and Uptake of Heavy Metals by Bifunctional Activated Carbon Fiber in Magnesia Desulfurization

Sulfite and heavy metals are crucial pollutants in the slurry produced by flue gas desulfurization. In this study, a novel cobalt-based activated carbon fiber (Co-ACFs) catalyst-adsorbent was synthesized using an impregnation method; this bifunctional catalyst-adsorbent was used in wet magnesia desulfurization for the simultaneous catalytic oxidation of magnesium sulfite and uptake of heavy metal (Hg2+, Cd2+, and Ni2+) ions. The morphology and surface chemistry of ACFs before and after cobalt loading were investigated using various characterization methods. The kinetics on catalytic oxidation of magnesium sulfite was investigated, and the effects of operation conditions on the simultaneous adsorption capacity of heavy metals were examined. Relative to a non-catalysis material, the 40% Co-ACFs material increased the oxidation rate of magnesium sulfite by more than five times. The Langmuir model can describe the adsorption behavior of Co-ACFs on Hg2+, Cd2+, and Ni2+, indicating that the simultaneous uptake of heavy metals is a single-layer adsorption process. The maximum adsorption capacities for Hg2+, Cd2+, and Ni2+ are 333.3, 500, and 52.6 mg/g, respectively. A pseudo-second-order model confirmed that the removal of heavy metals is controlled by the chemisorption process.

The Innovation Comes from the Sea: Chitosan and Alginate Hybrid Gels and Films as Sustainable Materials for Wastewater Remediation

The growing utilization of renewable and residual biomasses for environmental preservation and remediation are important goals to be pursued to minimize the environmental impact of human activities. In this paper, sodium alginate (derived from brown algae) was crosslinked using chitosan (mainly derived from the exoskeleton of crustaceans) in the presence of biowaste-derived substances isolated from green compost (BBS-GC), to produce hydrogels and dried films. The obtained materials were tested as adsorbents for wastewater remediation. To this purpose, gels were characterized using a multi-analytical approach and used as active substrates for the removal of three differently-charged molecules, chosen as model pollutants: crystal violet, rhodamine B, and orange II. The effectiveness of the gel formulations was demonstrated and attributed to the variety of active functionalities introduced by the different precursors, the structural factors and the peculiar physicochemical properties of the resulting materials.

SBA-15 Anchored Metal Containing Catalysts in the Oxidative Desulfurization Process

Recalcitrant sulfur compounds are common impurities in crude oil. During combustion they produce SOx derivatives that are able to affect the atmospheric ozone layer, increasing the formation of acid rains, and reducing the life of the engine due to corrosion. In the last twenty years, many efforts have been devoted to develop conventional hydrodesulfurization (HDS) procedures, as well as alternative methods, such as selective adsorption, bio-desulfurization, oxidative desulfurization (ODS) under extractive conditions (ECODS), and others. Among them, the oxidative procedures have been usually accomplished by the use of toxic stoichiometric oxidants, namely potassium permanganate, sodium bromate and carboxylic and sulfonic peracids. As an alternative, increasing interest is devoted to selective and economical procedures based upon catalytic methods. Heterogeneous catalysis is of relevance in industrial ODS processes, since it reduces the leaching of active species and favors the recovery and reuse of the catalyst for successive transformations. The heterogenization of different types of high-valent metal transition-based organometallic complexes, able to promote the activation of stoichiometric benign oxidants like peroxides, can be achieved using various solid supports. Many successful cases have been frequently associated with the use of mesoporous silicas that have the advantage of easy surface modification by reaction with organosilanes, facilitating the immobilization of homogeneous catalysts. In this manuscript the application of SBA-15 as efficient support for different active metal species, able to promote the catalytic ODS of either model or real fuels is reviewed, highlighting its beneficial properties such as high surface area, narrow pore size distribution and tunable pore diameter dimensions. Related to this topic, the most relevant advances recently published, will be discussed and critically described.