Renewable Resource-Based Biocomposites of Various Surface Treated Banana Fiber and Poly Lactic Acid: Characterization and Biodegradability

Eco-friendly completely biodegradable biocomposites have been fabricated using polylactic acid (PLA) and banana fiber (BF) employing melt blending technique followed by compression moulding. BF??s were surface treated by NaOH and various silanes viz. 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane and bis-(3-triethoxy silyl propyl) tetrasulfane (Si69) to improve the compatibility of the fibers within the matrix polymer. Characterization studies have been suggested that a better fiber matrix interaction because of the newly added functionalities on the BF surface as a result of chemical treatments. In comparison with the untreated BF biocomposite, an increase of 136% in tensile strength and 57% in impact strength has been observed for Si69 treated BF biocomposite. DSC thermograms of surface treated BF biocomposites revealed an increase in glass transition and melting transition due to the more restricted macromolecular movement as a result of better matrix fiber interaction. The thermal stability in the biocomposites also increased in case of biocomposite made up of BF treated with Si69. Viscoelastic measurements using DMA confirmed an increase of storage modulus and low damping values for the same biocomposite. Biodegradation studies of the biocomposites have been investigated in Burkholderia cepacia medium through morphological and weight loss studies.     

Performance and validation of a coupled parallel ADCIRC–SWAN model for THANE cyclone in the Bay of Bengal

An accurate prediction of near-shore sea-state is imperative during extreme events such as cyclones required in an operational centre. The mutual interaction between physical processes such as tides, waves and currents determine the physical environment for any coastal region, and hence the need of a parallelized coupled wave and hydrodynamic model. The present study is an application of various state-of-art models such as WRF, WAM, SWAN and ADCIRC used to couple and simulate a severe cyclonic storm Thane that developed in the Bay of Bengal during December 2011. The coupled model (ADCIRC–SWAN) was run in a parallel mode on a flexible unstructured mesh. Thane had its landfall on 30 December, 2011 between Cuddalore and Pondicherry where in-situ observations were available to validate model performance. Comprehensive experiment on the impact of meteorological forcing parameters with two forecasted tracks derived from WRF model, and JTWC best track on the overall performance of coupled model was assessed. Further an extensive validation experiment was performed for significant wave heights and surface currents during Thane event. The significant wave heights measured along satellite tracks by three satellites viz; ENVISAT, JASON-1 and JASON-2, as well in-situ near-shore buoy observation off Pondicherry was used for comparison with model results. In addition, qualitative validation was performed for model computed currents with HF Radar Observation off Cuddalore during Thane event. The importance of WRF atmospheric model during cyclones and its robustness in the coupled model performance is highlighted. This study signifies the importance of coupled parallel ADCIRC–SWAN model for operational needs during extreme events in the North Indian Ocean.     

Sustainable Waste Management of Engineering Plastics Generated from E-Waste: A Critical Evaluation of Mechanical,Thermal and Morphological Properties

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - The major roadblock for recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipments (WEEE) depends on the viability of sorting process, which is a complex...     

Treatment of electronic waste to recover metal values using thermal plasma coupled with acid leaching--a response surface modeling approach

The global crisis of the hazardous electronic waste (E-waste) is on the rise due to increasing usage and disposal of electronic devices. A process was developed to treat E-waste in an environmentally benign process. The process consisted of thermal plasma treatment followed by recovery of metal values through mineral acid leaching. In the thermal process, the E-waste was melted to recover the metal values as a metallic mixture. The metallic mixture was subjected to acid leaching in presence of depolarizer. The leached liquor mainly contained copper as the other elements like Al and Fe were mostly in alloy form as per the XRD and phase diagram studies. Response surface model was used to optimize the conditions for leaching. More than 90% leaching efficiency at room temperature was observed for Cu, Ni and Co with HCl as the solvent, whereas Fe and Al showed less than 40% efficiency.     

Resource conservation strategies for rice‐wheat cropping systems on partially reclaimed sodic soils of the Indo‐Gangetic region,and their effects on soil carbon

The Indo‐Gangetic plain is characterized by intensive agriculture, largely by resource‐poor small and marginal farmers. Vast swathes of salt‐affected areas in the region provide both challenges and opportunities to bolster food security and sequester carbon after reclamation. Sustainable management of reclaimed soils via resource conservation strategies, such as residue retention, is key to the prosperity of the farmer, as well as increases the efficiency of expensive initiatives to further reclaim sodic land areas, which currently lay barren. After five years of experimentation on resource conservation strategies for rice‐wheat systems on partially reclaimed sodic soils of the Indo‐Gangetic region, we evaluated changes in different soil carbon pools and crop yield. Out of all resource conservation techniques which were tested, rice‐wheat crop residue addition (30% of total production) was most effective in increasing soil organic carbon (SOC). In rice, without crop residue addition (WCR), soils under zero‐tillage with transplanting, summer ploughing with transplanting and direct seeding with brown manuring showed a significant increase in SOC over the control (puddling in rice, conventional tillage in wheat). In these treatments relatively higher levels of carbon were attained in all aggregate fractions compared to the control. Soil aggregate sizes in meso (0.25‐2.0 mm) and macro (2‐8 mm) ranges increased, whereas micro (< 0.25 mm) fractions decreased in soils under zero‐till practices, both with and without crop residue addition. Direct seeding with brown manuring and zero tillage with transplanting also showed an increase of 135% and 95%, respectively, over the control in microbial biomass carbon, without crop residue incorporation. In zero tillage with transplanting treatment, both with and without crop residue showed significant increase in soil carbon sequestration potential. Though the changes in accrued soil carbon did not bring about significant differences in terms of grain yield, overall synthesis in terms of balance between yield and carbon sequestration indicated that summer ploughing with transplanting and zero tillage with transplanting sequestered significantly higher rates of carbon, yet yielded on par with conventional practices. These could be appropriate alternatives to immediately replace conventional tillage and planting practices for rice‐wheat cropping systems in the sodic soils of the Indo‐Gangetic region.     

Reactive Compatibilization of Biobased Polyurethane Prepolymer Toughening Polylactide Prepared by Melt Blending

Polylactide (PLA) is a major biodegradable polymer, which has received extensive interests over the past decades and holds great potential to replace several petroleum-based polymeric materials. Nevertheless, the inherent brittleness and low impact strength have restricted its invasion to niche markets. In this paper, the authors demonstrate that the entirely bio-sourced blends, namely PLA and castor oil-based polyurethane prepolymer (COPUP), were first melt-compounded in an effort to prepare novel biodegradable materials with an excellent balance of properties. NCO-terminated COPUP was successfully synthesized and subsequently mixed with variable concentration of PLA matrix using melt-compounded by twin-screw extrusion technique. The miscibility, phase morphology, mechanical properties, and thermal resistance of the blends were investigated. During FTIR analysis, it suggests that the interfacial compatibilization between COPUP and PLA phase occurred by the reaction of –NCO group of MDI with terminal hydroxyl group of PLA. DMA analysis showed that COPUP and PLA showed some limited miscibility with shifted glass transition temperature. The morphologies of fracture surface showed a brittle-to-ductile transition owing by the addition of COPUP. The crystallization behavior was studied by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). The strain at break and notched impact strength of PLA/COPUP blends were increased more than 112–15.4 times elegant of neat PLA; the increase is superior to previous toughening effect by using petroleum-based tougheners. Furthermore, the thermal resistances and melt flow properties of the materials were also examined by analysis of the melt flow index and heat deflection temperature use in the work. With enhanced toughness, the PLA/COPUP blends could be used as replacements for some traditional petroleum-based polymeric materials.     

Quantification of Extinction Risk: IUCN's System for Classifying Threatened Species

Abstract: The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species was increasingly used during the 1980s to assess the conservation status of species for policy and planning purposes. This use stimulated the development of a new set of quantitative criteria for listing species in the categories of threat: critically endangered, endangered, and vulnerable. These criteria, which were intended to be applicable to all species except microorganisms, were part of a broader system for classifying threatened species and were fully implemented by IUCN in 2000. The system and the criteria have been widely used by conservation practitioners and scientists and now underpin one indicator being used to assess the Convention on Biological Diversity 2010 biodiversity target. We describe the process and the technical background to the IUCN Red List system. The criteria refer to fundamental biological processes underlying population decline and extinction. But given major differences between species, the threatening processes affecting them, and the paucity of knowledge relating to most species, the IUCN system had to be both broad and flexible to be applicable to the majority of described species. The system was designed to measure the symptoms of extinction risk, and uses 5 independent criteria relating to aspects of population loss and decline of range size. A species is assigned to a threat category if it meets the quantitative threshold for at least one criterion. The criteria and the accompanying rules and guidelines used by IUCN are intended to increase the consistency, transparency, and validity of its categorization system, but it necessitates some compromises that affect the applicability of the system and the species lists that result. In particular, choices were made over the assessment of uncertainty, poorly known species, depleted species, population decline, restricted ranges, and rarity; all of these affect the way red lists should be viewed and used. Processes related to priority setting and the development of national red lists need to take account of some assumptions in the formulation of the criteria.     

Molecular identification and nanoremediation of microbial contaminants in algal systems using untreated wastewater

Wastewater-algal biomass is a promising option to biofuel production. However, microbial contaminants constitute a substantial barrier to algal biofuel yield. A series of algal strains, Nannochloris oculata and Chlorella vulgaris samples (n = 30), were purchased from the University of Texas, and were used for both stock flask cultures and flat-panel vertical bioreactors. A number of media were used for isolation and differentiation of potential contaminants according to laboratory standards (CLSI). Conventional PCR amplification was performed followed by 16S rDNA sequencing to identify isolates at the species level. Nanotherapeutics involving a nanomicellar combination of natural chitosan and zinc oxide (CZNPs) were tested against the microbial lytic groups through Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) tests and Transmission Electronic Microscopy (TEM). Results indicated the presence of Pseudomonas spp., Bacillus pumilus/ safensis, Cellulosimicrobium cellulans, Micrococcus luteus and Staphylococcus epidermidis strains at a substantial level in the wastewater-fed algal reactors. TEM confirmed the effectiveness of CZNPs on the lytic group while the average MICs (mg/mL) detected for the strains, Pseudomonas spp, Micrococcus luteus, and Bacillus pumilus were 0.417, 3.33, and 1.458, respectively. Conclusively, CZNP antimicrobials proved to be effective as inhibitory agents against currently identified lytic microbial group, did not impact algae cells, and shows promise for in situ interventions.     

Energy management in hybrid electric vehicles using optimized radial basis function neural network

This paper deals with energy management in hybrid electric vehicles. Use of radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) for the problem of energy management gains importance in the present decade. Use of genetic algorithm (GA) and particle swarm optimization (PSO) as optimization algorithms for parameter estimation is also well known. However, none of the researchers in the area tried to use GA and PSO as training algorithms for the problem. Hence in this paper, we propose two novel methods, based on RBFNN. The difference between RBFNN-based approaches in the literature and those used in this paper is the use of GA and PSO (i.e. optimising algorithms) as training algorithm to train RBFNNs. Interestingly, it is seen that the proposed approaches of this paper outperform RBFNN-based approaches in the literature with traditional training.     

Degradation Study of Biobased Polyester–Polyurethane and its Nanocomposite Under Natural Soil Burial,UV Radiation and Hydrolytic-Salt Water Circumstances

The current study focuses on the development of a formulation of polyester polyurethane (PEPU) samples using castor oil (CO) modified polyester polyol and partially biobased aliphatic isocyanate. The CO modified polyester polyol was synthesized employing transesterification reaction between CO and diethylene glycol in the presence litharge (PbO) catalyst. Subsequently, the modification of CO was confirmed using proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹HNMR) spectra analysis. In the next stage, the biobased polyester polyurethane nanocomposites (PEPUNC) were prepared by incorporating 3 wt% OMMT nanoclay within PEPU through in situ polymerization technique. The produced PEPU was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and ¹HNMR spectra analysis. Further, the degradation properties of developed PEPU subjected to soil-burial, UV exposure and hydrolytic-salt water medium were noted by FTIR spectroscopy. Corresponding weight loss, mechanical measurements and morphological studies through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis were studied. The results showed that the addition of OMMT nanoclay within the PEPU matrix produces significant improvement in the degradation rate which indicated the susceptibility of OMMT nanoclay to humidity upon exposure to soil burial. The produced microorganisms from the soil resulted in significant chemical and morphological changes in the entire structure of the PEPU. Additionally, the highest degradation and percentage of weight loss was observed under soil burial as compared to UV exposure and hydrolytic-salt water medium.