The impact of COVID-19 pandemic in medical waste amounts: a case study from a high-populated city of Turkey

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - In this study, the amount of medical waste generated in a high-populated city in Turkey between January 2018 and August 2021 was evaluated, and the...     

Ecofriendly Zinc Oxide-Decorated Poly-3-hydroxyalkanoate—graft—Poly-Methyl Acrylate Copolymer Film for Photocatalysis-Mediated Water Treatment

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - The application of microbiologically produced polymer, i.e., medium-chain-length poly-3-hydroxyalkanoate (mcl-PHA), in environmental remediation technology...     

Effect of the Fe2O3/TiO2 Nanoparticles on the Structural,Mechanical, Electrical Properties and Antibacterial Activity of the Biodegradable Chitosan/Polyvinyl Alcohol Blend for Food Packaging

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - As the request for ready-made food grows, it’s more important than ever to develop effective antimicrobial food packaging materials to assure...     

Biohythane production from pineapple peel using Methanosarcina mazei enhanced with palm oil mill effluent (POME) sludge in single-stage anaerobic digestion

Biohythane production via single-stage anaerobic digestion (AD) is an effective way for sustainable energy recovery from lignocellulosic biomass. In this paper, biohythane was produced through the AD process from pineapple peel waste substrate using purely cultured Methanosarcina mazei with the enhancement of palm oil mill effluent (POME) sludge as the inoculum. This study focuses on the effects of the lignocellulosic pre-treatment method, the addition of POME sludge into M. mazei culture medium as inoculum, and various operational conditions (food to microorganisms (F/M) ratios, temperature, pH) on gas production performances. The experimental results indicate that these parameters influenced the efficiency of biohythane production by producing the peak maximum biohythane production rate values (HPR_max) and (MPR_max), H₂:CH₄ = 1.93:0.67 L/L-d, and biohythane yield (HY) and (MY), H₂:CH₄ = 1.18:0.55 mL/L-substrate. This study demonstrates that biohythane gas (H₂ + CH₄ + CO₂) production from pineapple waste can be accelerated by M. mazei only with the enhancement of POME sludge through single-stage AD system under mesophilic batch process conditions.     

Molecular docking analysis on antifungal properties of acid condensate produced from palm kernel shell

The rise in the number of fungi that resisted antifungal action is of serious concern nowadays. In this study, the potential of acid condensate (AC) produced from microwave-assisted pyrolysis of palm kernel shell (PKS) was investigated for its antifungal properties through molecular docking evaluation. The phenolic-rich AC was determined for its chemical compositions using the GC–MS analysis where compounds with the highest phenolics content were further evaluated (using the Autodock Tools 1.5.7) for its potential enzymes/protein binding properties. From the GC–MS analysis, catechol, guaiacol and syringol were present at highest percentages. This directly correlates with results obtained from the molecular docking works where all these ligands managed to bind (indicated by H-bond, π-stacking, hydrophobic interaction) with some of the amino acid at the active sites which indicate its potential to inhibit substrate binding of this enzyme. As a conclusion, this study demonstrated the potential use of AC from agricultural biomass such as PKS as a natural-based antifungal agent that can reduce environmental and health impacts.     

The Removal of Acid Violet 90 from Aqueous Solutions Using PANI and PANI/Clinoptilolite Composites: Isotherm and Kinetics

Polyaniline (PANI) and polyaniline/Gördes-clinoptilolite (PANI/GC) composite materials were synthesized by the chemical oxidative polymerization technique and used in the adsorption of Acid Violet 90 metal-complex dye (AV 90). The samples were characterized by X-ray diffractions, nitrogen adsorption–desorption isotherms, scanning electron microscopes and Fourier transform infrared. The effect of initial pH (2–8), sorbent dosage (0.5–4.0 g/L) and initial dye concentrations (50–400 mg/L) on adsorption onto PANI and PANI/GC were examined in a batch system. Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin isotherm models were used to investigate the adsorption mechanism of AV 90 on PANI and PANI/GC. Langmuir isotherm model for PANI/GC and Freundlich isotherm model for PANI were fitted well with the experimental data. The highest dye uptake capacities were obtained with Langmuir isotherm model as 153.85 mg/g and 72.46 mg/g for PANI and PANI/GC, respectively. In order to determine the adsorption kinetics, pseudo first-order and second-order kinetic models were studied. As a result, the adsorption of AV 90 dye on PANI and PANI/GC was better identified with Pseudo second-order kinetic model than the first one.     

Assessing the economic value of urban green spaces in Kuala Lumpur

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This study assessed the economic value of public urban green spaces (UGSs) in Kuala Lumpur (KL) city by using the hedonic price method (HPM). It...     

Assessment of carbon leakage in multiple carbon-sink projects: a case study in Jambi Province,Indonesia

Rehabilitation of degraded forest land through implementation of carbon-sink projects can increase terrestrial carbon (C) stock. However, carbon emissions outside the project boundary, which is commonly referred to as leakage, may reduce or negate the sequestration benefits. This study assessed leakage from carbon-sink projects that could potentially be implemented in the study area comprised of 11 sub-districts in the Batanghari District, Jambi Province, Sumatra, Indonesia. The study estimates the probability of a given land use/cover being converted into other uses/cover, by applying a logit model. The predictor variables were: proximity to the center of the land use area, distance to transportation channel (road or river), area of agricultural land, unemployment (number of job seekers), job opportunities, population density and income. Leakage was estimated by analyzing with and without carbon-sink projects scenarios. Most of the predictors were estimated as being significant in their contribution to land use cover change. The results of the analysis show that leakage in the study area can be large enough to more than offset the project’s carbon sequestration benefits during the period 2002–2012. However, leakage results are very sensitive to changes of carbon density of the land uses in the study area. By reducing C-density of lowland and hill forest by about 10% for the baseline scenario, the leakage becomes positive. Further data collection and refinement is therefore required. Nevertheless, this study has demonstrated that regional analysis is a useful approach to assess leakage.     

Potential recyclable materials derived from riverine litter at log boom Sungai Batu in Kuala Lumpur

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Monitoring the riverine litter was essential for the aesthetical value and reducing the negative impacts toward the human health, environment and...     

Effect of compaction on soil CO2 and CH4 fluxes from tropical peatland in Sarawak,Malaysia

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Tropical peatland stores a large amount of carbon (C) and is an important C sink. In Malaysia, about 25% of the peatland area has been converted to oil...