Analysis and optimization on the biodegradable plate making process parameters using RSM-based Box–Behnken Design method

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - The present research work focused on fabricating Biodegradable Plate (BD plate) composed of rice husk ash, bagasse and corn starch which is...     

Non-thermal plasmas for disease control and abiotic stress management in plants

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Climate change is predicted to cause severe loss in agricultural production by increasing disease epidemics and intensifying abiotic stresses. Therefore,...     

Valorization of agro-industrial fruit peel waste to fluorescent nanocarbon sensor: Ultrasensitive detection of potentially hazardous tropane alkaloid

• Transformation of agro-industrial waste to value-added material via green chemistry. • Orange peel is valorized into fluorescent nanodiamond-like carbon (fNDC) sensor. • fNDC detects potentially hazardous drug atropine sulfate (AS). • fNDC recognizes AS in biological fluids and pharmaceuticals. • fNDC assures applications in clinical and forensic toxicology. Millions of tonnes of agro-industrial waste are generated each year globally, with the vast majority of it going untreated, underutilized, and disposed of by burning or landfilling, causing severe environmental distress and economic downturn. A practical solution to this global issue is to use green chemistry to convert this waste into value-added products. Accordingly, in the present study, agro-industrial orange peel waste was valorized into fluorescent nanodiamond-like carbon sensor via a green route involving hydrothermal treatment of microwave carbonized orange peel waste. The developed sensor, used for the fluorescence detection of potentially hazardous drug atropine sulfate, exhibits unique dual linearity over concentration ranges of 300 nM to 1 M and from 1 M to 10 M, as well as ultra-low sensitivity of 34.42 nM and 356.46 nM, respectively. Additionally, the sensor demonstrates excellent reproducibility, high stability, and satisfactory recovery when used to identify and quantify atropine sulfate in biological samples and commercially available pharmaceuticals, indicating promising multidisciplinary applications.     

Novel carbon nano-onions from paraffinum liquidum for rapid and efficient removal of industrial dye from wastewater

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Carbon nano-onions (CNOs) are fascinating zero-dimensional carbon materials owning distinct multi-shell architecture. Their physicochemical properties...     

Performance evaluation of ETP from pesticide manufacturing industry by using WWQI and multivariate statistical analysis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The appropriate operation of wastewater treatment plants is essential to maintain the quality of treated water. The aim of the present study is to...     

Source apportionment of the ionic components in precipitation over an urban region in Western India

Introduction  

Inorganic ion concentrations in event-based wet-only precipitation samples collected during the south-west (SW) monsoon at an urban location in Western India, Ahmedabad between July 2000 and September 2002 were measured by Rastogi and Sarin (2007).     

Airborne black carbon concentrations over an urban region in western India—temporal variability, effects of meteorology, and source regions

This study characterizes over 5 years of high time resolution (5 min), airborne black carbon (BC) concentrations (July 2003 to December 2008) measured over Ahmedabad, an urban region in western India. The data were used to obtain different time averages of BC concentrations, and these averages were then used to assess the diurnal, seasonal, and annual variability of BC over the study region. Assessment of diurnal variations revealed a strong association between BC concentrations and vehicular traffic. Peaks in BC concentration were co-incident with the morning (0730 to 0830, LST) and late evening (1930 to 2030, LST) rush hour traffic. Additionally, diurnal variability in BC concentrations during major festivals (Diwali and Dushera during the months of October/November) revealed an increase in BC concentrations due to fireworks displays. Maximum half hourly BC concentrations during the festival days were as high as 79.8 μg m^?3. However, the high concentrations rapidly decayed suggesting that local meteorology during the festive season was favorable for aerosol dispersion. A multiple linear regression (MLR) model with BC as the dependent variable and meteorological parameters as independent variables was fitted. The variability in temperature, humidity, wind speed, and wind direction accounted for about 49% of the variability in measured BC concentrations. Conditional probability function (CPF) analysis was used to identify the geographical location of local source regions contributing to the effective BC measured (at 880 nm) at the receptor site. The east north-east (ENE) direction to the receptor was identified as a major source region. National highway (NH8) and two coal-fired thermal power stations (at Gandhinagar and Sabarmati) were located in the identified direction, suggesting that local traffic and power plant emissions were likely contributors to the measured BC.     

Characterization of fine aerosol and its inorganic components at two rural locations in New York State

Samples of PM(2.5) were collected to measure the concentrations of its chemical constituents at two rural locations, Potsdam and Stockton, NY from November 2002 to August 2005. These samples were collected on multiple filters at both sites, every third day for a 24-h interval with a speciation network sampler. The Teflo(R) filters were analyzed for PM(2.5) mass by gravimetry, and elemental composition by X-ray fluorescence (XRF). Nylasorb(R) filters and Teflo(R) filters were leached with water and analyzed for anions and cations, respectively, by ion chromatography (IC). Fine particulate matter (PM(2.5)) mass and its inorganic component measurements were statistically characterized, and the temporal behavior of these species were assessed. Over the entire study period, PM(2.5) mass concentrations were lower at Potsdam (8.35 mug/m(3)) than at Stockton (10.24 mug/m(3)). At both locations, organic matter (OM) was the highest contributor to mass. Sulfate was the second highest contributor to mass at 27.0% at Potsdam, and 28.7% at Stockton. Nitrate contributions to mass of 8.9 and 9.5% at Potsdam and Stockton, respectively, were the third highest. At both locations, fine PM mass exhibited an annual cycle with a pronounced summer peak and indications of another peak during the winter, consistent with an overall increase in the rate of secondary aerosol formation during the summer, and increased partitioning of ammonium nitrate to the particle phase and condensation of other semi-volatiles during the winter, respectively. An ion-balance analysis indicated that at both locations, during the summers as well as in the winters, the aerosol was acidic. Lognormal frequency distribution fits to the measured mass concentrations on a seasonal basis indicated the overall increase in particle phase secondary aerosol (sulfate and SOA) concentrations during the summers compared to the winters at both locations.     

Anaerobic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in tropical bioaugmented zero water exchange aquaculture ponds

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Bioaugmented zero water exchange aquaculture production systems (ZWEAPS) maintained with minimal or no water exchange prevent the ammonia accumulation...     

Annual and seasonal variability of ambient aerosols over an urban region in western India

Annual and seasonal variabilities in source contribution to total suspended particles (TSP) measured over an urban location in western India, Ahmedabad between May 2000 and January 2003 are examined in this study. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) resolved six factors including airborne regional dust, calcium carbonate rich dust, biomass burning/vehicular emissions, secondary nitrate/sulfate, marine aerosol, and smelter. In this study, non-parametric statistical tests including the Kruskal–Wallis analysis of variance (K–W ANOVA) and Spearman rank correlation (ρ) test were used to assess the annual and seasonal variations in factor contributions, and the influence of meteorology on these contributions, respectively. None of the factor contributions exhibited annual variations except airborne regional dust, and biomass burning/vehicular emissions factors. All of the factors exhibited seasonal variations. Several factor monsoon (July–September) median concentrations were significantly different from one or more of the other season medians. In general, it appeared that meteorological factors played a role in establishing the seasonal behavior of factor contributions. Factor contributions exhibited low to moderate correlations with meteorological parameters such as temperature, relative humidity, wind direction, and wind speed. Amongst all of the relationships, marine aerosol factor was reasonably well correlated with relative humidity (ρ = 0.73) and wind direction (ρ = 0.73) during the pre-monsoon season (March–May). This observation suggests that the aerosol transported by moisture laden winds from the Arabian sea contribute to this factor. The airborne regional dust factor was also moderately correlated with wind speed (ρ = 0.70) during the post-monsoon season. This relationship indicates that high regional dust concentrations are favored by high wind speeds and the resultant increase in dispersion.