High-Solid Loading Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Waste Office Paper for poly-3-hydroxybutyrate Production Through Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - Waste paper holds great potential as a substrate for the microbial production of bioplastic (Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB)). This study aimed to produce PHB...     

Stress-strain response of plastic waste mixed soil

Recycling plastic waste from water bottles has become one of the major challenges worldwide. The present study provides an approach for the use plastic waste as reinforcement material in soil. The experimental results in the form of stress-strain-pore water pressure response are presented. Based on experimental test results, it is observed that the strength of soil is improved and compressibility reduced significantly with addition of a small percentage of plastic waste to the soil. The use of the improvement in strength and compressibility response due to inclusion of plastic waste can be advantageously used in bearing capacity improvement and settlement reduction in the design of shallow foundations.     

Biodegradation of toluene vapor in coir based upflow packed bed reactor by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Trichoderma asperellum</Emphasis> isolate

In the present study, a new biofiltration system involving a selective microbial strain isolated from aerated municipal sewage water attached with coir as packing material was developed for toluene degradation. The selected fungal isolate was identified as Trichoderma asperellum by 16S ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) sequencing method, and pylogenetic tree was constructed using BLASTn search. Effect of various factors on growth and toluene degradation by newly isolated T. asperellum was studied in batch studies, and the optimum conditions were found to be pH 7.0, temperature 30 °C, and initial toluene concentration 1.5 (v/v)%. Continuous removal of gaseous toluene was monitored in upflow packed bed reactor (UFPBR) using T. asperellum. Effect of various parameters like column height, flow rate, and the inlet toluene concentration were studied to evaluate the performance of the biofilter. The maximum elimination capacity (257 g m^?3 h^?1) was obtained with the packing height of 100 cm with the empty bed residence time of 5 min. Under these optimum conditions, the T. asperellum showed better toluene removal efficiency. Kinetic models have been developed for toluene degradation by T. asperellum using macrokinetic approach of the plug flow model incorporated with Monod model.     

Isolation,mass cultivation,and biodiesel production potential of marine microalgae identified from Bay of Bengal

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In this study, marine microalgae were isolated from the Bay of Bengal, and their biodiesel production potential was investigated. Five different...     

Site selection of check dams using geospatial techniques in Debre Berhan region,Ethiopia — water management perspective

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Remote sensing and GIS technology were very helpful to determine an appropriate location of freshwater storage in Amhara, Ethiopia. The techniques...     

Fatigue Life Behaviour of Glass/Kenaf Woven-Ply Polymer Hybrid Biocomposites

Investigation on the fatigue life of hybrid composites is critical to extend their applications and acceptance among industries; however, there is a lack of research focus on fatigue performance of the hybrid composite. In this study, the fatigue life of glass/kenaf woven-ply hybrid composite with thermoplastic and thermoset polymer matrix was investigated. Hybrid composites consist of two different fibre configurations: kenaf/glass/kenaf and glass/kenaf/glass. Thermoplastic hybrid composites were manufactured through the hot press moulding compression method, while thermoset hybrid composites were fabricated through the vacuum-assisted resin infusion method. The tensile strength and fatigue strengths of the kenaf/glass/kenaf composite have been identified to be significantly lower than those of the glass/kenaf/glass composite regardless of the types of matrix used. However, thermoplastic-based kenaf/glass/kenaf composites are less fatigue sensitive compared to glass/kenaf/glass composites; however, this phenomenon is vice versa for thermoset composites due to the epoxy matrix, which limits the stiffening effect in natural fibres.     

Perchlorate contamination of groundwater from fireworks manufacturing area in South India

Perchlorate contamination was investigated in groundwater and surface water from Sivakasi and Madurai in the Tamil Nadu State of South India. Sensitive determination of perchlorate (LOQ?=?0.005 μg/L) was achieved by large-volume (500 μL) injection ion chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. Concentrations of perchlorate were <0.005–7,690 μg/L in groundwater (n?=?60), <0.005–30.2 μg/L in surface water (n?=?11), and 0.063–0.393 μg/L in tap water (n?=?3). Levels in groundwater were significantly higher in the fireworks factory area than in the other locations, indicating that the fireworks and safety match industries are principal sources of perchlorate pollution. This is the first study that reports the contamination status of perchlorate in this area and reveals firework manufacture to be the pollution source. Since perchlorate levels in 17 out of 57 groundwater samples from Sivakasi, and none from Madurai, exceeded the drinking water guideline level proposed by USEPA (15 μg/L), further investigation on human health is warranted.     

Approach for the use of MSW settlement predictions in the assessment of landfill capacity based on reliability analysis

In the analysis and design of municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills, there are many uncertainties associated with the properties of MSW during and after MSW placement. Several studies are performed involving different laboratory and field tests to understand the complex behavior and properties of MSW, and based on these studies, different models are proposed for the analysis of time dependent settlement response of MSW. For the analysis of MSW settlement, it is very important to account for the variability of model parameters that reflect different processes such as primary compression under loading, mechanical creep and biodegradation. In this paper, regression equations based on response surface method (RSM) are used to represent the complex behavior of MSW using a newly developed constitutive model. An approach to assess landfill capacities and develop landfill closure plans based on prediction of landfill settlements is proposed. The variability associated with model parameters relating to primary compression, mechanical creep and biodegradation are used to examine their influence on MSW settlement using reliability analysis framework and influence of various parameters on the settlement of MSW are estimated through sensitivity analysis.     

Biotechnology to convert carbon dioxide into biogas,bioethanol, bioplastic and succinic acid using algae,bacteria and yeast: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Global warming is partly due to excessive carbon dioxide emissions, calling for methods to capture carbon dioxide for conversion into value-added...