Electro-oxidation reaction of glycerol (GEOR) is a promising and eco-friendly technique for producing commercially valuable organic acids. In contrast to conventional non-metallic doping into single or multiwalled carbon nanotubes, our work reported the incorporation of N, and P into the Pd/CNTs framework for selective oxidation of glycerol to 1, 3-dihydroxyacetone and mesoxalic acid. Electrochemical and physicochemical char-acterization showed that the NP doped/PdCNTs has superior electrocatalytic performance for GEOR in alkaline media compared to counter catalysts. NP doped/PdCNTs exhibits better resistivity (If/Ib = 1.71) and requires only 0.09 V electrocatalysis voltage to achieve 76.67 mA cm-2 current density, demonstrating an energy-efficient and cost-competitive method to produce mesoxalic acid and dihydroxyacetone. At 0.09 V vs Ag/AgCl in 0.5 M Gly/0.5 M KOH, the Pd mass activity of NP doped/PdCNTs was 307.30 mAmg-1Pd, representing 2.45, 1.06, and 1.051 times higher than Pd/CNTs, N doped/PdCNTs, and P doped/PdCNTs, respectively. The yield of 1, 3-dihy-droxyacetone was 29.76 times higher than Pd/CNTs, 24.06 times higher than N doped/PdCNTs, and 1.06 times higher than P doped/PdCNTs.

OBJECTIVE:Serious non-gastrointestinal-tract infections and food poisoning are caused by Bacillus cereus. Vaccination against B. cereus is very important. The aim of this study was to identify and analyze B and T cell epitopes for chromate transporter protein of the bacteria.METHODS:Multiple sequence alignment with the Clustal Omega method was used to identify conserved regions and Geneious Prime was used to produce a consensus sequence. T and B cell epitopes were predicted by various computational tools from the NetCTL and Immune Epitope Database (IEDB), respectively.RESULTS:Altogether, 6 HTL cells and 11 CTL epitopes were predicted. This vaccine's molecular docking is done with Patch Dock and LigPlot to verify interactions. The immune server (C-IMMSIM) was used to develop In silico immune response in order to assess the multi-epitope vaccine's immunogenic profile.CONCLUSION:We designed universal vaccine against B. cereus responsible for food poisoning. The disease may be avoided with the aid of the proposed epitope-based vaccine.

Allelochemicals are secondary metabolites which are not edible and can be used as growth regulators and bio-herbicides. The goal of current study was to assess allelopathic ability of Lantana camara (Sage-plant) flowers against weeds viz. Avena fatua (Wild oat), Euphorbia helioscopia (Sun-spurge), Chenopodium album (Goosefoot), Phalaris minor (Canary-grass), and Rumex dentatus (Knotweed). Bioassay analysis of three methanolic fractions of the Combiflash from L. camara was performed at 50%, 75% and 100% concentration using germination percentage parameters, inhibition of plumule and radicle size. The fraction II of Combiflash strongly suppressed all weeds with negligible effect on T. aestivum. Gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy was conducted for the fraction, and isolated compounds were used to perform bioassays. From fraction II GC–MS detected four methyl esters of allelopathic fatty acid viz. Methyl oleate, methyl palmitate, methyl stearate and methyl linoleate. The evaluation of physiological effects of the bioassay revealed substantial suppression of chlorophyll, antioxidant enzymes (superoxide, dismutase peroxidase) and protein material in all weeds by methyl palmitate. Bioassay activity and study of physiological parameters revealed that the effective bio-herbicidal compound in Lantana camara flowers is methyl palmitate. This is the first time that methyl palmitate (a fatty acid methyl ester) has been related to herbicidal activity in L. camara flowers. It is proposed that field studies based on hormesis research and the mechanism of action of this compound be carried out.

Biodiesel is a renewable fuel usually produced from vegetable oils and animal fats. This study investigates the extraction of oil and its conversion into biodiesel by base-catalyzed transesterification. Firstly, the effect of various solvents (methanol, n-hexane, chloroform, di-ethyl ether) on extraction of oil from non-edible crops, such as R. communis and M. azedarach, were examined. It was observed that a higher concentration of oil was obtained from R. communis (43.6%) as compared to M. azedarach (35.6%) by using methanol and n-hexane, respectively. The extracted oils were subjected to NaOH (1%) catalyzed transesterification by analyzing the effect of oil/methanol molar ratio (1:4, 1:6, 1:8 and 1:10) and varying temperature (20, 40, 60 and 80 °C) for 2.5 h of reaction time. M. azedarach yielded 88% and R. communis yielded 93% biodiesel in 1:6 and 1:8 molar concentrations at ambient temperature whereas, 60 °C was selected as an optimum temperature, giving 90% (M. azedarach) and 94% (R. communis) biodiesel. The extracted oil and biodiesel were characterized for various parameters and most of the properties fulfilled the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard biodiesel. The further characterization of fatty acids was done by Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometer (GC/MS) and oleic acid was found to be dominant in M. azedarach (61.5%) and R. communis contained ricinoleic acid (75.53%). Furthermore, the functional groups were analyzed by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. The results suggested that both of the oils are easily available and can be used for commercial biodiesel production at a cost-effective scale.

Microalgae as an alternative feedstock for biodiesel production has achieved attention because of increasing fuel demand, climate change as well as global warming. For this purpose, 41 local microalgae strains belonging to 5 different phyla having the capability of best survival in climatic conditions were isolated from aquatic sources. The selection of most robust strains (C. vulgaris, S. dimorphus, S. obliquus, Selenastrum sp, and C. humicola) was based on biomass and lipid productivity. The microalgae C. vulgaris had highest performance in terms of biomass in BG-11 medium (1.86 +/- 0.1 g/L) as compared to wastewater (1.14 +/- 0.3 g/L) followed by S. obliquus. Moreover, the highest lipid contents were obtained in heterotrophic conditions (35.1 +/- 1.0%) in C. vulgaris and the overall lipid productivity was high in mixotrophic condition because of high biomass contents. The extracted oil was analyzed for fatty acid contents and the strains S. dimorphus and S. obliquus have high contents of saturated fatty acids (SFA, 63.67% and 63.60%, respectively). Whereas, C. vulgaris has high amount of monounsaturated fatty acids, saturated ones and (MUFA 81.28%) as well as low polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA 18.72%) are the factors that make this high quality biodiesel a strong competitor of fossil fuels. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The aim of this study was to develop an approach for the processing of agricultural and organic wastes to produce alcoholic fuels such as ethanol and butanol. The cellulosic materials wheat straw (WS), rice straw (RS), and corn stover (CS) were pretreated with dilute sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) individually, and microalgae (Chlorella vulgaris) was treated with dilute H2SO4 and then fermented. The results indicated that pretreatment in acidic condition was best to produce fermentable sugar. However, the high glucose concentration was achieved in C. vulgaris (32 g/L) and WS (20.6 g/L) among lignocellulosic biomass. The microalga that was grown in the nutrient deficient condition had a carbohydrate content of 51% ± 2.1. After fermentation, high concentration of ethanol 9.5 g/L (yield 93.7%) and butanol contents of 7.4 g/L (yield 91.3%) were recorded in wheat straw, whereas C. vulgaris yielded ethanol and butanol concentrations of 14 g/L and 11.8 g/L respectively. The results may help to increase the production of biofuels and reduce the need for imported fuels.

The burning of cattle manure for domestic use, and plant biomass left out in fields, is a common practice in South Asia, specifically Pakistan. According to the 2014 government of Pakistan (GOP) survey, Pakistan had 171 million head of cattle that would produce 345 billion kg of manure, which could easily be converted into 150 billion m3 of biogas. The focus of the present study was to evaluate the benefits from co-digestion of cattle manure (CM) with Dalbergia sissoo leaves (DSL) and Malus domestica leaves (MDL), with a focus on changes in the biodegradability, C/N ratio effect, and synergistic effect. The idea was to adjust the C/N ratio to increase biodegradability at mesophilic range to help the process to produce more methane than 100% manure-based digestion. First, the ideal pH and temperature conditions for mesophilic anaerobic digestion (AD) were optimized to carry out further co-digestion under the same conditions. The results of co-digestion revealed a 40% (251 NmL CH4/g VS) increase in methane yield by replacing 20% of volatile solid in CM-based AD reactors with MDL. This combination also presented a biodegradability of 59% and a synergistic effect (θ) value of 1.40, which corresponded to highly positive synergism reflecting the optimum growth conditions. The DSL/CM co-digestion also followed the same pattern, and the maximum methane yield of 229 NmL CH4/g VS was obtained using a 20/80 DSL/CM combination.

Organic solid and liquid wastes contain large amounts of energy, nutrients, and water, and should not be perceived as merely waste. Recycling, composting, and combustion of non-recyclables have been practiced for decades to capture the energy and values from municipal solid wastes. Treatment and disposal have been the primary management strategy for wastewater. As new technologies are emerging, alternative options for the utilization of both solid wastes and wastewater have become available. Considering the complexity of the chemical, physical, and biological properties of these wastes, multiple technologies may be required to maximize the energy and value recovery from the wastes. For this purpose, biorefining tends to be an appropriate approach to completely utilize the energy and value available in wastes. Research has demonstrated that non-recyclable waste materials and bio-solids can be converted into usable heat, electricity, fuel, and chemicals through a variety of processes, and the liquid waste streams have the potential to support crop and algae growth and provide other energy recovery and food production options. In this paper, we propose new biorefining schemes aimed at organic solid and liquid wastes from municipal sources, food and biological processing plants, and animal production facilities. Four new breakthrough technologies—namely, vacuum-assisted thermophilic anaerobic digestion, extended aquaponics, oily wastes to biodiesel via glycerolysis, and microwave-assisted thermochemical conversion—can be incorporated into the biorefining schemes, thereby enabling the complete utilization of those wastes for the production of chemicals, fertilizer, energy (biogas, syngas, biodiesel, and bio-oil), foods, and feeds, and resulting in clean water and a significant reduction in pollutant emissions.

有机固液废弃物包含大量能量、养分和水分,不应仅视其为废物.数十年来,人们一直对城市固体废物进行回收、堆制和燃烧,并从中提取能量和有价值的物质.污水的首要管理策略是治理和排放.随着技术的进步,通过新方法使利用固体废物和废水成为可能.考虑到废物特殊的化学、物理和生物性质,需要整合多种技术以使废物的能量和价值回收最大化.为此,生物炼制是完全利用废物中的能量和价值的一个合适的方法.研究证明,不可回收废弃物和生物固体可通过不同方法转化为可利用的热能、电能、燃料和化学品,并且液体废物或能帮助农作物和藻类的成长,为能量回收和食物生产提供不同的选择.本文针对有机固液废物提出新型生物炼制方案,这些废物来源于城市废料、食品和生物加工厂以及动物生产设施.四大新型突破性科技——真空辅助高温厌氧消化、扩展鱼菜共生系统、含油废物经甘油裂解制取生物柴油和微波辅助热化学转化,均可运用于生物炼制方案中,从而成功将废物转化,用以生产化学品、化肥、能量(沼气、合成气、生物柴油和生物油)、食物、饲料,得到干净的水并显著减少污染物的排放.

Biofuel is an important alternative source of fuel, as many countries are looking to decrease their dependence on fossil fuels. One of the critical steps in biofuel production is the conversion of lignocelluloses to fermentable sugars, and there is need for cheaper and more efficient enzymatic strategies. Consequently, lignocellulase genes from various organisms have been explored. Termites possess varied sets of efficient micro-scale lignocellulose degrading systems. In this study, bacteria that degraded cellulose and xylan were isolated from termite gastrointestinal tract. The isolate was identified as Cellulomonas sp. by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The bacterial enzymes cellulase and xylanase showed the highest activity at 50 degrees C and pH 8.0. The agricultural substrates were hydrolyzed by cellulases and xylanases, and more sugar was released from corn stover (18.903 +/- 0.65 mM/L) than from rice straw or cotton stalk. After direct hydrolysis and fermentation of agricultural substrates, ethanol (0.425 +/- 0.035 g/L) and lactate (0.772 +/- 0.075 g/L) were the major end products. Thus, termite gut bacteria can efficiently hydrolyze hemicellulose and cellulose, and these bacteria also have the potential to convert these fermentable sugars into valuable secondary metabolites.

Aquaponics is a sustainable system for the future farming. In aquaponic systems, the nutrient-rich wastewater generated by the fish provides nutrients needed for vegetable growth. In the present study, the role of microalgae of Chlorella sp. in the floating-raft aquaponic system was evaluated for ammonia control. The yields of algal biomass, vegetable, and removal of the key nutrients from the systems were monitored during the operation of the aquaponic systems. When the systems were in full operation, the algae production was about 4.15±0.19g/m2·day (dry basis) which is considered low because the growth conditions are primarily tailored to fish and vegetable production. However, it was found that algae had a positive effect on balancing pH drop caused by nitrifying bacteria, and the ammonia could be controlled by algae since algae prefer for ammonia nitrogen over nitrate nitrogen. The algae are more efficient for overall nitrogen removal than vegetables.

Intermittent-vacuum stripping (IVS) was developed as a pretreatment for thermophilic anaerobic digestion (TAD) to improve methanogenesis and hydrolysis activity through preventing free ammonia and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) inhibition from liquid swine manure (LSM). Over 98% of ammonia and 38% organic nitrogen were removed in 60min from 55°C to 85°C with vacuum pressure (from 100.63±3.79mmHg to 360.91±7.39mmHg) at initial pH 10.0 by IVS. Thermophilic methanogenesis and hydrolysis activity of pretreated LSM increased 52.25% (from 11.56±1.75% to 17.60±0.49%) in 25days and 40% (from 10days to 6days) in bio-methane potential assay. Over 80% H2S and total nitrogen were removed by IVS assistance, while around 70% nitrogen was recycled as ammonium sulfate. Therefore, IVS-TAD combination could be an effective strategy to improve TAD efficiency, whose elution is more easily utilized in algae cultivation and/or hydroponic system.

Energy shortage is main problem of Pakistan so to fulfill energy requirement we need alternative sources. A study was conducted to assess the potential of various cellulosic biomasses like fruits waste and domestic vegetable waste along the slurry of animal at various pH and at various temperature like 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 respectively in the presence of Methanogenic bacteria through process of anaerobic digestion. Result indicates that higher percentage of biomethane gas was released when study was conducted by various domestic wastes (fruits and vegetables of various amounts) through anaerobic condition. Furthermore this percentage was increased 5-15 % biomethane by adopting better optimal condition. Sodium hydroxide mixture used for purification of biomethane. Flame test used for confirmation of biomethane production. It is recommended to overcome shortage of energy, lower cost biomethane gas production might be better option to overcome energy crises of country.