Algal blooms (Spirogyra), a common environmental challenge in shrimp farming, offer a valuable opportunity for sustainable waste conversion into biochar. This study evaluates the feasibility of producing biochar from algal biomass through pyrolysis, focusing on optimizing three key process parameters: temperature, residence time, and heating rate. An L9 Taguchi orthogonal array was used to design the experiments. Biochar yield and quality were analyzed using advanced characterization techniques, including PXRD, FESEM, EDAX, CHNS, RAMAN, FTIR, BET, XPS, analysis, particle density, and pH measurement, to understand the physicochemical properties of the resulting biochar. From the characterization data, the optimization of biochar yield in the context of the functional group's perspective and surface area is 70.5 % and 66.1 %, respectively. The pyrolyzed product, pristine biochar, demonstrated that processing conditions significantly influence biochar structure and properties quantitatively and qualitatively. These findings provide insight into optimal pyrolysis parameters for enhancing biochar quality, with potential applications in environmental remediation and agricultural sustainability.

The contamination due to heavy metals poses a significant threat to both the environment and human health. Among the heavy metal pollutants, hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] presents a significant risk to human health due to its high toxicity and carcinogenic nature. Due to its high solubility and carcinogenicity, the regulatory limit for chromium in drinking water has been decreased to ≤25 μg/L. This review primarily focuses on recent developments in chromium removal from aquatic systems using various straw biochar materials. It discusses the modulation of the physicochemical properties of the straw biochar materials under different pyrolysis conditions and surface modification techniques. Consequently, it outlines the various surface modification strategies adopted by various researchers to acquire optimum chromium removal from the water systems. The adsorption capacities of the straw biochar systems range from ~20 to 450 mg/g, with the feedstock pyrolysis range from 400°C to 700°C. The modified biochar outperforms the pristine materials under acidic conditions, with the adsorption following monolayer Langmuir adsorption and pseudo-second-order kinetics. These modified biochar materials also promote the conversion of the Cr(VI) to the less toxic and more stable trivalent chromium at the redox-active sites on the biochar surface. In addition, the straw biochar materials can retain ~70–90% of adsorption capacity even after 3–5 regeneration cycles. Overall, this review discusses straw-derived biochar as an effective and economically viable material for chromium detoxification. Despite this, there is a need for further research on realistic wastewater matrices to translate the laboratory results into real field applications.

Microbial lipopeptides are a unique class of natural biosurfactants with diverse structures and wide-ranging biological activities. These bioactive agents are predominantly produced by bacteria and fungi and exhibit a broad spectrum of bioactivities such as antimicrobial, antifungal, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and immunomodulatory. This review focuses on structural diversity, self-assembly behaviour, and surface active properties of the lipopeptides, with a special focus on the lipopeptides surfactin, iturin, fengycin, and their analogues. The mechanisms of action and the dynamic interactions between lipid and peptide components that determine the specific physicochemical properties and bioactivities of lipopeptides have been analyzed and discussed. Beyond therapeutic potential, lipopeptides also play roles in bioremediation, sustainable agriculture, and food preservation. Despite lipopeptides appear to provide a promising alternative to synthetic surfactants, their use in a commercial setting is currently limited by the difficulties associated with their large-scale production, stability, and toxicity. In this regard, this review aims to provide a summary of the lipopeptides that have been patented for commercial use and critically evaluate recent developments in the discovery and optimization of lipopeptides. A dedicated section on challenges, limitations, and future perspectives further outlines key bottlenecks and emerging research directions in this field. In this way, the review emphasizes the importance of a bioprospecting approach in the translation of microbial lipopeptide biosurfactants into a commercial setting.

This work intends to effectively remove methylene blue (MB) dye from wastewater using an agricultural waste-derived sorbent made from pyrolyzing rice straw to generate biochar. This is done while keeping the sustainability idea in mind and tackling the crises arising from environmental contamination with dyes. The physicochemical scrutinization of the non-activated and the base-activated biochar materials showed that the materials have promising textural properties and surface functionalization, leading to high and fast capability to retrieve MB from aqueous solutions in alkaline conditions. The adsorption equilibrium for all the biochar was reached within a time span of 15 min, but 90 percent of the dye removed at equilibrium was already eliminated in less than 5 min. The behaviour of the equilibrium adsorption for the biochar materials was thoroughly assessed using Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms. Interestingly, the adsorption process for the base-activated biochar follows both Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms at higher pH. The base-activated biochar exhibited a maximum adsorption capacity of 129.87 mg/g at alkaline pH. The adsorption data analysis with various kinetic models revealed that the adsorption process follows a pseudo-second-order kinetics for all the biochar materials. The Gibbs free energy and activation energy studies clearly revealed the adsorption of MB on biochar to be spontaneous and physiosorption in nature. The adsorption mechanism of the fast and efficient removal of MB by the base-activated biochar involves electrostatic interactions, hydrogen bonding, n-π and π-π interactions. Overall, the base-activated biochar with higher and faster adsorption capacity in alkaline conditions is a promising low-cost bioadsorbent with a simple production process for the removal of cationic dyes from aqueous environments and practical dyeing wastewater purification.

Mangroves represent intricate and ever-changing ecosystems, exhibiting fluctuations in water level, salinity, and nutrient (such as NPK) availability as well as a wide array of unique bacterial communities. Microbial interactions in different components (e.g., tree roots) of the mangrove ecosystem are crucial to understand the ecosystem functioning for potential application in pollution mitigation and agricultural production. This study aimed to isolate phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) from the rhizosphere sediment of mangrove (Avicennia sp.) in terms of heavy metals (HMs) and salinity tolerance as well as plant growth promoting (PGP) traits, where the effective PSB were used on Brassica chinensis for their seed priming and growth under salinity stress. The effective two PSB isolates were identified by 16S rRNA, where JKD01 and JKD02 were closely related (99%) to Enterobacter cloacae (OQ271412) and Kocuria rhizophila (OQ271413), respectively. Both the strains exhibited phosphate solubilization, IAA, NH3, and EPS production ability as well as HMs resistant ability where, E. cloacae (OQ271412) and K. rhizophila (OQ271413), are effectively remove the Cu from the water with 33.23% and 27.54%, respectively. The FTIR results showed functional group shifts (carboxyl, phosphate, and amino) in Cu-treated bacterial biomass and intracellular Cu presence, indicating the involvement of Cu in the bio-sorption and intracellular bioaccumulation process, respectively. The findings suggested PSB tolerance to salinity and HMs are present in mangroves, making them a valuable source for isolating effective bacteria to reduce stress in plants, lower HMs accumulation in mangroves, and aid in the bioremediation of HMs-contaminated environments.

The advent of nanoscience is considered bringing out the next breakthrough in medicine and biotechnology. For the past few decades, many research groups throughout the world are involved in synthesizing novel nanomaterial for several biotechnological applications. In the current chapter, the different types of magnetic nanoparticles along with their properties are discussed. Consequently, the different physical and chemical methods adopted for the synthesis of magnetic nanoparticles have been discussed. The applications of magnetic nanoparticles in biotechnology have been discussed in breadth. Firstly, the role of magnetic nanoparticles in magnetic resonance and sentinel lymph node imagingSentinel lymph node imaging has been discussed. Thereafter, magnetically triggered drug releaseMagnetically triggered drug release and utilization of magnetic nanoparticles in cryopreservation has been elaborated. Finally, the role of MNPs in bacterial sequestration and in cancer diagnosis and therapy has been outlined.

"Nanomaterials," or substances having a diameter of less than 100 nm, have piqued the interest of scientists. The number of studies on magnetic nanomaterials has increased extraordinarily over the previous two decades. Recently, ecologists have developed a keen interest in the development of nanomaterials that are both economical to produce as well as benign to both the environment and the biosphere. There is a lot of interest in ferrite nanomaterials for use in environmental remediation due to the materials' unique magnetic properties, which can be tuned to a wide variety of functionalization. This chapter summarizes magnetic nanomaterials and their potential uses in environmental remediation. Environmental remediation benefits from the use of magnetic nanomaterials since they can remove pollutants and biological contaminants rapidly. New applications are being developed for magnetic nanomaterials with unusual optical, magnetic, thermal, and mechanical properties of magnetic nanomaterials. Magnetic nanoparticles can transform magnetic energy into thermal energy, opening the door to a wide range of analytical methods. The easy separation of magnetic nanoparticles by a magnet and their reusability makes them highly efficient. In addition, the difficulties of employing adsorbent materials, the time required, and the volume of the samples can be overcome by using them. In this chapter, the use of magnetic nanomaterials in various environmental remediation applications and their mechanism of action has been outlined.

The rapid spread of invasive aquatic plants poses significant ecological and economic challenges, necessitating effective management strategies. Pyrolysis, a thermochemical decomposition process in an oxygen-free environment, offers a promising solution for converting these plant-based biomass sources into biochar. Biochar, produced through the pyrolysis of organic materials in low-oxygen environments, has high carbon content, excellent resistance to degradation, and high aromaticity, making it a valuable resource for various industries, including agriculture, environment, and energy sectors and supports the circular economy. Invasive aquatic plants are widely distributed and are ideal resources for biochar production. Pyrolysis of invasive aquatic plants offers multiple benefits, including protecting ecosystems from aggressive species, promoting human health, mitigating aquatic weed proliferation, and generating other renewable energy resources. Invasive plant-derived biochar has emerged as a novel material, distinguished from traditional biochar by its unique structure and composition. This study explores the pyrolysis potential of various invasive aquatic plants by examining biochar's origins, analysing how pyrolysis conditions affect the conversion of these invasive aquatic plants, and exploring characterization methods, applications, and future potential of biochar derived from these plants. An economic analysis of biochar pyrolyzed from invasive aquatic plants is also reviewed and reported.

Bioplastics are plastics made up of from bio-based polymers, and they contribute toward the sustainablity and life cycle of plastic. Bioplastics are a good alternative for the conventional plastics, which are based on petroleum. By replacing the fossil-derived plastic with the bioplastics, it can reduce the fossil energy consumption, and this can reduce the greenhouse gas. Within its life cycle, the petroleum-based plastics are associated with many problems, including greenhouse gas emision. On the other hand, bioplastics are a fast-expanding class of polymeric materials that are frequently offered as substitutes for traditional plastics made from petroleum. Yet, there is a need to assess the true environmental impact of using bioplastics because they have also been connected to significant environmental problems such as greenhouse gas emissions and adverse land use change. Bio-based plastics offer the intrinsic value proposition of a smaller carbon footprint and are perfectly in sync with the rates and timescale of the biological carbon cycle. In these materials, fossil carbon is replaced by carbon derived from bio/renewable sources. Identification and quantification of bio-based content are based on the radioactive C-14 signature associated with (new) biocarbon.

•The significant improvement in dielectric properties with ultra low loading level of Ag2O nanoparticles.•The unique dispersion of Ag2O nanoparticles in the bulk of the TPU/PANI mixture.•Excellent Optical Energy Band Gap.•Superior I-V characteristics.

•The significant improvement in dielectric properties of the fabricated blends having high structured conducting PPy.•Raman analysis confirms the establishment of interaction between TPU and PPy.•Suitable for the absorption of Microwaves in heavy electronic equipments.

The primary objective of the current study were to co-relate the groundwater quality with human health risks due to fluoride pollution in the groundwater resources of Gajapati district,India.For this purpose,45 samples of groundwater were collected and different physio-chemical parameters were analysed including fluoride. The fluoride test was carried out by SPAND's method. The concentration of fluoride in groundwater of this region varied in the limit of 0.0 to 1.9mg/L. About 25% of the samples possessed increased concentration of fluoride which indicates that about 92% of the adults and 98% of the children community of Gajapati district are in a significant risk of fluoride toxicity.

This study reveals the electromagnetic shielding effectiveness (EMISE) and dielectric relaxation phenomena of single walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) based poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)/poly aniline (PANI) blend nanocomposites. An imidazolium base salt which is a liquid at room temperature is introduced in the polymer blend for improved dispersion of SWCNT phase. The extent of dispersion of SWCNT phase at the interface and the improved dispersion in the ionic liquid (IL) incorporated systems are investigated with High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The qualitative morphology and interaction between the different phases are correlated the obtained dielectric and EMISE outcomes. Analysis of various properties of the fabricated nanocomposite systems like, AC conductivity (σac), impedance (real and imaginary part), dielectric permittivity (ε′) have been done in the frequency range of 1–106 Hz of the applied external electric field. Introduction of IL to the composite systems affects the dielectric properties which is also analysed and the observed significant high value of ε′ is a result of effortless polarization at the interface of SWCNT and PANI phase. Microwave absorption efficiency of the SWCNT incorporated composite systems are explored in X-band range of frequencies (8–12 GHz) and high absorbance with low transmittance as well as low reflectance of microwave is noticed for the developed PVDF/PANI/SWCNT nanocomposites. The absorbance is predominantly increased with increasing the SWCNT loading level.

Gullele Botanical Garden (GBG) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia is a joint venture of Addis Ababa government and the university. The garden has been built mainly to conserve the endemic plants and to advance the research on the endemic and non-endemic plants collected from different part of Ethiopia. Many traditional healers from the environs of GBG and different subcities of Addis Ababa depend on the garden for their practice of traditional medicine but there is no systematic documentation of the traditional medicinal knowledge of these healers. The main objective of the present study is to comprehensively document the ethnobotanical and ethnomedicinal information from the traditional healers of different ethnic and cultural groups depending on GBG and to create a database of the endemic plants used by these healers. The ethnobotanical and ethnomedicinal data obtained from 60 traditional healers have been analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. A total of 81 medicinal plants belonging to 47 families have been identified. Majority of the plants used belonged to Asteraceae (12) family. The most frequently used plant form and plant parts are herbs and leaves. The major method adopted by the healers for preparation and administration of traditional medicine is crushing and topical, respectively. Skin and general diseases are the most important ailments treated by the healers. The three most cited plants used to treat diseases are Echinops kebericho Mesfin (60), Hagenia abyssinica (Bruce) J.F.Gmel (60) and Laggera tomentosa (A.Rich.) Sch.Bip. ex Oliv. & Hiern (58). The present study is the first systematic, qualitative, and quantitative ethnobotanical analysis and documentation done on the use of the medicinal plants from GBG for traditional medicine. In addition, our study reveals that E. kebericho is endemic and endangered plant and is highly used in traditional medicine. Therefore, GBG authorities should take steps for the propagation and restoration of this plant. Further it is suggested that the pharmacological properties of the roots and leaves of E. kebericho should be compared to find the possibility of use of leaves in place of roots for the preparation of traditional medicine which would help in conserving this endemic plant of Ethiopia.

Water is the basic necessity in the everyday life of human beings. There is a problem of freshwater scarcity due to pollution caused by human interruption, urbanization, population growth, change of lifestyle, changing in climate with frequently occurring natural calamities such as floods and droughts and also feckless use of water. The research community is focused on water filtration as well as desalination in order to produce huge amount of purified water within very short period of time and low cost. Currently, researchers are giving interested in graphene and its derivative-based composite membrane for water filtration as well as desalination due to some specific properties of this membrane. These composite membranes are generally prepared by incorporating some polymer matrices into the graphene derivatives. Previously, graphene has become a formal candidate for water purification and desalination process due to its hardness, high thermal activity and good conductor of electricity. Like other materials, it has also some disadvantages such as proper distribution of pores on the graphene sheets. The ability of salt rejection by graphene decreases with the increase in pore size and pressure. Recently, graphene oxide (GO)-based composite membrane has become a novel material for water purification and desalination because of its large-scale production in industry, easy fabrication method and high mechanical strength. GO is the derivative of graphene containing oxygenated functional groups such as epoxy, carbonyl, hydroxyl and carboxyl group which increases the hydrophilic properties and acts as functional reactive sides. This lesson summarizes the recent progress of graphene-based composite membrane, and their fabrication methods for the application of water desalination draw special attention for effective challenges and future prospectus.

The Chilika Lagoon is the largest brackish water ecosystem in the Asian continent and is a Ramsar site. Here, the sorption–desorption study was standardized simulating the environmental condition of the Chilika, to ascertain whether phosphorus (P) is the source or sink for sediments of the coastal ecosystem. The sorption behaviour of sediment phosphorus was better fitting into the modified Langmuir model. The effects of salinity, pH, and temperature on phosphorus sorption were found to be better understood by nonlinear relationships. The sorption was recorded to increase at its lower concentrations with increasing of mentioned parameters, when it decreased beyond some threshold values. The maximum phosphorus sorption capacity (Qmax) was more (258 mg/kg) in the freshwater stretch of the lagoon; Northern Sector compared to the relatively saline stretches, i.e., Outer Channel (219 mg/kg) and Southern Sector (237 mg/kg) (p < 0.05). This study will help to control eutrophication by increasing P sorption.

The nutrient flux (NO3−, NH4+, PO43− and SiO44−) at water and sediment interface studied for the Asia’s largest brackish water lagoon, Chilika. The benthic chamber (in situ) and diffusive flux techniques were employed for the estimation of nutrient flux. Measured nutrient flux by benthic chamber technique varied in between 3,000 and 14,000 µmol m−2 d−1 for NO3−, 2,000 and 20,000 µmol m−2 d−1 for NH4+, 120 and 2,400 µmol m−2 d–1 for PO43−, 3,000 and 20,000 µmol m−2 d−1 for SiO44−. Calculated nutrients flux by diffusive flux technique varied in between 1,200 and 7,500 µmol m−2 d−1 for NO3−, 450 and 5,500 µmol m−2 d−1 for NH4+, 15 and 280 µmol m−2 d−1 for PO43−, and 1,500 and 4,800 µmol m−2 d−1 for SiO44−. Sectoral variation for the flux enrichment (in situ flux: diffusive flux) were in between 1 × 8 and 5 × 9 in the central sector, between 2 × 5 and 18 in the outer channel, and between 1 × 5 to 6 × 1 in the northern sector. The higher flux enrichment in outer channel could be due to dominance of macrofaunal activities. In central sector, the benthic fluxes of PO 4 −3 and NH4+ were 50 and 25% of the total nutrient flow of the Bhubaneswar municipal sewage treatment plant through river Daya and Bhargavi respectively. Pre-monsoon season, a noteworthy fractions of nutrients employed by primary producers in the water column, which is supplies by the benthic sediment regeneration in the central sector.

The development of an inter-cross-linked polymer network of thermoset-thermoset blends have been extensively studied due to their enhanced mechanical properties. Among various polymer blends, modifications of unsaturated polyester (UPE) resin with epoxidized soybean oil acrylate (ESOA) combinations are an attractive route to promote the performance of the thermoset matrix and to overcome the inferior properties of both the components. Biodegradable and effectively accessible chitosan biodegradable waste material can shape the new stage for cutting-edge innovation items. Blend of both recyclable fibrous reinforcement and eco-friendly filler with two miscible thermosetting polymers will provide enhanced properties. At this time, chitosan up to 15 wt% (based on matrix weight) was utilized as reinforcing filler. At last, an interesting result was built up by confirming that chitosan filled chemically tailored bamboo and UPE/ESOA (80:20) biocomposites offered enhanced properties by 10 wt% of filler concentration with the most enhancements in whole properties. They have extensive variety of applications in the sector of low cost housing, structural projects and structural laminates.