Mitigation of zinc leaching from waste ground tire rubbers through polymer encapsulation.

The increasing disposal of waste tires is a growing environmental challenge requiring innovative recycling and reuse approaches. Crumb rubber, derived from end-of-life tires, has potential for various applications where resilience and elasticity are required. However, as highlighted by the upcoming ban on using crumb rubber granulate as infill for artificial turf in the EU, one of the most prominent issues, zinc leaching, urgently requires an effective solution.

Polyurethane Waste Recycling: Thermolysis of the Carbamate Fraction.

The alcoholysis of polyurethane waste is currently being industrialized, making it one of the most advanced chemical recycling processes for polyurethanes. However, the recycling potential of the dicarbamate phase, which accounts for 10-40% of the polyurethane mass, is often disregarded, as mainly the polyol components are (partially) retrieved in many alcoholysis processes. In this study, we present a two-step recycling method in which the valuable carbamate fraction obtained in the initial alcoholysis step is transformed into an isocyanate-rich mixture through an additional thermolysis step.

Calcium oxide nanoparticles ameliorate cadmium toxicity in alfalfa seedlings by depriving its bioaccumulation, enhancing photosystem II functionality and antioxidant gene expression.

Cadmium (Cd) is a highly toxic and carcinogenic pollutant that poses significant risks to living organisms and the environment, as it is absorbed by the plant roots and accumulates in different parts of crop during its production. A promising sustainable strategy to counteract these threats to use calcium oxide nanoparticles (CaO-NPs) as soil supplements in fodder crops. This approach has shown notable morpho-physiological and biochemical improvements under metal toxicity conditions.

Enhancing work zone crash severity analysis: The role of synthetic minority oversampling technique in balancing minority categories.

Road work zones are becoming increasingly common due to the aging infrastructure and the need for capacity enhancement. They present significant safety risks due to narrow lanes, uneven traffic flow, lower speed, and reduced visibility. It is particularly important to understand the role of human behavioral factors in WZ crash injury severity due to difficulty navigating such areas.