Unlocking sustainable solutions: wood waste as a novel substrate for polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) production to combat plastic pollution.

Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) is considered as a hope for bioplastic production, which can serve as a sustainable alternative. Utilizing feedstock as substrate is widely explored for the production but wood waste, which is abundant in cellulose, hemicellulose and lignocellulose, has limited studies for PHB production. Herein, wood waste is used as a biobased feedstock Hydrolyses of wood waste was done using sulphuric acid (HSO) to break down of cellulose and hemicellulose into simple carbon forms.

Sustainable fabrication of dimorphic plant derived ZnO nanoparticles and exploration of their biomedical and environmental potentialities.

Although, different plant species were utilized for the fabrication of polymorphic, hexagonal, spherical, and nanoflower ZnO NPs with various diameters, few studies succeeded in synthesizing small diameter ZnO nanorods from plant extract at ambient temperature. This work sought to pioneer the ZnO NPs fabrication from the aqueous extract of a Mediterranean salt marsh plant species Limoniastrum monopetalum (L.) Boiss.

Insights into levofloxacin adsorption with machine learning models using nano-composite hydrochars.

Hydrothermal carbonization was applied to taro peel wastes to produce hydrochars using a facile and environmentally friendly process. Four different entities were prepared: hydrochar (TPh), phosphoric-activated hydrochar (P-TPh), and silver@hydrochars (Ag@TPh, Ag@P-TPh). The elemental compositions of the single and composite hydrochars were confirmed by EDX.

Nanofiltration Membranes for the Removal of Heavy Metals from Aqueous Solutions: Preparations and Applications.

Water shortages are one of the problems caused by global industrialization, with most wastewater discharged without proper treatment, leading to contamination and limited clean water supply. Therefore, it is important to identify alternative water sources because many concerns are directed toward sustainable water treatment processes. Nanofiltration membrane technology is a membrane integrated with nanoscale particle size and is a superior technique for heavy metal removal in the treatment of polluted water.

Potentials of mono- and multi-metal ion removal from water with cotton stalks and date palm stone residuals.

In this work, cotton stalks (Gossypium barbadense) and date palm stones (Phoenix dactylifera) have been used as biosorbents to remove cadmium; Cd(II), lead; Pb(II), and zinc; Zn(II) from mono- and multi-solutions. Each biosorbent was characterized using SEM-EDX, and FT-IR. The findings showed that pH, dose, contact time, metal concentration, and particle size affect the treatment process.

Efficient Removal of Phosphate from Wastewater by a Novel Phyto-Graphene Composite Derived from Palm Byproducts.

The increased demand for clean water especially in overpopulated countries is of great concern; thus, the development of eco-friendly and cost-effective techniques and materials that can remediate polluted water for possible reuse in agricultural purposes can offer a life-saving solution to improve human welfare, especially in view of climate change impacts. In the current study, the agricultural byproducts of palm trees have been used for the first time as a carbon source to produce graphene functionalized with ferrocene in a composite form to enhance its water treatment potential. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), ultraviolet-visible, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, zeta potential, thermogravimetric analysis, and Raman techniques have been used to characterize the produced materials.

Green synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles using Sea Lavender (Limonium pruinosum L. Chaz.) extract: characterization, evaluation of anti-skin cancer, antimicrobial and antioxidant potentials.

In the present study, a green, sustainable, simple and low-cost method was adopted for the synthesis of ZnO NPs, for the first time, using the aqueous extract of sea lavender, Limonium pruinosum (L.) Chaz., as a reducing, capping, and stabilizing agent.

Synergetic effect of green synthesized reduced graphene oxide and nano-zero valent iron composite for the removal of doxycycline antibiotic from water.

In this work, the synthesis of an rGO/nZVI composite was achieved for the first time using a simple and green procedure via Atriplex halimus leaves extract as a reducing and stabilizing agent to uphold the green chemistry principles such as less hazardous chemical synthesis. Several tools have been used to confirm the successful synthesis of the composite such as SEM, EDX, XPS, XRD, FTIR, and zeta potential which indicated the successful fabrication of the composite. The novel composite was compared with pristine nZVI for the removal aptitude of a doxycycline antibiotic with different initial concentrations to study the synergistic effect between rGO and nZVI.

Microplastics: Occurrences, treatment methods, regulations and foreseen environmental impacts.

Microplastics are a silent threat that represent a high degree of danger to the environment in its different ecosystems and of course will also have an important impact on the health of living organisms. It is evident the need to have effective treatments for their treatment, however this is not a simple task, this as a result of the behavior of microplastics in wastewater treatment plants due to their different types and nature, their long molecular chain, reactivity against water, size, shape and the functional groups they carry. Wastewater treatment plants are at the circumference of the release of these wastes into the environment.

Biogenic synthesis of reduced graphene oxide from Ziziphus spina-christi (Christ's thorn jujube) extracts for catalytic, antimicrobial, and antioxidant potentialities.

In the current work, various concentrations of the aqueous extract of Ziziphus spina-christi were employed for the phytoreduction of graphene oxide (GO). The green synthesized reduced graphene oxide (rGO) was characterized through UV-Vis spectrometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX). Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) denoted the presence of numerous phytoconstituents including ketones, terpenoids, fatty acids, esters, and flavonoids, which acted as reducing and capping agents.

Reuse of poor-quality water for sustainable crop production in the changing scenario of climate.

The availability of freshwater is limited for agriculture systems across the globe. A fast-growing population demands need to enhance the food grain production from a limited natural resources. Therefore, researchers and policymakers have been emphasized on the production potential of agricultural crops in a sustainable manner.

COVID-19 drugs in aquatic systems: a review.

The outbreak of the human coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has induced an unprecedented increase in the use of several old and repurposed therapeutic drugs such as veterinary medicines, e.g. ivermectin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, protein and peptide therapeutics, disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs and antimalarial drugs, antiretrovirals, analgesics, and supporting agents, e.

Elevation in wildfire frequencies with respect to the climate change.

Forests have been undergoing through immense pressure due to the factors like human activities; procurement of forest products and climate change which is a major factor influencing this pressure buildup on forests. Climate change and temperature increase caused by anthropogenic activities have notably affected forests and wildlife on a global scale. High temperature increases the soil-water evaporation, resulting in drier soils, and water loss in forest flora.

Combining subsidiary and synchronous approaches for concurrent spectrofluorimetric assurance of lopinavir and ritonavir in tablets utilized in convention for treatment of coronavirus infection (COVID-19) and biological fluids.

In this think about, assurance of lopinavir and ritonavir down to organic concentration level has been carried out. The assurance is based on expanding the selectivity of the spectrofluorimetric procedure by combining both subordinate and synchronous spectrofluorimetric approaches, which allow effective estimation of lopinavir at 248.8 nm and ritonavir at 300.

Green copper oxide nanoparticles for lead, nickel, and cadmium removal from contaminated water.

Environmentally friendly copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) were prepared with a green synthesis route without using hazardous chemicals. Hence, the extracts of mint leaves and orange peels were utilized as reducing agents to synthesize CuO NPs-1 and CuO NPs-2, respectively. The synthesized CuO NPs nanoparticles were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis (EDX), BET surface area, Ultraviolet-Visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR).

COVID-19 transmission, vulnerability, persistence and nanotherapy: a review.

End 2019, the zoonotic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), named COVID-19 for coronavirus disease 2019, is the third adaptation of a contagious virus following the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus in 2002, SARS-CoV, and the Middle East respiratory syndrome virus in 2012, MERS-CoV. COVID-19 is highly infectious and virulent compared to previous outbreaks. We review sources, contagious routes, preventive measures, pandemic, outbreak, epidemiology of SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 from 2002 to 2020 using a Medline search.

Graphene-based nanomaterials for the removal of organic pollutants: Insights into linear versus nonlinear mathematical models.

The adsorption-desorption behavior of methylene blue, acid orange 7, bisphenol A, and phenol on the synthesized graphene-based nanomaterials were studied. For this purpose, adsorption experiments were conducted in a batch setup and different parameters such as contact time, pH, adsorbent dose concentration, and initial micropollutant concentration were considered. In addition, linear and nonlinear kinetic and isotherm models were evaluated.

Optimization of Cadmium (CD(2+)) removal from aqueous solutions by novel biosorbent.

In this research, dead leaves of a common ornamental plant, Dracaena draca known also as dragon tree was used as a biosorbent for the removal of Cadmium (Cd(2+)) from aqueous solutions using a full 2(3) factorial experimental design. Three factors were investigated at two different levels, metal ion concentration (X = 10 and 100 ppm), hydrogen ion concentration (Ph = 2 and 7) and biomass dose (BD = 0.1 and 0.