A critical review and future perspective of plastic waste recycling.

Plastic waste is increasing rapidly due to urbanisation and globalization. In recent decades, plastic usage increased, and the upward trend is expected to continue. Only 9% of the 7 billion tonnes of plastic produced were recycled in India until 2022.

Biotechnological potential of rumen microbiota for sustainable bioconversion of lignocellulosic waste to biofuels and value-added products.

Lignocellulosic biomass is an abundant resource with untapped potential for biofuel, enzymes, and chemical production. Its complex recalcitrant structure obstructs its bioconversion into biofuels and other value-added products. For improving its bioconversion efficiency, it is important to deconstruct its complex structure.

Biochar as environmental armour and its diverse role towards protecting soil, water and air.

Biochar has been of considerable importance for various environmental applications in recent years. It has exhibited substantial advantages like favourable structural and surface properties, easy process of preparation and widely available feedstocks. These set of exceptional properties make it an efficient, cost-effective and environment friendly source for diversified elimination of pollutants.

Bioremediation of heavy metals from industrial effluents by endophytes and their metabolic activity: Recent advances.

Worldwide, heavy metals pollution is mostly caused by rapid population growth and industrial development which is accumulated in food webs causing a serious public health risk. Endophytic microorganisms have a variety of mechanisms for metal sequestration having metal biosorption capacities.Endophytic organisms like bacteria and fungi provide beneficial qualities that help plants to improve their health, reduce stress, and detoxify metals.

Traditional System Versus DNA Barcoding in Identification of Bamboo Species: A Systematic Review.

Bamboo, a gramineous plant belonging to the family Poaceae, comprises of 1575 species from 116 genera across the globe. It has the ability to grow and evolve on degraded land and hence, can be utilized in the various applications as an alternative for plastic and wood. DNA barcoding, a long genomic sequence, identifies barcode region which shows species-specific nucleotide differences.

Application of remote sensing for assessment of change in vegetation cover and the subsequent impact on climatic variables.

The impacts of vegetation cover changes (VCCs) and land use land cover changes (LULCCs) on climate variabilities need to be addressed while maintaining healthy urban development. This study aimed to evaluate LULCCs and VCCs and their impacts on land surface temperature (LST) and rainfall in the Darbhanga district of Bihar, India. Landsat data and climate hazard group infrared precipitation with stations (CHIRPS) were used to assess LST or LULCCs and rainfall, respectively, over the study area.

Role of microbial community and metal-binding proteins in phytoremediation of heavy metals from industrial wastewater.

This review illustrated the role of metal-binding proteins (MBPs) and microbial interaction in assisting the phytoremediation of industrial wastewater polluted with heavy metals. MBPs are used to increase the accumulation and tolerance of metals by microorganisms via binding protein synthesis. Microbes have various protection mechanisms to heavy metals stress like compartmentalization, exclusion, complexity rendering, and the synthesis of binding proteins.

Lignin valorization by bacterial genus Pseudomonas: State-of-the-art review and prospects.

The most prominent aromatic feedstock on Earth is lignin, however, lignin valorization is still an underrated subject. The principal preparatory strategies for lignin valorization are fragmentation and depolymerization which help in the production of fuels and chemicals. Owing to lignin's structural heterogeneity, these strategies result in product generation which requires tedious separation and purification to extract target products.

Pyrolysis of waste biomass and plastics for production of biochar and its use for removal of heavy metals from aqueous solution.

The aim of this work was to study the pyrolysis of waste biomass and plastics and use the produced biochar for the removal of heavy metals from aqueous solution. The batch experiments of Fe, Ni, Cu, Cr, Cd and Pb with biochars and plastic chars were carried for determining the effects of various experimental parameters (feedstock, contact time, adsorbent dose, pH and pyrolysis temperature). The isothermal sorption models demonstrated that the sorption capacities of biochars are higher in comparison to the plastic chars.

Understanding the Role of Litter Decomposition in Restoration of Fly Ash Ecosystem.

Plant species possess a huge potential in restoration of fly ash ecosystem. Litter deposition and its decomposition in the ash deposited sites are two important processes of the fly ash ecosystem. In order to identify the biological potential of a plant species to aid restoration of fly ash deposited sites, it is needed to assess leaf litter decomposition as well as nutrient release pattern.

Carbon material as a sustainable alternative towards boosting properties of urban soil and foster plant growth.

Addition of carbon-based byproducts in urban soil is gaining popularity as a plant growth stimulator, soil quality enhancer and fostering green land vegetation. A 60-day trial experiment was carried out for investigating the impacts of sugarcane, neem and bamboo mixed biochar and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene (PE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) mixed plastic char (1:100, 2:100 and 4:100 char: soil ratio) on physico-chemical properties of soil and growth of Dendrocalamus strictus saplings. It was found that available phosphorus increased from 412.

Sorption of volatile organic compounds on non-activated biochar.

This work dealt with the determination of the suitability of sorption of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) on biochars prepared from neem, sugarcane and bamboo feedstocks. Six different VOCs namely benzene, toluene, methyl chloride, xylene, chloroform and carbon tetrachloride were used in a laboratory-scale set-up on non-activated biochars prepared via slow pyrolysis (350-550 °C). Although all the chars showed considerable sorption but amongst them N3 (neem-based biochar) showed the maximum removal efficiency (65.

Aligning Microbial Biodiversity for Valorization of Biowastes: Conception to Perception.

Generation of biowastes is increasing rapidly and its uncontrolled, slow and persistent fermentation leads to the release of Green-house gases (GHGs) into the environment. Exploration and exploitation of microbial diversity for degrading biowastes can result in producing diverse range of bioactive molecules, which can act as a source of bioenergy, biopolymers, nutraceuticals and antimicrobials. The whole process is envisaged to manage biowastes, and reduce their pollution causing capacity, and lead to a sustainable society.

Comparative study of different waste biomass for energy application.

Biomass is available in many varieties, consisting of crops as well as its residues from agriculture, forestry, and the agro-industry. These different biomass find their way as freely available fuel in rural areas but are also responsible for air pollution. Emissions from such solid fuel combustion to indoor, regional and global air pollution largely depend on fuel types, combustion device, fuel properties, fuel moisture, amount of air supply for combustion and also on climatic conditions.