Agricultural Waste Products Research Articles

Promoting Sustainable Fruit and Vegetable Biowaste Management and Industrial Symbiosis through an Innovative Web Platform

Sustainable bioeconomy is a promising pathway towards the transition to a circular and climate-neutral economy. The valorization of biowaste is a key player in this direction. This paper presents the design and development of the AgriPLaCE Platform, which aims to promote synergies that enable the utilization of biowaste from the fruit and vegetable supply chain. The platform consists of the AgriPLaCE Waste Management Database, which provides users with an extended list of potential utilization methods for various types of fruit and vegetable biowaste streams, and the AgriPLaCE Synergies Tool, which facilitates synergies between different actors involved in the biowaste-to-resource value chain from agricultural waste production to waste treatment and new valuable products’ exploitation. Initially, the conceptual design of both tools took place based on analysis of user needs and services alongside the system architecture. Following this, the AgriPLaCE Platform was developed with the implementation of all the necessary subsystems. The results of the platform’s implementation demonstrated its potential to generate multiple collaborations and synergies while users can also deepen their knowledge about alternative and emerging treatment technologies and valuable products from a wide range of fruit and vegetable biowaste streams.

Study of Water Quality and Heavy Metals in Several Locations in Rivers and Estuaries of Lurang Village, North Wetar, Southwest Maluku, Indonesia

Water plays an important role in life and is a vital component that supports biodiversity and secures the existence of ecosystems. Water sampling in this study consisted of 13 stations, namely 10 stations in river waters and 3 stations in estuary areas in the waters of Lurang Village, North Wetar District, Southwest Maluku Regency, Indonesia. The water quality parameter measurement results show that the water quality conditions in several locations are below the optimum limit. Heavy metal test samples were taken from 4 locations, namely RW35, RW36, RW39 and RWBG.Ds to be tested for the metal content of Selenium (Se), Cadmium (Cd), Copper (Cu), Lead (Pb) and Mercury (Hg). The presence of heavy metals in waters is a result of pollution from industrial, agricultural and other waste products. This study aims to determine the water quality and distribution of heavy metals in the river and estuary waters in Lurang Village, North Wetar District, West Maluku Regency.

Elimination of Methylene Blue from Aqueous Medium Using an Agricultural Waste Product of Crude Corn Silk (Stylus maydis) and Corn Silk Treated with Sulphuric Acid

AbstractThe objective of this study is to employ an adsorption technology to remove methylene blue from the aqueous solution. Methylene blue is one of the dyestuffs that are discharged to wastewater after being used extensively in the industry and creating pollution. A residue of an agricultural product called corn silk was employed in the adsorption process, along with corn silk that had been sulphuric acid‐treated. Using methods like FT‐IR, SEM, EDX, and TGA, the structures of crude corn silk (CCS) and modified corn silk (MCS) were clarified. The ideal adsorption conditions for both adsorbents were found to be equilibrium contact period, pH, the dose of adsorbent, and beginning methylene blue concentration. At 293, 313, and 333 K, adsorption kinetic and isotherm experiments were conducted. It was determined that both adsorptions were compatible with the pseudo‐second‐order kinetic model kinetically and the Freundlich isotherm model isothermally with higher R2 values. At 333 K, the maximum adsorption capacities (qm) of CCS and MCS were calculated to be respectively 59.5 mg g−1 and 400 mg g−1. The findings demonstrated that although crude corn silk adsorbs methylene blue, sulphuric acid treatment greatly increases its adsorption ability.

Agricultural and municipal organic waste amendments to increase soil organic carbon: How much, how often, and to what end?

AbstractA new version of the Century ecosystem model, modified to better represent chemically and physically recalcitrant organic amendments by allowing the addition of organic waste products (OWP) as a mixture of plant material and surface slow soil organic matter (SOM) controlled by the Indicator of Residual Organic Carbon (IROC), and field observations from a 16‐year wheat corn rotation experiment near Paris, France, were used to assess the long‐term impacts of applying agricultural and municipal organic waste products (OWP) on soil carbon (C) sequestration, grain C and nutrient content, and soil nutrient status. Sixteen years of observed grain C, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) and soil C and nutrient data were used to calibrate and validate the performance of IROC‐Century. A suite of future management scenarios, simulated using this calibrated model, explored multiple frequencies of applications of OWP and fertilizer to evaluate their long‐term impacts on grain C and nutrient content, soil C sequestration, and NO3− leaching. The model effectively simulated the impact of biennial additions of four OWP types on soil C, N, P, and K during the 16‐year experiment. Measured and simulated OWP +fertilizer resulted in higher soil C (highest for well‐decomposed [55%] vs. less‐decomposed [37%] OWP) and N content, while total soil accumulation of N, P, and K was determined by the content of the OWP, regardless of IROC, and OWP greatly reduced the need to add chemical fertilizer while increasing crop production and N, P, and K uptake by the crop. Simulation scenarios using IROC‐Century for future management suggest that the optimal cropping management system to maintain high corn and wheat production and reduce NO3− leaching is to apply OWP biennially for 12 years along with fertilizer and then reduce OWP to every fourth year while continuing to add fertilizer to the wheat crop only. However, reducing the number of OWP additions in these scenarios did decrease the rate of soil carbon sequestration.

Production of AC from Bamboo, Orange, and Paulownia Waste-Influence of Activation Gas and Biomass Maturation.

The production of agricultural waste is associated with environmental problems and risks to public health. The general interest demands, as an ecological alternative, the proper management of waste generated by industrial activity through its transformation into value-added products. Carbonization/activation (2 h/2 h) at 700 °C in a vertical furnace (20 K/min), to produce biochar and activated carbon (AC) from bamboo, orange, and paulownia residue, was carried out in a laboratory facility with physical activation by CO2 and steam. The characterization of the carbonaceous material obtained was based on the determination of the N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms at 77 K, the specific surface area with the BET procedure, and its internal structure by means of SEM images. The BET surface area values obtained as a function of the CO2/steam agent used were 911/1182 m2/g, 248/388 m2/g, and 800/1166 m2/g for bamboo, orange, and paulownia, respectively. The range of variation of porosity in paulownia residue generated after steam activation was 485-1166 m2/g, varying depending on the degree of maturity of the biomass used. Research has shown that both the type of activation agent used to produce AC and the degree of plant maturation of the precursor residue affect the quality and characteristics of the final product.

Comparison between the Compressive Strength of Binary and Ternary Alkaline-activated Pozzolanic Concrete

This research compared the compressive strength of binary and ternary alkaline-activated pozzolanic concrete. Rice husk ash (RHA) and Metakaolin (MK) combined partially with Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) each are the binary concrete while the combination of rice husk ash and metakaolin (RHA/MK) combined partially with OPC is the ternary concrete. The OPC was replaced at 15% each with RHA, MK and RHA/MK in ratios 0.33 (X), 0.5 (Y) and 1.0 (Z) of sodium silicate (NS) to sodium hydroxide (NH) as activator. A mix design ratio of 1:2:4 and water-cement ratio of 0.65 with alkaline liquid to pozzolan of 0.30 was used in the process of the study. Physical properties of the constituent materials as well chemical analysis of pozzolans were determined. Slump and compacting factor tests were done on the freshly mixed concrete to determine their workability while compression test was performed on the hardened concrete cube samples of side 150mm to obtain the compressive strength. Curing was done for 7 and 28 days inside water tank. The result of the compression test showed that the compressive strength of the ternary concrete continuously increased as the sodium silicate to sodium hydroxide ratio increased. At the maturity age of 28days, the values of the compressive strength were 14.2 MPa, 17.5 MPa and 20.3 MPa for sodium silicate (NS) to sodium hydroxide (NH) ratios of 0.33, 0.5 and 1.0 respectively. These values are higher than the compressive strength for the binary concrete of RHA and MK taken separately for the same NS to NH ratios which at 28days curing age were 10.9 MPa, 14.8 MPa, 16.2 MPa for RHA and 14.0 MPa, 15.3 MPa, 18.2 MPa for MK. The result of the research can be used in the construction industry for normal concrete work as well as serve for effective waste disposal of agricultural waste products such as RHA and MK to reduce environmental pollution.

Novel agricultural waste based hardening accelerator for early strength development of fly ash-based concrete

Rapid urbanization is leading to a rise in demand for precast elements to reduce the time and cost of construction. However, precast elements consume the time to remove formwork during production depends on the early strength development of fresh concrete. On the other hand, thermal power plants produce a significant amount of fly ash, which also cause environmental issues. One solution to this problem is to use fly ash in cement and concrete to enhance their pozzolanic properties and address environmental concerns. However, using fly ash can delay the early strength development of concrete resulting deacceleration in the production cycle of precast elements. To speed up the process, some may opt for chemical-based hardening accelerator and high temperature curing. However, this may negatively impact the hydration kinetics of the concrete, pose environmental risks, and compromise the reinforced concrete’s durability.To overcome such limitations, impurity free C-S-H seed based hardening accelerator was synthesized from agricultural waste product namely, bagasse ash using novel chemical synthesis process which could effectively accelerates the early strength development of concrete without altering the conventional hydration process. The proposed synthesis process provides a platform for the reaction between the target calcium and silicate ions simultaneously eliminating the harmful elements (like chloride etc.) responsible for degradation of health of reinforced concrete structure.In order to study the effectiveness of a synthesized C-S-H seed, a blended ordinary Portland cement (OPC) was prepared by replacing 10%, 15%, and 20% of the cement weight with fly ash. Various amounts of the C-S-H seed were then added to the blend. Presence of developed C-S-H seed effectively reduced the setting time and eliminated the induction period during hydration of fly ash blended cement. Presence of additional seeds effectively reduces the critical free energy of nucleation which in turn accelerates the precipitation of hydration product responsible for the early strength development of fly ash-based concrete. Based on the setting time and heat of hydration analysis, it has been observed that the presence of C-S-H seed has the potential to accelerate the early strength gain process of fly ash-based concrete.

The Improvement of Rice Straw Anaerobic Co-Digestion with Swine Wastewater by Solar/Fe(II)/PS Pretreatment

Rice straw (RS) is among the agricultural waste products with the highest methane production potential in the world, but the refractory complex structure and high carbon-to-nitrogen ratio of RS cause low methane conversion efficiency and limit its widespread application in anaerobic digestion. In this study, Solar/Fe (II)/persulfate (PS) pretreatment of RS was investigated to improve microbial accessibility, and anaerobic co-digestion combined pretreated RS and swine wastewater (SW) were evaluated to improve the efficiency of anaerobic digestion. The results showed that the Solar/Fe (II)/PS pretreatment could disrupt the structure of RS and promote the reduction of sugar content, increasing microbial accessibility to RS. When all the components of the pretreated RS (including the use of the solution remaining from the pretreatment) were anaerobically co-digested with SW, the cumulative biogas production and cumulative methane production reached 252.10 mL/g·VS and 163.71 mL/g·VS, 19.18% and 36.97% higher than the anaerobic co-digestion of untreated RS and SW, respectively. The anaerobic co-digestion of the Solar/Fe (II)/PS-pretreated RS with SW is a promising approach to achieving the utilization of RS components and maximizing methane yields, providing a cost-effective and pollution-free method for the production of high-quality bioenergy from agricultural waste.

Production and characterization of bacterial cellulose produced by Gluconacetobacter xylinus BNKC 19 using agricultural waste products as nutrient source

Bacterial cellulose (BC) is becoming a promising biopolymeric material due to its potential applications in biomedicine and emerging industrial technologies, among other exciting new uses. In the current work, BC nanofibres were produced by Gluconacetobacter xylinus using alternative sources of nutrients derived from agricultural by-products, pineapple peel and banana extracts, which are cheaper and very abundant. The production yield and thickness of BC produced in a non-conventional culture medium from pineapple peel extract with additional yeast extract and peptone was higher than that produced from Hestrin and Schramm’s medium. Three prominent and characteristic diffraction peaks from X-ray diffraction patterns corresponding to the crystal planes of ( 1 1 ¯ 0 ) , (110) and (200) indicate a typical cellulose I structure. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy of BC fabrics also shows evidence of peaks characteristic of cellulose I . Scanning electron microscopy analysis of BC fabrics reveals ribbon-like microfibrils with widths less than 100 nm in all media. Thermogravimetric analysis shows the degradation of BC with similar characteristics among the samples. Alternative sources of nutrients derived from agricultural by-products found in this work could be utilized as a new culture medium to produce suitable BC for industrial applications and its composites in future work.

Influence of RHA on strength and durability properties of alkali activated concrete

The ever-increasing demand from the building sectors drives the production of cement, which in turn leads to a rise in carbon dioxide emissions and contributes to the acceleration of global warming. To reduce the amount of cement that is used, an alternative binder made from agricultural and industrial waste products like rice husk ash (RHA) and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) among others, has been selected. Alkali activated concrete (AAC) is prepared by mixing binder, coarse aggregate, fine aggregate with an alkali activator. The impact of RHA substitution on workability, compressive strength and durability of GGBS based AAC is evaluated in this study. The slump value reduces as increase in the percent of RHA in AAC mix. The increase in curing time enhances the compressive strength of GGBS-RHA based AAC. The durability parameter as water absorption testing was performed after 28 and 90 days of curing, while depth of carbonation and H2SO4 attack were evaluated after 28 days of curing. As per the test results, adding more RHA up to 10% enhances the strength and durability of GGBS based AAC. Although the strength was reduced by utilizing more than 10% RHA in the AAC mix, but still the compressive strength more than 45 MPa is attainable. The water absorption and depth of carbonation both increases by using higher substitution of RHA in AAC mix. According to the H2SO4 attack test results, substituting RHA at a lower replacement level results in improved durability properties while raising the acid curing gradually reduces the strength of AAC.

Sustainable concrete interlock tile using rice husk ash & EVA polymer

One-third of the weight of paddy is made up of rice husk, an agricultural waste product created during the grinding of paddy. In developing and undeveloped nations, rice husks are frequently used as fuel for industrial applications because they have a high calorific value. Rice Husk Ash (RHA), obtained by the combustion of Rice husk contains amorphous silica and has shown excellent performance when used as a pozzolanic material in concrete. Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA) is a polymer and millions of tonnes of EVA are produced in the form of powder, large-scale EVA production, or post-consumer products around the world. EVA is widely used in the footwear and apparel industries because of its outstanding balance of low cost, good processability, lightweight, and shock absorption qualities. It is employed in the footwear industry to create enlarged plates used for stamping insoles, midsoles, and soles. Thus, the EVA waste generated by the footwear industry causes huge environmental pollution concerns. An eco-friendly lightweight concrete interlock tile was prepared to address the environmental issues caused by EVA waste and Rice husk ash. The paper shows a detailed technical study of the execution of the developed combined concrete and interlock tile. The test results stipulated that the strength and the workability of the developed concrete were not as promising as we expected. Still this work can be considered an effective step towards addressing the problems caused due to waste EVA and Rice Husk Ash. Also, the interlock produced can be used in places where there is light traffic.

Carbon stability and morphotype composition of biochars from feedstocks in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

This study investigates carbon stability of biochars produced from wood, herbaceous, and fruit agricultural waste products from southern Vietnam. The biochars were produced by pyrolysis to 500 °C, 700 °C, and 900 °C at a heating rate of 10 °C/min. Organic geochemistry and petrology have well-established measurable parameters that define degree of preservation of organic carbon in the Earth's crust. These parameters are utilized, comparatively, to infer the organic carbon stability in biochars relative to that preserved in the geological carbonaceous rocks. The stability of carbon was assessed by measuring incident-light random reflectance (%Ro) to determine the degree of thermally induced aromatization/ordering of the biochar carbon molecules. Additionally, the organic carbon content of the biochars was quantitatively separated into reactive and non-reactive carbon fractions based on thermodynamic stability of CH and CO bonds. The results show increasing carbon stability with increasing pyrolysis temperature and indicate high stability has been achieved at 700 °C and 900 °C where the biochars have the highest total organic carbon (TOC) contents and lowest Hydrogen Index values. Occurrence of a small quantity of readily degradable, labile free hydrocarbons (soluble organic matter; SOM) is due to condensation of the thermally generated hydrocarbons on the surfaces of the biochars. This fraction is minimized in the biochars produced at 700 °C and 900 °C due to volatilization of the free hydrocarbons at higher pyrolysis temperatures. The relatively substantial content of labile hydrocarbons associated with particulate organic matter (POM) in the 500 °C produced biochars is attributed to the incomplete pyrolyzation of the feedstock at this temperature. This fraction declines to near zero at 700 °C and 900 °C as complete carbonization is achieved at these higher temperatures. The overall carbon budget within the biochar shows that irrespective of the biochar type, over 97% of the TOC consists of highly refractory, residual carbon that geochemically is considered to possess long-term stability (“inert”). This is further underpinned by a pronounced increase in biochar mean random reflectance from <2.33% at 500 °C to >4.35% when pyrolyzed at 700 °C, indicating a highly polyaromatized condensed carbon structure. Rice husk is an exception as it yields a mean reflectance of 4.55% at 500 °C suggesting that pyrolysis temperature is not the only factor controlling %Ro and hence carbon stability. Furthermore, the biochar compositions show a relationship between feedstock and pyrolysis temperature. The biochar morphotype composition changes significantly with increasing temperature, but the analyzed biochars are all dominated by fusinoid/solid (primarily fusinoid) morphotypes with the highest initial quantity recorded at 500 °C. This quantity decreases with increasing pyrolysis temperature while porous morphotypes (tenuinetwork, crassinetwork, mixed porous, mixed dense) increase. Variations in morphotype composition observed between the biochars is attributed to the structural nature of the feedstocks.

Camellia oleifera Shell Biochar as a Robust Adsorbent for Aqueous Mercury Removal

Camellia oleifera fruit shell (COS) is an agricultural waste product generated in large quantities by the seed oil extraction industry. Due to its hierarchical thickness structure, COS shows huge potential in constructing porous carbon materials after thermal chemical modification. Herein, a series of COS biochars were synthesized by a carbonization-activation process and achieved excellent mercury removal performance in an aqueous environment. High-temperature carbonization was found to facilitate lignin removal and porosity generation, while retaining hydroxyl and carbonyl groups available for mercury adsorption. A volume of micropores of 594 × 10−3 cm−3/g with average pore diameter of 1.7 nm was achieved in activated COS biochar. At 550 °C, an adsorption capacity of 57.6 mg/g was realized in 1 mg/L Hg2+ solution under different pH environments. This work provides an alternative adsorbent for removing hazardous materials using sustainable bioresources.

Thermal Characteristics of Coconut Shells as Boiler Fuel

Agricultural waste products, such as wood, rice husk, corn waste, and coconut shells, are abundantly available and can potentially be used as an energy source, particularly for direct combustion in boilers. Because coconut production increases every year, it would be useful to find an alternative use for coconut shells, which are a type of coconut waste. As coconut shells can be used as fuel in boilers, the aim of this study was to evaluate the thermal characteristics of coconut shells in this regard. This study used experimental results to evaluate the performance of a boiler when coconut shells were used as solid fuel. The variations in feed rate were 5, 7.5, and 10 kg/h, and the water flow rates varied between 1 litre per minute (lpm), 2 lpm, and 3 lpm. Temperature data were collected every second via data acquisition , and the mass flow rate of the flue gas was collected every 5 min using a pitot tube equation. One of the parameters evaluated in determining the success of coconut shells as boiler fuel is the thermal efficiency of the boiler. The results showed that the maximum thermal efficiency reached approximately 62.04%, and the maximum flue gas temperature was approximately 500 ℃ for a biomass mass flow rate of 7.5 kg/h. The maximum water temperature of the boiler was 99 ℃, which was reached at a minimum water flow rate of 1 lpm. The results showed that coconut shells are suitable for use as boiler fuel.

A Sustainable Pattern of Waste Management and Energy Efficiency in Smart Homes Using the Internet of Things (IoT)

Nowadays, environmental protection involves many issues and problems, among which the waste generated by various human activities makes up a significant share, which is becoming newer day by day. Moreover, the production of normal, industrial, special, hospital, and agricultural waste and improper management of these materials has created many health, safety, and environmental problems. Based on this approach, this research study aims to determine the model of waste management and energy efficiency in smart homes using the Internet of Things (IoT). The research method used by this study is estimative-computational. For this purpose, the required data were collected using a computational approach. For this purpose, the required views and data were collected through experts in this field and calculated in MATLAB and STATA software. The data analysis tool was represented by fuzzy calculations and for this purpose MATLAB software was used. The study revealed that energy costs in smart homes using the IoT technology are impressive. The number of home residents in smart homes using the IoT is impressive. Home area in smart homes using the innovative technology of IoT is also impressive.

Green composites made of polyhydroxybutyrate and long-chain fatty acid esterified microcrystalline cellulose from pineapple leaf.

Pineapple leaf fibres are an abundant agricultural waste product that contains 26.9% cellulose. The objective of this study was to prepare fully degradable green biocomposites made of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and microcrystalline cellulose from pineapple leaf fibres (PALF-MCC). To improve compatibility with PHB, the PALF-MCC was surface modified using lauroyl chloride as an esterifying agent. The influence of the esterified PALF-MCC laurate content and changes in the film surface morphology on biocomposite properties was studied. The thermal properties obtained by differential scanning calorimetry revealed a decrease in crystallinity for all biocomposites, with 100 wt% PHB displaying the highest values, whereas 100 wt% esterified PALF-MCC laurate showed no crystallinity. The addition of esterified PALF-MCC laurate increased the degradation temperature. The maximum tensile strength and elongation at break were exhibited when adding 5% of PALF-MCC. The results demonstrated that adding esterified PALF-MCC laurate as a filler in the biocomposite film could retain a pleasant value of tensile strength and elastic modulus whereas a slight increase in elongation can help to enhance flexibility. For soil burial testing, PHB/ esterified PALF-MCC laurate films with 5-20% (w/w) PALF-MCC laurate ester had higher degradation than films consisting of 100% PHB or 100% esterified PALF-MCC laurate. PHB and esterified PALF-MCC laurate derived from pineapple agricultural wastes are particularly suitable for the production of relatively low-cost biocomposite films that are 100% compostable in soil.

Effectiveness of various cacao pod husk extraction byproducts in promoting growth and immunocompetence in Litopenaeus vannamei

Extracts from plant products can promote growth, can act as immunostimulants, and have antibacterial and antiparasitic properties. These extracts can be used as alternatives to the chemical treatments commonly used to prevent and control disease in aquatic species. Research on the subject has focused on identifying invasive plants or agricultural waste products that can be used as immunostimulants. The present study further identified an optimal means of extracting pectin from cacao pod husks to promote growth performance and immunocompetence in Litopenaeus vannamei that would both reduce production costs and enable waste recycling. The byproducts of pectin extraction from cacao pod husks, that is, dried cacao pod husk powder (DCP), steamed DCP (sDCP), hot water–treated cacao pod husk powder (HCP), hot water–treated cacao pod husk supernatant (HCS), and cacao pod husk pectin (CPH pectin), were used to create five experimental diets, which were administered to five groups. The control group was fed a basal diet. The growth and immunocompetence of the shrimp were determined after 30, 60, 90 and 120 days of feeding. To identify the most cost-effective means of obtaining dried cacao pod husks, this study firstly determined the costs and effectiveness of the sun-drying, dehumidification, and heated-wind drying techniques. According to the results of growth performance, the CPH pectin group had higher survival but lower weight gain than the DCP, sDCP, HCP, and HCS groups did. At 30, 60, and 90 days, the clearance efficiency of the experimental groups was higher than that of the control group. At 60 days, the experimental groups had significantly higher phagocytic activity than the control group did. However, at 30 and 90 days the HCP, HCS and CPH pectin group had higher phagocytic activity. The total hemocyte count, differential hemocyte count, phenoloxidase activity, and respiratory bursts of the CPH pectin group were higher at 30 days but the same as those of the control group at 60 and 90 days. After 120 days of feeding trial, the resistance of L. vannamei fed with diets containing byproducts of pectin extraction from cacao pod husks significantly enhanced compared to that in BD group when they were infected with Vibrio aliginolyticus for 168 h, and the related higher survival rate can be observed in HCP, HCS and CPH pectin groups. The study findings suggest that diet-administered HCP and HCS have long-term immunostimulant potential and that CPH pectin has potential in the early stages of feeding. In addition, when heated air drying was employed, a moisture level of below 10% was obtained within 12 h. The results of this study indicate that adding HCP obtained from heated air–dried cacao pod husks to the feed of L. vannamei is the most cost-effective and sustainable means of promoting long-term growth performance and immunocompetence in the species.

Multi-Objective Optimization for Ranking Waste Biomass Materials Based on Performance and Emission Parameters in a Pyrolysis Process—An AHP–TOPSIS Approach

The current era of energy production from agricultural by-products comprises numerous criteria such as societal, economical, and environmental concerns, which is thought to be difficult, considering the complexities involved. Making the optimum choice among the various classes of organic waste substances with different physio-chemical characteristics based on their appropriateness for pyrolysis is made possible by a ranking system. By using a feasible model, which combines several attributes of decision-making processes, it is possible to select the ideal biomass feedstock from a small number of possibilities based on relevant traits that have an impact on the pyrolysis. In this study, a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) technique model based on the weight calculated from the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) tool has been applied to obtain a ranking of different types of agro-waste-derived biomass feedstock. The technique of order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) is used to examine the possibilities of using/utilizing locally available biomass. From this point of view, multi-criteria are explained to obtain yield maximum energy. The suggested approaches are supported by the experimental findings and exhibit a good correlation with one another. Six biomass alternatives and eight evaluation criteria are included in this study. Sawdust is the highest-ranking agricultural waste product with a closeness coefficient score of 0.9 out of the six biomass components that were chosen, followed by apple bagasse with 0.8. The hybrid approach model that has been built can be evaluated and validated for the ranking method using the Euclidian distance-based approximation. This study offers a unique perspective on decision-making, particularly concerning thermo-chemical conversion.

Breathing Room: Cleaner Fuels for Home Cooking in LMICs.

Breathing Room: Cleaner Fuels for Home Cooking in LMICs.

Preparation of carbon nanotube/cellulose hydrogel composites and their uses in interfacial solar-powered water evaporation

Cellulose extracted from corncobs, a bulk agricultural waste product, by a solvent at −12 °C, was composited with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with excellent light absorption properties to construct CNT/cellulose hydrogel composites. Taking advantage of the superior water retention ability and degradability of cellulose hydrogels, and the high-efficiency solar-thermal conversion performance, excellent mechanical properties and biocompatibility of CNTs, CNT/cellulose hydrogel composites are used in water purification by interfacial solar-powered evaporation. The effects of the addition of CNTs on the solar energy absorption, mechanical properties and interfacial solar-thermal water evaporation efficiency of the composites were investigated. With an optimum CNT content of 0.2 wt.%, the composite had an average evaporation rate of ~1.52 kg m−2 h−1 and a solar-steam conversion efficiency about 92%. After continuous evaporation in seawater for 8 h, the evaporation rate of the composite remained at about 1.37 kg m−2 h−1 without salt precipitation, indicating its strong resistance to salt. The quality of the purified water was superior to the WHO and EPA standards for drinking water. When the composite was used in concentrated acid/alkaline aqueous systems, dye wastewater and heavy metal ion polluted water, the evaporation rates remained in the range of 1.30-1.40 kg m−2 h−1, and the solar-steam conversion efficiencies reached 80%-86%. The retention rates for both organic pollutants and salt were as high as 99.9%, confirming the evaporation stability of the composite. This work indicates that an evaporator based on the CNT/cellulose hydrogel composite has broad application prospects in the fields of seawater desalination and industrial wastewater purification.