Search Results (803)

The valorization of agro-industrial byproducts through pyrolysis represents a sustainable route for generating multifunctional raw materials within the framework of a circular bioeconomy. In this study, rice husk (RH) and sugarcane bagasse (SCB) were pyrolyzed in a semi-continuous reactor at 500 °C in order to compare product yields and to characterize resulting gas, aqueous and tar fractions. SCB produced the highest bio-oil yield (44.2 wt%), whereas RH generated the highest char yield (42.9 wt%), consistent with its higher ash and lignin contents. In both cases, tar represented about 12 wt% of the bio-oil. Detailed characterization revealed that the liquid products contained oxygenated compounds of interest, mainly carboxylic acids, ketones, and phenols. Acetic acid was the predominant compound in the aqueous phases, while tars were composed mainly of phenols, ketones, furans, and acids. Particularly, phenols accounted for 52.6% and 37.8% of the total chromatographic area in RH and SCB tars, respectively, whereas ketones represented about 10% in both cases. These results show that pyrolysis of agro-industrial residues not only enables energy recovery but also provides liquid fractions enriched in value-added chemicals. Full article

The increasing presence of biological contaminants in wastewater poses serious challenges to safe water reuse and sustainable management. The effects of filtration on pollutant transport in a vertical porous channel are investigated mathematically and numerically in this work, taking into account nonlinear microbial growth controlled by generalized Haldane kinetics. Key characteristics, including viscosity, density, and diffusivity, are supposed to change nonlinearly with contaminant concentration, and the fluid is described as incompressible and dilatant. The Bivariate Spectral Quasi-Linearization Method (BSQLM) is used to solve the resulting system of nonlinear partial differential equations, and the Bivariate Spectral Chebyshev Collocation Method (BSCCM) is used for validation. The findings show that while higher inhibition and liquid–biofilm mass transfer coefficients successfully control pollutant concentration, porous filtration dramatically lowers flow velocity due to increased resistance and bio-clogging. With few residual errors, the numerical scheme exhibits great accuracy and quick convergence. Overall, the study establishes that coupling filtration mechanisms with generalized biokinetic models provides a robust framework for predicting contaminant behavior and enhancing the design of efficient wastewater treatment and reuse systems. Full article

Polyfarnesene, a bio-based polymer, was epoxidized in situ using performic acid to investigate oxirane ring formation, stability, and the role of its bottlebrush architecture in the kinetics. The reaction reached a maximum epoxidation degree of ~20% after 6 h but underwent side reactions, producing hydroxyl and formic ester groups. FTIR and ¹H NMR revealed that ring opening began within the first hour, whereas residual unsaturated bonds persisted after prolonged reaction, owing to steric shielding by the polymer’s long C11–C13 side chains. Unlike smaller polydiene homologues, polyfarnesene exhibited slower ring-opening kinetics, retaining approximately 10% of oxirane groups after 20 h. GPC showed minimal molecular weight changes but an increase in polydispersity, confirming structural rearrangements without chain scission or crosslinking. DSC demonstrated that oxirane incorporation increased the T_g; however, side reactions reduced this effect by limiting chain mobility. These findings establish that the spatial constraints imposed by the bottlebrush architecture of polyfarnesene govern the reaction kinetics, restricting epoxidation efficiency and favoring esterification pathways. This interplay provides a basis for designing bio-based polymers with tunable thermal properties. Controlling the reaction environment to suppress side reactions is key to producing high-T_g epoxidized derivatives suitable for rubber technologies and sustainable materials. Full article

Bio-oil has been obtained from biomass undergoing pyrolysis to yield a complex mixture of organic compounds from different classes. The high content of oxygenated hydrocarbons distinguishes bio-oil from fossil-derived oils with similar properties. Bio-oil can also be used as a feedstock for chemicals due to its rich phenolic composition. Phenolic compounds possess significant industrial value and have been used in industrial sectors for the manufacture of antioxidants, resins, pharmaceuticals, and plastics. Although confirmatory analysis of these compounds is important, it has already been reported in the literature through chromatography hyphenated to mass spectrometry. Thus, this study aimed to obtain a fast and simple screening of suspect phenolic compounds in bio-oil obtained from lignocellulosic biomass (pine wood residue, sugarcane straw, and sugarcane bagasse). Instrumental conditions were optimized for negative electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ESI(−)Q-TOF MS) for screening compounds present in the aqueous phase of bio-oils obtained by pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass. A simple extraction method was used to prepare the samples for screening by ESI(−)Q-TOF MS. A total of 21 compounds (primary phenolics) were identified. Full article

Scalable halogen-free flame-retardant textile finishes remain challenging, particularly regarding laundering durability and industrially viable processing. Here, two phytate flame retardants, poly(vinylammonium) phytate (PVAmPA, partly bio-based) and chitosan phytate (ChiPA, fully bio-based), were applied to cotton (CO), polyester (PET), and a CO/PET blend by a single-step, binder-assisted coating. Both coatings suppressed surface flaming in ISO 15025 on all substrates. Although laundering at 40 °C caused systematically higher wash-off for ChiPA, surface flame suppression was retained for most coated fabrics, with the exception of ChiPA on CO and PVAmPA on PET. Thermogravimetric analysis showed earlier decomposition and increased residue formation for both systems, with the residue at 700 °C increasing from 4.5% to 18.2% for CO_PVAmPA and from 4.5% to 15.2% for CO_ChiPA. In microscale combustion calorimetry, PVAmPA reduced the heat release capacity (HRC) from 251 to 168 J/(g·K) for CO/PET, whereas ChiPA showed its strongest effect on PET, reducing HRC from 413 to 222 J/(g·K). Gas-phase analyses indicated enhanced water release for both coatings and additional NH₃ evolution for PVAmPA. Overall, binder-assisted, single-step phytate coatings provide a scalable route to halogen-free flame retardancy, with PVAmPA showing the most robust overall durability and ChiPA offering a fully bio-based alternative with strong substrate-dependent performance. Full article

The large-scale production of microbial bioplastics remains limited by high production costs, reliance on refined substrates, and inefficient utilization of agro-industrial residues. Although sugarcane bagasse has been explored as a carbon source for polyhydroxyalkanoate production, studies have predominantly focused on poly (3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB), with limited reports on copolymer synthesis from pentose-rich lignocellulosic streams. In this study, a newly isolated Bacillus sp. HLI02 was employed for the biosynthesis of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV), using pentosan-rich sugarcane bagasse hydrolysate as an inexpensive and sustainable carbon source. Fermentation parameters were systematically optimized at different pH and temperature, and the strain demonstrated efficient conversion of xylose-rich hydrolysate into PHBV without the requirement for external nutrient supplementation. Under optimized conditions (pH 7.0, 37 °C, and C/N ratio of 40), a maximum PHBV yield of 2 g/L, corresponding to 59.5% of cell dry weight, was achieved. Structural and compositional analyses using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and ¹H and ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy confirmed successful PHBV copolymer formation with well-defined structural characteristics. Thermal analysis revealed a decomposition temperature of 166 °C, indicating good thermal stability. The produced PHBV further exhibited favourable biocompatibility and biodegradability, supporting its potential applicability in sustainable packaging and related sectors. This work demonstrates the effective conversion of hemicellulosic sugarcane bagasse hydrolysate into PHBV using a newly isolated Bacillus strain, highlighting an underexplored route for copolymer production from agro-waste–derived C5 sugars. By integrating low-cost feedstock utilization with process optimization and comprehensive polymer characterization, this study contributes to the development of economically viable and sustainable bio-based polymer production strategies. Full article

Understanding the dynamic conformations of proteins is important for rational drug discovery. While molecular dynamics (MD) simulation is the primary tool for this purpose, it is both resource- and time-consuming. Recent advances in deep learning offer an attractive alternative by generating conformational ensembles directly from protein sequences. However, the scope of applying such models to protein dynamics studies remains underexplored. Here, we tested the performance of a representative model, BioEmu, across several tasks related to protein dynamics. Our results show that BioEmu can not only generate multiple conformations but also effectively reproduce fundamental properties including residue flexibility, motion correlations, and local residue contacts. However, it fails to predict a mutation-induced shift in conformational distribution and exhibits a preference for higher-energy conformations over lower-energy ones in some cases, indicating that it does not reproduce a right Boltzmann-weighted ensemble. Furthermore, the BioEmu-generated conformations provide only limited improvement in ensemble docking. These findings delineate the current capabilities and limitations of sequence-based generative models for conformational sampling. Also, they highlight several directions for future development—that further energy-based fine-tuning is needed for tasks related to conformational distributions and atom-level generative model is required to study the intermolecular relationship. Full article

Immobilized microorganism technology offers a promising approach for remediating heavy metal-contaminated soils. This study developed a novel bio-mineral composite (B-AM) by coupling acid-modified maifanite (AM) with Bacillus mucilaginosus to enhance lead (Pb) immobilization. Comparative experiments demonstrated that B-AM outperformed conventional amendments, including oyster shell, pristine maifanite, AM and B. mucilaginosus in Pb immobilization. The B-AM treatment optimized soil pH, improved soil fertility with increases in available potassium (1.06-fold) and available phosphorus (1.28-fold). Additionally, B-AM transformed Pb into more stable fractions, reducing labile Pb fractions by 52.52% while increasing the residual fraction by 88.36%. These improvements resulted in an 83.24% reduction in Pb accumulation and a 63.95% increase in the fresh root weight of radish. Mechanistic insights revealed that the enhanced remediation performance stems from both the individual contributions of AM (adsorption capacity) and B. mucilaginosus (biosorption and biomineralization) and their synergistic interaction. Specifically, AM acts as a carrier and pH buffer, promoting microbial proliferation and reducing Pb remobilization from cell lysis. The resulting sustained microbial activity further leads to the formation of stable Pb minerals. Collectively, our results establish a theoretical and practical basis for using B-AM to remediate Pb-contaminated soils. Full article

The development of bio-based functional materials through the upcycling of agri-food residues represents a sustainable strategy to reduce environmental impact and promote circular economy. This study achieved valorization by combining two tomato by-products: peels exhausted after supercritical fluid extraction and harvest residues mainly composed of stems and field wastes. Polyphenol-rich extract (TPPf) was obtained from peels through ultrasound-assisted maceration and solid-phase extraction, while cellulose from tomato harvest residues (THRs) was converted into carboxymethyl cellulose (THR-CMC, degree of substitution 0.76), as confirmed by structural analyses. Functional bioplastic films were prepared by solvent casting THR-CMC, plasticized with glycerol, and enriched with different TPPf concentrations (0–100 mg/100 mL). Increasing TPPf content enhanced mechanical strength and UV-blocking efficiency, while moderate loading improved moisture barrier properties. The films exhibited notable antioxidant activity (ABTS, DPPH assays) and biodegradability, demonstrating biofunctional performance suitable for food packaging. This integrated valorization strategy highlights the potential of combining agricultural and industrial tomato residues to develop sustainable, biodegradable, and active packaging materials, supporting waste reduction and circular bioeconomy objectives. Full article

The shipping sector is responsible for a considerable share of global CO₂ emissions and is under pressure to reduce emissions and adopt carbon-neutral fuels. Among the proposed alternatives, methanol produced from green hydrogen and biogenic CO₂ represents a promising option. However, the feasibility of its production is significantly influenced by the composition and variability of the bio-CO₂ feedstock, which can negatively impact the complete value chain. To address these challenges, sampling campaigns were carried out at actual bio-CO₂-emitting sites, namely biogas and biomass combustion facilities, to characterize the impurity profiles and determine the appropriate conditioning requirements. A novel membrane gas absorption system with a Diethanolamine solution was deployed directly in the field to capture, as well as purify to a certain extent, the CO₂ stream. The system demonstrated high efficiency in removing most impurities, achieving high CO₂ capture rates and impurity reduction close to 90%. However, residual chlorine species were detected in the CO₂ streams from biogas plants, suggesting the need for additional conditioning to meet the purity specifications required for methanol synthesis. Given that the feedstock composition and upstream process conditions could significantly affect the final output and present considerable variations, the implementation of additional cleaning measures is recommended before synthesis. Full article

Saline irrigation water is increasingly used in arid and coastal regions, posing serious constraints to soil health and wheat yield, particularly in saline–sodic soils. A two-season field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of compost, biofertilizers (Azospirillum brasilense and Azotobacter chroococcum), and their combinations on soil physicochemical properties, microbial activity, wheat growth, yield, and physiological traits under two irrigation water salinity levels (3 and 6 dS m⁻¹). Two wheat varieties differing in salt tolerance (Miser 4 and Sakha 95) were tested. Salinity significantly increased soil EC and ESP and reduced plant growth, yield, and nutrient content, while integrated bio-organic treatments markedly alleviated these adverse effects. Compost combined with Azotobacter chroococcum markedly improved soil physical conditions, enhanced microbial biomass carbon, reduced sodicity indicators, and promoted wheat productivity across both seasons. Multivariate analyses including principal component analysis (PCA), redundancy analysis (RDA), and self-organizing maps (SOMs) revealed a strong positive association between yield traits, microbial activity, and soil fertility, and negative correlations with salinity stress indicators. The results demonstrate that combining compost with biofertilizers induces both immediate and residual improvements in saline–sodic soils, enhances wheat resilience to salinity stress, and offers a sustainable approach for improving cereal production under salt-affected environments. Full article

This work presents the synthesis, characterization, and application of zirconium oxide (ZrO₂)-based catalysts, modified with macro (silica nanospheres, NSP-SiO₂) and mesopore templates (Pluronic 123), impregnated with tungstophosphoric acid (TPA), in the catalytic pyrolysis of tomato agro-industrial residues. The NSP-SiO₂ (SXX) and P123 (PYY) amount mainly influences the ZrO₂SXXPYY-specific surface area (S_BET) and average pore diameter (D_p). ³¹P MAS NMR and FT-IR characterization results show that TPA (H₃PW₁₂O₄₀) was partially transformed into [P₂W₂₁O₇₁]⁶⁻ and [PW₁₁O₃₉]⁷⁻ during the synthesis steps. The acidic properties of ZrO₂SXXPYY samples containing 25 and 50 wt% of TPA (ZrO₂SXXPYYT25 and ZrO₂SXXPYYT50, respectively) are dependent on both the TPA content and the support nature. Bio-oil composition and product selectivity were strongly influenced by the textural and acid-based properties of the catalysts. Notably, non-catalytic pyrolysis favored pathways leading to C2 compounds, with a high content of acetic acid and hydroxyacetone. In contrast, the use of catalysts promoted the formation of higher molecular weight oxygenated compounds (C5–C6), specifically furans, aldehydes, and ketones. Full article

The valorization of agro-industrial byproducts as sources of functional polysaccharides is a promising strategy for developing sustainable materials. In this study, cellulose was extracted and purified from rice husk and apple pomace through sequential alkaline and bleaching treatments. Then it was chemically modified via TEMPO-mediated oxidation to obtain cellulose nanofibers (TOCNFs) with cellulose yields ranging from 23.8 to 32.4% for rice husk and 9.3–13.8% for apple pomace. Owing to its higher recovery and structural regularity, rice husk was selected for surface modification with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES). The resulting TOCNFs exhibited an average width of 8 nm and a carboxyl content of 0.48 mmol g⁻¹. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and nitrogen determination (1.72 mg g⁻¹) confirmed the presence of aminosilane functionalities. APTES-modified TOCNFs were incorporated as active components to develop hybrid poly(vinyl acetate) (PVA) adhesives synthesized via in situ heterogeneous water-based polymerization. The influence of TOCNF surface chemistry and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) on latex particle size, rheological behavior, and adhesive performance was systematically investigated. Latex particle size increased from 193 nm (PVA-SDS) to 625 nm with TOCNF-APTES and decreased to 247 nm upon SDS addition. Rheological analysis revealed pronounced shear-thinning behavior associated with the formation of percolated nanofibrillar networks, with low-shear viscosity increasing up to 477 Pa·s for TOCNF–APTES and decreasing to 370 Pa·s with SDS. Lap-shear testing (ASTM D905) showed substantial improvements in adhesive strength, reaching up to 250 kPa compared to PVA-SDS. These results demonstrate that surface-modified CNFs act not only as mechanical reinforcements but also as interfacially active components governing polymerization behavior, rheology, and adhesive performance. This exploratory study provides a proof-of-concept for the development of sustainable wood adhesives from agro-industrial byproducts. Full article

Human hair waste represents a dense nitrogen reservoir (~15% N); however, its agricultural valorization is hindered by two concurrent barriers: the extreme recalcitrance of alpha-keratin and the high salinity derived from cosmetic treatments. While chemical hydrolysis generates secondary pollutants, biological composting often fails due to osmotic inhibition of non-adapted inoculants. Here, we report a biological strategy to circumvent this osmotic bottleneck using unwashed human hair collected from professional salons. We compared the degradation efficiency of a syntrophic Effective Microorganisms (EM) consortium with traditional single-strain inoculants (Trichoderma spp. and Bacillus spp.) in a 16-week co-composting system. Data revealed that the EM consortium displayed superior resilience, sustaining thermophilic sanitation (>45 °C) compliant with US EPA PFRP standards and achieving a Nitrogen Mineralization Rate of 883 mg N kg⁻¹ week⁻¹ (nearly triple the control), resulting in a final N content of 1.41% (14,133 mg kg⁻¹). Crucially, the EM treatment reduced electrical conductivity from a phytotoxic 7.23 mS cm⁻¹ to a tolerable level of 3.82 mS cm⁻¹, a mitigation effect likely mediated by humification-driven ion chelation. This performance suggests a “syntrophic succession” mechanism where initial acidification facilitates subsequent proteolytic attack. The final product presented a high sulfur-to-nitrogen ratio indicative of extensive disulfide bond cleavage. Preliminary economic estimates (~$60 USD ton⁻¹) confirm the process’s viability for decentralized scalability, though future molecular validation is recommended. We conclude that bio-augmentation with metabolically diverse consortia is essential to process chemically treated hair waste, converting a hazardous salon residue into a high-value proteinaceous biofertilizer. Full article

The growing global demand for sustainable energy has intensified interest in biomass residues as viable feedstocks for biofuels and bio-based production. This review systematically examines advances in the utilization of biomass residues, spanning upstream assessment through downstream conversion pathways. Using the PRISMA framework, 543 peer-reviewed articles published between 1990 and 2025 were analyzed from the Scopus and Web of Science databases. The review reveals a clear methodological evolution from early residue characterization and physicochemical analyses toward integrated techno-economic, environmental, and system-level assessments. Upstream research increasingly addresses feedstock identification, spatial dispersion, logistics optimization, and pretreatment efficiency, while downstream advances focus on biochemical, thermochemical, and hybrid conversion technologies. Although artificial intelligence and machine learning constitute approximately 2.5–3% of the total historical literature, they account for nearly 18–22% of recent studies in process modeling and yield prediction, achieving predictive accuracies frequently exceeding R² > 0.95. Despite these advances, persistent challenges remain in biomass logistics, feedstock heterogeneity, and technology scaling. Emerging trends highlight hybrid frameworks that integrate data-driven and mechanistic models to enhance efficiency, circularity, and commercial feasibility in bioenergy systems. Full article