Harvesting Biomass-Based Ni–N Doped Carbonaceous Materials with High Capacitance by Fast Pyrolysis of Ni Enriched Spent Wetland Biomass

An integrated biorefinery approach for the valorization of water hyacinth towards circular bioeconomy: a review

Water hyacinth (WH) has become a considerable concern for people across the globe due to its environmental and socio-economic hazards. Researchers are still trying to control this aquatic weed effectively without other environmental or economic losses. Research on WH focuses on converting this omnipresent excessive biomass into value-added products. The potential use of WH for phytoremediation and utilizing waste biomass in various industries, including agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and bioenergy, has piqued interest. The use of waste WH biomass as a feedstock for producing bioenergy and value-added chemicals has emerged as an eco-friendly step towards the circular economy concept. Here, we have discussed the extraction of bio-actives and cellulose as primary bioproducts, followed by a detailed discussion on different biomass conversion routes to obtain secondary bioproducts. The suggested multi-objective approach will lead to cost-effective and efficient utilization of waste WH biomass. Additionally, the present review includes a discussion of the SWOT analysis for WH biomass and the scope for future studies. An integrated biorefinery scheme is proposed for the holistic utilization of this feedstock in a cascading manner to promote the sustainable and zero-waste circular bio-economy concept.

Hydrophobic and dispersible Cu(I) desulfurization adsorbent prepared from Pistia stratiotes for efficient desulfurization

Improving the adsorption capacity of adsorbents is a good way to boost their desulfurization efficiency. Optimizing the dispersion of metal nanoparticles and enhancing the stability of the metal valence state are essential to maximizing the adsorption capacity of the metal-loaded desulfurization adsorbent. Pistia stratiotes can absorb the Cu in water and evenly disperse it throughout the plant, allowing the production of a highly dispersed Cu(I) adsorbent (PSAC-Cu(I)). During the usage and storage of PSAC-Cu(I), Cu(I) oxidizes to Cu(II) when it comes in contact with oxygen and water, reducing its adsorptive capacity; hence, we modified PSAC-Cu(I) hydrophobically using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) to generate PSAC-Cu(I)-P(200). The outcome of the two-month exposure experiments showed that only 4.7% of the Cu(I) of PSAC-Cu(I)-P(200) was oxidized in the humid atmosphere, whereas PSAC-Cu(I) was almost fully oxidized. Moreover, the dibenzothiophene adsorption capacity of PSAC-Cu(I)-P(200) in a model oil with a water concentration of 250 ppmw is 68 mg g^-1, which is 1.62 times that of PSAC-Cu(I). When 10 wt% toluene was added to the model oil, the adsorption desulfurization capacity of PSAC-Cu(I)-P(200) decreased to 86.8% of the original. This shows that PSAC-Cu(I)-P(200) has good stability and excellent adsorptive desulfurization performance.

Nickel Hyperaccumulator Biochar as a Ni-Adsorbent and Enhanced Bio-ore

Increasing nickel (Ni) demand may spur the need for creative Ni production methods. Agromining (farming for metals) uses plants that can accumulate high concentrations of metal in their biomass, called bio-ore, as a metal extraction strategy. Furthermore, biochar, produced by biomass pyrolysis under low-oxygen conditions, can be used to remove Ni from contaminated wastewaters. In this work we investigate whether biochar synthesized from the Ni-hyperaccumulating plant Odontarrhena chalcidica (synonymous Alyssum murale) can be used as a Ni-adsorbing biochar. We grew O. chalcidica on soils with varying Ni concentration, characterized the plants and resultant biochars synthesized at different pyrolysis temperatures, and analyzed Ni batch adsorption results to determine the adsorption capacity of O. chalcidica biochar. We found that Ni concentration in O. chalcidica increases with increasing soil Ni but reaches an accumulation limit around 23 g Ni kg^–1 dry weight in dried leaf samples. Pyrolysis concentrated Ni in the biochar; higher pyrolysis temperatures led to higher biochar Ni concentrations (max. 87 g Ni kg^–1) and surface areas (max. 103 m²/g). Finally, the O. chalcidica biochar adsorption results were comparable to high-performing Ni adsorbents in the literature. The adsorption process greatly increased the Ni concentration in some biochars, indicating that synthesizing biochar from O. chalcidica biomass and using it as a Ni adsorbent can produce a Ni-enhanced bio-ore with nickel content higher than all nickel-rich veins currently mined.

Preparation of high-performance supercapacitors from waste polyurethane-based hierarchical porous carbon

The specific surface area and pore structure of carbon materials significantly impact their electrochemical performance.

Defective S/N co-doped carbon cloth via a one-step process for effective electroreduction of nitrogen to ammonia

The electroreduction of nitrogen (N₂) has gained increasing attention as a promising route to achieve green and sustainable ammonia (NH₃) production.