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Abstract Efficient energy usage and energy saving is one of the nowadays necessity for all scientists of IC engine. This is because of the current environmental challenges that have tremendously increased concerning air pollution, particularly pollutant emissions from vehicles. Yet, industries and governments alike have disregarded this phenomenon which has been considerably contributing to climate change. It is against this background that, the research works carried out in this present study is predominantly focusing on improving energy efficiency and reducing emission levels from diesel engines. This can be achieved with the help of atmospheric-plasma system which can offer a noble solution to the above-mentioned challenges due to its potential to improve combustion efficiency which leads to energy efficiency, while reducing emission levels from diesel engines. In this study, the performance and emissions of a diesel generator supplemented with an atmospheric-plasma system was examined. The diesel engine was used to examine the effects of fuel composition, or brake specific fuel consumption, thermal efficiency and pollutant emissions at different plasma system voltages. To this end, we equally examined the effects of atmospheric-plasma system on energy efficiency improvement and emissions reduction from diesel engine as the main purpose of this study. We do so by testing the diesel-fueled engine generator under the atmospheric-plasma system. The tests were carried out at a constant state condition with the engine running at 2200 rpm with torque and power outputs of 10.4 Nm (75% of the max load) and 2.1 kW, separately, for the tested fuels and this was used to increase the output voltage of the plasma system during this study. The plasma system ionized the intake air and improved the formation of free radicals upon combustion. During this study, the output voltage of the plasma was set within the range of 0–7 kV. The experimental results have indicated that formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and acrolein account for more than 75% of total carbonyl compounds emissions. Simultaneously, it was also observed from the results that higher plasma system voltage reduces pollutants emissions levels. Hence, such reduction is predominantly evident for nitrogen oxides, particulate matters and carbon monoxide. However, the marginal improvements of engine performance and emissions reduction become insignificant when the plasma system voltage reaches 6 kV. On the other hand, increasing the amount of plasma system voltages in diesel engine continues to significantly reduce pollutant emissions. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Atmospheric plasma system saves energy and reducing emission levels. • Formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and acrolein accounts for 75% of carbonyl compounds. • Higher plasma system voltage lowers pollutants emissions levels. • Improve engine performance as plasma system voltage reaches 6 kV. • PM concentration has been reduced considerably by higher plasma voltage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aquatic ecosystems and potable water are being exploited and depleted due to urbanization and the encouragement of extensive industrialization, which induces the scarcity of pure water. However, current decontamination methods are limited and inefficient. Various innovative remediation strategies with novel nanomaterials have recently been demonstrated for wastewater treatment. Carbon dots (C-dots) and graphene quantum dots (GQ-dots) are the most recent frontiers in carbon nanomaterial-based adsorption studies. C-dots are extremely small (1–10 nm) quasi-spherical carbon nanoparticles (mostly sp3 hybridized carbon), whereas GQ-dots are fragments of graphene (1–20 nm) composed of primarily sp2 hybridized carbon. This article highlights the function of C-dots and GQ-dots with their specifications and characteristics for the efficient removal of organic and inorganic contaminants in water via adsorption chromatography. The alteration of adsorption attributes with the hybrid blending of these dots has been critically analyzed. Moreover, various top-down and bottom-up approaches for synthesizing C-dots and GQ-dots, which ultimately affect their morphology and structure, are described in detail. Finally, we review the research deficit in the adsorption of diverse pollutants, fabrication challenges, low molecular weight, self-agglomeration, and the future of the dots by providing research prospects and selectivity and sensitivity perspectives, the importance of post-adsorption optimization strategies and the path toward scalability at the tail of the article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper intend to investigate the effects of biodiesel fuel blends comprising of waste-cooking oil and butanol-diesel (B10W10–B10W40) under steady-state conditions. Both particulate organic carbon (OC) and PM including PM 2.5 and PM 10 significantly decreased with the increasing percentage of biodiesel fuel blends. The fuel blend of B10W40 also demonstrated the most effective function in reducing the emissions of PM 10 and PM 2.5 in the volume by 59.4% and 57.7%, respectively. Moreover, the emissions of nitrogen oxides decreased with the blending of B10W10-B10W40 (13.9–28.5%), while the brake specific fuel consumption was substantially increased (5.69–13.4%). The overall biological toxicity of PM 10 generated from the fuel tested in this study was determined according to Single Cell Gel Electrophoresis assay in human alveolar basal epithelial A549 cells and micronucleus assay in CHO-K1 cells. In addition, the volume of more than 20% waste-cooking oil (B10W20 and B10W40) significantly reduced diesel-induced genotoxicity in lung cells and micronucleus formation in CHO-K1 cells. Collectively, these results indicated that biodiesel fuel blends with the butanol could be a potential alternative fuels for diesel engines because of its substantial property with a significant reduction of the PM-related genotoxicity and the emissions of PM, particulate OC, and NO X . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of zero waste discharge has been gaining importance in recent years towards attaining a sustainable environment. Fruit processing industries generate millions of tons of byproducts like fruit peels and seeds, and their disposal poses an environmental threat. The concept of extracting value-added bioactive compounds from bio-waste is an excellent opportunity to mitigate environmental issues. To date, significant research has been carried out on the extraction of essential biomolecules, particularly polysaccharides from waste generated by fruit processing industries. In this review article, we aim to summarize the different extraction methodologies, characterization methods, and biomedical applications of polysaccharides extracted from seeds and peels of different fruit sources. The review also focuses on the general scheme of extraction of polysaccharides from fruit waste with special emphasis on various methods used in extraction. Also, the various types of polysaccharides obtained from fruit processing industrial wastes are explained in consonance with the important techniques related to the structural elucidation of polysaccharides obtained from seed and peel waste. The use of seed polysaccharides as pharmaceutical excipients and the application of peel polysaccharides possessing biological activities are also elaborated. • Food processing industries generates millions of tons of food wastes yearly. • Massive fruit waste disposal poses a major treat to environment. • Extraction of value-added bioactive compounds from fruit waste for sustainability. • Various extraction methodologies and physicochemical characterization were discussed. • Summarized the biomedical applications of polysaccharides from food waste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biowaste, produced from nature, is preferred to be a good source of carbon and ligninolytic machinery for many microorganisms. They are complex biopolymers composed of lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose traces. This biomass can be depolymerized to its nano-dimensions to gain exceptional properties useful in the field of cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, high-strength materials, etc. Nano-sized biomass derivatives overcome the inherent drawbacks of the parent material and offer promises as a potential material for a wide range of applications with their unique traits such as low-toxicity, biocompatibility, biodegradability and environmentally friendly nature with versatility. This review focuses on the production of value–added products feasible from nanocellulose, nano lignin, and xylan nanoparticles which is quite a novel study of its kind. Dawn of nanotechnology has converted bio waste by–products (hemicellulose and lignin) into useful precursors for many commercial products. Nano-cellulose has been employed in the fields of electronics, cosmetics, drug delivery, scaffolds, fillers, packaging, and engineering structures. Xylan nanoparticles and nano lignin have numerous applications as stabilizers, additives, textiles, adhesives, emulsifiers, and prodrugs for many polyphenols with an encapsulation efficiency of 50%. This study will support the potential development of composites for emerging applications in all aspects of interest and open up novel paths for multifunctional biomaterials in nano-dimensions for cosmetic, drug carrier, and clinical applications. [Display omitted] • Nanotechnology is turned biowaste into useful nano-based lignocellulosic precursors. • Value–added products from nanocellulose, nanolignin, and xylan nanoparticles. • Application of nano-based lignocellulosic materials for biomedical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]