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Natural fibres are in great demand as a clean and green material as reinforcement in sustainable and environment-friendly biodegradable composites. The study aimed to extract palm grass leaf fibres through water retting, a cleaner and greener approach compared with the use of 5–10% NaOH. The physicochemical characterisation was done by SEM, optical microscopy, FT-IR, XRD, TGA, bundle strength, moisture content and standard biochemical tests for cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin and ash. New natural fibres extracted from Curculigo capitulata by water retting showed a smooth surface of uniaxial fibres under SEM and optical microscope compared to eroded surfaces of chemically extracted fibres. Both the fibres extracted by water retting and with 5% NaOH showed nearly similar crystallinity index (84–85%) and size (2.44nm), whereas the former contained 64% cellulose with bundle strength 154MPa compared to 72% and 219.11MPa with the latter. While using 10% (NaOH) showed cellulose 82.29 ± 0.63%, crystallinity index 87.43%, and bundle strength 256.46 ± 15.81MPa. Approximately similar lignin content (20.30 ± 0.91–21.66 ± 1.18%) and mass degradation (%) were obtained in water-retted and 5%–7.5% NaOH extracted fibres. FT-IR spectra showed the characteristic bands at 3421cm−1 for O–H stretching and 2917cm−1 for alkyl C–H stretching in cellulose; at 1630cm1 for C C stretching in lignin. All the extracted fibres showed industrial potential similar to successful natural fibres for fine rope, yarn, handmade paper, and fabrics aiming for a circular bioeconomy. [Display omitted] • New natural fibres were extracted for the first time from Palm grass leaves (Curculigo capitulata), a bio-waste by biological and chemical methods • A sustainable cleaner and greener biological retting resulted smooth surface of uniaxial fibres • Physicochemical characterization was done with SEM, FT-IR, TGA, contents of lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose and bundle strength • New natural fibres showed similarity with commercial natural fibres used in biodegradable fabrics and as reinforcement in green composites [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This VSI focuses on what cross-cutting insights might be gained from research to increase the energy/materials circularity and the contribution of eco-innovation, cleaner consumption, and waste management to produce a logical body of knowledge that may lead to increased resilience and a sustainable Planet. The articles' collection shows development trends of sustainable, cleaner production under the Special Issue: A Resilient and Sustainable World. Some selected d papers have been presented and emerged from the 10th and 11th International Workshop on Advances in Cleaner Production (IWACP), held in hybrid mode in Italy (Ferrata and Florence). The contribution of the articles in this Special Issue could be divided into efforts toward sustainable and cleaner production, aiming (i) Eco-innovation for cleaner production and circular economy, (ii) Proper monitoring and identification of cleaner production, circular economy, and eco-innovation, (iii) cleaner production, circular economy and eco-innovation targeting social wellbeing and cleaner environment, (iv) cleaner production, circular economy and eco-innovation targeting emission reduction, and (v) cleaner production, circular economy and eco-innovation targeting improved and optimized production processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A cleaner production, looking beyond greenhouse gas mitigation, has been stressed as that climate change is not the only issue to worry about. However, the related processes have to be as well sustainable from the technology, economic, and social viewpoints. This editorial introduces the articles' collection and overall development trends of sustainable cleaner production under the Special Issue of Sustainable Cleaner Production through Process Integration, Modelling and Optimisation. All collected papers have been presented and emerged from the 24th conference on Process Integration, Modelling and Optimisation for Energy Saving and Pollution Reduction (PRES′21), Brno, Czech Republic, in hybrid mode. The contribution of 32 articles in this Special Issue could be divided into efforts toward sustainable cleaner production by focusing on (i) Process Integration and/or Optimisation, (ii) Sustainability Analyses, and (iii) Modelling of Waste Recovery. This editorial appeals to attention on sustainable cleaner production to cope with new challenges and opportunities under the data- and intelligent-era accompanying with global crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the recent stream of econometric entrepreneurship research by introducing the environmental orientation of new ventures as a key factor for sustainable development. It empirically assesses whether relationships exist between national shares of green entrepreneurial activity (GEA) and economic, social, and environmental development. Theory and first empirical evidence suggest that – compared to conventional new ventures – new green ventures have a more positive economic and social impact and are less harmful or even beneficial to environmental quality. OLS regressions were estimated to empirically test the impact of GEA rates (share of total entrepreneurial activity) on GDP, the modified HDI, and CO 2 emissions. For this purpose, Global Entrepreneurship Monitor data for 11,909 early-stage entrepreneurs was aggregated to the macro-level of 53 countries and merged with further international datasets. The results confirmed that higher shares of GEA are positively related to economic and social development but not to environmental development. Additional tests proved the robustness of the results for different economic development levels, time-lag variations, and different measurements of dependent and independent variables. The identified economic and social importance of GEA warrants intensified policy efforts to support the discovery, creation, and exploitation of green business opportunities. Potential explanations for the counterintuitive non-significant environmental impact are discussed, leading to new research avenues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Textile dye is one of the significant pollutants of water worldwide. However, dumping the textile effluent to the environment is a common in most of the developing countries. Contaminated water in the textile industry may contain various toxic ingredients and people were easily infected with various diseases. The contamination may affect the marine environment and consequently extends around the world. The recycling of waste water is the significant option to reduce the environmental pollution. In particular, adsorption approach is one of the significant strategies to treat dye-contaminated water due to their advantageous of physico-chemical properties. In this review paper, variety of potential adsorbents for dye removal were critically reviewed, focusing on the efficient adsorbent to remediate dye-contaminated water. Specifically, the recent development of adsorbents containing carbon, metal supported adsorbents, surface functionalized gel adsorbents and photo-adsorbents were reviewed focusing on cutting-edge processes. Comparison of degradation efficiency for different adsorbents, synthesis approaches and their physico-chemical properties were assessed in systematic way. The perspective of the adsorbent materials associated with the dye degradation was discussed thoroughly. The evaluation of different advanced materials would contribute to the development of the sustainable dye removal process in near future. [Display omitted] • The application of advanced novel materials for dye removal was critically evaluated. • The promising dye removal technologies with their adsorption efficiency were measured. • The specific mechanism of different nano-materials were assessed in systematic way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 pandemic has shown that sustainable development of energy, water and environment systems is essential for the basic life needs of humankind. Logistics problems, shortage of resources and goods, a crisis of traditional energy systems, all these COVID-19 caused problems show that available resources should be used with caution. This paper is an introduction article to the Virtual Special Issue that discusses some of the latest developments in three research topic areas, namely Energy, Water and Environment. These research topics emerged from the four Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems Conferences held in 2020. The purpose of the introduction article is to provide a brief introduction to the field and the articles included in this Journal of Cleaner Production Virtual Special Issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]