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Plastic biodegradable mulch (plastic BDM) is tilled after use, but there is concern about incomplete degradation and potential impact on subsequent crops, and we lack a reliable method to measure mulch degradation post soil-incorporation. We conducted two field experiments to (i) develop a sampling method to estimate the amount of mulch (fragments size >2.36 mm) in the field post soil-incorporation, and (ii) assess the amount of BDM in the soil after four consecutive years of mulch incorporation. In Expt. 1, we used the quartering method to reduce soil from a 1 m 2 field sample area to a representative 19 L sample. In Expt. 2, we applied and tilled four plastic BDMs: BioAgri, Naturecycle, Organix AG, and an experimental mulch; and one paper mulch, WeedGuardPlus, in their respective plots for four consecutive years. Starting in year 2, we sampled soil with the quartering method each spring and fall to determine mulch recovery. With respect to the total amount of mulch applied, average mulch recovery in the fall for the three commercial plastic BDMs was 71%, 50%, and 35% after second, third and fourth applications, respectively. For the experimental mulch, the average recovery was 80%, 69%, and 54% in the fall after second, third, and fourth applications, respectively. Recovery was slightly lower in spring than in preceding fall all years. For WeedGuardPlus, average recovery was 14%-20% in each fall, and no recovery in any spring (complete degradation). The results show that the quartering method reliably estimates the amount of mulch in a field and BDMs degrade over time in the field even with repeated applications, but complete degradation takes >1 year. While a few standards (e.g., ASTM D5988) specify how to determine biodegradation of plastics in soil under controlled laboratory conditions, our sampling method assesses plastic degradation under diverse field conditions., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Pulp and paper mill sludge (PPMS) mainly consists of primary sludge and secondary sludge (activated sludge). Before the disposal and utilization of PPMS, it is dewatered due to high water content. Cellulose fiber is a key and characteristic component in PPMS. In this paper, the role of cellulose fiber on the dewaterability of simulated PPMS (the mixture of cellulose fibers and activated sludge) was investigated, including the fiber content, fiber length and fibrillation degree. The results showed that the specific resistance to filtration (SRF) of simulated PPMS decreased with the increase of fiber content (0-30 w%) and also decreased with the decrease of average fiber length (0.597-0.303 mm) noticeably. However, the SRF increased dramatically when the average fiber length reduced further to 0.189 mm. The fiber fibrillation had no obvious effect on the sludge SRF. Besides, the addition of cellulose fiber had little impact on the sludge compressibility. The role of cellulose fiber in the PPMS is to form aggregates with high fiber-sludge adhesion and large floc size, which relieves the blinding effect and changes the permeability of sludge cake respectively, resulting in improving sludge filterability., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Bisphenol A (BPA), a synthetic xenoestrogen widely used in various industrial fields, can be present, in its un-reacted form, as an additive in thermal paper. BPA is virtually ubiquitous in industrialized societies and humans are exposed to this chemical via dietary and non-dietary sources. Since in 2015 European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) indicated that thermal paper is the second source of BPA exposure after the food chain, some suppliers replaced BPA with its analogue Bisphenol S (BPS), speculatively supposed to be safer. In this work BPA and BPS concentration levels were determined in thermal paper receipts collected in Italy from 50 different sources by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem fluorescence and ultraviolet detection. BPA was found in 44 samples at mean concentration of 107.47μg/100mg of paper (from below Limits of Quantification (LOQ) to 1533.733μg/100mg of paper). BPS was found in 31 samples at mean concentration of 41.97μg/100mg of paper (from below the LOQ to 357.989μg/100mg of paper). 26 samples were positive to both BPA and BPS. The estimate daily intake (EDI) values of BPA and BPS occurring through dermal absorption were calculated for 70kg body weight individuals. For general population, they were 0.0625μg/day for BPA and 0.0244μg/day for BPS, based on the mean content of bisphenols found. For occupationally exposed individuals, they were 66.8μg/day for BPA and 15.6μg/day for BPS, based on the worst scenario. Such levels would produce a dermal intake below the Tolerable Day Intake established by EFSA (4μg/kg·bw/day); nevertheless, the occurrence of co-exposure to dietary and non-dietary sources should be considered in the health risk assessment, mainly for people frequently exposed to thermal paper contact for occupational reason., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Thermal paper contains potentially toxic additives, such as bisphenol A (BPA), as a common color developer. Because of its known endocrine disrupting effects, structural analogues to BPA, such as bisphenol S (BPS), D-8 and Pergafast 201, have been used as alternatives, but little is known about the presence and toxicological effects of alternatives other than BPS. In this study, thermal paper is screened by direct probe ambient mass spectrometry (rapid pre-screening method not requiring sample preparation) and by liquid chromatography (LC) with high resolution time-of flight (TOF-MS) mass spectrometry. Cash receipts and other thermal paper products (cinema tickets, boarding passes and luggage tags) were analyzed. Besides BPA and BPS, other developers only recently reported (Pergafast 201, D-8) or to the best of our knowledge not reported before (D-90, TGSA, BPS-MAE) were frequently found as well as some related unreported impurities (2,4-BPS that is a BPS related impurity and a TGSA related impurity). To gain some insight into the potential estrogenicity of the detected developers, a selection of extracts was further analyzed using a LC-nanofractionation platform in combination with cell-based bioassay testing. These preliminary results seems to indicate very low or absence of estrogenic activity for Pergafast 201, D-8, D-90, TGSA and BPS-MAE in comparison to BPA and BPS, although further dose-response tests with authentic standards are required to confirm these results. Compounds for which standards were available were also tested for developmental toxicity and neurotoxicity using zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos. TGSA and D-8 induced similar teratogenic effects as BPA in zebrafish embryos. BPS and 2,4-BPS did not induce any developmental effects but 2,4-BPS did alter the locomotor activity at the tested concentration. Our findings suggest that the alternatives used as alternatives to BPA (except BPS) might not be estrogenic. However, TGSA and D-8 showed abnormal developmental effects similar to BPA., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Paper mill effluents are complex mixtures containing different toxic compounds including endocrine-disrupting (EDCs) and genotoxic compounds. In the present study non-concentrated raw and biologically treated wastewaters from two paper mill plants with different paper production technologies i) Paper mill A uses virgin fibres, and ii) Paper mill B uses recycled fibres for paper production and the corresponding receiving surface waters, were assessed for their cytotoxic/genotoxic activity with SOS/umuC, Ames MPF 98/100 Aqua, and comet assay with human hepatoma HepG2 cells. In addition the levels of seven selected EDCs were quantified in wastewater samples and receiving surface waters. All investigated EDCs were confirmed in raw and biologically treated effluents from both paper mills with concentrations being markedly higher in Paper mill B effluents. In the receiving surface waters three of the studied EDCs were determined downstream of both paper mills effluent discharge. The wastewater samples and the recipient surface water samples from Paper mill A were not mutagenic for bacteria and did not induce DNA damage in HepG2 cells. On the contrary, half of the raw wastewater samples from Paper mill B were mutagenic whereas biologically treated wastewater and the recipient surface water samples were negative. In HepG2 cells most of the raw and biologically treated wastewater samples from Paper mill B as well as surface water samples collected downstream of Paper mill B effluent discharge induced DNA damage. The results confirmed that genotoxic contaminants were present only in wastewaters from Paper mill B that uses recycled fibres for paper production, and that the combined aerobic and anaerobic wastewater treatment procedure efficiently reduced contaminants that are bacterial mutagens, but not those that induce DNA damage in HepG2 cells. This study highlights that in addition to chemical analyses bioassays are needed for a comprehensive toxicological evaluation of complex wastewater samples., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Forests account for nearly 90 % of the world's terrestrial biomass in the form of carbon and they support 80 % of the global biodiversity. To understand the underlying forest dynamics, we need a long-term but also relatively high-frequency, networked monitoring system, as traditionally used in meteorology or hydrology. While there are numerous existing forest monitoring sites, particularly in temperate regions, the resulting data streams are rarely connected and do not provide information promptly, which hampers real-time assessments of forest responses to extreme climate events. The technology to build a better global forest monitoring network now exists. This white paper addresses the key structural components needed to achieve a novel meta-network. We propose to complement - rather than replace or unify - the existing heterogeneous infrastructure with standardized, quality-assured linking methods and interacting data processing centers to create an integrated forest monitoring network. These automated (research topic-dependent) linking methods in atmosphere, biosphere, and pedosphere play a key role in scaling site-specific results and processing them in a timely manner. To ensure broad participation from existing monitoring sites and to establish new sites, these linking methods must be as informative, reliable, affordable, and maintainable as possible, and should be supplemented by near real-time remote sensing data. The proposed novel meta-network will enable the detection of emergent patterns that would not be visible from isolated analyses of individual sites. In addition, the near real-time availability of data will facilitate predictions of current forest conditions (nowcasts), which are urgently needed for research and decision making in the face of rapid climate change. We call for international and interdisciplinary efforts in this direction., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Zweifel Roman reports financial support was provided by Federal Office for the Environment., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The objective of this study was to measure the anaerobic biodegradation of different types of paper products in laboratory-scale landfill reactors. The study included (a) measurement of the loss of cellulose, hemicellulose, organic carbon, and (b) measurement of the methane yields for each paper product. The test materials included two samples each of newsprint (NP), copy paper (CP), and magazine paper (MG), and one sample of diaper (DP). The methane yields, carbon storage factors and the extent of cellulose and hemicellulose decomposition all consistently show that papers made from mechanical pulps (e.g., NPs) are less degradable than those made from chemical pulps where essentially all lignin was chemically removed (e.g., CPs). The diaper, which is not only made from chemical pulp but also contains some gel and plastic, exhibited limited biodegradability. The extent of biogenic carbon conversion varied from 21 to 96% among papers, which contrasts with the uniform assumption of 50% by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for all degradable materials discarded in landfills. Biochemical methane potential tests also showed that the solids to liquid ratio used in the test can influence the results., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Fly ash (FA) from biomass combustion and biological sludge (S), both wastes from the pulp and paper industry, were granulated in different proportions (90% FA+10% S, and 70% FA+30% S w/w, dry weight basis, dw) and used to recover the functionality of soils affected by mining activities (Aljustrel, Iberian Pyrite Belt), with and without the application of municipal solid waste compost (MSWC). Application doses of both mixtures were 2.5, 5.0 and 10% (w/w, dw). These materials corrected soil acidity to circumneutral values and increased extractable P and K concentrations. A significant increase in soil organic matter (from 0.6 to 0.8-1.5% w/w, dw) and N content (from 0.04 to 0.09-0.12% w/w, dw) was also observed, but only when MSWC was applied. The soil was already heavily contaminated with Cu, Pb and Zn and the application of amendments did not increase their pseudo-total concentrations. The CaCl 2 extractable fractions of both Cu and Zn decreased to very low values. The improvement in soil quality, compared to fertilizer only treatment, was further evidenced by the increase in some soil enzymatic activities (dehydrogenase, β-glucosidase and cellulase), with a better response for the granules with the higher proportion of biological sludge, as well as by the decrease in the soil-water extract toxicity towards different organisms (Daphnia magna, Thamnocephalus platyurus, and Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata). Agrostis tenuis germinated and grew during the first month only in the amended pots, but, after that, a considerable phytotoxic effect was evident. This was mainly attributed to salt stress or to some specific ionic toxicity. In conclusion, to establish a long-term plant cover in mining soils amended with biomass ash-based materials, the selection of plants with higher resistance to salinity and/or the stabilization of the amendments, to reduce their soluble salt content, is recommended., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

It is unusual, and can be difficult, for scientists to reflect in their publications on any limitations their research had. This is a consequence of the extreme pressure that scientists are under to 'publish or perish'. The inevitable consequence is that much published research is not as good as it could, and should, be, leading to the current 'reproducibility crisis'. Approaches to address this crisis are required. Our suggestion is to include a 'Limitations' section in all scientific papers. Evidence is provided showing that such a section must be mandatory. Adding a 'Limitations' section to scientific papers would greatly increase honesty, openness and transparency, to the considerable benefit of both the scientific community and society in general. This suggestion is applicable to all scientific disciplines. Finally, we apologise if our suggestion has already been made by others., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: John Sumpter reports financial support was provided by Natural Environment Research Council. Damia Barcelo is serving in an editorial capacity for the journal to which we are submitting (STOTEN)., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Soil organic carbon can be increased through sympathetic land management and/or directly by incorporating carbon rich amendments. Herein, a field experiment amended paper crumble (PC) to soil at a normal deployment rate of 50 t ha -1 , and at higher rates up to 200 t ha -1 . The nominal 50 t ha -1 PC amendment resulted a mean increase in soil carbon of 12.5 g kg -1 . Using a modified Roth-C carbon fate model, the long-term (50 years) carbon storage potential of a 50 t ha -1 PC amendment was determined to be 0.36 t O C ha -1 . Modelling a rotational (4 yearly) 50 t ha -1 PC amendment indicated 6.65 t O C ha -1 uplift would accrue after 50 years. Contextualised for the average farm in the East of England (~120 ha, with 79 % as arable), PC derived increases in SOC would be equivalent to 2310 t CO 2 e. These results support the use of PC to deliver significant levels of soil recarbonisation. Beyond carbon, PC was observed to influence other soil properties. Benefits observed included, decreased bulk density, increased water holding capacity, and increased cation exchange capacity. While PC amendment did not significantly increase wheat (Triticum aestivum) crop yield, manifold benefits in terms of increased SOC, long-term carbon storage potential, and improved soil quality sustain PC as a beneficial soil conditioner., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Brian Reid reports financial support was provided by Research England., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This study compares the environmental performance of Mexican banknotes printed on high-durability cotton paper (HD paper) and thermoplastic polymer (polymer) through a life cycle assessment to appraise the environmental impacts from the extraction of raw materials to the final disposal of the banknotes. The functional unit was defined considering the next parameters: 1) lifespan of the banknotes, stablished in 31.5 and 54 months for HD paper and polymer, respectively; 2) denomination, selecting $200 pesos banknotes; 3) a 5 year time frame and 4) a defined amount of money, in this case stablished as the monthly cash supply of an average Mexican household, equaling $12,708 pesos. Accordingly, 121 pieces for the HD paper and 71 pieces for the polymer banknotes were analyzed. The results favor the banknotes printed on polymer substrate primarily because of the longer lifespan of this type of material; however, there is a considerable environmental impact in the stages of distribution, followed by the extraction of the raw materials (crude oil) during manufacturing. Regarding the HD cotton paper, the major impact corresponds to extraction of the raw materials, followed by the distribution of the banknotes. The inclusion of the automatic teller machines (ATMs) in the life cycle assessment of banknotes shows that the electricity required by these devices became the largest contributor to the environmental impacts. Additionally, the sensitivity analysis that the average lifetime of the banknotes is a determining factor for the environmental impacts associated with the whole life cycle of this product. The life cycle stages that refer to the extraction of the raw materials, combined with the average lifetime of the banknotes and the electricity required during the usage stage, are determining factors in the total environmental impact associated with Mexican banknotes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, an internal circulation-anoxic/aerobic (IC-A/O) process followed by ultrafiltration (UF) and reverse osmosis (RO) system was applied for paper wastewater reclamation. The IC-AO system presented a stable and efficient performance, achieving high removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) with methane production rate of 132.8 mL/d. Acute toxicity to Daphnia magna (D. magna) was reduced significantly (83.2%) and the spearman's rank correlation analysis indicated that the toxicity of effluents from each reactor were positively correlated with COD and TOC. Hexadecanoic acid, octadecanoic acid and benzophenone were the main toxic contributors for biological effluent. Microbial community revealed that Anaerolinea was significantly related with organic pollutants. The UF-RO system further removed pollutants and toxicity with the final effluent COD, TOC, ammonium nitrogen (NH 4 -N) and TN of 32.6, 18.8, 0.3 and 9.2 mg/L, respectively, which proved that it was feasible for paper wastewater reuse. This study presented an efficient, practical and environmentally competitive system, and paved a foundation for the treatment and reuse of paper wastewater.+ -N) and TN of 32.6, 18.8, 0.3 and 9.2 mg/L, respectively, which proved that it was feasible for paper wastewater reuse. This study presented an efficient, practical and environmentally competitive system, and paved a foundation for the treatment and reuse of paper wastewater., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The current investigation deals with how chemically activated carbon derived from industrial paper sludge (ACPS) performs on sorptive removal of enrofloxacin (ENF), an antibacterial drug from its water solution. Thermogravimetric (TGA) and proximate analysis of raw paper sludge (RPS) were conducted. ACPS was characterized with proximate analysis, XRD, FT-IR, SEM and BET. The influence of five operational parameters viz. adsorbate concentration (initial), dose of adsorbent, pH, temperature, and contact time on the adsorption of ENF onto ACPS has been conducted using batch experiments. The process of adsorption was optimized through ANN (artificial neural network) in addition to RSM (response surface methodology). The maximum percentage removal (95.85%) was achieved at initial ENF concentration 12 mg/g, adsorbent dose 1.2 g/L, contact duration of 18 h and temperature 20 °C. Kinetic data were best fitted into pseudo-second order kinetic model and adsorption equilibrium study indicates that the adsorption process follows Langmuir isotherm model. Adsorption capacity was noted to have a highest value of 44.44 mg/g. A study on thermodynamics of the adsorption process suggests that it exhibits spontaneity, being essentially exothermic. Cost analysis and reusability study confirm that adsorbent produced from industrial paper sludge is cost-effective and reusable. Therefore, ACPS as adsorbent has potency for removing ENF from aqueous solution., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Parabens (alkyl esters of p-hydroxybenzoic acid) are widely used as antimicrobial preservatives in personal care products, pharmaceuticals, and foodstuffs. Although parabens have been reported to be used as antimicrobials in certain types of papers (e.g., wet sanitary or hygiene wipes), little is known about the occurrence of these compounds in paper products. In this study, we determined the concentrations of six paraben analogs, methyl (MeP), ethyl (EtP), propyl (PrP), butyl (BuP), benzyl (BzP), and heptyl parabens (HepP), in 253 paper products divided into 18 categories, using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). At least one of the six parabens was detected in almost all (detection rate: 98%) paper samples, and the total concentrations (∑PBs; sum of six parabens) ranged from 1.85 to 3,220,000 ng/g (geometric mean (GM): 103; median: 55.1 ng/g). Sanitary wipes contained very high concentrations of ∑PBs (GM: 8300 ng/g). Paper currencies, tickets, business cards, food cartons, flyers, and newspapers contained notable concentrations of ∑PBs, and the GM concentrations in these paper categories were on the order of a few tens to thousands of nanograms per gram. One source of parabens in paper products is the use of these chemicals as antifungal agents. MeP and PrP were the predominant analogs, accounting for approximately 62% and 16% of the total concentrations of parabens, respectively. On the basis of measured concentrations and frequency of handling of paper products, we estimated the daily intake (EDI) of parabens through dermal absorption. The GM and 95th percentile EDI values were 6.31 and 2050 ng/day, respectively, for the general population. Among the paper categories analyzed, sanitary wipes contributed to the majority (>90%) of the exposures., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Developing chrome-free and sustainable tanning agents is extremely important to the sustainability of the leather industry. Herein, we have synthesized an Al-Zr-oligosaccharides tanning agent via a simultaneous degradation and oxidation of cellulose in waste paper. The influence of the temperature and the concentrations of AlCl 3 and H 2 O 2 during the synthesis were thoroughly investigated on the properties of the tanning agent and the leather produced. The synthesis temperature and the concentration of AlCl 3 were the factors primarily affecting the effective depolymerization of cellulose. They controlled the conversion of waste paper into oligosaccharides with an appropriate molecular weight to efficiently penetrate the leather matrix. In parallel, the H 2 O 2 concentration substantially influenced the tanning performance of the Al-Zr-oligosaccharides, diminishing the chromaticity of the tanning liquid via oxidation and promoting the conversion of C2/C3/C6-OH moieties into -CHO/-COOH. These functional groups increased the surface charge of the oligosaccharides allowing more effective coordination with Al/Zr, which facilitated the penetration of Al/Zr species into the leather matrix. Once inside the leather matrix, Al and Zr were released and reacted with the collagen fibers in leather, which resulted in effective leather tanning. The process optimization revealed that up to 57% of waste paper could be converted into a low-chromaticity (4350 AU) liquid hydrolysate with the synthesis conducted at 177 °C in a system comprising 47 mM AlCl 3 and 5 vol% H 2 O 2 . The application of this liquid for tanning provided leather with a shrinkage temperature (86.5 °C) sufficiently high for commercial applications. These excellent results, combined with the intrinsic green nature of our approach, exemplify a step forward to simultaneously reduce pollution and hazards in leather industries giving a second life to waste paper., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Phosphate adsorption using metal-based biochar has awakened much attention and triggered extensive research. In this study, novel Ca/Fe-rich biochars were prepared via a one-step process of pyrolyzing paper mill sludge (PMS) at various temperatures (300, 500, 700, and 800 °C) under a CO 2 atmosphere for phosphate removal. Batch adsorption experiments showed that the biochar obtained at 800 °C (PB-800), which could be easily separated magnetically, exhibited the best phosphate adsorption capacity in a wide range of solution pH (5-11). Based on the Langmuir model, the maximum phosphate adsorption capacity for PB-800 was 17.33 mg/g. Besides, the effects of ambient temperature as well as coexisting ions on phosphate removal were also investigated. Kinetic and thermodynamic analysis revealed that chemisorption dominated the adsorption process. The calcium carbonate and ferric salts in the sludge were converted into CaO and Fe 3 O 4 through pyrolysis at 800 °C. The CaO inherent in PB-800 was proved to serve as active sites for the chemical precipitation, showing its synergistic effect with iron oxide compounds (i.e., Fe 3 O 4 , α-Fe 2 O 3 ) on phosphate removal through chemical precipitation, ligand exchange, and complexation. This study not only provides a feasible waste-to-wealth strategy for converting PMS into a Ca/Fe-rich magnetic biochar that can be used as an effective phosphate adsorbent, but also offers new insights into the synergistic effect of calcium and iron species for the adsorption of phosphate using biochar., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Currently, petroleum-based synthetic plastics are used as a key barrier material in the paper-based packaging of several food and nonfood goods. This widespread usage of plastic as a barrier lining is not only harmful to human and marine health, but it is also polluting the ecosystem. Researchers and food manufacturers are focused on biobased alternatives because of its numerous advantages, including biodegradability, biocompatibility, non-toxicity, and structural flexibility. When used alone or in composites/multilayers, these biobased alternatives provide strong barrier qualities against grease, oxygen, microbes, air, and water. According to the most recent literature reports, biobased polymers for barrier coatings are having difficulty breaking into the business. Technological breakthroughs in the field of bioplastic production and application are rapidly evolving, proffering new options for academics and industry to collaborate and develop sustainable packaging solutions. Existing techniques, such as multilayer coating of nanocomposites, can be improved further by designing them in a more systematic manner to attain the best barrier qualities. Modified nanocellulose, lignin nanoparticles, and bio-polyester are among the most promising future candidates for nanocomposite-based packaging films with high barrier qualities. In this review, the state-of-art and research advancements made in biobased polymeric alternatives such as paper and board barrier coating are summarized. Finally, the existing limitations and potential future development prospects for these biobased polymers as barrier materials are reviewed., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Chitosan was commonly used with inorganic salt and organic compounds to prepare adsorption material for water treatment. Different materials were mixed for the preparation, leading to a high cost for water treatment. Sludge from papermaking has abundant fiber and inorganic salt, which can reduce the addition of raw materials in preparing the adsorption material and thus lower the cost. This work used recycled industrial paper sludge to prepare adsorption material to remove heavy metals from wastewater. The adsorption properties of the prepared sludge-chitosan material for Cu 2+ and Cr 3+ in wastewater were investigated. The impacts of adsorption time, pH, and initial concentrations of Cu 2+ and Cr 3+ on adsorption amount were studied and optimized. The saturated adsorption capacity of sludge-chitosan material for Cu 2+ and Cr 3+ can reach 114.6 and 110.3 mg/g. The adsorption kinetics satisfied the pseudo-second-order model, indicating two modes, physical diffusion, and chem-sorption, in the heavy metal adsorption by the sludge-chitosan materials. Physical distribution has little Effect on chemical adsorption. The materials can be applied to treating Cu 2+ and Cr 3+ containing wastewater with the proposed cheap and readily available sludge-chitosan material. The results confirmed that sludge-chitosan material possessed good regeneration performance and was an ideal adsorbent., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work presented in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This paper aims to demonstrate an innovative process for the conversion of food waste digestate (FWD) powder into biofuel. The effects of different doses of FWD are investigated on microalgae-activated sludge (MAS) in treating pulp and paper mill wastewater (PPW) which generally contains insufficient nitrogen and phosphorus. FWD was added to adjust the initial N:P molar ratio in MAS at various levels (8:1 to 15:1). The highest Auxenochlorella protothecoides biomass achieved was 1.67 gL -1 at a 13.45:1 N/P molar ratio of PPW. After 10 days of cultivation, Auxenochlorella protothecoides-activated sludge system removed 91.7 %, 74.6 %, and 91.5 % of total nitrogen, phosphorus, and sCOD respectively at D 0.836 gL -1 DD. The highest lipid productivity was reported as 41.27 ± 2.43 mg L -1 day -1 . Fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) analysis showed the presence of an appreciable percentage of balanced saturated and unsaturated fatty acids i.e. palmitic, oleic, and linoleic acid, rendering its potential as a feedstock for biodiesel production. Activated sludge induced flocculation of Auxenochlorella protothecoides was measured. The whole process establishes an effective means of circular economy, where the secondary source of recyclable nutrients i.e. FWD will be used as a source of N and P in PPW to obtain algal biodiesel from a negative value industrial wastewater., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Secondary effluent from paper mill was characterized by poor biodegradability and containing recalcitrant compounds. In this study, four bioreactors, including a sequencing batch biofilm reactor (SBBR), a stirred-tank reactor (STR) and two submerged aeration reactors (SAR) were used to treat secondary effluent from a recycled paper mill respectively. The results indicated that chemical oxygen demand (COD) was increased by SAR2 treatment and COD removal efficiency for SBBR, SAR1 and STR was 39.7%, 15.7% and 30.9% respectively. It is suggested that recalcitrant compounds were removed by SBBR, SAR1 and STR respectively. Total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) of wastewater were increased by treatments of each bioreactor, which suggested that endogenous respiration of biomass occurred during the treatment. Microbial analysis of sludge from different bioreactors suggested that the removal of recalcitrant compounds in SBBR and STR might be related to the presence of unique microorganisms in each reactor., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Alkaline residuals, such as wood ash and lime mud generated from pulp and paper mills, could be recycled as liming agents in sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) forests affected by soil acidification. The objectives of this study were (1) to evaluate soil chemistry, in particular soil acidity, after the application of three alkaline residuals from the pulp and paper industry, and (2) to determine if these alkaline residuals altered soil greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as a result of the change in soil pH or due to their chemical composition. Soil properties and GHG fluxes were monitored for two years after alkaline residuals were applied to six forest sites dominated by sugar maple in southeastern Quebec, Canada. Each site received six treatments: wood ash applied at 5, 10 and 20 t ha -1 , lime mud (7.5 t ha -1 ), a mixture of slaker grits and green liquor sludge (7 t ha -1 ) and an unamended control. These treatments had acid-neutralizing power from 0 to 9 t ha -1 . All alkaline residuals buffered soil acidity as a function of their neutralizing power, and more neutralization occurred in the forest floor layer than in the underlying mineral soil. In the forest floor, the alkaline residual treatments significantly increased pH by more than one unit, nearly doubled the base saturation, and reduced exchangeable acidity, Al and Fe concentrations compared to control plots. The CO 2 and N 2 O fluxes were lower after application of alkaline residuals, and this was related to the soil pH increase and the type of alkaline residual applied. Lime mud was more effective at reducing GHG fluxes than other alkaline residuals. We conclude that these alkaline residuals can effectively counteract soil acidity in sugar maple forests without increasing soil GHG emissions, at least in the short term., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The in vitro potential of sensitizers and related compounds (SRCs) originating from impurities in waste paper in activating the human aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) α was assessed using yeast reporter gene as well as cytochrome P450 (CYP)1A1 and ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) assays. In the yeast assay, eight compounds exhibited agonist activity, and their activity relative to β-naphthoflavone (BNF) ranged from 1.4 × 10(-4) to 8.3 × 10(-2), with the highest activity observed for benzyl 2-naphthyl ether (BNE). In the EROD assay, six compounds caused a more significant induction of CYP1A-dependent activity than did the vehicle control at 50 μM (p<0.01), and their induction levels were 5.1- to 11-fold more potent; 1,2-bis(3-methylphenoxy)ethane (BME) was the most effective inducer. The water from the waste paper recycling area was fractioned using solid-phase extraction (SPE) combined with a C18 disk and florisil cartridge. In gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis, SRCs were detected in the first fraction, at a total concentration of 5.5 μg/L. This fraction also activated AhR, and its activity, expressed as a BNF equivalent value, was 0.42 nM in the yeast assay. The contribution ratio of active compounds accounted for up to 34% and 4.4% observed activity of the fraction and total samples, respectively. To our knowledge, this is the first study to show that paper industry-related compounds, namely aromatic sensitizers, activate AhR by using a yeast assay and HepG2 cells., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Pulp and paper wood feedstocks have been previously implicated as a source of chemicals with the ability to interact with or disrupt key neuroendocrine endpoints important in the control of reproduction. We tested nine Canadian conifers commonly used in pulp and paper production as well as 16 phytochemicals that have been observed in various pulp and paper mill effluent streams for their ability to interact in vitro with the enzymes monoamine oxidase (MAO), glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD), and GABA-transaminase (GABA-T), and bind to the benzodiazepine-binding site of the GABA(A) receptor (GABA(A)-BZD). These neuroendocrine endpoints are also important targets for treatment of neurological disorders such as anxiety, epilepsy, or depression. MAO and GAD were inhibited by various conifer extracts of different polarities, including major feedstocks such as balsam fir, black spruce, and white spruce. MAO was selectively stimulated or inhibited by many of the tested phytochemicals, with inhibition observed by a group of phenylpropenes (e.g. isoeugenol and vanillin). Selective GAD inhibition was also observed, with all of the resin acids tested being inhibitory. GABA(A)-BZD ligand displacement was also observed. We compiled a table identifying which of these phytochemicals have been described in each of the species tested here. Given the diversity of conifer species and plant chemicals with these specific neuroactivities, it is reasonable to propose that MAO and GAD inhibition reported in effluents is phytochemical in origin. We propose disruption of these neuroendocrine endpoints as a possible mechanism of reproductive inhibition, and also identify an avenue for potential research and sourcing of conifer-derived neuroactive natural products., (© 2013.)

2,4,7,9-Tetramethyl-5-decyne-4,7-diol (TMDD) is a non-ionic surfactant which is preferentially used as defoamer in paints and printing ink and for the treatment of surfaces. Effluents of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have been identified as the domination point sources for TMDD in rivers since the removal rate of the compound in the WWTPs is in general less than 70%. However, the dominating entry pathways of TMDD into the sewage were unknown so far. In this study effluents from both, municipal WWTPs with and without treatment of indirect industrial dischargers and from industrial WWTPs with direct discharge of wastewater into receiving rivers were analyzed for the first time to identify the proportions of TMDD coming from domestic wastewater and from various industrial sources. Moreover, rivers were samples before and after the influent of sewage water from WWTPs. The TMDD concentrations in the water samples were measured using solid phase extraction (SPE) followed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). High TMDD concentrations were found in rivers (up to 63.5 μg/L), and in effluents of WWTPs (up to 310 μg/L) affected by wastewater from paper recycling industry and factories producing paint and printing ink. Concentrations of TMDD revealed to be far higher in wastewater from factories processing recycled paper (up to 113 μg/L) compared to wastewater from factories not processing recycled paper (0.066 μg/L). The results indicate that the use of recycling paper in the paper production process is the dominating reason for increased TMDD concentrations in wastewaters and receiving rivers due to the wash out of TMDD from the paper impregnated with printing ink. Very high TMDD concentrations (up to 3300 μg/L) were also detected in wastewater from a printing ink factory and a paint factory., (© 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Lignosulfonates are important by-products of the paper industry and may be transformed into different commodities. We studied the molecular properties of ammonium (LS-AM) and calcium Lignosulfonates (LS-C) and evaluated their bioactivity towards the early development of maize plantlets. The FT-IR, 13 C NMR and 1 H- 13 C-HSQC-NMR spectra showed that the two lignosulfonates varied in hydroxyl, sulfonate and phenolic content, while DOSY-NMR spectroscopy suggested a similar diffusivity. High Performance Size Exclusion Chromatography (HPSEC) was used to simulate the effects of root-exuded acids and describe the conformational dynamics of both LS substrates in acidic aqueous solutions. This technique showed that LS-C was stabilized by the divalent Ca 2+ counterion, thus showing a greater conformational stability than LS-AM, whose components could not be as efficiently aggregated by the monovalent NH4 + counter-ion. The plant bioassays revealed that LS-AM enhanced the elongation of the root system, whereas LS-C significantly increased both total and shoot plant weights. We concluded that the lignosulfonate bioactivity on plant growth depended on the applied concentrations, their molecular properties and conformational stability., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The synergistic effect of heteroatoms is a viable method to enhance the adsorption performance of heavy metal onto carbon-based materials. However, the high cost, complex operation and a lot of pollution from the synthesis process have limited its development. Herein, a facile two-step pyrolysis method is used to prepare in situ N and S doped porous biochar from paper mill sludge for the removal of Cr(VI) from aqueous environment. The NSC-450 sample prepared under the optimum conditions has a large specific surface area of 3336.7 m 2 g -1 , an average pore size of 2.56 nm and a total pore volume of 2.10 cm 3 g -1 , manifesting the excellent adsorption capacity of 356.25 mg g -1 for Cr(VI). The adsorption of Cr(VI) by NSC-450 is consistent with the Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order model, suggesting a spontaneous and endothermic chemisorption process. The analysis results show that the NH, graphitic nitrogen and thiophene structures have a positive effect on converting a large amount of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) by synergistic reduction, indicating obviously facilitating Cr(VI) removal compared to other sites. Therefore, in this material, the strong adsorption mechanism is mainly reductive complexation. Moreover, the effects of real water quality, anions, cations and fulvic acid on the adsorption behavior of Cr(VI) onto the NSC-450 were further investigated. The results demonstrate that the chromium removal rate remains above 82% even in actual electroplating wastewater, suggesting NSC-450 has great practical application prospect. This work offered a feasible method for high-value utilization of sludge, but also provided a novel perspective for the future design of heteroatom-doped carbon materials for promoting to eliminate hexavalent chromium from water environment., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Currently, the performance evaluation of catalysts usually requires expensive instruments. Hence, it is imperative to develop an alternative, green and sustainable method to investigate the photocatalytic reaction processes. Herein, the variation of degradation performance of different wastewaters with different dosage of P25 TiO 2 was evaluated to verify the reliability of the paper microzones method (PMZs). The optimum P25 TiO 2 dosage of 1 g/L for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) (UV light for 6 mins) and 0.5 g/L for the degradation of fuchsin basic (FB) (UV light for 5 mins) was obtained by the PMZs method. For the photocatalytic degradation of trivalent iron ion complexed salicylic acid (Fe(III)-SA) solution, the R 2 values of 0.904 and 0.801 were obtained for the photocatalytic reaction kinetics by PMZs and spectrophotometry, respectively, which again indicated the high reliability of PMZs. The accuracy of the results obtained by PMZs method relative to the spectrophotometric method ranged from 68.80% to 87.54% when degrading MB, FB, mixture of MB and FB, and Fe(III)-SA by P25 TiO 2 . Therefore, the PMZs method is all in line with the requirements of low-carbon environmental protection and green chemistry, and has broad application prospects in the future., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Pulp and paper industry is facing challenges such as resource scarcity and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The objective of this research is to investigate whether the use of new coatings (micro or nano TiO(2)) and different pulp types could bring savings in wood, energy, GHG emissions and other environmental impacts in comparison with conventional printing and writing paper. We studied three types of pulp, namely i) unbleached virgin kraft pulp, ii) recovered fiber, and iii) high yield virgin chemithermo-mechanical pulp (CTMP). A life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted from cradle to grave. Applying attributional modeling, we found that wood savings amount to 60% for the nanoparticle coated recovered fiber paper and 35% for the micro TiO(2) coated CTMP paper. According to the ReCiPe single score impact assessment method, the new product configurations allow the reduction of the environmental impacts by 10-35% compared to conventional kraft paper. Applying consequential modeling, we found larger energy and GHG emission savings compared to attributional modeling because the saved wood is used for producing energy, thereby replacing fossil fuels. The nanoparticle coated recovered fiber paper offered savings of non-renewable energy use (NREU) by 100% (13GJ/ton paper) and GHG emission reduction by 75% (0.6 tonCO(2)eq./ton paper). Micro TiO(2) coated CTMP paper offered NREU savings by 25% (3GJ/ton paper) and savings of GHG emissions by 10% (0.1 tonCO(2)eq./ton paper). The taking into account of all environmental impacts with the ReCiPe single score method leads to comparable results as that of attributional modeling. We conclude that the nanoparticle coated recovered fiber paper offered the highest savings and lowest environmental impacts. However, human toxicity and ecotoxicity impacts of the nanoparticles were not included in this analysis and need further research. If this leads to the conclusion that the toxicity impacts of the nanoparticles are serious, then the CTMP paper with micro TiO(2) coating is the preferred option., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Bisphenol-A (BPA) is a commonly used color developer in thermal paper. In this application, BPA is present in its free, unbound form and can be readily released, making thermal paper a potential source for human exposure. In this study, BPA was determined in 44 thermal paper samples collected in Belgium. BPA was detected in all the samples; 73% of the samples had concentrations between 0.9% and 2.1% (between 9 and 21 mg BPA/g paper), while the remaining 27% of the samples had concentrations below 0.01% (0.1mg BPA/g paper). The BPA concentrations measured in thermal paper were comparable with those reported in other international studies. Since thermal paper is a feedstock for paper recycling processes, contamination of other "BPA-free" papers can occur. An estimation of human exposure through thermal paper results in a median intake of 445 ng BPA/day for the general population, which corresponds to an exposure of 6.4 ng/kg bw/day for a person of 70 kg. The exposure of those people who come occupationally in contact with thermal paper can be much higher., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Excessive water consumption in pulp and paper industry results in high amount of wastewater. Pollutant characteristics of the wastewater vary depending on the processes used in production and the quality of paper produced. However, in general, high organic material and suspended solid contents are considered as major pollutants of pulp and paper industry effluents. The major pollutant characteristics of pulp and paper industry effluents in Turkey were surveyed and means of major pollutant concentrations, which were grouped in three different pollution grades (low, moderate and high strength effluents), and flow rates within 3000 to 10,000m(3)/day range with 1000m(3)/day steps were used as design parameters. Ninety-six treatment plants were designed using twelve flow schemes which were combinations of physical treatment, chemical treatment, aerobic and anaerobic biological processes. Detailed comparative cost analysis which includes investment, operation, maintenance and rehabilitation costs was prepared to determine optimum treatment processes for each pollution grade. The most economic and technically optimal treatment processes were found as extended aeration activated sludge process for low strength effluents, extended aeration activated sludge process or UASB followed by an aeration basin for medium strength effluents, and UASB followed by an aeration basin or UASB followed by the conventional activated sludge process for high strength effluents., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)