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The increasing cost of fuel oil forced the industry to search for alternate fuels, and biomass. In general, rice husks were considered an appropriate substitute for producing energy. Because, the use of rice husk offered lot of benefits such as reduction in emission of sulfur and other pollutants connected with the use of other fossil fuel, cheaper than coal (approx. 36%), and carbon neutral. Hence, in this paper, water, Fuel and Steam generation data of husk-based Boiler has been measured, numerically analyzed and plotted graphically. The results revealed that husk based thermal power plant has huge potential. Further, it is supposed that exploiting the renewable energy potential and utilizing agricultural waste will be useful to the country’s energy portfolio while adding numerous environmental and social benefits (reducing CO2 emissions, improving air quality, and diminishing the unemployment rate).

Five bacterial strains for biodegradation study were initially isolated from quinalphos exposed soil from cotton field of Indian Agricultural Research Institute, India by Serial dilution and enrichment technique. Amongst them, two strains Pantoea agglomerans and Acinetobacter sp. dcm5A were exposed to different concentrations (50-250 ppm, parts per million) of quinalphos to evaluate their tolerance and the optimum concentration of quinalphos supported growth. Growth kinetics of the isolates was studied by means of optical density of the culture media (150 rpm, rotation per minute) at 30oC for 15 days. The optimal concentration of quinalphos for the growth of Pantoea agglomerans was 100 ppm, while for Acinetobacter sp. dcm5A was 200 ppm. Bacterial strains Pantoea agglomerans and Acinetobacter sp. dcm5A degraded quinalphos 60% and 79.7% respectively in 7 days incubation and 100% degradation by both strains was observed after 13 days of incubation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current investigation is presented the prospective substitution of cement and fine aggregates with fine slag material (Alccofine 1203) and coal bottom ash, respectively. The investigation was carried out in two steps, viz. Phase I and Phase II. In Phase I, a control mix was designed with basic ingredients of concrete, and then fine aggregates were partially replaced with five percentages (10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50%) of coal bottom ash (CBA). To improve the characteristics of coal bottom ash concrete mixtures, ultra-fine slag material, i.e., Alccofine 1203 (an innovative ultra-fine slag material, low calcium silicate, which offers reduced water demand depending upon the concrete performance) was used as a partial replacement of cement. In Phase II, the inspected effect of replacing 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% cement with Alccofine, a concrete mix containing 40% coal bottom ash, on concrete properties such as workability, compressive strength, split tensile strength, flexural strength, pulse velocity, rapid chloride penetration along with a microstructural analysis using SEM was studied. It was concluded from cost analysis that the 15% replacement of cement with ultra-fine material Alccofine in 40% coal bottom ash concrete achieved the properties of high-strength concrete, with an 8.14% increase in cost compared to the control increase. The significance of this work lies in the fact that we achieved a high-strength concrete by using 40% industrial waste, i.e., coal bottom ash, as a partial replacement of fine aggregates in combination with the 15% Alccofine inclusion as a partial replacement of cement. About 58% improvement in compressive strength was recorded for 40% coal bottom ash and 15% Alccofine mix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various agricultural wastes such as peels of pea (Pisum sativum) pod, tea (Camellia sinensis), and ginger (Zingiber officinale) and banana (Musa lacatan) waste were used to adsorb Cr(VI) from the aqueous solutions. A comparative adsorption efficiency study for all these adsorbents was done in laboratory for various pH, adsorbent doses, initial chromium concentrations, contact time, adsorbent sizes, temperature, and mixing speeds up to the optimization. The equilibrium sorption data were fitted into Langmuir, Freundlich, and Temkin isotherms and also the various thermodynamic parameters were determined. The value of R2 was determined for Freundlich, Langmuir, and Temkin as 0.964, 0.963, and 0.858 (pea pod peels waste (PPP)), 0.969, 0.986, and 0.841(tea & ginger waste (T&G)), 0.985, 0.982, and 0.886 (banana peel waste (BW)). The maximum monolayer coverage (Q0) from Langmuir isotherm model for pea pod, tea & ginger and banana peels waste were found to be 4.33 mg/g, 7.29 mg/g, and 10 mg/g, respectively, with separation factors (RL) 0.0331, 0.0343, and 0.0756 which are well within favorable sorption. From Freundlich isotherm model, the sorption intensity (n) for the same adsorbents was also less than unity showing normal sorption. The heat of sorption (B) was also determined from Temkin isotherm model as 0.215, 0.271, and 0.271, respectively, vividly proving a favorable physical sorption. The Gibbs free energy was found maximum for BW as 6.0679 joule/ mole. Out of the above said combination, BW was found the best low-cost adsorbent with high potential for the removal of hexavalent chromium from aqueous solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Latest research on fuels focused on exploring better alternatives for compression ignition engines. A large number of studies reported that the properties of biodiesel are comparable with traditional diesel fuel, which makes it a suitable alternative source of energy. Among various available feedstocks, waste cooking oil is considered as the most viable source for biodiesel production. Apart from being economical, it also reduces waste disposal issues. High free fatty acids and water content in waste cooking oil cause the production of biodiesel difficult. In order to overcome this difficulty, two-step transesterification method is preferred for commercial-scale biodiesel production. Several factors like catalyst concentration, alcohol to oil molar ratio, reaction temperature, and time of reaction affect the yield of biodiesel. This article provides a comprehensive review of biodiesel production from waste cooking oil and its use in compression ignition engines. In this review, fatty acid composition, pre-treatment process, catalytic and non-catalytic approaches of biodiesel production with their advantages and limitations are included. The effect of transesterification reaction parameters on biodiesel yield is also covered. The high viscosity of biodiesel than diesel fuel causes an increase in brake specific fuel consumption and a decrease in brake thermal efficiency of engines. Significant reduction in CO, HC, PM, and smoke emissions are identified; however, NO X and CO 2 emissions found increased due to the oxygenating nature of biodiesel. Overall, it could be concluded that biodiesel produced from waste cooking oil serves as a cleaner and economical alternative source of fuel for compression ignition engines. [Display omitted] • Approximately 30% of per capita edible oil consumption is generated as waste. • Two-step transesterification is the most efficient method for biodiesel production. • Yield of biodiesel is most influenced by the type of catalyst and its concentration. • Brake specific fuel consumption increases due to poor atomization of biodiesel. • CO, HC, PM, and smoke emissions from engine exhaust are reduced significantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]