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Food waste (FW) has always been a significant issue faced by almost all countries worldwide. The rise in FW does not only influence one’s food supply, yet the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission such as methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) gas leads to global warming and health issues. This paper reviews the primary FW treatments available in all countries. Most advanced countries have accomplished that the least cost and most efficient FW treatment is composting. Among all the composting methods available, vermicomposting (VC) that uses redworms (Eisenia fetida) produces nutrients rich bio-compost, as proven in the existing literature. Furthermore, bio-compost produced by the VC method nourishes plant growth. In this study, the primary research data sources are 78 scientific articles over the last few years. This research is the consensus on VC as the FW treatment. Besides, briefly discuss the FW pretreatment methods, the effect of bio-compost on soil properties, and their corresponding effects on the growth of Abelmoschus esculentus L.

Biomass, which defined as plant- or animal-based materials, is intriguing tremendous scientific attentions due to its renewable attribute in serving energy security. Amongst, the plant-based biomasses, particularly those that co-generated in the agriculture activities, are commonly regarded as fuel for burning, which overlooked their hidden potentials for high-end applications. Organically, the plant-based biomass constitutes of lignocellulose components, which can be served as promising precursors for functionalized carbon materials. Meanwhile, its inorganic counterpart made up of various minerals, with Si being the most concerned one. With the advancement of biomass technologies and material synthesis in recent years, numerous attempts were endeavoured to obtain valorised products from biomass. Particularly, syntheses of catalytic and adsorptive materials are actively researched in the field of biomass reutilization. Herein, our work systematically summarized the advancements of biomass-materials for these applications in recent 10 years (2010–2020), with a special focus on the carbon-based and Si-based catalytic/adsorptive materials. Significantly, the deriving steps, inclusive of both pre-treatment and post-treatment of such materials, are incorporated in the discussion, alongside with their significances revealed too. The performance of the as-obtained materials in the respective application is systematically correlated to their physicochemical properties, hence providing valuable insights to the readers. Challenges and promising directions to be explored are raised too at the end of the review, aiming to advocate better-usage of biomass while offering great opportunities to sustain catalysis and adsorption in the industrial scale.

The exploitation of a low-quality gas field with high CO2 concentration is more viable through liquid CO2 produced from cryogenic distillation technology. Despite the bright potential of the technology, there are deficiencies in handling high concentration of CO2 at low temperature and high pressure during the blowdown condition. This study focuses on the CO2 blowdown at a cryogenic pilot plant designed to manage high concentrations of CO2 in the feed gas, high pressures, and low temperatures. A comprehensive design review and risk assessment using Inherent Safer Design (ISD) indexes were carried out in this study. The ISD was performed to identify the current risk level, and the critical parameters that may cause solid CO2 formation in the piping or equipment as well as to identify mitigation measures to avoid the temperature to drop below the CO2 freezing point during blowdown. The present findings confirmed that the initial pressure and temperature, as well as CO2 concentration are key parameters towards significant impact on blowdown conditions. Therefore, the reduction of the feed gas pressure from 80 bar to 70 bars has minimized the Joule Thomson (JT) effect during blowdown and avoided the CO2 solid formation in the system. Moreover, the relocation of the blowdown valve at the downstream heater resulted in a higher final temperature above the CO2 freezing point. The ISD indexes confirmed that the cryogenic facilities are inherently safer during blowdown with the mitigation measures adopted.

Pineapple waste accounts for a significant part of waste accumulated in landfill which will further contribute to the release of greenhouse gases. With the rising pineapple demands worldwide, the abundance of pineapple waste and its disposal techniques are a major concern. Exploiting the pineapple waste into valuable products could be the most sustainable way of managing these residues due to their useful properties and compositions. In this review, we concentrated on producing useful products from on-farm pineapple waste and processing waste. Bioenergy is the most suitable option for green energy to encounter the increasing demand for renewable energy and promotes sustainable development for agricultural waste. The presence of protease enzyme in pineapple waste makes it a suitable raw material for bromelain production. The high cellulose content present in pineapple waste has a potential for the production of cellulose nanocrystals, biodegradable packaging and bio-adsorbent, and can potentially be applied in the polymer, food and textile industries. Other than that, it is also a suitable substrate for the production of wine, vinegar and organic acid due to its high sugar content, especially from the peel wastes. The potentials of bioenergy production through biofuels (bioethanol, biobutanol and biodiesel) and biogas (biomethane and biohydrogen) were also assessed. The commercial use of pineapples is also highlighted. Despite the opportunities, future perspectives and challenges concerning pineapple waste utilisation to value-added goods were also addressed. Pineapple waste conversions have shown to reduce waste generation, and the products derived from the conversion would support the waste-to-wealth concept.