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This study assesses the viability of recycled plastic-based triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) for sustainable energy harvesting in India and Singapore, concurrently examining plastic waste management. Using material flow analysis and life cycle assessment, the findings revealed that in Singapore, waste-to-energy incineration has a lower environmental impact than landfilling and mechanical recycling, attributed to natural gas usage. In India, recycling offsets impacts from incineration and landfilling, contributing to a lower net environmental impact. Economic performance of a TENG module from PET recyclates showed a 20% carbon footprint reduction when scaling up from lab to industrial "freeze-drying" processes. Key challenges in TENG manufacturing processes are also assessed for future development. This research highlights the potential of recycled plastic-based TENGs in sustainable energy and waste management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the implications of plastic waste and recycling management on recyclates for manufacturing clean-energy harvesting devices. The focus is on a comparative analysis of using recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) for triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) production, in two densely populated Asian countries of large economies, namely Singapore and India. Of the total 930,000 tonnes of plastic waste generated in Singapore in 2019, only 4% were recycled and the rest were incinerated. In comparison, India yielded 8.6 million tonnes of plastic waste and 70% were recycled. Both countries have strict recycling goals and have instituted different waste and recycling management regulations. The findings show that the waste policies and legislations, responsibilities and heterogeneity in collection systems and infrastructure of the respective country are the pivotal attributes to successful recycling. Challenges to recycle plastic include segregation, adulterants and macromolecular structure degradation which could influence the recyclate properties and pose challenges for manufacturing products. A model was developed to evaluate the economic value and mechanical potential of PET recyclate. The model predicted a 30% loss of material performance and a 65% loss of economic value after the first recycling cycle. The economic value depreciates to zero with decreasing mechanical performance of plastic after multiple recycling cycles. For understanding how TENG technology could be incorporated into the circular economy, a model has estimated about 20 million and 7300 billion pieces of aerogel mats can be manufactured from the PET bottles disposed in Singapore and India, respectively which were sufficient to produce small-scale TENG devices for all peoples in both countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A bacterial isolate obtained from soil from a municipal landfill site in India was characterized using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. The colonies of the isolate were found to be yellow and highly mucoid. Comparative analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence showed that this isolate constitutes a distinct phyletic line within the genus Lysobacter, displaying >3 % sequence divergence with respect to recognized Lysobacter species. The generic assignment was confirmed by chemotaxonomic data, which revealed the presence of a fatty acid profile characteristic of members of the genus Lysobacter and consisting of saturated, unsaturated, straight-chain and branched-chain fatty acids as well as iso-C(11 : 0) 3-OH as hydroxylated fatty acid, and the presence of an ubiquinone with eight isoprene units (Q-8) as the predominant respiratory quinone. The genotypic and phenotypic data show that strain IMMIB APB-9(T) merits classification as representing a novel species of the genus Lysobacter, for which the name Lysobacter defluvii sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is IMMIB APB-9(T) (=CCUG 53152(T)=DSM 18482(T)).