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Municipal solid waste (MSW) management poses significant challenges due to the generation of organic waste materials, including the under-sieve fraction (USF), which contains high moisture and organic content. Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) has emerged as a promising technology for converting USF into hydrochar (HC), a valuable energy-rich material with improved combustible properties. Despite the potential of HTC for waste valorization, comprehensive studies on the thermoecological cost (TEC) and environmental implications of applying HTC to USF are limited. In this study, a detailed analysis of the TEC associated with the HTC process applied to USF from MSW was conducted. The TEC assessment was conducted considering varying dilution ratios (DS/W), operational temperatures (180–220 °C), and reaction times (1–8 h) to evaluate the energy efficiency, resource utilization, and environmental impact of the HTC process. Comparative assessments were made with alternative USF treatment methods, such as bio-stabilization, landfilling, and wastewater treatment. The results indicate that the optimal conditions for minimizing TEC are a temperature of 180 °C, a reaction time of 1 h, and a dilution ratio of 0.15, achieving a TEC value of approximately 9.25 GJ per ton of USF. This represents a significant reduction compared to the conventional treatment methods, which showed a TEC of 14.9 GJ/ton of USF. This study provides a comprehensive comparison of HTC with alternative USF treatment methods, such as bio-stabilization and landfilling, highlighting HTC's superior energy efficiency and environmental sustainability. These findings offer valuable insights into the energy consumption, resource utilization, and environmental impact of HTC, emphasizing its potential for sustainable waste valorization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The optimal process conditions concerning the hydrothermal carbonization of digested sewage sludge are crucial to the economically effective technology needed to produce a solid product, hydrochar, for energy purposes. Accordingly, different residence times, 0.5 h, 1 h and 2 h, were investigated in order to understand the effect of residence time on the process. Furthermore, the physical and chemical properties of hydrochar were investigated and compared to the raw material. For these reasons, analyses describing fuel properties were performed, including ultimate and proximate analyses, HHV, and TGA analysis. The latter method was employed to study the combustion process of solid samples. In addition, the oxide content of different elements within the ash of solid samples was determined using the XRF method to calculate indices related to operational problems during the combustion process. The results confirmed that time did not matter significantly and the physical and chemical properties of hydrochar were very similar to each other. However, the contact angle for 2 h of residence time confirmed that a longer processing time resulted in a more hydrophobic character of hydrochar and enabled more effective dewaterability of hydrothermal slurry. It was also noted that the hydrothermal carbonization process affected the sewage sludge in a positive way. In brief, the results confirmed that the hydrochar was a brittle, moderately hydrophilic, solid carbon-containing product that provided a different combustion performance than the raw sewage sludge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we present the discovery and pharmacological characterization of a new series of 6-piperazinyl-7-azaindoles. These compounds demonstrate potent antagonism and selectivity against the 5-HT 6 receptor. Our research primarily focuses on optimizing the lead structure and investigating the structure-activity relationship (SAR) of these compounds. Our main objective is to improve their activity and selectivity against off-target receptors. Overall, our findings contribute to the advancement of novel compounds targeting the 5-HT 6 receptor. Compound 29 exhibits significant promise in terms of pharmacological, physicochemical, and ADME (Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, and Excretion) properties. Consequently, it merits thorough exploration as a potential drug candidate due to its favorable activity profile and successful outcomes in a range of in vivo experiments., 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 © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)