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Food waste and leftovers were common materials that were currently used as bio-compost or soil conditioners upon decomposition. Food waste was a source of food that has declined nutritional value and is not deemed favorable for human consumption. Leftovers were defined as uneaten edible remains of a meal. Biodegradation of these components contributes to many macronutrients, including carbon (C), hydrogen (H), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) in the compost, which makes it a suitable growing condition for plants. In this study, the main sources of research data were one hundred thirty-one scientific articles relating to food waste treatment methods and the growth quality of plants over the last few years. This review was the consensus of the role and characteristics of food waste and leftovers as fertilizers. Moreover, the paper briefly discusses the different composting methods for these materials and their corresponding effects on the growth quality of plants.

Biopolymer is the most promising product for the cost-effective substitution of chemical coagulants with biodegradable products with favorable mechanical characteristics. Chitosan is a high molecular weight and charging density naturally organic polyelectrolyte (biopolymer), which is obtained from chitin's deacetylation from the crustaceans shell. Due to the applicability of this polymer for treatment in the palm oil mill effluent (POME), a wide range of papers on chitosan-magnetic composite particle synthesis for POME pre-treatment have been written. Chitosan and magnetic particles are cross-links together to satisfy the needs of high adsorption, regeneration, fast separation, and cost-effective treatment of wastewater. This would best POME pre-treatment cost-effectively and sustainably. The use of biodegradable materials attracted the industry alongside the increasingly global trend of biopolymers with low toxicity and durability. As biodegradable materials became the focus of the material scientists, this type of product became more apparent. This paper aims to provide a complete description of synthesizing chitosan-magnetic composite particles for POME pre-treatment. The reviewed article discusses the main results during the last decade which are classified into four groups as chitosan as a coagulant, magnetic particles, synthesizing chitosan-magnetic composite particles and POME pre-treatment.

An elderly community may continue to serve their services to other jobs after retirement particularly in light works in accordance to their ability which can support the household income in such a challenging world. One of the professions that they could alternatively get involved is by being a taxi driver. Hence, the characteristic of elderly taxi driver is crucial to understand, primarily due to the ageing process which makes them more vulnerable towards injury. Sitting which is the working posture of a taxi driver should be properly done to avoid injuries among the elders. Improper seating posture is potentially unhealthy and considered as one of the major contributing factors for several musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) such as pain in the lower back part and shoulder. Due to increased exposures to seating posture inside the car, the proper sitting adjustment has become an important issue that demands adequate ergonomic interventions. A cross-sectional study was conducted with elderly taxi drivers using a self-administered questionnaire. It included questions on social-demographic data, Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) and Quick Exposure Check (QEC). Purposive method sampling is used according to these inclusive criteria; age 60 years old and above, self-driving taxi more than 1 year, no disabilities and registered with Ministry of Transport (MOT). Total of 443 respondents participated in the study. SPSS software version 20.0 to analyze data and RULA and QEC form was used. More than half elderly taxi driver used budget car (57.6%) type of taxi and most of elderly taxi drivers were smoking (66.0%). More than half respondents (70.0%) having felt back pain for the past 12 months and 75.4% feeling back pain the last seven days. 94.8% elderly taxi drivers complained of feeling low back pain. QEC showed higher score - neck (20.8%) and back body part (6.5%) and other factors at high score - driving (86.4%) and vibration (45.6%). RULA analysis body score at value score 7 (23.5%)- required immediate improvement and value score 5/6 (61.9%) - required investigation and needed to improve soon. Inappropriate seating posture among elderly taxi drivers may cause discomfort towards developing MSD. The implication of low awareness on ergonomics education could reflect quality lifestyle and health among elderly taxi drivers in Malaysia.

Malaysia has enforced several phases of Movement Control Order (MCO) as a quarantine period since 18 March 2020 with the intended purpose of containing the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. The quarantine has affected people’s daily lives with frequent job dismissal and retrenchment due to the struggling economic conditions of particularly small and medium businesses. This study aimed to understand the impact of MCO on solid waste management in Serdang, Selangor from the aspects of socioeconomic and people’s behavior. Solid waste generation data in Serdang, Selangor was collected by KDEB Waste Management through waste weighing daily throughout 2019 and 2020. The collection was conducted according to different housing areas of Serdang. The quantitative findings have recorded a decline of 9.94% in solid waste data generation subjected to COVID-19 lockdown. In conjunction with that, an online questionnaire participated by 310 respondents was conducted on understanding the effect of the lockdown on people’s behavior and socioeconomic aspect with respect to solid waste management. This study revealed that June onwards (after MCO Phase 1) generated the most solid waste. Indeed, solid waste generation due to MCO according to the waste refusal behavior is the consensus in favor of Malaysia’s appropriate need for stricter policies.

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 outbreak of a neurological disorder was first discovered as a new coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in Wuhan, China. The infection spread rapidly in China and throughout the world, including Malaysia. Malaysia recorded its initial case on 25 January 2020 with intensifying numbers since March 2020. Due to this uncertain circumstance, Malaysia has introduced the Movement Control Order (MCO) with the main aim of isolating the source of the COVID-19 outbreak, which was effective from 18 March 2020. The restriction has observed fewer vehicles on the road with industrial and commercial activities being suspended. The objective of the study is to quantify the effects of MCO to food waste generation in town and district areas of Klang Valley, Malaysia. Food waste generation data was derived from the Project Delivery Department, KDEB Waste Management on a daily basis before (19 February&ndash, 17 March 2020) and during the MCO (18 March&ndash, 14 April 2020) at 12 local authorities in Selangor, Malaysia. The data was obtained with the limitation of assumption that there is no waste compositional analysis to be conducted in 2020. Despite the stay-at-home order, food waste data showed a descriptive reduction of up to 15.1% during the MCO. Statistical analysis of food waste generation from one-way variance has shown that municipal and district local authorities recorded a significant reduction (p &lt, 0.50) during the MCO. The food waste reduction during the MCO will deliver as the evidence-based results to push the need for policies in Malaysia as per the goals outlined in Sustainable Development Goals of global food loss and waste.

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.