Investigating the potential of locally sourced wastewater as a feedstock of microbial desalination cell (MDC) for bioenergy production.

Freshwater sources are limited and access to clean water is an acute challenge in recent decades. The sustainable water treatments methods are need of time and water desalination is one of the most interesting technology. Most desalination technologies are required high energy input while Microbial Desalination Cells (MDCs) represent a sustainable option that has added benefit of solving the ever-increasing wastewater treatment and management problem. MDCs are a customized type of Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) that depend on the electric potential generated by organic media to decrease salt concentration by electro-dialysis and give an unconventional way of clean water production. In this research, various experiments were conducted to examine the desalination ability of an indigenously designed experimental setup using domestic wastewater inoculated with sewage sludge under identical conditions. The electrochemical properties of the system, comprising the polarization curve and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS), were examined along with the scope of chemical oxygen demand (COD) exclusion, to distinguish the cell behaviour. Furthermore, acidic water and Phosphate Buffer Solution (PBS) were tested as potential catholytes compared to the performance of the wastewater was gauged at various salt concentrations. The maximum salt removal efficiency was 31%, power density and current density were 32 mW-m-2 and 246 mA-m-2 respectively at a salt concentration of 35 g-L-1 that decreases with a decline in salt concentration. The maximum achieved power density and current density were 32 mW-m-2 and 246 mA-m-2 respectively. The applied method has huge potential to scaleup for large scale application in coastal regions.

Real-time artificial intelligence based health monitoring, diagnosing and environmental control system for COVID-19 patients.

By upgrading medical facilities with internet of things (IoT), early researchers have produced positive results. Isolated COVID-19 patients in remote areas, where patients are not able to approach a doctor for the detection of routine parameters, are now getting feasible. The doctors and families will be able to track the patient's health outside of the hospital utilizing sensors, cloud storage, data transmission, and IoT mobile applications. The main purpose of the proposed research-based project is to develop a remote health surveillance system utilizing local sensors. The proposed system also provides GSM messages, live location, and send email to the doctor during emergency conditions. Based on artificial intelligence (AI), a feedback action is taken in case of the absence of a doctor, where an automatic injection system injects the dose into the patient's body during an emergency. The significant parameters catering to our project are limited to ECG monitoring, SpO2 level detection, body temperature, and pulse rate measurement. Some parameters will be remotely shown to the doctor via the Blynk application in case of any abrupt change in the parameters. If the doctor is not available, the IoT system will send the location to the emergency team and relatives. In severe conditions, an AI-based system will analyze the parameters and injects the dose.

Algae as an attractive source for cosmetics to counter environmental stress.

In recent times, a considerable amount of evidence has come to light regarding the effect that air pollution has on skin conditions. The human skin is the chief protection we have against environmental harm, whether biological, chemical, or physical. The stress from these environmental factors, along with internal influences, can be a cause of skin aging and enlarged pores, thinner skin, skin laxity, wrinkles, fine lines, dryness, and a more fragile dermal layer. This knowledge has led to greater demand for skin cosmetics and a requirement for natural raw ingredients with a high degree of safety and efficiency in combating skin complications. Recent developments in green technology have made the employment of naturally occurring bioactive compounds more popular, and novel extraction methods have ensured that the use of these compounds has greater compatibility with sustainable development principles. Thus, there is a demand for investigations into efficient non-harmful naturally occurring raw ingredients; compounds derived from algae could be beneficial in this area. Algae, both macroalgae and microalgae, consists of waterborne photosynthetic organisms that are potentially valuable as they have a range of bioactive compounds in their composition. Several beneficial metabolites can be obtained from algae, such as antioxidants, carotenoids, mycosporine-like amino acids (MAA), pigments, polysaccharides, and scytonemin. Various algae strains are now widely employed in skincare products for various purposes, such as a moisturizer, anti-wrinkle agent, texture-enhancing agents, or sunscreen. This research considers the environmental stresses on human skin and how they may be mitigated using cosmetics created using algae; special attention will be paid to external factors, both generally and specifically (amongst them light exposure and pollutants).

Effect of alkaline and alkaline-photocatalytic pretreatment on characteristics and biogas production of rice straw.

To overcome recalcitrant nature and investigate enhancement of biogas production of rice straw (RS), it was subjected to pretreatment under mild conditions. Alkaline pretreatment using sodium hydroxide (NaOH), photocatalytic pretreatment utilizing titania nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) and alkaline-photocatalytic pretreatment was used to disrupt the lignocellulose complex. As compared to raw RS, maximum biogas and methane enhancement due to alkaline pretreatment was observed for 1.5% w/v NaOH pretreated RS which was 50 and 71% respectively. Photocatalytic pretreatment of RS at 0.25 g/L TiO2 increased biogas and methane yield by 30 and 36% respectively. However, maximum biogas and methane enhancement was observed for alkaline-photocatalytic pretreatment at 1.5% w/v NaOH-0.25 g/L TiO2 which was 74 and 122% respectively. Comparatively high enhancements were observed during alkaline-photocatalytic combined pretreatment due to increased cellulose and decreased lignin content. Moreover, the experimental data obtained from the experiments were validated using a non-linear kinetic model.