Net zero emission in circular bioeconomy from microalgae biochar production: A renewed possibility.

The rapid expansion of industrialization and continuous population growth have caused a steady increase in energy consumption. Despite using renewable energy, such as bioethanol, to replace fossil fuels had been strongly promoted, however the outcomes were underwhelming, resulting in excessive greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions. Microalgal biochar, as a carbon-rich material produced from the pyrolysis of biomass, provides a promising solution for achieving net zero emission. By utilizing microalgal biochar, these GHG emissions can be captured and stored efficiently. It also enhances soil fertility, improves water retention, and conduct bioremediation in agriculture and environmental remediation field. Moreover, incorporating microalgal biochar into a zero-waste biorefinery could boost the employ of biomass feedstocks effectively to produce valuable bioproducts while minimizing waste. This contributes to sustainability and aligns with the concepts of a circular bioeconomy. In addition, some challenges like commercialization and standardization will be addressed in the future.

Sustainable smart photobioreactor for continuous cultivation of microalgae embedded with Internet of Things.

This research work aims to fabricate an optimized up-scaled photobioreactor and extraction tank which incorporates the Internet of Things (IoT) for remote monitoring of selected parameters without being present in the lab as the industry is gradually moving towards the direction of remote operation. Several design factors were considered where modelling using ANSYS was carried out before the finalised design is drawn using AutoCAD. To monitor critical parameters that include liquid level, temperature, and pH condition during the operation of the tanks, water-proof sensors are implemented with the aid of Arduino NodeMCU board and the sensors are linked with Blynk, a smartphone application that allows remote monitoring via Wi-Fi connection. The sensors' results obtained using the Blynk application show high accuracy as compared with manual data except for photobioreactor liquid level. This shows that IoT and remote monitoring can be integrated successfully.

A comprehensive review on the techniques for coconut oil extraction and its application.

Virgin coconut oil is a useful substance in our daily life. It contains a high percentage of lauric acid which has many health benefits. The current industry has developed several methods to extract the oil out from the coconut fruit. This review paper aims to highlight several common extraction processes used in modern industries that includes cold extraction, hot extraction, low-pressure extraction, chilling, freezing and thawing method, fermentation, centrifugation, enzymatic extraction and supercritical fluid carbon dioxide. Different extraction methods will produce coconut oil with different yields and purities of lauric acid, thus having different uses and applications. Challenges that are faced by the industries in extracting the coconut oil using different methods of extraction are important to be explored so that advancement in the oil extraction technology can be done for efficient downstream processing. This study is vital as it provides insights that could enhance the production of coconut oil.