Modification of bentonite with black cotton soil and carboxyl methyl cellulose for the enhancement of hydraulic performance of geosynthetic clay liners.

Geosynthetic clay liners (GCLs) are mostly used as flow barriers in landfills and waste containments due to their low hydraulic conductivity to prevent the leachate from reaching the environment. The self-healing and swell-shrink properties of soft clays (expansive soils) such as bentonite enable them as promising materials for the GCL core layers. However, it is important to modify their physico-chemical properties in order to overcome the functional limitations of GCL under different hydraulic conditions. In the present study, locally available black cotton soil (BCS) is introduced in the presence of an anionic polymer named carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) as an alternative to bentonite to enhance the hydraulic properties of GCL under different compositions. The modified GCL is prepared by stitching the liner with an optimum percentage of CMC along with various percentages of BCS mixed with bentonite. Hydraulic conductivity tests were performed on the modified GCL using the flexi-wall permeameter. The results suggest that the lowest hydraulic conductivity of 4.58 × 10-10 m/s is obtained when 25% of BCS is blended with bentonite and an optimum 8% CMC and further addition of BCS results in the reduction of the hydraulic conductivity.

Developing active and intelligent biodegradable packaging from food waste and byproducts: A review of sources, properties, film production methods, and their application in food preservation.

Food waste and byproducts (FWBP) are a global issue impacting economies, resources, and health. Recycling and utilizing these wastes, due to processing and economic constraints, face various challenges. However, valuable components in food waste inspire efficient solutions like active intelligent packaging. Though research on this is booming, its material selectivity, effectiveness, and commercial viability require further analysis. This paper categorizes FWBP and explores their potential for producing packaging from both animal and plant perspectives. In addition, the preparation/fabrication methods of these films/coatings have also been summarized comprehensively, focusing on the advantages and disadvantages of these methods and their commercial adaptability. Finally, the functions of these films/coatings and their ultimate performance in protecting food (meat, dairy products, fruits, and vegetables) are also reviewed systematically. FWBP provide a variety of methods for the application of edible films, including being made into coatings, films, and fibers for food preservation, or extracting active substances directly or indirectly from them (in the form of encapsulation) and adding them to packaging to endow them with functions such as barrier, antibacterial, antioxidant, and pH response. In addition, the casting method is the most commonly used method for producing edible films, but more film production methods (extrusion, electrospinning, 3D printing) need to be tried to make up for the shortcomings of the current methods. Finally, researchers need to conduct more in-depth research on various active compounds from FWBP to achieve better application effects and commercial adaptability.

[Effects of Application of Different Organic Materials on Phosphorus Accumulation and Transformation in Vegetable Fields].

Presently, the improvement of soil organic matter is the basis to ensure food security, but the accumulation and transformation characteristics of soil phosphorus (P) as affected by organic matter remain unclear. The accumulation, transformation, and migration characteristics of soil P in different soil layers of vegetable fields were researched under the application of organic materials. Six treatments were set up in the experiment:control (no fertilization), traditional fertilizer application by farmers, biochar, chicken manure, food waste, and straw application. Available phosphorus (Olsen-P), water-soluble phosphorus (CaCl2-P) content, soil phosphorus forms, soil organic matter (SOM), and pH were determined during the pepper harvest period. In the 0-5 cm and 5-10 cm soil layers, the available phosphorus content of traditional fertilization of farmers was higher, and the available phosphorus content of the four organic materials was in the order of straw > biochar > chicken manure > food waste. Compared to that with food waste, the straw and biochar treatments increased soil available phosphorus by 59.6%-67.3% and 29.1%-36.9%, respectively. The straw treatment could easily enhance the soil labile P pool, and soil labile P in the 0-5 cm soil layer increased by 47.3% and 35.1% compared with that under the chicken manure and food waste treatments, respectively. With the increase in soil depth, the proportion of available phosphorus in the chicken manure treatment decreased the least, and available phosphorus of the 20-30 cm soil layer accounted for 55.9% of the topsoil layer but only accounted for 16.0%-34.0% under treatment with the other three materials. Compared with that under the traditional fertilization of farmers, the pH significantly increased by 0.18-0.36 units after the application of organic fertilizer, and the pH of the chicken manure and food waste treatments was significantly higher than that of biochar and straw (P < 0.05). SOM content under the biochar treatment significantly increased by 7.7%-17.6% compared to that under the other three organic materials. Among the four organic materials, the straw treatment boosted the labile P pool the most, which was conducive to the rapid increase in plant-available P. Phosphorus was most likely to migrate downward under the chicken manure treatment. In the field management based on soil fertility enhancement, the application of biochar could not only improve soil pH and SOM but also avoid excessive accumulation of phosphorus in the surface layer, which decreases environmental risks.

Relationship of black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) gut microbiota and bioconversion efficiency with properties of substrates.

Treating food waste using black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) is widely regarded as a promising nature-based measure. This study explored the influence of food waste particle sizes on substrate properties and its subsequent effects on bioconversion efficiency and gut microbiota. The results indicated that particle sizes mainly ranging from 4 mm to 10 mm (T1) significantly increased the weight loss rate of food waste by 35 % and larval biomass by 38 % compared to those in T4 (particle sizes mostly less than 2 mm) and promoted the bioconversion of carbon and nitrogen into larvae and gases. Investigation of substrates properties indicated that the final pH value of T1 was 7.79 ± 0.10, with Anaerococcus as the predominant substrate microorganism (relative abundance: 57.4 %), while T4 exhibited a final pH value of 5.71 ± 0.24, with Lactobacillus as the dominant microorganism (relative abundance: 95.2 %). Correlation analysis between substrate chemical properties and microbial community structure unveiled a strong relationship between substrate pH and the relative abundance of Anaerococcus and Lactobacillus. Furthermore, beneficial microorganisms such as Lactobacillus and Enterococcus colonized the BSFL gut of T1, while pathogenic bacterium Morganella, detrimental to BSFL gut function, was enriched in T4 (relative abundance: 60.9 %). Nevertheless, PCA analysis indicated that alterations in the gut microbial community structure may not be attributed to the substrate microorganisms. This study establishes particle size as a crucial parameter for BSFL bioconversion and advances understanding of the relationship between gut microbiota and substrate microbiota.

Investigating the sources and fate of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in food waste compost.

Composting municipal food waste is a key strategy for beneficially reusing methane-producing waste that would otherwise occupy landfill space. However, land-applied compost can cycle per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) back into the food supply and the environment. We partnered with a pilot-scale windrow composting facility to investigate the sources and fate of 40 PFAS in food waste compost. A comparison of feedstock materials yielded concentrations of ∑PFAS under 1 ng g-1 in mulch and food waste and at 1380 ng g-1 in leachate from used compostable food contact materials. Concentrations of targeted ∑PFAS increased with compost maturity along the windrow (1.85-23.1 ng g-1) and in mature stockpiles of increasing curing age (12.6-84.3 ng g-1). Among 15 PFAS quantified in compost, short-chain perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs) - C5 and C6 PFCAs in particular - led the increasing trend, suggesting biotransformation of precursor PFAS into these terminal PFAS through aerobic decomposition. Several precursor PFAS were also measured, including fluorotelomer carboxylic acids (FTCAs) and polyfluorinated phosphate diesters (PAPs). However, since most targeted analytical methods and proposed regulations prioritize terminal PFAS, testing fully matured compost would provide the most relevant snapshot of PFAS that could be land applied. In addition, removing co-disposed food contact materials from the FW feedstock onsite yielded only a 37 % reduction of PFAS loads in subsequent compost, likely due to PFAS leaching during co-disposal. Source-separation of food contact materials is currently the best management practice for meaningful reduction of PFAS in food waste composts intended for land application.

Optimizing hydrothermal treatment for sustainable valorization and fatty acid recovery from food waste.

This study employs response surface methodology and a central composite design (CCD) to optimize hydrothermal treatment (HTT) conditions for the valorization of food waste (FW). Lab-scale pressure reactor-based HTT processes are investigated to detect the effects of temperature (220-340 °C) and resident time (90-260 min) on elemental composition and fatty acid recovery in the hydrothermal liquid. Central to the study is the identification of temperature as the primary factor influencing food waste conversion during the HTT process, showcasing its impact on HTT product yields. The liquid fraction, rich in saturated fatty acids (SFA), demonstrates a temperature-dependent trend, with higher temperatures favoring SFA recovery. Specifically, HTT at 340 °C in 180 min exhibits the highest SFA percentages, reaching up to 52.5 wt%. The study establishes HTT as a promising avenue for nutrient recovery, with the liquid fraction yielding approximately 95% at optimized conditions. Furthermore, statistical analysis using response surface methodology predicts the optimal achievable yields for hydrochar and hydrothermal liquid at 6.15% and 93.85%, respectively, obtained at 320 °C for 200 min.

Food waste tectonics: Points of friction between policy push and practice pull in council-led household-food-waste interventions in Australia.

Household food waste is increasingly recognised as a global wicked problem for its greenhouse gas emissions, economic damage, and resource loss. Although targeted in the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, countries can only respond according to their capacity. For Australia, national policy has put the pressure on states and territories to divert food waste away from landfill into a nascent circular economy. For councils, this increasingly means implementing a FOGO (Food Organics/Garden Organics) kerbside collection. Despite funding and infrastructure development, many are resisting. Framed by the tenets of policy diffusion, this paper presents the results of a nationwide exploratory survey aimed at identifying how and why council-based waste services staff resist, emulate or lead FOGO implementation. By assessing participants current kerbside systems and their attitudes towards household food waste management, the survey found costs, contamination, and capacity and were key concerns. However, responses to these varied considerably despite similarities of situation, often relating more to collaborative attitudes across waste services, council, and councillors. This paper recognises that a conducive environment for change is urgently needed for Australia to achieve organics diversion targets and shift household food towards a circular economy. It provides a starting point for further research into the complex and nuanced dynamics between council waste services and FOGO implementations, from external drivers and council paradigms to individual attitudes and perceptions.

Solidification/stabilization and optimization of municipal solid waste incineration fly ash with aluminosilicate solid wastes.

Alkali-activation is an effective municipal solid waste incineration fly ash (MSWIFA) solidification/stabilization (S/S) technology. However, the characteristics of calcium-rich silica-poor aluminum phase in MSWIFA easily cause the structural instability and contamination of alkali activated MSWIFA S/S bodies. Therefore, the aluminosilicate solid wastes are used in this work to optimize the immobilization and structural properties. Results showed that incorporation of aluminosilicate solid wastes significantly improved the compressive strength and heavy metals pollution toxicity of MSWIFA S/S bodies. Compared to alkali activated MSWIFA, the compressive strength of S/S bodies with addition of coal fly ash, silica fume and granulated blast furnace slag improved by 31.0%, 47.6% and 50.8% when the curing time was 28 days, respectively. Leachability of Pb, Zn and Cd in these alkali activated MSWIFA S/S bodies was far below the threshold value specified in Standard GB16889. Aluminosilicate solid wastes provided abundant Si/Al structural units, and some new phases such as ettringite(AFt, 3CaO⋅Al2O3⋅3CaSO4⋅32H2O), calcium sulfoaluminate hydrate (3CaO⋅Al2O3⋅CaSO4⋅12H2O) and Friedel's salt (CaO⋅Al2O3⋅CaCl2⋅10H2O) can be detected in S/S matrix with aluminosilicate solid wastes, along comes increased the amount of the amorphous phases. Lower Ca/Si molar ratio tended to form the network structure gel similar to tobermorite with higher polymerization degree. Meanwhile, the silica tetrahedron of the gels changed from the oligomerization state like island to the hyperomerization state like chain, layer network or three-dimensional structure, and average molecular chain length increased. These findings provide theoretical basis for structural properties optimization and resource utilization of MSWIFA S/S matrices.

Analysis of composition characteristics and treatment techniques of municipal solid waste incineration fly ash in China.

The rapid development of the economy and society is causing an increase in the amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) produced by people's daily lives. With the strong support of the Chinese government, incineration power generation has steadily become the primary method of treating MSW, accounting for 79.86%. However, burning produces a significant amount of municipal solid waste incineration fly ash (MSWI-FA), which contains heavy metals, soluble chlorine salts, and dioxins. China's MSWI-FA yield increased by 8.23% annually to 7.80 million tons in 2022. Besides, the eastern region, especially the southeastern coastal region, has the highest yield of MSWI-FA. There are certain similarities in the chemical characteristics of MSWI-FA samples from Northeast, North, East, and South China. Zn and CaO have the largest amounts of metals and oxides, respectively. The Cl content is about 20 wt%. This study provides an overview of the techniques used in the thermal treatment method, solidification and stabilization, and separation and extraction of MSWI-FA and compares their benefits and drawbacks. In addition, the industrial applications and standard requirements of landfill treatment and resource utilization of MSWI-FA in China are analyzed. It is discovered that China's resource utilization of MSWI-FA is insufficient through the study on the fly ash disposal procedures at a few MSW incineration facilities located in the economically developed Guangdong Province and the traditional industrial city of Tianjin. Finally, the prospects for the disposal of MSWI-FA were discussed.

Multi-stage aeration regime to regulate organic conversion toward gas alleviation and humification in food waste digestate composting.

Aerobic composting has been considered as a pragmatic technique to convert food waste digestate into high-quality biofertiliser. Nevertheless, massive gaseous emission and immature product remain the primary challenges in food waste digestate composting. Thus, the performance of multi-stage aeration regimes to improve gaseous emissions and organic humification during food waste digestate composting was investigated in this study. In addition to continuous aeration with a constant intensity of 0.3 L kg·dry mass (DM)-1·min-1, two multi-stage decreased aeration regimes were designed as "0.3-0.2-0.1" and "0.3-0.1-0.1" L·kg·DM-1·min-1 from the thermophilic to cooling and then mature stages, respectively. Results showed that the decreased aeration regimes could alleviate nitrous oxide (N2O) and ammonia (NH3) emission and slightly enhance humification during composting. The alleviated N2O and NH3 emission were mainly contributed by abiotically reducing gaseous release potential as well as biotically inactivating denitrifers (Pusillimonas and Pseudidiomarina) and proliferating Atopobium to reduce nitrate availability under lower aeration supply. The "0.3-0.2-0.1 L kg·DM-1·min-1" regime exhibited a more excellent performance to alleviate N2O and NH3 emission by 27.5% and 16.3%, respectively. Moreover, the decreased aeration regimes also favored the enrichment of functional bacteria (Caldicoprobacter and Syntrophomonas) to accelerate lignocellulosic biodegradation and thus humic acid synthesis by 6.5%-11.2%. Given its better performance to improve gaseous emissions and humification, the aeration regime of "0.3-0.2-0.1 L kg·DM-1·min-1" are recommended in food waste digestate composting in practice.

Do investments in phosphorus recovery from dairy processing wastewater pay off?

While phosphorus fertilizers contribute to food security, part of the introduced phosphorus dissipates into water bodies leading to eutrophication. At the same time, conventional mineral phosphorus sources are increasingly scarce. Therefore, closing phosphorus cycles reduces pollution while decreasing trade dependence and increasing food security. A major part of the phosphorus loss occurs during food processing. In this article, we combine a systematic literature review with investment and efficiency analysis to investigate the financial feasibility of recovering phosphorus from dairy processing wastewater. This wastewater is particularly rich in phosphorus, but while recovery technologies are readily available, they are rarely adopted. We calculate the Net Present Value (NPV) of investing in phosphorus recycling technology for a representative European dairy processing company producing 100,000 tonnes of milk per year. We develop sensitivity scenarios and adjust the parameters accordingly. Applying struvite precipitation, the NPV can be positive in two scenarios. First, if the phosphorus price is high (1.51 million EUR) or second if phosphorus recovery is a substitute for mandatory waste disposal (1.48 million EUR). However, for a variety of methodological specifications, the NPV is negative, mainly because of high input costs for chemicals and energy. These trade-offs between off-setting pollution and reducing energy consumption imply, that policy makers and investors should consider the energy source for phosphorus recovery carefully.

Whole genome sequencing analysis of Komagataeibacter nataicola reveals its potential in food waste valorisation for cellulose production.

BACKGROUND: Komagataeibacter nataicola (K. nataicola) is a gram-negative acetic acid bacterium that produces natural bacterial cellulose (BC) as a fermentation product under acidic conditions. The goal of this work was to study the complete genome of K. nataicola and gain insight into the functional genes in K. nataicola that are responsible for BC synthesis in acidic environments. METHODS AND RESULT: The pure culture of K. nataicola was obtained from yeast-glucose-calcium carbonate (YGC) agar, followed by genomic DNA extraction, and subjected to whole genome sequencing on a Nanopore flongle flow cell. The genome of K. nataicola consists of a 3,767,936 bp chromosome with six contigs and 4,557 protein coding sequences. The maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree and average nucleotide identity analysis confirmed that the bacterial isolate was K. nataicola. The gene annotation via RAST server discovered the presence of cellulose synthase, along with three genes associated with lactate utilization and eight genes involved in lactate fermentation that could potentially contribute to the increase in acid concentration during BC synthesis. CONCLUSION: A more comprehensive genome study of K. nataicola may shed light into biological pathway in BC productivity as well as benefit the analysis of metabolites generated and understanding of biological and chemical interactions in BC production later.

Cerebrating and engagement, paths to reduce fresh produce waste within homes.

A real-world study was conducted with the aim to reduce people's fresh fruit and vegetables waste within their homes. For 6 weeks participants measured their fresh produce waste. Half the participants were impelled to complete food waste logs whilst the other half was a control group. This was followed by a 6-month monitoring period to establish if changes would last. Fresh produce waste decreased with over a quarter of what the participants had wasted at the beginning of the 6 weeks, for all groups. Additionally, an attitude questionnaire distributed at the onset and at the end of the study showed a shift in pro-reduction of food waste. As this indicated that thinking about food waste prompts engagement, we tested this idea using a different sample group. A questionnaire measuring attitudes and cognition confirmed the importance of thinking and provided further insight into the findings from the first study.

Impact and process evaluation of a primary-school Food Education and Sustainability Training (FEAST) program in 10-12-year-old children in Australia: pragmatic cluster non-randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Environmentally sustainable food initiatives accompanying nutrition education, such as the Food Education and Sustainability Training (FEAST) program, have gained traction in school settings. The aim of this trial was to conduct an impact and process evaluation of FEAST, to evaluate its effect on children's fruit and vegetable (F&V) intakes, and secondary outcomes: F&V variety consumed, nutrition knowledge, food preparation/cooking skills, self-efficacy and behaviours, food waste knowledge and behaviours, and food production knowledge. METHODS: FEAST was a 10-week curriculum-aligned program, designed to educate children about healthy eating, food waste, and sustainability, while teaching cooking skills. It was implemented by classroom teachers, face-to-face and online, during COVID-19 school closures, in Australia in 2021. A custom designed survey was used to collect baseline and post-intervention data from students. Generalised linear mixed models (GLMM) estimated group differences in pre-post changes for primary and secondary outcomes. Surveys were also administered to students and teachers to evaluate intervention implementation. RESULTS: Twenty schools participated and self-selected to be either intervention schools (n = 10) or wait-list control (WLC) schools (n = 10). A total of 977, 5th and 6th grade children participated in the trial with a mean age of 11.1 years (SD ± 0.7). The FEAST intervention, compared to WLC, did not result in significant increases in primary outcomes nor secondary outcomes. The process evaluation revealed FEAST was well-received by students and teachers, but COVID-19 school closures hindered implementation fidelity with a less intense program delivered under the constraints of pandemic lockdowns. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first cluster non-randomized controlled trial designed to independently evaluate FEAST in the primary-school setting. No evidence was found for improved F&V intakes in children, nor secondary outcomes. However, the positive process evaluation results suggest that further trials of the program are warranted. If implemented as originally designed (pre-pandemic), with increased duration and complemented by supporting school policies, such programs have the potential to improve children's daily F&V intakes, cooking skills and food waste behaviours. This would support the Australian curriculum and contribute to: health promotion within schools and sustainable schools initiatives, the national agenda to reduce food waste and sustainable development goals. AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRY: [ACTRN12620001347954]- Registered prospectively on 14/12/2020.

Effect of geomembrane liner on landfill stability under long-term loading: interfacial shear test and numerical simulation.

Clay liners have been widely used in landfill engineering. However, large-scale clay excavation causes secondary environmental damage. This study investigates the feasibility of replacing clay liners with high-density polyethylene (HDPE) geomembranes with different specifications and parameters. Laboratory interface shear tests between municipal solid waste (MSW) samples of different ages and geomembranes were conducted to study the influence of landfill age on interface shear strength. Finite element method was adopted to compare the long-term stability of landfills with HDPE geomembrane versus clay as intermediate liner. The interfacial shear test results show that the cohesion of MSW increases in a short term and then decreases with landfill age. The internal friction angle exhibits an increasing trend with advancing age, however, the rate of its increment declines with age. The rough accuracy of the film surface can increase the interfacial shear strength between MSW. The simulation results show that, unlike clay-lined landfills, the sliding surface of geomembrane-lined landfills is discontinuous at the lining interface, which can delay the penetration of slip surfaces and block the formation of slip zone in the landfill. In addition, the maximum displacement of landfills with geomembrane is 10% lower than that with clay, and the absolute displacement of slope toe decreases with the increase of roughness at the interface of geomembrane. Compared with clay-lined landfills, the overall stability safety factor increased by 18.5-30%. This study provides references for landfill design and on-site stability evaluation, contributing to enhanced long-term stability.

Variability of the treated biomedical waste disposal behaviours during the COVID lockdowns.

Literature review suggests that studies on biomedical waste generation and disposal behaviors in North America are limited. Given the infectious nature of the materials, effective biomedical waste management is vital to the public health and safety of the residents. This study explicitly examines seasonal variations of treated biomedical waste (TBMW) disposal rates in the City of Regina, Canada, from 2013 to 2022. Immediately before the onset of COVID-19, the City exhibited a steady pattern of TBMW disposal rate at about 6.6 kg∙capita-1∙year-1. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated lockdowns brought about an abrupt and persistent decline in TBMW disposal rates. Inconsistent fluctuations in both magnitude and variability of the monthly TBMW load weights were also observed. The TBMW load weight became particularly variable in 2020, with an interquartile range 4 times higher than 2019. The average TBMW load weight was also the lowest (5.1 tonnes∙month-1∙truckload-1) in 2020, possibly due to an overall decline in non-COVID-19 medical emergencies, cancellation of elective surgeries, and availability of telehealth options to residents. In general, the TBMW disposal rates peaked during the summer and fall seasons. The day-to-day TBMW disposal contribution patterns between the pre-pandemic and post-pandemic are similar, with 97.5% of total TBMW being disposed of on fixed days. Results from this Canadian case study indicate that there were observable temporal changes in TBMW disposal behaviors during and after the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Experimental study on municipal solid waste incineration bottom ash as a component of alkali-activated coal gangue-based geopolymer.

This study explores the potential of municipal solid waste incineration bottom ash (MSWI BA) and coal gangue as precursors for alkali-activated cementitious materials (CG-MBA). An examination of the impact of MSWI BA content, NaOH/Na2SiO3 ratio, liquid-solid ratio, and NaOH concentration on strength and reaction through the application of diverse analytical methodologies. Results demonstrate that CG-MBA offers significant environmental benefits compared to conventional cement. When used as a construction filling material, CG-MBA exhibits a remarkable 74.5 ~ 79.2 wt% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions and 70.6 ~ 77.0 wt% reduction in energy consumption. Additionally, CG-MBA effectively immobilizes heavy metal ions in MSWI BA, with a fixation efficiency exceeding 56.0%. These findings suggest that CG-MBA is a promising sustainable solution for waste management, offering significant environmental benefits while demonstrating effective heavy metal immobilization. This approach contributes to pollution control and promotes environmental sustainability in the construction industry.

Smart nano-inks based on natural food colorant for screen-printing of dynamic shelf life of shrimp.

Intelligent packaging embedded with food freshness indicators can monitor food quality and be deployed for food safety and cutting food waste. The innovative nano-inks for dynamic shelf-life printing based on natural food colorant with application in real-time monitoring of shrimp freshness were prepared. Co-assembly of saffron petal anthocyanin (SPA) with hydrophobic curcumin (Cur) into chitin nano-scaffold (particle sizes around 26 ± 8 nm) could deliver hindering SPA leaching, confirmed by FT-IR, FE-SEM, AFM, and color stability test. The best response to pH-sensitivity was found in a ratio of (1:4) Cur/SPA (30% (v/w) in ChNFs that was correlated with the chemical and microbial changes of shrimp during shrimp freshness. However, smart screen-printed inks signified higher responsiveness to pH changes than FFI films. Therefore, smart-printed indicators introduced the excellent potential for a short response time, easy, cost-effective, eco-friendly, co-assembly, great color stabilities, and lifetime for nondestructively freshness monitoring foods and supplements.

Performance of wood waste biochar and food waste compost in a pilot-scale sustainable drainage system for stormwater treatment.

Sustainable drainage system (SuDS) for stormwater reclamation has the potential to alleviate the water scarcity and environmental pollution issues. Laboratory studies have demonstrated that the capacity of SuDS to treat stormwater can be improved by integrating biochar and compost in the filter media, whereas their performance in scaled-up applications is less reported. This study examines the effectiveness of a pilot-scale SuDS, bioswale followed by bioretention, amended with wood waste biochar (1, 2, and 4 wt.%) and food waste compost (2 and 4 wt.%) to simultaneously remove multiple pollutants including nutrients, heavy metals, and trace organics from the simulated stormwater. Our results confirmed that SuDS modified with both biochar (2 wt.%) and compost (2 wt.%) displayed superior water quality improvement. The system exhibited high removal efficiency (> 70%) for total phosphorus and major metal species including Ni, Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu, and Zn. Total suspended solids concentration was approaching the detection limit in the effluent, thereby confirming its capability to reduce turbidity and particle-associated pollutants from stormwater. Co-application of biochar and compost also moderately immobilized trace organic contaminants such as 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, diuron, and atrazine at field-relevant concentrations. Moreover, the soil amendments amplified the activities of enzymes including ß-D-cellobiosidase and urease, suggesting that the improved soil conditions and health of microbial communities could possibly increase phyto and bioremediation of contaminants accumulated in the filter media. Overall, our pilot-scale demonstration confirmed that the co-application of biochar and compost in SuDS can provide a variety of benefits for soil/plant health and water quality.

Biowaste management by hydrothermal carbonization and anaerobic co-digestion: Synergistic effects and comparative metagenomic analysis.

The feasibility of anaerobic co-digestion in semicontinuous mode of two major urban biowaste, food waste (FW) and garden and park waste (GPW) (75 % FW and 25 % GPW) as well as the co-digestion of FW with the process water originated from the hydrothermal carbonization of GPW (95 % FW and 5 % process water), both on a COD basis, has been assessed. The effect of varying organic loading rate (OLR) from 1.5 to 3.5 g COD/L·d on methane yield, gross energy recovery, and microbiome population was evaluated. For comparison, anaerobic digestion of FW was also conducted to determine the best strategy for sustainable biowaste management. This study showed an optimal OLR of 2.5 g COD/L·d. Acetic and propionic acid content increased as OLR raised for each condition studied, while methane yield decreased at the highest OLR tested indicating overloading of the system. The anaerobic co-digestion of FW and process water showed a 10 % increase on methane production compared to anaerobic digestion of FW (324 vs. 294 mL CH4 STP/L·d). Moreover, it enhances the process due to a greater abundance and diversity of hydrolytic and acidogenic bacteria belonging to Bacterioidota, Firmicutes, and Chloroflexi phyla, as well as promotes the hydrogenotrophic pathway under higher propionic concentrations which is not usually favoured for methane production. The integration of hydrothermal carbonization of GPW with the anaerobic co-digestion of 95 % FW and 5 % of process water results in the highest potential energy recovery and could be a good strategy for sustainable management of urban biowaste.