Volume 20 Issue 2

The adsorption of phenol and Pb²⁺ from aqueous solutions was achieved using calcined animal waste (cow dung) as a low-cost adsorbent. Fourier transform infrared analysis confirmed the involvement of hydroxyl, carbonate, and possibly silicate functional groups in the adsorption process. Scanning electron microscope images revealed the presence of distinct rod-like fibers on the adsorbent surface. Adsorption kinetics revealed an increase in pollutant uptake over time, with the effect being more pronounced at a higher initial concentration of 280 mg/L. The optimal pH for maximum adsorption was identified as 6.5 for phenol and 4.5 for lead. Langmuir isotherm analysis indicated a higher adsorption affinity for lead, with a maximum adsorption capacity of 101 mg/g, compared to 89.3 mg/g for phenol. Conversely, the Freundlich isotherm model demonstrated a better fit for phenol adsorption. Thermodynamic evaluations showed negative ΔG° values, confirming the spontaneous nature of the sorption process for both pollutants. The enthalpy change (ΔH°) values of 11.6 kJ/mol for phenol and 21.7 kJ/mol for lead validated the endothermic nature of the adsorption. These results underscore the effectiveness of calcined animal waste as a sustainable and efficient adsorbent for eliminating phenol and lead from wastewater.

Biomass ash from agricultural residues, which is typically discarded and causing waste and pollution, was evaluated in tea-bag form as a natural food preservative in this study, addressing research gaps on its effects and safety. In vitro tests on six biomass ash extracts demonstrated significant antibacterial activity. Specifically, the golden leaf fine branch camellia extract exhibited the highest efficacy against Staphylococcus aureus and Alternaria brassicicola, with an inhibition zone of 21 mm and an antibacterial efficiency of 70.2%. Fruit storage tests confirmed its preservative ability. Golden leaf fine branch camellia twig and leaves ash exhibited the most effective weight loss reduction for potatoes, corn stalks ash was found to be optimal for green peppers, rice straw ash offered the most effective preservation for sugar oranges, and soybean straw ash yielded favorable outcomes for mangoes. Safety evaluations revealed no genotoxicity, with lead content below the 0.2 mg/kg safety threshold and the micronucleus tests within safe limits. Elemental analysis detected high potassium content (103.127 g/kg), while SEM and FTIR revealed a porous structure and functional groups that may contribute to its antibacterial and preservative properties. In conclusion, biomass ash has strong antimicrobial and preservative properties, is non-genotoxic, and shows great potential as a natural food preservative, providing a new avenue for biomass ash resource utilization.

Within the context of educational innovation, diversified teaching models impose higher requirements on classroom furniture adaptability. However, conflicting multi-stakeholder demands and configuration imbalances constrain the upgrading of educational spaces. To address this, this study focuses on the “demand-configuration” contradiction and constructs a composite evaluation model integrating the “game theory combined weighting method – fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method – quadrant diagram model”. Through improved Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and entropy method game weighting, this approach can balance multi-party weight conflicts, quantify user satisfaction based on fuzzy evaluation, and identify “high demand-low adaptation” core indicators using the quadrant diagram. Taking classroom furniture in M Middle School as a practical case, results demonstrate that the quadrant diagram model accurately identified six core indicators based on comprehensive weights and satisfaction levels, aligning with current key optimization directions for classroom furniture. This validates the model’s feasibility and accuracy in resolving contradictions between multi-dimensional demands and actual configurations. The proposed evaluation system provides a framework of “demand deconstruction-efficiency evaluation-design guidance” for educational furniture design, which is applicable to quasi-public product design evaluation fields involving multiple stakeholders such as public medical products, thereby enhancing the matching efficiency between product resource allocation and diverse demands.

The extent of spoilage of fruits and vegetables increases post harvest, and fungi is one of the greatest causes. The effect of sodium silicate on Aspergillus flavus and its cell wall degrading enzymes, namely polygalacturonic acid transeliminase (PGTE), pectin methyltranseliminase (PMTE), and pectin lyase (PL), was investigated via molecular docking. At the 4^th day, 100 mM of sodium silicate completely inhibited A. flavus, while it reflected 79.70, 61.16, 56.82, and 37.23% inhibition at 6, 8,10, and 12 days, respectively. The PGTE (369.33 ± 2.08 U/mL) showed maximum activity at 8^th day in the medium without sodium silicate, also at 20 to 80 mM sodium silicate, their maximum activity was recorded at the 8^th day, while it reached to maximum at 10^th day in the medium with 100 mM sodium silicate. The PMTE recorded highest activity at the 6^th day (414.00 ± 1.73 U/mL) without sodium silicate, at 8^th day when sodium silicate ranged from 20 to 80 mM, and at 10^th day (97.67 ± 1.25 U/mL) with 100 mM sodium silicate. Day 8 was optimum for PL activity. Sodium silicate demonstrates potent interaction with the active sites of the studied proteins, suggesting its potential as a molecular inhibitor of studied enzymes.

This study considered the ‘Gendang Kecapi’ (GK) musical instrument, the sounds of which were recorded in an anechoic chamber. The Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) data was obtained using a Picoscope oscilloscope. The GK is an idiochord bamboo tube zither from Kelantan, Malaysia. The GK have two strings (called canang), two gongs, and a gendang (drum). The instrument produced unique and innovative sounds. The time frequency analysis (TFA) used Adobe Audition to produce the spectrograms. The fundamental frequency (f0) of string 1 (canang ibu) and string 2 (canang anak) are 0.888 kHz (A5) and 1.054 kHz (C6), respectively. The f0 of gong 1 (gong ibu) and gong 2 (gong anak) are 0.230 kHz (A3#) and 0.246 kHz (B3), respectively. The f0 of gendang is 0.380 kHz (F4#). The frequency spectrum showed less distinct fundamental frequency with several lower partial frequencies at 0.017, 0.100, and 0.200 kHz.

The economic and agronomic impacts of drip fertigation techniques were evaluated on tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa L.) cultivation in a semi-arid region. Conducted over two growing seasons (2022-2024) at the ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi, the field experiments utilized a split-split plot design with three factors: land configuration (raised bed and flatbed), irrigation schedules (50%, 75%, and 100% pan evaporation), and fertigation schedules (50%, 75%, and 100% recommended dose of fertilizers). Data were collected on flower yield, water productivity, and economic returns. The raised bed system consistently outperformed the flat bed system in water productivity and flower yield. Among the irrigation levels, the highest water productivity and flower yield were observed at 100% pan evaporation. Similarly, the highest fertigation level (100% RDF) resulted in the best outcomes in terms of both yield and economic returns. The economic analysis revealed that the raised bed configuration with higher fertigation and irrigation levels (BI3F3) was the most profitable, with the highest benefit-cost ratios. The study concludes that optimizing fertigation and irrigation practices, particularly using raised bed configurations with higher fertigation and irrigation levels, can significantly enhance tuberose cultivation’s profitability and sustainability in water-scarce regions.

To explore the feasibility of replacing inorganic fibers with plant fibers for the fabrication of polymer composites for waterfront engineering applications, the effects of replacing glass fibers with bamboo fibers on the mechanical and erosive wear properties of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) composites were investigated. Mechanical performance tests and the hydraulic abrasive erosive wear technique, which is based on a rotating jet system, were employed. The results indicated that as the mass ratio of bamboo fibers to glass fibers increases, the mechanical properties of the HDPE composites improved overall, while the erosion resistance initially decreased and then increased. The maximum increases in tensile, flexural, and impact strength, as well as breakage elongation were 16.4%, 13.8%, 34.9%, and 10.0%, respectively. Bamboo fibers, when replacing glass fibers, can form chemical bonds with the matrix, suppressing the brittle fracture characteristics observed in the tensile sections of HDPE composites. However, this substitution also reduced the erosion resistance of the HDPE composites. The wear characteristics of the eroded surfaces mainly include a brittle fracture of the matrix and fragmentation, as well as extensive exposure of the bamboo fibers.

This review article considers publications dealing with biogas production from mixtures of livestock manure and corn straw. Emphasis is placed on factors affecting hydrogen production rate from the residual liquid after methane production. Simulations were carried out as a means to better understand published findings related to the production of hydrogen from biomass, cow manure, and corn stalks. This review focuses on the impact of different manure-to-stalk ratios on the yield and gas production efficiency during the process of biogas fermentation. Photosynthetic-anaerobic processing of biomass with combined hydrogen production technology and its process flow were considered, aiming to achieve the reuse of waste liquid. At the same time, research progress of the fermentation degradation mechanism of modified straw is reviewed, summarizing the key factors affecting the difference in biogas yield from livestock manure and straw mixed materials. In addition, this study also considers the synergistic mechanism of operating parameters such as fermentation temperature, inoculation concentration, inoculation amount, composting time, and the optimal ratio of raw materials. This study aims to open up new avenues for the efficient utilization of biomass energy and will delve deeper into this in subsequent research.