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Considerable interest is being shown in using biochar production from waste biomass with a variety of disciplines to address the most pressing environmental challenges. Biochar produced by the thermal decomposition of biomass under oxygen-limited conditions is gaining popularity as a low-cost amendment for agro-ecosystems. The efficiency of biochar formation is affected by temperature, heating rate, feedstock type, particle size and reactor conditions. Properties such as pH, surface area and ash content of produced biochar increases with increasing temperatures. Biochar produced at lower heating rates may have high porosity and be beneficial for morphological changes in the soil. Biochar can help to enhance soil health and fertility as well as improve agricultural yield. As a result, biochar can assist in increasing food security by promoting sustainable agricultural systems and preserving an eco-friendly environment. Biochar is also widely being used as a sorbent for organic and inorganic pollutants, owing to its large surface area, allowing it to be immobilized from soil with ease. The functional groups and charges present on the surface of biochar play an important role in pollutants removal. This review focuses on the mechanisms of biochar production using different waste materials as a feed stock, factors that influence biochar quality as well as application of biochar in agricultural soil and their reclamation as well. This article also discusses knowledge gaps and future perspectives in the field of biochar-based toxic-pollution remediation.

The growing population and increasing urbanization have led to a surge in domestic wastewater generation, posing significant challenges for effective and sustainable treatment. The present study demonstrates a novel and sustainable approach for the onsite treatment of domestic wastewater using an integrated settler-based biofilm reactor (ISBR) with efficient biogas generation. The ISBR provides an optimized environment for the growth of biofilm, facilitating the removal of organic pollutants and pathogens. Moreover, the ISBR enables the recovery of a valuable resource in the form of biogas, thus enhancing the overall utility of the treatment process. The performance of the ISBR was comprehensively evaluated at laboratory scale through treating the actual domestic wastewater generated from the hostel of Manipal University Jaipur. The ISBR system was operated under an ambient environment at a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 24 h. The results demonstrated remarkable efficiency in terms of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS), and coliforms removal, with average removal efficiency being more than 90%. According to the COD mass balance analysis, 48.2% of the influent COD was recovered as bioenergy. The chromatogram revealed a high percentage of methane gas in the collected biogas sample. The field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) analysis of the accumulated sludge in the ISBR system depicted the morphology of methanogenic bacteria. Both the experimental and theoretical results confirmed the feasibility and sustainability of the ISBR system at the onsite level.

AbstractRecently, modern power systems depend heavily on MicroGrids (MGs), which can accommodate Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) economically and with high flexibility. MGs integrated with DERs can assist in enhancing energy security, significant cost savings, and reduction in emission of greenhouse gases. In this paper, the assessment of operating performance of proposed MG system with DERs is employed to investigate the multi‐objective problems of cost optimization and economic scheduling. A grid‐connected Micro‐grid (MG) combined with solar photovoltaic (PV), wind turbine (WT), fuel cell (FC), and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) is implemented to model the problem. This proposed model is considered as a test system for cost optimization and battery charging/discharging optimization. The developed framework is presented as multi‐objective function with constraints that can be tackled using an effective optimization technique. The above stochastic multi‐objective problem is optimized using various commonly used Physics based Meta‐heuristic techniques such as Simulated Annealing (SA), Harmony Search (HS), Slime Mold Algorithm (SMA), Gravitational Search Algorithm (GSA), Black Hole Optimization (BHO), Sine Cosine Algorithm (SCA), Multiverse optimization (MVO) and Lightning Search Algorithm (LSA). The assessment of the aforementioned physics‐based optimization techniques used on the proposed MG test system is compared using the results. According to the analysis, Black Hole Optimization (BHO) and Lightning Search Algorithm (LSA) both provide greater cost savings overall and for battery charging, respectively. The suggested optimization methods will take the BESS charging/discharging pattern and total cost savings into account.

Heat stress and cold stress have a negative influence on cattle welfare and productivity. There have been some studies investigating the influence of cold stress on cattle, however the emphasis within this review is the influence of heat stress on cattle. The impact of hot weather on cattle is of increasing importance due to the changing global environment. Heat stress is a worldwide phenomenon that is associated with reduced animal productivity and welfare, particularly during the summer months. Animal responses to their thermal environment are extremely varied, however, it is clear that the thermal environment influences the health, productivity, and welfare of cattle. Whilst knowledge continues to be developed, managing livestock to reduce the negative impact of hot climatic conditions remains somewhat challenging. This review provides an overview of the impact of heat stress on production and reproduction in bovines.

AbstractIn the present study, we analyze a field-based seven-year data series of surface mass-balance measurements collected during 2011/12 to 2017/18 on Naradu Glacier, western Himalaya, India. The average annual specific mass balance for the said period is − 0.85 m w.e. with the maximum ablation of − 1.15 m w.e. The analysis shows that the topographic features, south and southeast aspects and slopes between 7 to 24 degrees are the reasons behind the maximum ablation from a particular zone. The causes of surface mass balance variability have been analyzed through multiple linear regression analyses (MLRA) by taking temperature and precipitation as predictors. The MLRA demonstrates that 71% of the observed surface mass balance variance can be explained by temperature and precipitation. It clearly illustrates the importance of summer temperature, which alone explains 64% variance of surface mass balance. The seasonal analysis shows that most of the surface mass balance variability is described by summer temperature and winter precipitation as two predictor variables. Among monthly combinations, surface mass balance variance is best characterized by June temperature and September precipitation.

Large-size woody biomass is a valuable renewable resource to replace fossil fuels in biorefinery processes. The preprocessing of wood chips and briquettes is challenging to manage, especially in an industrial setting, as it generates a significant amount of dust and noise and occasionally causes unexpected accidents. As a result, a substantial amount of resources, energy, labor, and space are needed. The thermochemical conversion behavior of large-size woody biomass was studied to reduce energy consumption for chipping. Large-size wood was 1.5 m in length, 0.1 m in breadth, and stacked 90 cm in height. This strategy has many benefits, including increased effectiveness and reduced CO2 emissions. The target of this paper presents the thermochemical process, and large-size wood was chosen because it provides high-quality product gas while reducing the preprocessing fuel cost. This review examines the benefits of thermochemical conversion technologies for assessing the likelihood of carbon neutrality.

Energy conservation potential of the evaporative roof cooling technique for a cinema house in a composite climate (characterized by Delhi) has been evaluated. Thermal loads due to heat conduction through the building envelope, the required ventilation and the occupants have been taken into account. Life-cycle-cost analysis has been employed to evaluate the cost effectiveness of this energy conservation technique. It is seen that evaporative cooling on the roof leads to a net saving of 14% in the initial investment and 17% in the annual cost.

Investigating the impact of climate variables on net primary productivity is crucial to evaluate the ecosystem health and the status of forest type response to climate change. The objective of this paper is (1) to estimate spatio-temporal patterns of net primary productivity (NPP) during 2001 to 2010 in a tropical deciduous forest based on the input variable dataset (i.e.meteorological and biophysical) derived from the remote sensing and other sources and (2) to investigate the effects of climate variables on NPP during 2001 to 2010. The study was carried out in Katerniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary that forms a part of a tropical forest and is situated in Uttar Pradesh, India, along the Indo-Nepal border. Mean annual NPP was observed to be highest during 2007 with a value of 878 g C m-2 year-1 and 781.25 g C m-2 year-1 for sal and teak respectively. A decline in mean NPP during 2002-2003, 2005 and 2008-2010 could be attributed to drought, increased temperature and vapour pressure deficit (VPD). The time lag correlation analysis revealed precipitation as the major variables affecting NPP, whereas combination of temperature and VPD showed dominant effect on NPP as revealed by generalized linear modelling. The carbon gain in NPP in sal forest was observed to be marginal higher than that of teak plantation throughout the study period. The decrease in NPP was observed during 2010, pertaining to increased VPD. Contribution of different climatic variables through some link process was revealed in statistical analysis and clearly indicated the co-dominance of all the variables in explaining NPP.