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In this study, levulinic acid (LA) was produced from rice straw biomass in co-solvent biphasic reactor system consisting of hydrochloric acid and dichloromethane organic solvent. The modified protocol achieved a 15% wt LA yield through the synergistic effect of acid and acidic products (auto-catalysis) and the designed system allowed facile recovery of LA to the organic phase. Further purification of the resulting extractant was achieved through traditional column chromatography, which yielded a high purity LA product while recovering ∼85% wt. Upon charcoal treatment of the resultant fraction generated an industrial grade target molecule of ∼99% purity with ∼95% wt recovery. The system allows the solvent to be easily recovered, in excess of 90%, which was shown to be able to be recycled up to 5 runs without significant loss of final product concentrations. Overall, this system points to a method to significantly reduce manufacturing cost during large-scale LA preparation.

Abstract Small hydropower projects (SHPs), though generally considered more environmentally benign and socially acceptable as compared to large projects, yet their overall sustainability is under suspicion in the Himalayan regions. Almost all SHPs in this region are being developed as run of the river mode which generally causes less/no submergence and quite less displacement of people as compared to large reservoir based hydropower production mode. However, in the absence of proper planning and monitoring mechanism, these projects are causing implacable tunnelling of hills, choking of streams, conversion of streams into dry ditches and long term socio-environmental impacts. This paper presents a SHP development study from hydro rich Beas river basin of Himachal Pradesh, a state nestled in western Himalayan region of India. In depth field studies, focus group discussions with the project affected people and interaction with project proponents of five SHPs in this region suggest that sustainability issues with respect to SHPs are not small vis-a-vis size of their installed capacity. There is an urgent need to take steps to include SHPs having an installed capacity of above 10 MW into the ambit of environment clearance process which is absent in many countries of the world at present.

Abstract The diesel engine is being widely used in day to day life in both mobile and stationary applications. The main drawback is the release of harmful gasses like HC, CO, NOx and particulate matter into the atmosphere. This affects both human beings and environment to a great extent and should be controlled effectively. This paper reviews the works on the control of diesel particulate matter in both pre-combustion and post-combustion techniques employed in the past few decades. The initial part of this review will discuss particulate matter composition and its structure. Then the various physical processes involved in the formation of particulate matter are discussed. Effects of fuel composition and its structure on soot formation are reported. Hazardous effects of particulate matter on both human beings and the environment are reviewed. Use of biodiesel water emulsified fuel as a fuel to control soot formation is highlighted. This review also highlights control of particulate matter by varying injection parameters like injection pressure, injection timing and auxiliary air injection. Multiple fuel injections within the same cycle to control NOx and particulate matter are also discussed. The conventional control technique of particulate matter by using Diesel particulate filter and its types are also compared with the new technologies. Various regeneration concepts to burn the collected soot are also highlighted. The major part of this review focuses on pre-combustion techniques to control particulate matter. This review paper, it is hoped, will be very useful for the researchers working on the control of diesel particulate matter.

Abstract Plastics have been reported as one of the major pollutants among various pollutants that are disposed of in the environment. They play a pivotal part in human life as they are cost-effective and are versatile. Plastics are known to have a mixture of many chemical components and are used for various domestic applications. Despite various useful applications, plastics take a long time to degrade. The burning of plastics releases chemicals such as phosgene and dioxides that are considered a hazard to the ecosystem. The toxic debris that is released from the plastics enters the food chain and water bodies in the form of microplastics. Microplastic-polluted foods and the presence of meager amounts of phthalates in toys lead to serious health consequences such as congenital diseases and malignant cancers. The dioxins released from the plastic polymers are lethally persistent organic pollutants which cause tumor and neurological damage in humans. Inadequate waste management practices have led to significant plastic pollution of water bodies. Plastics tend to settle on beaches, which decreases esthetic and recreation values. In this article, we have discussed ways for resource recovery from plastic wastes and the possible effects of plastics on the environment and available safety regulations for the use of plastics. This article also discusses scientific literature about the remediation of plastics using various methods, which can help to promote further improvement of the existing system by competent authorities and researchers.

Abstract Anaerobic digestion (AD) technology has piqued scientists’ interest in light of the growing demand for renewable energy and environmental preservation. This paper discusses the analysis of national biogas producing capacity, energy demand, and methods for meeting that demand. Also, public health and environmental issue, biogas technology and their utilization, current national scenario, and future in the biogas field have been discussed. The Government of India (GOI) has been providing subsidies or financial support through various programs. They support the rural area for generating biogas and also announced the Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) initiative for the generation of compressed biogas (CBG) for the installation of 5000 plants up to 2023-24. These plants are expected to produce 15 million metric tonnes (MMT) of CBG per annum, which is about 40% of the current compressed natural gas (CNG) consumption of 44 MMT per annum in the region.

The present work focuses on the simultaneous reduction of NO–smoke–CO2 emission in a Karanja oil methyl ester (KOME)-fueled single-cylinder compression ignition engine by using low-carbon biofuel with exhaust after-treatment system. Replacement of KOME for diesel reduced smoke emission by 3% but resulted in increase of NO emission and CO2 emission by 13 and 35% at 100% load condition. In order to reduce CO2 emission, tests were conducted with a blend of KOME and orange seed oil (OSO), a low-carbon fuel on equal volume basis (50–50). At the same operating conditions, compared to KOME, 27% reduction in CO2 emission and 5% reduction in smoke emission were observed. However, a slight increase in NO emission was observed. To achieve simultaneous reduction of NO–smoke–CO2 emissions, three catalysts, namely monoethanolamine, zeolite and activated carbon, were selected for exhaust after-treatment system and tested with optimum KOME–OSO blend. KOME–OSO + zeolite showed a great potential in simultaneous reduction of NO–smoke–CO2 emissions. NO, smoke and CO2 emissions were simultaneously reduced by about 15% for each emission compared to diesel at 100% load condition. The effect of exhaust after-treatment system with KOME–OSO blend on combustion, performance and other emission parameters is discussed in detail in this study. Fourier transform infrared spectrometry analysis and testing were done to identify the absorbance characteristics of zeolite material.

Diesel engines have proved its utility in transport, agriculture and power sector. Environmental norms and scared fossil fuel have attracted the attention to switch the energy demand to alternative energy source. Oil derived from Jatropha curcas plant has been considered as a sustainable substitute to diesel fuel. However, use of straight vegetable oil has encountered problem due to its high viscosity. The aim of present work is to reduce the viscosity of oil by heating from exhaust gases before fed to the engine, the study of effects of FIT (fuel inlet temperature) on engine performance and emissions using a dual fuel engine test rig with an appropriately designed shell and tube heat exchanger (with exhaust bypass arrangement). Heat exchanger was operated in such a way that it could give desired FIT. Results show that BTE (brake thermal efficiency) of engine was lower and BSEC (brake specific energy consumption) was higher when the engine was fueled with Jatropha oil as compared to diesel fuel. Increase in fuel inlet temperature resulted in increase of BTE and reduction in BSEC. Emissions of NO from Jatropha oil during the experimental range were lower than diesel fuel and it increases with increase in FIT. CO (carbon monoxide), HC (hydrocarbon), CO(2) (carbon dioxide) emissions from Jatropha oil were found higher than diesel fuel. However, with increase in FIT, a downward trend was observed. Thus, by using heat exchanger preheated Jatropha oil can be a good substitute fuel for diesel engine in the near future. Optimal fuel inlet temperature was found to be 80 degrees C considering the BTE, BSEC and gaseous emissions. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Abstract As the rising concern of waste management around the world, landfills are stacking up the waste due to a shortage of land. Researchers are finding different ways to convert this waste heat to produce useful energy. Effective treatments of these waste results in the utilization of products generated by the system. Many limitations of the Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) and anaerobic digestion are yet to be solved. Anaerobic digestion is the biological system which helps in degradation of organic waste into useful products. The product generated is burnt to heat organic working fluid present in Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) by supplying heated medium through the evaporator. Although pre-treatment is required for food waste. The paper reviews the combined heat and power (CHP) systems between biomass and regenerative Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC), which affects requirement and efficiency of system using dry fluid as the medium of Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC). In this reviewed paper, the steady-state conditions are kept into consideration to observe the factors affecting the efficiency of the system done by various authors to get a better performing system.

Abstract Industrial sustainability has gained huge attention in the scientific community owing to the concern of global warming. Establishing sustainability indicators by the application of exergy analysis can guide and motivate industrial sustainability. In this context, an attempt is made to establish sustainability indicators for the industrial sector. Different measures to improve the sustainability of the industrial sector of Bangladesh are also discussed. Based on the energy consumption data from the year 2000–2015, energy, exergy, and sustainability analyses are performed. It is found that the energy efficiency varies from 55.01% to 59.67% and exergy efficiency varies from 53.11% to 56.97%. Exergy efficiency is found to be at lower side due to the accounting of irreversibility. Various sustainability indicators such as sustainability index, depletion number, exergetic renewable share, cumulative exergy loss, and non-renewable exergetic share have been studied as well. It is observed that depletion numbers vary from 43% to 45% and the sustainability index varies from 2.21 to 2.32. Non-renewable exergetic share is as high as 98% and maximum cumulative exergy loss is found to be 217.3 PJ in 2015. Improvement potential shows a continuous increase from 22.75% in 2000 to 101.89% in 2015. Waste heat recovery, energy audit, waste minimization, and adopting renewable energy sources are recommended to increase the efficiency and sustainability of this sector. The outcome of this study reveals that exergy analysis is an effective technique to develop energy conservation policies for this sector.