Investigation of the Mechanical and Liquid Absorption Properties of a Rice Straw-Based Composite for Ayurvedic Treatment Tables

Managing rice crop stubble is one of the major challenges witnessed in the agricultural sector. This work attempts to investigate the physical, mechanical, and liquid absorption properties of rice straw (RS)-reinforced polymer composite for assessing its suitability to use as an ayurvedic treatment table. This material is expected to be an alternative for wooden-based ayurvedic treatment tables. The results showed that the addition of rice straw particles (RSp) up to 60% volume in epoxy reduced the density of the composite material by 46.20% and the hardness by 15.69%. The maximum tensile and flexural strength of the RSp composite was 17.53 MPa and 43.23 MPa, respectively. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis showed deposits of silica in the form of phytoliths in various size and shapes on the outer surface of RS. The study also revealed that the water absorption rate (WA) was less than 7.8% for the test samples with 45% volume of RSp. Interestingly the test samples showed greater resistance to the absorption of Kottakal Dhanvantaram Thailam (<2%). In addition, the developed samples showed resistance towards bacterial and fungal growth under the exposure of treatment oils and water.

A dominant contribution to light absorption by methanol-insoluble brown carbon produced in the combustion of biomass fuels typically consumed in wildland fires in the United States

The light-absorption properties of brown carbon (BrC) are often estimated using offline, solvent-extraction methods. However, recent studies have found evidence of insoluble species of BrC which are unaccounted for in...

The waste paper Management in Educational Institute and Improvement in Quality of Hand Made Papers

This manuscript investigates the waste paper management (WPM) of an educational Institute and aware the people about the importance of waste paper management and recycling of waste papers by multidimensional approach. The research assessed two multi long term plans, considering all recycling settings feasible for educational scenario. To complete that purpose, support for the collection of waste papers, final disposal and environmental and financial impact assessment concerning transportation is required. Results suggest that the quality of handmade papers is improved by doping some external materials in cellulose of waste papers. In this manuscript, flour of wheat is mixed in waste paper cellulose. The analysis of handmade paper is done by a photometric test. It is found that at some percentages of doping of flour in waste paper pulp, the reflection properties of the paper is increased and surface of paper become smooth and hard. At some other percentages of doping, the papers are shown absorption properties.