Rice Husk-Derived Mesoporous Silica Nanostructure for Supercapacitors Application: A Possible Approach for Recycling Bio-Waste into a Value-Added Product

We synthesized mesoporous SiO2 nanomatrix using rice husks as a precursor through a facile thermal combustion process. XRD, FTIR, EDX, and TEM analyses were used to validate the produced mesoporous SiO2 nanomatrix. Electrochemical measurements were used to determine the specific capacitance of mesoporous SiO2 nanomatrix, and the results showed that the specific capacitances are 216, 204, 182, 163, 152, 142, 135, 133, 124.4, 124 F/g at current densities of 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16 A/g. The benefit of impurities, as well as the large surface area and mesoporous structure of rice husk derived SiO2 nanostructures, allow Faradaic redox reactions at the electrode surface and the resulting supercapacitive behavior. This research might lead to a low-cost technique of producing supercapacitor electrodes using rice husk-derived SiO2 as a precursor.

Effect of Using Different Chemical Dispersing Agents in Grain Size Analyses of Fluvial Sediments via Laser Diffraction Spectrometry

Laser diffraction spectrometry allows for efficiently obtaining high-resolution grain size data. However, pretreatment and dispersion of aggregates in sediment samples are essential pre-requisites for acquiring accurate results using this method. This study evaluates the effectiveness of five dispersing agents in deflocculating the investigated fluvial sediments and the resulting grain size distribution obtained by laser diffraction spectrometry. We also examine the ability of the different dispersing agents to deflocculate sediment samples treated by thermal combustion. Distilled water presented a low efficiency in deflocculating the samples and yielded a near-zero clay content for samples with an expected clay content. The other chemical dispersants were effective in dispersing aggregates and yielding clay, albeit with different efficiencies. Calgon had the highest dispersing ability, followed closely by sodium tripolyphosphate. The performance of chemical treatment with sodium oxalate approaches that of sodium tripolyphosphate. However, it leads to the formation of precipitates in the samples, obscuring the actual grain size data. Sodium pyrophosphate derived the least amount of deflocculation among the four chemical dispersants. Furthermore, all the chemical dispersants were found to be ineffective in dispersing aggregates in samples treated by thermal combustion.

Development and Characterization of Polypropylene Waste from Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)-Derived Char-Filled Sugar Palm Starch Biocomposite Briquettes

Slow pyrolysis using a batch reactor at 450 °C was applied to the polypropylene (PP) powder derived from Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) isolation gown waste to yield char briquettes, using sugar palm starch (SPS) and a manual hydraulic press. These studies are significant because of reductions in plastic waste from the preparation of barbecue coal due to environmental sustainability. The results presented here include the physical, morphological, thermal, combustion, and mechanical properties of char when reinforced with various percentages of SPS loadings (0, 10, 20, 30, and 40%), which act as a matrix/binder to produce char/sugar palm starch (C/SPS) composites. The physical and morphological characteristics of C/SPS composites were determined using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). On the other hand, the thermal and combustion properties of the C/SPS briquettes were studied via thermogravimetric and bomb calorimeter analysis. The results show that the compressive strength of the briquettes increased as the SPS loading increased, whereas the higher heating values (HHV) reduced. The findings indicate that C-80/SPS-20 briquettes presented excellent combustion characteristics (1,761,430 J/g) with satisfactory mechanical strength (1.463 MPa) in the compression test. Thus, C-80/SPS-20 briquettes are the most suitable composites for domestic and commercial uses.

Reducing the Ecotoxicity of Pesticide Polluted Waters by Electrochemical Methods

Electrochlorination constitutes an electrochemical approach for the treatment of pesticide-containing wastewaters. This study evaluated the electrochemical and thermal stability of four pesticides and the efficiency of electrochlorination to remove and detoxify the simulated polluted water with: Acetamiprid, Emamectin, Imidacloprid and Propineb. This study reports the experimental results obtained by cyclic voltammetry and electrolysis at constant current density in association with UV-Vis spectrophotometry. In saline waters this pesticides are electrochemical active and anodic peaks are registered in the corresponding voltammograms. After thermal combustion, in a gaseous nitrogen atmosphere, a residue ranging from 15 to 45 % is observed at 500 �C.