Turning Waste into Treasure: The Full Technological Process and Product Performance Characterization of Flushable Wet Wipes Prepared from Corn Stalk
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PROVIDER: S-EPMC10672815 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Scientific publications and newsfeeds recently focused on flushable wet wipes and their role in sewage system blockages. It is stated that although products are marked as flushable, they do not disintegrate after being disposed of via the toilet. In this work it is shown that wetlaid hydroentangled wet wipes lose their initially good dispersive properties during their storage in wet condition. As a consequence, we are suggesting to add tests after defined times of wet storage when assessing the flushability of wet wipes. Loss of dispersibility is found for both, wet wipes from industrial production and wipes produced on pilot facilities. We found it quite surprising that the wet wipes' dispersibility is deteriorating after storage in exactly the same liquid they are dispersed in, i.e. water. This is probably why the effect of wet storage has not been investigated earlier. It is demonstrated that the deteriorating dispersibility of these wipes is linked to the used type of short cellulosic fibres - only wipes containing unbleached softwood pulp as short fibre component were preserving good dispersibility during wet storage. Possible mechanisms that might be responsible are discussed, e.g. long term fiber swelling causing a tightening of the fiber network, or surface interdiffusion.
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Project description:Gram-positive bacteria pose significant threats to human health, necessitating the development of targeted bacterial detection and eradication strategies. Nevertheless, current approaches often suffer from poor targeting specificity. Herein, the study utilizes purple rice lixivium to synthesize biomass carbon dots (termed BCDs) with wheat germ agglutinin-like residues for precisely targeting Gram-positive bacteria. Subsequently, fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) molecules are grafted onto BCDs to yield FITC-labeled BCDs (termed CDFs), which can selectively and rapidly (≤5 min) stain bacterial cell wall and particularly target the peptidoglycan component. Strikingly, CDFs achieve superselective visualization of Gram-positive bacteria even in the presence of mammalian cells and Gram-negative bacteria. Furthermore, protoporphyrin (PpIX) molecules are conjugated onto BCDs to yield PpIX-modified BCDs (termed CDPs), which can induce bacterial aggregation and in situ generate singlet oxygen for realizing enhanced antibacterial photodynamic therapy (PDT). At the minimum bactericidal concentration of CDPs (PpIX: 5 µg mL-1), CDP-mediated PDT disrupts bacterial structure and metabolism pathways, thereby affecting bacterial interactions to eradicate biofilms. Importantly, CDP-mediated PDT efficiently modulates antiinflammatory responses to promote wound healing in the bacteria-infected mice. This study underscores the significance of harnessing renewable and cost-effective biomass resources for preparing Gram-positive bacteria-targeting theranostic agents, which may find potential clinical applications in the future.
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Project description:BackgroundAlthough the system for producing yellow corn grain is well established in the US, its role among other biofeedstock alternatives to petroleum-based energy sources has to be balanced with its predominant purpose for food and feed as well as economics, land use, and environmental stewardship. We model land usage attributed to corn ethanol production in the US to evaluate the effects of anticipated technological change in corn grain production, ethanol processing, and livestock feeding through a multi-disciplinary approach. Seven scenarios are evaluated: four considering the impact of technological advances on corn grain production, two focused on improved efficiencies in ethanol processing, and one reflecting greater use of ethanol co-products (that is, distillers dried grains with solubles) in diets for dairy cattle, pigs, and poultry. For each scenario, land area attributed to corn ethanol production is estimated for three time horizons: 2011 (current), the time period at which the 15 billion gallon cap for corn ethanol as per the Renewable Fuel Standard is achieved, and 2026 (15 years out).ResultsAlthough 40.5% of corn grain was channeled to ethanol processing in 2011, only 25% of US corn acreage was attributable to ethanol when accounting for feed co-product utilization. By 2026, land area attributed to corn ethanol production is reduced to 11% to 19% depending on the corn grain yield level associated with the four corn production scenarios, considering oil replacement associated with the soybean meal substituted in livestock diets with distillers dried grains with solubles. Efficiencies in ethanol processing, although producing more ethanol per bushel of processed corn, result in less co-products and therefore less offset of corn acreage. Shifting the use of distillers dried grains with solubles in feed to dairy cattle, pigs, and poultry substantially reduces land area attributed to corn ethanol production. However, because distillers dried grains with solubles substitutes at a higher rate for soybean meal, oil replacement requirements intensify and positively feedback to elevate estimates of land usage.ConclusionsAccounting for anticipated technological changes in the corn ethanol system is important for understanding the associated land base ascribed, and may aid in calibrating parameters for land use models in biofuel life-cycle analyses.
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Project description:Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) were isolated from corn stalk using sulfuric acid hydrolysis, and their morphology, chemical structure, and thermal stability properties were characterized. The CNCs had an average length of 120.2 ± 61.3 nm and diameter of 6.4 ± 3.1 nm (L/D = 18.7). The degree of crystallinity of the CNCs increased to 69.20% from the 33.20% crystallinity of raw corn stalk fiber, while the chemical structure was well kept after sulfuric acid hydrolysis. Thermal stability analysis showed that the degradation temperature of the CNCs reached 239.5 °C, which was higher than that of the raw fiber but lower than that of the extracted cellulose. The average activation energy values for the CNCs, evaluated using the Friedman, Flynn-Wall-Ozawa (F-W-O) and Coats-Redfern methods, were 312.6, 302.8, and 309 kJ·mol-1 in the conversion range of 0.1 to 0.8. The isolated CNCs had higher values of activation energy than did the purified cellulose, which was attributed to the stronger hydrogen bonds present in the crystalline domains of CNCs than in those of cellulose. These findings can help better understand the thermal properties of polymer/CNC composites.
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Project description:For each kilogram of food protein wasted, between 15 and 750 kg of CO2 end up in the atmosphere. With this alarming carbon footprint, food protein waste not only contributes to climate change but also significantly impacts other environmental boundaries, such as nitrogen and phosphorus cycles, global freshwater use, change in land composition, chemical pollution, and biodiversity loss. This contrasts sharply with both the high nutritional value of proteins, as well as their unique chemical and physical versatility, which enable their use in new materials and innovative technologies. In this review, we discuss how food protein waste can be efficiently valorized not only by reintroduction into the food chain supply but also as a template for the development of sustainable technologies by allowing it to exit the food-value chain, thus alleviating some of the most urgent global challenges. We showcase three technologies of immediate significance and environmental impact: biodegradable plastics, water purification, and renewable energy. We discuss, by carefully reviewing the current state of the art, how proteins extracted from food waste can be valorized into key players to facilitate these technologies. We furthermore support analysis of the extant literature by original life cycle assessment (LCA) examples run ad hoc on both plant and animal waste proteins in the context of the technologies considered, and against realistic benchmarks, to quantitatively demonstrate their efficacy and potential. We finally conclude the review with an outlook on how such a comprehensive management of food protein waste is anticipated to transform its carbon footprint from positive to negative and, more generally, have a favorable impact on several other important planetary boundaries.
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Project description:Biomaterials such as seashells are intriguing due to their remarkable properties, including their hierarchical structure from the nanometer to the micro- or even macroscopic scale. Transferring this nanostructure to generate nanostructured polymers can improve their electrical conductivity. Here, we present the synthesis of polypyrrole using waste seashell powder as a template to prepare a polypyrrole/CaCO3 composite material. Various synthesis parameters were optimized to produce a composite material with an electrical conductivity of 2.1 × 10-4 ± 3.2 × 10-5 S/cm. This work presents the transformation of waste seashells into sustainable, electronically conductive materials and their application as an antistatic agent in polymers. The requirements of an antistatic material were met for a safety shoe sole.
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Project description:BackgroundEnzymatic corn wet milling (E-milling) is a process derived from conventional wet milling for the recovery and purification of starch and co-products using proteases to eliminate the need for sulfites and decrease the steeping time. In 2006, the total starch production in USA by conventional wet milling equaled 23 billion kilograms, including modified starches and starches used for sweeteners and ethanol production 1. Process engineering and cost models for an E-milling process have been developed for a processing plant with a capacity of 2.54 million kg of corn per day (100,000 bu/day). These models are based on the previously published models for a traditional wet milling plant with the same capacity. The E-milling process includes grain cleaning, pretreatment, enzymatic treatment, germ separation and recovery, fiber separation and recovery, gluten separation and recovery and starch separation. Information for the development of the conventional models was obtained from a variety of technical sources including commercial wet milling companies, industry experts and equipment suppliers. Additional information for the present models was obtained from our own experience with the development of the E-milling process and trials in the laboratory and at the pilot plant scale. The models were developed using process and cost simulation software (SuperPro Designer) and include processing information such as composition and flow rates of the various process streams, descriptions of the various unit operations and detailed breakdowns of the operating and capital cost of the facility.ResultsBased on the information from the model, we can estimate the cost of production per kilogram of starch using the input prices for corn, enzyme and other wet milling co-products. The work presented here describes the E-milling process and compares the process, the operation and costs with the conventional process.ConclusionThe E-milling process was found to be cost competitive with the conventional process during periods of high corn feedstock costs since the enzymatic process enhances the yields of the products in a corn wet milling process. This model is available upon request from the authors for educational, research and non-commercial uses.
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Project description:Food waste is a serious problem for food processing industries, especially when it represents a loss of a valuable source of nutrients and phytochemicals. Increasing consumer demand for processed food poses the problem of minimizing waste by conversion into useful products. In this regard, onion (Allium cepa) waste consisting mainly of onion skin is rich in bioactive phenolic compounds. Here, we characterized the flavonoid profiles and biological activities of onion skin wastes of two traditional varieties with protected geographical indication (PGI), the red "Rossa di Tropea" and the coppery "Ramata di Montoro", typically cultivated in a niche area in southern Italy. The phytochemical profiles of exhaustive extracts, characterized by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with ultraviolet (UV) detection and high-resolution mass spectrometry, revealed that flavonols and anthocyanins were the characteristic metabolite classes of onion skins. Quercetin, quercetin glucosides and their dimer and trimer derivatives, and, among anthocyanins, cyanidin 3-glucoside, were the most abundant bioactive compounds. The potential of onion skins was evaluated by testing several biological activities: ABTS/oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) and in vitro alpha-glucosidase assays were performed to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-diabetic properties of the extracts and of their main compounds, respectively, and proliferative activity was evaluated by MTT assay on human fibroblasts. In the present study, by observing various biological properties of "Rossa di Tropea" and "Ramata di Montoro" onion-dried skins, we clearly indicated that this agricultural waste can provide bioactive molecules for multiple applications, from industrial to nutraceutical and cosmetical sectors.
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