Use of Nano-Sized Adsorbents for Wastewater Treatment: A Review

There is an increased demand for high-quality drinking water, which requires the removal of hazardous contaminants emerging from municipal, agricultural, and industrial effluents. An approach towards safe drinking water requires the implementation of various treatment processes for water emerging from natural resources as well as coming in the form of industrial wastewater. Pollutants in water bodies may be present in multiple states, including large suspended particles, dissolved chemical substances, in the form of microorganisms or suspended solids. Over the last few years, researchers have concentrated on developing a practical methodology for extracting pollutants from wastewater. During the course of time, although many advanced and complex wastewater treatment processes have evolved, yet adsorption has its own importance. Owing to its simple operation process, low cost, and less sludge formation, adsorption is being considered the most promising technique for wastewater treatment. In this regard, nanomaterial adsorbents have become a topic of great interest owing to their exceptional properties such as high adsorption strength, greater surface area, and chemical stability. Keeping in view, key features of nanoparticles, researchers have explored the applications of various adsorbents at the nanoscale in addressing wastewater treatment issues. The present review focuses on the use of nano-adsorbents in treating various industrial effluents and also provides a comparative assay in terms of the advantages and drawbacks of these nano-adsorbents, employed in removing hazardous contaminants from industrial effluents

Case report: Facilitating right heart recovery after durable LVAD implantation through repair of atrioventricular valves and RVAD implantation using tunneled Dacron grafts

Right ventricular assist device (RVAD) weaning is often an important goal for durable left ventricular assist device support. This may be facilitated by mitral and tricuspid repair as well as by minimizing the trauma of RVAD decannulation by using Dacron grafts

Financial Literacy and Credit Accessibility of Rice Farmers in Pakistan: Analysis for Central Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Regions

This study investigates the factors that affect farmers’ access to Food Security and Agricultural Credit (FSAC) services for the farmers of Pakistan who have no access to banking but have a feasible farm business. Using multiple regressions and logistic analysis, the authors revealed the determinants of farmers’ financial literacy and analyzed the variables which affected the farmers’ accessibility to FSAC. Results indicated that the average financial literacy of respondents was at a moderate level. It was affected by the age of respondents, length of their education, distance to nearby cities, ownership of bank accounts, annual income, and financial education experience. The FSAC accessibility was also impacted by the area of cultivated land, interest rate, collateral, farms’ income, financial literacy index, credit accessibility experiences, the legal status of farmer groups, and the amount of a loan. Some of the issues that prevent farmers from having widespread access to the FSAC include the lack of loan need, lack of FSAC awareness, lack of collateral, loan usury perspective, loan rejection experience, fear of borrowing from the bank, and inactive farmer groups. The study contributes to the existing literature on the determinants of farmers’ access and choice of credit sources by using a primary data set

Financial Literacy and Credit Accessibility of Rice Farmers in Pakistan: Analysis for Central Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Regions

This study investigates the factors that affect farmers’ access to Food Security and Agricultural Credit (FSAC) services for the farmers of Pakistan who have no access to banking but have a feasible farm business. Using multiple regressions and logistic analysis, the authors revealed the determinants of farmers’ financial literacy and analyzed the variables which affected the farmers’ accessibility to FSAC. Results indicated that the average financial literacy of respondents was at a moderate level. It was affected by the age of respondents, length of their education, distance to nearby cities, ownership of bank accounts, annual income, and financial education experience. The FSAC accessibility was also impacted by the area of cultivated land, interest rate, collateral, farms’ income, financial literacy index, credit accessibility experiences, the legal status of farmer groups, and the amount of a loan. Some of the issues that prevent farmers from having widespread access to the FSAC include the lack of loan need, lack of FSAC awareness, lack of collateral, loan usury perspective, loan rejection experience, fear of borrowing from the bank, and inactive farmer groups. The study contributes to the existing literature on the determinants of farmers’ access and choice of credit sources by using a primary data set

Revolutionizing Manufacturing with Blockchain Technology: Opportunities and Challenges

  A decentralised, tamper-proof ledger offered by blockchain technology has the potential to revolutionise the manufacturing sector by enhancing digital rights management, supply chain management, and product monitoring and tracking. Industrial supply chains may be made more transparent, secure, and efficient with the use of blockchain technology. This will save costs, boost quality control, and raise consumer confidence that the goods they buy are genuine and high calibre. However, there is a research gap in the implications of blockchain technology in the manufacturing sector. The aim of this research was to investigate the challenges and opportunities of blockchain technologies in the manufacturing sector. In order to accomplish the study’s goal, a two-stage systematic literature review technique was used, with the PRISMA framework being used to gather pertinent data from reliable sources like Scopus. The study contained 117 research papers, which were analysed using descriptive and scientometric methods and lysis to synthesise the literature and investigate important research clusters using the centrality and co-occurrence of keywords. The study’s conclusions point to the potential of blockchain technology to support decentralised manufacturing systems that provide risk-free and trustworthy cooperation among multiple stakeholders. The report also discusses the advantages and drawbacks of using blockchain in manufacturing and offers information on recent developments in the field of digital manufacturing that are related to blockchain technology. This study emphasises the value of blockchain technology for the industrial sector and the need for more research to fully understand its potential. Blockchain technology may help the manufacturing industry become more effective, transparent, and quality assured while also reducing costs and fostering better confidence among supply chain actors

One-Step Biodiesel Production from Waste Cooking Oil Using CaO Promoted Activated Carbon Catalyst from <i>Prunus persica</i> Seeds

In recent years, the scope for replacing fossil fuels has been appealing to the world, owing to limited conventional fuels, crude oil price volatility, and greenhouse gas emission concerns. In this regard, this article demonstrates the preparation of a novel solid base catalyst for the transesterification of waste cooking oil. A calcium-loaded activated carbon catalyst was prepared through pyrolysis of peach shell followed by chemical activation with KOH and then calcium loading through the wet impregnation method. The prepared catalyst showed the best performance with 20% calcium loading and 650 °C of calcination temperature. The catalyst’s physicochemical, structural, and textural properties were examined using XRD, FTIR, SEM, EDX, and BET analysis. The catalyst showed a maximum yield of 96% at optimized conditions, i.e., 65 °C temperature, oil to methanol ratio 1:8, 5 wt% catalyst concentration, and a 160 min reaction time. Additionally, it illustrated high recyclability up to 10 cycles with negligible leaching of Ca+2 ions. The high activity of the catalyst was due to the presence of calcium ions on the activated carbon support. Physio–chemical properties and GC-MS analysis of prepared biodiesel determined that all attributes were within the biodiesel standard tolerances set by ASTM D6751 and EN 14214. Therefore, all the innovations mentioned above concluded that catalyst generated from peach shell biochar is a promising candidate for biodiesel production, ultimately resulting in solid and liquid waste management

One-Step Biodiesel Production from Waste Cooking Oil Using CaO Promoted Activated Carbon Catalyst from Prunus persica Seeds

In recent years, the scope for replacing fossil fuels has been appealing to the world, owing to limited conventional fuels, crude oil price volatility, and greenhouse gas emission concerns. In this regard, this article demonstrates the preparation of a novel solid base catalyst for the transesterification of waste cooking oil. A calcium-loaded activated carbon catalyst was prepared through pyrolysis of peach shell followed by chemical activation with KOH and then calcium loading through the wet impregnation method. The prepared catalyst showed the best performance with 20% calcium loading and 650 &deg;C of calcination temperature. The catalyst&rsquo;s physicochemical, structural, and textural properties were examined using XRD, FTIR, SEM, EDX, and BET analysis. The catalyst showed a maximum yield of 96% at optimized conditions, i.e., 65 &deg;C temperature, oil to methanol ratio 1:8, 5 wt% catalyst concentration, and a 160 min reaction time. Additionally, it illustrated high recyclability up to 10 cycles with negligible leaching of Ca+2 ions. The high activity of the catalyst was due to the presence of calcium ions on the activated carbon support. Physio&ndash;chemical properties and GC-MS analysis of prepared biodiesel determined that all attributes were within the biodiesel standard tolerances set by ASTM D6751 and EN 14214. Therefore, all the innovations mentioned above concluded that catalyst generated from peach shell biochar is a promising candidate for biodiesel production, ultimately resulting in solid and liquid waste management

Retraction: Manzoor et al. Experimental Study of CO₂ Conversion into Methanol by Synthesized Photocatalyst (ZnFe₂O₄/TiO₂) Using Visible Light as an Energy Source. <i>Catalysts</i> 2020, <i>10</i>, 163

The journal retracts the article, “Experimental Study of CO2 Conversion into Methanol by Synthesized Photocatalyst (ZnFe2O4/TiO2) Using Visible Light as an Energy Source” [...

Climate change threats to agriculture: raising awareness among stakeholders for sustainable solutions

This study has been carried out to investigate the adverse effects of climate change on agriculture and its awareness among various stakeholders. This study aims to determine adverse effects and how the agriculture department of Naushahro Feroze District contributes to creating awareness among the stakeholders about the adverse effects of climate change on agriculture. This study uses a purposeful sample of 4 to 5 High-Rank officers and specialists of the Agriculture department were selected to collect the data. The qualitative Method was adopted using Interviews via Semi-structured open-ended questionnaires. The results show that bodies, Organizations, and Institutions working to mitigate losses are not properly aware of the recommendations by International Bodies. Moreover, there is no proper system for creating awareness