In the current study, biocompatible and biodegradable blends based on poly(vinyl alcohol) nanoparticles – PVAn mixed with either chitosan (Ch) or starch (St) – were prepared and investigated as nanoabsorbents for oil elimination from wastewater. The use of water/dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as a mixed solvent is the key factor for preparing aggregated PVAn, which is further mixed with Ch or St. Nanoblends were applied as oil absorbents, and the results showed that PVAn/St possess high adsorption capacity than PVAn/Ch and PVAn. The maximum sorption capacities (qg/g) of the PVAn/Ch sorbents for hydraulic oil, kerosene, and toluene were 33.6, 73.96, and 93.1g/g, respectively. The absorbed oil could be rapidly recovered by simple mechanical squeezing and reused without any other modification. The blends showed excellent reusability and could be reused for at least 10 times with minimal losses. The current study demonstrates the application of these blends as an ideal alternative sorbent for oil spillage cleanup.

Global warming and pollution are the twin crises experienced globally. Biological offset of these crises are gaining importance because of its zero waste production and the ability of the organisms to thrive under extreme or polluted condition. In this context, this review highlights the recent developments in carbon dioxide (CO₂) capture from flue gas using microalgae and finding the best microalgal remediation strategy through contrast and comparison of different strategies. Different flue gas microalgal remediation strategies discussed are as follows: (i) Flue gas to CO₂ gas segregation using adsorbents for microalgal mitigation, (ii) CO₂ separation from flue gas using absorbents and later regeneration for microalgal mitigation, (iii) Flue gas to liquid conversion for direct microalgal mitigation, and (iv) direct flue gas mitigation using microalgae. This work also studies the economic feasibility of microalgal production. The study discloses that the direct convening of flue gas with high carbon dioxide content, into microalgal system is cost-effective.

Bisphenol S (BPS), a new bisphenol analog, is considered to be a potential replacement for bisphenol A (BPA), which has gained concern because of its potentially adverse health impacts. Therefore, studies are needed to investigate the environmental fate and risks of this compound. In this study, the adsorption of BPS and four structural analogs on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and graphite (GP) were investigated. When solid-phase concentrations were normalized by the surface areas, oxygen-containing functional groups on the absorbents showed a positive impact on phenol sorption but inhibited the sorption of chemicals with two benzene rings. Among BPS analogs, diphenyl sulfone showed the lowest sorption when hydrophobic effects were ruled out. Chemicals with a butterfly structure, formed between the two benzene rings, showed consistently high sorption on MWCNTs, independent of the substituted electron-donating or accepting functional groups. This study emphasizes the importance of chemical conformation on organic, contaminant sorption on engineered, carbonaceous materials.