Medical facilities, such as hospitals, clinics, and locations where diagnosis and treatment are administered, create dangerous waste that predisposes individuals to deadly infections. Medical waste management aims to improve health and prevent public health and environmental threats. Questionnaires, interviews, site visitations, and observations were utilized to determine the management strategies implemented in the three hospitals and evaluate the efficacy of waste management. The hospitals under review are Afe Babalola University Multi-system Hospital (AMSH), Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital (EKSUTH), and Federal Teaching Hospital Ido-Ekiti (FETHI). Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was utilized for the statistical analysis of the questionnaires, and the mean assessment was utilized to compute the waste per bed each day. The results revealed that the three hospitals’ sharp, infectious, and pharmaceutical waste is the most sorted. All hospitals burn their medical waste in incinerators but dispose of the ashes in dumpsites. The mean evaluation of all hospitals’ medical waste was weighed to establish the overall amount generated. The total amount of medical waste created at AMSH, EKSUTH, and FETHI is 31.5 kg, 53.6 kg, and 135.1 kg, respectively. The medical waste generated per bed per day in AMSH, EKSUTH, and FETHI is 0.61 kg, 0.74 kg, and 0.73 kg, respectively. It was determined that the proper management and disposal of waste is a critical obligation of healthcare facilities. There should be a provision for educating personnel about the consequences of inappropriately disposing of medical waste.

Surface water is the primary resource for raw water in drinking water treatment processes. Therefore, the presence of microorganisms, bacteria, and viruses should be the main focus in drinking water treatment, in addition to natural organic matter, which is composed of organic carbon groups derived from aquatic biota as well as organic material, organic matter from industrial and domestic waste. This study applied coagulation-flocculation followed by adsorption as the advanced treatment with activated carbon for removing organic matter and bacteria simultaneously to know each process’s performance. The results indicated that all treatment processes have a good performance for removing dissolved organic matter in water with efficient removal of 28.35%-70.75% of TOC concentration and 26.75%-55.95% of UV254 concentration. Further, the selected processes demonstrated a high percentage of removal of E. coli, about 65.35%-96.43%. However, the effect of chlorination impacted the increasing THMs concentration up to 36.32%, while the other processes could remove THMs concentration 17.25%-51.08%. Overall, this study conjectures that all treatment processes simultaneously perform well for removing dissolved organic matter, THMs, and E. coli. However, chlorination should be managed to control the formation of THMs due to the remaining organic matter in water.

Vertical flow-constructed wetlands (VFCW) are well-established, cost-effective, and sustainable options for wastewater treatment. Along with organic matter removal, wetlands are helpful in the removal of microbial pathogens. This study focuses on understanding the bacterial pathogen removal efficacy of three different design types of VFCWs and understands the best designs for the efficient removal of pathogens in a tropical climate. The three wetlands studied for removal efficiency were (a) two-stage vertical flow constructed wetland (TSVFCW), (b) Single-stage vertical flow constructed wetland (SSVFCW), and (c) single-stage saturated vertical flow constructed wetland (SSSVFCW). Results revealed that all three types of wetlands were effective in removing pathogenic bacteria. Still, TSVFCW was found to be more efficient in pathogen removal (Total Coliforms, Shigella spp., Salmonella spp., Pseudomonas spp., Vibrio spp., Enterococcus faecalis) 7.04 ± 0.17, 6.53 ± 0.08, 4.0 ± 0.42, 7.67 ± 0.08, 5.73 ± 0.70 and10 5.23 ± 0.96 Log10 reductions respectively compared to SSVFCW (5.28 ± 0.18, 5.18 ± 0.09, 3.74 ± 0.74, 6.98 ± 0.01, 3.97 ±0.32, 4.74 ± 1.08 Log10 reductions respectively) and SSSVFCW (4.48 ± 0.46, 4.83 ± 0.15, 2.74 ± 0.44, 6.71 ± 0.03, 4.31 ± 0.49, 5.03 ± 1.20 Log10 decreases respectively). For abiotic factors (Chemical oxygen demand, total Kjeldahl nitrogen, and phosphorus) also TSVFW shows better efficiency (45 ± 8.7, 24.7±4.5 and 3.1, ± 0.2 g.m-2, respectively) than SSVFCW (12 ± 1.3, 7.6 ± 0.4 and 1.8 ± 0.2 g.m-2 respectively) and SSVFCW (6.3 ± 1.1, 7.7 ± 0.1 and 1.2 ± 0.1 g.m-2 respectively). However, the removal efficiency of both single-stage wetlands was comparable.

Agro-waste can provide a non-metallic, environmentally friendly bio-precursor for the production of green silica nanoparticles. To manufacture silica nanoparticles from rice husk, biogenic silica nanoparticles were generated using an alkaline precipitation approach. Rice husk as a source of silica nanoparticles is environmentally and economically valuable because it is a plentiful lower price agricultural derivative that can be used to help with waste management. During the synthesis process, the dose of rice husk ash was used at 5 g at pH 7, alkali dose concentration of 0.5 M, reaction period of 3.5 h, and temperature of 90°C that produced maximum silica nanoparticles with a yield of 88.5%. To optimize the silica nanoparticle production from rice husk ash Box Behnken Design (BBD) a subcategory of the response surface methodology (RSM) was accomplished. BBD model was successfully matched, as evidenced by the high correlation values of adjusted R2 0.9989 and predicted R2 0.9977. Silica nanoparticles’ amorphous form generated from rice husk ash is indicated by XRD analysis 2Ө peak at 22.12° and UV-Vis Spectroscopy absorbance peak at 312 nm. The amorphous shape of silica is amorphous and crystalline defined through XRD. nanoparticles generated from rice husk ash is indicated by FESEM analysis and EDX analysis, confirming that the SiO2 elemental configuration comprises the highest concentration of Si and O. The existence of a siloxane group in the produced compound was revealed by FTIR spectra stretching vibrations at 803.69 and 1089.05 cm-1

The disposal of the huge volume of glass waste is one of the significant environmental issues that need to be addressed. One of the efficient ways to solve this problem is to incorporate ground glass waste in concrete mixtures. However, its inherent surface smoothness and microcracks within the glass particle harm the hardened properties of concrete. Minimizing the particle size and controlling the amount of cement in the mixture can reduce the adverse effect of using glass in concrete. This study utilized ground glass waste (850 μm) as aggregate filler in a concrete mix. More specifically, this study investigated the effect of paste volume (Vp) on the properties of fresh and hardened concrete with ground glass waste as aggregate filler. Based on the test results, ground glass waste as aggregate filler negatively affects the workability of fresh concrete, but increasing the amount of paste can mitigate it. Vp values in terms of void volume (Vv) in the aggregates of 1.6Vv and 1.8Vv achieved satisfactory consistency of fresh concrete. In addition, the concrete compressive strength increased when increasing Vp. The test results have shown that ground glass waste has the potential to be utilized as aggregate filler in concrete mixtures.

At present, the resource utilization of solid waste in China is facing prominent problems such as high production intensity, insufficient utilization, and low added value of products. The preparation of biomass composites from biomass solid waste and plastic solid waste reduces not only environmental pollution and energy consumption but also promotes the high-value utilization of solid waste. So, the characterization and preparation experiments of samples with two different biomass are carried out. The wheat straw fiber and corn straw fiber were added into the bio-asphalt mixture with the content of 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.3%, and 0.4%, respectively, with the content of 9% and 12% bio-heavy oil. The physical properties and rheological properties of asphalt were analyzed and evaluated by three indexes and a dynamic shear rheological test. Through the rutting test and immersion Marshall test, high-temperature performance and biological asphalt mixture’s water stability were evaluated. The results show that straw fiber can improve bio-asphalt mixture’s road performance, especially the performance of high-temperature rutting. When the fiber content of bio-asphalt with 9% bio-heavy oil content is 0.3%, the physical properties and rheological properties of bio-asphalt are the best. Corn straw fiber’s influence on bio-asphalt mixture was better than that of wheat straw fiber.

With India’s population growing at a rapid pace, traditional agriculture will have a tough time meeting future food demands. Water availability and conservation are major concerns for farmers. This paper aims to discuss the aspects related to designing and fabricating an automatic irrigation system using the Internet of Things (IoT) which will save the farmer’s time and money significantly. Human intervention in fields will be reduced. Changes in soil moisture are detected by soil moisture sensors and irrigation is automated using IoT. The proposed system is most economical for underdeveloped places because it is very cost-effective. Based on the soil moisture content, the sensor detects and sends signals to the node MCU, which activates the motor. When the plants receive enough water, the motor automatically shuts off. The user will be alerted about the soil’s moisture content through his mobile phone. The proposed smart irrigation system is implemented at our campus which conserves energy and water.

Due to immense population growth and economic development, the use of crude oil for various energy applications has escalated in the past few decades. This has led to the large-scale exploitation of oil reserves which has further resulted in the accidental release of large amounts of oil into our oceans. In recent years, significant emphasis has been placed on processes involving oil sorption by various natural and synthetic sorbents. Several sorbent materials based on synthetic polymers such as polypropylene, polyurethane, polystyrene, etc., possessing three-dimensional porous structure, large surface area, high mechanical strength, and exhibiting good oil recoverability and reusability, have been employed for oil-water separation processes. Conversely, many of these materials in their native or pristine form are amphipathic, which prevents their large-scale use in oil spill clean-up. This has led to researchers exploring surface modifications of commercially available sorbent polymeric materials to enhance their oleophilicity and hydrophobicity. This review article summarizes and discusses recent advances in the strategies for the fabrication of newer surface-modified synthetic polymeric materials and natural bio-based sorbents, and further highlights their effectiveness in dealing with the oil/water separation challenges.

There is a pressing need for new nanomaterials for multipurpose functions. The biological synthesis of nanoparticles is environment-friendly, least toxic, and cost-effective. An experiment was designed to use extracellular amylases in the cell-free filtrate (CFF) for the biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) from the Trichoderma harzianum MTCC 801 strain. Potato dextrose broth (PDB) as general-purpose growth media and amylase production media (APM) as enzyme-specific production media have been used for sub-merged fungal cultivation and nanoparticle synthesis. AgNPs synthesized in the CFF of PDB were compared with AgNPs synthesized from the CFF using APM. The cell-free filtrate obtained upon enzyme stimulation has contributed to the reduction and capping process of nanosilver. The synthesized AgNPs showed a spectral peak at 420 nm, a characteristic feature of AgNPs. The particles were monodispersed, 50 nm in size, and spherical in shape as well as have shown an antifungal effect (100% inhibition) against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum MTCC8785. This is the first report to synthesize trichogenic AgNPs using extracellular amylases against the phytopathogen Sclerotinia strain.

Municipal solid waste (MSW) continues to be a major challenge in almost every country. In Indonesia alone, approximately 64 million tons of MSW are produced on an annual basis. While polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles account for 12% of all plastic products, the waste is not well managed. Many stakeholders are involved in PET bottle waste recycling but no forum for stakeholders has been established. In this study, the aim is to identify an acceptable system for PET bottle waste, to determine the role and function of each stakeholder, and to propose a framework under the perspective of public-private partnerships. The study’s novelty is the elaborate roles and schematic framework for various stakeholders in PET bottle waste. The aim is to identify an acceptable scheme for PET bottle waste and determine each stakeholder’s role and function. Data was generated from electronic databases (2017 to December 2021) a systematic literature review methodology followed by Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic review. The data were analyzed by the Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) approach. This study found that the laws and regulations for waste management in Indonesia are not suitable for dealing with PET bottle waste, and the government carries out limited tasks and dedicates few resources to managing the waste. A public-private partnership framework was proposed to divide the role, commitment, goal, and activities of each stakeholder to properly manage PET bottle waste.