Environmentally friendly products are the need of the hour, particularly in this pandemic situation because synthetic products need such toxic chemicals for their formulation and finishing which are carcinogenic for the globe. The current study is the utilization of waste black tea leaf (BT)–based tannin brown natural colorant for silk dyeing using microwave treatment. Dye (tannin) has been isolated in various media before and after microwave treatment up to 6 min and applied at various conditions. It has been found that 30 mL of aqueous extract of 3.0 pH obtained from 6.0 g of powder containing 3.0 g/100 mL of salt as an exhausting agent after microwave treatment for 5 min, when employed at 55 °C for 45 min, has given good color yield onto silk. Iron (3%) and acacia extract (2%) as pre-chemical and bio mordant, iron (2%) and pomegranate extract (2%) as post chemical and bio-mordant, and Al (3 %) and pomegranate extract (3%) as meta chemical and bio-mordant have given new shades with good to excellent fastness ratings. It is inferred that waste black tea leaves (BTs) in an aqueous medium have an excellent potential to serve as a source of natural tannin brown dye for the coloration of surface-modified silk fabrics under the influence of cost, energy, and time-effective microwave treatment. Additionally, the utilization of a low amount of sustainable chemical and bio-mordants has valorized the dyeing of silk by developing soothing and sustainable shades with good fastness properties.

In many countries, water supplies are limited and must be managed for different uses. Providing additional resources for irrigation can be an expensive option, with an unsustainable impact on small farms and on the environment. Therefore, the main efforts should concentrate on the optimal management of existing water resources, paying particular attention to the adequate management of water demands. In Italy, the majority of scattered smallholder farmers are not provided with enough information on how to correctly manage water for irrigation. This paper presents the developing of a web-based irrigation decision support system adaptable and scalable to individual farms. The irrigation advisory service has been calibrated and validated for pomegranate trees, aubergine, and zucchini through 2 years of tests, in a farm in Southern Italy (Calabria). The results are very satisfactory, both in terms of water resources management for irrigation, and for the feedback provided by the farmers involved in the project. Future development regarding the application of wireless technology in smart irrigation is also evaluated.

Several materials have been investigated for the adsorption of olive mill wastewater phenolic compounds. However, researchers have focused on the development of novel, low-cost, with high adsorption capacity adsorbents, originated from the food industry as by-products. The aim of this work was the investigation of the effectiveness of a juice industry by-product, pomegranate seed, for the adsorption of olive mill wastewater phenols. Furthermore, chemical activation and thermal activation of the adsorbent took place in order to improve total phenols uptake and afterwards, desorption process in hydrochloric acid was studied. After the determination of equilibrium time, the effects of temperature (20–60 °C), solution’s pH (4.0–8.0), initial sorbate concentration (50–500 mg/L), sorbent mass concentration (0.01–0.05 g/mL OMW), and sorbent particle size (0.149–1.180 mm) on adsorption yield were studied performing batch experiments. The maximum phenols uptake observed was 92.8% after 10 min, at 30 °C and a pH of 5.0, with an initial sorbate concentration of 162.5 mg/L, a sorbent mass concentration of 0.02 g/mL, and a sorbent particle size of 0.922 mm. Langmuir, Freundlich, and Temkin isotherms were developed for the equilibrium description, while pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, and intra-particle diffusion models were applied to investigate adsorption kinetics. The experimental data were best fitted to the Langmuir model, whereas the kinetic data followed the pseudo-first-order kinetic model. The results of the study were promising indicating that pomegranate seed could be used as a novel and low-cost biosorbent. Graphical abstract

The rapid expansion of urban areas and industrial units has put much strain on natural environments and biodiversity. Quantifying the impact of human pressures on avian biodiversity is vital for the identification, preservation, and restoration of important areas. Here, data collected in 11 coastal Mediterranean oases were used to assess the impact of urban and industrial landscapes and habitat structure on the richness of breeding birds. Results of generalized linear mixed models analyses showed a quadratic effect of distance to the industrial complex on breeding bird richness, being optimal (6.41 ± 0.89) at 24 km. The results also showed a negative effect of the cover of urban areas. Our analysis also emphasized the importance of southern oases for breeding bird richness mostly because of their remoteness from the industrial complex and their significant coverage of fruit trees and natural ground cover. Variation partitioning analysis revealed that the shared fraction of industrial landscape, oasis habitat structure, and space was relevant in explaining the richness of breeding birds. It is highly recommended to (i) uninstall the Gabès industrial complex from this Mediterranean area, (ii) enhance the habitat quality in southern oases by planting other fruit trees, such as pomegranate and olive, and (iii) pursue scientific research in these Mediterranean coastal oases, as they offer a good opportunity for assessment and improvement of knowledge on both the impact of industrialization on quality of habitats and the richness of bird species.

Sustainability in the utilization of products in all fields particularly food textiles, solar cells, etc. is of prime concern to the global community. In this study, licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra L.) as a source of herbal-based coloring agent for cotton dyeing has been explored under the influence of ultrasonic (US) waves. Methanolic extract of licorice bark after US treatment for 20 min has shown excellent color depth (K/S) onto ultrasonically treated cotton fabric at 65°Cfor 45 min. Applying bio-mordants, it has been found that acacia extract (1%), henna (5%), and pomegranate and turmeric extracts (7%) as pre-bio-mordant, whereas acacia, turmeric, and henna extracts (7%) and pomegranate extract (5%) as post-bio-mordants, exhibited superb color strength. Salts of Al (7%) and salts of Fe (3%) as pre chemical mordants, while salts of Al (3%) and salts of Fe (5%) as post chemical mordants, have given good results. Overall, it has been found that salt of Fe (3%) as pre-chemical mordant and extract of turmeric (7%) as post bio-mordant have shown superb color strength. It can be concluded that US treatment being an environmentally safe means has only improved the color strength of colorant onto cotton fabric and the adding of bio-mordants has contrived the method more sustainable.

The present study aims to extract a natural reddish brown colorant from Peepal (Ficus religiosa) for silk dyeing using the microwave radiation process (MW). The colorant was isolated in aqueous and acidic media, and MW treatment for 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 min has been given to both fabric and extract to observe changes in color intensity. The dye variables have been optimized, and for sustainable shade making process with good fastness, 1.0–5.0 g/100 mL of sustainable chemical and bio-mordants has been employed. It has been found that after microwave treatment for 3 min, under selected conditions, the irradiated aqueous extract has given high color intensity onto silk fabric. The utilization of 3% of Al, 4% of Fe, and 2% of tannic acid (T.A.) as pre chemical mordant whereas 4% of Al, 4% of Fe, and 3% of tannic acid as post chemical mordant have given good color characteristics. In comparison, 4% of acacia and 3% of turmeric and pomegranate while 3% of acacia and turmeric and 4% of pomegranate extracts as post-bio-mordant have given excellent color characteristics. It is concluded that MW treatment has an excellent sustainable efficacy to isolate colorant from Peepal bark for silk dyeing, whereas the inclusion of bio-mordants has not only made the process more sustainable and environmental friendly but also best K/S, and L*a*b* values have been acquired.

Environmental friendly products particularly natural dyes are going to be much popular around the globe due to their non-toxic and bio-degradable nature. The current study was planned to enhance the dyeability of walnut bark having juglone as a reddish-brown natural dye under ultrasonic radiation as an environment-friendly and green tool After conducting series of experiments, it has been found that wool (RW) and extract (RE) after ultrasonic treatment for 45 min, when dyed for 45 min at 55°C using an acidic bath of 3 pH has given good color strength on the wool fabric. To develop the new shades, sustainable and eco-label chemicals (Fe, Al, and tannic acid) and four bio-mordants such as Acacia bark, Turmeric, Henna, and Pomegranate were also applied at optimum conditions. It is studied that 3% of turmeric extract as pre-bio-mordant and 5% of Acacia extract as post-bio-mordant has given excellent color characteristics as compared to their synthetic. It is concluded that ultrasonic treatment being an eco-friendly tool has a great potential to improve the dyeability of natural reddish-brown dye from walnut bark and the inclusion of sustainable biosources as a color modifier has value-added the natural dyeing process with excellent color ratings.

In the present work, the fabrication of activated carbon (AC) from pomegranate husk (PHAC) by dual consecutive activation processes with ZnCl₂ and NaOH as a chemical agent was studied. After that, the synthesized PHAC was used for adsorption of 4-chlorophenol (4CP) as a highly toxic compound for the human health and the environment. Different analytical techniques characterized the synthesized PHAC using ZnCl₂/NaOH. The isotherms of N₂ adsorption and desorption showed that total pore volume (Vₜₒₜₐₗ) and specific surface area (SBET) of PHAC were 0.404 cm³/g and 811.12 m²/g, respectively. The 4CP adsorption by PHAC studies revealed that the highest 4CP removal efficiency was 100% and obtained at 50, 100, and 150 mg/L of 4CP concentration with 2.5 g/L of PHAC. Based on the batch experiments, the highest 4CP removal was achieved at pH 6, 2.5 g/L of PHAC, and contact time of 60 min. The 4CP adsorption data of equilibrium and kinetics were successfully fitted to Langmuir’s isotherm and Avrami fractional order.

Revival of natural colorants in textile dyeing is one of the important strategies to reduce synthetic chemical-based environmental pollution. The study has been conducted to explore the coloring potential of durum (Triticum durum Desf.) and bread (Triticum astivum L.) wheat husk for fabric dyeing. The results showed that both wheat species husk could be an excellent source of natural dye, if extracted in alkaline medium. It has been observed that durum wheat husk based dye worked best at 70°C with a pH 11.0 and salt concentration of 8.0 g/100 ml of solution. Similarly, alkaline extract of bread wheat husk worked better at 80°C with dyeing solution pH 9.0 and salt concentration of 8.0 g/100 ml. Bio-mordanting experiments results revealed pomegranate rind (7%) as most effective bio-mordant to obtain high color strength of wheat husk treated fabric. In chemical-mordanting, tannic acid (5%) as pre-mordant and chrome (5%) as post-mordant have improved the color strength more than all other quantities of employed mordants. FTIR analysis indicated the presence of flavonoids as major colorant compounds in wheat husk–based natural dye. Suggested ISO standards for colorfastness illustrated good color strength ratings of husk-based dyed fabric when treated with bio-mordants as compared to chemical counterparts. Hence, husk of both bread and durum wheat species has great potential to be used as source of eco-friendly natural colorant for cotton dyeing.

Pomegranate peel was investigated as biosorbent to remove uranium as well as thorium from aqueous solutions under different experimental conditions (concentration, counter ions, temperature). The material was used in raw and modified form after treatment with acidic and alkaline solutions to increase its sorption capacity. Isotherms were obtained at pH 4 and Cᵢₙᵢₜᵢₐₗ: 5–300 mg L⁻¹ for uranium and at pH 3 and Cᵢₙᵢₜᵢₐₗ: 5–100 mg L⁻¹ for thorium, respectively. The equilibrium data of the sorption study, which were adapted to the Langmuir and Freundlich models, indicated enhanced sorption efficiency (115 and 80 mg g⁻¹ for uranium and thorium). Furthermore, kinetic and thermodynamic data as well as investigation by FTIR, XRD, and SEM revealed the complex sorption mechanism that can be explained by a combination of physical sorption accompanied by surface precipitation.