Search Results (17,207)

The global seafood industry generates substantial quantities of processing by-products such as heads, viscera, skin, bones, scales, and shells. These residues represent an underutilized resource rich in proteins, lipids, minerals, enzymes, and polysaccharides. Conventional valorization approaches such as chemical extraction, wet rendering, and enzymatic hydrolysis have been used to recover valuable compounds from seafood waste. However, conventional methods often involve high chemical consumption, long processing times, and environmental concerns. Green extraction technologies have emerged as promising alternatives, with subcritical water extraction (SWE) gaining significant attention due to its unique properties and ability to simultaneously extract and convert biomass components. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the valorization of seafood processing wastes using SWE. Particular emphasis is placed on the physicochemical properties of subcritical water, the reaction mechanisms governing the hydrolysis and transformation of proteins, lipids, and polysaccharides, and the key parameters influencing extraction performance. Recent advances in the recovery of value-added products such as amino acids, bioactive peptides, protein hydrolysates, omega-3-rich oils, chitin derivatives, and mineral-rich materials are summarized. In addition, the integration of SWE with complementary technologies such as supercritical CO₂ extraction, enzymatic hydrolysis, and hydrothermal carbonization is examined as a strategy for developing integrated seafood biorefineries. Full article

Pharmaceutical compounds, emerging medicinal residues, and personal care products (PPCPs) are ubiquitous in aquatic environments and are causing a serious global environmental problem because of their persistence, bioaccumulation, and harmful effects on the environment and human health. Conventional wastewater treatment technologies are sometimes not capable of removing them completely, causing persistent releases of biologically active micropollutants to surface water, groundwater, and drinking water systems. In this context, biomass-derived catalysts are a promising class of advanced materials for environmental remediation because of their sustainable and cost-efficient nature. The catalysts are composed of bio-residues, such as agricultural residues, forestry wastes, and other bioresources, that have tunable surface chemistry, high porosity, and can be activated and functionalized to increase their catalytic activity. This review summarizes recent advances in biomass-derived catalysts for the removal of pharmaceuticals and PPCPs from water. Special attention is given to synthesis methods, such as pyrolysis, hydrothermal carbonization, chemical activation, heteroatom doping, and metal or metal-oxide hybridization. The catalytic mechanisms of pollutant degradation, including adsorption, radical-based advanced oxidation processes, and non-radical electron-transfer mechanisms, are critically discussed. Moreover, the effect of key operating parameters, catalyst stability, and real wastewater test performance are studied. Sustainability aspects such as green synthesis routes, integration of circular bioeconomy, and life-cycle aspects are also emphasized. Finally, current issues like catalyst deactivation, scaling-up, and the lack of a full mechanistic understanding are identified, and future research avenues are suggested to enable the implementation of efficient, durable, and environmentally friendly catalytic systems for large-scale wastewater treatment applications. Full article

Next-generation waste degradation and valorization technologies are increasingly developed as integrated platforms for pollutant removal, resource recovery, and circular manufacturing. This review critically evaluates degradation and valorization routes for liquid, organic solid, and inorganic/electronic waste streams from an engineering perspective. For liquid waste, advanced oxidation processes, photocatalysis, electrochemical oxidation, plasma treatment, and hybrid systems are assessed with emphasis on radical utilization, photon and electron efficiency, catalyst stability, byproduct formation, and reactor hydrodynamics. For organic solid waste, biological, thermochemical, catalytic, enzymatic, and mechanical pathways are compared for agricultural residues, textile waste, and industrial polymers, including fermentation, pyrolysis, hydrogenolysis, solvolysis, enzymatic depolymerization, and mechanical recycling. Their practical viability depends strongly on feed purity, product selectivity, monomer or fuel recovery, and the energy and separation requirements of downstream processing. For inorganic and electronic waste, hydrometallurgical, pyrometallurgical, biohydrometallurgical, and physical separation routes are examined for the recovery of critical metals, mineral phases, and non-metallic fractions. Industrially mature integrated flowsheets generally offer greater feed tolerance, whereas emerging selective routes provide improved recovery potential but remain constrained by reagent consumption, reaction rate, and scale. Across all waste classes, the review identifies reactor design, process intensification, reaction–separation integration, techno-economic analysis, and life-cycle assessment as essential tools for translating laboratory performance into scalable, economically competitive, and environmentally sustainable processes. Full article

Demolition is recognised as a strategic construction process enabling the transition between an asset and a building cycle. Rather than removing a structure, it requires a design and management approach that preserves safety, material quality, traceability, and environmental performance. This paper develops a demolition-management framework linking pre-demolition assessment, method selection, hazardous-material control, waste classification, logistics, safety measures, environmental mitigation, and documentation-based traceability. The framework is applied to the partial demolition of a precast reinforced-concrete storage building within an industrial compound in Treviso, Italy. The project involved time constraints, limited working space, adjacent structures, and asbestos–cement components. The case study illustrates a phased process including asbestos abatement, perimeter slab cutting, crane-assisted dismantling, controlled top-down mechanical demolition, dust suppression, and coordinated temporary storage and waste transport documentation. Results show that safety and circular-economy objectives are mutually reinforcing when demolition is planned as an integrated and auditable end-of-life construction-management process, focused on removing, separating, classifying, and routing materials through pathways. In constrained industrial settings, sequencing, staging areas, specialised subcontracting, and documentation readiness are decisive for reducing interference, maintaining operational continuity, and supporting material recovery. The study proposes a workflow, while acknowledging the limitations of a single-case design and the absence of multi-project quantitative data. Full article

Long-term crewed space missions will have significant constraints on the weight and volume of supplies. The food needed and the management of the waste produced present a challenge, demanding technologies that effectively recycle nutrients. Using microbiological processes may be a way to meet this challenge. Here, we suggest that byproducts of anaerobic wastewater digestion (organic acids, H₂, and CO₂) could be paired with waste CO from atmospheric regeneration to produce microbial biomass, specifically Acetobacterium woodii and Rubrivivax gelatinosus, as a food source. First, we showed that the thermodynamics of key reactions are favorable. Next, we conducted nutritional analyses to evaluate suitability of A. woodii and R. gelatinosus as potential food supplements. A. woodii biomass consisted of 21% protein and 11% lipid on a dry mass basis. R. gelatinosus biomass consisted of 54% protein and 21% lipid on a dry mass basis. Finally, we conducted growth experiments for R. gelatinosus under varied (ammonium) acetate concentrations. Following the observation that an intermediate amount of acetate produced the most biomass, a second growth experiment showed that a high level of acetate, rather than ammonium, wasthe observed inhibiting factor. This perspective hopefully inspires new research establishing systems where waste products are recycled via microbial growth during long-term space flight. Full article

Organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) are persistent environmental contaminants requiring monitoring in aquatic ecosystems. In this study, four novel mineral–carbon composites (K-HNT, K-C-HNT, D-HNT, and D-C-HNT) were synthesized via thermal treatment at 800 °C from halloysite nanotubes, casein, dextrin, and pyrolyzed sawdust. Moreover, these materials were characterized (BET, FT-IR, Raman, SEM/EDS), revealing high specific surface areas (up to 218.3 m²/g for the D-C-HNT composite), and evaluated as solid-phase extraction (SPE) sorbents for the determination of six OPs from water. The eluates were analyzed using GC-MS/MS in MRM mode. This study examined the effect of eluent, sorbent mass, and multiple extractions on SPE efficiency. Ethyl acetate-n-hexane (1:1, v/v) was confirmed to be the most effective eluent, achieving high pesticide recoveries (>80%) at optimal sorbent masses of 50 and 75 mg. The method demonstrated satisfactory sensitivity, with limits of detection (LODs) ranging from 1.6 to 3.3 μgL⁻¹. Notably, the synthesized composites outperformed pure precursors and demonstrated extraction efficiency comparable to commercial sorbents (C-18, Florisil, active carbon). Furthermore, reusability tests confirmed that second and third extraction repetitions reduced the efficiency of the SPE process only slightly, indicating that these waste-derived composites can be reused multiple times without cartridge replacement. Full article

This study presents a system-level and subsystem-level evaluation of energy performance in an industrial polyethylene film production system based on real operational data. The analysis focuses on specific energy consumption (SEC) as a key performance indicator, considering both total system behavior and the contribution of energy-intensive subsystems, namely extrusion and converting processes. The initial system exhibits SEC values ranging from 1.267 to 1.688 kWh/kg, indicating relatively high energy intensity compared to established industrial benchmarks. Following technological modernization, SEC is reduced to 0.43 kWh/kg for extrusion and 0.09 kWh/kg for converting, corresponding to improvements exceeding 60%. The total annual energy saving potential is estimated at 906 MWh (39%), accompanied by a proportional reduction in CO₂ emissions. The results demonstrate that energy performance is strongly influenced by production load, material losses, and process stability. The novelty of the study lies in the subsystem-level quantification of energy performance using real industrial data and in the identification of the interaction between production efficiency, waste generation, and energy consumption. The findings provide a practical framework for energy optimization in polymer processing systems and allow comparison with European best practices. Full article

Background and Objectives: Peripheral nerve injuries around the shoulder are increasingly recognized in athletes who perform repetitive overhead motions. Suprascapular neuropathy is well described in volleyball players, whereas axillary neuropathy is usually attributed to dislocation or direct trauma. Concurrent, painless, non-traumatic involvement of both nerves is rare and may be mistaken for disuse or a rotator cuff disorder. Case Presentation: A 17-year-old male national-level volleyball player presented with painless atrophy of the dominant shoulder, noticed three months earlier, without trauma, dislocation, instability or pain. Examination showed infraspinatus fossa wasting and predominantly anterior deltoid atrophy, Medical Research Council grade 4 strength in external rotation, forward elevation and abduction, intact lateral deltoid sensation, symmetrical reflexes and a negative Spurling test. Radiographs were unremarkable. Magnetic resonance imaging showed fatty degeneration and atrophy of the infraspinatus and anterior deltoid with relative preservation of the supraspinatus, and no rotator cuff tear, labral tear, paralabral cyst or space-occupying lesion. Motor nerve conduction studies showed a reduced compound muscle action potential recorded from the infraspinatus with a preserved response from the supraspinatus after suprascapular nerve stimulation, together with a reduced deltoid response after axillary nerve stimulation. Selective involvement of the infraspinatus branch was most consistent with a suprascapular lesion at or distal to the branch to the supraspinatus, clinically compatible with involvement around the spinoglenoid notch, and argued against a C5 root or upper trunk lesion. Conclusions: Painless shoulder atrophy in an overhead athlete warrants systematic evaluation for peripheral nerve injury. The pattern of motor responses can localize the lesion, but in the absence of needle electromyography a multifocal process such as neuralgic amyotrophy (Parsonage–Turner syndrome) cannot be excluded, and a sport-related traction or compression mechanism should therefore be advanced cautiously. Full article

The stone industry generates substantial waste along the quarrying, cutting and finishing chain, with only about 22% of the extracted material processed into final products, while roughly 64% is lost as slurry and 8% as solid waste. Compared to other industries such as wood and steel, there is a significant gap in the exploitation of relevant circular economy indicators for the stone industry. To address such limitation, this study proposes a sector-specific indicator framework built in three stages: systematic identification of existing CE indicators through a Scopus-based literature review, further refinement against three strategies for the stone sector (materials preservation, process optimisation and reduction of risk to human well-being), together with two suitability filters based on development stage and redundancy, and finally an indicative prioritisation using a simplified Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) procedure implemented in Super Decisions. Seven indicators are retained as the most applicable to the sector: Energy Use, Water Consumption, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Replacement Ratio, Generation Ratio, Upcycling Score and Product Quality Index. The Consistency Ratio is 0.070 for the criteria pairwise-comparison matrix and ranges from 0.000 to 0.010 across the six indicator pairwise-comparison matrices, reflecting the internal coherence of the deterministic scoring procedure used to derive them. The framework is presented as an initial, transparent proposal to support monitoring and resource efficiency benchmarking in the stone supply chain. Empirical validation through further industrial case studies and broader expert contribution is an essential next step. Full article

Waste from the aggregate processing industry has the potential to be used for value-added products. Its plastic properties and sinterability allow for the production of lightweight aggregates. This process can yield materials with high open porosity at various scales. This article presents the possibilities of obtaining lightweight aggregates from clay–silt fractions obtained by washing crushed dolomite aggregates. Aggregate formation was achieved using selected mechanical processing methods, such as dynamic granulation, sedimentation, crushing, and classification. Biomass was added to increase the aggregate’s porosity. The following instrumental techniques were used to assess the aggregate’s parameters: X-ray fluorescence (XRF) to obtain detailed information on the oxide composition of the tested raw materials; high-temperature microscopy (HSM) to determine the specific sintering temperature; and pH and conductivity meters to examine filtration solutions in direct contact with the aggregate. A key issue was to examine the microstructure of the produced aggregates after firing using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller method for measuring material surface area (BET), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique. The obtained results will allow for further research into developing a concept for the production of lightweight alkaline aggregates. The aggregates produced exhibit high water absorption (approximately 50%), a low bulk density of 0.82 g/cm³, and meso- (approximately 30–100 µm) and bioporosity (approximately 100–500 µm), which is beneficial for the proper development of plant roots and the absorption and release of water. This research contributes to the identification of resources that can be transformed into lightweight aggregates for urban greening, which is consistent with circular economy strategies and environmental protection. The specific mechanisms through which this research supports sustainable development are the reduction in landfill sites and the protection of natural resources. Furthermore, the aggregates produced can form part of blue-green urban infrastructure, which aims to manage rainwater and reduce the urban heat island effect. Full article

Fly ash from municipal solid waste incineration is a hazardous waste whose safe disposal and resource recovery are obstructed by a fundamental trilemma: no single treatment simultaneously immobilizes heavy metals permanently, destroys persistent organic pollutants, and valorizes the residual matrix. Here we resolve this trilemma through a speciation-driven cascade strategy, a design principle in which chemical, thermal, and physical unit operations are precisely matched to the distinct chemical fractions and volatilities of each metal. We systematically review the speciation and occurrence of heavy metals in fly ash and propose a classification of multi-coupled technologies based on how they manipulate the acid-soluble, reducible, and residual fractions. We distill the four recurring interaction mechanisms (i.e., phase-transfer promotion, kinetics alteration, secondary-pollutant co-control, and resource–recovery balancing) that enable synergistic performance, demonstrate that the cascade framework explains why certain couplings succeed while others fail, and derive general rules for process integration. Bottlenecks in multi-variable regulation, secondary pollution, long-term stability evaluation, and engineering scale-up are dissected. We then chart a roadmap toward intelligent, low-carbon, and zero-waste valorization via selective recovery and all-component utilization. This review reframes fly ash treatment as a tunable sequence of speciation-modifying steps and provides a structured framework for hazardous-waste-to-resource conversion across diverse industrial residues. Full article

Population growth in urban food systems has led to a decline in food resources and the emergence of social imbalances, while consumers’ shift toward a healthy and sustainable lifestyle, against the backdrop of a growing carbon footprint and negative health impacts, highlights the need to promote fish-based products as part of a balanced diet, alongside the implementation of circular strategies for utilizing byproducts from processing, which has led to increased interest in reformulating these products in accordance with the principles of the circular bioeconomy. Aquaculture and the agri-food industry generate a large amount of byproducts that are underutilized, even though they could be extremely useful as functional food ingredients. Recycling these streams into ingredients is an effective way to reduce food waste, make better use of resources, and lessen the environmental impact of food systems. In this context, by-products can be strategically incorporated into food reformulation processes, where their bioactive compounds simultaneously improve both the nutritional value and the technological function of foods. However, such approaches can only be effectively utilized if there is a coordinated framework that ensures food safety, supports scalable processing technologies, and complies with regulatory standards. This analysis takes an integrated approach to examine how specific processing strategies, quality control measures, and risk assessment protocols can work together to ensure nutritional optimization, guarantee food safety, and promote circular use. This paper also addresses how these interconnected systems contribute to maintaining public health and increasing consumer confidence, particularly in urban food systems. By highlighting these connections, the research offers a clearer operational perspective on applying circular economy principles to sustainable food production. Even with these opportunities, issues related to scalability, regulatory compliance, and the limited number of applied studies remain major challenges. In this context, this paper examines how the coordinated implementation of these mechanisms can contribute to public health, strengthen consumer confidence, and facilitate the transition to sustainable urban food systems. Finally, this paper offers a clearer operational perspective on how the principles of the circular economy can be effectively put into practice by harmonizing nutrition, safety, and value-added recovery. Full article

Chicken manure represents a major agricultural waste stream with significant environmental risks if left unmanaged, yet its hydrothermally treated hydrochar (HCCM) holds promise as a renewable solid fuel. This study investigates the pyrolysis behavior, kinetics, thermodynamics, and gas evolution mechanism of HCCM using thermogravimetric analysis coupled with FTIR and mass spectrometry (TG-FTIR/TG-MS) at five heating rates (5–25 °C/min). TG-DTG results revealed a characteristic three-stage decomposition, with the main devolatilization occurring between 180 and 400 °C and a stable char residue of 22–27% remaining at 800 °C; DTG peaks shifted to higher temperatures and intensified with increasing heating rate, confirming a kinetically controlled process. Isoconversional analysis using the Flynn–Wall–Ozawa (FWO), Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose (KAS), and Starink (STK) methods; R² > 0.98 showed the apparent activation energy rising sharply from ~150 to over 320 kJ/mol with conversion, while consistently positive Gibbs free energy (130–210 kJ/mol) confirmed an endothermic, non-spontaneous reaction pathway. TG-FTIR and TG-MS identified CO₂, H₂O, carbonyl/amide fragments, and light hydrocarbons as dominant volatiles, with delayed H₂ release reflecting secondary aromatization and char condensation. These findings establish a mechanistic framework linking dehydration, decarboxylation, and aromatization reactions, supporting HCCM as a viable feedstock for sustainable energy recovery within a circular waste valorization strategy. Full article

High Friction Surface Treatment (HFST) relies heavily on wear-resistant aggregates to ensure roadway safety, yet the conventional evaluation of aggregate abrasion resistance is time-consuming and resource-intensive. In this study, a machine learning framework was developed to predict the abrasion-induced angularity evolution of recycled high-alumina aggregates from their initial morphological characteristics, thereby enabling rapid abrasion-resistance screening. Six regression models were compared under leave-one-group-out cross-validation, and an improved whale optimization algorithm (IWOA) was proposed to tune the Gaussian process regression (GPR) model, incorporating five enhancements and a regularized fitness function to restrain overfitting. The models were trained on 42 samples from six aggregates, whose angularity, Form 2D, micro-texture, sphericity, and F:E ratio were measured with the AIMS II device before and after successive abrasion cycles. The IWOA-GPR model achieved the best performance, with an R² of 0.8909, an RMSE of 150.98, an MAE of 120.55, and a MAPE of 4.60%. The SHAP analysis identified the abrasion revolutions, the initial Form 2D, and the initial angularity as the dominant contributors to the worn angularity. Moreover, the early angularity loss after the first 500 revolutions correlated strongly with the measured Los Angeles abrasion value (r = 0.935), which allows the LAA of a candidate aggregate to be estimated after a single abrasion cycle. The proposed framework therefore provides a rapid and reliable tool for screening wear-resistant aggregates for HFST applications and supports the clean utilization of recycled solid wastes in anti-skid pavements. Full article

Food is always at risk of becoming waste, with household refrigerator practices either slowing or hastening this process. While household food waste has received growing scholarly attention, the interplay of human behavior, refrigerator use, and packaging (HRP) remains underexplored, as research typically examines these elements in isolation rather than their everyday entanglement. To address this gap, this study conceptualizes HRP as a co-constitutive design system and integrates a scoping literature review with qualitative fieldwork in 24 Swedish and international households. Photo-elicitation was used to document real refrigerator organization and storage conditions, while semi-structured interviews (n = 12) captured participants’ routines, decision-making, and interpretations of stored food and packaging. The empirical material was analyzed using thematic analysis to identify recurring patterns in domestic food storage practices. The analysis reveals two key findings: (1) the refrigerator must be recognized as a critical contextual and ethical factor in both packaging design and domestic food waste studies; and (2) packaging’s communicative functions often collapse after purchase, limiting its ability to guide storage, visibility, and timely consumption. By framing HRP as dynamically interlinked, the study introduces a new analytical lens on household food waste and calls for sustainable design strategies that better support waste-reducing practices. Full article