Excessive waste production has led to the concept of a circular bioeconomy to deliver valuable by-products and improve environmental sustainability. The annual worldwide rice production accounts for more than 750 million tons of grain and 150 million tons of husk. Rice husk (RH) contains valuable biomaterials with extensive applications in various fields. The proportions of each component depend primarily on rice genotype, soil chemistry and climatic condition. RH and its derivatives, including ash (RHA), biochar (RHB), hydrochar (RHH) and activated carbon (RHAC) have been placed foreground of applications in agriculture and other industries. While the investigation on RH’s compositions, microstructures and by-products has been done copiously, owing to its unique features, it is still an open-ended area with enormous scope for innovation, research and technology. Here, we reviewed the latest applications of RH and its derivatives, including fuel and other energy resources, construction materials, pharmacy, medicine and nanobiotechnology, to keep it on spotlight. 

Rice Husk at a Glance: From Agro-Industrial to Modern Applications

The general environmental quality has a direct impact on how well life is supported on earth. There are fewer and fewer water sources available, and those that are available are contaminated with many pollutants. Pollution of biological and chemical systems can result from heavy metal and dye poisoning of water resources. Agricultural waste benefits from a variety of sources, cheap cost, and renewable energy. When these wastes are converted into useful applications, such as environmental adsorbents for eliminating pollutants, biochar (BC), composts, and natural fertilizers, rather than burning them in open fields, which results in various environmental problems like air pollution and soil erosion, they may represent a treasure. The transformation of waste into useful compounds is one of the most significant scientific topics. This critical study evaluates current advancements in the utilization of (nano)materials obtained from agricultural waste for environmental decontamination and pollutant monitoring or removal. Along with highlighting the most promising research areas, this section discusses the major challenges to the removal of organic dyes, toxic ions, and other contaminants using diverse methods including adsorption, reduction, and ion exchange using cost-effective materials generated from agricultural wastes. 

Agricultural waste-derived (nano)materials for water and wastewater treatment: Current challenges and future perspectives

Silica has shown numerous applications in different fields such as environmental, biomedical, agriculture, and even in chemical processing. However, due to high energy-intensive and cost-effective issues, researchers show interest to replace the conventional methods with biobased environmentally-friendly techniques for biosilica production from renewable biomass sources. Generally, silica is found to be available in amorphous and crystalline structures. For commercial purposes, silica is produced from alkyl orthosilicates ore that consists of polyethlydiorthosilicate, tetraethyl ortothosilicate, and tetramethyl orthosilicate. Another form of silica, silica gel, is produced from the selected resources of biomass, such as palm tree, wheat straw, maize leaves, teff straw, sugarcane bagasse, rice husk, rice straw, sugarcane leaf, oat husk, bamboo leaf, and corn cob. The production of biobased silica gel from agricultural residues is found to be a sustainable which receives a significant attention that can be replaced with inorganic-based silica gel for environmental concerns. Based on this context, there is a huge look for developing a process to produce biobased silica and silica gel from biomass resources with low energy utilization as promising alternatives to conventional methods. Keeping in view, current trends and methods for synthesis, the characterization of biobased silica and silica gel, as well as its wide prognostic applications were focused on a comprehensive review.

/pdf/an-overview-of-current-and-prognostic-trends-on-synthesis-1swcfogu.pdf

An Overview of Current and Prognostic Trends on Synthesis, Characterization, and Applications of Biobased Silica


 Petroleum-based polymers pose significant environmental challenges, prompting researchers to seek alternatives for decades. The foremost solution to replace petroleum-based packaging lies in bio-based polymers that can degrade with water, soil and the environment. The most common and economical bio-based polymer till to date is polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) but has a limitation of brittleness. The primary objective of this study is to enhance mechanical flexibility, transparency and barrier properties by incorporating glycerol (G) as a plasticiser in a Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) matrix. The PVA-G blends thin film were prepared through a solution casting processing route with glycerol concentrations varying up to 5%. These modified thin films exhibited exceptional mechanical flexibility, and good optical properties by boasting a transmittance rate exceeding 90%. Compared to pure PVA thin films, the modified versions (PVA-G) demonstrated a significant increase in their water barrier capabilities. Remarkably, the incorporation of 5% glycerol led to a substantial increase in biodegradability, and flexibility, overcoming the brittleness commonly associated with pure PVA thin films. Furthermore, the mechanical properties of the modified thin films exceeded those of pure PVA, indicating an overall enhancement in mechanical performance and tensile strength. The prepared thin films unveil exciting possibilities for utilising these flexible PVA thin films across diverse applications, including flexible food packaging, membranes, biomedical materials, and other industries that require adaptable and pliable materials.

Preparation and characterisation of polyvinyl alcohol/glycerol blends thin film for sustainable flexibility

Preparation and characterization of crystalline nanocellulose from keya (Pandanus tectorius) L. fiber as potential reinforcement in sustainable bionanocomposite: A waste to wealth scheme

Synthesis of amorphous silica from rice husk ash using the sol–gel method: Effect of alkaline and alkaline concentration

The current research is intended to optimize the formulation of bionanocomposite films produced from polyvinyl alcohol by adding glycerol (4–8%) and cellulose nanocrystals extracted from pineapple crown leaf (3–7%). The interaction between the bionanocomposite films characteristic, such as thickness, tensile strength, and elongation are determined using a response surface methodology with a central composite design. To show the practical relevance of the prediction model, the optimized bionanocomposite film composition required additional validation. Adding glycerol at 4% and cellulose nanocrystal at 3.52% was determined to be the film’s optimum parameters. Improved mechanical properties with a low thickness value and high elongation were found in the enhanced film formulation. The findings showed that an optimized bionanocomposite film formulation based on polyvinyl alcohol with glycerol and cellulose nanocrystals from pineapple crown leaves provided good model validation and could be utilized optimally in the food packaging application.

Formulation optimization of bionanocomposite film based on polyvinyl alcohol/glycerol/cellulose nanocrystal from pineapple crown leave fibers using response surface methodology

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Synthesis of amorphous silica from rice husk ash using the sol–gel method: Effect of alkaline and alkaline concentration

Formulation optimization of bionanocomposite film based on polyvinyl alcohol/glycerol/cellulose nanocrystal from pineapple crown leave fibers using response surface methodology