Respiration and microbial infection are important causes of postharvest spoilage of fruits and vegetables (F&V). Atmosphere storage technology can significantly reduce postharvest losses. This comprehensive review aims to cover recent progress in the application of atmosphere storage to F&V preservation, not only focusing on the effect of gas conditions but also evaluating combination applications involving newer preservation technologies, including ethylene scavengers, high-pressure and decompression technology, ozone, ultraviolet radiation, active packaging, high-voltage electrostatic field, plasma treatment, and pulse-controlled atmosphere. Appropriate choice of storage conditions optimal for each F&V is essential since the physiological properties and sensory qualities are affected by them. The combination of atmosphere storage with these emerging technologies could contribute to significant reductions in food loss during storage.

Pursuance of the strong motivation in combating climate change and energy security as well as the desired shift toward biofuels from food waste as a renewable energy sources offers opportunities for the substitution of fossil fuels, thus contributing to better waste conversion in a more sustainable manner. This study reports on the current situation of biofuel production, hypothetical barriers of the food waste feedstock, technology readiness and conversion, policies support, demand of the biofuels, community involvement and additional value creation in the economic sector. Meanwhile, extensive research in laboratory and pilot scale for biofuel production from food waste are reported in this article presenting a major barrier in constructing smart facilities integrating food waste processing and biofuel plant technology, metabolic pathway involved and the policy uncertainty impeding the investment in the large scale. It is worth addressing that this is the first study that provides a better understanding on the factors influencing the viability of biofuel industry utilizing mainly food waste as feedstock. The information offers a new horizon to the government and potential investors in the future development of biofuels from food waste of municipal solid waste. Graphical Abstract

A significant growth promotion of Euglena gracilis was achieved by simply adding ferulic acid from rice bran without diminishing the accumulation of valuable products like paramylon. E. gracilis is a freshwater microalga that is widely applied in cosmetics, food, medicine, and supplements, and it is considered a potential source of biofuel. It is therefore important to enhance its yield at a lower cost for its commercial viability. Introducing a growth regulator derived from agro waste is considered a cheaper and safer strategy to improve biomass productivity compared with other alternatives such as implementing genetic engineering or adding nutrients and plant hormones as growth stimulator. The effect of ferulic acid derived from rice bran on the growth and metabolism of E. gracilis was investigated in this study. To aid in the dissolution of ferulic acid, 1% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) was added to Cramer–Myers medium. Ferulic acid could alleviate the inhibitory effect of DMSO and significantly promoted the growth of E. gracilis. It was found that cell density was 2.5 times greater than that of the control group and 3.6 times greater than that of the negative control group when 500 mg/L of ferulic acid was added. In addition, the photosynthetic pigment content, especially chlorophyll a, increased with increasing ferulic acid concentrations. The total paramylon production would also be enhanced by ferulic acid since the number of cells increased without reducing the cellular content of paramylon.

A superior electrical conductivity of 38.5 S/cm and an electromagnetic shielding (EMS) effectiveness of −30 dB (−545 dB/mm) across a wide frequency range of 0–15 GHz, including the X-band, were achieved with thin organic paper of (55 μm) cellulose nanofiber (CNF)/polyaniline (PANI) doped with (±)-10-camphorsulfonic acid nanohybrid. Both electrical conductivity and EMS effectiveness of the PANI-coated CNF were strongly affected by the amount and type of dopant, which could be tunable after fabrication process via simple in situ oxidative polymerization of aniline. Flexible and free-standing film was obtained, since CNF provides good mechanical property without diminishing the electrical property of PANI.