Biochar, produced from biodegradable waste through advanced thermochemical processes like pyrolysis, offers substantial environmental benefits due to its carbon-rich composition and versatile applications. This review delves into the transformative potential of biochar derived from diverse agricultural and municipal solid wastes. With its unique properties-including a high surface area, porosity, and functional groups such as –COOH, –OH, and –NH₂ biochar stands out as a highly effective adsorbent for heavy metals and organic pollutants. Factors like feedstock type, pyrolysis temperature, and residence time critically shape biochar’s characteristics and yield. Moreover, pretreatment methods and activation techniques further amplify its adsorption capacity. Biochar’s environmental applications are vast, spanning soil remediation, water purification, carbon sequestration, and waste management, all promoting ecological sustainability. Its remarkable stability and efficacy in pollutant removal highlight its potential as a catalyst and a vital component in improving soil health. Despite its many advantages, a thorough assessment of biochar’s environmental impact and long-term stability is crucial for its sustainable use. This review highlights recent biochar production, characterization, and application advances, emphasizing the need to balance economic growth with environmental development. By strategically integrating biochar into various sectors, we can pave the way for a greener, more sustainable future.

This review paper provides a comprehensive overview of recent advancements in energy storage applications, focusing on the utilization of fish industry waste as a sustainable resource. The paper is structured into several key sections, each highlighting a different aspect of this emerging field. Firstly, it explores the use of nanoporous carbons for high-density lithium-ion battery (LIB) anodes, discussing their potential to enhance energy storage capabilities. Secondly, it examines the development of advanced LIB anodes from fish waste-derived nanostructures, showcasing novel approaches to material synthesis. Additionally, the paper delves into the utilization of biomass-derived carbons for sodium-ion battery (NIB) anodes, presenting insights into their role in advancing energy storage technology. Furthermore, it discusses the integration of biomass-derived porous carbons to improve the performance of lithium-sulfur batteries, highlighting strategies to overcome existing limitations. Moreover, the paper explores the application of biomass-derived carbon materials in supercapacitors, emphasizing their potential for high-performance energy storage solutions. Lastly, a significant focus is placed on protein batteries, a novel concept that utilizes seafood waste as a sustainable source for energy storage. The paper elaborates on the processes involved in transforming fish waste into suitable materials for battery electrodes and evaluates the performance of these protein batteries in terms of efficiency, stability, and capacity. Through a structured analysis of recent advancements, this review underscores the potential of biomass-derived materials in addressing sustainability challenges while advancing energy storage technology. Graphical abstract

Ficus auriculata (Timla) is an underutilized wild fruit compared to the more commonly consumed fruit of the same genus, Ficus carica (Anjeer). This review focuses on the industrial and pharmaceutical benefits of F. auriculata while highlighting its potential as a valuable alternative to F. carica. Based on the vast literature found in Scopus database, both fruits have significant nutritional and medicinal value; however, due to the rarity and lack of widespread knowledge, F. auriculata still remains underutilized, unlike F. carica, which is well known and more popular in the human diet. In terms of nutrition, F. auriculata is superior in various aspects like protein (3–5.32%), magnesium (68.0 mg/100 g), potassium (329.0 mg/100 g), and iron (5.0 mg/100 g). As a result, it plays a pivotal role for addressing nutrient deficiencies. Besides, it has rich history of many noteworthy applications in traditional remedies which are also recognized in modern pharmaceutical research. This could be attributed to the presence of phytocompounds. Ficus auriculata needs to be promoted, not only as a nutritional addition to the plate but also as an economically viable fruit. Based on its considerable potential, it is possible that F. auriculata can also be used as an alternative to F. carica; however, further research and promotion of the benefits of F. auriculata could help to increase its utilization and provide additional health and economic benefits to communities. Moreover, omics technologies based comprehensive study of fruits can assist in the identification of bioactive metabolites, nutritional content, and possible health benefits. It offers insights into the genetic composition, gene expression patterns, protein activities, and metabolic pathways of fruits thereby revealing the mechanisms driving flavor, color, and disease resistance.