Although chitosan (CS) is used in many industries because of its low cost, biodegradability, nontoxic, antibacterial, and antioxidant qualities, it lacks sufficient mechanical and barrier properties. Biodegradable polymers based on CS, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and starch (S) were prepared at various ratios (1/3/6 and 1/5/4) via a blending polymerization process in the presence of water as the solvent and glacial acetic acid as the catalyst. The obtained biodegradable polymers were characterized via FTIR, TGA, SEM, and mechanical tests. The biodegradable polymers were mixed with rice straw and carbon black to study the effects of rice straw and carbon black on the physicomechanical properties of the biodegradable polymer films, including viscosity, tensile strength, elongation, and contact angle. The incorporation of rice straw and carbon black into a polymer blend significantly enhanced the physical and mechanical properties while also boosting their biodegradability by 36% and 15%, respectively, due to their biological activity. Notably, the CS/PVA/S blend with a ratio of 1/5/4, combined with rice straw, emerged as the standout performer. It exhibited superior mechanical strength and the shortest degradation time, outperforming the CS/PVA/S blended with a ratio of 1/3/6 mixed with carbon black. According to these findings, the biodegradable polymers became more soluble as the temperature increased from 30 to 45 °C.

Despite its broad application due to its affordability, biodegradability, and natural antimicrobial and antioxidant activities, chitosan (CS) still exhibits limitations in mechanical strength and barrier effectiveness. Owing to its unique chemical characteristics, itaconic acid (IT) presents potential as a compatibilizing agent in polymeric blend formulations. Biodegradable polymers composed of chitosan (CS), itaconic acid (IT), and starch (S) were synthesized using two polymerization methods. The first method involved grafting IT onto CS at varying ratios of IT (4%, 6%, and 8% wt.), using 1% v/v acetic acid/water as the solvent and potassium persulfate as the initiator. In the second approach, starch (S) was blended with the copolymer P(CS-g-IT) at concentrations of 1%, 3%, and 5%, utilizing water as the solvent and glacial acetic acid as a catalyst. The resulting biodegradable films underwent characterization through FTIR, TGA, SEM, and mechanical property analysis. To further explore the effects of combining IT, starch, and carbon black, the blends, referred to as P[(CS-g-IT)-b-S], were also loaded with carbon black. This allowed for the evaluation of the materials’ physicomechanical properties, such as viscosity, tensile strength, elongation, and contact angle. The findings demonstrated that the presence of IT, starch, and carbon black collectively improved the films’ mechanical performance, physical traits, and biodegradability. Among the samples, the blended copolymer with 1% starch exhibited the highest mechanical properties, followed by the grafted copolymer with 8% IT and the blended copolymer mixed with carbon black at 7%. In contrast, the blended copolymer with 5% starch showed the highest hydrophilicity and the shortest degradation time compared to the grafted copolymer with 8% IT and the blended copolymer mixed with 7% carbon black.

Physico-chemical characteristics of shugite rocks of Kazakhstan (Bakyrchik deposit) were studied usingthe methods of elementary analysis, IR-spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopyand X-ray phase analysis. The content of carbon in shungite rock was determined to be from 3% to 19 %.The flotation technology for shungite rocks of Kazakhstan was developed, the content of carbon in theconcentrate reaching 40.0%. When studying the elemental composition, the mineral part of shungite rockswas stated to be presented, mainly, by silicon, aluminium, calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, ironand titanium oxides. IR-spectroscopic investigations showed that in the concentrate, apart from polycyclichydrocarbons containing methylene groups, there appeared carboxyl groups. The results of scanningelectron microscopy (SEM) showed that flotation and thermal activation of shungite rocks on carbon allowobtaining a more developed surface structure and porosity. The structure of shungite carbon was shown bythe method of Raman scattering to be close to that of glassy carbon. The results of X-ray diffraction analysis(XRD) of natural shungite rocks showed that the samples under study contained a carbonaceous substanceand a number of mineral components: quartz, illite, bassanite, burgerite, muscovite. It is shown that shungitecarbon of “Bakyrchik” deposit is identical to shungite of Zazhogino deposit in Russia. The stated physicochemical characteristics allow to determine the directions of the use of carbon concentrate for solution of ecological and technological problems.

Calcined and acid-leached kaolin impregnated with Fe(NO₃)₃·9H₂O (6.6 wt. % Fe₂O₃) was developed as an inexpensive bifunctional catalyst for the slow fixed-bed pyrolysis of polypropylene (PP) and low-density polyethylene (LDPE). Experiments were run with catalyst-to-plastic mass ratios of 1:4, 1:2, and 1:1 in a quartz tube reactor heated from 25 to 800 °C. For PP, increasing the Fe/kaolin loading progressively raised non-condensable gas from 26 wt. % to 44 wt. % and drove liquid aromatics from 27.9% to 72.3%, while combined paraffins olefins fell to 2.5% and wax exhibited a 46 → 24 → 36 wt. % trend. In contrast, LDPE at a 1:4 ratio already yielded 56 wt. % oil and only 22 wt. % wax; further catalyst addition mainly enhanced CH₄/CO-rich pyrolysis gas (PyGas) and char without substantially boosting aromatics. Gas analysis confirmed that Fe₂O₃ reduction and kaolin de-hydroxylation generated in situ H₂O, CO, and H₂. Given the catalyst’s low cost, regenerability, and ability to valorize the two most abundant waste polyolefins within the same reactor, the process offers a scalable route to flexible fuel and gas production from mixed plastic streams.

The technological principles of shungite rock-beneficiation were developed. The suitability of shungite concentrate for diversified technological applications was tested. A flowsheet for shungite rock processing was proposed.