This study was conducted to investigate the suitability of poultry abattoir sludge (PAS) as a nutrient source for energy crop giant reed (Arundo donax L.), as well as its effects on feedstock composition, energy content, and exhaust gaseous emissions. Before the plantation, dried PAS was incorporated into soil for providing 0, 50, 100, 150, and 200 kg N ha⁻¹, and then Arundo donax L. propagated from rhizomes were planted in plots at a density of 1 plant m² (15 plants per plot). The experiment was arranged under a completely randomized block design with three replications and assessed during the three-consecutive growing seasons of 2015, 2016, and 2017, respectively. The soil treatments were amended with conventional fertilizer, while no external fertilizer was supplied for PAS treatments. The biomass yields were increased in each progressive year and maximized insignificantly at higher PAS application rates of 150 and 200 kg N ha⁻¹. High heating values measured for plants cultivated in both soil and PAS were insignificant and within the range of 17.52–17.99 MJ kg⁻¹ independent to the PAS application rates. Increasing the rate of nutrients in treatments progressively increased the biomass yield, but variations in tissue nutrient contents were rather smaller, as similarly observed for combustion emissions such as CO, NO_x, and SO₂. Findings of this study clearly demonstrated that the use of PAS for energy crop cultivation confirmed both ash and air emissions and hold a great potential for both energy crop production and waste minimization alternative.

In the present study, cotton fiber was treated with phosphorus trichloride in the presence of oxygen. As a result of the subsequent hydrolysis of modified cotton fibers, phosphorus-containing fragments with acidic groups and chlorine atoms were introduced onto their surface. Afterward, silver-containing composites based on raw and modified cotton fibers were prepared using the chemical reduction method. The obtained samples were characterized in detail by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, as well as by thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis. A comparative bioassay experiment of four samples for gram-negative (Escherichia coli) bacteria, gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) bacteria, and the fungus Candida albicans was carried out. These results showed the predominant antibacterial activity of the phosphorylated sample and the composite based on it. Thus, the development of these antibacterial cotton fibers using readily available reagents under relatively mild conditions could be used as potential industrial applications for the production of everyday medical textiles.

This study investigates the estimated adsorption efficiency of artificial Nickel (II) ions with perlite in an aqueous solution using artificial neural networks, based on 140 experimental data sets. Prediction using artificial neural networks is performed by enhancing the adsorption efficiency with the use of Nickel (II) ions, with the initial concentrations ranging from 0.1 mg/L to 10 mg/L, the adsorbent dosage ranging from 0.1 mg to 2 mg, and the varying time of effect ranging from 5 to 30 mins. This study presents an artificial neural network that predicts the adsorption efficiency of Nickel (II) ions with perlite. The best algorithm is determined as a quasi-Newton back-propagation algorithm. The performance of the artificial neural network is determined by coefficient determination (R²), and its architecture is 3-12-1. The prediction shows that there is an outstanding relationship between the experimental data and the predicted values.

The aim of the presented work was to obtain a new type of homogeneous composite based on an industrial polymer (polybutadiene, PB) and a well-known inexpensive filler (carbon black P-234, CB). For this purpose, the reaction of oxidative chlorophosphorylation (OxCh) was used. This makes it possible to introduce CB into the cross-linked structure of the modified polymer and ensure optimal distribution of the filler in it. The structure and thermal stability of the composite synthesized by the OxCh reaction were studied. Analysis of the composite by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy indicates a uniform distribution of carbon black in the network structure of the matrix and the physical interaction of the phases of the composite. Ultraviolet-visible spectrum data confirmed the improvement in light absorption in a wide range of the electromagnetic spectrum and the decrease in the optical band gap energy of the phosphochlorinated PB (PhPB) matrix with the addition of CB (Eg of PhPB = 3.25 eV; Eg of PhPB/CB composite = 2.28 eV). The influence of CB on the thermal stability of the PhPB matrix was studied using thermogravimetric and differential thermogravimetric analysis. After thermal analysis, the char yield for PhPB was 41 wt. %, and for PhPB/CB composite was 35.2 wt. %. Compared to PhPB, the increase in char yield, the decrease in maximum thermal decomposition temperature, and the high-integrated thermal decomposition temperature for the PhPB/CB composite show the improvement in the thermal stability of PhPB due to CB.