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PublicationEffect of Glycerol as plasticizing agent on the mechanical properties of Polyvinyl Alcohol/Banana peel powder blended film(Springer, 2023-09)Nowadays, plastic pollution becomes more serious due to the abundance of petroleum-based plastic bags. Hence, economical viable biodegradable plastic is seen as a viable solution. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) can blend with banana peel powder (BPP) to form biodegradable film that can be degraded easily. Different compositions of glycerol (0–2.0 ml) were added to the blend to investigate the mechanical properties of the PVA/BPP blended films. PVA/BPP blended films prepared using the solution casting method were analyzed using attenuated total reflectance spectroscopy (ATR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and biodegradability test. Besides, the mechanical properties of PVA/BPP blended films were analyzed using the tensile test to determine their tensile strength, elongation at break, and elastic modulus. The increment in the glycerol composition was found to decrease both tensile strength and elastic modulus of the blended films. However, the elongation at break increases as the composition of glycerol increases. The tensile strength and elastic modulus of PVA/BPP blended film without glycerol (6.65 MPa, 81.9 MPa) are higher than the PVA/BPP blended films with glycerol (4.318 MPa to 3.616 MPa, 49.99 MPa to 30.14 MPa). Moreover, the elongation at break of the PVA/BPP blended films that contain glycerol (34.27% to 48.31%) is higher than the blended film without glycerol (32.72%). After two weeks of biodegradability test, the PVA/BPP blended films that contain 2 ml of added glycerol have the highest biodegradability (11.55%) among all PVA/BPP blended films. As compared to the tested commercial plastic bag film, the BPP/PVA blended films show better biodegradable performance.
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PublicationExplicating the importance of aeration and pH for Amaranth degradation and electricity generation in a viable hybrid system of photocatalytic fuel cell and electro-Fenton process( 2020-05-15)Hybrid system of photocatalytic fuel cell (PFC) and electro-Fenton (EF) process emerges as an environmentally sustainable technology for wastewater treatment and energy recovery. The established dual-cell hybrid system can reduce the recombination of electron and hole in photoanode and PFC acts as the power source for EF process. Hence, the optimal conditions for dye degradation synchronized with electricity generation in the dual-cell hybrid system should be determined. The in-situ generation of hydroxyl radicals was the key factor for dye degradation in the system. Hence, the operating parameters such as aeration and initial pH of dye were assessed. Higher decolourization efficiency was attained in aerated PFC (76.6%) and aerated EF process (84.5%). Enhanced power density (1.493 μW cm−2) was achieved in aerated hybrid system through the elevated transfer of electrons from photoanode in PFC to the cathode of EF process. Acidic environment was favoured for the dye degradation in both PFC and EF process. At optimal pH 3, PFC and EF process attained highest colour removal efficiency which were 88.5% and 84.5%, respectively. Consequently, largest power density (2.221 μW cm−2) and maximum current density (0.012 mA cm−2) were achieved in the hybrid system under pH 3 condition in both PFC and EF process.
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