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This current, comprehensive study of the literature provides a full review of recent developments in a variety of various kinds of solar stills. This review looks at studies on double-slope, hybrid solar stills, single-slope, with a condenser unit, and other particular types of solar stills. To make the work more relevant to readers, the authors provide a thorough summary of the latest research papers in the area of solar stills in addition to a general overview of the many varieties of solar stills. An overview of the various desalination methods is provided in this review paper. Although there have been notable advancements in desalination techniques, the systems' operational costs have remained high throughout time. With the use of cutting-edge technologies, efforts have been made to reduce the price of producing desalinated water. The cost of producing desalinated water is significantly reduced when solar stills are used for desalination. In this review paper that follows, innovative designs and methods for solar still desalination are being used to increase daily productivity while lowering production costs. Numerous changes were tried to extend the residence time and surface area of water that could evaporate, but these changes did not cause the feed water to remain in the still's basin for an extended period.

The biogas production of pretreated corn stover has been determined in different soaking durations. Batch anaerobic digestion applies three different soaking durations in sulfuric acid pretreatment under room temperature. The study aimed to probe the effect of soaking durations during sulfuric acid pretreatment. The experiment was conducted in 600 mL digesters at room temperature. Biogas volume was measured using the water displacement method every three days. The observed cumulative biogas yields varied between 48.74 mL/g VS and 99.95 mL/g VS. The highest biogas yield was obtained when corn stover was soaked in sulfuric acid for 6 hours. The 24 h-pretreated corn stover got the lowest biogas yield. The statistical result proved a significant effect of soaking durations on biogas production (p < 0.05). The logistic model provided a better fit than the first-order model, with R2 values ranging from 0.9923 to 0.9987 and divergence between experimental and predicted values varying between 0.12% and 1.48%.

Concrete is the broadly adopted composite material in the construction arena. The growing need for cost-effective housing is resulting in the depletion of environmental resources such as river sand and gravel, which are essential components in the manufacture of concrete. However, the manufacturing of cement has been proven to have a negative impact on the environment because it contributes to the carbon footprint. The resolution of these environmental issues can be achieved through the implementation of sustainable solutions. This article explores the potential application of coconut shell ash as a substitute for cement in green concrete. Coconut shells (CS) are inevitable by-products derived from the agricultural sector. Coconut shell ash (CSA) was obtained through the combustion of coconut shells. The CSA is substituted by a range of 0 to 20% by weight of cement with a gradual 2.5% increase. The test findings concluded that 12.5% of CSA mix attained the maximum compressive strength. The durability results were found satisfactory in comparison with the normal concrete. The specimens were exposed to different temperatures (i.e., 100 °C, 200 °C, and 300 °C) for a consistent duration of one hour. The CSA concrete exhibited improved residual strength and weight reduction compared to conventional concrete.

To well understand the eutrophication process for inland lakes where more lands had been used for agriculture and industry without adequate environmental protections, 9 surface sediments and 1 core sediment in Lake Xian’nv which was located in the middle of Jiangxi Province were chosen. Combined with 210Pb and 137Cs geochronology, nutrient index including total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), total organic carbon (TOC), Carbon nitrogen ratio (C/N), diatoms assembles and TDI index of eutrophic diatoms were compared quantitatively and conducted to elucidate the eutrophication process using statistical methods. The results showed a total of 155 years from 1863 to 2018 were recorded from the entire sediment core. The nutrient level in 23 centimeters below the surface of the sediment core where was synchronized with reservoir construction indicated TN, TP, TOC, and Carbon nitrogen ratio had been gradually increased since the construction of Dam. In surface sediments, the three diatoms with higher average relative abundance were Achnanthidium minutissimum, Navicula Bory, and Aulacoseira granulata with a value of 54.2 %, 29.4 %, and 15.3 % respectively. Significant changes of the diatom communities from 1955 to 2009 had been recorded, where diatom communities could be classified into four distinct periods. In the first few years after the reservoir was built, the dominant diatoms were epiphytic and benthic diatom communities represented by Navicula cincta、Fragilaria ulna, and Cocconeis placentula in zone I on the bottom floor covered from 1955 to 1961. However, planktonic diatom communities were dominant after 1983 which were mainly constituted by Aulacoseira alpigena、Cyclostephanos dubius、Cyclotella meneghiniana, and Cyclotella radiosa . Both TDI index of eutrophic diatoms and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed the succession from benthic diatoms to planktonic diatoms and changes in nutrient levels.