This study reviews recent developments, challenges, and the prospect of electronic waste (e-waste). Various aspects of e-waste, including collection, pre-treatment, and recycling, are discussed briefly. It is found that Europe is the leading collector of e-waste, followed by Asia, America, Oceania, and Africa. The monetary worth of e-waste raw materials is estimated to be $57.0 billion. However, only $10.0 billion worth of e-waste is recycled and recovered sustainably, offsetting 15.0 million tonnes (Mt) of CO2. The major challenges of e-waste treatment include collection, sorting and inhomogeneity of waste, low energy density, prevention of further waste, emission, and cost-effective recycling. Only 78 countries in the world now have e-waste related legislation. Such legislation is not effectively implemented in most regions. Developing countries like south-eastern Asia and Northern Africa have limited or no e-waste legislation. Therefore, country-specific standards and legislation, public awareness, effective implementation, and government incentives for developing cost-effective technologies are sought to manage e-waste, which will play an important role in the circular economy.
In the recent years, the medical sector is getting increasingly interested in the wound dressing materials that contain medicinal herb instead of metal nanoparticles to impart antibacterial or other desirable properties. Herein, a novel multicomponent nanofibrous mat has been successfully prepared by electrospinning technique from a blended solution of polyvinyl alcohol, honey and Curcumin longa (turmeric) extract for potential application as the wound dressing material. Ethyl acetate extraction was followed to obtain the restorative components of turmeric. The fabricated nanofibrous materials were characterized by scanning electron microscope, moisture management tester, bacterial assay and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to evaluate their morphological, moisture, antibacterial and chemical behavior, respectively. Nanofibers of fabricated mat show an average diameter of 340 nm with better moisture management properties compared to polyvinyl alcohol nanomat alone. The agar diffusion method has been used to evaluate the antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus bacteria showing the formation of inhibition zone with a value of 29 mm and 38 mm. The presence of characteristic peaks in Fourier-transform infrared spectra reveals that all the desired components are present in the developed nanofibrous mats.
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