Understanding global perspectives for the acceptance of community sanitation welfare schemes through a localised qualitative survey in Kho Nagorian, Jaipur, India.

Community sanitation is a fundamental human right and need. Every year, as per the World Bank, total cost of providing sanitation services is estimated at around 114 billion USD per year. In India, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (SBA), a public welfare scheme (PWS), is aimed at addressing community sanitation problems. Despite the successful implementation of SBA, local communities still practise open defaecation. To deduce the behavioural patterns governing communal toilet use, interviews were conducted with the local communities in the Kho Nagorian area of Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. This qualitative survey examined attitudes towards the construction of a toilet, awareness towards the SBA scheme, and the willingness to use excreta-based pit humus. The study then discusses the factors that increase the local community's willingness to use these toilets. Results show that open defaecation is still prevalent in society. One way to foster the adoption of toilets is that the construction materials should mainly consist of local materials. As a recourse, places of worship could be used to influence people's perception of hygiene. In addition, community toilets should be cleaned often as well. PWS should not be made accessible at no cost to prevent a sense of entitlement among the people. A small sum should be charged to increase social responsibility towards the PWS. Another way to curb open defaecation is to tap into the sense of entitlement by making effective use of social campaign programs. Further, cross-table analysis revealed that the locals were inclined to use a toilet if they have invested in it. Advertisements were found to be ineffective, and proposals were made to make them effective. These findings aid in understanding public perceptions and can guide the development of public policies. The findings also assist in making tax distribution decisions that reflect public concerns, attitudes, and values.

Co-combustion of Oil Sludge Char with Raw/Hydrothermally Treated Biomass: Interactions, Kinetics, and Mechanism Analysis.

Comprehensive thermochemical treatment (pyrolysis and combustion) is considered to be an efficient method for treatment of oil sludge (OS) or utilization as a heat source. However, combustion of oil sludge char (OSC), the byproduct from OS pyrolysis, is difficult and energy-consuming due to the high ash content and low heating value. In this study, co-combustion of OSC with biomass is proposed, aiming at the efficient thermal treatment with heat recovery. The thermal characteristics, kinetics, and interactive mechanisms of co-combustion of OSC with raw wood (RW) or hydrothermally treated wood (HW) employing thermogravimetric analysis were investigated. The obtained results indicated that RW blending with OSC resulted in negative interactions with decreasing the apparent activation energies (E) of RW, attributed to the inhibited diffusion of volatiles. The developed porous structure in HW effectively promoted volatile matter diffusion. Coupled with the catalytic support by metal oxides in OSC, HW blending yielded positive interactions during co-combustion despite the increased E. The results showed that diffusion models were the most efficient mechanism for OSC/RW combustion. However, chemical reactions were found to be the rate-determining steps for OSC/HW combustion. The catalytic effect of inorganic elements and their physical influence on heat and mass transfer can control the co-combustion performance of OSC and biomass. The findings could offer reference information for understanding OSC co-combustion and provide a basis for implementing and optimizing the co-combustion between biomass and ash-rich waste.

Adsorptive reduction of water hardness by a highly porous and regenerative geopolymer fabricated from coal fly ash waste with low-temperature calcination.

In this research paper, potassium-activated geopolymer cubes (GeoC) fabricated from waste coal fly ash with low-temperature calcination were investigated as a water softening agent. The GeoC reduced water hardness contents by adsorbing calcium (Ca2+) and magnesium (Mg2+) ions from aqueous solutions. Batch experiments were conducted to investigate the adsorption performance for Ca2+ and Mg2+, including contact time, initial concentration of cations, and interference with competitive cations. The best performance for water hardness adsorption was found on GeoC-35, fabricated with the highest silicate ratio to hydroxide. The adsorption process reached equilibrium after a contact time of 6 h for Ca2+ and 24 h for Mg2+. The maximum adsorption capacity for Ca2+ and Mg2+ was 52.0 and 17.3 mg/g, respectively. Langmuir and pseudo-second-order models fitted the experimental data well, indicating that chemical reactions occurred on a homogeneous surface. The GeoC can also be reused for removing hardness. Furthermore, the increase in potassium and silicon concentration in solution varied directly with removal efficiency, suggesting that the aluminosilicate framework played a role in reducing water hardness via cationic exchange. The presence of competitive cations decreased adsorption ability, albeit it still exhibited an appreciable removal performance.