Some of the medi-herbs used for herbal textiles.
\r\n\t
",isbn:"978-1-83962-547-3",printIsbn:"978-1-83962-546-6",pdfIsbn:"978-1-83962-548-0",doi:null,price:0,priceEur:0,priceUsd:0,slug:null,numberOfPages:0,isOpenForSubmission:!0,hash:"e5ba02fedd7c87f0ab66414f3b07de0c",bookSignature:" John P. Tiefenbacher",publishedDate:null,coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/10765.jpg",keywords:"Managing Urbanization, Managing Development, Managing Resource Use, Drought Management, Flood Management, Water Quality Monitoring, Air Quality Monitoring, Ecological Monitoring, Modeling Extreme Natural Events, Ecological Restoration, Restoring Environmental Flows, Environmental Management Perspectives",numberOfDownloads:null,numberOfWosCitations:0,numberOfCrossrefCitations:null,numberOfDimensionsCitations:null,numberOfTotalCitations:null,isAvailableForWebshopOrdering:!0,dateEndFirstStepPublish:"January 12th 2021",dateEndSecondStepPublish:"February 9th 2021",dateEndThirdStepPublish:"April 10th 2021",dateEndFourthStepPublish:"June 29th 2021",dateEndFifthStepPublish:"August 28th 2021",remainingDaysToSecondStep:"20 days",secondStepPassed:!1,currentStepOfPublishingProcess:2,editedByType:null,kuFlag:!1,biosketch:"A geospatial scholar working at the interface of natural and human systems, collaborating internationally on innovative studies about hazards and environmental challenges. Dr. Tiefenbacher has published more than 200 papers on a diverse array of topics that examine perception and behaviors with regards to the application of pesticides, releases of toxic chemicals, environments of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, wildlife hazards, and the geography of wine.",coeditorOneBiosketch:null,coeditorTwoBiosketch:null,coeditorThreeBiosketch:null,coeditorFourBiosketch:null,coeditorFiveBiosketch:null,editors:[{id:"73876",title:"Dr.",name:"John P.",middleName:null,surname:"Tiefenbacher",slug:"john-p.-tiefenbacher",fullName:"John P. Tiefenbacher",profilePictureURL:"https://mts.intechopen.com/storage/users/73876/images/system/73876.jfif",biography:"Dr. John P. Tiefenbacher (Ph.D., Rutgers, 1992) is a professor of Geography at Texas State University. His research has focused on various aspects of hazards and environmental management. Dr. Tiefenbacher has published on a diverse array of topics that examine perception and behaviors with regards to the application of pesticides, releases of toxic chemicals, environments of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, wildlife hazards, and the geography of wine. More recently his work pertains to spatial adaptation to climate change, spatial responses in wine growing regions to climate change, the geographies of viticulture and wine, artificial intelligence and machine learning to predict patterns of natural processes and hazards, historical ethnic enclaves in American cities and regions, and environmental adaptations of 19th century European immigrants to North America's landscapes.",institutionString:"Texas State University",position:null,outsideEditionCount:0,totalCites:0,totalAuthoredChapters:"1",totalChapterViews:"0",totalEditedBooks:"6",institution:{name:"Texas State University",institutionURL:null,country:{name:"United States of America"}}}],coeditorOne:null,coeditorTwo:null,coeditorThree:null,coeditorFour:null,coeditorFive:null,topics:[{id:"12",title:"Environmental Sciences",slug:"environmental-sciences"}],chapters:null,productType:{id:"1",title:"Edited Volume",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"},personalPublishingAssistant:{id:"194667",firstName:"Marijana",lastName:"Francetic",middleName:null,title:"Ms.",imageUrl:"https://mts.intechopen.com/storage/users/194667/images/4752_n.jpg",email:"marijana@intechopen.com",biography:"As an Author Service Manager my responsibilities include monitoring and facilitating all publishing activities for authors and editors. From chapter submission and review, to approval and revision, copyediting and design, until final publication, I work closely with authors and editors to ensure a simple and easy publishing process. I maintain constant and effective communication with authors, editors and reviewers, which allows for a level of personal support that enables contributors to fully commit and concentrate on the chapters they are writing, editing, or reviewing. I assist authors in the preparation of their full chapter submissions and track important deadlines and ensure they are met. I help to coordinate internal processes such as linguistic review, and monitor the technical aspects of the process. As an ASM I am also involved in the acquisition of editors. Whether that be identifying an exceptional author and proposing an editorship collaboration, or contacting researchers who would like the opportunity to work with IntechOpen, I establish and help manage author and editor acquisition and contact."}},relatedBooks:[{type:"book",id:"1591",title:"Infrared Spectroscopy",subtitle:"Materials Science, Engineering and Technology",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"99b4b7b71a8caeb693ed762b40b017f4",slug:"infrared-spectroscopy-materials-science-engineering-and-technology",bookSignature:"Theophile Theophanides",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/1591.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"37194",title:"Dr.",name:"Theophanides",surname:"Theophile",slug:"theophanides-theophile",fullName:"Theophanides Theophile"}],productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"3092",title:"Anopheles mosquitoes",subtitle:"New insights into malaria vectors",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"c9e622485316d5e296288bf24d2b0d64",slug:"anopheles-mosquitoes-new-insights-into-malaria-vectors",bookSignature:"Sylvie Manguin",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/3092.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"50017",title:"Prof.",name:"Sylvie",surname:"Manguin",slug:"sylvie-manguin",fullName:"Sylvie Manguin"}],productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"3161",title:"Frontiers in Guided Wave Optics and Optoelectronics",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"deb44e9c99f82bbce1083abea743146c",slug:"frontiers-in-guided-wave-optics-and-optoelectronics",bookSignature:"Bishnu Pal",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/3161.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"4782",title:"Prof.",name:"Bishnu",surname:"Pal",slug:"bishnu-pal",fullName:"Bishnu Pal"}],productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"72",title:"Ionic Liquids",subtitle:"Theory, Properties, New Approaches",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"d94ffa3cfa10505e3b1d676d46fcd3f5",slug:"ionic-liquids-theory-properties-new-approaches",bookSignature:"Alexander Kokorin",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/72.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"19816",title:"Prof.",name:"Alexander",surname:"Kokorin",slug:"alexander-kokorin",fullName:"Alexander Kokorin"}],productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"1373",title:"Ionic Liquids",subtitle:"Applications and Perspectives",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"5e9ae5ae9167cde4b344e499a792c41c",slug:"ionic-liquids-applications-and-perspectives",bookSignature:"Alexander Kokorin",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/1373.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"19816",title:"Prof.",name:"Alexander",surname:"Kokorin",slug:"alexander-kokorin",fullName:"Alexander Kokorin"}],productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"57",title:"Physics and Applications of Graphene",subtitle:"Experiments",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"0e6622a71cf4f02f45bfdd5691e1189a",slug:"physics-and-applications-of-graphene-experiments",bookSignature:"Sergey Mikhailov",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/57.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"16042",title:"Dr.",name:"Sergey",surname:"Mikhailov",slug:"sergey-mikhailov",fullName:"Sergey Mikhailov"}],productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"371",title:"Abiotic Stress in Plants",subtitle:"Mechanisms and Adaptations",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"588466f487e307619849d72389178a74",slug:"abiotic-stress-in-plants-mechanisms-and-adaptations",bookSignature:"Arun Shanker and B. Venkateswarlu",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/371.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"58592",title:"Dr.",name:"Arun",surname:"Shanker",slug:"arun-shanker",fullName:"Arun Shanker"}],productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"878",title:"Phytochemicals",subtitle:"A Global Perspective of Their Role in Nutrition and Health",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"ec77671f63975ef2d16192897deb6835",slug:"phytochemicals-a-global-perspective-of-their-role-in-nutrition-and-health",bookSignature:"Venketeshwer Rao",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/878.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"82663",title:"Dr.",name:"Venketeshwer",surname:"Rao",slug:"venketeshwer-rao",fullName:"Venketeshwer Rao"}],productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"4816",title:"Face Recognition",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"146063b5359146b7718ea86bad47c8eb",slug:"face_recognition",bookSignature:"Kresimir Delac and Mislav Grgic",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/4816.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"528",title:"Dr.",name:"Kresimir",surname:"Delac",slug:"kresimir-delac",fullName:"Kresimir Delac"}],productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"3621",title:"Silver Nanoparticles",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:null,slug:"silver-nanoparticles",bookSignature:"David Pozo Perez",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/3621.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"6667",title:"Dr.",name:"David",surname:"Pozo",slug:"david-pozo",fullName:"David Pozo"}],productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}}]},chapter:{item:{type:"chapter",id:"44329",title:"Pretreatment of Lignocellulosic Biomass Using Microorganisms: Approaches, Advantages, and Limitations",doi:"10.5772/55088",slug:"pretreatment-of-lignocellulosic-biomass-using-microorganisms-approaches-advantages-and-limitations",body:'Much of Earth’s recent geologic history is dominated by periods of extensive glaciation, with relatively low global mean temperatures and correspondingly low atmospheric CO2 concentrations [1]. The current interglacial period stands out as an anomaly because the atmospheric CO2 concentration has risen sharply above the range of approximately 180-280 parts per million by volume that has defined the past 420,000 years to reach levels that are nearly 40% higher than the biosphere has experienced over this time frame [2]. This rapid increase in CO2 concentration is primarily due to the release of ancient fixed atmospheric CO2 into the modern atmosphere through the combustion of fossil fuel resources over the past 200 years. Since it is clear from ice core records that atmospheric CO2 concentration has a strong positive correlation to global temperature, it is expected that changes to global climate are forthcoming [3]. There are substantial uncertainties regarding the ability of terrestrial and oceanic carbon sinks to absorb this anthropogenic CO2 on time scales that are relevant to human society [2], so the continued release of ancient CO2 into the modern atmosphere at current rates carries with it an important risk of inducing climate changes of unknown amplitude along with a host of ancillary changes that are difficult to predict with certainty. This has led to the search for alternatives to fossil fuels to meet a rising global energy demand, and one such option is the use of extant organic matter to produce energy. This resource contains carbon that was fixed from the modern atmosphere, which means it does not result in a net increase in atmospheric CO2 upon combustion.
Meeting the world’s energy demands requires resources that are abundant and inexpensive to produce. Biomass from forestry and agricultural activities is certainly a candidate, as hundreds of millions of tonnes of agricultural waste from rice, wheat, corn, and other crops are produced worldwide, which could generate billions of litres of ethanol [4]. For ethanol, butanol, methane, and other biofuels to be produced economically, however, requires an integrated approach, with a number of value-added co-products produced in addition to the energy – a “biorefinery” that stands in analogy to petroleum refineries that produce both energy and a wide range of petroleum-based chemicals and products [5-7]. The biorefinery concept is hardly new, as the industrial-scale bacterial fermentation of starch to acetone and butanol (A-B) was developed a century ago. These A-B fermentations were done on an industrial scale in the West during World War I and persisted into the 1950’s. They continued in Russia until late in the Soviet era, ultimately using corn cobs and other agricultural residues as input [8]. However, releasing the energy and co-product potential of plant-based material requires energy inputs and processing steps, as discussed below; this hinders the ability of biofuels to compete economically with petroleum resources, which have been exposed to millions of years of geological energy input to reach their current biochemical state.
Current paradigms for biofuels production include the production of ethanol by yeast or bacteria from glucose produced from soluble sugars and starch (1st generation ethanol) or from the cellulosic fraction of biomass (2nd generation ethanol). Due to a lack of competition with food production, the latter is typically seen as more sustainable on a long-term basis [9, 10]. An emerging option is the co-production of ethanol and hydrogen via consolidated bioprocessing [11]. In addition to the now little-used anaerobic A-B fermentations discussed above, another scheme for biofuels production from plant biomass involves the anaerobic production of methane by microbial consortia (anaerobic digestion) [12, 13]. The common link for all of these strategies is the exploitation and optimization of natural microbial activity to produce energy-rich molecules for combustion to produce energy. Direct thermochemical conversion of biomass via pyrolysis or gasification is also possible, although these strategies involve a large amount of energy input by heating the biomass to very high temperatures (normally >500°C) and are therefore independent of microbial activity [14].
Regardless of the means by which biofuels are produced by microbial activity from extant plant material, the same essential challenge must be faced: the substrate for biofuels production is the carbohydrate fraction, which must be made available to the microorganisms in order for the biochemical reactions to proceed efficiently. In the case of 1st generation ethanol, soluble sugars and starch are relatively easily converted to glucose that is fermented into ethanol by yeast. Strategies that utilize the non-food portion of crops, however, face a more formidable challenge. The resource from which energy is to be produced consists of three major biopolymers: cellulose (β(1,4)-linked glucose residues with a degree of polymerization up to ~15,000); hemicellulose (a heterogeneous, short-chained, branched carbohydrate with both 5- and 6-carbon sugars); and lignin (a complex aromatic polymer consisting of nonrepeating covalently linked units of coniferyl, sinapyl, and coumaryl alcohols). These polymers exist together in the plant as a composite, tightly interconnected molecule called lignocellulose [15]. Within lignocellulose, the lignin fraction in particular acts as a barrier to enzyme or microbial penetration, which greatly decreases the yields of fermentable sugars and negatively affects the overall process of energy production from these resources to the extent that it is uneconomical [5, 16]. To overcome this limitation, some form of pretreatment of the biomass is required for economical and efficient production of biofuels by any of the strategies described above [13, 16-21].
The purpose of this chapter is to review the various pretreatment options available for lignocellulosic biomass, with particular emphasis on agricultural residues and on strategies that exploit the natural metabolic activity of microbes to increase the processability of the biomass. These microbial-based strategies can be effective pretreatments on their own or, more probably, can be used in combination with thermomechanical pretreatments in order to provide a cost-effective means to make lignocellulosic substrates available for conversion to biofuels by microorganisms. The key advantages and disadvantages of this strategy will be presented along with a vision for how microbial pretreatment can be integrated into an economical biorefinery process for biofuels and co-product production.
An early, essential mechanical pretreatment step is comminution, or mechanical particle size reduction, to transform the biomass from its native state into a suitable substrate for further pretreatment and energy production [17]. This step is often not considered in the energy balance of biofuels processes, but it is important to keep in mind that particle size reduction involves energy input that can influence the effective energy yield of these processes [22]. While smaller particle sizes are often considered to be more desirable for yields of fermentable sugars, sizes smaller than about 0.4-0.5 mm provide no additional benefit [17, 23], and the process becomes economically unfeasible at even smaller particle sizes [22]. Methods for mechanical size reduction include wet milling, dry milling, ball milling or vibratory ball milling, and other forms of chipping and grinding of biomass [4, 17]. Regardless of the method employed, particle size reduction requires energy input; therefore, strategies that facilitate the production of biomass in the proper size range while minimizing energy input will provide positive benefits to the overall economics of biofuels processes.
A wide range of options is available for preparing ground biomass for further processing. One of the most common and simple technologies for rendering the carbohydrate fraction available for biofuels production is the application of a dilute solution of sulfuric acid (0.5%-2%) at temperatures of 140°C – 180°C with residence times of 10-30 minutes [24]. This process leaves a residue that is depleted in hemicellulose but retains most of the cellulose intact, making it an ideal substrate for enzymatic hydrolysis to yield fermentable sugars for ethanol production. There is a range of conditions for acid hydrolysis that will result in more or less carbohydrate remaining in the solid fraction, with the most severe conditions used to completely degrade the carbohydrate fraction for the determination of cell wall carbohydrate composition [25]. Harsher conditions (e.g. higher acid concentration and temperature), while resulting in a substrate that is highly digestible with enzymes to generate fermentable sugars, also result in a higher yield of compounds derived from pentoses (furfural), hexoses (5-hydroxymethylfurfural) and lignin (low molecular weight phenolic compounds) that are inhibitory to subsequent fermentation by ethanologenic yeasts [26]. The mathematical concept of combined severity, which combines the various factors that define acid hydrolysis conditions (e.g. temperature, residence time, pH), allows objective comparisons between different conditions that enables the determination of optimal conditions for a given substrate [26]; however, doubts have been raised about its accuracy [17].
Another highly effective pretreatment strategy is steam explosion, in which biomass is briefly heated to high temperatures (~200°C) under high pressure, then subjected to a rapid pressure drop that renders the biomass more penetrable by enzymes for subsequent hydrolysis [18]. In some cases, steam explosion is enhanced by the addition of an acid catalyst such as sulfuric acid [27]. For lignocellulosic agricultural residues, steam explosion under optimized conditions has been shown to be an effective pretreatment strategy for enzymatic saccharification [28]. Steam explosion has also been successfully used in combination with other physiochemical pretreatments such as acid/water impregnation of cereal straws [29]. Both of the latter studies resulted in the release of hemicellulose-derived pentose oligomers into the liquid fraction, and it was suggested that the use of ethanologenic strains capable of converting these pentoses into ethanol would further improve overall process efficiency [28]. Other assessments have suggested that the hemicellulose fraction would be more efficiently converted to other value-added products rather than ethanol using post-treatment enzyme addition or further acid hydrolysis [30].
Organosolv is a process by which the lignin fraction is chemically modified and essentially removed from biomass using high-temperature extraction with alcohols such as methanol or ethanol or other solvents, sometimes with dilute acid (e.g. hydrochloric or sulfuric acid) as a catalyst [17]. While organosolv processes require a solvent recovery step to be economical and efficient, they provide a robust means of generating three streams of potential products: an extracted, modified lignin component, a hemicellulose-enriched aqueous phase, and a residue that is highly enriched in cellulose and an excellent substrate for the production of biofuels by enzymatic saccharification followed by bacterial or yeast fermentation. Organosolv is one of the pretreatment options that results in a fraction containing chemically modified, low molecular weight lignin components. This stream has a good deal of product potential in addition to its possible use as a fuel for combustion to provide energy to the process [7, 31]. While organosolv is particularly suited to very lignin-rich feedstocks such as wood [32], there is increasing interest in using organosolv extractions for agricultural residues such as wheat straw and dedicated biofuels crops [33]. Goh et al. [34] optimized organosolv conditions for empty palm fruit bunch using combined severity calculations, with excellent results and the ability to accurately predict product stream yields.
Microwave pretreatment of biomass is another option that has been reported to improve subsequent enzymatic saccharification of rice straw [35]. Microwaves have the advantage of combining very rapid heating times with a lower energy input than conventional heating strategies. This irradiative pretreatment creates localized hotspots, which open up the lignocellulose composite molecule, thereby facilitating enzyme access for saccharification and biofuel production by fermentation [4]. A successful combination of microwave and chemical pretreatments in a microwave-acid-alkali-hydrogen peroxide sequence resulted in efficient enzymatic saccharification of rice straw [36]. A related pretreatment option that has been exploited to improve the enzymatic digestibility of switchgrass is the use of radio frequency heating in combination with alkali; this treatment has the key advantage of allowing a much higher solids content than conventional heating [37]. Irradiation of biomass can also enhance methane production by anaerobic digestion [12].
A number of other pretreatment options exist, including ammonia fiber explosion (AFEX), liquid hot water, alkalai/wet oxidative pretreament, and others; several recent reviews discuss these processes and their advantages and disadvantages in detail [4, 17-20, 23, 30, 38, 39]. Regardless of the strategy employed, a common feature of any pretreatment option is that energy input is required. Pretreatment is a major part of the overall operating expense and energy efficiency of any biofuels process, and, while essential, typically accounts for over 30% of the costs of biorefinery operation [40, 41]. Strategies to reduce these costs will have a major impact on the energy balance and economic sustainability of biorefineries.
Microorganisms have evolved a capacity to modify and access lignocellulosic biomass to meet their metabolic needs. The exploitation of this capacity offers a natural, low-input means for preparing biomass for biofuels processes. Natural modification and degradation of the lignin component in particular can reduce the severity requirements of subsequent thermochemical pretreatment steps. For example, Itoh et al. [42] used a variety of lignin-degrading white-rot fungi to treat wood chips prior to extracting lignin by an organosolv method, and demonstrated that improved ethanol yields were obtained from the solid fraction along with a 15% savings in electricity use. Similarly, brown-rot fungal species Coniophora puteana and Postia placenta have been successfully used to improve glucose yields upon enzymatic saccharification of pine, acting as a complete replacement for thermomechanical pretreatments [43]. While it is clear that it is possible to exploit the metabolic capabilities of microorganisms to facilitate biofuels production, the very wide taxonomic array of microorganisms that modify or degrade lignocellulose presents a tremendous variety of choices for implementing such a strategy. Each approach carries its own advantages and challenges.
One approach for applying the power of microbial metabolism to the challenges of biofuel production involves ensiling, which is a commonly used means for enhancing the digestibility of forage and other biomass for ruminants [44, 45]. The process of ensiling exploits the capacity of naturally occurring bacteria, mostly Lactobacillaceae, to ferment the sugars within lignocellulosic residues and produce a substrate that is more easily digested by ruminal microorganisms. While these bacterial consortia lack the ability to substantially degrade the lignin component, the changes effected on the biomass can improve yields of fermentable sugars upon subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis. For example, ensiling a variety of agricultural residues, including wheat, barley, and triticale straws along with cotton stocks resulted in significant improvements in fermentable carbohydrate yields upon application of cellulose-degrading enzymes [46]. Due to limitations in the ability of ensilage to substantially modify the lignin component, this method is not normally a suitable stand-alone biological pretreatment. However, ensiling has been exploited as a means to preserve biomass for biofuels production and has been found to be a very effective, on-farm biomass pretreatment. A strain of Lactobacillus fermentum was highly effective in preserving sugar beet pulp cellulose and hemicellulose, and ensiling improved enzymatic saccharification by as much as 35% [47]. Ensiling has also been found to improve yields of methane in anaerobic digestion, with the added benefit of facilitating the longer-term storage of biomass (up to 1 year) while retaining the yield improvements [48, 49]. Improvements in methane yields of up to 50% have been observed with hemp and maize residue, while other crops showed little improvement [50]. However, other researchers have cautioned that the total solids loss may be overestimated for certain substrates, which may result in a misleading, apparent improvement in methane yields by ensiling [51]. Furthermore, while some studies noted above have shown that desirable carbohydrates can be preserved through ensiling, others have noted degradation of cellulose and hemicellulose of up to 10% in this relatively uncontrolled, complex process [46]. Nevertheless, ensiling does offer the substantial benefit of biomass preservation and, importantly, it utilizes existing technology and expertise and can be performed on-farm using unmodified farm equipment. Moreover, ensiling is a relatively low-input process that is anaerobic and therefore does not require mixing and aeration. For these reasons, ensiling could easily be incorporated into an overall biorefinery process at the earliest stages of energy production.
The earliest colonization of land by plants began around 450 million years ago. The evolutionary innovation that facilitated their spread and success in the non-marine environment was lignification, which provided protection from ultraviolet radiation, structural rigidity and eventually protection from coevolved pathogens and herbivores [52]. The complexity of the phenylpropanoid polymer also provided a carbon sink as land plants fixed atmospheric CO2 into degradation-resistant lignin. The vast coal reserves whose combustion have contributed to the recent spike in atmospheric CO2 concentrations trace their origins to the Carboniferous period (~350-300 million years ago), when lignin was not effectively decomposed [52]. Near the end of the Carboniferous period, saprophytic fungi of the class Agaricomycetes evolved the ability to degrade the lignin component of plant biomass, which contributed to a substantial decline in organic carbon burial to the extent that little coal formation occurs today [53, 54]. The large majority of fungal species that are capable of wood decay are known as “white-rot” fungi, which degrade all of the major wood polymers. Approximately 6% of wood decay species are “brown-rot” fungi, which evolved from white-rot fungi and selectively degrade the cellulose and hemicellulose fraction of wood, leaving a lignin-rich residue that is a major contributor to soil carbon in forest ecosystems [55].
The taxonomically broadly distributed white- and brown-rot fungi have developed a variety of means to access and degrade lignocellulose over their long evolutionary history, and their powerful metabolism has been exploited for industrial applications in recent decades. For example, lignin-degrading fungi were noted to have a brightening effect on kraft pulp derived from hardwoods, with savings in bleaching chemicals and potentially decreased environmental impact on paper mill operations [56]. This “biobleaching” was developed further using well-known fungi, such as Trametes versicolor [57, 58] and Phanerochaete chrysosporium [59, 60]. Similar approaches were used to decolorize and detoxify pulp mill effluent and black liquor [61-63]. In addition, white-rot fungi have been exploited for their ability to decrease energy requirements in pulp manufacturing. This process, known as biopulping, softens the woody substrate and substantially decreases mill electricity requirements for mechanical pulp manufacture [64, 65]. The required scale of industrial pulp manufacture and the applicability of white-rot fungi in providing manufacturing benefits led to the development of feasible means of applying white-rot fungi to biomass on an industrially-relevant scale [66]. This two-auger system featured a wood chip decontamination step and an inoculation step, followed by incubation at ambient temperatures in large chip piles with forced aeration. A series of outdoor trials of this method each featured the treatment of ~36 tonnes of softwood chips with the biopulping fungus Ceriporiopsis subvermispora for two weeks. The results were energy savings of around 30% in subsequent pulping, which is slightly higher than was observed in bench-scale trails [66].
More recently, wood-degrading fungi have been investigated for their ability to assist in processing biomass for biofuels production. Again, with the tremendous variety of wood-rotting species and feedstocks available, there is a wide array of strategies reported for biological pretreatment. One very promising approach used rice straw as feedstock, treated with the white-rot fungus Pleurotus ostreatus (oyster mushroom) followed by AFEX [67]. This strategy resulted in significant reductions in the severity of the required pretreatment along with improved glucose yields upon enzyme treatment - and produced edible mushrooms as a by-product. Another study found that the incubation time required for Pleurotus ostreatus to improve enzymatic saccharification with rice hulls was decreased from 60 days to 18 days by pretreating the rice hulls with hydrogen peroxide prior to fungal inoculation [68]. Similarly, preconditioning of softwood using various white-rot fungi resulted in degradation and modification of the lignin, although significant cellulose loss was also observed [69]. Nevertheless, improved glucose yields were observed by enzymatic saccharification of softwood treated with Stereum hirsutum compared to untreated controls, which was attributed to an increase in the pore size of the substrate [69]. Other studies have exploited the selective lignin degradation ability of the white-rot fungus Echinodontium taxodii to enhance enzymatic saccharification of water hyacinth in combination with dilute acid pretreatment [70], or of woody substrates without subsequent thermochemical pretreatment [71]. Biological pretreament has also been shown to improve biogas yields from agricultural residues via anaerobic digestion [72]. A tremendous variety of other approaches to biological pretreatment has been reported to be successful on many different lignocellulosic substrates [73, 74].
Exploitation of fungal metabolic activity for industrial purposes can take a variety of forms. For white- and brown-rot fungi, the mode of cultivation can have an effect on the results obtained, and the choice of cultivation conditions depends on the desired outcomes. In general, fungi can be cultivated under solid-state conditions (solid-state fermentation, or SSF), or using submerged fermentation (SmF). SSF involves culturing the fungus on the substrate under relatively low moisture conditions (~60-70%), while SmF uses liquid cultures of the fungus co-incubated with the normally insoluble substrate. Early pulp biobleaching experiments used SmF of white-rot fungi such as Trametes versicolor, which featured the advantage of shorter incubation times than SSF [75], but suffered the drawback that very large fermentation vessels would be required for industrial-scale treatments. Many white-rot fungi grow well and perform the desired metabolism under solid-state conditions. For example, species of the genera Trametes, Phanerochaete, and Pycnoporus preferentially removed color and chemical oxygen demand from olive mill wastewaters and pulp mill black liquors under SSF cultivation conditions [61, 76, 77]. SSF using white-rot fungi has also been used to modify the lignin in agricultural residues, such as wheat straw, for biofuels processes [78].
Despite relatively long incubation times, SSF offers an inexpensive and effective means of fungal cultivation that can also be used for the production of potentially valuable fungal enzymes [79-81]. Fungal enzymes produced by SSF have been used to enhance methane production by anaerobic digestion [82]. Alternatively, fungal lignocellulose modifying enzymes produced by SSF have been used to improve the ruminal digestibility of agricultural residues [83]. However, for SSF to work efficiently with white- or brown-rot fungi requires a decontamination step to allow the fungi to establish on the residues. In lab-scale studies, this is usually accomplished by autoclaving the residues prior to inoculation [84, 85]. While this is necessary at the research scale to establish with certainty the effects of the inoculated fungus on the substrate, autoclaving is in itself a form of pretreatment and is not feasible on an industrial scale. This is a limitation of SSF for application on the large scale that would be required for biological pretreatment of agricultural residues for biofuels production.
The mechanisms that saprophytic wood degrading fungi have evolved to access their difficult growth substrate can be divided into two categories: oxidative mechanisms and hydrolytic mechanisms. These two groups of enzymes and chemicals act together in various combinations to effect the degradation of lignocellulose by different organisms.
Due to the highly compact, complex nature of lignocellulose, enzymes cannot effectively penetrate this molecule to interact with their substrates. To overcome this limitation, wood-degrading fungi use chemical means to access the recalcitrant substrate. The production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is a recurring theme in fungal lignocellulose degradation [86]. Specifically, since wood contains sufficient redox-active iron, fungal production of hydrogen peroxide will produce hydroxyl radicals via the Fenton reaction [86]. Hydroxyl radicals (•OH) are extremely powerful oxidizing agents that can catalyze highly non-specific reactions leading to the cleavage of covalent bonds in both lignin and cellulose [86]. Hydrogen peroxide is commonly produced through the action of fungal redox enzymes, such as glyoxal oxidase, pyranose-2 oxidase, and aryl-alcohol oxidase [15].
Another redox enzyme produced by a wide variety of wood-degrading fungi (as well as plants) is laccase, a multicopper oxidase. Laccase acts by removing a single electron from its substrate, which is typically a low-molecular weight compound (mediator) that can diffuse into the densely packed lignocellulose molecule and initiate free radical-mediated reactions leading to the depolymerisation of the substrate. The white-rot fungus Pycnoporus cinnabarinus uses laccase in combination with a secondary metabolite, 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid, to effect lignin depolymerisation [87, 88]. Laccase has been used in combination with a wide variety of chemical mediators to effect lignin degradation in wood pulp, with excellent results [89-91].
The presence of manganese in woody substrates is exploited by lignin-degrading fungi through the production of the enzyme manganese peroxidase (MnP). The importance of MnP in lignin degradation is illustrated by its presence in the genomes of white-rot fungi and absence in the non-lignin-degrading brown-rot fungi [92], as well as by the inability of MnP-deficient mutants of Trametes versicolor to delignify hardwood-derived kraft pulp [93]. MnP is a heme-containing enzyme with a catalytic cycle that is typical of heme peroxidases, but is uniquely selective for Mn2+ as its preferred electron donor [94]. The oxidation of Mn2+, which is accompanied by the reduction of hydrogen peroxide to water, results in the formation of Mn3+. The latter ion is a powerful, diffusible oxidant that is chelated by organic acids such as oxalate produced as a secondary metabolite of the fungus [94]. This highly reactive ion interacts with a wide variety of substrates, including phenols, non-phenolic aromatics, carboxylic acids, and unsaturated fatty acids, producing further ROS and resulting in lignocellulose bond cleavage through oxidative mechanisms [94]. Like laccase, MnP has found application as a delignifying enzyme for pine wood [95] as well as kraft pulp [96, 97]. Peroxidases related to MnP, including lignin peroxidase (LiP) and versatile peroxidase (VP) are also produced by a variety of wood-degrading fungi and play an important role in lignin degradation [98].
Cellobiose dehydrogenase (CDH) is a unique enzyme containing both a heme and a flavin cofactor [99]. CDH is produced by a wide range of fungal species, including both lignin-degrading organisms and fungi that are incapable of degrading lignin [100, 101]. CDH catalyzes the two-electron oxidation of a narrow range of β(1,4)-linked sugar molecules, principally cellobiose, and transfers these electrons to a very wide array of substrates, including metals such as ferric, cupric, or manganic ions, iron-containing proteins (e.g. cytochrome c), quinones, and other large and small molecules [102, 103]. The diversity of reduced substrates has led to much speculation regarding the role of CDH in lignocellulose degradation; roles have been postulated in the degradation of both cellulose [104] and lignin [105]. The reduction of cupric and ferric ions by CDH and the production of hydrogen peroxide by lignin-degrading fungi suggests that CDH may be involved in sustaining hydroxyl radical-based Fenton’s chemistry, with many possible secondary reactions leading to lignocellulose bond cleavage [106]. The role of CDH in lignin-degrading basidiomycetes was addressed by generating mutants of Trametes versicolor that did not produce the enzyme, suggesting that CDH plays a role in cellulose degradation, with a more minor role in lignin degradation [107, 108]. Similarly, a recent study with the non- lignin-degrading ascomycete Neurospora crassa revealed that deletion of the gene encoding CDH resulted in vastly decreased cellulase activity, and that the oxidation of cellobiose was coupled to the reductive activation of copper-containing polysaccharide monooxygenases [109]. These studies strongly suggest a role for CDH in supporting cellulose catabolism by fungi, with the latter study in particular providing a highly plausible mechanism for the in vivo function of CDH.
Complementing the degradative power of the redox chemistry catalyzed by the enzymes produced by lignocellulose-degrading fungi is a suite of enzymes that act by adding a water molecule to glycosidic bonds, resulting in bond cleavage and depolymerization. In contrast to the redox enzymes, these hydrolytic enzymes recognize and act on specific glycosidic linkages, releasing sugar molecules that can be utilized as an energy source to support fungal metabolism. Cellulose degradation is catalyzed by the synergistic action of three classes of hydrolytic cellulase enzymes: endo-(1,4)-β-glucanase (endocellulase), cellobiohydrolase (exocellulase), and β-glucosidase [110]. Endocellulases catalyze the cleavage of cellulose chains internally at amorphous regions, while exocellulases remove cellobiose units from the ends of cellulose chains. β-glucosidases are extracellular, cell wall-associated or intracellular enzymes that cleave cellobiose into glucose, which also supports exocellulase activity by relieving end-product inhibition [110]. The redundancy in cellulase genes in fungi is at least partially explained by the fact that different exocellulase enzymes preferentially attack the reducing or non-reducing end of a cellulose chain. This has the effect of exposing new sites for exocellulases of the opposite specificity and also generates new amorphous regions to be acted upon by endocellulases [110, 111]. Hemicellulose degradation is effected by the activity of a wide range of hydrolytic enzymes, including endo-xylanases; endo-α-L-arabinase; endo-mannanase, β-galactosidase, and an array of corresponding β-glucosidases [112]. In addition, covalent bonds within lignocellulose are hydrolyzed by cinnamoyl or feruloyl esterases, which cleave the ester bond between polymerized lignin subunits and the hemicellulose within the composite molecule [113, 114]. Complementary cellulase activity by these various “accessory enzymes” is shown on complex substrates by the improvement in enzymatic saccharification observed when enzymes such as xylanase, pectinase, and feruloyl esterase are added to cellulase cocktails [115, 116].
Tremendous progress has been made in the last decade concerning the genetic mechanisms underlying plant biomass degradation and modification by microbes, specifically ascomycetous and basidiomycetous fungi. Key to these advancements was the complete genome sequencing of several biomass-degrading fungi, including Phanerochaete chrysosporium, Phanerochaete carnosa, Postia placenta and Trametes versicolor. The first basidiomycete genome to be sequenced and analyzed, Phanerochaete chrysosporium, revealed a tremendous diversity of genes encoding enzymes involved in wood degradation [117]. Among these genes were approximately 240 carbohydrate-active enzymes and several lignin and manganese-dependent peroxidases, which function to degrade the cellulosic/hemicellulosic and lignin components of the cell wall, respectively. This research provided the groundwork for more comprehensive analyses of the genome [118], transcriptome and secretome of Phanerochaete chrysosporium [119-122]. These studies highlighted hundreds of wood-degrading genes that were upregulated when P. chrysosporium was grown in cellulose-rich medium, including almost 200 genes encoding enzymes of unknown function [122].
Complementary to this research on white-rot fungi was a genome/transcriptome/proteome study on the brown-rot fungus Postia placenta [123]. Despite an abundance of similarities between P. chrysosporium and P. placenta, there were notably fewer glycoside hydrolases expressed by P. placenta, such as extracellular cellulases (e.g. endo-(1,4)-β-glucanases), highlighting the mechanistic differences between white- and brown-rot fungi. This work was followed by transcriptomic and proteomic studies investigating the biomass-degrading activity of Phanerochaete carnosa [124, 125]. Despite the overall similarity of the transcriptome composition among P. carnosa and P. chrysosporium, the most abundant transcripts in P. carnosa grown on wood substrates (hardwood and softwood) were peroxidases and oxidases involved in lignin degradation [124], whereas P. chrysosporium grown only on hardwood revealed only a few highly expressed lignin-degrading enzymes [121]. The differing expression of lignocellulosic enzymes in response to different woody substrates was also explored by examining gene expression patterns in both P. placenta and P. chrysosporium on hardwood and softwood species [126]. The results of this study strongly suggest that both species of fungi alter their gene expression patterns to degrade wood with different structural characteristics.
In addition to helping uncover the fundamental biochemical machinery involved in biomass degradation, these genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic studies of biomass-degrading fungi have also identified hundreds of target enzymes that could be utilized industrially for bioenergy production, with unique enzyme cocktails suited for specific substrates (e.g. hardwoods vs. softwoods). Several commercial enzymes are commonly used to degrade lignocellulosic residue into fermentable sugars (e.g. Celluclast and Novozyme 188). These ‘omic’ studies have identified hundreds of fungal glycoside hydrolases that may supplement or completely replace these industry standards. Pre-treatment strategies may also take advantage of the numerous lignin-modifying enzymes identified from biomass-degrading fungi, including lignin and manganese-dependent peroxidases, which have the potential to reduce the severity of thermomechanical and thermochemical pretreatment processes.
The explosion of ‘omic’ data for a wide variety of lignocellulose-degrading fungi [117, 123-125] along with the development of sophisticated tools for annotating fungal genomes [127] will continue to add to our understanding of the mechanisms of fungal decay of lignocellulose. Furthermore, increased knowledge of fungal decay mechanisms can aid in the development of strains with improved characteristics. For example, a major limitation to the application of fungal strains for biological pretreatment is the degradation of the desired carbohydrates (cellulose and hemicellulose) for fungal metabolism [73, 74]. Creating or selecting strains that lack the ability to degrade these carbohydrates while retaining the ability to degrade and modify lignin would provide a means to avoid this drawback of fungal pretreatment. Early studies with strains that were deficient in the production of cellulase met with only moderate success, with substantial degradation of cellulose observed [128, 129]. This is probably attributable to the high degree of redundancy in fungal cellulases, with large numbers of genes contributing to the hydrolytic degradation of cellulose and hemicellulose in various species [15]. More recently, we have applied a strain of Trametes versicolor that is unable to produce cellobiose dehydrogenase (CDH) to the pretreatment of canola residue, and found that the strain was proficient in lignin degradation but was unable to catabolize the cellulose [107]. Xylose within the substrate appeared to have been utilized to support the greatly decreased fungal growth compared to the wild-type strain. Furthermore, we found that the application of a fungal cell wall-degrading enzyme cocktail (glucanex; a concentrated supernatant of a SmF culture of Trichoderma harzianum) to the fungus-treated biomass resulted in the release of fungal cell wall-associated glucose [107]. Biological pretreatment with T. versicolor therefore had the overall effect of converting some of the xylose within the substrate to glucose, which is more easily fermented by ethanologenic yeasts.
Studies such as these also provide biological data regarding the role of the genes that are down-regulated in the mutant strains. This reverse genetics approach is a powerful method for investigating gene function, and in the current genomic era reverse genetics tools can often be applied in the known context of the entire genome of the fungus. Gene silencing by RNA interference (RNAi) is a common method for down-regulating genes in a variety of model systems [130, 131], and the recent demonstration of RNAi mechanisms in the model white-rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium [132] suggests that RNAi could be used for targeted down-regulation of specific genes in species that are useful for biological pretreatment. The availability of convenient gene silencing transformation vectors for ascomycetes such as pSilent [133] and pTroya [134] as well as pHg/pSILBAγ for basidiomycetes [135] will greatly facilitate the investigation of gene function and may also result in the development of modified strains featuring enhanced properties for biological pretreatment of lignocellulosic substrates for biofuels production.
Pretreatment of lignocellulosic materials with white- or brown-rot fungi can be incorporated into any strategy for the production of biofuels and bioproducts, with significant advantages including decreased energy requirements for subsequent steps, production of fewer fermentation-inhibiting substances, and the potential for the production of value-added co-product streams [73, 74]. With the wide variety of potential strains and substrates available, and the possibility to create or select new strains with more desirable properties, it seems likely that biological pretreatment can be used on nearly any biomass that is currently produced. One of the most important benefits of biological pretreatment is the resultant reduction in the severity of the subsequent thermomechanical or thermochemical pretreatment step that is required for efficient enzymatic saccharification. While this is a very important benefit, Keller et al. [136] identified six criteria for strains to be selected for biological pretreatment of agricultural waste: little carbohydrate degradation, low costs for nutrients, a reasonable storage time, ability to compete with endogenous microbiota, decreased thermomechanical pretreatment severity, improved yields of glucose upon enzymatic saccharification, and a lack of production of compounds inhibitory to fermenting organisms. These criteria underscore the major limitations of biological pretreatment, the most important of which are the propensity of the organisms to degrade the carbohydrate component, their inability to establish growth on unsterilized biomass, and the relatively long incubation times that are required. These limitations are related to the ecological niche that these saprophytic fungi fill in nature. That is, they have evolved to access and utilize those plant carbohydrates that are difficult for other microorganisms to access. For this reason, these fungi typically appear at the end of an ecological succession of organisms that degrade decaying wood and are often ill equipped to compete with the faster-growing molds and bacteria that access the more easily degraded plant carbohydrates [137]. While it may be possible using reverse genetics tools and/or strain selection to limit carbohydrate degradation by pretreatment fungi [107], it is likely that such strains will be even less able to compete with endogenous microorganisms; therefore, establishment on recently harvested biomass will remain a challenge. Some sort of treatment of the biomass to suppress the growth of endogenous molds prior to inoculation with the pretreatment fungi will likely be necessary.
The unavoidable expense of the pre-inoculation treatment can be compensated by taking advantage of a potential benefit of biological pretreatment that has received very little attention: wood-degrading fungi may modify the lignin component sufficiently to provide positive benefits for particle compression of agricultural biomass during densification. Densification (briquetting or pelleting) of biomass aims to increase the bulk density of agricultural residues far beyond what is achievable by baling, and it is an essential step for providing biomass with sufficient caloric density for efficient transportation [138]. The production of biomass pellets provides a substrate that is suitable for conversion into biofuels through microbial processes or gasification [139, 140], or can be combusted directly to produce energy [141]. A wide variety of agricultural feedstocks is suitable for pelleting [142]; however, untreated biomass is very difficult to densify and, without pretreatment, produces weak, powdery pellets that are expensive to produce and cannot withstand the physical rigors of transportation. Lignin acts as a natural binder that provides strength and durability to biomass pellets, and pretreatment of the biomass is required in order to release lignin fragments during compaction and produce pellets with the desired characteristics [139, 143]. A number of options are available to prepare biomass for pelleting, with two very promising methods being microwave heating and radio frequency heating. Both of these methods provide a number of advantages over conventional heating, particularly regarding treatment times [144-146]. We have found that a very brief microwave treatment of a variety of agricultural feedstocks suppresses the growth of endogenous molds and bacteria sufficiently for inoculated white-rot fungi to establish growth on these substrates. Moreover, canola residue treated with Trametes versicolor produces pellets with excellent compaction characteristics and durability (Canam, Town, and Dumonceaux, unpublished). Such pellets would retain the thermochemical pretreatment benefits afforded by the fungal pretreatment in terms of enzymatic saccharification [107], but would offer vastly increased transportation efficiency in a full-scale biorefinery scenario.
A possible scheme for incorporating biological pretreatment into biofuels manufacturing. A. Treatment to suppress the growth of endogenous microorganisms to allow establishment of the inoculated fungal culture. A variety of treatments could be utilized, including ultraviolet, microwave, or radio frequency treatment. This scheme is based on the successful biopulping inoculation strategy described by Scott et al. [66] B. Overall scheme for biofuels production including biological pretreatment. (B.5. photo courtesy of Jay Grabiec, Eastern Illinois University).
We can therefore envision a means by which fungal pretreatment might be incorporated into an overall process for producing energy from biomass by a variety of strategies (Figure 1). Biological pretreatment should be included at the earliest stages in order to take maximum advantage of its beneficial effects. Building on the successful bio-pulping model described by Scott et al. [66], chopped biomass would be briefly decontaminated by microwave or radio frequency heating within a conveyor; the objective of this is not sterilization or complete thermal pretreatment of the biomass, but primarily growth suppression of endogenous microbiota. The lightly treated biomass would then be inoculated with a fungal suspension or formulation and transferred via auger to a pile analogous to a silage pile, but with aeration. The inoculated biomass would be incubated at ambient temperatures for several weeks to allow fungal growth. The fully infested biomass would then be milled to an appropriate size using standard equipment. After cooling and/or drying, pellets formed from the milled, pretreated biomass would be suitable for transport to a biorefinery for biofuels/bioproducts manufacture. In the absence of a viable product stream or a biorefinery, biomass pellets could be burned in a high-efficiency oven to exploit their calorific value [139]. Biological pretreatment would provide an array of benefits along this production chain, including decreased milling energy, decreased compression energy requirements, improved densification characteristics and the consequent reduction in transportation cost, decreased severity of thermochemical pretreatments, decreased production of fermentation inhibitors, improved yield of fermentable sugars upon enzymatic saccharification, and possibly co-products derived from the more easily extractable lignin phase. All of these benefits would be realized with a fairly minor energy input, and although it is difficult to avoid the long incubation times, SSF can be performed on time scales only slightly longer than the common on-farm practice of ensilage. Biological pretreatments can therefore, in theory, be performed on-farm or nearby, offering significant logistical and technical advantages when incorporated into an overall process for biofuels manufacture.
Textiles are susceptible to micro-organisms and their products (e.g. toxins) known to cause infection and intoxication. Myriad textile products such as herbal textiles and clothing are available in the market to support healthy lifestyle and hygiene. Most textile products are meant to come in contact with the skin; hence, herbally treated fabrics are better choice as they do not harbor harmful chemicals and thus are ecofriendly. People of yore used to live in harmony with nature and passionately protected their environment; however, nowadays, excessive exploitation of natural resources has led to a phenomenal increase in environmental pollution. This is taking a serious toll on the lives of all living beings on the planet earth. Right kind of fabric is of paramount importance to a healthy lifestyle, and synthetic fabrics’ teeming with chemicals and dyes poses severe health threat. One would not like to eat a bowl of pesticide-drenched food. Then, why wear clothing doused in chemicals? Textile dyes obtained from natural sources are usually friendly to human skin and are biodegradable and ecofriendly. Some natural dyes have medicinal properties and impart healing qualities to the fabric. They are ecofriendly, save energy, provide rural employment, and preserve traditional craftsmanship [1].
Clothing is our second skin and plays an important role in human life. Textiles finished or dyed from extracts of various medicinal herbs are called herbal textiles. Textiles and clothing infused with medicinal herbs are becoming popular, especially in urban India. The use of such products helps in providing protection against myriad biological toxins and pathogens. Customers demand for new ranges of technology, owing to upward trend in enhancing beauty, that provide better esthetics along with improved health and a sense of relief and satisfaction during use. This trend has produced Cosmetotextiles.
Among technical textiles, medical textiles are a promising product, which plays an important role in maintaining the human health. Medical textiles consist of textiles used in operative and postoperative tasks on and around the patient and medical practitioners. They are broadly classified as nonimplantable materials, implantable materials, extracorporeal devices, hygiene products, protective, and healthcare textiles. Healthcare, disposable, and nondisposable hygiene products mainly used in hospitals to reduce the chances of contamination by biological toxins and infectious organisms.
India has good potential to produce natural dyes commercially as it is considered as 1 of the 17 mega diversity countries globally [2]. Traditional knowledge facilitates the use of plants and their products for healing the wounds and burn injuries and treating the skin infections. Herbal extracts are being used successfully for imparting antimicrobial finish to textiles [3].
Herbal products derived from plants are gaining popularity worldwide for use in textiles on account of their easy availability, green approach, low toxicity, biocompatibility, and ecofriendly nature [2, 3]. Owing to market demand for textile products having added comfort and functional properties, herbal products may be explored for their potential benefits to produce such products. This mandates scientists to devise methods and techniques to use plants containing bioactive agent in producing value added and more attractive functional textile substrates. Insect repellent, deodorizing/aroma, UV protection, antimicrobial, and flame retardant are some of the new properties, which have been imparted recently to textiles. In recent years, the growing demand for herbal products has led to the idea of developing healthcare textile products using herbal extracts.
Currently, herbal colorants are the most attractive option because of high biodegradability, low toxicity, green chemistry, and potential application in the textile dyeing and finishing industry. Natural colorants from plant sources are considered as novel agents in imparting multifunctional properties such as antimicrobial, insect repellent, deodorizing, and UV protection to textiles. Many natural colorants possess some inherent functions in addition to their coloring attribute. These inherent properties are transferred to the textile substrate dyed with an herbal colorant. Alternatively, dyeing textiles with these herbal colorants can combine dyeing with functionality finishes, an ecofriendly process using less water and energy than currently used separate wet treatments. Recently, increased interest in the use of natural dyes in textile dyeing has been observed due to enforcement of the stringent environmental regulations by many countries because of toxic effects of synthetic dyes. This review gives an overview of the herbal methods available at present for dyeing textile materials with aim to provide other useful finishes [4].
Textiles dyed exclusively with herbal extracts without using any chemicals are called herbal textiles. The herbs utilized in dyeing are different from vegetable dyes as they also have medicinal values. These herbs are applied to the fabric using natural ingredients in order to preserve medicinal properties. Further, bleaching of cloth is done by exposing it to sunlight without the use of any chemical bleach. The concept of herbal textiles has been derived from Ayurveda, the ancient Indian method of vedic healthcare. Ayurvastra is a branch of Ayurveda. In Sanskrit, ayur means health, and veda means wisdom, while vastra means clothing when it combines the meaning life cloth [5].
It is made by embedding essential oils and herbs into textiles. A wide range of herbs such as turmeric, tulsi, neem, rose, Indigo, lemon grass, castor, and ber can be used for this process providing medicinal value and aroma to the fabric. Ayurvastra (marketed as cosmetotextiles) has been used for curing several diseases such as diabetes, arthritis, skin infections, hypertension, and hay fever [5].
Herbal clothing is an ancient technique of dyeing textiles in medicinal herbs. This alternative method of treatment originated more than 5000 years ago in India. Its core principles are rooted in the Vedas, which are an ancient book of Hindus. The Vedas date back to around 3000 BC. The science of life or Ayurveda dates back to around 1000 BC. The origins of Ayurveda are also found in the Atharvaveda. It contains incantations and hymns that cure various diseases through mantra. Mythology says that Ayurveda was given to Dhanvantri by Lord Brahma. Charaka Samhita and Sushruta Samhita are the oldest known Ayurvedic texts [6]. About 100 years ago, people from different parts of India were using various forms of natural dyeing in which they repeatedly dipped clothes in herb-based preparations following each wash [7]. These herbs are used traditionally in Ayurvedic treatment and many medical applications. When this fabric is worn, the medicinal property of the fabric is then transferred to the skin. The process of herbal dyeing was developed through extensive research during the age-old dyeing methods practiced since the days of the Indus civilization. Herbs were used to create different colors and to provide various health benefits. The natural/herbal fabrics are 100% organic, completely free of synthetic chemicals, and toxic irritants and are biodegradable [8].
Herbal clothing is prepared from organic cotton fabric impregnated with special herbs and oils for health benefits. Since ancient times, herbal clothing (Ayurvastra) is believed to cure diabetes, skin infections, psoriasis, hypertension, asthma, arthritis, rheumatism, high blood pressure, eczema, and cancer. Antimicrobial property or natural dyes such as indigo, pomegranate, myrobalan, and Indian madder of against bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae have been reported [9]. Herbs such as harad, rakta chandana, shweta chandana, and kumkuma are used in Ayurveda for protecting the skin from harmful rays of sun. The herbal preparations act on melanocytes present in the skin, modulate their function, and block the effect of UV rays on the skin. References in different texts of Ayurveda are replete with examples of wearing pure cotton clothes impregnated with herbs such as chandana, haridra usheera, manjista, and nimbi aragwadha to safeguard human body from inclement weather and to keep it healthy. They used herbal products such as soap nut and lime for washing cloths before soaps and detergents were discovered. Herbal textiles and dyes have great vista of applications in diverse walks of human life. These herbal dyes have been used for centuries to produce colors for fabrics, yarns, leather, food, and so on. Natural dyes exhibit better biodegradation and have a better compatibility with the environment. The application of natural dyes has the potential to earn carbon credit by consumption of fossil fuel-based synthetic dye [10].
Skin is the largest sense organ in the human body (Figure 1). It can act as a barrier as well as a medium for entry of certain substances in the body. Several toxins and chemicals present in the environment get accumulated in the conventional clothing and may enter into the body through the skin. Hence, enhancing skin’s ability to resist entry of harmful chemicals and toxins into the body will improve the health. The radiated heat activates herbal molecules of the cloth and is reflected back to the body along with the herbal molecules. Through the blood, the herbal molecules enter deep into the body, show its effects at different levels of the body, and help in curing various diseases [5]. The skin can act not only as a protective barrier but also as a medium for outside substances to enter into the body. In the same way, the skin has the ability to absorb herbs found in our natural dyes. These herbs release their medicinal qualities in the body and strengthen the skin’s ability to block and resist the harmful substances. The close contact of herbal clothing next to the skin enhances the body metabolism, which leads to effective elimination of body toxins. The herb-infused and herb-dyed organic fabrics act as healing agents after the herbs being absorbed through the skin [6].
Structure of the human skin [6].
Skin temperature helps the herbal molecules to be absorbed into the body through sweat pores to manifest the desired medicinal effect.
The cloth should be in direct contact with the skin to manifest its curative effects.
Herbs are garden plants that are grown and harvested for culinary, aromatic, medicinal, and fibrous uses. Plant herbs are placed in the garden for their unmistakable fragrances, attractive textures, appealing colors, and variety of home uses. Due to current ecoconsciousness, there has been a revival of inherent in ecofriendly natural dyes throughout the world. The application of herbal products has given a new direction toward the treatments of various diseases through textile products. The herbs also do not pollute the environment through contamination of water resources in areas close to processing units. All kinds of shades of red, yellow, brown, orange, and green can be obtained with the help of the herbs.
Functional finishes using natural dyes have been in the vogue that promotes an ecofriendly lifestyle. Natural dyes are environmental friendly, nontoxic, noncarcinogenic, nonallergic, and renewable resources. Biosphere is being gifted with more than 500 plant species that yield the natural dyes [11]. The roots, flowers, leaves, seeds, and barks of more than 200 medicinal herbs, plants, flowers, roots, and barks are used to make the dyes. In herbal textiles, the color is gained from the medicinal preparation only, and no other colorants are used. As a result, its properties will last as long as the color is there. Since the herbs make beautiful shades, herbal wears are also becoming very popular for its primordial elegance.
Only herbal preparations devoid of any chemical are used in dyeing herbal textiles, whereas chemicals such as copper sulfate and ferrous sulfate are used as catalysts when dyeing is done with vegetable dyes. Thus, herbal dyes are different from vegetable dyes as they also impart some medicinal value. Herbal clothing is believed to help restore the balance within the body’s systems and strengthen the immune system. Some of the medi-herbs used in herbal textiles give the magical healing quality to the dyed fabric or yarn (Table 1) [12, 13, 14, 15]. Table 1 shows the diseases cured by different herbs.
S. no. | Name of the herb | Medicinal properties | Diseases claimed to be cured |
---|---|---|---|
1. | Neem (Azadirachta indica) | Antibacterial and antifungal | Common skin diseases, skin allergy, controls blood sugar levels |
2. | Curry leaves (Murraya koenigii) | Medicinal value | Beneficial in curing arthritis suppresses pain and reduces inflammation |
3. | Shoe flower (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) | Controls blood sugars | Diabetes |
4. | Fenugreek/Methi (Trigonella foenum-graecum) | Medicinal value | Controls cholesterol, hypertension |
5. | Amla (Emblica officinalis) | Antifungal, antibacterial, antiviral | Boosts immunity |
6. | Acacia (Catechu) | Antifungal, antibacterial | Used for treatment of parasitic infestation and itching |
7. | Manjistha (Rubia cordifolia) | Medicinal value | Blood purifier and diuretic, leprosy |
8. | Cuscus/Khus khus grass (Chrysopogon zizanioides) | Medicinal value | It helps in fighting asthma |
9. | Arjuna (Terminalia arjuna) | Medicinal value | Cardiovascular support, hypertension, asthma |
10. | Pomegranate (Punica granatum) | Antibacterial, antiviral, astringent | Antimicrobial treatment, hypertension |
11. | Harad/myrobalan (Terminalia chebula) | Antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, controls cholesterol | Hypertension, anemia, asthma cures, wounds, ulcers |
12. | Aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis) | Antibacterial, antifungal | Burns, wounds, common skin diseases, psoriasis, anemia |
13. | Gurhal (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) | Controls blood sugar levels | Diabetes |
14. | Jamun (Syzygium cumini) | Controls blood sugar levels | Diabetes controls blood sugar levels |
15. | Mahuva (Madhuca longifolia) | Controls blood sugar levels | Control diabetes |
16. | Champa flower (Magnolia champaca) | Controls blood sugar levels | Diabetes, anemia |
17. | Touch-me-not (Mimosa pudica), | Medicinal value | Controls blood sugar levels, diabetes |
18. | Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globules) | Antiseptic | Relieve congestion, prevent infection, ease muscle soreness |
19. | Tulsi/basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum) | Antibacterial, antiseptic, antispasmodic, diaphoretic, febrifuge, nervine, controls cholesterol | Respiratory disorders, viral, bacterial infections. Controls blood sugar levels, boosts immunity, hypertension, HIV/AIDS |
20. | Chitosan | Antimicrobial | Naturally occurring biopolymer having antimicrobial properties |
21. | Balloon vine (Cardiospermum halicacabum) | Antiphlogistic, analgesic, blood refrigerant, anti-infectious | Cold, fever, renal edema, urinary tract infections,·furuncle, carbuncle, eczema, sprains, external wounds |
22. | Sandalwood (Santalum album) | Alterative, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, astringent, carminative, disinfectant, diuretic, expectorant, hemostatic, refrigerant, sedative, stimulant | Headache, acute dermatitis, bronchitis, cystitis, eye diseases, gonorrhea, herpes zoster, infection, palpitations, sunstroke, urethritis cools the skin, curing skin itching, burns, its mild fragrance has a soothing effect that helps in fighting stress |
23. | Onion (Allium cepa) | Antioxidant, antimicrobial | Skin diseases, control diabetes |
24. | Indian Madder (Rubia cordifolia) | Antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, astringent, sedative, stimulant | It removes blood impurities and cures various skin diseases, HIV/AIDS |
25. | Indian Mulberry (Morinda pubescens) | Antibacterial, anti-inflammatory | It is blood purifier and used for wound healing, control diabetes |
26. | Saffron (Crocus sativus) | Medicinal value | Controls heart disease |
27. | Indigo (Indigofera tinctoria) | Antibacterial, antiallergy, antiseptic and aromatic, anti-inflammatory properties | Controls cholesterol, helps reducing the insulin resistance, thus controls diabetes, boosts immunity, anemia, skin diseases |
28. | Turmeric (Curcuma longa) | Antihepatotoxic, antioxidant, antimicrobial antiseptic, antiallergic | Fighting skin diseases and helps fight skin disease, anemia, psoriasis, liver disorders |
29. | Henna (Lawsonia inermis) | Blood purifier, anti-irritant, deodorant, antiseptic | Skin irritations such as heat rashes and skin allergies and to cool the body. Because of this cooling property, henna used as a prophylactic against skin diseases like burns, bruises, and skin inflammations, including sores from leprosy |
30. | Brazil wood (Caesalpinia echinata) | Blood purifier, anti-irritant | Skin diseases such as burns, bruises, and skin inflammations |
31. | Castor (Ricinus communis) | Blood purifier | Skin diseases |
32. | Baheda (Terminalia bellirica) | Controls cholesterol | Hypertension, anemia |
33. | Guar (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba) | Controls cholesterol | Hypertension |
34. | Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) | Controls cholesterol | Hypertension, HIV/AIDS |
35. | Reetha (Sapindus trifoliatus) | Medicinal value | Psoriasis, skin disease |
36. | Amaltas (Cassia fistula) | Therapeutic effect | Psoriasis |
37. | Cluster fig (Ficus racemosa) | Therapeutic effect | Psoriasis |
38. | Winter cherry (Withania somnifera) | Therapeutic effect | Psoriasis, rheumatism |
Some of the medi-herbs used for herbal textiles.
Different parts of the plants namely root, bark, leaf, fruit, wood, seed, and flower are used to extract dyes. It is estimated that over 2000 pigments are found in various parts of plants; however, only about 150 have been commercially utilized [16]. Herbal cloth production by a particular method is accomplished by utilizing extracts of selected herbs for dyeing cotton/silk/linen, yarn, and fabric. Synthetic/chemical dyes are not used at any stage, and for washing, specific products are used [17].
The process of herbal dyeing was developed through extensive research during the age-old dyeing methods practiced since the days of Indus civilization. Manufacturing herbal textile begins with 100% hand-loomed organic cotton or silk wool, linen, jute, hemp, and so on and their natural blends that are dyed exclusively in herbal infusions for both color and health purposes. No chemical process is involved while dyeing and processing the fabric. The fabrics have to pass through various stages of treatment before they are turned into finished products. Herbal textiles are extra smooth and good for transpiration that helps in recovering from various diseases. Each fabric is infused with specific herbs, which are known to cure diseases. It may help to treat a broad range of diseases and skin infections such as eczema and psoriasis; the fabric also helps with conditions such as heart ailments, rheumatism, arthritis, blood pressure, diabetes, and respiratory conditions, such as asthma and sleeping disorders. It also helps in boosting immunity. The antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties of herbal medicated clothing extend its use as dressings and bandages. It can also relieve the general body aches, stimulate the weight loss, and strengthen the immune system. It can also be used as energy booster; mood enhancer, for overall wellbeing, calming, and blood purification; and cooling [18]. The most effective time to wear herbal cured clothing is when the body is at rest, such as during sleep, relaxation, or meditation because this is when the body is naturally healing and re-establishing balance. Hence, most of herbal clothing products are sleepwear, bed sheets, towels, meditation clothes, and cotton mats [19].
The herbal textile production begins with pure organic yarn/fabric, and each step is carefully and meticulously controlled without the use of any chemical process in dyeing and processing. The process starts with the gray cloth going through various stages of treatment before it is dyed and becomes ready to wear. Only certified organic cotton, natural cotton, silk wool, linen, jute, hemp, and their natural blends should be used for herbal dyeing. The herbal dyeing process has been developed following the extensive research and is in practice since the Indus civilization. Machines are not used to prepare herbal clothing, and all the processes namely bleaching, dyeing, and other processes are accomplished in big vessels fabricated according to need. Further, no chemicals are added during spinning, weaving, or enhancing the appearance [20].
Most common fabric used is organic cotton, the cotton that is cultivated without chemical pesticides and fertilizers. Silk, wool, coir, linen, hemp banana, nettle, and bamboo are also used to prepare herbal clothing. For handloom, the process starts with the cotton yarn and goes through a process named desizing (to remove loose particles, debris, etc.). The common processes used in manufacturing of herbal clothing are detailed in the following paragraphs.
It involves washing of the processed gray cloth with mineral-rich water and sea salt to remove sizing, gums, and oils used in the weaving.
This process is actualized with biodegradable, organic cleaning agents, and surfactants and sun dried. The bleaching of cloth is done naturally by exposing it to sunlight on a natural grass base and by using animal manure. The fabric or yarn is first bleached using cow urine, milk, honey, along with biodegradable, naturally derived, organic cleaning agents, and surfactants such as Saptala (Acacia sinuata) and Phenila (Sapindus mukorossi) [21]. Many Ayurvedic doctors consider cow’s urine highly beneficial in balancing an individual’s “doshas” or basic constituents of an individual’s physiology and psychology, strengthening the immune systems and as an elixir in giving life [22]. The process ends with exposing the fabric or yarn directly to sunlight.
To make the colors look bright and retain color fastness, natural mordants such as myroballans, rubhabs leaves, oils, alum, fruit extracts of haritaki, bark of lodhra, minerals, and iron are used. Use of heavy metallic mordants such as copper, chrome, zinc, and tin is avoided as they are not ecofriendly. Mordanting is done before dyeing the fabric or yarn to make the colors look bright and retain fastness.
The word medication is used instead of dyeing because the medicinal herbs are used to impart required color to fabric or yarn [20, 23]. The yarn or fabric is then medicated in a carefully controlled mixture of herbal medicinal preparations depending on the disease or ailment being treated. Required herbs are applied directly to the fabric with the help of natural ingredients so as to keep the medicinal value of herbs intact [7, 11]. Steps involved are as follows:
The organic cotton yarn/fabric is dyed carefully with concoction of herbal dyes indicated for the treatment of desired disease(s).
The herbal dyes are prepared by careful blending of medicinal herbs derived from plants, flowers, roots, and barks.
The temperature, duration, number of the soaks, blend of herbs, and equipment are carefully controlled.
Desired herbs with the help of natural ingredients are applied directly on fabric in order to preserve the medicinal value of herbs.
Shades of red, yellow, brown, orange, and green can be obtained with careful use of herbs.
Finally, the medicated cloth is cooled and washed several times to remove the nonabsorbed particles and always dried in shade.
The finishing process used after herbal dyeing is also organic and is given by sprinkling pure water on the cloth and then stretching under pressure, using hand rolls, Aloe vera, castor oil, and so on [7, 11].
After dyeing, residue can be recycled. Solid and liquid wastes are separated by the filtration and used for farming purposes—as biomanure and for watering the fields and also to generate the biogas [11].
Herbal textile is made by embedding essential oils and herbal extract finishes into textiles. Such textiles have their applications in providing medicinal value and aroma to the garment. Microencapsulation, sensory perception technology, liposomes, dyes, and coated textile technology are used for incorporating the herbal drugs and oils in textiles. The temperatures of the finish, the duration and concentration of plant extract, the blend of herbs, and even the equipment used are carefully controlled [24].
Spray drying, air suspension coating, solvent evaporation, sol-gel microencapsulation, and in-situ polymerization are some commonly used techniques used for textile finishing by microencapsualtion. For encapsulation of flavor, fragrance, and oils, spray drying is used in which core particles dispersed in a polymer solution and sprayed into a hot chamber leading to solidification of shell particles on core material and polynuclear or matrix-type microcapsules are obtained. Air suspension coating is done by suspending solid particles of core material in a hot or cold upward moving steam of air. Coating material may be derived from cellulose derivatives, dextrins, emulsifiers, lipids, protein derivatives, and starch derivatives, which is atomized through nozzles into the chamber and deposits as a thin layer on the surface of suspended particles. Solvent evaporation is a process in which the drug is dissolved, dispersed, or emulsified in an external aqueous or oil phase; it has been used to impart antifungal finish to textiles. Sol-gel microencapsulation is used to produce flame retardant, water/oil repellent, UV protecting, antiwrinkle, self-cleaning, flavor and odor containing, and antibacterial textiles. Sol-gel synthesis involves the hydrolysis of silicone monomer and the condensation of silica into a porous structure with a three-dimensional networked structure, which can be tailored for a wide range of useful properties.
Microencapsulation, widely used in textile finishing, is a process in which small capsules having desired properties are prepared using small particles/droplets surrounded by a coating material. The material inside the microcapsule is known as core material, whereas outer coating is called a shell. Microcapsules may have diameter ranging a few micrometers to a few millimeters. Many special and functional properties can be imparted to the fabrics by microencapsulating the core material. This core material can be any substance having a special function to perform for the fabric. Encapsulation has allowed moisturizers, therapeutic oils, and insecticides to be incorporated into fabrics. Microencapsulation of antimicrobial agents is also gaining popularity in sportswear and medical textiles [25].
For preparation of herbal textile by microencapsulation, the “core material” along with the wall material should give a durable finish. This wall material can be certain substances like gum acacia, and the core material is the desired herbal extract. The microencapsulated herbal extracts have shown antimicrobial activity and wash durability up to 20 washes [26]. Microencapsulation is a very popular technique for incorporating fragrance into fabrics. These capsules applied are unbreakable under the normal conditions, and the application of pressure on fabric releases fragrance, which causes healing in aromatherapy [27]. Microencapsulated herbal extracts such as Aloe barbadensis Mill, Bitter Gourd, Ginger, and Cuminum cyminum Linn have successful application in which the herbal extracts are used as core material and gum acacia as wall material [28]. According to the study, microencapsulated extracts of Andrographis paniculata, when applied on the fabric to impart mosquito repellency finish, gave good mosquito repellent activity up to 30 washes [29].
New textile technologies have enabled the application of cosmetic ingredients on fabric to provide its functional benefit to the end-use product, and therefore, cosmetic textiles are moving from laboratory to showrooms. Fragrance finish is one such finish that falls under this category. A fragrance is made from a pleasant smelling aroma compound. Aromachology is a science that studies the effects of fragrances on the human body and mind. It researches how scents can be used to induce relaxation and make life more pleasant. Fragrances can be used in various forms such as essential oils, perfumes, colognes, household products, and potpourri. Some areas in textiles where fragrance finish can find application include Cosmetotextiles.
The major use of microencapsulation in cosmetic textiles is in the application of vitamins, essential oils, skin moisturizing agents, skin cooling, and antiaging agents [30]. Yamato et al. studied microcapsules having active substances that can improve the physiological conditions of human skin. The microcapsule gradually released its content when the textile structure was subjected to light pressure created due to the movement of human body [31].
Aroma finish is a process by which textile material is treated with the pleasant odor producing essential oils and aromatic compounds so that the wearer gets beneficial effects. Various essential oils such as lavender, rosemary, and jasmine are used.
The fragrance compounds and the essential oils are volatile substances, and prolonging life span of their odor is most difficult task in preparation of the textiles for aromatherapy. Microencapsulation is an effective technique to achieve this task. Microcapsules are tiny spherical enclosures containing a liquid or gas and assume the shape of the enclosed particle if containing a solid [32]. With microencapsulation method, fragrance lasts for more number of washes since microencapsulation makes the finished particles more securely attached to the internal structure of the fiber and thus releasing them slowly [33].
Bacteria often cause decay of fabrics leading to loss of various useful properties of fabrics. This problem can be prevented by the use of antimicrobial finishes that can be applied with the help of microencapsulation. This finish is especially beneficial for textiles for medical and technical uses [34].
Herbal extracts prepared from Chamomile, sage, and green tea were applied to cotton fabric using pad-dry-cure method. Treated fabrics exhibited antimicrobial activity against Gram-negative, Gram-positive bacteria and yeasts. This antimicrobial activity was retained even after 10 cyclic washes [35].
Textile materials having antimicrobial activity are used in hygienic, health, personal care, and surgical products. Some products include baby and adult diapers and sanitary pads. Most of the diapers are made by synthetic materials, which are nonbiodegradable and poor antimicrobial properties, and may cause rashes and dermatitis. Natural antimicrobial coatings on diapers obtained by using curcumin, Aloe vera, tulsi, and neem have same antimicrobial effect when compared with synthetic antimicrobial coatings [36]. Curcumin or diferuloylmethane (1,7-bis(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-1,6-heptadiene-3,5-dione) is the main phytochemical present in turmeric. This polyphenolic compound has several biological activities including antimicrobial activity. Curcumin is suspected to affect the bacterial cytoskeleton, thus producing the antimicrobial effect [37]. The Aloe vera leaves secrete a colorless gel-like substance, which contains about 98–99% water and 1–2% active compounds such as aloesin, aloin, aloe emodin, aloe mannan, flavonoids, saponin, sterols, amino acids, and vitamins. Anthraquinones and their derivatives such as barbaloin-IO-aloe emodin-9 anthrone, isobarbaloin, and chromones, which inhibit the bacterial protein synthesis, are potent antimicrobial agents [38]. Antimicrobial property of tulsi (holy basil) may be attributed to essential oils found in leaves. These essential oils contain germacrene-A, clemene, caryophyllene, eugenol, and caryophylline oxide. Additionally, tulsi leaves also have other biologically active phytochemicals such as rosmarinic acid, oleanolic acid, and ursolic acid. These essential oils and phytochemicals have antibacterial properties owing to their damaging effect of bacterial cell membrane and thus causing leakage of cellular potassium [39]. Neem leaf, bark, and seeds have antimicrobial properties, and it is high, moderate, and low, respectively. Neem contains several bioactive constituents like azadirachtin and other compounds such as nimbolinin, nimbin, nimbidin, nimbidol, sodium nimbinate, gedunin, salannin, quercetin, nimbanene, 6-desacetylnimbinene, nimbandiol, nimbolide, ascorbic acid, n-hexacosanol and amino acid, 7-desacetyl-7-benzoylazadiradione, 7-desacetyl-7-benzoylgedunin, 17-hydroxyazadiradione gedunin, and nimbiol. Quercetin and β-sitosterol, polyphenolic flavonoids purified from leaves of neem have antifungal and antibacterial activities. Neem (Azadirachta indica) in plant parts shows antimicrobial property through bacterial cell wall breakdown [40].
Wet processing of textile substrates from its preparatory stage to dyeing and then finishing is important for enhancing its esthetic value, removal of impurities, color shade, color pattern, and requisite functionality. Some of the traditional processes used in herbal finishing involve an excessive use of water, energy, and chemicals. Recently, due to global concerns on environmental pollution, sustainability mandates the development of sustainable dyeing and finishing processes using plant waste and nonfood plant extracts [41]. Based on environmental friendly, plant-based products having biocompatibility, biodegradability, and nontoxicity along with insect repellent, deodorizing, flame retardant, UV protection, and antimicrobial activity are in great demand all around the world for producing more appealing and highly functional value-added textiles [42, 43, 44, 45]. A wide variety of finishing chemicals from plants are now available in the market that matches the expectations of consumers [46]. Various plants reported as source of natural dyes are teak, mahogany, ketapang, tamarind, mangosteen, mango, suji, pandan, indigofera, guava, banana, and onion [47]. Plant parts including roots, leaves, twigs, stems, heartwood, bark, wood shavings, flowers, fruits, rinds, hulls, husks, and the like used to produce herbal dye. Additionally, most of the herbal dyes have inherent medicinal properties [48].
Natural fibers such as cotton and wool are susceptible to microbial growth and even dust mites because they retain oxygen, water, and nutrients. Hence, antimicrobial finishes should be applied to textiles to destroy or suppress the growth of microorganisms and also to protect the textiles from strength and color loss, unpleasant odor, and quality deterioration [49]. Micro-organisms may deteriorate the clothes in a closet, curtains, carpets, bed, bath and kitchen linens, pillows, and mattresses. Several microorganisms also thrive on the skin, while dust mites live on skin cells sheded on sheets, towels, and clothing. A hospital houses an immense amount of textiles with high volumes of traffic. Because of the constant flow of people, especially those with infectious diseases, specific finish hospital uses are required. Patients, caretakers, and hospital staff are at risk of acquiring infection as inherent properties of the textile fibers susceptible to the growth of micro-organisms.
In past, natural dyes were applied to textiles for simultaneous coloration and antimicrobial finishing successfully. Finish imparted by catechu on wool was found to be effective against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Candida albicans, and Candida tropicalis. Observed antimicrobial characteristics and negligible cytotoxicity of catechu indicated the dye as a promising antimicrobial agent for developing bioactive textile materials and herbal clothing [50, 51]. Several natural, nonmetallic, and antimicrobial finishes exist, and one of such antimicrobial finish is chitosan, a deacetylated form of chitin, which is a main component in crustacean shells and reported to be effective against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria [52]. Many antimicrobial textiles are produced with the combinations of bioactive substances to enhance the antimicrobial efficacy of the finishes and counteract the negative aspects of the treatments. By combining finishes, the occurrence of drug-resistant strains arising from the finish is reduced.
Pure cotton woven/knitted fabrics treated with the selected medicinal 16 medicinal herb extracts such as neem, turmeric, holy basil, and sandal wood have been evaluated for curing seven different diseases such as allergic dermatitis, psoriasis, asthma, liver disorders, headache, joint pain, and sinus trouble/cold. Seven different types of curative garments have been developed. The antibacterial assessments of the medicinal herb extracts treated fabrics and clinical trials have confirmed the correlation between the curative performance and its antibacterial activity. The curative property of the garments in all the cases was found to be significant and lasted for 10–15 washes [53].
Although known since long for dyeing and medicinal value, the protective properties of herbal dyes have been noticed only recently. Several plants used for dye production are classified as medicinal, and some have recently been shown to possess significant antimicrobial activity. Several natural dyes have demonstrated to possess antimicrobial activity like curcumin from turmeric; naphthoquinones such as lawsone from Lawsonia inermis, juglone from walnut, lapachol from taigu, and catechin from Acacia catechu; and several anthraquinones from Rubia tinctorum, Rubia cordifolia, Rheum emodi, Punica granatum, and Quercus infectoria [54, 55]. These natural antimicrobial agents may significantly reduce the risk of infections especially when they are used in close contact. Natural bioactive compounds present in natural dyes/pigments have also been reported as significant antimicrobial agents for finishing in green dyeing procedures.
Ultraviolet (UV) rays, electromagnetic spectrum between visible light and X-rays, influence the physiology of living organisms. Exposure may cause tanning to skin cancers. Sunscreen lotions and clothing provide protection from dangers of UV rays. Change in construction parameters of fabrics with appropriate UV absorbers and adequate finishing methods may be used to prepare the UV protective fabrics.
Textiles, as a protective shield against solar radiation, have been since ancient times. Textile structures provide the desired characteristics such as pliability, good mechanical strength, softness, esthetics, and other engineered properties, which are required for preparing good sunscreening apparels. Textiles themselves are not able to provide effective protection against UV rays; hence, UV blocking agents should be applied over the fabric to make them UV protective. Quantum of protection required for different skin types is determined by UV radiation intensity and distribution subject to geographical location, time of day, and season. Several UV protection agents have been developed to enhance the UV protection offered by different textiles. Both organic and inorganic UV blocking agents are available. The organic blockers are also termed as UV absorbers because they absorb UV rays, whereas inorganic blockers scatter them [47].
Three yellow dyes obtained from Rheum emodi, Gardenia yellow, and curcumin have been successfully used for simultaneous dyeing and functionalization of silk to render its UV protective [56]. Wool fabric dyed with dye obtained from the eucalyptus leaves using pad-batch and pad-dry techniques showed ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) values ranging between very good and excellent [57]. UV protection properties of chlorogenic acid, the main ingredient of water extract from honeysuckle, on wool have been studied. The wool treated with honeysuckle extract showed good UV absorbance; thus, extract of honeysuckle may be developed as a natural UV-absorbing agent [58]. Natural plant colorants such as madder (Rubia tinctorum) and indigo (Indigofera tinctoria) and of insect origin cochineal (Dactylopius coccus) were applied on cotton fabrics, and indigo was found to have higher UPF values [59]. UV rays induce DNA damage, oxidative stress, and inflammatory processes in skin. Rheum emodi contains anthraquinones (rhein, emodin, aloe-emodin, chrysophanol, physcion, and rhein), stilbenoids (resveratrol and piceatannol), and flavonoids. UV protective effect of Rheum emodi is supposed to be due to flavonoids, which absorb the UV radiation [60]. Main coloring ingredient of the dye extracted from Gardenia yellow is crocin, which is a water soluble carotene, which absorbs the UV rays [61]. Curcumin alleviates the effect of UV rays by reducing the transmittance of UV light across fabric [62]. Madder roots contain anthraquinone derivatives mainly purpurin and munjistin and also small amounts of rubiadin, nordamncanthal, pseudopurpurin, and xanthopurpurin. Anthraquinones are considered to be strong UV absorbers [22].
Bacterial growth and/or waste released from human body are the main causes for odor in garments. Recent advances in textile manufacturing have improved the performance of textiles with respect to odor with antimicrobial and UV protection properties. To meet the consumer’s growing demand for hygienic clothing, extensive research has been done to deodorizing property to textiles with the application of natural colorants. The deodorizing performance of fabrics dyed with herbal colorants has been compared, and pomegranate was found to be best among gardenia, Cassia tora L., coffee sludge, and pomegranate rind [23]. Fabric dyed with gallnut recorded a better deodorizing function against ammonia, trimethyl amine, and acetaldehyde than control fabrics. Dyed fabrics also found to possess an excellent antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae [20]. Young-Hee Lee and co-workers dyed cotton, silk, and wool fabrics with pomegranate (Punica granatum) and showed excellent deodorizing property in the dyed fabrics [21]. Cotton fabrics dyed with C.I. Direct Blue 200, a copper complex direct dye, and pre- and post-mordanted with Cu(II) sulfate for deodorization of ethyl mercaptan showed that deodorization effects increased quadratically with the copper ion uptake [63]. These studies indicate that natural and synthetic dyes can be utilized for deodorizing functionalization of textiles.
Carpets, blankets, and shawls are prepared from wool, and other similar fibers have properties such as warmth, softness, and flame retardancy protein content of the fiber, which are susceptible to attack by moth as its larvae thrive on the protein present in the wool. Cloth moth (Tineola bisselliella) and carpet beetle (Anthrenus verbasci) are common moths, which attack the wool items. Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), permethrin, permethrin/hexahydro pyrimidine derivative, and cyhalothrin are some of the insecticides used to provide antimoth finish. Nano titanium oxide particles have also been utilized as an antifeeding compound on wool fabric to kill larvae of the carpet beetle, Anthrenus verbasci, which feeds on wool fibers [64]. Chemicals used for antimoth finishing are detrimental to the environment; hence, natural colorants may be good alternatives. Shakyawar et al. used saffron flower waste, onion skin, henna, myrobolan, silver oak leaf, madder, walnut, dholkanali, and yellow root natural dyes for antimoth finishing and recorded the best results for silver oak leaves, walnut husk, and pomegranate rind [65]. Natural dyes from cochineal, madder, walnut (quinines), chestnut, fustic, indigo, and logwood (flavonoids) were also applied on wool, and their antimoth properties against black carpet beetles were tested, all except indigo, which increased the insect resistance of the wool fabric. Metallic mordants were found to have no significant effect on insect resistance with all natural dyes used. The anthraquinone dyes including cochineal, madder, and walnut were found to be quite effective in protecting wool fabric against black carpet beetles [66].
Synthetic/chemical dyes are increasingly being banned for use in the textile industry, which have led to severe blow to the handloom industry. At the same time, textiles dyed with natural herbal dyes having medicinal attributes are commanding a huge market due to their inherent advantages. Nowadays, the use of herbal dyes in the textile industry is preferred owing to the advantage of dyes extracted from the medicinal plants, origin from the renewable resources, limited chemical reactions involved in their preparation, biodegradable properties, disease-curing properties, and ecofriendly in nature [18, 67].
Herbal textiles are of two kinds: one category is for curing diseases and the other is for wellbeing. The first category of cloths, which are used for curing diseases, includes sleep wear, bed sheets, towels, meditation clothes, and coir mats. Herbal textiles are mostly used in making such garments that stay close to human skin, so that all the medicinal components could be absorbed through the skin. Herbal textiles can fetch more competitive than conventional fabrics owing to low production cost. For example, a common chemical dye costs around $75 per kg, and a herbal dye costs approximately $5 per kg. Most of the herbs used in dyeing are cultivated in South Asian countries, namely India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, India being the largest producer. The Handloom Weavers Development Society (HLWDS) of Kerala, India has exported herbal and organic textile worth Rs. 50 Lakh to the United States, Europe, and Japan. The herbal textile is gaining such popularity that the Japanese Government has accorded HLWDS a $40,218 grant. Large consignments of herbal textiles have been shipped to international markets of the United States, Canada, France, Denmark, Italy, Poland, Maldives, Mauritius, Japan, and Sri Lanka [17, 68, 69, 70].
Most effective time to wear the herbal-infused clothing is while resting, sleeping, or meditating, when the body is naturally healing and re-establishing balance, so many of the products are created with these factors in mind. The technique for producing the herbal textiles is also used for floor coverings and coir mats. For coir mats, the fibers are first soaked in herbal dyes and then woven into coir mats. Apart from medicated handloom clothes such as sarees, T-shirts, shirts, trousers, kurtas, dhods, chudidhars, nightwear, fashion wear, sportswear, and inner wears, caps for healing headaches, goosery caps for head balance, cooling caps, hair shining caps, hair strengthening caps, bandages, and mask are also prepared [68, 71].
Plant dyes are increasingly being incorporated by designers into their designs contributing to revival of Ayurvastra or herbal clothing. Ayurganic is a line of loungewear inspired from the concept of Ayurvastra. Designer duo Lecoanet and Hemant have revived the tradition of Ayurvastra in Ayurganic, their line of medicinal clothing. The multi-award winning designers who began their journey as couturiers in Paris are now refining the concept of Ayurvastra. Anjelika dreams organic produces fair trade, organic handmade clothing that follows this tradition. Gibie towels specialize in Ayurvastra towels, Ayurvastram in Ayurvastra textiles and yoga mats, and niraamaya in Ayurvastra yoga mats. The handloom weavers’ development society in India is producing a wide range of herbal fabrics including sarees, bed sheets, and dress materials using medicinal dyes and exporting them to the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Taiwan [6, 11].
“Herbalfab” ecofriendly fabric brand has developed a unique technique to dye with flowers, fruits, roots, and so on. Turmeric, myrabolams, onion, kesu and dhavadi flowers, and natural indigo are used for preparing the natural dyes. This prevents the water pollution by replacing the petrochemical dyes with herbal dyes and imparts the medicinal value to cloth. The colors obtained are unique, which can kick start a new fashion trend. Herbalfab also encompasses a range of other ecofriendly fabrics like khadi, which is handspun and handwoven, nonviolent silk, organic denim, and so on [72].
The Handloom Weavers’ Development Society, India produces a variety of home textiles using herbal fabrics in India. They also export herbal clothing such as sarees, bed sheets, and dress materials to other countries. With increasing demand for herbal clothing, companies such as Ayurvastra online have started offering the online products. Many textile industries are getting inclined toward Cosmetotextiles. The brands making herbal clothes are Aura, Cognis, Pantaloons, Quiospheres, and so on. These brands have a range of clothing namely bandee, vest, camisole, men and women’s tee, coirs, and so on [73].
It acts as a revitalizing tonic and helps in keeping the body fresh and healthy. The uses of proper herbs in the textiles have proven to cure diseases such as arthritis and fever. We breathe through our body more than we do through nose. It can improve the skin’s natural ability to block and resist the harmful chemicals and toxins from entering the body, which will be beneficial to health.
Herbal cloths have the ability to protect us from various skin diseases and provide relief from infectious diseases and mental ailments.
No synthetic/chemical dye is used at any stage of herbal cloth production. For washing and cleaning purpose, the nut or nut powder of Sapindus laurifolia is recommended [74].
Medicinal herbs treated fabrics also have a lot of therapeutic value; thus, the fabric has been found very helpful for people suffering from ailments such as skin allergies, breathing problems, sleeping disorders, and blood pressure.
The health benefits of herbal clothing and its usage depend on the theory of touch. The body loses toxins when it comes in contact with herbal clothing, and this improves the metabolism. Herbal clothing is also known to help fight against many common diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, skin allergies, asthma, and heart ailments.
The human body naturally heals itself during sleep or meditation. Thus, when the body is at rest, herbal clothing will work most effectively. The skin is known as the largest organ of the body. Not only it acts as a fence and protects the body, but it can also be the channel for outside germs and toxins to enter into the body. Herbal clothing guards against the harmful toxins trying to enter the body through the skin [75, 76].
Herbal textiles are mainly used in making sleepwear, undergarments, bed coverings, towels, meditation clothing, and so on, which remain close to the skin absorbing all the benefits it gives out. Herbal textiles are also used in home textile products such as mattresses, coir mats, door mats, bath towels, bed spreads, and carpets.
Some of herbal constituents are antiallergens and hence are safe for skin contact and are mostly nonhazardous to human beings.
Natural dyes are usually moth proof and can replace the synthetic dyes in kids’ garments.
We breathe through our skin more than we do through nose, and chemically dyed textiles having carcinogenic amines and chemicals may be allergic and dangerous to human skin. Organic clothing can help reduce the exposure to allergens and other irritants and give a comfortable feeling [77, 78, 79].
Preparation of herbal cloths is a labor-intensive industry and hence will provide the job opportunities for manpower engaged in cultivation, extraction, and application on textile, food, leather, and so on.
Use of natural dyes may earn the carbon credit as it reduces the consumption of petroleum-based synthetic dyes.
It promotes the agriculture and balances the ecological cycle.
Waste can be used as manure.
No heavy metals such as chrome and copper are used in natural/herbal Ayurvedic dyeing.
Manual farming and organic practices have a lower carbon footprint as the entire process consumes less fuel and energy and emits fewer greenhouse gases than chemical textiles.
Herbal dyes are extracted from the plants cultivated without the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, and also no chemical defoliants are used.
Processing is in green environment; hence, workers’ health is not compromised, and also water and electric use and toxic runoff are reduced.
Stringent testing ensures that product is free from contaminants such as nickel, lead, formaldehyde, amines, and pesticides.
It improves the soil fertility and soil structure by increasing the soil activity, thus reducing the risk of erosion.
It is the massive saving of precious water.
It promotes the development of earthworms and other arthropods leading to improvement in the growth conditions of the crop. Furthermore, organic crops thrive on root symbioses and are better equipped to exploit the soil; hence, fields can accommodate a more number of plants, animals, and microorganisms [80, 81, 82].
Natural fibers and natural dyes used in the preparation of herbal clothing allow its natural breakdown without damaging the environment compared to the synthetic material, which takes hundreds of years to breakdown and leaves the pollutant material in soil [66, 67, 83].
Herbal textiles are ecofriendly, and also residues they produce can be further used for making the other green products.
Solid and liquid wastes from herbal dyeing are amenable to recycling producing the organic manure.
Some of the ecofriendly industries producing the herbal textiles produce organically recycled paper bags by utilizing the residual organic and herbal dyed fabrics that can reduce the pollution due to plastic bags [84].
It also promotes the cultivation of herbs required for the production of herbal textile products.
Herbal dyes add value to the cotton fabrics in ecofriendly manner.
Herbal fabrics are lightweight and so used to construct the perfect breezy clothes. The biggest advantage of cotton herbal cloth is that it is cool in summer and warm in winter [85, 86].
The color shades produced by herbal dyes are unique, hence commanding high demand in market.
Herbal fabrics and dyes are not good substitutes for synthetic dyes offering broader range and variations.
Retaining color and its herbal benefits demands utmost care in washing; herbal cloths should be washed separately, preferably hand wash or gentle machine wash with bleach-free detergents and should be shed dried. This causes inconvenience to the user.
The dyeing process is cumbersome and time taking, and each stage should be carefully controlled.
Medicinal herbs impart colors; hence, color choice for consumer is very limited as only few herbs can be used for dyeing a fabric that meant to be used in a particular disease condition.
Herbal cloths show the curative effects, but progress is slow.
Though there are no complaints on allergic reaction by the consumers, some people think that the herbal clothing shows side effects on children [87, 88, 89].
Textile industry has realized its negative contribution to the environmental pollution through the harmful chemicals used in manufacturing processes and is continuously trying to find solution for this problem. Herbal dyeing is one important step toward achieving the organic lifestyle, thus reducing the environmental pollution. Herbal textile products are devoid of pesticides, fertilizers, antibiotics, growth hormones, genetically modified organisms, additives, irradiation, or sewage sludge, hence avoiding many ailments that are common with conventional clothing.
Modern consumer’s demand for novel ecomaterials is expected to increase in future. Recently, efforts have been made toward the development of commercially viable natural colorants by making advances in aspects such as identification of new sources, formulations, extraction, purification, and stability techniques. In spite of enthusiastic studies discussing the socioeconomic viability of natural dye production and applications at commercial scale for sustainable utilization of bioresources, there is a need for investigations related to hygiene and ecosafety, which have great future for the discovery of relatively better and more stable natural pigments that may have wider industrial applications.
Herbal textiles have tremendous scope in world textile market and may become a major textile product in future. The blend of herbs and textiles to achieve the health in an ecofriendly manner is the great way of adopting the healthy life. Herbal clothing is receiving the increased awareness all over the world. Herbally treated textiles are one of the great solutions to revive and increase the share of Indian handloom industry in world textile market. Furthermore, herbal clothing is nontoxic, noncarcinogenic, biodegradable, and ecofriendly; these characteristics make them an obvious choice for modern informed costumer looking for a healthy product. Additionally, the production of biocolorants to meet the rising demand shall force entrepreneurs to take up this venture for greater profits leading to more employment generation.
Supporting women in scientific research and encouraging more women to pursue careers in STEM fields has been an issue on the global agenda for many years. But there is still much to be done. And IntechOpen wants to help.
",metaTitle:"IntechOpen Women in Science Program",metaDescription:"Supporting women in scientific research and encouraging more women to pursue careers in STEM fields has been an issue on the global agenda for many years. But there is still much to be done. And IntechOpen wants to help.",metaKeywords:null,canonicalURL:null,contentRaw:'[{"type":"htmlEditorComponent","content":"At IntechOpen, we’re laying the foundations for the future by publishing the best research by women in STEM – Open Access and available to all. Our Women in Science program already includes six books in progress by award-winning women scientists on topics ranging from physics to robotics, medicine to environmental science. Our editors come from all over the globe and include L’Oreal–UNESCO For Women in Science award-winners and National Science Foundation and European Commission grant recipients.
\\n\\nWe aim to publish 100 books in our Women in Science program over the next three years. We are looking for books written, edited, or co-edited by women. Contributing chapters by men are welcome. As always, the quality of the research we publish is paramount.
\\n\\nAll project proposals go through a two-stage peer review process and are selected based on the following criteria:
\\n\\nPlus, we want this project to have an impact beyond scientific circles. We will publicize the research in the Women in Science program for a wider general audience through:
\\n\\nInterested? If you have an idea for an edited volume or a monograph, we’d love to hear from you! Contact Ana Pantar at book.idea@intechopen.com.
\\n\\n“My scientific path has given me the opportunity to work with colleagues all over Europe, including Germany, France, and Norway. Editing the book Graph Theory: Advanced Algorithms and Applications with IntechOpen emphasized for me the importance of providing valuable, Open Access literature to our scientific colleagues around the world. So I am highly enthusiastic about the Women in Science book collection, which will highlight the outstanding accomplishments of women scientists and encourage others to walk the challenging path to becoming a recognized scientist." Beril Sirmacek, TU Delft, The Netherlands
\\n\\nAdvantages of Publishing with IntechOpen
\\n\\n\\n"}]'},components:[{type:"htmlEditorComponent",content:'At IntechOpen, we’re laying the foundations for the future by publishing the best research by women in STEM – Open Access and available to all. Our Women in Science program already includes six books in progress by award-winning women scientists on topics ranging from physics to robotics, medicine to environmental science. Our editors come from all over the globe and include L’Oreal–UNESCO For Women in Science award-winners and National Science Foundation and European Commission grant recipients.
\n\nWe aim to publish 100 books in our Women in Science program over the next three years. We are looking for books written, edited, or co-edited by women. Contributing chapters by men are welcome. As always, the quality of the research we publish is paramount.
\n\nAll project proposals go through a two-stage peer review process and are selected based on the following criteria:
\n\nPlus, we want this project to have an impact beyond scientific circles. We will publicize the research in the Women in Science program for a wider general audience through:
\n\nInterested? If you have an idea for an edited volume or a monograph, we’d love to hear from you! Contact Ana Pantar at book.idea@intechopen.com.
\n\n“My scientific path has given me the opportunity to work with colleagues all over Europe, including Germany, France, and Norway. Editing the book Graph Theory: Advanced Algorithms and Applications with IntechOpen emphasized for me the importance of providing valuable, Open Access literature to our scientific colleagues around the world. So I am highly enthusiastic about the Women in Science book collection, which will highlight the outstanding accomplishments of women scientists and encourage others to walk the challenging path to becoming a recognized scientist." Beril Sirmacek, TU Delft, The Netherlands
\n\n\n\n\n'}]},successStories:{items:[]},authorsAndEditors:{filterParams:{sort:"featured,name"},profiles:[{id:"289905",title:"Dr.",name:null,middleName:null,surname:"Inamuddin",slug:"inamuddin",fullName:"Inamuddin",position:null,profilePictureURL:"https://mts.intechopen.com/storage/users/289905/images/system/289905.jpeg",biography:"Dr. Inamuddin is currently working as an assistant professor in the Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He has extensive research experience in multidisciplinary fields of analytical chemistry, materials chemistry, electrochemistry, and more specifically, renewable energy and the environment. He has published 127 research articles in international journals of repute and 18 book chapters in knowledge-based book editions published by renowned international publishers. He has published 39 edited books with Springer, United Kingdom, Elsevier, Nova Science Publishers, Inc. USA, CRC Press Taylor & Francis, Asia Pacific, Trans Tech Publications Ltd., Switzerland, and Materials Science Forum, USA. He is a member of various editorial boards serving as associate editor for journals such as Environmental Chemistry Letter, Applied Water Science, Euro-Mediterranean Journal for Environmental Integration, Springer-Nature, Scientific Reports-Nature, and the editor of Eurasian Journal of Analytical Chemistry.",institutionString:"King Abdulaziz University",institution:{name:"King Abdulaziz University",country:{name:"Saudi Arabia"}}},{id:"99002",title:"Dr.",name:null,middleName:null,surname:"Koontongkaew",slug:"koontongkaew",fullName:"Koontongkaew",position:null,profilePictureURL:"//cdnintech.com/web/frontend/www/assets/author.svg",biography:null,institutionString:null,institution:{name:"Thammasat University",country:{name:"Thailand"}}},{id:"156647",title:"Dr.",name:"A K M Mamunur",middleName:null,surname:"Rashid",slug:"a-k-m-mamunur-rashid",fullName:"A K M Mamunur Rashid",position:null,profilePictureURL:"//cdnintech.com/web/frontend/www/assets/author.svg",biography:"MBBS, DCH, MD(Paed.), Grad. Cert. P. Rheum.(UWA, Australia), FRCP(Edin.)",institutionString:null,institution:{name:"Khulna Medical College",country:{name:"Bangladesh"}}},{id:"234696",title:"Prof.",name:"A K M Mominul",middleName:null,surname:"Islam",slug:"a-k-m-mominul-islam",fullName:"A K M Mominul Islam",position:null,profilePictureURL:"https://intech-files.s3.amazonaws.com/a043Y00000cA8dpQAC/Co2_Profile_Picture-1588761796759",biography:"Prof. Dr. A. K. M. Mominul Islam received both of his bachelor's and Master’s degree from Bangladesh Agricultural University. After that, he joined as Lecturer of Agronomy at Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU), Mymensingh, Bangladesh, and became Professor in the same department of the university. Dr. Islam did his second Master’s in Physical Land Resources from Ghent University, Belgium. He is currently serving as a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Horticulture & Landscape Architecture at Purdue University, USA. Dr. Islam has obtained his Ph.D. degree in Plant Allelopathy from The United Graduate School of Agricultural Sciences, Ehime University, Japan. The dissertation title of Dr. Islam was “Allelopathy of five Lamiaceae medicinal plant species”. Dr. Islam is the author of 38 articles published in nationally and internationally reputed journals, 1 book chapter, and 3 books. He is a member of the editorial board and referee of several national and international journals. He is supervising the research of MS and Ph.D. students in areas of Agronomy. Prof. Islam is conducting research on crop management, bio-herbicides, and allelopathy.",institutionString:"Bangladesh Agricultural University",institution:{name:"Bangladesh Agricultural University",country:{name:"Bangladesh"}}},{id:"214531",title:"Mr.",name:"A T M Sakiur",middleName:null,surname:"Rahman",slug:"a-t-m-sakiur-rahman",fullName:"A T M Sakiur Rahman",position:null,profilePictureURL:"//cdnintech.com/web/frontend/www/assets/author.svg",biography:null,institutionString:null,institution:{name:"University of Rajshahi",country:{name:"Bangladesh"}}},{id:"66545",title:"Dr.",name:"A. F.",middleName:null,surname:"Omar",slug:"a.-f.-omar",fullName:"A. F. Omar",position:null,profilePictureURL:"//cdnintech.com/web/frontend/www/assets/author.svg",biography:"Dr. A. F. Omar obtained\nhis Bachelor degree in electrical and\nelectronics engineering from Universiti\nSains Malaysia in 2002, Master of Science in electronics\nengineering from Open University\nMalaysia in 2008 and PhD in optical physics from Universiti\nSains Malaysia in 2012. His research mainly\nfocuses on the development of optical\nand electronics systems for spectroscopy\napplication in environmental monitoring,\nagriculture and dermatology. He has\nmore than 10 years of teaching\nexperience in subjects related to\nelectronics, mathematics and applied optics for\nuniversity students and industrial engineers.",institutionString:null,institution:{name:"Universiti Sains Malaysia",country:{name:"Malaysia"}}},{id:"191072",title:"Prof.",name:"A. K. M. Aminul",middleName:null,surname:"Islam",slug:"a.-k.-m.-aminul-islam",fullName:"A. K. M. Aminul Islam",position:null,profilePictureURL:"https://mts.intechopen.com/storage/users/191072/images/system/191072.jpg",biography:"Prof. Dr. A. K. M. Aminul Islam received both of his bachelor and Master’s degree from Bangladesh Agricultural University. After that he joined as Lecturer of Genetics and Plant Breeding at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University (BSMRAU), Gazipur, Bangladesh and became Professor in the same department of the university. He is currently serving as Director (Research) of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University (BSMRAU), Gazipur, Bangladesh. Dr. Islam has obtained his Ph D degree in Chemical and Process Engineering from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. The dissertation title of Dr. Islam was “Improvement of Biodiesel Production through Genetic Studies of Jatropha (Jatropha curcas L.)”. Dr. Islam is the author of 98 articles published in nationally and internationally reputed journals, 11 book chapters and 3 books. He is a member of editorial board and referee of several national and international journals. He is also serving as the General Secretary of Plant Breeding and Genetics Society of Bangladesh, Seminar and research Secretary of JICA Alumni Association of Bangladesh and member of several professional societies. Prof. Islam acted as Principal Breeder in the releasing system of BU Hybrid Lau 1, BU Lau 1, BU Capsicum 1, BU Lalshak 1, BU Baromashi Seem 1, BU Sheem 1, BU Sheem 2, BU Sheem 3 and BU Sheem 4. He supervised 50 MS and 3 Ph D students. Prof. Islam currently supervising research of 5 MS and 3 Ph D students in areas Plant Breeding & Seed Technologies. Conducting research on development of hybrid vegetables, hybrid Brassica napus using CMS system, renewable energy research with Jatropha curcas.",institutionString:"Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University",institution:{name:"Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University",country:{name:"Bangladesh"}}},{id:"322225",title:"Dr.",name:"A. K. M. Aminul",middleName:null,surname:"Islam",slug:"a.-k.-m.-aminul-islam",fullName:"A. K. M. Aminul Islam",position:null,profilePictureURL:"https://mts.intechopen.com/storage/users/no_image.jpg",biography:"Prof. Dr. A. K. M. Aminul Islam received both of his bachelor's and Master’s degree from Bangladesh Agricultural University. After that he joined as Lecturer of Genetics and Plant Breeding at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University (BSMRAU), Gazipur, Bangladesh, and became Professor in the same department of the university. He is currently serving as Director (Research) of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University (BSMRAU), Gazipur, Bangladesh. Dr. Islam has obtained his Ph.D. degree in Chemical and Process Engineering from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. The dissertation title of Dr. Islam was 'Improvement of Biodiesel Production through Genetic Studies of Jatropha (Jatropha curcas L.)”. Dr. Islam is the author of 99 articles published in nationally and internationally reputed journals, 11 book chapters, 3 books, and 20 proceedings and conference paper. He is a member of the editorial board and referee of several national and international journals. He is also serving as the General Secretary of Plant Breeding and Genetics Society of Bangladesh, Seminar, and research Secretary of JICA Alumni Association of Bangladesh and a member of several professional societies. Prof. Islam acted as Principal Breeder in the releasing system of BU Hybrid Lau 1, BU Lau 1, BU Capsicum 1, BU Lalshak 1, BU Baromashi Seem 1, BU Sheem 1, BU Sheem 2, BU Sheem 3 and BU Sheem 4. He supervised 50 MS and 3 PhD students. Prof. Islam currently supervising the research of 5 MS and 3 PhD students in areas Plant Breeding & Seed Technologies. Conducting research on the development of hybrid vegetables, hybrid Brassica napus using CMS system, renewable energy research with Jatropha curcas.",institutionString:"Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University",institution:{name:"Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University",country:{name:"Bangladesh"}}},{id:"91977",title:"Dr.",name:"A.B.M. Sharif",middleName:null,surname:"Hossain",slug:"a.b.m.-sharif-hossain",fullName:"A.B.M. Sharif Hossain",position:null,profilePictureURL:"//cdnintech.com/web/frontend/www/assets/author.svg",biography:null,institutionString:null,institution:{name:"University of Malaya",country:{name:"Malaysia"}}},{id:"97123",title:"Prof.",name:"A.M.M.",middleName:null,surname:"Sharif Ullah",slug:"a.m.m.-sharif-ullah",fullName:"A.M.M. Sharif Ullah",position:null,profilePictureURL:"https://mts.intechopen.com/storage/users/97123/images/4209_n.jpg",biography:"AMM Sharif Ullah is currently an Associate Professor of Design and Manufacturing in Department of Mechanical Engineering at Kitami Institute of Technology, Japan. He received the Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1992 from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka, Bangladesh. In 1993, he moved to Japan for graduate studies. He received the Master of Engineering degree in 1996 from the Kansai University Graduate School of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering (Major: Manufacturing Engineering). He also received the Doctor of Engineering degree from the same institute in the same field in 1999. He began his academic career in 2000 as an Assistant Professor in the Industrial Systems Engineering Program at the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand, as an Assistant Professor in the Industrial Systems Engineering Program. In 2002, he took up the position of Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the United Arab Emirates (UAE) University. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2006 at the UAE University. He moved to his current employer in 2009. His research field is product realization engineering (design, manufacturing, operations, and sustainability). He teaches design and manufacturing related courses at undergraduate and graduate degree programs. He has been mentoring a large number of students for their senior design projects and theses. He has published more than 90 papers in refereed journals, edited books, and international conference proceedings. He made more than 35 oral presentations. Since 2005, he directs the advanced manufacturing engineering research laboratory at Kitami Institute of Technology.",institutionString:null,institution:{name:"Kitami Institute of Technology",country:{name:"Japan"}}},{id:"213441",title:"Dr.",name:"A.R.Kavitha",middleName:null,surname:"Balaji",slug:"a.r.kavitha-balaji",fullName:"A.R.Kavitha Balaji",position:null,profilePictureURL:"//cdnintech.com/web/frontend/www/assets/author.svg",biography:null,institutionString:null,institution:{name:"Anna University, Chennai",country:{name:"India"}}},{id:"172688",title:"Prof.",name:"A.V.",middleName:null,surname:"Salker",slug:"a.v.-salker",fullName:"A.V. Salker",position:null,profilePictureURL:"//cdnintech.com/web/frontend/www/assets/author.svg",biography:null,institutionString:null,institution:{name:"Goa University",country:{name:"India"}}}],filtersByRegion:[{group:"region",caption:"North America",value:1,count:5684},{group:"region",caption:"Middle and South America",value:2,count:5166},{group:"region",caption:"Africa",value:3,count:1682},{group:"region",caption:"Asia",value:4,count:10211},{group:"region",caption:"Australia and Oceania",value:5,count:887},{group:"region",caption:"Europe",value:6,count:15616}],offset:12,limit:12,total:10241},chapterEmbeded:{data:{}},editorApplication:{success:null,errors:{}},ofsBooks:{filterParams:{topicId:"20"},books:[{type:"book",id:"10206",title:"Terahertz Technology",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!0,hash:"2cdb79bf6297623f1d6202ef11f099c4",slug:null,bookSignature:"Dr. Borwen You and Dr. Ja-Yu Lu",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/10206.jpg",editedByType:null,editors:[{id:"191131",title:"Dr.",name:"Borwen",surname:"You",slug:"borwen-you",fullName:"Borwen You"}],productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"10575",title:"Magnetic Skyrmions",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!0,hash:"d93d7485e8a6a30d9e069aed78fdb355",slug:null,bookSignature:"Prof. Dipti Ranjan Sahu",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/10575.jpg",editedByType:null,editors:[{id:"251855",title:"Prof.",name:"Dipti Ranjan",surname:"Sahu",slug:"dipti-ranjan-sahu",fullName:"Dipti Ranjan Sahu"}],productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"10675",title:"Hydrostatics",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!0,hash:"c86c2fa9f835d4ad5e7efd8b01921866",slug:null,bookSignature:"",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/10675.jpg",editedByType:null,editors:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"10957",title:"Liquid Crystals",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!0,hash:"b8dac1788dc54d12f8fc3d94a7e3e338",slug:null,bookSignature:"",coverURL:"//cdnintech.com/web/frontend/www/assets/cover.jpg",editedByType:null,editors:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}}],filtersByTopic:[{group:"topic",caption:"Agricultural and Biological Sciences",value:5,count:9},{group:"topic",caption:"Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology",value:6,count:18},{group:"topic",caption:"Business, Management and Economics",value:7,count:2},{group:"topic",caption:"Chemistry",value:8,count:7},{group:"topic",caption:"Computer and Information Science",value:9,count:10},{group:"topic",caption:"Earth and Planetary Sciences",value:10,count:5},{group:"topic",caption:"Engineering",value:11,count:14},{group:"topic",caption:"Environmental Sciences",value:12,count:2},{group:"topic",caption:"Immunology and Microbiology",value:13,count:5},{group:"topic",caption:"Materials Science",value:14,count:4},{group:"topic",caption:"Mathematics",value:15,count:1},{group:"topic",caption:"Medicine",value:16,count:60},{group:"topic",caption:"Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials",value:17,count:1},{group:"topic",caption:"Neuroscience",value:18,count:1},{group:"topic",caption:"Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science",value:19,count:6},{group:"topic",caption:"Physics",value:20,count:2},{group:"topic",caption:"Psychology",value:21,count:3},{group:"topic",caption:"Robotics",value:22,count:1},{group:"topic",caption:"Social Sciences",value:23,count:3},{group:"topic",caption:"Technology",value:24,count:1},{group:"topic",caption:"Veterinary Medicine and Science",value:25,count:2}],offset:12,limit:12,total:4},popularBooks:{featuredBooks:[{type:"book",id:"9208",title:"Welding",subtitle:"Modern Topics",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"7d6be076ccf3a3f8bd2ca52d86d4506b",slug:"welding-modern-topics",bookSignature:"Sadek Crisóstomo Absi Alfaro, Wojciech Borek and Błażej Tomiczek",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/9208.jpg",editors:[{id:"65292",title:"Prof.",name:"Sadek Crisostomo Absi",middleName:"C. Absi",surname:"Alfaro",slug:"sadek-crisostomo-absi-alfaro",fullName:"Sadek Crisostomo Absi Alfaro"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"9139",title:"Topics in Primary Care Medicine",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"ea774a4d4c1179da92a782e0ae9cde92",slug:"topics-in-primary-care-medicine",bookSignature:"Thomas F. Heston",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/9139.jpg",editors:[{id:"217926",title:"Dr.",name:"Thomas F.",middleName:null,surname:"Heston",slug:"thomas-f.-heston",fullName:"Thomas F. Heston"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"8697",title:"Virtual Reality and Its Application in Education",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"ee01b5e387ba0062c6b0d1e9227bda05",slug:"virtual-reality-and-its-application-in-education",bookSignature:"Dragan Cvetković",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/8697.jpg",editors:[{id:"101330",title:"Dr.",name:"Dragan",middleName:"Mladen",surname:"Cvetković",slug:"dragan-cvetkovic",fullName:"Dragan Cvetković"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"9785",title:"Endometriosis",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"f457ca61f29cf7e8bc191732c50bb0ce",slug:"endometriosis",bookSignature:"Courtney Marsh",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/9785.jpg",editors:[{id:"255491",title:"Dr.",name:"Courtney",middleName:null,surname:"Marsh",slug:"courtney-marsh",fullName:"Courtney Marsh"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"9343",title:"Trace Metals in the Environment",subtitle:"New Approaches and Recent Advances",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"ae07e345bc2ce1ebbda9f70c5cd12141",slug:"trace-metals-in-the-environment-new-approaches-and-recent-advances",bookSignature:"Mario Alfonso Murillo-Tovar, Hugo Saldarriaga-Noreña and Agnieszka Saeid",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/9343.jpg",editors:[{id:"255959",title:"Dr.",name:"Mario Alfonso",middleName:null,surname:"Murillo-Tovar",slug:"mario-alfonso-murillo-tovar",fullName:"Mario Alfonso Murillo-Tovar"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"7831",title:"Sustainability in Urban Planning and Design",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"c924420492c8c2c9751e178d025f4066",slug:"sustainability-in-urban-planning-and-design",bookSignature:"Amjad Almusaed, Asaad Almssad and Linh Truong - Hong",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/7831.jpg",editors:[{id:"110471",title:"Dr.",name:"Amjad",middleName:"Zaki",surname:"Almusaed",slug:"amjad-almusaed",fullName:"Amjad Almusaed"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"8468",title:"Sheep Farming",subtitle:"An Approach to Feed, Growth and Sanity",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"838f08594850bc04aa14ec873ed1b96f",slug:"sheep-farming-an-approach-to-feed-growth-and-sanity",bookSignature:"António Monteiro",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/8468.jpg",editors:[{id:"190314",title:"Prof.",name:"António",middleName:"Cardoso",surname:"Monteiro",slug:"antonio-monteiro",fullName:"António Monteiro"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"8816",title:"Financial Crises",subtitle:"A Selection of Readings",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"6f2f49fb903656e4e54280c79fabd10c",slug:"financial-crises-a-selection-of-readings",bookSignature:"Stelios Markoulis",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/8816.jpg",editors:[{id:"237863",title:"Dr.",name:"Stelios",middleName:null,surname:"Markoulis",slug:"stelios-markoulis",fullName:"Stelios Markoulis"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"9376",title:"Contemporary Developments and Perspectives in International Health Security",subtitle:"Volume 1",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"b9a00b84cd04aae458fb1d6c65795601",slug:"contemporary-developments-and-perspectives-in-international-health-security-volume-1",bookSignature:"Stanislaw P. Stawicki, Michael S. Firstenberg, Sagar C. Galwankar, Ricardo Izurieta and Thomas Papadimos",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/9376.jpg",editors:[{id:"181694",title:"Dr.",name:"Stanislaw P.",middleName:null,surname:"Stawicki",slug:"stanislaw-p.-stawicki",fullName:"Stanislaw P. Stawicki"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"7769",title:"Medical Isotopes",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"f8d3c5a6c9a42398e56b4e82264753f7",slug:"medical-isotopes",bookSignature:"Syed Ali Raza Naqvi and Muhammad Babar Imrani",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/7769.jpg",editors:[{id:"259190",title:"Dr.",name:"Syed Ali Raza",middleName:null,surname:"Naqvi",slug:"syed-ali-raza-naqvi",fullName:"Syed Ali Raza Naqvi"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"9279",title:"Concepts, Applications and Emerging Opportunities in Industrial Engineering",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"9bfa87f9b627a5468b7c1e30b0eea07a",slug:"concepts-applications-and-emerging-opportunities-in-industrial-engineering",bookSignature:"Gary Moynihan",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/9279.jpg",editors:[{id:"16974",title:"Dr.",name:"Gary",middleName:null,surname:"Moynihan",slug:"gary-moynihan",fullName:"Gary Moynihan"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"7807",title:"A Closer Look at Organizational Culture in Action",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"05c608b9271cc2bc711f4b28748b247b",slug:"a-closer-look-at-organizational-culture-in-action",bookSignature:"Süleyman Davut Göker",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/7807.jpg",editors:[{id:"190035",title:"Associate Prof.",name:"Süleyman Davut",middleName:null,surname:"Göker",slug:"suleyman-davut-goker",fullName:"Süleyman Davut Göker"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}}],offset:12,limit:12,total:5131},hotBookTopics:{hotBooks:[],offset:0,limit:12,total:null},publish:{},publishingProposal:{success:null,errors:{}},books:{featuredBooks:[{type:"book",id:"9208",title:"Welding",subtitle:"Modern Topics",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"7d6be076ccf3a3f8bd2ca52d86d4506b",slug:"welding-modern-topics",bookSignature:"Sadek Crisóstomo Absi Alfaro, Wojciech Borek and Błażej Tomiczek",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/9208.jpg",editors:[{id:"65292",title:"Prof.",name:"Sadek Crisostomo Absi",middleName:"C. Absi",surname:"Alfaro",slug:"sadek-crisostomo-absi-alfaro",fullName:"Sadek Crisostomo Absi Alfaro"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"9139",title:"Topics in Primary Care Medicine",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"ea774a4d4c1179da92a782e0ae9cde92",slug:"topics-in-primary-care-medicine",bookSignature:"Thomas F. Heston",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/9139.jpg",editors:[{id:"217926",title:"Dr.",name:"Thomas F.",middleName:null,surname:"Heston",slug:"thomas-f.-heston",fullName:"Thomas F. Heston"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"8697",title:"Virtual Reality and Its Application in Education",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"ee01b5e387ba0062c6b0d1e9227bda05",slug:"virtual-reality-and-its-application-in-education",bookSignature:"Dragan Cvetković",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/8697.jpg",editors:[{id:"101330",title:"Dr.",name:"Dragan",middleName:"Mladen",surname:"Cvetković",slug:"dragan-cvetkovic",fullName:"Dragan Cvetković"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"9785",title:"Endometriosis",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"f457ca61f29cf7e8bc191732c50bb0ce",slug:"endometriosis",bookSignature:"Courtney Marsh",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/9785.jpg",editors:[{id:"255491",title:"Dr.",name:"Courtney",middleName:null,surname:"Marsh",slug:"courtney-marsh",fullName:"Courtney Marsh"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"9343",title:"Trace Metals in the Environment",subtitle:"New Approaches and Recent Advances",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"ae07e345bc2ce1ebbda9f70c5cd12141",slug:"trace-metals-in-the-environment-new-approaches-and-recent-advances",bookSignature:"Mario Alfonso Murillo-Tovar, Hugo Saldarriaga-Noreña and Agnieszka Saeid",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/9343.jpg",editors:[{id:"255959",title:"Dr.",name:"Mario Alfonso",middleName:null,surname:"Murillo-Tovar",slug:"mario-alfonso-murillo-tovar",fullName:"Mario Alfonso Murillo-Tovar"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"8468",title:"Sheep Farming",subtitle:"An Approach to Feed, Growth and Sanity",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"838f08594850bc04aa14ec873ed1b96f",slug:"sheep-farming-an-approach-to-feed-growth-and-sanity",bookSignature:"António Monteiro",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/8468.jpg",editors:[{id:"190314",title:"Prof.",name:"António",middleName:"Cardoso",surname:"Monteiro",slug:"antonio-monteiro",fullName:"António Monteiro"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"8816",title:"Financial Crises",subtitle:"A Selection of Readings",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"6f2f49fb903656e4e54280c79fabd10c",slug:"financial-crises-a-selection-of-readings",bookSignature:"Stelios Markoulis",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/8816.jpg",editors:[{id:"237863",title:"Dr.",name:"Stelios",middleName:null,surname:"Markoulis",slug:"stelios-markoulis",fullName:"Stelios Markoulis"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"7831",title:"Sustainability in Urban Planning and Design",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"c924420492c8c2c9751e178d025f4066",slug:"sustainability-in-urban-planning-and-design",bookSignature:"Amjad Almusaed, Asaad Almssad and Linh Truong - Hong",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/7831.jpg",editors:[{id:"110471",title:"Dr.",name:"Amjad",middleName:"Zaki",surname:"Almusaed",slug:"amjad-almusaed",fullName:"Amjad Almusaed"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"9376",title:"Contemporary Developments and Perspectives in International Health Security",subtitle:"Volume 1",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"b9a00b84cd04aae458fb1d6c65795601",slug:"contemporary-developments-and-perspectives-in-international-health-security-volume-1",bookSignature:"Stanislaw P. Stawicki, Michael S. Firstenberg, Sagar C. Galwankar, Ricardo Izurieta and Thomas Papadimos",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/9376.jpg",editors:[{id:"181694",title:"Dr.",name:"Stanislaw P.",middleName:null,surname:"Stawicki",slug:"stanislaw-p.-stawicki",fullName:"Stanislaw P. Stawicki"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"7769",title:"Medical Isotopes",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"f8d3c5a6c9a42398e56b4e82264753f7",slug:"medical-isotopes",bookSignature:"Syed Ali Raza Naqvi and Muhammad Babar Imrani",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/7769.jpg",editors:[{id:"259190",title:"Dr.",name:"Syed Ali Raza",middleName:null,surname:"Naqvi",slug:"syed-ali-raza-naqvi",fullName:"Syed Ali Raza Naqvi"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}}],latestBooks:[{type:"book",id:"7434",title:"Molecular Biotechnology",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"eceede809920e1ec7ecadd4691ede2ec",slug:"molecular-biotechnology",bookSignature:"Sergey Sedykh",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/7434.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"178316",title:"Ph.D.",name:"Sergey",middleName:null,surname:"Sedykh",slug:"sergey-sedykh",fullName:"Sergey Sedykh"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"8545",title:"Animal Reproduction in Veterinary Medicine",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"13aaddf5fdbbc78387e77a7da2388bf6",slug:"animal-reproduction-in-veterinary-medicine",bookSignature:"Faruk Aral, Rita Payan-Carreira and Miguel Quaresma",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/8545.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"25600",title:"Prof.",name:"Faruk",middleName:null,surname:"Aral",slug:"faruk-aral",fullName:"Faruk Aral"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"9569",title:"Methods in Molecular Medicine",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"691d3f3c4ac25a8093414e9b270d2843",slug:"methods-in-molecular-medicine",bookSignature:"Yusuf Tutar",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/9569.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"158492",title:"Prof.",name:"Yusuf",middleName:null,surname:"Tutar",slug:"yusuf-tutar",fullName:"Yusuf Tutar"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"9839",title:"Outdoor Recreation",subtitle:"Physiological and Psychological Effects on Health",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"5f5a0d64267e32567daffa5b0c6a6972",slug:"outdoor-recreation-physiological-and-psychological-effects-on-health",bookSignature:"Hilde G. Nielsen",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/9839.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"158692",title:"Ph.D.",name:"Hilde G.",middleName:null,surname:"Nielsen",slug:"hilde-g.-nielsen",fullName:"Hilde G. Nielsen"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"7802",title:"Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"587a0b7fb765f31cc98de33c6c07c2e0",slug:"modern-slavery-and-human-trafficking",bookSignature:"Jane Reeves",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/7802.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"211328",title:"Prof.",name:"Jane",middleName:null,surname:"Reeves",slug:"jane-reeves",fullName:"Jane Reeves"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"8063",title:"Food Security in Africa",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"8cbf3d662b104d19db2efc9d59249efc",slug:"food-security-in-africa",bookSignature:"Barakat Mahmoud",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/8063.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"92016",title:"Dr.",name:"Barakat",middleName:null,surname:"Mahmoud",slug:"barakat-mahmoud",fullName:"Barakat Mahmoud"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"10118",title:"Plant Stress Physiology",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"c68b09d2d2634fc719ae3b9a64a27839",slug:"plant-stress-physiology",bookSignature:"Akbar Hossain",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/10118.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"280755",title:"Dr.",name:"Akbar",middleName:null,surname:"Hossain",slug:"akbar-hossain",fullName:"Akbar Hossain"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"9157",title:"Neurodegenerative Diseases",subtitle:"Molecular Mechanisms and Current Therapeutic Approaches",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"bc8be577966ef88735677d7e1e92ed28",slug:"neurodegenerative-diseases-molecular-mechanisms-and-current-therapeutic-approaches",bookSignature:"Nagehan Ersoy Tunalı",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/9157.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"82778",title:"Ph.D.",name:"Nagehan",middleName:null,surname:"Ersoy Tunalı",slug:"nagehan-ersoy-tunali",fullName:"Nagehan Ersoy Tunalı"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"9961",title:"Data Mining",subtitle:"Methods, Applications and Systems",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"ed79fb6364f2caf464079f94a0387146",slug:"data-mining-methods-applications-and-systems",bookSignature:"Derya Birant",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/9961.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"15609",title:"Dr.",name:"Derya",middleName:null,surname:"Birant",slug:"derya-birant",fullName:"Derya Birant"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"8686",title:"Direct Torque Control Strategies of Electrical Machines",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"b6ad22b14db2b8450228545d3d4f6b1a",slug:"direct-torque-control-strategies-of-electrical-machines",bookSignature:"Fatma Ben Salem",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/8686.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"295623",title:"Associate Prof.",name:"Fatma",middleName:null,surname:"Ben Salem",slug:"fatma-ben-salem",fullName:"Fatma Ben Salem"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}}]},subject:{topic:{id:"814",title:"Fluid Dynamics",slug:"mechanical-engineering-fluid-dynamics",parent:{title:"Mechanical Engineering",slug:"mechanical-engineering"},numberOfBooks:8,numberOfAuthorsAndEditors:255,numberOfWosCitations:211,numberOfCrossrefCitations:95,numberOfDimensionsCitations:244,videoUrl:null,fallbackUrl:null,description:null},booksByTopicFilter:{topicSlug:"mechanical-engineering-fluid-dynamics",sort:"-publishedDate",limit:12,offset:0},booksByTopicCollection:[{type:"book",id:"4690",title:"Mass Transfer",subtitle:"Advancement in Process Modelling",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"6a48c13966c5b7c9ecf0af315f87048b",slug:"mass-transfer-advancement-in-process-modelling",bookSignature:"Marek Solecki",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/4690.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"43535",title:"Dr.",name:"Marek",middleName:null,surname:"Solecki",slug:"marek-solecki",fullName:"Marek Solecki"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"1659",title:"The Particle Image Velocimetry",subtitle:"Characteristics, Limits and Possible Applications",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"64321309762b4a1b34529238e32ac638",slug:"the-particle-image-velocimetry-characteristics-limits-and-possible-applications",bookSignature:"Giovanna Cavazzini",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/1659.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"111606",title:"PhD.",name:"Giovanna",middleName:null,surname:"Cavazzini",slug:"giovanna-cavazzini",fullName:"Giovanna Cavazzini"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"615",title:"Advanced Methods for Practical Applications in Fluid Mechanics",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"779d768a546af1ba3f0aa171d0c5a9ee",slug:"advanced-methods-for-practical-applications-in-fluid-mechanics",bookSignature:"Steven A. Jones",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/615.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"64477",title:"Dr.",name:"Steven",middleName:"A.",surname:"Jones",slug:"steven-jones",fullName:"Steven Jones"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"1955",title:"Hydrodynamics",subtitle:"Advanced Topics",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"a2f5fb60944543c693da3c7aa4f07dae",slug:"hydrodynamics-advanced-topics",bookSignature:"Harry Edmar Schulz, André Luiz Andrade Simões and Raquel Jahara Lobosco",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/1955.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"20241",title:"Prof.",name:"Harry",middleName:"Edmar",surname:"Schulz",slug:"harry-schulz",fullName:"Harry Schulz"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"1954",title:"Hydrodynamics",subtitle:"Optimizing Methods and Tools",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"502818cd3f53e68a788a01c693a29e5d",slug:"hydrodynamics-optimizing-methods-and-tools",bookSignature:"Harry Edmar Schulz, André Luiz Andrade Simões and Raquel Jahara Lobosco",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/1954.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"20241",title:"Prof.",name:"Harry",middleName:"Edmar",surname:"Schulz",slug:"harry-schulz",fullName:"Harry Schulz"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"530",title:"Convection and Conduction Heat Transfer",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"d7473a9763ff4ee9a4f8bb5a1ba9cd5e",slug:"convection-and-conduction-heat-transfer",bookSignature:"Amimul Ahsan",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/530.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"36782",title:"Associate Prof.",name:"Amimul",middleName:null,surname:"Ahsan",slug:"amimul-ahsan",fullName:"Amimul Ahsan"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"924",title:"Heat and Mass Transfer",subtitle:"Modeling and Simulation",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"671686ebedf504b399b01e0a9f8ecfd3",slug:"heat-and-mass-transfer-modeling-and-simulation",bookSignature:"Monwar Hossain",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/924.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"18207",title:"Prof.",name:"Md Monwar",middleName:null,surname:"Hossain",slug:"md-monwar-hossain",fullName:"Md Monwar Hossain"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"228",title:"Waves in Fluids and Solids",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"91a31715c4cb38a9c947a519163c45fc",slug:"waves-in-fluids-and-solids",bookSignature:"Ruben Pico Vila",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/228.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"49934",title:"Prof.",name:"Ruben",middleName:null,surname:"Pico Vila",slug:"ruben-pico-vila",fullName:"Ruben Pico Vila"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}}],booksByTopicTotal:8,mostCitedChapters:[{id:"22262",doi:"10.5772/19836",title:"Modelling of Heat Transfer and Phase Transformations in the Rapid Manufacturing of Titanium Components",slug:"modelling-of-heat-transfer-and-phase-transformations-in-the-rapid-manufacturing-of-titanium-componen",totalDownloads:2717,totalCrossrefCites:5,totalDimensionsCites:16,book:{slug:"convection-and-conduction-heat-transfer",title:"Convection and Conduction Heat Transfer",fullTitle:"Convection and Conduction Heat Transfer"},signatures:"António Crespo",authors:[{id:"36414",title:"Dr.",name:"Antonio",middleName:null,surname:"Crespo",slug:"antonio-crespo",fullName:"Antonio Crespo"}]},{id:"20087",doi:"10.5772/21503",title:"Soliton-Like Lamb Waves in Layered Media",slug:"soliton-like-lamb-waves-in-layered-media",totalDownloads:1890,totalCrossrefCites:5,totalDimensionsCites:14,book:{slug:"waves-in-fluids-and-solids",title:"Waves in Fluids and Solids",fullTitle:"Waves in Fluids and Solids"},signatures:"I. Djeran-Maigre and S. V. Kuznetsov",authors:[{id:"43397",title:"Dr.",name:"Irini",middleName:null,surname:"Djeran-Maigre",slug:"irini-djeran-maigre",fullName:"Irini Djeran-Maigre"},{id:"43398",title:"Prof.",name:"Sergey",middleName:null,surname:"Kuznetsov",slug:"sergey-kuznetsov",fullName:"Sergey Kuznetsov"}]},{id:"20412",doi:"10.5772/21230",title:"Nonequilibrium Fluctuations in Micro-MHD Effects on Electrodeposition",slug:"nonequilibrium-fluctuations-in-micro-mhd-effects-on-electrodeposition",totalDownloads:1293,totalCrossrefCites:4,totalDimensionsCites:13,book:{slug:"heat-and-mass-transfer-modeling-and-simulation",title:"Heat and Mass Transfer",fullTitle:"Heat and Mass Transfer - Modeling and Simulation"},signatures:"Ryoichi Aogaki and Ryoichi Morimoto",authors:[{id:"42360",title:"Prof.",name:"Ryoichi",middleName:null,surname:"Aogaki",slug:"ryoichi-aogaki",fullName:"Ryoichi Aogaki"},{id:"54508",title:"Mr",name:"Ryoichi",middleName:null,surname:"Morimoto",slug:"ryoichi-morimoto",fullName:"Ryoichi Morimoto"}]}],mostDownloadedChaptersLast30Days:[{id:"25446",title:"Flow Instabilities in Mechanically Agitated Stirred Vessels",slug:"flow-instabilities-in-mechanically-agitated-stirred-vessels",totalDownloads:3148,totalCrossrefCites:1,totalDimensionsCites:1,book:{slug:"hydrodynamics-advanced-topics",title:"Hydrodynamics",fullTitle:"Hydrodynamics - Advanced Topics"},signatures:"Chiara Galletti and Elisabetta Brunazzi",authors:[{id:"75453",title:"Dr.",name:"Chiara",middleName:null,surname:"Galletti",slug:"chiara-galletti",fullName:"Chiara Galletti"},{id:"75834",title:"Prof.",name:"Elisabetta",middleName:null,surname:"Brunazzi",slug:"elisabetta-brunazzi",fullName:"Elisabetta Brunazzi"}]},{id:"48887",title:"Mass Transfer in Multiphase Systems",slug:"mass-transfer-in-multiphase-systems",totalDownloads:9565,totalCrossrefCites:5,totalDimensionsCites:5,book:{slug:"mass-transfer-advancement-in-process-modelling",title:"Mass Transfer",fullTitle:"Mass Transfer - Advancement in Process Modelling"},signatures:"Badie I. Morsi and Omar M. Basha",authors:[{id:"174420",title:"Prof.",name:"Badie I.",middleName:null,surname:"Morsi",slug:"badie-i.-morsi",fullName:"Badie I. Morsi"},{id:"174770",title:"Dr.",name:"Omar M.",middleName:null,surname:"Basha",slug:"omar-m.-basha",fullName:"Omar M. Basha"}]},{id:"25437",title:"One Dimensional Turbulent Transfer Using Random Square Waves – Scalar/Velocity and Velocity/Velocity Interactions",slug:"one-dimensional-turbulent-transfer-using-random-square-waves-scalar-velocity-and-velocity-velocity-i",totalDownloads:1558,totalCrossrefCites:0,totalDimensionsCites:0,book:{slug:"hydrodynamics-advanced-topics",title:"Hydrodynamics",fullTitle:"Hydrodynamics - Advanced Topics"},signatures:"H. E. Schulz, G. B. Lopes Júnior, A. L. A. Simões and R. J. Lobosco",authors:[{id:"20241",title:"Prof.",name:"Harry",middleName:"Edmar",surname:"Schulz",slug:"harry-schulz",fullName:"Harry Schulz"}]},{id:"37156",title:"Characterization of the Bidirectional Vortex Using Particle Image Velocimetry",slug:"characterization-of-the-bidirectional-vortex-using-particle-image-velocimetry",totalDownloads:2144,totalCrossrefCites:0,totalDimensionsCites:2,book:{slug:"the-particle-image-velocimetry-characteristics-limits-and-possible-applications",title:"The Particle Image Velocimetry",fullTitle:"The Particle Image Velocimetry - Characteristics, Limits and Possible Applications"},signatures:"Brian A. Maicke and Joseph Majdalani",authors:[{id:"64718",title:"Prof.",name:"Joe",middleName:null,surname:"Majdalani",slug:"joe-majdalani",fullName:"Joe Majdalani"},{id:"111632",title:"Dr.",name:"Brian",middleName:null,surname:"Maicke",slug:"brian-maicke",fullName:"Brian Maicke"}]},{id:"25453",title:"Flow Evolution Mechanisms of Lid-Driven Cavities",slug:"flow-evolution-mechanisms-of-lid-driven-cavities",totalDownloads:2807,totalCrossrefCites:0,totalDimensionsCites:0,book:{slug:"hydrodynamics-advanced-topics",title:"Hydrodynamics",fullTitle:"Hydrodynamics - Advanced Topics"},signatures:"José Rafael Toro and Sergio Pedraza R.",authors:[{id:"75766",title:"BSc.",name:"Sergio",middleName:null,surname:"Pedraza",slug:"sergio-pedraza",fullName:"Sergio Pedraza"},{id:"81379",title:"MSc.",name:"José Rafael",middleName:null,surname:"Toro",slug:"jose-rafael-toro",fullName:"José Rafael Toro"}]},{id:"37152",title:"Limits in Planar PIV Due to Individual Variations of Particle Image Intensities",slug:"limits-in-planar-piv-due-to-individual-variations-of-particle-image-intensities",totalDownloads:1841,totalCrossrefCites:0,totalDimensionsCites:0,book:{slug:"the-particle-image-velocimetry-characteristics-limits-and-possible-applications",title:"The Particle Image Velocimetry",fullTitle:"The Particle Image Velocimetry - Characteristics, Limits and Possible Applications"},signatures:"Holger Nobach",authors:[{id:"101177",title:"Dr.",name:"Holger",middleName:null,surname:"Nobach",slug:"holger-nobach",fullName:"Holger Nobach"}]},{id:"22261",title:"Heat Transfer Analysis of Reinforced Concrete Beams Reinforced with GFRP Bars",slug:"heat-transfer-analysis-of-reinforced-concrete-beams-reinforced-with-gfrp-bars",totalDownloads:5694,totalCrossrefCites:1,totalDimensionsCites:1,book:{slug:"convection-and-conduction-heat-transfer",title:"Convection and Conduction Heat Transfer",fullTitle:"Convection and Conduction Heat Transfer"},signatures:"Rami A. Hawileh",authors:[{id:"46905",title:"Dr.",name:"Rami",middleName:null,surname:"Hawileh",slug:"rami-hawileh",fullName:"Rami Hawileh"}]},{id:"25439",title:"Nonautonomous Solitons: Applications from Nonlinear Optics to BEC and Hydrodynamics",slug:"nonautonomous-solitons-applications-from-nonlinear-optics-to-bec-and-hydrodynamics",totalDownloads:1522,totalCrossrefCites:1,totalDimensionsCites:11,book:{slug:"hydrodynamics-advanced-topics",title:"Hydrodynamics",fullTitle:"Hydrodynamics - Advanced Topics"},signatures:"T. L. Belyaeva and V. N. Serkin",authors:[{id:"66736",title:"Prof.",name:"Vladimir",middleName:null,surname:"Serkin",slug:"vladimir-serkin",fullName:"Vladimir Serkin"},{id:"66765",title:"Prof.",name:"Tatyana",middleName:"Leonidovna",surname:"Belyaeva",slug:"tatyana-belyaeva",fullName:"Tatyana Belyaeva"}]},{id:"25450",title:"Hydrodynamics on Charged Superparamagnetic Microparticles in Water Suspension: Effects of Low-Confinement Conditions and Electrostatics Interactions",slug:"hydrodynamics-on-charged-superparamagnetic-microparticles-in-water-suspension-effects-of-low-confine",totalDownloads:1845,totalCrossrefCites:1,totalDimensionsCites:1,book:{slug:"hydrodynamics-advanced-topics",title:"Hydrodynamics",fullTitle:"Hydrodynamics - Advanced Topics"},signatures:"P. Domínguez-García and M.A. Rubio",authors:[{id:"68119",title:"Dr.",name:"Pablo",middleName:null,surname:"Domínguez-García",slug:"pablo-dominguez-garcia",fullName:"Pablo Domínguez-García"},{id:"75303",title:"Dr.",name:"Miguel Ángel",middleName:null,surname:"Rubio",slug:"miguel-angel-rubio",fullName:"Miguel Ángel Rubio"}]},{id:"25438",title:"Generalized Variational Principle for Dissipative Hydrodynamics: Shear Viscosity from Angular Momentum Relaxation in the Hydrodynamical Description of Continuum Mechanics",slug:"generalized-variational-principle-for-dissipative-hydrodynamics-shear-viscosity-from-angular-momentu",totalDownloads:1792,totalCrossrefCites:0,totalDimensionsCites:1,book:{slug:"hydrodynamics-advanced-topics",title:"Hydrodynamics",fullTitle:"Hydrodynamics - Advanced Topics"},signatures:"German A. Maximov",authors:[{id:"73783",title:"Dr.",name:"German",middleName:null,surname:"Maximov",slug:"german-maximov",fullName:"German Maximov"}]}],onlineFirstChaptersFilter:{topicSlug:"mechanical-engineering-fluid-dynamics",limit:3,offset:0},onlineFirstChaptersCollection:[],onlineFirstChaptersTotal:0},preDownload:{success:null,errors:{}},aboutIntechopen:{},privacyPolicy:{},peerReviewing:{},howOpenAccessPublishingWithIntechopenWorks:{},sponsorshipBooks:{sponsorshipBooks:[{type:"book",id:"10176",title:"Microgrids and Local Energy Systems",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!0,hash:"c32b4a5351a88f263074b0d0ca813a9c",slug:null,bookSignature:"Prof. Nick Jenkins",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/10176.jpg",editedByType:null,editors:[{id:"55219",title:"Prof.",name:"Nick",middleName:null,surname:"Jenkins",slug:"nick-jenkins",fullName:"Nick Jenkins"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}}],offset:8,limit:8,total:1},route:{name:"profile.detail",path:"/profiles/317552/asif-mostafa",hash:"",query:{},params:{id:"317552",slug:"asif-mostafa"},fullPath:"/profiles/317552/asif-mostafa",meta:{},from:{name:null,path:"/",hash:"",query:{},params:{},fullPath:"/",meta:{}}}},function(){var e;(e=document.currentScript||document.scripts[document.scripts.length-1]).parentNode.removeChild(e)}()