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Some modified kaolin materials have the potential as adsorbents for the removal of numerous pollutants. In view of this, we developed two modified kaolin named Fe–kaolin and Co/Mn–kaolin, respectively, and studied the adsorption properties and mechanism of two materials for micro-plastics. The results showed that the adsorption of micro-plastics on these two modified kaolin materials reached equilibrium basically after 72 h. The adsorption capacity of Co/Mn–kaolin for micro-plastics was about 22.00 mg·g−1 while the adsorption capacity of Fe–kaolin for micro-plastics was about 13.68 mg·g−1. The adsorption of micro-plastics by these two adsorbents may follow the pseudo-first-order kinetic model and the Freundlich isotherm model. The adsorption behavior of micro-plastics on Co/Mn–kaolin was an exothermic adsorption process while the adsorption behavior of micro-plastics on Fe–kaolin was an endothermic adsorption process. This work provides two low-cost, environmentally friendly and reusable adsorbents for the extraction of multiple micro-plastics in water simultaneously, which means that these two modified kaolin materials have the application chance of the lab-scale experiments. Besides, this work provides another new idea for the recycling and reuse of kaolin tailings and some heavy metal ions in the environment, which is very beneficial to the comprehensive treatment of the environment.

The physicochemical properties and potential hemostatic application of Wenchang kaolin and Maoming kaolin were inspected and evaluated. Chemical composition analysis, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, surface area determination, X-ray diffraction, particle size, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations, and zeta potential analysis were performed to quantify the physical and chemical properties of the two kaolins. The results showed that both kaolins have typical FTIR bands of kaolinite with a weight fraction for kaolinite over 90 wt%. Larger conglobate aggregates of Maoming kaolin demonstrated wider particle size distributions with two peaks at 3.17 and 35.57 μm, while the book-like Wenchang kaolin had narrow particle size distribution, with a frequent size of 5.64 μm. Furthermore, thrombelastography, the whole blood clotting tests (WBCT), plasma recalcification time (PRT) measurement, and MTT assay were performed to measure the clotting activities and biocompatibility of the two kaolins. The results showed that both kaolins could promote blood coagulation with good cytocompatibility, while Wenchang kaolin had a better procoagulant activity than Maoming kaolin. These findings demonstrated Wenchang kaolin to be a more suitable local source material for application as a hemostatic agent.

Implementation of industrial wastes such as bottom ash in ground improvement can be cost-effective and environment-friendly. Ground improvement is an effective method of mitigation to improve problematic soils including soft kaolin clay soils as the problematic soils always expose to the severe settlements, low shear strength, immoderate plasticity, greater compressibility, dispersivity, bulging, erodibility, and susceptibility to climatic variables. Several studies conducted on the granular column using the bottom ash column. However, only a few studies have reported findings coherent with the statistical analysis. In this study, the lateral load capacity of bottom ash column-kaolin clay has been conducted. Coherently, the reinforced kaolin clay samples were tested via particle size distribution, Atterberg limit test, relative density, compaction test, permeability test, unconfined compression test, and unconsolidated undrained triaxial test with the single and group of encapsulated bottom ash columns with the geotextile encasement and a prediction model was developed. The effect of a number of columns, column diameter, column height, area replacement ratio, height penetration ratio, height-diameter column ratio, volume replacement ratio, and confining pressures on the shear strength of the single and group of encapsulated bottom ash columns have been investigated. The findings showed the effectiveness of using the bottom ash columns at various number of column, column diameter, column height, area replacement ratio, height penetration ratio, height-diameter column ratio, volume replacement ratio, and confining pressures can enhance the shear strength of the soil up to 77.00% at the optimal utilization of single encapsulated bottom ash column of 10-mm diameter and 80-mm height. Therefore, the study proved that the utilization of bottom ash waste as a granular column can significantly enhance the lateral load capacity of soft kaolin clay soil.

In recent years, the coagulation properties of inorganic minerals such as kaolin and zeolite have been demonstrated. This study aimed to assess the hemostatic properties of three local clays from China: natural kaolin from Hainan, natural halloysite from Yunnan, and zeolite synthesized by our group. The physical and chemical properties, blood coagulation performance, and cell biocompatibility of the three materials were tested. The studied materials were characterized by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). All three clays showed different morphologies and particle size, and exhibited negative potentials between pH 6 and 8. The TGA and DSC curves for kaolin and halloysite were highly similar. Kaolin showed the highest water absorption capacity (approximately 93.8% ± 0.8%). All three clays were noncytotoxic toward L929 mouse fibroblasts. Kaolin and halloysite showed blood coagulation effects similar to that exhibited by zeolite, indicating that kaolin and halloysite are promising alternative hemostatic materials.

Opuntia ficus-indica (L.), a cactus, a critical crop in Morocco, has been severely damaged by Dactylopius opuntiae since its introduction in 2014. This study evaluated the insecticidal and preventive effects of kaolin clay against D. opuntiae females and nymphs under laboratory and field conditions and assessed its impact on the physiological parameters of health and wettability of cactus cladodes. Laboratory cage experiments revealed that Kaolin-treated cladodes (30 g/L) had significantly fewer colonies (3.67) than water-treated controls (7.33) after 42 days, with stable evolution up to 60 days. Choice tests showed more nymphs on untreated cladodes (7) than on treated ones (3) after one day. No-choice tests revealed significantly higher nymph mortality on kaolin-treated cladodes (75 dead nymphs) compared to controls (21) by day 44. Field trials supported these findings, with treated cladodes showing only 16 colonies after 40 days compared to 35 on untreated ones. Kaolin also induced direct insecticidal activity, causing 62% and 74% nymph mortality three days after application at 30 g/L and 60 g/L, respectively. Female mortality reached 32% after five days at the double dose. In addition, Kaolin preserved greener cladodes with darker tissues, and higher chlorophyll levels, while infested cladodes showed chlorophyll loss and lighter color. Kaolin also transformed cladode surfaces from hydrophobic (contact angle: 111.11°) to hydrophilic (contact angle: 67°) after one day, with a decrease to 57° after 21 days. These results highlight the potential of Kaolin as a preventive control without affecting cactus quality.

Concerns are being raised that microplastic pollution can have detrimental effects on the feeding of aquatic invertebrates, including zooplankton. Both small plastic fragments (microplastics, MPs) produced by degradation of larger plastic waste (secondary MPs; SMPs) and microscopic plastic spheres used in cosmetic products and industry (primary MPs; PMPs) are ubiquitously present in the environment. However, despite the fact that most environmental MPs consist of weathered plastic debris with irregular shape and broad size distribution, experimental studies of organism responses to MP exposure have largely used uniformly sized spherical PMPs. Therefore, effects observed for PMPs in such experiments may not be representative for MP-effects in situ. Moreover, invertebrate filter-feeders are generally well adapted to the presence of refractory material in seston, which questions the potential of MPs at environmentally relevant concentrations to measurably affect digestion in these organisms. Here, we compared responses to MPs (PMPs and SMPs) and naturally occurring particles (kaolin clay) using the cladoceran Daphnia magna as a model organism. We manipulated food levels (0.4 and 9 μg C mL-1) and MP or kaolin contribution to the feeding suspension (<1 to 74%) and evaluated effects of MPs and kaolin on food uptake, growth, reproductive capacity of the daphnids, and maternal effects on offspring survival and feeding. Exposure to SMPs caused elevated mortality, increased inter-brood period and decreased reproduction albeit only at high MP levels in the feeding suspension (74% by particle count). No such effects were observed in either PMP or kaolin treatments. In daphnids exposed to any particle type at the low algal concentration, individual growth decreased by ~15%. By contrast, positive growth response to all particle types was observed at the high algal concentration with 17%, 54% and 40% increase for kaolin, PMP and SMP, respectively. When test particles comprised 22% in the feeding suspension, both MP types decreased food intake by 30%, while kaolin had no effect. Moreover, SMPs were found to homoaggregate in a concentration-dependent manner, which resulted in a 77% decrease of the ingested SMPs compared to PMPs. To better understand MP-processing in the gut, gut passage time (GPT) and evacuation rate of MPs were also assayed. SMPs and PMPs differed in their effects on daphnids; moreover, the particle effects were dependent on the MP: algae ratio in the suspension. When the MP contribution to the particle abundance in the medium changed from 1 to 4%, GPT for daphnids exposed to SMPs increased 2-fold. Our results suggest that MPs and, in particular, SMPs, have a greater capacity to negatively affect feeding in D. magna compared to naturally occurring mineral particles of similar size. Moreover, grazer responses observed in experiments with PMPs cannot be extrapolated to the field where SMPs dominate, because of the greater effects caused by the latter.

Effective prehospital hemostasis is pivotal for improving survival outcomes in arterial hemorrhage. Existing hemostatic materials have limitations in terms of both efficiency and portability, particularly under complex wound conditions. This study engineered a kaolin-reinforced biomimetic adhesive composite powder (DTG-K), which achieved dual hemostatic mechanisms: mechanical occlusion via strong interfacial adhesion (lap-shear strength of 58.3 kPa) and biochemical activation of the intrinsic coagulation pathway through factor XII. In vitro evaluations confirmed its exceptional hemocompatibility, with a 0.93% hemolysis rate. When applied to femoral artery hemorrhage models in Bama swine, DTG-K demonstrated complete hemostasis within 30 s through synergistic physical sealing and biochemical coagulation. These findings demonstrate the potential of DTG-K as an innovative strategy for managing life-threatening arterial hemorrhage in prehospital emergency scenarios.

Climate change poses a growing threat to strawberry cultivation, a crop highly sensitive to elevated temperatures. Developing sustainable strategies to mitigate heat induced stress is crucial for maintaining yield and fruit quality. This study evaluated the effectiveness of different exogenous chemical treatments in enhancing heat stress tolerance across three strawberry genotypes RABI-3, BARI Strawberry-2, and BARI Strawberry-3 under prolonged summer conditions in Bangladesh. A two-factorial completely randomized design (CRD) was conducted from February 2024 to April 2025 with six treatments: control (water), abscisic acid (5 ppm), calcium chloride (10 mM), kaolin (5%), melatonin (10 ppm), and molasses (5%). Vegetative, physiological, biochemical, and yield parameters were analyzed, and treatment effects were statistically tested at 5% significance level. Kaolin application significantly improved vegetative growth (plant height and leaf number increased by 15–25% compared to the control) and enhanced photosynthetic activity and antioxidant capacity. The kaolin treated plants also showed a 20–30% yield increase with better fruit size, total soluble solids, and vitamin C content. Among genotypes, BARI Strawberry-3 demonstrated the highest tolerance and yield stability under high-temperature stress. These findings suggest that kaolin spray may offer a cost effective and environmentally sustainable approach to mitigating heat stress in strawberries, with BARI Strawberry-3 representing a promising genotype for future commercial cultivation in warming agro-climatic zones.

In the current study, hemostatic compositions including a combination of chitosan and kaolin have been developed. Chitosan is a marine polysaccharide derived from chitins, a structural component in the shells of crustaceans. Both chitosan and kaolin have the ability to mediate a quick and efficient hemostatic effect following immediate application to injury sites, and thus they have been widely exploited in manufacturing of hemostatic composites. By combining more than one hemostatic agent (i.e., chitosan and kaolin) that act via more than one mechanism, and by utilizing different nanotechnology-based approaches to enhance the surface areas, the capability of the dressing to control bleeding was improved, in terms of amount of blood loss and time to hemostasis. The nanotechnology-based approaches utilized to enhance the effective surface area of the hemostatic agents included the use of Pluronic nanoparticles, and deposition of chitosan micro- and nano-fibers onto the carrier. The developed composites effectively controlled bleeding and significantly improved hemostasis and survival rates in two animal models, rats and rabbits, compared to conventional dressings and QuikClot® Combat Gauze. The composites were well-tolerated as demonstrated by their in vivo biocompatibility and absence of clinical and biochemical changes in the laboratory animals after application of the dressings.

Water scarcity is one of the major factors restricting grape cultivation in arid and semi-arid regions of China. Kaolin particle film (KPF) has shown great potential in alleviating crop stress and improving water use efficiency. To further investigate how KPF alleviate drought stress at physiological level, this study evaluated the drought index, leaf relative water content (RWC), photosynthesis, antioxidant properties, and osmotic adjustment ability of Cabernet-Sauvignon seedlings leaves in controlled greenhouse under three conditions: natural drought (ND), natural drought + KPF (ND + KPF) and normal irrigation (NI). Measurements were taken on 0, 5, 9, 13 and 17 days post drought treatment. The results indicated that foliar application of KPF during natural drought progression reduced the seedling drought index by 10.98–38.30%, increased net photosynthesis (A n ) by 48.40–134.75%, thereby partially alleviated drought stress. Concurrently, KPF decreased stomatal conductance (g s ), leading to a reduction in leaf transpiration (E) by 24.05%-59.83% and an increase in leaf relative water content (RWC) by 5.12–10.03%. Furthermore, KPF treatment significantly lowered the leaf contents of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) and malondialdehyde (MDA) by 8.73–31.22% and 19.89–21.79%, respectively, indicating mitigated oxidative stress. KPF-treated plants exhibited lower activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT), as well as reduced accumulation of glutathione (GSH), ascorbic acid (ASA), proline and soluble protein during the early and middle stages of stress. Meanwhile, it helped sustain essential metabolic activity at the peak of stress severity. These findings suggest that KPF does not primarily function by chemically activating defense responses, but rather through a physical mechanism. Specifically, KPF likely acts as an antitranspirant, reducing the adverse effects of drought by maintaining favorable cellular water status. This study provides new insights into the mechanisms by which KPF mitigates drought stress in crops.