Ionic liquids (ILs) have attracted great interest in academia and industry during the last decade. So far, several ILs have been used in technological processes, from small scale to industrial applications, which makes it more and more likely that they will be released into the environment. Researches have been actively studying the environmental and toxicological bevaviour of ILs, but their influence on the activated sewage sludge...

Starch is a natural polymer which, due to its renewability, biodegrability, availability and a relatively low cost, has a high potential for applications in biodegradable materials. However, because of its hydrophilic nature, the number of commercially available starch-based products is still limited. Recently, starch-based nanocomposites with the addition of clay minerals as nanofillers have given rise to large-scale improvements...