Heterogeneous Electro-Fenton as “Green” Technology for Pharmaceutical Removal: A Review

The presence of pharmaceutical products in the water cycle may cause harmful effects such as morphological, metabolic and sex alterations in aquatic organisms and the selection/development of organisms resistant to antimicrobial agents. The compounds’ stability and persistent character hinder their elimination by conventional physico-chemical and biological treatments and thus, the development of new water purification technologies has drawn great attention from academic and industrial researchers. Recently, the electro-Fenton process has been demonstrated to be a viable alternative for the removal of these hazardous, recalcitrant compounds. This process occurs under the action of a suitable catalyst, with the majority of current scientific research focused on heterogeneous systems. A significant area of research centres working on the development of an appropriate catalyst able to overcome the operating limitations associated with the homogeneous process is concerned with the short service life and difficulty in the separation/recovery of the catalyst from polluted water. This review highlights a present trend in the use of different materials as electro-Fenton catalysts for pharmaceutical compound removal from aquatic environments. The main challenges facing these technologies revolve around the enhancement of performance, stability for long-term use, life-cycle analysis considerations and cost-effectiveness. Although treatment efficiency has improved significantly, ongoing research efforts need to deliver economic viability at a larger scale due to the high operating costs, primarily related to energy consumption.Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED481B-2018/096Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad | Ref. CTM2017-87326-

Production of Food Aroma Compounds: Microbial and Enzymatic Methodologies

Posljednjih su godina sve veći zahtjevi za prirodnim proizvodima prehrambene industrije ohrabrili nevjerojatne pokušaje razvoja biotehnoloških procesa u proizvodnji aromatskih spojeva. Ovaj revijalni prikaz donosi nova dostignuća iz tog područja, osobito ističući mogućnosti primjene biljnih stanica i mikrobnih kultura te enzimske tehnologije u proizvodnji velikog broja aromatskih sastojaka hrane. Razmatra se i poboljšanje ekonomske isplativosti proizvodnje uzgojem mikroorganizama na čvrstoj podlozi.Over the past few years, the increasing demand for natural products in the food industry has encouraged remarkable efforts towards the development of biotechnological processes for the production of flavour compounds. The present paper reviews the recent major achievements reported in this field, with a special emphasis on the potential lying in plant cell, microbial cultures and enzyme technology for the production of a wide range of flavours. The use of solid-state fermentation as a means to improve economical feasibility of these processes is also considered

A grey box model of glucose fermentation and syntrophic oxidation in microbial fuel cells

In this work, the fermentative and oxidative processes taking place in a microbial fuel cell (MFC) fed with glucose were studied and modeled. The model accounting for the bioelectrochemical processes was based on ordinary, Monod-type differential equations. The model parameters were estimated using experimental results obtained from three H-type MFCs operated at open or closed circuits and fed with glucose or ethanol. The experimental results demonstrate that similar fermentation processes were carried out under open and closed circuit operation, with the most important fermentation products being ethanol (with a yield of 1.81 mol mol−1 glucose) and lactic acid (with a yield of 1.36 mol mol−1 glucose). A peak in the electricity generation was obtained when glucose and fermentation products coexisted in the liquid bulk. However, almost 90% of the electricity produced came from the oxidation of ethanol

Introducción. Categorías semiléxicas: Haciendo balance entre el contenido léxico y la función gramatical

Presentación del nº 49 (2019). Número monografico: Categorías semiléxicas, coordinado por Ángeles Carrasco Gutiérrez y Begoña Sanromán Vila

Recent Developments in Advanced Oxidation Processes for Organics-Polluted Soil Reclamation

Soil pollution has become a substantial environmental problem which is amplified by overpopulation in different regions. In this review, the state of the art regarding the use of Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) for soil remediation is presented. This review aims to provide an outline of recent technologies developed for the decontamination of polluted soils by using AOPs. Depending on the decontamination process, these techniques have been presented in three categories: the Fenton process, sulfate radicals process, and coupled processes. The review presents the achievements of, and includes some reflections on, the status of these emerging technologies, the mechanisms, and influential factors. At the present, more investigation and development actions are still desirable to bring them to real full-scale implementation

Recent Developments in Advanced Oxidation Processes for Organics-Polluted Soil Reclamation

Soil pollution has become a substantial environmental problem which is amplified by overpopulation in different regions. In this review, the state of the art regarding the use of Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) for soil remediation is presented. This review aims to provide an outline of recent technologies developed for the decontamination of polluted soils by using AOPs. Depending on the decontamination process, these techniques have been presented in three categories: the Fenton process, sulfate radicals process, and coupled processes. The review presents the achievements of, and includes some reflections on, the status of these emerging technologies, the mechanisms, and influential factors. At the present, more investigation and development actions are still desirable to bring them to real full-scale implementation

Heterogeneous Advanced Oxidation Processes: Current Approaches for Wastewater Treatment

Nowadays, water pollution is one of the most dangerous environmental problems in the world. The presence of the so-called emerging pollutants in the different water bodies, impossible to eliminate through conventional biological and physical treatments used in wastewater treatment plants due to their persistent and recalcitrant nature, means that pollution continues growing throughout the world. The presence of these emerging pollutants involves serious risks to human and animal health for aquatic and terrestrial organisms. Therefore, in recent years, advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have been postulated as a viable, innovative and efficient technology for the elimination of these types of compounds from water bodies. The oxidation/reduction reactions triggered in most of these processes require a suitable catalyst. The most recent research focuses on the use and development of different types of heterogeneous catalysts, which are capable of overcoming some of the operational limitations of homogeneous processes such as the generation of metallic sludge, difficult separation of treated water and narrow working pH. This review details the current advances in the field of heterogeneous AOPs, Fenton processes and photocatalysts for the removal of different types of emerging pollutants

Heterogeneous Advanced Oxidation Processes: Current Approaches for Wastewater Treatment

Nowadays, water pollution is one of the most dangerous environmental problems in the world. The presence of the so-called emerging pollutants in the different water bodies, impossible to eliminate through conventional biological and physical treatments used in wastewater treatment plants due to their persistent and recalcitrant nature, means that pollution continues growing throughout the world. The presence of these emerging pollutants involves serious risks to human and animal health for aquatic and terrestrial organisms. Therefore, in recent years, advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have been postulated as a viable, innovative and efficient technology for the elimination of these types of compounds from water bodies. The oxidation/reduction reactions triggered in most of these processes require a suitable catalyst. The most recent research focuses on the use and development of different types of heterogeneous catalysts, which are capable of overcoming some of the operational limitations of homogeneous processes such as the generation of metallic sludge, difficult separation of treated water and narrow working pH. This review details the current advances in the field of heterogeneous AOPs, Fenton processes and photocatalysts for the removal of different types of emerging pollutants

Culture conditions and investigation of bioreactor configurations for lipase production by rhizopus oryzae

Lipolytic enzymes are the subject of great industrial and academic interest. For this reason, a detailed study of lipolytic enzyme production by the fungus Rhizopus oryzae is tackled, and several steps from plate to shake flasks and bioreactor cultures are investigated in order to propose an optimized strategy to perform the biological process. The suitability of several lipidic compounds and surfactants is assessed. Triton X-100 (5 g/L) gives the highest activities with a maximum value of 6320 U/L which is 10-fold the value attained in cultures without addition of lipidic compounds. As there are almost no studies on bench-scale bioreactors, two bioreactor configurations, stirred tank and air-lift, are investigated to determine the most suitable one to carry out the biological reaction. It is demonstrated that the lipolytic activity is strongly enhanced when a stirred-tank bioreactor is used with a maximum value of 3521 U/L within two days which is clearly higher than the values produced by other recently reported species.XUNTA de Galicia | Ref. PGIDIT06 PXIB314376P