Virtual Reality, a Method to Achieve Social Acceptance of the Communities Close to Mining Projects: A Scoping Review

"Background: Virtual reality (VR) technology is an effective, interactive and immersive type of communication since it produces greater interest and attention in the user, thereby allowing greater understanding and comprehension than with more traditional methods. On the other hand, not much information is known about the application of this novel technology in the context of social acceptance as far as the mining sector is concerned; our approach and methodology were based on scoping review (Prisma-SrC, Daudt et al., Arksey, and O’Malley). The research terms were also planned before, with the aim of carrying out three posterior screening levels, among which was the use of EndNote 20 and the PICO framework. Exhaustive research was carried out in nine databases. We obtained n=2 research articles of n=923 initially found, all of which went through three levels of filtering. The chosen articles were evaluated according to Hawker et al. 's methodological rigor, to be included in the review. This scoping review could be the starting point for a series of further investigations that would fill the gap in the literature on this topic, emphasizing experimental articles to confirm the impact of virtual reality technologies on the communities within the sphere of influence of a mining project.

Optimization of a Textile Effluent Treatment System and Evaluation of the Feasibility to Be Reused as Influents in Textile Dyeing Processes

Textile effluents derived from azo-reactive dyeing processes represent a severe problem for aquatic ecosystems and human health. The large amounts of water used in this process and the poor quality of the discharges urge the need to develop treatment systems that involve reusing treated water. In this research, we present the optimization of a feasible, simple, and efficient treatment system that improves the quality of the effluents from the cotton fabric dyeing process. Through the characterization of the influents and effluents, we have identified seven parameters that have allowed the optimization of the treatment. Analytical techniques, such as nephelometry, EDTA, gravimetry, and BOD5, among others, and specialized equipment, such as the spectrophotometer, have been used for these purposes. The results showed that using combustion gases in the neutralization stage and new flocculant-coagulant reagents improved parameters, such as pH, total solids, hardness, and conductivity. The quality of the effluents thus obtained allowed their reuse only in the stages before the dyeing bath without affecting the final quality of the cotton fabrics in dark colors. This effort implies savings in water and supplies, and opens the door to future research on the treatment of textile effluents that help improve the environmental conditions of our region