Professional experience in Tecnoambiente, S.L.

[Resumen]El trabajo que realicé durante los meses de prácticas en Tecnoambiente ha sido principalmente trabajo de laboratorio. La mayor parte del tiempo la dediqué a análisis de aguas tanto de agua dulce como de agua marina. A estas aguas les realicé procedimientos para analizar, entre otros, nitratos, cloruros, sólidos, metales, detergentes, aceites y grasas, calcular la DQO (demanda química de oxígeno) y la DBO5 (demanda bioquímica de oxígeno), así como dar sus valores de pH, temperatura y conductividad. También aprendí a trabajar con diferentes aparatos, como el analizador microtox, el destilador, el rotavapor, el espectrofotómetro y el espectrofotómetro de absorción atómica. Por último, me enseñaron a calibrar, verificar y limpiar diferentes instrumentos del laboratorio, así como a solucionar algunos de los problemas que pueden surgir diariamente dentro de este.[Resumo]O traballo que realicei durante os meses de prácticas en Tecnoambiente foi principalmente traballo de laboratorio. A maior parte do tempo dediqueina a análise de augas tanto de auga doce como de auga mariña. A estas augas realiceilles procedementos para analizar, entre outros, nitratos, cloruros, sólidos, metais, deterxentes, aceites e graxas, calcular a DQO (demanda química de osíxeno) e a DBO5 (demanda bioquímica de osíxeno), así como dar os seus valores de pH, temperatura e conductividad. Tamén aprendín a traballar con diferentes aparellos, como o analizador microtox, o destilador, o rotavapor, o espectrofotómetro e o espectrofotómetro de absorción atómica. Por último, ensináronme a calibrar, verificar e limpar diferentes instrumentos do laboratorio, así como a solucionar algúns dos problemas que poden xurdir diariamente dentro de leste.[Abstract]The work that I realized during the months of practices in Tecnoambiente has been principally a laboratory work. I dedicated most of the time to water analysis both of freshwater and of seawater. To these waters I realized procedures to analyze, between others, nitrates, chlorides, solid, metals, detergents, oils and fats, to calculate the COD (Chemical oxygen demand) and the BOD5 (Biochemical oxygen demand), as well as to give his values of pH, temperature and conductivity. Also I learned to work with different devices, as the analyzer microtox, the distiller, the rotary evaporator, the spectrophotometer and the spectrophotometer of atomic absorption. Finally, they taught me to calibrate, to check and to clean different instruments of the laboratory, as well as to solving some of the problems that can arise every day inside this one.Traballo fin de mestrado (UDC.CIE). Ciencias, tecnoloxías e xestión ambiental. Curso 2013/201

Systemic fibrosis: scleroderma

RESUMEN : La esclerodermia, también conocida como esclerosis sistémica, es una enfermedad rara y de origen todavía desconocido. Se trata de una enfermedad autoinmune y en su origen influyen tanto factores genéticos, como ambientales e infecciosos. Esta enfermedad se incluye dentro del grupo de “las enfermedades del tejido conectivo”; por ello, y para conocer mejor el origen y las causas de la esclerodermia, en esta revisión se investigará de forma exhaustiva la biología y fisiopatología del tejido conectivo normal y de los principales tipos de fibrosis. Estos conceptos iniciales, son fundamentales para concentrarnos posteriormente en la esclerodermia; la cual puede presentar dos formas clínicas: localizada y sistémica. Finalmente, se revisará de forma más pormenorizada la esclerodermia sistémica; detallándose tanto sus manifestaciones clínicas como su diagnóstico y, para concluir, su posible tratamiento y las medidas terapéuticas encaminadas a tratar las diferentes complicaciones que presenten los pacientes y a proporcionarles una buena calidad de vida.ABSTRACT : Scleroderma, also known as systemic sclerosis, is a rare disease of unknown origin. It is an autoimmune disease and its origin is influenced by genetic, environmental and infectious factors. This disease is included within the group of "connective tissue diseases"; therefore, and to understand the origin and causes of scleroderma, this review will thoroughly investigate the biology and pathophysiology of normal connective tissue and the main types of fibrosis. These initial concepts are essential to focus later on scleroderma; which can present two clinical forms: localized and systemic. Finally, systemic scleroderma will be reviewed in more detail; detailing its clinical manifestations and its diagnosis and, to conclude, its possible treatment and therapeutic measures aimed at treating the different complications that patients can present and providing them with a good quality of life.Grado en Medicin

Simple and efficient furfural production from xylose in media containing 1-Butyl-3-Methylimidazolium hydrogen sulfate

The acidic 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hydrogen sulfate ([bmim][HSO4]) ionic liquid was explored as both a reaction medium and a catalyst in the furfural production from xylose. Preliminary experiments were carried out at 100–140 °C for 15–480 min in systems containing just xylose dissolved in [bmim][HSO4] in the absence of externally added catalysts. More than 95% xylose conversion was achieved when operating at 120 or 140 °C for 300 and 90 min, respectively; but just 36.7% of the initial xylose was converted to furfural. Operation in biphasic reaction systems (in the presence of toluene, methyl-isobutyl ketone or dioxane as extraction solvents) at 140 °C under selected conditions resulted in improved furfural production (73.8%, 80.3%, and 82.2% xylose conversion to furfural for the cited extraction solvents, respectively)

Evaluation of autohydrolysis pretreatment using microwave heating for enzymatic saccharification of corn residues

Pretreatment of lignocellulosic materials (LCMs) is one of the most critical stages in the production of 2G bioethanol, this stage allows to maximize the production of fermentable sugars in the enzymatic saccharification process (ESP). Recently the microwave heating (MH) have been studied for enhanced the LCMs pretreatment, this technology reduces the energy requirements in the process, due to the fast heat transfer and it has allowed to redefine a lot of reactions which the thermal factor plays an essential role in the process. In this work were evaluated the effects of autohydrolysis pretreatment from corn residues using microwave heating and the pretreated solids as substrate in the enzymatic saccharification. The autohydrolysis pretreatment was performed using water as catalyst, the time (10, 30 and 50) and temperature (160, 180 and 200 ºC) were evaluated and the pretreated solids were used in the ESP. The enzymatic saccharification were performed with a working volume of 50 mL, 50 mM citrate buffer (pH 4.8), 2% (w/v) sodium with a cellulose concentration of 1 % (w/v) and incubated at 50 °C. The CellicCTec2 - cellulase was used with a loading of 20 FPU/g. This work showed that microwave autohydrolysis processing is an efficient pretreatment producing a solid enriched with cellulose (63.67±0.91) . The solid pretreated at 200 °C for 10 min was the best condition for saccharification yield (96.95% ± 0.79). This autohydrolysis pretreatment using microwave heating and enzymatic saccharification is a good alternative to obtain fermentable sugars for bioethanol production

Evaluation of alternative alkali pretreatment for oat straw saccharification and fermentation

ECO-BIO 2016Introduction: Lignocellulosic biofuels production requires the sustainable pretreatment for its processing. Lime pretreatment is considered an alternative alkali pretreatment, easily to recover and inexpensive that allows to operate under milder conditions of temperature and pressure. The aim of this work was the evaluation of lime pretreatment for bioethanol production from oat straw. Methods: Oat straw was subjected to lime pretreatment at liquid to solid ratio of 10 g/g. The following operational conditions of lime pretreatment were evaluated: temperature (in the range 90-134 ºC), time (30-120 min) and Ca(OH)2/g (01-04 g/g). The pretreated oat straw was recovered by filtration, washed until pH=7 and analysed for chemical composition. The enzymatic susceptibility of lime pretreated solids was evaluated under favourable conditions of solid and enzymes loadings (25 g/g and 25 FPU of CellicTec2/g). Selected condition of lime pretreatment (134 ºC, 30 min and 0.1 g of Ca(OH)2/g of oat straw) was used for the bioethanol production by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (14 % of solids and 20 FPU/g) using an industrial Saccharomyces cerevisiae PE-2 strain and its metabolic engineered version (MEC1133) for xylose consumption. Results and Discussion: Under selected conditions (134 ºC for 30 min and a Ca(OH)2 load of 0.1g/g) 96 % of glucan and 77 % of xylan were recovered and 42 % of delignification was achieved. Moreover, the lime pretreatment allowed enhancing the enzymatic saccharification achieving 75 % of glucan to glucose conversion and 100 % of xylan to xylose conversion. The use of MEC1133 strain increased a 20 % of ethanol concentration comparing to PE-2 obtaining 41 and 34 g/L of ethanol, respectively. This work provides a suitable process for the fractionation of oat straw. Lime pretreatment yields a pretreated raw material with high polysaccharide content susceptible to be efficiently converted into ethanol.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Eco-friendly strategy for the joint valorization of invasive macroalgae and fast-growing wood to produce advanced biofuels

A novel sustainable scheme to jointly valorize Sargassum muticum (Sm) and Paulownia wood (PW) was proposed in this work, employing the advanced environmentally friendly microwave-assisted autohydrolysis (MA) as pretreatment. Sm is an invasive macroalga that has been drastically spread in the Atlantic coast of Europe, causing environmental damage. Conversely, Paulownia elongata x fortunei is a fast-growing biomass with a high biomass production and potential for biofuels production. Thus, the concomitant valorization of both biomasses may lead to benefits related to environmental protection and bioeconomy. A sequential approach was proposed: first stage of glucose production from Sm (treated by MA and enzymatic hydrolysis to obtain a glucose-rich liquor), and second stage with MA-pretreated PW followed by saccharification and fermentation, employing in this process the glucose rich solution obtained from algae, to obtain simultaneously second and third generation bioethanol. These approaches enabled to add the ethanol production from both biomasses, leading to up to 45.2 g ethanol/L (70% ethanol yield), boosting ethanol titers compared to using only one biomass (up to 27.8 g/L) and confirming the benefits of combining MA-processed biomass. Furthermore, up to 87% of the energy may be recovered, reflecting a suitable approach within an integrated strategy.Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. PID2019-110031RB-I00Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. CNS2022-136095Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED431C 2017/62-GRCXunta de Galicia | Ref. ED481B-2022-020Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. RYC2018-026177-IAgencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. RYC2020-030690-IUniversidade de Vigo/CISU

Hemicellulosic bioethanol production from fast-growing Paulownia biomass

In order to exploit a fast-growing Paulownia hardwood as an energy crop, a xylose-enriched hydrolysate was obtained in this work to increase the ethanol concentration using the hemicellulosic fraction, besides the already widely studied cellulosic fraction. For that, Paulownia elongata x fortunei was submitted to autohydrolysis treatment (210 °C or S0 of 4.08) for the xylan solubilization, mainly as xylooligosaccharides. Afterwards, sequential stages of acid hydrolysis, concentration, and detoxification were evaluated to obtain fermentable sugars. Thus, detoxified and non-detoxified hydrolysates (diluted or not) were fermented for ethanol production using a natural xylose-consuming yeast, Scheffersomyces stipitis CECT 1922, and an industrial Saccharomyces cerevisiae MEC1133 strain, metabolic engineered strain with the xylose reductase/xylitol dehydrogenase pathway. Results from fermentation assays showed that the engineered S. cerevisiae strain produced up to 14.2 g/L of ethanol (corresponding to 0.33 g/g of ethanol yield) using the non-detoxified hydrolysate. Nevertheless, the yeast S. stipitis reached similar values of ethanol, but only in the detoxified hydrolysate. Hence, the fermentation data prove the suitability and robustness of the engineered strain to ferment non-detoxified liquor, and the appropriateness of detoxification of liquor for the use of less robust yeast. In addition, the success of hemicellulose-to-ethanol production obtained in this work shows the Paulownia biomass as a suitable renewable source for ethanol production following a suitable fractionation process within a biorefinery approach.This research was funded by MINECO (Spain) in the framework of the projects “Multistage processes for the integral benefit of macroalgal and vegetal biomass” with reference CTM2015-68503- R,” and “Cutting-edge strategies for a sustainable biorefinery based on valorization of invasive species” with reference PID2019-110031RB-I00, to Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Ordenación Universitaria (Xunta de Galicia) through the contract ED431C 2017/62-GRC to Competitive Reference Group BV1, program partially funded by European Regional Development Fund (FEDER). This study was also supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UIDB/04469/2020 unit.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Ethanol production from fractionated eucalyptus wood

Eucalyptus globulus wood (EGW) is a lignocellulosic material with high cellulose and hemicellulose content, suitable for the simultaneous production of hemicellulosic and cellulosic ethanol. Processing of EGW by autohydrolysis yields a liquid phase rich in hemicellulosic-derived compounds (13.73 kg of xylooligosaccharides/ 100 kg of raw material). The liquid phase was processed by membranes, achieving a concentrated-liquor of 52.9 g of xylooligosaccharides/L. The liquor from membrane processing was hydrolyzed with sulphuric acid, detoxified and fermented. The maximal concentration of ethanol from liquid phase was 19.3 g/L (volumetric productivity Qp=0.19 g/Lh and YP/S=0.38 g/g). The solid phase from autohydrolysis was submitted to delignification organosolv, obtained a solid with 81 kg of cellulose/100 kg of delignified solid. The simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of delignified solid was carried out, achieving 62.7 g/L of ethanol with cellulose to ethanol conversion of 92% (based in a cellulose content of delignified solid)

Bioethanol production from autohydrolyzed Sargassum muticum

Currently, the high demand of energy has led to the seek of new renewable sources, cutting down with fossil fuels. An interesting and novel way may be the use of macoralgae as raw material to obtain third generation bioethanol. Sargassum muticum is an invasive seaweed highly spread in Asia, Europe and America, which has not been commercially used yet. It has an abundant quantity of polysaccharides which can be used in the production of biofuels. In order to employ them, it is necessary to pretreat the material, and the hydrothermal treatments (as autohydrolysis) have demonstrated to be highly effective, simple, environmentally friendly and economic. In this work, the study of the autohydrolysis of Sargassum muticum has been studied. Consequently, Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation took place, using different industrial strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and two type of experiments: i) using only the autohydrolyzed solid phase, ii) using the liquid and solid phase from the autohydrolysis procedure.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio