Tailoring activated carbons as catalyst for catalytic wet air oxidation of phenol

Since the development of industrial activities in the whole world and specially nowadays, the access to clean water is more and more difficult. Over the past century our water consumption increased tenfold and, according to the World Health Organization, 1.1 thousand million people have no access to clean drinking water, while 2.4 thousand million lack proper sanitary provision. In addition, only 0.8 % of the world stock of water is actually fresh water, so that serious considerations on the availability of a constant supply of fresh water should be done. With this in mind, the need to have different techniques available to treat wastewater arises as a main concern, considering the great variety of chemical industries and activities than can produce contaminated effluents. Therefore, the detoxification of polluted water and its recycling when possible is mandatory for a sustainable and sustained development.For wastewater containing low to medium pollutant load, Catalytic Wet Air Oxidation (CWAO) yielded satisfactory results in laboratory studies, with the advantage that relatively mild operating conditions are needed, leading to lower investment and operation costs. Some activated carbons (AC) have been successfully used as catalyst in the CWAO of phenol in a trickle bed reactor (TBR) configuration. However, the reason for the catalytic activity of AC in CWAO is not yet completely understood. The objective of this work is to identify properties potentially responsible for the catalytic activity shown by some carbonaceous materials. With this goal, eight commercial activated carbons were tested as received and modified by several means (thermal treatment, acid wash and metal impregnation) and its catalytic performance evaluated in the oxidation of phenol. These modifications intended to highlight the effect of the surface oxygen functionalities, textural properties, i.e. surface area and pore volume, and iron (and other metals) content. Simultaneously, the activated carbons were physically and chemically characterised. The results confirm the hypothesis that mineral matter, specifically iron, is mainly responsible for the catalytic behaviour of activated carbons in the CWAO of phenol. However, having iron is not enough to be catalytically active in this reaction. It is necessary iron to be actually available in the carbonaceous matrix and in an appropriate state. Some final attempts for preparing tailored activated carbon from different raw sources still failed due to the lack of iron availability in the carbon matrix or the low mechanical stability of the material.The findings described in this PhD thesis open the doors for a better designing of tailored activated carbons from costless raw materials, allowing cheaper catalytic activated carbons to be available for wet oxidation of phenol. This fact should contribute to the wider implementation of CWAO for recovering polluted aqueous effluents that are reluctant to biotreatment.Debido al marcado desarrollo que han tenido las actividades industriales en el mundo, el acceso al agua potable es cada vez más difícil. Durante el último siglo el consumo mundial de agua se ha incrementado 10 veces y de acuerdo con información de la Organización Mundial de la Salud 1.1 miles de millones de personas no tienen acceso a agua potable y 2.4 miles de millones no disponen de las condiciones sanitarias apropiadas. Adicionalmente, sólo 0.8% de la reserva global de agua es apta para el consumo humano, por lo que serias medidas deben ser tomadas para garantizar un suministro constante de agua a la humanidad. Surge entonces como una necesidad, disponer de diferentes tecnologías de tratamientos de aguas residuales, especialmente considerando la gran variedad de industrias químicas existentes hoy en día, cuyos desechos son, en la mayoría de los casos, no sólo contaminantes sino también tóxicos para los seres vivos. Finalmente, es necesaria la purificación de los efluentes industriales para su posible reutilización si se pretende garantizar el desarrollo sustentable de la sociedad.La oxidación húmeda catalítica con aire (CWAO) es un tratamiento que ha demostrado ser eficiente para el tratamiento de aguas residuales con cargas orgánicas bajas o medias. Esta técnica posee la ventaja de ser eficiente incluso operando en condiciones moderadas de temperaturas y presión, lo que se refleja en bajos costos de instalación y mantenimiento. Si adicionalmente, el catalizador utilizado es de bajo coste, este tipo de tratamiento podría promoverse más fácilmente. Algunos carbones activos comerciales han sido empleados exitosamente como catalizadores en la CWAO de fenol en un reactor de lecho fijo de goteo. Sin embargo, las razones por las que este material presenta actividad catalítica no han sido completamente esclarecidas. Algunos estudios preliminares han demostrado que al realizar modificaciones en las propiedades de los carbones que presentan capacidad catalítica, generalmente se produce también una disminución en su capacidad para oxidar fenol.Por esto, el objetivo de este trabajo de investigación es identificar las propiedades potencialmente responsables de la actividad catalítica del carbón activo. Para ello, se utilizaron ocho carbones activos. Los mismos fueron modificados mediante diferentes tratamientos. Los carbones originales y todas las muestras resultantes de las modificaciones fueron utilizados como catalizadores en la oxidación del fenol, con el objetivo de evaluar el impacto de parámetros como las propiedades físicas (área superficial y porosidad), el contenido de grupos funcionales oxigenados y el contenido de hierro y otros metales en la actividad catalítica.Los resultados obtenidos en este trabajo demuestran que el contenido de hierro es un parámetro determinante que otorga capacidad catalítica al carbón activo. También se demostró que la disminución de grupos superficiales oxigenados mejora la capacidad de adsorción de fenol, obteniéndose mayor eliminación de este compuesto en efluentes líquidos. Finalmente, mediante técnicas de impregnación de metales, puede dotarse de actividad catalítica a materiales carbonosos que, por su origen, no la poseen pudiendo ser utilizados efectivamente en el tratamiento de aguas residuales

Managing an Online Survey about Influenza Vaccination in Primary Healthcare Workers

Online surveys are increasingly used due to their speed and efficiency. The aim of this study was to analyze factors that may have contributed to the quality and speed of response of an online survey on influenza vaccination in primary healthcare workers. A multicenter study including family physicians, nurses and pediatricians from primary healthcare teams from seven Spanish Autonomous Communities was designed. The centers were selected by simple random sampling. The survey remained active and accessible for 56 days and four reminders were sent. The odds ratios (OR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated to assess the association of sociodemographic variables and responding to the survey before the second reminder. Complete, validated information was obtained from 1965 primary healthcare workers. The total response rate was 36.2%. More nurses (46.3%) responded before the second reminder and more family physicians (52.8%) after the second reminder. The adjusted OR shows that family physicians responded later (AOR 1.46, 95% CI 1.2¿1.8) than nurses. The responses obtained in the first 24 h after the initial sending and the reminders accounted for 41.7% of the completed surveys, indicating the importance of reminders

Social factors related to the clinical severity of influenza cases in Spain during the A(H1N1)2009 virus pandemic

Background During the 2009 influenza pandemic, a change in the type of patients most often affected by influenza was observed. The objective of this study was to assess the role of individual and social determinants in hospitalizations due to influenza A (H1N1) 2009 infection. Methods We studied hospitalized patients (cases) and outpatients (controls) with confirmed influenza A (H1N1) 2009 infection. A standardized questionnaire was used to collect data. Variables that might be related to the hospitalization of influenza cases were compared by estimation of the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) and the variables entered into binomial logistic regression models. Results Hospitalization due to pandemic A (H1N1) 2009 influenza virus infections was associated with non-Caucasian ethnicity (OR: 2.18, 95% CI 1.17 − 4.08), overcrowding (OR: 2.84, 95% CI 1.20 − 6.72), comorbidity and the lack of previous preventive information (OR: 2.69, 95% CI: 1.50 − 4.83). Secondary or higher education was associated with a lower risk of hospitalization (OR 0.56, 95% CI: 0.36 − 0.87) Conclusions In addition to individual factors such as comorbidity, other factors such as educational level, ethnicity or overcrowding were associated with hospitalization due to A (H1N1) 2009 influenza virus infections

Smoking may increase the risk of hospitalization due to influenza

Background: Smoking may facilitate influenza virus infections and their severity. The objective was to investigate the risk of hospitalization due to influenza in Spanish smokers and ex-smokers. Methods: We carried out a multicentre, case-control study in 2011. Cases [patients a parts per thousand yen 18 years hospitalized > 24 h with real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)-confirmed influenza] were selected from 29 Spanish hospitals. For each case, we selected an outpatient aged a parts per thousand yen 18 years with RT-PCR-confirmed influenza matched by age (+/- 5 years), date of hospitalization of the case (+/- 10 days) and province of residence. We collected epidemiological variables, comorbidities and the smoking history. The risk of hospitalization due to smoking was determined by the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) using logistic regression. Results: We studied 471 hospitalized cases and 476 outpatient cases. Hospitalized cases had a higher frequency of influenza risk factors compared with outpatient cases. Hospitalized cases had a higher frequency of smoking (30.9% vs. 17.1%) and being ex-smokers (29.3% vs. 25.3%). Current smoking (aOR = 2.18, 95% CI: 1.23-3.87) and being an ex-smoker (aOR = 1.73, 95% CI: 1.07-2.82) were associated with the risk of hospitalization. Conclusions: Smoking may increase the risk of hospitalization in smokers and ex-smokers when infected by the influenza virus. Smoking prevention could reduce hospitalizations. Influenza vaccination is recommended for smokers

Pandemic influenza A (H1N1) infection in pregnant and nonpregnant women in Spain (2009-2010)

The present study aimed to compare the main features of infection with pandemic influenza A virus in pregnant and nonpregnant women admitted to hospitals in Spain during the first waves of the 2009-2010 influenza pandemic. This was a prospective (November 2009 to June 2010), multicenter observational study. All cases were women of reproductive age who had not been vaccinated against seasonal or pandemic influenza A. Influenza infection was confirmed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The sociodemographic and clinical data of all cases were reviewed. A total of 219 inpatients, including 49 pregnant women and 170 nonpregnant women, were enrolled in the study upon admission to participating hospitals. The most substantially different symptoms between the groups were respiratory distress and unilobar consolidation, both of which were more frequent among nonpregnant women. Antibiotics and systemic corticosteroids were more frequently used in nonpregnant women; however, there were no differences in the rates of treatment with antivirals. Our findings indicated that the compared with nonpregnant women, pregnant women in this study did not have significantly different symptoms and were not at increased risk of complications from pandemic influenza virus infection

Factores de riesgo de hospitalización por gripe (H1N1) 2009 y efectividad de intervenciones farmacológicas y no farmacológicas en su prevención. Estudio de casos y controles

Entre las medidas farmacológicas de posible utilidad para limitar el impacto de las pandemias gripales en la comunidad están los fármacos antivirales (inhibidores de la neuraminidasa) y las vacunas antigripales y antineumocócicas, ya que la gripe predispone a la neumonía bacteriana por Streptococcus pneumoniae. Entre las medidas no farmacológicas destacan la higiene de manos y la higiene respiratoria. La falta de conocimiento de la efectividad de dichas medidas en situación de pandemia justifica que en septiembre de 2009, ante la solicitud de proyectos de investigación por parte del Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación en su Programa de Investigación sobre la gripe (H1N1) 2009 en España, el CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública presentara un proyecto multicéntrico de casos y controles emparejados por edad, hospital y fecha de hospitalización para investigar sobre estos aspectos en 37 hospitales de 7 comunidades autónomas. Por cada caso hospitalizado confirmado de gripe pandémica se seleccionaba 1 caso confirmado ambulatorio y 3 controles (2 hospitalarios y 1 ambulatorio). En los casos y en los controles se recogían variables demográficas, condiciones médicas subyacentes, utilización de antivirales, vacunas recibidas y hábitos de higiene. En los casos hospitalizados se recogieron, además, información relativa al tratamiento antiviral y evolución de la enfermedad. Hasta octubre 2010 se habían reclutado un total de 3.750 pacientes y se está realizando la depuración de los datos y la recuperación de variables. La implicación de las Direcciones Generales de Salud Pública ha sido fundamental para la adecuación del proyecto a la evolución de la pandemia