Ultrasound as pretreatment in biogas production from crude glycerol

Air pollution, acid precipitation, ozone depletion and the gaseous emissions to the atmosphere are associated to the petroleum derivate use, currently considered the main energy source used in the world. Renewable energy sources are expected to replace them in order to solve these environmental concerns. Biofuels as biodiesel and biogas are renewable energy produced from natural matter. Studies made suggest that using the principal by-product of biodiesel’s production process, crude glycerol, is possible to obtain biogas. Biogas can be produced from an anaerobic digestion process and enhanced by using pretreatment in substrate. This work tested ultrasound pretreatment on crude glycerol as a substrate in the biogas production. Different times of pretreatment (15 and 30 minutes) were examined, to determinate the best performance and compare it to the untreated substrate. The biogas production was daily measured directly from the reactors. The results showed that ultrasound pretreatment improved methane production. The best result was obtained by using 30 minutes of pretreatment on crude glycerol.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Physicochemical characterization of moringa oleífera’s shells as biosorbent for pharmaceuticals biosorption

Pharmaceuticals as emerging contaminants have become one of the most controversial environmental issues at global scale. Over the years, the presence of antibiotics and antiinflammatory drugs in rivers, lakes, and even in drinking water streams has increased. The waste water treatment plants (WWTPs) lack the necessary technology to remove concentrations within the range ng/l-mg/l and therefore, the need to develop new methods able to remove contaminants in an effective, low cost and environmental friendly way arises. “Biosorption” appears as a possible solution. The present work is focused on studying the potential adsorption capacity of Moringa oleífera (MO) to remove Diclofenac (DCF) and Oxytetracycline (OTC) from wastewater. Through different experiences, it was possible to characterizes the main functional groups of MO and determine the principal responsible of the adsorption process.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Biogas production by anaerobic codigestion using kiwi waste and wine sludge

Considering a large generation of wastes, the anaerobic codigestion (AcoD) is an alternative to transform two or more types of organic waste in energy and biofertilizer. To test the biogas production potential using kiwi waste and wine sludge, two AD assays with each substrate isolated and AcoD with four different substrate proportion was realized, using as inoculum sludge from a septic tank. The experimental was realized during 19 days in batch reactor (250 mL). Among digestion results, kiwi waste had de best result, being 27.0 mLN gVS-1 of biogas. The most satisfactory value in AcoD was 40.5 mLN g VS-1 of biogas, from treatment with 0.5 g kiwi and 3.3 g wine sludge. The AcoD test produced 16 mLN gVS-1 of biogas more than ADinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Efficiency prediction on a 2.5 MW wind turbine gearbox

This paper is a case study of the efficiency of a 2.5 MW wind turbine gearbox including the influence of each gearbox element: gear tooth geometry, rolling bearings and oil formulation. The power loss model used to predict the gearbox efficiency was previously validated with experimental results. The calculations showed that the efficiency of a wind turbine gearbox can be improved by selecting different wind turbine gear oil formulations, modifying gear tooth geometry. The energy savings can be even more significant if both gear tooth geometry and oil formulation are adequately selected.The authors gratefully acknowledge the funding supported by: National Funds through Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), under the project EXCL/SEM-PRO/0103/2012; COMPETE and National Funds through Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), under the project Incentivo/EME/LA0022/2014; Quadro de Referência Estratégico Nacional (QREN), through Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER), under the project NORTE-07-0124- FEDER-000009 - Applied Mechanics and Product Development; without whom this work would not be possible

Biosorción de fármacos en águas residuales utilizando Moringa oleífera como biosorbente

Los fármacos en su papel de contaminantes emergentes se han convertido en uno de los problemas ambientales más preocupantes a escala global. Con el pasar de los años, la presencia de antibióticos y anti-inflamatorios dentro de ríos, lagos, océanos e inclusive en corrientes de agua potable, ha ido aumentando. Las plantas de tratamiento de aguas residuales (ETARs) aún no cuentan con la tecnología adecuada para remover concentraciones dentro del rango de ng/l-mg/l y por ello, surge la necesidad de desarrollar nuevas tecnologías que sean efectivas, de bajo costo y amigables con el ambiente. Como posible solución, nace el término de “Biosorción”. La biosorción es un proceso de separación dentro del área de Ingeniería Química que sigue los mismos fundamentos de la técnica de adsorción, con la única diferencia que utiliza materiales biodegradables como “biosorbentes”. Es de gran interés en el presente trabajo, estudiar las principales características y capacidad de adsorción que presenta las cáscaras de la planta Moringa oleífera (MO) ante la remoción de Diclofenac (DCF) y Oxitetraciclina (OTC) presentes en aguas residuales. Moringa oleífera es reconocida mundialmente debido a sus propiedades anti-microbiales, nutricionales y coagulantes, mientras que DCF y OTC son considerados dos de los fármacos con mayor contribución a la contaminación del medioambiente. A través de diferentes ensayos, se encontró que ambos casos (DCF y OTC) son procesos altamente dependientes de pH con la diferencia que el primero es gobernado por el mecanismo de quimisorción mientras que el segundo, es controlado por fuerzas de difusión entre las partículas de ambas superficies. Se ha logrado remover hasta un 88% de DCF a un pH de 2 y 50% de OTC a un pH de 10, indicando que la MO representa una opción viable para la remoción de fármacos presentes en aguas contaminadas.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Interactive/automated method to count bacterial colonies

The growth and maintenance of bacteria on agar plates (Petri dishes) has long been a common practice in microbiology. The number of colonies in a culture is usually counted manually to calculate the concentration of bacteria, however, this process is time-consuming, tedious and error prone. Most automated counting systems, existing on the literature, perform adequately when the colonies are well spaced, large, circular in shape and with good contrast from the background. When these assumptions are violated, most automated colony analysis systems can rapidly lose reliability, accuracy and utility. To address the above problems, the goal of this study is to design and implement a cost-effective, software-centred system that accepts general digital camera images as its input, for detecting as well as enumerating bacterial colonies in a fully automatic manner. An interactive semi-automatic system is also proposed to overcome any error from fully automatic system. The two systems (automated and interactive) combine thresholding, median filter and morphological operations to segment the colonies on a Petri dish image. The next step consists in separating the individual colonies from the clustered colonies. Then, the units colonies are counted. To separate and count the clustered colonies, the automatic system uses a watershed transformation and the interactive system uses the clicks of the user. The proposed systems are capable to reduce the manpower and time required for counting colonies while producing correct colony counting.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Análise da estabilidade de pilares de zircónia 3Y-TZP após carga cíclica e termociclagem

Objectives: Although implant abutments made of yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia poly crystal (3Y-TZP) show great predictability, some issues related to its aging require further study. The objective of this in vitro study is to assess the stability of 3Y-TZP zirconia implant abutments with two different implant connections when subjected to aging simulation through thermocycling and mechanical loading (TCML).Methods: Ten 3Y-TZP zirconia abutments were selected and equally divided into two groups (n = 5): CEZr, abutments for externally hexed implants; and CIZr, abutments for implants with an internal conical connection. The samples were subjected to thermocycling (5000 cycles; 5-55 C) and mechanical loading (1.2 x 106 cycles; 88.8 N; 4 Hz). Before and after the aging procedures, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was conducted to observe tetragonal monoclinic (t-m) phase transformation, and topographic surface analysis was performed by 3D profilometry, and data were analyzed using Mann-Witney test (p 0.05), before and after TCML, and between implants connections (test U= 57.0, p = 0.053 > 0.05) were not detected.Conclusions: After a 5-year simulation of its clinical use, the analyzed 3Y-TZP zirconia abutments did not show signs of aging. The connection's geometry does not interfere in aging.Objetivos Os pilares de zircónia tetragonal policristalina (Y-TZP) apresentam grande previsibilidade na sua utilização clínica. No entanto, existem ainda alguns aspetos relacionados com o envelhecimento que necessitam de ser estudados. O presente trabalho pretendeu avaliar a estabilidade de pilares de zircónia 3Y-TZP de 2 conexões implantares diferentes, quando submetidos a simulação de envelhecimento (TCML). Métodos Foram selecionados 10 pilares em zircónia 3Y-TZP, que foram divididos em 2 grupos (n = 5): CEZr, pilares para implantes de conexão de hexágono externo; e CIZr, pilares para implantes de conexão interna cónica-lobular. As amostras foram submetidas a termociclagem (5000 ciclos; 5-55 °C) e carga cíclica (1,2 × 106 ciclos; 88,8 N; 4 Hz). Antes e após TCML, os pilares foram sujeitos a análise por difração de raios X para determinação de alteração de fase cristalográfica de tetragonal para monoclínica (t-m) e a interferometria ótica sobre a superfície de assentamento das 2 conexões para a medição da sua topografia por perfilometria 3D. Análise estatística: Mann-Whitney test (p < 0,05). Resultados Após TCML não foi detetada fase monoclínica em nenhum dos pilares. A análise comparativa da rugosidade (com utilização do parâmetro Sa) sobre as plataformas protéticas dos pilares revelou ligeiro aumento da Sa em ambas as conexões após TCML. Não foram observadas diferenças estatisticamente significativas nos valores de Sa (test U = 57,0, p = 0,161 > 0,05), antes e após TCML, e entre conexões dos implantes (test U = 57,0, p = 0,053 > 0,05). Conclusões Após uma simulação de 5 anos de utilização clínica, os pilares de zircónia 3Y-TZP analisados não apresentaram sinais de envelhecimento. A geometria das conexões não interferiu no envelhecimento.Authors gratefully acknowledge the funding of Project NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000022 - SciTech - Science and Technology for Competitive and Sustainable Industries, cofinanced by Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (NORTE2020), through Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER)

Power loss of FZG gears lubricated with wind turbine gear oil using ionic liquid additive

This work presents a study of the tribological behaviour of a mineral fully-formulated wind turbine gear oil additised with [BMP][NTf2] ionic liquid. The target application are the wind turbine gearboxes, thus the fully formulated oil with and without ionic liquid additive was tested in a rolling bearings test rig to measure the thrust rolling bearing torque loss and was also tested in a FZG gear test rig to measure the gears torque loss at operating conditions similar to the observed in a wind turbine gearbox. The results show that a wind turbine gear oil additised with ionic liquid can reduce the torque loss and improve the gearbox efficiency while producing less wear particles as observed in the oil analysis.The authors thank to the Ministry of Science and Innovation (Spain) and to the Foundation for the Promotion in Asturias of the Applied Scientific Research and Technology (FICYT) for supporting this research within the framework of the Research Projects WINDTRIB (DPI2010-18166) and GRUPIN14-023, respectively. The authors thank to Repsol S.A. that provided the wind turbine gear oil. The authors gratefully acknowledge the funding supported by: National Funds through Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), under the project EXCL/SEMPRO/ 0103/2012; COMPETE and National Funds through Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), under the project Incentivo/EME/LA0022/2014; Quadro de Referência Estratégico Nacional (QREN), through Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER), under the project NORTE-07-0124-FEDER- 000009 - Applied Mechanics and Product Development; without whom this work would not be possible

An integrated analysis of the eutrophication process in the Enxoé reservoir within the DPSIR framework

The Enxoé reservoir in southern Portugal has been exhibiting the highest trophic state in the country since its early years of operation. The problem has attracted water managers’ and researchers’ attention as the reservoir is the water supply for two municipalities. Extensive research was thus conducted over the last few years, including field monitoring and modelling at the plot, catchment, and reservoir scales. This study now frames all partial findings within the Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework to better understand the eutrophication process in the Enxoé reservoir. Agriculture and grazing were found to have a reduced role in the eutrophication of the reservoir, with annual sediment and nutrient loads being comparably smaller or similar to those reported for other Mediterranean catchments. Flash floods were the main mechanism for transporting particle elements to the reservoir, being in some cases able to carry up three times the average annual load. However, the main eutrophication mechanisms in the reservoir were P release from deposited sediment under anoxic conditions and the process of internal recycling of organic matter and nutrients. Reducing the P load from the catchment and deposited sediment could lead to a mesotrophic state level in the reservoir. However, this level would only be sustainable by limiting the P internal load ability to reach the photic zoneinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Turning Carbon Dioxide and Ethane into Ethanol by Solar-Driven Heterogeneous Photocatalysis over RuO2- and NiO-co-Doped SrTiO3

[EN] The current work focused on the sunlight-driven thermo-photocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2), the primary greenhouse gas, by ethane (C2H6), the second most abundant element in shale gas, aiming at the generation of ethanol (EtOH), a renewable fuel. To promote this process, a hybrid catalyst was prepared and properly characterized, comprising of strontium titanate (SrTiO3) co-doped with ruthenium oxide (RuO2) and nickel oxide (NiO). The photocatalytic activity towards EtOH production was assessed in batch-mode and at gas-phase, under the influence of different conditions: (i) dopant loading; (ii) temperature; (iii) optical radiation wavelength; (vi) consecutive uses; and (v) electron scavenger addition. From the results here obtained, it was found that: (i) the functionalization of the SrTiO3 with RuO2 and NiO allows the visible light harvest and narrows the band gap energy (ca. 14-20%); (ii) the selectivity towards EtOH depends on the presence of Ni and irradiation; (iii) the catalyst photoresponse is mainly due to the visible photons; (iv) the photocatalyst loses > 50% efficiency right after the 2nd use; (v) the reaction mechanism is based on the photogenerated electron-hole pair charge separation; and (vi) a maximum yield of 64 mu mol EtOH g(cat)(-1) was obtained after 45-min (85 mu mol EtOH g(cat)(-1) h(-1)) of simulated solar irradiation (1000 W m(-2)) at 200 degrees C, using 0.4 g L-1 of SrTiO3:RuO2:NiO (0.8 wt.% Ru) with [CO2]:[C2H6] and [Ru]:[Ni] molar ratios of 1:3 and 1:1, respectively. Notwithstanding, despite its exploratory nature, this study offers an alternative route to solar fuels' synthesis from the underutilized C2H6 and CO2.This work was financially supported by the Base Funding-UIDB/50020/2020 of the Associate Laboratory LSRE-LCM-funded by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC). Larissa O. Paulista also wants to acknowledge for her doctoral fellowship (reference SFRH/BD/137639/2018), supported by FCT. Tania F. C. V. Silva and Vitor J. P. Vilar acknowledge the FCT Individual Call to Scientific Employment Stimulus 2017 (CEECIND/01386/2017 and CEECIND/01317/2017, respectively). Josep Albero and Hermenegildo Garcia are also grateful to the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (RTI2018-098237-CO2-R1 and Severo Ochoa), Generalitat Valencia (Prometeo 2017/083) and European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 862453, project FlowPhotochem, by financial contribution.Paulista, LO.; Albero-Sancho, J.; Martins, RJE.; Boaventura, RAR.; Vilar, VJP.; Silva, TFCV.; García Gómez, H. (2021). Turning Carbon Dioxide and Ethane into Ethanol by Solar-Driven Heterogeneous Photocatalysis over RuO2- and NiO-co-Doped SrTiO3. Catalysts. 11(4):1-18. https://doi.org/10.3390/catal1104046111811