Ecologically Designed Sanitary Sewer Based on Constructed WetlandsTechnology – Case Study in Managua (Nicaragua)

In developed countries the sanitation and treatment of urban wastewater is well sustained and technically solved by means of conventional pipe networksandsubsequentcentralizedtreatments.However,developingcountries lack these infrastructures and are in need of sustainable, decentralized and economically viable solutions for the disposal of their urban wastewaters. In addition to this, there are situations where the demands of conservation of naturalspacesdonotallowintensiveconstructiveproceduresandwhichforce the implementation of sanitary engineering with less environmental impact. We present the Ecological Wastewater Sewer (EWS), an ecological urban sewerage system that simultaneously transports wastewater and improves its quality.Thisinnovativetechnologyisanalternativetoconventionalsanitation piping that has minimal environmental impact. It is based on a successful previous work for the improvement of artificial wetlands in a pilot scheme andatfull-scaleonatestsite.TheEWSisachannel-shapeddevicethatrelies on the application of two key developments: a carefully designed cornered stones layout, and the creation of a natural aeration system. This way, it acts as a separating sewage system that guarantees the presence of a chamber of circulating air within the transportation unit, favouring permanent aerobic conditions in the upper levels of the mass of wastewater. Furthermore, its capacity to set tle suspended solids allows the EWS to be used as a sedimentor in water purification processes. A real-life application of this system proved successful in the sanitation of a district of Managua (Nicaragua). Working with a 100-metre-long street of 20 one-story houses, the system is reported to still be in full operating order after six years. The conclusions and results drawn from its monitoring are meticulously explained in our paper, as well astherecommendations&guidelinesforthedesignofmoreEWSunits,with aim to the popularization of this affordable, efficient and green approach to wastewater sanitation.Andalusian International School of Water Engineering, City hall of SevilleCooperation Office at the University of Sevill

Banco de ensayos de canales abiertos de aguas

I Congreso de Innovación Docente en Ingeniería Química (CIDIQ): Granada, Facultad de Ciencias, 26-27 enero 201

Naturalization: a New Concept Developed and Carried Out in the Subject " Environmental Technology " of Degree in Industrial Engineering

Environmental Technology is a 6 credits transversal subject included in the curriculum of all the degrees in Industrial Engineering at the Higher Polytechnic School of the University of Seville. In the last 5 academic courses, the students of this matter have been working with the concept of “Naturalization”. In the different topics which are studied in this subject, they have to apply the naturalization of the systems in order to use natural resources for improving processes. The Naturalization implies improvements in energetic efficiency, development of green spaces and CO2 capture and can be applied the majority of the industrial and urban activities. Some of the most meaningful results that our students have researched are: i) Naturalization of a large pond in a business park in Jaen (Spain) performing its layout and eventually implementing it, using plants to improve water quality and stones for fix them and to give support for bacterial biofilms. The students have improved their skills not only in the increase of new knowledge but in the ability of work in groups and carry out a real project under different points of view. ii) Project of naturalization of a neighbourhood in Seville, based on the increase of green spaces, with vegetal species which are able to capture electromagnetic radiations and CO2 emissions as well. iii) Naturalization of the margins of one lagoon in a park in Seville, transforming the precast panelled walls in breakwater bed of stones planted with bank river plants in order to improve the water quality and the landscape

Master in water engineering a “semi-attendance” university-specific degree with international participation

The Water Engineering Master Course is a university-specific degree at the University of Seville which nowadays can be coursed in two different modalities: “on line” and “semi-attendance”. Its first edition took place at 2000 and since then, the average of graduated students has been of 40 students per course. The semi-attendance mode offers the possibility of being followed in an on-line way from November to June. A Moodle platform provides all the documentation that is required to attend every module, at the end of each one some online questionnaires are also uploaded in order to evaluate the students. Only one of the 10 mandatory modules which make up the course have to be attended in a classroom mode. It takes place during 15 days in July and allows the students to come into contact with the lecturers, professionals of the sector and their own mates as well. During this period both, teachers and students, are lodged in the same residence and all of them have the chance of interchanging experiences in a full teaching-learning process, solving doubts and improving their skills thanks to specific courses, specially designed in function of the lack of knowledge which has been detected during de previous modules, o even, the suggestions received directly from students. Most of the students come from Hispanic countries and in less amount from African and European countries. Actually every July about 80 students and teachers from 25 different countries around the world, meet in Seville to attend this Master. The classes are given in Spanish with translator support if it’s necessary. Different environments, problematic and conditioning factors are studied and a large kind of solutions in water cycle are designed during these days. The requirements to elaborate the final master project are mainly that this one can be used to resolve a real local problem in the student’s origin place and moreover the student can obtain better marks if he/she finds financing to carry it out. In the last 8 years a useful module named “Tools for design” has been included in the program of the Master in order to enable the student in IT, specifically spreadsheets, cad, software for budgeting and measurement, topography and decision support systems. Students who graduate are able to evaluate the most proper technology from a social, technic and economic point of view, as well as, select the most efficient alternatives in order to achieve a sustainable development

OMW spillage control tool based on tracking p-Coumaric acid degradation by HPLC

Olive mill wastewater (OMW) is a major watercourse pollutant agent with a high concentration of phenolic compounds. It is estimated that 30 million OMW m3 are released into rivers every year. Protecting the health of these courses against the uncontrolled discharges implies establishing an adequate legislation, where spillage control tools play a fundamental role. In this paper, a new tool for OMW spillage control is discussed. It is based on the use of a RP-HPLC-UV protocol to track p-Coumaric acid (pCA), a characteristic OMW phenolic compound, and its derivative compounds through their chemical oxidation and biological anaerobic degradation. Laboratory assays and real-life experiences allowed to determine degradation routes and apparition times for every pCA derivative, making it possible to detect an OMW spill and assess its age. Moreover, this RP-HPLC-UV introduces solid advantages over previous detection procedures, namely, quicker response times and smaller costs than HPLC methods and superior specificity than colorimetric methods. Finally, this tool was put to test in an actual OMW-polluted watercourse. In all scenarios, the tool demonstrated solid reliabilit

A Concise Route for the Synthesis of Tetracyclic Meroterpenoids: (±)-Aureol Preparation and Mechanistic Interpretation

A new concise general methodology for the synthesis of different tetracyclic meroterpenoids is reported: (±)-aureol (1), the key intermediate of this general route. The synthesis of (±)-aureol (1) was achieved in seven steps (28% overall yield) from (±)-albicanol. The key steps of this route include a C–C bond-forming reaction between (±)-albicanal and a lithiated arene unit and a rearrangement involving 1,2-hydride and 1,2-methyl shifts promoted by BF3•Et2O as activator and water as initiator.University of Sevilla (Spain) Project 2020/0000101

Bioparticles consisting of olive mill wastewater (OMW)-adapted bacteria and OMW-polluted soil as carrier– An application in an anaerobic fluidized bed bioreactor

The world olive oil production represents a very significant sector of the alimentary industry. Nonetheless, the spillages associated to the sector –olive mill wastewater (OMW)– imply serious environmental risks due to their difficult treatments. This study showcases the use of bioparticles from a soil that has repeatedly been contaminated by OMW, to treat water also polluted by OMW. The bacterial biomass that develops overtime within a OMW-polluted course becomes adapted to its conditions and proves effective in its treatment. Water and soil samples were taken from a watercourse that has been suffering from periodic OMW discharges during the last 25 years. Two main factors were identified as the causes of the efficiency of these soils as a means of biological treatment: high concentrations and extended adaptation of active biomass to the pollutants present in the watercourse. The start-up times of the biological processes are reduced since no adaptation period is necessary. This makes it possible to eschew pre-treatment procedures in biological processes. A guide for the design of a continuous flow anaerobic fluidized bed bioreactor (AnFBR) is provided. A stream of 300 m3 d−1 and 5000 mg L−1 COD generates an electrical and thermal energy of 1654 kW h d−1 and 2341 kW h d−1 respectively

Experimental basis for the design of horizontal subsurface-flow treatment wetlands in naturally aerated channels with an anti-clogging stone layout

Este artículo aparece en inglés publicado en la revista. La versión de idus es el preprint en español.Consejo de Cooperación Económica del PacíficoJunta de Andalucí

Changes in single K+ channel behavior through the lipid phase transition

We show that the activity of an ion channel is strictly related to the phase state of the lipid bilayer hosting the channel. By measuring unitary conductance, dwell times, and open probability of the K+ channel KcsA as a function of temperature in lipid bilayers composed of POPE and POPG in different relative proportions, we obtain that all those properties show a trend inversion when the bilayer is in the transition region between the liquid disordered and the solid ordered phase. These data suggest that the physical properties of the lipid bilayer influence ion channel activity likely via a fine tuning of its conformations. In a more general interpretative framework, we suggest that other parameters such as pH, ionic strength, and the action of amphiphilic drugs can affect the physical behavior of the lipid bilayer in a fashion similar to temperature changes resulting in functional changes of transmembrane proteins

Dependence of dynamic contour and Goldmann applanation tonometries on peripheral corneal thickness

AIM: To determine the effects of peripheral corneal thickness (PCT) on dynamic contour tonometry(DCT) and Goldmann applanation tonometry (GAT). METHODS: A cross-sectional study. We created a software which calculates the corneal contour (CC) as a function of the radius from the corneal apex to each pixel of the contour. The software generates a central circumference with a radius of 1 mm and the remainder of the cornea is segmented in 5 rings concentric with corneal apex being its diameter not constant around the corneal circumference as a consequence of the irregular CC but keeping constant the diameter of each ring in each direction of the contour. PCT was determined as the mean thickness of the most eccentric ring. Locally weighted scatterplot smoothing (LOWESS) regression was used to determine the pattern of the relationship between PCT and both DCT and GAT respectively. Thereafter, two multivariable linear regression models were constructed. In each of them, the dependant variable was intraocular pressure (IOP) as determined using GAT and DCT respectively. In both of the models the predictive variable was PCT though LOWESS regression pattern was used to model the relationship between the dependant variables and the predictor one. Age and sex were also introduced control variables along with their first-degree interactions with PCT. Main outcome measures include amount of IOP variation explained through regression models (R2) and regression coefficients (B). RESULTS: Subjects included 109 eyes of 109 healthy individuals. LOWESS regression suggested that a 2nd-degree polynomial would be suitable to model the relationship between both DCT and GAT with PCT. Hence PCT was introduced in both models as a linear and quadratic term. Neither age nor sex nor interactions were statistically significant in both models. For GAT model, R2 was 17.14% (F=9.02; P=0.0002), PCT linear term B was -1.163 (95% CI: -1.163, -0.617). PCT quadratic term B was 0.00081 (95% CI: 0.00043, 0.00118). For DCT model R2 was 14.28% (F=9.29; P=0.0002), PCT linear term B was -0.712 (95% CI: -1.052, -0.372), PCT quadratic term was B=0.0005 (95% CI: 0.0003, 0.0007). CONCLUSION: DCT and GAT measurements are conditioned by PCT though this effect, rather than linear, follows a 2nd-degree polynomial pattern