ICI - FibEnTech | Documentos por Auto-Depósito
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- Pullulan-Tween 40 emulsified films containing geraniol: production and characterization as potential food packaging materialsPublication . Simões, Alexandra; Ramos, Ana; Domingues, F.C.; Luís, ÂngeloPetroleum-based plastics have been widely used as packaging materials because of their low-cost availability and good mechanical properties. However, the use of plastics has become restricted as they are highly resistant to biodegradation, causing environmental problems. This work aimed to produce and characterize emulsified pullulan films incorporating geraniol for application as food packaging materials with potential to substitute the conventional plastics. When geraniol was incorporated in the films, they showed antimicrobial activity against Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212 (inhibition zone diameter = 15.19 ± 0.66 mm) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853 (inhibition zone diameter = 10.99 ± 1.82 mm). Furthermore, scanning electron microscopy showed the inhibition of Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212 biofilms when they were directly formed on the emulsified pullulan films incorporating geraniol. The produced films also demonstrated high transparency (> 90%) and hydrophilic surfaces (water contact angle < 90°). This work demonstrated the viability of using geraniol to produce pullulan active films as new food packaging materials.
- Carbon Fiber Epoxy Composites for Both Strengthening and Health Monitoring of StructuresPublication . Salvado, Rita; Lopes, Catarina; Szojda, Leszek; Araújo, Pedro; Górski, Marcin; Velez, Fernando J.; Castro-Gomes, João; Krzywon, RafalThis paper presents a study of the electrical and mechanical behavior of several continuous carbon fibers epoxy composites for both strengthening and monitoring of structures. In these composites, the arrangement of fibers was deliberately diversified to test and understand the ability of the composites for self-sensing low strains. Composites with different arrangements of fibers and textile weaves, mainly unidirectional continuous carbon reinforced composites, were tested at the dynamometer. A two-probe method was considered to measure the relative electrical resistance of these composites during loading. The measured relative electrical resistance includes volume and contact electrical resistances. For all tested specimens, it increases with an increase in tensile strain, at low strain values. This is explained by the improved alignment of fibers and resulting reduction of the number of possible contacts between fibers during loading, increasing as a consequence the contact electrical resistance of the composite. Laboratory tests on strengthening of structural elements were also performed, making hand-made composites by the “wet process”, which is commonly used in civil engineering for the strengthening of all types of structures in-situ. Results show that the woven epoxy composite, used for strengthening of concrete elements is also able to sense low deformations, below 1%. Moreover, results clearly show that this textile sensor also improves the mechanical work of the strengthened structural elements, increasing their bearing capacity. Finally, the set of obtained results supports the concept of a textile fabric capable of both structural upgrade and self-monitoring of structures, especially large structures of difficult access and needing constant, sometimes very expensive, health monitoring.
- Advances in the Production of Biomaterials through Kombucha Using Food Waste: Concepts, Challenges, and PotentialPublication . Cubas, Anelise Leal Vieira; Provin, A. P.; Dutra, Ana; Mouro, Cláudia; Gouveia, I.C.In recent years, several researchers have focused their studies on the development of sustainable biomaterials using renewable sources, including the incorporation of living biological systems. One of the best biomaterials is bacterial cellulose (BC). There are several ways to produce BC, from using a pure strain to producing the fermented drink kombucha, which has a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeasts (SCOBY). Studies have shown that the use of agricultural waste can be a low-cost and sustainable way to create BC. This article conducts a literature review to analyze issues related to the creation of BC through kombucha production. The databases used were ScienceDirect, Scopus, Web of Science, and SpringerLink. A total of 42 articles, dated from 2018 to 2022, were referenced to write this review. The findings contributed to the discussion of three topics: (1) The production of BC through food waste (including patents in addition to the scientific literature); (2) Areas of research, sectors, and products that use BC (including research that did not use the kombucha drink, but used food waste as a source of carbon and nitrogen); and (3) Production, sustainability, and circular economy: perspectives, challenges, and trends in the use of BC (including some advantages and disadvantages of BC production through the kombucha drink).
- Circular economy for fashion industry: Use of waste from the food industry for the production of biotextilesPublication . Provin, A. P.; Dutra, Ana; Gouveia, Isabel C.; Leal Vieira Cubas, AneliseIn the context of current environmental, social and economic issues, it is imperative to perform more in-depth studies on waste management and the life cycle of a product. Thus, the concept of circular economy, aimed at transforming traditional patterns of production and economic growth, is extremely important. One way to mitigate negative environmental impacts that is consistent with a circular economic system is to encourage interdisciplinarity between sectors, that is, one production sector can provide a function for waste from another. In this context, this article gathers scientific information on two sectors relevant to the global economy (textiles and food), with the aim of reusing waste from the food industry to manufacture a new textile product with added value. Specifically, the focus is on the use of bacterial cellulose from the probiotic drinks from kombucha, for the manufacture of biotextiles for fashion industry. A discussion is also presented, relating the circular economy concept to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, in order to understand which goals can be achieved with this approach.
- Pretreated Agro-Industrial Effluents as a Source of Nutrients for Tomatoes Grown in a Dual Function Hydroponic System: Tomato Quality AssessmentPublication . Afonso, Alexandra; Ribeiro, Carlos; Carvalho, Maria João; Correia, Tânia; Correia, Pedro; Regato, Mariana; Costa, Idália; Fernandes, Annabel; Almeida, Adelaide; Lopes, Ana; Carvalho, FátimaIn a zero-waste approach for the agro-industrial sector, this study aimed to evaluate the reuse of cheese whey wastewater (chemical oxygen demand = 2.1 g L−1) pretreated by immediate one-step lime precipitation followed by natural carbonation as a nutritive solution for tomato production in hydroponic systems. Pretreated effluent, diluted with groundwater (1:6) and supplemented with nutrients, was utilized to irrigate different hydroponic systems designed to assess the influence of tomato rooting type (free/confined−setup_A) and the feed’s solution level (with/without water deep−setup_B). Plants and fruit development, fruit physicochemical characteristics and sensory analysis, and effluent quality after reuse were analyzed. Good quality tomato production with high crop yield was obtained. The highest marketable tomato weight per plant (682 g) was observed in setup_B with a deep-bed system, but setup_A, with free or confined rooting, presented similar values. The type of rooting, within setup_A or water deep within setup_B, did not significantly influence plant and fruit characteristics. The highest maturity and flavor indexes were observed for setup_A with free rooting. Regarding sensory analysis, setup_A often scored the highest in terms of overall appreciation with free or confined rooting. The reuse of cheese whey wastewater in hydroponics reduced freshwater consumption for crop production, allowed for a treated final effluent and prevented soil degradation in a sustainable circular economy methodology.
- Reuse of Pretreated Agro-Industrial Wastewaters for Hydroponic Production of LettucePublication . Afonso, Alexandra; Regato, Mariana; Patanita, Mariana; Luz, Silvana; Carvalho, Maria João; Fernandes, Annabel; Lopes, Ana; Almeida, Adelaide; Costa, Idália; Carvalho, FátimaThe utilization of agro-industrial wastewaters (AIWWs), pretreated by immediate one-step lime precipitation + natural carbonation, as a nutritive solution for the hydroponic production of lettuce was evaluated. The AIWWs studied were olive mill wastewater (OMW), winery wastewater (WW), and cheese whey wastewater (CWW). Lettuces (Lactuca sativa L. var. crispa) were grown in a closed nutrient film technique hydroponic system, using the pretreated AIWWs (OMW-T, WW-T, and CWW-T) and a control nutrient solution (CNS). The growth and sensory analysis of lettuces and the environmental parameters of effluents after hydroponics were evaluated. The average number of lettuce leaves obtained with nutrient solutions prepared with AIWW-T was lower than that from CNS, but the highest lettuce chlorophyll content was attained with CWW-T, which also presented the best grow results. In general, sensory analysis did not show significant differences from the lettuces grown in the different pretreated AIWWs and CNS. As for the environmental parameters of the effluents from hydroponics, according to the Portuguese legislation, only the chemical oxygen demand of the OMW-T and WW-T presented slightly higher values than that of the environmental limit values for discharge in surface waters, showing the feasibility of using pretreated agro-industrial effluents in hydroponic lettuce cultivation, while obtaining a treated effluent, in a circular economy perspective.
- Reuse of Textile Dyeing Wastewater Treated by ElectrooxidationPublication . Pinto, Cláudia; Fernandes, Annabel; Lopes, Ana; Nunes, Maria João; Baía, Ana; Ciríaco, Lurdes; Pacheco, Maria JoséWastewater reuse has been addressed to promote the sustainable water utilization in textile industry. However, conventional technologies are unable to deliver treated wastewater with the quality required for reuse, mainly due to the presence of dyes and high salinity. In this work, the feasibility of electrooxidation, using a boron-doped diamond anode, to provide treated textile dyeing wastewater (TDW) with the quality required for reuse, and with complete recovery of salts, was evaluated. The influence of the applied current density on the quality of treated TDW and on the consecutive reuse in new dyeing baths was studied. The ecotoxicological evaluation of the process towards Daphnia magna was performed. After 10 h of electrooxidation at 60 and 100 mA cm−2, discolorized treated TDW, with chemical oxygen demand below 200 (moderate-quality) and 50 mg L−1 (high-quality), respectively, was obtained. Salt content was unchanged in both treatment conditions, enabling the consecutive reuse without any salt addition. For the two reuse cycles performed, both treated samples led to dyed fabrics in compliance with the most restrictive controls, showing that an effective consecutive reuse can be achieved with a moderate-quality water. Besides the water reuse and complete salts saving, electrooxidation accomplished an ecotoxicity reduction up to 18.6-fold, allowing TDW reuse without severe ecotoxicity accumulation.
- Electrochemical Recovery of Phosphorus from Simulated and Real Wastewater: Effect of Investigational Conditions on the Process EfficiencyPublication . Sousa, Carlos Y.; Fernandes, Annabel; Amaro, Albertina; Pacheco, Maria José; Ciríaco, Lurdes; Lopes, AnaThe development of recovery processes has become essential in recent years as a strategy to minimize environmental pollution while boosting circular economy and sustainable development. Due to the exponential growth in agricultural production and the increased pollution of waterbodies, the production of fertilizers from recovered phosphorus has become an alternative to phosphate rock-based production. In this work, the effect of different operational parameters in the efficiency of the electrochemical recovery of phosphorus, from organic and inorganic sources, was investigated. Among the studied variables, the most significant was the electrode material utilized in the system. The use of magnesium sacrificial electrodes, as AZ31 alloys, led to phosphorus removal from solution of above 90%, allowing the recovery of both orthophosphates and organic phosphorus (glyphosate) as struvite, brucite, and other amorphous compounds. Since there is a lack in the literature about the use of magnesium electrodes in real wastewater electrochemical treatment, system efficiency was also evaluated using a sanitary landfill leachate, reaching 96% of phosphorus recovery. The specific energy consumption and faradaic efficiency of the phosphorus recovery process were also assessed.
- Valorização de cinzas de biomassa vegetal para aplicações geotécnicasPublication . Marchiori, Leonardo; Studart, André; Morais, Maria Vitoria; Albuquerque, Antonio; Andrade Pais, Luís; Boscov, Maria Eugenia Gimenez; Cavaleiro, VictorAs cinzas de biomassa vegetal (CBV) têm sido intensamente estudadas para incorporação em solos em obras de terra. Este trabalho tem como objetivo caracterizar química e geotecnicamente cinzas de pinheiros e oliveiras em comparação com um solo de Castelo Branco (Portugal), com a finalidade de aplicações geotécnica. Avaliações físicas, mineralógicas e químicas são necessárias para investigar a origem dos materiais, nomeadamente para determinar se as CBV têm contaminantes, como metais pesados, em sua composição e suas características físicoquímicas. Considerando que há elevadas quantidades de CBV produzidas pelo mundo e um consequente excesso de deposição em aterros sanitários ou queima, a investigação por novas soluções para a sua reutilização é cada vez mais necessária tendo em atenção quesitos atuais de desenvolvimento sustentável, redução do impacto ambiental e economia circula. A engenharia civil, nomeadamente nas áreas da construção, vias, saneamento e geotecnia, oferece várias oportunidades para investigação da aplicação destes resíduos. Neste âmbito, o reforço de solos e a aplicação de liners se destacam, pois podem beneficiar das caraterísticas físico-químicas e mecânicas das CBV para melhorarem parâmetros como a resistência mecânica e permeabilidade. Foram realizados ensaios de caracterização para as CBV e para um solo fraco, nomeadamente distribuição granulometrica, densidade específica dos grãos, limites de Atterberg, composição química por fluorescência de raio-x e mineralogia por difração de raio-x. Este trabalho faz parte de uma investigação mais ampla para desenvolver um material alternativo que possa ser utilizado em obras de terra de revestimento e reforço de solos. Os resultados demonstram que a introdução das CBV em solos pode contribuir para reduzir o peso específico e a plasticidade e melhorar as propriedades mecânicas do material, consequência também do enriquecimento de minerais pozolânicos devido à sua composição química. Desta forma, as CBV deram boas indicações para serem introduzidas em solos em diferentes percentuais, para melhorar as suas propriedades ou para a produção de liners, sendo necessário realizar futuros testes acerca do desempenho mecânico e ensaios de compressibilidade edométrica e compressão triaxial, condutividade hidráulica e potencial de lixiviação de poluentes, de modo a avaliar a sua sustentabilidade e durabilidade e afastar eventuais impactos no ambiente e saúde pública.
- Geotechnical Characterization Methodology of Water Treatment Sludge for Production of Liner MaterialPublication . Marchiori, Leonardo; Morais, Maria Vitoria; Albuquerque, Antonio; Cavaleiro, VictorClayey soils and geosynthetic materials are used as low hydraulic conductivity layers and environmental protection barriers in civil engineering works for storing wastes as covering and bottom impermeabilization layer structures, known as liners. Future shortage of clay materials and geosynthetic’s high costs are usual problems, aligned with the need of prevention of environmental impacts associated to wastes by industry infiltrating into groundwater, sustainable solutions are needed. The reuse of industrial waste materials follows directives of the circular economy when this application is expected to reduce construction costs, help preserve natural resources, reduce the use of synthetic materials, reuse industrial waste materials, and contribute to sustainability. Water treatment sludges (WTS) are generated by water treatment plants mainly from periodic washing of the sedimentation tanks and filters and seems to be suitable for a geomaterial replacement. To make it feasible, the most significant factors that need more investigations are index properties, physical and mechanical behavior, chemical compaction and resistance, hydraulic conductivity, and leaching potential. A methodology for different ratios of WTS, soil, and with or without additive needing, along with a laboratorial analysis of water treatment sludge sample were proposed to ensure the expected results and parameters for liner alternative material.