Urine has an intricate composition with high concentrations of organic compounds like urea, creatinine, and uric acid. Urine poses a formidable challenge for advanced effluent treatment processes following urine diversion strategies. Urine matrix complexity is heightened when dealing with pharmaceutical residues like acetaminophen (ACT) and metabolized pharmaceuticals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChemosphere
February 2024
New alternatives for effluent decontamination, such as electrochemical oxidation, are being developed to provide adequate removal of endocrine disruptors such as 17β-estradiol in wastewater. In this study, data-driven models of response surface methodology, artificial neural networks, wavelet neural networks, and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system will be used to predict the degradation and mineralization of the microcontaminant hormone 17β-estradiol through an electrochemical process to contribute to the treatment of effluent containing urine. With the use of different statistical criteria and graphical analysis of the correlation between observed and predicted data, it was possible to conduct a comparative analysis of the performances of the data-driven approaches.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCiprofloxacin (CIP) is a commonly prescribed fluoroquinolone antibiotic that, even after uptake, remains unmetabolized to a significant extent-over 70%. Unmetabolized CIP is excreted through both urine and feces. This persistent compound manages to evade removal in municipal wastewater facilities, leading to its substantial accumulation in aquatic environments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe occurrence of microplastics in coastal areas is a growing concern due to the increase in plastic waste pollution in recent decades. This study had as objective to evaluate the occurrence of microplastics in Brazilian beach sand, using a simple and fast methodology. In addition, possible microplastics were classified according to color, shape and chemical composition.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this study, binary and ternary mixed metal oxide anodes of Ti/RuO-SbO and Ti/RuO-SbO-TiO were prepared using two different heating methods: conventional furnace and alternative CO laser heating. The produced anodes were physically and electrochemically characterized by using different techniques. The main difference found in the laser-made anodes was their more compact morphology, without the common deep cracks found in anodes made by typical thermal decomposition, which showed an important correlation with the prolonged accelerated service life.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEcotoxicol Environ Saf
July 2020
Alternative routes to degrade dyes are of crucial importance for the environment. Hence, we report the electrochemical removal of indanthrene blue by using a boron-doped diamond anode, focusing on the toxicity of the treated solutions. Different operational conditions were studied, such as current density (5, 10, and 20 mA cm) and electrolyte composition (NaSO, NaCO and NaNO).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHere, we have assessed the use of one packed bed or two packed bed reactors in series in which Burkholderia cepacia lipase (BCL) was immobilized on protic ionic liquid (PIL)-modified silica and used as a biocatalyst for the transesterification of crude coconut oil. Reaction parameters including volumetric flow, temperature, and molar ratio were evaluated. The conversion of transesterification reaction products (ethyl esters) was determined using gas chromatography and the quantities of intermediate products (diglyceride and monoglyceride [MG]) were assessed using high-performance liquid chromatography.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChemosphere
December 2019
As it is well known, the textile industry generates a large amount of wastewater with varied composition that need to be treated. In particular, the Sergipe state, in Brazil, is a region that requires attention due the presence of several local textile industries. In this study, the efficiency of electrochemical oxidation (EO) process applied in the samples of Brazilian textile industry effluents previously treated by physical-chemical process coagulation-flocculation (CF) was evaluated by the reduction in TOC parameter and by the ecotoxicity using Lactuca sativa and Raphidocelis subcapitata bioassays.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Environ Sci Health A Tox Hazard Subst Environ Eng
September 2019
Several chemical substances known as micropollutants are used in daily activities, and they pose risks to both human health and the environment. Some of these substances disrupt the endocrine system in addition to being responsible for major public health issues and for endangering some aquatic species. The aim of this research is to investigate the frequency of endocrine disruptors and anthropogenic activity markers in a Water Supply System (SAA) in Sergipe State, Brazil.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPulp wash was used as substrate for the activity of ligninolytic enzymes of the fungus . Activity of laccase (Lac) and manganese peroxidase (MnP) as well as fungal biomass occurred under four conditions: different pulp wash concentrations, pH variation at the optimal pulp wash concentration, different glucose concentrations, and different concentrations of ammonium nitrate. The best enzyme activity and biomass production were obtained with pulp wash and pH corrected to 5.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAfter designing and constructing an electrochemical reactor with concentric electrodes and tangential feed (RECT), it is necessary to characterize it and to study its performance. The experimental study of the residence time distribution (RTD) was conducted for flow rates of 2.78 × 10 m s, 8.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Monit Assess
June 2015
The growing use of pharmaceutical drug is mainly due to several diseases in human and in animal husbandry. As these drugs are discharged into waterways via wastewater, they cause a major impact on the environment. Many of these drugs are hormones; in which even at low concentrations can alter metabolic and physiological functions in many organisms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe electrochemical incineration of omeprazole, a widely prescribed gastrointestinal drug which is detected in natural waters, has been studied in a phosphate buffer of pH 7.0 by anodic oxidation with electrogenerated H(2)O(2) (AO-H(2)O(2)) operating at constant current density (j). The experiments were carried out in a cell equipped with either a Pt or a boron-doped diamond (BDD) anode and an air-diffusion cathode to continuously produce H(2)O(2).
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