Publications by authors named "F Piergiacomo"
Article Synopsis
- Traditional wastewater treatment plants primarily use activated sludge (AS) processes, which have significant drawbacks like high energy usage, excess sludge production, and greenhouse gas emissions.
- The study explores using microalgal-bacterial consortia (MBC) as a promising alternative method, which leads to lower energy consumption, reduced emissions, and improved water sanitation.
- The new photo-sequencing batch reactor (PSBR) exhibited over 95% ammonium removal, enhanced pathogen removal, and increased efficiency in nitrogen removal through more effective microbial flocs, positioning it as a viable alternative to traditional AS systems.
Landfill sites are subjected to long-term risks of accidental spill of leachate through the soil and consequential contamination of the groundwater. Wide areas surrounding the landfill can seriously be threatened with possible consequences to human health and the environment. Given the potential impact of different coexisting anthropic pollution sources (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnderstanding the Interplay between Antimicrobial Resistance, Microplastics and Xenobiotic Contaminants: A Leap towards One Health?
Int J Environ Res Public Health
December 2022
According to the World Health Organization, the two major public health threats in the twenty-first century are antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotic-resistant genes. The reason for the global prevalence and the constant increase of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is owed to the steady rise in overall antimicrobial consumption in several medical, domestic, agricultural, industrial, and veterinary applications, with consequent environmental release. These antibiotic residues may directly contaminate terrestrial and aquatic environments in which antibiotic-resistance genes are also present.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Replacing energy crops with agricultural waste, like poultry manure and olive mill pomace, in biogas production via anaerobic digestion (AD) is a sustainable and profit-driven method, although it can lead to nutrient imbalances and higher ammonium levels that may affect microbial activity.* -
- In a study monitoring a two-stage AD plant, the increase in agricultural waste resulted in higher total solids and nitrogen content in the digestate, promoting the growth of certain beneficial bacteria such as Lactococcus, Weissella, and Lactobacillus, which increased lactate production.* -
- Despite changes in feedstock, the stability of the AD process was maintained due to shifts in bacterial populations, indicating adaptive responses among different functional groups in the hydro
Environmental Distribution of AR Class 1 Integrons in Upper Adige River Catchment (Northern Italy).
Int J Environ Res Public Health
March 2020
The source of antibiotic residuals can be directly related to the presence of municipal or industrial wastewater and agricultural activities. Antibiotics can trigger the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes within bacterial communities. The mobile genetic elements Class 1 integrons ( region) has been already found to be correlated with a wide range of pollutants (i.
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