Valorisation of spent tire rubber as carbon adsorbents for Pb(II) and W(VI) in the framework of a Circular Economy.

Spent tire rubber-derived chars and their corresponding HPO and CO-activated chars were used as adsorbents in the recovery of Pb(II) ion and (W(VI)) oxyanion from synthetic solutions. The developed chars (both raw and activated) were thoroughly characterized to have insight about their textural and surface chemistry properties. HPO-activated chars presented lower surface areas than the raw chars and an acidic surface chemistry which affected the performance of these samples as they showed the lowest removals of the metallic ions.

Beneficial and detrimental effects of choline chloride-oxalic acid deep eutectic solvent on biogas production.

Deep eutectic solvents (DES), a new class of alternative solvents, have recently been used in the pre-treatment of lignocellulosic biomass. Due to the ability to dissolve phenolic compounds, they have been efficiently applied as delignification agents. However, to extend DES application to bioprocesses, such as Anaerobic Digestion (AD), their toxicity to microbial consortia must be evaluated.

Highly efficient porous carbons for the removal of W(VI) oxyanion from wastewaters.

Pyrolysis chars derived from rice wastes were chemically activated and used in W(VI) oxyanion adsorption assays in synthetic and mining wastewaters. For comparison purposes, a commercial activated carbon (CAC) was also used. Different experimental conditions were tested in the adsorption assays: solid/liquid ratio (S/L), initial pH, contact time, and initial W concentration.

Assessment of potato peel and agro-forestry biochars supplementation on in vitro ruminal fermentation.

Background: The awareness of environmental and socio-economic impacts caused by greenhouse gas emissions from the livestock sector leverages the adoption of strategies to counteract it. Feed supplements can play an important role in the reduction of the main greenhouse gas produced by ruminants-methane (CH). In this context, this study aims to assess the effect of two biochar sources and inclusion levels on rumen fermentation parameters .

Multi-component adsorption study by using bone char: modelling and removal mechanisms.

Highly efficient simultaneous removal of paracetamol and Cu ions from aqueous solutions was accomplished by using bovine bone char (BC). The adsorption behaviour was determined by kinetic and equilibrium studies of both single and binary system solutions. BC is a predominantly mesoporous material with a surface area of 103 m g.

Porous carbons derived from hydrothermally treated biogas digestate.

Porous carbons from digestate-derived hydrochar were produced, characterized and their performance to reclaim phosphate from water was evaluated as a preliminary approach to demonstrate their practical application. In a first step, the digestate was converted into hydrochars through hydrothermal carbonization by using two different pH conditions: 8.3 (native conditions) and 3.

Evaluation of the adsorption potential of biochars prepared from forest and agri-food wastes for the removal of fluoxetine.

Twelve biochars from forest and agri-food wastes (pruning of Quercus ilex, Eucalyptus grandis, Pinus pinaster, Quercus suber, Malus pumila, Prunus spinosa, Cydonia oblonga, Eriobotrya japonica, Juglans regia, Actinidia deliciosa, Citrus sinensis and Vitis vinifera) were investigated as potential low-cost and renewable adsorbents for removal of a commonly used pharmaceutical, fluoxetine. Preliminary adsorption experiments allowed to select the most promising adsorbents, Quercus ilex, Cydonia oblonga, Eucalyptus, Juglans regia and Vitis vinifera pruning material. They were characterized by proximate, elemental and mineral analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, determination of specific surface area and pH at the point of zero charge.

Biomethane production through anaerobic co-digestion with Maize Cob Waste based on a biorefinery concept: A review.

Maize Cob Waste (MCW) is available worldwide in high amounts, as maize is the most produced cereal in the world. MCW is generally left in the crop fields, but due to its low biodegradability it has a negligible impact in soil fertility. Moreover, MCW can be used as substrate to balance the C/N ratio during the Anaerobic co-Digestion (AcoD) with other biodegradable substrates, and is an excellent precursor for the production of Activated Carbons (ACs).

New adsorbents from maize cob wastes and anaerobic digestate for HS removal from biogas.

Two activated carbons (ACs) were prepared by physical activation of Maize Cob Waste (MCW) with CO, during 2 and 3 h (MCW(PA)2h and MCW(PA)3h, respectively). Two other ACs were prepared by chemical activation: a) MCW(LD) - MCW was impregnated with anaerobic liquid digestate (LD) and carbonized under N atmosphere; and b) CAR-MCW(LD) - previously carbonized MCW was impregnated with LD and carbonized under N atmosphere. All ACs were fully characterized for textural and chemical properties, and then used in dynamic HS removal assays from real biogas samples.

Recovery of Cr(III) by using chars from the co-gasification of agriculture and forestry wastes.

The aim of the present work was to assess the efficiency of biochars obtained from the co-gasification of blends of rice husk + corn cob (biochar 50CC) and rice husk + eucalyptus stumps (biochar 50ES), as potential renewable low-cost adsorbents for Cr(III) recovery from wastewaters. The two gasification biochars presented a weak porous structure (A = 63-144 m g), but a strong alkaline character, promoted by a high content of mineral matter (59.8% w/w of ashes for 50CC biochar and 81.

Maize cob waste pre-treatments to enhance biogas production through co-anaerobic digestion with OFMSW.

In the present work, the enhancement of biogas and methane yields through anaerobic co-digestion of the pre-hydrolised Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Wastes (hOFMSW) and Maize Cob Wastes (MCW) in a lab-scale thermophilic anaerobic reactor was tested. In order to increase its biodegradability, MCW were submitted to an initial pre-treatment screening phase as follows: (i) microwave (MW) irradiation catalysed by NaOH, (ii) MW catalysed by glycerol in water and alkaline water solutions, (iii) MW catalysed by HO with pH of 9.8 and (iv) chemical pre-treatment at room temperature catalysed by HO with 4 h reaction time.

Biomass fly ashes as low-cost chemical agents for Pb removal from synthetic and industrial wastewaters.

The main aim of this work was to study the removal efficiency of Pb from synthetic and industrial wastewaters by using biomass fly ashes. The biomass fly ashes were produced in a biomass boiler of a pulp and paper industry. Three concentrations of Pb(2+) were tested in the synthetic wastewater (1, 10 and 1000 mg Pb/L).

Removal of lead (Pb2+) from aqueous medium by using chars from co-pyrolysis.

The effectiveness of chars from the co-pyrolysis of pine, used tires and plastic wastes for the removal of lead (Pb(2+)) from aqueous medium, was investigated. The chars were predominantly of macroporous nature, but the introduction of tires in the pyrolysis feedstock enhanced their mesoporous content as well as surface area. Pb(2+) sorption with the chars was a slow and unstable process in which sorption-desorption seems to be competing.

Analytical methods and validation for determining trace elements in red wines.

The objective of this work is to quantify As, Hg, Cd, Ni and Pb in Portuguese red wines. First, the methods for the quantification of trace elements in red wines were validated. Several pre-treatments were compared, namely a pre-digestion process with HNO(3), a pre-oxidation step with H(2)O(2), and a spiking step of wine samples with a known concentration of the trace elements analyzed.

Stabilization/solidification of fly ashes and concrete production from bottom and circulating ashes produced in a power plant working under mono and co-combustion conditions.

Two combustion tests were performed in a fluidized bed combustor of a thermo-electric power plant: (1) combustion of coal; (2) co-combustion of coal (68.7% w/w), sewage sludge (9.2% w/w) and meat and bone meal (MBM) (22.

Co-combustion of coal and sewage sludge: chemical and ecotoxicological properties of ashes.

The co-combustion of sewage sludge (SS) and coal is widely used for the treatment and thermal valorization of SS produced in wastewater treatment plants. The chemical and ecotoxicological properties of the ashes produced in this thermal treatment have not been fully studied. Two combustion tests were performed in a fluidized bed combustor.