Production of phycobiliproteins, bioplastics and lipids by the cyanobacteria Synechocystis sp. treating secondary effluent in a biorefinery approach.

Cyanobacteria have been identified as promising organisms to reuse nutrients from waste effluents and produce valuable compounds such as lipids, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), and pigments. However, almost all studies on cyanobacterial biorefineries have been performed under lab scale and short cultivation periods. The present study evaluates the cultivation of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp.

Advances in technological control of greenhouse gas emissions from wastewater in the context of circular economy.

This review paper aims to identify the main sources of carbon dioxide (CO) emissions from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and highlights the technologies developed for CO capture in this milieu. CO is emitted in all the operational units of conventional WWTPs and even after the disposal of treated effluents and sludges. CO emissions from wastewater can be captured or mitigated by several technologies such as the production of biochar from sludge, the application of constructed wetlands (CWs), the treatment of wastewater in microbial electrochemical processes (microbial electrosynthesis, MES; microbial electrolytic carbon capture, MECC; in microbial carbon capture, MCC), and via microalgal cultivation.

Wastewater treatment and fouling control in an electro algae-activated sludge membrane bioreactor.

The effect of addition of algae to activated sludge as active biomass in membrane bioreactors (MBRs) and electro-MBRs (e-MBRs) for wastewater remediation was examined in this study. The performances of Algae-Activated Sludge Membrane Bioreactor (AAS-MBR) and electro Algae-Activated Sludge Membrane Bioreactor (e-AAS-MBR) were compared to those observed in conventional MBR and e-MBR, which were previously reported and utilized activated sludge as biomass. The effect of application of electric field was also examined by the comparison of performances of e-AAS-MBR and AAS-MBR.

Indoor versus outdoor transmission of SARS-COV-2: environmental factors in virus spread and underestimated sources of risk.

The first case of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), in Europe was officially confirmed in February 2020. On 11 March 2020, after thousands of deaths from this disease had been reported worldwide, the WHO changed their classification of COVID-19 from a public health emergency of international concern to a pandemic. The SARS-CoV-2 virus has been shown to be much more resistant to environmental degradation than other coated viruses.

Innovative membrane photobioreactor for sustainable CO capture and utilization.

The rising of greenhouse-gas emissions (GHG), during the last 200 years, is associated to the well known global warming phenomena. One of the main sources of CO-equivalent GHGs emissions are the environmental protection plants accounting for 1.57% of the global emissions and thus sustainable and effective technologies for their mitigation are strongly needed.