Publications by authors named "X Font"
Article Synopsis
- Food production is facing challenges like water scarcity and the need for sustainable strategies, prompting research into biostimulants from organic waste.
- A study tested a biostimulant made from green waste fermented with Trichoderma harzianum, assessing its effects on lettuce growth under varied irrigation.
- Results showed significant improvements in growth and nutritional quality of lettuce, showcasing the benefits of using plant residues and supporting circular economy practices in agriculture.
Anaerobic treatment of industrial wastewater using upflow anaerobic reactors is an extended trend due to its high efficiency and biogas production potential, but its implementation in some sectors is limited due to the complexity and toxicity of the wastewaters. In this study, a two-stage expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB) reactors system has been investigated at both bench and pilot scale for the treatment of complex and toxic real wastewater from a petrochemical industry. The effect of different operational parameters including organic loading rate (OLR), hydraulic retention time (HRT) and influent characteristics over COD removal and biogas production and composition have been studied.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo explore a sustainable sophorolipid production, several hydrolysates from agricultural byproducts, such as wheat feed, rapeseed meal, coconut waste and palm waste were used as nitrogen sources. The four hydrolysates overperformed the controls after 168 h of fermentation using Starmerella bombicola ATCC 22214. Wheat feed and coconut waste hydrolysates were the most promising feedstocks presenting a linear relationship between yeast growth and diacetylated lactonic C18:1 production at total nitrogen concentrations below 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe use of alternative feedstocks such as industrial or food waste is being explored for the sustainable production of sophorolipids (SLs). Microbial biosurfactants are mainly produced via submerged fermentation (SmF); however, solid-state fermentation (SSF) seems to be a promising alternative for using solid waste or byproducts that could not be exploited by SmF. Applying the advantages that SSF offers and with the aim of revalorizing industrial organic waste, the impact of carbon and nitrogen sources on the relationship between yeast growth and SL production was analyzed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- - Methane and carbon dioxide are key players in global warming, with methane being 25 times more effective in trapping heat than carbon dioxide.
- - Methanol, a liquid derived from methane, is easier to store and transport and can be a base for creating valuable products, prompting extensive research on its production.
- - Recent studies highlight advancements in catalysts made from materials like zeolite, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), and graphene, which enhance the conversion of methane to methanol at lower temperatures and pressures.