Browsing by Author "Scalera, Francesca"
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- Exploring the potential of a waste-derived bone char for pharmaceuticals adsorption in saline-based wastewaterPublication . Miranda, Catarina; Scalera, Francesca; Piancastelli, Andreana; Pullar, Robert C.; Tiritan, Maria Elizabeth; Piccirillo, Clara; Castro, Paula M. L.; Amorim, Catarina L.In this study, the effect of salinity in wastewater on the adsorption capacity of a bone char material prepared through pyrolysis of tuna bones at 1000 °C was investigated for two pharmaceuticals, tramadol (TRA) and venlafaxine (VNF), both contaminants of emerging concern. This is the first time that the adsorption efficiency of a bone char-type material was tested in such conditions. The Tuna Bone Char (TBC) was composed of calcium phosphate (hydroxyapatite), and graphitic carbon. The TBC is a nanostructured material (particle size 30–60 nm), with a surface area of 100.67 m2/g (higher than other waste-derived type materials), and a total pore volume of 575.2 mm3/g. TBC capacity to adsorb TRA and VNF, individually or combined, was evaluated in batch experiments using different aqueous matrices: water, non-saline wastewater, and wastewaters with different salinity levels (7.5 and 12 g/L). For individual pharmaceuticals, the TBC had a higher affinity for TRA than VNF. The presence of salts in wastewaters led to a decrease in the TBC adsorption capacity but it was still effective for pharmaceuticals adsorption. Indeed, for the individual pharmaceuticals, the TBC adsorption capacity (qt) was 0.72–2.14 and 0.77–1.70 mg/g for TRA and VNF respectively, depending on the aqueous matrix. With both pharmaceuticals present, lower qt values were experimentally obtained for TRA and VNF. The potential of the TBC, a material derived from a by-product of the fish industry, to be used for environmental remediation in different environments, such as saline wastewaters was demonstrated, widening the range of its potential applications.
- Tuna bone char as a waste-derived sorbent for the removal of contaminants of emerging concern from saline wastewaterPublication . Piccirillo, Clara; Miranda, Catarina; Scalera, Francesca; Piancastelli, Andreana; Tiritan, Maria Elizabeth; Amorim, Catarina L.; Castro, Paula M. L.Introduction: Today one of the main problems affecting our environment is the presence of Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) in surface waters. CECs are stable compounds that are not degraded by traditional wastewater treatments processes, accumulating in the environment and potentially causing harm. Within CECs, pharmaceuticals are of particular concern, due to their increased consumption, with the new EU legislation aiming at the improvement of the quality of the treated wastewater to be discharged, especially in what these pollutants. In the present work, a material derived from tuna fish bones was prepared by a pyrolysis process (Tuna Bone Char, TBC) and then used to adsorb two pharmaceuticals, tramadol (TRA) and venlafaxine (VNF). The adsorption assays were performed in aqueous matrices simulating wastewaters with different levels of salinity. Conclusions: Conclusions: Tuna bones were successfully converted into a powder material with a high surface area, suitable for environmental remediation/pollutants adsorption. Pharmaceutical compounds classified as CECs were removed from different water matrices using the TBC powder. The chemical nature of the pharmaceutical possibly affected the adsorption process. The salinity level of the wastewater also affected significantly the adsorption capacity of the TBC.
- Valorisation of tuna bone waste through its application for the removal of persistent pharmaceuticals from water matricesPublication . Piccirillo, Clara; Miranda, Catarina; Scalera, Francesca; Piancastelli, Andreana; Tiritan, Maria Elizabeth; Castro, Paula M. L.; Amorim, Catarina L.The access to safe and clean water is a critical issue faced by our society. One of the major problems is the presence of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in water bodies. CECs include pollutants with poor removal rates in wastewater treatment plants, causing adverse effects on ecosystems and humans. Within CECs, pharmaceuticals received increasing attention due to their continuous release into aquatic environments. Therefore, innovative and sustainable solutions to address this problem are needed.In this work a material for pollutants adsorption was developed from fish bones (tuna), a byproduct of the food industry. The powdery material was obtained by pyrolysis of the bones, leading to tuna bone char (TBC), a composite of hydroxyapatite (Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2) and graphitic carbon. The capacity of the TBC to adsorb tramadol (TRA) and venlafaxine (VNF), two pharmaceuticals increasingly detected in the environment, was evaluated. The batch adsorption assays were performed in different aqueous matrices, some simulating real wastewater with different salinity levels (up to 12 g/L).The results show that TBC can be successfully applied for the adsorption processes ofpersistent pharmaceuticals, with the salinity levels affecting the efficiency of the removal.Overall, the work presents an alternative strategy for the removal of pharmaceuticals from aqueous matrices whilst contributing for mitigating the solid waste generated by the fish industry.
- Valorization of porcine by-products: a combined process for protein hydrolysates and hydroxyapatite productionPublication . Borges, Sandra; Piccirillo, Clara; Scalera, Francesca; Martins, Rui; Rosa, Ana; Couto, José António; Almeida, André; Pintado, ManuelaThe meat industry generates large amounts of by-products that are costly to be treated and discarded ecologically; moreover, they could be used to extract high added-value compounds. In this work, we present an innovative combined process which allowed the parallel extraction of both organic and mineral compounds; more specifically protein hydrolysates and single-phase hydroxyapatite were obtained. The protein hydrolysates, extracted through an enzymatic hydrolysis with alcalase, showed a degree of hydrolysis of 53.3 ± 5.1%; moreover, they had a high protein content with peptides with molecular weight lower than 1.2 kDa. Their antioxidant activities, measured with ABTS and ORAC tests, were 21.1 ± 0.5 mg ascorbic acid equivalent/g of dry extract and 87.7 ± 6.3 mg Trolox equivalent/g of dry extract, respectively. Single-phase hydroxyapatite, obtained with a simple calcination at 700 °C on the residues of the hydrolysis process, showed a Ca/P ratio close to the stoichiometric one (1.65 vs. 1.67) and presented a nanometric structure. This study reports a simple and feasible process for the valorization of porcine by-products in a large-scale up generating products with potential applications for environment remediation, biomedicine, nutrition and catalysis/bioenergy.