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- From phyto to agromining: past, present, and future scopePublication . Novo, Luís A. B.; Castro, Paula M. L.; Alvarenga, Paula; Silva, Eduardo Ferreira daThe accumulation of valuable metals in plants has fascinated scientists ever since the 1700 s (Chaptal 1790; Malte-Brun 1824).
- Recent advances in phytoremediation of soil contaminated by industrial waste: a road map to a safer environmentPublication . Bernardino, Cassiano A. R.; Mahler, Claudio F.; Alvarenga, Paula; Castro, Paula M. L.; Silva, Eduardo Ferreira da; Novo, Luís A. B.The advent of the industrial revolution has boosted human and technological development, but at a price. Contaminants have been increasingly accumulating across wider areas scattered around the world, making pollution a major planetary issue. Among these pollutants, those related to industrial waste are perhaps the most threatening due to their broad variety and capacity to migrate through the air, water, and soil, enter the food chain, and cause a deleterious impact on life and the environment. Finding solutions to deter industrial pollution has thus become the need of the hour. However, conventional techniques have often proven unworkable due to their cost and harmful collateral effects to the environment. In this light, a plant-based technique with the capacity to stabilize, extract, and/or degrade pollutants known as phytoremediation, has emerged as a promising alternative due to its inexpensiveness and environment-friendly character. Here, we review the latest advances on phytoremediation of sites afflicted by industrial pollution and outline the future scope of this green technique.
- Fitotecnologias: situação atual e perspectivas futurasPublication . Bernardino, Cassiano Augusto Rolim; Mahler, Claudio Fernando; Silva, Eduardo Ferreira da; Novo, Luís António BalreiraA degradação do meio ambiente, o aumento da urbanização, a elevada demanda energética, e as alterações climáticas, são atualmente alguns dos principais desafios do ser humano. Além disso, as atividades antropogênicas têm contribuído para a contaminação dos recursos naturais devido a geração, emissão e deposição de poluentes orgânicos e inorgânicos. Nesse sentido, um conjunto de técnicas alicerçadas no uso de plantas (fitotecnologias), têm ganhado grande visibilidade pois oferecem soluções ecológicas e sustentáveis para mitigar esses problemas. Esta revisão sumariza a situação atual dos principais tipos de fitotecnologias, das quais se destacam a fitorremediação, a fitomineração, a utilização da biomassa para produção de energia, e as coberturas verdes. Este trabalho apresenta ainda alguns dos desafios futuros das fitotecnologias, como a sua otimização através de técnicas avançadas de edição genética ou a articulação com as nanotecnologias.
- Rare biogeochemical phenomenon associated to manganese patinas on mural painting and granite ashlarsPublication . Campos, Bruno; Marco, Alexandra; Freire-Lista, David M.; Durães, Nuno; Silvestre-Albero, Joaquin; Silva, Eduardo Ferreira da; Vieira, Eduarda; Pintado, Manuela; Moreira, Patrícia R.This article discloses a rare and outstanding type of Mn-rich black-blue patina found on mural painting and granite ashlars located in the church of Sta. Marinha, north of Portugal, and conjectures the phenomenon associated to the appearance of such patinas in different surface materials. This Mn-patina reported on mural painting and their origin is probably assigned to manganese leaching from building materials (i.e., granite and phyllites). Stained mural painting and granite examined by XPS and SEM have showed patinas enriched with manganese (IV) oxide, potentially catalysed by a microbiota, like fungi, observed in SEM micrographs. The pigments used to depict mural painting and groundwater were also analysed by micro-Raman and ICP-MS, respectively, indicating that they are unlikely manganese sources. Unstained building materials, such as granite ashlars, historic joints, mortars and phyllite rocks, were also analysed by ICP-MS showing that historic joints and mortars present significant concentrations of manganese, possibly associated to their absorbing feature. The main materials with potential to impart manganese to Mn-rich patinas are granite ashlars and phyllites. The aim of this investigation is to reveal and ascertain the hypothetical sources and the phenomenon responsible for the Mn-rich black-blue patina appearance, both on mural painting and granite ashlars.