Dickersonvind1644

With the recovery of liquid and gas products as bioenergy, the energy return on investment for microwave torrefaction of sewage sludge can be up to 16.4, much higher than the minimum value required for a sustainable society. Because of lower activation energy but higher pre-exponential factor, microwave heating can be approximately five times faster than conventional heating.A magnetic Ag3PO4/rGO/CoFe2O4 ternary catalyst was firstly prepared and used for removing levofloxacin (LVF) from different water matrices via simultaneous adsorption and photocatalysis. Compared with Ag3PO4 and Ag3PO4/CoFe2O4, Ag3PO4/rGO/CoFe2O4 shows a superior adsorption-photocatalysis performance for LVF elimination since rGO component not only improves the adsorption ability but also enhances the charge separation efficiency of the catalyst. About 90.7% of LVF in distilled water (10 mg/L) was removed by the ternary catalyst after adsorption for 0.5 h and photocatalysis for 1.0 h, and the removal of LVF performed well in the pH range of 3.51-9.47. Singlet oxygen (1O2) was the major reactive oxygen species for LVF degradation in Ag3PO4/rGO/CoFe2O4 system under visible light, as confirmed by the quenching experiments and ESR study. Based on the detected intermediates in the photocatalytic process, the possible LVF degradation pathways were well-established. As-synthesized Ag3PO4/rGO/CoFe2O4 can also efficiently remove LVF from the different real water matrices (river water, lake water and secondary effluent) via simultaneous adsorption and photocatalysis. Moreover, magnetic Ag3PO4/rGO/CoFe2O4 can be easily recovered and effectively reused for the removal of LVF in actual water bodies.This work aimed to prepare surfactant modified-PBAT (poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate)) sheets with superior properties to increase the PBAT applicability and be a possible solution for plastic disposal environmental problems. Three different surfactant contents (0, 1, 5, and 10 wt%) were investigated, and their effects on PBAT chemical structure, mechanical and morphological properties, wettability, and water absorption were investigated. Modified-PBAT samples showed high hydrogen bond coefficients (0.57) than the pristine PBAT (0.54), indicating an excellent electrostatic interaction between both components and the formation of a rigid hydrogen-bonded network, as confirmed by mechanical tests, where the elastic modulus values for PBAT and PBAT+10% surfactant were 44 and 60 MPa. SEM images and roughness measurements showed changes in PBAT morphology after surfactant addition, improving the roughness and wettability by the voids and polar groups presence, altering the water absorption (WA) behavior. The higher water affinity resulted in high water absorption for PBAT-10%S (17%) compared to the pristine PBAT (2%), which improves hydrolysis tendency, which is the initial step to biodegradation. Biodegradation results indicated that the roughness and WA behavior influenced the biodegradation rate, facilitating hydrolysis and microbial attack, and accelerating modified samples weight loss. Our results suggested developing a material with superior mechanical properties, mainly for PBAT-10%S, that can be applied in several applications, such as packaging and furniture. After discharge, it is not an environmental problem, being a biodegradable material with a green character.Ivermectin is the most common antiparasitic drug used in livestock in many regions of the world. Its residues are excreted in dung, threatening non-target fauna such as dung beetles, fundamental for cleaning dung in pastures. However, it is unclear which are the physiological mechanisms used by dung beetles to cope with ivermectin. Here we evaluated experimentally the physiological responses of the dung beetle Euoniticellus intermedius to ivermectin-induced stress. We measured metabolic rates, heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) expression, antioxidant capacity, and oxidative damage in lipids in both males and females exposed to a sublethal dose. Compared to control beetles, ivermectin-treated males and females had increased metabolic rates. Moreover, ivermectin-treated females increased their expression of Hsp70 whereas males increased their antioxidant capacity. No changes in the levels of oxidative damage to lipids were detected for either sex, suggesting a process of hormesis, such that exposure to a moderate concentration of ivermectin could stimulate the action of a protective mechanism against oxidative stress, that differs between sexes. However, it does not exclude the possibility that damage to other biomolecules might have occurred. Sexual differences in physiological responses can be interpreted as the result of hormonal differences or life-history trade-offs that favor different mechanisms in females and males. Hsps and antioxidants are involved in the physiological response of beetles to ivermectin and may be key in providing resistance to this contaminant in target and non-target species, including dung beetles.In this study, a facile and effective route to prepare hybrid photocatalysts (paper-TiO2, paper-TiO2-AgBr and paper-AgBr-TiO2) has been reported. The preparation procedure consisted of the direct adsorption of the previously synthesized titania nanoparticles (TiO2 sol) to generate the TiO2 nanosphere and the immersion process in an aqueous suspension of AgBr to form the AgBr nanoclusters on paper fibers. The synthesis technology is economic, efficient, environmentally friendly and easy to implement even at industrial scale. KD025 A cellulose-based structure with well dispersed TiO2 particles of around 1 μm and a pseudo-liquid coating of Ag+ and AgBr species was obtained. All the prepared photocatalysts demonstrated effective photocatalytic performance in gaseous phase ethanol degradation with simulated sunlight illumination, through the direct mineralization to CO2 and the parallel reaction via acetaldehyde degradation. A relevant improvement in the photocatalytic activity was noticed when TiO2 was associated with AgBr nanocrystals, with a higher effect observed when AgBr was loaded onto the paper surface prior to TiO2. Ag-Ti interaction reduces the pair recombination rate and increases the available charge carriers generating reactive OH- radicals from both Ag-species and TiO2, and O2- radicals from Ag+-AgBr species, which would be involved in the ethanol degradation process.