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BACKGROUND: In developing countries, death due to diseases caused by fecal-oral ingestion can be avoided by taking action on drinking water issues. Adequate access to water treatment systems to reduce infections is a critical cause. Silver has been used as an antibacterial product, including biomedical applications. Therefore, in this paper, the effect of the chemical speciation of silver from silver-modified zeolite-rich tuffs on the mortality of Escherichia coli (E. coli), Streptococcus faecalis (S. faecalis) and Candida albicans (C. albicans) suspended in aqueous solution was investigated for disinfection purposes. METHODS: The following aspects were considered to develop the investigation: a) the technique to prepare the modified zeolitic materials, either with ionic silver or silver nanoparticles, which were obtained in two ways: one, with grapefruit extract and the second, by using non-thermal plasma generated in a dielectric barrier discharge reactor of parallel plates; b) the response of the prokaryotes (bacteria) and eukaryote (yeast) microorganisms to disinfectant agents in batch systems; c) the disinfection processes as a function of time to obtain kinetics parameters; and d) the kinetics of the silver release from the silver-modified zeolite-rich tuffs, considering the models of Higuchi and Korsmeyer. The zeolitic materials were characterized by low-vacuum scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). RESULTS: The non-thermal plasma reduced ionic silver is more efficient at generating silver compounds with several oxidation states, which are essential during the microbial inhibition process. For the bacterial (E. coli and S. faecalis), the materials with nanoparticles were efficient to inactivate them. However, the yeast (C. albicans) reaches the total inactivation when the zeolitic material contains ionic silver in the crystalline network. CONCLUSION: The E. coli, S. faecalis and C. albicans survival behavior suspended in aqueous solutions after contact with Ag-modified natural zeolites depends on the chemical speciation of the silver present in these materials, Ag+1 in the case of OAgiZ or nanoparticles of Ago promoted by the grapefruit extract (OAgnpTZ), as well as by non-thermal plasma generated in a dielectric barrier discharge reactor of parallel plates (OAgnpPZ). In general, the concentration of silver in the aqueous solution after the disinfection process cannot exceed the recommended levels established for international organizations. The OAgnpPZ is a potential microbicide agent against E. coli and C. albicans, and the OAgn pTZ for F. faecalis.Graphical abstractARTWORK.

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Two kinds of clinoptilolite-rich tuffs from the state of Sonora (Mexico), previously treated with NaCl solution and then modified with thiourea, were investigated to remove Cd2+ from aqueous solution in a fixed-bed column system. Experiments were conducted with a 30 mg L-1 Cd2+ solution at a pH value of 5 and three-bed heights of sodium- and thiourea-modified clinoptilolite-rich tuffs. The experimental data were examined with the bed depth service time model (BDST), the Thomas model, and a mass balance approach. According to the BDST model, the dynamic sorption capacity (No) for the thiourea-modified clinoptilolite-rich tuff was 0.0357 Kg L-1. This value corresponded to 1.2 times higher than that for sodium-modified clinoptilolite-rich tuff (0.0287 Kg L-1). The experimental data obtained for sodium- modified clinoptilolite-rich tuff (ZSGNa) with 3 cm of bed height, fitted to the Thomas model, with R2 = 0.9679 and Cd sorption capacity of 35.4 mg g-1, while for the thiourea-modified clinoptilolite-rich tuff (ZSGThio) with 4.5 cm of bed height, was 36.52 mg g-1 with R2 = 0.9368. The parameters calculated with the mass balance model describe a favourable process where the system with ZSGThio (6 cm bed height) had the best performance for sorption capacity up to the breakthrough point, qb = 22.35 mg g-1. The zeolite modified with thiourea exhibited higher capacity in Cd2+ removal than the one modified with NaCl, in the column with 6 cm of bed height. To investigate the mechanisms of removal of Cd2+ by the modified zeolites, Na⁺ was measured to determine the milliequivalents of cadmium removed.

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New carbonaceous materials were obtained through solution combustion process of tamarind shell in the presence of urea and ammonium nitrate, and all of them were tested for Co removal. The effect of temperature (from 600 to 1000°C) and water volume on surface texture of carbonaceous material and its adsorptive capacity was evaluated. Scanning electron microscope, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) model were used to characterize the obtained carbonaceous material before applying for the removal of cobalt. The point of zero charge was also determined. The results indicate that BET-specific surface areas ranged from 6.40 to 216.72 m2g-1 for the carbonaceous materials obtained at 600, 700, 800, 900, and 1000°C. The one obtained at 900°C (CombTSF900) was found to be the most effective adsorbent for the removal of Co(II) ions from aqueous solutions, with a maximum sorption capacity (Qmax) of 43.56 mg/g. Carbonaceous material obtained through the solution combustion process improves morphological characteristics of adsorbent in a short time, and could be used as an alternative method for the removal of cobalt.

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This study was performed to identify suitable conditions for the in-situ reduction of excess sludge production by intercalated digesters in recycle-activated sludge (RAS) flow. The objective was to compare and model biological sludge mass reduction and the biodegradation of endogenous residues (XP) by digestion under hypoxic, aerobic, anaerobic, and five intermittent-aeration conditions. A mathematical model based on the heterotrophic endogenous decay constant (bH) and including the biodegradation of XP was used to fit the long-term data from the digesters to identify and estimate the parameters. Both the bH constant (0.02-0.05 d(-1)) and the endogenous residue biodegradation constant (bP, 0.001-0.004 d(-1)) were determined across the different mediums. The digesters with intermittent aeration cycles of 12 h-12 h and 5 min-3 h (ON/OFF) were the fastest, compared to the aerobic reactor. The study provides a basis for rating RAS-digester volumes to avoid the accumulation of XP in aeration tanks.

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New carbonaceous materials were obtained using a fast aqueous solution combustion process from mixtures of exhausted coffee, ammonium nitrate (oxidizer) and urea (fuel) heated at 600, 700, 800 or 900 °C. The resulting powders were effective adsorbents for removing Co(II) and Cd(II) from aqueous solutions. Exhausted coffee was also calcined at different temperatures and compared. The products were characterized, and the obtained carbons had BET specific surface areas of 114.27-390.85 m(2)/g and pore diameters of 4.19 to 2.44 nm when the temperature was increased from 600 to 800 °C. Cobalt and cadmium adsorption by the carbonaceous materials was correlated with the maximum adsorption capacities and specific surface areas of the materials. The method reported here is advantageous because it only required 5 min of reaction to improve the textural properties of carbon obtained from exhausted coffee, which play an important role in the material's cobalt and cadmium adsorption capacities.

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Aerobic digestion batch tests were run on a sludge model that contained only two fractions, the heterotrophic biomass (XH) and its endogenous residue (XP). The objective was to describe the stabilization of the sludge and estimate the endogenous decay parameters. Modeling was performed with Aquasim, based on long-term data of volatile suspended solids and chemical oxygen demand (VSS, COD). Sensitivity analyses were carried out to determine the conditions for unique identifiability of the parameters. Importantly, it was found that the COD/VSS ratio of the endogenous residues (1.06) was significantly lower than for the active biomass fraction (1.48). The decay rate constant of the studied sludge (low bH, 0.025 d(-1)) was one-tenth that usually observed (0.2d(-1)), which has two main practical significances. Digestion time required is much more long; also the oxygen uptake rate might be <1.5 mg O2/gTSSh (biosolids standards), without there being significant decline in the biomass.

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The sorption of As(III) and As(V) from aqueous solutions onto iron-modified Petroselinum crispum (PCFe) and iron-modified carbonaceous material from the pyrolysis of P. crispum (PCTTFe) was investigated. The modified sorbents were characterized with scanning electron microscopy. The sorbent elemental composition was determined with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The principal functional groups from the sorbents were determined with FT-IR. The specific surfaces and points of zero charge (pzc) of the materials were also determined. As(III) and As(V) sorption onto the modified sorbents were performed in a batch system. After the sorption process, the As content in the liquid and solid phases was determined with atomic absorption and neutron activation analyses, respectively. After the arsenic sorption processes, the desorption of Fe from PCFe and PCTTFe was verified with atomic absorption spectrometry. The morphology of PC changed after iron modification. The specific area and pzc differed significantly between the iron-modified non-pyrolyzed and pyrolyzed P. crispum. The kinetics of the arsenite and arsenate sorption processes were described with a pseudo-second-order model. The Langmuir-Freundlich model provided the isotherms with the best fit. Less than 0.02% of the Fe was desorbed from the PCFe and PCTTFe after the As(III) and As(V) sorption processes.

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This manuscript presents the synthesis of carbon modified with iron nanoparticles (CFe) and iron carbide (CarFe) from the pyrolyzed crown leaves of pineapple (Ananas comosus) treated with iron salts. The materials that were obtained were used for the removal of As(V) from aqueous media. The carbonaceous materials were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Mossbauer Spectroscopy. The specific area (BET), number site density and point of zero charge (pH(pzc)) were also determined. The kinetic parameters were obtained by fitting the experimental data to the pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order models. Different isotherm models were applied to describe the As(V) adsorption behavior. The kinetics of As(V) sorption by CFe and CarFe was well defined for the pseudo-second-order model (R(2) = 0.9994 and 0.999, respectively). The maximum As(V) uptake was 1.8 mg g(-1) for CFe and 1.4 mg g(-1) for CarFe. The results obtained indicated that both materials are equally useful for As(V) sorption. The As(V) experimental isotherm data were described by the Freundlich model for CFe and CarFe.

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Currently, the method most used for measuring the maximum specific growth rate (µ(Hmax)) of heterotrophic biomass is by respirometry, using growth batch tests performed at high food/microorganism ratio. No other technique has been suggested, although the former approach was criticized for providing kinetic constants that could be unrepresentative of the original biomass. An alternative method (seed-increments) is proposed, which relies on measuring the initial rates of respiration (r(O2)(_ini)) at different seeding levels, in a single batch, and in the presence of excess readily biodegradable substrate (S(S)). The ASM1-based underlying equations were developed, which showed that µ(Hmax) could be estimated through the slope of the linear function of r(O2)(_ini)·(V(WW)+v(ML)) vs v(ML) (volume of mixed liquor inoculum); V(WW) represent the wastewater volume added. The procedure was tested, being easy to apply; the postulated linearity was constantly observed and the method is claimed to measure the characteristics of the biomass of interest.

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OBJECTIVE: The present work was carried out to investigate the effects of temperature, initial pH, initial concentration, and contact time on the biosorption of lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) by modified stalk sponge of Zea mays using a batch technique. METHODS: The biomass was chemically modified with a 0.1 M NaCl solution. The lead and cadmium sorption process was evaluated at 20°C, 30°C, 40°C, and 50°C. RESULTS: The results showed that the modified stalk sponge of Z. mays had a good capacity for biosorption of Pb(II) and Cd(II). The kinetic behavior was described by the pseudo-second-order model for both metallic species. The experimental isotherms obtained at different temperatures were fit with Langmuir and Freundlich models. Thermodynamic parameters ΔH(0) and ΔS(0) were calculated using the van't Hoff equation, and the results show that Pb(II) and Cd(II) sorption by modified stalk sponge of Z. mays is an exothermic and spontaneous process.

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