Cabralea canjerana and Cordia americana, two Brazilian tree species found across various states, serve a range of applications from sawmill products to folk medicine. The extractives, non-structural wood components, are utilized for diverse purposes, including natural dyes, preservatives, and medicinal products. After a comprehensive search of the literature, no publications were found characterizing the chemical composition of C. canjerana and C. americana wood. This increases the need to research these species and learn more about their potential. The vast diversity of Brazil’s tree species sometimes complicates the selection process for extraction purposes, highlighting the importance of anatomical wood identification. This study evaluates the presence of fine molecules with important biological activity or industrial value in the wood extractives of C. canjerana and C. americana, proposing potential uses for the extracted lignocellulosic biomass and providing anatomical identification support for these species. Characterization methods of the wood included analysis of ash, hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin content. Extraction techniques employed ethanol, ethanol-toluene, hot water, and 1% soda, followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for chemical analysis. Anatomical characteristics were determined using histological slides. The results show that Cordia americana displayed a 53.61% holocellulose content in relation to the dry mass, suitable for paper production, while Cabralea canjerana, with a 55.92% content, was deemed even more appropriate. GC-MS analysis identified several significant molecules in the extractives, including Phenol, 2,4-bis(1-phenylethyl), which is potentially effective in breast cancer drug development, and Gestrinone, a possible treatment for endometriosis. The anatomical examination of the C. canjerana and C. americana samples confirmed their species identity, aligning with the study’s objectives.

Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) is a waste agnostic process that leverages near-critical water to break down macromolecules, forming an energy-dense biocrude. Some carbon contained in the waste feed is lost in the aqueous phase, where its high organic content and unusual speciation are burdensome for municipal wastewater resource recovery facilities (WRRF). Treating the aqueous phase adds undesirable cost to the HTL process, reducing its attractiveness. Here, we report aqueous phase supercritical upgrading (AP-SCU) as a new catalytic aqueous phase upgrading technology that reduces the organic content of the aqueous phase with co-production of supplemental biocrude. The supercritical phase provides sufficient catalyst activity for organic conversion, reduces energy inefficiency by eliminating the need for evaporation, and extends the catalyst lifetime relative to the liquid state. AP-SCU was evaluated at 380–440°C at 24 MPa for a representative HTL aqueous phase produced from the treatment of food waste. Using a ZSM-5 catalyst bound with silica sol, the aqueous carbon content was reduced by 64%–73% with a corresponding production of aromatic hydrocarbons including phenol and 2-pentanone. The total nitrogen was reduced by approximately 10%. Additionally, the ZSM-5 facilitated reduction and denitrogenation reactions of aqueous phase compounds to produce aromatic and pyridine compounds which more closely resemble HTL biocrude. After 3 h on stream, the catalyst experienced coke formation, and surface degradation which led to a reduction in acid sites and surface area. The carbon balance for the system was closed through the analysis of the aqueous, solid, and gas phases to estimate that biocrude yield varies from 43%–57% on a carbon basis. An energy balance for HTL process with integrated AP-SCU system showed that operating the AP-SCU unit at 380°C yielded the minimum energy demand for carbon removal at 63 MJ/kg-TOC. This value is greater than the energy demand for conventional WRRFs (37.9 MJ/kg-TOC) but is more than 10-times less than emerging technologies which are designed to handle complex feeds. AP-SCU has potential as an energy efficient and effective new technology for reducing the TOC of the aqueous phase with simultaneous production of supplemental biocrude to offset energy demand.

Streptococcus pneumoniae, a pathogenic bacterium, is responsible for a range of infections. With the rise in antibiotic resistance, vaccination against pneumococcal disease has become increasingly critical. Pneumococcal capsular polysaccharides (CPSs) serve as potent vaccine antigens, triggering the host’s production of protective antibodies. The immunogenicity of CPS antigens in pneumococcal vaccines is significantly influenced by the chain length, the content of functional chemical groups and additional chemical modifications. S. pneumoniae has stringent nutritional requirements for culture medium. One crucial aspect of fermentation medium development is the selection of nitrogen sources. These sources supply the essential nutrients for the synthesis of vital biomolecules and secondary metabolites, including the CPSs. Therefore, comprehending the impact of organic nitrogen sources on the yield and quality of CPSs is crucial for optimizing manufacturing processes for pneumococcal vaccines. In our study, we evaluated the effects of peptones from various sources on the growth profiles and CPS yields, as well as quality attributes related to CPS immunogenicity. We found that while CPS productivity was slightly impacted by peptone selection, the chain length and functional group content of CPSs were markedly influenced by the peptone source. Notably, using the non-animal HY-SOY 4D soy peptone as a nitrogen source in the fermentation medium led to CPSs with long chains and a high content of functional chemical groups. The structural identity and correctness of pure CPSs were verified by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The findings offer insights into how the composition of the fermentation medium affects both the yield and quality of pneumococcal CPSs, aiming at improving vaccine production against pneumococcal infections.

Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) is a thermochemical technology that converts wet biomass into biochar and biocrude at high temperatures and pressures. HTL can be utilized within municipal wastewater treatment to convert waste activated sludge (WAS) into valuable resources, but HTL by-products include an aqueous coproduct (ACP) that has been characterized for its biological toxicity, high ammonia, and presence of heterocyclic N-containing organic compounds (HNOCs). This study evaluated the inhibitory effects of the most prevalent HNOCs on autotrophic nitrifiers present in WAS, by determining the concentration that reduces ammonia uptake by 50 percent (IC50). 2-pyrrolidinone, pyrazine, and 2- piperidinone and their derivatives were the most prevalent HNOCs in ACP from WAS at concentrations of 8.98, 6.05, and 0.40 mM respectively. The IC50 of 2-pyrrolidinone and pyrazine were 5.2 × 10−5 and 2.0 × 10−3 mM, respectively. The IC50 of the ACP was 0.08% (%v/v). This corresponded to concentrations of 2- pyrrolidinone, pyrazine, and 2-piperidinone of 7.52 × 10−3, 5.07 × 10−3, and 3.36 × 10−4 mM, respectively. The impact of ACP storage was also tested. ACP stored for 15 weeks exhibited less inhibitory effects on the nitrifying community compared to ACP stored for 1 week. The % maximum ammonia uptake rate was reduced by 23% for the 15-week stored ACP, in contrast to 51% reduction for ACP stored for 1 week. Results of this study provide guidance for how ACP recycle can be incorporated at a wastewater treatment plant without inhibiting nitrification, enhancing the feasibility of using HTL as a solids processing technology.

Sorption-enhanced dimethyl ether synthesis (SEDMES) is a powerful technology to produce dimethyl ether (DME) from captured CO2 and renewable H2. In situ water by-product removal by zeolites shifts the thermodynamic equilibrium of the reaction towards product formation. Sorption enhancement proved to provide a single-pass CO2 conversion above 90%. This work presents a modelling study of the SEDMES process to optimize its performance under varying conditions. A universal cycle was designed to fulfil the requirement of continuous DME production as well as feed and purge flows. The cycle design is based on a state-of-the-art pilot plant commissioned by TNO in 2023, located in Petten, The Netherlands. Multiple Pareto fronts were generated to express the trade-offs between DME productivity and carbon selectivity in the SEDMES process for the first time. The impact of such process parameters as operating pressure, cycle duration, amount of inert gases, tube geometry and feed flow rate was analysed. A general trend of increased carbon selectivity and productivity at higher pressure was observed and analyzed under relevant cycle durations. However, this enhanced performance comes with the negative side effect of higher DME loss associated at elevated pressure operation. The SEDMES process proved to be tolerant to high concentrations of inert gases such as N2, reducing the need for extensive pretreatment steps. A lower feed flow rate was found to positively impact carbon selectivity to DME, which is promising for operation under intermittent conditions. Finally, even a minor increase in tube diameter reduced the Gas Hourly Space Velocity (GHSV), enhancing DME selectivity in a manner comparable to the effect of lower feed flow rates. Maximum productivity increases from 2.2 kg/h with 50.2% DME selectivity at 20 bar to 3.6 kg/h with 88.5% DME selectivity at 50 bar. The optimal cycle duration for these points also increased from 113 to 233 min, respectively.

Chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons (CAHs) are common groundwater contaminants due to improper utilization in past industrial activity. Anaerobic reductive dechlorination, where bacteria use CAHs as electron acceptors, is crucial for bioremediation. Environmental conditions, such as nutrient availability and electron donors (i.e., molecular hydrogen), can influence the effectiveness of bioremediation processes. Also, bioremediation strategies like bioaugmentation (i.e., the supply of the enriched dechlorinating consortium) and bio-stimulation (i.e., the supply of electron donor) can improve CAHs removal performances. Here, a microcosm study is presented to assess the effectiveness of bioaugmentation with an enriched dechlorinating consortium for groundwater remediation. Target contaminants used were tetrachloroethane (TeCA), trichloroethylene (TCE) and sulphate ion. Various conditions, including biostimulation and bioaugmentation approaches were tested to evaluate the feasibility of biological treatment. Operating conditions, i.e., mineral medium and lactate, facilitated the dechlorination of TCE into ETH, leading to an increase in the dechlorinating population (Dehalococcoides mccartyi) to 67% of the total bacteria, with reductive dechlorination (RD) rates up to 7 µeq/Ld. Conversely, the RD performance of microcosms with real contaminated groundwater was negatively affected by the combined presence of TeCA and sulphate, indicated by a low abundance of D. mccartyi (<3%) and low RD rates (up to 0.39 µeq/Ld), suggesting that the native microbial population lacked the capacity for effective dechlorination. Moreover, the principal component analysis plot highlighted distinct groupings based on microbial community across different microcosm conditions, indeed, microbial community structures dominated by D. McCarty were associated with higher reductive dechlorination rates while non-augmented and non-stimulated microcosms reflected distinct microbial communities dominated by non-dechlorinating taxa. Additionally, RD decreased (48, 23, 22, and 14 µeq/Ld) with increasing sulphate concentrations (0, 150, 225, and 450 mgSO4 -2/L), further demonstrating the inhibitory effect of sulphate in the treated contaminated groundwater. Overall, this study highlights the complex interplay between environmental conditions, treatment strategies, and microbial communities in driving dechlorination processes. Specifically, the effectiveness of reductive dechlorination is heavily influenced by the availability of electron donors and the composition of the medium or groundwater, which can drive significant shifts in microbial community dynamics, either supporting or hindering the reductive dechlorination process.

This work presents a process-integrity assessment framework to chemical process design that combines first principles, heuristics, vendor specifications, standards/codes, data analysis, and machine learning modelling, hypothesized as an efficient route for optimal process design. Our case study, a gas treating unit, illustrates its implementation compared with traditional process guidelines. Surrogate models are fitted with hybrid data from process simulation and plant values, supporting the integration between process and integrity values, as well as equipment sizing and cost estimation. Considerable errors are obtained when estimating design duty (1.4%–8.7%) and power requirements (11.1%–33.5%) of the main equipment. Potential sources of these deviations might be attributable to the inherent simplification of process guidelines and intrinsic noise of the plant data used for fitting surrogate models. The process design is then assessed by evaluating process variables and corrosion rate within an operational envelope, showing the synergy and integration of these variables. The benefits and challenges of this approach are drawn while future work in engineering education is presented for its future implementation and effectiveness assessment in enhancing the process design workflow.

Wound healing represents a global public health problem when it is not treated correctly, which can cause complications for the patient, such as functional loss of an organ, amputation, and even death. At a biological level, wound healing involves a complex mechanism in which the immune system and cellular biochemical cascades intervene in a coordinated manner, whose development occurs in stages such as inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling. Therefore, therapies have been developed to accelerate wound healing and have proven effective. However, factors such as diabetes mellitus limit the healing process because it causes alterations in microvascular dysfunction, as well as in the inflammatory response and greater oxidative stress. This is reflected in an abnormal healing process; therefore, the search for healing compounds has become an area of interest. In this regard, medicinal plants have been used for centuries to treat wounds in different cultures in the world. Hence, this review documents the main plant species used in Latin America due to its great biodiversity and numerous species that are potentially important for the development of new active healing compounds. In this review, 62 plant families with wound healing studies were found, highlighting Fabaceae, Asteraceae and Euphorbiaceae family. Additionally, 32 natural compounds with diverse structural nature were found, whose effects have been evaluated in in vivo and in vitro models, which are essential for studying the pathogenesis of the tissue repair mechanism, detecting new biomarkers, and evaluate new treatments. Currently, several models are used to study the wound healing process, including in silico, in vitro, and in vivo models. On the other hand, there is no appropriate model to determine the wound healing effect, and, in many cases, they are combined to provide sufficient scientific evidence. Therefore, this review demonstrates that Latin America is a potential region for research into sources of healing molecules. Nevertheless, other species are still being studied whose scientific findings allow generating viable alternatives for the solution of health problems associated with wound healing.

Using a generic example, we show that the strategy of replacing a classically used aliphatic diluent with a hydrotrope in liquid–liquid extraction induces higher performance. Liquid–liquid extraction is widely used in hydrometallurgical processes for recycling strategic metals, but it is limited due to the formation of a third phase. Hydrotropes have never been studied as diluents in the context of metal recycling. We show that using hydrotropes as a diluent decreases the viscosity of solutions by more than a factor of ten, even under high load by extracted cations. It also increases the efficiency of extraction for typical ionic extractants such as anionic phosphates or non-ionic amides. The latter also quench all types of third-phase transition that occur when classical diluents are used. The gain in distribution coefficient by a factor of ten comes from the entropy of the solvent phase involved and is not linked to apparent complexation constants. In the case of anionic extractants, the Gibbs energy of transfer depends linearly on the ionic radii of the rare earth considered, which is not true with non-ionic extractants. Moreover, the maximum load possible is increased by a factor of two to three versus alkanes, allowing more compact design and intensification of extraction processes. Based on SAXS and surface tension measurements, the origin of this gain in Gibbs energy of transfer and tunable selectivity in the family of rare earth elements is further identified by three mechanisms: reduction of the term linked to complexation, more than compensated by a synergistic effect of the hydrotrope and the comlexant, and the intra-aggregate entropy of mixing. The result is a systematic increase of distribution coefficient of the order of 50–150 of the distribution coefficients, induced systematically by the replacement of alcanes with hydrotropes as diluents.