The dairy industry generates large volumes of whey as a byproduct of cheese production, with a high organic load. Its untreated discharge contaminates water bodies, reduces dissolved oxygen, and damages aquatic ecosystems. In Peru, especially in the rural areas of the Andes, thousands of tons of industrial dairy waste are produced annually, representing an environmental and economic challenge. The lack of sustainable technologies for its management drives the need for innovative solutions, such as microbial fuel cells (MFCs), which combine waste treatment with renewable energy generation. This research uses MFC technology with whey as a substrate to observe its potential to generate electrical energy and treat contaminants. Three liters of whey from a dairy company in Trujillo, Peru, were used and stored at 10 °C. Each MFC contained 800 mL of whey and employed activated carbon as the anode and zinc as the cathode. A maximum voltage of 0.867 ± 0.059 V was reached, with a maximum current of 4.114 ± 0.239 mA recorded on the 11th day. The maximum power density was 1.585 ± 0.061 mW/cm², with a current density of 4.448 A/cm², and the internal resistance of the MFCs was 16.847 ± 0.911 Ω. The initial pH of the whey was approximately 3.0, increasing to 4.135 ± 0.264 on the 11th day, and the electrical conductivity increased from 19.101 ± 1.025 mS/cm on the first day to 170.062 ± 9.511 mS/cm on the 11th day. The oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) increased to 104.287 ± 4.058 mV at the peak of electricity generation (day 11). Additionally, a 70% reduction in chemical oxygen demand (COD) was achieved, dropping from 4650.52 ± 10.54 mg/L to 1400.64 ± 23.25 mg/L on the last day. Metagenomic analysis identified two dominant bacterial phyla: Bacteroidota at 48.47% and Proteobacteria at 29.83%. The most abundant families were Bacteroidaceae (38.58%) and Acetobacteraceae (33.39%). The study validates the potential of MFCs to transform whey into an energy resource, aligning with sustainability and circular economy goals, especially in regions with high dairy production, like Peru.

In our study, the cathodic material xLi₂MnO₃–(1−x)LiNi_0.5Mn_0.5O₂ was synthesized by means of the co-precipitation technique. The effect of x (proportion of components Li₂MnO₃ and LiNi_0.5Mn_0.5O₂) on the structural, morphological, and electrochemical performance of the material was evaluated. Materials were structurally characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), and the morphological analysis was performed using the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) technique, while charge–discharge curves and differential capacity and impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were used to study the electrochemical behavior. The results confirm the formation of the structures with two phases corresponding to the rhombohedral space group R3m and the monoclinic space group C2/m, which was associated to the components of the layered material. Very dense agglomerations of particles between 10 and 20 µm were also observed. In addition, the increase in the proportion of the LiNi_0.5Mn_0.5O₂ component affected the initial irreversible capacity and the Li₂MnO₃ layer’s activation and cycling performance, suggesting an optimal chemical ratio of the material’s component layers to ensure high energy density and long-term durability.

The objective of this research was to evaluate the mechanical, morphological and antimicrobial properties of mango starch films with corn starch and potato starch substitution. The mango starch substitution percentages were 25%, 50% and 75% for both corn and potato starch. The films obtained were characterized by FTIR spectrophotometry and scanning electron microscopy. It was corroborated that mango starch improves its properties with the incorporation of corn and potato starch, showing a significant increase in the uniformity of the sample and in its elasticity, obtaining a mechanical stress of 23.94 MPa. The films showed a fast biodegradability process and good antimicrobial activity, which was characterized by halo inhibition technique. All the results demonstrate a great improvement of the mango starch films highlighting a good antimicrobial activity, which potentiates them as a sustainable alternative to be applied in biomedicine. The inclusion of pure commercial starches (100M and 100C) confirmed the dose-dependent evolution of properties, establishing a complete compositional baseline.

The following research aims to improve the properties of biodegradable active films based on mango seed starch by incorporating biosynthesized silver nanoparticles. Silver nanoparticles were manufactured by green route from grape residues and were added in the film gelatinization process at concentrations of 3% and 6% v/v and compared with control films (0%). The silver nanoparticles were characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy and DLS analysis to determine the size distribution profile. Films morphology was analyzed by SEM and the integration of silver nanoparticles in biodegradable films was confirmed by EDS analysis. Thermic stability was studied by TGA curves, mechanical properties and antibacterial activity were also studied. The increase in the percentage of silver nanoparticles produces an improvement in its mechanical properties, also, TGA analysis shows an improvement on thermal stability attributed to the good integration of the nanoparticles in the polymeric matrix. Furthermore, films exhibited antimicrobial activity against E. coli and S. aureus bacteria and C. albicans fungi.