The combined steam/dry reforming (S/DR) technology was used to produce syngas from clean biogas. In the reaction conditions proposed, the catalytic bed can produce, without deactivation, a syngas with a H₂/CO ratio of ≈2 directly processable for methanol or Fischer–Tropsch syntheses. Starting from the laboratory data obtained in the industrial conditions, mass and energy balances for the overall process were obtained from Aspen HYSYS simulations. The environmental evaluation was performed by applying the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology, comparing different scenarios to the current industrial route to produce syngas (autothermal reforming or ATR of natural gas). The analysis showed that clean biogas-to-syngas technology using reforming processes has the potential to reduce the anthropogenic impact on the environment. The ReCiPe method showed that when the combined S/DR process is conducted using clean biogas also as a heat source, the CO₂ balance turns negative, ensuring that the whole process has excellent potential as carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technology providing the lowest damage in all categories. Its improvement would make it possible to further reduce the environmental burden of the overall process, which is essential for achieving sustainable development.

Membrane Bio Reactors (MBRs) are mainly used for industrial wastewaters applications where their costs can be more easily afforded. High costs are basically due to energy consumption and membrane cleaning or replacement. Membrane fouling is responsible for reducing treated water production and increasing maintenance as well as operation costs. According to previous researches, the addition of Powdered Activated Carbon (PAC) in high dosages could reduce membrane fouling; but such concentrations are economically unsustainable for operative conditions. A MBR pilot plant, fed by mixed liquor of a full-scale activated sludge process from a municipal wastewater treatment plant, was operated dosing low PAC concentrations (0, 2, 5, 10 and 20 mg·L⁻¹, respectively). Experiments were also carried out at two different temperatures corresponding to summer and winter conditions. Results indicated that PAC addition was effective at the low dosages (2 and 5 mg·L⁻¹) by reducing the permeate flux loss (from 16 up to 27%, respectively) while higher PAC concentrations turns out in a useless cost increase.

Introduction: Sepsis is a frequent complication in critically ill patients. Patients may require control of the source of infection, removal of pathogens and damaged cells, and organ support. Often, these targets can be achieved through the utilization of extracorporeal therapies including hemoperfusion for the adsorption of cytokines and other circulating mediators. On extracorporeal organ support, patients are generally treated with antibiotic therapy, and vancomycin is one of the most commonly used antibiotics. Because of the aspecific nature of adsorption, antibiotics can be removed from the circulation, leading to altered plasma levels and requiring prescription adjustment. The aim was to define the amount of vancomycin adsorbed by a sorbent cartridge (HA380, Jafron, China) during hemoperfusion and to establish possible strategies to maintain an effective plasma level in critically ill patients undergoing extracorporeal therapies. Methods: In vitro experiments with incremental concentrations of vancomycin in the test solution (500 and 1,000 mL) were carried out in a recirculation circuit until sorbent saturation was observed. A maximum of 10 g of vancomycin were injected and mini-modules containing 25 g of dry resin were utilized. Results: In different experiments with various concentration of vancomycin, a maximum amount of 244 mg/g of sorbent was adsorbed reaching saturation between 60 and 80 min from the beginning of the experiments. The kinetics of adsorption appears to be governed by a Langmuir-like isotherm with maximal removal speed in the early minutes and a plateau after 60 min. Discussion/Conclusion: HA380 adsorbs significant amounts of vancomycin. Adjusting the achieved results with the experimental mini-module to a full-scale cartridge, a total of 25 g of antibiotic can be removed. This might have affected outcome results in clinical trials. This suggests prescribing administration to critically ill patients requiring hemoperfusion, immediately after or in the inter-session time window. In case of administration during hemoperfusion, adequate adjustment and plasma level monitoring is strongly recommended.