There are several techniques for the removal of pharmaceuticals (drugs) from wastewater; however, strengths and weaknesses have been observed in their elimination processes that limit their applicability. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the best techniques for the removal of pharmaceuticals from municipal and hospital wastewater. For this, a non-experimental, descriptive, qualitative–quantitative design was used, corresponding to a systematic review without meta-analysis. Based on established inclusion and exclusion criteria, 31 open-access articles were selected from the Scopus, ProQuest, EBSCOhost, and ScienceDirect databases. The results showed that high concentrations of analgesics such as naproxen (1.37 mg/L) and antibiotics such as norfloxacin (0.561 mg/L) are frequently found in wastewater and that techniques such as reverse osmosis, ozonation, and activated sludge have the best removal efficiency, achieving values of 99%. It was concluded that reverse osmosis is one of the most efficient techniques for eliminating ofloxacin, sulfamethoxazole, carbamazepine, and diclofenac from municipal wastewater, with removal rates ranging from 96 to 99.9%, while for hospital wastewater the activated sludge technique proved to be efficient, eliminating analgesics and antibiotics in the range of 41–99%.

The effluents generated in the paper industry, such as black liquor, have a high content of lignin and other toxic components; however, they represent a source of lignin-degrading bacteria with biotechnological potential. Therefore, the present study aimed to isolate and identify lignin-degrading bacteria species in paper mill sludge. A primary isolation was carried out from samples of sludge present in environments around a paper company located in the province of Ascope (Peru). Bacteria selection was made by the degradation of Lignin Kraft as the only carbon source in a solid medium. Finally, the laccase activity (Um-L⁻¹) of each selected bacteria was determined by oxidation of 2,2′-azinobis-(3-etilbencenotiazolina-6-sulfonate) (ABTS). Bacterial species with laccase activity were identified by molecular biology techniques. Seven species of bacteria with laccase activity and the ability to degrade lignin were identified. The bacteria Agrobacterium tumefasciens (2), Klebsiella grimontii (1), and Beijeinckia fluminensis (1) were reported for first time. K. grimowntii and B. fluminensis presented the highest laccase activity, with values of 0.319 ± 0.005 UmL⁻¹ and 0.329 ± 0.004 UmL⁻¹, respectively. In conclusion, paper mill sludge may represent a source of lignin-degrading bacteria with laccase activity, and they could have potential biotechnological applications.

In this study, we aimed to determine the in vitro activity of Leuconostoc mesenteroides var. mesenteroides isolatedfrom sugar-industry effluents to produce a dextran bioflocculant from sucrose as a low-cost substrate.L. mesenteroides strains present in residual cane juice from a sugar factory were isolated and biochemicallyidentified using Mayeux, Sandine, and Elliker agar (MSE) as a selective medium. The strain number 3 (LM03) wasbiochemically identified as L. mesenteroides var. mesenteroides, which was used for this study. The concentrationof dextran was quantified by dry weight, the morphology and purity were evaluated using Fourier-transforminfrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy(EDS). Flocculation was evaluated via turbidimetric assays in different pH ranges from sugar-industry effluentsand doses of dextran.To evaluate the flocculant activity according to the effect of pH, a jar test kit from Phipps and Bird, USA, wasused with the sample recollected from the effluent (sugar industry). The pH of the samples was adjusted to 7, 8,9, 10 and 11, with a dose of 40 ppm (dextran dose) at a fast and slow speed of 150 and 50 rpm, respectively. Toevaluate the influence of the dose of dextran, values of 5, 20 and 40 ppm were used with fast speeds of 180–150rpm and slow speeds of 30–50 rpm, respectively.The strain (LM03) was able to produce the highest concentration of dextran (26.87 g/L) in 76 h of incubation. Thepresence of dextran was identified in the MSE agar after incubation and characterized by FTIR, SEM, and EDS.Besides that, we observed that the best flocculation activity was observed at a pH of 9 and a concentration of 40ppm of dextran, with a fast agitation speed of 150 rpm for 5 min and a slow agitation speed of 50 rpm for 15 min,achieving 77.7% removal of turbidity from the sugar factory effluent.L. mesenteroides was responsible for the bioflocculation of dextran in different sugar-industry effluents

El efluente del proceso del curtido genera impactos negativos en la salud y el ambiente debido a que en esta etapa solo se aprovecha el 70% del cromo (Cr) total utilizado; por lo cual la bioadsorción surge como una alternativa en la remoción de metales pesados. En tal sentido, el objetivo de la presente investigación fue evaluar la capacidad de remoción de cromo en efluentes de curtiembre utilizando un consorcio de levaduras constituido por cepas de Saccharomyces cerevisiae (S) y Pichia guilliermondi (P) aislados de residuos agroindustriales. El diseño experimental consistió en 4 biorreactores de 250 ml condicionados con muestras de efluente de la etapa de curtido, teniendo como sorbente el consorcio (S+P), controlados a 0,6, 12 y 24 horas. Las muestras fueron analizadas por la técnica de espectrofotometría de absorción atómica a la flama. Los resultados muestran una capacidad de remoción de Cr total de 57% y 54% en concentración de 50 y 100 ppm respectivamente por el consorcio de levaduras; asimismo, la evaluación estadística con ANOVA permite afirmar que no existe diferencia significativa (p>0.05) al emplear ambas concentraciones, recomendándose el uso de la más alta en el proceso de bioadsorción de efluentes de curtiembres.

RESUMEN Las películas de (1-x) BiFeO3- (x) CoFe2O4 variando la concentración (x = 0, 0.1, 0.2 y 0.3), fueron depositadas por spin coating sobre sustratos de Pt (Pt/TiO2/SiO2/Si) a partir de soluciones precursoras con una concentración de 0.05 molar, la cual fue obtenida por sol-gel. En la caracterización de las películas delgadas se estudió la estructura y las propiedades magnetoeléctricas mediante difracción de rayos X, corriente de fuga, constante dieléctrica, curva de histéresis ferroeléctrica y ferromagnética. En el difractograma de rayos X se muestran picos característicos con la formación de BiFeO3 y el crecimiento de los picos pertenecientes al CoFe2O4 con el aumento de x. Todas las muestras revelan poca corriente de fuga, siendo la menor de 10-10 A /cm2 para (0.8) BiFeO3- (0.2) CoFe2O4. La constante dieléctrica se incrementó en el rango de 102Hz a 105Hzluego disminuyó debido a la relajación dieléctrica, para todas las muestras la pérdida dieléctrica es menor al 4%. Todas las películas muestran polarización y magnetización remanentes mayores a 60 μC/cm2 y 30 emu/gr respectivamente.