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One of the most commonly used elements in ephemeral architecture is a particleboard panel. These types of wood products are produced from wood wastes and they are used in temporary constructions such as trade fairs. Once the event is over, they are usually disposed into landfills. This paper intends to assess the environmental effects related to the use of these wood wastes in the end-of-life stage. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of two scenarios was performed, considering the recycling of wood waste for particleboard manufacture and energy generation from non-renewable resources (Scenario 1) versus the production of energy from the combustion of wood waste and particleboard manufacture with conventional wooden resources (Scenario 2). A sensitive analysis was carried out taking into account the influence of the percentage of recycled material and the emissions data from wood combustion. According to Ecoindicator 99 methodology, Damage to Human Health and Ecosystem Quality are more significant in Scenario 2 whereas Scenario 1 presents the largest contribution to Damage to Resources. Between the two proposed alternatives, the recycling of wood waste for particleboard manufacture seems to be more favorable under an environmental perspective.

Gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane (gamma-HCH or lindane), one of the most commonly used insecticides, has been mainly used in agriculture. Organochloride compounds are known to be highly toxic and persistent, causing serious water and soil pollution. The objective of the present study is the evaluation of the anaerobic degradation of alpha-, beta-, gamma-, delta-HCH in liquid and slurry cultures. The slurry system with anaerobic sludge appears as an effective alternative in the detoxification of polluted soils with HCH, as total degradation of the four isomers was attained. While alpha- and gamma-HCH disappeared after 20-40d, the most recalcitrant isomers: beta- and delta-HCH were only degraded after 102d. Intermediate metabolites of HCH degradation as pentachlorocyclohexane (PCCH), tetrachlorocyclohexene (TCCH), tri-, di- and mono-chlorobenzenes were observed during degradation time.

The goal of this study is the development of a system based on the use of the ligninolytic enzyme Manganese Peroxidase (MnP) for the degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), of which anthracene was selected as an example. A main problem of these compounds is their poor solubility in aqueous media. Therefore, the addition of different water miscible organic solvents (acetone, methyl-ethyl-ketone, methanol and ethanol) was considered as a previous step to increase the bioavailability of anthracene. Due to the maximal solubilisation of anthracene and the minimum loss of MnP activity, acetone was selected as the optimal cosolvent, allowing to enhance 140-fold the anthracene solubility for an acetone concentration of 36% (v/v). The in vitro degradation of anthracene by MnP was investigated for different concentrations of the main cofactors and substrates that affect the catalytic cycle of MnP (Mn 2+ , H 2 O 2 and organic acids) as well as for other environmental parameters (temperature, air/oxygen atmosphere and light source). The system attained a nearly complete degradation of anthracene, around 100%, after 6 h of operation under optimal conditions.

Huge amounts of sewage sludge, that need to be handled, are generated all around the world from wastewater treatment plants and its management in an economically and environmentally acceptable way has become a matter of increasing importance during the last few years. In this paper, we make use of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to compare biological and thermal processes, that is to say, anaerobic digestion versus pyrolysis and incineration. This paper will complete the analysis performed in a wastewater treatment plant, where sludge post-treatment was identified as one of the main contributors to the environmental impact on the global system. LCA is a tool for evaluating the environmental performance of goods as well as processes or services (collectively termed products). ISO 14040 defines LCA as a compilation and evaluation of the inputs, outputs and the potential environmental impacts of a system throughout its life cycle: from the production of raw materials to the disposal of the waste generated. In this study, data relating to the actual scenario from an existent wastewater treatment plant were considered. Both bibliographical and real data from existing facilities were used for the thermal processes proposed. The Centre of Environmental Science (CML) of Leiden University's methodology was chosen to quantify the potential environmental impacts associated with the different scenarios under study. The software SimaPro 5.1 was used and CML factors (updated in 2002) were chosen for characterisation and normalisation stages. In a previous study, sewage sludge was found to be a critical point in the environmental performance of a wastewater treatment plant, so different alternatives have been tackled here. Anaerobic digestion followed by land application of pasty sludge comprises both energy recovery and nutrient recovery. Other thermal processes, such as incineration or pyrolysis, allow energy recovery (both electrical and thermal) and, although nutrients are lost, new co-products are produced (tar and char at pyrolysis). Here, the most adverse case (that is to say, the total amount of heavy metals is supposed to be released from the sludge and reach the environment) was applied to consider the most negative impact due to sludge spreading in agricultural soils; so more research is required in order to establish the precise amount of heavy metals that is effectively uptaken by the plants and crops as well as the amount that is transferred to another phase as a leachate. Thermal processes are presented here as a good option to recover energy from the sludge; although the value of nutrients is lost. Tar and char, co-products from pyrolysis, are good examples that were evaluated here, recycling of bottom ashes from sludge incineration or manufacture of ceramic materials from sludge are other options to be studied in the near future. During the last few years, several opinions have been declared in favour of land application, incineration or pyrolysis, but many voices have also spoken out against each one. To obtain general conclusions for an overall comparison of different post-treatment of urban wastewater sludge is not easy as there are many contradictory aspects. The most effective utilisation of sewage sludge implies both energy and material re-use, but this is not always possible. Nevertheless, we think that land application of digested sludge is an acceptable option, probably not the best but at least a good one, for sludge treatment as long as efforts are focused on the minimisation of heavy metal content in the final cake.

Wood has many applications and it is often in competition with other materials. Chipboard is the most common item of wood-based materials and it has attained the highest economical development in recent years. Relevant up-to-date environmental data are needed to allow the environmental comparison of wood with other materials. There are several examples of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) evaluations of some wood products and forest-technology systems, but no comprehensive Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) data for particleboard manufacture is available in the literature. The main focus of this study is to generate a comprehensive LCI database for the manufacture of resin-bonded wood particleboards. In this work, International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards and Ecoindicator 99 methodology were considered to quantify the potential environmental impact associated to the system under study. A Spanish factory considered representative of the 'state of art' was studied in detail. The system boundaries included all the activities taking place inside the factory as well as the activities associated with the production of the main chemicals used in the process, energy inputs and transport. All the data related to the inputs and outputs of the process were obtained by on-site measurements. LCI methodology was used for the quantification of the impacts of the particleboard manufacture. The inventory data of the three defined subsystems are described: - Wood preparation: a comprehensive inventory of data including storage, debarking, particle production, storage and measurement of particles, drying and combustion of the bark for energy purposes. - Board shaping: data related to particle classification, resin mixing, mattress formation and the pressing stage. - Board finishing: cooling data, finishing, storage and distribution of the final product. The system was characterised with Ecoindicator 99 methodology (hierarchic version) in order to identify the 'hot spots'. Damage to Human Health was mainly produced by the subsystem of Board finishing. The subsystem of Board shaping was the most significant contributor to damage to the Ecosystem Quality and Resources. With the final aim of creating a database to identify and characterise the manufacture of particleboard, special attention was paid to the inventory analysis stage of the particleboard industry. A multicriteria approach was applied in order to define the most adequate use of wood wastes. Environmental, economic and social considerations strengthen the hypothesis that the use of forest residues in particleboard manufacture is more sustainable than their use as fuel. In this work, particleboard was the product analysed, as it is one of the most common wood-based materials. Future work will focus on the study of another key wood board: Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF). Moreover, factors with strong geographical dependence, such as the electricity profile and final transport of the product, will be analysed. In addition, the definition of widespread functional unit to study the use of wood wastes at the end-of-life stage may be another issue of outstanding interest.

The extensive utilization of hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) such as pesticides generates high environmental pollution levels. Due to their hydrophobicity, this type of compound tends to accumulate in soil organic matter and, thus, soil desorption limits their availability for microbial degradation. The use of surfactants may increase the pollutant's desorption from the soil. One of the pesticides with strong sorption characteristics is hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), a mixture of isomers: α-, β-, γ- and δ-HCH. In this work, we evaluated the use of three surfactants, Triton X100, Tween 80 and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), on the HCH desorption from a sandy loam soil. The effects of the addition of these surfactants on anaerobic biodegradation were studied. To attain this purpose, different assays were performed to evaluate both effects. Triton X100 exerted the best desorption of HCH isomers, followed by Tween 80, whereas SDS caused no significant desorption of the isomers. Triton had a strong inhibitory effect on the HCH biodegradation, while Tween 80 did not decrease the degradation rates of the different isomers. Moreover, the degradation rates of β- and δ-HCH were significantly enhanced (around 10%). On the other hand, detrimental effects on the biodegradation rates and yields were due to the ageing of the soil, depending on the period of exposure of the soil to the pollutant. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry

Complementary DNA (cDNA) encoding the new versatile peroxidase from the ligninolytic basidiomycete Pleurotus eryngii has been expressed in the ascomycete Emericella nidulans. In recombinant E. nidulans cultures, the pH reached values as high as 8.3, correlating with a sharp decrease in peroxidase activity. Peroxidase was rapidly inactivated at alkaline pH, but was comparatively stable at acidic pH. The peroxidase inactivation in alkaline buffer could be reversed by adding Ca(2+) and lowering the pH. However, reactivation did not result after incubating the enzyme in non-buffered E. nidulans cultures that reached pH 7.5. To optimize recombinant peroxidase production, the effect of controlling the pH in E. nidulans bioreactor cultures was studied. An extended growth period, and a significant increase in the recombinant peroxidase level (5.3-fold higher activity than in the bioreactor without pH control) was obtained when the pH was maintained at 6.8, showing that culture pH is an important parameter for recombinant peroxidase production.

Crude Manganese Peroxidase (MnP) preparations from the fungus Bjerkandera sp. BOS55 were tested for their abilities to bleach and delignify oxygen delignified Eucalyptus Kraft pulp in a sequence combining a chelating and a peroxide stage. The inclusion of the enzymatic treatment in the bleaching sequence helped considerably to improve the final brightness. Other interesting results included moderate Kappa reduction, slight yield loss and paper sheets with an acceptable breaking length and burst index.

Manganese peroxidases (MnP) from Phanerochaete chrysosporium and Bjerkandera sp. BOS55 were immobilised in glutaraldehyde–agarose gels. Four different strategies were considered concerning the activation of the support (low or high density) and the ionic strength (low or high). In terms of immobilisation rate and yield, better results were obtained when low ionic strength conditions and high density activated support (75 μEq/ml) were used. Immobilisation proceeds initially with an ionic adsorption which facilitates the further covalent attachment of the enzyme to the support. An almost complete immobilisation has been attained in a very short period (0.5–2 h). Immobilisation maintained a high percentage of MnP activity for long periods of time (activity levels of 50–60% after more than 1 year at room temperature storage). Other desirable effects such as increased thermostability at 50–60 °C for MnP from Bjerkandera and higher resistance to high H 2 O 2 concentrations for MnP for P. chrysosporium were also obtained. This latter is quite an interesting feature because it avoids the inactivation of the enzyme in the presence of an unbalanced concentration of H 2 O 2 . The improved characteristics of the immobilised MnP make its application in several fields such as the enzymatic oxidation of hardly degradable compounds more feasible.

The growth mechanisms of filamentous fungi in liquid cultures ranges from dispersed mycelia to compact pellets. The excessive growth of mycelia gives rise to practical and technical difficulties in culturing fungi and consequently the possibility to control and regulate hyphal extension and pellet size is of great importance for their potential application in continuous operation. Here we show how the control of fungal growth on the surface of a biofilm by means of a pulsing flow can enhance the efficiency and stability of processes with different objectives, i.e., the production of a ligninolytic enzyme, the decolourisation of synthetic dyes and the detoxification of coloured effluents.

Milk, an example of staple food, has an outstanding demand by consumers as it is considered a prescription for good health. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is an excellent tool of environmental management and it provides a widespread knowledge on the environmental burdens associated to a product or to a human activity. In this study, a simplified methodology of LCA has been applied to analyse a representative scheme of milk production in Galicia (Spain), where a reliable inventory is still lacking. High quality data for the inventory was obtained in different representative fodder factories, farms and dairies for time periods over two years. The analysis of these data by LCA has permitted to quantify the potential impact associated to milk production and also to determine the reductions attained by the application of different improvement actions, such as the most adequate formulation of cattle feed and the implementation of treatment systems for water and air emissions. The consideration of these actions can lead to a maximum reduction of almost 22% of the global normalised impact.

A new system to produce lignin peroxidase (LiP) continuously by Phanerochaete chrysosporium is described. A fixed-bed bioreactor with a pulsing device was used as the optimal bioreactor configuration. Addition of veratryl alcohol (1 mM), tryptophan (1 mM), no Mn2+ addition, low glucose addition rate (60–70 mg l−1 h) and an atmosphere of O2 gave maximum LiP activities of 700 U l−1, which are higher than those previously reported.

The oxidant Mn3+-malonate, generated by the ligninolytic enzyme versatile peroxidase in a two-stage system, was used for the continuous removal of endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) from synthetic and real wastewaters. One plasticizer (bisphenol-A), one bactericide (triclosan) and three estrogenic compounds (estrone, 17β-estradiol, and 17α-ethinylestradiol) were removed from wastewater at degradation rates in the range of 28–58 µg/L·min, with low enzyme inactivation. First, the optimization of three main parameters affecting the generation of Mn3+-malonate (hydraulic retention time as well as Na-malonate and H2O2 feeding rates) was conducted following a response surface methodology (RSM). Under optimal conditions, the degradation of the EDCs was proven at high (1.3–8.8 mg/L) and environmental (1.2–6.1 µg/L) concentrations. Finally, when the two-stage system was compared with a conventional enzymatic membrane reactor (EMR) using the same enzyme, a 14-fold increase of the removal efficiency was observed. At the same time, operational problems found during EDCs removal in the EMR system (e.g., clogging of the membrane and enzyme inactivation) were avoided by physically separating the stages of complex formation and pollutant oxidation, allowing the system to be operated for a longer period (∼8 h). This study demonstrates the feasibility of the two-stage enzymatic system for removing EDCs both at high and environmental concentrations. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 31:908–916, 2015

The aim of this study was to assess the environmental profile of a bioenergy system based on a co-digestion plant using maize silage and pig slurry as substrates. All the processes involved in the production of bioenergy as well as the avoided processes accrued from the biogas production system were evaluated. The results evidenced the environmental importance of the cultivation step and the environmental credits associated to the avoided processes. In addition, this plant was compared with two different plants that digest both substrates separately. The results revealed the environmental benefits of the utilisation of pig slurry due to the absence of environmental burdens associated with its production as well as credits provided when avoiding its conventional management. The results also presented the environmental drawbacks of the utilisation of maize silage due to the environmental burdens related with its production. Accordingly, the anaerobic mono-digestion of maize silage achieved the worst results. The co-digestion of both substrates was ranked in an intermediate position. Additionally, three possible digestate management options were assessed. The results showed the beneficial effect of digestate application as an organic fertiliser, principally on account of environmental credits due to avoided mineral fertilisation. However, digestate application involves important acidifying and eutrophicating emissions.

Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize the removal of five endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) by the enzyme versatile peroxidase (VP): bisphenol A (BPA), triclosan (TCS), estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2) and 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2). The optimal variables of enzyme activity (90-100 U L(-1)), sodium malonate (29-43 mM) and MnSO4 (0.8-1 mM) led to very high removal rates of the five pollutants (2.5-5.0 mg L(-1) min(-1)). The structural elucidation of transformation products arising from the enzymatic catalysis of the EDCs was investigated by Gas Chromatography coupled to Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) and Liquid Chromatography Electrospray Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (LC-ESI-TOF-MS). The presence of dimers and trimers, indicative of oxidative coupling, was demonstrated.

This paper aims at analysing the environmental benefits and impacts associated with the treatment of malodorous emissions from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology was applied to two biological treatments, namely biofilter (BF) and biotrickling filter (BTF), two physical/chemical alternatives, namely activated carbon tower (AC) and chemical scrubber (CS), and a hybrid combination of BTF + AC. The assessment provided consistent guidelines for technology selection, not only based on removal efficiencies, but also on the environmental impact associated with the treatment of emissions. The results showed that biological alternatives entailed the lowest impacts. On the contrary, the use of chemicals led to the highest impacts for CS. Energy use was the main contributor to the impact related to BF and BTF, whereas the production of glass fibre used as infrastructure material played an important role in BTF impact. Production of NaClO entailed the highest burdens among the chemicals used in CS, representing ∼90% of the impact associated to chemicals. The frequent replacement of packing material in AC was responsible for the highest environmental impacts, granular activated carbon (GAC) production and its final disposal representing more than 50% of the impact in most categories. Finally, the assessment of BTF + AC showed that the hybrid technology is less recommendable than BF and BTF, but friendlier to the environment than physical/chemical treatments.

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are regarded as units designed for the efficient removal of organic matter and nutrients from polluted wastewaters, avoiding their discharge into the environment. Despite these benefits, they have also been found to be highly energy intensive, with consequent increased emissions in terms of greenhouse gases and other environmental impacts. Therefore, it has become imperative to monitor thoroughly the overall functioning of WWTPs from an integrated perspective with the aim of understanding how these can improve their eco-efficiency. In this case study, a group of 113 WWTPs located in regions across Spain were analysed using the methodology that combines life cycle assessment (LCA) and data envelopment analysis (DEA). The aim of this work was to determine the operational efficiency of each unit in order to obtain environmental benchmarks for inefficient plants. Thereafter, the environmental gains linked with the inputs reduction proposed for the DEA model for each unit were computed in order to verify eco-efficiency criteria. The operational complexity of WWTPs resulted in several identified factors affecting their efficiency which are discussed in depth, including the size of the facility, the climatic influence, the influent load and the over- or underuse of the plant.

International audience; Nowadays there is a growing demand for natural products from microalgae with applications in the food industry (additives, pigments, vitamins and colorants) as well as in the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and cosmetic sectors. A life cycle assessment (LCA) of the production of bioactive compounds with applications in the pharmaceutical and food/feed sectors (PUFAs, α-tocopherol, chlorophyll, β-carotenoid and polyphenols) from the microalgae Tetraselmis suecica was carried out in this study. Following a biorefinery perspective of the production system, the anaerobic digestion of the algal residual paste obtained after the extraction step was also included. Accordingly, the life cycle was divided in five main stages: i) sterilization, ii) inoculation and culturing, iii) harvesting, iv) extraction and v) anaerobic digestion. The inoculation and culturing stage was identified as the stage with major contribution to the environmental impact, ranging from 73% to 97% depending on the impact category. The nitrogen source (sodium nitrate) required for algae growth was a very relevant issue. As a consequence, alternative nitrogen sources (inorganic and organic fertilizers) were proposed and assessed here, finding notable improvements depending on the source. The valorization of the algal residual paste used as nutrients source (N, P and K) was also an interesting alternative. Regarding the photobioreactor configuration, the combination of a PBR and an open raceway was proposed here in order to demonstrate the potential reductions in terms of electricity consumption.

Forest activities are receiving special attention in recent years concerning the quantification of their environmental profiles in order to be competitive. This study aims to evaluate the environmental profile of the production of maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait.) biomass in France under two different management scenarios (an intensive scenario: IMS and an extensive one: EMS), representative of the real practices in the country. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology was applied to evaluate the environmental loads from a cradle-to-gate perspective. According to the results, the choice of the best management scenario will depend on the impact category considered. Thus, IMS has lower fuel requirements and it is the best option in categories directly related to fuel consumption by forest machineries, such as abiotic resources depletion, cumulative energy demand, global warming potential and photochemical oxidants formation. On the contrary, EMS will be preferred in terms of acidification and eutrophication potentials with reductions of up to 26%. The reason behind these reductions is based on the fact that these categories are considerably affected by the fertilizing process, which is not conducted under extensive conditions. Regardless the scenario, the logging stage and specially, the final cutting process, can be considered as the main environmental key factors, playing a major role in all categories. Both the production of the triple superphosphate and pruning processes play leading roles in the IMS and EMS, respectively. The comparison of these environmental profiles with those corresponding to maritime pine in Portugal highlights that the differences observed between both scenarios are related to the intensity of the forest practices as well as the biomass yield. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Wood based sector is receiving special attention due to the environmental consequences derived from activities involved on it. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a holistic and standardized method to evaluate the environmental impacts during the entire life cycle of a product. This chapter is focused on the identification of the environmental impacts derived throughout the life cycle of a specific wood based product, the dissolving pulp, as well as of the key environmental processes involved in its life cycle. The assessment has been performed from the production of the raw materials to the biorefinery gate. The representativeness of an environmental study depends on the quality of inventory data managed. Real data taken in forest plantations and the biorefinery have been considered. According to the results, forest activities related to the production of the raw material played a minor role in the environmental profile. However, the production of chemicals consumed in the biorefinery activities (specifically in cooking and bleaching stages), the treatment of sludge generated in the wastewater treatment plant and the cogeneration unit were identified as key environmental factors. Specific actions associated to the reuse of wastes and improved gas treatment systems would improve the environmental profile of this production activity.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has become a common methodology to evaluate the environmental performance of forest systems in recent years. This study aims to estimate the environmental profile associated with maritime pine wood production in two representative European countries: Portugal and France. Different forest management regimes based on low and high intensive conditions were evaluated and differences in logging equipment, biomass yield and lifespan were also reported. The study was completed with a sensitivity analysis based on two allocation approaches (economic and volumetric) since biomass from thinning processes is harvested and can be used as a co-product. The production of maritime pine in Portugal under low intensity conditions should present the best environmental results with reductions of 50-94% in comparison with the worst scenario. It is mainly associated with the absence of forest activities in periods previous to the logging stage. French intensive forest scenario ranks as the second best alternative of pine wood production. The remaining scenarios reported worse results in terms of environmental impacts mostly due to the remarkable repetition of a selection of those forest activities with large fuel requirement (mainly on site preparation and stand establishment and tending). Regardless of the scenario, logging related activities such as final cutting and forwarding were identified as the hotspots mainly due to the fuel requirements. Fertilizer production (if required), thinning and cleaning processes reported also remarkable contributions to the categories under assessment. In addition, an economic estimation for each forest management scenario has been performed mainly considering fuel, machinery and labor costs. According to the results, the Portuguese low intensive scenario is the best choice together with the French intensive scenario under an economic point of view because of the lowest production costs per functional unit. Activities related with the logging stage have also been identified as economic hotspots.

International audience; Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) play an important role in human health. Due to the increased market demand, the production of PUFAs from potential alternative sources such as microalgae is receiving increased interest.The aim of this study was to perform a life cycle assessment (LCA) of the biotechnological production of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) from the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum, followed by the identification of avenues to improve its environmental profile. The LCA tackles two production schemes of P. tricornutum PUFAs with an EPA content of 36%: lab and pilot scales.The results at lab scale show that both the electricity requirements and the production of the extraction agent (chloroform) have significant influence on the life cycle environmental performance of microalgal EPA production. An alternative method based on hexane was proposed to replace chloroform and environmental benefits were identified.Regarding the production of EPA at pilot scale, three main environmental factors were identified: the production of the nitrogen source required for microalgae growing, the transport activities and electricity requirements. Improvement alternatives were proposed and discussed concerning: a) the use of nitrogen based fertilizers, b) the valorization of the residual algal paste as soil conditioner and, c) the anaerobic digestion of the residual algal paste for bioenergy production.Encouraging environmental benefits could be achieved if sodium nitrate was substituted by urea, calcium nitrate or ammonium nitrate, regardless the category under assessment. In contrast, minor improvement was found when valorizing the residual algal paste as mineral fertilizer, due to its overall low content in N and P. Concerning the biogas production from the anaerobic digestion, the improvement on the environmental profile was also limited due to the discrepancy between the potential energy production from the algal paste and the high electricity requirements in the culturing and extraction stages.

International audience; The invasive brown seaweed Sargassum muticum (Yendo) exhibits a significant content of phenolic compounds, polysaccharides and fucoxanthin, with potential biological activities. In this study, four valorization strategies for S. muticum biomass were compared under a life cycle perspective. Depending on the alternative, three products were obtained: sodium alginate, antioxidant extract and fucoxanthin-containing extract. Regardless of the approach, the combined extraction of alginate and antioxidant from wet algae constituted the most efficient scenario. Among the stages, supercritical extraction of fucoxanthin and non-isothermal autohydrolysis were identified as the major environmental burdens due to electricity consumption. Although changes in product distribution fairly affected the environmental impacts of the scenarios, the single extraction of antioxidant fraction and the integral valorization to obtain fucoxanthin, alginate and antioxidant were only competitive when considering a functional unit based on the value of the products through an economic allocation approach instead of the amount of valorized algae.

An environmental assessment of the life cycle of broiler chicken production from a cradle-to-slaughterhouse gate perspective was carried out with the aim of identifying the environmental hotspots of the system. To do so, broiler chicken production in Portugal was investigated in detail. Inventory data for the different production stages (chicken farm- and slaughterhouse-related activities) was gathered in collaboration with an integrated Portuguese chicken company. Results showed that the chicken farm is the main factor responsible for the environmental impacts analysed. Specifically, both feed production and on-farm emissions were the main environmental hotspots . Concerning the slaughterhouse-related activities, the production of electricity and packaging materials presented a significant contribution at this stage. The environmental results were compared with other published Life Cycle Assessment studies of chicken production in other countries, with special attention paid to the quantification of greenhouse gas emissions. A number of improvement actions are proposed to reduce the environmental impacts of poultry litter management and feed production. Moreover, studies of pork, beef and fish (sardines) were also included for comparison using a functional unit based on an identical protein content. The results (excluding subsequent packaging) showed that the production of broiler chicken could be preferable in comparison to other types of meat due to its lower global warming potential. On the contrary, sardines presented a reduction of 88% in comparison with the chicken profile; however, the availability of sardines for consumption may be limited throughout the year due to EU fishing protocols concerning sea stocks protection.

International audience; The freshwater green microalga Haematococcus pluvialis is the richest source of natural astaxanthin. Astaxanthin is a high-value red carotenoid pigment commonly used in the food, feed and cosmetics industries due to its well-known antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antitumour properties. This study assesses the environmental impacts associated with the production of natural astaxanthin from H. pluvialis at both lab and pilot scale. Closed airlift photobioreactors with artificial illumination, typically used for the production of high-value products to avoid contamination risks and allow controlled lighting conditions, were considered. The study extends from the production of the different inputs to the system to microalgal production, harvesting and further extraction of the carotenoid. The life cycle assessment was performed following the ISO 14040 and ten impact categories were considered in the study: abiotic depletion, acidification, eutrophication, global warming, ozone layer depletion, human toxicity, freshwater aquatic ecotoxicity, marine aquatic ecotoxicity, terrestrial ecotoxicity and photochemical oxidant formation.According to the results, electricity requirements represented the major contributor to the environmental burdens among the activities involved in the production of astaxanthin. For the lab-scale process, the air supply and the production of chemicals and lab materials were also significant contributors in several categories. In the pilot-scale production, the relative environmental impacts were greatly reduced, partially due to changes implemented in the system as a result of lab-scale environmental assessment. However, the production of electricity still dominated the impacts in all categories, particularly due to the cultivation stage. For this reason, a sensitivity assessment was proposed in order to identify alternative photobioreactor configurations for astaxanthin production. Two of the evaluated options, based on the use of sunlight instead of artificial illumination, presented significant reductions of impact. However, the improvements observed in these cases were limited by the decrease in biomass productivity associated with sunlight culture systems. Therefore, a two flat-panel photobioreactor system with artificial illumination is proposed as a suitable option, allowing reductions between 62% and 79% of the impact depending on the considered category.

Sustainable manufacturing has increasingly included design for environment methodologies with the objective of improving the environmental performance of products over their entire life cycles. Current European Union (EU) directives on eco-design focus on the use phase of energy-related products (ErPs). However, the maintenance of various household non-ErPs is performed with ErPs; therefore, the environmental impacts of product maintenance have an important role in the life cycle of non-ErPs. This article presents two eco-design studies where the implementation of improvement strategies of the use and maintenance phase of products had relevant results. Furthermore, environmental communication-to-user strategies were important to ensure the commitment of users toward eco-efficient behaviors. First, a knife was eco-designed according to strategies which focused on materials, processing, maintenance, and communication to user. By applying eco-design in a cradle-to-consumer scope, improvements decreased the environmental impact of the eco-designed product by 30%. However, when considering the entire life cycle of the eco-designed product, environmental impacts could be reduced by up to 40% and even up to ≈93% (depending on the cleaning procedure) as a result of large improvements in the maintenance stage. Second, a woman's jacket was eco-designed following multifunctionality, recycled materials, and efficient maintenance strategies. The new Livingstone jacket reached environmental improvements between 32% and 52% in the indicators analyzed. In this case, maintenance contributed between 40% and 87% of the reduction. As shown in this study, maintenance behavior and communication-to-user strategies are crucial to the eco-design of different household products (traditional vs. flexible design) and their consideration in the design process can reduce their environmental impact by between 40% and 80%.

International audience; Crambe crambe is a Mediterranean marine sponge known to produce original natural substances belonging to two families of guanidine alkaloids, namely crambescins and crambescidins, which exhibit cytotoxic and antiviral activities. These compounds are therefore considered as potential anticancer drugs. The present study focuses on the environmental assessment of a novel in vivo process for the production of pure crambescin and crambescidin using sponge specimens cultured in aquarium.The assessment was performed following the ISO 14040 standard and extended from the production of the different mass and energy flows to the system to the growth of the sponge in indoor aquarium and further periodic extraction and purification of the bioactive compounds. According to the results, the two stages that have a remarkable contribution to all impact categories are the purification of the bioactive molecules followed by the maintenance of the sponge culture in the aquarium. Among the involved activities, the production of the chemicals (particularly methanol) together with the electricity requirements (especially due to the aquarium lighting) are responsible for up to 90% of the impact in most of the assessed categories. However, the contributions of other stages to the environmental burdens, such as the collection of sponges, considerably depend on the assumptions made during the inventory stage. The simulation of alternative scenarios has led to propose improvement alternatives that may allow significant reductions ranging from 20% to 70%, mainly thanks to the reduction of electricity requirements as well as the partial reuse of methanol.

Wine production is an important economic sector in many countries worldwide. In addition, its sales and consumption are steadily augmenting on an annual basis. This has increased the interest by stakeholders and consumers in the environmental sustainability of wine production practices. Despite the wide range of environmental dimensions that are monitored through environmental management tools, worldwide concerns related to greenhouse gas emissions and their effect on global warming have boosted the analysis of a single score indicator to monitor these emissions: carbon footprint (CF). In fact, due to the important consequences that climate change is expected to have on wine appellations and regions, CF has proliferated in this sector in recent years. The aim of this study is to provide a critical review on the application of CF to the wine sector based on peer-reviewed publications, focusing on the controversial methodological assumptions and the level of granularity of the life cycle inventory. Finally, a series of potential advancements in the application of CF to the wine sector will be assessed and discussed.

Food production has been repeatedly highlighted as one of the most important sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions worldwide. Within the food sector, there is a wide range of heterogeneous products that should be analyzed individually in order to understand the potential role of each one in global warming. In parallel, the fishing industry, which is essentially part of the food sector, has been shown to represent approximately 1.2 % of the world’s GHG emissions. However, the impact of individual fishing species remains widely unexplored in terms of their contributions to climate change. Therefore, this chapter focuses on calculating the carbon footprint (CF) of the most widely consumed fishing product in Spain: hake. For this, an aggregation of six different fishing fleets, which account for a high percentage of the final hake landings by the entire Spanish fleet, were analyzed. Results are presented using several methodological assumptions, including the assessment method framework and allocation. In addition, the results are also presented individually per fishing fleet, fishing gear, and hake species. Finally, the individual CFs of each hake species are used to calculate the lump sum for hake landings in Spain. The discussion of the results focuses on highlighting the main inputs contributing to GHG emissions, as well as specific improvement actions to reduce the impacts of these vessels. Furthermore, the interrelation between CF and other environmental impacts, namely the impact on stock biomass, and the influence of methodological choices on the results presented, constitute two important topics for further analysis.

The aim of this study is the evaluation of the enzymatic action of the ligninolytic enzyme manganese peroxidase (MnP), through a suitable addition of H2O2, as a feasible system for the in vitro degradation of com- plex structures. For this purpose, a highly recalcitrant polymeric dye (Poly R-478) was selected as a model com- pound. An amperometric technique was used to deter- mine the H2O2 requirement in the decolorization by non- purified MnP. Two H2O2 supply strategies—fed-batch (every hour) or semicontinuous (every 5 min)—were ap- plied. The addition of H2O2 in pulses led to a limited decolorization after the pulses and the instantaneous consumption or decomposition of H2O2. Therefore, this way of addition may limit the actual H2O2 concentration in the reaction mixture. In contrast, the semicontinuous strategy maintained lower and prolonged concentrations of H2O2, which allowed a clearly greater decolorization (48% after 2 h). In addition, the effect of Mn +2 concentra- tion on the decolorization efficiency was investigated to establish the optimal application of the MnP-oxidative system. The enzymatic treatment provoked not only the destruction of the chromophoric groups but also a no- ticeable breakdown of the chemical structure of the dye. In experiments with pure enzyme, MnP proved to be the main factor responsible for the dye decolorization. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 75: 362-368, 2001.

The white-rot fungus Bjerkandera sp. BOS55 has been suggested as a good alternative for the production of ligninolytic enzymes, specially Manganese peroxidase (MnP), by its potential ability to degrade complex compounds. However, the application of this fungus requires the complete knowledge of the fermentation pattern in submerged cultures, conditions similar to those existing in industrial size reactors. For this purpose, the nutritional and environmental factors enabling high ligninolytic activity were studied. According to the results, under limitation and sufficiency of nitrogen, there is a threshold concentration for nitrogen from which MnP is produced. However, under nitrogen excess, the ligninolytic stage of the fungus was coincident with growth, with no apparent substrate limitation according to existing levels of carbon and nitrogen. Concerning carbon concentration, MnP synthesis took place independently of glucose concentration, this indicating that carbon limitation does not seem to be the triggering factor for MnP secretion. Other two environmental factors were studied: oxygenation and agitation, but no significant effect on MnP production was observed, a quite different aspect from the behaviour of other known fungi like Phanerochaete chrysosporium.

Of seven fungal strains tested for their ability to decolourise three structurally diverse synthetic dyes, Phanerochaete sordida, Bjerkandera sp. BOS55, Phlebia radiata, and Phanerochaete chrysosporium had average values of maximum decolourisation rates higher than 0.2 Δ[Absorbance] d−1. All seven fungi produced manganese peroxidase (MnP) but laccase activity was detected only in Phlebia radiata. No lignin peroxidase (LiP) activity was observed.

Production of ligninolytic enzymes by white-rot fungi is a phenomenon typically associated to the secondary metabolism, the main drawback of which is the limited yield of the enzyme obtained under growth-limiting conditions and the morphological behaviour of these filamentous microorganisms while growing. An efficient production system is needed for the promising applications of these enzymes in bioprocesses such as detoxification of effluents and biobleaching of kraft pulp. Several bioreactor configurations were considered which were operated in batch or semi-continuous modes. These operational conditions permitted high titres of enzymatic activity, however, the extent of production was limited. A different modus operandi is then to be proposed to overcome these limitations. The present work reviews the state of production of ligninolytic enzymes and proposes a new method to achieve continuous production of manganese peroxidase (MnP). The method comprises a feeding policy based on controlled feed rates of nutrients and the use of an adequate bioreactor configuration. They were both key factors to attain and sustain continuous production of MnP. The feeding of limited concentrations of nutrients kept secondary metabolism in steady-state conditions and limited the fungal growth. The configuration of two conventional bioreactors (fluidised bed and fixed bed bioreactors) was modified with the introduction of pulsation of gas. Pulsation proved to be a good alternative to enhance nutrients and oxygen transfer as well as to maintain fungal cultures as independent bioparticles both for pellets and foam blocks of mycelia. Other environmental factors such as a Mn 2+ concentration of 5 mM and high oxygen tension enhanced MnP production. The hydraulics of the bioreactor also had effect on MnP production, the optimum corresponded to a plug flow model with partial mixing and an operating HRT of 24 h. This policy facilitated long operation periods, obtaining higher productivity rates than the best reported to date.

The bottleneck of the application of manganese peroxidase (MnP) on an industrial scale in pulp biobleaching or in degradation of hazardous compounds is the lack of an efficient production system. Three main problems arise for the continuous production of MnP during secondary metabolism of Phanerochaete chrysosporium: enzyme production occurs only under specific physiological conditions corresponding to C or N limitation, high O(2) tension, and adequate Mn(+2) concentration; the enzyme that is produced is destabilized by extracellular proteases; and excessive growth of the mycelium blocks effective oxygen transfer. To overcome these drawbacks, continuous production of MnP was optimized by selecting a suitable bioreactor configuration and the environmental and operating conditions affecting both enzyme production and stability. The combination between a proper feed rate and the application of a pulsation in a packed-bed bioreactor permitted the maintenance of continuous secretion of MnP while limiting mycelial growth and avoiding bed clogging. Environmental factors as an Mn(+2) concentration of 5000 microM and high oxygen tension enhanced MnP production. The hydraulics of the bioreactor corresponding to a plug flow model with partial mixing and an operating hydraulic rentention time of 24 h were optimal to achieve stable operating conditions. This policy allowed long operation periods, obtaining higher productivities than the best reported in the literature. (c) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 56: 130-137, 1997.

The white rot fungus Bjerkandera sp. strain BOS55 extensively delignified and bleached oxygen-delignified eucalyptus kraft pulp handsheets. Biologically mediated brightness gains of up to 14 ISO (International Standards Organization units) were obtained, providing high final brightness values of up to 80% ISO. In nitrogen-limited cultures (2.2 mM N), manganese (Mn) greatly improved manganese-dependent peroxidase (MnP) production. However, the biobleaching was not affected by the Mn nutrient regimen, ranging from 1,000 (mu)M added Mn to below the detection limit of 0.26 (mu)M Mn in EDTA-extracted pulp medium. The lowest Mn concentration tested was at least several orders of magnitude lower than the K(infm) known for MnP. Consequently, it was concluded that Mn is not required for biobleaching in Bjerkandera sp. strain BOS55. Nonetheless, fast protein liquid chromatography profiles indicated that MnP was the predominant oxidative enzyme produced even under culture conditions in the near absence of manganese. High nitrogen (22 mM N) and exogenous veratryl alcohol (2 mM) repressed biobleaching in Mn-deficient but not in Mn-sufficient culture medium. No correlation was observed between the titers of extracellular peroxidases and the biobleaching. However, the decolorization rate of the polyaromatic dye Poly R-478 was moderately correlated to the biobleaching under a wide range of Mn and N nutrient regimens.

Twenty-five white rot fungal strains were tested for their ability to bleach Eucalyptus globulus oxygen delignified kraft pulp (OKP). Under nitrogen-limited culture conditions, eight outstanding biobleaching strains were identified that increased the brightness of OKP by more than 10 ISO units compared to pulp incubated in sterile control medium. The highest brightness gain of approximately 13 ISO units was obtained with Bjerkandera sp. strain BOS55, providing a high final brightness of 82% ISO. This strain also caused the greatest level of delignification, decreasing the kappa number of OKP by 29%. When the white rot fungal strains were tested in nitrogen-sufficient medium, the extracellular activities of laccase and peroxidases increased in many strains; nonetheless, the pulp handsheets were either destroyed or brightness gains were lower than those obtained under nitrogen-limitation. The titer of ligninolytic enzymes was not found to be indicative of biobleaching potential. However, the best biobleaching strains were generally characterized by a predominance of manganese dependent peroxidase (MnP) activity compared to other ligninolytic enzymes and by a high decolorizing activity towards the polyanthraquinone ligninolytic indicator dye, Poly R-478. | Twenty-five white rot fungal strains were tested for their ability to bleach Eucalyptus globulus oxygen delignified kraft pulp (OKP). Under nitrogen-limited culture conditions, eight outstanding biobleaching strains were identified that increased the brightness of OKP by more than 10 ISO units compared to pulp incubated in sterile control medium. The highest brightness gain of approximately 13 ISO units was obtained with Bjerkandera sp. strain BOS55, providing a high final brightness of 82% ISO. This strain also caused the greatest level of delignification, decreasing the kappa number of OKP by 29%. When the white rot fungal strains were tested in nitrogen-sufficient medium, the extracellular activities of laccase and peroxidases increased in many strains; nonetheless, the pulp handsheets were either destroyed or brightness gains were lower than those obtained under nitrogen-limitation. The titer of ligninolytic enzymes was not found to be indicative of biobleaching potential. However, the best biobleaching strains were generally characterized by a predominance of manganese dependent peroxidase (MnP) activity compared to other ligninolytic enzymes and by a high decolorizing activity towards the polyanthraquinone ligninolytic indicator dye, Poly R-478.

The decolorization of ion-exchange effluents derived from sugar-mill operations by Bjerkandera sp. BOS55 has been studied. Bjerkandera sp. BOS55 was selected as a possible effective microorganism because of its high ligninolytic activity enabling the degradation of toxic pollutants. Fungal biomass in pellet form allowed a good decolorization up to 78% after 8 days of incubation. Pellets remain uncolored after the treatment, and no adsorption of chromophoric groups on mycelia was observed. This suggests that a biological transformation affecting the chemical composition of such compounds took place. Molecular weight distribution indicated a polymerization of chromophoric groups after fungal treatment.

The efficiency of the application of crude and purified MnP in processes such as degradation of hazardous compounds is greatly dependent of the Mn and HO concentrations. Mn exerted a positive effect on the reaction rate whereas excessively high HO concentrations caused a partial inactivation of MnP, and as a result additional increases of Mn did not positively affect DMP oxidation rate. According to our results, concentrations around 5,000mM Mn and 100mM HO would maximize the catalytic MnP properties for the oxidation of 2,6-dimethoxyphenol. The presence of other cofactors in the crude enzyme such as organic acids stabilize formed Mn and the oxidation rate was higher than the corresponding to the purified one.

European pilchard or sardines (Sardina pilchardus) are an attractive raw material to extract from Iberian waters, since they constitute a cheap source of protein and they are a popular product among consumers. This has led to a wide range of final products available for consumers to purchase based on this single raw material. Therefore, this study presents a cross-product environmental assessment using life cycle assessment of three different final products based on sardine landings: canned sardines, fresh sardines and European hake caught by using sardine as bait. In addition, the products were followed throughout their entire life cycle, considering different cooking methods for each final product. Results showed high variability in environmental impacts, not only between the three final products, but also when one single product was cooked in different ways, highlighting the importance that the consumption phase and other post-landing stages may have on the final environmental profile of seafood. Results are then analysed regarding relevant limitations and uncertainties, as well as in terms of the consumer and policy implications.

In the present study, a novel and efficient technology based on the use of an oxidative enzyme was developed to perform the continuous removal of estrogenic compounds from polluted wastewaters. A 2 L enzymatic membrane reactor (EMR) was successfully operated for 100 h with minimal requirements of laccase for the transformation of estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2), and 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2)from both buffer solution and real wastewater (filtered secondary effluent). When the experiments were performed at high and low concentrations of the target compounds, 4 mg/L and 100 μg/L, not only high removal yields (80-100%) but also outstanding reduction of estrogenicity (about 84-95%) were attained. When the EMR was applied for the treatment of municipal wastewaters with real environmental concentrations of the different compounds (0.29-1.52 ng/L), excellent results were also achieved indicating the high efficiency and potential of the enzymatic reactor system. A second goal of this study relied on the identification of the transformation products to elucidate the catalytic mechanism of estrogens' transformation by laccase. The formation of dimers and trimers of E1, E2, and EE2, as well as the decomposition of E2 into E1 by laccase-catalyzed treatment, has been demonstrated by liquid chromatography atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (LC-APCI) analysis and confirmed by determination of accurate masses through liquid chromatography electrospray time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-TOF). Dimeric products of E2 and EE2 were found even when operating at environmental concentrations. Moreover, the reaction pathways of laccase-catalyzed transformation of E2 were proposed.

Biological techniques have been considered as an interesting alternative to treat gaseous streams from industrial processes. In this work, the performance of biofilters was evaluated from an environmental point of view by using Life Cycle Assessment methodology. More specifically, the potential impacts of four biofilters packed with different organic materials: spherical clay pellets covered with compost, a mixture of coconut fibre and sludge based carbon, peat and heather and pine bark have been quantified. The impact categories considered in this work were: eutrophication, acidification, global warming, photochemical oxidation, malodorous air, human toxicity and marine, terrestrial and freshwater ecotoxicity. From an environmental point of view, the reactor packed with coconut fibre and sludge based carbon appears to be the most suitable alternative since it presented the lowest values in almost all the impact categories assessed. On the other hand, the biofilter packed with clay pellets covered with compost seems to be the most penalized bioreactor providing the highest impacts for six of the nine impact categories evaluated, mainly due to the significant pressure drop achieved in the reactor which led to a considerable increase of energy demand. The reactor packed with coconut fibre and sludge based carbon is also the most beneficial alternative after performing the normalization step. In this case, the alternatives of peat and heather and pine bark are the less favourable ones in terms of photochemical oxidation, which was attributed to the lowest efficiency of methyl isobutyl ketone removal efficiency observed in both configurations. On the other hand, the option of treating off-gases is, in general, more positive and advisable than the direct discharge to the atmosphere.

Cheese production has always been the standard way of preserving milk. This is the second most consumed dairy product in Spain (ca. 6.2 kg per year and person), with more than 100 different cheeses available in the market. However, only 26 types are labelled with a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), a symbol of quality recognition. In this study, an environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was performed to identify and quantify the environmental impacts (cradle-to-grave perspective) derived from the manufacture of one of the most popular and traditional PDO Galician cheeses: San Simon da Costa cheese. The most critical steps throughout the chain were identified. As expected, milk production at the dairy farm is the main environmental hot-spot in all categories assessed, with contributions ranging from 63% to 89%. Both feed production (mainly fodder) and on-farm emissions derived from enteric fermentation and manure management were the highest contributing farming activities. Cheese making activities should also be considered, with emphasis on impacts associated with the smoking process, the heating system and wastewater treatment. The studied dairy factory has not implemented a system for whey recovery due to its small-scale production. Thus, whey waste mixed with the wastewater effluent is sent to the municipal wastewater treatment plant. Therefore, the valorisation of whey into whey powder was considered as an alternative for improvement. Using this process modification, it is possible to achieve reductions in the environmental profile of the PDO San Simon cheese of up to 15% in categories such as eutrophication. In addition, attention must be paid to the environmental loads of whey powder production arising from electricity and heating requirements.

Submitted by Patrícia Correia (patriciacorreia@ua.pt) on 2018-11-06T14:45:10Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Gonzalez-Garcia et al. - 2013 - The influence of forest management systems on the .pdf: 824813 bytes, checksum: 3a65f2359e9115b1c3892603f7ea3cd4 (MD5) Approved for entry into archive by Patrícia Correia (patriciacorreia@ua.pt) on 2018-11-06T14:45:32Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Gonzalez-Garcia et al. - 2013 - The influence of forest management systems on the .pdf: 824813 bytes, checksum: 3a65f2359e9115b1c3892603f7ea3cd4 (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2018-11-06T14:45:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Gonzalez-Garcia et al. - 2013 - The influence of forest management systems on the .pdf: 824813 bytes, checksum: 3a65f2359e9115b1c3892603f7ea3cd4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 The research leading to these results has received funding from the WoodWisdom-Net Research Programme which is a transnational R&D programme jointly funded by national funding organisations within the ERA-NET WoodWisdom-Net 2 framework. The authors would like to thank the European project BIOFOAMBARK — Bark Valorization into insulating Foams and Bioenergy (Project reference: 235066 FP7-ERANET-20008-RTD). Dr. Sara González-García would like to express her gratitude to the Galician Government for their financial support (DOG number 62, pages 9405–9410, 1 April 2013) on a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship taken at University of Aveiro (Portugal), where this paper was prepared. published

International audience; The current increasing importance of road transport in the overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has led to the adoption of diverse policies for the mitigation of global warming. These policies focus in two directions, depending on whether they involve the reduction of emissions or the mitigation through carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration. In this paper, the Tier 3 methodology from the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme and the Environment Agency (EMEP/EEA) was applied to determine the evolution of Spanish motorway GHG emissions in the period 2005–2010. According to the results, though the average daily traffic (ADT) is the major parameter, the average fleet age and vehicle size also affect the level of emissions. Data analysis also revealed a clear connection between the decrease in European trade volume during the financial crisis and the GHG release, despite its temporary character. Among the three improvement scenarios evaluated, reduced speed limit seems the most direct measure while the consequences of afforestation strongly depend on the traffic density of the stretch of the motorway considered. Finally, technological improvement requires a drastic change in the fleet to obtain substantial decrease. The combination of different policies would allow a more robust strategy with lower GHG emissions.

Pretreatment of Kraft pulp mill effluents by mycelial pellets or extracellular ligninolytic liquid from Phanerochaete chrysosporium enhanced the anaerobic degradation of high molecular weight (HMW) compounds up to 79% and 72% respectively, against 45% when only anaerobic digestion was considered. Decolourization was obtained only after fungal pretreatment, since both anaerobic digestion and ligninolytic liquid pretreatment of Kraft effluent slightly increased colour.

The effect of the hydraulics, the oxygenation and the substrate composition on the production of lignin peroxidase (LIP) by Phanerochaete chrysosporium immobilized in polyurethane foam in a packed bed bioreactor was studied. The hydrodynamic behaviour of the reactors was modified by selecting different flow recycling ratios (recycling flow/feeding flow), and therefore the flow model ranged from a complete mixed system (higher recycling ratio) to an almost typical plug flow (no recycling flow). The best results corresponded to the bioreactor operating at plug flow with partial mixing. Direct oxygenation to the bioreactors instead of introducing oxygen solved in the feeding stream allowed the LIP synthesis to be favoured. Finally, a feeding strategy maintaining a residual glucose concentration in the bioreactor during the production phase enhanced LIP stability as the production of proteases was minimized. After selecting the best conditions, lignin peroxidase production in packed bed bioreactors operated at alternating growth-production cycles was achieved for 25 days obtaining an overall activity of 6136 U.

Continuous production of Manganese Peroxidase by free pellets ofPhanerochaete chrysosporium in an Expanded-Bed Bioreactor was successfully achieved for more than 30 days of operation. The stability in continuous production was attained because of two modifications in the operational policy: an adequate feed control and the supply of oxygen in a pulsing mode. Feed control allowed to stablish an equilibrium between primary and secondary metabolism, thus avoiding metabolic stress. The use of pulsation had two beneficial effects: 1) Increase of stability by avoiding bed compactation during operation performance; 2) Control of mycelial pellet size. The bioreactor operated without oxygen pulsation did not maintain enzyme production longer than 14 days.

The influence of extracellular ligninolytic fluid addition on lignin peroxidase (LIP), Mn-peroxidase (MNP) and glyoxal oxidase (GLOX) activity in free and immobilized (polyurethane foam) batch cultures of Phanerochaete chrysosporium was examined. Addition was carried out in several proportions during growth (day 0) and idiophasic phase (day 4). A decrease in the activity of added LIP was observed for both free pellets and immobilized cultures. In both cases, a de novo LIP activity was slightly lower than in control cultures (without addition). MNP and GLOX activity was not significantly altered by the addition of ligninolytic extracellular fluid. LIP and MNP isoenzymes were detected in different degrees, showing a typical behaviour of N-limited cultures of P. chrysosporium monitored at 409 nm. During late secondary metabolism in immobilized cultures, a second peak of ligninolytic activity was obtained, for which the level of LIP activity was similar to the first one, but glyoxal oxidase activity was 3-fold higher. Isoenzyme profile for this second peak was typical of C-limitation, being H2 isoenzyme the predominant hemeprotein for all assays. Total protein profile (monitored at 280 nm) also showed another peak at 1.5-min elution volume, whose area was quite similar to the one obtained for H2. The proteins eluted at 1.5 min were isolated and analyzed by SDS-electrophoresis, detecting a band displaying proteolytic activity.