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Water scarcity is affected by population growth and increasing nutrients pollution. This study evaluated the integration of ion exchange-natural activated clinoptilolite zeolite (IEX-NZ) and hollow-fibre liquid–liquid membrane contactor (HF-LLMC) as an innovative and sustainable hybrid technology for ammonia recovery from treated urban wastewaters. The process is based on NaOH closed-loop process to i) ensure the extracted concentration of ammonia from the loaded zeolites and ii) enhance the transport of NH3 through the HF-LLMC. Regeneration of the IEX-NZ provided recoveries up to around 92% using 8% NaOH solution with concentration factors between 30 and 60 and a residual ammonium stream below 1 mg NH4+-N/L. Recovery of NH3 from NaOH solutions was carried out by HF-LLMCs using two different membrane chemistries: polypropylene (PP) and poly (4-methyl-1-pentene) (PMP) (>95%). A 1-D model was developed and used to describe the time evolution of NH3 concentration during the recovery process, to determine its mass transfer coefficient (9.5·107 m3/m2·s) and to quantify the undesired water co-transport (5.0·105 m3/m2·s). In addition, the model was used to analyse the influence of operational parameters on the membrane's permeability to maximise the concentration of the ammonium salts recovered as fertilisers. In this case, the 1-D algorithm was used to identify the needed stages to achieve residual levels of NH3 on the treated streams that promoted the NaOH closed-loop recycling to secure economic feasibility.

Treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has experienced major advancements since the last update of the official Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) prognosis and treatment strategy published in 2018. Advancements in the field have emerged in all areas, but in this manuscript, we present those that have primed a change in the strategy and comment why some encouraging data in select interventions are still considered immature and in need of further research to gain their incorporation into an evidence-based model for clinicians and researchers. Finally, we describe the critical insight and expert knowledge that is needed to take clinical decisions in individual patients so that the recommendation takes into account all the needed parameters to allow a personalised approach.

Winery and olive mill industries generate large amounts of wastes causing important environmental problems. The main aim of this work is the evaluation of different membrane separation processes like microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, and reverse osmosis for the recovery of polyphenols from winery and olive mill wastes in aqueous solutions. Membrane processes were tested separately in a closed-loop system, and by an integration in a concentration mode sequential design (open-loop). Feed flow rate was varied from 1 to 10 mL min-1, and permeate samples were taken in order to measure the polyphenols concentration. The separation and concentration efficiency were evaluated in terms of total polyphenol content, and by polyphenols families (hydroxybenzoic acids (HB), hydroxycinnamic acids (HC), and flavonoids (F)), using high performance liquid chromatography. Results showed that MF and UF membranes removed suspended solids and colloids from the extracts. NF was useful for polyphenols separation (HB rejections were lower than for HC and F: HB rejections of 50 and 63% for lees filters and olive pomace extracts, respectively), and RO membranes were able to concentrate polyphenols streams (86 and 95% rejection from lees filters and olive pomace, respectively). Membranes sequential designs for lees filters and olive pomace extracts, using a selective membrane train composed by UF, NF and RO membranes, were able to obtain polyphenol rich streams and high-quality water streams for reuse purposes.

Two novel hollow-fibre liquid–liquid membrane contactor (HF-LLMC) modules, containing S-type (skin layer with low porosity) and Q-type (skin layer with higher porosity) fibres, have been evaluated. Both fibres, with asymmetric, porous, and hydrophobic membranes, made from poly(4-methyl-1-pentene) (PMP), were used as efficient technology for ammonia recovery to produce liquid fertilisers. The ammonia-rich stream was fed into the shell side of the PMP-HF-LLMC, while nitric acid or phosphoric acid were fed separately into the lumen to produce N-type (NO3–-NH4+) and N-P-type (NH4+-P2O5) fertilisers, respectively. The maximum NH3 recovery (>95%) was achieved in a closed-loop configuration with S-type fibres, while Q-type fibres showed a better performance in terms of the production of more concentrated N-type liquid fertiliser. With Q-type fibres, the highest values of N-P-type liquid fertilisers were achieved (8.0 % N (NH4+) and 20.3% P2O5 (w/w)) using phosphoric acid, while the highest value of water flux across the PMP fibres was < 0.01 kg m–2h-1. The highest overall mass transfer coefficient (Km), measured for solutions containing 5.0 gNH3 L–1 with a feed/stripping volume ratio of 60:1, was (2.9 ± 0.2) × 10-7 m s-1. Additionally, ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy and two-dimensional excitation-emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy were employed to monitor the absence of pore-wetting events and the stability of the PMP-HF-LLMC under strongly acidic and basic conditions.

Phenolic compounds recovery by mechanical stirring extraction (MSE) was studied from orange and spinach wastes using water as a solvent. The statistical analysis showed that the highest total polyphenol content (TPC) yield was obtained using 15 min, 70 °C, 1:100 (w/v) solid/solvent ratio and pH 4 for orange, and 5 min, 50 °C, 1:50 (w/v) solid/solvent ratio and pH 6 for spinach. Under these conditions, the TPC was 1 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE) g−1 fresh weight (fw) and 0.8 mg GAE g−1 fw for orange and spinach, respectively. MSE substantially increased the phenolic compounds yields (1-fold for orange and 2-fold for spinach) compared with ultrasound-assisted extraction. Furthermore, the antioxidant activity of orange and spinach extracts was evaluated using DPPH, FRAP and ABTS. The obtained results pointed out that the evaluated orange and spinach residues provided extracts with antioxidant activity (2.27 mg TE g−1 and 0.04 mg TE g−1, respectively).

Fruits, vegetables, spices, and herbs are a potential source of phenolic acids and polyphenols. These compounds are known as natural by-products or secondary metabolites of plants, which are present in the daily diet and provide important benefits to the human body such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, anti-allergic, antihypertensive and antiviral properties, among others. Plentiful evidence has been provided on the great potential of polyphenols against different viruses that cause widespread health problems. As a result, this review focuses on the potential antiviral properties of some polyphenols and their action mechanism against various types of viruses such as coronaviruses, influenza, herpes simplex, dengue fever, and rotavirus, among others. Also, it is important to highlight the relationship between antiviral and antioxidant activities that can contribute to the protection of cells and tissues of the human body. The wide variety of action mechanisms of antiviral agents, such as polyphenols, against viral infections could be applied as a treatment or prevention strategy; but at the same time, antiviral polyphenols could be used to produce natural antiviral drugs. A recent example of an antiviral polyphenol application deals with the use of hesperidin extracted from Citrus sinensis. The action mechanism of hesperidin relies on its binding to the key entry or spike protein of SARS-CoV-2. Finally, the extraction, purification and recovery of polyphenols with potential antiviral activity, which are essential for virus replication and infection without side-effects, have been critically reviewed., Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image

The downstream processing for the separation and purification of lactic acid is a hot research area in the bio-refinery field due to its continuous growing market in different sectors, such as the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical sectors. In this work, the use of ion-exchange technology for lactic acid recovery is proposed. For that, four anion exchange resins with different polymer structures and functional groups were tested (A100, MN100, A200E and MP64). The sorption process was optimized by the Box–Behnken factorial design, and the experimental data obtained in the sorption process were analyzed by using the response surface methodology and fitted at different isotherms and kinetics models. Moreover, regenerant type, contact time and solid/liquid ratio were evaluated in the desorption process. Results showed that the best resin for lactic acid removal was A100, at pH = 4, with a resin/lactic acid solution ratio of 0.15 g/mL during a maximum of 1 h, achieving 85% of lactic acid removal. Moreover, equilibrium data sorption of lactic acid onto A100 resin was fitted by a Langmuir isotherm and by a kinetic model of a pseudo-second order. In addition, in the desorption process, it was stablished that a resin/regenerant ratio of 0.15 g/mL during 30 min with 0.1 M of NaOH solution provided the best results (4.45 ± 0.08 mg/g).

Objective Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) may be a risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but the extent of this association still needs to be addressed. Pooled-incidence rates of HCC across the disease spectrum of NAFLD have never been estimated by meta-analysis. Methods In this systematic review, we searched Web of Science, Embase, Pubmed, and the Cochrane library from January 1st, 1950 through July 30th, 2020. We included studies reporting on HCC incidence in patients with NAFLD. The main outcomes were pooled HCC incidences in patients with NAFLD at distinct severity stages. Summary estimates were calculated with random-effects models. Sensitivity analyses and meta-regression analyses were carried out to address heterogeneity. The protocol for this review was registered in Prospero (CRD42018092861). Results Eighteen studies, with a total of 470,404 patients were included. In patients with NAFLD at a stage earlier than liver cirrhosis, HCC incidence was of 0.03 per 100 person-years (PYs) (95% confidence interval 0.01-0.07, I2=98%). This rate rose to 3.78 per 100PYs (2.47-5.78, I2=93%) when considering studies that only included patients with liver cirrhosis. Among the latter patients, those undergoing regular HCC screening displayed an incidence of 4.62 per 100PYs (2.77-7.72, I2= 77%). Conclusion Patients with NAFLD-related liver cirrhosis have a risk of developing HCC similar to that reported for patients with cirrhosis from other etiologies. Evidence documenting the risk in patients with NASH or simple steatosis is limited, but HCC incidence in these populations may lie below thresholds used to recommend HCC screening. Well-designed prospective studies in these subsets of patients are needed.

Acid mine waters (AMWs), generated in the processing of polymetallic sulphides, contain copper and zinc as the main valuable transition metal ions, which are typically removed by liming, due to their great environmental impact. In this context, this work proposes the integration of selective precipitation (SP) and ion-exchange (IX) processes for the separation and recovery of both valuable metals to encourage on-site and off-site management options promoting valorisation routes. Thus, the main objectives of this work were (i) the selective removal of Fe(III) and Al(III), using NaOH under pH control (pH < 5) to avoid the precipitation of Cu(II) and Zn(II) and (ii) the evaluation of a solvent-impregnated resin (Lewatit VP OC 1026, named VP1026) and a cation IX resin (Lewatit TP 207, named TP207) for the sequential extraction of both metal ions from AMW (batch and column experiments). Results indicated that the metallic pollution load was mostly removed during the SP process of Fe(III) (>99%) and Al(III) (>90%) as hydroxylsulphates (e.g., schwertmannite and basaluminite). The metal extraction profiles were determined for both metals from pH 1 to pH 5 by batch experiments, and indicated that the best extraction of Zn(II) was obtained using VP1026, being higher than 96% (pH = 2.6–2.8), whereas TP207 extraction performance was optimal for Cu(II) extraction (>99%) at pH = 3–4. Moreover, in dynamic experiments using a fixed-bed configuration, it was possible to separate and concentrate Zn(II) (concentration factor = 10) and Cu(II) (concentration factor = 40) using VP1026 and TP207, respectively. Overall, the integration of SP and IX processes showed a great potential in the separation and recovery of valuable metals from mine waters to promote a circular economy, based on the management proposal for non-ferrous metallurgical industries. The recovered Zn-rich and Cu-rich sulphuric concentrated streams were theoretically evaluated for further on-site or off-site re-use treatments (e.g., electrowinning, precipitation, crystallization). Financiado para publicación en acceso aberto: Universidade de Vigo/CISUG Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad | Ref. CTM2014-57302-R Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. CTM2017-85346-R Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad | Ref. FJCI-2014-19732 Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad | Ref. IJCI-2016-27445

This study is focused on the recovery of polyphenols from vegetable and fruit residues and further evaluation of antioxidant features of extracts. Spinach and orange have been selected as representative matrices for a more comprehensive study since they contain significant polyphenols amount that could be used in food, pharmaceutical and/or cosmetic industries. Extraction of polyphenols from spinach and orange waste was performed using three extraction techniques: ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE), microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), and pressurized liquid extraction (PLE). Tested factors include percentage of organic solvent (ethanol 0–80%), acidity (0–0.5% HCl), extraction time (0–30 min) and temperature (25–120 °C). Optimal extraction conditions for spinach and orange waste have been stablished by design of experiments (DoE). The performance of the extraction process has been preliminarily assessed from the overall polyphenolic content given by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and Folin–Ciocalteu index. In addition, reducing power and antiradical capacity of vegetable and fruit extracts have also been determined. For spinach, the best conditions corresponded to UAE with a mixture of ethanol/water/HCl in ratio 80/19.9/0.1 (v/v/v) as the solvent at 25 °C for an extraction time of 30 min, providing 0.82 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE) per g fresh weight (fw). For the orange matrix, PLE has been chosen using 60/39.9/0.1 ethanol/water/HCl (v/v/v) solvent at 80 °C for 15 min, providing 3 mg GAE g-1 fw. However, UAE is proposed for extraction of polyphenols from spinach and orange waste at industrial scale, due to its simplicity and low cost, among other reasons.

A copper smelter generates solutions containing H2SO4 (220 ± 10 g/L), non-metals (3.4 ± 0.2 g/L As) and metals (0.5 ± 0.1 g/L Zn, 0.13 ± 0.01 g/L Fe and 0.11 ± 0.01 g/L Cd) that are treated with lime as disposal option. In order to promote circularity, the recovery of H2SO4 by diffusion dialysis (DD) was evaluated with a lab-stack unit containing Anion Exchange Membranes (Neosepta-AFX) that allow the transport of HSO4- and H+, while rejecting metallic species in cationic form. Initially, dialysis coefficients were determined with cycling type experiments, which showed the possibility to purify H2SO4, but As was also transported. Then, dynamic experiments were carried out to study the effect of different variables, such as operational ones (acid and water flow rates) and As speciation (As(V) or As(III)). At the optimum operating conditions (water and acid flow rates of 0.86 L/m2h), Neosepta-AFX proved to allow the transport of H2SO4 (67 ± 2 % of acid was recovered, 146 ± 12 g/L) and rejected the metallic impurities (>85 %) effectively. Nevertheless, As permeated across the membrane (1.26 g/L in the recovered acid) due to its presence as neutral species (H3AsO4/ H3AsO3). In order to overcome it, the use of a solvent extraction step devoted to remove As before the treatment with DD was proposed.

Pressure-driven membrane processes, such as reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration (NF), are preferred solutions for salinity reduction in ground, surface and sea waters as well as in mining and urban wastewaters. Interest in NF is increasing because it enables a more cost-efficient operation than RO. However, predictive projection tools for NF applications are still lacking. Whereas in RO the solute rejections are usually above 95% and approximately independent of feed composition, the performance of NF membranes is highly influenced by the feed-solution composition. Moreover, in both processes, concentration polarisation (CP) affects the transport of species and membrane scaling. This study presents an extended Solution-Electro-Diffusion model for the description of the transport of solutes through NF membranes in complex multi electrolytes (strong and weak) taking into account CP, namely “Solution-Electro-Diffusion-Film coupled with Reactive Transport” (SEDFRT) model. The model is first validated by using a semi-aromatic polymeric membrane (NF270) and electrolyte mixtures containing two dominant (MgSO4 and MgCl2) and two minor salts (NH4Cl and NaBr). The membrane permeances to all the species are determined as key parameters to be used in design projections. Finally, the model is applied for the description of the performance of NF270 membrane with model brackish surface water, influenced by urban, industrial and agriculture discharges.

Arsenic and selenium presence in acid mine waters (AMWs) limits their disposal due to environmental regulations. The focus to solve the economic infeasibility is directed to sustainable solutions, promoting resource recovery. In fact, rare earth elements (REEs) recovery is proposed in most of the Iberian Pyrite Belt AMWs. However, the presence of arsenic and selenium may impact in the REEs recovery. Among different alternatives, nanofiltration (NF) provides a concentration stage on REEs recovery, reduces the nominal flow and removes hazardous species. In this work, Iberian Pyrite Belt AMWs with up to 10 mg/L REEs, containing arsenic (2 mg/L), were treated with a NF membrane. Firstly, AMWs were pre-treated with H2O2/NaOH, to oxidise Fe(II) to Fe(II) and As(III) to As(V), promoting their removal and avoiding their potential precipitation at the membrane. Subsequently, NF pressure effect (6–20 bar) was studied, removing metals (>95 %), whereas arsenic rejections ranged from 60 to 71 %. Then, water recovery potential was evaluated at 10, 15 and 22 bar by reproducing a 10-stages NF plant. Results showed that the proposed treatment could be an alternative for arsenic and selenium removal (70 µg/L and 0.5 µg/L permeate concentrations, respectively) to achieve mining discharge limits according to regulations.

Acidic Mine Waters (AMWs) are characterised by high acidity (pH¿98%), whereas H2SO4 was transported across the membrane (H+ rejections

The transformation of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) to resources recovery plants (nutrients and energy) is forcing the development of specific technologies for selective recovery. Ion-exchange and hollow fibre liquidliquid membrane contactors (HF-LLMCs) appeared as promising technologies to reduce operation costs, at ambient temperature, on the N-recovery from main-streams of urban WWTPs. A concentrated ammonia stream (4.5 g/L), recovered from treated wastewater using zeolites and NaOH, was used to test different operational parameters on the performance of the HF-LLMC process for ammonia recovery. These tested parameters were HFLLMC position (horizontal and vertical), HF-LLMC feed and acid streams inputs (shell and lumen), type of acid stripping solution (0.4 M H3 PO and 0.4 M HNO 3 ), membrane drying, flow rate for each stream (263–770 mL/ min), number of steps (1 and 2)4 and number of membrane contactors (1 and 2 in series). The maximum ammonia recovery (>95%) was achieved by a one-step configuration using two vertical membrane contactors in series; using the shell side for feed stream and the lumen side for the acid stripping solution (HNO 3 ); at 450 mL/min and 770 mL/min flow rates for feed and acid stripping solutions, respectively. The liquid fertiliser composition ob+ tained was around 4.6% N (from NH 4 ). Additionally, the ammonia treated stream, rich in NaOH, had residual levels of NH 3 (about 200 mg/L) that could be reused for the regeneration of the zeolites. This optimized HF-LLMC process allowed to recover ammonia from a tertiary treatment solution of an urban WWTP and at the same time to produce ammonium salts that could be used as liquid fertilisers in irrigation applications. Therefore, this technology promotes the circular economy concept for nutrient recovery in urban WWTPs.

Strain field imaging can have important applications in the fields of material characterization and structural health monitoring. Terahertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy (THz TDS) is a relatively new technique capable of measuring the amplitude and phase of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) in the THz band, which is characterized by very low absorbance in most dielectric materials and allows to study small variations in a material’s electromagnetic properties The work studies how applying a composite of Strontium Titanate (STO) particles dispersed in a low dielectric matrix to a structural component, a material that changes its dielectric constant when loaded, and sensing the change in dielectric properties with strain, a new non-destructive and remote sensing method of strain field mapping can be achieved. This method has made possible to correlate strain to changes in the time of arrival (TOA) of the EMP, and then use this correlation to measure the localized strain field around different geometries through previous material-specific calibration, which is reported in this document together with a theoretical modeling of the physics involved in the sensing process.

One of the challenges of the circular economy is to implement the recovery of resources from the generated waste in each industrial sector. This valorization must be one of the main objectives at the industrial level to be economically and ¿nancially sustainable and, at the same time, reduce the environmental impact. This work focuses on this perspective through the valorization of distilled vinasses from the winery industry by means of tartaric acid recovery. A train of membrane processes was experimentally tested for the distilled vinasses treatment: electrodialysis (ED) followed by electrodialysis with bipolar membranes (EDBM). The ED process was evaluated by varying the membrane con¿guration (sequence in the cell unit), type of membrane (di¿erent membrane properties), and type of solution (synthetic and distilled vinasses from the winery industry). Distilled vinasses, which mainly contained potassium hydrogen tartrate (KHT), were treated in a lab-scale set-up with standard and organic selective anionic-exchange membranes (AEM), as well as cationic-exchange membranes (CEM) for ED and also with bipolar membranes (BPM) for EDBM. The results indicated that it was possible to concentrate the KHT contained in the distilled vinasses with a factor of 2 by ED, using standard membranes from Fuji¿lm with the CEM-AEM-CEM con¿guration, and subsequently to produce 9.9 g/L of tartaric acid (H2 T) and 5.6 g/L of potassium hydroxide (KOH) by EDBM (following the (anode)-CEM-BPM-AEM-CEM-(cathode) con¿guration and Fuji¿lm standard and PCCell BP membranes) with a purity of 69.7 ± 1.3 and 77.3 ± 0.3%, respectively. In conclusion, the integration methodology proposed (ED and EDBM) demonstrated to be promising for the recovery of tartaric acid from distilled vinasses following the circular economy approach.

In this work, selectrodialysis (SED) was used to separate arsenic (As(V)) from copper (Cu(II)) and zinc (Zn(II)) of acidic metallurgical process streams by integrating non-selective and selective membranes. The separation process is determined by the chemical speciation of the involved elements. In this case, As(V) is mainly present as anionic species (H2AsO4−), while Cu(II) and Zn(II) are mainly present as cationic species although partially complexed as neutral complexes (CuSO4 and ZnSO4). A lab set-up was used to conduct the experimental tests with different type of standard and monovalent selective ion-exchange membranes. The results obtained showed that by SED configuration it was possible to recover around 80 ± 0.2% of Cu(II), 87 ± 0.2% of Zn(II) and 95 ± 0.3% of As(V) from the feed solution to the rich-product streams with an energy consumption of 2.6 ± 0.2 kWh/kg CuSO4+ZnSO4. Furthermore, a Cu/Zn-rich stream with a purity of both divalent cations of 99.8% (0.02% of As(V)) was achieved by means of SED. Overall, the results herein gathered suggest that SED is an efficient separation technology for Cu(II) and Zn(II) recovery from mining and metallurgical acidic streams.

The use of treatments of segregated process streams as a water source, as well as technical fluid reuse as a source of value-added recovery products, is an emerging direction of resource recovery in several applications. Apart from the desired final product obtained in agro-food industries, one of the challenges is the recovery or separation of intermediate and/or secondary metabolites with high-added-value compounds (e.g., whey protein). In this way, processes based on membranes, such as microfiltration (MF), ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO), could be integrated to treat these agro-industrial streams, such as milk and cheese whey. Therefore, the industrial application of membrane technologies in some processing stages could be a solution, replacing traditional processes or adding them into existing treatments. Therefore, greater efficiency, yield enhancement, energy or capital expenditure reduction or even an increase in sustainability by producing less waste, as well as by-product recovery and valorization opportunities, could be possible, in line with industrial symbiosis and circular economy principles. The maturity of membrane technologies in the dairy industry was analyzed for the possible integration options of membrane processes in their filtration treatment. The reported studies and developments showed a wide window of possible applications for membrane technologies in dairy industry treatments. Therefore, the integration of membrane processes into traditional processing schemes is presented in this work. Overall, it could be highlighted that membrane providers and agro-industries will continue with a gradual implementation of membrane technology integration in the production processes, referring to the progress reported on both the scientific literature and industrial solutions commercialized.

The metallurgical industry generates large volumes of toxic effluents characterised, generally, by high acidity and a noticeable content of metals (Fe, Cu and Zn) and non-metals (As, Sb, Bi). The toxicity of these streams makes necessary treatment before its discharge to the environment or reuse. Sustainable management of these effluents must be focused on the recovery of low added valuable by-products (e.g. strong acids) to reduce the wastes generated along with the treatment (e.g. sludge). Nanofiltration offers clear advantages for acid recovery instead of the conventional treatments such as neutralisation and precipitation, due to the high membrane transport ratios of single charged ions and high rejection of multi-charged ions. The performance of a semi-aromatic poly(piperazineamide) membrane (NF270) was evaluated for the treatment of effluents from copper metallurgical process streams of off-gases treatment trains. These streams are characterised by a high acidity (pH¿

The liquid-liquid membrane contactor (LLMC) is an innovative and eco-friendly technology for ammonium salts production; Electrodialysis (ED) can concentrate efficiently ammonium salts; Concentrated ammonium salts can be obtained by means of integration processes (LLMC and ED); Ammonium salts produced can be used as liquid fertilizers.

SED is an innovative technology for metallurgical effluents treatment; IEX resin is an efficient methodology for metal separation and concentration steps; Cu and Zn were recovered by means of integration processes (SED and IEX resins).

Acid mine waters (AMWs) are characterized by a low pH, high concentrations of transition metals (iron, copper, zinc), and the presence of highly valuable metals such as rare earth elements (REE) at lower concentrations. Sustainable management of AMW implies the reduction of acidity and Fe/Al concentrations and the recovery of valuable metals by ion-exchange processes. Nanofiltration (NF) offers a good opportunity compared to conventional methods to treat AMW, such as good passage of mono-charged ions (e.g. hydrogen sulphate, proton) for further recovery of sulphuric acid and high rejection of multi-charged ions, such as transition metals and REE. Two membranes with a different active layer, a double membrane (poly-piperazinamide/proprietary polyamide) (Desal DL) and a sulphonated polyethersulphone (HydraCoRe 70pHT), were evaluated with a solution mimicking acidic streams generated after the removal of iron by precipitation and its subsequent treatment with ion-exchange resins. The recovery of sulphuric acid and metal rejections were evaluated by changing the sulphuric concentration/pH (1.0–1.5) and by varying the concentration of aluminium in the solution (0.6–2.2¿g/L). The transport of ions through NF membranes was described according to the solution-electro-diffusion model coupled with reactive transport of ions, and the membrane permeances to ions were determined as a function of aluminium concentration. Desal DL showed better results than HydraCoRe 70pHT in terms of acid recovery and metal rejections for both tested conditions. Membrane chemistry of the active layer (nature and acid-base membrane properties) and chemical speciation were found to be strong parameters in the separation performance of the membranes. Finally, a process scheme for recovering the REE is proposed.

The nitrogen load on urban wastewater should be considered as a secondary resource for nitrogen-based fertilizers. From this point of view, ammonia-rich streams obtained from a regeneration step with zeolites using 70-80 g NaOH/L could contain up to 3.5-4.5 g NH3/L as well as other ionic species (Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+) and dissolved organic matter (DOM). Thus, they could be treated to obtain a valuable product composed by ammonia for fertilizing applications. A sorption pre-treatment process was carried out to remove the residual amount of DOM and to reduce membrane fouling before processing with hollow fibres liquid-liquid membrane contactors (HF-LLMC). Polypropylene HF-LLMC was used to selectively extract ammonia in single or two-step configurations using different acid stripping solutions (H3PO4, HNO3 or a mixture of HNO3/H3PO4). For ammonia recovery, the ammonia mass transfer coefficient (Km(NH3)) and water transport by HF-LLMC were determined. H3PO4 was found to be the best acid stripping solution by one-step HF-LLMC; the ammonia removal was 76% with a Km(NH3) of 8.8x10-7 m/s. Additionally, the ammonia was concentrated 26 times, and it was recovered as multi-nutrient liquid fertilizer (NP) composed of 7.8% N and 21.6% P2O5. Furthermore, ammonia recovery was increased, reaching values up to 94%, through two-step HF-LLMC, and again H3PO4 was used as stripping solution. Finally, water transport from the feed to the stripping phase was estimated to be 0.022 L/m2·h for one-step HF-LLMC with H3PO4. Finally, the use of UV-Vis and 2D-Fluorescence was shown to be a successful approach for monitoring pore wetting events.

Furfural is an interesting compound that can be produced from renewable and sustainable resources and is used in platform chemicals for the synthesis of biofuels and other chemicals. However, a recovery step is required to separate furfural from lignocellulosic hydrolysates when cellulose-based raw materials are used. In this work, nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) processes have been evaluated to purify or concentrate synthetic furfural solutions.

In this work, the rejection of two ions associated with fertilizer pollution of ground water ( NH 4 + and NO 3 - ) by a polyamide nanofiltration (NF270) membrane was studied. Sodium chloride was selected as the dominant salt and the effect of its concentration on the NH 4 + and NO 3 - rejections was evaluated. Filtration experiments were carried out in a cross-flow setup with a rectangular spacer-filled feed channel. The solution-diffusion-electro-migration-film model (SDEFM), previously developed to model the pressure-driven trans-membrane transfer of electrolyte mixtures consisting of a single dominant salt and (any number of) trace ions, was used to obtain membrane ion permeance from the experimental data. In this way, the membrane permeances with respect to single ions (Na+, Cl−, NH 4 + , NO 3 - ) were obtained for various concentrations of both dominant (0.05–0.3 M NaCl) and trace salts (0.001–0.003 M NH4Cl/NaNO3). It was observed that when the dominant salt concentration increased, the rejections of dominant salt and trace ions decreased, whereas the membrane permeances to ions increased. This information can be useful for developing design tools for nanofiltration of mixed electrolyte solutions in water-treatment applications.

The accumulation of ammonia in water bodies can cause eutrophication and reduce water quality. Furthermore, 80% of the ammonia in the world is consumed as fertilizer, which makes it a resource that can be recovered under the circular economy concept. Then, ammonia from wastewater can be valorised for agricultural applications. Liquid-liquid membrane contactors (LLMCs) have been postulated as a novel and eco-friendly technology for ammonia recovery, because they can convert dissolved ammonia into ammonium salts by an acid stripping solution. The concentration of the ammonium salt produced is limited by the co-transport of water in LLMC. Further concentration by electrodialysis (ED) is presented as a solution to overcome this problem. In this work, ammonia streams with different initial ammonia concentrations (1.7–4.0 g/L) were treated by LLMCs to produce liquid ammonium salt fertilizers (as NH4NO3 and NH4H2PO4). Then, these ammonium solutions were concentrated by ED in order to achieve the nitrogen content required for direct application in agriculture for fertigation. After the LLMC process, the fertilizer obtained was composed of approximately 5.1% or 10.1% (w/w) nitrogen, depending on the initial ammonia concentration. After that, it was possible to concentrate these ammonium salts by a factor of 1.6 ± 0.3 using ED with an optimal energy consumption of 0.21 ± 0.08 kWh/kg ammonium salt and 93.1 ± 4.2% of faradaic yield. This gave a liquid fertilizer composed of 15.6% (w/w) nitrogen as NH4NO3. Overall, it was possible to integrate two innovative membrane technologies for the valorisation and concentration of nutrients from ammonia wastewater streams.

Acid mine drainage (AMD) are acidic streams rich in dissolved ferrous and non-ferrous metal sulfates and minor amounts of non-metals. Nanofiltration (NF) has been postulated as a potential technology in the metallurgical and mining industry to recover strong acids as H2SO4 and concentrate metallic ions from acidic mine waters. The performance of semi-aromatic polyamide (NF270) and sulfonated polyethersulfone (HydraCoRe 70pHT) NF membranes were evaluated at different trans-membrane pressures. Different synthetic solutions were filtered under spiral wound configuration at two pHs (2.0 and 2.8): i) a solution of Na2SO4 and ii) a solution mimicking AMD from dams, containing Na2SO4 and Fe2+, Zn2+ and Cu2+. NF270 showed metal rejections higher than 90%, while for HydraCoRe 70pHT they were in between 60 and 70%. Metal rejection values decreased when solution acidity was increased. Chemical composition of the membrane active layer and the aqueous metal-sulfate speciation were found to have a large impact on membrane separation process. Solution-Electromigration-Diffusion-Film model was used to estimate the membrane permeances to ions from the measured ion rejections. Furthermore, a full scale unit vessel containing six spiral wound membrane modules was simulated. NF270 showed a higher capacity for concentrating metal and sulfate ions (100%) than Hydracore 70pHT (50%).

© 2017 Elsevier B.V. Acid mine drainage (AMD) is considered the main environmental problem in mining operation due to its acidity, metal content (Fe, Al, Zn, Cu) and onerous associated treatment cost. However, the presence of relatively high levels of added value elements (rare earth elements (REE)) could make its valorisation economically affordable. Membrane nanofiltration (NF) has been postulated as a potential recovery technology because it allows the recovery of a sulphuric acid rich stream and a metal rich stream in one step. In this study, the performance of a semi-aromatic polyamide NF membrane (NF270) in filtering model solutions containing common metals (Ca, Al, Zn) in sulphuric solutions (pH 1.5–3.0) was evaluated. In a second stage, the performance was assessed with the same model solutions but also containing REE. NF270 showed high rejections for metallic ions in solution, allowing acid permeation. Ion rejection data were used to determine membrane permeances to ions using the solution-diffusion model considering reactive transport. The stability of the membrane was also studied by comparing performances of a virgin membrane with an aged membrane exposed to 1 M sulphuric acid for 4 weeks. Physicochemical changes of membrane properties after ageing were also analysed by ATR-FTIR, AFM and XPS.

Evaluating the response to different treatments is a decisive factor in the clinical management of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma because it can determine the efficacy of the treatment and because it can detect the recurrence of treated tumors or the appearance of new lesions that can be candidates for new treatments. When locoregional treatments that induce necrosis or molecular therapies are applied, the treated lesions usually change their behavior on imaging studies. It is important to point out that the size of the lesions does not usually decrease, at least initially, and some lesions can even appear to increase in size. For this reason, it is essential to know the mechanisms of action for each treatment applied and the spectrum of findings that these treatments can cause in the different imaging techniques used to assess the response.

Currently, numerous studies are focused on the valorisation of seawater desalination reverse osmosis brines. Electrodialysis can be used to concentrate one of the primary components (NaCI) and obtain a suitable raw material for industrial applications, such as the chlor-alkali industry. An electrodialysis pilot plant was used to evaluate the efficiency of concentrating a seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) brine under representative full-scale operational conditions covering the temperature range of a semiarid climate. The results indicate that electrodialysis is a technology that can concentrate SVVRO brines from approximately 70 to 245 g/L NaCl, achieving an additional intrinsic purification of major multivalent ions (Ca2+, Mg2+, SO42-) due to the selectivity patterns of ion exchange membranes and the ion-complexation reactions in the concentrated brines. However, minor components, such as Ni and Cu, are concentrated due to the formation of Cu and Ni complexes with chloride ions to form monocharged species (e.g., NiCl+ and CuCl+). Energy consumption values of 0.12 kWh/kg NaCl for 185 g NaCl/l at 27 degrees C and 0.35 kA/m(2) or 0.19 kWh/kg NaCl for 203 g NaCl/l at 27 degrees C and 0.50 kA/m(2) were reached. These results were compared with the data obtained from the literature for salt production by electrodialysers. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Background Abdominal perineal excision (APE) was originally described with levator ani removal for rectal cancer. An even wider, more aggressive extralevator resection for APE has been proposed. Although some surgeons are performing a very wide ‘extralevator APE (ELAPE)’, there are few data to recommend it routinely. This multicentre study aimed to compare outcomes of APE and ELAPE. Methods A multicentre propensity case-matched analysis comparing two surgical approaches (APE and ELAPE) was performed. All patients who underwent abdominoperineal resection of a rectal tumour were considered for the analysis. Tumour height was defined by magnetic resonance imaging measurement and patients with stage II–III tumours had neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy. Involvement of the circumferential resection margin (CRM) and intraoperative tumour perforation were the main outcome measures. A logistic regression model was used to study the relationship between the surgical approaches and outcomes. Results From January 2008 to March 2013 a total of 1909 consecutive patients underwent APE or ELAPE, of whom 914 matched patients (457 in each group) formed the cohort for analysis. Intraoperative tumour perforation occurred in 7·9 and 7·7 per cent of patients during APE and ELAPE respectively (P = 0·902), and there was CRM involvement in 13·1 and 13·6 per cent (P = 0·846). There were no differences between APE and ELAPE in terms of postoperative complication rates (52·3 versus 48·1 per cent; P = 0·209), need for reoperation (7·7 versus 7·0 per cent; P = 0·703), perineal wound problems (26·0 versus 21·9 per cent; P = 0·141), mortality rate (2·0 versus 2·0 per cent; P = 1·000) and local recurrence rate at 2 years (2·7 versus 5·6 per cent; P = 0·664). Conclusion ELAPE does not improve rates of CRM involvement, intraoperative tumour perforation, local recurrence or mortality.

The main challenge for copper smelters is to ensure product quality under the constant increase in impurities (As, Se, Mo, Co, Zn, Sb, and Pb) in copper ores that has occurred over the years. The presence of toxic elements, such as As(V), in acidic streams rich Cu(II) and Zn(II) (pH 2.0–2.5) limits the valorisation of both metals. In this study, a novel combination of the following two ion-exchange-based processes were proposed: i) membrane selectrodialysis (SED) for the selective separation of Zn(II)/Cu(II) from As(V) and ii) solvent-impregnated ion-exchange (IX) resins for the selective separation of Zn(II) from Cu(II). The selective separation of As(V), which is present in solution as H3AsO4/H2AsO4–, is achieved using a combination of monocharge and non-monocharge selective cation-exchange membranes to avoid the co-precipitation of As(V) when IX resins are used for Cu(II)/Zn(II) recovery. This combination of processes represents the novelty of the present study since it could be used in hydrometallurgical industries to remove As(V) and, at the same time, to valorize two value-added metals [Cu(II) and Zn(II)]. At the moment, only single-stage processes have been proposed. Using SED, a Cu(II)/Zn(II)-rich stream [97 ± 2% Cu(II) and 82 ± 3% Zn(II)] was obtained, and 60 ± 4% of As(V) was removed from the initial feed stream. Then, the separation of Zn(II) from Cu(II) was proposed using Lewatit VP OC 1026 resin at pH = 2.2 and 4.3, respectively. In this IX resin process, it was possible to recover 70 ± 3% of Zn(II) and 98 ± 2% of Cu(II) and to concentrate Zn(II) and Cu(II) around 30- and 23-times, respectively.

Background A decrease in AFP level during treatment has been associated with improved overall survival (OS) in patients with HCC. In the phase 3 RESORCE trial (NCT01774344), the multikinase inhibitor regorafenib significantly improved OS versus placebo in patients with HCC and disease progression on sorafenib. We analyzed OS in patients who had an AFP response in RESORCE. Methods Patients with Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage B or C HCC, Child -Pugh A liver function, ECOG performance status 0 − 1, and documented radiologic progression on prior sorafenib were randomized 2:1 to regorafenib 160 mg/day (n = 379) or placebo (n = 194) for Weeks 1-3 of each 4-week cycle. Serum AFP levels were assessed at baseline, every 4 weeks during treatment, and at the end of treatment. Patients who had a baseline AFP ≥20 ng/mL and an AFP measurement at the start of Cycle 3 were evaluable for AFP response, defined as a decrease of ≥ 20% in AFP level from baseline at the start of Cycle 3. Results Overall, 232 of the 573 randomized patients fulfilled the above criteria and were included in the analysis. Patients with an AFP response had a median OS from randomization of 13.8 months vs 8.9 months in those without an AFP response (Table). The rate of AFP response was 46% (77/168) in the regorafenib group and 11% (7/64) in the placebo group. Among regorafenib-treated patients, the median OS was 13.8 months in patients with an AFP response vs 9.8 months in those without an AFP response. A landmark analysis of OS from the start of Cycle 3 showed that the hazard ratios for AFP response vs no response were 0.57 (95% CI 0.40, 0.82) in the regorafenib and placebo arms combined and 0.72 (95% CI 0.48, 1.08) for patients in the regorafenib arm. Table . 755P Regorafenib + /placebo arms combined Regorafenib arm (n = 232) (n = 168) AFP response (n = 84) No AFP response (n = 148) AFP response (n = 77) No AFP response (n = 91) Median OS (95% CI) from randomization, months 13.8 (11.8, 16.5) 8.9 (8.0, 9.7) 13.8 (11.7, 16.5) 9.8 (8.2, 14.2) HR (95% CI) AFP response yes/no 0.57 (0.40, 0.82) 0.72 (0.48, 1.07) CI, confidence interval; HR, hazard ratio. Conclusions In this exploratory analysis of RESORCE, an AFP response with regorafenib was associated with improved OS. Clinical trial identification NCT01774344. Editorial acknowledgement Jennifer Tobin of OPEN Health Medical Communications (London, UK), with financial support from Bayer. Legal entity responsible for the study Bayer. Funding Bayer. Disclosure J. Bruix: Honoraria (self): Bayer; BTG; Eisai; Ipsen; Sirtex; Terumo; Advisory / Consultancy: AbbVie; Adaptimmune; Arqule; Astra-Medimmune; Basilea; Bayer; Bio-Alliance; Bristol-Myers Squibb; BTG; Eisai; Gilead; Incyte; Ipsen; Kowa; Lilly; Merck Sharp & Dohme; Nerviano; Novartis; Quirem; Roche; Sanofi Aventis; Sirtex; Terumo; Research grant / Funding (institution): Bayer; BTG. M. Reig: Honoraria (self): AstraZeneca; Bayer; Bristol-Myers Squibb; BTG; Gilead; Ipsen; Lilly; Advisory / Consultancy: AstraZeneca; Bayer; Bristol-Myers Squibb; Ipsen; Lilly; Roche; Research grant / Funding (institution): Bayer; Travel / Accommodation / Expenses: Bayer; Bristol-Myers Squibb; Gilead; Ipsen; Lilly. P. Merle: Advisory / Consultancy: AstraZeneca; Bayer; Bristol-Myers Squibb; Eisai; Exelixis; Ipsen; Merck Sharp & Dohme; Onxeo; Roche. M. Kudo: Honoraria (self): Bayer; Eisai; Merck Sharp & Dohme; Advisory / Consultancy: Bayer; Bristol-Myers Squibb; Eisai; Merck Sharp & Dohme; Ono Pharmaceutical; Research grant / Funding (institution): AbbVie; Astellas Pharma; Bristol-Myers Squibb; Chugai; Daiichi Sankyo; EA Pharma; Eisai; Gilead; Medico’s Hirata; Otsuka; Taiho; Takeda. G. Meinhardt: Shareholder / Stockholder / Stock options: Bayer; Full / Part-time employment: Bayer. M. Zhang: Shareholder / Stockholder / Stock options: Bayer; Full / Part-time employment: Bayer. K. Ozgurdal: Full / Part-time employment: Bayer.

Background Immigration and globalization processes have contributed to the international dissemination of practices such as female genital mutilation. Between 100 and 400 million girls and women have been genitally mutilated, and every year 3 million girls are at risk of being subjected to female genital mutilation. Objectives The objective of this study was to describe the attitudes towards the practice of female genital mutilation in relation to different health systems and the factors that favour its discontinuation. Methods An integrative review was performed of publications from the period 2006 to 2013 included in the MedLine, PubMed, LILACS, SciELO, CINAHL and CUIDEN databases. Results We selected 16 studies focusing on diverse contexts that assessed the attitudes of both men and women regarding the perpetuation of this practice. Ten corresponded to studies conducted in countries of residence. Several areas of investigation were explored (factors contributing to the continuation of female genital mutilation, factors contributing to its discontinuation, feelings about the health system). Limitations It is possible that the relevant studies may not have been included given the limitations of the literature review and the invisibility of the phenomenon studied. Conclusions This review demonstrates the strong social pressure to which women are subjected as regards the practice of female genital mutilation. However, many other factors can contribute to eroding beliefs and arguments in favour of this practice, such as the globalization, culture and social environment of countries in the West. Implications for nursing and health policy Nurses occupy an essential position in detecting and combating these practices.