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Funding Information: This research was funded by national funding from the FCT, the Foundation for Science and Technology (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P-FCT, I.P), and through the individual research grants of Mariana Abreu (2020.06236.BD). This work was supported by Biomass and Bioenergy Research Infrastructure (BBRI)-LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-022059, supported by Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalization (PORTUGAL2020), by Lisbon Portugal Regional Operational Programme (Lisboa 2020) and by North Portugal Regional Operational Programme (Norte 2020) under the Portugal 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). This work was supported by the Mechanical Engineering and Resource Sustainability Center—MEtRICs, which is financed by national funds from FCT/MCTES (UIDB/04077/2020 and UIDP/04077/2020). Funding Information: Funding: This research was funded by national funding from the FCT, the Foundation for Science and Technology (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P-FCT, I.P), and through the individual research grants of Mariana Abreu (2020.06236.BD). This work was supported by Biomass and Bio-energy Research Infrastructure (BBRI)-LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-022059, supported by Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalization (PORTUGAL2020), by Lisbon Portugal Regional Operational Programme (Lisboa 2020) and by North Portugal Regional Operational Programme (Norte 2020) under the Portugal 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). This work was supported by the Mechanical Engineering and Resource Sustainability Center—MEtRICs, which is financed by national funds from FCT/MCTES (UIDB/04077/2020 and UIDP/04077/2020). Publisher Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Energy crops are dedicated cultures directed for biofuels, electricity, and heat production. Due to their tolerance to contaminated lands, they can alleviate and remediate land pollution by the disposal of toxic elements and polymetallic agents. Moreover, these crops are suitable to be exploited in marginal soils (e.g., saline), and, therefore, the risk of land-use conflicts due to competition for food, feed, and fuel is reduced, contributing positively to economic growth, and bringing additional revenue to landowners. Therefore, further study and investment in R&D is required to link energy crops to the implementation of biorefineries. The main objective of this study is to present a review of the potential of selected energy crops for bioenergy and biofuels production, when cultivated in marginal/degraded/contaminated (MDC) soils (not competing with agriculture), contributing to avoiding Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) burdens. The selected energy crops are Cynara cardunculus, Arundo donax, Cannabis sativa, Helianthus tuberosus, Linum usitatissimum, Miscanthus × giganteus, Sorghum bicolor, Panicum virgatum, Acacia dealbata, Pinus pinaster, Paulownia tomentosa, Populus alba, Populus nigra, Salix viminalis, and microalgae cultures. This article is useful for researchers or entrepreneurs who want to know what kind of crops can produce which biofuels in MDC soils. publishersversion published

Publisher Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Biosurfactants and bioemulsifiers (BS/BE) are naturally synthesized molecules, which can be used as alternatives to traditional detergents. These molecules are commonly produced by microorganisms isolated from hydrocarbon-rich environments. Gordonia alkanivorans strain 1B was originally found in such an environment, however little was known about its abilities as a BS/BE producer. The goal of this work was to access the potential of strain 1B as a BS/BE producer and perform the initial characterization of the produced compounds. It was demonstrated that strain 1B was able to synthesize lipoglycoprotein compounds with BS/BE properties, both extracellularly and adhered to the cells, without the need for a hydrophobic inducer, producing emulsion in several different hydrophobic phases. Using a crude BS/BE powder, the critical micelle concentration was determined (CMC = 16.94 mg/L), and its capacity to reduce the surface tension to a minimum of 35.63 mN/m was demonstrated, surpassing many commercial surfactants. Moreover, after dialysis, emulsification assays revealed an activity similar to that of Triton X-100 in almond and sunflower oils. In benzene, the E24 value attained was 83.45%, which is 30% greater than that of the commercial alternative. The results obtained highlight for the presence of promising novel BS/BE produced by strain 1B. publishersversion published

Decisions related to waste management were affected to contain the advance of the new coronavirus pandemic. Different measures have been adopted between countries around the world. This study aims to assess changes in decision-making on solid waste management in Brazil and Portugal during the COVID-19 pandemic, considering the socioeconomic differences and the context of waste management in each country before the health crisis. A literature review was carried out on scientific bases, PubMed, Google Scholar and Web of Science. Differences were noted in decisions and guidelines for good practices in waste management, with measures being observed in a decentralized manner in Brazil, differently from what was observed in Portugal. In this way, the understanding of urban waste management during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil becomes complex, in addition to the territorial extension and the diverse social composition, due to the decentralization of decision-making, while Portugal centralizes decisions related to waste management and has a smaller population and territorial extension. Las decisiones relacionadas con la gestión de residuos se vieron afectadas para contener el avance de la nueva pandemia de coronavirus. Se han adoptado diferentes medidas entre países de todo el mundo. Este estudio tiene como objetivo evaluar los cambios en la toma de decisiones sobre la gestión de residuos sólidos en Brasil y Portugal durante la pandemia COVID-19, considerando las diferencias socioeconómicas y el contexto de la gestión de residuos en cada país antes de la crisis sanitaria. Se realizó una revisión de la literatura sobre bases científicas, PubMed, Google Scholar y Web of Science. Se observaron diferencias en las decisiones y directrices de buenas prácticas en la gestión de residuos, observándose las medidas de manera descentralizada en Brasil, a diferencia de lo observado en Portugal. De esta manera, la comprensión de la gestión de residuos municipales durante la pandemia COVID-19 en Brasil se vuelve compleja, además de la extensión territorial y la diversa composición social, debido a la descentralización de la toma de decisiones, mientras que Portugal centraliza las decisiones relacionadas con la gestión de residuos y tiene una menor extensión poblacional y territorial. As decisões relacionadas ao gerenciamento de resíduos foram afetadas para conter o avanço da pandemia do novo coronavírus. Diferentes medidas têm sido adotadas entre países em todo o mundo. O presente estudo visa avaliar as mudanças na tomada de decisão sobre a gestão de resíduos sólidos no Brasil e em Portugal durante a pandemia COVID-19, considerando as diferenças socioeconômicas e o contexto da gestão de resíduos em cada país antes da crise de saúde. Foi realizada uma revisão de literatura em bases científicas, PubMed, Google Scholar e Web of Science. Notaram-se diferenças nas decisões e orientações de boas práticas no gerenciamento de resíduos, sendo medidas observadas de forma descentralizada no Brasil, diferentemente do observado em Portugal. Desta forma, o entendimento da gestão de resíduos urbanos durante a pandemia COVID-19 no Brasil torna-se complexo, para além da extensão territorial e da diversa composição social, devido à descentralização da tomada de decisões, enquanto Portugal centraliza as decisões relacionadas com a gestão de resíduos e tem menor população e extensão territorial.

They were originally made of glass, but didn’t really lend themselves to comfort, and as such never really became particularly popular. This all changed with the advent of plastics. The first polymer to be utilized as a direct corneal lens was poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA), which had several advantages over glass. The industrial production and trade of ophthalmic lenses is a very important business worldwide, so we have invested heavily in the research and development of new techniques, products and materials, in order to innovate and take full advantage of its potential. Following this development is obviously the increase in production which is also due to the increasing number of users of ophthalmic lenses. The materials used by this industry as the raw material for its products are essentially organic (plastic) materials, consisting of synthetic polymers. Since these wastes are high quality plastic materials with a wide range of uses, consideration should be given to their reuse, particularly at a time when environmental policies in the area of waste were strengthened, giving priority to the recovery of materials to the detriment of their disposal (DECREE-LAW n.o 178/2006 , «DR. I Serie», 171, 6525-6531). It is estimated that there are 4 million ophthalmic lenses in Portugal on average each wearer changes lenses every 3 years and that the largest European producers of ophthalmic lenses have factories in Portugal, it seems It is important to know the amount of waste produced by this activity and the processes of recovery to which these residues can be subjected. It is estimated that in 2017, of the Croatian population (4 154 million inhabitants), 2% used lenses, that is 83 080 thousand and 15% used glasses, that is 623 100 thousand. This work has as main objectives to compare waste habits between Portugal and Croatia, investigate the impact of optical waste (economic, environmental and social), raise awareness for a greater responsibility for a correct waste management and give proposals of improvement to reduce this waste. For the accomplishment of this article, questionnaires about Green Optics were used, both for the Portuguese population and for the Croatian population. For participants from Portugal, the questionnaire was launched online through Google Forms while the Croatian participants answered the questionnaire on paper. In all, 418 responses were collected (209 from Portuguese and 209 from Croatians). The recived results shows some important details: the disposal of optical residues in the two countries we can observe some differences whose environmental impact may be significant. In Croatia most people responded that they put the lenses out of use in the recycling bin, although most first said that they did not know what material they were made from, and in Portugal most people responded that they put them in the undifferentiated garbage. Comparing the two countries, we conclude that in Croatia people are more aware of their waste and put their optical waste in the recycling bin, which will always be a better option than the undifferentiated garbage, as most Portuguese say. The second option of deposition of this waste was the toilet in both countries and this attitude is quite wrong because the contact lenses are not destroyed in the sewage networks and end up in the ocean, damaging the sea life. Despite the small size and part of its constitution being water, the lenses do not dissolve completely, and the wastewater treatment plants do not have the capacity to eliminate them. These resist during the treatment of the waters and become part of the sewers and everything that is in the sewers can return, through the rains, to the superficial waters, and from there go to the ocean, increasing the environmental damage already caused by the pollution by microplastics. This project has continued development in Croatia true different art workshop. Last year we recived also National Geographic Croatia reward for the best sustainable development project in the category Sustainable production and consumption.

Humic acid impair water quality due to their chemical reactivity with many substances and their presence in water is undesirable. In addition, during the drinking water treatment process, a humic acids reacts with chlorine based disinfects producing harmful disinfection by-products (DBPs) with organic substances [1, 2]. The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of humic acid adsorption on two commercially available chemically modified activated carbon, Hydraffin 30N (mH) and Cullar D (mC). The efficiency of humic acid removal was investigated depending on the initial concentration of humic acid, pH, adsorption time, adsorbent mass and temperature. Obtained results shown that up to 58.44% humic acid can be absorbed by modified Hydraffin 30 N (45 °C, pH of 7.5, adsorbent mass 0.1 g, initial humic acid concentration 5 mg dm-3 and adsorption time of 120 min) while modified Cullar D adsorbed up to 66.46 % of humic acid (25 °C, pH of 7.5, adsorbent mass 0.1 g, initial mass concentration of humic acid 5 mg dm-3 and adsorption time 120 min). The effectiveness of dissolved humic acid removal from water decreased by moving from the optimal conditions.