Acidic aqueous biphasic system (AcABS), in which the inorganic salt component of traditional aqueous biphasic system (ABS) is replaced by the inorganic acid inherently present in typical hydrometallurgical leachate solution, is shown to selectively separate cobalt from nickel, a separation relevant to the recycling of NiMH batteries. To overcome the limitation of electrodeposition in the presence of high acid concentration, a mixed ABS-AcABS approach is developed in which HCl is partially substituted by addition of a predictable amount of NaCl. This synergistic ABS-AcABS system retains the metal extraction efficiency of AcABS whilst diminishing the acid concentration required to induce phase separation as well as its distribution to the ionic liquid-rich phase. Selective deposition of cobalt in the presence of co-extracted manganese impurities was achieved in AcABS, ABS and ABS-AcABS systems. The morphology and composition of the obtained deposits as well as the Faradic efficiency of the process can be altered by varying the NaCl to HCl ratio and water content, resulting in highly tailored cobalt deposits. These results highlight the potential of AcABS derived systems as a new extractionseparation platform for the integrated hydrometallurgical treatment of critical metals, from leaching to electrodeposition.

IL–phospholipid interactions were studied using Langmuir monolayers and molecular simulations.

Biorefinery is the ideal model to help marine industries to apply green and blue economy principles towards a more sustainable, profitable, and conscious ocean economy.

Probiotic dairy beverages prepared from buffalo and cow milks with different levels of whey (0, 25, and 50%) were evaluated for kinetic fermentation parameters, protein and fat contents, post-acidification profile, viability of Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, and Lactobacillus acidophilus during 21 d of refrigerated storage, and resistance to in vitro gastrointestinal conditions. Progressive acidification that occurred during storage of all dairy products was reduced in the presence of whey. Lactic acid bacteria showed viable cell counts at the end of shelf life, with the highest values (7.33 to 8.83 log cfu/mL) detected in buffalo dairy products. Compared with fermented cow milk products, those made with buffalo milk showed better bacterial viability during in vitro simulated gastrointestinal digestion, which suggests a beneficial protective effect on human microbiome.

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Pediococcus pentosaceus LBM 18 has shown potential as producer of an antibacterial and antifungal bacteriocin-like inhibitory substance (BLIS). BLIS inhibited the growth of spoilage bacteria belonging to Lactobacillus, Enterococcus and Listeria genera with higher activity than Nisaplin used as control. It gave rise to inhibition halos with diameters from 9.70 to 20.00 mm, with Lactobacillus sakei being the most sensitive strain (13.50-20.00 mm). It also effectively suppressed the growth of fungi isolated from corn grain silage for up to 25 days and impaired morphology of colonies by likely affecting fungal membranes. these results point out that P. pentosaceus BLIS may be used as a new promising alternative to conventional antibacterial and antifungal substances, with potential applications in agriculture and food industry as a natural bio-controlling agent. Moreover, cytotoxicity and cell death induction tests demonstrated cytotoxicity and toxicity of BLiS to human colon adenocarcinoma caco-2cells but not to peripheral blood mononuclear cells, with suggests possible applications of BLIS also in medical-pharmaceutical applications. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are a group of well-distributed microorganisms in nature 1-3 having lactic acid as the major product of sugar fermentation 4,5. They are Gram-positive, non-pathogenic, non-sporulating, facultative anaerobic, catalase negative and acid tolerant bacteria with a strictly fermentative metabolism 3,6 , which are often used as industrial starter cultures in food fermentation technology 7,8. Their metabolic products are recognized as Generally Regarded as Safe (GRAS) by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and recommended by the Qualified Presumption of Safety (QPS) list of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) 9. This means that they can be safely used to preserve foods 10,11 , hence offering important benefits to the food industry 12. From the technology point of view, the most important genera of LAB are Aerococcus, Carnobacterium,

The growing demand of consumers for synthetic chemical-free foods has increased the search for natural preservatives such as bacteriocins and bacteriocin-like inhibitory substances (BLIS) to give them adequate microbiological safety, sensory characteristics, and shelf life. In this study, the antimicrobial activity of BLIS produced by Pediococcus pentosaceus ATCC 43200 was compared with that of nisin. Lactobacillus sakei ATCC 15521, Listeria seeligeri NCTC 11289, Enterococcus En2052 and En2865, and Listeria monocytogenes CECT 934 and NADC 2045 exhibited larger inhibition halos in BLIS-treated than in Nisaplin-treated samples, unlike Listeria innocua NCTC 11288. In artificially contaminated ready-to-eat pork ham, BLIS was effective in inhibiting the growth of L. seeligeri NCTC 11289 for 6 days (counts from 1.74 to 0.00 log CFU/g) and ensured lower weight loss (2.7%) and lipid peroxidation (0.63 mg MDA/kg) of samples compared with the control (3.0%; 1.25 mg MDA/kg). At the same time, coloration of ham samples in terms of luminosity, redness, and yellowness as well as discoloration throughout cold storage was not influenced by BLIS or Nisaplin taken as a control. These results suggest the potential use of P. pentosaceus BLIS as a biopreservative in meat and other food processing industries.

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