The present work had the goal of screening a batch of 20 fungal strains, isolated from sugar cane plantation soil, in order to identify those capable of biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles. These nanoparticles are known to have a large and effective application in clinical microbiology. Four strains were found to be capable of biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles. The biosynthesised nanoparticles were characterised by UV–vis spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, EDX, and XRD. They were found to have an average size of 30–100 nm, a regular round shape, and potential antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The antimicrobial activity was found to be directly related to the nanoparticles concentration. Mycogenic synthesis of nanoparticles is a green biogenic process preferable to other alternatives. Because fungi are great producers of extracellular enzymes this process makes scaling-up an easier task with high importance for clinical microbiology on the fight against microbial resistance, as well as for other industrial applications.

The anthraquinone dye Remazol Brilliant Blue R is largely used in the textile industry. However, its removal from wastewaters is costly and complex. Many methods have been tested to solve this ecological problem, but there is still a need for efficient methods. We propose here an alternative use of a two-chambered microbial fuel cell (MFC), fuelled with domestic wastewater in the anodic chamber, to degrade a simulated textile dye effluent made of Remazol Brilliant Blue R inoculated with an immobilised fungal strain, Pleurotus ostreatus URM 4809, as a laccase producer, in the cathodic chamber. The MFC showed continuous synthesis of laccase in the cathodic chamber, which, in turn, promoted the rapid decolourisation, of more than 86% of the textile dye effluent. The yield was further increased by the addition of glycerol. Electrochemical monitoring also indicated an increase in power density and current density. After 20 days of MFC operation, 62.1% of organic matter was removed in the anodic compartment, thus leaving the effluent with a much lower toxicity.

-Metastable-to-stable transformation in oxides is always associated with drastic reduction in surface area and/or porosity. Therefore, all earlier efforts to stabilize the pore structure of oxides undergoing a metastable-to-stable phase transformation are interesting for both scientific and technological concerns. This work presents a new experimental technique for catalytic oxide production through sonication in acid solution for attainment of the anatase-rutile transformation. Mesoporous structure of titania and surface area were stabilized in the rutile phase after calcinations at 430 and 730 o C. Analysis by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and nitrogen isotherms showed that the mesoporous structure was preserved after calcinations. After the sonication of titania for 32 hours, rutile phase was obtained at 730 o C and still kept a surface area of 28m 2 /g. When sonicated for 64 h, rutile was obtained at 430 o C, still preserving an area of 52m 2 /g.

Objective Our study evaluated the performance of different two-chambered microbial fuel cell (MFC) prototypes, operated with variable distance between electrodes and Nafion membrane and specific inoculum concentration, applied for vinasse treatment. Results The performance of the developed MFC resulted in a maximum current density of 1200 mA m-2 and power density of 800 mW m-2 in a period of 61 days. MFC performed a chemical oxygen demand removal at a rate ranging from 51 to 60%. Conclusions Taking our preliminary results into consideration, we concluded that the MFC technology presents itself as highly promising for the treatment of vinasse.

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