Purpose: The propose of this study is to determine the influence of Intellectual Capital (IC) and its components’ impact on Portuguese tourism organizations’ business performance through Return on the assets (ROA). This work evaluate and compare the intellectual capital in its four dimensions: (i) capital employed; (ii) human capital; (iii) structural capital and (iv) relational capital.  Design/methodology/approach: To approach the aim of the study the method Value Added Intellectual Coefficient (VAICTM) was applied and the practical data were collected from the Simplified Business Information (IES) through SABI (Iberian Balance Sheet Analysis System) database. The economic and financial information was collected from balance sheets and financial reports of 46.951 Portuguese companies in the hospitality and tourism sector during 2016. Multiple regression analysis was employed to identify the effect of IC components’ that significantly contribute to the company performance.Findings: The paper reveals that VAICTM, human capital efficiency coefficient (HCE), capital employed efficiency coefficient (CEE).and ROA are positively related among Portuguese’s hospitality and tourism sector. However, the structural capital efficiency coefficient (SCE) presents a negative association with profitability and the results of the relationship between the variable relational efficiency coefficient (RCE) and ROA do not present statistical significance.Practical implications: The application of the VAICTM model presented in this paper provides a basis for practical application for management.Originality/value: The paper represents a pioneering attempt to understand the relationship of intellectual capital and firm’s profitability on Portuguese hospitality and tourism sector’s, to provide solid recommendations for the importance of intellectual capital in the sustainable growth of organizations in this sector.

Pulp and paper mills generate pollutants associated to their effluents depending upon the type of process, type of the wood materials, process technology applied, management practices, internal recirculation of the effluent for recovery, the amount of water used in the industrial process and type of secondary treatment. This study is the first that reports a simultaneous evaluation of the effects of tertiary treatments by fungi (Rhizopus oryzae and Pleurotus sajor caju), by enzyme (laccase) and by an oxidation process (photo-Fenton) on individual phenols (vanillin, guaiacol, phloroglucinol, vanillic acid and syringic acid) of a Eucalyptus globulus bleached kraft pulp and paper mill final effluent after secondary treatment (BKPME). The tertiary treatments were applied on BKPME samples and in BKPME samples supplemented with extra concentration of each phenol. Tertiary treatments by Rhizopus oryzae and photo-Fenton oxidation were able of complete removal (100%) of phenols on BKPME samples whereas P. sajor caju and laccase were able of 60-85% removal. On BKPME samples with added concentration of each phenol, photo-Fenton was the only treatment capable of total phenols removal (100%), which suggests a great potential for its application.

In order to reduce the deleterious impacts of paper mill effluents, efforts have been made to develop more effective advanced tertiary treatments. This study may serve as a basis of characterisation, in terms of organic compounds of E. globulus bleached kraft pulp mill final effluent after secondary treatment and as an effort to understand the effects of tertiary treatments with fungi on low concentrations of organic compounds from biological secondary treatment.

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