Marcelino Luiz Gimenes

Liberação de benzoato de cálcio de filmes de alginato de sódio reticulados com íons cálcio

Alginate-based biofilms were reticulated with Ca++ supplied by two sources, calcium chloride and benzoate, and using glycerol as plasticizer. The strong gelling power of the Ca++ ions hindered smooth casting procedures, so that films with low degree of reticulation were initially manufactured (1st stage). These films were further crosslinked with an excess of Ca++ by immersion in a solution of 3 to 7% of CaCl2.2H2O (2nd stage). The release of sorbate was evaluated considering different active agent concentrations in the film and two levels of alginate crosslinking. The mechanism involved in the diffusional process was investigated using the Power Law Model. The results indicated that potassium sorbate diffusion in alginate films has characteristics of Fickian and non-Fickian behavior. Effective diffusion coefficients obtained using the solution in series derived from Fick’s Second Law are close to values obtained with the short-time solution, with effective diffusivities varying from 3 to 5 × 10-7 cm2/s. The diffusivity values decreased with the degree of reticulation and increase with benzoate concentration in the film.

Enumeração e isolamento de bactérias anaeróbias facultativas num reator de fluxo ascendente e manta de lodo tratando efluente de uma indústria de gelatina - DOI: 10.4025/actascibiolsci.v25i2.1977

This experiment measured levels of facultative anaerobic bacteria in an Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) reactor treating wastewater from a gelatin industry. The microorganism quantification showed similar values in granular sludge bed and fluidized zone. In the settling compartment of reactor, the bacteria were two logs lower. These communities are composed mainly of Gram-negative rods. The most abundant genera isolated were Acinetobacter, Aeromonas, Citrobacter, Escherichia, Klebsiella and Stenotrophomonas . The significance of the bacteria isolated from UASB reactor for public health is unknown. Some species are permanent residents; other are found only in a fraction of the population, and still other species are opportunistic pathogens that cause human infections. In the present study, none of the predominant bacteria belonged to the group of strict pathogens