Ana M Anselmo - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Ana M Anselmo

Journal of Applied Toxicology, 2002

The test for inhibition of oxygen consumption by activated sludge (ISO 8192-1986 (E)) was evaluat... more The test for inhibition of oxygen consumption by activated sludge (ISO 8192-1986 (E)) was evaluated as a tool for assessing, the acute toxicity of olive mill wastewaters (OMW). According to the ISO test, information generated by this method may be helpful in estimating the effect of a test material on bacterial communities in the aquatic environment, especially in aerobic biological treatment systems. However, the lack of standardized bioassay methodology for effluents imposed that the test conditions were modified and adapted. The experiments were conducted in the presence or absence of an easily biodegradable carbon source (glucose) with different contact times (20 min and 24 h). The results obtained showed a remarkable stimulatory effect of this effluent to the activated sludge microorganisms. In fact, the oxygen uptake rate values increase with increasing effluent concentrations and contact times up to 0.98 μl O2 h−1 mg−1 dry weight for a 100% OMW sample, 24 h contact time, with blanks exhibiting an oxygen uptake rate of ca. 1/10 of this value (0.07–0.10). It seems that the application of the ISO test as an acute toxicity test for effluents should be reconsidered, with convenient adaptation for its utilization as a method of estimating the effect on bacterial communities present in aerobic biological treatment systems. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Electronic Journal of Biotechnology, 2004

The mycelium of Fusarium flocciferum was assayed for its ability to degrade aromatic compounds, n... more The mycelium of Fusarium flocciferum was assayed for its ability to degrade aromatic compounds, namely, gallic, protocatechuic, vanillic, syringic, caffeic, and ferulic acids and syringic aldehyde, commonly found in agro-industrial wastes. The biodegradation assays were performed in liquid medium with the phenolic compounds as single substrates and as a synthetic mixture containing the seven aromatic compounds. The results with single substrates indicated that in 24 hrs of incubation the fungus was able to reduce the phenolic concentration from 200 mg/l to below detection limits, except for syringic acid, being the lowest degradation rates found for this acid and its aldehyde. The biodegradation experiments with the mixture of phenolic compounds showed that after 8 hrs the total phenolic concentration was reduce from 350 mg/l to below the detection limits of all the tested compounds. In all the experiments a rise in the pH and an effective detoxification of the phenolic solutions were also observed.

International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation, 1998

A mixed bacterial population was isolated from a garden soil inoculum after enrichment in a de_ne... more A mixed bacterial population was isolated from a garden soil inoculum after enrichment in a de_ned medium containing increasing amounts of 3!chlorobiphenyl "3!CB# as sole carbon source[ The established population was composed of _ve bacteria from di}erent genera\ but only one\ identi_ed as belonging to the genus Bacillus and named MCS\ had the ability to utilize 3!CB[ In pure culture\ the Bacillus isolate caused a reduction of 59) in the initial 3!CB concentration "199 mg litre −0 # after 37 h of incubation and achieved total removal of the compound from the medium after seven days [ Catabolite analysis provided evidence that Bacillus sp[ MCS metabolizes 3!CB through a chain of reactions that ultimately generates 3!chlorobenzoic acid[ Þ 0887 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd[ All rights reserved[ Keywords] PCB^3!CB degradation^Bacillus sp[ Corresponding author] Maria Helena Paveia\ Faculdade de Cie ¼ncias de Lisboa\ Departamento de Biologia Vegetal\ Ed[C1\ Campo Grande\ 0699 Lisboa\ Portugal[

Bioresource Technology, 2005

In this study, the composting performance of two olive oil husk piles was compared using two diff... more In this study, the composting performance of two olive oil husk piles was compared using two different aeration processes: aeration by mechanical turning or by forced air-injection.

Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 2007

Toxicity tests with Vibrio fischeri, Daphnia magna, and Lemna minor were used to evaluate acute a... more Toxicity tests with Vibrio fischeri, Daphnia magna, and Lemna minor were used to evaluate acute and chronic toxicity of cork-boiling wastewaters and correlation analysis was performed with physicochemical parameters. Acute toxicity values (EC 50 ) ranged from 2.3% to 24.2% in the Microtox test and from 4.4% to 29.5% in the Daphnia test. According to these values, 78% of the samples were classified as acutely toxic to the most sensitive species (V. fischeri). Significant correlation was obtained between EC 50 and chemical oxygen demand, biochemical oxygen demand after 5 days, total organic carbon, tannin and lignin and total solids. No significant correlation was found between the two acute tests. The D. magna chronic test showed significant differences between all tested concentrations and the control, with an EC 50 of 0.32%. An EC 50 value of 26.0% was calculated for L. minor. For the analysis of cork-boiling wastewater toxicity and routine biomonitoring, the use of the Microtox test is suggested, to afford greater environmental protection. r

Journal of Cleaner Production, 2007

Reducing environmental impacts and getting economic benefits, based on by-product recovery, and o... more Reducing environmental impacts and getting economic benefits, based on by-product recovery, and on reduction of both water consumption and organic load, was the aim of the implementation of an eco-efficiency process in a crispy chips industry. Separations at the source were implemented resulting in increase of business productivity, due to the added value achieved through by-product valorisation. Improvement changes were monitored through physico-chemical and ecotoxicological evaluations of the wastewater, which has favourably evolved from acutely toxic to minor acutely toxic. Evidence is provided about the formulation of cleaner production opportunities enabling the downsizing of the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) with a subsequent decrease of energy, water and chemicals input and a decrease in sludge generation.

Environmental Toxicology, 1999

Acute toxicity of olive mill wastewaters traditional and continuous processes collected ( from di... more Acute toxicity of olive mill wastewaters traditional and continuous processes collected ( from different regions of Portugal was evaluated using three test species Vibrio fischeri formerly ) Photobacterium phosphoreum, Thamnocephalus platyurus, and Daphnia magna and correlated with several physical and chemical parameters. Acute toxicity of these effluents, expressed in LC or EC , 50 50 ranged from: 0.16 to 1.24% in Microtox test, 0.73 to 12.54% in Thamnotoxkit F test, and 1.08 to 6.83% in Daphnia test. These values reflect the high toxicity of the olive mill wastewaters to all test species.

Engineering in Life Sciences, 2004

The ability of several fungal strains to degrade and to detoxify cork boiling wastewaters was inv... more The ability of several fungal strains to degrade and to detoxify cork boiling wastewaters was investigated. The fungal strains used in this work were Sporothrix sp., Trichoderma koningii, Chrysonilia sitophila and Penicillium glabrum isolated from cork bark as well as Fusarium flocciferum and Phanerochaete chrysosporium. The results obtained in the degradation experiments carried out with each fungus showed that all fungi display similar abilities, with a chemical oxygen demand reduction of 54.2 % (± 4.7 %) attained within five days of incubation. F. flocciferum presented the highest value for the reduction of chemical oxygen demand of 62 %. In addition, a rise in pH values of around 3 units was detected with all the strains, except for Penicillium glabrum. Toxicity tests performed on Vibrio fischeri revealed that fungal treatment of the wastewaters causes the complete loss of toxicity in the cases of Sporothrix sp., T. koningii, P. chrysosporium and F. flocciferum. The other two tested strains were also able to detoxify the raw wastewaters, causing a ten-fold decrease in toxicity. The results obtained in sequential biodegradation experiments with different pairs of fungi showed that although the increment in the COD reduction did not exceed 10 %, an important reduction in toxicity and a pH rise were attained.

International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation, 1996

Journal of Environmental Science and Health Part A-toxic/hazardous Substances & Environmental Engineering, 2001

The present work describes a coke oven soil treatability study by landfarming, conducted on-site ... more The present work describes a coke oven soil treatability study by landfarming, conducted on-site in a field scale facility covering 100 m2. The soil contamination was mainly due to high concentrations of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) up to 1140 mg/Kg dry weight (ΣEPA). Along the treatment process the soil was characterised at the chemical, microbiological and ecotoxicological levels. After 3 months a reduction of 63% in total PAHs concentration was observed, being detected a more pronounced reduction for PAHs with 2, 3 and 4 rings (79%). Concomitantly, a change in the composition of the microbial population was observed with a significant increase in the PAHs degrading and total heterotrophic colonies. Concerning the ecotoxicity and genotoxicity data no effect was detected in the treated soil samples eluates.

Environmental Toxicology, 2003

The use of activated sludge to assess the potential toxicity and environmental impact of chemical... more The use of activated sludge to assess the potential toxicity and environmental impact of chemicals and wastewaters suffers from several drawbacks related to the heterogeneity, absence of standardization, and health risk associated with this mixed-sewage population. To search for reliable testing inoculum alternatives, the performance of two commercial inocula (BI-CHEM® and BIOLEN M112), a garden-soil inoculum and a pure culture of Pseudomonas sp., was compared with an activated sludge inoculum (AS) in the inhibition respiration test ISO 8192-1986 (E). The respiration rates of microbial inocula were assayed for the reference compound 3,5–dichlorophenol. The acute toxicity values (IC50) ranged from 6.7 mg/L (Pseudomonas sp.) to 22.7 mg/L (garden soil), overlapping the expected values for activated sludge microorganisms despite the bacterial diversity. The assayed microbial inocula also showed higher reproducibility than AS and an overall similarity of catabolic profiles obtained with Biolog EcoPlates was observed between AS and some mixed inocula. These results point to the potential ability of such inocula as surrogate cultures in relevant activated sludge–based bioassays. New, well-defined, standardized, and safe tools will then be available for monitoring the ecological impact of hazardous substances and effluents, thus providing environmental protection. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 18: 37–44, 2003.

Environmental Toxicology, 2006

Reference materials are important tools for maintaining high-quality assurance standards, includi... more Reference materials are important tools for maintaining high-quality assurance standards, including for biological materials. A significant number of environmental international standards, including biodegradability and toxicity, involve utilization of activated sludge (AS) inocula. The absence of inoculum standardization in these tests is a potential source of error influencing the results. In this study three defined microbial consortia, two commercial inocula and a designed bacterial inoculum, were evaluated as an AS alternative seed for the Zahn–Wellens test, using diethylene glycol as the reference chemical. The results showed that to achieve diethylene glycol biodegradation with these inocula, a number of 105 colony-forming units per milliliter of effective degrader microorganisms had to be present. Moreover, the addition of AS supernatant to the test mixtures improved inocula performance (the biodegradability curves), bringing them closer to those obtained with AS inocula. Among the three defined consortia, the designed inoculum replicates bested the AS behavior in the range of concentrations tested, with degradation completed in 12–14 days. Comparisons of the community substrate utilization profiles corroborated these results, showing that the designed inoculum profile was the most similar to the AS profile. The biodegradability and metabolism results provided support for the assertion that the designed inoculum can be used in the Zahn–Wellens test and as a base to develop reference inocula for other biodegradability and toxicity tests. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 21: 131–140, 2006.