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

Papers by Ana M Anselmo

Research paper thumbnail of Effect of olive mill wastewaters on the oxygen consumption by activated sludge microorganisms: an acute toxicity test method

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.

Research paper thumbnail of Biodegradation of natural phenolic compounds as single and mixed substrates by Fusarium flocciferum

Electronic Journal of Biotechnology, 2004

Research paper thumbnail of Isolation and preliminary characterization of Bacillus sp. MCS, a gram-positive 4-chlorobiphenyl degrading bacterium

International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation, 1998

Research paper thumbnail of Biodegradation of olive oil husks in composting aerated piles

Bioresource Technology, 2005

Research paper thumbnail of Ecotoxicological evaluation of cork-boiling wastewaters

Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 2007

Research paper thumbnail of Getting value from wastewater: by-products recovery in a potato chips industry

Journal of Cleaner Production, 2007

Research paper thumbnail of Acute toxicity evaluation of olive oil mill wastewaters: A comparative study of three aquatic organisms

Environmental Toxicology, 1999

Research paper thumbnail of Fungal Biodegradation and Detoxification of Cork Boiling Wastewaters

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.

Research paper thumbnail of Isolation of a gram-positive pCB degrading bacterial strain

International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation, 1996

Research paper thumbnail of LANDFARMING IN A PAH-CONTAMINATED SOIL

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.

Research paper thumbnail of Alternative inocula as activated sludge surrogate culture for a toxicity test

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.

Research paper thumbnail of Biodegradability testing using standardized microbial communities as inoculum

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.

Research paper thumbnail of Effect of olive mill wastewaters on the oxygen consumption by activated sludge microorganisms: an acute toxicity test method

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.

Research paper thumbnail of Biodegradation of natural phenolic compounds as single and mixed substrates by Fusarium flocciferum

Electronic Journal of Biotechnology, 2004

Research paper thumbnail of Isolation and preliminary characterization of Bacillus sp. MCS, a gram-positive 4-chlorobiphenyl degrading bacterium

International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation, 1998

Research paper thumbnail of Biodegradation of olive oil husks in composting aerated piles

Bioresource Technology, 2005

Research paper thumbnail of Ecotoxicological evaluation of cork-boiling wastewaters

Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 2007

Research paper thumbnail of Getting value from wastewater: by-products recovery in a potato chips industry

Journal of Cleaner Production, 2007

Research paper thumbnail of Acute toxicity evaluation of olive oil mill wastewaters: A comparative study of three aquatic organisms

Environmental Toxicology, 1999

Research paper thumbnail of Fungal Biodegradation and Detoxification of Cork Boiling Wastewaters

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.

Research paper thumbnail of Isolation of a gram-positive pCB degrading bacterial strain

International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation, 1996

Research paper thumbnail of LANDFARMING IN A PAH-CONTAMINATED SOIL

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.

Research paper thumbnail of Alternative inocula as activated sludge surrogate culture for a toxicity test

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.

Research paper thumbnail of Biodegradability testing using standardized microbial communities as inoculum

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.