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New Biotechnology Jan 2022The COVID-19 pandemic has generated a major need for non-destructive and environmentally friendly disinfection methods. This work presents the development and testing of...
The COVID-19 pandemic has generated a major need for non-destructive and environmentally friendly disinfection methods. This work presents the development and testing of a disinfection process based on gaseous ozone for SARS-CoV-2-contaminated porous and non-porous surfaces. A newly developed disinfection chamber was used, equipped with a CeraPlas™ cold plasma generator that produces ozone during plasma ignition. A reduction of more than log 6 of infectious virus could be demonstrated for virus-contaminated cotton and FFP3 face masks as well as glass slides after exposure to 800 ppm ozone for 10-60 min, depending on the material. In contrast to other disinfectants, ozone can be produced quickly and cost-effectively, and its environmentally friendly breakdown product oxygen does not leave harmful residues. Disinfection with ozone could help to overcome delivery difficulties of personal protective equipment by enabling safe reuse with further applications, thereby reducing waste generation, and may allow regular disinfection of personal items with non-porous surfaces.
Topics: Disinfection; Equipment Contamination; Masks; Ozone; Porosity; SARS-CoV-2; Virus Inactivation
PubMed: 34626837
DOI: 10.1016/j.nbt.2021.10.001 -
Journal of Agricultural and Food... May 2020Oak barrels form an integral part of wine production, especially that of high-quality wines where they are implemented as fermentation and aging vessels. Insufficient... (Review)
Review
Oak barrels form an integral part of wine production, especially that of high-quality wines where they are implemented as fermentation and aging vessels. Insufficient cleaning and sanitization of barrels can result in microbial spoilage which may have a detrimental impact on wine quality. To date, no review has been published on the various sanitization methods for wine barrels. The objective of this review is to provide an overview of the sanitization methods used in wineries from conventional techniques like the use of sulfur dioxide and steam to alternative and new approaches using ozone and high-power ultrasound. The methods' efficacies are outlined in terms of their ability to eradicate spoilage microorganisms such as and acetic or lactic acid bacteria. Furthermore, their advantages and drawbacks are described together with their influence on physicochemical properties of the wood. Finally, limitations in existing knowledge are discussed and areas that merit further research are identified.
Topics: Bacteria; Disinfectants; Disinfection; Food Handling; Humans; Quercus; Taste; Wine; Wood
PubMed: 32323983
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.0c00816 -
Chirurgie (Heidelberg, Germany) Jun 2022Surgery as an important part of the healthcare sector contributes to environmental pollution and therefore to the climate crisis. The aim of this review is to create an... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Surgery as an important part of the healthcare sector contributes to environmental pollution and therefore to the climate crisis. The aim of this review is to create an overview of the current data situation and possibilities for improvement.
METHODS
A literature search was performed in PubMed/MEDLINE using the following five terms: "carbon footprint and surgery", "climate change and surgery", "waste and surgery" and "greening the operating room" focusing on energy, waste, water and anesthesia.
RESULTS
The greatest part of emissions in surgery is generated by the use of energy. The operating rooms (OR) need 3-6 times more energy than the other hospital rooms. Of the total hospital waste 20-30% is produced during operations, which is particularly due to the increasing use of disposable articles and 50-90% of waste classified as hazardous is incorrectly sorted. The disposal of this waste is not only more environmentally harmful but also much more expensive. The processing of surgical items by autoclaving consumes large amounts of water. Modern sterilization methods, for example using plasma could be future alternatives. Up to 20% of volatile nonmetabolized anesthetic agents are vented into the stratosphere and destroy the ozone layer. Intravenous anesthetic drugs should be used whenever possible instead. The choice of operating method can also contribute to the environmental impact of an operation.
CONCLUSION
The surgical disciplines are a relevant producer of environmental pollutants. Through diverse interdisciplinary approaches surgery can also contribute to protecting the environment.
Topics: Carbon Footprint; Climate Change; Global Warming; Operating Rooms; Water
PubMed: 35138418
DOI: 10.1007/s00104-021-01551-1 -
Journal of Economic Entomology Jun 2023Pollen is an essential component of bee diets, and rearing bumble bees (Bombus spp.) for commercial use necessitates feeding pollen in mass quantities. This pollen is...
Pollen is an essential component of bee diets, and rearing bumble bees (Bombus spp.) for commercial use necessitates feeding pollen in mass quantities. This pollen is collected from honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) colonies because neither an artificial diet nor an economical, large-scale pollen collection process from flowers is available. The provenance of honey bee-collected pollen is often unknown, and in some cases has crossed international borders. Both deformed wing virus (DWV) and the fungal pathogen Ascosphaera apis (Claussen) Olive & Spiltoir (cause of chalkbrood disease); occur in honey bee-collected pollen, and infections have been observed in bumble bees. We used these pathogens as general surrogates for viruses and spore-forming fungal diseases to test the efficacy of 3 sterilization methods, and assessed whether treatment altered pollen quality for the bumble bee. Using honey bee-collected pollen spiked with known doses of DWV and A. apis, we compared gamma irradiation (GI), ozone fumigation (OZ), and ethylene oxide fumigation (EO) against an untreated positive control and a negative control. Following sterilization treatments, we tested A. apis spore viability, detected viral presence with PCR, and tested palatability to the bumble bee Bombus impatiens Cresson. We also measured bacterial growth from pollens treated with EO and GI. GI and EO outperformed OZ treatment in pathogen suppression. EO had the highest sterilizing properties under commercial conditions and retained palatability and supported bee development better than other treatments. These results suggest that EO sterilization reduces pathogen risks while retaining pollen quality as a food source for rearing bumble bees.
Topics: Bees; Animals; RNA Viruses; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Pollen; Diet
PubMed: 36930576
DOI: 10.1093/jee/toad036 -
Environmental Pollution (Barking, Essex... Mar 2023Reclaimed water is highly required for environmental sustainability and to meet sustainable development goals (SDGs). Chemical processes are frequently associated with... (Review)
Review
Reclaimed water is highly required for environmental sustainability and to meet sustainable development goals (SDGs). Chemical processes are frequently associated with highly hazardous and toxic by-products, like nitrosamines, trihalomethanes, haloaldehydes, haloketones, and haloacetic acids. In this context, we aim to summarize the formation of various commonly produced disinfection by-products (DBPs) during wastewater treatment and their treatment approaches. Owing to DBPs formation, we discussed permissible limits, concentrations in various water systems reported globally, and their consequences on humans. While most reviews focus on DBPs detection methods, this review discusses factors affecting DBPs formation and critically reviews various remediation approaches, such as adsorption, reverse osmosis, nano/micro-filtration, UV treatment, ozonation, and advanced oxidation process. However, research in the detection of hazardous DBPs and their removal is quite at an early and initial stage, and therefore, numerous advancements are required prior to scale-up at commercial level. DBPs abatement in wastewater treatment approach should be considered. This review provides the baseline for optimizing DBPs formation and advancements in the remediation process, efficiently reducing their production and providing safe, clean drinking water. Future studies should focus on a more efficient and rigorous understanding of DBPs properties and degradation of hazardous pollutants using low-cost techniques in wastewater treatment.
Topics: Humans; Drinking Water; Water Pollutants, Chemical; Water Purification; Disinfection; Nitrosamines; Halogenation; Trihalomethanes; Disinfectants
PubMed: 36634860
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.121009 -
Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences Dec 2022The use of disease-free seeds or bulbs is very crucial to ensure sustainable and profitable agricultural production. Seed-borne pathogens which are responsible for...
The use of disease-free seeds or bulbs is very crucial to ensure sustainable and profitable agricultural production. Seed-borne pathogens which are responsible for significant yield losses in various crops need to be successfully eliminated with appropriate seed treatments. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of gaseous ozone (O) and ozonated water treatments on the inactivation of seed-borne fungal and bacterial pathogens of widely cultivated vegetable and cereal seeds, and ornamental bulbs. We demonstrated that O application to tomato and cucumber seeds inactivates f. sp. , f. sp. -, subsp. , pv. , and pv. , respectively, with no negative effect on seed germination rate. The sterilization capacity of O has substantially increased when the seeds were soaked in water before the treatments. The saprophytic fungal load and the infection rate of subsp. on several species and cultivars of ornamental bulbs were suppressed by O treatment. A strong decrease in the infection rate of was also shown in O-treated wheat seeds under field conditions. Overall, the current study indicated that O treatment has great potential in ensuring the use of disease-free seeds or other propagation materials, which is indispensable at the beginning of crop production.
PubMed: 36389212
DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2022.103480 -
Journal of the Science of Food and... May 2024In order to explore the effect of ozone sterilization treatment on tomato disease control and increase fruit setting rate, this study took 906 pink fruit tomato as test...
BACKGROUND
In order to explore the effect of ozone sterilization treatment on tomato disease control and increase fruit setting rate, this study took 906 pink fruit tomato as test material, used a small ozone generator to carry out ozone treatment single-factor test, and then selected orthogonal table to guide the ozone treatment combination. The effects of different ozone treatment concentration, ozone treatment duration and ozone treatment times on the growth, disease and fruit setting rate of potted tomato were analyzed.
RESULTS
Different ozone treatment had effects on leaf mildew, gray mold and fruit setting rate of tomato. The influence degree of three factors on leaf mildew, gray mold and fruit setting rate was from large to small, a > b > c, a > c > b, b > a > c. A quadratic regression model was established with the control effect of tomato leaf mildew, gray mold and fruit setting rate as response values, and the optimal parameter combination was determined: The ozone treatment concentration was 0.0465 g kg, the ozone treatment time was 30 min, and the ozone treatment times were twice a week. In this case, the control efficiency of tomato leaf mildew was 95.02%, the control effect of gray mold was 99.49%, and the fruit setting rate was 76.5%. The test parameters were accurate and reliable.
CONCLUSION
The ozone sterilization method proposed in this article is safe and green, and can provide theoretical support for the recovery and reconstruction of tomato disease in a glasshouse. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.
Topics: Ozone; Plant Diseases; Plant Leaves; Solanum lycopersicum; Sterilization
PubMed: 38308444
DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.13292 -
Water Research Jun 2022Cethyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTMA) is one of the most used quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) in consumer products. CTMA and other QACs are only partially...
Cethyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTMA) is one of the most used quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) in consumer products. CTMA and other QACs are only partially eliminated in municipal wastewater treatment and they can interact with bacteria in biological processes. Currently, there is only limited information on the antimicrobial efficiency of CTMA in matrices other than standard growth media and if and how CTMA influences conventional chemical disinfection. The results obtained in this study showed that the susceptibility of E. coli to CTMA was significantly enhanced in phosphate-buffered saline, lake water and wastewater compared to broth. In broth, a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of CTMA of 20 mgL was observed for E. coli, whereas a 4-log inactivation occurred for CTMA concentrations of about 4 mgL in buffered ultra-purified water, a lake water and wastewater effluent. The impacts of the pre-exposure and the presence of CTMA on inactivation by ozone and monochloramine were tested with three different E. coli strains: AG100 with the efflux pump acrAB intact, AG100A with it deleted and AG100tet with it overexpressed. Pre-exposure of E. coli AG100 to CTMA led to an increased susceptibility for ozone with second-order inactivation rate constants (∼ 10 Ms) increasing by a factor of about 1.5. An opposite trend was observed for monochloramine with second-order inactivation rate constants (∼ 10 Ms) decreasing by a factor of about 2. For E. coli AG100tet, the second-order inactivation rate constant decreased by a factor of almost 2 and increased by a factor of about 1.5 for ozone and monochloramine, respectively, relative to the strain AG100. The simultaneous presence of CTMA and ozone enhanced the second-order inactivation rate constants for CTMA concentrations of 2.5 mgL by a factor of about 3. For monochloramine also an enhancement of the inactivation was observed, which was at least additive but might also be synergistic. Enhancement by factors from about 2 to 4.5 were observed for CTMA concentrations > 2.5 mgL.
Topics: Bis-Trimethylammonium Compounds; Cetrimonium; Chloramines; Disinfection; Escherichia coli; Kinetics; Ozone; Wastewater; Water; Water Purification
PubMed: 35366494
DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2022.118278 -
APMIS : Acta Pathologica,... Jul 2021The unexpected pandemic with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has challenged the healthcare sector as regards preventing and controlling the... (Review)
Review
The unexpected pandemic with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has challenged the healthcare sector as regards preventing and controlling the virus from spreading between patients and hospital personnel. The massive spread of the pandemic has led state authorities to introduce restrictions on society and public behavior unprecedented in modern times. First, we describe the Danish effort regarding standard precautions, personal protective equipment, and disinfection in the healthcare setting with Denmark as an example. As regards, the number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related hospital submissions, deaths, and infected healthcare workers in Denmark is not the hardest hit country compared with others. This cannot be explained by the hardness of the restrictions alone. Several aspects concerning the person-to-person spread of SARS-CoV-2 are not fully understood and require more experimental studies. The dogma is that virus transmission happens through either respiratory droplets or contact routes. However, it is likely not the whole truth, as we describe scenarios where droplets and/or direct contact cannot alone explain how all patients were infected. Aspects of the physiology of airborne transmission are considered, as several parameters are in play beyond particle size and respiratory rate. These are ozone concentration, ambient temperature, and humidity. In a hospital environment, these factors are not necessarily all controllable, making infection prevention and control a challenge.
Topics: Aerosols; COVID-19; Cross Infection; Delivery of Health Care; Denmark; Disinfection; Humans; SARS-CoV-2
PubMed: 34050990
DOI: 10.1111/apm.13160 -
Journal of Environmental Management Nov 2023Disinfection and decontamination of water by application of oxidisers is an essential treatment step across numerous industrial sectors including potable supply and... (Review)
Review
Disinfection and decontamination of water by application of oxidisers is an essential treatment step across numerous industrial sectors including potable supply and industry waste management, however, could be greatly enhanced if operated as advanced oxidation processes (AOPs). AOPs destroy contaminants including pathogens by uniquely harnessing radical chemistry. Despite AOPs offer great practical opportunities, no reviews to date have highlighted the critical AOP virtues that facilitate AOPs' scale up under growing industrial demand. Hence, this review analyses the critical AOP parameters such as oxidant conversion efficiency, batch mode vs continuous-flow systems, location of radical production, radical delivery by advanced micro-/mesoporous structures and AOP process costs to assist the translation of progressing developments of AOPs into their large-scale applications. Additionally, the state of the art is analysed for various AOP inducing radical/oxidiser measurement techniques and their half-lives with a view to identify radicals/oxidisers that are suitable for in-situ production. It is concluded that radicals with short half-lives such as hydroxyl (10 μsec) and sulfate (30-40 μsec) need to be produced in-situ via continuous-flow reactors for their effective transport and dosing. Meanwhile, radicals/oxidisers with longer half-lives such as ozone (7-10 min), hydrogen peroxide (stable for several hours), and hypochlorous acid (10 min -17 h) need to be applied through batch reactor systems due to their relatively longer stability during transportation and dosing. Complex and costly synthesis as well as cytotoxicity of many micro-/mesoporous structures limit their use in scaling up AOPs, particularly to immobilising and delivering the short-lived hydroxyl and sulfate radicals to their point of applications. Overall, radical delivery using safe and advanced biocompatible micro-/mesoporous structures, radical conversion efficiency using advanced reactor design and portability of AOPs are priority areas of development for scaling up to industry.
Topics: Oxidation-Reduction; Oxidants; Disinfection; Hydrogen Peroxide; Hydroxyl Radical; Sulfates
PubMed: 37651902
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118861