Inactivation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms formed under high shear stress on various hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces by a continuous flow of ozonated water

The Use of Ozone Technology: An Eco-Friendly Method for the Sanitization of the Dairy Supply Chain

The dairy field has considerable economic relevance in the agri-food system, but also has the need to develop new 'green' supply chain actions to ensure that sustainable products are in line with consumer requirements. In recent years, the dairy farming industry has generally improved in terms of equipment and product performance, but innovation must be linked to traditional product specifications. During cheese ripening, the storage areas and the direct contact of the cheese with the wood must be carefully managed because the proliferation of contaminating microorganisms, parasites, and insects increases significantly and product quality quickly declines, notably from a sensory level. The use of ozone (as gas or as ozonated water) can be effective for sanitizing air, water, and surfaces in contact with food, and its use can also be extended to the treatment of waste and process water. Ozone is easily generated and is eco-sustainable as it tends to disappear in a short time, leaving no residues of ozone. However, its oxidation potential can lead to the peroxidation of cheese polyunsaturated fatty acids. In this review we intend to investigate the use of ozone in the dairy sector, selecting the studies that have been most relevant over the last years.

The Use of Ozone as an Eco-Friendly Strategy against Microbial Biofilm in Dairy Manufacturing Plants: A Review

Managing spoilage and pathogenic bacteria contaminations represents a major challenge for the food industry, especially for the dairy sector. Biofilms formed by these microorganisms in food processing environment continue to pose concerns to food manufacturers as they may impact both the safety and quality of processed foods. Bacteria inside biofilm can survive in harsh environmental conditions and represent a source of repeated food contamination in dairy manufacturing plants. Among the novel approaches proposed to control biofilm in food processing plants, the ozone treatment, in aqueous or gaseous form, may represent one of the most promising techniques due to its antimicrobial action and low environmental impact. The antimicrobial effectiveness of ozone has been well documented on a wide variety of microorganisms in planktonic forms, whereas little data on the efficacy of ozone treatment against microbial biofilms are available. In addition, ozone is recognized as an eco-friendly technology since it does not leave harmful residuals in food products or on contact surfaces. Thus, this review intends to present an overview of the current state of knowledge on the possible use of ozone as an antimicrobial agent against the most common spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms, usually organized in biofilm, in dairy manufacturing plants.

Improved performance and cost efficiency by surface area optimization of granular activated carbon in air-cathode microbial fuel cell

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) architectural modification is increasingly becoming an important area of research due to the need to improve energy recovery. This study presents a low-cost modification method of the anode that does not require pre-treatment-step involving hazardous chemicals to improve performance. The modification step involves deposition of granular activated carbon (GAC) which is highly conductive and provides a high specific surface area inside a carbon cloth that acts as an anode and as a supporting material. The GAC particle size of 0.6-1.1 mm resulted in an increase in air-cathode MFC performance due to an increase in available surface area of 879.5 m² g^-1 for attachment of cells based on Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller (BET) results, and an increase in the appropriate surface for attachment of cells which was rough based on the scanning electron microscope (SEM) results. On the other hand, although GAC with size of particles of 0.45-0.6 mm had the highest available surface area for attachment of cells, it lacked the appropriate surface for attachment of cells and reduced MFC performance. This means that particle size optimization of GAC is essential since there is a limit to which the particle diameter can be reduced. The utilization of the GAC with the optimized particle size produced an output voltage of 507.5 mV and maximum power output of 1287.7 mW m^-3 at current output of 2537.5 mA m^-3. This study also showed that there is an economic benefit in modifying carbon cloth using GAC with optimized particle size.

Performance of a Combined Treatment Approach on the Elimination of Microbes from Poultry Slaughterhouse Wastewater

The efficiency of microbial inactivation in water is highly dependent on the type of treatment technology used as well as the characteristics of the water to be treated. Wastewater from poultry slaughterhouses carries a significant number of microorganisms posing threats to humans and the environment in general. Therefore, the treatment of poultry slaughterhouse wastewater requires the use of appropriate purification systems with high removal efficiency for microbial agents. In this study, the performance of an integrated treatment plant with electrolysis, ultrafiltration, and ultraviolet radiation as the principal treatment units was investigated in terms of microbial inactivation from poultry slaughterhouse wastewater. In this case, total microbial number, total coliform bacteria, thermo-tolerant coliform bacteria, pathogenic flora, including salmonella coliphages, spores of sulfite-reducing clostridia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus were studied. Approximately 63.95% to 99.83% of the microbes were removed by the electrochemical treatment unit as well as a 99.86% to 100% removal efficiency was achieved after the combined treatment. However, Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the only microbial agent detected in the final effluent after the combined treatment. The phenomenon suggests that an upgrade to the treatment plant may be required to achieve 100% removal assurance for Pseudomonas aeruginosa.