Examinando por Autor "Panico, Antonio"

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    Clays tailings flocculation using bio-based flocculants from Nannochloropsis gaditana
    (Springer, 2025) Huapaya, Katiuska; Grisales, Jeferson; Botero, Yesica; Salamanca, Alexandra; Lara, Paloma; Cisternas, Luis A; Jeldres, Ricardo; Jeison, David; Panico, Antonio; Zapata, Manuel; Rivas, Mariella
    In copper mining water recirculation is a crucial aspect, with approximately 70% used during the ore processing stage being recirculated. After extraction, the process water has a high concentration of clays, which exert a deleterious effect on mineral concentration, so the industry employs flocculation processes to remove them using chemical flocculants derived from polyacrylamide, which are toxic and persistent in the environment. The development of bio-based flocculants derived from microalgae represents a sustainable alternative for clay removal. Therefore, sedimentation tests were performed using the Jar-test method with Nannochloropsis gaditana to remove kaolinite-type clay. The sedimented flocs were subjected to various analyses, including zeta potential, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The zeta potential of N. gaditana is negative in deionized water across a pH ranging between 2 and 11, whereas in seawater only at pH between 7 and 9. Nannochloropsis gaditana was evaluated under different conditions (live cells, boiled cells, wet biomass, and freeze-dried biomass). Live and boiled cells were the most effective in kaolinite removal, as they instantly reduced turbidity to 76 FNU, achieving a sedimentation efficiency close to 97% at pH 7, which favored seawater clarification. Sedimentation efficiency was higher when using 10 g L−1 of live N. gaditana cells compared to the chemical flocculant used as a control. Finally, FT-IR was used to determine the degree of kaolinite absorption on the surface of microalgae, and showed that the presence of carboxylic functional groups and polysaccharide amides on the cell surface favors this interaction.
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    Ítem
    MICP mediated by indigenous bacteria isolated from tailings for biocementation for reduction of wind erosion
    (Frontiers Media SA, 2024) Maureira, Alejandro; Zapata, Manuel; Olave, Jorge; Jeison, David; Wong, Liey-Si; Panico, Antonio; Hernández, Pía
    In this study, native ureolytic bacteria were isolated from copper tailings soils to perform microbial-induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) tests and evaluate their potential for biocement formation and their contribution to reduce th dispersion of particulate matter into the environment from tailings containing potentially toxic elements. It was possible to isolate a total of 46 bacteria; among them only three showed ureolytic activity: Priestia megaterium T130-1, Paenibacillus sp. T130-13 and Staphylococcus sp. T130-14. Biocement cores were made by mixing tailings with the isolated bacteria in presence of urea, resulting similar to those obtained with Sporosarcina pasteurii and Bacillus subtilis used as positive control. Indeed, XRD analysis conducted on biocement showed the presence of microcline (B. subtilis 17%; P. megaterium 11. 9%), clinochlore (S.pasteurii, 6.9%) and magnesiumhornblende (Paenibacillus sp. 17.8%; P. megaterium 14.6%); all these compounds were not initially present in the tailings soils. Moreover the presence of calcite (control 0.828%; Paenibacillus sp. 5.4%) and hematite (control 0.989%; B. subtilis 6.4%) was also significant unlike the untreated control. The development of biofilms containing abundant amount of Ca, C, andOon microscopic soil particles was evidenced by means of FE-SEMEDX and XRD. Wind tunnel tests were carried out to investigate the resistance of biocement samples, accounted for a mass loss five holds lower than the control, i.e., the rate of wind erosion in the control corresponded to 82 g/m2h while for the biocement treated with Paenibacillus sp. it corresponded to only 16.371 g/m2h. Finally, in compression tests, the biocement samples prepared with P. megaterium (28.578 psi) and Paenibacillus sp. (28.404 psi) showed values similar to those obtained with S. pasteurii (27.102 psi), but significantly higher if compared to the control (15.427 psi), thus improving the compression resistance capacity of the samples by 85.2% and 84.1% with respect to the control. According to the results obtained, the biocement samples generated with the native strains showed improvements in the mechanical properties of the soil supporting them as potential candidates in applications for the stabilization of mining liabilities in open environments using bioaugmentation strategies with native strains isolated from the same mine tailing.