M. Teresa Moreira

Bio: M. Teresa Moreira is an academic researcher from University of Santiago de Compostela. The author has contributed to research in topics: Biofuel & Ethanol fuel. The author has an hindex of 12, co-authored 16 publications receiving 794 citations.

Comparative environmental performance of lignocellulosic ethanol from different feedstocks

Abstract: A renewable biofuel economy is projected as a pathway to decrease dependence on fossil fuels as well as to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions. Ethanol produced on large-scale from lignocellulosic raw materials is considered the most potential next generation automotive fuel. In this paper, a Life Cycle Assessment model was developed to evaluate the environmental implications of the production of ethanol from five lignocellulosic materials: alfalfa stems, poplar, Ethiopian mustard, flax shives and hemp hurds and its use in passenger cars. Two ethanol-based fuel applications, E10 (a mixture of 10% ethanol and 90% gasoline by volume) and E85 (85% ethanol and 15% gasoline by volume) were assessed and the results were compared to those of conventional gasoline (CG) in an equivalent car. The environmental performance was assessed in terms of fossil fuels requirements, global warming, photochemical oxidant formation, acidification and eutrophication by means of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology in order to identify the best environmental friendly lignocellulosic source. The results show that, compared to CG, life cycle greenhouse gases emissions are lower for etanol blends, specifically up to 145% lower for E85-fueled car derived from Ethiopian mustard. This crop is also the best option in terms of eutrophying emissions regardless the ratio of ethanol in the blend. In the remaining impact categories, other feedstocks are considered beneficial, that is, poplar in the case of photochemical oxidants formation and flax shives for acidification. Concerning fossil fuels requirements, decreases up to 10% and 63% for E10 and E85 derived from hemp hurds and Ethiopian mustard, respectively, were obtained. According to the results, the study clearly demonstrates the importance of using low intensive energy and high biomass yield crops. LCA procedure helps to identify the key areas in the ethanol production life cycle where the researchers and technicians need to work to improve the environmental performance. Technological development could help in lowering both the environmental impact and the prices of the ethanol fuels.

Oxidation of pharmaceutically active compounds by a ligninolytic fungal peroxidase

Abstract: Pharmaceuticals are an important group of emerging pollutants with increasing interest due to their rising consumption and the evidence for ecotoxicological effects associated to trace amounts in aquatic environments. In this paper, we assessed the potential degradation of a series of pharmaceuticals: antibiotics (sulfamethoxazole), antidepressives (citalopram hydrobromide and fluoxetine hydrochloride), antiepileptics (carbamazepine), anti-inflammatory drugs (diclofenac and naproxen) and estrogen hormones (estrone, 17β-estradiol, 17α-ethinylestradiol) by means of a versatile peroxidase (VP) from the ligninolytic fungus Bjerkandera adusta. The effects of the reaction conditions: VP activity, organic acid concentration and H2O2 addition rate, on the kinetics of the VP based oxidation system were evaluated. Diclofenac and estrogens were completely degraded after only 5–25 min even with a very low VP activity (10 U l−1). High degradation percentages (80%) were achieved for sulfamethoxazole and naproxen. Low or undetectable removal yields were observed for citalopram (up to 18%), fluoxetine (lower than 10%) and carbamazepine (not degraded).

Removal of estrogenic compounds from filtered secondary wastewater effluent in a continuous enzymatic membrane reactor. Identification of biotransformation products.

Abstract: In the present study, a novel and efficient technology based on the use of an oxidative enzyme was developed to perform the continuous removal of estrogenic compounds from polluted wastewaters. A 2 L enzymatic membrane reactor (EMR) was successfully operated for 100 h with minimal requirements of laccase for the transformation of estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2), and 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2)from both buffer solution and real wastewater (filtered secondary effluent). When the experiments were performed at high and low concentrations of the target compounds, 4 mg/L and 100 μg/L, not only high removal yields (80–100%) but also outstanding reduction of estrogenicity (about 84–95%) were attained. When the EMR was applied for the treatment of municipal wastewaters with real environmental concentrations of the different compounds (0.29–1.52 ng/L), excellent results were also achieved indicating the high efficiency and potential of the enzymatic reactor system. A second goal of this study relied on the identifi...

A review of the combustion and emissions properties of advanced transportation biofuels and their impact on existing and future engines

Abstract: The fundamental combustion and emissions properties of advanced biofuels are reviewed, and their impact on engine performance is discussed, in order to guide the selection of optimal conversion routes for obtaining desired fuel combustion properties. Advanced biofuels from second- and third-generation feedstocks can result in significantly reduced life-cycle greenhouse-gas emissions, compared to traditional fossil fuels or first-generation biofuels from food-based feedstocks. These advanced biofuels include alcohols, biodiesel, or synthetic hydrocarbons obtained either from hydrotreatment of oxygenated biofuels or from Fischer–Tropsch synthesis. The engine performance and exhaust pollutant emissions of advanced biofuels are linked to their fundamental combustion properties, which can be modeled using combustion chemical-kinetic mechanisms and surrogate fuel blends. In general, first-generation or advanced biofuels perform well in existing combustion engines, either as blend additives with petro-fuels or as pure “drop-in” replacements. Generally, oxygenated biofuels produce lower intrinsic nitric-oxide and soot emissions than hydrocarbon fuels in fundamental experiments, but engine-test results can be complicated by multiple factors. In order to reduce engine emissions and improve fuel efficiency, several novel technologies, including engines and fuel cells, are being developed. The future fuel requirements for a selection of such novel power-generation technologies, along with their potential performance improvements over existing technologies, are discussed. The trend in the biofuels and transportation industries appears to be moving towards drop-in fuels that require little changes in vehicle or fueling infrastructure, but this comes at a cost of reduced life-cycle efficiencies for the overall alternative-fuel production and utilization system. In the future, fuel-flexible, high-efficiency, and ultra-low-emissions heat-engine and fuel-cell technologies promise to enable consumers to switch to the lowest-cost and cleanest fuel available in their market at any given time. This would also enable society as a whole to maximize its global level of transportation activity, while maintaining urban air quality, within an energy- and carbon-constrained world.