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Pequi is a natural source of bioactive compounds with wide versatility for fresh or processed fruit consumption, but it is still little explored economically. Functional foods are the subject of diverse scientific research since, in addition to being nourishing, they contain bioactive compounds capable of promoting several benefits to the human body. Pequi is a fruit species native to the Brazilian Cerrado, which is rich in oil and has components with a high nutritional value, such as unsaturated fatty acids (omega-3, omega-6, EPA, and DHA), antioxidants (carotenoids and phenolic compounds), and vitamins. Therefore, the present narrative review aims to compile and critically evaluate the methods used to extract oil from the pulp and almonds of pequi and describes the carotenoid separation from the oil because carotenoids are natural pigments of great interest in the pharmaceutical and food industries. It is emphasized that the main challenges linked to bioactive compound extraction are their susceptibility to degradation in the processing and storage stages of pequi and its derived products.

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The purpose of this study was to investigate pulp mill by-products valorization through activated carbon (AC) production and its application in wastewater treatment. Bio-sludge is a known promising precursor for AC production. The mill's chemical recovery stage generates an effluent (electrostatic precipitator ash leachate - EPAL) with high levels of potassium and sodium, which motivate studies regarding its viability as a chemical source for carbon activation. Bio-sludge and EPAL are problematic by-products and this research line would allow their return to the productive chain, as an adsorbent for the wastewater treatment. Two carbonization heating rates (3.5, 15 °C/min), three activation agents (NaOH, KOH, EPAL) and two activator:bio-sludge ratios (1:1, 2:1) were used for AC production. The best ACs in terms of surface area were those produced at 3.5 °C/min, with KOH or EPAL in 2:1 proportion. ACs produced under these conditions and commercial activated carbon (CAC) were used in adsorption tests with industrial wastewater. For color removal, KOH-activated carbon presented the greatest efficiency (80.45 %), followed by CAC (76.74 %) and EPAL-activated carbon (70.13 %). For COD removal, EPAL-activated carbon presented greater efficiency (53.49 %), followed by CAC (40.84 %) and KOH-activated carbon (36.86 %). Freundlich's model best described the experimental adsorption data. The KOH results were expected to be satisfactory, since KOH is proven to be effective for carbon activation. The EPAL-activated carbon results were remarkable, especially for COD removal, showing that EPAL can be used as an activator and that the by-products have potential for valorization according to the circular economy principles.

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Taking into account that the industrial processing of passion fruit generates significant amounts of waste (only the peels represent 51% of the total mass of the fruit), in the present study an economic analysis was conducted to evaluate industrial line viability for pectin extraction from passion fruit peels. Knowing that absolute ethanol (99.50% purity), used in the precipitation and washing steps, has a higher cost, a simulation of extractive distillation was performed using solvents ethylene glycol and glycerol, in the software Aspen Plus v.11, being possible to recover 99.63% of ethanol for both solvents. The results of the economic evaluation showed that the process using ethylene glycol has an advantage, mainly due to its higher profitability (1.13 times higher), lower production cost (94.86% of the price using glycerol), and a lower breakeven point (around 3% smaller). The financial indicators showed profitability and attractiveness for the implementation of this processing line.

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Bovine serum albumin is one of the major serum proteins; it plays an important role as a result of its functional and nutritional properties which have bioactive peptides. Adsorption method was used to separate protein, which involves hydroxyapatite, synthetic hydroxyapatite, and active babassu coal. Initially, characterization was carried out using the zeta potential of the adsorbents. Kinetic pseudo-first- and pseudo-second-order models were applied. For isotherms, equilibrium data studies were carried out using the Langmuir and Freundlich models, in addition to determining the efficiency of adsorptive process. The results of the zeta potential showed loads ranging from +6.9 to -42.8 mV. The kinetic data were better represented in the pseudo-second-order model with chemisorption characteristics. The adsorption capacity of the adsorbents decreased as pH increased, indicating that the electrostatic bonds and some functional groups of active babassu coal contributed to the reduction of adsorption, especially oxygen linked to carbon atoms. The value of pH 4.0 showed the best results of adsorption, being obtained as the maximum adsorption capacity (q m ) and yield (%) (where q m = 87.95 mg g(-1) and 74.2%; 68.26 mg g(-1) and 68.6%; and 36.18 mg g(-1), 37.4%) of hydroxyapatite, synthetic hydroxyapatite, and active babassu coal, respectively.

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The objective of this study was to determine the thermodynamic parameters (Delta(tr)G, Delta(tr)H and Delta(tr)S) associated with lysozyme and conalbumin partitioning in aqueous two-phases systems (ATPS). Influence of salt type and polyethylene glycol (PEG) concentrations on the partition coefficient of lysozyme and conalbumin from egg white was studied. The evaluated ATPS were composed of PEG 1500 and inorganic salts (sodium citrate and sodium sulfate) at a temperature of 25 degrees C and pH 7.0, with PEG 1500 g mol(-1) concentrations of 14%, 16% and 18% (mass basis). Partitioning of lysozyme in PEG-citrate ATPS was enthalpically driven, however the PEG-sulfate ATPS was entropically driven. The tested systems can be employed for the separation of these two proteins in egg white, due to the fact that lysozyme migrates toward the polymeric phase and conalbumin to the saline phase in both ATPS. A high recovery of conalbumin in the saline phase of the PEG-sulfate ATPS was determined to be enthalpically driven.

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