Postgraduate Program in Environmental Sciences, Center for Engineering, Federal University of Pelotas, R. Benjamin Constant 989, Pelotas, RS, CEP 96010-020, Brazil.
Postgraduate Program in Materials Science and Engineering, Federal University of Pelotas, R. Gomes Carneiro 01, Pelotas, RS, CEP 96010-610, Brazil.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2023 Feb;30(8):22024-22032. doi: 10.1007/s11356-022-23758-3. Epub 2022 Oct 25.
The pandemic of COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2 disease) has been causing unprecedented health and economic impacts, alerting the world to the importance of basic sanitation and existing social inequalities. The risk of the spread and appearance of new diseases highlights the need for the removal of these pathogens through efficient techniques and materials. This study aimed to develop a polyurethane (PU) biofoam filled with dregs waste (leftover from the pulp and paper industry) for removal SARS-CoV-2 from the water. The biofoam was prepared by the free expansion method with the incorporation of 5wt% of dregs as a filler. For the removal assays, the all materials and its isolated phases were incubated for 24 h with an inactivated SARS-CoV-2 viral suspension. Then, the RNA was extracted and the viral load was quantified using the quantitative reverse transcription (RT-qPCR) technique. The biofoam (polyurethane/dregs) reached a great removal percentage of 91.55%, whereas the isolated dregs waste was 99.03%, commercial activated carbon was 99.64%, commercial activated carbon/polyurethane was 99.30%, and neat PU foam reached was 99.96% for this same property and without statistical difference. Those new materials endowed with low cost and high removal efficiency of SARS-CoV-2 as alternatives to conventional adsorbents.
新型冠状病毒肺炎（SARS-CoV-2 疾病）大流行给全球健康和经济带来了前所未有的冲击，促使人们认识到基本卫生和现有社会不平等的重要性。新疾病传播和出现的风险突显了通过高效技术和材料去除这些病原体的必要性。本研究旨在开发一种含有渣料（制浆造纸工业的剩余物）的聚氨酯（PU）生物泡沫，以去除水中的 SARS-CoV-2。生物泡沫通过自由膨胀法制备，加入 5wt%的渣料作为填料。为了进行去除实验，将所有材料及其分离相在含有灭活 SARS-CoV-2 病毒悬浮液中孵育 24 小时。然后，使用定量逆转录（RT-qPCR）技术提取 RNA 并定量病毒载量。生物泡沫（聚氨酯/渣料）对 SARS-CoV-2 的去除率达到了 91.55%，而分离的渣料废物为 99.03%，商业活性炭为 99.64%，商业活性炭/聚氨酯为 99.30%，纯 PU 泡沫为 99.96%，对于这一特性，它们的去除率没有统计学差异。这些新材料具有低成本和高效去除 SARS-CoV-2 的特点，可作为传统吸附剂的替代品。
