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Activated carbon (AC) is an adsorbent used in most adsorption processes related to micro removal of pollutants from the water phase, but the application is limited due to high costs and environmental issues related to the disposal after saturation. Different regeneration techniques, reducing costs and minimizing environmental impact, are reported for the reuse of saturated AC. These techniques can be performed via two separate strands: regeneration based only on desorption of adsorbed compounds in AC, or based on the decomposition of pollutants adsorbed on AC. Literature on the regeneration of saturated ACs is reviewed and promising techniques are highlighted. One of the most challenging bottlenecks preventing the commercial application of regeneration technologies is the difficulty of scaling-up.

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In this work, microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) technique was developed for the extraction of total polyphenols from Physalis angulata. Several parameters of the MAE procedure (ethanol concentration, irradiation power, extraction time and liquid-to-solid ratio) were assessed through an experimental Box-Behnken design (four variables and three levels). Results indicated a variation from 3.74 to 0.03 mg GAE/g of extract (total polyphenol), 7.77 to 0.5 mg/L (gallic acid), 0.55 to 0.27 mg/L (ellagic acid), 0.26 to 0.02 mg/L (caffeic acid), 0.86 to 0.25 mg/L (rutin) and 2.43 to 0.89 mg/L (mangiferin), and different effects were observed depending on the compounds. In summary, MAE may be used as a suitable approach for the selective extraction of total polyphenols from Physalis angulata. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSMicrowave-assisted extraction (MAE) is a potential technique to obtain total phenolic compounds from vegetable sources. This approach increases the yields and reduces the extraction time and the consumption of solvent compared with traditional extraction methods. Extract from Physalis angulata shows high polyphenol content and ethnopharmacological value which may be applied as preservative (in food industry) or due to its biological properties (antioxidant, antipyretic, analgesic and anti-inflammatory).