Table of Contents
Commentary
1281 Views, 635 PDF Downloads
Ji-Dong Gu DOI:10.26789/AEB.2020.01.001 AbstractEcosystem is having a new physical dimension as evidenced by the increasing contribution from man-made plastics synthesized and consumed by our society. Anthroposphere, a brand new constituent, shall be added into the existing lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere as a whole for the ecosystem. This new class of anthropogenically-produced materials is xenobiotic and has its own physical form persistent and building up in the ecosystem. Its occurrence in different ecosystems will increase continuously over time. Its hazards and potentially effects in different ecosystems shall be evaluated with a new framework to advance a better understanding of its long-term impact and the mechanisms involved in the changing world. The impacts from these plastics shall be much more than its non-degradability and the potential hazards as observed and a better understanding based on pure science is required. A new opportunity is ahead of us for a collective and immediate action to assess the new dimension of the anthroposphere in the ecosystems to advance the new knowledge on this research subject.
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34-36
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Research Articles
850 Views, 397 PDF Downloads
Rexiding Abuduaini, Naling Bai, Cai Hui, Sheng Wang, Hui Jiang, Yuhua Zhao DOI:10.26789/AEB.2019.02.005 AbstractBioflocculants are commonly used in wastewater treatment. In this study, an efficient bioflocculant-producing strain, Bacillus sp. R1, was isolated and identified; strain R1 could efficiently produce bioflocculant BF-R1 with wheat bran hydrolysate. The characteristics and flocculation mechanisms of BF-R1 were determined and it was then applied for the granular carbon particles treatment in wastewater. Notably, 3.71 g of BF-R1 were produced when 200 mL/L wheat bran hydrolysate was used as the sole carbon and nitrogen source. BF-R1 contained polysaccharides, proteins, and glycoproteins and showed a good flocculating efficiency of 91.00% for granular carbon particles in contaminated wastewater when 3.50 g/L BF-R1 was added, thus achieving successful recycling of fine particle-contaminated wastewater. Taken together, our findings for the first time demonstrate that BF-R1 fermented using WBH can probably be a promising candidate agent for wastewater management processes.
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25-33
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1100 Views, 405 PDF Downloads
Zomesh Artus Nath Maini, Niña Therese Bautista Flores, Enrico Praxides Muñoz DOI:10.26789/AEB.2019.02.004 AbstractLead [Pb(II)] biosorption capacities of immobilized Talaromyces macrosporus on Moringa oleifera L. wood were compared against pure fungal and pure M. oleifera biomass. A Pb(II) contact test of 1000 ug/mL show similar Pb(II) removal of non-immobilized fungal biomass (F) and powdered wood colonized with fungi (WP+F), with WP+F producing more biomass. Powdered sorbents had higher Pb(II) uptake compared to whole sorbents analyzed through ICP-AES, possibly due to increased surface area for Pb(II) binding. FTIR analysis of the F, WP, and WP+F identified hydroxyl, amino, carbonyl, and sulfhydryl functional groups which constitute probable Pb(II)-affinitive binding sites. The biosorbents tested in a Continuous Flow Column (CF) adsorbed Pb(II) at 1000, 2000, and 4000 ug/mL in 30 minutes with the Pb(II) uptake of WP+F producing removal efficiencies at 91-95% regardless of initial Pb(II) concentration. WP+F also showed significantly higher q values than powdered wood (WP) at 42.67184.83 mg/g for the Pb(II) test concentrations. Recovery of Pb(II) from WP+F yielded 99.61% of adsorbed ions from 1000 ug/mL Pb(II), proving Pb(II) entrapment in the sorbent. This is the first study to describe biosorption capacities for T. macrosporus and M. oleifera softwood along with the wood’s viability as an immobilization scaffold. These results show the potential of using T. macrosporus immobilized on M. oleifera wood as a tool for removal of Pb(II) in wastewater with high Pb(II) concentrations.
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12-24
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1048 Views, 383 PDF Downloads
Dong-Sheng Li, Jun-Qiao Feng, Yi-Fan Liu, Lei Zhou, Jin-Feng Liu, Ji-Dong Gu, Bo-Zhong Mu, Shi-Zhong Yang DOI:10.26789/AEB.2019.02.003 AbstractMicroorganisms with high oil-degrading ability are essential for bioremediation of oil-contaminated environments and oil spills. In the present study, a microbial consortium was enriched from a long-term oil-contaminated soil by acclimatization with crude oil, and was cultured with sucrose as a carbon source. Immobilization of the microbial consortium cells was prepared onto sodium alginate (SA) beads. To enhance the mass transfer of the immobilized microspheres, activated carbon, biochar, corn stalk and sawdust were used, respectively, to accelerate the degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons. The immobilized beads and the distribution of microbial cells inside the immobilized beads were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The degradation efficiency of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) by different immobilized beads in aquatic systems (mineral salt medium, artificial seawater) was evaluated by gravimetric method after 7 d of incubation. Results showed that TPH degradation efficiency of the immobilized beads was higher than that of the microbial culture, and that of the immobilized beads containing adsorbent carriers was higher than the SA immobilized beads. The highest TPH degradation efficiencies of SA-CS immobilized beads in mineral salt and artificial seawater were up to 54.2% and 50.5%, respectively, and the highest TPH degradation efficiency of biostimulation + SA-AC immobilized beads treatment in oil-contaminated soil was up to 63.7% after 10 weeks of incubation. Our results suggest that the immobilized microorganism is a promising approach for a wide range of bioremediation applications in different petroleum-contaminated environments.
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1-11
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