Simulated marine respirometry of biodegradable polymers

Eleven microorganisms were isolated from several temperate marine locations in the northeast Altantic coast of the United States and one tropical location in the Pacific Ocean (Hawaii) for the purpose of developing a rapid and accurate method of screening biodegradable materials for their susceptibility to mineralization. The materials evaluated in this study included chemically modified starch, amylose and pullulan, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-valerate), (PHB/V), cellulose acetate, and a modified lignin/styrene. Some of the soluble, unmodified, biologically produced substrates such as starch, pullulan, and amylose mineralized rapidly. In general, the synthetic, insoluble polymers and the chemically modified polymers, such as acetylated and chlorinated amylose and pullulan, mineralized more slowly, although the ultimate mineralization of some of the substituted polysaccharides equaled or exceeded that of the unmodified substrate. The insoluble bacterial polyester, PHB/V, degraded rapidly after a short induction period. Initial respiration rate data, in general, could not be used as a predictor of ultimate mineralization. It was found that the cumulative level of carbon dioxide evolved signifies the minimum extent of biodegradation of the substrate, and the oxygen consumed is a good indicator of the maximum extent of substrate degradation.Paper presented at the Biodegradable Materials and Packaging Conference, September 22–23, 1993, Natick, Massachusetts.     

磁性炭微球表面印迹吸附材料的制备及其对氨苄西林识别与选择性吸附

以核桃壳为原料,利用溶剂热法制备了磁性炭微球(MCMs),结合表面印迹技术制备了基于MCMs的磁性炭微球表面分子印迹材料(MMIPs).通过FT-IR、TGA、VSM和TEM等表征手段对其理化性能进行了表征,结果表明MMIPs为球形,印迹聚合层厚度50~80 nm,具有热稳定性和磁稳定性.采用吸附实验研究了MMIPs对AMP的识别与选择性吸附性能.Langmuir等温模型能较好地描述MMIPs对AMP的吸附平衡数据,25℃时MMIPs的单分子层最大吸附容量为40.96 mg·g-1.准二级动力学模型能较好的描述MMIPs对AMP吸附动力学行为.选择性分析结果表明,MMIPs对AMP具有较好地选择识别性,并且MMIPs可以循环使用5次.结合高效液相色谱分析技术,MMIPs已成功应用于牛奶样品中痕量AMP的分离、富集和回收,AMP的回收率为92.78%.     

Processing and characterization of a new biodegradable composite made of a PHB/V matrix and regenerated cellulosic fibers

In this study, a biodegradable composite consisting of a degradable continuous cellulosic fiber and a degradable polymer matrix—poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)-co-poly(3-hydroxyvalerate (PHB/V with 19% HV)—was developed. The composite was processed by impregnating the cellulosic fibers on-line withPHB/V powder in a fluidization chamber. The impregnated roving was then filament wound on a plate and hot-pressed. The resulting unidirectional composite plates were mechanically tested and optically characterized by SEM. The fiber content was 9.9 ±0.9 vol% by volumetric determination. The fiber content predicted by the rule of mixture for unidirectional composites was 13.8 ±1.4 vol%. Optical characterization showed that the fiber distribution was homogeneous and a satisfactory wetting of the fibers by the matrix was achieved. Using a blower to remove excess matrix powder during processing increased the fiber content to 26.5 ±3.3 vol % (volumetric) or 30.0 ±0.4 vol% (rule of mixture). The tensile strength of the composite parallel to the fiber direction was 128 ±12 MPa (10 vol% fiber) up to 278 ±48 MPa (26.5 vol% fiber), compared to 20 MPa for the PHB/V matrix. The Young’s modulus was 5.8 ±0.5 GPa (10 vol% fiber) and reached 11.4 ±0.14 GPa (26.5 vol% fiber), versus 1 GPa for the matrix.     

Methods Currently Used in Testing Microbiological Degradation and Deterioration of a Wide Range of Polymeric Materials with Various Degree of Degradability: A Review

Biodegradation of polymeric materials affect a wide range of industries, information on degradability can provide fundamental information facilitating design and life-time analysis of materials. Among the methods currently used in testing, traditional gravimetric and respirometric techniques are tailored to readily degradable polymeric materials mostly and polymer blends with biodegradable components, but they are not applicable to the new generation of engineering polymers which are relatively resistant to biodegradation. However, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) has been tested for monitoring biodeterioration of high strength materials and the technique has very high sensitivity. A wide range of materials including electronic insulation polyimides, fiber-reinforced polymeric composites (FRPCs) and corrosion protective polyurethane coatings have been successfully measured under inoculation of degradative microorganisms using EIS. In addition, the mechanism of degradation of high strength polymers is mainly due to the presence of plasticizers in the polymer matrices. The information on various methods discussed in this review is intended to illustrate a suite of methods for those who are interested in testing biodeterioration of polymeric materials under different environmental conditions and in selecting appropriate techniques for specific applications.     

Influence of different substrates on the formation and characteristics of aerobic granules in sequencing batch reactors

The effects of different substrates on the aerobic granulation process were studied using laboratory-scale sequencing batch reactors （SBRs）. Four parallel granules sequencing batch reactors （GSBR）： R1, R2, R3, and R4 were fed with acetate, glucose, peptone and fecula, respectively. Stable aerobic granules were successfully cultivated in R1, R2, R4, and smaller granules less than 500 μm were formed in R3. Morphology and the physic-chemical characteristics of aerobic granules fed with different carbon substrates were investigated by the four reactors operated under the same pressure. The aerobic granules in the four reactors were observed and found that peptone was the most stable one due to its good settleability even after a sludge age as short as 10 d. A strong correlation was testified between the characteristics of aerobic granules and the properties of carbon substrates. The stability of aerobic granules was affected by extracellular polymer substances （EPS） derived from microorganism growth during feast time fed with different carbon substrates, and the influence of the property of storage substance was greater than that of its quantity. Optimal carbon substrates, which are helpful in the cultivation and retention of well-settling granules and in the enhancement of the overall ability of the aerobic granules reactors, were found.     

Determination of particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ambient air by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry after molecularly imprinted polymer extraction

A solid phase extraction procedure (SPE) is described for the quantitative analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in atmospheric particulate matter (PM), as ubiquitous environmental pollutants routinely measured in air quality monitoring. A SPE cartridge was used based on a molecular imprinted polymer (MIP-SPE) properly tailored for selective retention of PAHs with 4 and more benzene fused rings. The performance of the clean-up procedure was evaluated with the specific concern of selective purification towards saturated hydrocarbons, which are the PM components mostly interfering GC analysis of target PAHs. Under optimized operative conditions, the MIP-SPE provided analyte recovery close to 95% for heavier PAHs, from benzo(α)pyrene to benzo(ghi)perylene, and close to 90% for four benzene rings PAHs, with good reproducibility (RSDs: 2.5%-5.9%). Otherwise, C₁₇-C₃₂ n-alkanes were nearly completely removed. The proposed method was critically compared with Solid Phase Micro Extraction (SPME) using a polyacrylate fiber. Both methods were successfully applied to the analysis of ambient PM_2.5 samples collected at an urban polluted site. Between the two procedures, the MIP-SPE provided the highest recovery (R% ≥ 93%) for PAHs with 5 and more benzene rings, but lower for lighter PAHs. In contrast, SPME showed a mean acceptable R% value (∼ 80%) for all the investigated PAHs, except for the heaviest PAHs in the most polluted samples (R%: 110%-138%), suggesting an incomplete purification from the interfering n-hydrocarbons.     

Determination of the carbon content of biomass—A prerequisite to estimate the complete biodegradation of polymers

This article presents a method to determine the carbon content of biomass, which is formed when degrading biodegradable polymers in an aerobic aqueous test system. Existing methods for determining the carbon content of biomass (e.g., fumigazation, protein assays, dry solids) have several disadvantages when applied for polymer degradation tests. In this work a protein assay based on the Lowry method was used. It was shown that the ratio between protein and carbon content is not constant but depends on the composition of the microbial population, the growth phase, and the substrate supply. This effect was used for the method presented in this article. For determining the carbon content of biomass the absorbance obtained by the Lowry test is correlated directly with the carbon content of biomass in dependence on the duration of the degradation test. The calibration curves are obtained by a mixed population of microorganisms during the course of a degradation test.     

Application of encapsulation (pH-sensitive polymer and phosphate buffer macrocapsules): a novel approach to remediation of acidic ground water

Macrocapsules, composed of a pH-sensitive polymer and phosphate buffer, offer a novel remediation alternative for acidic ground waters. To test their potential effectiveness, laboratory experiments were carried out followed by a field trial within a coal pile runoff (CPR) acidic contaminant plume. Results of traditional limestone and macrocapsule treatments were compared in both laboratory and field experiments. Macrocapsules were more effective than limestone as a passive treatment for raising pH in well water from 2.5 to 6 in both laboratory and field experiments. The limestone treatments had limited impact on pH, only increasing pH as high as 3.3, and armoring by iron was evident in the field trial. Aluminum, iron and sulfate concentrations remained relatively constant throughout the experiments, but phosphate increased (0.15-32 mg/L), indicating macrocapsule release. This research confirmed that macrocapsules may be an effective alternative to limestone to treat highly acidic ground water.     

间歇梯度曝气的生活污水好氧颗粒污泥脱氮除磷

本研究设置了3个SBR反应器R1、R2和R3,分别采用(A/O)_3-SBR梯度曝气、(A/O)_3-SBR恒定曝气和传统(A/O)-SBR方式运行,以实际城市生活污水为进水基质,探讨了不同曝气方式下的营养物去除性能和好氧颗粒污泥特性,为低强度城市污水的碳源合理利用提供合理的方式.由实验结果可知,R1、R2和R3中颗粒在稳定时期对COD的平均去除率分别为88.68%、 89.05%和88.96%,对TN的平均去除率分别为76.97%、 71.99%和64.92%,对TP的平均去除率分别为96.28%、 85.05%和78.97%,且反硝化聚磷菌占聚磷菌的比例分别为25.52%、 19.60%和12.77%.结果表明,厌氧、好氧和缺氧交替的运行方式更有利于反硝化聚磷菌(DPAOs)的富集,且梯度曝气较恒定曝气方式富集更多,这对碳源不足的低强度城市生活污水处理有重要意义;同时R1中曝气段溶解氧逐级降低,提高了颗粒同步硝化反硝化率和降低了能耗,有利于总氮(TN)的高效去除. 3组反应器在运行后期颗粒粒径分别为727.368、 815.072和895.041μm,且通过对颗粒进行显微观察可以看出, R2和R3中颗粒不如R1中密实.此外,R1、R2和R3运行后期PN/PS值分别为6.31、 5.63和4.83,颗粒稳定时期EPS含量(以VSS计)分别为103.97、 92.22和76.98 mg·g~(-1),表明间歇梯度曝气的方式有利于刺激EPS的分泌,尤其是PN的分泌,使PN/PS值较高,细胞疏水性增强,颗粒密实稳定.     

不同碳氮比对海水养殖废水脱氮效果的影响

工厂化海水养殖废水C/N（碳氮比）较低,有效碳源不足,生物脱氮工艺往往由于缺乏碳源而受到抑制.为揭示脱氮工艺中不同过程对碳源匮乏的敏感程度,应用A/O-MBBR（缺氧/好氧-移动床生物膜反应器）处理模拟海水养殖废水,探讨进水C/N降低（从12降至1）对反应器运行效果的影响,并根据EPS（胞外聚合物）、AMO（氨单加氧酶）、NOR（亚硝酸盐氧化酶）、NIR（亚硝酸盐还原酶）、NR（硝酸盐还原酶）的活性,分析碳源不足对不同脱氮过程的抑制状况.结果表明:①C/N降低时,COD_Cr、NH₄+-N、NO₂--N的去除率均未下降,自养型的氨氧化、亚硝化过程不受影响,AMO和NOR活性提高.②缺氧区pH降低,ρ（DO）升高,NO₃--N的去除率显著降低,C/N为5时开始积累,NR活性明显下降.③异养反硝化反应电子供体出现由外碳源向内碳源和EPS的转换,缺氧区EPS含量逐渐减少,C/N为1时比C/N为6时减少了47%.研究显示,碳源不足是造成海水养殖废水生物反硝化不彻底的主要原因,为了实现高效脱氮,需要在海水养殖废水处理过程中严格控制ρ（DO）并且提供足够的碳源.