Enhanced bio-decolorization of 1-amino-4-bromoanthraquinone-2-sulfonic acid by Sphingomonas xenophaga with nutrient amendment

Bacterial decolorization of anthraquinone dye intermediates is a slow process under aerobic conditions. To speed up the process, in the present study, effects of various nutrients on 1-amino-4-bromoanthraquinone-2-sulfonic acid (ABAS) decolorization by Sphingomonas xenophaga QYY were investigated. The results showed that peptone, yeast extract and casamino acid amendments promoted ABAS bio-decolorization. In particular, the addition of peptone and casamino acids could improve the decolorization activity of strain QYY. Further experiments showed that L-proline had a more significant accelerating effect on ABAS decolorization compared with other amino acids. L-Proline not only supported cell growth, but also significantly increased the decolorization activity of strain QYY. Membrane proteins of strain QYY exhibited ABAS decolorization activities in the presence of L-proline or reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, while this behavior was not observed in the presence of other amino acids. Moreover, the positive correlation between L-proline concentration and the decolorization activity of membrane proteins was observed, indicating that L-proline plays an important role in ABAS decolorization. The above findings provide us not only a novel insight into bacterial ABAS decolorization, but also an L-proline-supplemented bioaugmentation strategy for enhancing ABAS bio-decolorization.     

Molecular diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi at a large-scale antimony mining area in southern China

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) have great potential for assisting heavy metal hyperaccumulators in the remediation of contaminated soils. However, little information is available about the community composition of AMF under natural conditions in soils contaminated by antimony (Sb). The objective of this study was to investigate the characteristics of AMF molecular diversity, and to explore the effects of Sb content and soil properties on the AMF community structure in an Sb mining area. Four Sb mine spoils and one adjacent reference area were selected from around the Xikuangshan mine in southern China. The association of AMF molecular diversity and community composition with the rhizosphere soils of the dominant plant species was studied by Polymerase Chain Reaction-Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE). Results from all five studied sites showed that the diversity of AMF decreased with increasing Sb concentration. Principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that the AMF community structure was markedly different among these groups. Further redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that Sb contaminationwas the dominating factor influencing the AMF community structure in the Sb mine area. However, the multivariate analysis showed that, apart from the soil Sb content, extractable nitrogen content and organic matter content also attributed to AMF sequence distribution type. Some AMF sequences were only found in the highly contaminated area and these might be ideal candidates for improving phytoremediation efficiency in Sb mining regions. Gene sequencing analysis revealed that most species were affiliated with Glomus, suggesting that Glomus was the dominant AMF genus in the studied Sb mining area.     

Microcystis aeruginosa/Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes interaction effects on off-flavors in algae/bacteria co-culture system under different temperatures

We conducted an experiment to study the interaction effects of Microcystis aeruginosa and Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes on off-flavors in an algae/bacteria co-culture system at three temperatures (24, 28 and 32°C). Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry was applied to measure off-flavor compounds dimethyl sulfide (DMS), dimethyl trisulfide (DMTS), 2-methylisoborneol, geosmin (GEO) and β-cyclocitral. During the lag phase of co-cultured M. aeruginosa (first 15 days), P. pseudoalcaligenes significantly increased the production of DMS, DMTS and β-cyclocitral at all three temperatures. In the exponential phase of co-cultured M. aeruginosa (after 15 days), M. aeruginosa became the main factor on off-flavors in the co-culture system, and β-cyclocitral turned to the highest off-flavor compound. These results also indicated that DMS, DMTS and β-cyclocitral were the main off-flavor compounds in our M. aeruginosa/P. pseudoalcaligenes co-culture system. Univariate analysis was applied to investigate the effects of M. aeruginosa and P. pseudoalcaligenes on the production of off-flavors. The results demonstrated that both M. aeruginosa and P. pseudoalcaligenes could increase the production of DMS and DMTS, while β-cyclocitral was mainly determined by M. aeruginosa. Our results also provide some insights into understanding the relationship between cyanobacteria and heterotrophic bacteria.     

Microcystis aeruginosa/Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes interaction effects on off-flavors in algae/bacteria co-culture system under different temperatures

We conducted an experiment to study the interaction effects of Microcystis aeruginosa and Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes on off-flavors in an algae/bacteria co-culture system at three temperatures(24, 28 and 32℃). Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry was applied to measure off-flavor compounds dimethyl sulfide(DMS), dimethyl trisulfide(DMTS),2-methylisoborneol, geosmin(GEO) and β-cyclocitral. During the lag phase of co-cultured M. aeruginosa(first 15 days), P. pseudoalcaligenes significantly increased the production of DMS, DMTS and β-cyclocitral at all three temperatures. In the exponential phase of co-cultured M. aeruginosa(after 15 days), M. aeruginosa became the main factor on off-flavors in the co-culture system, and β-cyclocitral turned to the highest off-flavor compound. These results also indicated that DMS, DMTS and β-cyclocitral were the main off-flavor compounds in our M. aeruginosa/P. pseudoalcaligenes co-culture system. Univariate analysis was applied to investigate the effects of M. aeruginosa and P. pseudoalcaligenes on the production of off-flavors. The results demonstrated that both M. aeruginosa and P. pseudoalcaligenes could increase the production of DMS and DMTS, while β-cyclocitral was mainly determined by M. aeruginosa. Our results also provide some insights into understanding the relationship between cyanobacteria and heterotrophic bacteria.     

Prediction of effluent concentration in a wastewater treatment plant using machine learning models

Of growing amount of food waste, the integrated food waste and waste water treatment was regarded as one of the efficient modeling method. However, the load of food waste to the conventional waste treatment process might lead to the high concentration of total nitrogen(T-N) impact on the effluent water quality. The objective of this study is to establish two machine learning models—artificial neural networks(ANNs) and support vector machines(SVMs), in order to predict 1-day interval T-N concentration of effluent from a wastewater treatment plant in Ulsan, Korea. Daily water quality data and meteorological data were used and the performance of both models was evaluated in terms of the coefficient of determination(R~2), Nash–Sutcliff efficiency(NSE), relative efficiency criteria(d rel). Additionally, Latin-Hypercube one-factor-at-a-time(LH-OAT) and a pattern search algorithm were applied to sensitivity analysis and model parameter optimization, respectively. Results showed that both models could be effectively applied to the 1-day interval prediction of T-N concentration of effluent. SVM model showed a higher prediction accuracy in the training stage and similar result in the validation stage.However, the sensitivity analysis demonstrated that the ANN model was a superior model for 1-day interval T-N concentration prediction in terms of the cause-and-effect relationship between T-N concentration and modeling input values to integrated food waste and waste water treatment. This study suggested the efficient and robust nonlinear time-series modeling method for an early prediction of the water quality of integrated food waste and waste water treatment process.     

Remarkable promotion effect of trace sulfation on OMS-2 nanorod catalysts for the catalytic combustion of ethanol

OMS-2 nanorod catalysts were synthesized by a hydrothermal redox reaction method using MnSO₄ (OMS-2-SO₄) and Mn(CH₃COO)₂ (OMS-2-AC) as precursors. SO₄^2 −-doped OMS-2-AC catalysts with different SO₄^2 − concentrations were prepared next by adding (NH₄)₂SO₄ solution into OMS-2-AC samples to investigate the effect of the anion SO₄^2 − on the OMS-2-AC catalyst. All catalysts were then tested for the catalytic oxidation of ethanol. The OMS-2-SO₄ catalyst synthesized demonstrated much better activity than OMS-2-AC. The SO₄^2 − doping greatly influenced the activity of the OMS-2-AC catalyst, with a dramatic promotion of activity for suitable concentration of SO₄^2 − (SO₄/catalyst = 0.5% W/W). The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), NH₃-TPD and H₂-TPR techniques. The results showed that the presence of a suitable amount of SO₄^2 − species in the OMS-2-AC catalyst could decrease the Mn–O bond strength and also enhance the lattice oxygen and acid site concentrations, which then effectively promoted the catalytic activity of OMS-2-AC toward ethanol oxidation. Thus it was confirmed that the better catalytic performance of OMS-2-SO₄ compared to OMS-2-AC is due to the presence of some residual SO₄^2 − species in OMS-2-SO₄ samples.     

The relationship between light intensity and nutrient uptake kinetics in six freshwater diatoms

In order to find effective measures to control diatom blooms, a better understanding of the physiological characteristics of nutrient uptake in diatoms is needed. A study of P and Si-uptake kinetics for diatom species from two light regimes was conducted at low (LL), moderate (ML) and high light intensities (HL) (2, 25 and 80 μmol photons/(m²·sec)), respectively. The results showed that P uptake of diatoms was heavily influenced by historic light regimes. P affinity changed with growth and photosynthetic activity. The lowest half saturation constant for P uptake (K_m(P)) was under HL for high-light adapted diatoms while the lowest half-saturation constant for low-light adapted diatoms was observed under LL. The Si half-saturation constant (K_m(Si)) increased with increasing light intensities for pennate diatoms but decreased for centric diatoms. Diatom volumes were correlated with the maximum Si uptake rates (V_m(Si)) at HL and K_m(Si) at ML and HL for six diatom species. Our results imply that when we assess the development of diatom blooms we should consider light intensity and cell volume in addition to ambient Si or P concentration. The relationship between light intensity and P-uptake suggests that we can find suitable methods to control diatom blooms on the basis of reducing phytoplankton activity of P-uptake and photosynthesis simultaneously.     

膨润土负载纳米铁的改性及对水中As(Ⅴ)的吸附

用十六烷基三甲基溴化铵(CTMAB)对膨润土负载纳米零价铁(Bent-n ZVI)进行表面改性,得到表面改性膨润土负载纳米铁(Bent-n ZVI)/CTMAB。通过SEM、Zeta电位和中位径d(50)分析,与膨润土(Bent)、改性膨润土(CTMAB-Bent)、Bent-n ZVI进行了对比,结果表明:相比Bent-n ZVI,(Bent-n ZVI)/CTMAB中的纳米铁颗粒更为分散且呈链状分布,d(50)仅为5.21μm,并且Zeta电位为+0.65 m V,更易静电吸引和吸附阴离子As O43-。4种材料的除砷结果亦表明其中(Bent-n ZVI)/CTMAB去除率最高,达到了93.9%。光电子能谱(XPS)分析表明(Bent-n ZVI)/CTMAB的除砷产物中只有As(Ⅴ),并不存在其还原态As(Ⅲ),说明(Bent-n ZVI)/CTMAB是通过吸附作用去除As(Ⅴ)。     

裂隙对雾龙洞岩溶发育及地下径流的影响分析

尝试利用裂隙测量结果探究区域岩溶发育规律。采用统计窗口法对湖北鄂西地区雾龙洞岩溶流域的碳酸盐岩地层进行了大量的裂隙测量,分析了流域内裂隙发育的情况,研究了裂隙的几何参数——倾向、倾角、隙宽、线密度、面裂隙率等在不同层位、不同裂隙分组内的变化情况;结合构造、岩溶洼地发育方向、洞穴野外探测结果,综合分析了裂隙发育对本区岩溶发育的影响;运用渗透张量理论对岩溶流域裂隙的各向异性和非均质性进行了研究,并分析了雾龙洞岩溶流域地下水的主要渗流方向形成的原因,对查明雾龙洞岩溶流域岩溶发育规律以及地下水的运移、赋存规律具有一定的指导作用。     

东江流域表层土中全氟化合物的空间分布及来源解析

为探究东江流域土壤中全氟化合物(perfluorinated compounds,PFCs)分布特征和潜在来源,2013年8月采集东江流域19份表层土样品,利用高效液相色谱-串联质谱联用(HPLC-MS/MS)技术分析了16种PFCs的含量。结果表明,东江流域表层土总PFCs(∑PFCs)含量范围在2.15~5.49μg/kg dw。所采集的表层土样品中,东江东莞段土壤∑PFCs含量明显高于惠州段,全氟辛烷磺酸(0.65~1.28μg/kg dw)为最主要的污染物。与国内相关研究数据相比,东江流域土壤PFCs含量水平整体较高,这可能与流域产业结构和经济活动有关。主成分分析结果表明,电镀防雾剂、食品包装和全氟羧酸的生产过程、大气沉降、电化学氟化过程为东江流域土壤中PFCs的主要来源。与土壤有机质含量相关性研究表明,PFCs更容易分配到有机质含量高的土壤中,且随着PFCs分子碳链的增加,这种趋势更加显著。