Magnetotactic bacteria: Characteristics and environmental applications

• Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) synthesize magnetic nanoparticle within magnetosomes. • The morphologic and phylogenetic diversity of MTB were summarized. • Isolation and mass cultivation of MTB deserve extensive research for applications. • MTB can remove heavy metals, radionuclides, and organic pollutants from wastewater. Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) are a group of Gram-negative prokaryotes that respond to the geomagnetic field. This unique property is attributed to the intracellular magnetosomes, which contains membrane-bound nanocrystals of magnetic iron minerals. This review summarizes the most recent advances in MTB, magnetosomes, and their potential applications especially the environmental pollutant control or remediation. The morphologic and phylogenetic diversity of MTB were first introduced, followed by a critical review of isolation and cultivation methods. Past research has devoted to optimize the factors, such as oxygen, carbon source, nitrogen source, nutrient broth, iron source, and mineral elements for the growth of MTB. Besides the applications of MTB in modern biological and medical fields, little attention was made on the environmental applications of MTB for wastewater treatment, which has been summarized in this review. For example, applications of MTB as adsorbents have resulted in a novel magnetic separation technology for removal of heavy metals or organic pollutants in wastewater. In addition, we summarized the current advance on pathogen removal and detection of endocrine disruptor which can inspire new insights toward sustainable engineering and practices. Finally, the new perspectives and possible directions for future studies are recommended, such as isolation of MTB, genetic modification of MTB for mass production and new environmental applications. The ultimate objective of this review is to promote the applications of MTB and magnetosomes in the environmental fields.     

Catalytic oxidation of CO over Pt/Fe3O4 catalysts: Tuning O2 activation and CO adsorption

• Strong metal-support interaction exists on Pt/Fe₃O₄ catalysts. • Pt metal particles facilitate the formation of oxygen vacancies on Fe₃O₄. • Fe₃O₄ supports enhance the strength of CO adsorption on Pt metal particles. The self-inhibition behavior due to CO poisoning on Pt metal particles strongly impairs the performance of CO oxidation. It is an effective method to use reducible metal oxides for supporting Pt metal particles to avoid self-inhibition and to improve catalytic performance. In this work, we used in situ reductions of chloroplatinic acid on commercial Fe₃O₄ powder to prepare heterogeneous-structured Pt/Fe₃O₄ catalysts in the solution of ethylene glycol. The heterogeneous Pt/Fe₃O₄ catalysts achieved a better catalytic performance of CO oxidation compared with the Fe₃O₄ powder. The temperatures of 50% and 90% CO conversion were achieved above 260°C and 290°C at Pt/Fe₃O₄, respectively. However, they are accomplished on Fe₃O₄ at temperatures higher than 310°C. XRD, XPS, and H₂-TPR results confirmed that the metallic Pt atoms have a strong synergistic interaction with the Fe₃O₄ supports. TGA results and transient DRIFTS results proved that the Pt metal particles facilitate the release of lattice oxygen and the formation of oxygen vacancies on Fe₃O₄. The combined results of O₂-TPD and DRIFTS indicated that the activation step of oxygen molecules at surface oxygen vacancies could potentially be the rate-determining step of the catalytic CO oxidation at Pt/Fe₃O₄ catalysts. The reaction pathway involves a Pt-assisted Mars-van Krevelen (MvK) mechanism.     

Taxonomic and functional variations in the microbial community during the upgrade process of a full-scale landfill leachate treatment plant – from conventional to partial nitrification-denitrification

• Upgrade process was investigated in a full-scale landfill leachate treatment plant. • The optimization of DO can technically achieve the shift from CND to PND process. • Nitrosomonas was mainly responsible for ammonium oxidation in PND system. • An obviously enrichment of Thauera was found in the PND process. • Enhanced metabolic potentials on organics was found during the process update. Because of the low access to biodegradable organic substances used for denitrification, the partial nitrification-denitrification process has been considered as a low-cost, sustainable alternative for landfill leachate treatment. In this study, the process upgrade from conventional to partial nitrification-denitrification was comprehensively investigated in a full-scale landfill leachate treatment plant (LLTP). The partial nitrification-denitrification system was successfully achieved through the optimizing dissolved oxygen and the external carbon source, with effluent nitrogen concentrations lower than 150 mg/L. Moreover, the upgrading process facilitated the enrichment of Nitrosomonas (abundance increased from 0.4% to 3.3%), which was also evidenced by increased abundance of amoA/B/C genes carried by Nitrosomonas. Although Nitrospira (accounting for 0.1%–0.6%) was found to stably exist in the reactor tank, considerable nitrite accumulation occurred in the reactor (reaching 98.8 mg/L), indicating high-efficiency of the partial nitrification process. Moreover, the abundance of Thauera, the dominant denitrifying bacteria responsible for nitrite reduction, gradually increased from 0.60% to 5.52% during the upgrade process. This process caused great changes in the microbial community, inducing continuous succession of heterotrophic bacteria accompanied by enhanced metabolic potentials toward organic substances. The results obtained in this study advanced our understanding of the operation of a partial nitrification-denitrification system and provided a technical case for the upgrade of currently existing full-scale LLTPs.     

A review of measurement methods for peracetic acid (PAA)

• Physical and chemical properties and application of peracetic acid solution. • Determination method of high concentration peracetic acid. • Determination method of residual peracetic acid (low concentration). Peroxyacetic acid has been widely used in food, medical, and synthetic chemical fields for the past several decades. Recently, peroxyacetic acid has gradually become an effective alternative disinfectant in wastewater disinfection and has strong redox capacity for removing micro-pollutants from drinking water. However, commercial peroxyacetic acid solutions are primarily multi-component mixtures of peroxyacetic acid, acetic acid, hydrogen peroxide, and water. During the process of water treatment, peroxyacetic acid and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) often coexist, which limits further investigation on the properties of peroxyacetic acid. Therefore, analytical methods need to achieve a certain level of selectivity, particularly when peroxyacetic acid and hydrogen peroxide coexist. This review summarizes the measurement and detection methods of peroxyacetic acid, comparing the principle, adaptability, and relative merits of these methods.     

Transformation of hazardous lead into aluminosilicate ceramics: structure evolution and lead leaching

This study investigated crystallization mechanisms for the formation of lead aluminosilicate by sintering lead stabilization with kaolin-based precursors. PbAl2Si2O8 was found to be the only stable lead aluminosilicate in low-PbO system and demonstrates its highly intrinsic resistance to acid attack in leaching test. A three-stage PbAl2Si2O8 formation mechanism was supported by the results of the changing temperature in the system. Amorphization of sintered products was observed in both PbO/kaolinite and PbO/mullite systems at 600–700°C. When the temperature was increased to 750–900°C, the crystallochemical formation of lead aluminosilicates (i.e., Pb4Al4Si3O16, Pb6Al6Si2O21, and PbAl2Si2O8) was observed. Pb4Al4Si3O16 and Pb6Al6Si2O21 were found to be the intermediate phases at 700–900°C. Finally, PbAl2Si2O8 was found to be the only crystallite phase to host Pb at above 950°C. A maximum of 80% and 96.7% Pb can be incorporated into PbAl2Si2O8 in PbO/kaolinite and PbO/mullite systems, respectively, but the final products exhibited different microstructures. To reduce environmental hazard of lead, this strategy demonstrated a preferred mechanism of immobilizing lead into PbAl2Si2O8 structure via kaolin-based precursors.     

High heterogeneity of bacterioplankton community shaped by spatially structured environmental factors in West Lake,a typical urban lake in eastern China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Elucidating the bacterioplankton spatial distribution patterns and its determinants is a central topic in ecological research. However, research on...     

Manganese-modified biochar for highly efficient sorption of cadmium

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In this study, corn stalk was modified by manganese (Mn) before (MBC1) and after (MBC2) pyrolysis at different temperatures (400~600 °C)...     

Molecular,functional, and cellular alterations of oocytes and cumulus cells induced by heat stress and shock in animals

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Global warming is considered as the main environmental stress affecting ecosystems as well as physiological and biochemical characteristics, and...     

生物滞留池对屋面径流基本污染物的控制

快速的城市化导致不透水性下垫面急剧增加,进而加剧了径流污染,尤其是屋面径流污染。生物滞留池作为低影响开发理念的核心措施之一,对径流的净化效果显著。以屋面径流为控制对象,设计了3个生物滞留池用于探究不同土壤层厚度和不同进水方式对生物滞留池出水的影响。结果表明,实验收集的屋面径流污染严重,COD和TN为《地表水环境质量标准》(GB 3838—2002)劣Ⅴ类。经生物滞留池处理后发现,3个生物滞留池对悬浮物(SS)的去除效果较好,去除率为92.2%～98.7%,装填20cm土壤的表层进水生物滞留池较装填15cm土壤的生物滞留池出水污染物浓度低。装填20cm土壤的表层进水和侧向进水的生物滞留池对COD、TN和TP的去除能力总体相当,表层进水和侧向进水的生物滞留池对COD的去除率分别为91.7%、90.4%,对TN的去除率分别为93.8%、86.5%,对TP的去除率分别为70.1%和72.7%。     

Soil labile and recalcitrant carbon and nitrogen dynamics in relation to functional vegetation groups along precipitation gradients in secondary grasslands of South China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Soil labile and recalcitrant carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) are strongly controlled by plant inputs and climatic conditions. However, the interrelation...