Composition analysis and application of degradation products of whole feathers through a large scale of fermentation

Purpose

Feathers are one of the most abundant bioresources. They are discarded as waste in most cases and could cause environmental pollution. On the other hand, keratin constituted by amino acids is the main component of feathers. In this article, we reported on biorefined feathers and integrants and application of degraded products.

Materials and methods

The fermentation of whole chicken feathers with Stenotrophomonas maltophilia DHHJ in a scale-up of a 5-L bioreactor was investigated in this article. The fermentation process was controlled at 0.08 MPa pressure, 2.5 L/min airflow, and 300 rpm as 100% oxygen saturation level, 40°C, and pH 7.8.

Results

Feathers were almost completely degraded in the tested fermentation reaction with the following conditions: 80 g of whole feathers in 3 L fermentation broth for 72 h, seed age of 16 h, 100 mL inoculation amount, and 50% oxygen saturation level. The degraded products contain 397.1 mg/L soluble protein that has mass weight ranging from 10 to 160 kD, 336.9 mg/L amino acids, and many kinds of metal ions. The fermentation broth was evaluated as leaf fertilizer and found to increase plant growth to 82% or 66% for two- or fourfold dilutions, respectively. In addition, in a hair care assay, the broth showed a hair protective function by increasing weight, flexibility, and strength of the treated hair.

Conclusions

The whole feathers were degraded completely by S. maltophilia DHHJ. The degraded product includes many factors to life, such as peptides, amino acids, and mineral elements. It could be applied as leaf fertilizer and hair care product.     

Determination of o-phthalic acid in snow and its photochemical degradation by capillary gas chromatography coupled with flame ionization and mass spectrometric detection

Phthalic acid and its photochemical degradation has been determined in snow and rainwater samples collected during winters (2003-2010) in the Southeast of Massachusetts using capillary gas chromatography (GC) with flame ionization and mass spectrometric detection. Water samples were dried using a rotary evaporator and derivatized with a 14% BF₃/methanol reagent before GC analysis. The developed method proved simple and accurate. Phthalic acid was found in snow samples collected in a concentration range of 7.22-76.5 nM. The photodegradation of phthalate was carried out under 300 nm UV light. The direct photodecomposition of the acid is slow (5% h⁻¹). However, the addition of dissolved Fe(III) species at 2.0 μM accelerated the light-induced degradation of phthalic acid by 3.5 times in the atmospheric water samples. Photodegradation rates of phthalic acid increases with decreasing pH value of water samples in the range of pH 2.8-4.5.     

Dissipation of carbendazim and chloramphenicol alone and in combination and their effects on soil fungal:bacterial ratios and soil enzyme activities

The dissipation of carbendazim and chloramphenicol alone and in combination and their effects on soil fungal:bacterial ratios and soil enzyme activities were investigated. The results revealed that carbendazim dissipation was little affected by chloramphenicol, whereas chloramphenicol dissipation was found to be retarded significantly by the presence of carbendazim. The inhibitory effect of carbendazim on the fungal:bacterial ratios was increased by the presence of chloramphenicol, and the inhibitory effect of chloramphenicol on neutral phosphatase was increased by the presence of carbendazim. Carbendazim increased soil catalase and urease activities, but this increase was partially diminished by the presence of chloramphenicol. Little interaction was observed between carbendazim and chloramphenicol with regard to their influence on soil invertase. The results obtained in this study suggest that combinations of fungicides and antibiotics may alter the compounds’ individual behaviors in soil and their effects on soil enzymes.     

Use of fugacity model to analyze temperature-dependent removal of micro-contaminants in sewage treatment plants

Effluents from sewage treatment plants (STPs) are known to contain residual micro-contaminants including endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) despite the utilization of various removal processes. Temperature alters the efficacy of removal processes; however, experimental measurements of EDC removal at various temperatures are limited. Extrapolation of EDC behavior over a wide temperature range is possible using available physicochemical property data followed by the correction of temperature dependency. A level II fugacity-based STP model was employed by inputting parameters obtained from the literature and estimated by the US EPA’s Estimations Programs Interface (EPI) including EPI’s BIOWIN for temperature-dependent biodegradation half-lives. EDC removals in a three-stage activated sludge system were modeled under various temperatures and hydraulic retention times (HRTs) for representative compounds of various properties. Sensitivity analysis indicates that temperature plays a significant role in the model outcomes. Increasing temperature considerably enhances the removal of β-estradiol, ethinyestradiol, bisphenol, phenol, and tetrachloroethylene, but not testosterone with the highest biodegradation rate. The shortcomings of BIOWIN were mitigated by the correction of highly temperature-dependent biodegradation rates using the Arrhenius equation. The model predicts well the effects of operating temperature and HRTs on the removal via volatilization, adsorption, and biodegradation. The model also reveals that an impractically long HRT is needed to achieve a high EDC removal. The STP model along with temperature corrections is able to provide some useful insight into the different patterns of STP performance, and useful operational considerations relevant to EDC removal at winter low temperatures.     

Polarity effect of pulsed corona discharge for the oxidation of gaseous elemental mercury

The effect of polarity on the oxidation of Hg⁰ was examined in the presence of O₂ via a pulsed corona discharge (PCD). The experimental result showed no difference in the energy yield of Hg⁰ oxidation at both positive and negative PCDs (∼8 μg Hg W h⁻¹ at following conditions: total flow rate = 2 L min⁻¹ (Hg⁰ = 50 μg N m⁻³, O₂ = 10%, and N₂ balance), temperature = 150 °C, and specific energy density = 5-15 W h N m⁻³). This suggests that the positive PCD process used to control gaseous air pollutants may play an essential key role in Hg⁰ oxidation because it consumes enough energy (∼15 W h N m⁻³) but an electrical precipitator could not because it consumes less energy (∼0.3 W h N m⁻³) to oxidize Hg⁰.     

Removal of Rhodamine B under visible irradiation in the presence of Fe⁰, H₂O₂, citrate and aeration at circumneutral pH

A new Vis-Fe⁰-H₂O₂-citrate-O₂ system comprising zero-valent iron, hydrogen peroxide, citrate anion and aeration at circumneutral pH under visible irradiation was studied. 21 μmol L⁻¹ of Rhodamine B (RhB) was chosen as the substrate to be tested. Experiments were conducted under conditions of 2.9 mmol L⁻¹ of H₂O₂, 12.6 g of Fe⁰ and 1.0 mmol L⁻¹ of citrate at pH 7.5. Results showed that, in 1 h reaction, 54% of RhB was removed with corresponding 26% of COD reduced. Meanwhile, the amount of released dissolved irons from Fe⁰ surface was found to be at a very low level as <5.4 μmol L⁻¹. Extinguishing tests with isopropanol suggested that RhB oxidation by hydroxyl radicals was the main process taken place in Vis-Fe⁰-H₂O₂-citrate-O₂ system, which accounted for 75% of substrate removal in 3 h reaction. Control and factor influencing experiments showed that the prohibitive extents of individual factor importance on RhB removal followed a decreasing order of Fe⁰ > H₂O₂ > citrate > Vis > O₂. This study showed an excellent system that could remove refractory organic compounds from water in laboratory researches, and also provided a good idea to reduce secondary contamination by dissolved irons in future investigations.     

Atmospheric particle characterization, distribution, and deposition in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, Central China

Physical characterization and chemical analysis of settled dusts collected in Xi’an from November 2007 to December 2008 show that (1) dust deposition rates ranged from 14.6 to 350.4 g m⁻² yr⁻¹. The average deposition rate (76.7 g m⁻² yr⁻¹) ranks the 11th out of 56 dust deposition rates observed throughout the world. The coal-burning power was the major particle source; (2) on average (except site 4), ∼10% of the settled dusts having size <2.6, ∼30% having size <10.5, and >70% having size <30 μm; (3) the concentrations for 20 out of 27 elements analyzed were upto 18 times higher than their soil background values in China. With such high deposition rates of dusts that contain elevated levels of toxic elements, actions should be taken to reduce emission and studies are needed to assess the potential impacts of settled particles on surface ecosystem, water resource, and human health in the area.     

Bioanalytical and instrumental analysis of thyroid hormone disrupting compounds in water sources along the Yangtze River

Thyroid hormone (TH) agonist and antagonist activities of water sources along the Yangtze River in China were surveyed by a green monkey kidney fibroblast (CV-1) cell-based TH reporter gene assay. Instrumental analysis was conducted to identify the responsible thyroid-active compounds. Instrumentally derived l-3,5,3′-triiodothyronine (T₃) equivalents (T₃-EQs) and thyroid receptor (TR) antagonist activity equivalents referring to dibutyl phthalate (DBP-EQs) were calculated from the concentrations of individual congeners. The reporter gene assay demonstrated that three out of eleven water sources contained TR agonist activity equivalents (TR-EQs), ranging from 286 to 293 ng T₃/L. Anti-thyroid hormone activities were found in all water sources with the TR antagonist activity equivalents referring to DBP (Ant-TR-EQs), ranging from 51.5 to 555.3 μg/L. Comparisons of the equivalents from instrumental and biological assays suggested that high concentrations of DBP and di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) were responsible for the observed TR antagonist activities at some locations along the Yangtze River.     

不同来源废水COD、TOC与Cl-的关系

通过对含盐化工废水(A)、受潮汐影响的河流水(B)、城市生活污水处理厂排水(C)、采油废水(D)4种不同来源废水进行为期15 d的采样监测,测定了其COD、TOC和Cl-浓度,分析比较了3种废水指标之间的关系,其中COD分别使用重铬酸钾法、氯气校正法和碘化钾碱性高锰酸钾法3种方法进行测定.实验结果表明,4种废水Cl-浓...     

V/Ce共掺杂TiO2光催化降解甲醛的实验研究

采用溶胶凝胶法制备了不掺杂、V 掺杂、Ce掺杂、V/Ce共掺杂纳米TiO₂光催化剂,并将其分别负载于瓷砖上,利用X射线衍射分析（XRD）和扫描电镜分析（SEM）技术对薄膜样品的结构和形貌进行了表征。通过对甲醛的降解实验评价光催化剂的光催化活性。实验结果表明,光催化剂的负载量、共掺杂离子的掺杂量、掺杂配比、煅烧温度影响纳米TiO₂的光催化活性。V/Ce共掺杂TiO₂光催化剂产生了协同效应,其光催化活性优于纯TiO₂和单掺杂TiO₂样品。