Oxidation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by fungal isolates from an oil contaminated refinery soil

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Indigenous soil microorganisms are used for the biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons in oily waste residues from the petroleum refining industry. The objective of this investigation was to determine the potential of indigenous strains of fungi in soil contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons to biodegrade polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty one fungal strains were isolated from a soil used for land-farming of oily waste residues from the petrochemical refining industry in Singapore and identified to genus level using laboratory culture and morphological techniques. Isolates were incubated in the presence of 30 mg/L of phenanthrene over a period of 28 days at 30 degrees C. The most effective strain was further evaluated to determine its ability to oxidise a wider range of PAH compounds of various molecular weight i.e acenaphthene, fluorene, fluoranthene, chrysene, benzo(a)pyrene and dibenz(ah)anthracene RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: After 28 days of incubation, 18 of the 21 fungal cultures were capable of oxidising over 50% of the phenanthrene present in culture medium, relative to abiotic controls. Fungal isolate, Penicillium sp. 06, was able to oxidise 89% of the phenanthrene present. This isolate could also oxidise more than 75% of the acenaphthene, fluorene and fluoranthene after 30 days of incubation. However, the oxidation of high molecular weight PAH i.e. chrysene, benzo(a)pyrene and dibenz(ah)anthracene by the Penicillium sp. 06 isolate was limited, where the extent of oxidation was inversely proportional to PAH molecular weight. CONCLUSIONS: Fungal isolate, Penicillium sp. 06, was effective at oxidising a range of PAH in petroleum contaminated soils, but higher molecular weight PAH were more recalcitrant. RECOMMENDATIONS AND OUTLOOK: There is potential for the re-application of this fungal strain to soil for bioremediation purposes.     

Large outdoor chamber experiments and computer simulations: (I) Secondary organic aerosol formation from the oxidation of a mixture of d-limonene and α-pinene

This work merges kinetic models for α-pinene and d-limonene which were individually developed to predict secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation from these compounds. Three major changes in the d-limonene and α-pinene combined mechanism were made. First, radical–radical reactions were integrated so that radicals formed from both individual mechanisms all reacted with each other. Second, all SOA model species from both compounds were used to calculate semi-volatile partitioning for new semi-volatiles formed in the gas phase. Third particle phase reactions for particle phase α-pinene and d-limonene aldehydes, carboxylic acids, etc. were integrated. Experiments with mixtures of α-pinene and d-limonene, nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), and diurnal natural sunlight were carried out in a dual 270 m³ outdoor Teflon film chamber located in Pittsboro, NC. The model closely simulated the behavior and timing for α-pinene, d-limonene, NO, NO₂, O₃ and SOA. Model sensitivities were tested with respect to effects of d-limonene/α-pinene ratios, initial hydrocarbon to NO_x (HC₀/NO_x) ratios, temperature, and light intensity. The results showed that SOA yield (Y_SOA) was very sensitive to initial d-limonene/α-pinene ratio and temperature. The model was also used to simulate remote atmospheric SOA conditions that hypothetically could result from diurnal emissions of α-pinene, d-limonene and NO_x. We observed that the volatility of the simulated SOA material on the aging aerosol decreased with time, and this was consistent with chamber observations. Of additional importance was that our simulation did not show a loss of SOA during the daytime and this was consistent with observed measurements.     

六氯苯的O3及UV/O3高级氧化降解试验研究

采用O₃、UV/O₃高级氧化法对水中六氯苯（HCB）的降解效果及机理进行了研究，并对结果进行了比较，结果表明，UV本身对HCB的去除率贡献不大，HCB可被O₃、UV/O₃快速降解，即UV＜O₃＜UV/O₃；O₃、UV/O₃作用时，提高体系的初始pH值不利于HCB的降解，在pH＝3，HCB=0.2 mg/L，反应40 min时，HCB的去除可达50%左右，酸性条件下有利于降解反应的进行；无论是O₃单独作用还是UV/O₃联合作用，HCB的降解基本上满足准一级反应动力学规律，如果体系的pH值基本保持恒定，这种规律就更为明显。根据离子色谱(IC)、GC对六氯苯降解中间产物进行了测定，探讨了O₃、UV/O₃降解六氯苯的途径和机理。     

一种新型复合球填料在低浓度污再生回用中的应用研究

新型复合球填料为沸石与悬浮球填料的有机组合体，密度约为0．92～0．97g／cm^3，比表面积为711～1185m^2/m^2，表面粗糙，物化性能稳定。在曝气量为20：1，停留时间为6h时，装有新型复合球填料的反应柱挂膜容易，成膜时间短，膜不易脱落，且生物相丰富。膜成熟时对生活污水中的氨氮和COD都有很好的去除效果，出水氨氮浓度≤2mg／L，去除率≥93％；出水COD浓度≤22mg／L，去除率≥80％。新型复合球反应柱在稳定状态处理低浓度的二级出水时，出水氨氮浓度≤2mg／L，去除率89％，出水COD浓度为10～36mg／L，去除率为48％～81％。出水水质符合GB50335-2002标准。     

钛基燃烧催化剂的抗硫性能

本文研究了钛基非贵金属燃烧催化剂的硫中毒过程及载体吸硫特性。结果表明,催化剂的抗硫能力与载体吸硫量有关,不同催化剂的抗硫性能为:Cat.3>Cat.4>Cat.5>Cat.1>Cat.2,本文还讨论了硫中毒机理。     

Defensive anointing: extended chemical phenotype and unorthodox ecology

Summary. Many animals acquire substances on their integument from heterospecifics through anointing. In active or self-anointing, animals rub against scent sources or they apply them by appendage or mouth. In passive anointing, animals adsorb emitted chemicals. Most investigators suggest that chemicals appropriated via anointing deter predators, ectoparasites, and/or microbial pathogens. Similarly, nesting birds and brood parasites of social insects acquire chemicals from and reside unmolested near or within insect colonies. The acquisition through anointing of chemicals that deter predators, ectoparasites, microbial pathogens, and other offenders, i.e. defensive anointing, constitutes an extended phenotype: the genetic machinery by which defensive compounds are synthesized does not reside with the anointing organisms, but the sensory mechanisms and/or behavioral tendencies by which chemicals are appropriated from heterospecifics do. The ecological relationships between anointing organisms and chemical donors, and between chemical donors and those responding to chemicals appropriated via anointing, may be unorthodox. Interactions between anointing organisms and chemical donors typically entail abrasive contact with or other damage to the latter. These encounters sometimes are evidenced by telltale marks on chemical donors or by chemicals deposited on the integument of anointing organisms. The organisms furnishing chemicals and those affected by them may not interact, and they may even occupy different habitats, because mobile anointing organisms are the medium by which chemicals are disseminated. Thus, in allelochemical studies where anointing is involved, species can be tested, with ecological legitimacy, using chemicals from organisms they might fail to interact with in nature. Practical implications of anointing stem from its potential importance in conservation and captive management, where consideration is given to the protection that animals derive by accessing topically acquired chemicals from heterospecifics.     

Sex pheromone components of male <Emphasis Type="Italic">Tirathaba mundella</Emphasis> (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

Summary. During peak calling activity by male oil palm bunch moths, Tirathaba mundella Walker (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), their hairpencils, wings or entire body were extracted in hexane. Gas chromatographic-electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) analyses of hair pencil extracts revealed four compounds that consistently elicited responses from female antennae. The NMR spectrum of isolated compound 1, and mass spectra and retention indices of compounds 1–4 suggested that they were (3S,6S)-2,2,6-trimethyl-6-vinyl-tetrahydro-pyran-3-ol (1), 4-hydroxy-3-methoxy-benzaldehyde (2, vanillin), 6,10,14-trimethyl-2-pentadecanone (3), and 6,10,14-trimethyl-2-pentadecanol (4). Comparative GC and GC-MS analyses of hair pencils extract and synthetic standards confirmed these structural assignments. Moreover, comparative chromatography of synthetic and hairpencil-isolated 1 on a Cyclodex-B column (which separated the four stereoisomers with baseline resolution) revealed that male T. mundella produce the SS-stereoisomer (SS-1). In field cage bioassay experiments in Palembang, Indonesia, synthetic SS-1 and vanillin in combination, but not singly, attracted female T. mundella. SS-1 plus vanillin were as effective as male T. mundella in attracting females. Compounds 3 and 4 did not enhance the blend's attractiveness. Received October 11 2002; accepted March 14, 2003. R1D=" Correspondence to: Gerhard Gries, email: gries@sfu.ca     

邻苯二酚2,3-双加氧酶基因克隆、定位和高效表达

采用特异性引物，以菲、芘降解菌株ZL5的代谢性质粒为模板，扩增出邻苯二酚2，3—双加氧酶(C23O)基因，将该基因和表达载体pET—30a( )连接，转化E.coli JM109(DE3)，获得了高效表达的转化子，SDS—PAGE结果表明，转化子的C23O蛋白不仅在细胞内存在，而且能被分泌到胞外，薄层扫描显示，转化子细胞内和细胞外表达蛋白总量占细胞总蛋白的42％，酶活分析表明，分布在转化子细胞内、外的表达蛋白都具有较高的C23O比活力，Southern杂交将菌株ZL5的C23O基因定位在内生质粒的不同酶切片段上。图5表1参12。     

吸附菌HX5对活性艳蓝KN-R的吸附脱色作用

研究了吸附菌HX5对活性艳蓝KNR的吸附脱色作用,碳源、氮源、盐度和染料浓度对KNR吸附脱色的影响,以及HX5生长菌体对KNR的脱色机理.结果表明,菌株HX5对KNR脱色的最佳碳、氮源分别为葡萄糖和硫酸铵;碳源浓度在10g/L以上时,可使200mg/L的KNR完全脱色,碳源浓度过高,脱色效果不显著;HX5对KNR脱色的最佳氮源浓度为0.75g/L,在0～2%的浓度范围内,盐度对脱色无显著影响;染料对菌株HX5具有一定的生长抑制毒性,但对于400mg/L的KNR,脱色率仍可达95.1%;HX5生长菌体对KNR作用96h内主要为生物吸附作用,96h外则可能发生了生物降解.图5表2参9     

Degradation of Benzo[a]Pyrene in Soil with Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Alfalfa

Mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal alfalfa (Medicago sativa) was grown in pots containing soil artificially contaminated with various levels of benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P)(0, 1, 10 and 100 mg kg^–1). Soil and plants were sampled after 30, 40, 50, 60 and 90 days and compared with unlanted pots. The percentage of mycorrhizal root length colonized by Glomus caledoniun was not significantly affected by the addition of B[a]P up to 10 mg kg^–1 but was significantly lower at 100 mg kg^–1B[a]P compared with low concentrations (p < 0.05). There was no difference in soil polyphenol oxidase and dehydrogenase activity among the controls and applications of 1 and 10 mg kg^–1 of B[a]P. However, enzyme activities were significantly higher at 100 mg kg^–1B[a]P compared with the other three treatments, and there was no mycorrhizal effect. Over a period of 90 days the concentration of B[a]P in soil in which alfalfa was grown was significantly lower than in unplanted soil (p < 0.05). Degradation rates of B[a]P added at 1, 10 and 100 mg kg^–1 without G. caledonium were 76, 78 and 53%, and with mycorrhizal inoculation were 86, 87 and 57%. The degradation rate in unplanted soil was significantly lower than in planted soil, and was significantly higher in medium- and low-B[a]P treatments than in the high B[a]P concentration tested. There is a possibility of enhancement phytoremediation of PAHs in rhizosphere soil with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.