Adsorption-synergic biodegradation of diesel oil in synthetic seawater by acclimated strains immobilized on multifunctional materials

Enhanced bioremediation of cyclohexaneacetic acid in offshore sediments with green synthetic iron oxide and Pseudoalteromonas sp

Naphthenic acids (NAs) have been found to exert serious threats on offshore sediment ecosystems and human health in recent years, which entails us the urgent need for NAs remediation. Bioremediation is considered an ideal method for sediment remediation due to ecological sustainability and economic feasibility. However, current bioremediation efficiency of offshore sediments suffers from relatively slow and there has never any attempts to bioremediate offshore sediment NAs contamination hitherto. In this study, the green synthetic iron oxides (gFeOx) based on Laminaria extracts was employed to enhance the biodegradation of NAs (Cyclohexylacetic acid, CHAA) in offshore sediments by Pseudoalteromonas sp. JSTW (an indigenous microorganism). The results showed that CHAA (20 mg·kg-1) in offshore sediments was removed almost 100% within 7 days at 30 mg·kg-1 gFeOx and 0.6 mg·kg-1 Strain JSTW. High-throughput sequencing results revealed that the structure and function of sediment microbial community were essentially restored to uncontaminated levels after bioremediation, highlighting the joint remediation approach is an efficient and eco-friendly method. Overall, this work has firstly provided insights into the application for NAs in situ bioremediation in offshore sediments.

Recent advances in visible light driven inactivation of bloom forming blue-green algae using novel nano-composites: Mechanism, efficiency and fabrication approaches

Over the years, algae have proved to be a water pollutant due to global warming, climate change, and the unregulated addition of organic compounds in water bodies from diffused resources. Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are severely affecting the health of humans and aquatic ecosystems. Among available anti-blooming technologies, semiconductor photocatalysis has come forth as an effective alternative. In the recent past, literature has been modified extensively with a decisive knowledge regarding algal invasion, desired preparation of nanomaterials with enhanced visible light absorption capacity and mechanisms for algal cell denaturation. The motivation behind this review article was to gather algal inactivation data in a systematic way based on various research studies, including the construction of nanoparticles and purposely to test their anti-algal activities under visible irradiation. Additionally, this article mentions variety of starting materials employed for preparation of various nano-powders with focus on their synthesis routes, analytical techniques as well as proposed mechanisms for lost cellular integrity in context of reduced chlorophyll' a' level, cell rapture, cell leakage and damages to other physiological constituents; credited to oxidative damage initiated by reactive oxidation species (ROS). Various floating and recyclable composited catalysts Ag2CO3-N: GO, Ag/AgCl@ZIF-8, Ag2CrO4-g-C3N4-TiO2/mEP proved to be game-changers owing to their enhanced VL absorption, adsorption, stability, separation and reusability. An outlook for the generalized limitations of published reports, cost estimations for practical implementation, issues and challenges faced by nano-photocatalysts and possible opportunities for future studies are also proposed. This review will be able to provide vast insights for coherent fabrication of catalysts, breakthroughs in experimental methodologies and help in elaboration of damage mechanisms.

Transport of Microplastic and Dispersed Oil Co-contaminants in the Marine Environment

Microplastics (MPs) and oil pollution are major concerns in oceans. Although their coexistence in oceans and the associated MP-oil-dispersant agglomerates (MODAs) have been reported, limited attention is given to the behavior of the co-contaminants. This study investigated MODA transport in a simulated ocean system and explored related mechanisms under various oil types, salinities, and mineral concentrations. We found that more than 90% of the heavy oil-formed MODAs stayed at the seawater surface, while the light oil-formed MODAs were widely distributed throughout the seawater column. The increased salinity promoted MODAs formed by 7 and 90 μm MPs to transport from the seawater surface to the column. This was elucidated by the Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek theory as more MODAs formed under higher salinities and dispersants kept them stable in the seawater column. Minerals facilitated the sinking of large MP-formed MODAs (e.g., 40 μm) as minerals were adsorbed on the MODA surface, but their impact on small MP-formed MODAs (e.g., 7 μm) was negligible. A MODA-mineral system was proposed to explain their interaction. Rubey's equation was recommended to predict the sinking velocity of MODAs. This study is the first attempt to reveal MODA transport. Findings will contribute to the model development to facilitate their environmental risk evaluation in oceans.

Effective diesel removal by a novel electrospun composite nanofibrous membrane with immobilized Bacillus cereus LY-1

Nanofiber membranes have recently been considered as promising supports for the immobilization of microorganisms due to the simplicity and cost-effectiveness of electrostatic spinning technology and the ability to control fiber morphology, such as obtaining higher surface area and porosity. In this study, electrospun polyvinyl alcohol/sodium alginate/attapulgite (PVA/SA/ATP) nanofiber membrane was prepared as support for immobilized Bacillus cereus LY-1 for diesel degradation in an aqueous medium and a significant improvement in diesel removal efficiency was realized. The effect of modified ATP concentration on diesel removal was investigated. The results showed that the nanofiber membranes complexed with cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) and 1% ATP (w/w) had the best capacity for diesel removing. When the initial diesel concentration was 2 g L^-1, about 87.8% of diesel was removed by the immobilized LY-1 cells after 72 h. Immobilization of bacteria improves the ability of bacteria to survive in adverse environments. Immobilized LY-1 cells maintain the nature to remove diesel at high salinity or pH range of 6-9. Furthermore, the reusability of the LY-1 cells-immobilized PVA/SA/CTAB-ATP nanofiber membrane was tested. A diesel removal rate of 64.9% could be achieved after 4 times of use. PVA/SA/CTAB-ATP nanofibrous membranes with immobilized LY-1 cells are feasible, economical and environmentally friendly for remediation of diesel contamination in the aqueous medium, and have potential applications in the future.

Poly-NIPAM/Fe3O4/multiwalled carbon nanotube nanocomposites for kerosene removal from water

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were oxidized using a mixture of H₂SO₄ and HNO₃, and the oxidized MWCNTS were decorated with magnetite (Fe₃O₄). Finally, poly-N-isopropyl acrylamide-co-butyl acrylate (P-NIPAM) was added to obtain P-NIPAM/Fe/MWCNT nanocomposites. The nanosorbents were characterized by various techniques, including X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis. The P-NIPAM/Fe/MWCNT nanocomposites exhibited increased surface hydrophobicity. Owing to their higher adsorption capacity, their kerosene removal efficiency was 95%; by contrast, the as-prepared, oxidized, and magnetite-decorated MWCNTs had removal efficiencies of 45%, 55%, and 68%, respectively. The P-NIPAM/Fe/MWCNT nanocomposites exhibited a sorbent capacity of 8.1 g/g for kerosene removal from water. The highest kerosene removal efficiency from water was obtained at a process time of 45 min, sorbent dose of 0.005 g, solution temperature of 40 °C, and pH 3.5. The P-NIPAM/Fe/MWCNTs showed excellent stability after four cycles of kerosene removal from water followed by regeneration. The reason may be the increase in the positive charge of the polymer at pH 3.5 and the increased adsorption affinity of the adsorbent toward the kerosene contaminant. The pseudo second-order model was found to be the most suitable model for studying the kinetics of the adsorption reaction.

Preparation of Micron-Scale Activated Carbon-Immobilized Bacteria for the Adsorption–Biodegradation of Diesel Oil

This paper investigated the micron-scale activated carbon (MAC) immobilized diesel-oil-degrading bacteria (bio-MAC) used as remediation materials for the removal of diesel-oil-contaminated water. The high-efficiency indigenous diesel-oil-degrading bacteria were firstly screened and enriched, then the MAC was used as a diesel oil sorbent and biocarrier for the immobilization of degrading bacteria to prepare the bio-MAC material. The removal performance of the bio-MAC was evaluated via a comparison with the freely degrading bacteria and MAC. The SEM results demonstrated that the diesel-oil-degrading bacteria were effectively immobilized and grew well on the surfaces of MAC particles. The concentration of MAC significantly influenced the growth and activity (DHA and LPS) of immobilized bacteria, and the MAC addition of 3.0 g/L was proven to be an optimum amount for the preparation of bio-MAC. The high-throughput sequencing analysis further indicated that the bacteria immobilized on MAC showed higher abundance levels and diversities index values compared to freely suspended bacteria, such as Pseudomonas, Rhodococcus, Bacillus and Microbacterium. The FTIR spectroscopy results showed that the bio-MAC could effectively degrade the aliphatic hydrocarbons, alkenes and aromatic compounds of diesel oil to carboxylic acids, esters, alcohols and other metabolites. When the concentration of diesel oil was 1 g/L, the removal efficiency for the diesel oil of bio-MAC reached 86.35% after 15 days, while only 23.82% and 70.97% of the diesel oil was removed using the same amount of free bacteria and MAC, respectively. The prepared bio-MAC showed a synergic effect of adsorption and biodegradation and efficiently removed diesel oil from wastewater.

Synergic Effect of Adsorption and Biodegradation by Microsphere Immobilizing Bacillus velezensis for Enhanced Removal Organics in Slaughter Wastewater

Bacterial cell immobilization offers considerable advantages over traditional biotreatment methods using free bacteria. Bacillus velezensis was underwented isolation and genetic identification as COD-degrading bacteria in slaughter wastewaterand immobilized on the surface of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) microsphere with the adhesion to bio-carrier through direct physical adsorption. The removal CODMn rates of microsphere (PVA) immobilized cells were 16.99%, increased 9.38% from a 50% concentration of slaughter wastewater within 24 h at 37 °C, pH 7.0, and 120 rpm, which was about 2.2 times that of the free bacteria. A significant difference was found in two groups (p < 0.01 p value less than 0.01 means statistical significance), and the COD degradation rate of the microsphere immobilized Bacillus velezensis strain was higher than the control group (PVA: control vs 20.08: 10.81), with the processing time reaching 36 h (p < 0.05). Additionally, similar results were obtained from a 20% concentration of slaughter wastewater within 24 h and 36 h. Moreover, the starch and protein digestibility of the immobilized Bacillus velezensis strain was higher than that of the free bacteria (20.1%: 42.2% vs. 17.5%: 37.2%). These findings revealed that the PVA-bacteria system was a simple, green, and inexpensive process, as well as a promising method. The research goal is aimed to synergize the effects of adsorption and biodegradation, as it can enhance organic removal by immobilized Bacillus velezensis in slaughter wastewater. Moreover, it may be possible that more potential materials can be used as biological carriers for the immobilization of bacterial cells later, which is beneficial for the recycling of resources.

Systematic degradation mechanism and pathways analysis of the immobilized bacteria: Permeability and biodegradation, kinetic and molecular simulation

In order to effectively improve the degradation rate of diesel, a systematic analysis of the degradation mechanism used by immobilized bacteria is necessary. In the present study, diesel degradation mechanisms were assessed by analyzing permeability, biodegradation, adsorption kinetics, and molecular simulation. We found that bacteria immobilized on cinnamon shells and peanut shells degraded relatively high amounts of diesel (69.94% and 64.41%, respectively). The primary degradation pathways used by immobilized bacteria included surface adsorption, internal uptake, and biodegradation. Surface adsorption was dominant in the early stage of degradation, whereas biodegradation was dominant in later stages. The diesel adsorption rate of the immobilized bacteria was in agreement with the pseudo second-order kinetic model. The immobilized bacteria and diesel interacted through hydrogen bonds.

Biodegradation and Absorption Technology for Hydrocarbon-Polluted Water Treatment

Wastewaters polluted with hydrocarbons are an environmental problem that has a significant impact on the natural ecosystem and on human health. Thus, the aim of this research was to develop a bioreactor sorbent technology for treating these polluted waters. A lab-scale plant composed of three 1-L bioreactors with different sorbent materials inside (meltblown polypropylene and granulated cork) was built. Wastewater to be treated was recirculated through each bioreactor for 7 days. Results showed that hydrocarbon retention rates in the three bioreactors ranged between 92.6% and 94.5% of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) and that after one simple recirculation cycle, no hydrocarbon fractions were detected by gas chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) in the effluent wastewater. In addition, after the wastewater treatment, the sorbent materials were extracted from the bioreactors and deposited in vessels to study the biodegradation of the retained hydrocarbons by the wastewater indigenous microbiota adhered to sorbents during the wastewater treatment. A TPH removal of 41.2% was detected after one month of Pad Sentec™ carrier treatment. Further, the shifts detected in the percentages of some hydrocarbon fractions suggested that biodegradation is at least partially involved in the hydrocarbon removal process. These results proved the efficiency of this technology for the treatment of these hydrocarbon-polluted-waters.

Bioremediation of Artificial Diesel-Contaminated Soil Using Bacterial Consortium Immobilized to Plasma-Pretreated Wood Waste

Bioaugmentation is a bioremediation option based on increasing the natural in-situ microbial population that possesses the ability to degrade the contaminating pollutant. In this study, a diesel-degrading consortium was obtained from an oil-contaminated soil. The diesel-degrading consortium was grown on wood waste that was plasma-pretreated. This plasma treatment led to an increase of bacterial attachment and diesel degradation rates. On the 7th day the biofilm viability on the plasma-treated wood waste reached 0.53 ± 0.02 OD 540 nm, compared to the non-treated wood waste which was only 0.34 ± 0.02. Biofilm attached to plasma-treated and untreated wood waste which was inoculated into artificially diesel-contaminated soil (0.15% g/g) achieved a degradation rate of 9.3 mg day-1 and 7.8 mg day-1, respectively. While, in the soil that was inoculated with planktonic bacteria, degradation was only 5.7 mg day-1. Exposing the soil sample to high temperature (50 °C) or to different soil acidity did not influence the degradation rate of the biofilm attached to the plasma-treated wood waste. The two most abundant bacterial distributions at the family level were Xanthomonadaceae and Sphingomonadaceae. To our knowledge, this is the first study that showed the advantages of biofilm attached to plasma-pretreated wood waste for diesel biodegradation in soil.

Adsorption and degradation in the removal of nonylphenol from water by cells immobilized on biochar

To investigate the role of adsorption by biochar and biodegradation by bacteria in the wastewater treatment system of microorganisms immobilized on biochar, Nonylphenol (NP) removal (adsorption + degradation) rates and degradation rates from water by NP degrading bacteria immobilized on bamboo charcoal (BC) and wood charcoal (WC) were examined in a short-term and long-term. Results showed that cells immobilized on different biochar had different NP removal effects, and cells immobilized on bamboo charcoal (I-BC) was better. After eight rounds of long-term reuse, the cumulative removal rate and the degradation rate of NP in water by I-BC were 93.95% and 41.86%, respectively, significantly higher than those of cells immobilized on wood charcoal (69.60%, 22.78%) and free cells (64.79%, 19.49%) (P < 0.01). The rise in the ratio of the degradation rate to the removal rate indicated that the long-term NP removal effect is more dependent on biodegradation. The amount of residual NP in I-BC still accounted for about 50%, indicating that the secondary pollution in the disposal of carrier could not be ignored. In addition, promotion effect of biochar on microorganisms were observed by SEM, quantitative PCR and 16S rRNA. Pseudomonas, Achromobacter, Ochrobactrum and Stenotrophomonas were predominant bacteria for NP degradation. The addition of biochar (especially bamboo charcoal) also effectively delayed the transformation of their community structure.

Facile Preparation of Charcoal Nanomaterial from Fishery Waste with Remarkable Adsorption Ability

In this study, modified activated fishbone charcoal (MAFC) was successfully prepared to remove emulsified oil from oily wastewater. Various characteristic techniques, including SEM, XRD, FTIR, and BET, were employed to investigate the morphology, texture, and surface properties of as-prepared samples. BET results demonstrated that the specific surface area of fishbone charcoal increased from 69.8 m2/g to 206.0 m2/g after treatment with K2CO3 as an activating agent, while the total pore volume of MAFC increased from 0.003 cm3/g to 0.3 cm3/g, accompanied by the formation of abundant pore structures. It was observed that 90.1% of emulsified oil (100 mg/L) was successfully removed by MAFC under our experimental conditions. The results of a kinetic and isotherm model analysis indicated that the adsorption experimental data were not only consistent with the Langmuir adsorption isotherm but were also well-described by the pseudo-second-order adsorption model. It is expected that this highly efficient and inexpensive MAFC can be a promising bio-adsorbent for removing organic pollutants from industrial wastewater.

Synergic effect of adsorption and biodegradation enhance cyanide removal by immobilized Alcaligenes sp. strain DN25

A high efficiency and stability polyurethane-foam (PUF)-immobilized cell system was constructed to remove cyanide based on simultaneous adsorption and biodegradation (SAB). The performance of the PUF-immobilized system was evaluated by comparison with the freely suspended cell system. The SAB system exhibited more effective and robust, and could still remain degradation activity even at 40 °C or pH 11.0. The SAB system completely removed 500 mg CN^-/L within 8 h at 30 °C, pH 8.0, and 120 rpm, whereas 12 h were required for the free cells system. Moreover, the SAB system showed apparent superiority in removing higher concentration cyanide up to 1200 mg CN^-/L. A continuously stirred tank bioreactor (CSTR) was successfully designed and steadily operated with approximately 85% of the total average removal efficiency for 52 days at an influent cyanide concentration of 100-200 mg/L, which demonstrated a favorable reliability. Cyanide removal process could be well described using a pseudo first-order model, and the higher apparent rate constants (k) of the immobilized cells showed the synergic effect of adsorption and biodegradation significantly enhanced cyanide removal. Preliminarily, it was found that the foam characteristic might play a not negligible role on the cyanide-degrading enzyme expression of strain DN25 in the SAB system.

Effective Adsorption of Diesel Oil by Crab-Shell-Derived Biochar Nanomaterials

This study, for the first time, rendered crab shell activated biochar modified by potassium hydroxide (KOH) impregnation (CSAB), revealing a new potential application in the removal of diesel oil from oily wastewater. The structural characteristics of crab shell biochar (CSB) and CSAB were investigated by SEM, and the crystal structure and optical properties of as-prepared samples were analyzed using XRD and FTIR. Results showed that CSAB had stratified surface structure morphology, abundant functional groups, and that its high specific surface area could reach up to 2441 m²/g, which was about eight times larger than that of untreated CSB (307 m²/g). An adsorption isotherm study indicated that the actual adsorption process both of CSAB and CSB were found to fit better with the Freundlich equation. Moreover, chemical interaction controlled the adsorption kinetics efficiency while the adsorption equilibrium capacity was 93.9 mg/g. Due to its highly developed pore structure, unique surface characteristics, and effective adsorption performance, this low-cost activated carbon had the potential to serve as an efficient adsorbent for water pollution purification.

Sustainable biodegradation of phenol by immobilized Bacillus sp. SAS19 with porous carbonaceous gels as carriers

In this study, high-efficient phenol-degrading bacterium Bacillus sp. SAS19 which was isolated from activated sludge by resuscitation-promoting factor (Rpf) addition, were immobilized on porous carbonaceous gels (CGs) for phenol degradation. The phenol-degrading capabilities of free and immobilized Bacillus sp. SAS19 were evaluated under various initial phenol concentrations. The obtained results showed that phenol could be removed effectively by both free and immobilized Bacillus sp. SAS19. Furthermore, for degradation of phenol at high concentrations, long-term utilization and recycling were more readily achieved for immobilized bacteria as compared to free bacteria. Immobilized bacteria exhibited significant increase in phenol-degrading capabilities in the third cycle of recycling and reuse, which demonstrated 87.2% and 100% of phenol (1600 mg/L) degradation efficiency at 12 and 24 h, respectively. The present study revealed that immobilized Bacillus sp. SAS19 can be potentially used for enhanced treatment of synthetic phenol-laden wastewater.

Biofilm development of Bacillus thuringiensis on MWCNT buckypaper: Adsorption-synergic biodegradation of phenanthrene

Adsorption-synergic biodegradation of a model PAH (phenanthrene, Phe) on MWCNT buckypaper surface with a potential PAH biodegrading bacterial strain Bacillus thuringiensis AT.ISM.11 has been studied in aqueous medium. Adsorption of Phe on buckypaper follows Dubinin-Ashtakhov model (R² = 0.9895). MWCNT generally exerts toxicity to microbes but adsorbed layer of Phe prevents the direct contact between MWCNT and bacterial cell wall. FESEM study suggests that formation of biofilms occurred on buckypaper. Lower layer cells are disrupted and flattened as they are in direct contact with MWCNT but the upper layer cells of the developed biofilm are fully intact and functional. Force-distance curves of Bacillus thuringiensis AT.ISM.11 with buckypaper indicates adhesion forces varied from -10.3 to -15.6 nN with increasing contact time, which supports the phenomenon of biofilm formation. AFM surface statistical data of buckypaper suggests increase in bacterial cell count increases the Rms roughness (95.7242-632.565) while adhering to the buckypaper surface to form biofilm. We observed an enhanced Phe biodegradation of 93.81% from that of the 65.71% in 15 days' study period, using buckypaper as a bio-carrier or a matrix for the microbial growth. GC-MS study identified phthalic acid ester as metabolite, which is the evidence of protocatechuate pathway degradation of Phe. Current study enlightens the interaction between hydrocarbons and microbes in presence of MWCNT buckypaper matrix in aqueous system for the first time. An enhancement in biodegradation of Phe by 28.10% has also been reported which can be a basis for CNT aided enhanced biodegradation studies in future.

In situ microbial remediation of crude oil-soaked marine sediments using zeolite carrier with a polymer coating

Marine oil spill pollution is an important environmental problem in the world, especially crude oil-soaked marine sediments, because they are difficult to be remediated. In this study, in situ bioremediation of oil-soaked sediment was performed in the middle of the Bohai Sea. Oil-degrading bacteria were adsorbed on powdery zeolite (PZ)/granular zeolites (GZ) surfaces and then wrapped with poly-γ glutamic acid (γ-PGA). Settling column and wave flume experiments were conducted to model marine conditions and to select appropriate biological reagents. The optimal conditions were as follows: the average diameter of GZ 3 mm, mass ratio of GZ/PZ 2:1, and concentration of γ-PGA 7%. After bioremediation, over 50% of most oil-spilled pollutants n-alkanes (C₁₂ to C₂₇) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were degraded in 70 days. This work resulted in a successful trial of in situ bioremediation of oil-soaked marine sediments.

Bioremediation potential of hydrocarbon-utilizing fungi from select marine niches of India

Ten fungal isolates with an ability to degrade crude oil were isolated from select marine substrates, such as mangrove sediments, Arabian Sea sediments, and tarballs. Out of the ten isolates, six belonged to Aspergillus, two to Fusarium and one each to Penicillium and Acremonium as identified using ITS rDNA sequencing. The selected ten fungal isolates were found to degrade the long-chain n-alkanes as opposed to short-chain n-alkanes from the crude oil. Mangrove fungus #NIOSN-M126 (Penicillium citrinum) was found to be highly efficient in biodegradation of crude oil, reducing the total crude oil content by 77% and the individual n-alkane fraction by an average of 95.37%, indicating it to be a potential candidate for the development into a bioremediation agent.

Characteristic Assessment of Diesel-degrading Bacteria Immobilized on Natural Organic Carriers in Marine Environment: the Degradation Activity and Nutrient

Oil spill has led to severe environmental and ecological problems. Due to the harsh environmental conditions, the bioremediation technology is not successfully used to remedy the oil spill in marine environment. In this study, immobilization technology was used to immobilize bacteria on natural organic carriers (i.e., wood chips and maize straw). The higher surface area of in wood chips leads to larger biomass density (0.0242 gVSS/g) than that of maize straw of 0.0097 gVSS/g carrier. Compared with biodegradation efficiency of free bacteria (44.79%), the immobilized bacteria on wood chips and maize straw reached to 73.39% and 52.28%, respectively. The high biological activity of the immobilized bacteria can be also explained by nutrients, such as TN (total nitrogen) and TP (total phosphorus), released from wood chips and maize straw, which was 8.83 mg/g and 5.53 mg/g, 0.0624 mg/g and 0.0099 mg/g, respectively.

Degradation of n-alkanes and PAHs from the heavy crude oil using salt-tolerant bacterial consortia and analysis of their catabolic genes

In the present study, salt-tolerant strains, Dietzia sp. HRJ2, Corynebacterium variabile HRJ4, Dietzia cinnamea HRJ5 and Bacillus tequilensis HRJ6 were isolated from the Dagang oil field, China. These strains degraded n-alkanes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) aerobically from heavy crude oil (HCO) in an experiment at 37 °C and 140 rpm. The GC/MS investigation for degradation of different chain lengths of n-alkanes (C8-C40) by individual strains showed the highest degradation of C8-C19 (HRJ5), C20-C30 (HRJ4) and C31-C40 (HRJ5), respectively. Moreover, degradation of 16 PAHs with individual strains demonstrated that the bicyclic and pentacyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (AHs) were mostly degraded by HRJ5, tricyclic and tetracyclic AHs by HRJ6 and hexacyclic AHs by HRJ2. However, the highest degradation of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs), total saturated hydrocarbons (TSH), total aromatic hydrocarbons (TAH), n-alkanes (C8-C40) and 16 PAHs was achieved by a four-membered consortium (HRJ2 + 4 + 5 + 6) within 12 days, with the predominance of HRJ4 and HRJ6 strains which was confirmed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. The abundance of alkB and nah genes responsible for catabolism of n-alkanes and PAHs was quantified using the qPCR. Maximum copy numbers of genes were observed in HRJ2 + 4 + 5 + 6 consortium (gene copies l^-1) 2.53 × 10⁴ (alkB) and 3.47 × 10³ (nah) at 12 days, which corresponded to higher degradation rates of petroleum hydrocarbons. The superoxide dismutase (SOD) (total SOD (T-SOD), Cu²⁺Zn²⁺-SOD), catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activities in Allium sativum and Triticum aestivum were lower in the HRJ2 + 4 + 5 + 6-treated HCO as compared to the plantlets exposed directly to HCO. The present results revealed the effective degradation of HCO-contaminated saline medium using the microbial consortium having greater metabolic diversity.

Study on the biodegradation of crude oil by free and immobilized bacterial consortium in marine environment

Five strains of bacteria, namely, Exiguobacterium sp. ASW-1, Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain ASW-2, Alcaligenes sp. ASW-3, Alcaligenes sp. ASS-1, and Bacillus sp. ASS-2, were isolated from the Zhejiang coast in China. The mixed flora of the five strains performed well with degrading 75.1% crude oil (1%, w/v) in 7 days. The calcium alginate—activated carbon embedding carrier was used to immobilize bacterial consortium. Immobilized cells performed better than free ones in variations of environmental factors containing incubated temperature, initial pH, salinity of the medium and crude oil concentration. The degradation process of crude oil by immobilized bacteria was accelerated compared with that of the free ones. Bacterial consortium showed better performance on biodegradation of normal alkanes than that of PAHs. Improvement of immobilization on the biodegradation efficiency of normal alkanes (31.9%) was apparently high than that of PAHs (1.9%).

Insight into visible light-driven photocatalytic degradation of diesel oil by doped TiO2-PS floating composites

TiO2-pearlstone (PS) floatable photocatalysts were synthesized using a facile sol-gel method and confirmed by XRD, N2 adsorption-desorption, SEM, EDX, TEM, FT-IR, XPS, and UV-vis DRS measurements. It has been found that the photocatalysts composed of anatase TiO2 deposited on the surface of PS and formed mesoporous structure. By N or B/N doping, the band gap of the photocatalyst has been narrowed. The obtained floatable photocatalysts can be applied to solar light-driven remediation of oil-contaminated water. Diesel oil was chosen as the model pollutant to evaluate the photocatalytic activity. The results showed B/N-TiO2-PS exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity for diesel oil under visible light irradiation, which is 48 % removal rate for 9 h. The reaction rate constant k of B/N-TiO2-PS is 0.08423 h(-1), which is four times larger than that of pure TiO2-PS. Moreover, the characteristic of floatable makes the photocatalysts easier to separate and reuse, which showed great potential for practical applications in the field of environmental cleanup and solar energy conversion.

Biodegradation of diesel fuel hydrocarbons by mangrove fungi from Red Sea Coast of Saudi Arabia

Mangrove sediments were collected from major mangrove stands on the Red Sea Coast of Saudi Arabia. Forty five isolates belonging to 12 genera were purified and five isolates as well as their consortium were found to be able to grow in association with petroleum oil as sole carbon source under in vitro conditions. The isolated strains were identified based on internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rDNA sequence analysis. The fungal strains with the greatest potentiality to degrade diesel oil, without developing antagonistic activity, were identified as Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus terreus, Cladosporium sphaerospermum, Eupenicillium hirayamae and Paecilomyces variotii. As compared to the controls, these fungi accumulated significantly higher biomass, produced extracellular enzymes and liberated larger volumes of CO₂. These observations with GC–MS data confirm that these isolates displayed rapid diesel oil bioremoval and when used together as a consortium, there was no antagonistic activity.