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Sharma A, Maurya N, Sundaram S. Investigation of the toxicity of Cr (VI) against cyanobacteria and the mechanism of tolerance of the cyanobacterial consortia: a quantum mechanical approach. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2024; 31:50478-50492. [PMID: 39096455 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-024-34589-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2024] [Accepted: 07/29/2024] [Indexed: 08/05/2024]
Abstract
Hexavalent chromium (Cr (VI)) is a heavy metal that is distributed globally and poses a significant threat to the environment through various mechanisms. It can react with soil and water, leading to severe environmental damage. In this study, the toxicity of Cr (VI) was investigated by analyzing two major cyanobacteria species, Nostoc commune and Anabaena variabilis, commonly found in soil along with their consortia. The findings revealed that the toxicity mechanisms of Cr (VI) differed in individual monocultures, with Cr (VI) competing with various components. However, when the cyanobacteria species were combined, i.e., in consortia, they demonstrated an impressive retention of their functioning even in Cr (VI) concentration at 10 ppm. The study also concluded that non-photochemical quenching played a critical role in minimizing Cr (VI) toxicity. Furthermore, the research examined the role of the S-cycle in the process. The quantum yield of electron flux revealed that the Cr (VI) was competing with Qa in A. variabilis and with Qb in N. commune, albeit the photosystem dysfunction is only visible in the latter. The mechanism seemed to be quantum tunneling alteration because of the Cr (VI) having different energized quantum wells. The consortia proved to be behaving in a better manner as compared to the control. Overall, this study reveals the mode of toxicity of Cr (VI) in these two important cyanobacterial strains as well as it also discusses the mechanism of tolerance of consortia against Cr (VI) toxicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abhijeet Sharma
- Centre of Biotechnology, University of Allahabad, Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, 211002, India
| | - Neetu Maurya
- Centre of Biotechnology, University of Allahabad, Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, 211002, India
| | - Shanthy Sundaram
- Centre of Biotechnology, University of Allahabad, Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, 211002, India.
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Singh DV, Singh RP. Competence of algal consortia under municipal wastewater: remediation efficiency, photosynthetic performance, antioxidant defense mechanisms and biofuel production. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT 2024; 196:466. [PMID: 38647712 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-024-12620-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2023] [Accepted: 04/12/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
Utilizing monoalgal species for wastewater treatment is facing tremendous challenges owing to changing wastewater complexity in terms of physico-chemical characteristic, nutrient and metal concentration. The environmental conditions are also fluctuating therefore, the formation of robust system is of utmost importance for concomitant sustainable wastewater treatment and bioenergy production. In the present study, the tolerance and adaptability potential of algal consortia-1 (Chlorococcum humicola and Tetradesmus sp.) and consortia-2 (Chlorococcum humicola, Scenedesmus vacuolatus and Tetradesmus sp.) treated with municipal wastewater were examined under natural environmental conditions. The results exhibited that consortia-2 was more competent in recovering nitrate-nitrogen (82.92%), phosphorus (70.47%), and heavy metals (31-73.70%) from municipal wastewater (100%) than consortia-1. The results further depicted that total chlorophyll, carbohydrate, and protein content decreased significantly in wastewater-treated consortia-1 as compared to consortia-2. However, lipid content was increased by 4.01 and 1.17 folds in algal consortia-1 and consortia-2 compared to their respective controls. Moreover, absorption peak at 1740.6 cm-1 reflected higher biofuel-producing potential of consortia-1 as compared to consortia-2 as confirmed through FTIR spectroscopy. The results also revealed that consortia-2 showed the highest photosynthetic performance which was evident from the increment in the active photosystem-II reaction center (1.724 ± 0.068), quantum efficiency (0.633 ± 0.038), and performance index (3.752 ± 0.356). Further, a significant increase in photosynthetic parameters was observed in selected consortia at lag phase, while a noteworthy decline was observed at exponential and stationary phases in consortia-1 than consortia-2. The results also showed the maximum enhancement in ascorbic acid (2.43 folds), proline (3.34 folds), and cysteine (1.29 folds) in consortia-2, while SOD (1.75 folds), catalase (2.64 folds), and GR (1.19 folds) activity in consortia-1. Therefore, it can be concluded that due to remarkable flexibility and photosynthetic performance, consortia-2 could serve as a potential candidate for sustainable nutrient resource recovery and wastewater treatment, while consortia-1 for bio-fuel production in a natural environment. Thus, formation of algal consortia as the robust biosystem tolerates diverse environmental fluctuations together with wastewater complexity and ultimately can serve appropriate approach for environmental-friendly wastewater treatment and bioenergy production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dig Vijay Singh
- Department of Environmental Science, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Rana Pratap Singh
- Centre for Sustinable Agriculture and Environment, Professor HS Srivastava Foundation for Science and Society, Lucknow, India.
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Li C, Wang JX, Wang JH, Chi ZY. Effects of staged multiple phytohormones application on capillary-driven attached Chlorella sp. biofilm. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2024; 351:119886. [PMID: 38142601 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2023] [Revised: 11/15/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 12/26/2023]
Abstract
Comparing with single phytohormone application, applying multiple phytohormones to microalgae-based wastewater treatment systems can offer more extensive growth-promoting and stress-protecting effects for microalgae, yet the advantage of stress-relieving salicylic acid (SA) under combined phytohormones application scenario has not been exploited. Employing the improved capillary-driven attached microalgae culturing device (CD-PBR) previously used for single phytohormone application, this study compared the effects of mixed and single phytohormone(s) addition under as low as 10-7 M dosage. In order to make the best of SA for its stress-relieving property, postponed SA addition combined with applying other phytohormone(s) at the beginning of microalgae cultivation was also investigated. Combination of 10-6 M 6-benzylaminopurine (6-BA) with 10-7 M SA was sufficient for enhancing growth-promoting effects and anti-oxidative responses for attached Chlorella sp., while indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) addition was unnecessary. Combination of 6-BA addition at the beginning while postponed SA addition on Day 4 could further sustain such beneficial effects, while removing up to 99.7% total nitrogen (TN) and 97.9% total phosphorus (TP) from the bulk liquid. These results provided innovative strategies on mixed phytohormones addition for microalgae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chi Li
- MOE Key Laboratory of Bio-Intelligent Manufacturing, School of Bioengineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, PR China
| | - Jian-Xia Wang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Bio-Intelligent Manufacturing, School of Bioengineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, PR China
| | - Jing-Han Wang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Bio-Intelligent Manufacturing, School of Bioengineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, PR China; Key Laboratory of Environment Controlled Aquaculture, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian, 116023, PR China.
| | - Zhan-You Chi
- MOE Key Laboratory of Bio-Intelligent Manufacturing, School of Bioengineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, PR China
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Zhou XR, Wang R, Tang CC, Varrone C, He ZW, Li ZH, Wang XC. Advances, challenges, and prospects in microalgal-bacterial symbiosis system treating heavy metal wastewater. CHEMOSPHERE 2023; 345:140448. [PMID: 37839742 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.140448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2023] [Revised: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023]
Abstract
Heavy metal (HM) pollution, particularly in its ionic form in water bodies, is a chronic issue threatening environmental security and human health. The microalgal-bacterial symbiosis (MABS) system, as the basis of water ecosystems, has the potential to treat HM wastewater in a sustainable manner, with the advantages of environmental friendliness and carbon sequestration. However, the differences between laboratory studies and engineering practices, including the complexity of pollutant compositions and extreme environmental conditions, limit the applications of the MABS system. Additionally, the biomass from the MABS system containing HMs requires further disposal or recycling. This review summarized the recent advances of the MABS system treating HM wastewater, including key mechanisms, influence factors related to HM removal, and the tolerance threshold values of the MABS system to HM toxicity. Furthermore, the challenges and prospects of the MABS system in treating actual HM wastewater are analyzed and discussed, and suggestions for biochar preparation from the MABS biomass containing HMs are provided. This review provides a reference point for the MABS system treating HM wastewater and the corresponding challenges faced by future engineering practices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xing-Rui Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Northwest Water Resource, Environment and Ecology, Ministry of Education, School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an, 710055, China; Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Environmental Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an, 710055, China
| | - Rong Wang
- Key Laboratory of Northwest Water Resource, Environment and Ecology, Ministry of Education, School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an, 710055, China; Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Environmental Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an, 710055, China
| | - Cong-Cong Tang
- Key Laboratory of Northwest Water Resource, Environment and Ecology, Ministry of Education, School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an, 710055, China; Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Environmental Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an, 710055, China.
| | - Cristiano Varrone
- Department of Chemistry and BioScience, Aalborg University, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7H 9220, Aalborg Ø, Denmark
| | - Zhang-Wei He
- Key Laboratory of Northwest Water Resource, Environment and Ecology, Ministry of Education, School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an, 710055, China; Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Environmental Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an, 710055, China
| | - Zhi-Hua Li
- Key Laboratory of Northwest Water Resource, Environment and Ecology, Ministry of Education, School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an, 710055, China; Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Environmental Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an, 710055, China
| | - Xiaochang C Wang
- Key Laboratory of Northwest Water Resource, Environment and Ecology, Ministry of Education, School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an, 710055, China; Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Environmental Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an, 710055, China; International Science & Technology Cooperation Center for Urban Alternative Water Resources Development, Xi'an, 710055, China
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Amaro HM, Salgado EM, Nunes OC, Pires JCM, Esteves AF. Microalgae systems - environmental agents for wastewater treatment and further potential biomass valorisation. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2023; 337:117678. [PMID: 36948147 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117678] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2022] [Revised: 02/25/2023] [Accepted: 03/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Water is the most valuable resource on the planet. However, massive anthropogenic activities generate threatening levels of biological, organic, and inorganic pollutants that are not efficiently removed in conventional wastewater treatment systems. High levels of conventional pollutants (carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus), emerging chemical contaminants such as antibiotics, and pathogens (namely antibiotic-resistant ones and related genes) jeopardize ecosystems and human health. Conventional wastewater treatment systems entail several environmental issues: (i) high energy consumption; (ii) high CO2 emissions; and (iii) the use of chemicals or the generation of harmful by-products. Hence, the use of microalgal systems (entailing one or several microalgae species, and in consortium with bacteria) as environmental agents towards wastewater treatment has been seen as an environmentally friendly solution to remove conventional pollutants, antibiotics, coliforms and antibiotic resistance genes. In recent years, several authors have evaluated the use of microalgal systems for the treatment of different types of wastewater, such as agricultural, municipal, and industrial. Generally, microalgal systems can provide high removal efficiencies of: (i) conventional pollutants, up to 99%, 99%, and 90% of total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and/or organic carbon, respectively, through uptake mechanisms, and (ii) antibiotics frequently found in wastewaters, such as sulfamethoxazole, ciprofloxacin, trimethoprim and azithromycin at 86%, 65%, 42% and 93%, respectively, through the most desirable microalgal mechanism, biodegradation. Although pathogens removal by microalgal species is complex and very strain-specific, it is also possible to attain total coliform and Escherichia coli removal of 99.4% and 98.6%, respectively. However, microalgal systems' effectiveness strongly relies on biotic and abiotic conditions, thus the selection of operational conditions is critical. While the combination of selected species (microalgae and bacteria), ratios and inoculum concentration allow the efficient removal of conventional pollutants and generation of high amounts of biomass (that can be further converted into valuable products such as biofuels and biofertilisers), abiotic factors such as pH, hydraulic retention time, light intensity and CO2/O2 supply also have a crucial role in conventional pollutants and antibiotics removal, and wastewater disinfection. However, some rationale must be considered according to the purpose. While alkaline pH induces the hydrolysis of some antibiotics and the removal of faecal coliforms, it also decreases phosphates solubility and induces the formation of ammonium from ammonia. Also, while CO2 supply increases the removal of E. coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, as well as the microalgal growth (and thus the conventional pollutants uptake), it decreases Enterococcus faecalis removal. Therefore, this review aims to provide a critical review of recent studies towards the application of microalgal systems for the efficient removal of conventional pollutants, antibiotics, and pathogens; discussing the feasibility, highlighting the advantages and challenges of the implementation of such process, and presenting current case-studies of different applications of microalgal systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helena M Amaro
- LEPABE - Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr Roberto Frias, 4200-465, Porto, Portugal; ALiCE - Associate Laboratory in Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465, Porto, Portugal
| | - Eva M Salgado
- LEPABE - Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr Roberto Frias, 4200-465, Porto, Portugal; ALiCE - Associate Laboratory in Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465, Porto, Portugal
| | - Olga C Nunes
- LEPABE - Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr Roberto Frias, 4200-465, Porto, Portugal; ALiCE - Associate Laboratory in Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465, Porto, Portugal
| | - José C M Pires
- LEPABE - Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr Roberto Frias, 4200-465, Porto, Portugal; ALiCE - Associate Laboratory in Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465, Porto, Portugal.
| | - Ana F Esteves
- LEPABE - Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr Roberto Frias, 4200-465, Porto, Portugal; ALiCE - Associate Laboratory in Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465, Porto, Portugal; LSRE-LCM - Laboratory of Separation and Reaction Engineering - Laboratory of Catalysis and Materials, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr Roberto Frias, 4200-465, Porto, Portugal
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Álvarez-González A, Uggetti E, Serrano L, Gorchs G, Escolà Casas M, Matamoros V, Gonzalez-Flo E, Díez-Montero R. The potential of wastewater grown microalgae for agricultural purposes: Contaminants of emerging concern, heavy metals and pathogens assessment. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2023; 324:121399. [PMID: 36878273 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.121399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2022] [Revised: 02/27/2023] [Accepted: 03/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
In the coming years, the use of microalgal biomass as agricultural biofertilizers has shown promising results. The use of wastewater as culture medium has resulted in the reduction of production costs, making microalgae-based fertilizers highly attractive for farmers. However, the occurrence of specific pollutants in wastewater, like pathogens, heavy metals and contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products may pose a risk on human health. This study presents an holistic assessment of the production and use of microalgal biomass grown in municipal wastewater as biofertilizer in agriculture. Results showed that pathogens and heavy metals concentrations in the microalgal biomass were below the threshold established by the European regulation for fertilizing products, except for cadmium. Regarding CECs, 25 out of 29 compounds were found in wastewater. However, only three of them (hydrocinnamic acid, caffeine, and bisphenol A) were found in the microalgae biomass used as biofertilizer. Agronomic tests were performed for lettuce growth in greenhouse. Four treatments were studied, comparing the use of microalgae biofertilizer with a conventional mineral fertilizer, and also a combination of both of them. Results suggested that microalgae can help reducing the mineral nitrogen dose, since similar fresh shoot weights were obtained in the plants grown with the different assessed fertilizers. Lettuce samples revealed the presence of cadmium and CECs in all the treatments including both negative and positive controls, which suggests that their presence was not linked to the microalgae biomass. On the whole, this study revealed that wastewater grown microalgae can be used for agricultural purposes reducing mineral N need and guaranteeing health safety of the crops.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Álvarez-González
- GEMMA-Group of Environmental Engineering and Microbiology, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya-BarcelonaTech, c/Jordi Girona 1-3, Building D1, E-08034, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Enrica Uggetti
- GEMMA-Group of Environmental Engineering and Microbiology, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya-BarcelonaTech, c/Jordi Girona 1-3, Building D1, E-08034, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Lydia Serrano
- Department of Agri-Food Engineering and Biotechnology, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya·BarcelonaTech, C/Esteve Terradas 8, Building D4, E-08860, Castelldefels, Spain
| | - Gil Gorchs
- Department of Agri-Food Engineering and Biotechnology, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya·BarcelonaTech, C/Esteve Terradas 8, Building D4, E-08860, Castelldefels, Spain
| | - Mònica Escolà Casas
- Department of Environmental Chemistry, IDAEA-CSIC, C/Jordi Girona, 18-26, E-08034, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Víctor Matamoros
- Department of Environmental Chemistry, IDAEA-CSIC, C/Jordi Girona, 18-26, E-08034, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Eva Gonzalez-Flo
- GEMMA-Group of Environmental Engineering and Microbiology, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Escola d'Enginyeria de Barcelona Est (EEBE), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya-BarcelonaTech, Av. Eduard Maristany 16, Building C5.1, E-08019, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Rubén Díez-Montero
- GEMMA-Group of Environmental Engineering and Microbiology, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya-BarcelonaTech, c/Jordi Girona 1-3, Building D1, E-08034, Barcelona, Spain
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