A total of three fungal isolates from samples collected at spent wash disposal area were screened for their ability to degrade melanoidin. Distillery molasses spent wash was decolorized, and its chemical oxygen demand (COD) was reduced in immobilized fungal bioreactor (IFB) in the absence of carbon and nitrogen source using fungal mycelia of Aspergillus oryzae MTCC 7691. Fungal mycelia immobilized on baggase packed in a glass column under a batch-wise mode (1) effected removal of 75.71 +/- 0.12 % color, 51.0 +/- 0.13 % biological oxygen demand (BOD), 86.19 +/- 2.56 % COD, and 49.0 +/- 0.12 % phenolic pigments of distillery spent wash up to 25 days at 30 degrees C, while free fungal mycelia resulted in removal of 63.1 +/- 0.16 % color, 27.74 +/- 0.14 % BOD, 76.21 +/- 1.62 % COD, and 37.32 +/- 0.17 % phenolic pigments of distillery spent wash using shake flask, (2) manganese peroxidase (MnP) activity was highest (1.55 +/- 0.01 U ml(-1) min(-1)) in immobilized fungi, followed by lignin peroxidase (0.65 +/- 0.01 U ml(-1) min(-1)) and laccase activity (0.9 +/- 0.01 CU ml (1) min (1)), (3) accumulative MnP activity was highly correlated with (r=0.9216) spent wash decolorization and (r=0.7282) reduction of phenolic pigments, suggesting the presence of MnP activities in bioremediation of spent wash and (4) degradation of spent wash was confirmed by high-performance thin layer chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis. Measurement of chlorophyll a content of Chlorella species cultivated on treated spent wash effluent obtained from immobilized fungal bioreactor was 5.16 +/- 0.71 mu g ml(-1) compared with 1.306 +/- 0.017 +/-mu g ml(-1) obtained with untreated spent wash. Thus, this work may provide a reasonable alternative for cost-effective bioremediation of distillery spent wash using immobilized A. oryzae on baggase fibers.

Data on the influence of substrate composition on the anaerobic degradation of peptone in a bench-scale packed-bed reactor are presented and discussed. The experiments were conducted in a horizontal-flow anaerobic immobilised biomass reactor operated with a hydraulic detention time of 4 h. Peptone was the sole carbon source in the first experiment (E1). In the second experiment (E2), the reactor was fed with peptone and carbohydrates, and in the third experiment (E3), lipids were also added. At end of each experiment, the samples were collected to obtain spatial profiles of the substrates and intermediary metabolites. A modified first-order kinetic expression fits well with the chemical oxygen demand data, allowing kinetic parameter inference in both E1 and E2. The presence of lipids in the E3 influent clearly disturbed the equilibrium of the process, which could be better represented by two first-order kinetic expressions in series. A kinetic model of irreversible first-order reactions (in series and in parallel) with two intermediate products was proposed for representing the entire process. Several modifications of the metabolic routes were clearly represented by the values of the model parameters. It was also possible to conclude that the adsorption of lipids in the fixed bed caused a decrease in the consumption rate of proteins and acetate. Microscopy examinations and fluorescence in situ hybridisation analyses corroborated the conclusions from the kinetic study. The frequencies of the microorganisms changed as the substrate composition was modified, indicating the capability of the microorganisms to adapt.

High applications of P fertilizers and manure are general practice in intensive agriculture and may cause eutrophication in adjacent streams. Bioavailability of P can be estimated by sequential extractions commonly used for soil or sediment. A single combined method may facilitate more effective comparisons of topsoils and adjoining stream sediments, and enhance management decisions. In this study, the suitability of an established soil P sequential extraction was tested on stream bed sediments. The study was conducted in the Sumas River watershed in the agricultural Lower Fraser Valley, Canada. Sediment samples with differing land use (forest, low and high intensity agriculture) from 1993, 1994, 2008, and 2009 from 14 sites along the Sumas River and tributaries were used. Total sequential extraction concentrations were in agreement with aqua regia digestion (Rs = 0.96) and showed consistency over the study time sequence. P fractions released by 0.5 M NaHCO3 (median 14 %), 0.1 M NaOH (33 %), and 1.0 M HCl (38 %) were significantly (α = 0.05) higher than P released by other extractants. These three extraction steps provide a practical and time-effective assessment of P lability in stream sediments and may be used as a combined scheme for sediment and soil. Analytical results further revealed that land use has a major and characteristic impact on P lability. With a land use change from forest to intensive agriculture, results showed an increase in total P concentrations (30 to 4,000 ppm) and in P lability, in particular for the moderately labile NaOH-P fraction (20 to 50 %). © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.

To clarify the relationship between the transport distance of spheroidal carbonaceous particles (SCPs) and particle size, we investigated the spatial distribution of SCP sizes in swimming pool deposits in the central Osaka Plain, central Japan. Median particle size of SCPs generally decreases with distance (0 to ∼20 km) downwind from the local coastal industrial area where SCP sources are distributed widely. This suggests that most SCPs found in the study area are derived from the industrial area. Samples with >40 % of particles >20 μm were predominantly collected within 2 km of the industrial area, while samples with >40 % of particles <10 μm were mostly collected over 10 km from the industrial area. Based on the results of our study and previous studies, we conclude that a higher proportion of particles of size >20 μm indicates that the origin of SCPs is within a few kilometres upwind of the sample site, whereas the presence of higher proportion of particles <10 μm indicates that their source is generally further than 10 km upwind. However, other factors may affect the size distribution of SCPs at a given location (e.g. fuel type, quality of the particle precipitator and topography of the terrain). Pool deposits provide more suitable samples than lake sediments for investigating atmospheric precipitation.

Acid mine drainage (AMD) has long been a significant environmental problem that impairs water resources in historic or current mining industries throughout the world. One of the methods using passive treatment system at low cost to remove metals from solution involves the use of clays. The ability of three different adsorbents (montmorillonite K-10, bentonite (NT-25), and hydrotalcite (HT)) to remove Fe and Mn from aqueous solutions and acid mine drainage samples has been studied at different optimized conditions such as pH, amount of adsorbent and contact time. Flame atomic absorption spectrometer (FAAS) was used for measuring Fe and Mn concentrations. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms were applied and isotherm coefficients were computed. A kinectic study was also developed for HT using the first order, second order and intraparticle diffusion models. A great amount of clay (more than 100 mg) and also contact times higher than 60 min had also no influence in the adsorption capacity for all adsorbents. HT was found to be the best among the studied clays removing more than 90 % of Fe and Mn for all AMD samples investigated. Moreover, the maximum adsorption capacity was 63.7 mg Mn g⁻¹ HT and 666.7 mg Fe g⁻¹ HT.

Four species of trees were selected to evaluate the tolerance to heavy crude oil contamination by means of a tolerance index integrating germination, height, biomass and survival as variables. Fresh seeds to Cedrela odorata (tropical cedar), Haematoxylum campechianum (tinto bush), Swietenia macrophylla (mahogany) and Tabebuia rosea (macuilis) were planted in a Vertisol to which heavy crude petroleum was added at four different treatments (C0, 0; C1, 18,940; C2, 44,000; and C3, 57,000 mg kg⁻¹), with the control being uncontaminated soil. The experiment was carried out in a greenhouse during 203 days with a completely random design. The presence of petroleum in soil stimulated and increased germination of S. macrophylla and C. odorata, accelerated the germination of T. rosea and did not affect the germination of H. campechianum. The height and biomass of all species was reduced in the presence of petroleum in the soil. The survival of S. macrophylla and H. campechianum was not affected by petroleum at any concentration studied. On the other hand, C. odorata and T. rosea showed high mortality at all concentrations. The tolerance index showed that S. macrophylla was best at tolerating petroleum in soil and could be employed as a productive alternative for the advantageous use of contaminated sites. The use of tree species could be important because of the great potential of trees for phytoremediation due to their long life, biomass and deep roots that can penetrate and remediate deeper soil layers.

This paper addresses the oxidation by ultraviolet radiation of methylparaben, a ubiquitous and suspicious preservative which is massively added to cosmetics and personal care products. Experiments included pH and temperature variation, as well as several experimental conditions such as presence/absence of hydrogen peroxide, titanium dioxide, or some different water matrix (surface water or ground water). Results were evaluated under the line source spherical emission model, so quantum yield was the adequate target variable for explaining the process. A modified Arrhenius correlation including pH level was used for modelling the whole system.

The fate and behaviour of tributyltin (TBT) at two wastewater treatment works was examined. Both sites had two inlet streams, and each utilised high rate biological filters (biofilters) on one the streams, before treatment of the combined flows on trickling filters, with one having additional tertiary processes, installed to remove ammonia and solids. The study was designed to determine if these processes enhanced the removal of TBT. Degradation of TBT was observed in one of the biofilters, possibly as a result of temperature and hydraulic loading. At the treatment works with tertiary processes, the mass flux showed the overall removal of TBT was 68 %, predominantly due to removal with solids in the primary settlement processes. However, overall removal of 95 % was observed in the conventional trickling filter works with 94 % of this due to biodegradation in the trickling filter. The two works both removed TBT, but at different treatment stages and by different processes. Differences in the form (solubility) of TBT in the influent may have attributed to this, although further understanding of factors controlling degradation would allow for a more complete assessment of the potential of biological processes to remove hazardous compounds from wastewaters.

The processes of wind erosion of fertile soil, dune movement in sand deserts, dust storms in arid and semi-arid regions, as well as the emission and dispersion of agricultural or industrial dusts create a lot of problems and dangers for human life, environment, and infrastructure. Conventional ways to suppress dust emission to the atmosphere are agricultural fixation in the case of fertile soil surface and application of chemical agents to immobilize dust particulates onto the surface of soil, desert sand, country roads, or mining areas. However, these methods are often too expensive to be applied for large-scale suppression of sand dust. Chemical methods of dust suppression are often environmentally unfriendly due to the release of toxic reagents in water, air, and soil. This paper examines, for the first time, the microbially mediated aggregation of fine sand particles to suppress the emission of sand dust and its chemical and bacteriological pollutants. The bioaggregation reagent was a solution of calcium chloride and urea sprayed over the sand surface, which was preliminarily treated with the suspension of urease-producing bacteria. Quantity of calcium used for sand dust suppression was 15.6 g of Ca/m2. After the biotreatment of fine sand, the release of sand dust and its artificial pollutants to the atmosphere decreased in comparison with control by 99.8 % for dust, 92.7 % for phenantherene, 94.4 % for led nitrate, and 99.8 % for bacterial cells of Bacillus megaterium. This immobilization of dust and dust pollutants was due to the bioaggregation of fine sand particles. The sizes of 90 % of the sand dust particles increased from 29 μm in control to 181 μm after bioaggregation. Bioaggregation treatment of the soil surface could be a useful method to prevent the dispersion of dust and dust-associated chemical and bacteriological pollutants in water, air, and soil. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.