Adsorption of lead using a new green material obtained from Portulaca plant

In the present study the potential of a new green material obtained from Portulaca oleracea plant was investigated. The material was used without any chemical treatment to study the adsorption behavior of lead ions from aqueous solution. Various batch experiments were carried out using different experimental conditions such as pH, contact time, adsorbent concentration, and metal ion concentration to identify the optimum conditions. The influence of these parameters on the adsorption capacity was studied. Results showed the optimum initial pH for adsorption as 6. Adsorption equilibrium was reached in 120?min. The adsorption data were modeled using both the Langmuir and Freundlich classical adsorption isotherms. Results show ~78% removal of lead from aqueous solution. The kinetic data corresponded well with pseudo second-order equation. From the initial results, the green material obtained from the waste of Portulaca seems to be a potential low-cost adsorbent for removal of lead ions from water.     

Sorption of Cesium on Clay Colloids: Kinetic and Thermodynamic Studies

Sorption of radionuclides onto stable colloids can significantly enhance their transport in groundwater. Batch adsorption studies were performed to evaluate the influence of various experimental parameters like initial pH, contact time, temperature and concentration of Na⁺ and Ca²⁺ ions on the sorption of Cs on clay. The sorption process is dependent on pH of the solution with distribution coefficient (K _d) found to increase with increase in pH. The kinetic experiments were carried out at different temperatures, and the results have shown that the sorption process fits well into a pseudo-second-order mechanism with apparent activation energy of 45.7?kJ/mol. The rate constant was found to decrease with increase in temperature. The thermodynamic parameters such as ?G ⁰, ?H ⁰ and ?S ⁰ were calculated. The negative value of ?H ⁰ indicates that the reaction is exothermic. The negative values obtained for ?G ⁰ indicated that the sorption of cesium on clay was spontaneous at all studied concentrations. The distribution coefficient was found to decrease with increasing concentration of Na⁺ and Ca²⁺ ions. The cesium sorption data were fitted to Freundlich, Langmuir, Temkin and Dubinin–Radushkevich (D–R) isotherms. The values of Langmuir separation factor (R _L) indicate a favorable Cs adsorption. The values of mean free energy of sorption (E) at various temperatures ranged from 10.5 to 11.1?kJ/mol, which indicates that the sorption process follows chemisorption.     

Isolation and molecular characterization of some copper biosorped strains

The biosorption of copper (II) from aqueous solution using different bacterial strains was studied. Copper-biosorbing bacteria were isolated from tannery effluent collected from Borg Al-Arab, Alexandria, Egypt. These isolates displayed different degrees of copper biosorption under aerobic conditions. Based on 16S rDNA gene sequence analysis, three of them (S2, S5 and S7) were identified as Chryseobacterium sp., Enterobacter sp. and Stenotrophomonas sp., respectively. Initial copper (II) ion concentrations from 25–250 mg/L at constant temperature 30 °C were studied. The residual copper (II) concentration and its toxicity effect in solution were determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometer and bioluminescent bioreporter. The bioluminescence inhibition of strain (S5) reached to 91.4 % as compared with the strain (S7) reached to 83.3 % at 225 mg/L of copper ion where the maximum biosorption efficiency for S5 and S7 were 71 % and 70.1 % correspondingly using atomic absorption. The bioluminescent bioreporter was proved to be fast and accurate technique for measurement the toxicity effect of residual copper (II) in solution.     

Fe~(2+)活化过硫酸盐在石油污染土壤中修复实验研究

硫酸根自由基的高级氧化技术以高效率、污染少等优点被广泛用于环境污染治理。本文以实际石油污染土壤为对象,运用该体系对土壤进行修复研究,分别从Na_2S_2O_8/Fe~(2+)摩尔比、体系pH值、Na_2S_2O_8/Fe~(2+)投加量等方面开展了实验研究。实验表明:当Na_2S_2O_8/Fe2+摩尔比为2∶3时,石油污染物的降解效果最好,体系的pH值对降解效果影响不大,1 g土壤中浓度为0.1 mol/L的过硫酸钠和硫酸亚铁溶液的最佳加入量为2 m L、3 m L时,对土壤的降解效果最为明显,故每吨污染土壤的添加量大约为2×10~6m L、3×10~6m L。     

Alginate biopolymer production by Azotobacter chroococcum from whey degradation

The potential of three Azotobacter chroococcum strains for whey degradation and alginate production were investigated. After dilution, samples were spread plated on isolation agar and Manitol agar and incubated at 30 °C for 24 h. Microorganisms were screened for their ability to whey degradation and alginate production based on colony morphology, negative and capsule staining, ability to decrease the apparent turbidity of the fermentation broths in batch and semi continuous culture by spectrophotometer assay at 400 nanometer and tensiometer assay. Of the three strains tested for whey degradation, only Azotobacter chroococcum 1723 produced significant apparent growth on whey broth and could decrease about 70 % of turbidity in fermentation broth during 6 days in batch culture. Colonies of this strain was characteristically yellow, large, moucoid and slimy on whey agar than Manitol agar after 24 h at 30 °C. Transmission electron microscopy assay and Carbazole reagent were used to recognize the alginate biopolymer. After optimizing environmental factors such as pH, salt concentration and temperature, this strain was able to produce exopolysaccharide greater than 5 mg/mL. Optimum results were obtained when using whey broth as a fermentation medium without extra salt, temperature at 35 °C and pH 7. Increasing inorganic and organic nitrogen sources (yeast extract and NH₄NO₃) reduced whey degradation at least 30%. Transmission electron microscopy assay showed a net-structured polysaccharide capsule around the cells. Semi-continuous culture results demonstrated that, alginate production as well as whey degradation was decreased (1 mg/mL and 30 %).     

Competitive interference during the biodegradation of cresols

Phenol and its methylated derivatives, cresol isomers, are hazardous pollutants that are commonly present in various industrial effluents and known to have detrimental effect on aquatic life as well as human health, due to their toxic and carcinogenic nature. It is essential, therefore, to reduce the concentration of these contaminants in industrial effluent to acceptable levels prior to being discharged into the environment. Bacterial cells of the strain Pseudomonas putida, with excellent biodegradation capabilities and high tolerance of cresols, were extracted and immobilized in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) gel for cresols biodegradation. The biodegradation was carried out at different operating conditions, in both batch and continuous modes, using a cylindrical spouted bed bioreactor. Factors affecting o-cresol and m-cresol degradation were studied in batch experiments, and the results showed that the immobilized bacteria could tolerate cresols concentration up to 200 mg/l. Moreover, the experiments indicated that the biodegradation rate was highly affected by the operating parameters such as pH and temperature, with optimum ranges of 6–8 for pH and 30–35 °C for temperature. However, the optimum conditions were different for each cresol isomer. The potential of P. putida in degrading binary and ternary mixtures of cresols was also examined in the continuous process and compared with single component biodegradation. The experimental results revealed that the biodegradation of o-cresol was highly inhibited by the presence of p-cresol and m-cresol.     

Removal of uranium(VI) from aqueous solutions using Eucalyptus citriodora distillation sludge

Adsorption and desorption of uranium(VI) from dilute aqueous solutions by Eucalyptus citriodora distillation sludge was studied in a batch mode. The potential of Eucalyptus citriodora distillation sludge to remove uranium(VI) from aqueous solutions has been investigated at different conditions of solution pH, metal ion concentrations, biosorbent dosage, biosorbent particle size, contact time and temperature. The results indicated that biosorption capacity of Eucalyptus citriodora distillation sludge was strongly affected by the medium pH, the biosorbent dose, metal ion concentrations and medium temperature. Reduction in particle size increased the biosorption capacity. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were applied to biosorption data to determine the biosorption characteristics. An optimum biosorption capacity (57.75 mg/g) was achieved with pH 4.0, particle size 0.255 mm, biosorbent dose 0.5 g/100 mL and initial uranium(VI) concentration of 100 mg/L. Uranium(VI) removal by Eucalyptus citriodora distillation sludge was rapid, the equilibrium was established within 60 min and pseudo-second-order model was found to fit with the experimental data. The biosorption process decreased with an increase in the temperature indicating its exothermic nature. Pretreatments of biomass with different reagents affected its biosorption capacity. A significant increase (34 %) in biosorption capacity (83.25 mg/g) was observed with benzene treatment. Fourier-transform infra-red studies showed the involvement of carbonyl, carboxyl and amide groups in the biosorption process. The results indicated that sulfuric acid had the best effects as an eluent showing 93.24 % desorption capacity.     

Microbiological degradation of phenol using two co-aggregating bacterial strains

Phenol biodegradation in an aerobic batch reactor was investigated using mixed two co-aggregating strains (Flavobacterium sp. and Acetobacter sp.). Response surface methodology by the Box–Behnken model was used to evaluate the optimal cell growth and phenol degradation conditions. The optimum temperature, pH value and inoculum size were found to be 33 °C, 6.06 and 13 %, respectively. In the conditions, phenol degradation rate and biomass were predicted to be 96.97 % and 410.78 mg/L within the range examined, respectively. Less toxic acetaldehyde, ethanol and acetic ether were identified as main intermediate products from the degraded samples using GC–MS. Substrate inhibition was calculated from experimental biomass growth and phenol degradation parameters using the Haldane equation. Kinetic parameters derived from nonlinear regression with correlation factors (R ²) were 0.9682 for phenol degradation and 0.9594 for biomass growth, respectively. The phenol concentration to avoid substrate inhibition was 278.17 mg/L.     

Pressure effect on magnesian calcite coating calcite and synthetic magnesian calcite seeds added to seawater in a closed system

When pure crystalline calcite seeds are added to supersaturated seawater, precipitation results in a coating which with time equilibrates at atmospheric pressure with seawater and corresponds to a calcite containing probably only 2 or 3% of MgCO₃ (mole fraction).If synthetic crystalline magnesian calcite is added, the surface layer equilibrates not only with respect to seawater but also in relation with the crystalline sites initiating precipitation. Adding Mg_0.03Ca_0.97CO₃ results in a coating with a solubility close to that of calcite. This confirms that the surface coating on pure calcite seeds contains about 2 or 3% MgCO₃ (K'_sp = 10?6.30).The surface layer precipitated on a synthetic Mg_0.08Ca_0.92CO₃ equilibrates finally with a carbonate more soluble than calcite (K'_sp = 10?5.94) corresponding to the seeds composition.Experiments at 1000 kg cm t-2 imply that when magnesian calcites are precipitated at the surface of calcite or magnesian calcite seeds, the precipitate must be hydrated, otherwise pressure accelerated recrystallization or rearrangement with loss of Mg would thermodynamically be impossible.By changing the pressure of a seawater sample originally saturated with a solid carbonate phase, changes in pH result from the effect of pressure on the dissociation constants of carbonic acid and boric acid causing either undersaturation or supersaturation with respect to the solid. By changing pressure we can show whether precipitation, dissolution and recrystallization are reversible processes if pH is taken as criteria of reversibility.     

Response surface methodology (RSM) optimization approach for degradation of Direct Blue 71 dye using CuO–ZnO nanocomposite

The present study highlights the synthesis of CuO–ZnO nanocomposite via facile hydrothermal method at 150 °C and autogenous pressure. The structural and textural features of prepared composite material was characterized by several characterization techniques such as X-ray powder diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The optimized prepared nanocomposite was utilized for photocatalytic degradation of aromatic Direct Blue 71 dye (DB71) under natural sunlight conditions. The catalytic activity results by CuO–ZnO nanocomposite were observed to be higher than the reagent-grade zinc oxide under visible light conditions. The response surface methodology protocol (RSM) with central composite design was optimized by different photodegradation operational parameters such as pH, dye concentration, catalyst amount, and reaction time. The optimized RSM results demonstrated that a quadratic polynomial model was found suitable to define the relation between the photocatalytic activity and operational parameters. Moreover, the observed high R ² value (0.9786) confirms a strong evaluation of experimental data. To achieve maximum DB71 degradation, optimized condition was found at 177.13 min of contact time, 3.93 solution pH, and 24.34 mg/L of dye concentration with 1.85 g/L of catalyst dose The identical optimum conditions resulted maximum 89.58% DB71 degradation.     

Degradation of polyvinyl alcohol in aqueous solutions using UV-365 nm/S2O8 2− process

This investigation evaluates the effectiveness of UV-365 nm/S₂O₈ ^2? process in degrading polyvinyl alcohol in aqueous solutions. The effects of pH, Na₂S₂O₈ dosage, and temperature on the degradation efficiency of polyvinyl alcohol were studied. Under acidic conditions, the degradation efficiency of polyvinyl alcohol exceeded that under alkaline conditions. Additionally, a higher Na₂S₂O₈ dosage and a higher temperature were associated with a higher degradation efficiency of polyvinyl alcohol. The degradation rates of polyvinyl alcohol followed a pseudo-first-order kinetic model. Moreover, the observed degradation rate coefficient increased from 0.0078 to 0.4081 min^?1 when the temperature was increased from 10 to 55 °C. Also, the activation energy estimated using the observed degradation rate coefficients and the Arrhenius equation was 64 kJ/mol. At UV-365 nm, pH 3, an Na₂S₂O₈ dosage of 0.06 g/L, a temperature of 55 °C, and an initial polyvinyl alcohol concentration of 20 mg/L, around 100 % of polyvinyl alcohol was degraded, indicating that UV-365 nm/S₂O₈ ^2? process has great potential in degrading polyvinyl alcohol in aqueous solutions.     

Biotransformation of amide using Bacillus sp.: isolation strategy, strain characteristics and enzyme immobilization

Amidase hydrolases/acyltransferases are of considerable industrial interest due to potential applications in the production of useful hydroxamic acids. The test strain, capable of acetamide degradation, was isolated by an enrichment technique with acetamide as sole source of nitrogen. Based on morphology, physiological tests and biochemical tests, this isolate was identified as Bacillus sp. and on the basis of 16S Ribosomal ribonucleic acid sequence, a phylogenetic tree was drawn and was identified as Bacillus megaterium. Resting cells containing active acyltransferase enzyme were prepared and immobilized in the gel beads of sodium alginate, agar, polyacrylamide and polyvinyl alcohol?Calginate. The beads were tested for acyltransferase using Iron (III) chloride reagents at 55°C and were found to be affected by substrate concentration, type of buffer, buffer pH and reaction temperature. These factors were optimized using sodium alginate immobilized beads. This study proved useful in understanding the technique of immobilization of acyltransferase enzyme, its operational stability and its importance in the synthesis of hydroxamic acid.     

Degradation of native wheat straw lignin by Streptomyces viridosporus T7A

Lignin is one of the major contributing factors toward the recalcitrance of lignocellulosic biomass. Understanding the process of lignin degradation in natural biological processes will provide useful information to develop novel biomass conversion technologies. Functional group changes in the lignin entities during the process may contribute to the cellulose degradation (utilization) by the microorganisms. In this study, compositional and advanced Fourier transform infrared, pyrolysis gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and ¹³C cross polarization/magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance analysis were performed to explore the mechanism of biodegradation of wheat straw by Streptomyces viridosporus T7A. The results indicated that S. viridosporus T7A removed lignin and hemicelluloses as indicated by the increased carbohydrate/lignin ratio. Significant modification of carbonyl and methoxyl groups in the complex lignin structure was also evident. Most importantly, the quantitative results showed that lignin degradation was featured by deduction of guaiacyl unit. The results provide new insight for understanding lignin degradation by bacteria.     

The effect of sulfate on aluminum concentrations in natural waters: some stability relations in the system Al2O3-SO3-H2O at 298 K

While gibbsite and kaolinite solubilities usually regulate aluminum concentrations in natural waters, the presence of sulfate can dramatically alter these solubilities under acidic conditions, where other, less soluble minerals can control the aqueous geochemistry of aluminum. The likely candidates include alunogen, Al₂(SO₄)₃ · 17H₂O, alunite, KAl₃(SO₄)₂(OH)₆, jurbanite, Al(SO₄)(OH) · 5H₂O, and basaluminite, Al₄(SO₄)(OH)₁₀ · 5H₂O. An examination of literature values shows that the log $\text{K}{}_{\mathrm{sp}}\text{= ?85.4}$ for alunite and log $\text{K}{}_{\mathrm{sp}}\text{= ?117.7}$ for basaluminite. In this report the log $\text{K}{}_{\mathrm{sp}}\text{= ?7.0}$ is estimated for alunogen and log $\text{K}{}_{\mathrm{sp}}\text{= ?17.8}$ is estimated for jurbanite. The solubility and stability relations among these four minerals and gibbsite are plotted as a function of pH and sulfate activity at 298 K. Alunogen is stable only at pH values too low for any natural waters (<0) and probably only forms as efflorescences from capillary films. Jurbanite is stable from $\text{pH < 0}$ up to the range of 3–5 depending on sulfate activity. Alunite is stable at higher pH values than jurbanite, up to 4–7 depending on sulfate activity. Above these pH limits gibbsite is the most stable phase. Basaluminite, although kinetically favored to precipitate, is metastable for all values of pH and sulfate activity. These equilibrium calculations predict that both sulfate and aluminum can be immobilized in acid waters by the precipitation of aluminum hydroxysulfate minerals.Considerable evidence supports the conclusion that the formation of insoluble aluminum hydroxy-sulfate minerals may be the cause of sulfate retention in soils and sediments, as suggested by Adams and Rawajfih (1977), instead of adsorption.     

Response surface methodology for lead biosorption on Aspergillus terreus

A central composite face-centered design was used to study and to optimize lead biosorption from aqueous solution on Aspergillus terreus biomass. Four factors such as stirring speed, temperature, solution pH and biomass dose at different levels were studied.The hierarchical quadratic model were established by adding replicates at the central point and axial points to the initial full factorial design (2⁴). The percentage removal of lead was affected by biomass dose, pH, and interactions between pH and biomass dose, pH and stirring speed, pH and temperature. The hierarchical quadratic model described adequately the response surface based on the adjusted determination coefficient (R² _Adj= 0.97) and the adequate precision ratio (42.21). According to this model, the optimal conditions to remove lead completely from aqueous solutions (at initial lead concentration of 50 mg/L and solutions of 100 mL) with Aspergillus terreus were at pH 5.2, 50 °C, stirring speed of 102/min and a biomass dose of 139 mg.The response surface methodology can be used to determine the optimal conditions for metal adsorption on several adsorbents. In addition, results reported in this research demonstrated the feasibility of employing A. terreus as biosorbent for lead removal.     

An easy and fast IC-CL procedure for the monitoring of Cu(II) and Co(II) in environmental samples

A luminol chemiluminescence (CL) detection/flow injection analysis technique coupled with ion chromatography (IC) has been employed for the determination of low levels of Cu(II) and Co(II) in drinking water samples. The detection system was the CL of luminol/perborate or luminol/percarbonate in alkaline medium catalyzed by these transition metals. Oxalic acid in a solution of KOH and N(CH₃)₄OH was used as an eluent in the IC to improve the column selectivity (Dionex CS5A). Concentration and pH of the eluent affected simultaneously the CL intensity and the retention times (t _R). Under the elution conditions used here, the retention times of both metal ions were much greater when the concentration of oxalic acid was decreased. Thus, R _t(_Cu) = 2.15 min and t _R(_Co) = 4.50 min were measured at 80 mM oxalic acid concentration, while t _R raised to 4.12 and 18 min for Cu(II) and Co(II), respectively, using a 10-mM concentration, but on the other hand, the CL signals showed substantially higher values when the concentration of oxalic acid was lesser in the eluent. An optimum oxalic acid concentration of 20 mM and an eluent pH = 4.7 were selected in order to have reproducible signals with a total analysis time of 10 min. The optimum flow rate for the mobile phase was 1.5 mL min^?1. The concentration and pH of the postcolumn reagents also affected the CL signal, obtaining optimum concentrations of 5 mM for both oxidants (perborate or percarbonate) and luminol, this last dissolved in a 0.1-M borate buffer at pH 12. The optimum flow rate for the postcolumn reagents was 1 mL min^?1. Linear calibrations for both transition metal ions were established, with calculated detection limits of 0.15 ng mL^?1 for Co(II) and 0.20 μg mL^?1 for Cu(II). Others ions commonly present in natural waters showed little or no interference. The method was successfully applied to water samples spiked with Cu(II) and Co(II), obtaining recoveries in the range of 85–128%, depending on the metal concentrations.     

多壁碳纳米管固相萃取快速检测水样中铅镉铜铁

传统的固相萃取填料应用于环境样品的重金属处理过程中,存在pH不稳定和不同极性萃取物共同萃取较为困难等方面的不足,因此寻找新型固相萃取填料显得尤为重要。本文采用多壁碳纳米管填充固相萃取柱,萃取水中金属元素铅、镉、铜和铁,采用石墨炉原子吸收光谱法测定铅和镉,电感耦合等离子体发射光谱法测定铜和铁。实验考察了多壁碳纳米管的性质、溶液pH值、洗脱溶液、样品流速以及基体效应对测定结果的影响。结果显示:溶液pH=9,1 mol/L硝酸为洗脱溶液,样品流速为2 mL/min时,外径8 nm未修饰的多壁碳纳米管有较好的萃取效率,对溶液中铅、镉、铜和铁的最大吸附容量分别为44.91、42.31、54.68和49.07 mg/g,四种元素的吸附容量均衡;钾、钠、钙、镁离子以及苯和甲苯等基质对四种金属元素的萃取影响不大。方法回收率为95.3%~99.5%,精密度(RSD,n=7)为1.2%~3.2%。本方法采用外径8 nm的多壁碳纳米管固相萃取,与传统萃取方法相比,富集效果好、回收率较高,而且操作简便、准确度高;与前人采用外径20~30 nm的多壁碳纳米管的性能相比,镉和铜的吸附容量更高,还可实现对铁的吸附,且铅、镉、铜和铁四种元素的吸附容量均衡,更适合用于检测水样中的金属元素。     

Characterization of elemental release during microbe-basalt interactions at T = 28 °C

This study used batch reactors to characterize the rates and mechanisms of elemental release during the interaction of a single bacterial species (Burkholderia fungorum) with Columbia River Flood Basalt at T = 28 °C for 36 days. We primarily examined the release of Ca, Mg, P, Si, and Sr under a variety of biotic and abiotic conditions with the aim of evaluating how actively metabolizing bacteria might influence basalt weathering on the continents. Four days after inoculating P-limited reactors (those lacking P in the growth medium), the concentration of viable planktonic cells increased from ∼10⁴ to 10⁸ CFU (Colony Forming Units)/mL, pH decreased from ∼7 to 4, and glucose decreased from ∼1200 to 0 μmol/L. Mass-balance and acid-base equilibria calculations suggest that the lowered pH resulted from either respired CO₂, organic acids released during biomass synthesis, or H⁺ extrusion during uptake. Between days 4 and 36, cell numbers remained constant at ∼10⁸ CFU/mL and pH increased to ∼5. Purely abiotic control reactors as well as control reactors containing inert cells (∼10⁸ CFU/mL) showed constant glucose concentrations, thus confirming the absence of biological activity in these experiments. The pH of all control reactors remained near-neutral, except for one experiment where the pH was initially adjusted to 4 but rapidly rose to 7 within 2 days. Over the entire 36 day period, P-limited reactors containing viable bacteria yielded the highest Ca, Mg, Si, and Sr release rates. Release rates inversely correlate with pH, indicating that proton-promoted dissolution was the dominant reaction mechanism. Both biotic and abiotic P-limited reactors displayed low P concentrations. Chemical analyses of bacteria collected at the end of the experiments, combined with mass-balances between the biological and fluid phases, demonstrate that the absence of dissolved P in the biotic reactors resulted from microbial P uptake. The only P source in the basalt is a small amount of apatite (∼1.2%), which occurs as needles within feldspar grains and glass. We therefore conclude that B. fungorum utilized apatite as a P source for biomass synthesis, which stimulated elemental release from coexisting mineral phases via pH lowering. The results of this study suggest that actively metabolizing bacteria have the potential to influence elemental release from basalt in continental settings.     

Electro-chemical mineralization of recalcitrant indole by platinum-coated titanium electrode: multi-response optimization,mechanistic and sludge disposal study

Indole is a highly recalcitrant aromatic heterocyclic organic compound consisting of a five-membered nitrogen-containing pyrrole ring fused to a six-membered benzene ring. This study presents the results of the electro-chemical mineralization of indole in an aqueous solution using platinum-coated titanium (Pt/Ti) electrode. A central composite design was used to investigate the effect of four parameters namely initial pH (pH_o), current density (j), conductivity (k) and treatment time (t) at 5 levels. Multiple responses namely chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal (Y ₁) and specific energy consumption (Y ₂) were simultaneously maximized and minimized, respectively, by optimizing the parameters affecting the mineralization of indole by using the desirability function approach. At the operating conditions of pH 8.6, j = 161 A/m², k = 6.7 mS/cm and t = 150 min, 83.8% COD removal with specific energy consumption of 36.3 kWh/kg of COD removed was observed. Ultra performance liquid chromatography, UV–visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry of the indole solution were performed at the optimum condition of the treatment so as to report a plausible mechanism of indole degradation. Field emission scanning electron microscopy analysis of electrodes before and after treatment was performed for determining the changes on anode surface during the treatment. Thermal analysis of the solid residue (scum) obtained was also performed for exploring its disposal prospects. Present study shows that electro-chemical oxidation can be used for mineralization of nitrogenous heterocyclic compounds such as indole.     

Immobilized <Emphasis Type="Italic">β</Emphasis>-lactamase on Fe<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> magnetic nanoparticles for degradation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">β</Emphasis>-lactam antibiotics in wastewater

The emergence of antibiotics residues in pharmaceutical industrial wastewater has been a significant environment problem. However, current methods of treating antibiotic-polluted wastewater are inefficient, of high cost and time-consuming. In this study, highly effective enzymatic Fe₃O₄ magnetic nanoparticles were developed, which is extremely simple and can degrade antibiotics in a fast manner at a low cost. β-Lactamase, a representative enzyme for β-lactam antibiotic degradation, was covalently immobilized on the surface of magnetic nanoparticles modified with amino groups by a simple cross-linking process. The immobilized β-lactamase displayed a wider pH and temperature range for penicillin G degradation than the free enzyme. Meanwhile, the thermostability and storage stability of the immobilized β-lactamase were improved. Fifty milligrams magnetic nanoparticles immobilized with β-lactamase can thoroughly degrade 100 mL penicillin G (5–50 mg L^?1) within 5 min. Even if the β-lactamase immobilized on the nanoparticles was reused 35 times in the 5 mg L^?1 penicillin G solution, it still kept more than 95% degradation efficiency. These suggest that magnetic nanoparticles immobilized with β-lactamase have a sufficient capacity for degrading antibiotics in wastewater and will serve as a practical and economical solution to antibiotic pollution in pharmaceutical industrial wastewater treatment.