Bioremediation of petroleum wastewater by hyper-phenol tolerant Bacillus cereus: Preliminary studies with laboratory-scale batch process.

Petroleum wastewater samples from oil refinery and oil exploration site were treated by hyper phenol-tolerant Bacillus cereus (AKG1 and AKG2) in laboratory-scale batch process to assess their bioremediation efficacy. Quality of the treated wastewater samples were analyzed in terms of removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total organic carbon (TOC) and ammonium nitrogen content, and improvement of biological oxygen demand (BOD). Adaptation of these bacteria to the toxic environment through structural changes in their cell membranes was also highlighted.

Cross flow ultrafiltration of Cr (VI) using MCM-41, MCM-48 and Faujasite (FAU) zeolite-ceramic composite membranes.

This work describes the removal of Cr (VI) from aqueous solution in cross flow mode using MCM-41, MCM-48 and FAU zeolite membranes prepared on circular shaped porous ceramic support. Ceramic support was manufactured using locally available clay materials via a facile uni-axial compaction method followed by sintering process. A hydrothermal technique was employed for the deposition of zeolites on the ceramic support.

Biodegradation of real petroleum wastewater by immobilized hyper phenol-tolerant strains of Bacillus cereus in a fluidized bed bioreactor.

Microbial bioremediation of petroleum wastewater by phenol-degrading-bacteria holds promise in circumventing the issue of petroleum-spill related pollution. Herein, biodegradation of petroleum wastewater samples collected from oil refinery site was carried out in a fluidized bed bioreactor by Ca-alginate immobilized biomass of phenol-degrading strains of Bacillus cereus (AKG1 MTCC9817 and AKG2 MTCC9818). Degradation performance of the system was evaluated by measuring the changes in chemical oxygen demand (COD) and level of phenolic compounds in the wastewater samples during the microbial treatment.

Supported liquid membrane based removal of lead(II) and cadmium(II) from mixed feed: Conversion to solid waste by precipitation.

Simultaneous removal of two heavy metals, lead(II) and cadmium(II), from mixed feed using supported liquid membrane (SLM) based technique is investigated in this work. The carrier-solvent combination of "sodium salt of Di-2-ethylhexylphosphoric acid (D2EHPA) (4% w/w) in environmentally benign coconut oil" was immobilized into the pores of solid polymeric polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) support. Sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) was used as the stripping agent.

Fabrication of zirconia composite membrane by in-situ hydrothermal technique and its application in separation of methyl orange.

The main objective of the work was preparation of zirconia membrane on a low cost ceramic support through an in-situ hydrothermal crystallization technique for the separation of methyl orange dye. To formulate the zirconia film on the ceramic support, hydrothermal reaction mixture was prepared using zirconium oxychloride as a zirconia source and ammonia as a precursor. The synthesized zirconia powder was characterized by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms, Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared analysis (FTIR), Energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis and particle size distribution (PSD) to identify the phases and crystallinity, specific surface area, pore volume and pore size distribution, thermal behavior, chemical composition and size of the particles.

CO2 biofixation and carbonic anhydrase activity in Scenedesmus obliquus SA1 cultivated in large scale open system.

The present study deals with the large scale open system cultivation of the novel microalga: Scenedesmus obliquus SA1 (KC733762) previously isolated in our laboratory. SA1 strain was cultivated in open system at varying CO2 levels ranging from 0.03% to 35% (v/v) and subsequently the carbonic anhydrase activity (CA) and the biochemical properties were monitored.

Enhanced CO2 sequestration by a novel microalga: Scenedesmus obliquus SA1 isolated from bio-diversity hotspot region of Assam, India.

The present study aimed to isolate a high CO2 and temperature tolerant microalga capable of sequestering CO2 from flue gas. Microalga strain SA1 was isolated from a freshwater body of Assam and identified as Scenedesmus obliquus (KC733762). At 13.

Novel pore-expanded MCM-41 for CO2 capture: synthesis and characterization.

Recently, amine-functionalized mesoporous silica materials have attracted considerable attention as a promising chemical sorbent for postcombustion CO2 capture applications. However, the grafting of amines in the conventional MCM-41 support induces the subsequent reduction of surface area and pore volume of the sorbents, affecting the CO2 adsorption-desorption kinetics significantly. To mitigate this problem, expensive pore expansion agents have been used to increase the pore size as well as the pore volume.

An open-terrain line source model coupled with street-canyon effects to forecast carbon monoxide at traffic roundabout.

A double-lane four-arm roundabout, where traffic movement is continuous in opposite directions and at different speeds, produces a zone responsible for recirculation of emissions within a road section creating canyon-type effect. In this zone, an effect of thermally induced turbulence together with vehicle wake dominates over wind driven turbulence causing pollutant emission to flow within, resulting into more or less equal amount of pollutants upwind and downwind particularly during low winds. Beyond this region, however, the effect of winds becomes stronger, causing downwind movement of pollutants.

Phenol degradation by Bacillus cereus: pathway and kinetic modeling.

The microbial degradation of phenol by pure cultures Bacillus cereus MTCC 9817 strain AKG1 and B. cereus MTCC 9818 strain AKG2 is studied in batch mode for several initial concentrations of phenol in the range of 100-2000 mg/L with an interval of 100mg/L. Degradation pathways are investigated at initial phenol concentrations of 100, 500, 1000, 1500, and 2000 mg/L.

Temperature-dependent pyrolytic product evolution profile for low-density polyethylene from gas chromatographic study.

In this work, a product distribution study from thermal degradation of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) is presented. Thermal degradation of the polymer was investigated under dynamic condition in an inert environment using a thermo-gravimetric analyzer (TGA) coupled with evolved products' analysis using a gas chromatograph (GC). Fractions evolved at nine different temperatures from 200 to 600 degrees C were injected into GC for a detailed product analysis.

Isolation and characterization of hyper phenol tolerant Bacillus sp. from oil refinery and exploration sites.

Bacillus cereus MTCC 9817 strain AKG1 and B. cereus MTCC 9818 strain AKG2 were isolated from petroleum refinery and oil exploration site, respectively. The 16S rDNA sequence of strain AKG1 showed the closest relation to B.