Waste to bioproduct conversion with undefined mixed cultures: the carboxylate platform.

Our societies generate increasing volumes of organic wastes. Considering that we also need alternatives to oil, an opportunity exists to extract liquid fuels or even industrial solvents from these abundant wastes. Anaerobic undefined mixed cultures can handle the complexity and variability of organic wastes, which produces carboxylates that can be efficiently converted to useful bioproducts.

Nutrient and oxygen concentrations within the sediments of an Alaskan beach polluted with the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

Measurements of the background concentrations of nutrients, dissolved oxygen (DO), and salinity were obtained from a beach that has oil from the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989. Two transects were set across the beach, one passed through an oil patch while the other transect was clean. Three pits were dug in each transect, and they ranged in depth from 0.

Microbial reduction of Fe(III) in hematite nanoparticles by Geobacter sulfurreducens.

The rates of microbial Fe(III) reduction of three sizes of hematite nanoparticles by Geobacter sulfurreducens were measured under two H2 partial pressures (0.01 and 1 atm) and three pH (7.0, 7.

Assessment of sediment toxicity during anaerobic biodegradation of vegetable oil using Microtox and Hyalella azteca bioassays.

The potential ecological impacts of anaerobic degradation of vegetable oil on freshwater sediments were investigated. Sediment toxicity was evaluated using two regulatory biotests: the Microtox Solid Phase Test and an amphipod (Hyalella azteca) bioassay. The results of the Microtox test showed that the toxicity of the vegetable-oil-contaminated sediments (about 17-33 g oil/kg dry sediments) increased after 2 weeks incubation and then decreased to near background levels after incubation for 8 weeks under anaerobic conditions.

Effects of ferric hydroxide on methanogenesis from lipids and long-chain fatty acids in anaerobic digestion.

The addition of ferric hydroxide to sludge from a municipal anaerobic digester stimulated the rate of methanogenesis from canola oil when the initial oil concentration was high (4600 mg/L; P < 0.002), but not when it was low (920 mg/L; P > 0.05).

Effect of iron on the sensitivity of hydrogen, acetate, and butyrate metabolism to inhibition by long-chain fatty acids in vegetable-oil-enriched freshwater sediments.

Freshwater sediment microbial communities enriched by growth on vegetable oil in the presence of a substoichiometric amount of ferric hydroxide (sufficient to accept about 12% of the vegetable-oil-derived electrons) degrade vegetable oil to methane faster than similar microbial communities that develop when sediments are enriched by growth on vegetable oil in the absence of ferric hydroxide. This study examined the effects of enrichment in the presence of Fe(III) on the fatty-acid sensitivity of several important members of anaerobic triglyceride-degrading microbial communities in freshwater sediments. The fatty-acid sensitivity of three groups of microorganisms-hydrogenotrophic methanogens, acetate consumers, and hydrogen-producing acetogens-were investigated by comparing the rates of hydrogen, acetate, or butyrate consumption in the presence and absence of oleic acid.

Anaerobic biodegradation of vegetable oil and its metabolic intermediates in oil-enriched freshwater sediments.

Anaerobic biodegradation of vegetable oil in freshwater sediments is strongly inhibited by high concentrations of oil, but the presence of ferric hydroxide relieves the inhibition. The effect of ferric hydroxide is not due to physical or chemical interactions with long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs) that are produced as intermediates during metabolism of vegetable-oil triglycerides. The anaerobic biodegradation of canola oil and mixtures of acetic and oleic acids, two important intermediates of vegetable-oil metabolism, were investigated using sediments enriched on canola oil under methanogenic and iron-reducing conditions to determine whether the effect of ferric hydroxide has a biological basis.

Effects of ferric hydroxide on the anaerobic biodegradation kinetics and toxicity of vegetable oil in freshwater sediments.

Biodegradation of vegetable oil in freshwater sediments exhibits self-inhibitory characteristics when it occurs under methanogenic conditions but not under iron-reducing conditions. The basis of the protective effect of iron was investigated by comparing its effects on oil biodegradation rate and the toxicity of oil-amended sediments to those of clay and calcium, which reduce the toxicity of oil-derived long-chain fatty acids by adsorption and precipitation, respectively. Kinetic parameters for an integrated mixed-second-order model were estimated by nonlinear regression using cumulative methane production as the response variable and used to compare the effects of the three treatment factors on the rate of oil biodegradation.

Production of bioenergy and biochemicals from industrial and agricultural wastewater.

The building of a sustainable society will require reduction of dependency on fossil fuels and lowering of the amount of pollution that is generated. Wastewater treatment is an area in which these two goals can be addressed simultaneously. As a result, there has been a paradigm shift recently, from disposing of waste to using it.