Improving hydrogen and volatile fatty acids production through pretreatment of spent coffee grounds.

Consumption of coffee produces large amounts of waste in the form of spent coffee grounds (SCG), a lignocellulosic material rich in carbohydrates, proteins, and polyphenols. This abundant feedstock is promising in terms of biofuels and value-added product generation. This study investigated the impact of pretreatments, such as alkaline (NaOH), ultrasound, and static magnetic field, on SCG bioconversion in terms of biomolecule release, H potential and volatile fatty acids production.

Auranofin loaded silk fibroin nanoparticles for colorectal cancer treatment.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most common cause of cancer related deaths worldwide and the prevalence in young people especially is increasing annually. In the search for innovative approaches to treat the disease, drug delivery systems (DDS) are promising owing to their unique properties, which allow improved therapeutic results with lower drug concentrations, overcoming drug resistance and at the same time potentially reducing side effects. Silk fibroin is a biopolymer that can be processed to obtain biocompatible and biodegradable nanoparticles that can be efficiently loaded by surface adsorption with small-molecule therapeutics and allow their transport and sustained release by modulating their pharmacokinetics.

Disentangling abiotic and biotic effects of treated wastewater on stream biofilm resistomes enables the discovery of a new planctomycete beta-lactamase.

Background: Environmental reservoirs of antibiotic resistance pose a threat to human and animal health. Aquatic biofilms impacted by wastewater effluent (WW) are known environmental reservoirs for antibiotic resistance; however, the relative importance of biotic factors and abiotic factors from WW on the abundance of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) within aquatic biofilms remains unclear. Additionally, experimental evidence is limited within complex aquatic microbial communities as to whether genes bearing low sequence similarity to validated reference ARGs are functional as ARGs.

Mechanisms underlying the detrimental impact of micro(nano)plastics on the stability of aerobic granular sludge: Interactions between micro(nano)plastics and extracellular polymeric substances.

Microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) present in wastewater can pose a negative impact to aerobic granular sludge (AGS). Herein, this study found that MPs and NPs (20 mg/L) deteriorated the sludge settleability and granule integrity, resulting in a 15.7 % and 21.

Microbial response to the chronic toxicity effect of graphene and graphene oxide nanomaterials within aerobic granular sludge systems.

Nanomaterials present in wastewater can pose a significant threat to aerobic granular sludge (AGS) systems. Herein, we found that compared to graphene nanomaterials (G-NMs), the long-term presence (95 days) of graphene oxide nanomaterials (GO-NMs) resulted in an increased proliferation of filamentous bacteria, poorer sedimentation performance (SVI of 74.1 mL/g) and smaller average particle size (1224.

Deciphering the role of micro/nano-hydroxyapatite in aerobic granular sludge system: Effects on treatment performance and enhancement mechanism.

Hydroxyapatite (HAP), a mineral nucleus identified within aerobic granular sludge (AGS), plays a vital role in enhancing the AGS systems. However, the microscopic mechanism underlying their roles remains largely unexplored. Herein, a systematic investigation was carried out to elucidate the impact and enhanced mechanisms associated with HAP of different sizes, i.

Floating treatment wetlands to improve the water quality of the Hang Bang canal, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: Effect of plant species.

Floating treatment wetlands (FTWs) are artificial platforms that allow aquatic emergent plants to grow in water. Aquatic macrophytes and microorganisms attached to plant roots contribute to the remediation of the contaminated water through physicochemical and biological processes. The pollutant removal treatment performance is affected by various factors, including the plant species.

Nitrate Chemodenitrification by Iron Sulfides to Ammonium under Mild Conditions and Transformation Mechanism.

Autotrophic denitrification utilizing iron sulfides as electron donors has been well studied, but the occurrence and mechanism of abiotic nitrate (NO) chemodenitrification by iron sulfides have not yet been thoroughly investigated. In this study, NO chemodenitrification by three types of iron sulfides (FeS, FeS, and pyrrhotite) at pH 6.37 and ambient temperature of 30 °C was investigated.

Lactic acid fermentation of food waste at acidic conditions in a semicontinuous system: effect of HRT and OLR changes.

Lactic acid production through fermentation is an established technology, however, improvements are necessary to reduce the process costs and to decrease its market price. Lactic acid is used in many industrial sectors and its market has increased in the last decade for its use as the raw material for polylactic acid product. Using food waste as a cheap and renewable substrate, as well as fermentation at uncontrolled pH, helps to make the production cheaper and to simplify the downstream purification process.

Effect of PD630 on selenium phytoremediation by .

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential of microbial-enhanced for the phytoremediation of seleniferous soils. The effect of selenite (Se(IV)) and selenate (Se(VI)) on (1-100 mg.L) was examined through germination (7 d) and pot (30 d) trials.

Selenite (IV) and selenate (VI) uptake and accumulation capacity of L. from an aquatic medium.

The uptake of sodium selenite (Se(IV)) and sodium selenate (Se(VI)) from aqueous medium by L. and the influence of different Se concentrations on its growth, morphological and ultrastructural characteristics were studied. was grown at different concentrations (1, 3, 5 and 10 mg L) of Se(IV) and Se(IV).

Syngas-driven sewage sludge conversion to microbial protein through HS- and CO-tolerant hydrogen-oxidizing bacteria.

Treating excess municipal sewage sludge (MSS) by means of thermochemical processes could enable its conversion into high-value microbial protein (MP) through syngas. Nevertheless, the variable composition and content of inhibitory compounds of the latter hinders the application potential of such a biorefinery scheme. Through a series of short- (48 to 96 h) and long-term (30 days) batch aerobic bioconversion tests, the present study aimed at investigating the potential of a mixed culture of hydrogen-oxidizing bacteria (HOB) to produce MP from a simulated syngas mixture characterized by variable H and CO concentrations, and different levels of CO and HS as potential inhibitors of the HOB-driven process.

Deciphering anaerobic ethanol metabolic pathways shaped by operational modes.

Efficient anaerobic digestion requires the syntrophic cooperation among diverse microorganisms with various metabolic pathways. In this study, two operational modes, i.e.

How temperature shapes the biosynthesis of polyhydroxyalkanoates in mixed microbial cultures.

Three sequential batch reactors were operated for the enrichment in microbial communities able to store polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) using activated sludge as inoculum. They ran simultaneously under the same operational conditions (organic loading rate, hydraulic and solids retention time, cycle length, C/N ratio) just with the solely difference of the working temperature: psychrophilic (15°C), mesophilic (30°C), and thermophilic (48°C). The microbial communities enriched showed different behaviors in terms of consumption and production rates.

Effect of different inocula on the granulation process, reactor performance and biodiesel production of algal-bacterial granular sludge (ABGS) under low aeration conditions.

The algal-bacterial granular sludge (ABGS) system is a prospective wastewater treatment technology, but few studies focused on the effects of different inoculum types on the establishment of the ABGS system under low aeration conditions (step-decrease superficial gas velocity from 1.4 to 0.5 cm/s).

Biofilm metagenomic characteristics behind high coulombic efficiency for propanethiol deodorization in two-phase partitioning microbial fuel cell.

Hydrophobic volatile organic sulfur compounds (VOSCs) are frequently found during sewage treatment, and their effective management is crucial for reducing malodorous complaints. Microbial fuel cells (MFC) are effective for both VOSCs abatement and energy recovery. However, the performance of MFC on VOSCs remains limited by the mass transfer efficiency of MFC in aqueous media.

Influence of pH, Heat Treatment of Inoculum, and Selenium Oxyanions on Concomitant Selenium Bioremediation and Volatile Fatty Acid Production from Food Waste.

Developing novel strategies to enhance volatile fatty acid (VFA) yield from abundant waste resources is imperative to improve the competitiveness of biobased VFAs over petrochemical-based VFAs. This study hypothesized to improve the VFA yield from food waste via three strategies, viz., pH adjustment (5 and 10), supplementation of selenium (Se) oxyanions, and heat treatment of the inoculum (at 85 °C for 1 h).

Unifying concepts in methanogenic, aerobic, and anammox sludge granulation.

The retention of dense and well-functioning microbial biomass is crucial for effective pollutant removal in several biological wastewater treatment technologies. High solids retention is often achieved through aggregation of microbial communities into dense, spherical aggregates known as granules, which were initially discovered in the 1980s. These granules have since been widely applied in upflow anaerobic digesters for waste-to-energy conversions.

Integrated bioprocess for Se(VI) remediation using duckweed: Coupling selenate removal to biogas production.

The use of phytoremediation as a method for wastewater treatment or removal of pollutants is garnering significant interest and duckweed (DW), a free floating macrophyte, depicts significant potential for the removal of nutrients and toxic compounds from contaminated waters. The present work aimed to develop an integrated process for remediating selenate (Se(VI)) using DW biomass and subsequent use of Se(VI) enriched DW for biogas production. The main objective is to extend the application of selenium (Se) enriched DW biomass for biogas production.

Simultaneous removal of sulfide and bicarbonate from synthetic wastewater using an algae-assisted microbial fuel cell.

The anaerobic digestion (AD) process is one of the most practiced technologies for the remediation of organic waste and maximization of energy recovery in terms of biogas or biomethane. The presence of other gaseous components in biogas, e.g.

Sustainable biorefining and bioprocessing of green seaweed (Ulva spp.) for the production of edible (ulvan) and non-edible (polyhydroxyalkanoate) biopolymeric films.

A sustainable biorefining and bioprocessing strategy was developed to produce edible-ulvan films and non-edible polyhydroxybutyrate films. The preparation of edible-ulvan films by crosslinking and plasticisation of ulvan with citric acid and xylitol was investigated using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis. The edible ulvan film was tested for its gut-friendliness using Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium spp.

Pilot and full scale applications of floating treatment wetlands for treating diffuse pollution.

Floating treatment wetlands (FTW) are nature-based solutions for the purification of open water systems such as rivers, ponds, and lakes polluted by diffuse sources as untreated or partially treated domestic wastewater and agricultural run-off. Compared with other physicochemical and biological technologies, FTW is a technology with low-cost, simple configuration, easy to operate; has a relatively high efficiency, and is energy-saving, and aesthetic. Water remediation in FTWs is supported by plant uptake and the growth of a biofilm on the water plant roots, so the selection of the macrophyte species is critical, not only to pollutant removal but also to the local ecosystem integrity, especially for full-scale implementation.