Amin Reza Rajabzadeh

Nitrification cessation and recovery in an aerated saturated vertical subsurface flow treatment wetland: Field studies and microscale biofilm modeling.

In aerated treatment wetlands, oxygen availability is not a limiting factor in sustaining a high level of nitrification in wastewater treatment. In the case of an air blower failure, nitrification would cease, potentially causing adverse effects to the nitrifying bacteria. A field trial was completed investigating nitrification loss when aeration is switched off, and the system recovery rate after the aeration is switched back on. Loss of dissolved oxygen was observed to be more rapid than loss of nitrification. Nitrate was observed in the effluent long after the aeration was switched off (48h+). A complementary modeling study predicted nitrate diffusion out of biofilm over a 48h period. After two weeks of no aeration in the established system, nitrification recovered within two days, whereas nitrification establishment in a new system was previously observed to require 20-45days. These results suggest that once established resident nitrifying microbial communities are quite robust.

Physicochemical characterization of a navy bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) protein fraction produced using a solvent-free method

A solvent-free electrostatic separation method was employed to separate navy bean flour (NBF) into protein-rich (PR) and starch-rich (SR) fractions. The physicochemical properties of NBF and separated fractions were compared to proteins (navy bean isolate (NBI) and 7S globulin) prepared using a wet process. Gel electrophoresis confirmed that the protein distribution in the isolated fractions was similar to that of NBF. The protein profile of NBI and 7S globulin was found to be devoid of certain proteins that were found in the NBF and PR fraction. Amino acid analysis revealed that the NBI and 7S globulin had a lower content of sulfur-containing amino acids compared to NBF and the electrostatically isolated fractions. CD and fluorescence spectroscopy confirmed that denaturation of the proteins during the acid precipitation is likely. This novel solvent-free electrostatic separation process preserves the native protein structure found in NBF and improves the recovery of some of the smaller MW proteins.