Anjali Singhal

Decolourization and detoxification of pulp and paper mill effluent by Emericella nidulans var. nidulans.

In this study geno-toxicity analysis along with effluent treatment was taken up to evaluate the efficiency of biological treatment process for safe disposal of treated effluent. Four fungi were isolated from sediments of pulp and paper mill in which PF4 reduced colour (30%) and lignin content (24%) of the effluent on 3rd day. The fungal strain was identified as Emericella nidulans var. nidulans (anamorph: Aspergillus nidulans) on the basis of rDNA ITS1 and rDNA ITS2 region sequences. The process of decolourization was optimized by Taguchi approach. The optimum conditions were temperature (30-35 degrees C), rpm (125), dextrose (0.25%), tryptone (0.1%), inoculum size (7.5%), pH (5) and duration (24h). Decolourization of effluent improved by 31% with reduction in colour (66.66%) and lignin (37%) after treatment by fungi in shake flask. Variation in pH from 6 to 5 had most significant effect on decolourization (71%) while variation in temperature from 30 to 35 degrees C had no effect on the process. Treated effluent was further evaluated for geno-toxicity by alkaline single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) assay using Saccharomyces cerevisiae MTCC 36 as model organism, indicated 60% reduction.

Comparison of submerged and solid state pretreatment of sugarcane bagasse by Pandoraea sp. ISTKB: Enzymatic and structural analysis.

Pretreatment of sugarcane bagasse by Pandoraea sp. ISTKB was evaluated under submerged (SmF) and solid state (SSF) culture conditions. Number of bacteria was 2.7 times higher in SmF as compared with SSF. Enzymes produced under SmF were xylanase, LiP, MnP and laccase. In SSF xylanase and laccase were detected. CMCase, FPase and β-glucosidase were not detected. Delignification was highest in SmF with 19.94% and 10.43% removal of hemicelluloses and lignin, respectively. FTIR analysis suggested the degradation of lignin/hemicellulose component. SEM analysis showed pores were three times bigger in SmF as compared with raw bagasse. Maximum CR dye was absorbed by treated SmF bagasse. Enzymatic saccharification increased by 3.7 times after SmF treatment in comparison to raw bagasse. Pretreatment of bagasse by Pandoraea sp. ISTKB was more efficient under SmF than SSF. High negative correlation between saccharification vs lignin/hemicelluloses content justified the need for pretreatment of lignocellulosic waste before saccharification.

CHARACTERIZATION OF LACCASE ACTIVITY PRODUCED BY Cryptococcus albidus

This study deals with the characterization of laccase enzyme activity produced by Cryptococcus albidus. Industrial wastes like effluent and sludge are complex mixtures of a number of chemicals. These chemicals can interfere with the proper functioning of the enzymes used for bioremediation. Thus, it is important to study the effect of such interfering solvents, detergents, metal chelators, and other chemicals on enzyme activity before industrial applications. Laccase showed maximum activity at pH 2.5 and temperature 20–30°C when ABTS was used as a substrate. The enzyme followed Michaelis–Menten kinetics: Km was 0.8158 mM and Vmax was 1527.74 U/mg. Laccase showed good thermostability with a half-life of 81 min at 25°C, 77 min at 35°C, 64 min at 45°C, 36 min at 55°C, and 21 min at 65°C. There was no effect of sodium dodceyl sulfate (SDS) (0.1–1.0%) and EDTA (0.1–0.5%) on laccase activity. Sodium azide and 2-mercaptoethanol showed complete inhibition of laccase activity at 0.1% concentration. At lower concentrations of acetone and acetonitrile, laccase was able to maintain its activity. However, the activity was completely inhibited at a concentration of 50% or above of acetone, methanol, 1,4-dioxan, and acetonitrile.

Production and Characterization of Polyhydroxyalkanoate from Lignin Derivatives by Pandoraea sp. ISTKB

The present study investigates polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) production from lignin and its derivatives by a previously reported lignin-degrading bacterial strain Pandoraea sp. ISTKB. PHA production was screened by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry using a Nile red stain. PHA and biomass accumulation, while screening, was found to be maximum on 4-hydroxybenzoic acid followed by p-coumaric acid, vanillic acid, 2,6-dimethoxyphenol, and kraft lignin after 96 h. Monomer composition was analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and was followed by Fourier transform infrared and 1H NMR analysis, indicating PHA to be a copolymer of P(hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate). Genomic analysis of Pandoraea sp. ISTKB also complemented the results of GC–MS and NMR, and the relevant genes responsible for the synthesis of small chain length PHA were discovered in the genome. Process parameters were optimized by response surface methodology for enhanced production of PHA and biomass on 4-hydroxybenzoate. Optimization results showed 30 and 66% increase in the biomass and PHA production, respectively. The results obtained were promising and indicated that if lignin is depolymerized into low-molecular-weight intermediates, then it can easily be utilized and converted into value-added products like PHA by microbes.

Biosorption of pulp and paper mill effluent by Emericella nidulans: isotherms, kinetics and mechanism

AbstractIn this study, a fungus, Emericella nidulans (anamorph: Aspergillus nidulans), isolated from the sediments of a drain carrying effluent of pulp and paper mill, was used for biosorption of colour from pulp and paper mill effluent. The fungus turned dark brown in colour after treatment. Thus, its biosorption potential was studied in detail. The surface of the fungus was characterized by SEM and FT-IR analysis. The effect of change in pH, temperature, inoculum’s size, contact time and initial concentration on colour adsorption was studied. The equilibrium data were studied using Freundlich, Langmuir, Elovich and Temkin equations. Best fitting model was Freundlich, used to describe heterogeneous systems. The pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order were used to fit adsorption data in the kinetic studies. The results showed that kinetics was best described by pseudo-second-order model. A detailed error analysis was undertaken. The mechanism of biosorption was governed by both external mass transport ...

ASSESSMENT OF Cryptococcus albidus FOR BIOPULPING OF EUCALYPTUS

Cryptococcus albidus shows delignification activity in nature. It was used for the biopulping of eucalyptus wood (Eucalyptus grandis) to access its potential for industrial application in the pulp and paper industry. Enzyme analysis on days 15, 30, and 60 showed the presence of laccase and xylanase as key enzymes. The production of endo-glucanase (CMCase) and exo-glucanase (FPase) was very low. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed the surface colonization of wood and loosening of wood fibers in C. albidus-treated samples. Fourier-transformation infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) indicated the chemical modification of eucalyptus wood. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis on days 15, 30, and 60 confirmed the presence of C. albidus throughout the experiments. Cryptococcu albidus was able to suppress the growth of a native population. Further, after 60 days both the control and treated eucalyptus wood chips were given kraft pulping treatment. The kappa number of pulp of control wood was 21 and for treated wood was 17. Kappa number is considered a measure of lignin content in wood; hence the treatment of eucalyptus by C. albidus (biopulping) was effective in reducing its lignin content and can be used for biopulping in the pulp and paper industry.