Haq Nawaz Bhatti

Recent developments in biodegradation of industrial pollutants by white rot fungi and their enzyme system

Increasing discharge and improper management of liquid and solid industrial wastes have created a great concern among industrialists and the scientific community over their economic treatment and safe disposal. White rot fungi (WRF) are versatile and robust organisms having enormous potential for oxidative bioremediation of a variety of toxic chemical pollutants due to high tolerance to toxic substances in the environment. WRF are capable of mineralizing a wide variety of toxic xenobiotics due to non-specific nature of their extracellular lignin mineralizing enzymes (LMEs). In recent years, a lot of work has been done on the development and optimization of bioremediation processes using WRF, with emphasis on the study of their enzyme systems involved in biodegradation of industrial pollutants. Many new strains have been identified and their LMEs isolated, purified and characterized. In this review, we have tried to cover the latest developments on enzyme systems of WRF, their low molecular mass mediators and their potential use for bioremediation of industrial pollutants.

Kinetic and thermodynamic aspects of Cu(II) and Cr(III) removal from aqueous solutions using rose waste biomass.

Distillation waste of rose petals was used to remove Cu(II) and Cr(III) from aqueous solutions. The results demonstrated the dependency of metal sorption on pH, sorbent dose, sorbent size, initial bulk concentration, time and temperature. A dosage of 1g/L of rose waste biomass was found to be effective for maximum uptake of Cu(II) and Cr(III). Optimum sorption temperature and pH for Cu(II) and Cr(III) were 303+/-1K and 5, respectively. The Freundlich regression model and pseudo-second-order kinetic model were resulted in high correlation coefficients and described well the sorption of Cu(II) and Cr(III) on rose waste biomass. At equilibrium q(max) (mg/g) of Cu(II) and Cr(III) was 55.79 and 67.34, respectively. The free energy change (DeltaG degrees ) for Cu(II) and Cr(III) sorption process was found to be -0.829 kJ/mol and -1.85 kJ/mol, respectively, which indicates the spontaneous nature of sorption process. Other thermodynamic parameters such as entropy change (DeltaS degrees ), enthalpy (DeltaH degrees )and activation energy (DeltaE) were found to be 0.604 J mol(-1)K(-1), -186.95 kJ/mol and 68.53 kJ/mol, respectively for Cu(II) and 0.397 J mol(-1)K(-1), -119.79 kJ/mol and 114.45 kJ/mol, respectively for Cr(III). The main novelty of this work was the determination of shortest possible sorption time for Cu(II) and Cr(III) in comparison to earlier studies. Almost over 98% of Cu(II) and Cr(III) were removed in only first 20 min at an initial concentration of 100 mg/L.

Biological transformations of steroidal compounds: A review

Microbial transformation is an important tool for structural modification of organic compounds, especially natural products with complex structures like steroids. It can be used to synthesize chemical structures that are difficult to obtain by ordinary methods and as a model of mammalian metabolism due to similarity between mammalian and microbial enzyme systems. During recent years research has been focused on the structural modifications of bioactive steroids by using various microorganisms, in order to obtain biologically potent compounds with diverse structures. Steroidal compounds are responsible for important biological functions in the cells and manifest a variety of activities. This article covers the microbial transformation of sterols, steroidal hormones and some new types of steroids known as bufadienolides. Emphasis has placed on reporting metabolites that may be of general interest and on the practical aspects of work in the field of microbial transformations. The review covers the literature from 1994 to 2011.

Biopolymers composites with peanut hull waste biomass and application for Crystal Violet adsorption.

Composites of polyaniline, starch, polypyrrole, chitosan aniline and chitosan pyrrole using peanut waste were prepared and employed for the adsorption of Crystal Violet (CV) dye from aqueous media. The process variables i.e., composite doses, pH, contact time, CV initial concentration and temperature were optimized. Thermodynamic, equilibrium modelling and kinetics models were fitted to the CV adsorption data in order to understand the mechanism and nature of CV adsorption onto native and composite adsorbents. Maximum CV adsorption of 100.6mg/g was achieved (onto chitosan aniline composite) using 150mg/L dye initial concentration, 50°C temperature, 60min contact time, 0.05g adsorbent dose and>7pH. Effect of composites pre-treatments with salts, surfactants and co-metals ions were also studied. The CV adsorption efficiencies of adsorbents were found in following order; chitosan aniline composite>starch composite>chitosan pyrrole composite>polyaniline composite>polypyrrole composite>native peanut biomass. The pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Freundlich isotherm fitted well to the CV equilibrium adsorption data and intraparticle diffusion was the rate limiting step. Composites showed endothermic and energetically stable nature for CV adsorption. Composites also showed good desorption properties, which revealed the recycling ability of prepared composites.

Equilibrium, kinetic and thermodynamic studies on the removal of U(VI) by low cost agricultural waste

In this research, biosorption efficiency of different agro-wastes was evaluated with rice husk showing maximum biosorption capacity among the selected biosorbents. Optimization of native, SDS-treated and immobilized rice husk adsorption parameters including pH, biosorbent amount, contact time, initial U(VI) concentration and temperature for maximum U(VI) removal was investigated. Maximum biosorption capacity for native (29.56 mg g(-1)) and immobilized biomass (17.59 mg g(-1)) was observed at pH 4 while SDS-treated biomass showed maximum removal (28.08 mg g(-1)) at pH 5. The Langmuir sorption isotherm model correlated best with the U(IV) biosorption equilibrium data for the 10-100 mg L(-1) concentration range. The kinetics of the reaction followed pseudo-second order kinetic model. Thermodynamic parameters like free energy (ΔG(0)) and enthalpy (ΔH°) confirmed the spontaneous and exothermic nature of the process. Experiments to determine the regeneration capacity of the selected biosorbents and the effect of competing metal ions on biosorption capacity were also conducted. The biomass was characterized using scanning electron microscopy, surface area analysis, Fourier transformed infra-red spectroscopy and thermal gravimetric analysis. The study proved that rice husk has potential to treat uranium in wastewater.

Kinetic and Equilibrium Modeling of Pb(II) and Co(II) Sorption onto Rose Waste Biomass

Abstract An attempt was made to assess the biosorption potential of rose waste biomass for the removal of Pb(II) and Co(II) ions from synthetic effluents. Biosorption of heavy metal ions (>90%) reached equilibrium in 30 min. Maximum removal of Pb(II) and Co(II) occurred at pH 5 and 6 respectively. The biosorbent dose for efficient uptake of Pb(II) and Co(II) was 0.5 g/L for both metals. The biosorbent size affected the Pb(II) and Co(II) biosorption rate and capacity. Rose waste biomass was found effective for Pb(II) and Co(II) removal from synthetic effluents in the concentration range 10–640 mg/L. Equilibrium sorption studies showed that the extent of Pb(II) and Co(II) uptake by the rose waste biomass was better described by the Langmuir isotherm in comparison to the Freundlich model. The uptake capacities of the two metal ions were 156 and 27.15 mg/g for Pb(II) and Co(II) respectively.

Characteristic features and dye degrading capability of agaragar gel immobilized manganese peroxidase

Immobilization of enzymes has been regarded as an efficient approach to develop biocatalyst with improved activity and stability characteristics under reaction conditions. In the present study, purified manganese peroxidase (MnP) from Ganoderma lucidum IBL-05 was immobilized in agar-agar support using entrapment technique. Maximum immobilization yield was accomplished at 4.0% agar-agar gel. The immobilized MnP exhibited better resistance to changes in pH and temperature than the free enzyme, with optimal conditions being pH 6.0 and 50 °C. The kinetic parameters Km and Kcat/Km for free and entrapped MnP were calculated to be 65.6 mM and 6.99 M(-1) s(-1), and 82 mM and 8.15 M(-1) s(-1), respectively. Thermo-stability was significantly improved after immobilization. After 120 h, the insolubilized MnP retained its activity up to 71.9% and 60.3% at 30 °C and 40 °C, respectively. It showed activity until 10th cycle and retained 74.3% residual activity after 3th cycle. The effects of H2O2, ionic strength and potential inhibitors on activity of free and immobilized enzyme were investigated. Moreover, the decolorization of three structurally different dyes was monitored in order to assess the degrading capability of the entrapped MnP. The decolorization efficiencies for all the tested dyes were 78.6-84.7% after 12h. The studies concluded that the toxicity of dyes aqueous solutions was significantly reduced after treatment. The remarkable catalytic, thermo-stability and re-cycling features of the agar-agar immobilized MnP display a high potential for biotechnological applications.

Cross-linked enzyme aggregates (CLEAs) of Pencilluim notatum lipase enzyme with improved activity, stability and reusability characteristics.

Cross-linked enzyme aggregates (CLEAs) are considered as an effective tool for the immobilization of enzyme. In this study, Pencillium notatum lipase (PNL) was immobilized as carrier free cross-linked enzyme aggregates using glutaraldehyde (GLA) and Ethylene glycol-bis [succinic acid N-hydroxysuccinimide] (EG-NHS) as cross-linking agents. The optimal conditions for the synthesis of an efficient lipase CLEAs such as precipitant type, the nature and amount of cross-linking reagent, and cross-linking time were optimized. The recovered activities of CLEAs were considerably dependent on the concentration of GLA; however, the activity recovery was not severely affected by EG-NHS as a mild cross-linker. The EG-NHS aggregates displayed superior hydrolytic (52.08±2.52%) and esterification (64.42%) activities as compared to GLA aggregates which showed 23.8±1.86 and 34.54% of hydrolytic and esterification activity, respectively. Morphological analysis by fluorescence and scanning electron microscope revealed that EG-NHS aggregates were smaller in size with larger surface area compared to GLA aggregates. The pH optima of both types of CLEAs were displaced to slightly alkaline region and higher temperature as compared to native enzyme. Highest enzyme activity of CLEAs was achieved at the pH of 9.0 and 42°C temperature. Moreover, a significant improvement in the thermal resistance was also recorded after immobilization. After ten reusability cycles in aqueous medium, GLA and EG-NHS cross-linked lipase CLEAs preserved 63.62% and 70.9% of their original activities, respectively. The results suggest that this novel CLEA-lipase is potentially usable in many industrial applications.

Removal of Indosol Turquoise FBL dye from aqueous solution by bagasse, a low cost agricultural waste: batch and column study

AbstractThis study involves the remediation of dye containing synthetic wastewater using bagasse, a low cost agricultural waste by batch and column methods. The simulated wastewater was prepared using Indosol Turquoise FBL, commonly used dye in the textile industry. Sugarcane bagasse was used in native, HCl-treated and Na-alginate-immobilized forms. The effect of different process parameters such as medium pH, biosorbent dose, contact time, initial dye concentration and temperature on the biosorption capacity of bagasse was investigated in batch study. Maximum dye removal (65.09 mg/g) was obtained with HCl-treated bagasse. Pseudo-second-order kinetic model was better fitted to the experimental data. The equilibrium data were best described by Langmuir adsorption isotherm model. The thermodynamic study indicated the thermodynamic nature of biosorption process. Effect of surfactants, heavy metal ions and salt concentration was also explored. Breakthrough capacities were also investigated in column mode stud...

Removal of Novacron Golden Yellow dye from aqueous solutions by low-cost agricultural waste: Batch and fixed bed study

The present work describes the removal of Novacron Golden Yellow (NGY) dye from aqueous solutions using peanut hulls. The experiments were performed with native, pretreated and immobilised forms of peanut hulls. The effect of various operational parameters (pH, biosorbent dose, initial dye concentration and temperature etc.) was explored during batch study. NGY showed maximum removal at low pH and low biosorbent dose. High initial dye concentration facilitated the biosorption process. Maximum dye removal with native, pretreated and immobilised biomass was found to be 35.7, 36.4 and 15.02 mg/g respectively. The experimental data were subjected to different kinetic and equilibrium models. The kinetic data confirmed the fitness of pseudo-second-order rate law for NGY biosorption. The equilibrium modelling was carried out by Freundlich, Langmuir and Temkin models. The isothermal data of NGY removal were best described by Freundlich adsorption isotherm. Negative values of Free energy change (Δ G0) for NGY with native and pretreated biomass depicted the spontaneous nature of biosorption process. In column mode, the effects of bed height, flow rate and initial dye concentrations were optimised. Maximum NGY biosorption (7.28 mg/g) was observed with high bed height, low flow rate and high initial concentration in continuous mode. Bohart–Adams model best fitted to the data obtained from column studies. The results indicated that the peanut hulls could be used effectively for the removal of dyes containing wastewater.