Pieter Verhagen

Removal of diatrizoate with catalytically active membranes incorporating microbially produced palladium nanoparticles.

There is an increasing concern about the fate of iodinated contrast media (ICM) in the environment. Limited removal efficiencies of currently applied techniques such as advanced oxidation processes require more performant strategies. The aim of this study was to establish an innovative degradation process for diatrizoate, a highly recalcitrant ICM, by using biogenic Pd nanoparticles as free suspension or immobilized in polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and polysulfone (PSf) membranes. As measured by HPLC-UV, the removal of 20mg L(-1) diatrizoate by a 10mg L(-1) Pd suspension was completed after 4h at a pH of 10. LC-MS analysis provided evidence for the sequential hydrodeiodination of diatrizoate. Pd did not lose its activity after incorporation in the PVDF and PSf matrix and the highest activity (k(cat)=30.0+/-0.4h(-1) L g(-1) Pd) was obtained with a casting solution of 10% PSf and 500mg L(-1) Pd. Subsequently, water containing 20mg L(-1) diatrizoate was treated in a membrane contactor, in which the water was supplied at one side of the membrane while hydrogen was provided at the other side. In a fed batch configuration, a removal efficiency of 77% after a time period of 48h was obtained. This work showed that membrane contactors with encapsulated biogenic nanoparticles can be instrumental for treatment of water contaminated with diatrizoate.

Remediation of trichloroethylene by bio-precipitated and encapsulated palladium nanoparticles in a fixed bed reactor

Trichloroethylene is a toxic and recalcitrant groundwater pollutant. Palladium nanoparticles bio-precipitated on Shewanella oneidensis were encapsulated in polyurethane, polyacrylamide, alginate, silica or coated on zeolites. The reactivity of these bio-Pd beads and zeolites was tested in batch experiments and trichloroethylene dechlorination followed first order reaction kinetics. The calculated k-values of the encapsulated catalysts were a factor of six lower compared to non-encapsulated bio-Pd. Bio-Pd, used as a catalyst, was able to dechlorinate 100 mgL(-1) trichloroethylene within a time period of 1h. The main reaction product was ethane; yet small levels of chlorinated intermediates were detected. Subsequently polyurethane cubes empowered with bio-Pd were implemented in a fixed bed reactor for the treatment of water containing trichloroethylene. The influent recycle configuration resulted in a cumulative removal of 98% after 22 h. The same reactor in a flow through configuration achieved removal rates up to 1059 mg trichloroethylene g Pd(-1)d(-1). This work showed that fixed bed reactors with bio-Pd polyurethane cubes can be instrumental for remediation of water contaminated with trichloroethylene.

Planktonic versus biofilm catabolic communities: importance of the biofilm for species selection and pesticide degradation.

ABSTRACT Chloropropham-degrading cultures were obtained from sludge and soil samples by using two different enrichment techniques: (i) planktonic enrichments in shaken liquid medium and (ii) biofilm enrichments on two types of solid matrixes (plastic chips and gravel). Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis fingerprinting showed that planktonic and biofilm cultures had a different community composition depending on the presence and type of added solid matrix during enrichment. This was reflected in the unique chloropropham-degrading species that could be isolated from the different cultures. Planktonic and biofilm cultures also differed in chloropropham-degrading activity. With biofilm cultures, slower chloropropham removal was observed, but with less build-up of the toxic intermediate 3-chloroaniline. Disruption of the biofilm architecture resulted in degradation characteristics shifting toward those of the free suspensions, indicating the importance of a well-established biofilm structure for good performance. These results show that biofilm-mediated enrichment techniques can be used to select for pollutant-degrading microorganisms that like to proliferate in a biofilm and that cannot be isolated using conventional shaken-liquid procedures. Furthermore, the influence of the biofilm architecture on the pesticide degradation characteristics suggests that for bioaugmentation the use of biofilm catabolic communities might be a proficient alternative to using planktonic freely suspended cultures.

Inoculation with a Mixed Degrading Culture Improves the Pesticide Removal of an On-Farm Biopurification System

To investigate whether the pesticide removal in on-farm biopurification systems (BPS) filled with two different types of substrata (biomix and plastic carriers) is affected by inoculation with a pesticide-degrading strain or mixed culture, lab-scale BPS used to treat chloropropham point source contaminations were bioaugmented with either a specialized chloropropham-degrading strain or a chloropropham-degrading enrichment culture. Application of both inoculum types leads to an accelerated degradation activity in the columns filled with plastic carriers. For both substratum types, inoculation with the mixed culture resulted in a lower breakthrough of the toxic intermediate 3-chloroaniline at high hydraulic loads, compared to inoculation with the pure isolate and no inoculation. This study suggests that the use of plastic carrier materials could be a proficient alternative to the use of a conventional biomix as a substratum in on-farm BPS and that inoculation with a mixed degrading culture can reduce the leaching of more mobile toxic intermediates.

Spatial heterogeneity in degradation characteristics and microbial community composition of pesticide biopurification systems.

To investigate spatial and temporal differences in degradation characteristics and microbial community composition of pesticide biopurification systems.