Ulrico J. López-Chuken

The Use of Chloro-Complexation to Enhance Cadmium Uptake by Zea mays and Brassica juncea: Testing a “Free Ion Activity Model” and Implications For Phytoremediation

Maize and Indian mustard plants were studied to: 1) investigate the effect of Cl− complexation on Cd uptake from soil historically amended with sewage sludge (Cd 58 mg kg−1) and, 2) model the uptake of Cd by these plants with a Free Ion Activity Model (FIAM). Plants were treated with NaCl (50 to 300 mM in the soil pore water) along with controls using Na2SO4. Cadmium enhanced solubility in soil by Cl− generally reflected increases in Cd uptake by both plants. The free ion Cd2+ activity in soil solution, as modeled by WHAM-VI, remained almost unchanged despite the wide range of NaCl concentrations. Therefore, Na+ exchange for Cd2+ could not fully explain the differences in Cd content between the Cl− treatments because of the high buffering Cd2+ capacity in soil. Activities of Cd-chloro complexes showed the best correlations with the Cd concentrations in the plants compared to the activity of Cd2+. The FIAM showed a reasonable good fit for the plants when assuming competition by Cd2+ and CdCl+ for root sorption sites. Indirect evidence suggests that CaSO4 precipitation may have limited the formation of CdSO4 complexes and reduced Cd soil solubility. The implications of these results for phytoremediation are discussed.

Removal of chromium and lead by a sulfate-reducing consortium using peat moss as carbon source

The effect of pre-treated peat moss on the ability of a sulfate-reducing microbial consortium to remove chromium and lead in solution was evaluated. The most active bacterial community (235.7 mmol H2S/g VSS) was selected from among eight consortia. The peat moss was pre-treated with different HCl concentrations and contact times. The best combination of treatments was 20% HCl for 10 min. The constant substrate affinity Ks was 740 mg COD/L and the ratio COD/SO4(2-) was 0.71. At pH 5, higher production of biogenic sulfide was observed. The up-flowpacked bed bioreactor operated at a flow of 8.3 mL/min for 180 h to obtain removal efficiency (by sulfate-reducing activity) of 90% lead and 65% chromium. It is important to consider that peat moss is a natural adsorbent that further influences the removal efficiency of metal ions.

Evaluating a ‘biotic ligand model’ applied to chloride‐enhanced Cd uptake by Brassica juncea from nutrient solution at constant Cd2+ activity

Evidence of chloride‐enhanced cadmium uptake by plants in soil experiments has been reported. However, it is still unclear whether this finding is due to increased rates of Cd2+ diffusion to plant roots or the direct uptake of complexes such as CdCl+. A controlled hydroponic experiment was undertaken to distinguish and quantify the uptake rates of free and inorganic‐complexed cadmium and to model the uptake of cadmium by Indian mustard plants with a ‘biotic ligand model’. Plants were treated with NaCl (0 to 200 mM) including equivalent Na2SO4 treatments. Cadmium speciation in solution was calculated using the WHAM‐VI model. Results of the current trials showed that higher Cl− concentrations in solution generally resulted in greater cadmium accumulation by plants than predicted by the Cd2+ activity. Activities of Cd–chloro complexes showed the best correlations with the cadmium concentrations in the plants compared with the activity of Cd2+. The biotic ligand model showed a reasonable good fit for the plants when assuming competition by Cd2+ and CdCl+ for sorption sites at root level. The relative values of the two reaction constants suggest that root affinity for Cd2+ is 3.4 times greater than for CdCl+. Nevertheless this clearly indicates a substantial role for chloro‐complexed cadmium accumulation.

Photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI) from agricultural soil column leachates using zinc oxide under UV light irradiation

The photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI) from agricultural soil leachates irrigated with Cr(VI)-containing waste hydroponic solution was evaluated in this work. For this purpose, zinc oxide was used as a catalyst under UV irradiation (λ=365 nm ). The reduction of Cr(VI) was preliminarily evaluated on synthetic solutions with a concentration of 15 mg L −1 to optimize the catalyst loading and the solution pH and to determine the effect of organic matter. Greater removal of Cr(VI) was observed at pH 7, and the optimum catalyst loading was found to be 2 g L −1, which achieved an 84% Cr(VI) reduction in 6 h. The influence of dissolved organic matter on the reduction of Cr(VI) was evaluated through the addition of different concentrations of humic acid (HA) to the chromium solution. The removal of Cr(VI) was continuously enhanced as the HA concentration gradually increased from 0 to 14 mg L −1. The percentage of hexavalent chromium reduction from soil leachates was in the range of 13–99%, and the rate constant was significantly enhanced by the presence of organic compounds in the soil pore water. Thus, a marked synergistic effect between the photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI) and the organic matter in soil (e.g. humic substances) was observed in real samples and was similar to that observed in the Cr(VI) synthetic solution that contained HA.

Metal-Induced Production of a Novel Bioadsorbent Exopolysaccharide in a Native Rhodotorula mucilaginosa from the Mexican Northeastern Region

There is a current need to develop low-cost strategies to degrade and eliminate industrially used colorants discharged into the environment. Colorants discharged into natural water streams pose various threats, including: toxicity, degradation of aesthetics and inhibiting sunlight penetration into aquatic ecosystems. Dyes and colorants usually have complex aromatic molecular structures, which make them very stable and difficult to degrade and eliminate by conventional water treatment systems. The results in this work demonstrated that heavy metal-resistant Rhodotorula mucilaginosa strain UANL-001L isolated from the northeast region of Mexico produce an exopolysaccharide (EPS), during growth, which has colorant adsorption potential. The EPS produced was purified by precipitation and dialysis and was then physically and chemically characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, and chemical elemental analysis. Here, the ability of the purified EPS produced to adsorb methylene blue (MB), which served as a model colorant, is studied. MB adsorption by the EPS is found to follow Langmuir Adsorption Isotherm kinetics at 25°C. Further, by calculating the Langmuir constant the adsorption capabilities of the EPS produced by the Rhodotorula mucilaginosa strain UANL-001L is compared to that of other adsorbents, both, microbially produced and from agroindustrial waste. The total adsorption capacity of the EPS, from the Rhodotorula mucilaginosa strain UANL-001L, was found to be two-fold greater than the best bioadsorbents reported in the literature. Finally, apart from determining which heavy metals stimulated EPS production in the strain, the optimal conditions of pH, heavy metal concentration, and rate of agitation of the growing culture for EPS production, was determined. The EPS reported here has the potential of aiding in the efficient removal of colorants both in water treatment plants and in situ in natural water streams.

Polishing of municipal secondary effluent using native microalgae consortia

This work evaluates the use of native microalgae consortia for a dual role: polishing treatment of municipal wastewater effluents and microalgae biomass feedstock potential for biodiesel or biofertilizer production. An initial screening was undertaken to test N and P removal from secondary effluents and biomass production by 12 consortia. A subsequent treatment was performed by selected consortia (01 and 12) under three operational conditions: stirring (S), S + 12 h of daily aeration (S + A) and S + A enriched with CO2 (S + AC). All treatments resulted in compliance with environmental regulations (e.g. Directive 91/271/EEC) and high removal efficiency of nutrients: 64-79% and 80-94% of total N and PO43--P respectively. During the experiments it was shown that pH alkalinization due to microalgae growth benefits the chemical removal of ammonia and phosphorus. Moreover, advantages of pH increase could be accomplished by intermittent CO2 addition which in this research (treatment S + AC) promoted higher yield and lipid concentration. The resulting dry biomass analysis showed a low lipid content (0.5-4.3%) not ideal for biodiesel production. Moreover, the high rate of ash (29.3-53.0%) suggests that biomass could be readily recycled as a biofertilizer due to mineral supply and organic constituents formed by C, N and P (e.g. carbohydrate, protein, and lipids).

Antitumor activity of Chlorella sorokiniana and Scenedesmus sp. microalgae native of Nuevo León State, México

Cancer cases result in 13% of all deaths worldwide. Unwanted side effects in patients under conventional treatments have led to the search for beneficial alternative therapies. Microalgae synthesize compounds with known in vitro and in vivo biological activity against different tumor cell lines. Therefore, native microalgae from the State of Nuevo Leon, Mexico may become a potential source of antitumor agents. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the in vitro cytotoxic effect of Nuevo Leon regional Chlorella sorokiniana (Chlorellales: Chlorellaceae) and Scenedesmus sp. (Chlorococcales: Scenedesmaceae). Native microalgae crude organic extracts cytotoxicity against murine L5178Y-R lymphoma cell line and normal lymphocyte proliferation were evaluated using the MTT reduction colorimetric assay. Cell death pathway was analyzed by acridine orange and ethidium bromide staining, DNA degradation in 2% agarose gel electrophoresis and caspases activity. Results indicated significant (p < 0.05) 61.89% ± 3.26% and 74.77% ± 1.84% tumor cytotoxicity by C. sorokiniana and Scenedesmus sp. methanol extracts, respectively, at 500 µg/mL, by the mechanism of apoptosis. This study contributes to Mexican microalgae biodiversity knowledge and their potential as antitumor agent sources.