Yuancai Lv

Interaction among multiple microorganisms and effects of nitrogen and carbon supplementations on lignin degradation

The mutual interactions among the consortium constructed by four indigenous bacteria and five inter-kingdom fusants and the effects of nitrogen and carbon supplementations on lignin degradation and laccase activity were investigated. Analyzed by Plackett-Burman and central composite design, the microbial consortium were optimized, Bacillus sp. (B) and PE-9 and Pseudomonas putida (Pp) and PE-9 had significant interactions on lignin degradation based on a 5% level of significance. The nitrogen and carbon supplementations played an important role in lignin degradation and laccase production. The ultimate lignin degradation efficiency of 96.0% and laccase activity of 268U/L were obtained with 0.5g/L of ammonium chloride and 2g/L of sucrose. Results suggested that a stable and effective microbial consortium in alkalescent conditions was successfully achieved through the introduction of fusants, which was significant for its industrial application.

Synthesis of SiO2 coated zero-valent iron/palladium bimetallic nanoparticles and their application in a nano-biological combined system for 2,2′,4,4′-tetrabromodiphenyl ether degradation

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are emerging persistent organic pollutants and the degradation of PBDEs is still a significant challenge owing to their extreme persistence and toxicity. In this study, the remediation of 2,2′,4,4′-tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE47) was investigated by employing a nano-biological combined system with SiO2-coated zero-valent iron/palladium bimetallic nanoparticles (SiO2-nZVI/Pd) as a reductant and Pseudomonas putida as a biocatalyst. The SiO2-nZVI/Pd exhibited much lower toxicity to the P. putida strain and higher reactivity in debromination than nZVI/Pd. The strain could grow well when the dosage was up to 1.0 g L−1. During the combined process, BDE47 (5 mg L−1) was completely debrominated to diphenyl ether (DE) within 2 h by SiO2-nZVI/Pd (1.0 g L−1) and then DE was completely degraded by P. putida after 4 days in sequential aerobic biodegradation. All the possible intermediates in the whole process were identified by ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS) analyses. The detection of BDE17, BDE7, BDE1 and DE indicated that rapidly stepwise debromination preferentially occurred at para positions in the anaerobic stage. Moreover, during aerobic biodegradation by P. putida, a number of phenolic compounds, such as phenol, catechol and hydroquinone were generated via ring opening by dioxygenation and further mineralized through the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA). Importantly, this combined process achieved rapid mineralization of PBDEs and avoided the generation of some highly toxic products like bromophenols and HO–PBDEs, which might have promising application prospects in the remediation of halogenated POPs.

Enhanced selection of micro-aerobic pentachlorophenol degrading granular sludge

Column-type combined reactors were designed to cultivate micro-aerobic pentachlorophenol (PCP) degrading granular sludge under oxygen-limited conditions (0.1-0.2 mgL(-1)) over 39-day experimental period. Micro-aerobic granular had both anaerobic activity (SMA: 2.34 mMCH4/hg VSS) and aerobic activity (SOUR: 2.21 mMO2/hg VSS). Metabolite analysis results revealed that PCP was sequentially dechlorinated to TCP, DCP, and eventually to MCP. Methanogens were not directly involved in the dechlorination of PCP, but might played a vital role in stabilizing the overall structure of the granule sludge. For Eubacteria, the Shannon Index (2.09 in inoculated granular sludge) increased both in micro-aerobic granular sludge (2.61) and PCP-degradation granular sludge (2.55). However, for Archaea, it decreased from 2.53 to 1.85 and 1.84, respectively. Although the Shannon Index demonstrated slight difference between micro-aerobic granular sludge and PCP-degradation granular sludge, the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) indicated obvious variance of the microbial composition, revealing significant effect of micro-aerobic condition and PCP on microbial community. Furthermore, nucleotide sequencing indicated that the main microorganisms for PCP degradation might be related to Actinobacterium and Sphingomonas. These results provided insights into situ bioremediation of environments contaminated by PCP and had practical implications for the strategies of PCP degradation.

Cellulose/SnS2 composite with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity prepared by microwave-assisted ionic liquid method

A facile method was used to synthesize cellulose/SnS2 composites (CE/SnS2) by a microwave-assisted ionic liquid (MAIL) method. The effects of ionic liquid types on the structure and properties of SnS2 samples were investigated. Results showed that the ionic liquid played an important role in the control over the morphology, size and photocatalytic performance of the SnS2 particles. The as-synthesized CE/SnS2 composites were systematically investigated by XRD, SEM, TEM, BET, XPS, UV-visible and PL. It was demonstrated that the obtained CE/SnS2 composites showed three-dimensional architecture and excellent visible-light photocatalytic activity as photocatalyst for RhB degradation. The superior visible-light photocatalytic performances for composites were ascribed to their composite structure and the synergistic effects between flower-like SnS2 and cellulose.

Surfactant-assisted hydrothermal synthesis of rGO/SnIn4S8 nanosheets and their application in complete removal of Cr(VI)

To solve the problem of contamination of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)), visible-light-driven graphene-based ternary metal chalcogenide nanosheets (rGO/SnIn4S8) were synthesized via a one-pot surfactant-assisted hydrothermal method for the photoreduction of Cr(VI). Characterizations demonstrated that SnIn4S8 nanosheets were uniformly distributed on the surface of rGO and the as-synthesized nanosheets exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity under visible light. In addition, the effects of pH, concentration of critic acid, holes and electron scavengers on the reduction of Cr(VI) were systematically investigated. It was found that 50 mg L−1 of Cr(VI) could be completely removed within 30 min at pH 2 when citric acid served as a hole scavenger. Kinetic studies showed that the photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI) processes obeyed the pseudo first order model. Further study indicated that the Cr(III) species was immediately adsorbed onto the surface of the rGO/SnIn4S8 nanosheets after photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI). Additionally, recycling results suggested that rGO/SnIn4S8 nanosheets possessed high recycle ability and stability after repeated use (5 times). This effective and promising work might provide a new strategy for the photoreduction of Cr(VI) and complete removal of chromium from effluent through the novel photocatalyst rGO/SnIn4S8.

One-Pot Hydrothermal Synthesis, Characterization, and Desulfurization Performance of ZnFe2O4/AC Composites

ZnFe2O4/AC composites were prepared by the one-pot hydrothermal method using the activated carbon (AC) as a carrier. The synthesis conditions were optimized by a single-factor experiment. The structural, textural, and surface properties of the adsorbent have been comprehensively characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) measurements, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. The SO2 removal capacities of the composites were investigated via testing the adsorption capacity at the self-made desulfurization equipment. The results show that the adsorption capacity of ZnFe2O4/AC composites is much higher than that of the AC and ZnFe2O4 samples, respectively. The composite overcomes the disadvantages of the traditional sintering, showing a very high desulfurization performance. The breakthrough time was 147 min, and the sulfur adsorption capacity could reach 23.67% in the desulfurization performance test.

Positive effects of bio-nano Pd (0) toward direct electron transfer in Pseudomona putida and phenol biodegradation

This study constructed a biological-inorganic hybrid system including Pseudomonas putida (P. putida) and bioreduced Pd (0) nanoparticles (NPs), and inspected the influence of bio-nano Pd (0) on the direct electron transfer and phenol biodegradation. Scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) showed that bio-nano Pd (0) (~10 nm) were evenly dispersed on the surface and in the periplasm of P. putida. With the incorporation of bio-nano Pd (0), the redox currents of bacteria in the cyclic voltammetry (CV) became higher and the oxidation current increased as the addition of lactate, while the highest increase rates of two electron transfer system (ETS) rates were 63.97% and 33.79%, respectively. These results indicated that bio-nano Pd (0) could directly promote the electron transfer of P. putida. In phenol biodegradation process, P. putida-Pd (0)- 2 showed the highest k (0.2992 h-1), μm (0.035 h-1) and Ki (714.29 mg/L) and the lowest apparent Ks (76.39 mg/L). The results of kinetic analysis indicated that bio-nano Pd (0) markedly enhanced the biocatalytic efficiency, substrate affinity and the growth of cells compared to native P. putida. The positive effects of bio-nano Pd (0) to the electron transfer of P. putida would promote the biodegradation of phenol.

Synthesis of core-shell fluorinated acrylate copolymers and its application as finishing agent for textile

Core-shell fluorinated acrylate copolymers emulsion was thus synthesized via the core-shell emulsion polymerization with the fluorinated monomers and acrylic monomers as the main raw materials and its properties were studied. PFMA, the fluorinated acrylate monomers, was synthesized by the esterification of perfluorooctanoyl chloride (PFOC) and hydroxypropyl methacrylate (HPMA). Then the core-shell fluorinated acrylate copolymers emulsion with a poly(MMA/BA/St) core and a poly(PFMA/MMA/BA) shell was synthesized via a starved semi-continuous core-shell emulsion polymerization method by using KPS and sodium bicarbonate as the initiator/buffer system and SDS/Twain 80 as the commixture emulsifier. Lastly, the synthesized copolymers was applied as textile finishing agent for cotton textile. The results of FT-IR and NMR indicated that PFMA had been synthesized as expected and effectively combined in the emulsion copolymerization. The GPC, zeta potential, TEM and DSC showed that the particles had uniform spherical core-shell structure with a diameter of 65-150 nm, and the distribution and emulsion stability was satisfactory. As XPS, FESEM and AFM shown, a hydrophobic structure which was similar to the structure of the lotus leaf were formed and the surface hydrophobicity of the films can be improved. Based on the analysis of DSC, thermal stabilities of the films were enhanced with the increase of fluorine content. Besides, FESEM of textiles showed that the surface of treated textiles were smooth and the edges were clear and visible, indicating significant improvement of the performance on water and oil repellent.

Research of complex process of naphthalene superplasticizer and impact of cement paste fluidity

In this paper, an efficient naphthalene superplasticizer is obtained by improving the production process, shortening the production cycle. Considering the performance and production costs of the water-reducing agent, the optimized mixture ratio was obtained by mixing the product with different kinds of compound retarder. Meanwhile, the cement paste fluidity of the complex product in different time, cement, water-cement ratio and superplasticizer content was also determined to be compared with the commercially available superplasticizer and characterized performance of naphthalene compound water-reducing agent. The results showed that the optimal mass ratio of naphthalene superplasticizer, sodium gluconate, sodium tripolyphosphate and lignin sulfonate is 1∶0.042∶0.042∶0.305. The cement paste fluidity of the self-made naphthalene superplasticizer mixture prevails over the commercially available superplasticizer.