Microorganisms play a vital role in heavy metal contaminated soil and wastewater by the mechanisms of biosorption. In this study, heavy metal resistant bacteria were isolated from the effluent samples of an electroplating industry and the biosorption of copper (Cu), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb). These isolates were characterized to evaluate their applicability for heavy metal removal from industr...

Cymbopogon flexuosus, lemongrass, and C. martinii, palmarosa, are perennial grasses grown to produce essential oils for the fragrance industry. The objectives of this study were (1) to evaluate biomass and oil yields as a function of nitrogen and sulfur fertilization, and (2) to characterize their utility for lignocellulosic ethanol compared to Panicum virgatum (switchgrass). Mean biomass yield...

The use of thermo-mechanical pulping (TMP), an existing and well known technology in the pulp and paper industry, is proposed as a potential pretreatment pathway of agriculture biomass for monomeric sugar production in preparation for further fermentation into alcohol species. Three agricultural biomass types, corn stover, wheat straw, and sweet sorghum bagasse, were pretreated in a TMP unit un...

Lignocellulose forms the structural framework of woody plant biomass and represents the most abundant carbon source in the biosphere. Turnover of woody biomass is a critical component of the global carbon cycle, and the enzymes involved are of increasing industrial importance as industry moves away from fossil fuels to renewable carbon resources. Shipworms are marine bivalve molluscs that diges...

1 Corn grain produced on fertile cropland is used for both human and livestock consumption. However, co-production of distiller’s grains notwithstanding, the use of corn grain and fertile cropland to produce fuel remains controversial, driving interest in cellulosic fuels generated from vegetative (non-grain) plant biomass (Biello, 2011; Wetzstein and Wetzstein, 2011; Bonin and Lal, 2012). Bioe...

Oxytetracycline (OTC) and sulfamethoxazole (SMX) are two of most widely used antibiotics in livestock and poultry industry. After consumption of antibiotics, a major portion of these compounds is excreted through the feces and urine of animals. Land application of antibiotic-treated animal wastes has caused increasing concern about their adverse effects on ecosystem health. In this regard, inco...

BACKGROUND Microalgal triacylglycerides (TAGs) are a promising sustainable feedstock for the biofuel, chemical and food industry. However, industrial production of microalgal products for commodity markets is not yet economically viable, largely because of low microalgal productivity. The latter is strictly dependent on initial-biomass-specific (IBS) light availability (i.e. ratio of light impi...

Membrane bioreactor (MBR) is a promising alternative to conventional wastewater treatment methods. However this process is still under-used due to its high running costs. Its main power requirement comes from aeration, which is used to supply dissolved oxygen to the micro-organisms and to maintain the solids in suspension. In addition, in submerged MBRs, aeration is used for membrane cleaning. ...

Organic aerosols are important atmospheric components, and their formation and sources represent important aspects of urban air quality and health effects. Asia, including India, is the largest global source of aerosol particles due to regional natural advection (e.g. desert and soil dust) and anthropogenic activities (e.g. emissions from traffic, industry and AC C EP TE D M AN U SC R IP T ACCE...