Removal of Residual Oils from Palm Oil Mill Effluent by Adsorption on Natural Zeolite

The adsorption of residue oil from palm oil mill effluent using natural zeolite was investigated in this study. The adsorption was performed in batch mode, and the effect of different operational parameters such as pH, dose of adsorbent, stirring rate, contact time and initial oil concentration were explored. It was found that the pH plays a major role in the adsorption process. Isotherm data best fitted with the Freundlich model, and kinetic data followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The results obtained demonstrated that the oil removal efficiencies by natural zeolite were up to 70?% at a pH of 3.0 and 50?min of contact time. The adsorbent material also has been characterised by X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence and scanning electron microscopy.     

Removal of Fatty Acids from Palm Oil Effluent by Combined Electro-Fenton and Biological Oxidation Process

The objective of this paper is to design a pilot plant electrochemical reactor and to prove the operational concept of the electrochemical production of ferrate in situ and its online application for sewage treatment. To that end, the first part of this paper focuses on the analysis of the main engineering aspects of the reactor and the electrochemical process that affect the ferrate production, using laboratory scale experiments such as the interelectrode gap, the space-time yield, the area/volume (A/V) ratio, the current efficiency, and the energy consumption. The second part focuses on the production of ferrate using a pilot plant scale to prove the operational concept of the electrochemical generation of ferrate in situ and its online application as a step towards its full scale application for water and wastewater treatment.     

Bioremediation of Pulp and Paper Mill Effluent by Tannic Acid Degrading Enterobacter sp.

Wastewaters from pulp and paper mills are highly toxic and around 250 xenobiotic compounds have been reported in the effluents. Tannic acid degrading bacterium, Enterobacter sp. was isolated from soil by tannic acid enrichment. This isolate was used for bioremediation of pulp and paper mill effluents. Parameters like temperature, agitation, inoculum size and treatment duration were optimized by using Qualiteck-4 software. Reduction in lignin 73% and colour up to 82% was also observed. Encouraging results were observed is reduction of COD, BOD with 16-h retention time in batch culture.     

Growth of Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) in Composts of Olive Oil Mill Waste with Organic Household Refuse

This study highlights the effects of composts of olive mill wastes and organic household refuse with a pH range of 7 to 7.98 and a C/N ratio between 14.9 and 22, to improve the growth and the mineral nutrition of the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.). After 7 months of cultivation, plants amended with composts showed higher biomass production than the controls. Compost C1, i.e., the basic compost with no additives phosphate, at 100% and 45% doubled the production of dry matter in comparison with control plants. The rise of root biomass was considerably greater for plants grown with compost C1 without phosphate. In contrast, the shoot biomass was highly significant for composts C2 and C3 enriched with phosphate. The control plants, grown without amendment, showed significantly higher specific root length (SRL) and specific leaf length (SLL). The efficiency of compost application was reflected by the biomass rise, the number of emerged leaves (2.6–4), and the rise in leaf area (3.3 to 6.7 cm²) by improving the mineral nutrition of the date palm. The composts of olive mill waste and organic household refuse supplemented with natural rock phosphate, or not, generated a notable agronomic added value.     

Characterization of E1 Kraft Mill Effluent by Toxicity Identification Evaluation Methodology

In order to recover and reuse water in the Kraft mill process, evaluation of separate streams is required to identify toxic compounds or microcontaminants. The stage E1 Kraft effluent, corresponding to the first extraction step of the bleaching Kraft mill process, provides the main toxic compounds found in the final process effluent. This paper uses the toxicity identification evaluation (TIE) procedure for the physicochemical and ecotoxicological characterization of the E1 Kraft effluent. To distinguish the most important toxic compounds, a physicochemical characterization and Phase I of the TIE procedure were performed. The acute toxic effect of the E1 Kraft effluent and treated fraction was performed on Daphnia magna. Results show that untreated E1 Kraft effluent exerts an acute toxic effect on D. magna (24 h LC₅₀?=?27.6%), where the E1 Kraft effluent is characterized by pH 10.5, chemical organic demand (COD) 1,348.8 mg/l, and biological organic demand (BOD₅) 397.5 mg/l, while total phenolic compounds and color are 853.7 mg/l and 0.204 1?×?1 cm, respectively. Additionally, Cu⁺² (0.51 mg/l) and Fe⁺² (0.64 mg/l) were detected. With respect to different treatments, our results indicate that activated carbon, anionic and cationic exchange treatments were able to reduce more that 45% of E1 Kraft effluent’s acute toxicity and that the ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid treatment was able to reduce the E1 Kraft effluent’s acute toxicity to around 75% and the Cu⁺² concentration to 0.019 mg/l. Moreover, specific analysis of heavy metals and organic compounds by GC-MS show that the main compound responsible for the toxicity was Cu⁺², whose tolerance level on D. magna of the 0.12 mg/l.     

Removal of Bisphenol A from Aqueous Solution by Activated Carbon Derived from Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch

Land use specific deposition velocities of atmospheric trace gases and aerosols—particularly of reactive nitrogen compounds—are a fundamental input variable for a variety of deposition models. Although the concept is known to have shortcomings—especially with regard to bi-directional exchange—the often limited availability of concentration data and meteorological input variables make it a valuable simplification for regional modeling of deposition fluxes. In order to meet the demand for an up-to-date overview of recent publications on measurements and modeling studies, we compiled a database of ammonia (NH₃) deposition velocities published from 2004 to 2013. Observations from a total of 42 individual studies were averaged using an objective weighing scheme and classified into seven land use categories. Weighted average and median deposition velocities are 2.2 and 2.1 cm s^?1 for coniferous forests, 1.5 and 1.2 cm s^?1 for mixed forests, 1.1 and 0.9 cm s^?1 for deciduous forests, 0.9 and 0.7 cm s^?1 for semi-natural sites, 0.7 and 0.8 cm s^?1 for urban sites, 0.7 and 0.6 cm s^?1 for water surfaces, and 1.0 and 0.4 cm s^?1 for agricultural sites, respectively. Thus, values presented in this compilation were considerably lower than those found in former studies (e.g., VDI 2006). Reasons for the mismatch were likely due to different land use classification, different averaging methods, choices of measurement locations, and improvements in measurement and in modeling techniques. Both data and code used for processing are made available as supplementary material to this article.     

Assessment of Genetic Diversity in Oil Palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) using Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP)

A total of 359 accessions of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) originating from 11 African countries (Nigeria, Cameroon, Congo DR, Tanzania, Angola, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Ghana, Madagascar and Gambia) were characterized using the RFLP method using the standard Deli dura as the check. Genomic DNA from each sample was digested using five restriction enzymes and hybridized with four oil palm cDNA probes. Data were analyzed using Biosys-1 computer software to calculate the genetic variability parameters. In general, all the collections exhibited higher levels of diversity than the standard variety, Deli dura. The standard variety, Deli dura, lost 36 alleles as compared to the natural populations indicating a reduction in genetic variability. Material from Nigeria showed the highest mean number of alleles per locus (1.9) and percentage of polymorphic loci (67.2%). These findings, combined with others, suggest that Nigeria may be the center of diversity of wild oil palm. It further suggests that oil palm natural populations maybe possessing adequate genetic variability that are potentially useful for improvement programs.     

Kinetics of carotenoids degradation during the storage of einkorn (Triticum monococcum L. ssp. monococcum) and bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L. ssp. aestivum) flours

To evaluate the effect of storage temperature, the degradation kinetics of carotenoids in wholemeal and white flour of einkorn cv. Monlis and bread wheat cv. Serio, stored at -20, 5, 20, 30, and 38 degrees C, was assessed by normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. In Monlis, the carotenoids content (8.1 and 9.8 mg/kg for wholemeal and white flour, respectively) was 8-fold higher than in Serio (1.0 and 1.1 mg/kg). Only lutein and zeaxanthin were detected in bread wheat, while significant quantities of (alpha and beta)-carotene and beta-cryptoxanthin were observed in einkorn. Carotenoids degradation was influenced by temperature and time, following first-order kinetics. The degradation rate was similar in wholemeal and white flour; however, loss of lutein and total carotenoids was faster in Serio than in Monlis. The activation energy E(a) ranged from 35.2 to 52.5 kJ/mol. Temperatures not exceeding 20 degrees C better preserve carotenoids content and are recommended for long-term storage.     

Epithiospecifier protein from broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. ssp. italica) inhibits formation of the anticancer agent sulforaphane

In some cruciferous plants, epithiospecifier protein (ESP) directs myrosinase (EC 3.2.3.1)-catalyzed hydrolysis of alkenyl glucosinolates toward epithionitrile formation. Here, for the first time, we show that ESP activity is negatively correlated with the extent of formation of the health-promoting phytochemical sulforaphane in broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. ssp. italica). A 43 kDa protein with ESP activity and sequence homology to the ESP of Arabidopsis thaliana was cloned from the broccoli cv. Packman and expressed in Escherichia coli. In a model system, the recombinant protein not only directed myrosinase-dependent metabolism of the alkenyl glucosinolate epi-progoitrin [(2S)-2-hydroxy-3-butenyl glucosinolate] toward formation of an epithionitrile but also directed myrosinase-dependent hydrolysis of the glucosinolate glucoraphanin [4-(methylsulfinyl)butyl glucosinolate] to form sulforaphane nitrile, in place of the isothiocyanate sulforaphane. The importance of this finding is that, whereas sulforaphane has been shown to have anticarcinogenic properties, sulforaphane nitrile has not. Genetic manipulation designed to attenuate or eliminate expression of ESP in broccoli could increase the fractional conversion of glucoraphanin to sulforaphane, enhancing potential health benefits.     

Decolorization of Textile Effluent by Soluble Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L) Seeds Peroxidase

Peroxidase from fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) seeds was highly effective in the decolorization of textile effluent. Effluent was recalcitrant to the action of fenugreek seeds peroxidase (FSP). However, in order to effectively decolorize effluent by peroxidase, the role of six redox mediators has been investigated. The maximum decolorization of textile effluent was observed in the presence of 1.0 mM 1-hydroxybenzotrizole, 0.7 mM H₂O₂, and 0.4 U ml^?1 of FSP in the buffer of pH 5.0 at 40°C in 2.5 h. The decolorization of textile effluent in a batch process by peroxidase was 85% in 5 h, whereas the complete decolorization of textile effluent by membrane-entrapped FSP was observed within 11 h of its operation. The absorption spectra of treated effluent exhibited a marked diminution in the absorbance at different wavelengths compared to untreated effluent.     

Ferti-irrigation Effect of Paper Mill Effluent on Agronomical Practices of Phaseolus vulgaris (L.) in Two Seasons

The potential of agrobased paper mill effluent (PME) as ferti-irrigant was assessed. Ferti-irrigation responses to 5, 10, 25, 50, 75, and 100% of PME doses on Phaseolus vulgaris L., cv. Annapurna, in the rainy and summer seasons were investigated. The fertigant concentrations produced changes in electrical conductivity (EC), pH, organic carbon (OC), sodium (Na⁺), potassium (K⁺), calcium (Ca²⁺), magnesium (Mg²⁺), total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), phosphate (PO₄^3–), sulfate (SO₄^2–), iron (Fe²⁺), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), and zinc (Zn) of the soil in both seasons. The agronomic performances of P. vulgaris increased from 5 to 25% in both seasons compared to controls. The accumulation of metals increased in soil and P. vulgaris from 5 to 100% PME concentrations in both seasons. The contamination factor (Cf) of various metals was in order of Cr > Mn > Cu > Cd > Zn for soil and Mn > Zn > Cu > Cd > Cr for P. vulgaris in both seasons after fertigation with PME. Therefore, PME can be used to improve the soil fertility and yield of P. vulgaris after appropriate dilution.     

外源硫化氢对盐胁迫下加工番茄幼苗光合参数及叶绿素荧光特性的影响

为探究外源硫化氢(H_2S)对盐胁迫下加工番茄幼苗光合作用和光合荧光参数的影响,以耐盐性不同的2个加工番茄KT-7(耐盐性强)和KT-32(耐盐性弱)为材料,采用分光光度法、CIRAS-3型光合仪和Imaging-PAM调制荧光成像系统分别测定光合色素含量、光合参数和叶绿素荧光参数。结果表明,外源H_2S提高了盐胁迫下加工番茄幼苗的生长及叶绿素a、叶绿素b、胡萝卜素含量、净光合速率(P_n)、气孔导度(G_s)、叶片蒸腾速率(Tr)、PSⅡ最大光化学效率(F_v/F_m)和PSⅡ实际光化学效率(ΦPSⅡ);降低了胞间CO_2浓度(Ci)、PSⅡ调节性能量耗散的量子产额[Y(NPQ)]和非光化学猝灭系数(NPQ);而PSⅡ非调节性能量耗散的量子产额[Y(NO)]稳定在较低水平。此外,外源H_2S对KT-32的缓解效应强于KT-7。综上所述,外源H_2S通过提高加工番茄幼苗叶片的光合色素量和光合电子传递效率,有效地缓解盐胁迫对加工番茄叶片PSⅡ的伤害。本研究结果为探究外源H_2S增强加工番茄耐盐性研究提供了科学依据。     

Effects of Paper Mill Effluent Irrigation on Agronomical Characteristics of Vigna radiata (L.) in Two Different Seasons

Seven rates of paper mill effluent (viz., 0%, 5%, 10%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%) were used for irrigation of V. radiata (mung bean) along with a control (bore well water). The effluent had significant (P < 0.001) effects on electrical conductivity (EC), pH, chlorides (Cl^?), organic carbon (OC), bicarbonates (HCO₃ ^?), carbonates (CO₃ ^2?), sodium (Na⁺), potassium (K⁺), calcium (Ca²⁺), magnesium (Mg²⁺), iron (Fe²⁺), total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), nitrate (NO₃ ^2?), phosphate (PO₄ ^3?), sulfate (SO₄ ^2?), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), and lead (Pb) and insignificant (P > 0.05) effects on moisture content, water-holding capacity (WHC), and bulk density (BD) in both the cultivated seasons: rainy (Kharif) and summer (Zaid) season. The agronomical performance of V. radiata was increased from 5% to 50% in the rainy season and 5% to 25% in the summer season as compared to the control. The enrichment factor (Ef) of various heavy metals were ordered for soil as Pb > Cd, Cr > Zn > Cu in rainy season and Pb > Cd > Zn > Cr > Cu in summer season and for V. radiata plants as Cu > Zn > Cr > Pb > Cd in rainy season and Cu > Zn > Cr > Pb > Cd in summer season after irrigation with paper mill effluent.     

生态沟渠对中华鳖温室养殖排放水体的净化效果

研究采用生态沟渠技术体系——"水生植物(凤眼莲,Eichhornia crassipes)-微生物(枯草芽孢杆菌,Bacillus subtilis)-水生动物(螺蛳,Margarya)"共生系统联合净化处理中华鳖温室养殖排放水体,并连续数月采样分析处理污水中各项主要营养盐污染物指标的动态变化规律。结果表明:经过近5个月的生态沟渠技术体系处理,中华鳖温室养殖排放水体中总氮(TN)浓度减少75%,铵氮(NH4+-N)浓度减少91%,总磷(TP)浓度减少83%,化学需氧量(CODCr)减少62%,溶解氧(DO)增加近4倍,水体酸碱度(pH)维持在中性水平,处理污水由初始的黄色或棕色、浑浊逐渐转变为微黄色、微浑浊,且无异味。由此可知,利用生态沟渠技术体系——"水生植物-微生物-水生动物"共生系统联合修复中华鳖温室养殖排放水体效果显著,具有良好的推广和应用前景。     

Production of seafood flavor from red hake (Urophycis chuss) by enzymatic hydrolysis

Protein hydrolysates were prepared as a natural flavor stock from the red hake (Urophycis chuss) headed-gutted (H&G) mince and frame mince using commercial enzymes, Flavourzyme and Savorase, at the natural pH of fish (6.8) and the water/fish ratio of 2:5. The addition of 1.5% NaCl and 0.4% STPP improved the flavor quality of the hydrolysate by masking bitterness and off-flavor. A 6 h hydrolysis of H&G mince with Flavourzyme yielded a hydrolysate of the highest acceptability. Hydrolysis increased the concentration of most free amino acids except Arg and His. Leu, Lys, and Arg were predominant free amino acids in the hydrolysates, whereas Leu and Arg were major ones in the cooking juice. The concentration of Glu responsible for umami taste was increased by 6-9 times upon hydrolysis. Hydrolysates contained higher percentages of free amino acids giving both umami and sweet tastes than did cooking juice.     

大白菜表达序列标签SSR标记分析*

对大白菜（Brassica campestris L．ssppekinensis）13007个EST序列进行拼接共得到7714个片段重叠群（contig），其中10．4％（890个）非冗余EST含有SSR标记（EST-SSR），标记间平均间隔距离为3．9kb，单、双和三核苷酸重复序列大约各占1／3左右。CDS所包含的三核苷酸重复序列最多，而且AAG／CTT重复序列的含量最高。通过同源性比较分析，获得功能已知的SSR-ESTs774个，共计含有846个SSR，其中50．2％位于5＇-UTR，31．4％位于3＇-UTR，18．4％位于CDS。实验选取123个SSR座位设计引物，利用芜菁花叶病毒（Turnip mosaic virus，TuMV）的高抗和高感大白菜F6代自交系材料各2份，分析EST-SSR标记多态性。结果表明，其中37个标记可进行有效扩增，但是没有表现出多态性，23个标记（18．7％）至少在1份材料中具有多态性。对这些EST-SSR标记在大白菜和其它芸薹属植物的系统发育关系分析、遗传作图和基因定位的应用进行了讨论。     

Effects of genotype and weed control on the nutrient composition of winter spelt (Triticum aestivum ssp. spelta L.) and common wheat (Triticum aestivum ssp. vulgare)

The renaissance of spelt is associated with the development of alternative farming and a trend to maintain biodiversity. The present study carried out a comparison between two methods of weeding (mechanical and chemical) as well as a cereal cultivar influence on chemical composition of spelt and wheat. The research material was taken from field experiments carried out during three years. In order to assess the chemical composition, the following cereal cultivars were used: lines of winter spelt – STH 8 and STH 11 and a winter common wheat cv. Tonacja. In all cases, the overall protein content in spelt was significantly higher than in common wheat. Spelt grain is also richer in fats than common wheat. A visible tendency to higher concentration of raw fibre was observed when mechanical weeding was applied. Also, mechanical weeding as well as the variety significantly influenced β-glucan content. The study of the impact of a weeding method and a variety does not clearly show the direction of the amino acid content changes. The research indicates that there are ample opportunities to shape the level of nutrients, which decide about spelt grain application in the food industry through agronomic factors (methods of weeding and cultivar).     

Use of Phytases in Ethanol Production from E‐Mill Corn Processing

Effects of phytase addition, germ, and pericarp fiber recovery were evaluated for the E‐Mill dry grind corn process. In the E‐Mill process, corn was soaked in water followed by incubation with starch hydrolyzing enzymes. For each phytase treatment, an additional phytase incubation step was performed before incubation with starch hydrolyzing enzymes. Germ and pericarp fiber were recovered after incubation with starch hydrolyzing enzymes. Preliminary studies on phytase addition resulted in germ with higher oil (40.9%), protein (20.0%), and lower residual starch (12.2%) contents compared to oil (39.1%), protein (19.2%), and starch (18.1%) in germ from the E‐Mill process without phytase addition. Phytase treatment resulted in lower residual starch contents in pericarp fiber (19.9%) compared to pericarp fiber without phytase addition (27.4%). Results obtained led to further investigation of effects of phytase on final ethanol concentrations, germ, pericarp fiber, and DDGS recovery. Final ethanol concentrations were higher in E‐Mill processing with phytase addition (17.4% v/v) than without addition of phytase (16.6% v/v). Incubation with phytases resulted in germ with 4.3% higher oil and 2.5% lower residual starch content compared to control process. Phytase treatment also resulted in lower residual starch and higher protein contents (6.58 and 36.5%, respectively) in DDGS compared to DDGS without phytase incubations (8.14 and 34.2%, respectively). Phytase incubation in E‐Mill processing may assist in increasing coproduct values as well as lead to increased ethanol concentrations.     

小白菜硝酸还原酶基因的克隆与初步鉴定

蔬菜是一种易于富集硝酸盐的植物性食物，人体摄入的硝酸盐大部分（70％～80％）来自蔬菜。然而，我国蔬菜生产中氮肥用量迅速提高，造成了蔬菜，特别是喜氮的叶菜类蔬菜硝酸盐含量过高。不同蔬菜硝酸盐含量存在很大差异，同一种蔬菜不同品种体内硝酸盐含量也存在差异。不同器官累积硝酸盐的能力不同，硝酸盐累积取决于硝态氮的吸收与同化的结果。     

Enhancement in Nutrient Accumulation and Growth of Oil Palm Seedlings Caused by PGPR Under Field Nursery Conditions

Abstract

Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) (e.g., Azospirillum and Bacillus spp.) have been reported to enhance growth and fix N₂ with several nonleguminous crops. These rhizobacteria have the potential to be applied to oil palm seedlings and, consequently, reduce the cost of nitrogenous fertilizer. The rhizobacteria are also known as a bioenhancer for the ability to increase root growth and enhanced water and nutrient absorption by the host plants. An experiment was carried out in the field nursery station, Federal Land Development Authorities (FELDA), Bukit Mendi, Pahang, Malaysia, to observe the effects of PGPR inoculation on enhanced nutrient accumulation and plant growth (tops and roots) of oil palm seedlings under field nursery conditions. The inoculation process showed positive response in enhancing higher accumulation of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) in the plant tissues, enhanced root dry weight and top growth (dry matter and leaf chlorophyll content) of the host plants under field nursery conditions.