Optimization of immobilized urease enzyme on porous polymer for enhancing the stability, reusability and enzymatic kinetics using response surface methodology.

The study examines the immobilization of the urease enzyme on a range of High Internal Phase Emulsion (polyHIPE) materials, assessing characteristics, efficiency, and performance. It also investigates the impact of polyHIPE type, quantity, incubation time, and various parameters on the process and enzyme activity. Surface morphology and functional groups of polyHIPE materials were determined through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analyses, revealing significant alterations after modification with polyglutaraldehyde (PGA). The maximum immobilization efficiency of 95% was achieved by adding PGA to polyHIPE materials with an incubation period of 15 h. The optimized conditions for immobilized enzyme using a Box-Behnken design (BBD) of response surface methodology (RSM) were as follows: temperature (40.8 °C), pH (7.1) and NaCl concentration (0.007 g/L). Furthermore, the immobilized enzyme demonstrated remarkable reusability, retaining 75% of its initial activity after six cycles, and sustained shelf-life stability, retaining over 40% activity after 10 days at room temperature. Kinetic analyses revealed that immobilized urease exhibited higher affinity for the substrate, but lower rate of substrate conversion compared to the free enzyme. These findings offer valuable insights into optimizing urease immobilization processes and enhancing urease stability and activity, with potential applications in various fields, including biotechnology and biocatalysis.

Loose Nanofiltration Membrane Incorporating CeZnFe Layered Double Hydroxide with Enhanced Dye/Salt Separation Performance and Self-Cleaning Ability.

The high-salinity wastewater from the textile industry faces a significant challenge in effectively separating dyes and salts. In this study, a CeZnFe-layered double hydroxide (LDH)-incorporated nanofiltration (LNF) membrane was fabricated using the conventional interfacial polymerization (IP) technique to fractionate dyes and salts within the wastewater. The impact of CeZnFe LDH on various aspects of membrane performance was examined, including water flux, dye removal efficiency, dye/salt separation capability, self-cleaning ability, and membrane integrity. The addition of LDHs resulted in improved membrane surface hydrophilicity, thereby enhancing water flux. The optimized TFN membrane (0.050 wt% LDH in PIP solution) significantly improved pure water flux, exceeding 150%. All TFN membranes exhibited excellent performance in dye and salt fractionation (93% for Congo red, 2.6% for NaCl, and 40.7% for Na2SO4). Also, excellent self-cleaning ability was observed for the optimized membrane, exhibiting a remarkable water flux recovery rate after three operation cycles. Moreover, including CeZnFe LDH in the optimized TFN membrane played a significant role in enhancing membrane integrity. This study provides new inspiration for fabricating self-cleaning loose NF membranes using CeZnFe LDH for effective dye/salt separation.

Evaluation of volatile fatty acids and ammonia recovery approach from landfill leachate using pilot-scale mechanical vapor recompression.

Treatment of landfill leachate is still a current problem due to the high treatment costs in addition to the difficulty of meeting the discharge criteria. However, there is a more important issue that should be underlined; it is also valuable compounds that leachate contains. Conventional methods used for treatment of leachate such as membrane filtration, advanced oxidation processes, biological processes and their combinations have largely focused on treatment. However, the recovery of ammonia and volatile organic acids (VFA) in leachate is a promising approach both to overcome high treatment costs and to sustainably manage leachate. In this study, leachate treatment potential was investigated by mechanical vapor recompression (MVR) process, which offers an operational opportunity to recover high value-added products from leachate while providing an effective treatment for wastewater. Optimum operating conditions for the pilot-scale MVR process have been determined by laboratory-scale studies. VFAs were recovered as organic acid salts from the pilot-scale MVR distillate, while ammonia recovery was accomplished as ammonium sulfate from a highly contaminated concentrate stream. VFA and ammonia recovery rates were 89% and 99%, respectively. The treatment cost of leachate with MVR process was calculated according to the data obtained in pilot scale MVR studies considering the operating cost, chemical cost and economical contribution of value-added products. The results showed that the integrated MVR-crystallization process, all treatment costs are covered, with a net gain of 3.8 USD/m3. Consequently, MVR integrated crystallization process offers an economical and sustainable solution for the treatment of leachate by recovering valuable products.

Efficient removal of ammoniacal nitrogen from textile printing wastewater by electro-oxidation considering the effects of NaCl and NaOCl addition.

In this study, an electro-oxidation (EO) process using graphite electrodes as electrode pairs was used for the removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammoniacal nitrogen (NH4+-N), and color from real textile printing wastewater. The effects of solution pH, sodium chloride (NaCl) dosage, sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), which is the oldest and still most important chlorine-based bleach, dosage, and oxidation time were investigated on the removal efficiencies. Operating conditions for the EO reactor were applied to current density 1 mA/cm2, distance between the electrodes: 2 cm, 150 min operation time, and stirring speed of 500 rpm. At optimum conditions: pH 9.5, applied current density 1 mA/cm2, NaCl dosage of 8 g/L, NaOCl dosage of 44.4 mg/L and 150 min electro-oxidation time, the obtained removal efficiencies were 86.5% and 91.1% for chemical oxygen demand (COD) and ammoniacal nitrogen, respectively. Efficiency was increased to 91.1% for ammoniacal nitrogen from 21.7% after applying EO combined with NaOCl addition compared to individual NaOCl addition.

Investigation of the usage potential of calcium alginate beads functionalized with sodium dodecyl sulfate for wastewater treatment contaminated with waste motor oil.

In this study, calcium alginate (Ca-Alg) beads, an inexpensive, easily available, biodegradable material, were activated with anionic surfactant and used for the treatment of wastewater contaminated with waste motor oil. First, polyethyleneimine (PEI) was used to bind sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) onto the Ca-Alg beads' surface. Three different SDS concentrations (25, 50, & 100 mg/L) were prepared and treated with Ca-Alg beads for 1, 2, 4, 6, and 24 h. SDS binding yield reached equilibrium at the end of the 24 h, and the binding efficiencies of 25, 50, and 100 mg SDS/L were determined 84%, 72%, and 48%, respectively. The effect of pH between 2 and 10 was also investigated on oil adsorption. Maximum adsorption efficiency (77%) was obtained in the range of pH 6-8. After determining the optimum pH value for oil adsorption, the effect of beads amount (2.5-30 g/L) was also investigated on oil removal efficiency. When the amount of beads increased from 2.5 to 30 g/L, the oil adsorption efficiency increased from 77% to 95%. It was also observed that the oil adsorption efficiency increased when the size of the beads decreased from 4 to 1 mm. For the kinetic calculation, three different concentrations (250, 500, &1000 mg/L) of oily solution were prepared, and oil adsorption was investigated versus time. The kinetic studies for the adsorption of the oily solution using SDS functionalized Ca-Alg beads showed the second-order kinetics. When the initial oil concentration increased from 250 to 1000 mg/L, the amount of adsorbed oil molecules increased from 8.34 to 22.12 mg/g. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were used to explain the relationship between adsorbent and adsorbate, and Langmuir isotherm was the most suitable model because of its high regression coefficient (r2 ) value. Column studies were also carried out, and it was concluded that the proposed adsorbent can be used effectively in the treatment of oily wastewater. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Although there are numerous adsorption studies and studies on the use of alginate beads in various fields in the literature, its use in oil treatment has not been found to our knowledge. The study aims to produce a selective adsorbent for the removal of oil from water by functionalizing the surface of the alginate beads with active agents. In conventional adsorption studies, pollutants are transported from liquid phase to solid phase. With the proposed new adsorbent material, oils will be specifically removed from wastewater and used as fuel. Thus, obtaining an organic origin adsorbent with high calorific value constitutes the original value of the study. In addition, no secondary pollutants will emerge after the adsorption process.