OBJECTIVE To study the correlation of toxicity with biodegradability (BODT) in order to promote QSBR development and understand the degradation mechanism. METHODS Toxicity of substituted phenols to river bacteria was determined by the turbidities that were measured using a spectrophotometer (UV-190) at 530 nm against a blank control. The biodegradability of substituted phenols was expressed a...

This study quantitatively assessed three limiting factors for current density in a microbial electrochemical cell (MXC) treating domestic wastewater: (1) buffer concentration, (2) biodegradability, and (3) particulates. Buffer concentration was not significant for current density in the MXC fed with filtered domestic wastewater (180 mg COD/L). Current density reduced by 67% in the MXC fed with ...

The biodegradability of Manila hemp fiber reinforced biodegradable plastics was studied for 240 days in a natural soil and 30 days in a compost soil. After biodegradability tests, weights were measured and both tensile strength tests and microscopic observation were performed to evaluate the biodegradation behavior of the composites. The results indicate that the tensile strength of the composi...

This work provides insights on the solubilization products after a simultaneous combination of alkaline and ultrasonic (ALK+ULS) pre-treatment of sewage sludge. Soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD) increased from 1200 to 11,000 mg/L after such treatment. Organics with molecular weight around 5.6 kDa were solubilized because of the synergistic effect of ultrasound and alkali. Organics with mole...

Olive mill solid waste (OMSW) is a pollutant waste coming from olive oil elaboration by the two-phase centrifugation system. OMSW has a high organic matter content and unbalanced carbon to nitrogen (C/N) ratio, 31/1, which avoids obtaining high methane yields in the anaerobic digestion of this waste. In the present study a microalgae, Dunaliella salina, was employed as co-substrate for the OMSW...

Quantitative structure-biodegradability relationships (QSBRs) were established to develop predictive models and mechanistic explanations for acid dyestuffs as well as biological activities. With a total of four descriptors, molecular weight (M(W)), energies of the highest occupied molecular orbital (E(HOMO)), the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (E(LUMO)), and the excited state (E(ES)), calc...

Various natural organic matter (NOM) constituents were evaluated in terms of their biodegradability, disinfection byproduct (DBP) formation potentials, and membrane fouling. The biodegradability of NOM was evaluated with respect to biodegradable dissolved organic carbon (BDOC) and its inhibition control. NOM was divided into (i) colloidal and noncolloidal NOM, using a dialysis membrane with a m...

The effect of low power ultrasonic radiation on anaerobic biodegradability of sewage sludge was investigated. For this purpose, soluble substances and variation of microbial system of sewage sludge subjected to low power ultrasonic radiation were tested. The well known hydromechanical shear forces and heating effect of low frequency ultrasound plays a major role in the sludge pre treatment proc...