Interest in the biodegradation mechanisms and environmental fate of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is prompted by their ubiquitous distribution and their potentially deleterious effects on human health. PAHs constitute a large and diverse class of organic compounds and are generally described as molecules which consist of three or more fused aromatic rings in various structural configu...

Aerobic biodegradation behaviour of nonylphenol propoxylates was investigated in two tests with different sewage sludge as inocula. The samples containing target compounds were pre-concentrated using dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction and analysed with the use of high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. Both primary biodegradation and formation of different bi...

The present study was carried out to evaluate the effect of culture conditions on biodegradation of crude oil by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. P. aeruginosa was isolated from sea water using Bushnell Haas agar supplemented with 0.1% crude oil. The strain was cultured at different temperature, pH a salinity and crude oil concentrations. Maximum growth and biodegradation occurred at 38C, pH 8.0, 35‰ an...

Biodegradation refers to the chemical dissolution of materials by microorganisms or other biological means. Biodegradable materials are those that can be consumed by microorganisms whereas biodegradability of a material refers to the ability of that material to be decomposed by biological agents, especially bacteria. Plastics are synthetic or semi – synthetic long chain polymeric molecules that...

background: hydrocarbons degradation is principally achieved by microorganisms in natural environments. the extent of hydrocarbons biodegradation is mainly conditioned by environmental factors and its success depends on the optimal condition for the crude oil degrading isolates. objectives: the aims of the current study was to isolate and identify crude oil degrading bacterium from surface sedi...

Biodegradation of chloroethene compounds has been a matter of intense scientific investigation since these compounds were first identified in the late 1970s as common contaminants in groundwater systems. Over this period, perspectives on chloroethene biodegradation and on the role of organochlorine compounds in the environment have changed substantially. Before 1980, chloroethene contaminants w...

In this article, the effect of direct current electric field on the phenol biodegradation by laccase was studied. The results showed that the DC electric field could enhance the biodegradation activity of laccase. Specifically, the rate of phenol biodegradation when catalyzed by laccase was significantly higher in the presence of the DC electric field than in its absence. In the presence of the...

The biodegradation of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) may be one of major determinants of the toxic outcomes in exposed individuals. In this study, we employed a macrophage/monocyte model, Raw264.7, to investigate the feasibility of regulating the biodegradation of three types of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) (pristine, ox-, and OH-SWCNTs) by respiratory burst modulation. An artificial fluid ...

Seven crude oils of known source and maturity, representing a natural sequence of increasing degree of biodegradation, were collected from reservoirs in the Liaohe Basin, NE China, in an effort to determine the magnitude and direction of isotopic shift of carbon and hydrogen in individual n-alkanes during microbial degradation. The results show that biodegradation has little effect on the carbo...

A laboratory study was conducted with the aim of evaluating and optimizing the environmental parameters of "landfarming", i.e., the disposal by biodegradation in soil of oily sludges generated in the refining of crude oil and related operations. Oil sludge biodegradation was monitored by CO2 evolution and by periodic analysis of residual hydrocarbons. The parameters studied were soil moisture, ...