State of the Art for the Biosorption Process—a Review

In recent years, biosorption process has become an economic and eco-friendly alternative treatment technology in the water and wastewater industry. In this light, a number of biosorbents were developed and are successfully employed for treating various pollutants including metals, dyes, phenols, fluoride, and pharmaceuticals in solutions (aqueous/oil). However, still there are few technical barriers in the biosorption process that impede its commercialization and thus to overcome these problems there has been a steadily growing interest in this research field. This resulted in large numbers of publications and patents each year. This review reports the state of the art in biosorption research. In this review, we provide a compendium of know-how in laboratory methodology, mathematical modeling of equilibrium and kinetics, identification of the biosorption mechanism. Various mathematical models of biosorption were discussed: the process in packed-bed column arrangement, as well as by suspended biomass. Particular attention was paid to patents in biosorption and pilot-scale systems. In addition, we provided future aspects in biosorption research.     

In Vitro Production of Plant Peroxidases—A Review

In the latest two decades, the interest received by plant enzymes has increased significantly. Plant enzymes such as peroxidases are widely used in medicine as diagnostic tools and in the bioremediation and biobleaching industries, among others. Traditionally, these enzymes have been obtained from a natural source, a process that is sometimes laborious and affected by weather conditions and low yields. To overcome this hurdle, some efforts have been made to establish plant cell cultures in vitro to use the system as a continuous source of plant enzymes. The focus of this review will be the production of plant peroxidases in vitro, including novel approaches such as the use of bioreactors and genetically transformed tissues to enhance the yield of desired enzymes.     

Effect of Oxygen and Bacteria on the Property of Polymer Gel

The viscosity property of Cr~(3 ),Al~(3 ),and compound ion cross-linked polymer gel solution in the anaerobic and aerobic environment was investigated aiming at meeting the practical demand of the oil field.The viscosity reserving effect after adding the biocide and the gelation in the anaerobic and aerobic environments was also studied in the paper.The results indicate that the viscosity of the cross-linked polymer gel solution caused by the water produced in aerobic environment is higher than that in anaerobic environment,and that the viscosity value of the cross-linked polymer gel solutions after adding biocides has improved to some extent and polymer gel has gelated well in anaerobic environment.     

Studies on the Preparation and Analytical Applications of Various Metal Ion-Selective Membrane Electrodes Based on Polymeric,Inorganic and Composite Materials—A Review

Ion-selective membrane electrodes commonly known as electrochemical sensors are important in view of the ability to make direct or indirect measurement of various metal ions. The fact is that the use of ion-selective electrodes for such type of measurements requires relatively inexpensive equipment, which makes ion-selective electrodes attractive to scientists in many disciplines. Thus, potentometric sensors can offer an inexpensive and convenient method for the analysis of heavy metal ions in solutions providing acceptable sensitivity and selectivity. For this purpose, many organic, inorganic, chelating, intercalating and composite materials were studied as electroactive materials for the preparation of ion-selective membrane electrodes. The present study provides a detailed review of literature for the fabrication, characterization and analytical applications of ion-selective membrane electrode based on different electro active components.     

Somatic Embryogenesis and Synthetic Seed Production—a Biotechnological Approach for True-to-Type Propagation and In Vitro Conservation of an Ornamental Bulbaceous Plant Drimiopsis kirkii Baker.

An efficient plant regeneration protocol through indirect somatic embryogenesis pathway via callus had been developed from the leaf explant of an ornamental bulbaceous plant Drimiopsis kirkii. Optimum friable calli were induced on Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal medium supplemented with 3.0 mg/l of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and 1.0 mg/l of α-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA). On subculturing the callus on MS medium supplemented with 2.5 mg/l of thidiazuron (TDZ), 73.3 % of the cultures responded with 20.4?±?0.3 somatic embryos (SEs) per 500 mg callus at different stages of development after 6 weeks of culture. The highest response of 86.7 % with 28.3?±?0.5 embryos per 500 mg callus was observed on MS medium supplemented with 2.5 mg/l TDZ and 1.0 mg/l NAA. SEs were encapsulated in calcium alginate beads for the production of synthetic seeds (SSs) and their storability was investigated. The highest SS germination (93.3 %) was observed in 1.0 % sodium alginate followed by 86.7 % germination with 2.5 % sodium alginate. The SSs were stored at three different temperatures (4, 15, and 24?ºC) up to 6 months. The SSs kept at 15 °C showed 64.4 % germinability even after 4 months of storage. Both nonencapsulated and encapsulated SE-derived plants were successfully transferred to soil with 93.3 and 88.3 % survival rate accordingly. Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis revealed that there were no somaclonal variations among the plants produced via somatic embryogenesis and they are true-to-type to their parental plant. These results confirmed the most reliable methods, which can be further used for genetic transformation studies as well as for mass propagation of ornamental D. kirkii at a commercial level.     

Comparison of Different Crucible Materials for the Growth of AIN Crystals

Choice of crucible material is a key issue during the growth of AIN crystal. The stabilities at high temperature and life-spans of boron nitride （BN） crucible, tantalum （Ta） crucible and tungsten （W） crucible were compared. Tantalum crucible behaved worse at high temperature and life-span was shortened as compared with the other two crucible materials. It was very crisp and easy to crack. In contrast, self-seeded AIN crystals with different morphologies could be obtained at different high temperatures using BN crucible. The boron nitride crucible was stable below 2200 ℃, above which it would decompose. Thus it was unsuitable for the bulky AIN crystal growth. Tungsten crucible could endure the temperatures higher than 2200℃. Unfortunately we could only get AIN polycrystallines using tungsten crucible. After 50- 100 hours＇ run, the crucible was destroyed completely due to the multiple deep cracks. XRD results of destroyed tungsten crucible indicated that the main phases are tungsten carbide and tungsten nitride.     

2002—Emergence of the Gas-to-Liquids Industry:a Review of Global GTL Developments

This paper reviews the status of the gas-to-liquids (GTL) industry-including current commercial plants, announced projects and the technologies that are likely to be implemented in these future projects. Today, only 35,000 B/D of GTL products (0.1% of market) are manufactured from commercial gas-based plants. Advances in technology have lowered the cost of plants to the point where GTL plants can be profitable at crude oil prices of ＄16/B. The advanced stage of development of several proposed GTL projects and attractive integrated economics, for both the gas field and plant, show that GTL can be a significant alternative for monetizing natural gas in the 21st century. GTL technologies includes more than Fischer-Tropsch technology and extends to other liquid fuels, especially in the oxygenate family (methanol, dimethyl ether, etc.).     

Discovery of the Azaserine Biosynthetic Pathway Uncovers a Biological Route for α-Diazoester Production

Azaserine is a bacterial metabolite containing a biologically unusual and synthetically enabling α-diazoester functional group. Herein, we report the discovery of the azaserine (aza) biosynthetic gene cluster from Glycomyces harbinensis. Discovery of related gene clusters reveals previously unappreciated azaserine producers, and heterologous expression of the aza gene cluster confirms its role in azaserine assembly. Notably, this gene cluster encodes homologues of hydrazonoacetic acid (HYAA)-producing enzymes, implicating HYAA in α-diazoester biosynthesis. Isotope feeding and biochemical experiments support this hypothesis. These discoveries indicate that a 2-electron oxidation of a hydrazonoacetyl intermediate is required for α-diazoester formation, constituting a distinct logic for diazo biosynthesis. Uncovering this biological route for α-diazoester synthesis now enables the production of a highly versatile carbene precursor in cells, facilitating approaches for engineering complete carbene-mediated biosynthetic transformations in vivo.     

Effects of Template Contents on the Physicochemical Sorption Properties of Zr—Incorporated Mesoporous Titania Materials

Zr-Incorporated mesoporous titania materials were prepared via nonsurfactant templated sol-gel process of zirconium(IV) butoxide(ZBT) and titanium(IV) butoxide(TBT) in the presence of urea molecules as template or pore forming agent.The effcets of template contents on the pore parameters of the materials synthesized with fixed Zr incorporation contents were investigated by mitrogen adsorption-desrption measurements,powder X-ray diffraction(XRD) study and transmission electron microscopy(TEM).The changes of template contents play significant roles on the pore parameters at low incorporsation content of Zr.The pore diameters display a clear increase tendency with the increase of template contents.When high Zr incorporation content is used,the template contents have less effect on the pore diameters that almost keep unchanged with the increase of template contents.All the materials possess type IV isotherms with H2 hysteresis loops suggesting the formation of mesophase.The materials with low Zr incorporation content have anatase structures；however,it can not be found in the materials with high Zr incorporation content.TEM images show that some accumulated inter-particulate pores and welldistributed worm-like pores are present in the Zr-incorporated materials.     

2002—Emergence of the Gas—to—Liquids Industry： a Review of Global GTL Developments

This paper reviews the status of the gas-to-liquids(TGL) industry-including current commercial plants,announced projects and the technologies that are are likely to be implemented in these future projects.Today,only 35,000 B/D of GTL products (0.1% of market) are manufactured from commercial gas-based plants,Advances in technology have lowered the cost of plants to the point where GTL phants can be profitable at crude oil prices of $16/B ,The advanced stage of development of several proposed GTL projects and attractive integrated economicws,for both the gas field and plant ,show that GTL can be a significant alternative for monetizing natural gas in the 21st centruy,GTL technologies includes more than Fischer-Tropsch technology and extends to other liquid fuels,especially in the oxygenate family (methanol,dimethyl ether ,etc.).     

Production of certified reference materials for mycotoxins: IRMM’s view on the assessment of uncertainties

Analytical difficulty and the economic importance of controlling mycotoxin levels in food and feed led the Community Bureau of Reference (BCR) to prepare a series of certified reference materials (CRM) for various mycotoxins. Because of the wide acceptance of these CRM and the need to ensure the comparability and traceability of measurements in the future it is necessary to prepare and certify new batches of mycotoxin reference materials (RM). In the following text two different approaches for evaluation of the characterisation uncertainty of CRM will be compared using the certification of aflatoxin M₁ (AfM₁) in milk powder as an example. The conventional approach is based on evaluation of characterisation exercise data; the alternative approach is based on measurement uncertainties of the employed analytical methods. Because laboratories are using totally different approaches to estimate the measurement uncertainties, combination of the uncertainties obtained from the participating laboratories was not recommended. Therefore, a new integrated approach for assessment of the measurement uncertainties of the analytical methods on the basis of additional data collected during the characterisation exercise will be described. The conventional approach was found to be the most appropriate and economical approach to evaluate the characterisation uncertainty as a characterisation exercise must be performed anyway to establish the property values of candidate (C)RM, irrespective of whether or not reliable measurement uncertainties can be provided by the laboratories. An integrated approach for assessment of measurement uncertainties based on additional characterisation data as applied here to enable use of an uncertainty-based approach provides more information but is too time-consuming and cost-intensive to become common practice.     

The Catalysis of Vapor-Phase Beckmann Rearrangement for the Production of ε-Caprolactam

Recently, Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. developed the vapor-phase Beckmann rearrangement process for the production of -caprolactam. In the process, cyclohexanone oxime is rearranged into -caprolactam using a zeolite as a catalyst instead of sulfuric acid. EniChem in Italy developed the ammoximation process that involves the direct production of cyclohexanone oxime without producing any ammonium sulfate. Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. has commercialized the combined process of vapor-phase Beckmann rearrangement and ammoximation in 2003.In this paper, the authors focus on some aspects of the vapor-phase Beckmann rearrangement catalysis. A solid catalyst that is mainly composed of a high-silica MFI zeolite (Silicalite-1) has been developed for the vapor-phase Beckmann rearrangement. This catalyst does not possess acidity that can be detected by ammonia TPD. Methanol fed into the reactor with cyclohexanone oxime improves the yield of caprolactam. Methanol reacts with terminal silanols on the zeolite surface and converts them to methoxyl groups. The modification of the catalyst by methanol has an important role for the Beckmann rearrangement reaction.Nest silanols located just inside the pore mouth of the MFI zeolite are supposed to be the active sites of the catalyst. We propose that the coordination between the NOH group of cyclohexanone oxime molecule and the nest silanols through hydrogen bonding is responsible for the reaction. The reaction mechanism of Beckmann rearrangement under vapor-phase conditions is the same as in the liquid phase, namely, the alkyl group in anti-position against the hydroxyl group of the oxime migrates to the nitrogen atom's position.     

Large‐scale Experimental Study on the Effects of Flooring Materials on Combustion Behavior of Thermoplastics

The effects of flooring materials on the combustion behavior of thermoplastics is investigated. Based on the ISO 9705 fire test setup, an experimental rig was designed. Full‐scale experiments of PP combustion were carried out using five flooring boards, namely gypsum, steel, wood, ceramic tile and PVC. The experimental results indicate that the flooring boards play an important role in the heat release rates of typical thermoplastics combustion. Specifically, the time for the sharp increase of heat release rate is generally later for the flooring boards with larger thermal conductivity, except for the case of PVC. Preliminary analyses suggest that the reason for the exception of PVC is the expansion and carbonization of PVC at high temperature. In addition, experimental results also show that the corresponding peak heat release rate of thermoplastics combustion would be generally smaller for the flooring board with a larger thermal mass, except for the case of gypsum. The primary cause for the exception of gypsum may be the heat absorption by the crystal water released from the gypsum during the burning of hot pool oil.     

Directed Evolution of a Thermophilic β-glucosidase for Cellulosic Bioethanol Production

Characteristics that would make enzymes more desirable for industrial applications can be improved using directed evolution. We developed a directed evolution technique called random drift mutagenesis (RNDM). Mutant populations are screened and all functional mutants are collected and put forward into the next round of mutagenesis and screening. The goal of this technique is to evolve enzymes by rapidly accumulating mutations and exploring a greater sequence space by providing minimal selection pressure and high-throughput screening. The target enzyme was a β-glucosidase isolated from the thermophilic bacterium, Caldicellulosiruptor saccharolyticus that cleaves cellobiose resulting from endoglucanase hydrolysis of cellulose. Our screening method was fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), an attractive method for assaying mutant enzyme libraries because individual cells can be screened, sorted into distinct populations and collected very rapidly. However, FACS screening poses several challenges, in particular, maintaining the link between genotype and phenotype because most enzyme substrates do not remain associated with the cells. We employed a technique where whole cells were encapsulated in cell-like structures along with the enzyme substrate. We used RNDM, in combination with whole cell encapsulation, to create and screen mutant β-glucosidase libraries. A mutant was isolated that, compared to the wild type, had higher specific and catalytic efficiencies (k _cat/K _M) with p-nitrophenol-glucopyranoside and -galactopyranoside, an increased catalytic turnover rate (k _cat) with cellobiose, an improvement in catalytic efficiency with lactose and reduced inhibition (K _i) with galactose and lactose. This mutant had three amino acid substitutions and one was located near the active site.     

Effect of a “Zn Bridge” on the Consecutively Tunable Retention Characteristics of Volatile Random Access Memory Materials

Polyimide memory materials with a donor–acceptor structure based on a charge-transfer mechanism exhibit great potential for next-generation information storage technology due to their outstanding high-temperature resistance and good dimensional and chemical stability. Precisely controlling memory performance by limited chemical decoration is one of core challenges in this field. Most reported work mainly focuses on designing novel and elaborate electron donors or acceptors for the expected memory behavior of polyimides; this takes a lot of time and is not always efficacious. Herein, we report a series of porphyrinated copolyimides coPI−Znx (x=5, 10, 20, 50, 80), where x represents the mole percentage of Zn ion in the central core of the porphyrin. Experimental and theoretical analysis indicate that the Zn ion could play a vital bridge role in promoting the formation and stabilization of a charge-transfer complex by enhancing the hybridization of local and charge transfer (HLCT) excitations of porphyrinated polyimides, endowing coPI−Znx with volatile random access memory performance and continuously tunable retention time. This work could provide one simple strategy to precisely regulate memory performance merely by altering the metal content in porphyrinated polyimides.     

Chemical Approaches for the Preparation of Bacteria – Nano/Microparticle Hybrid Systems

Bacteria represent a class of living cells that are very attractive carriers for the transport and delivery of nano- and microsized particles. The use of cell-based carriers, such as for example bacteria, may allow to precisely direct nano- or microsized cargo to a desired site, which would greatly enhance the selectivity of drug delivery and allow to mitigate side effects. One key step towards the use of such nano-/microparticle – bacteria hybrids is the immobilization of the cargo on the bacterial cell surface. To fabricate bacteria – nano-/microparticle biohybrid microsystems, a wide range of chemical approaches are available that can be used to immobilize the particle payload on the bacterial cell surface. This article presents an overview of the various covalent and noncovalent chemistries that are available for the preparation of bacteria – nano-/microparticle hybrids. For each of the different chemical approaches, an overview will be presented that lists the bacterial strains that have been modified, the type and size of nanoparticles that have been immobilized, as well as the methods that have been used to characterize the nanoparticle-modified bacteria.     

Influence of the chain stiffness on the thermodynamics of a Gō-type model for protein folding

The relative importance of local and long range interactions in the characteristics of the protein folding process has long been a matter of controversy. Computer simulations based on Gō-type models have been widely used to study this topic, but without much agreement on which type of interactions is more relevant for the foldability of a protein. In this work, the authors also employ a topology-based potential and simulation model to analyze the influence of local and long range interactions on the thermodynamics of the folding transition. The former are mainly used to control the degree of flexibility (or stiffness) of the chain, mostly appreciable in the unfolded (noncompact) state. Our results show the different effects that local and nonlocal interactions have on the entropy and the energy of the system. This implies that a balance between both types of interactions is required, so that a free energy barrier exists between the native and the denatured states. The variations in the contribution of both types of interactions have also a direct effect on the stability of the chain conformations, including the possible appearance of thermodynamic folding intermediates.     

Influence of a Hydrophobic Environment on the Structure of Arginine—Carboxylate Salt Bridge

The exact structure of an arginine-carboxylate salt bridge in different chemical environments remains a controversial problem.In the present work,the zwitterionic and neutral forms of arginine-carboxylate salt bridge were studied by the B3LYP/6-311G(d,p)//PM3 method.It turns out that the neutral forms are more stable than the zwitterionic coumterparts in gas phase.However,whnen bound by α-cyclodextrin,the zwitterionic forms become more stable than the corresponding neutral ones.It is suggested that the hydrophobic environment provided by the cyclodextrin cavity leads to such behavior.Therefore,the salt bridge still could be in a zwitterionic form in the hydrophobic interior of the real proteins.     

Swine Manure-Based Pilot-Scale Algal Biomass Production System for Fuel Production and Wastewater Treatment—a Case Study

Integration of wastewater treatment with algae cultivation is one of the promising ways to achieve an economically viable and environmentally sustainable algal biofuel production on a commercial scale. This study focused on pilot-scale algal biomass production system development, cultivation process optimization, and integration with swine manure wastewater treatment. The areal algal biomass productivity for the cultivation system that we developed ranged from 8.08 to 14.59 and 19.15–23.19 g/m²?×?day, based on ash-free dry weight and total suspended solid (TSS), respectively, which were higher than or comparable with those in literature. The harvested algal biomass had lipid content about 1.77–3.55 %, which was relatively low, but could be converted to bio-oil via fast microwave-assisted pyrolysis system developed in our lab. The lipids in the harvested algal biomass had a significantly higher percentage of total unsaturated fatty acids than those grown in lab conditions, which may be attributed to the observed temperature and light fluctuations. The nutrient removal rate was highly correlated to the biomass productivity. The NH₃-N, TN, COD, and PO₄-P reduction rates for the north-located photo-bioreactor (PBR-N) in July were 2.65, 3.19, 7.21, and 0.067 g/m²?×?day, respectively, which were higher than those in other studies. The cultivation system had advantages of high mixotrophic growth rate, low operating cost, as well as reduced land footprint due to the stacked-tray bioreactor design used in the study.