Synergistic Effects of Magnetic Nanomaterials on Post-Digestate for Biogas Production

Digestate is characterized by high water content, and in the water and wastewater treatment settings, necessitates both large storage capacities and a high cost of disposal. By seeding digestate with four magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), this study aimed to recover biogas and boost its methane potential anaerobically. This was carried out via biochemical methane potential (BMP) tests with five 1 L bioreactors, with a working volume of 80% and 20% head space. These were operated under anaerobic conditions at a temperature 40 °C for a 30 d incubation period. The SEM/EDX results revealed that the morphological surface area of the digestate with the MNPs increased as compared to its raw state. Comparatively, the degree of degradation of the bioreactors with MNPs resulted in over 75% decontamination (COD, color, and turbidity) as compared to the control system result of 60% without MNPs. The highest biogas production (400 mL/day) and methane yield (100% CH₄) was attained with 2 g of Fe₂O₄-TiO₂ MNPs as compared to the control biogas production (350 mL/day) and methane yield (65% CH₄). Economically, the highest energy balance achieved was estimated as 320.49 ZAR/kWh, or 22.89 USD/kWh in annual energy savings for this same system. These findings demonstrate that digestate seeded with MNPs has great potential to improve decontamination efficiency, biogas production and circular economy in wastewater management.     

Nitrile‐functionalized Hg(II)‐ and Ag(I)‐N‐heterocyclic carbene complexes: synthesis,crystal structures,nuclease and DNA binding activities

Various nitrile‐functionalized benzimidazol‐2‐ylidene carbene complexes of Hg(II) and Ag(I) were synthesized by the interaction of 1‐benzyl/1‐butyl‐3‐(cyano‐benzyl)‐3 H‐benzimidazol‐1‐ium mono/dihexafluorophosphate with Hg(OAc)₂/Ag₂O in acetonitrile. Two of the benzimidazolium salts were structurally characterized by single crystal X‐ray diffraction technique. Structures of reported compounds were characterized by ¹ H, ¹³C NMR, FT‐IR, UV–visible spectroscopic techniques, and molar conductivity and elemental analyses. For bis‐benzimidazolium salt, dinuclear Hg(II)– and Ag(I)–carbene complexes were obtained. Nuclease activity and binding interactions of the synthesized benzimidazolium salts and their Ag(I)–carbene complexes with DNA were studied using agarose gel electrophoresis and, absorption spectroscopy and viscosity measurements, respectively. Ag(I)–carbene complexes showed higher DNA binding activity compared to their respective benzimidazolium salts. However, a benzimidazolium salt and two of the Ag(I) complexes showed remarkably higher nuclease activity both, in the presence and absence of an oxidizing agent. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Enhanced Recovery and Purification of P(3HB-co-3HHx) from Recombinant Cupriavidus necator Using Alkaline Digestion Method

A simple, efficient and economical method for the recovery of P(3HB-co-3HHx) was developed using various chemicals and parameters. The initial content of P(3HB-co-3HHx) in bacterial cells was 50?C60?wt%, whereas the monomer composition of 3HHx used in this experiments was 3?C5?mol%. It was found that sodium hydroxide (NaOH) was the most effective chemical for the recovery of biodegradable polymer. High polyhydroxyalkanoate purity and recovery yield both in the range of 80?C90?wt% were obtained when 10?C30?mg/ml of cells were incubated in NaOH at the concentration of 0.1?M for 60?C180?min at 30?°C and polished using 20?% (v/v) of ethanol.     

Cross layer based fast handover for IEEE 802.16e networks

To guarantee the QoS in real time applications in wireless networks, handover delay is one of the most important parameters to be considered while mobile users are changing their point of attachment to the access networks. This calls for a fast handover mechanism that will be able to offer uninterrupted services to mobile users. In this paper, a cross layer based fast handover mechanism is proposed to reduce handover delay and signaling load in IEEE 802.16e wireless metropolitan area networks. This is achieved by overlapping the functions of Medium Access Control (MAC) Layer and Internet Protocol (IP) layer. The analytical results show that the proposed mechanism significantly enhances the handover performance in terms of handover delay and signaling load thus resulting into fast handover.     

Efficient syntheses of novel indeno[1,2-b]chromenone derivatives via hetero-Diels-Alder reactions of 2-(arylmethylene)-1H-indene-1,3(2H)-diones with enaminones

Efficient syntheses of novel 10-aryl-5a-(arylamino)-9-hydroxy-5a,6,7,8-tetrahydroindeno[1,2-b]chromen-11(10H)-one derivatives has been reported by [4+2] cycloaddition reactions of electron-deficient 2-(arylmethylene)-1H-indene-1,3(2H)-dione heterodienes with electron-rich enaminones in [bmim]BF₄ at 80?°C and in acetic acid at 80?°C. Dimedone/cyclohexane-1,3-dione enaminones have been used as dienophiles in Inverse Electron Demand hetero-Diels-Alder reactions. The products were obtained in high yields by a simple work up.     

Spectroscopy, modeling, and laser operation of thulium-dopedcrystals at 2.3 μm

Pulsed room-temperature lasers based on the thulium 2.3-μm ³H₄-³H₅ transition have been achieved in 1.5% Tm:YAG, 2% Tm:LuAG, and 1.5% Tm:YLF crystals using a pulsed alexandrite laser at 785 nm as the pump source in a collinear geometry. The absorbed energy thresholds (slope efficiencies) for 1.5% Tm:YAG, 2% Tm:LuAG, and 1.5% Tm:YLF lasers are measured to be 1.2 mJ (14%), 1.8 mJ (13%), and 1.0 mJ (18%), respectively, which are in good agreement with the theoretically predicted results. The experimental results indicate 1.0 mJ thulium to be the most optimum concentration for 2.3-μm laser action. The thulium lasers are tuned around 2.3 μm using an intracavity single birefringent plate of quartz     

Polymer catalysts. X. Vanadium complexes of bipyridine-based polyureas for epoxidation of alkenes

In this article we report on the epoxidation of olefins with hydroperoxides in the presence of a polymer-anchored vanadium catalyst. Incorporation of vanadium (V) into polar, bipyridine-based polyureas and the evaluation of the activity and selectivity of the catalyst were investigated.     

Organization of polyhydroxyalkanoate synthase for in vitro polymerization as revealed by atomic force microscopy

Individual polyhydroxyalkanoate synthase molecules from Ralstonia eutropha (PhaCRe) were directly visualized on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) by atomic force microscopy (AFM). PhaCRe molecule was observed as a spherical particle of 2.9 +/- 0.4 nm in height and 28 +/- 4 nm in width. In vitro polymerization reaction on HOPG was carried out for 5 min by reacting the PhaCRe molecules with (R)-3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA monomers. The reaction product was then observed after the removal of water solution. Several PhaCRe molecules associated with each other to form an assembly, which was attached to a fibrillar structure of ca. 0.2-0.3 nm in height. The fibrillar structure that elongated from the PhaCRe assembly was interpreted as the poly[(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate] polymer chain. High resolution AFM suggested that the PhaCRe assembly was composed of 3-4 subunits of PhaCRe molecules. This was further supported by SDS-PAGE analysis of the cross-linked PhaCRe enzyme. These results suggest that more than two subunits of PhaCRe are necessary for the in vitro polymerization of PHB molecular chains.     

The oil-absorbing property of polyhydroxyalkanoate films and its practical application: a refreshing new outlook for an old degrading material

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) have attracted the attention of academia and industry because of their plastic-like properties and biodegradability. However, practical applications as a commodity material have not materialized because of their high production cost and unsatisfactory mechanical properties. PHAs are also believed to have high-value applications as an absorbable biomaterial for tissue engineering and drug-delivery devices because of their biocompatibility. However, research in these areas is still in its very early stages. The main problem faced by proponents of PHAs is the lack of a niche area where PHAs will be the most desired material in terms of its function during use rather than because of its eco-friendly virtues after use. Here, we report on the oil-absorbing property of PHA films and its potential applications. By comparing with some of the existing commercial products, the potential application of PHAs as cosmetic oil-blotting films is revealed for the first time. Besides having the ability to rapidly absorb and retain oil, PHA films also have a natural oil-indicator property, showing obvious changes in opacity following oil absorption. Surface analysis revealed that the surface structures such as porosity and smoothness exert great influence on the rapid oil-absorption properties of the PHA films. These newly discovered properties could be exploited to create a niche area for the practical applications of PHAs.