• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.12
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• pp.1561-1572
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• 2022

Plastic pollution has been recognized as a serious environmental problem, and microbial degradation of plastics is a potential, environmentally friendly solution to this. Here, we analyzed and compared microbial communities on waste plastic films (WPFs) buried for long periods at four landfill sites with those in nearby soils to identify microbes with the potential to degrade plastics. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy spectra of these WPFs showed that most were polyethylene and had signs of oxidation, such as carbon-carbon double bonds, carbon-oxygen single bonds, or hydrogen-oxygen single bonds, but the presence of carbonyl groups was rare. The species richness and diversity of the bacterial and fungal communities on the films were generally lower than those in nearby soils. Principal coordinate analysis of the bacterial and fungal communities showed that their overall structures were determined by their geographical locations; however, the microbial communities on the films were generally different from those in the soils. For the pulled data from the four landfill sites, the relative abundances of Bradyrhizobiaceae, Pseudarthrobacter, Myxococcales, Sphingomonas, and Spartobacteria were higher on films than in soils at the bacterial genus level. At the species level, operational taxonomic units classified as Bradyrhizobiaceae and Pseudarthrobacter in bacteria and Mortierella in fungi were enriched on the films. PICRUSt analysis showed that the predicted functions related to amino acid and carbohydrate metabolism and xenobiotic degradation were more abundant on films than in soils. These results suggest that specific microbial groups were enriched on the WPFs and may be involved in plastic degradation.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF PACKAGING SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.73-83
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• 2024

In this study, environmental evaluation of high barrier coated paper (coating layer/paper) packaging is conducted in comparison with conventional aluminum laminated (PET/VMPET/LLDPE) plastic packaging. The target product for this packaging is a KF94 mask, which requires a high barrier of water and oxygen to maintain the filtration ability of the mask filter. The functional unit of this study is 10,000 mask packaging materials based on a material capable of blocking oxygen (<1 g/m²day) and moisture (<3 g/m²day) for the preservation of KF94 masks. In order to understand the results easily, paper-based mask packaging system divided into 6 stages (pulp, pulping & paper making, calendaring & coating, printing, packing and waste management), while plastic-based mask packaging consists of 5 stages (material production, processing, printing, packing, waste management) In case of paper-based mask packaging, most contributing stage is calendaring & coating, resulting from heat and electricity production. On the other hand, plastic-based mask packaging is contributed more than 30% by material production, specifically due to linear low density polyethylene and purified terephthalic acid production. The comparison results show that global warming potential of paper-based mask packaging has 32% lower than that of plastic-based mask packaging. Most of other impact indicators revealed in similar trend.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.268-279
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• 2023

The pharmaceutical industry in Bangladesh produces a diverse range of antibiotics for human and animal use, however, waste disposal management is inadequate. This results in substantial quantities of antibiotics being discharged into water bodies, which provide suitable environment for the growth of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, capable of spreading resistance genes. This study intended for exploring the bacterial antibiotic resistance profile in adjoining aquatic environmental sources of pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in Bangladesh. Seven surface water samples were collected from the vicinity of two pharmaceutical industries located in the Savar area and 51 Escherichia coli isolates were identified using both phenotypic and genotypic methods. Antibiotic susceptibility tests revealed the highest percentage of resistance against ampicillin, azithromycin, and nalidixic acid (100%) and the lowest resistance against meropenem (1.96%) out of sixteen different antibiotics tested. 100% of the study E. coli isolates were observed with Multidrug resistance phenotypes, with the Multiple Antibiotic Resistance (MAR) value ranging from 0.6-1.0. Furthermore, 69% of the isolates were Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactamases (ESBL) positive as per the Double Disk Diffusion Synergy Test (DDST). ESBL resistance genes bla_TEM, bla_CTX-M-13, bla_CTX-M-15, and bla_SHV were detected in 70.6% (n = 36), 60.8% (n = 32), 54.9% (n = 28), and 1.96% (n = 1) of the isolates, respectively, by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Additionally, 15.68% (n = 8) of the isolates were positive for E. coli specific virulence genes in PCR. These findings suggest that pharmaceutical wastewater, if not properly treated, could be a formidable source of antibiotic resistance spread in the surrounding aquatic environment. Therefore, continued surveillance for drug resistance among bacterial populations around drug manufacturing facilities in Bangladesh is necessary, along with proper waste disposal management.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.60-68
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• 2015

The study of waste activated sludge (WAS) solubilization has been increased for sludge volume reduction and enhancing the efficiency of anaerobic digestion. Microwave (MW)-assisted solubilization is an effective method for the solubilization of WAS because this method can lead to thermal, nonthermal effect and ionic conduction by dielectric heating. In this study, the solubilization of WAS by MW heating and conductive heating (CH) was compared and to enhance the MW-assisted solubilization of WAS at low MW output power, chemical agents were applied such as $H_2SO_4$ as the strong acid and $CaCl_2$, NaCl as the ionic materials. Compared to the COD solubilization of WAS by CH, that by MW heating was approximately 1.4, 6.2 times higher at $50^{\circ}C$, $100^{\circ}C$, respectively and the highest COD solubilization of WAS was 10.0% in this study of low MW output power condition. At the same MW output power and reaction time in chemically agents assisted experiments, the COD solubilization of WAS were increased up to 18.1% and 12.7% with the addition of $H_2SO_4$ and NaCl, however, that with the addition of $CaCl_2$ was 10.7%. This result might be due to the fact that the precipitation reaction occurred by calcium ion ($Ca^{2+}$) and phosphate ion (${PO_4}^{3-}$) produced in WAS after MW-assisted solubilization. In this study, $H_2SO_4$ turned out to be the optimal agent for the enhancement of MW efficiency, the addition of 0.2 M $H_2SO_4$ was the most effective condition for MW-assisted WAS solubilization.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.128-132
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• 1983

The apple seed contained 25.96% of crude fat and 37.62% of crude protein. The lipid fractions obtained by cilicic column chromatography were mainly composed of about 93.52% neutral lipid, whereas compound lipid was only 6.48% level. Among the neutral lipid separated by thin layer chromatography, triglyceride was 92.17%, sterol ester, sterol, diglyceride and free fatty acid were 3.53, 2.25, 1.44 and 0.56, respectively. The predominent fatty acids of total and neutral lipids were linoleic acid (59.79-69.37%) and oleic acid (20.04-29.82%), but those of glycolipid and phojspholipid were linoleic acid (29.20-36.04%). The major fatty acids of triglyceride separated from neutral lipid were oleic acid (44.31%), linoleic acid (36.66%) and palmitic acid (12.48%). The salt soluble protein of apple seed was highly dispersible in 0.02M sodium phosphate buffer containing about 1.0M $MgSO_4$, and the extractability of seed protein was 37%, Glutamic acid was the major amino acid in salt soluble protein, followed by arginine and aspartic acid. The eletrophoretic analysis showed three bands in apple seed protein, and the collection rate of the main protein fraction purified by Sephadex G-100 and G-200 was 76.6%. Glutamic acid, aspartic acid and arginine were the major amino acids of the main apple seed protein. The molecular weight for the main protein of the apple seed was estimated to be 45,000.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.207-217
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• 2011

In this study the complex formation reactions between uranium(VI) and 2,6-dihydroxybenzoate (DHB) as a model ligand of humic acid were investigated by using UV-Vis spectrophotometry and time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy (TRLFS). The analysis of the spectrophotometric data, i.e., absorbance changes at the characteristic charge-transfer bands of the U(VI)-DHB complex, indicates that both 1:1 and 1:2 (U(VI):DHB) complexes occur as a result of dual equilibria and their distribution varies in a pH-dependent manner. The stepwise stability constants determined (log $K_1$ and log $K_2$) are $12.4{\pm}0.1$ and $11.4{\pm}0.1$. Further, the TRLFS study shows that DHB plays a role as a fluorescence quencher of U(VI) species. The presence of both a dynamic and static quenching process was identified for all U(VI) species examined, i.e., ${UO_2}^{2+}$, $(UO_2)_2{(OH)_2}^{2+}$, and $(UO_2)_3{(OH)_5}^+$. The fluorescence intensity and lifetimes of each species were measured from the time-resolved spectra at various ligand concentrations, and then analyzed based on Stern-Volmer equations. The static quenching constants (log $K_s$) obtained are $4.2{\pm}0.1$, $4.3{\pm}0.1$, and $4.34{\pm}0.08$ for ${UO_2}^{2+}$, $(UO_2)_2{(OH)_2}^{2+}$, and $(UO_2)_3{(OH)_5}^+$, respectively. The results of Stern-Volmer analysis suggest that both mono- and bi-dentate U(VI)-DHB complexes serve as groundstate complexes inducing static quenching.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.99-111
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• 2017

The purpose of this study is to provide a design and operation technical guideline for meeting the appropriate design criteria to bio-gasification facilities treating organic wastes. Based on the results obtained during the field surveys, the overall design and operation guidelines for bio-gasification facilities, monitoring items, cycle and commissioning period were presented. According to the flow of anaerobic digestion process, Various design factors for bio-gasification facilities were proposed in this study. When designing the initial anaerobic digestion capacity, 10 ~ 30% of the treatment capacity was applied considering the discharge characteristics by the incoming organic wastes. At the import storage hopper process, limit concentration of transporting organic wastes was limited to TS 10 % or less, and limit concentration of inhibiting factor was suggested in operation of anaerobic digester. In addition, organic loading rate (OLR) was shown as $1.5{\sim}4.0kgVS_{in}/(m^3{\cdot}day)$ for the combined bio-gasification facilities of animal manure and food wastes. Desulfurization and dehumidification methods of biogas from anaerobic digestor and proper periods of liquifization tank were suggested in design guideline. It is recommended that the operating parameters of the biogasification facilities to be maintained at pH (acid fermentation tank 4.5~6.5, methane fermentation tank 6.0~8.0), temperature variation range within $2^{\circ}C$, management of volatile fatty acid and ammonia concentration less than 3,000 mg/L, respectively.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.16 no.1 s.75
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• pp.28-36
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• 2007

Nano-sized ITO powders with the average particle size below 50 nm were synthesized from complex acid solution dissolved the ITO target into hydrochloric acid by a spray pyrolysis process, and the influences of reaction factors as reaction temperature and concentration of raw material solution were investigated. As the reaction temperature increases from 800 to $1000^{\circ}C$, the average particle size of the ITO powder increases from 40 nm to 100 nm, the microstructure gradually becomes solid, individual particles independently appear with the shape of polygon, the particle size distribution becomes increasingly irregular, the XRD peak intensity gradually increases and the specific surface area decreases. As the concentration of the raw material solution increases from 50g/l to 400g/l, the average particle size of ITO powder gradually increases, yet the particle size distribution appears more irregular. When the concentration is at 50 g/l, the average particle size of ITO powder is below 30 nm and the particle size distribution appears comparatively uniform. Nevertheless, when the concentration reaches 400 g/l, which is close to e saturated concentration, the particle size distribution appears extremely irregular, and the particles with the size ranging from 20 nm to 100 nm coexist. Along with the concentration rise, the XRD peak intensity gradually increases, yet the specific surface area decreases.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.29-35
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• 2001

This study was carried out to recover gold, silver and valuable metals from the printed circuit boards (PCBs) of waste computers. PCBs samples were crushed under 1 mm by a shredder and separated into 30% conducting and loft nonconducting materials by an electrostatic separator. The conducting materials contained valuable metals which were then used as feed materials for magnetic separation. 42% of magnetic materials from the conducting materials was removed by magnetic separation as nonvaluable materials and the others, 58% of non magnetic materials, was used as leaching samples containing 0.227 mg/g Au and 0.697 mg/g Ag. Using the materials of leaching from magnetic separation, more than 95% of copper, iron, zinc, nickel and aluminium was dissolved in 2.0M sulfuric acid solution, added with 0.2M hydrogen peroxide at $85^{\circ}C$. Au and Ag were not extracted in this solution. On the other hand, more than 95% of gold and 100% of silver were leached by the selective leaching with a mixed solvent (0.2M($NH_4$)$_2$$S_2$$O_3$,0.02M $CuSO_4$,0.4M $NH_4$OH). Finally, the residues were reacted with a NaCl solution to leach Pb whereas sulfuric acid was used to leach Sn. Recoveries reached 95% and 98% in solution, respectively.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.25-33
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• 2008

A selective separation of Actirlide(III) by a nPr-BTP/nitrobezene extraction system was studied. The nPr-BTP (2.6-Bis-(5.6-n-propyl-1.2.4-triazin-3-yl)-pyridine) of a environmentally -friendly CHN type was self-synthesized and its compatability with diluent and stability with nitric acid were investigated. At the 0.1M nPr-BTP/nitrobenzene-1M $HNO_3$ and O/A=2, extraction yields of Am used as a representative of Actinide(III) and Eu were about 85% and 8%, respectively, and the other RE elements such as Nd, Ce and Y were extracted less than 3% (separation factor of Am and Eu was about 60). Thus, there was no problems in the selective extraction of Actinide(III) from RE. The stripping yield of Am with 0.05M $HNO_3$ at O/A= 1, however, was about 43% and the maximum stripping yield was 65% at O/A=0.3. It is necessary to develop the stripping system including the stripping agent instead of nitric acid solution.