The initial rate of NH(3)/NH(4)(+) accumulation in a medium containing L(3) Teladorsagia circumcincta was 0.18-0.6 pmol h(-1) larva(-1), which increased linearly with larval density. However it appeared that the larva-generated external concentration of NH(3)/NH(4)(+) did not exceed about 130 μM. The rate of NH(3)/NH(4)(+) accumulation increased with temperature between 4 °C and 37 °C, declined with increasing pH or increasing external NH(3)/NH(4)(+) concentration and was not significantly affected by the concentration of the phosphate buffer or by exsheathing the larvae. We infer from these data that the efflux of NH(3)/NH(4)(+) is a diffusive process and that the secreted or excreted NH(3)/NH(4)(+) is generated enzymatically rather than dissociating from the surface of the nematode. The enzymatic source of the NH(3)/NH(4)(+) is yet to be identified. Since the concentration of NH(3)/NH(4)(+) in the rumen and abomasum is higher than 130 μM, it is unlikely that T. circumcincta contributes to it, but NH(3)/NH(4)(+) may be accumulated from the rumen fluid by the nematode.
Nitrification of mature sanitary landfill leachate with high-strength of N-NH(4) + (1080-2350 mg L(-1)) was performed in a 10 L continuous nitrification activated sludge reactor. The nitrification system was acclimatized with synthetic leachate during feed batch operation to avoid substrate inhibition before being fed with actual mature leachate. Successful nitrification was achieved with an approximately complete ammonium removal (99%) and 96% of N-NH(4) + conversion to N-NO(-) (3) . The maximum volumetric and specific nitrification rates obtained were 2.56 kg N-NH(4) (+) m(-3) day(-1) and 0.23 g N-NH(4) ( +) g(-1) volatile suspended solid (VSS) day(-1), respectively, at hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 12.7 h and solid retention time of 50 days. Incomplete nitrification was encountered when operating at a higher nitrogen loading rate of 3.14 kg N-NH(4) (+) m(-3) day(-1). The substrate overloading and nitrifiers competition with heterotrophs were believed to trigger the incomplete nitrification. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) results supported the syntrophic association between the ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria. FISH results also revealed the heterotrophs as the dominant and disintegration of some AOB cell aggregates into single cells which further supported the incomplete nitrification phenomenon.
Rock filters are an established technology for polishing waste stabilization pond effluents. However, they rapidly become anoxic and consequently do not remove ammonium-nitrogen. Horizontal-flow aerated rock filters (HFARF), developed to permit nitrification and hence ammonium-N removal, were compared with a novel vertical-flow aerated rock filter (VFARF). There were no differences in the removals of BOD5, TSS and TKN, but the VFARF consistently produced effluents with lower ammonium-N concentrations (<0.3 mg N/L) than the HFARF (0.8-1.5 mg N/L) and higher nitrate-N concentrations (24-29 mg N/L vs. 17-24 mg N/L).
The removal of ammonium from aqueous solutions using zeolite NaY prepared from a local agricultural waste, rice husk ash waste was investigated and a naturally occurring zeolite mordenite in powdered and granulated forms was used as comparison. Zeolite NaY and mordenite were well characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis and the total cation exchange capacity (CEC). CEC of the zeolites were measured as 3.15, 1.46 and 1.34 meq g(-1) for zeolite Y, powdered mordenite and granular mordenite, respectively. Adsorption kinetics and equilibrium data for the removal of NH(4)(+) ions were examined by fitting the experimental data to various models. Kinetic studies showed that the adsorption followed a pseudo-second-order reaction. The equilibrium pattern fits well with the Langmuir isotherm compared to the other isotherms. The monolayer adsorption capacity for zeolite Y (42.37 mg/g) was found to be higher than that powdered mordenite (15.13 mg/g) and granular mordenite (14.56 mg/g). Thus, it can be concluded that the low cost and economical rice husk ash-synthesized zeolite NaY could be a better sorbent for ammonium removal due to its rapid adsorption rate and higher adsorption capacity compared to natural mordenite.
Various species of local wood modified with N-(3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl)-trimethylammonium chloride showed sorption enhancement for hydrolyzed Reactive Blue 2 (HRB) compared to the untreated samples. The enthalpy of sorption of HRB on Simpoh (Dillenia suffruticosa) was found to be endothermic. Maximum sorption capacity calculated from the Langmuir isotherm was 250.0 mg/g. Under continuous flow conditions HRB could be successfully removed. Dye removal was a function of bed depth and flow rate. However, the bed depth service time model of Bohart and Adams was not applicable in the HRB-quaternized wood system. The modified wood was applied to a sample of industrial textile effluent, and it was found to be able to remove the color successfully under batch conditions.
A new sample preparation method is proposed for the extraction of pharmaceutical compounds (Metformin, Phenyl biguanide, and Phenformin) of varied hydrophilicity, dissolved in an aqueous sample. When in contact with an organic phase, an interfacial potential is imposed by the presence of an ion, tetramethylammonium (TMA+), common to each phase. The interfacial potential difference drives the transfer of ionic analytes across the interface and allows it to reach up to nearly 100% extraction efficiency and a 60-fold enrichment factor in optimized extraction conditions as determined by HPLC analysis.
Behaviors of cationic and nonionic mixed micelles in the form of hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HDABr) and hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide-Polyethylene glycol hexadecyl ether (C16E20), in the presence of inert salts (NaBr and 3,5-dichlorosodium benzoate), by the use of reaction probe between Pp and ionized PhSH (Pp = piperidine and PhSH = phenyl salicylate), has been reported in this work. The values of RXBr (RXBr denotes ion exchange constants obtained in the presence of micelles of different structural features) or KXBr (KXBr denotes ion exchange constants obtained in the presence of micelles of the same structural features) for 3,5-Cl2C6H3CO2- were almost the same at three different [HDABr]T (0.006, 0.010 and 0.015 M). The average value of RXBr or KXBr determined, in the presence of pure HDABr micelles, using semi empirical kinetic (SEK) method appeared to be almost 2½-fold larger (RXBr or KXBr = 198) than that in the presence of mixed HDABr-C16E20 micelles (RXBr or KXBr = 78). Rheological measurements indicated the existence of wormlike/twisted micelles and vesicle at 0.015 M pure HDABr, various [3,5-Cl2C6H3CO2Na], and 25 and 35℃ whereas there were evidence of only spherical micelles in the presence of mixed HDABr-C16E20 ([HDABr]T = 0.015 M and [C16E20]T = 0.006 M) at both temperatures.
The electrospinning PAN nanofiber membrane (P-CN) was hydrolysed to convert carboxylic groups as reaction sites and covalently graft chitosan molecule. The chitosan derivatives with quaternary ammonium groups exerted greater efficiency against bacteria as compared to pure chitosan. Hence, the chitosan modified membrane (P-CS), can be functionalized with quaternary amine (i.e., glycidyl trimethyl ammonium chloride, GTMAC) to form quaternized chitosan nanofiber membrane (designated as P-HTCC) under various conditions (acidic, neutral, and alkaline). N-quaternized derivatives of chitosan modified membrane (N-HTCC) showed 72% and 60% degree of quaternization (DQ) under acidic and neutral conditions, respectively. Under alkaline condition, additional quaternization of N, O-HTCC via its amino and hydroxyl groups, has improved up to 90% DQ of the chitosan. The antibacterial activity of the quaternized chitosan modified membrane prepared from acetic acid medium is stronger than that prepared from water and alkaline media. Also, antibacterial activity of quaternized chitosan is stronger than chitosan modified membrane against E. coli. The microbiological assessments showed that the water-stable P-HTCC nanofiber membrane under modification in acidic medium exerted antibacterial activity up to 99.95% against E. coli. Therefore, the P-HTCC membrane exhibited high potential to be integrated into microfiltration membrane to effectively disinfect E. coli.
In this study, solid polymer blend electrolytes (SPBEs) based on chitosan (CS) and methylcellulose (MC) incorporated with different concentrations of ammonium fluoride (NH4F) salt were synthesized using a solution cast technique. Both Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) results confirmed a strong interaction and dispersion of the amorphous region within the CS:MC system in the presence of NH4F. To gain better insights into the electrical properties of the samples, the results of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were analyzed by electrical equivalent circuit (EEC) modeling. The highest conductivity of 2.96 × 10-3 S cm-1 was recorded for the sample incorporated with 40 wt.% of NH4F. Through transference number measurement (TNM) analysis, the fraction of ions was specified. The electrochemical stability of the electrolyte sample was found to be up to 2.3 V via the linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) study. The value of specific capacitance was determined to be around 58.3 F/g. The stability test showed that the electrical double layer capacitor (EDLC) system can be recharged and discharged for up to 100 cycles with an average specific capacitance of 64.1 F/g. The synthesized EDLC cell was found to exhibit high efficiency (90%). In the 1st cycle, the values of internal resistance, energy density and power density of the EDLC cell were determined to be 65 Ω, 9.3 Wh/kg and 1282 W/kg, respectively.
Organomontmorillonites were synthesized by grafting cationic surfactants i.e quaternary ammonium compounds into the interlayer space and were characterized using XRD, FTIR and N2 adsorption/ desorption analysis. The organomontmorillonites were applied as catalyst for the esterification of glycerol (GL) with lauric acid (LA). The catalyst which had symmetrical onium salts (tetrabuthylammoniumbromide, TBAB) gave higher activity than that of unsymmetrical onium salts (cetyltrimethylammoniumbromide, CTAB). Over the TBAB-montmorillonite catalyst, glycerol monolaurate was obtained with a selectivity of about 80%, a lauric acid conversion of about 71% and a glycerol monolaurate yield of about 57%.
The performance of pipeline system used in petroleum industry is crucially declined by natural microbial activities and
demanding extra operational cost. Requirement on high capability of functional substances is attracting worldwide
research interest. The aim of this paper was to study the effectiveness of benzyltriethylammonium chloride (BTC) on
reducing the activity of a consortium bacteria consisting of sulfate-reducing bacteria (C-SRB). C-SRB was isolated from
tropical crude oil and enumeration of this consortium was measured by viable cell count technique. The effectiveness of
BTC was calculated from potentiodynamic polarization method and biofilm analysis was performed by scanning electron
microscope. The viable cell count technique indicated that the maximum growth of C-SRB was approximately 160 trillion
CFU/mL at 7 days incubation period. BTC was capable of reducing biocorrosion activity due to adsorption process and
mitigating SRB species. Biofilm analysis has proven that C-SRB activity is minimized due to less presence of bacterial
growth, extracellular polymeric substances and corrosion product. In conclusion, BTC is capable to inhibit C-SRB activity
on biocorrosion of carbon steel pipeline.
WO₃-decorated TiO₂ nanotube arrays were successfully synthesized using an in situ anodization method in ethylene glycol electrolyte with dissolved H₂O₂ and ammonium fluoride in amounts ranging from 0 to 0.5 wt %. Anodization was carried out at a voltage of 40 V for a duration of 60 min. By using the less stable tungsten as the cathode material instead of the conventionally used platinum electrode, tungsten will form dissolved ions (W(6+)) in the electrolyte which will then move toward the titanium foil and form a coherent deposit on the titanium foil. The fluoride ion content was controlled to determine the optimum chemical dissolution rate of TiO₂ during anodization to produce a uniform nanotubular structure of TiO₂ film. Nanotube arrays were then characterized using FESEM, EDAX, XRD, as well as Raman spectroscopy. Based on the FESEM images obtained, nanotube arrays with an average pore diameter of up to 65 nm and a length of 1.8 µm were produced. The tungsten element in the samples was confirmed by EDAX results which showed varying tungsten content from 0.22 to 2.30 at%. XRD and Raman results showed the anatase phase of TiO₂ after calcination at 400 °C for 4 h in air atmosphere. The mercury removal efficiency of the nanotube arrays was investigated by photoirradiating samples dipped in mercury chloride solution with TUV (Tube ultraviolet) 96W UV-B Germicidal light. The nanotubes with the highest aspect ratio (15.9) and geometric surface area factor (92.0) exhibited the best mercury removal performance due to a larger active surface area, which enables more Hg(2+) to adsorb onto the catalyst surface to undergo reduction to Hg⁰. The incorporation of WO₃ species onto TiO₂ nanotubes also improved the mercury removal performance due to improved charge separation and decreased charge carrier recombination because of the charge transfer from the conduction band of TiO₂ to the conduction band of WO₃.
A binary salt system utilizing lithium iodide (LiI) as the auxiliary component has been introduced to the N-phthaloylchitosan (PhCh) based gel polymer electrolyte consisting of ethylene carbonate (EC), dimethylformamide (DMF), tetrapropylammonium iodide (TPAI), and iodine (I2) in order to improve the performance of dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) with efficiency of 6.36%, photocurrent density, JSC of 17.29mAcm-2, open circuit voltage, VOC of 0.59V and fill factor, FF of 0.62. This efficiency value is an improvement from the 5.00% performance obtained by the DSSC consisting of only TPAI single salt system. The presence of the LiI in addition to the TPAI improves the charge injection rates and increases the iodide contribution to the total conductivity and both factors contribute to the increase in efficiency of the DSSC. The interaction behavior between polymer-plasticizer-salt was thoroughly investigated using EIS, FTIR spectroscopy and XRD.
The synthesis of nanocomposite with controlled surface morphology plays a key role for pollutant removal from aqueous environments. The influence of the molecular size of the polyelectrolyte in synthesizing silica-iron oxide core-shell nanocomposite with open shell structure was investigated by using dynamic light scattering, atomic force microscopy, and quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D). Here, poly(diallydimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) was used to promote the attachment of iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) onto the silica surface to assemble a nanocomposite with magnetic and catalytic bifunctionality. High molecular weight PDDA tended to adsorb on silica colloid, forming a more extended conformation layer than low molecular weight PDDA. Subsequent attachment of IONPs onto this extended PDDA layer was more randomly distributed, forming isolated islands with open space between them. By taking amoxicillin, an antibiotic commonly found in pharmaceutical waste, as the model system, better removal was observed for silica-iron oxide nanocomposite with a more extended open shell structure.
The potential application of Chlorella vulgaris UMACC 001 for bioremediation of textile wastewater (TW) was investigated using four batches of cultures in high rate algae ponds (HRAP) containing textile dye (Supranol Red 3BW) or TW. The biomass attained ranged from 0.17 to 2.26 mg chlorophyll a/L while colour removal ranged from 41.8% to 50.0%. There was also reduction of NH(4)-N (44.4-45.1%), PO(4)-P (33.1-33.3%) and COD (38.3-62.3%) in the TW. Supplementation of the TW with nutrients of Bold's Basal Medium (BBM) increased biomass production but did not improve colour removal or reduction of pollutants. The mechanism of colour removal by C. vulgaris is biosorption, in accordance with both the Langmuir and Freundlich models. The HRAP using C. vulgaris offers a good system for the polishing of TW before final discharge.
An optical biosensor based on glutamate dehydrogenase (GLDH) immobilized in a chitosan film for the determination of ammonium in water samples is described. The biosensor film was deposited on a glass slide via a spin-coating method. The ammonium was measured based on beta-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) oxidation in the presence of alpha-ketoglutaric acid at a wavelength of 340 nm. The biosensor showed optimum activity at pH 8. The optimum chitosan concentrations and enzyme loading were found to be at 2% (w/v) and 0.08 mg, respectively. Optimum concentrations of NADH and alpha-ketoglutaric acid both were obtained at 0.15 mM. A linear response of the biosensor was obtained in the ammonium concentration range of 0.005 to 0.5 mM with a detection limit of 0.005 mM. The reproducibility of the biosensor was good, with an observed relative standard deviation of 5.9% (n=8). The biosensor was found to be stable for at least 1 month when stored dry at 4 degrees C.
A field investigation was conducted at all water treatment plants throughout 11 states and Federal Territory in Peninsular Malaysia. The sampling points in this study include treatment plant operation, service reservoir outlet and auxiliary outlet point at the water pipelines. Analysis was performed by solid phase micro-extraction technique with a 100 microm polydimethylsiloxane fibre using gas chromatography with mass spectrometry detection to analyse 54 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of different chemical families in drinking water. The concentration of VOCs ranged from undetectable to 230.2 microg/l. Among all of the VOCs species, chloroform has the highest concentration and was detected in all drinking water samples. Average concentrations of total trihalomethanes (THMs) were almost similar among all states which were in the range of 28.4--33.0 microg/l. Apart from THMs, other abundant compounds detected were cis and trans-1,2-dichloroethylene, trichloroethylene, 1,2-dibromoethane, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, chlorobenzene, 1,4-dichlorobenzene and 1,2-dichloro - benzene. Principal component analysis (PCA) with the aid of varimax rotation, and parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) method were used to statistically verify the correlation between VOCs and the source of pollution. The multivariate analysis pointed out that the maintenance of auxiliary pipelines in the distribution systems is vital as it can become significant point source pollution to Malaysian drinking water.
Antiseptics are commonly used for the management of MDR (multiple drug resistance) pathogens in hospitals. They play crucial roles in the infection control practices. Antiseptics are often used for skin antisepsis, gauze dressing, preparation of anatomical sites for surgical procedure, hand sterilization before in contact with an infected person, before an invasive procedure and as surgical scrub.
This study investigates the separation of two heavy metals, Cd(II) and Cu(II), from the mixed synthetic feed using a liquid-liquid extraction. The current study uses tri-octyl methylammonium chloride (Aliquat 336) as the extractant (with tributyl phosphate (TBP) as a phase modifier), diluted in toluene, in order to investigate the selective extraction of Cd(II) over Cu(II) ions. We investigate the use of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) as a masking agent for Cu(II), when added in aqueous feed, for the selective extraction of Cd(II). Five factors that influence the selective extraction of Cd(II) over Cu(II) (the equilibrium pH (pHeq), Aliquat 336 concentration (Aliquat 336), TBP concentration (TBP), EDTA concentration (EDTA), and organic to aqueous ratio (O:A)) were analyzed. Results from a 25-1 fractional factorial design show that Aliquat 336 significantly influenced Cd(II) extraction, whereas EDTA was statistically significant for the antagonistic effect on the E% of Cu(II) in the same system. Moreover, results from optimization experiment showed that the optimum conditions are Aliquat 336 concentration of 99.64 mM and EDTA concentration of 48.86 mM-where 95.89% of Cd(II) was extracted with the least extracted Cu(II) of 0.59%. A second-order model was fitted for optimization of Cd(II) extraction with a R2 value of 0.998, and ANOVA results revealed that the model adequately fitted the data at a 5% significance level. Interaction between Aliquat 336 and Cd(II) has been proven via FTIR qualitative analysis, whereas the addition of TBP does not affect the extraction mechanism.
Plasmid DNA is one of the indispensable components in molecular biology research and a potential biomaterial for gene therapy and DNA vaccination. Both quality and quantity of extracted plasmid DNA are of the great interests in cloning and subsequent expression of genes in vitro and in vivo for basic research and therapeutic interventions. Bacteria with extremely short generation times are the valuable source of plasmid DNA that can be isolated through a number of existing techniques. However, the current methods have some limitations in isolating high quality plasmid DNA since the multimeric plasmid which is believed to be more efficiently transcribed by RNA polymerase than the monomeric form, is almost lost during the extraction process. Recently, we developed a rapid isolation technique for multimeric plasmid based on generation of a 'protein aggregate' using a zwitterionic detergent and alkali. Here we have investigated the roles of different parameters in the whole extraction process to optimise the production of high quality multimeric plasmid DNA. Moreover, we have showed the advantageous effects of nanoparticles to effectively sediment the 'protein aggregate' for smooth elution of multimeric plasmid DNA from it. Finally, quality assessment study has revealed that the isolated multimeric DNA is at least 10 times more transcriptionally active than the monomeric form isolated by the commercially available Qiaget kit.