African Journal of Water Conservation and Sustainability

African Journal of Water Conservation and Sustainability ISSN 2375-0936 Vol. 13 (1), pp. 001-010, January, 2025. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Biodegradation of Phenol by Mixed Microbial Culture in Batch Reactor: Kinetic Analysis and Performance Assessment

Sudipta Dey1*and Somnath Mukherjee2

1Department of Biotechnology, Heritage Institute of Technology, Anandapur, Chowbaga Road, PO: Kolkata, PIN:
700107, West Bengal, India.
2Professor, Environmental Engineering Division, Civil Engineering Department, Jadavpur University, Raja S. C.

Mallic Road, Kolkata, PIN: 700032, West Bengal, India.

Accepted 22 November, 2024

Mixed microbial culture collected from effluent treatment plant of a coke oven industry has been studied for its phenol biodegrading potential under aerobic condition in a batch reactor. The result showed that, after acclimatization, the culture could biodegrade up to 700 mg/l of phenol. The results showed that specific growth rate of microorganisms and specific substrate degradation rate increased up to 300 mg/l of initial phenol concentration and then started decreasing. The biodegradation kinetics is fitted to different substrate inhibition models by MATLAB 7.1©. Among all models, Haldane model was best fitted (Root Mean Square Error = 0.0067) for phenol degradation. The different biodegradation constants (Ks, Ki, S m, mmax, YX/S, kd) estimated using these models showed good potential of the mixed microbial culture in phenol biodegradation.

Key words: Mixed culture, phenol biodegradation, kinetics, inhibition model.
 

African Journal of Water Conservation and Sustainability ISSN 2375-0936 Vol. 12 (1), pp. 001-007, January, 2024. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

The impact of heavy metal pollution on urban water quality and human health in Onitsha, Nigeria

A. C. C. Ezeabasili¹*, O. L. Anike² and B. U. Okoro³

¹Heriot Watt University, UK.

²Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria.

³Department of Civil Engineering, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria.

Accepted 24 October, 2023

Abstract

Studies of common heavy metals were conducted at Onitsha, Anambra State, the most urbanized city in Southeastern Nigeria. It was discovered that both surface and subsurface water were heavily polluted. Seven (7) heavy metals namely: arsenic (As⁺²), cadmium (Cd⁺²), lead (Pb⁺²), mercury (Hg⁺²), zinc (Zn⁺²), copper (Cu⁺²) and iron (Fe⁺²) were studied. Their major sources include wastes like refuse dumps, effluent from industries, sewage, fuel spills from dumps and mechanic workshops, hospital and pharmaceutical wastes, agricultural materials, fossil fuel combustion, metallurgical industries, electronic components and semi-conductors, batteries, pigments and paints. Further data were collected in ongoing research works in the area and public enlightenment was done in a small scale. Recommendations are made to government to note the impending dangers of further urban environmental pollution by these trace metals.

Key words: Polluted, effluents, research, urban.

African Journal of Water Conservation and Sustainability ISSN 2375-0936 Vol. 11 (6), pp. 001-009, June, 2023. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Myrothecium roridum's effectiveness in eradicating water hyacinth and species identification based on molecular information

Orawan Piyaboon¹, Arm Unartngam¹ and Jintana Unartngam²*

¹Bioproducts Science, Department of Science, Faculty of Liberal Arts and Science, Kasetsart University, Kamphaeng Saen Campus, Nakhon Pathom, 73140, Thailand. *Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]. Tel: 66-84-1582586.

²Department of Plant Pathology, Faculty of Agriculture at Kamphaeng Saen, Kasetsart University, Kamphaeng Saen Campus, Nakhon Pathom, 73140, Thailand.

Accepted 26 February, 2023

Abstract

Myrothecium roridum isolates were evaluated for their effectiveness in controlling the aggressive water hyacinth and molecular identification was conducted using internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rDNA region and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. M. roridum isolates were collected from nine provinces of Thailand. Seventy isolates were included in the primary screening, using colonial growth rate and spore number measurement. The results indicate that five isolates were the most aggressive and so were selected to evaluate their effectiveness in controlling the water hyacinth. The result showed that M. roridum isolate KKFC 408 had significantly highest disease severity (P<0.05) and the highest reduction for the fresh weight of water hyacinth. These five isolates DNA were amplified and sequenced using ITS1 and ITS4 universal primer for species identification. The data analyzed showed that five sequences of M. roridum were in the same group agreeing with other sequences of M. roridum recorded in the GenBank database, which correlated to morphological observation results. The AFLP result indicated that fifteen isolates of M. roridum were divided into four subgroups which were not correlated to the geographical area.

Key words: Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP), internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of rDNA region, mycoherbicide.

African Journal of Water Conservation and Sustainability ISSN 2375-0936 Vol. 11 (6), pp. 001-008, June, 2023. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

The use of ethyl ester of lard as an inhibitor in the kinetics of mild steel corrosion in a petroleum-water mixture

Jerome Anguel Undiandeye¹, Ternenge Joseph Chior¹, Abubakar Mohammed¹ and Julius Chigozie Offurum²*

¹Department of Chemical Engineering, Modibbo Adama University of Technology Yola, Adamawa State, Nigeria. *Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]

²Department of Chemical Engineering, Imo State Polytechnic, Umuagwo-Ohaji, Imo State, Nigeria.

Accepted 15 April, 2023

Abstract

Ethyl Esters of Pork Oil (EEL) has been investigated as a mild steel corrosion inhibitor in petroleum-water mixture by weight-loss tests at different concentrations (0.1l, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5g/L) of inhibitor, and at temperatures of 303, 313, 323 and 333K. Results show that inhibition efficiency increases as the inhibitor concentration increases, decreases with temperature, and follows the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. It was found that the adsorption of the ethyl ester on mild steel is by physical adsorption. For the trans-esterification process, the optimal parameters needed for the optimal yield of the ester were: reaction time of 120 min, temperature of 75°C, content of catalyst of 1% and alcoholic content of 72 cm³.

Key words: Corrosion inhibitor, ethyl ester, pork oil, mild steel, petroleum-water mixture.