Abstract: Polycarbonate is one of the most widely used engineering plastics because of its superior physical, chemical, and mechanical properties. Understanding the biodegradation of this polymer is of great importance to answer the increasing problems in waste management of this polymer. Aliphatic polycarbonates are known to biodegrade either through the action of pure enzymes or by bacterial whole cells. Very little information is available that deals with the biodegradation of aromatic polycarbonates. Biodegradation is governed by different factors that include polymer characteristics, type of organism, and nature of pretreatment. The polymer characteristics such as its mobility, tacticity, crystallinity, molecular weight, the type of functional groups and substituents present in its structure, and plasticizers or additives added to the polymer all play an important role in its degradation. The carbonate bond in aliphatic polycarbonates is facile and hence this polymer is easily biodegradable. On the other hand, bisphenol A polycarbonate contains benzene rings and quaternary carbon atoms which form bulky and stiff chains that enhance rigidity. Even though this polycarbonate is amorphous in nature because of considerable free volume, it is non-biodegradable since the carbonate bond is inaccessible to enzymes because of the presence of bulky phenyl groups on either side. In order to facilitate the biodegradation of polymers few pretreatment techniques which include photo-oxidation, gamma-irradiation, or use of chemicals have been tested. Addition of biosurfactants to improve the interaction between the polymer and the microorganisms, and blending with natural or synthetic polymers that degrade easily, can also enhance the biodegradation.

Abstract: Polyethylene and polypropylene are the two polyolefins with wide ranging applications. They are recalcitrant and hence remain inert to degradation and deterioration leading to their accumulation in the environment, and, therefore creating serious environmental problems. In this review, biodegradation of these two polymers under in vitro conditions is reported. An attempt has been made to cover the mechanism of biodegradation, the various bacterial and fungal organisms that have been reported for the same, methods adopted for the studies and different characterization techniques followed to measure the extent of degradation

Abstract: The information available in the literature provides evidence for the biodegradation of some poly- and per-fluorinated compounds, but such biodegradation is incomplete and may not result in mineralization. Recent publications have demonstrated that 8:2 fluorotelomer alcohol, for example, can be degraded by bacteria from soil and wastewater treatment plants to perfluorooctanoic acid. Similarly, 2-N-ethyl(perfluorooctane sulfonamido)ethanol can be degraded by wastewater treatment sludge to perfluorooctanesulfonate. It is presently unclear whether these two products are degraded further. Therefore, the question remains as to whether there is a potential for defluorination and biodegradation of PFCs that contributes significantly to their environmental fate. The lack of mineralization observed is probably caused by the stability of the C-F bond, although there are examples of microbially catalyzed defluorination reactions. As is the case with reductive dechlorination or debromination, reductive defluorination is energetically favorable under anaerobic conditions and releases more energy than that available from sulfate reduction or methanogenesis. Consequently, we should consider the possibility that bacteria will adapt to utilize this source of energy, although evolving mechanisms to overcome the kinetic barriers to degradation of these compounds may take some time. The fact that such reactions are absent for some PFCs, to date, may be because too little time has passed for microorganisms to adapt to these potential substrates. Hence, the situation may be comparable to that of chlorinated organic compounds several decades ago. For many years, organochlorine compounds were considered to be catabolically recalcitrant; today, reductive chlorination reactions of many organochlorines, including PCBs and dioxins, are regularly observed in anaerobic environments. Hence, it is opportune and important to continue studying the potential degradation of perfluorinated compounds in carefully designed experiments with either microbial populations from contaminated sites or cultures of bacteria known to dehalogenate chlorinated compounds.

Abstract: Large volumes of toxic aqueous tailings containing a complex mixture of naphthenic acids (NAs; CnH2n+ZO2) are produced in northern Alberta by the oil sands industry. Because of their persistence and contribution to toxicity, there is an urgent need to understand the fate of NAs under a variety of remediation scenarios. In a previous study, we developed a highly specific HPLC−high resolution mass spectrometry method for the analysis of NAs. Here we apply this method to determine quantitative structure−persistence relationships and kinetics for commercial NAs and NAs in oil sands process water (OSPW) during aerobic microbial biodegradation. Biodegradation of commercial NAs revealed that the mixture contained a substantial labile fraction, which was rapidly biodegraded, and a recalcitrant fraction composed of highly branched compounds. Conversely, NAs in OSPW were predominantly recalcitrant, and degraded slowly by first-order kinetics. Carbon number (n) had little effect on the rate of biodegradation, wherea...

Abstract: It has been confirmed that commonly used ionic liquids are not easily biodegradable. When ultimately disposed of or accidentally released, they would accumulate in the environment, which strongly restricts large-scale industrial applications of ionic liquids. Herein, ten biodegradable ionic liquids were prepared by a single, one-pot neutralization of choline and surrogate naphthenic acids. The structures of these naphthenic acid ionic liquids (NAILs) were characterized and confirmed by (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy, and elemental analysis, and their physical properties, such as densities, viscosities, conductivities, melting points (T(m)), glass transition points (T(g)), and the onset temperatures of decomposition (T(d)), were determined. More importantly, studies showed that these NAILs would be rapidly and completely biodegraded in aquatic environments under aerobic conditions, which would make them attractive candidates to be utilized in industrial processes. To explore the underlying mechanism involved in the NAIL biodegradation reaction and seek prediction of their biodegradability under environmental conditions, four molecular descriptors were chosen: the logarithm of the n-octanol/water partition coefficient (log P), van der Waals volume (V(vdW)), energies of the highest occupied molecular orbital (E(HOMO)), and energies of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (E(LUMO)). Through multiple linear regression, a general and qualified model including the biodegradation percentage for NAILs after the 28-day OECD 301D test (%B(28)) and molecular descriptors was developed. Regression analysis showed that the model was statistically significant at the 99% confidence interval, thus indicating that the %B(28) Of NAILs could be explained well by the quantum chemical descriptor E(HOMO), which might give some important clues in the discovery of biodegradable ionic liquids of other kinds.

Abstract: A large and increasing volume of wastewater is produced globally by the winery and distillery industries. These wastewaters are generally acidic, high in chemical oxygen demand (COD) and color, and may contain phenolic compounds that can inhibit biological treatment systems. Treatment of distillery and phenolic compound–rich wastewaters by physicochemical, aerobic biological systems and hybrid treatment methods are discussed, as well as products derived from fungal treatment. White-rot fungi have been shown to exhibit unique biodegradation capabilities, primarily due to their production of extracellular and broad substrate range enzymes that are capable of mineralizing lignin, a recalcitrant biopolymer. One of these enzymes, laccase, catalyses the oxidation of various organic compounds with the subsequent reduction of molecular oxygen to water. Laccase synthesis, induction, and inhibition are discussed with the utilization of waste residues for laccase production and the enzyme's potential indust...

Abstract: A series of molecular and geochemical studies were performed to study microbial, coal bed methane formation in the eastern Illinois Basin. Results suggest that organic matter is biodegraded to simple molecules, such as H2 and CO2, which fuel methanogenesis and the generation of large coal bed methane reserves. Small-subunit rRNA analysis of both the in situ microbial community and highly purified, methanogenic enrichments indicated that Methanocorpusculum is the dominant genus. Additionally, we characterized this methanogenic microorganism using scanning electron microscopy and distribution of intact polar cell membrane lipids. Phylogenetic studies of coal water samples helped us develop a model of methanogenic biodegradation of macromolecular coal and coal-derived oil by a complex microbial community. Based on enrichments, phylogenetic analyses, and calculated free energies at in situ subsurface conditions for relevant metabolisms (H2-utilizing methanogenesis, acetoclastic methanogenesis, and homoacetogenesis), H2-utilizing methanogenesis appears to be the dominant terminal process of biodegradation of coal organic matter at this location. Isotopic signatures of methane accumulations in coals (56), shales (31), biodegraded oils (2, 34), and ocean floor sediments (35) demonstrate that much subsurface methane production results from microbial activity. Coal is extremely rich in complex organic matter (OM) and therefore could be considered a very attractive carbon source for microbial biodegradation. However, coal is a solid rock, often dominated by recalcitrant, partially aromatic, and largely lignin-derived macromolecules which tend to be relatively resistant to degradation. The ratelimiting step of coal biodegradation is the initial fragmentation of the macromolecular, polycyclic, lignin-derived aromatic network of coal. Lignin degradation can be achieved by extracellular enzymes used by fungi and some microbes (11, 14), and it has also been shown that up to 40% of the weight of some coals can be dissolved using extracted microbial enzymes (47). Furthermore, numerous microbiological studies have developed

Abstract: Chlorophenols have been introduced into the environment through their use as biocides and as by-products of chlorine bleaching in the pulp and paper industry. Chlorophenols are subject to both anaerobic and aerobic metabolism. Under anaerobic conditions, chlorinated phenols can undergo reductive dechlorination when suitable electron-donating substrates are available. Halorespiring bacteria are known which can use both low and highly chlorinated congeners of chlorophenol as electron acceptors to support growth. Many strains of halorespiring bacteria have the capacity to eliminate ortho-chlorines; however only bacteria from the species Desulfitobacteriumhafniense (formerly frappieri) can eliminate para- and meta-chlorines in addition to ortho-chlorines. Once dechlorinated, the phenolic carbon skeletons are completely converted to methane and carbon dioxide by other anaerobic microorganisms in the environment. Under aerobic conditions, both lower and higher chlorinated phenols can serve as sole electron and carbon sources supporting growth. The best studied strains utilizing pentachlorophenol belong to the genera Mycobacterium and Sphingomonas. Two main strategies are used by aerobic bacteria for the degradation of chlorophenols. Lower chlorinated phenols for the most part are initially attacked by monooxygenases yielding chlorocatechols as the first intermediates. On the other hand, polychlorinated phenols are converted to chlorohydroquinones as the initial intermediates. Fungi and some bacteria are additionally known that cometabolize chlorinated phenols.

Abstract: The potential and limitations of photosynthetic oxygenation on carbon and nitrogen removal from swine slurry were investigated in batch experiments using Chlorella sorokiniana and an acclimated activated sludge as model microorganisms. While algal–bacterial systems exhibited similar performance than aerated activated sludge in tests supplied with four and eight times diluted slurry, a severe inhibition of the biodegradation process was recorded in undiluted and two times diluted wastewater. Daily pH adjustment to 7 in enclosed algal–bacterial tests at several swine slurry dilutions allowed the treatment of up to two times diluted slurries (containing up to 1,180 mg N-NH4 + l−1). The combination of high pH levels and high NH4 + concentrations was thus identified as the main inhibitory factor governing the efficiency of photosynthetically oxygenated processes treating swine slurry. Measurements of soluble total organic carbon (TOC) and volatile fatty acids (VFA) present in the slurry suggested that VFA degradation (mainly acetic and propionic acid) accounted for most of the soluble TOC removal, especially during the initial stages of the biodegradation process. On the other hand, assimilation into biomass and nitrification to NO2 − constituted the main NH4 + removal processes in enclosed algal–bacterial systems.

Abstract: The performance, the degradability in soil and the environmental impact of biodegradable starch-based soil mulching and low tunnel films were assessed by means of field and laboratory tests. The lifetime of the biodegradable mulches was 9 months and of the biodegradable low-tunnel films 6 months. The radiometric properties of the biodegradable films influenced positively the microclimate: air temperature under the biodegradable low tunnel films was 2 °C higher than under the low density polyethylene films, resulting in an up to 20% higher yield of strawberries. At the end of the cultivation period, the biodegradable mulches were broken up and buried in the field soil together with the plant residues. One year after burial, less than 4% of the initial weight of the biodegradable film was found in the soil. According to ecotoxicity tests, the kinetic luminescent bacteria test with Vibrio fischeri and the Enchytraeus albidus ISO/CD 16387 reproduction potential, there was no evidence of ecotoxicity in the soil during the biodegradation process. Furthermore, there was no change in the diversity of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in the soil determined on the basis of the appearance of amoA gene diversity in denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis.