Phosphorus uptake by Oscillatoria sp. microalgae for bioavailability under anaerobic condition to predict eutrophication

Phosphorus is generally considered the limiting nutrient for algae growth in the aquatic environment. The phosphorus uptake for algae can give information for bioavailability-P. The contribution of phosphorous to bioavailability was evaluated using uptake-P in water solution under anaerobic conditions. The more is the incubation time, the more is the phosphate bioavailability. The maximum bioavailability occurred at 14 days with a phosphate concentration of 50 ppm resulting in P-available of 18.41 ppm. There was a linear correlation between P-available with P-medium with R2 = 0.97. The phosphorus bioavailability can be resulted from the equation: [P-Available] = 0.3789 x [P-medium]. The phosphate absorbed by the algae Oscillatoria sp in anaerobic conditions with initial concentrations of 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 ppm was 5.46, 8.65, 11.63, 17.99 and 18.41 ppm, respectively. The maximum efficiency adsorption occurred in the concentration of 30 ppm with 49.18% adsorption.

Optimizatiaon of MRS (De Man, Rogosa and Sharpe) Media with an organic waste substitute to assess the potential of Lactobacillus in Ink degradation

Lactobacillus species are normally found in human digestive and urinary tracts. In this study, the capability of probiotic strains to grow in media using banana peel waste as an alternative carbohydrate source was investigated. Lactic acid bacteria were isolated using homemade curd, banana peel powder was made using an alternate drum drier technique and used as a fermentation media on which strain of probiotic, Lactobacillus sp. were grown. The result showed that bacterial growth using banana peel powder obtained at 370C under anaerobic condition (2- 3 days), was comparable to growth seen in MRS medium. It can be concluded that the banana peel powder can be utilized to produce culture medium for cultivation of probiotic bacteria as a substitute to MRS medium which is expensive for cultivating probiotics. This will not only result in cost reduction of probiotic from cheap, inexpensive Agro-waste material, but also helps in solving the environmental pollution problem caused by their extensive disposal. The capability of Lactobacillus sp. to degrade dye was also investigated. Lactobacilli was incorporated under anaerobic condition in the M9 media containing the dye. The dye degrading capability of Lactobacillus sp was estimated colorimetrically at 520nm. The result showed a decrease in the dye concentration obtained at 37oC under anaerobic condition. So, it can be concluded that the Lactobacillus strain can be used for the bioremediation of dyes.

Nanobubbles activate anaerobic growth and metabolism of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

The effect of nanobubbles on anaerobic growth and metabolism of Pseudomonas aeruginosa was investigated. P. aeruginosa grew earlier in the culture medium containing nanobubbles and the bacterial cell concentration in that culture medium was increased a few times higher compared to the medium without nanobubbles under anaerobic condition. Both gas and protein, which are the metabolites of P. aeruginosa, were remarkably produced in the culture medium containing nanobubbles whereas those metabolites were little detected in the medium without nanobubbles, indicating nanobubbles activated anaerobic growth and metabolism of P. aeruginosa. The carbon dioxide nanobubbles came to be positively charged by adsorbing cations and delivered ferrous ions, one of the trace essential elements for bacterial growth, to the microbial cells, which activated the growth and metabolism of P. aeruginosa. The oxygen nanobubbles activated the activities of P. aeruginosa as an oxygen source.

Effect of Millet Stalks and Shea Nut Shells on Biogas Production

Biogas production undergoes decomposition of organic compounds under anaerobic condition. This present work investigated the yield of biogas production from Shea nut shell and millet stalk and their blends with sheep dung. It was revealed that sheep dung (control) had the highest yield with an average production of 187.8 ml of gas for 102 days followed by sheanut shell - sheep dung blends which had 123.3 ml of gas for 102 days. Millet stalk - sheep dung blends recorded 75.9 ml of gas for 79 days. Shea nut shell and millet stalk presented 31.5 ml of gas for 81 days and 7.1 ml of gas for 48 days respectively while the pH for production ranged from 10.1 to 4.6. The moisture contents recorded for millet stalk, Shea nut shell and sheep dung before and after production were 40%, 45%, 65% and 80%, 65%, 85 respectively, and also the recorded ash contents before and after production were, 35%, 45%, 40% and 85%, 75%, 65%, respectively. It was observed that the blending of Shea nut shell and sheep dung greatly improves biogas yield while Millet stalks alone are good material for biogas production at a reasonable pH and moisture content values.