Efficacy of Alkaline-Treated Soy Waste Biomass for the Removal of Heavy-Metal Ions and Opportunities for Their Recovery

In this study, soy waste biomass (SW) resulting from oil extraction was treated with alkaline solution, and the obtained material (Na-SW) was used as biosorbent for the removal of Pb(II), Cd(II), and Zn(II) ions from aqueous media. The performance of this biosorbent was examined in batch systems, at different initial metal ion concentrations and contact times (pH 3.4; 5 g of biosorbent/L). Isotherm and kinetic modeling was used to calculate the equilibrium and kinetics of the biosorption processes. The maximum biosorption capacity, calculated from the Langmuir isotherm model, followed the order Zn(II) (0.49 mmol/g) > Cd(II) (0.41 mmol/g) ≈ Pb(II) (0.40 mmol/g), while the kinetics of biosorption processes fit the pseudo-second-order model. Three cycles of biosorption/desorption were performed to estimate the reusability of Na-SW biosorbent, and the regeneration efficiency was higher than 97% in all cases. The practical applicability of Na-SW biosorbent in treating of wastewater contaminated with Pb(II), Cd(II), and Zn(II) ions was examined using simulated wastewater samples, and the main quality characteristics of the effluents obtained after treatment were evaluated. All these aspects highlight the potential applicability of Na-SW for large-scale wastewater treatment.

Effect of Napier grass ensiled with or without inclusion of soy waste on the performance of growing goats

Utilization of soy waste as a ruminant feed is low due to storage problems and transportation costs.An experiment was carried out with fifteen goats to assess the feeding value of Napier grass(Pennisetum purpureum) ensiled with or without soy waste. Grass ensiled without soy waste wastermed as NM silage, while grass ensiled 30% soy waste (w/w) was termed as NMS silage. In bothsilages, 1.0% molasses (w/w) were incorporated to enhance the fermentation process. After 2months of ensiling, three diets were formulated and assigned to one of three groups: (i) Napier grassad libitum plus 1% pellet of body weight (BW) on a dry matter (DM) basis (T1), (ii) NM silage adlibitum plus 1% soy waste of BW on a DM basis (T2), and (iii) NMS silage ad libitum (T3). TheNMS silage showed a lower pH (4.04 vs. 4.64) than NM silage. The NMS silage exhibited higherproportions of DM, organic matter (OM), and crude protein (CP) compared to NM silage. Animalsreceived T1 diet showed higher (p<0.05) DM, OM and neutral detergent fibre intake compared tothe animals received T2 and T3 diets. However, animals received T2 diet showed higher CP intakethan the animals received T1 and T3 diets. Similarly, animals received T2 diet showed higher(p<0.05) BW gain (49.4 vs. 16.5 g/d) than the goats fed T3 diet. In conclusion, the T3 diet mayhave limited goat performance, which needs further study to improve the quality of silage.

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Reproducibility of solid-state fermentation at bench-scale: the case of protease production

<p>Solid-state fermentation (SSF) process appears to be an efficient way to recover and valorise organic residues from industries and to generate other products of industrial significance, such as enzymes. As the reproducibility of SSF is one of the main drawbacks in the development of this process, a complete study on this point was carried out. Materials with high nitrogen content, soy waste (SW) and hair waste (HW), were treated by SSF to obtain both proteases for different uses and a stabilized material for soil amendment. The bench scale reactors used in the experiments had a 4.5 l volume. Eight and five experiments were performed with the SW and HW, respectively, over a period of 2.5 years with different batches of each material. The highest production of proteases was observed after 3 days and after 14 days of fermentation, for soy and hair wastes, respectively. In the case of hair waste (HW), the overall CV was close to 4.0% for both the maximum protease activity (PA) and the maximum specific protease activity (sPA). In the case of SW, the overall CVs recorded were 43% and 18.6% for the maximum PA and the maximum sPA, respectively. This demonstrates that SSF can be a reproducible process in bench scale reactors. This is the first study and a help to researchers to develop SSF experiments in a consistent and conclusive way.Solid-state fermentation (SSF) process appears to be an efficient way to recover and valorise organic residues from industries and to generate other products of industrial significance, such as enzymes. As the reproducibility of SSF is one of the main drawbacks in the development of this process, a complete study on this point was carried out. Materials with high nitrogen content, soy waste (SW) and hair waste (HW), were treated by SSF to obtain both proteases for different uses and a stabilized material for soil amendment. The bench scale reactors used in the experiments had a 4.5 l volume. Eight and five experiments were performed with the SW and HW, respectively, over a period of 2.5 years with different batches of each material. The highest production of proteases was observed after 3 days and after 14 days of fermentation, for soy and hair wastes, respectively. In the case of hair waste (HW), the overall CV was close to 4.0% for both the maximum protease activity (PA) and the maximum specific protease activity (sPA). In the case of SW, the overall CVs recorded were 43% and 18.6% for the maximum PA and the maximum sPA, respectively. This demonstrates that SSF can be a reproducible process in bench scale reactors. This is the first study and a help to researchers to develop SSF experiments in a consistent and conclusive way.</p>

Feed intake and growth performance of goats supplemented with soy waste

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of supplemental feeding of soy waste on the feed intake and growth rate of goats. Twenty male crossbred (Boer x local) goats were assigned to two isonitrogenous diet groups: one of commercial pellet and the other of soy waste. The commercial pellet (1.0%) and soy waste (0.8%) were provided on the dry matter basis of body weight (BW) per day, to the respective group of each diet. The soy waste group had lower daily intakes of total dry matter (0.79 vs. 0.88 kg) and organic matter (665.71 vs. 790.44 g) than the group fed pellet; however, the differences on daily intakes for grass (0.62 vs. 0.64 kg), crude protein (96.81 vs. 96.83 g), and neutral detergent fibre (483.70 vs. 499.86 g) were not significant. No differences were observed between groups for BW gain. The feed conversion ratio and feed cost per kilogram of BW gain were lower for the group fed soy waste than for the one fed pellet. Goats fed supplemental soy waste have a lower total dry matter intake, feed conversion ratio, and feed cost per kilogram of body weight gain than those fed commercial pellets.