Sharif Digital Repository

The soil slurry-sequencing bath reactor (SS-SBR) was studied to treat poorly graded sand with clay (SP-SC) contaminated by aged petroleum hydrocarbons and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with concentrations of 23000 mg/kg and 750 mg/kg respectively. An 8 L bioreactor was operated with a 10% solid concentration (0.1 kg dry soil/L slurry). The fill period was relatively instantaneous, and the draw period lasted approximately 1 minute so the react period comprised essentially the entire cycle time. In the draw period a fraction of slurry (10%) was removed from the SS-SBR weekly and it was replaced with untreated slurry. This volumetric replacement strategy provided 70 days hydraulic... 

The main goal of this study is to lay out the map of the soil radionuclide activity concentrations and the terrestrial outdoor gamma dose rates in the western Mazandaran Province of Iran, and to present an evaluation scheme. Mazandaran Province was selected due to its special geographical characteristics, high population density and the long terrestrial and aquatic borders with the neighbouring countries possessing nuclear facilities. A total of 54 topsoil samples were collected, ranging from the Nour to Ramsar regions, and were based on geological conditions, vegetation coverage and the sampling standards outlined by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The excess lifetime cancer risks... 

In this study the biodegradability of asphaltenes was investigated using four bacterial consortia isolated from oil contaminated soils and sludge. The species in consortium 1 were identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Pseudomonas fluorescens. Consortium 2 contained Citrobacter amalonaticus and Enterobacter cloacae. Consortium 3 contained only one species identified as Staphylococcus hominis, and the species in consortium 4 were identified as Bacillus cereus, and Lysinibacillus fusiformis. Spectrophotometry at 281 nm wavelength was applied to quantify asphaltenes biodegradation. The biodegradation tests were performed in flasks with the initial asphaltenes concentrations of 2, 4, 10, 20,... 

Calendula alata plants were tested for their potential to remove stable cesium and lead from solutions in a 15-day period. The plants were grown hydroponically and placed in solutions containing CsCl and Pb(C 2H 3O 2)2 at different concentrations (0.6, 2 and 5 mg l-1). When plants were incubated in CsCl solutions 46.84 ± 2.12%, 41.35 ± 1.59%, and 52.06 ± 1.02% cesium was found to be remediated after 15 days. Moreover, more than 99% lead was removed from the Pb(C 2H 3O 2)2solution in all three concentrations after 15 days during the same period. When both CsCl and Pb(C 2H 3O 2)2were supplemented together in the solution, 9.92 ± 1.22%, 45.56 ± 3.52%, and 46.16 ± 1.48% cesium and 95.30 ± 0.72%,... 

In the present study, an aqueous root-extract of Acanthophyllum laxiusculum (AREAL) was evaluated for phenanthrene removal from two samples of contaminated soil. AREAL showed a linear solubilization enhancement for phenanthrene with a weight solubilization ratio of 0.05. Batch soil washing experiments caused the removal of phenanthrene with efficiencies of 96.7% and 78% from soils with 0.78% and 2.73% organic carbon, respectively. Desorption kinetics of phenanthrene exhibited a twophase pattern, namely, a rapid release as the initial phase and a slower removal as a subsequent phase. A two-compartment exponential model could adequately represent the two phases of the kinetic pattern of... 

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) cause many significant ecological problems because of their low degradability, high harmfulness, and solid bioaccumulation.Two bacterial strains were isolated from soil that had been polluted with electrical transformer liquid for more than 40 years. The isolates were distinguished as Lysinibacillus macrolides DSM54Tand Bacillus firmus NBRC15306Tthrough 16S rRNA sequencing analysis.This is the primary report of an agent of the genus Bacillus firmus equipped for the removal of PCBs. The strains could develop broadly on 2-Chlorobiphenyl and 2,4-dichlorobiphenyl. GC/MS analysis of individual congeners revealed up to 80% degradation of the xenobiotics in 96h,... 

The thermophilic bacterium Nocardia otitidiscaviarum strain TSH1, originally isolated in our laboratory from a petroindustrial wastewater contaminated soil in Iran, grows at 50 °C on a broad range of hydrocarbons. Transformation of naphthalene by strain TSH1 which is able to use this two ring-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) as a sole source of carbon and energy was investigated. The metabolic pathway was elucidated by identifying metabolites, biotransformation studies and monitoring enzyme activities in cell-free extracts. The identification of metabolites suggests that strain TSH1 initiates its attack on naphthalene by dioxygenation at its C-1 and C-2 positions to give... 

One of the main challenges in elimination of oil contamination from polluted environments is improvement of biodegradation by highly efficient microorganisms. Bacillus subtilis MJ01 has been evaluated as a new resource for producing biosurfactant compounds. This bacterium, which produces surfactin, is able to enhance bio-accessibility to oil hydrocarbons in contaminated soils. The genome of B. subtilis MJ01 was sequenced and assembled by PacBio RS sequencing technology. One big contig with a length of 4,108,293 bp without any gap was assembled. Genome annotation and prediction of gene showed that MJ01 genome is very similar to B. subtilis spizizenii TU-B-10 (95% similarity). The comparison... 

Bioremediation of soil and groundwater sites contaminated by petroleum hydrocarbons is known as a technically viable, cost-effective, and environmentally sustainable technology. The purpose of this study is to investigate laboratory-scale bioremediation of petroleum-hydrocarbon contaminated soil through development of eight bioreactors, two bioreactors for each bioremediation mode. The modes were: (1) natural attenuation (NA); (2) biostimulation (BS) with oxygen and nutrients; (3) bioaugmentation (BA) with hydrocarbon degrading isolates; (4) a combination of biostimulation and bioaugmentation (BS-BA). Total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) mass balance over the bioreactors showed about 2% of... 

A new dibenzothiophene (DBT) desulfurizing bacterium was isolated from oil-contaminated soils in Iran. HPLC analysis and PCR-based detection of the presence of the DBT desulfurization genes (dszA, dszB and dszC) indicate that this strain converts DBT to 2-hydroxybiphenyl (2-HBP) via the 4S pathway. The strain, identified as Rhodococcus erythropolis SHT87, can utilize DBT, dibenzothiophene sulfone, thiophene, 2-methylthiophene and dimethylsulfoxide as a sole sulfur source for growth at 30 °C. The maximum specific desulfurization activity of strain SHT87 resting cells in aqueous and biphasic organic-aqueous systems at 30 °C was determined to be 0.36 and 0.47 μmol 2-HBP min-1 (g dry cell)-1,... 

Rare earth elements (REEs) are becoming significant due to their huge applications in many industries, large-scale mining and refining activities. Increasing usage of such metals pose negative environmental impacts. In this research ICP-MS has been used to analyze soil samples collected from former ex-mining areas in the depths of 0–20 cm, 21–40 cm, and 41–60 cm of residential, mining, natural, and industrial areas of Perak. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that soil samples taken from different mining, industrial, residential, and natural areas are separated into four clusters. It was observed that REEs were abundant in most of the samples from mining areas. Concentration of the... 

The demand and importance of fairness creams as a major cosmetic have increased significantly in recent years. However, some of these cosmetics contain heavy metals, hydroquinone and microorganism that can cause various health problems. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine and examine the concentration of metals (i.e. Cd, Pb, Cr, Ni, Zn, Hg), hydroquinone and microorganisms in nine different fairness creams produced by local and international brands. The health risk assessment of the tested substances for consumers was accessed through systemic exposure dosage (SED), margin of safety (MoS), lifetime cancer risk (LCR), hazard quotient (HQ) and hazard index (HI). The concentration... 

Modeling process is very important and valuable to predict process outcome, especially bioprocesses which are intricate. Because of complex hydrocarbon compounds and oscillations happened in the medium of process, biodegradation of mazut has not already been investigated by mathematical models. In this study, an indigenous bacterium was isolated from oil contaminated soil to investigate biodegradation of mazut at different experimental conditions. Data resulted from mazut degradation, pH, and electrical potential in the medium were recorded. Some reported kinetic models and combinations were investigated to practically model the process. In addition, a new equation that can predict various... 

Uptake rate of 133Cs, at three different concentrations of CsCl, by Calendula alata, Amaranthus chlorostachys and Chenopodium album plants grown outdoors was studied. These plants grow abundantly in semi-arid regions and their varieties exist in many parts of the world. When exposed to lowest Cs concentration 68 percent Cs was remediated by Chenopodium album. 133Cs accumulation in shoots of Amaranthus chlorostachys reached its highest value of 2146.2mgkg -1 at a 133Cs supply level of 3.95mgl -1 of feed solution. The highest concentration ratio value was 4.89 for Amaranthus chlorostachys, whereas for the other tests it ranged from 0.74 to 3.33. Furthermore uptake of 133Cs by all three species... 

Petroleum contamination of soil is a serious problem throughout oil-producing countries. One of the cost-effective options for removing contaminants from shallow soils is phytoremediation. Vegetation, by stimulating the microorganisms via releasing root exudates near the rhizosphere, may play an important role in the biodegradation of toxic organic chemicals in soil. This experiment investigates the efficiency of this emerging technology following the implementation of five plant species. The study was carried out in a greenhouse using crude oil-contaminated soil from sites around the Tehran Refinery. To study the effect of a water-absorbent agent, we also used hydrogel in this experiment.... 

Environmental pollutions with heavy metals pose serious health and ecological risks. Sabzevar in the northeast of Iran has natural chromic mines and then chromium-polluted soils and groundwater. In the present work, the metal-tolerant bacterial strain KR2 was identified as Shewanella sp. following 16S rDNA gene sequence analysis. Bioremediation ability of isolated bacterial from agricultural soils that irrigated by groundwater, Shewanella sp., was evaluated for uptaking of chromium with varying Cr(VI) concentrations from 50 to 500 ppm in aerobic conditions (pH 7.0, 37 °C). The Shewanella sp. strain KR2 showed an obvious heavy metal tolerant in the wide range of heavy metals including: Cr6+,... 

Laboratory investigation on the influence of solute concentration on the soil water-retention curve (SWRC) and volumetric behaviour of expansive soils has received much attention in recent years due to increasing environmental pollution. However, most studies only considered applying wetting or drying path with almost no attention to hydraulic hysteresis. Furthermore, these studies have focused on examining expansive soils and only marginal effort has been devoted to collapsible soils. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to systematically explore the SWRC and shrinkage characteristics of an artificially made collapsible soil at various molar concentrations. The tests were... 

Petroleum products which are used in a wide variety of industries as energy sources and raw materials have become a major concern in pollution of terrestrial and marine environments. The purpose of this study was to assess the potential of indigenous microbial isolates for degradation of diesel fuel. Two most proficient bacterial strains among five isolated strains from polluted soil of an industrial refinery were studied. The isolates then were identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus subtilis using biochemical tests and 16S rRNA gene sequence analyses. P. aeruginosa showed higher biodegradation efficiency than B. subtilis in shaking flask containing diesel-contaminated water. P.... 

In this study, indigenous cyanogenic bacterial strains were isolated on nutrient, minimal salt, and soil extract media at various culture conditions from two distinct landfills of e-waste, Iran. Based on their cyanide formation profiles, five most potent isolates were selected for optimization and to this end, the influence of the most effective factors on cyanide production including pH, glycine concentration and temperature were assessed using one-factor at a time method (OFAT). Initial pH of 7, glycine concentration of 2 g/L and temperature of 30°C were obtained as optimal conditions for most of the isolates. Additionally, two bioleaching processes were applied for each bacteria to detect... 

Aims: Our goal was the characterization of a new moderate thermophilic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-utilizing Nocardia strain. Methods and Results: A thermophilic bacterium, strain TSH1, was isolated from a contaminated soil. The macroscopic and microscopic features fit well with the description of Nocardia species. The results of 16S rRNA gene analysis showed 100% match to the type strain of N. otitidiscaviarum DSM 43242T. Strain TSH1 showed the same mycolic acid pattern as the type strain of N. otitidiscaviarum but its fatty acid profile did not permit identification to the species level. The carbon utilization profile of strain TSH1 was different from N. otitidiscaviarum. The...