The Feasibility of Immobilization of Bioflocculant-producing Bacteria Using Mycelial Pellets as Biomass Carriers

Bioflocculant-producing bacteria Agrobacterium tumefaciens F2 and Bacillus sphaeicus F6 were immobilized onto mycelial pellets to investigate the bioflocculant-producing potential of this combined organism and the corresponding flocculating efficiency. The atomic force microscope ( AFM) images of mycelial surface indicate that the mycelia pellet can immobilize bioflocculant-producing bacteria F2 and F6 as a biomass carrier. The flocculating efficiency of bioflocculant produced by this combined organism was studied under the optimum flocculating conditions obtained by Response Surface Methodology ( RSM ) . The fermentation yield of the combined mycelial pellet is about 2. 6 g / L,which is higher than that of the free bacteria ( only 2. 2 g / L) . Flocculating efficiency of the combined mycelial pellet was comparable with that of bioflocculant generated by the free bacteria. The bioflocculant yield is enhanced and the flocculating efficiency of the co-culture is uninfluenced after immobilized with mycelial pellet as a carrier. In conclusion,the mycelial pellet is feasible as a biomass carrier for the immobilization of bioflocculant-producing bacteria.

ZnO Surface Passivation with Glucose Enables Simultaneously Improving Efficiency and Stability of Inverted Polymer:Non-fullerene Solar Cells

The power conversion efficiency(PCE)of polymer solar cells(PSCs)has exceeded 19%due to the rapid progress of photoactive organic materials,including conjugated polymer donors and the matched non-fullerene acceptors(NFAs).Due to the high density of oxygen vacancies and the consequent photocatalytic reactivity of ZnO,structure inverted polymer solar cells with the ZnO electron transport layer(ETL)usually suffer poor device photostability.In this work,the eco-friendly glucose(Glu)is found to simultaneously improve the efficiency and stability of polymer:NFA solar cells.Under the optimal conditions,we achieved improved PCEs from 14.77%to 15.86%for the PM6:Y6 solar cells.Such a PCE improvement was attributed to the improvement in J_(SC) and FF,which is ascribed to the smoother and more hydrophobic surface of the ZnO/Glu surface,thereby enhancing the charge extraction efficiency and inhibiting charge recombination.Besides,UV-Vis absorption spectra analysis revealed that glucose modification could significantly inhibit the photodegradation of Y6,resulting in a significant improvement in the stability of the device with 92%of its initial PCE after aging for 1250 h.The application of natural interface materials in this work brings hope for the commercial application of organic solar cells and provides new ideas for developing new interface materials.

Applicability of anoxic-oxic process in treating petrochemical wastewater

To explore the applicability of anoxic-oxic (A/O) activated sludge process for petrochemical wastewater treatment,the relationship between bacterial community structure and pollutants loading/removal efficiencies was investigated by gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry (GC-MS),polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) and other conventional techniques.It showed that when the concentrations of the influent chemical oxygen demand (COD) and ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N) were 420～560mg/L and 64～100mg/L,respectively,the corresponding average effluent concentra-tions were 160mg/L and 55mg/L,which were 1.6 and 2.2times higher than those of the national standards in China,respectively,demonstrating the inefficient performances of A/O process.Analysis of GC-MS indicated that refractory pollutants were mainly removed by sludge adsorption,but not by biodegradation.PCR-DGGE profile analysis suggested that the biological system was species-rich,but there was apparent succession of the bacterial community structure in different locations of the A/O system.Variations of bacterial community structure and pollutant loadings had obvious influences on pollutants removal efficiencies.Thus,A/O process was inapplicable for the treatment of complicated petrochemical wastewater,and strategies such as the reinforcement of pre-treatment and two-stage A/O process were suggested.