Microalgae-based wastewater treatment:Mechanisms,challenges,recent advances,and future prospects

The rapid expansion of both the global economy and the human population has led to a shortage of water resources suitable for direct human consumption.As a result,water remediation will inexorably become the primary focus on a global scale.Microalgae can be grown in various types of wastewaters(WW).They have a high potential to remove contaminants from the effluents of industries and urban areas.This review focuses on recent advances on WW remediation through microalgae cultivation.Attention has already been paid to microalgae-based wastewater treatment(WWT)due to its low energy requirements,the strong ability of microalgae to thrive under diverse environmental conditions,and the potential to transform WW nutrients into high-value compounds.It turned out that microalgae-based WWT is an economical and sustainable solution.Moreover,different types of toxins are removed by microalgae through biosorption,bioaccumulation,and biodegradation processes.Examples are toxins from agricultural runoffs and textile and pharmaceutical industrial effluents.Microalgae have the potential to mitigate carbon dioxide and make use of the micronutrients that are present in the effluents.This review paper highlights the application of microalgae in WW remediation and the remediation of diverse types of pollutants commonly present in WW through different mechanisms,simultaneous resource recovery,and efficient microalgae-based co-culturing systems along with bottlenecks and prospects.

Bioplastic production in terms of life cycle assessment:A state-of-theart review

The current transition to sustainability and the circular economy can be viewed as a socio-technical response to environmental impacts and the need to enhance the overall performance of the linear production and consumption paradigm.The concept of biowaste refineries as a feasible alternative to petroleum refineries has gained popularity.Biowaste has become an important raw material source for developing bioproducts and biofuels.Therefore,effective environmental biowaste management systems for the production of bioproducts and biofuels are crucial and can be employed as pillars of a circular economy.Bioplastics,typically plastics manufactured from bio-based polymers,stand to contribute to more sustainable commercial plastic life cycles as part of a circular economy in which virgin polymers are made from renewable or recycled raw materials.Various frameworks and strategies are utilized to model and illustrate additional patterns in fossil fuel and bioplastic feedstock prices for various governments'long-term policies.This review paper highlights the harmful impacts of fossil-based plastic on the environment and human health,as well as the mass need for eco-friendly alternatives such as biodegradable bioplastics.Utilizing new types of bioplastics derived from renewable resources(e.g.,biowastes,agricultural wastes,or microalgae)and choosing the appropriate end-of-life option(e.g.,anaerobic digestion)may be the right direction to ensure the sustainability of bioplastic production.Clear regulation and financial incentives are still required to scale from niche polymers to large-scale bioplastic market applications with a truly sustainable impact.

白蚁肠道共生微生物的作用:酵母,一个“隐身”的特别菌群（英文）

长期以来,白蚁对木质纤维素的降解能力令人惊叹,毫无疑问,其在全球碳循环中扮演着一个十分重要的角色。这一强大功能的实现极大地依赖于一种特别的肠道"消化液(digestome)",它的构成不仅包括了来自白蚁自身产生的木质纤维素降解酶系统,还来源于独特与多样的肠道共生微生物的贡献(包括了古细菌、细菌、酵母以及其他真核生物),它们的协同作用能有效地将木质纤维素生物质高效转化为乙酸、甲烷、二氧化碳、氢气等物质。然而,到目前为止,我们对这类昆虫的独特肠道生物转化系统的认识还很不深入,特别是针对肠道内的那些各类共生微生物菌群的功能、白蚁与共生微生物间的相互关系、以及潜在的科学与应用价值还无法给予明确的科学解释,更不用说针对其肠道中的共生酵母菌群,一类通常被忽略的独特微生物。近20多年来,越来越多的研究证据表明,白蚁肠道共生酵母在与寄主的关系中表现了不可或缺的重要性与独特功能,已被证明广泛分布于不同白蚁及许多其他昆虫的肠道中。随着近20年来越来越多昆虫肠道共生微生物酵母群被发现和鉴定,他们潜在的功能以及与寄主的共生机制被逐步解析,这些研究结果进一步揭示了"隐身"的昆虫肠道酵母类微生物菌群与寄主的营养、关键生物质转化过程中的重要酶系统、转化过程中的关键中间产物的转化与利用、抵御外源性的重要病原物,甚至对白蚁种群繁衍的远缘交配等方面均可能发挥了重要和不可缺少的作用。本文将试图归纳相关研究的最新进展,系统总结与解析白蚁肠道来源共生酵母的重要科学价值及其在不同领域的潜在应用前景。