A comparative study for petroleum removal capacities of the bacterial consortia entrapped in sodium alginate,sodium alginate/poly(vinyl alcohol),and bushnell haas agar

The purpose of this study was to identify and compare the degradation efficiencies of free and entrapped bacterial consortia(Staphylococcus capitis CP053957.1 and Achromobacter marplatensis MT078618.1)to different polymers such as Sodium Alginate(SA),Sodium Alginate/Poly(Vinyl Alcohol)(SA/PVA),and Bushnell Haas Agar(BHA).In addition to SA and SA/PVA,which are cost-effective,non-toxic and have different functional groups,BHA,which is frequently encountered in laboratory-scale studies but has not been used as an entrapment material until now.Based on these,the polymers with different surface morphologies and chemical compositions were analyzed by SEM and FT-IR.While the petroleum removal efficiency was higher with the entrapped bacterial consortia than with the free one,BHA-entrapped bacterial consortium enhanced the petroleum removal more than SA and SA/PVA.Accordingly,the degradation rate of bacterial consortia entrapped with BHA was 2.039 day^(-1),SA/PVA was 1.560,SA was 0.993,the half-life period of BHA-entrapped bacterial consortia is quite low(t_(1/2)=0.339)compared with SA(t_(1/2)=0.444)and SA/PVA(t_(1/2)=0.697).The effects of the four main factors such as:amount of BHA(0.5,1,1.5,2,2.5,3 g),disc size(4,5,6,7,8 mm),inoculum concentration(1,2.5,5,7.5,10 mL),and incubation period on petroleum removal were also investigated.The maximum petroleum removal(94.5%)was obtained at≥2.5 mL of bacterial consortium entrapped in 2 g BHA with a 7 mm disc size at 168 h and the results were also confirmed by statistical analysis.Although a decrease was observed during the reuse of bacterial consortium entrapped in BHA,the petroleum removal was still above 50%at 10th cycle.Based on GC-MS analysis,the removal capacity of BHA-entrapped consortium was over 90%for short-chain n-alkanes and 80%for medium-chain n-alkanes.Overall,the obtained data are expected to provide a potential guideline in cleaning up the large-scale oil pollution in the future.Since there has been no similar study investigating petroleum removal with the bacterial consortia entrapped with BHA,this novel entrapment material can potentially be used in the treatment of petroleum pollution in advanced remediation studies.

Incorporation ofκ-carrageenan improves the practical features of agar/konjac glucomannan/κ-carrageenan ternary system

Three materials(agar,konjac glucomannan(KGM)andκ-carrageenan)were used to prepare ternary systems,i.e.,sol-gels and their dried composites conditioned at varied relative humidity(RH)(33%,54%and 75%).Combined methods,e.g.,scanning electron microscopy,small-angle X-ray scattering,infrared spectroscopy(IR)and X-ray diffraction(XRD),were used to disclose howκ-carrageenan addition tailors the features of agar/KGM/κ-carrageenan ternary system.As affirmed by IR and XRD,the ternary systems withκ-carrageenan below 25%(agar/KGM/carrageenan,50:25:25,m/m)displayed proper component interactions,which increased the sol-gel transition temperature and the hardness of obtained gels.For instance,the ternary composites could show hardness about 3 to 4 times higher than that for binary counterpart.These gels were dehydrated to acquire ternary composites.Compared to agar/KGM composite,the ternary composites showed fewer crystallites and nanoscale orders,and newly-formed nanoscale structures from chain assembly.Such multi-scale structures,for composites withκ-carrageenan below 25%,showed weaker changes with RH,as revealed by especially morphologic and crystalline features.Consequently,the ternary composites with lessκ-carrageenan(below 25%)exhibited stabilized elongation at break and hydrophilicity at different RHs.This hints to us that agar/KGM/κ-carrageenan composite systems can display series applications with improved features,e.g.,increased sol-gel transition point.

Seaweed Fiber Fabricated with Agar Alkali-Free Extracted from Gracilaria lemaneiformis

The sulfate groups in agar structure played a good role in the formation of fiber.However,commercially available agar is usually extracted from red algae by alkali treatment to decrease the content of sulfate group for the purpose of high gel strength.In this paper,an alkali-free method of agar extraction from Gracilaria lemaneiformis was proposed for the wet-spinning purpose.This method is environmentally friendly,reduces the extraction steps,saves energy,and reduces the production cost of agar fiber.The improved agar preparation process not only has higher agar yield,but also has higher molecular weight and sulfate group content,which is beneficial to the preparation and forming of fiber and makes the fiber have higher mechanical strength and elongation.Therefore,this extraction technology has broad application prospect in the textile field.

Screening agars for MRSA:evaluation of a stepwise diagnostic approach with two different selective agars for the screening for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA)

Background: Colonization with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA) poses a hygiene risk that does not spare field hospitals or military medical field camps during military deployments. Diagnostic options for unambiguously identifying MRSA isolates are usually scarce in military environments. In this study, we assessed the stepwise application of two different selective agars for the specific identification of MRSA in screening analyses.Methods: Nasal swabs from 1,541 volunteers were subjected to thioglycollate broth enrichment and subsequently screened on CHROMagar MRSA selective agar for the identification of MRSA. The MRSA identity of suspiciouslooking colonies was confirmed afterwards or excluded by another selective agar, chrom ID MRSA. All isolates from the selective agars with MRSA-specific colony morphology were identified by biochemical methods and mass spectrometry.Results: The initial CHROMagar MRSA screening identified suspicious colonies in 36 out of 1541 samples. A total of 25 of these 36 isolates showed MRSA-like growth on chrom ID agar. Out of these 25 isolates, 24 were confirmed as MRSA, while one isolate was identified as Staphylococcus kloosii. From the 11 strains that did not show suspicious growth on chrom ID agar, 3 were methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus(MSSA, with one instance of cocolonization with Corynebacterium spp.), 2 were confirmed as MRSA(with 1 instance of co-colonization with MSSA), 2 were lost during passaging and could not be re-cultured, one could not be identified by the applied approaches, and the remaining 3 strains were identified as Staphylococcus saprophyticus, Staphylococcus hominis(co-colonized with Macrococcus caseolyticus) and Staphylococcus cohnii, respectively.Conclusion: The application of the selective agar CHROMagar MRSA alone proved to be too non-specific to allow for a reliable diagnosis of the presence of MRSA. The combined use of two selective agars in a stepwise approach reduced this non-specificity with an acceptably low loss of sensitivity. Accordingly, such a stepwise screening approach might be an option for resource-restricted military medical field camps.

Preparation and characterization of agar, agarose,and agaropectin from the red alga Ahnfeltia plicata

Agar,agarose,and agaropectin were extracted from the red alga Ahnfeltia plicata,and their properties and structures were characterized.Agar was extracted by a comparatively low alkaline consumption of 1.2%.It exhibited a gel strength of 1 152.50±74.25 g/cm^2 and a sulfate content of 0.55%±0.08%.The yield of agar from A.plicata was 24.53%,which is higher than those of other agarophytes commonly used in China.Three kinds of the method were compared for the purification of agarose,and the physicochemical properties of agarose that was prepared under the optimal condition were identical to those of commercially available agarose.Furthermore,agaropectin was purified from A.plicata and characterized by GC,HPLC,UV-spectrum,and FI-IR to understand its composition and structure.It was the first time to comprehensively study the agar and its fractions from the red alga of A.plicata.This research provided an eco-friendly agar extraction method from A.plicata and revealed its potential application for the production of agar,agarose,and agaropectin.

CHROM agar培养基鉴定念珠菌的临床评价

目的:评价CHROM agar念珠菌培养基应用于临床标本念珠菌分离和鉴定的效果。方法:取500份临床患者的标本,分别接种至血琼脂、Sabouraud和CHROM agar念珠菌培养基,常规孵育,并进行VITEK-YBC法鉴定和药敏判断。结果:利用血琼脂、Sabouraud和CHROM agar念珠菌培养基各获得200、296和296株念珠菌,其特异性分别为67.6%、78.3%和100%。CHROM agar念珠菌培养基可对占94.26%的白色、热带、克柔和光滑念珠菌做出正确鉴定。结论:CHROM agar念珠菌培养基可用于临床标本念珠菌的初筛及快速做出病原学诊断,为抗念珠菌药物的选择提供依据。

Differentiation of murine male germ cells to spermatozoa n a soft agar culture system

Establishment of an in vitro system that allows the development of testicular germ cells to sperm will be valuable for studies of spermatogenesis and future treatments for male infertility. In the present study, we developed in vitro culture conditions using three-dimensional agar culture system （SACS）, which has the capacity to induce testicular germ cells to reach the final stages of spermatogenesis, including spermatozoa generation. Seminiferous tubules from testes of 7-day-old mice were enzymatically dissociated, and intratubular cells were cultured in the upper layer of the SACS in RPMI medium supplemented with fetal calf serum （FCS）. The lower layer of the SACS contained only RPMI medium supplemented with FCS. Colonies in the upper layer were isolated after 14 and 28 days of culture and were classified according to their size. Immunofluorescence and real-time PCR were used to analyse specific markers expressed in undifferentiated and differentiated spermatogonia （Vasa, Dazl, OCT-4, C-Kit, GFR- a-l, CD9 and a-6-integrin）, meiotic cells （LDH, Crem-1 and Boule） and post-meiotic cells （Protamine-1, Acrosin and SP-IO）. Our results reveal that it is possible to induce mouse testicular pre-meiotic germ cell expansion and induce their differentiation to spermatozoa in SACS. The spermatozoa showed normal morphology and contained acrosomes. Thus, our results demonstrate that SACS could be used as a novel in vitro system for the maturation of pre-meiotic mouse germ cells to post-meiotic stages and morphologically-normal spermatozoa.

Production of microbial medium from defatted brebra(Milletia ferruginea)seed flour to substitute commercial peptone agar

Objective:To investigate and optimize microbial media that substitute peptone agar using brebra seed defatted flour.Methods:Defatted process.inoculums preparation,evaluation of bacterial growth,preparation of cooked and hydrolyzed media and growth turbidity of tested bacteria were determined.Results:Two percent defatted flour was found to be suitable concentration for the growth of pathogenic bacteria:Escherichia coli(ATCC 25922)(E,coli),Pseudomonas aeruginosa(ATCC27853),Salmonella(NCTC 8385)and Shigella flexneri(ATCC 12022)(S.flexneri),while 3%defatted flour was suitable for Staphylococcus aureus(ATCC 25923)(S.aureus).E.coli(93±1)and S.flexneri(524±1)colony count were significantly(P≤0.05)greater in defatted flour without supplement than in supplemented medium.E.coli[(3.72×10~9±2)CFU/mL],S.aureus[(7.4×10~9±2)CFU/mL],S.flexneri[(4.03×10~9±2)CFU/mL]and Salmonella[(2.37×10~9±1)CFU/mL]in non-hydrolyzed sample were statistically(P≤0.05)greater than hydrolyzed one and commercial peptone agar.Colony count of Salmonella[(4.55≤10~9±3)CFU/mL],S.flexneri[(5.40≤10~9±3)CFU/mL]and Lyesria moncytogenes(ATCC 19116)[(5.4×10~9±3)CFU/mL]on raw defatted flour agar was significantly(P≤0.05)greater than cooked defatted flour and commercial peptone agar.Biomass of E.coli,S.aureus.Salmonella and Enterococcus faecalis in non-hydrolyzed defatted flour is highly increased over hydrolyzed defatted flour and commercial peptone broth.Conclusions:The defatted flour agar was found to be better microbial media or comparable with peptone agar.The substances in it can serve as sources of carbon,nitrogen,vitamins and minerals that are essential to support the growth of microorganisms without any supplements.Currently,all supplements of peptone agar are very expensive in the market.

Mycelial Growth of <i>Paecilomyces hepiali</i>in Various Agar Media and Yield of Fruit Bodies in Rice Based Media

Growth of?Paecilomyces hepiali?in various agar media and yield of fruit bodies in rice based media were?studied. The best growth in agar media was obtained at 25℃?(61.86 mm colony diameter in 14 days). The initial agar media pH range?from?6 to 8 was found to be?the?most favourable for mycelial growth. This study found that agars made with powders of cereal grains alone do not support good mycelial growth of?P. hepiali. Addition of peptone improved mycelial growth significantly. The most favourable carbon sources were Mannose, Fructose and Glucose. Organic nitrogen sources were found to be?the?most preferred. The results demonstrated that brown rice is better than polished rice in yield of fruit bodies. Addition of peptone was found to be quite significant in enhancing yield of fruit bodies. Peptone, as a supplement, gave a better yield than addition of egg yolk, albumen and a mixture of the two. The medium with?40 g brown rice, 0.325 g glucose, 0.65 g sucrose, 2 g peptone and 65 ml corn steep liquor was found to be?the?most favourable and it yielded 19.3 g of fresh fruit bodies.

Modulation of Anti-Microbial Resistant <i>Salmonella heidelberg</i>Using Synbiotics (Probiotics and Prebiotics) in Two <i>In-Vitro</i>Assays (Cross-Streaking and Agar Wells Diffusion)

Salmonellosis is the most prevalent bacterial foodborne disease in many countries worldwide. Utilization of probiotics is one of the most accepted ways to reduce Salmonella, especially lactic acid bacteria, as it has proven to reduce the enteric pathogens in monogastric and ruminant livestock animals through different mechanisms such as antimicrobials production, competitive adhesion to the gastrointestinal tract, and immune stimulation. Prebiotics could be utilized solely for health benefits as an alternative to probiotics or in addition to probiotics for a synergistic effect known as synbiotics. The aim of this study was to compare effects of different probiotic strains (Lactobacillus acidophilus (La-14), Lactobacillus paracasei (Lpc-37), Streptococcus thermophiles (St-21), Bifidobacterium bifidum (Bb-06), and Aspergillus niger (ATCC®16888TM) and without prebiotics (Mannose;Xylose;Galactooligosaccharides GOS;Inulin;and Dandelion extract) on lowering Salmonella heidelberg CFU in vitro. Different inhibition levels probiotic strains were assessed and compared in the presence and absence of 2.5% prebiotic compounds using cross-streaking and agar well diffusion assays. Recommendations for the growth of selected microorganisms such as temperature and oxygen conditions were taken into consideration. All the analysis was conducted in triplicates. The results showed that all the probiotics strains except S. thermophiles were able to significantly (P < 0.05) inhibit the growth of S. heidelberg in at least one of the assays. The difference in inhibition percentage confirms that probiotic strains have multiple inhibition mechanisms, such as production of antimicrobials, lower pH by producing organic acids (acetic acid, lactic acid, etc.), and inhibition of pathogen’s virulence factor expression, and production of lipopolysaccharide solubilizing compounds.

Isolation of a Bacterium Strain Degraded Agar

One in 58 strains of bacteria isolated from the compost showed clear colonies after a few days of growth on the plates containing medium made of only agar and water.Water suspension contained only agar (2 and 8g·L -1 ) with two controls (normal saline,LB medium) was inoculated with the bacterium BR5-1 to see whether there was an increasement of the alive bacteria concentration after 48 h of the growth.The results showed that there was a significant rising of the alive bacteria concentration in the agar susp...

Development of a New <i>Pseudomonas</i>Agar Medium Containing Benzalkonium Chloride in Cetrimide Agar

Members of the Pseudomonas family are commonly found in nature, some species are pathogenic for humans, as well as being resistant to multiple disinfectants. Various studies have revealed that benzalkonium chloride (BKC) has an inhibitory effect on many bacteria but it has no significant effect on Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Cetrimide agar medium is recommended for the isolation and enumeration of Ps. aeruginosa in food and environmental samples. However, there are claims that for some food factories and in particular the bottled water industry, the selectivity of this medium is not sufficient. The aim of the current research is the creation of a more selective medium for Ps. aeruginosa with BKC. A total of 28 isolates were isolated with Cetrimide agar from raw water samples and identified using biochemical tests and commercial identification kits. All the bacteria were inoculated in Cetrimide agar plates containing 0 - 625 μg/mL BKC. The Petri dishes were incubated at 37°C and 42°C for 24 h. The results showed that 375 μg/mL BKC was sufficient to suppress Burk. pseudomallei at both incubation temperatures. Ps. fluorescens-35 could not grow at 42°C at any concentration, including the control, and was suppressed at 500 μg/mL BKC. All the Ps. aeruginosa isolates and control strain were grown at both incubation temperatures at 375 μg/mL BKC concentration. In conclusion, the analysis of Ps. aeruginosa showed that the growth of accompanying flora may be suppressed by adding 375-μg/mL BKC into Cetrimide agar and incubating at an elevated temperature of 42°C.

Study of Morphology and Agar Contents in Some Important <i>Gracilaria</i>Species of Indian Coasts

This study reports the morphological, anatomical and agar content difference among various species of Gracilaria. The cortex was found 1-2 layered in G. edulis and G. eucheumatoides whereas 5-6 layered in G. foliifera and G. crassa. The medulla was 6-8 layered in G. edulis, 10-11 layered in G. foliifera, 14-15 layered in G. eucheumatoides and 8-10 layered in G. crassa. Similarly, distinct variations were observed in the structure of cystocarp of these taxa. The outer pericarp was 6-8 layered in G. verrucosa (attached type), 8-9 in Graciriopsis megaspora, 12-13 layered cells in G. edulis, 9-11 layered in G. foliifera, 12-15 layered in G. eucheumatoides and 11-14 layered in G. crassa. The tubular nutritive filaments were radiating type in G. edulis whereas these were penetrating and radiating type in G. foliifera. In G. crassa, the same was produced from a small swollen short base and in G. verrucosa (attached type) it was long. Further, in G. eucheumatoides and Gracilariopsis megaspore, nutritive filaments were not observed. Among various species of Gracilariales studied in this work, agar from Gracilaria verrucosa (floating type or sterile type) showed highest yield with gel strength 260 gm/cm2 and viscosity 10 milipass. Based on the agar quality,

Colonization of neonate mouse spermatogonial stem cells co-culture with Sertoli cells in the presence and absence soft agar

Objective:To investigate the effects of soft agar on in-vitro proliferation of neonate mouse spermatogonial stem cells co-cultured with Sertoli cells.Methods:Tissues of neonate NMRI male mice testes were used for harvesting spermatogonial stem cells and Sertoli cells.After cell harvest,flow cytometry using promyelocytic leukemia zinc-finger(PLZF)protein antibody was used to assess the purity of the cells.The isolated testicular cells were cultured in the absence(the control group)or presence of soft agar-coated dishes(the experimental group)supplemented with leukemia inhibitory factor and glia cell line–derived neurotrophic factor for two weeks.Alkaline phosphatase activity was assessed in the colonies formed after two weeks of culture by alkaline phosphatase staining.On day 14 of culture,the expression levels of DNA-binding protein inhibitor(ID-4)and PLZF genes in the undifferentiated cells were evaluated by the detection of PLZF protein antibody using real-time PCR and immunocytochemistry techniques.The number and diameter of the colonies of spermatogonial stem cells were assessed by ImageJ software.Results:In the experimental group,the number and the diameter of colonies significantly increased as compared with those in the control group(P<0.05,P<0.01,respectively).In addition,the level of expression of ID-4 and PLZF genes in the undifferentiated cells significantly increased in the experimental group as compared with the control group(P<0.01).However,the expression of tyrosine-protein kinase kit(c-kit)gene in differentiated cells decreased in the experimental group as compared with the control group,but there was no significant difference between the two groups.Conclusions:Spermatogonial stem cells can be efficiently proliferated by culturing the stem cells in soft agar-coated dishes.The new protocol used in this study can be a valuable method for future studies.

A simplified protocol for the semi-large scale recovery of plasmids from <i>Escherichia coli</i>grown on agar plates

Semi-large scale liquid cultivation of transformed Escherichia coli (E. coli) in medium (100-200 ml) has been widely used for the acquisition of relatively large amounts of plasmid DNA (50-300 μg). However, this method requires an expensive high-speed centrifugation apparatus to precipitate E. coli before lysis, which is both laborious and time-consuming. Here, we demonstrate a method for agar plate-based cultivation of bacteria that does not employ a high-speed centrifugation apparatus. This procedure proves to be simple and reproducible, yielding an average of 82 μg of plasmid DNA per experiment. It may therefore be valuable for cloning/transfection experiments under limited financial backgrounds.

Biological Tissue Modeling with Agar Gel Phantom for Radiation Dosimetry of ^99mTc

The biological tissue has been mimicked and replaced by other materials, which have shown certain radiological similarity determined by attenuation coefficient (μ), density and atomic number. Specifically, in molecular imaging and radiation therapy have been developed multifunctional radiopharmaceuticals which contain beta/gamma and/or light emitters to chronic degenerative diseases treatment. Therefore, it is necessary to develop phantoms that allow optical and radiometric characterization. Since the agar gel has shown to be a medium which allows to model biological tissue in phototherapy studies, the aim of this study is to determine whether the agar gel may be used as biological tissue substitutes in 99mTc dosimetry. Agar gel was prepared to 1% and 2.3% (water:agar) and its radiologicalproperties as: linear attenuation coefficient obtained by narrow beam geometry and XCOM software, density and effective atomic number (Zeff) were determined. Using the determined μ, photontransmission was calculated by Monte Carlosimulation. The 99mTc source region was immersed in a water phantom, two source regions were used, one source region was filled with water and another with agar gel. For both cases;the cumulated activity () by conjugate view method, the absorbed doseper unitcumulated activity (S) and absorbed dose (D) were determined. The 2.3% concentration gel consistency facilitated its handling during a bigger irradiation time. A was obtained and also this value was corroborated with the XCOM software. The agar gel density was and . The calculated cumulated activity presented 1% difference in both phantoms. The absorbed doseper unitcumulated activity was the same in both media, therefore the D too. Agar gel showed to be equivalent to water in terms of radiological properties for 140 keV photons, thus it can substitute soft tissue in 99mTc dosimetry.

Effect of Blood Agar from Different Animal Blood on Growth Rates and Morphology of Common Pathogenic Bacteria

Sheep and horse blood are the most commonly used blood for the isolation of microorganisms from human tissue and fluids. However, in many developing countries such as Nigeria, expired human blood from blood banks is still used despite the risk of exposure to HIV and other blood-borne infections, because it is easy to obtain. Blood agar made from blood of rams (similar to sheep), cows, chickens and goats, which are very common in Nigeria, were therefore evaluated. The isolation rates, colony size and morphology as well as haemolytic characteristics of common hospital pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumonae, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus spp, were tested on blood agar prepared from the different animal blood types. All reactions were observed at 24 hrs and 48 hrs respectively. Good growth was achieved by all isolates on rabbit, sheep and chicken blood agar though the best growth was achieved on ram blood agar but there was no significant variation in their morphology. There were differences in their abilities to distinguish haemolytic patterns. Beta Haemolytic Streptococci remained the same on all the blood agar, but the haemolysis of Staphylococci aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa varied on different media while haemolysis was least consistent on chicken and cow blood agar. Ram blood agar gave the best reactions in terms of good growth rates of organisms, good morphological characterization as well as good haemolytic reactions. Besides, it is easily available and large quantities of blood can be obtained. Despite the good qualities of ram blood agar observed in this study, however, there is a need for it to be tested further for its ability to support more fastidious organisms.

Effects of Preparation and Storage of Agar Media on the Sensitivity of Bacterial Forward Scattering Patterns

Recent worldwide foodborne outbreaks emphasize the need for the development of rapid and accurate method for pathogen detection. To address such issues, a new colony based label-free detection method working on the principles of elastic light scattering was introduced. In order to build libraries of scattering images for bacterial pathogens, it is pertinent to determine the effect of preparation and storage of the agar media on the scatter patterns. Scatter patterns of three Escherichia coli serovars (O26, O111 and O157) were studied and used in a model system, after growth on Sorbitol-MacConkey agar plates that were prepared and stored at different conditions in the laboratory. Quantitative image processing software was used to analyze variation in scatter patterns of the same serovar on media prepared under various standard laboratory conditions and to generate a cross-validation matrix for comparison. Based on the results, it was determined that attention should be given during preparation of media so that the agar plates are not air-dried more than 10 - 20 min after solidification at room temperature. The plates could be stored in sealed bags in cold room (4oC - 10oC) for up to a month before use. The findings of this study should provide guidelines in preparation, storage, and handling of media for generation of reproducible scatter patterns of bacterial colonies with the light scattering sensor for pathogen detection.

新技术在常减压装置中的应用——Agar电脱盐界位控制系统

电脱盐罐内油水界位的控制,对电脱盐罐的平稳运行具有重要的意义。简要介绍了Agar电脱盐罐界位控制系统结构及原理,同目前使用控制系统做了对比。结果表明,在电脱盐罐上采用Agar界位控制系统,可以优化液位控制,减少原油带水及排水含油的发生,降低污水处理的难度,有利于节能减排。

Synthesis and Characterization of Struvite-k Crystals by Agar Gel

The phosphate mineral struvite is basically formed in urinary tracks and kidney. One of the analogous compounds of struvite is potassium magnesium phosphate hexahydrate (KMgPO4&#183;6H2O), known as struvite-k crystal and found in animal urinary calculi. In the present investigation, struvite-k crystals were grown by single diffusion and double diffusion techniques in agar gelmedium. The grown crystals were analyzed by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDXA) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Optical microscopy and SEM exhibited the different morphologies. The FTIR spectra revealed the presence of water molecules, stretching and bending vibrations of phosphate (PO4) ions. However the powder XRD results from the crystalline nature. Elemental composition in the crystal was obtained by EDXA, while 36.89% weight loss of water molecules is observed in TGA study.