“Waste”-ing away:Presence of Cu ions influences microbial degradation kinetics and metabolite formation of the prevalent brominated flame retardant BDE-47

Have you ever wondered what happened to that old cell phone you threw out last month?How about the 150 million other cell phones that were also disposed of in the past year?Although the world population has doubled in the past 50 years,global consumption of electronic devices has increased six fold(Belkhir and Elmeligi,2018)with nearly 45 million tonnes of electronic waste(e-waste)being produced in 2016 alone(Balde et al.,2017).That equates to 6.1 kg of e-waste per person across the globe and is equivalent in weight to over four thousand Eiffel towers(Balde et al.,2017)!

Influencing Factors and Product Toxicity of Anthracene Oxidation by Fungal Laccase

The transformation profiles of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons （PAHs） by pure laccases from Trametes versicolor and Pycnoporus sanguineus, and the optimal reaction conditions （acetonitrile concentration, pH, temperature and incubation time） were determined. Anthracene was the most transformable PAH by both laccases, followed by benzo[a]pyrene, and benzo[a]anthracene. Laccase-mediator system （LMS） could not only improve the PAH oxidation but also extend the substrate types compared to laccase alone. 5e/0 or 10~ （v/v） of acetonitrile concentration, pH 4, temperature of 40 ~C, and incubation time of 24 h were most favorable for anthracene oxidation by laccase from T. versicolor or P. sanguineus. The gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis indicated that 9,10- anthraquinone was the main product of anthracene transformed by laccase from T. versicolor. Microtox test results showed that both anthracene and its laccase-transformation products were not acute toxic compounds, suggesting that laccase-treatment of anthracene would not increase the acute toxicity of contaminated site.