Biodegradation of PAHs

In this study was compared the amount of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in meat which had been grilled and baked. The purpose of the study was to determine which kind of preparation of the meat is more harmful by comparing the amounts of PAHs. In the study was tested six samples. Three samples were baked and three were grilled. Methods which have been used are the QuEChERS extraction method and method of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to determine the amount of PAHs in samples of meat. The results showed that the baked meat has about seven times larger amount of one of PAHs (naphthalene) than meat from the grill. These results led to the conclusion that the baked meat is more harmful than the grilled one and the reason for this is that the baking takes place indoors

Wastewater from textile industry effluents contains high amounts of colored and toxic compounds that can interrupt aquatic life systems when they are discharged to the environment without being treated. The physicochemical characteristics of effluents typically have a wide range of pHs and salinities, which are difficult for conventional techniques to remove. In addition, a limited number of microorganisms with the ability to grow and produce degradative enzyme systems can survive under those condition. Therefore, identifying microorganisms that are capable of decolorizing and degrading textile dyes under various pHs and salinities is needed. Among the fifteen strains tested in this study, Pestalotiopsis sp. NG007 exhibited the strongest ability to grow and decolorize Reactive Red 4 under saline conditions at pH 8. The ability of this strain to decolorize three textile dyes: Reactive Green 19, Reactive Orange 64 and Reactive Red 4, was investigated in a liquid medium and bioreactor system using immobilized mycelia. The fungus displayed a high decolorization capacity (20-98%) over 3 days in a wide range of pHs (pH 3-12) and salinities (0-10% w/v). In the bioreactor system, immobilized mycelia of the strain exhibited the ability to decolorize textile dyes by both adsorption (6-53%) and degradation (34-41%) mechanisms. This study demonstrated that Pestalotiopsis sp. has the potential to decolorize textile dye effluents containing a wide range of pHs and salinities.