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Biodiesel is a biodegradable and renewable fuel. A large amount of research has considered microbial oil production using oleaginous microorganisms, but the commercialization of microbial lipids produced in this way remains uncertain due to the high cost of feedstock or low lipid yield. Microbial lipids can be typically produced by microalgae, yeasts, and bacteria; the lipid yields of these microorganisms can be improved by using sufficient concentrations of organic carbon sources. Therefore, combining low-cost organic compounds contained in organic wastes with cultivation of oleaginous microorganisms can be a promising approach to obtain commercial viability. However, to achieve effective bioconversion of low-cost substrates to microbial lipids, the characteristics of each microorganism and each substrate should be considered simultaneously. This article discusses recent approaches to developing cost-effective microbial lipid production processes that use various oleaginous microorganisms and organic wastes., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Oils and fatty acids are important renewable resources provided by nature. Therefore, biotransformation of renewable oils and fatty acids into industrially relevant C9 chemicals was investigated in this study. Olive oil, soybean oil, yeast derived oil, and microalgae fatty acid methyl esters were converted into n-nonanoic acid, 9-hydroxynonanoic acid, and 1,9-nonanedioic acid by a lipase and a recombinant Escherichia coli expressing oleate hydratase, long chain secondary alcohol dehydrogenase, Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenase, long chain primary alcohol dehydrogenase, and aldehyde dehydrogenase. It was found that n-nonanoic acid and azelaic acid could be produced to a concentration of 4.3 mM from 3 g/L olive oil with a specific product formation rate of 3.1 U/g dry cells. Biotransformation rates were influenced by compositions of fatty acids and purity of the starting material. This study may contribute to the production of industrially relevant C9 chemicals from renewable oils and fatty acids by simultaneous enzyme/whole-cell biotransformation., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Microbial electrosynthesis is a process that can produce biocommodities from the reduction of substrates with microbial catalysts and an external electron supply. This process is expected to become a new application of a cell factory for novel chemical production, wastewater treatment, and carbon capture and utilization. However, microbial electrosynthesis is still subject to several problems that need to be overcome for commercialization, so continuous development such as metabolic engineering is essential. The development of microbial electrosynthesis can open up new opportunities for sustainable biocommodities production platforms. This review provides significant information on the current state of MES development, focusing on extracellularly electron transfer and metabolic engineering., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The aims of this study were to quantify how pretreatment affects production of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) from cyanobacterial biomass and production of subsequent microbial lipid by an oleaginous microorganism that uses the VFAs as carbon sources. The highest biomass solubilization was obtained using thermal-alkaline (th-alkaline) pretreatment (33.1%), followed by alkaline pretreatment (29.1%), and thermal pretreatment (7.2%), but the highest VFA yield was obtained using alkaline pretreatment (0.54±0.02g/gVS), followed by the untreated condition (0.47±0.03g/gVS), and th-alkaline pretreatment (0.44±0.02g/gVS). Although VFA yield was higher using alkaline pretreatment condition than in the untreated condition, the difference was not great. However, lipid productivity by Cryptococcus curvatus after the alkaline pretreatment condition was 2.0-fold higher than that under the untreated condition. This study confirmed the feasibility of using biologically produced VFAs from cyanobacterial biomass for microbial lipid production by the oleaginous microorganism., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The goal of this study was to investigate the influences of gradually mixotrophic culture conditions on microalgal biomass and lipid production by a consortium of indigenous microalgae and bacteria present in raw municipal wastewater. Lab-scale photobioreactors containing the consortium were operated in repeated batch mode. Initial cultivation (phase I) was performed using only the municipal wastewater, then 10% and 25% of the reactor volumes were replaced with the effluent from a sewage sludge fermentation system producing volatile fatty acids (SSFV) at the beginnings of phase II and phase III, respectively. The highest biomass productivity (117.1±2.7mg/L/d) was attained during phase II, but the lipid productivity (17.2±0.2mg/L/d) was attained during phase III. The increase in the effluent from the SSFV influenced microalgal diversity with a preference for Chlorella sp., but bacterial diversity increased significantly during phase III., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This study demonstrates that increased NADPH production can improve biomass and ethanol production in cyanobacteria. We over-expressed the endogenous zwf gene, which encodes glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase of pentose phosphate pathway, in the model cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. zwf over-expression resulted in increased NADPH production, and promoted biomass production compared to the wild type in both autotrophic and mixotrophic conditions. Ethanol production pathway including NADPH-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase was also integrated with and without zwf over-expression. Excessive NADPH production by zwf over-expression could improve both biomass and ethanol production in the autotrophic conditions., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

To utilize waste CO for mixed culture gas fermentation, carbon sources (CO, CO2) and pH were optimized in the batch system to find out the center point and boundary of response surface method (RSM) for higher acetate (HAc) production (center points: 25% CO, 40% CO2, and pH 8). The concentrations of CO and CO2, and pH had significant effects on acetate production, but the pH was the most significant on the HAc production. The optimum condition for HAc production in the gas fermentation was 20.81% CO, 41.38% CO2, 37.81% N2, and pH 7.18. The continuous gas fermentation under the optimum condition obtained 1.66g/L of cell DW, 23.6g/L HAc, 3.11g/L propionate, and 3.42g/L ethanol., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The objectives of this study were to investigate the effect of operating temperature on volatile fatty acids (VFAs) production from microalgal biomass, and to clarify the relationships between VFAs accumulation at different temperatures and the corresponding bacterial communities. The VFA yields were 0.10±0.017, 0.12±0.008, and 0.34±0.009 g/g VS at 35, 45, and 55 °C, respectively. The proportion of acetic acid decreased from 85.6% to 65.8% as operating temperature increased, whereas that of propionic acid increased from near 0% to 15.5% and that of iso-valeric acid remained relatively stable (10.2-11.2%). Bacterial communities at different operating temperatures consisted mostly of the phyla Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Firmicutes, which can degrade organic compounds effectively. Bacillus sp. was more predominant at 55 °C than at mesophilic temperatures, suggesting that this microorganism contributed significantly to the higher hydrolysis rate and VFA yield at this operating temperature., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The objective of this study was to investigate the feasibility of applying volatile fatty acids (VFAs) produced from low-cost organic waste to the major carbon sources of microalgae cultivation for highly efficient biofuel production. An integrated process that consists of a sewage sludge fermentation system producing VFAs (SSFV) and mixotrophic cultivation of Chlorella vulgaris (C. vulgaris) was operated to produce microbial lipids economically. The effluents from the SSFV diluted to different concentrations at the level of 100%, 50%, and 15% were prepared for the C. vulgaris cultivation and the highest biomass productivity (433±11.9 mg/L/d) was achieved in the 100% culture controlling pH at 7.0. The harvested biomass included lipid contents ranging from 12.87% to 20.01% under the three different effluent concentrations with and without pH control. The composition of fatty acids from C. vulgaris grown on the effluents from the SSFV complied with the requirements of high-quality biodiesel. These results demonstrated that VFAs produced from the SSFV are favorable carbon sources for cultivating C. vulgaris., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Microalgae, Scenedesmus bijuga, was cultivated in anaerobically digested food wastewater effluent (FWE) to treat the wastewater and produce biodiesel simultaneously. Three different mixing ratios with municipal wastewater were compared for finding out proper dilution ratio in biodiesel production. Of these, 1/20 diluted FWE showed the highest biomass production (1.49 g/L). Lipid content was highest in 1/10 diluted FWE (35.06%), and the lipid productivity showed maximum value in 1/20 diluted FWE (15.59 mg/L/d). Nutrient removal was also measured in the cultivation. FAME compositions were mainly composed of C16-C18 (Over 98.94%) in S. bijuga. In addition, quality of FAMEs was evaluated by Cetane Number (CN) and Bis-allylic Position Equivalent (BAPE)., (Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

The objectives of this study were to explore the feasibility of applying sequential dilute acid and alkali pretreatment into the hydrolysis of corn stover and to elucidate the effects of structural changes in the biomass on its enzymatic digestibility. H2SO4 used in the first step selectively hydrolyzed 74.6-77.3% of xylan and NaOH used in the second step removed 85.9-89.4% of lignin, from the raw corn stover. Compared to single dilute acid pretreatment, the proposed combined pretreatment minimized the generation of byproducts such as acetic acid, furfural and hydroxymethylfurfural in the hydrolysates, and enhanced the enzymatic hydrolysis of the solid residue. The changes in the structural features (porosity, morphology, and crystallinity) of the solid residue were strongly correlated with the enhancement of enzymatic digestibility. The overall glucose and xylose yields finally obtained after enzymatic hydrolysis reached 89.1-97.9% and 71.0-75.9%, respectively., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

As aquatic biomass which is called "the third generation biomass", Laminaria japonica (also known as Saccharina japonica) consists of mannitol and alginate which are the main polysaccharides of algal carbohydrates. In this study, oleaginous yeast (Cryptococcus curvatus) was used to produce lipid from carbon sources derived from Laminaria japonica. Volatile fatty acids (VFAs) were produced by fermentation of alginate extracted from L. japonica. Thereafter, mannitol was mixed with VFAs to culture the oleaginous yeast. The highest lipid content was 48.30%. The composition of the fatty acids was similar to vegetable oils. This is the first confirmation of the feasibility of using macroalgae as a carbon source for biodiesel production., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Single-stage anaerobic digestion (AD) was operated to treat high-strength food wastewater (FWW) derived from food waste recycling facilities at two different organic loading rates (OLRs) of 3.5 (Phase I) and 7 (Phase II) kgCOD/m(3)d. Changes in composition of microbial communities were investigated using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) and barcoded-pyrosequencing. At the high FWW loading rate, AD showed efficient performance (i.e., organic matter removal and methane production). Bacterial communities were represented by the phyla Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Synergistetes and Actinobacteria. During the entire digestion process, the relative abundance phylum Chloroflexi decreased significantly. The qPCR analysis demonstrated that the methanogenic communities shifted from aceticlastic (Methanosarcinales) to hydrogenotrophic methanogens (Methanobacteriales and Methanomicrobiales) with high increase in the proportion of syntrophic bacterial communities. Canonical correspondence analysis revealed a strong relationship between reactor performance and microbial community shifts., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

A lab-scale sequential sludge digestion process which consists of a mesophilic anaerobic digester (MAD) and a thermophilic aerobic digester (TAD) was developed. Thermal, thermal-alkaline and long-term alkaline pre-treatments were applied to the feed sludge to examine their effects on sludge removal and methane production. Especially after thermal-alkaline pre-treatment, high COD removal was maintained; methane production rate was also drastically increased by improving the hydrolysis step of sludge degradation. Polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gel gradient electrophoresis indicated that bacterial communities were represented by three phyla (Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria) and that Clostridium straminisolvens was the major bacterial species in MAD. Quantitative real-time PCR results indicated that Methanosaeta concilli was the major archaeal species in MAD, and that Ureibacillus sp. was the most abundant bacterial species in TAD., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

To evaluate the applicability of single-stage thermophilic aerobic digestion (TAD) process treating high-strength food wastewater (FWW), TAD process was operated at four organic loading rates (OLRs) from 9.2 to 37.2 kg COD/m(3)d. The effects of OLRs on microbial community changes were also examined. The highest volumetric removal rate (13.3 kg COD/m(3)d) and the highest thermo-stable protease activity (0.95 unit/mL) were detected at OLR=18.6 kg COD/m(3)d. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) profiles and quantitative PCR (qPCR) results showed significant microbial community shifts in response to changes in OLR. In particular, DGGE and phylogenetic analysis demonstrate that the presence of Bacillus sp. (phylum of Firmicutes) was strongly correlated with efficient removal of organic particulates from high-strength food wastewater., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

An effective two-stage sewage sludge digestion process, consisting of thermophilic aerobic digestion (TAD) followed by mesophilic anaerobic digestion (MAD), was developed for efficient sludge reduction and methane production. Using TAD as a biological pretreatment, the total volatile suspended solid reduction (VSSR) and methane production rate (MPR) in the MAD reactor were significantly improved. According to denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis, the results indicated that the dominant bacteria species such as Ureibacillus thermophiles and Bacterium thermus in TAD were major routes for enhancing soluble organic matter. TAD pretreatment using a relatively short SRT of 1 day showed highly increased soluble organic products and positively affected an increment of bacteria populations which performed interrelated microbial metabolisms with methanogenic species in the MAD; consequently, a quantitative real-time PCR indicated greatly increased Methanosarcinales (acetate-utilizing methanogens) in the MAD, resulting in enhanced methane production., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Macroalgae, so-called seaweeds, have recently attracted attention as a possible feedstock for biorefinery. Since macroalgae contain various carbohydrates (which are distinctively different from those of terrestrial biomasses), thorough assessments of macroalgae-based refinery are essential to determine whether applying terrestrial-based technologies to macroalgae or developing completely new technologies is feasible. This comprehensive review was performed to show the potentials of macroalgae as biorefinery feedstocks. Their basic background information was introduced: taxonomical classification, habitat environment, and carbon reserve capacity. Their global production status showed that macroalgae can be mass-cultivated with currently available farming technology. Their various carbohydrate compositions implied that new microorganisms are needed to effectively saccharify macroalgal biomass. Up-to-date macroalgae conversion technologies for biochemicals and biofuels showed that molecular bioengineering would contribute to the success of macroalgae-based biorefinery. It was concluded that more research is required for the utilization of macroalgae as a new promising biomass for low-carbon economy., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In this study a new bacterium capable of growing on brown seaweed Laminaria japonica, Enterobacter sp. JMP3 was isolated from the gut of turban shell, Batillus cornutus. In anaerobic condition, it produced high yields of ethanol (1.15 mol-EtOH mol-mannitol(-1)) as well as organic acids from mannitol, the major carbohydrate component of L. japonica. Based on carbon distribution and metabolic flux analysis, it was revealed that mannitol was more favorable than glucose for ethanol production due to their different redox states. This indicates that L. japonica is one of the promising feedstock for bioethanol production. Additionally, the mannitol dehydrogenation pathway in Enterobacter sp. JMP3 was examined and verified. Finally, an attempt was made to explore the possibility of controlling ethanol production by altering the redox potential via addition of external NADH in mannitol fermentation., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Over a 3 year period, interactions between nitrifying bacterial communities and the operational parameters of a full-scale wastewater treatment plant were analyzed to assess their impact on nitrification performance. Throughout the study period, nitrification fluctuated while Nitrosomonas europaea and Nitrosomonas nitrosa, the two major ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) communities, showed resistance to changes in operational and environmental conditions. Nitrobacter populations mostly exceeded those of Nitrospira within nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB). Meanwhile, principal component analysis (PCA) results revealed that a close association between Nitrobacter and nitrite concentration as well as a direct correlation between the quantity of AOB and influent SCN- concentration. The serial shifts of data points over time showed that the nitrification of a full-scale treatment plant has been gradually suppressed by the influence of influent COD and phenol concentrations., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The two-stage culture system consisting of green vegetative growth and reddish inductive production stages has been widely accepted for the production of astaxanthin using Haematococcus pluvialis. However, little has been known about the appropriate cellular phase of H. pluvialis for transferring into the astaxanthin inductive conditions. In this study, we determined the optimal growth phase of H. pluvialis for transferring into the second production stage. Astaxanthin productivities were correlated with growth phases, as senescent green phases could increase more than 10-fold greater than juvenile green phases. Our results clearly demonstrated the appropriateness of the senescent vegetable cells for transferring into the production stage, due to the increased capacity to accumulate astaxanthin., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Changes in process performance and the nitrifying bacterial community associated with an increase of thiocyanate (SCN-) loading were investigated in a pre-denitrification process treating industrial wastewater. The increased SCN- loading led to the concentration of total nitrogen (TN) in the final effluent, but increasing the internal recycling ratio as an operation parameter from 2 to 5 resulted in a 21% increase in TN removal efficiency. In the aerobic reactor, we found that the Nitrosomonas europaea lineage was the predominant ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and the percentages of the AOB population within the total bacteria increased from about 4.0% to 17% with increased SCN- concentration. The increase of nitrite loading seemed to change the balance between Nitrospira and Nitrobacter, resulting in the high dominance of Nitrospira over Nitrobacter. Meanwhile, a Thiobacillus thioparus was suggested to be the main microorganism responsible for the SCN- biodegradation observed in the system., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

A full-scale pre-denitrification process treating cokes wastewater containing toxic compounds such as phenols, cyanides and thiocyanate has shown good performance in carbon and nitrogen removal. However, field operators have been having trouble with its instability without being able to identify the causes. To clarify the main cause of these sudden failures of the process, comprehensive studies were conducted on the pre-denitrification process using a lab-scale reactor system with real cokes wastewater. First, the shock loading effects of three major pollutants were investigated individually. As the loading amount of phenol increased to 600 mg/L, more COD, TOC and phenol itself were flowed into the aerobic reactor, but phenol itself did not inhibit nitrification and denitrification, owing to the effect of dilution and its rapid biodegradation. Higher loading of ammonia or thiocyanate slightly enhanced the removal efficiency of organic matter, but caused the final discharge concentration of total nitrogen to be above its legal limit of 60 mg-N/L. Meanwhile, continuous inflow of abnormal wastewater collected during unstable operation of the full-scale pre-denitrification process, caused a sudden failure of nitrogen removal in the lab-scale process, like the removal pattern of the full-scale one. This was discovered to be due to the lack of inorganic carbon in the aerobic reactor where autotrophic nitrification occurs.

A lab-scale anaerobic filter process was operated for the treatment of purified terephthalic acid (PTA) wastewater, and the influences of organic loading disturbances on the process performance were investigated. After about 15 month operation, the COD removal efficiency was maintained at 79% under the volumetric loading rate of 5.05 kg-COD/m3/d and the hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 50 h. Interestingly, this performance could be further enhanced over 85% by applying a step-increase/decrease of the HRT, which was mainly due to the increased p-toluate degradation. In the shock loading tests of four major pollutants (benzoate, acetate, terephthalate and p-toluate), it was found that the overall process performance was adversely affected by all the shock loadings, indicating that the syntrophic microbial consortium involved in the PTA wastewater treatment is highly sensitive to the organic loading disturbances. The complex inhibition effects of the benzoate and acetate on the terephthalate and p-toluate degradations were mainly responsible for this sensitivity.

Among useless but abundant agricultural biowastes such as banana skin, green tea waste, oak leaf, walnut shell, peanut shell and rice husk, in this study, banana skin was screened as the most efficient biomaterial to remove toxic Cr(VI) from aqueous solution. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) study revealed that the mechanism of Cr(VI) biosorption by banana skin was its complete reduction into Cr(III) in both aqueous and solid phases and partial binding of the reduced-Cr(III), in the range of pH 1.5-4 tested. One gram of banana skin could reduce 249.6 (+/-4.2)mg of Cr(VI) at initial pH 1.5. Namely, Cr(VI)-reducing capacity of banana skin was four times higher than that of a common chemical Cr(VI)-reductant, FeSO(4).7H(2)O. To diminish undesirable/serious organic leaching from the biomaterial and to enhance removal efficiency of total Cr, its powder was immobilized within Ca-alginate bead. The developed Cr(VI)-biosorbent could completely reduce toxic Cr(VI) to less toxic Cr(III) and could remove almost of the reduced-Cr(III) from aqueous phase. On the basis of removal mechanisms of Cr(VI) and total Cr by the Cr(VI)-biosorbent, a kinetic model was derived and could be successfully used to predict their removal behaviors in aqueous phase. In conclusion, our Cr(VI)-biosorbent must be a potent candidate to substitute for chemical reductants as well as adsorbents for treating Cr(VI)-bearing wastewaters.

A lab-scale serial anoxic-aerobic reactor for the pre-denitrification process was continuously operated to efficiently and economically treat actual cokes wastewater containing various pollutants, such as phenol, ammonia, thiocyanate and cyanide compounds. The biodegradation efficiencies of the pollutants were examined by changing hydraulic retention time (HRT) as a main operating variable. The long-term operation of the pre-denitrification process reactor showed that approximately 100% phenol, approximately 100% free cyanide, approximately 100% SCN(-), 97% ammonia, 85% COD, 84% TOC (total organic carbon) and 83% TN (total nitrogen) were removed at HRT above 11.9h. Removal efficiency of total cyanides significantly decreased with a decrease in the HRT. Free cyanide and some of total cyanides were removed in anoxic reactor, whereas thiocyanate was removed in aerobic reactor. Phenol was completely removed under successive anoxic and aerobic conditions. Although actual cokes wastewater contained high concentrations of various toxic pollutants, the pre-denitrification process showed stable and successful performances in both nitrification and denitrification reactions.

The effects of pH on hydrogen fermentation of glucose by newly isolated H(2)-producing bacterium Clostridium tyrobutyricum JM1 were investigated in batch cultivations. The changes of carbon material and energy balances by pH conditions provided useful information for understanding and interpreting the regulatory system of the microorganism, and for optimization of a desired product, in this case, molecular hydrogen. The most probable metabolic pathways of C. tyrobutyricum JM1 were determined through an accurate analysis of stoichiometry and the consistency of the experimental data, checked by high carbon recovery. The carbon material and energy balances were adequately applied to estimate the carbon-flow distribution. They suggested that pH 6.3 was appropriate to maximize hydrogen production with a high concentration of butyrate and balanced activities of NADH.

A fermentative hydrogen-producing bacterium, Clostridium tyrobutyricum JM1, was isolated from a food waste treating process using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA). A fixed-bed bioreactor packed with polyurethane foam as support matrix for the growth of the isolate was operated at different hydraulic retention time (HRT) to evaluate its performance for hydrogen production. The reactor achieved the maximal hydrogen production rate of 7.2 l H(2)l(-1)d(-1) at 2h HRT, where hydrogen content in biogas was 50.0%, and substrate conversion efficiency was 97.4%. The maximum hydrogen yield was 223 ml (g-hexose)(-1) with an influent glucose concentration of 5 g l(-1). Therefore, the immobilized reactor using C. tyrobutyricum JM1 was an effective and stable system for continuous hydrogen production.

The individual and mutual effects of glucose concentration, temperature and pH on the hydrogen production by Enterobacter aerogenes were investigated in a batch system. A Box-Behnken design and response surface methodology (RSM) were employed to determine the optimum condition for enhanced hydrogen production. The hydrogen production rate was investigated by simultaneously changing the three independent variables, which all had significant influences on the hydrogen production rate. The maximum hydrogen production rate of 425.8 ml H(2)(g dry cell h)(-1) was obtained under the optimum condition of glucose concentration 118.06 mM, temperature 38 degrees C and pH 6.13. The experimental results showed that the RSM with the Box-Behnken design was a useful tool for achieving high rate of hydrogen production by E. aerogenes.

To enhance biological removal efficiency of total cyanides, bioaugmentation was applied to a full-scale cokes wastewaters treatment process. After a laboratorial-scale cultivation (up to 1.2 m(3)) of a cyanide-degrading yeast (Cryptococcus humicolus) and unidentified cyanide-degrading microorganisms, the microbial consortium was inoculated into a fluidized-bed type process (1280 m(3)), and then enriched for two months with a huge supply of glucose, KCN and other nutrients. Target wastewater was effluent of a biological pre-denitrification process for treating cokes wastewater, and contained about 14 mg/L of total cyanides in the form of ferric cyanide. This may be a first or rare report on the full-scale bioaugmentation of specialized-microorganisms. However, continuous operation of the full-scale cyanides-degrading bioprocess showed poor removal efficiency than expected owing to poor settling performance of microbial flocs, slow biodegradation rate of ferric cyanide and lack of organic carbon sources within the wastewater. Therefore, there is a need for further studies on how to solve these operating problems in full-scale bioaugmentation approach.

Recently, a new and simple kinetic model was derived from a basic concept of the redox reaction between Cr(VI) and biomaterials, and successfully described the removal behavior of Cr(VI) under various Cr(VI) and biomaterial concentrations. However, this model did not consider the effects of pH and temperature on the Cr(VI) removal by biomaterials. In this study, a new efficient biomaterial, pine needle, capable of removing Cr(VI) was used as a model one to study the Cr(VI) removal by biomaterials. Analysis of chromium species in aqueous and solid phases revealed that the removal mechanism of Cr(VI) by pine needle was its reduction into Cr(III). The removal rate of Cr(VI) increased with a decrease in pH or with an increase of temperature. Finally, an advanced kinetic model in the form of -d[Cr(VI)]/dt = Ae(Ea/RT)[H+]n[Cr(VI)][OCs] was derived, and successfully predicted the time-dependent Cr(VI) concentration at various pHs (2-4) and temperatures (10-55 degrees C).

In this study, the removal of Cr(VI) was examined in a binary aqueous system containing Ni(II), and the competitive interaction between them was successfully modeled. The removal rate of Cr(VI) was unaffected by the presence of Ni(II). However, in an equilibrium state, the uptake of total Cr or Ni(II) was decreased in the presence of the other metal. The mono- and multi-component Langmuir adsorption models clearly represented the uptake behavior of these metals.

A pilot scale slurry bioreactor was used for the treatment of food wastes. Food wastes were continuously added (750 g wet weight per day) into the reactor and successfully decomposed to inorganic carbon without intermittent removal of suspended solids. During operation for 90 days, 91% reduction of food wastes was achieved. Microorganisms actively grew during the initial 20 days of operation, and reached a stationary phase with a cell concentration of around 5 x 10(10) cells ml(-1), which indicated that food waste was utilized as a respiratory substrate during this phase. Using data for time variation of dissolved oxygen, the oxygen requirement for decomposition of food wastes was estimated to be 5.0 g O2 g(-1) dry weight of food wastes.