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Introduction: Although bacteria and archaea are able to grow and adapted to the petrol reservoirs during several years, there are no results from microbial diversity of oilfields with high temperature in Iran. Hence, the present study tried to identify microbial community in non-water flooding Zeilaei (ZZ) oil reservoir. Materials and methods: In this study, for the first time, non-water flooded high temperature Zeilaei oilfield was analyzed for its microbial community based on next generation sequencing of 16S rRNA genes. Results: The results obtained from this study indicated that the most abundant bacterial community belonged to phylum of Firmicutes (Bacilli) and Thermotoga, while other phyla (Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Synergistetes) were much less abundant. Bacillus subtilis, B. licheniformis, Petrotoga mobilis, P. miotherma, Fervidobacterium pennivorans, and Thermotoga subterranea were observed with high frequency. In addition, the most abundant archaea were Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus. Discussion and conclusion: Although there are many reports on the microbial community of oil filed reservoirs, this is the first report of large quantities of Bacillus spp. from a high temperature oil reservoir. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two strains of true branched heterocytous cyanobacteria, SA33 and SA16, isolated from dried paddy fields of Mazandaran, Iran, were studied using morphological, ecological, and molecular tools. Morphological characterization of the strains indicated them to be commonly showing profuse T-type branching, large irregularly shaped cells of main filament and tapering branches. Strain SA33 showed development of interesting biseriate filaments with unilateral branching, while strain SA16 showed uniseriate filaments with bilateral branching. Ecological examination of the localities consisted of the assessment of the habitat and correlations with the overall environment of the habitats. 16S rRNA gene-based molecular and phylogenetic assessment gave unique positioning to both the strains separated with good bootstrap support from rest of the members of the true branched clade. Full length sequencing of the 16S-23S ITS region and folding of the secondary structures gave interesting secondary structures and comparison with the closely related sequences clearly indicated the secondary structures of both the strains to be unique. All the results indicated the strains to be members of a morphologically cryptic but phylogenetically distinct unknown genus of cyanobacteria. Comprehensive evaluation of all the findings and comparative assessment of previous studies indicate that SA33 and SA16 are indeed two new species of a new genus of true branched cyanobacteria. In accordance with the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi and plants, we propose the name of the new genus as Neowestiellopsis with the names of the species being Neowestiellopsis persica and Neowestiellopsis bilateralis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to review and assess the different municipal solid waste management (MSW) scenarios using a comparative life cycle assessment approach in Iran. For this purpose, the capital of Iran was selected and five different scenarios including: anaerobic digestion (AD, Sc-0), landfilling combined with composting (Sc-1), incineration (Sc-2), incineration combined with composting (Sc-3), and AD combined with incineration (Sc-4) were taken into consideration. The results obtained showed that the scenarios Sc-3 and Sc-1 led to the most adverse environmental impact in the Human Health and Ecosystem Quality damage categories. In the Climate Change damage category, the scenario Sc-1 resulted in the worst impact while the other scenarios showed improving impacts on this damage category. Also, the scenario Sc-1 had the least helpful effect on the Resources damage category. The overall analysis of different scenarios implied that the scenario Sc-1 was the worst scenario among the studied scenarios. The results also showed that the most eco-friendly scenario to be implemented in the future would be the combination of AD with incineration (Sc-4). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sugar beet is one of the most important industrial crops in Iran. For the last two decades it has been mainly affected by a destructive virus, beet necrotic yellow vein virus (BNYVV). The Polymyxa betae is the only natural transmitting agent of the disease among the plants. Developing accurate diagnostic methods may have a major impact on the rising of resistant germplasms. In the present study, specific monoclonal recombinant antibodies in the form of single chain variable fragments (scFv) were obtained from na've phage display libraries. The fungus specific glutathione-S-transferase (GST) protein was chosen as an antigen for developing antibodies and diagnostic purposes. To generate specific scFv, screening of Tomlinson phage display libraries was performed by applying both recombinant and native fungal GST. Using the recombinant GST in the panning process resulted in the isolation of an antibody only bound to recombinant GST but it failed to detect native GST in the infected plants. Alternatively, the process of panning was carried out by applying native fungal GST trapped to immunotubes through specific polyclonal antibody intermediate. The recent approach resulted in the selection of a specific scFv binding to native GST which was able to detect the presence of the fungi within infected plants. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the generation of recombinant antibodies against Polymyxa betae, fungal vector of sugar beet rhizomania disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Current biomass sources for energy production in Iran include sewerage as well as agricultural, animal, food industry and municipal solid wastes, and are anticipated to account for about 14% of national energy consumption in near future. However, due to the considerable progress made in genetic engineering of various plants in Iran during the last decade and the great potentials of microalgae for biofuel production, these photosynthetic organisms could be nominated as the future source of bioenergy in Iran. An overview of status of bioenergy in the world and Iran as well as the potential and utilization of biomass in Iran is presented. The possibilities of increasing biofuel production through microalgal genetic engineering and the progress made so far are discussed. Biodiesel in the Iran and its future prospective is also reviewed, emphasizing the promising role of microalgae. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Determining locations is important for researchers and policymakers involved in developing photovoltaic (PV) plants. Here, solar extended exergy accounting performance is proposed as a new systematic decision support framework for prioritizing PV sites from environmental, technical, financial, and social viewpoints. The space-time solar extended exergy accounting performance of a 500 kW grid-connected PV system is determined for different Iranian climates as an example to show how the proposed tool can enhance site selection for PV power systems. The simulations are carried out for all 12 months of the year using the actual climatic, technical, economic, environmental, and social databases. Results for January, April, July, and October, representing winter, spring, summer, and autumn, respectively, are discussed in detail. The outcomes of the proposed method are compared with those for total irradiance, solar irradiance exergy, power generation, and exergy efficiency. In addition, several space-time ‏maps are developed for facilitating comparison among PV installation priorities obtained using various criteria. The average monthly total irradiance and solar irradiance exergy in Iran respectively varies in the range 120–184 kWh/m2/month and 112–172 kW/m2/month, respectively. The average monthly power generation, exergy efficiency, and extended exergy accounting performance of the developed plant are respectively found to be in the range of 45.3–66.0 MWh/month, 13.6‒14.8%, and 9.46–10.5% for different Iranian climates. Overall, southeast, central, and northwest cities of Iran are shown to be promising candidates for solar PV power systems based on the extended exergy accounting approach. The outcomes show that the proposed tool can be much more helpful than conventional methods for ranking candidate locations for building PV plants. The proposed extended exergy accounting performance framework can be applied for other stand-alone and hybrid renewable energy systems for various environmental and climatic conditions. Image 1076 • Solar extended exergy accounting method is proposed to locate photovoltaic plants. • Iranian climates are prioritized for photovoltaic installation using the new method. • Conventional methods may provide inappropriate site selection of photovoltaic plants.. • The proposed tool effectively provides the location for photovoltaic ‏plants.. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Solar exergoeconomic and exergoenvironmental maps are introduced in detail. • Various spatio-temporal exergetic maps are drawn for Iranian climatic conditions. • The exergy efficiency map may lead to wrong site selection of photovoltaics. • The developed maps can be effectively used for locating photovoltaic solar farms. This work introduces and develops the concepts of solar exergoeconomic and exergoenvironmental maps for photovoltaic systems. These maps are developed to complement the information provided by solar exergy maps for recognizing the most appropriate sites for hosting photovoltaic power plants. A detailed case study is carried out to demonstrate how the proposed approaches can be practically applied to promote solar photovoltaic systems. More specifically, the exergoeconomic and exergoenvironmental performances of a 100 kW grid-connected photovoltaic plant are assessed for several Iranian cities over the year based on actual climatic, economic, and environmental impact data. The spatio-temporal solar maps for unit exergoeconomic cost and unit exergoenvironmental impact of electricity generation are then developed for the investigated climatic conditions for the first time. In order to demonstrate the suitability and reliability of the developed maps, their interoperations are assessed and compared to those for exergy efficiency. The results show that solar exergoeconomic and exergoenvironmental maps provide more valuable information on the performance of solar photovoltaic systems than exergy efficiency maps, demonstrating their robustness for optimum site selection and plant sizing. In addition, the exergy efficiency maps may result in inappropriate site selection of photovoltaic solar farms. The central, south, southeast, and some west parts of Iran are the most suitable locations for implementing photovoltaic power fields from exergoeconomic and exergoenvironmental viewpoints. The developed approaches can also be used for locating and sizing other renewable energy systems under different climatic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The net-zero energy concept has attracted increasing attention to facilitate the development of sustainable built environments. Despite promising progress, there is no comprehensive approach that simultaneously considers all technical, economic, environmental, and social parameters. The present study uses the extended exergy accounting concept in the net-zero energy framework to cope with the drawbacks of the existing net-zero definitions. This method weighs all energetic and non-energetic inputs in a single consolidated exergy term, thus making an unbiased comparison of various options possible. The proposed approach is applied to a district in central Iran, and its sensitivity and applicability are compared with the net-zero source energy and exergy methods. The new approach reasonably responds to changes in the energy network and renewable energy system parameters. In the baseline conditions, the new method provides the highest self-consumption index (51.8%) in the investigated case study. Although the net-zero exergy approach generates more renewable energy (two times) than the presented approach, it increases the self-sufficiency index by only 3%. The new approach accounts for the energy load profile while setting up local renewable energy production based on energy network and renewable system efficiency. The developed approach appears to be reliable for developing sustainable net-zero systems. [Display omitted] • The extended exergy accounting concept is used in a net-zero energy framework. • The proposed net-zero energy approach is mathematically defined and fully discussed. • The net-zero extended exergy accounting method is applied to a district in central Iran. • The developed method technically outperforms existing net-zero definitions. • The new framework can promote the development of sustainable net-zero systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is obvious that Iran agricultural industry, unlike Brazil and USA, cannot afford to provide conventional biomass, i.e. sugary or starchy biomass for bioethanol production, mainly due to climatic and geographic conditions. With some exception of date (fruit), first-generation ethanol production triggers food vs. fuel debates in Iran and put nation to hunger. Agricultural products including apple, barley, carrot, corn, grape, orange, potato, rice, sugar beet, sugarcane, and wheat are consumed domestically, exported, or even lost because of poor harvesting and processing conditions such as transportation or packaging. These products may alone generate 21.56 million ton per annum green wastes upon processing in the food industry. Every year about 5.4 billion liters of bioethanol can be produced by establishing second-generation ethanol plants next to the food processing sectors. Seventy-seven-percent of this amount of bioethanol can easily support 5% ethanol (E5) policy to phase out the consumption of 4.2 billion liters methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) for raising the octane number of gasoline in the country. If more comprehensive policy is adopted, larger quantities of lignocellulosic feedstocks can be gathered from agro as well as forestry practices. Second-generation bioethanol technology can help Iran to tackle air pollution in its big cities and to address the adverse effects of MTBE on its populations and ecosystem. The other advantages are improvement of fuel security, mitigation of climate change, and development of economy. The motivation can be created through passing a framework policy to cut fossil fuel subsidies, to mandate bioethanol blends in gasoline, and to impose carbon taxes. Development of coherent socially and environmentally relevant strategies and facilitation of investment in bioethanol industry are also necessary. • Agro-food industry generates more than 21.56 million ton wastes each year in Iran. • 5.4 billion liters of ethanol can be obtained annually by conversion of Iranian wastes. • Iranian law-makers must mandate the use of ethanol or its derivatives in gasoline. • 4.2 billion liters of MTBE can be replaced annually by bioethanol in Iran. • Higher ethanol ratios in gasoline can efficiently reduce air pollution in big cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finding renewable alternative energy resources for fossil fuels substitution has become very vital due to the serious challenges faced by humankind at present such as environmental pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, climate change, crude oil price volatility, and fossil fuels exhaustion. Macroalgae (seaweeds) are fast-growing marine plants, providing several harvests per year without the need for arable land, fertilizer, and fresh water. Various types of ecosystems like coral reefs, mangrove forests, and rocky shores can efficiently host the seaweeds production systems. These characteristics have made them highly suitable feedstocks for third-generation bioethanol production. Iran has a huge potential in renewable energy resources owing to its unique geographical location and climatic features. The country borders with the Caspian Sea in the north and with the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman in the south. Seaweeds farming can also play a key role in mitigating air pollution, increasing employment rate, sustaining fossil fuel resources, bioremediating contaminated water, and improving marine ecosystem in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. In the present article, macroalgae diversity, cultivation, and their conversion and upgrading technologies into bioethanol in Iran are scrutinized and discussed. Finally, the potential of Bushehr (the Persian Gulf) and Chabahar (the Gulf of Oman) coastlines for macroalgae cultivation is investigated. These locations receive the annual solar radiation in the range of 1680‒1753 kWh/m2 and the photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) in the range of 2.6‒2.71 GJ/m2/year with 3051‒3311.9 h sunshine per annum. Furthermore, the nutrient-rich and calm water with relatively stable pH, salinity, and temperature make these coasts suitable for macroalgae farming. A potential yield up to 147‒153 t/ha/year can be obtained if proper native/engineered species, well-situated sites, and compatible cultivation techniques are selected. • Seaweeds can be cultivated, pretreated, saccharified, and fermented into bioethanol. • Southern coastlines of Iran provide favorable conditions for macroalgae cultivation. • Iran coastlines have 379 macroalgae species, of these 81 are brown macroalgae. • Padina (10 species) and Sargassum (25. species) have high carbohydrate content. • Macroalgae cultivation provides various socio-economic advantages for Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural and livestock/slaughterhouse wastes are produced in huge quantities and could be promising sources for electricity generation to partially reduce dependence on fossil-oriented electricity. In light of that, the state of the production for these wastes in different parts of the globe was first presented. Subsequently, various waste-to-energy technologies and their electricity generation feasibility from both environmental and economic perspectives were reviewed. Finally, electricity generation and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction potentials through anaerobic digestion of the above-mentioned wastes generated in each province of Iran in 2016 were investigated as a case study. Accordingly, Khuzestan province with the highest amount of agro-wastes (7.61 million tons) and Sistan and Baluchestan province with the highest amount of livestock/slaughterhouse wastes (10.69 million tons) had the maximum electricity generation potentials of 82.83 MW and 164.23 MW, respectively. Moreover, the country's total potentials for electricity generation from these wastes was determined at 2848.26 MW. Based on the life cycle assessment (LCA) results, a minimum of 10,693.5 thousand tons CO 2 eq/yr could be avoided by valorizing these wastes into electricity in Iran. This would be translated into 1.5% reduction of Iran's annual GHG emissions; a promising achievement given Iran's international GHGs reduction commitment. Moreover, if a short-term time horizon would be considered for electricity generation from these wastes, the reduction rate could reach 24,153 thousand tons CO 2 eq/yr, i.e., 3.39% reduction of Iran's annual GHG emissions. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report scrutinizing electricity generation potentials from both agricultural and livestock/slaughterhouse wastes in Iran while assessing the consequent GHG emission reduction potentials. The outcomes of the study could assist policy makers with decisions aimed at taking advantage of these resources while the platform introduced pave the way for other researchers to conduct similar studies in different parts of the world. Image 1 • Global agricultural/livestock/slaughterhouse wastes generation was reviewed. • Electricity generation potentials from waste biomass in Iran were reviewed. • GHG emission reduction potentials from waste biomass in Iran were reviewed. • Electricity generation potentials in Iran were estimated at 2848.26 MW. • At least 10.7 MT CO 2 eq/yr could be avoided by managing these wastes feedstocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the growing population and the subsequent need for more food, food production systems have moved towards industrialization. Accordingly, a large amount of energy, particularly fossil fuels, should be supplied annually to this important sector of the industry, thereby increasing environmental hazards for human health and ecosystems. Therefore, the hotspots of energy consumption and environmental impacts of food production systems should be accurately identified in order to improve their efficiency and sustainability. To this end, energy consumption and environmental impacts of apple juice production in West Azarbaijan province of Iran was analyzed in the present study from farm gate to end of packaging of bottled juice using energy flow and life cycle assessment (LCA) approaches. According to the results of energy analysis, the specific energy consumption of apple juice production was found to be 28.33 MJ/bottle. More specifically, diesel fuel, natural gas, and polyethylene terephthalate bottles had the greatest contributions to the specific energy consumption of apple juice production. Based on the outcomes of the LCA approach, the corresponding life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of the resources consumed in apple juice production were 1.83 kg CO 2 eq , mainly caused by the combustion of diesel and natural gas. The damages to ecosystem quality due to acidification and eutrophication were respectively found to be 1.69 × 10−2 kg SO 2 eq and 4.54 × 10−3 kg PO 4 −3 eq , mainly because of resources utilization in the agricultural production step. The emissions released due to the consumption of chemical fertilizers and farmyard manure in the agricultural production step had the highest impacts in acidification and eutrophication impact categories. The emissions arisen from the production and consumption of pesticides were the hotspots in abiotic depletion, ozone layer depletion, human toxicity, freshwater aquatic ecotoxicity, and terrestrial ecotoxicity. Overall, it could be concluded that using bio-fertilizers and biological control approaches in the agricultural production step as well as implementing renewable energy technologies in the juicing step could potentially mitigate the environmental burdens of apple juice production. • Energy consumption and environmental impacts of apple juice production was analyzed. • The specific energy consumption of apple juice production was 28.33 MJ/bottle. • Global warming caused by apple juice production was found to be 1.83 kg CO 2 eq /bottle. • The agricultural production phase markedly affected the majority impact categories. • Marine aquatic ecotoxicity impact category showed the highest normalized value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A safflower-based biorefinery co-producing bioethanol and biodiesel was developed. • Ethanol production by Z. mobilis and S. cerevisiae was techno-economically compared. • Ethanol production using Z. mobilis was economically-justified for implementation. • Z. mobilis lowered both ethanol production cost and minimum ethanol selling price. Safflower plant is a promising energy crop, which is compatible with arid and semi-arid climate conditions. This study is set to perform a techno-economic assessment of an integrated biorefinery located in Iran, using safflower seed and safflower straw as feedstock for production of bioethanol as the main product, biodiesel as the most valuable byproduct while biogas, glycerol, solid residue, and sodium sulfate are the other valuable byproducts. In the first Scenario (A), glucose, xylose, and arabinose are fermented into ethanol by using Zymomonas mobilis produced in a seed train unit. While in the other Scenario (B), Saccharomyces cerevisiae is supplied externally by a yeast production facility and is used to ferment glucose into ethanol. Both scenarios are simulated using Aspen Plus software and a cash flow analysis is performed using well-known economic indices for the biofuel industry presented by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The profitability index is 1.14 for Scenario A, showing its cost-effectiveness. However, this index is found to be 0.81 for Scenario B, revealing the fact that this approach is not economically-justified for implementation. More specifically, the use of Z. mobilis instead of S. cerevisiae as fermenting microorganism enhances the profitability of the project by lowering ethanol production cost from 0.12 $/L to 0.09 $/L and minimum ethanol selling price from 0.67 $/L to 0.43 $/L. Moreover, in both scenarios, biodiesel production boosts the total annual sale values by 39% and 55% for scenario A and B, respectively. In general, 1.86 and 2.44 times improvements in this economic index are respectively obtained for scenario A and B because of byproduct credits. The outcomes of sensitivity analysis also shows that the discount factor and safflower seed price have large impacts on the profitability of the developed biorefineries. Overall, Z. mobilis appears to be a preferred biocatalyst for bioethanol fermentation through the biorefinery platform from the techno-economic viewpoint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five cyanobacterial strains with Nostoc -like morphology from different localities of the Mazandaran province of Iran were characterized using a polyphasic approach. Three strains clustered within the Aliinostoc clade whereas one each of the remaining two strains clustered within the genera Desmonostoc and Desikacharya . The phylogenetic positioning of all the strains by the bayesian inference, neighbour joining and maximum parsimony methods inferred using 16S rRNA gene indicated them to represent novel species of the genera Aliinostoc , Desmonostoc and Desikacharya . The 16S-23S ITS secondary structure analysis revealed that all five strains under study represented novel species unknown to science. In accordance with the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi and plants we describe three novel species of the genus Aliinostoc and one species each of the genera Desmonostoc and Desikacharya .