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Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have been demonstrated as a renewable energy strategy to efficiently recover chemical energy stored in wastewater into clean electricity, yet the limited power density limits their practical application. Here, Fe-doped carbon and nitrogen (Fe@CN) nanoparticles were synthesized by a direct pyrolysis process, which was further decorated to fabricate Fe@CN carbon paper anode. The modified Fe@CN anode with a higher electrochemically active surface area was not only benefit for the adhesion of electrochemically active microorganisms (EAMs) and extracellular electron transfer (EET) between the anode and EAMs but also selectively enriched Geobacter, a typical EAMs species. Accordingly, the MFCs with Fe@CN anode successfully achieved a highest voltage output of 792.76 mV and a prolonged stable voltage output of 300 h based on the mixed culture feeding with acetate. Most importantly, the electroactive biofilms on Fe@CN anode achieved more content ratio of proteins to polysaccharides (1.40) in extracellular polymeric substances for the balance between EET and cell protection under a harsh environment. This work demonstrated the feasibility of development on anode catalysts for the elaboration of the catalytic principle about interface modification, which may contribute to the practical application of MFC in energy generation and wastewater treatment.

Three-dimensional (3D) gravitational and magnetic exploration is performed using aerial measurement tools, however, this has difficulties with measuring-height design and the construction of a joint-interpretation scheme. At present, the height in such experiments is set according to the measurement scale, and the distribution characteristics of anomalies are not fully considered. Here, we present the idea of using the attenuation characteristics of a singular-value spectrum to evaluate the contributions of various measurement heights and multi-height combinations for inversion to correctly and reasonably design appropriate measuring heights and the number of various measurement heights to be set. The joint-gradient Euler-deconvolution method can accurately obtain the distribution of geological bodies from 3D gravitational and magnetic data at an improved resolution, and experimental tests confirm these findings. Therefore, an actual 3D aeromagnetic-data-acquisition and inversion test were carried out in the vicinity of the Zhurihe Iron Mine in Inner Mongolia. The flight-height difference was set to 60 m, and the specific distribution of lodes was obtained by the joint-gradient Euler-deconvolution method. This provides a reliable basis for future detailed exploration and proves that the methods presented in this paper have good practical-application effects and prospects.

Electroactive biofilms (EABs) play an important role in bioelectrochemical systems due to their abilities to generate electrons and perform extracellular electron transfer (EET). Here, we investigated the effects of quorum sensing (QS) signals on power output, chlortetracycline degradation, and structure of EABs in MFCs treating antibiotic wastewater. The voltage output of MFCs with C4-HSL and PQS increased by 21.57% and 13.73%, respectively, compared with that without QS signals. The chlortetracycline degradation efficiency in closed-circuit MFCs with C4-HSL and PQS increased by 56.53% and 50.04%, respectively, which resulted from the thicker biofilms, higher biomass, and stronger activities. Additionally, QS signals induced the heterogeneous distribution of EPS for a balance between self-protection and EET under environmental pressure. Geobacter prevailed by the addition of QS signals to resist high chlortetracycline concentration. Our results provided a broader understanding on regulating EABs within electrode interface to improve their performance for environmental remediation and clean energy development.

Due to the promising applications, the demand to enhance poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA) production while decreasing the cost has increased in the past decade. Here, xylose/glucose mixture and corncob hydrolysate (CCH) was evaluated as alternatives for γ-PGA production by Bacillus amyloliquefaciens C1. Although both have been validated to support cell growth, glucose and xylose were not simutaneously consumed and exhibited a diauxic growth pattern due to carbon catabolite repression (CCR) in B. amyloliquefaciens C1, while the enhanced transcription of araE alleviated the xylose transport bottleneck across a cellular membrane. Additionally, the xyl operon (xylA and xylB), which was responsible for xylose metabolism, was strongly induced by xylose at the transcriptional level. When cultured in a mixed medium, xylR was sharply induced to 3.39-folds during the first 8-h while reduced to the base level similar to that in xylose medium. Finally, pre-treated CCH mainly contained a mixture of glucose and xylose was employed for γ-PGA fermentation, which obtained a final concentration of 6.56 ± 0.27 g/L. Although the glucose utilization rate (84.91 ± 1.81%) was lower than that with chemical substrates, the xylose utilization rate (43.41 ± 2.14%) and the sodium glutamate conversion rate (77.22%) of CCH were acceptable. Our study provided a promising approach for the green production of γ-PGA from lignocellulosic biomass and circumvent excessive non-food usage of glucose.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) pose a potential threat to ecosystems due to their mutagenic, carcinogenic, and teratogenic effects. Microbial degradation has been suggested as the best way to remove PAHs from contaminated environments. Screening of bacterial strains capable of efficiently degrading PAHs is the key to the bio-remediation technique. With the method of enrichment culture, the bacterial strain LX2, which can use pyrene as the sole carbon source, was isolated from sludge contaminated with PAHs. The strain was identified as

The effect of copper (Ⅱ) wastewater addition on the treatment of chromium (Ⅵ) wastewater in dual-chamber microbial fuel cells (MFCs) was investigated for different Cr(Ⅵ)/Cu(Ⅱ) concentration ratios (2:1, 1:1, 1:2, 1:4) and external resistances (10, 500, 1000, 2000 Ω). The results demonstrated that the addition of Cu(Ⅱ) and Cr(Ⅵ) into the cathode chamber of MFCs could enhance the Cr(Ⅵ) removal efficiency. The Cr(Ⅵ) removal efficiency increased with the increase in the Cr(Ⅵ)/Cu(Ⅱ) concentration ratio. The Cu(Ⅱ) on the Cr(Ⅵ) removal efficiencies increased with the decrease of external resistance. The highest Cr(Ⅵ) removal efficiency achieved was 91.00% in MFC at the Cr(Ⅵ)/Cu(Ⅱ) concentration ratio of 1:4 and external resistance of 10 Ω, which was 132.57% higher than the MFC with Cr(Ⅵ) only (39.13%). The scanning electron microscopy with coupled energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses of the cathode electrode at the end of the experiments indicated that Cr(Ⅵ) reduced to non-conductive Cr(Ⅲ) deposits (Cr

In order to improve the methane production and concentration, effect of activated carbon addition on the anaerobic fermentation of corn straw under the conditions of mesophilic temperature (38℃) and thermophilic temperature(50℃) was investigated in this study. The results showed that the addition of activated carbon could significantly promote methane production. Compared with the control group in mesophilic and thermophilic conditions, cumulative methane production could be increased by 63% and 96% in test groups. By DGGE analysis, the bacterium enriched by addition of activated carbon was mainly

Ethanol-based heat reflux extraction has been successfully applied in extracting isoflavone compounds from the dried root of Pueraria lobata (Willd.) Ohwi. The different extraction factors including ethanol concentration, extraction temperature, extraction time, ratio of solid/liquid and number of extraction cycles has been studied on the influence of the extraction yield of isoflavone compounds. And the orthogonal experiment has been used to optimize the extracting conditions. A variety of indicators were employed to evaluate the extraction efficiency, including the yield of puerarin, daidzein and total isoflavone. The optimal extraction technology was as follows: extraction temperature 90°C, ratio of solid/liquid 1:6, ethanol concentration 90% and extraction 2 h. Under the optimal conditions extraction rates of puerarin, daidzein and total isoflavone were 37.51±0.64 mg/g, 2.63±0.03 mg/g and 117.4±0.89 mg/g. The study of this article can provide theoretical basis for large-scale production of puerarin, daidzein and total isoflavone.