The effect of metal nanoparticles on the anaerobic digestion of sludge and the sludge bacterial community are still not well-understood, and both improvements and inhibitions have been reported. This study investigated the impact of 2, 10, and 30 mg/g TS silver and copper oxide nanoparticles (AgNPs and CuONPs) on the mesophilic anaerobic digestion of sludge and the bacterial community structure. The reactors were monitored for changes in tCOD, sCOD, TS, VS, biogas generation, and cell viability. Also, the relative abundance and taxonomic distribution of the bacterial communities were analyzed at the phylum and genus levels, including the genera involved in anaerobic digestion. Both AgNPs and CuONPs exhibited some inhibition on anaerobic digestion of sludge and biogas generation, and the inhibition was more evident at higher concentrations. CuONPs had a stronger inhibitory effect compared to AgNPs. After the introduction of AgNPs and CuONPs, cell viability initially decreased over the first two weeks but recovered after that. At high concentrations, AgNPs and CuONPs decreased the overall bacterial diversity, and inhibited the dominant bacterial species, allowing those in less abundance to flourish. The relative abundance of the bacteria responsible for hydrolysis and acidogenesis increased and the relative abundance of acetogenic bacteria decreased with higher AgNP and CuONP concentrations. The majority of the parameters measured for monitoring the anaerobic digestion performance and bacterial community were not statistically significant at 2 mg/g TS of AgNPs and CuONPs, which represents naturally present concentrations in wastewater sludge that are below the USEPA ceiling concentration limits.
The aim of this study is to evaluate the levels of trace elements Magnesium (Mg), Zinc (Zn), Copper (Cu), and Selenium (Se) in blood sera of asthmatic patients by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS). The concentrations of Mg, Cu, and Zn have been determined by Flame Atomic Absorption spectrophotometry (FAAS), and Se with flameless Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (GFAAS). The study involves (55) asthmatic patients as study group and (28) subjects as control from both genders. Serum levels of Mg, Cu, and Se were significantly higher (p<0.001 for all) in patients when compared with healthy subjects, while Zn level was relatively significant (p<0.05). Our observations confirm the efficacy and applicability of (AAS) in
... Show MoreMicrobial fuel cell is a device that uses the microorganism metabolism for the production of electricity under specific operating conditions. Double chamber microbial fuel cell was tested for the use of two cheap electrode materials copper and aluminum for the production of electricity under different operating conditions. The investigated conditions were concentration of microorganism (yeast) (0.5- 2 g/l), solutions temperature (33-45 oC) and concentration of glucose as a substrate (1.5- 6 g/l). The results demonstrated that copper electrode exhibit good performance while the performance of aluminum is poor. The electricity is generated with and without the addition of substrate. Addition of glucose substrate
... Show MoreThe green production of iron oxide nanoparticles (FeONPs) due to its numerous biotechnological uses has attracted a lot of attention and clean and eco-friendly approaches in the medical field.
The objectives of this study are to demonstrate the biogenic creation of FeONPs. The search for alternative antimicrobial medicines has been prompted by growing worries about multidrug resistance.
Ethanol as a solvent, a precursor of titanium isopropoxide and a stabilizer of either hydrochloric acid or ammonium hydroxide was used to prepare a titanium dioxide aqueous solution. The aqueous solutions with different values of pH and the morphology of the resultant reaction of the nanoparticles of titanium dioxide were investigated. The X-ray diffraction showed that at low temperatures and with acidic solutions, rutile structures are more favorable to grow on titanium dioxide synthesized, while at low and average temperatures and with base solutions, anatase phase is more pronounced. The crystalline form and the re-confirmation of the crystallite size growth were observed by the scanning electron microscopy. The atomic force micr
... Show MoreEthanol as a solvent, a precursor of titanium isopropoxide and a stabilizer of either hydrochloric acid or ammonium hydroxide was used to prepare a titanium dioxide aqueous solution. The aqueous solutions with different values of pH and the morphology of the resultant reaction of the nanoparticles of titanium dioxide were investigated. The X-ray diffraction showed that at low temperatures and with acidic solutions, rutile structures are more favorable to grow on titanium dioxide synthesized, while at low and average temperatures and with base solutions, anatase phase is more pronounced. The crystalline form and the re-confirmation of the crystallite size growth were observed by the scanning electron microscopy. The atomi
... Show MoreIn this research, Argon gas was used to generate atmospheric plasma in the manufacture of platinum nanomaterials, to study the resultant plasma spectrum and to calculate the cellular toxicity of those manufactured nanomaterials. This research is keen on the generation of nonthermal atmospheric pressure plasma using aqueous platinum salts (H2PtCl6 6H2O) with different concentrations and exposure of cold plasma with a different time period used to produce platinum nanoparticles, to ensure typical preparation of nanoparticles. Visible UV and X-rays were performed for this purpose, and the diameter of the system probe was (1[Formula: see text]mm) with the Argon gas flow of
... Show MoreCapacitive–resistive humidity sensors based on polythiophene (P3HT) organic semiconductor as an active material hybrid with three types of metallic nanoparticles (NP) (Ag, Al, and Cu) were synthesized by pulsed laser ablation (PLA). The hybrid P3HT/metallic nanoparticles were deposited on indium-tin-oxide (ITO) substrate at room temperature. The surface morphology of theses samples was studied by using field emission scanning electron micrographs (FE-SEM), which indicated the formation of nanoparticles with grain size of about 50nm. The electrical characteristics of the sensors were examined as a function of the relative humidity levels. The sensors showed an increase in the capacitance with variation in the humidity level. Whil
... Show MoreThe physical and morphological characteristics of porous silicon (PS) synthesized via gas sensor was assessed by electrochemical etching for a Si wafer in diluted HF acid in water (1:4) at different etching times and different currents. The morphology for PS wafers by AFM show that the average pore diameter varies from 48.63 to 72.54 nm with increasing etching time from 5 to 15min and from 72.54 to 51.37nm with increasing current from 10 to 30 mA. From the study, it was found that the gas sensitivity of In2O3: CdO semiconductor, against NO2 gas, directly correlated to the nanoparticles size, and its sensitivity increases with increasing operating temperature.