Enhanced enzymatic hydrolysis and structural features of corn stover by FeCl3 pretreatment

Corn stover was pretreated with FeCl₃ to remove almost all of the hemicellulose present and then hydrolyzed with cellulase and β-glucosidase to produce glucose. Enzymatic hydrolysis of corn stover that had been pretreated with FeCl₃ at 160 °C for 20 min resulted in an optimum yield of 98.0%. This yield was significantly higher than that of untreated corn stover (22.8%). FeCl₃ pretreatment apparently damaged the surface of corn stover and significantly increased the enzymatic digestibility, as evidenced by SEM and XRD analysis data. FTIR analysis indicated that FeCl₃ pretreatment could disrupt almost all the ether linkages and some ester linkages between lignin and carbohydrates but had no effect on delignification. The FeCl₃ pretreatment technique, as a novel pretreatment method, enhances enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass by destructing chemical composition and altering structural features.     

Removal of lead(II) by Saccharomyces cerevisiae AUMC 3875

The removal of lead(II) from artificial aqueous solution using live and dead biomass of Saccharomyces cerevisiae AUMC 3875 was investigated. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of S. cerevisiae AUMC 3875 for lead(II) was 600 mg/l. For live and dead biomass, maximum lead(II) uptake capacities were achieved at pH?5.0, initial metal ion concentration 300 mg/l, and biomass dosage 3 g/l. Maximum biosorption capacities were reached after 3 h and 20 min for live and dead cells, respectively. Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) results revealed the important role of C?=?O,? OH,? NH, protein amide II band, $ \mathrm{PO}_2^{-} $ , mannans, sulphur and sulphur-oxygen compounds in lead(II) uptake. Scanning electron microscopy analysis (SEM) showed that the cell surface morphology and surface area/volume ratio changed greatly after lead(II) uptake. Transmission electron microscopy analysis (TEM) confirmed the involvement of both extracellular adsorption and intracellular penetration through the cell wall. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed the presence of Pb(SO₄),Pb₂OSO₄ by dead biomass and Pb₃O₂(SO₄),Pb₂OSO₄ by live biomass. Energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis (EDAX) confirmed the occurrence of sulphur, oxygen and lead(II) on the cell wall. The removal of lead(II) from storage battery industry wastewater was performed by dead biomass efficiently.     

Alkaline-sulfite pretreatment and use of surfactants during enzymatic hydrolysis to enhance ethanol production from sugarcane bagasse

Sugarcane bagasse is a by-product from the sugar and ethanol industry which contains approximately 70 % of its dry mass composed by polysaccharides. To convert these polysaccharides into fuel ethanol it is necessary a pretreatment step to increase the enzymatic digestibility of the recalcitrant raw material. In this work, sugarcane bagasse was pretreated by an alkaline-sulfite chemithermomechanical process for increasing its enzymatic digestibility. Na₂SO₃ and NaOH ratios were fixed at 2:1, and three increasing chemical loads, varying from 4 to 8 % m/m Na₂SO₃, were used to prepare the pretreated materials. The increase in the alkaline-sulfite load decreased the lignin content in the pretreated material up to 35.5 % at the highest chemical load. The pretreated samples presented enhanced glucose yields during enzymatic hydrolysis as a function of the pretreatment severity. The maximum glucose yield (64 %) was observed for the samples pretreated with the highest chemical load. The use of 2.5 g l^?1 Tween 20 in the hydrolysis step further increased the glucose yield to 75 %. Semi-simultaneous hydrolysis and fermentation of the pretreated materials indicated that the ethanol yield was also enhanced as a function of the pretreatment severity. The maximum ethanol yield was 56 ± 2 % for the sample pretreated with the highest chemical load. For the sample pretreated with the lowest chemical load (2 % m/m NaOH and 4 % m/m Na₂SO₃), adding Tween 20 during the hydrolysis process increased the ethanol yield from 25 ± 3 to 39.5 ± 1 %.     

Production of bioethanol from sugarcane bagasse using NH<Subscript>4</Subscript>OH-H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>2</Subscript> pretreatment and simultaneous saccharification and co-fermentation

In this study, we investigated the production of bioethanol from sugarcane bagasse (SCB) using an NH₄OH-H₂O₂ pretreatment and simultaneous saccharification and co-fermentation (SScF). Response surface methodology and a 2³ Box-Behnken design were used to evaluate the effect of different liquid mixture concentrations, liquid-to-solid ratios (LSRs) and pretreatment temperatures on the production of ethanol. The liquid mixture concentration and LSR significantly influenced the fermentation efficiency. Based on ridge max analysis, the following pretreatment conditions resulted in a fermentation efficiency of 95.79 ± 0.01%: liquid mixture concentration 53%, LSR 28, and a temperature of 63°C. A morphological analysis performed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and chemical characterization revealed that these pretreatment conditions were effective in disrupting the sugarcane fibers and removing lignin. Ethanol fermentation with the pretreated SCB using SScF in yeast SHY 07-1 resulted in an ethanol concentration of 14.65 ± 0.17 g/L, an ethanol yield of 0.48 ± 0.01 g/g, and an ethanol productivity of 0.12 ± 0.01 g/(L/h), which represents increases of 106.02, 89.98, and 107.02%, respectively, over the values obtained from SScF with untreated SCB.     

Physical and chemical characterizations of corn stover and poplar solids resulting from leading pretreatment technologies

In order to investigate changes in substrate chemical and physical features after pretreatment, several characterizations were performed on untreated (UT) corn stover and poplar and their solids resulting pretreatments by ammonia fiber expansion (AFEX), ammonia recycled percolation (ARP), controlled pH, dilute acid, flowthrough, lime, and SO₂ technologies. In addition to measuring the chemical compositions including acetyl content, physical attributes determined were biomass crystallinity, cellulose degree of polymerization, cellulase adsorption capacity of pretreated solids and enzymatically extracted lignin, copper number, FT-IR responses, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) visualizations, and surface atomic composition by electron spectroscopy of chemical analysis (ESCA). Lime pretreatment removed the most acetyl groups from both corn stover and poplar, while AFEX removed the least. Low pH pretreatments depolymerized cellulose and enhanced biomass crystallinity much more than higher pH approaches. Lime pretreated corn stover solids and flowthrough pretreated poplar solids had the highest cellulase adsorption capacity, while dilute acid pretreated corn stover solids and controlled pH pretreated poplar solids had the least. Furthermore, enzymatically extracted AFEX lignin preparations for both corn stover and poplar had the lowest cellulase adsorption capacity. ESCA results showed that SO₂ pretreated solids had the highest surface O/C ratio for poplar, but for corn stover, the highest value was observed for dilute acid pretreatment with a Parr reactor. Although dependent on pretreatment and substrate, FT-IR data showed that along with changes in cross linking and chemical changes, pretreatments may also decrystallize cellulose and change the ratio of crystalline cellulose polymorphs (Iα/Iβ).     

Influence of different chemical pretreatments of elephant grass (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Pennisetum purpureum</Emphasis>, Schum.) used as a substrate for cellulase and xylanase production in submerged cultivation

This study evaluated the potential use of elephant grass biomass, a highly productive species, for cellulase and xylanase production by the cellulolytic mutant Penicillium echinulatum 9A02S1 in submerged cultivation, using untreated biomass, biomass pretreated with different concentrations of NaOH, H₂SO₄ or NH₄OH, or biomass pretreated with H₂O at 121 °C. For filter paper activity, all cultivation carried out with pretreated elephant grass under the evaluated conditions showed superior activity when compared with the control (untreated elephant grass). The activities of endoglucanases and β-glucosidases were higher in the cultivation prepared from pretreated samples than the control made with cellulose (Celuflok^®). Without pretreatment, elephant grass can be used for xylanase production, enabling similar activities to those obtained in the cultivation with cellulose, reducing the enzyme production cost. These results indicate that the pretreatment of elephant grass, especially when pretreated with H₂SO₄, may be used as a partial or total replacement for cellulose to cellulase production, and untreated elephant grass may be used for xylanase production.     

Oxidation and reduction of sulfite contribute to susceptibility and detoxification of SO2 in Populus × canescens leaves

Key Message

The critical level for SO ₂ susceptibility of Populus × canescens is approximately 1.2 μL L ^?1 SO ₂ . Both sulfite oxidation and sulfite reduction and assimilation contribute to SO ₂ detoxification.

Abstract

In the present study, uptake, susceptibility and metabolism of SO₂ were analyzed in the deciduous tree species poplar (Populus × canescens). A particular focus was on the significance of sulfite oxidase (SO) for sulfite detoxification, as SO has been characterized as a safety valve for SO₂ detoxification in herbaceous plants. For this purpose, poplar plants were exposed to different levels of SO₂ (0.65, 0.8, 1.0, 1.2 μL L^?1) and were characterized by visible injuries and at the physiological level. Gas exchange parameters (stomatal conductance for water vapor, CO₂ assimilation, SO₂ uptake) of the shoots were compared with metabolite levels (sulfate, thiols) and enzyme activities [SO, adenosine 5′-phosphosulfate reductase (APR)] in expanding leaves (80–90 % expanded). The critical dosage of SO₂ that confers injury to the leaves was 1.2 μL L^?1 SO₂. The observed increase in sulfur containing compounds (sulfate and thiols) in the expanding leaves strongly correlated with total SO₂ uptake of the plant shoot, whereas SO₂ uptake rate was strongly correlated with stomatal conductance for water vapor. Furthermore, exposure to high concentration of SO₂ revealed channeling of sulfite through assimilatory sulfate reduction that contributes in addition to SO-mediated sulfite oxidation to sulfite detoxification in expanding leaves of this woody plant species.     

Characterization of enzymatic saccharification for acid-pretreated lignocellulosic materials with different lignin composition

The enzymatic saccharification of three different feedstocks, rice straw, bagasse and silvergrass, which had been pretreated with different dilute acid concentrations, was studied to verify how enzymatic saccharification was affected by the lignin composition of the raw materials. There was a quantitatively inverse correlation between lignin content and enzymatic digestibility after pretreatment with 1%, 2% and 4% sulfuric acid. The lignin accounted for about 18.8–21.8% of pretreated rice straw, which was less than the 23.1–26.5% of pretreated bagasse and the 21.5–24.1% of pretreated silvergrass. The maximum glucose yield achieved, under an enzyme loading 6.5 FPU g^?1 DM for 72 h, was close to 0.8 g glucose/g glucan from the enzymatic hydrolysis of the pretreated rice straw; this was twice that from bagasse and silvergrass. A decrease in initial rate of glucose production was observed in all cases when the raw materials underwent enzymatic saccharification with 4% sulfuric acid pretreatment. It is suggested that the higher acid concentration led to an inhibition of β-glucosidase activity. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy further indicated the chemical properties of the rice straw and silvergrass become more hydrophilic after pretreatment using 2% of sulfuric acid, but the pretreated bagasse tended to become more hydrophobic. The hydrophilic nature of the pretreated solid residues may increase the inhibitive effects of lignin on the cellulase and this could become very important for raw materials such as silvergrass that contain more lignin.     

The pretreatment of corn stover with Gloeophyllum trabeum KU-41 for enzymatic hydrolysis

Background

Pretreatment is an essential step in the enzymatic hydrolysis of biomass for bio-ethanol production. The dominant concern in this step is how to decrease the high cost of pretreatment while achieving a high sugar yield. Fungal pretreatment of biomass was previously reported to be effective, with the advantage of having a low energy requirement and requiring no application of additional chemicals. In this work, Gloeophyllum trabeum KU-41 was chosen for corn stover pretreatment through screening with 40 strains of wood-rot fungi. The objective of the current work is to find out which characteristics of corn stover pretreated with G. trabeum KU-41 determine the pretreatment method to be successful and worthwhile to apply. This will be done by determining the lignin content, structural carbohydrate, cellulose crystallinity, initial adsorption capacity of cellulase and specific surface area of pretreated corn stover.

Results

The content of xylan in pretreated corn stover was decreased by 43% in comparison to the untreated corn stover. The initial cellulase adsorption capacity and the specific surface area of corn stover pretreated with G. trabeum were increased by 7.0- and 2.5-fold, respectively. Also there was little increase in the cellulose crystallinity of pretreated corn stover.

Conclusion

G. trabeum has an efficient degradation system, and the results indicated that the conversion of cellulose to glucose increases as the accessibility of cellulose increases due to the partial removal of xylan and the structure breakage of the cell wall. This pretreatment method can be further explored as an alternative to the thermochemical pretreatment method.     

Effects of elevated CO2 on leaf area dynamics in nodulating and non-nodulating soybean stands

Aims

The effects of elevated CO₂ on leaf area index (LAI) vary among studies. We hypothesized that the interactive effects of CO₂ and nitrogen on leaf area loss have important roles in LAI regulation.

Methods

We studied the leaf area production and loss using nodulating soybean and its non-nodulating isogenic line in CO₂-controlled greenhouse systems.

Results

Leaf area production increased with elevated CO₂ levels in the nodulating soybean stand and to a lesser extent in the non-nodulating line. Elevated CO₂ levels accelerated leaf area loss only in nodulating plants. Consequently, both plants exhibited a similar stimulation of peak LAI with CO₂ elevation. The accelerated leaf loss in nodulating plants may have been caused by newly produced leaves shading the lower leaves. The nodulating plants acquired N throughout the growth phase, whereas non-nodulating plants did not acquire N after flowering due to the depletion of soil N. N retranslocation to new organs and subsequent leaf loss were faster in non-nodulating plants compared with nodulating plants, irrespective of the CO₂ levels.

Conclusion

LAI regulation in soybean involved various factors, such as light availability within the canopy, N acquisition and N demands in new organs. These effects varied among the growth stages and CO₂ levels.     

Responses of CO2 efflux from an alpine meadow soil on the Qinghai Tibetan Plateau to multi-form and low-level N addition

Aims

To assess the effects of atmospheric N deposition on the C budget of an alpine meadow ecosystem on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau, it is necessary to explore the responses of soil-atmosphere carbon dioxide (CO₂) exchange to N addition.

Methods

Based on a multi-form, low-level N addition experiment, soil CO₂ effluxes were monitored weekly using the static chamber and gas chromatograph technique. Soil variables and aboveground biomass were measured monthly to examine the key driving factors of soil CO₂ efflux.

Results

The results showed that low-level N input tended to decrease soil moisture, whereas medium-level N input maintained soil moisture. Three-year N additions slightly increased soil inorganic N pools, especially the soil NH ₄ ⁺ -N pool. N applications significantly increased aboveground biomass and soil CO₂ efflux; moreover, this effect was more significant from NH ₄ ⁺ -N than from NO ₃ ^? -N fertilizer. In addition, the soil CO₂ efflux was mainly driven by soil temperature, followed by aboveground biomass and NH ₄ ⁺ -N pool.

Conclusions

These results suggest that chronic atmospheric N deposition will stimulate soil CO₂ efflux in the alpine meadow on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau by increasing available N content and promoting plant growth.     

Effects of tree species composition on the CO2 and N2O efflux of a Mediterranean mountain forest soil

Background and Aims

Tree species composition shifts can alter soil CO₂ and N₂O effluxes. We quantified the soil CO₂ and N₂O efflux rates and temperature sensitivity from Pyrenean oak, Scots pine and mixed stands in Central Spain to assess the effects of a potential expansion of oak forests.

Methods

Soil CO₂ and N₂O effluxes were measured from topsoil samples by lab incubation from 5 to 25 °C. Soil microbial biomass and community composition were assessed.

Results

Pine stands showed highest soil CO₂ efflux, followed by mixed and oak forests (up to 277, 245 and 145 mg CO₂-C m^?2 h^?1, respectively). Despite contrasting soil microbial community composition (more fungi and less actinomycetes in pine plots), carbon decomposability and temperature sensitivity of the soil CO₂ efflux remain constant among tree species. Soil N₂O efflux rates and its temperature sensitivity was markedly higher in oak stands than in pine stands (70 vs. 27 μg N₂O-N m^?2 h^?1, Q₁₀, 4.5 vs. 2.5).

Conclusions

Conversion of pine to oak forests in the region will likely decrease soil CO₂ effluxes due to decreasing SOC contents on the long run and will likely enhance soil N₂O effluxes. Our results present only a seasonal snapshot and need to be confirmed in the field.     

Drivers of increased soil respiration in a poplar coppice exposed to elevated CO2

Background and aims

The response of soil respiration (SR) to elevated CO₂ is driven by a number of processes and feedbacks. This work aims to i) detect the effect of elevated CO₂ on soil respiration during the second rotation of a short rotation forest, at two levels of N availability; and ii) identify the main drivers behind any changes in soil respiration.

Methods

A poplar plantation (POP-EUROFACE) was grown for two rotations of 3 years under elevated CO₂ maintained by a FACE (Free Air CO₂ Enrichment) technique. Root biomass, litter production and soil respiration were followed for two consecutive years after coppice.

Results

In the plantation, the stimulation of fine root and litter production under elevated CO₂ observed at the beginning of the rotation declined over time. Soil respiration (SR) was continuously stimulated by elevated CO₂, with a much larger enhancement during the growing (up to 111 %) than in the dormant season (40 %). The SR increase at first appeared to be due to the increase in fine root biomass, but at the end of the 2nd rotation was supported by litter decomposition and the availability of labile C. Soil respiration increase under elevated CO₂ was not affected by N availability.

Conclusions

The stimulation of SR by elevated CO₂ was sustained by the decomposition of above and belowground litter and by the greater availability of easily decomposable substrates into the soil. In the final year as elevated CO₂ did not increase C allocation to roots, the higher SR suggests greater C losses from the soil, thus reducing the potential for C accumulation.     

Genetic variation in plant below-ground response to elevated CO2 and two herbivore species

Aims

It is unclear how changing atmospheric conditions, including rising carbon dioxide concentration, influence interactions between above and below-ground systems and if intraspecific variation exists in this response.

Methods

We assessed interactive effects of atmospheric CO₂ concentration, above-ground herbivory, and plant genotype on root traits and mycorrhizal associations. Plants from five families of Asclepias syriaca, a perennial forb, were grown under ambient and elevated atmospheric CO₂ concentrations. Foliar herbivory by either lepidopteran caterpillars or phloem-feeding aphids was imposed. Mycorrhizal colonization, below-ground biomass, root biomass, and secondary defensive chemistry in roots were quantified.

Results

We observed substantial genetic variation among A. syriaca families in their mycorrhizal colonization levels in response to elevated CO₂ and herbivory treatments. Elevated CO₂ treatment increased root biomass in all genetic families, whereas foliar herbivory tended to decrease root biomass. Root cardenolide concentration and composition varied greatly among plant families, and elevated CO₂ treatment increased root cardenolides in two of the five plant families. Moreover, herbivores differentially affected the composition of cardenolides expressed below ground.

Conclusions

Increased atmospheric CO₂ has the potential to influence interactions among plants, herbivores and mycorrhizal fungi and intraspecific variation suggests that such interactions can evolve.     

Effects of elevated CO2 and nitrogen addition on soil organic carbon fractions in a subtropical forest

Aims

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of elevated CO₂ concentration and nitrogen addition on soil organic carbon fractions in subtropical forests where the ambient N deposition was high.

Methods

Seedlings of typical subtropical forest ecosystems were transplanted in ten open-top chambers and grown under CO₂ and nitrogen treatments. The treatments included: 1) elevated CO₂ (700?μmol?mol^-1); 2) N addition of 100?kg NH₄NO₃ ha^-1?yr^-1; 3) combined elevated CO₂ and N addition; and 4) control. We measured soil total organic carbon (TOC), particulate organic carbon (POC), readily oxidizable organic carbon (ROC), and microbial biomass carbon (MBC).

Results

Results showed that elevated CO₂ alone did not significantly affect soil TOC, POC and ROC after 4?years of treatment, but increased soil MBC and soil respiration compared to the control. N addition alone had no significant effect neither on soil TOC, POC and ROC, but decreased MBC and soil respiration over time. However, the elevated CO₂ and N addition together significantly increased soil POC and ROC, and had no significant effect on soil MBC.

Conclusions

This study indicated that even in N-rich subtropical forest ecosystems, inputs of N are still needed in order to sustain soil C accumulation under elevated CO₂.     

Potential impact of CO2 leakage from Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) systems on growth and yield in maize

Aims

Anthropogenic release of CO₂ is an important factor in the continuing rise in mean global temperature. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) offers a promising technology to capture and sequester CO₂ in deep geological reservoirs. In view of the possible impact of leakage from CCS systems on vegetation, we examined the effects of elevated soil [CO₂] on growth and yield in Zea mays L.

Methods

Maize was exposed to elevated soil [CO₂] by injecting CO₂ at controlled rates using a purpose-designed field exposure facility.

Results

Measurements of soil [CO₂] and [O₂] revealed a strong negative correlation. Plants in a 40–90 cm diameter area centred on the injection point showed reduced growth and progressive development of severe stress symptoms during the gassing period. All above-ground vegetative (shoot, stem and leaf weight plant^-1, chlorophyll content) and reproductive growth variables examined (mature cob and seed numbers plant^-1) were negatively correlated with soil [CO₂] and positively correlated with soil [O₂]. Plants exposed to the highest [CO₂] produced adventitious roots, possibly as an adaptive response to hypoxic soil conditions.

Conclusions

Leakage from CCS transport or storage sites may have strong localised negative impacts on surface vegetation, the extent of which differs greatly between species.     

Exposure to warming and CO2 enrichment promotes greater above-ground biomass, nitrogen, phosphorus and arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization in newly established grasslands

Aims

In view of the projected increase in global air temperature and CO₂ concentration, the effects of climatic changes on biomass production, CO₂ fluxes and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) colonization in newly established grassland communities were investigated. We hypothesized that above- and below-ground biomass, gross primary productivity (GPP), AMF root colonization and nutrient acquisition would increase in response to the future climate conditions. Furthermore, we expected that increased below-ground C allocation would enhance soil respiration (R_soil).

Methods

Grassland communities were grown either at ambient temperatures with 375?ppm CO₂ (Amb) or at ambient temperatures +3°C with 620?ppm CO₂ (T+CO₂).

Results

Total biomass production and GPP were stimulated under T+CO₂. Above-ground biomass was increased under T+CO₂ while belowground biomass was similar under both climates. The significant increase in root colonization intensity under T+CO₂, and therefore the better contact between roots and AMF, probably determined the higher above-ground P and N content. R_soil was not significantly affected by the future climate conditions, only showing a tendency to increase under future climate at the end of the season.

Conclusions

Newly established grasslands benefited from the exposure to elevated CO₂ and temperature in terms of total biomass production; higher root AMF colonization may partly provide the nutrients required to sustain this growth response.     

Characterization of CO2 emissions during construction of reservoir embankment elevation in South Korea

Purpose

The environmentally friendly construction of agricultural infrastructure is much needed for sustainable development because construction is recognized as a cause of environmental degradation. The objective of this study was to estimate and characterize carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions during construction of agricultural reservoir embankments for the quantitative environmental assessment and management of CO₂ emissions using life cycle assessment method.

Methods

Two reservoirs with different foundation treatment and construction components were selected in this study and their characteristics in CO₂ emissions were compared. And CO₂ emissions were calculated separately for each of the following major components: construction materials, equipment, and transport. The basic unit of CO₂ emissions for construction materials was calculated using the 2009 input–output tables in Korea and the basic unit of CO₂ emissions for equipment of transport and construction was also calculated based on the amount of fuel used in a unit time.

Results and discussion

According to the study results, the construction of a water supply process appeared to generate the most emissions among all processes for the two sites. Emissions due to equipment were the highest in site A, while materials generated the most emissions in site B. Differences in emissions are due to differences in the construction process. While the operation time of the equipment in site A increased due to the cofferdam process and a large amount of cement was used in the foundation process in site B.

Conclusions

Characteristic of CO₂ emissions differs with different construction processes and thus construction processes need to be optimized for environmental friendly development of agricultural infrastructure through estimation and characterization of CO₂ emissions.     

Elevated CO2 improves root growth and cadmium accumulation in the hyperaccumulator Sedum alfredii

Aims

This study examined the effect of elevated CO₂ on plant growth, root morphology and Cd accumulation in S. alfredii, and assessed the possibility of using elevated CO₂ as fertilizer to enhance phytoremediation efficiency of Cd-contaminated soil by S. alfredii.

Methods

Both soil pot culture and hydroponic experiments were carried out to characterize plant biomass, root morphological parameters, and cadmium uptake in S. alfredii grown under ambient (350 μL L^?1) or elevated (800 μL L^?1) CO₂.

Results

Elevated CO₂ prompted the growth of S. alfredii, shoot and root biomass were increased by 24.6–36.7% and 35.0–52.1%, respectively, as compared with plants grown in ambient CO₂. After 10 days growth in medium containing 50 μM Cd under elevated CO₂, the development of lateral roots and root hairs were stimulated, additionally, root length, surface area, root volume and tip number were increased significantly, especially for the finest diameter roots. The total Cd uptake per pot was significantly greater under elevated CO₂ than under ambient CO₂. After 60 d growth, Cd phytoextraction efficiency was increased significantly in the elevated CO₂ treatment.

Conclusions

Results suggested that the use of elevated CO₂ may be a useful way to improve phytoremediation efficiency of Cd-contaminated soil by S. alfredii.     

Characterization of direct cellulase immobilization with superparamagnetic nanoparticles

Abstract

Methods of cellulase immobilization on magnetic particles via glutaraldehyde binding were studied. The binding was confirmed by transmission electronic microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). Samples analyzed by TEM and XRD showed that the magnetic particles with or without bound cellulase were all nanosized particles with a mean diameter of 11.5 nm, and the binding process did not cause significant changes in particle size and structure. Analysis by FTIR showed that the binding of cellulase to the magnetic nanoparticles might be via covalent bonding between residual amine groups on Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles and amine groups of the cellulase. The VSM analysis showed that magnetic nanoparticles with or without bound cellulase were all superparamagnetic. The immobilized cellulase had a wider pH and temperature range and improved storage stability compared with the free enzyme. Determination of the Michaelis constants revealed that the immobilized cellulase had a greater affinity for the cellulosic substrate than the free enzyme. The immobilized cellulase showed better performance on hydrolysis of steam-exploded corn stalks than of bleached sulfite bagasse pulp.