Reductive decolorization of azo dyes via in situ generation of green tea extract-iron chelate

Improvement of fire safety for viscose fabrics based on phytic acid modified tea polyphenols complexed iron ions

In this work, a multifunctional finishing agent named as PATFe was prepared from phytic acid (PA), tea polyphenols (TP), and Fe3+. The optimum weight ratio of PA to TP was determined by exploring the effect on flame retardant and tensile properties of viscose fabrics. Then, the effects of different concentrations of iron ions on the flame retardant and tensile properties of viscose fabrics were further investigated, and finally, multifunctional viscose fabrics, PATFe-9, were prepared. The system was investigated to confer the multifunctional effects on the flame retardant, bacteriostatic, and UV-resistant properties of viscose fabrics under the condition of lower weight gains (about 6.0 wt%). The limiting oxygen index of PATFe-9 reached 33.7 % with a weight gain of 6.1 wt%, and PATFe-9 had an inhibition effect against Staphylococcus aureus, and the ultraviolet protection factor value reached 67. It is worth noting that the breaking force retention rate of this system reached 100 %, which greatly improves the scope of use and added value of viscose fabrics.

Critical review on electrooxidation and chemical reduction of azo dyes: Economic approach

Effective degradation technologies have been extensively investigated and used to remove azo dyes from wastewater for decades. However, no review dealing with both electrooxidation and chemical reduction of azo dyes from an economic and, therefore, application-relevant perspective has been found in the current literature. A novelty of this review article consists not only in the brief summarization and comparison of both methods but mainly in the evaluation of their economic side. Based on the literature survey of the last 15 years, the costs of treatment approaches published in individual research articles have been summarized, and the missing data have been calculated. A broad spectrum of advanced electrode materials and catalysts have been developed and tested for the treatment, specifically aiming to enhance the degradation performance. An outline of the global prices of electrode materials, reducing agents, and basic chemicals is involved. All additional costs are described in depth in this review. The advantages and disadvantages of respective methods are discussed. It was revealed that effective and cheap treatment approaches can be found even in advanced degradation methods. Based on the collected data, electrooxidation methods offer, on average, 30 times cheaper treatment of aqueous solutions. Concerning chemical reduction, only ZVI provided high removal of azo dyes at prices <100 $ per kg of azo dye. The factors affecting total prices should also be considered. Therefore, the basic diagram of the decision-making process is proposed. In the conclusion, challenges, future perspectives, and critical findings are described.

Metallopolysaccharide-Based Smart Nanotheranostic for Imaging-Guided Precise Phototherapy and Sequential Enzyme-Activated Ferroptosis

Phototheranostic offers a regional-focused tumor treatment upon photoirradiation. However, it is difficult to completely eradicate solid tumors using a conventional phototheranostic owing to the residual tumor cells outside the laser irradiation range. Herein, we fabricated a metallopolysaccharide-based smart nanotheranostic (Fe-^dHA) via a nanoassembly-driven method, in which Fe³⁺ ions were coordinated to dopamine-modified biopolysaccharide hyaluronic acid (^dHA). Taking advantage of the structural backbone and intrinsic dual-information-related functions of HA as well as the bi-functional Fe(III)-coordination centers, Fe-^dHA can efficiently target tumor cells for phototheranostic. Additionally, it can be activated by endogenous overexpressed hyaluronidase to achieve sequential ferroptosis in tumor cells. The precise imaging and effective tumor inhibition using this metallopolysaccharide-based nanotheranostic were significantly demonstrated in vivo and in vitro. Thus, this rationally designed Fe-^dHA provided a simple metallopolysaccharide strategy to develop an "all-in-one" smart nanotheranostic to synergize different therapeutic modalities for improving cancer therapy.

Evaluation of applying an alkaline green tea/ferrous iron system to lindane remediation impacts to soil and plant growth-promoting microbial community

Application of in situ chemical oxidation or reduction (ISCO/ISCR) technologies for contaminated soil remediation and its subsequent impact on soil is gaining increased attention. Reductive reactivity, generated from green tea (GT) extract mixed with ferrous (Fe²⁺) ions under alkaline conditions (the alkaline GT/Fe²⁺ system), has been considered as a promising ISCR process; however, its impact on soil has never been studied. In this study, the impact of applying the alkaline GT/Fe²⁺ system on soil was evaluated by analyzing the variations of the soil microbial community, diversity, and richness using next-generation 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing while mimicking the lindane-contaminated soil remediation procedure. Lindane was reductively degraded by the alkaline GT/Fe²⁺ system with reaction rate constants of 0.014 to 0.057 μM/h depending on the lindane dosage. Environmental change to the alkaline condition significantly decreased the microbial diversity and richness, but the recovery of the influence was observed subsequently. Bacteria that mainly belong within the phylum Firmicutes, including Salipaludibacillus, Anaerobacillus, Bacillaceae, and Paenibacillaceae, were greatly enhanced due to the alkaline condition. Besides, the dominance of heterotrophic, iron-metabolic, lindane-catabolic, and facultative bacteria was observed in the other corresponding conditions. From the results of principal component analysis (PCA), although dominant microbes all shifted significantly at every lindane-existing condition, the set of optimal lindane treatment with the alkaline GT/Fe²⁺ system had a minimized effect on the plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB). Nitrogen-cycling-related PGPB is sensitive to all factors of the alkaline GT/Fe²⁺ system. However, the other types, including plant-growth-inducer producing, phosphate solubilizing, and siderophore producing PGPB, has less impact under the optimal treatment. Our results demonstrate that the alkaline GT/Fe²⁺ system is an effective and soil-ecosystem-friendly ISCR remediation technology for lindane contamination.

Green Nanoparticle Scavengers against Oxidative Stress

The usage of exogenous antioxidant materials to relieve oxidative stress offers an important strategy for the therapy of oxidative stress-induced injuries. However, the fabrication processes toward the antioxidant materials usually require the involvement of extra metal ions and organic agents, as well as sophisticated purification steps, which might cause tremendous environmental stress and induce unpredictable side effects in vivo. To address these issues, herein, we proposed a novel strategy to fabricate green nanoparticles for efficiently modulating oxidative stress, which was facilely prepared from tea polyphenol extracts (originated from green tea) via a green enzymatic polymerization-based chemistry method. The resulting nanoparticles possessed a uniform spherical morphology and good stability in water and biomedium and demonstrated excellent radical scavenging properties. These nanoparticle scavengers could effectively prevent intracellular oxidative damage, accelerate wound recovery, and protect the kidneys from reactive oxygen species damaging in the acute kidney injury model. We hope this work will inspire the further development of more types of green nanoparticles for antioxidant therapies via similar synthetic strategies using green biomass materials.

The Sustainable Production of a Novel Laccase from Wheat Bran by Bordetella sp. JWO16: Toward a Total Environment

Laccase is increasingly adopted in diverse industrial and environmental applications, due to its readily accessible requirements for efficient catalytic synthesis and biotransformation of chemicals. However, it is perceived that its industrial production might incur some unfavorable overhead, which leads to expensive market products, and the corresponding negative environmental feedback, due to the use of capital-intensive and precarious chemicals. To this end, this study was designed to evaluate the performance indicators of the valorization of wheat bran by a novel Jb1b laccase and its subsequent application in waste minimization and water management, on a laboratory scale. Optimal Jb1b laccase was produced in submerged fermentation medium containing wheat bran, an agroindustrial residue, through response surface methodology (RSM) algorithm, and was applied in dye decolorization and denim bioscouring, respectively. Results showed that the resultant enzyme manifested unique biochemical properties, such as enhanced tolerance at certain physicochemical conditions, with a residual activity of at least ca. 76%. Furthermore, phenomenally high concentrations of synthetic dyes (0.2% w v−1) were decolorized over 56 h, and a 6 h mediator-supported simultaneous denim bleaching and decolorization of wash effluent was observed. The sustainability of the production and application processes were inferred from the reusability of the fermentation sludge as a potential biofertilizer, with subsequent prospects for the biostimulation and bioaugmentation of contaminated soils, whereas the decolorized water could be adopted for other uses, amongst which horticulture and forestry are typical examples. These phenomena therefore authenticate the favorable environmental feedbacks and overhead realized in this present study.

Facile one step green synthesis of iron nanoparticles using grape leaves extract: textile dye decolorization and wastewater treatment

The existing knowledge on the reactivity of green iron particles on textile dye and wastewater decolorization is very limited. In this study, the potential of green iron particles synthesized using grape leaves extract on reactive dye (reactive red 195, reactive yellow 145, reactive blue 4 and reactive black 5) decolorization were investigated. 95-98% of decolorization was achieved for all reactive dyes at 1.4-2.0 g/L of green iron. Maximum decolorization was attained at lower dye concentration and showed very little impact on decolorization when pH was increased from 3 to 11. The pseudo-first-order fit confirms the reaction between iron particles and dye molecules with rate constant 0.317-0.422 and it is followed by adsorption, data fit with pseudo-second-order model. Hence, not only adsorption but also the reduction process is involved in the reactive dye decolorization. Benzene, phenyl sodium, 2-chloro-1,3,5-triazine, naphthalene, sodium benzene sulfonate, benzene 1,2 di amine, anthracene-9,10 dione, aniline, phenol, benzene sulfonic acid were the major intermediates detected in dye decolorization and the respective reaction pathway is proposed. Green iron from grape leaves extract demonstrated better performance and it is recognized as the promising cost-effective material for textile wastewater treatment.

Assessment of green tea reductive degradation of halogenated solvents

Green tea (GT) leaves can be brewed into a solution rich in polyphenols that serve as effective reducing agents, and the complexes formed by combining green tea with ferrous ion (GT/Fe(II)) can provide an elevated reduction potential. The dissociated GT polyphenols at alkaline pH can dramatically increase the formation of GT/Fe(II) complexes. This experimental work evaluated the reductive reactivity of alkaline GT solution and GT/Fe(II) complexes (at pH 10) on 14 halogenated volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Carbon tetrachloride (CT), with a highest carbon oxidation state (COS) of IV, was observed to be degradable by the alkaline GT solution, while all others proved ineffective. The GT/Fe(II) complexes are very reactive and capable of degrading halogenated methanes, ethanes, and ethenes, in which chemical structures exhibit zero or positive COS values, and the chlorine or bromine atom is bonded at the saturated carbon atom, such as CT, chloroform, bromoform, dibromomethane, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, and 1,1,1,2-tetrachloroethane. The linear free energy relationship (LFER) approach was used to determine the overall reduction potentials (E_H⁰) of the alkaline GT solution and GT/Fe(II) complexes, which were found to be -0.131 V and -0.368 V, respectively. These findings demonstrated that GT/Fe(II) complexes exhibit the potential to remediate halogenated contaminants and the E_H⁰ information obtained in this study may serve as a reference in determining probable reactivity that contributes to degradation of environmental contaminants.

Olive mill wastewater reuse to enable solar photo-Fenton-like processes for the elimination of priority substances in municipal wastewater treatment plant effluents

Olive mill wastewater (OMW) appears as an interesting and innovative natural alternative to synthetic chelating agents of iron in solar photo-Fenton processes at circumneutral pH due to its high polyphenol content, valorizing wastewater typically found in sunny countries. The aim of this work was the reuse of OMW for the elimination of other recalcitrant microcontaminants: terbutryn, chlorfenvinphos, diclofenac, and pentachlorophenol. Highly diluted OMW (1:1500) was employed to keep the iron in solution at circumneutral pH. Eighty percent degradation of microcontaminants was achieved, although the reaction rate was slow compared with conventional photo-Fenton process, due to Fe-polyphenol complex instability at neutral pH. At pH around 4 (considerable superior to the photo-Fenton optimal pH 2.8), Fe-polyphenol complex stability was promoted: solar UV energy required was 25 times lower to reach the objective of 80% microcontaminants degradation, which was attained in a single step, without coupling with other processes. Operating photo-Fenton at slightly acidic pH was proposed for the first time for possible reuse of treated wastewater in crop irrigation, requiring minimum pH adjustment by simply mixing it with natural wastewater. Graphical abstract.

Insight into performance and mechanism of tea polyphenols and ferric ions on reductive decolorization of malachite green cationic dye under moderate conditions

Dye decolorization is of crucial concern for effectively treating dye wastewater. In this study, rapid and effective decolorization of malachite green cationic dye was achieved by tea polyphenols and ferric ions under moderate conditions. Approximately 96.2% of decolorization efficiency could be obtained within the first 10 min at the initial dye concentration of 50 mg/L. The proposed method can perform excellently in a wide pH range of 5-9 and decolorization kinetics of malachite green under different solution pH were well fitted by the pseudo-second-order model. After the decolorization, only a slight reduction of tea polyphenols was observed, while the strength of peaks assigned to nitrogen-containing groups was significantly weakened, indicating that the N-demethylation reaction might occur during the decolorization process. The nucleophilic attack of deprotonated hydroxyl groups of tea polyphenols was proposed as the decolorization mechanism. The presence of ferric ions at an appropriate dosage could promote the deprotonation process and therefore enhance decolorization efficiency, while excess ferric ions in solution might compete with malachite green dye towards reductive sites on tea polyphenols. The findings from this study provided an economical and environmentally friendly technique for the effective decolorization of dye wastewater.

Generation of zero valent sulfur from dissimilatory sulfate reduction under methanogenic conditions

Dissimilatory sulfate reduction mediated by sulfate-reducing microorganisms (SRMs) has a pivotal role in the sulfur cycle, from which the generation of zero valent sulfur (ZVS) represents a novel pathway. Nonetheless, information on ZVS production from the dissimilatory sulfate reduction remains scarce. This study successfully showed the ZVS production from the dissimilatory sulfate reduction both in a bioreactor and batch experiments under the methanogenic condition. The ZVS was produced in the form of polysulfide and largely located at extracellular sites. In the bioreactor, interestingly, ZVS could be generated first from partial sulfide oxidation mediated by sulfide-oxidizing bacteria (e.g., Thiobacillus) and later from the dissimilatory sulfate reduction in SRMs when changing the reactor operation from anoxic to obligate anaerobic and black condition. In batch experiments, increasing sulfate concentration was shown to enhance ZVS production. Based on these results, together with thermodynamic calculations, a scenario was proposed for the ZVS production from dissimilatory sulfate reduction, in which SRMs might utilize sulfate-to-ZVS as an alternative pathway to sulfate-to-sulfide to increase the thermodynamic favorability and alleviate the inhibitive effects of sulfide. This study expands our understanding of the SRMs-mediated dissimilatory sulfate reduction and may have important implications in environmental bioremediation.