Advances in bioremediation of emerging contaminants from industrial wastewater by oxidoreductase enzymes

Enzymatic bioremediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in contaminated soil: a study on the recombinant laccase TVL

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are pervasive and persistent pollutants in contaminated soil, posing a severe health and environmental threat. Enzymatic bioremediation presents a viable solution for the remediation of PAH-contaminated soil. In this study, a recombinant laccase with the encoding gene originating from Trametes villosa and recombinantly expressed in Aspergillus oryzae, designated as TVL, was discovered to possess strong PAH reduction capabilities. The specific enzyme activity of TVL was 73485 and 5102 LAMU/g enzyme protein at pH 5.0/7.0 and 37°C. Furthermore, it exhibited significant benzo[a]pyrene degradation, with 100% and 90.48% degradation at pH 5.0/7.0 after 24 h in the liquid phase. The degradation process of benzo[a]pyrene in soil was thoroughly investigated. Optimal conditions were identified as 15 mg/g NK-BSoil-3 and 1.35 mg/g HBT, resulting in a removal rate of 37.54% within 7 days when 0.01 U/g of TVL was applied. The potential mechanisms were investigated using molecular docking simulation. The binding energy between benzo[a]pyrene and TVL protein is notably robust, suggesting a higher propensity for enzyme binding. The TVL protein pocket contains nine amino acids that can interact most strongly with benzo[a]pyrene. Consequently, the recombinant laccase TVL holds considerable practical significance in bioremediation.

Origin, types, and contribution of emerging pollutants to environmental degradation and their remediation by physical and chemical techniques

The growing presence of emerging pollutants (EPs) in aquatic environments, as well as their harmful impacts on the biosphere and humans, has become a global concern. Recent developments and advancements in pharmaceuticals, agricultural practices, industrial activities, and human personal care substances have paved the way for drastic changes in EP concentrations and impacts on the ecosystem. As a result, it is critical to mitigate EP's harmful effects before they jeopardize the ecological equilibrium of the overall ecosystem and the sustainable existence of life on Earth. This review comprehensively documented the types, origins, and remediation strategies of EPs, and underscored the significance of this study in the current context. We briefly stated the major classification of EPs based on their organic and inorganic nature. Furthermore, this review systematically evaluates the occurrence of EPs due to the fast-changing ecological scenarios and their impact on human health. Recent studies have critically discussed the emerging physical and chemical processes for EP removal, highlighting the limitations of conventional remediation technologies. We reviewed and presented the challenges associated with EP remediation and degradation using several methods, including physical and chemical methods, with the application of recent technologies. The EP types and various methods discussed in this review help the researchers understand the nature of present-day EPs and utilize an efficient method of choice for EP removal and management in the future for sustainable life and development activities on the planet.

Auto-inducible synthetic pathway in E. coli enhanced sustainable indigo production from glucose

Indigo is widely used in textile industries for denim garments dyeing and is mainly produced by chemical synthesis which, however, raises environmental sustainability issues. Bio-indigo may be produced by fermentation of metabolically engineering bacteria, but current methods are economically incompetent due to low titer and the need for an inducer. To address these problems, we first characterized several synthetic promoters in E. coli and demonstrated the feasibility of inducer-free indigo production from tryptophan using the inducer-free promoter. We next coupled the tryptophan-to-indigo and glucose-to-tryptophan pathways to generate a de novo glucose-to-indigo pathway. By rational design and combinatorial screening, we identified the optimal promoter-gene combinations, which underscored the importance of promoter choice and expression levels of pathway genes. We thus created a new E. coli strain that exploited an indole pathway to enhance the indigo titer to 123 mg/L. We further assessed a panel of heterologous tryptophan synthase homologs and identified a plant indole lyase (TaIGL), which along with modified pathway design, improved the indigo titer to 235 mg/L while reducing the tryptophan byproduct accumulation. The optimal E. coli strain expressed 8 genes essential for rewiring carbon flux from glucose to indole and then to indigo: mFMO, ppsA, tktA, trpD, trpC, TaIGL and feedback-resistant aroG and trpE. Fed-batch fermentation in a 3-L bioreactor with glucose feeding further increased the indigo titer (≈965 mg/L) and total quantity (≈2183 mg) at 72 h. This new synthetic glucose-to-indigo pathway enables high-titer indigo production without the need of inducer and holds promise for bio-indigo production.

Tricks and tracks of prevalence, occurrences, treatment technologies, and challenges of mixtures of emerging contaminants in the environment: With special emphasis on microplastic

This paper aims to emphasize the occurrence of various emerging contaminant (EC) mixtures in natural ecosystems and highlights the primary concern arising from the unregulated release into soil and water, along with their impacts on human health. Emerging contaminant mixtures, including pharmaceuticals, personal care products, dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls, pesticides, antibiotics, biocides, surfactants, phthalates, enteric viruses, and microplastics (MPs), are considered toxic contaminants with grave implications. MPs play a crucial role in transporting pollutants to aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems as they interact with the various components of the soil and water environments. This review summarizes that major emerging contaminants (ECs), like trimethoprim, diclofenac, sulfamethoxazole, and 17α-Ethinylestradiol, pose serious threats to public health and contribute to antimicrobial resistance. In addressing human health concerns and remediation techniques, this review critically evaluates conventional methods for removing ECs from complex matrices. The diverse physiochemical properties of surrounding environments facilitate the partitioning of ECs into sediments and other organic phases, resulting in carcinogenic, teratogenic, and estrogenic effects through active catalytic interactions and mechanisms mediated by aryl hydrocarbon receptors. The proactive toxicity of ECs mixture complexation and, in part, the yet-to-be-identified environmental mixtures of ECs represent a blind spot in current literature, necessitating conceptual frameworks for assessing the toxicity and risks with individual components and mixtures. Lastly, this review concludes with an in-depth exploration of future scopes, knowledge gaps, and challenges, emphasizing the need for a concerted effort in managing ECs and other organic pollutants.

Review on Microreactors for Photo-Electrocatalysis Artificial Photosynthesis Regeneration of Coenzymes

In recent years, with the outbreak of the global energy crisis, renewable solar energy has become a focal point of research. However, the utilization efficiency of natural photosynthesis (NPS) is only about 1%. Inspired by NPS, artificial photosynthesis (APS) was developed and utilized in applications such as the regeneration of coenzymes. APS for coenzyme regeneration can overcome the problem of high energy consumption in comparison to electrocatalytic methods. Microreactors represent a promising technology. Compared with the conventional system, it has the advantages of a large specific surface area, the fast diffusion of small molecules, and high efficiency. Introducing microreactors can lead to more efficient, economical, and environmentally friendly coenzyme regeneration in artificial photosynthesis. This review begins with a brief introduction of APS and microreactors, and then summarizes research on traditional electrocatalytic coenzyme regeneration, as well as photocatalytic and photo-electrocatalysis coenzyme regeneration by APS, all based on microreactors, and compares them with the corresponding conventional system. Finally, it looks forward to the promising prospects of this technology.

Design of Environmental-Friendly Carbon-Based Catalysts for Efficient Advanced Oxidation Processes

Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) represent one of the most promising strategies to generate highly reactive species to deal with organic dye-contaminated water. However, developing green and cost-effective catalysts is still a long-term goal for the wide practical application of AOPs. Herein, we demonstrated doping cobalt in porous carbon to efficiently catalyze the oxidation of the typically persistent organic pollutant rhodamine B, via multiple reactive species through the activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS). The catalysts were prepared by facile pyrolysis of nanocomposites with a core of cobalt-loaded silica and a shell of phenolic resin (Co-C/SiO2). It showed that the produced 1O2 could effectively attack the electron-rich functional groups in rhodamine B, promoting its molecular chain breakage and accelerating its oxidative degradation reaction with reactive oxygen-containing radicals. The optimized Co-C/SiO2 catalyst exhibits impressive catalytic performance, with a degradation rate of rhodamine B up to 96.7% in 14 min and a reaction rate constant (k) as high as 0.2271 min-1, which suggested promising potential for its practical application.

Efficient bio-remediation of multiple aromatic hydrocarbons using different types of thermotolerant, ring-cleaving dioxygenases derived from Aeribacillus pallidus HB-1

As toxic contaminants, aromatic compounds are widespread in most environmental matrices, and bioenzymatic catalysis plays a critical role in the degradation of xenobiotics. Here, a thermophillic aromatic hydrocarbon degrader Aeribacillus pallidus HB-1 was found. Bioinformatic analysis of the HB-1 genome revealed two ring-cleaving extradiol dioxygenases (EDOs), among which, EDO-0418 was assigned to a new subfamily of type I.1 EDOs and exhibited a broad substrate specificity, particularly towards biarylic substrate. Both EDOs exhibited optimal activities at elevated temperatures (55 and 65 °C, respectively) and showed remarkable thermostability, pH stability, metal ion resistance and tolerance to chemical reagents. Most importantly, simulated wastewater bioreactor experiments demonstrated efficient and uniform degradation performance of mixed aromatic substrates under harsh environments by the two enzymes combined for potential industrial applications. The unveiling of two thermostable dioxygenases with broad substrate specificities and stress tolerance provides a novel approach for highly efficient environmental bioremediation using composite enzyme systems.

Actinobacterial peroxidase-mediated biodeterioration of hazardous explosive, 2, 4, 6, trinitrophenol by in silico and in vitro approaches

Explosives are perilous and noxious to aquatic biota disrupting their endocrinal systems. Supplementarily, they exhibit carcinogenic, teratogenic and mutagenic effects on humans and animals. Henceforth, the current study has been targeted to biotransform the explosive, 2, 4, 6 trinitrophenol (TNP) by wetland peroxidase from Streptomyces coelicolor. A total peroxidase yield of 20,779 mg/l with 51.6 folds of purification was observed. In silico molecular docking cum in vitro appraisals were accomplished to assess binding energy and interacting binding site residues of peroxidase and TNP complex. TNP required a minimal binding energy of-6.91 kJ/mol and was subjected to biodeterioration (89.73%) by peroxidase in purified form, with 45 kDa and a similarity score of 34 by MASCOT protein analysis. Moreover, the peroxidase activity was confirmed with Zymogram analysis. Characterization of peroxidase revealed that optimum values of pH and temperature as 6 and 40 °C, respectively, with their corresponding stability varying from 3.5 to 7. Interestingly, the kinetic parameters such as Km and Vmax on 2,2'-azino-bis 3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) and H2O2 were 19.27 µm and 0.41 µm/min; 21.4 µm and 0.1 µm/min, respectively. Among the diverse substrates, chemicals and trace elements, ABTS (40 mM), citric acid (5 mM) and Fe2+ (5 mM) displayed the highest peroxidase activity. Computational docking and in vitro results were corroborative and UV-Vis spectroscopy, HPLC, FTIR and GC-MS indicated the presence of simple metabolites of TNP such as nitrophenols and benzoquinone, showcasing the efficacy of S. coelicolor peroxidase to biotransform TNP. Henceforth, the current study offers a promising channel for biological treatment of explosive munitions, establishing a sustainable green earth.

Antimicrobial and antibiofilm properties of selenium-chitosan-loaded salicylic acid nanoparticles for the removal of emerging contaminants from bacterial pathogens

In this study salicylic acid loaded containing selenium nanoparticles was synthesized and called SA@CS-Se NPs. the chitosan was used as a natural stabilizer during the synthesis process. Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission electron microscopy (FESEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to describe the physicochemical characteristics of the SA@CS-Se NPs. The PXRD examination revealed that the grain size was around 31.9 nm. TEM and FESEM techniques showed the spherical shape of SA@CS-Se NPs. Additionally, the analysis of experiments showed that SA@CS-Se NPs have antibacterial properties against 4 ATCC bacteria; So that with concentrations of 75, 125, 150, and 100 µg/ml, it inhibited the biofilm formation of Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, and Staphylococcus aureus respectively. Also, at the concentration of 300 µg/ml, it removed 22.76, 23.2, 10.62, and 18.08% biofilm caused by E. coli, P. aeruginosa, B. subtilis, and S. aureus respectively. The synthesized SA@CS-Se NPs may find an application to reduce the unsafe influence of pathogenic microbes and, hence, eliminate microbial contamination.

A Review about the Mycoremediation of Soil Impacted by War-like Activities: Challenges and Gaps

(1) Background: The frequency and intensity of war-like activities (war, military training, and shooting ranges) worldwide cause soil pollution by metals, metalloids, explosives, radionuclides, and herbicides. Despite this environmentally worrying scenario, soil decontamination in former war zones almost always involves incineration. Nevertheless, this practice is expensive, and its efficiency is suitable only for organic pollutants. Therefore, treating soils polluted by wars requires efficient and economically viable alternatives. In this sense, this manuscript reviews the status and knowledge gaps of mycoremediation. (2) Methods: The literature review consisted of searches on ScienceDirect and Web of Science for articles (1980 to 2023) on the mycoremediation of soils containing pollutants derived from war-like activities. (3) Results: This review highlighted that mycoremediation has many successful applications for removing all pollutants of war-like activities. However, the mycoremediation of soils in former war zones and those impacted by military training and shooting ranges is still very incipient, with most applications emphasizing explosives. (4) Conclusion: The mycoremediation of soils from conflict zones is an entirely open field of research, and the main challenge is to optimize experimental conditions on a field scale.

Wastewater reuse in agriculture: Prospects and challenges

Sustainable water recycling and wastewater reuse are urgent nowadays considering water scarcity and increased water consumption through human activities. In 2015, United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6 (UN SDG6) highlighted the necessity of recycling wastewater to guarantee water availability for individuals. Currently, wastewater irrigation (WWI) of crops and agricultural land appears essential. The present work overviews the quality of treated wastewater in terms of soil microbial activities, and discusses challenges and benefits of WWI in line with wastewater reuse in agriculture and aquaculture irrigation. Combined conventional-advanced wastewater treatment processes are specifically deliberated, considering the harmful impacts on human health arising from WWI originating from reuse of contaminated water (salts, organic pollutants, toxic metals, and microbial pathogens i.e., viruses and bacteria). The comprehensive literature survey revealed that, in addition to the increased levels of pathogen and microbial threats to human wellbeing, poorly-treated wastewater results in plant and soil contamination with toxic organic/inorganic chemicals, and microbial pathogens. The impact of long-term emerging pollutants like plastic nanoparticles should also be established in further studies, with the development of standardized analytical techniques for such hazardous chemicals. Likewise, the reliable, long-term and extensive judgment on heavy metals threat to human beings's health should be explored in future investigations.

A critical review of enzymes immobilized on chitosan composites: characterization and applications

Enzymes with industrial significance are typically used in biological processes. However, instability, high sensitivity, and impractical recovery are the major drawbacks of enzymes in practical applications. In recent years, the immobilization technology has attracted wide attention to overcoming these restrictions and improving the efficiency of enzyme applications. Chitosan (CS) is a unique functional substance with biocompatibility, biodegradability, non-toxicity, and antibacterial properties. Chitosan composites are anticipated to be widely used in the near future for a variety of purposes, including as supports for enzyme immobilization, because of their advantages. Therefor this review explores the effects of the chitosan's structure, molecular weight, degree of deacetylation on the enzyme immobilized, effect of key factors, and the enzymes immobilized on chitosan based composites for numerous applications, including the fields of biosensor, biomedical science, food industry, environmental protection, and industrial production. Moreover, this study carefully investigates the advantages and disadvantages of using these composites as well as their potential in the future.

Global distribution, toxicity to humans and animals, biodegradation, and nutritional mitigation of deoxynivalenol: A review

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is one of the main types of B trichothecenes, and it causes health-related issues in humans and animals and imposes considerable challenges to food and feed safety globally each year. This review investigates the global hazards of DON, describes the occurrence of DON in food and feed in different countries, and systematically uncovers the mechanisms of the various toxic effects of DON. For DON pollution, many treatments have been reported on the degradation of DON, and each of the treatments has different degradation efficacies and degrades DON by a distinct mechanism. These treatments include physical, chemical, and biological methods and mitigation strategies. Biodegradation methods include microorganisms, enzymes, and biological antifungal agents, which are of great research significance in food processing because of their high efficiency, low environmental hazards, and drug resistance. And we also reviewed the mechanisms of biodegradation methods of DON, the adsorption and antagonism effects of microorganisms, and the different chemical transformation mechanisms of enzymes. Moreover, nutritional mitigation including common nutrients (amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, and microelements) and plant extracts was discussed in this review, and the mitigation mechanism of DON toxicity was elaborated from the biochemical point of view. These findings help explore various approaches to achieve the best efficiency and applicability, overcome DON pollution worldwide, ensure the sustainability and safety of food processing, and explore potential therapeutic options with the ability to reduce the deleterious effects of DON in humans and animals.

A nitroreductase DnrA catalyzes the biotransformation of several diphenyl ether herbicides in Bacillus sp. Za

Diphenyl ether herbicides, typical globally used herbicides, threaten the agricultural environment and the sensitive crops. The microbial degradation pathways of diphenyl ether herbicides are well studied, but the nitroreduction of diphenyl ether herbicides by purified enzymes is still unclear. Here, the gene dnrA, encoding a nitroreductase DnrA responsible for the reduction of nitro to amino groups, was identified from the strain Bacillus sp. Za. DnrA had a broad substrate spectrum, and the K_m values of DnrA for different diphenyl ether herbicides were 20.67 μM (fomesafen), 23.64 μM (bifenox), 26.19 μM (fluoroglycofen), 28.24 μM (acifluorfen), and 36.32 μM (lactofen). DnrA also mitigated the growth inhibition effect on cucumber and sorghum through nitroreduction. Molecular docking revealed the mechanisms of the compounds fomesafen, bifenox, fluoroglycofen, lactofen, and acifluorfen with DnrA. Fomesafen showed higher affinities and lower binding energy values for DnrA, and residue Arg244 affected the affinity between diphenyl ether herbicides and DnrA. This research provides new genetic resources and insights into the microbial remediation of diphenyl ether herbicide-contaminated environments. KEY POINTS: • Nitroreductase DnrA transforms the nitro group of diphenyl ether herbicides. • Nitroreductase DnrA reduces the toxicity of diphenyl ether herbicides. • The distance between Arg244 and the herbicides is related to catalytic efficiency.

Emerging contaminants bioremediation by enzyme and nanozyme-based processes - A review

Due to their widespread occurrence and the inadequate removal efficiencies by conventional wastewater treatment plants, emerging contaminants (ECs) have recently become an issue of great concern. Current ongoing studies have focused on different physical, chemical, and biological methods as strategies to avoid exposing ecosystems to significant long-term risks. Among the different proposed technologies, the enzyme-based processes rise as green biocatalysts with higher efficiency yields and lower generation of toxic by-products. Oxidoreductases and hydrolases are among the most prominent enzymes applied for bioremediation processes. The present work overviews the state of the art of recent advances in enzymatic processes during wastewater treatment of EC, focusing on recent innovations in terms of applied immobilization techniques, genetic engineering tools, and the advent of nanozymes. Future trends in the enzymes immobilization techniques for EC removal were highlighted. Research gaps and recommendations on methods and utility of enzymatic treatment incorporation in conventional wastewater treatment plants were also discussed.

The Application of Polymer Inclusion Membranes for the Removal of Emerging Contaminants and Synthetic Dyes from Aqueous Solutions-A Mini Review

Pollution of the environment, including water resources, is currently one of the greatest challenges due to emerging new contaminants of anthropogenic origin. Of particular concern are emerging organic pollutants such as pharmaceuticals, endocrine disruptors, and pesticides, but also other industrial pollutants, for example, synthetic dyes. The growing demand for environmentally friendly and economical methods of removing emerging contaminants and synthetic dyes from wastewater resulted in increased interest in the possibility of using techniques based on the application of polymer inclusion membranes (PIMs) for this purpose. PIM-based techniques are promising methods for eliminating emerging contaminants and synthetic dyes from aqueous solutions, including wastewater, due to high efficiency, membranes versatility, ease/low cost of preparation, and high selectivity. This review describes the latest developments related to the removal of various emerging contaminants and synthetic dyes from aqueous solutions using PIMs over the past few years, with particular emphasis on research aimed at increasing the effectiveness and selectivity of PIMs, which may contribute to wider use of these methods in the future.

Isolation and characterization of potential multiple extracellular enzyme-producing bacteria from waste dumping area in Addis Ababa

Extremozymes are innovative and robust biocatalysts produced by various microorganisms from harsh environments. As thermophilic organisms can only develop in a few places, studying them in geothermal environments has provided new insights into the origins and evolution of early life and access to significant bio-resources with potential biotechnology applications. The work aimed to isolate and identify likely multiple extracellular enzyme-producing thermophilic bacteria from an Addis Ababa landfill (Qoshe). The streaking approach was used to purify 102 isolates acquired by serial dilution and spread plate method. The isolates were morphologically and biochemically characterized. Thirty-five cellulases, 22 amylase, 17 protease, and nine lipase-producing bacteria were identified using primary screening methods. Further secondary screening using Strain safety evaluation; two bacterial strains (TQ11 and TQ46) were identified. Based on morphological and biochemical tests, they were found to be gram-positive and rod-shaped. Furthermore, molecular identification and phylogenic analysis of selected promising isolates confirmed the identity of the isolates, Paenibacillus dendritiformis (TQ11) and Anoxybacillus flavithermus (TQ46). The results indicated that, multiple extracellular enzyme-producing thermophilic bacteria isolated from a waste dumping area in Addis Ababa offer useful features for environmental sustainability in a wide range of industrial applications due to their biodegradability and specialized stability under extreme conditions, increased raw material utilization, and decreased waste.

Carbon-based nanomaterial intervention and efficient removal of various contaminants from effluents - A review

Water treatment is a worldwide issue. This review aims to present current problems and future challenges in water treatments with the existing methodologies. Carbon nanotube production, characterization, and prospective uses have been the subject of considerable and rigorous research around the world. They have a large number of technical uses because of their distinct physical characteristics. Various catalyst materials are used to make carbon nanotubes. This review's primary focus is on integrated and single-treatment technologies for all kinds of drinking water resources, including ground and surface water. Inorganic non-metallic matter, heavy metals, natural organic matter, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, disinfection by-products and microbiological pollutants are among the contaminants that these treatment systems can remediate in polluted drinking water resources. Significant advances in the antibacterial and adsorption capabilities of carbon-based nanomaterials have opened up new options for excluding organic/inorganic and biological contaminants from drinking water in recent years. The advancements in multifunctional nanocomposites synthesis pave the possibility for their use in enhanced wastewater purification system design. The adsorptive and antibacterial characteristics of six main kinds of carbon nanomaterials are single-walled carbon nanotubes, multi-walled carbon nanotubes, graphene, graphene oxide, fullerene and single-walled carbon nanohorns. This review potentially addressed the essential metallic and polymeric nanocomposites, are described and compared. Barriers to use these nanoparticles in long-term water treatment are also discussed.