The Effect of Temperature on Nutrient Removal from Wastewater by Selected Fungal Species

The main goal of wastewater treatment is to safeguard the environment by preventing the pollution of receiving water bodies. This study was aimed at investigating the effect of temperature in nutrient removal by four test fungal species (Fusarium sp, Absidia sp, Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus) in synthetic wastewater at different incubation temperatures of 25oC, 30oC, 35oC and 40°C. After inoculation with each test isolate, aliquot samples were taken prior inoculation and every 24 h, for 96 h for the estimation of phosphate, nitrate and pH in the wastewater, using standard procedures. After 96 h incubation, the percentage phosphate concentration removal ranged between 29.17 %-36.17 %, 26.17 %-35.75 %, 8.01 %-37.94 % and 11.19 %-42.65 %, in the presence of the Fusarium sp, Absidia sp, Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus, respectively. Optimum temperature for phosphate removal was observed at 30°C -40°C. After 96 h incubation at 25oC, the phosphate concentration was very high with most of the isolates. In the case of nitrate, highest removals of 42.89 % and 82.07 % were obtained at 35°C in the presence of the Fusarium sp and Aspergillus flavus. In the presence of the Absidia sp and the Aspergillus niger, maximum removals of 21.21 % and 30.59 %, respectively were observed at 25°C, after 96 h incubation. The study was revealed the effect of temperature in the removal of phosphate and nitrate from wastewater by the test fungal species

Remediation of Polluted Wastewater Effluents: Hydrocarbon Removal

The onset of the industrial revolution has led to a surge in the quantity of hazardous compounds that are released into the environment. These hazardous pollutants consist of a variety of hydrocarbons and other organic compounds that pose serious risks to humans, animals and the environment. The presence of hydrocarbons in wastewater effluents is due to a variety of sources, which include oil spillage, pesticides, urban storm water discharges and automobile oil. The removal of hydrocarbons from wastewater before discharge into receiving water bodies from wastewater effluents entails a variety of processes, with the most common processes being phytoremediation, bioremediation and chemical remediation. Phytoremediation is a cost effective method of reducing risk to human and ecosystem health posed by contaminated water. It entails the use of plants for the removal of contaminants and could involve mechanisms such as phytodegradation, rhizodegradation, rhizofiltration, phyto extraction, phytovolatilization, hydraulic control and phytostabilization. On the other hand, bioremediation is the use of microorganisms to breakdown or degrade pollutants in a contaminated site. The technology is low cost and has a generally high public acceptance. It consists of biostimulation (addition of nutrients to indigenous microorganisms) and bioaugmentation (addition of hydrocarbon degrading microorganisms). In the case of chemical remediation, it involves the use of chemicals for the treatment of contaminated sites. Substances, such as dispersants and solidifiers are used in chemical remediation. This study was aimed at reviewing the sources, impacts and remediation processes for hydrocarbon polluted wastewater effluents. This review was able to describe the sources and impacts of hydrocarbon polluted wastewater effluents and the various methods of treatment

ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCE OF CULTURALMEDIUM ON BIOHERBICIDAL ACTIVITIES OFPSEUDOMONAS AERUGINOSAC1501ON MONO AND DICO WEEDS

Microbe producing natural herbicides are alternatives to the chemical herbicidal formulations.The effect of minerals and carbon sources were screened to select the best when combined and whenapply singly during submerged fermentation. The effect of their phytotoxic metabolites was tested onChromolaena odorata and Echinochola crus-galli.It was observed that the best combination between all the mineral was found in the combinationcontaining manganese, zinc, bromine and iron. It gave the highest bio-herbicidal activities on thetested weeds when compared with the basal medium without any mineral amendment (P≤0.05).The best carbon source screened was glucose while the best mineral screened was iron in term ofshowing activities on the tested weeds (P≤0.05)

Antimicrobial potentials of mucus mucin from different species of giant African land snails on some typed culture pathogenic bacteria

The study aims at evaluating the antibacterial activities of mucus mucin from three species of the giant African land snails; Archachatina marginata, Achatina achatina, and Achatina fulica. Snail slime was collected from forty-five snails comprising the three species of snails from the southwestern region of Nigeria. The antibacterial potential and bacteria growth rate (in hours) of the mucus mucin were determined using agar well diffusion method and liquid broth. Acetic acid (acid), ammonium bicarbonate (alkaline), and water (aqueous) were each used to extract the slime. The result showed that mucus secretions from the three snail species differed in color, degree of the sliminess, and volume. Snail mucus extract had antimicrobial effects on gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. The inhibitory effects of mucus extracts differed depending on the treatment method and storage time, with acid extracts having a higher inhibitory capacity regardless of snail species or storage time. A. marginata's mucus secretions had a stronger antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis when compared to mucus from A. achatina and A. fulica. The zone of inhibition of the mucus mucin in solid agar ranged between 24.0–19.5mm for A. marginata and ranged between 21.0-17.5mm and 21.0–15.0mm for A. achatina and A. fulica, within 2-72 storage hours). Mucus mucin seems to lose its antibacterial potential with time; however, the antibacterial capability of the giant African snail species could provide the much-needed solution to antibiotic resistance

COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF STORAGE STABILITY OF GINGER-GARLIC AND CHEMICAL PRESERVATION ON FRUIT JUICE BLENDS

The study aimed at reduction of wastage of fruit, encourage production, consumption and preservation of fruit juice blends using garlic ginger filtrate with health benefits as biopreservative thus providing alternatives with biological advantage over chemical preservatives (ascorbic and benzoate acids) without altering the organoleptic and physicochemical properties of fruit juice blends. The study evaluated the potential of natural preservatives (ginger, garlic and ginger-garlic filtrates) in comparison with two conventional chemical preservatives (ascorbic and benzoate acids) for fruit juice blends preservation. The juice blend used was cashew, pineapple and watermelon. In terms of flavor and mouth feel, the order of preference of the juice were the preserved with 1% garlic-ginger > 1% ginger > 1% garlic > 1% ascorbic acid > and preserved with 1% sodium benzoate at ambient temperature. Maximum decrease in pH was observed in the juice sample that had no added preservative. Generally, all the fruit blends (preserved and unpreserved), with the exception of the one preserve with 1% ginger-garlic showed growth of bacteria after one week of storage. Juice blends preserved with the 1% ginger-garlic were most acceptable compared to other preservatives. The synergistic biopreservative ability observed with the ginger-garlic may be a preferable alternative to conventional preservatives

Valorized chicken feather as corrosion inhibitor for mild steel in drilling mud

Modified chicken feather reduced the corrosion rate of mild steel in drilling mud as deduced from electrochemical potentiodynamic polarization technique, albeit, with observed infestation of the test environment by microbes over protracted exposure period of 92 days. The corrosion rates with and without the addition of 0.3g of hydrolyzed feather per 100 ml of drilling mud were 1.70 and 1.95 mm/yr, respectively; which corresponded to inhibition efficiency of 13% over the immersion period. The corresponding charge transfer resistances, a measure of corrosion rates were 1480.4 and 1780.0 Ω, respectively; in the uninhibited and hydrolyzed-feather inhibited environments. The voltage over the double layer capacitor as obtained from the polarization studies numerically increased from �0.907 to �0.948 V which indicated adsorption of moieties in the inhibitor and probably some corrosion products on the surface of the mild steel specime

CARCASS INDICES AND MEAT QUALITY OF BROILER CHICKENS FED DIETS CONTAINING FORTIFIED FERMENTED CASSAVA STUMPz

This study investigated the nutritional and anti-nutritional components of non-fermented and microbe fermented cassava stumps using Aspergillus niger (ATCC 16404) strain in a solid substrate. The dried and milled cassava stumps were aseptically inoculated with Aspergillus niger (ATCC 16404) strain in a solid-state at substrates to water ratio 1.0:1.0 w/v and then incubated for 192 hours at room temperature. Samples were taken at 48 h interval for the proximate, minerals and anti-nutrients composition determination of the fermented cassava stumps. The experimental design employed was completely Randomized Design. The results showed that the fermentation media and the fermentation period significantly (P < 0.05) affected the nutritional and anti-nutritional components of the cassava stumps, as there was better enhancement of the by-product at higher fermentation period. The highest crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), ash, and lowest crude fiber (CF) in fermented cassava stumps were obtained at 192 hours of fermentation with the following values CP 7.45%, EE 9.81% and ash 7.01%. A similar trend was also observed for mineral enhancement and anti-nutrient degradation. Conclusively, this study showed that solid-state fermentation using Aspergillus niger (ATCC 16404) strain can effectively enhance the nutritive value of cassava stumps which can help increase the feed resources for non-ruminant animals

In vitro antimicrobial appraisal of the potentials of Morinda lucida against some selected bacteria

The bioactive compounds from plant extract represent a potent alternative to combating the increasing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to synthetic drugs. This study aimed to investigate the phytochemical, and antibacterial activities of Morinda lucida. Leaves of M. lucida was extracted successively using n-hexane, acetone, methanol and distilled water. The crude plant extracts were evaluated for their antibacterial activity against pathogens found in food and other sources such as Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi, Escherichia coli, and Klebsiella spp. using the agar well diffusion technique. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was carried out using the microbroth dilution technique. The phytochemical analysis showed the presence of alkaloids and sterols in all extracts. Flavonoid was only present in the n-Hexane extract. The result showed that n-Hexane extract had the widest zone of inhibition against P. aeruginosa - 13.67 mm (12.5 mg/mL MIC), B. subtilis - 15 mm (12.5 mg/mL MIC), while acetone extract was most active against S. enterica ser. Typhi - 24.67 mm (6.25 mg/mL MIC), S. aureus - 24.83 mm (3.13 mg/mL MIC), E. coli - 13.33 mm (1.56 mg/mL MIC) and Klebsiella spp. - 18.33 mm (12.5 mg/mL MIC). These findings indicated that n-Hexane and acetone extract of M. lucida exhibited significant antimicrobial activity. Therefore, further research should be carried out to isolate the bioactive compounds with potentials in developing new drug leads against drug-resistant microbial strains

Enhancement of Nutritive Value of Cassava Stumps by Aspergillus niger ATCC 16404 in Solid State

This study investigated the nutritional and anti-nutritional components of non-fermented and microbe fer mented cassava stumps using Aspergillus niger (ATCC 16404) strain in a solid substrate. The dried and milled cassava stumps were aseptically inoculated with Aspergillus niger (ATCC 16404) strain in a solid-state at substrates to water ratio 1.0:1.0 w/v and then incubated for 192 hours at room temperature. Samples were taken at 48 h interval for the proximate, minerals and anti-nutrients composition determination of the fermented cassava stumps. The experimen tal design employed was completely Randomized Design. The results showed that the fermentation media and the fermentation period significantly (P < 0.05) affected the nutritional and anti-nutritional components of the cassava stumps, as there was better enhancement of the by-product at higher fermentation period. The highest crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), ash, and lowest crude fiber (CF) in fermented cassava stumps were obtained at 192 hours of fermentation with the following values CP 7.45%, EE 9.81% and ash 7.01%. A similar trend was also observed for mineral enhancement and anti-nutrient degradation. Conclusively, this study showed that solid-state fermentation using Aspergillus niger (ATCC 16404) strain can effectively enhance the nutritive value of cassava stumps which can help increase the feed resources for non-ruminant animals