Preliminary Investigation on the Useful Chemicals obtained from High-Temperature and High-Pressure Water Treatment of Hinoki (Chamaecyparis Obutus) Bark

The possibility of utilizing residual forest biomass to produce valuable chemicals was investigated. An outer layer of a bark of Hinoki (Chamaecyparis obutusa) tree, a Japanese cypress, was used as a sample material. Experiments were carried out in a semibatch reactor apparatus that allows the study of the effect of reaction temperatures in a single run. Analysis of the products by GC-MS reveals formation of useful compounds such as furfural, some aromatic compounds (1,3-di-tert-butyl benzene and 2,4-di-tert-butyl phenol), and fatty acids (myristic acid, palmitic acid and stearic acid).Keywords: fatty acids, furfural, high temperature water treatment, hinoki, residual biomas

Microbial community analysis during start-up of anaerobic co-digestion based on quinone profiles using supercritical fluid extraction

Quinone profile is well known as a useful tool for the analysis of microbial community dynamics in mixed cultures in terms of quantification, simplicity, and reproducibility. The application of quinone profile method in anaerobic digestion is to monitor and overcome instability during fermentation process. A lab-scale anaerobic digestion treating a mixture of milk cow manure (CM) and simulated food waste (FW) during start-up process at mesophilic conditions was used to monitor the change of microbial community dynamics and stability. Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) experiments using CO2 and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) was applied for extract and determination of ubiquinones (UQ) and menaquinones (MK) species. Quinone can be a helpful tool to make the link between microbial community and anaerobic digestion parameters in order to overcome digester instability during the start-up process

Wastewater Characteristics From Tofu Processing Facilities in Banda Aceh

Tofu is a very favorite food in Asian countries such Indonesia, and is gaining popularity among west countries as well, due to the associated health benefits and its acceptable price. Tofu which is produced by grinding of soy bean produces high of amount wastewater, and is considered as one of the most polluting food-industrial effluent due to its high values of organic pollutants. This paper analyzed some pollutants parameter discharged from tofu industries in Banda Aceh. The parameter of BOD, COD, MLSS, PO4-P NH3-N, Turbidity and pH were analyzed based on the standard method for the examination of water and wastewater, approved by the EPA. The COD and BOD of wastewater from tofu processing facilities in Banda Aceh is ranging from 5000-8500 and 3500-4500 mg/L, respectively. Site investigation showed that in Banda Aceh city, the tofu waste has been disposed into the environment without any treatment, causing bad odours and pollution of the surface, ground water and rive

Treatment of Sewage Sludge Using Anaerobic Digestion in Malaysia: Current State and Challenges

Anaerobic digestion is widely considered as an environmentally friendly technology for various organic waste including sewage sludge. Although the implementation of anaerobic digestion as an alternative treatment method for sewage sludge can be seen in many countries, its status in Malaysia is not clear. This study reviewed the current state of sewage sludge treatment in Malaysia and discussed the challenges to promote anaerobic digestion in sewage sludge treatment. Other than the common constraints faced, namely technical, political and economic, the characteristics of sewage sludge in Malaysia are considered to be a factor regarding feasibility. Anaerobic co-digestion is the simultaneous anaerobic digestion of two or more substrates which is a promising possible option to overcome the disadvantages of mono-digestion, and improve the economic viability due to higher methane production. There are a variety of biomasses as co-substrates in Malaysia. However, the anaerobic co-digestion of food waste and sewage sludge might be the most feasible method to overcome such constraints. Adding food waste as co-substrate is suggested as the possible approach to not only improve the process's performance but also help to handle the increasing volume of food waste in Malaysia. This study aims to highlight the potential as well as to provide a starting point for further studies regarding the treatment of sewage sludge using anaerobic digestion in Malaysia

Effect of Static Extraction TIME on Extraction Efficiencies Using On-line Supercritical Fluid Extraction-High Performance Liquid Chromatography for Lipoquinone Analysis in Activated Sludge

Analysis of microbial community is important for monitoring the performance of biological processes. One of the most simple, quantitative and high reproducible method for analysis of the microbial community is lipoquinone profile method. Lipoquinone is constituent of bacterial plasma membrane that is essential for electron transporter. Lipoquinone could be used as a biomarker to analyze the microbial community because in general one species or genus of bacteria has one dominant type of lipoquinone, thus any changes in the lipoquinone profile would reflect the changes in the microbial community. The method for lipoquinone determination in environmental sample is direct extraction using organic solvent and analysis using chromatography system. Since the method is tedious and uses a large amount of organic solvent, the on-line supercritical fluid extraction-high performance liquid chromatography (on-line SFE-HPLC) has been developed to simplify the method, and was successful determine lipoquinone compounds in activated sludges. The effect of static extraction time on extraction efficiencies of the lipoquinone was investigated in order to eliminate the water pump and methanol pump in the previous system. The CO2 was used as an extraction solvent. The 0.1 g of freeze dried activated sludge was placed into a 1 mL stainless steel extraction vessel and methanol was spiked into the sludge as a modifier. The SFE was connected to HPLC by using trapping column as an interface for collecting lipoquinone extracted from the sludge. The static extraction time was conducted by allowed the matrix to immersed in CO2 and methanol. When the static extraction time finished, the dynamic extraction time was carried out. The extracted and trapped lipoquinone then directly transferred to HPLC system for determination. In this study, the effect of static, dynamic extraction time and volume of spiked methanol were optimized using simplified on-line SFEHPLC for lipoquinone analysis. The best results in terms of extraction yield were obtained at 25 MPa, 45°C, 10 min static extraction time with 500 µL methanol spiked, and 25 min dynamic extraction time with 0.9 mL min-1 CO2 flow rate. It was concluded that the developed method could simplify the online SFE-HPLC system of lipoquinone determination which is useful for a rapid and routine analysis of microbial community in activated sludge

Strict De Novo Methylation of the 35S Enhancer Sequence in Gentian

A novel transgene silencing phenomenon was found in the ornamental plant, gentian (Gentiana triflora × G. scabra), in which the introduced Cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter region was strictly methylated, irrespective of the transgene copy number and integrated loci. Transgenic tobacco having the same vector did not show the silencing behavior. Not only unmodified, but also modified 35S promoters containing a 35S enhancer sequence were found to be highly methylated in the single copy transgenic gentian lines. The 35S core promoter (−90)-introduced transgenic lines showed a small degree of methylation, implying that the 35S enhancer sequence was involved in the methylation machinery. The rigorous silencing phenomenon enabled us to analyze methylation in a number of the transgenic lines in parallel, which led to the discovery of a consensus target region for de novo methylation, which comprised an asymmetric cytosine (CpHpH; H is A, C or T) sequence. Consequently, distinct footprints of de novo methylation were detected in each (modified) 35S promoter sequence, and the enhancer region (−148 to −85) was identified as a crucial target for de novo methylation. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) showed that complexes formed in gentian nuclear extract with the −149 to −124 and −107 to −83 region probes were distinct from those of tobacco nuclear extracts, suggesting that the complexes might contribute to de novo methylation. Our results provide insights into the phenomenon of sequence- and species- specific gene silencing in higher plants