Research Keyword: Environmental remediation

Advancements in Biochar for Soil Remediation of Heavy Metals and/or Organic Pollutants

Biochar, a carbon-rich material made from burning plant waste with limited oxygen, can effectively clean polluted soil by trapping harmful chemicals and metals. When mixed into contaminated soil, biochar’s porous structure acts like a sponge to capture pesticides, petroleum products, and toxic metals, preventing them from spreading into groundwater or being absorbed by plants. Scientists have found that combining biochar with plants and beneficial bacteria creates an even more effective cleaning system that can remediate severely contaminated sites.

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A Biorefinery Approach Integrating Lipid and EPS Augmentation Along with Cr (III) Mitigation by Chlorella minutissima

This research demonstrates that a common freshwater microalga called Chlorella minutissima can effectively remove toxic chromium from contaminated water while simultaneously producing high-quality biodiesel fuel and useful plant compounds. The microalga survives chromium exposure by activating powerful internal defense systems that protect it from oxidative stress. This integrated approach offers a sustainable solution to environmental contamination while generating renewable energy, supporting the transition to a circular economy.

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Breaking Down Linear Low-Density Polyethylene (LLDPE) Using Fungal Mycelium (Part A): A Path Towards Sustainable Waste Management and Its Possible Economic Impacts

Researchers discovered that certain fungi, especially Schizophyllum commune, can effectively break down plastic waste called LLDPE through their natural enzymes. In laboratory tests, this fungus degraded plastic about 20 times faster than samples without fungal treatment over 30 days. This fungal approach is cheaper and more environmentally friendly than traditional methods like incineration or landfilling, and could help solve plastic pollution while creating jobs and using agricultural waste productively.

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Optimization of the Decolorization of the Reactive Black 5 by a Laccase-like Active Cell-Free Supernatant from Coriolopsis gallica

Textile factories produce large amounts of colored wastewater containing harmful dyes like Reactive Black 5. Researchers optimized an enzyme-based treatment using laccase from a fungus called Coriolopsis gallica to remove these dyes from water. By carefully balancing enzyme concentration, pH, temperature, and a chemical booster called HBT, they achieved 82% dye removal in just 2 hours, offering a cleaner and more environmentally friendly alternative to traditional chemical treatments.

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Environmental Impact of Xenobiotic Aromatic Compounds and Their Biodegradation Potential in Comamonas testosteroni

This review examines how aromatic compounds found in plastics, pesticides, and antibiotics pollute our environment and how bacteria like Comamonas testosteroni can break them down naturally. The research shows that microplastics are accumulating in oceans and wildlife, causing health problems ranging from physical damage to disruption of metabolism and development. Scientists are exploring ways to use these bacteria and microbiome engineering to create biological cleaning systems that could sustainably treat pollution without adding more chemicals to the environment.

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Actinomycetes in the spotlight: biodiversity and their role in bioremediation

Actinomycetes are bacteria that naturally occur in soil and marine environments and have unique abilities to break down harmful pollutants like heavy metals, oil, pesticides, and dyes. These microorganisms use specialized enzymes and mechanisms to remove or transform toxic substances, making them promising candidates for cleaning up contaminated environments. Combining multiple strains together and using modern genetic engineering could make these bacteria even more effective for large-scale environmental cleanup projects.

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Unlocking the biodegradative potential of native white-rot fungi: a comparative study of fiberbank organic pollutant mycoremediation

Swedish researchers tested 26 types of white-rot fungi to clean up polluted sediments from old pulp and paper mills called fiberbanks. These contaminated sediments contain harmful chemicals and heavy metals. The study found that three fungal species, especially Diplomitoporus crustulinus, were excellent at breaking down pollutants and could tolerate the toxic environment, making them promising for environmental cleanup efforts.

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Bibliometric analysis of global research on white rot fungi biotechnology for environmental application

White rot fungi are special mushrooms that can break down difficult-to-decompose pollutants in soil and water, offering a natural and cost-effective way to clean up environmental contamination. This research study analyzed over 3,900 scientific publications about using these fungi for environmental cleanup from 2003 to 2020. The analysis found that research on white rot fungi has grown significantly, with scientists from China and the USA leading the field, and identified three major application areas: treating biomass waste, removing dyes from wastewater, and cleaning polluted environments.

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Top-down enrichment of oil-degrading microbial consortia reveals functional streamlining and novel degraders

Scientists developed a method to create powerful microbial teams that can break down crude oil more effectively than single microbes. By using enrichment techniques with increasing oil concentrations, they created a streamlined consortium called GT4 that could degrade over 55% of crude oil in one week. The study identified key bacterial players including Microbacterium and discovered new bacteria like Paracandidimonas that can degrade oil, offering promising tools for cleaning up oil-contaminated environments.

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Screening and identification of microbes from polluted environment for azodye (Turquoise blue) decolorization

Textile dyes in wastewater pose serious environmental problems, but certain fungi like Penicillium species can break down turquoise blue dye through natural biological processes. Researchers isolated these fungi from polluted soil and water in Ethiopia and tested their ability to remove dye under different conditions like pH and temperature. The best-performing fungi removed up to 90% of the dye, offering a potential low-cost, environmentally friendly alternative to chemical treatment methods for treating textile industry wastewater.

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