Reducing Ammonia Levels Research Articles

Hydrothermal decomposition and oxidation of p-nitroaniline in supercritical water

The decomposition kinetics and nitrogen speciation of p-nitroaniline (pNA) were investigated at supercritical water conditions in the absence/presence of oxygen. A tubular flow reactor system was used at the temperature ranges 385–440°C and 380–420°C for hydrothermal (oxygen absent) and oxidation experiments, respectively. The destruction of pNA significantly occurred in the absence of oxygen. The hydrothermal decomposition rate had an activation energy of (1.59 ± 0.25) × 10 5 J/mol and was first-order with pNA. The formation of oxygen (O 2), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO 2), and nitrogen (N 2) indicated that the nitro group in the decomposed pNA drove oxidation in the absence of oxygen. Appreciable quantity of ammonia and traces of nitrite and nitrate were formed. Oxygen enhanced the pNA destruction, although its effect did not show explicitly in the oxidation rate expression. The activation energy of the oxidation was (1.28 ± 0.35) × 10 5 J/mol. Also, in the presence of oxygen, ammonia was formed only in trace quantities. The reduction of ammonia level was attributable to the potential ammonia oxidation by the nitro group of the decomposed pNA. It follows from this result that nitro group-containing compounds may be cooxidized with other nitrogen containing substances to reduce the production of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate in supercritical water oxidation processes.

Batch cultures of a hybridoma cell line performed with in situ ammonia removal

Batch cultures of a mouse/mouse hybridoma cell line secreting a dimeric IgA were performed in combination with a membrane process for the continuous removal of ammonia from the culture medium. The latter involves hydrophobic porous membranes with an associated pH gradient. The process was shown to be efficient reducing the ammonia concentration by approximately 50% by comparison to control experiments. Two series of experiments were performed with an initial glutamine concentration of 4 m m and 10 m m, respectively. The growth characteristics, antibody productivity, and quality of antibody assayed by Western blotting were not changed by ammonia removal; however, the cellular energy metabolism was affected by reduction of ammonia levels. At the lower initial glutamine concentration, ammonia removal caused an increased glutamine consumption and reduced lactate production. No effect upon glucose uptake was observed, thus resulting in a considerably reduced yield of lactate from glucose. At the high initial glutamine concentration, the reduced ammonia concentration led to a decrease in glucose and glutamine consumption as well as lactate production. This resulted in only a slight increase in the yield of lactate from glucose. Despite the abundance of literature concerning ammonia inhibition of mammalian cell cultures, little has been reported concerning the effect of continuous ammonia removal from such cultures.

Biological Filter for Conical Tanks

Abstract An inexpensive biological filter was developed to fit 150-L conical tanks used for larval fish feeding and salinity studies. The filter has maintained acceptable ammonia levels over long periods of time, reducing stress on the larvae caused by the water exchanges previously needed to reduce ammonia levels.

Ammonia in Finnish Poultry Houses: Effects of Litter on Ammon. Levels and Their Reduction by Technical Binding Agents

Air impurities, mainly ammonia, were studied in cage- and floor-laying poultry houses. Ammonia caused hygienic problems because insufficient ventilation, especially in winter. The effects of different litter materials on ammonia levels were first assessed in the laboratory. The materials that performed best in the laboratory were tested in three cage-laying and three floor-laying houses. According to laboratory tests, peat, superphosphate, and Stalosan were the best materials. Vermiculite and Enso® bark, made of pine bark and need also were tested in poultry houses. Average ammonia concentrations were 24.6 ppm in cage-laying houses and 44.2 ppm in floor-laying hour without the use of litter. Peat was the best litter in preventing ammonia release from the manure, the major source of ammonia vapor. P diminished the airborne ammonia by 62%, and the reduction in ammonia concentration was statistically significant in two poultry houses p<0.001 and p<0.01). Superphosphate lowered the ammonia level by 20%, which was not statistically significant. Vermiculite lowered 28% and Enso bark maximally by 9%, diminutions which were not statistically significant. The ventilation rate varied from 2.1 to 13.0 m3/hr. The air concentration of ammonia correlated poorly with the ventilation rate according to the linear regression analysis. The carbon dioxide concentration showed a high correlation with the ammonia concentration. The ammonia concentrations were high compared to the TLV® stressing the need for use of litter in order to reduce ammonia levels in poultry houses.

Urea cycle regulation: I. Coupling of ornithine metabolism to mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation.

Ornithine metabolism is coupled to oxidative phosphorylation in isolated rat liver mitochondria. The pathway involving ornithine: alpha-ketoglutarate transaminase (OKT), glutamic semialdehyde dehydrogenase (GSDH), and glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) with cycling of alpha-ketoglutarate-glutamate at the OKT reaction appears to be involved. Ornithine may be utilized by this pathway to sustain ATP levels during mitochondrial energy-deficiency states with resultant decreased urea-cycle flux and increased ammonia production. This pathophysiologic mechanism suggests that hyperammonemia is a consequence of an energy-deficiency state. Therapy directed toward alleviating the energy-deficiency state may be more beneficial than efforts to reduce ammonia levels.

The Effect of Agung Semeru Banana Peel Extract as Biostimulation of Indegenous Bacteria in Reducing Ammonia

Ammonia is one of the hazardous compounds, which is contained in the liquid waste of rubber factories. Ammonia waste can cause various kinds of pollution, one of which is water pollution. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the agung semeru banana peel extract as additional nutrition for indigenous bacteria in reducing ammonia levels. This research was conducted in the Biology laboratory, PGRI Argopuro University, Jember. This study uses a simple bioreactor as a tool to determine the decrease in ammonia levels in various treatments. The treatment in this study was using different concentrations of different banana peel extracts (0%, 5%, 10%). Based on the analysis of research data, it showed that Agung Semeru banana peel extract as an additional nutrient for indigenous bacteria was effective in reducing ammonia levels. At 10% banana peel extract concentration, the lowest ammonia level was in the range of 0.25-0.5 compared to the control concentration, namely 2. The higher the concentration of banana peel extract given, the lower the ammonia content in rubber waste.

Blood ammonia levels in hepatic cirrhosis: their control by the oral administration of neomycin.

THE relation between elevated blood ammonia concentrations and the occurrence of hepatic coma has called attention to the sites of ammonia production. The production of ammonia by bacterial enzymatic action upon urea and other nitrogenous compounds in the gastrointestinal tract serves to make this site a major source of blood ammonia.1 This has led several authors2 3 4 to suggest that antibacterial agents effective against intestinal organisms might be beneficial in this type of coma. Silen et al.5 have demonstrated in dogs that ingested neomycin is highly effective in reducing ammonia levels in blood draining various intestinal sites, and subsequently we observed . . .