Soluble Bio-based Substances Research Articles

Soluble Biobased Substances in soil or Salicylic Acid on leaves affect the foliar pH and soil biovariability of Grapes-as explained by the NIR Spectroscopy of Litterbags and Teabags

The purpose of the trial was to check the effects of two grapevine treatments on the plant activity and on the bioactivity and biovariability of the soil. An alkaline complex of Soluble Biobased Substances (SBS) was used in soil at 30 g per plant in a single solution. Salicylic Acid (SA) was used on leaves at 150 mg l-1 every two weeks at 50 ml plant. The plants were examined for their foliar pH and NIR spectra. The soil bioactivity was monitored by means of hay-Litterbag-NIRS (LBN) in combination with the Teabag Index (TBI), using rooibos and green tea that had been buried for 60 days. The evolution of the TBI presented here concerns the TBI-NIRS spectroscopic method used for discriminant analysis. A new algorithm was used to estimate the soil microbiome from the green Teabag spectra. The obtained results showed that the plants and the soil responded to the treatments. In fact, SBS, but not SA, lowered the leaf pH by 5%, an unexpected and original result. Both treatments increased the variability of the leaf composition, with a lower discrimination, based on the NIR spectra, from the Control (75%) to 44% (SA) and 38% (SBS). The TBI method, which is based on weights, was less efficient (67%) than the TBI-NIRS of rooibos (96%) or the LBN of hay (80%), but it was like the TBI-NIRS of green tea (74%). The LBN analyses indicated that the mycorrhizal index had increased by 8% in SA but had reduced by 7% in SBS, while both treatments reduced the activity of the microbes, which did not affect the soil respiration rate. The mineral N in the soil was substantially raised by about 11÷69%. The Taxa profiles showed marked deviations from the Control. Moreover, the SBS treatment reduced the Glomeromycota by 35%, which matched to the reduction in the mycorrhizal index. The most favored Bacteria from the treatments were Proteobateriaand Actinobacteria, with Mortierellomycota being the most penalized. Neither treatment affected the production, but both delayed the technological maturity by 9-11%, while the SBS retarded the phenolic maturity by about 18%. It has been concluded that a simple treatment of vines can affect the bioactivity in the leaves and berries as well as the biovariability of the soil.

Biostimulant Effects of Waste Derived Biobased Products in the Cultivation of Ornamental and Food Plants

Soluble bio-based substances (SBS) may be isolated from the anaerobic digestate of the organic humid fraction of urban waste; from the whole vegetable compost made from gardening residues and from the compost obtained after aerobic digestion of a mixture of urban waste digestate, gardening residues and sewage sludge. These SBS can be used as sustainable and efficient plant biostimulants in alternatives to the commercial products based on fossil sources such as the Leonardite. The present review summarizes the main findings obtained from recent studies accomplished with the SBS applied on several ornamental (Euphorbia; Lantana; Murraya; Hibiscus) and vegetable species (tomato; red pepper; spinach; maize; bean; wheat; tobacco; oilseed rape) with the aim to evaluate their effect on plant growth; fruit and ornamental quality. The main results from these studies show that the non-commercial SBS are more efficient than commercial fossil-based products; at equal applied doses; in enhancing plant growth; leaf chlorophylls; photosynthetic activity; fruit ripening and yield and aesthetic effect; improving flower and fruit quality and optimizing water use efficiency. Depending upon the plant species, increases of the plant performance indicators ranging from zero to 1750% are reported for the plants cultivated in the presence of SBS, relatively to the control plants cultivated in absence of SBS added to the cultivation substrate. The review suggests that biowaste recycling is a sustainable and environmentally friendly source of plant biostimulants, as an alternative to existing fossil sourced agrochemicals.

Photo-Fenton Degradation of Pentachlorophenol: Competition between Additives and Photolysis.

In the present work, the photo-Fenton degradation of pentachlorophenol (PCP, 1 mg/L) has been studied under simulated and natural solar irradiation; moreover, the effect on the process efficiency of urban waste-derived soluble bio-based substances (SBO), structurally comparable to humic acids, has been investigated. Experiments showed a crucial role of PCP photolysis, present in the solar pilot plant and hindered by the Pyrex® filter present in the solar simulator. Indeed, the SBO screen negatively affects PCP degradation when working under natural solar light, where the photolysis of PCP is relevant. In contrast, in the absence of PCP photolysis, a significant improvement of the photo-Fenton process was observed when added to SBO. Furthermore, SBO were able to extend the application of the photo-Fenton process at circumneutral pH values, due to their ability to complex iron, avoiding its precipitation as oxides or hydroxides. This positive effect has been observed at higher concentration of Fe(II) (4 mg/L), whereas at 1 mg/L, the degradation rates of PCP were comparable in the presence and absence of SBO.

Green Waste-Derived Substances Immobilized on SBA-15 Silica: Surface Properties, Adsorbing and Photosensitizing Activities towards Organic and Inorganic Substrates.

Urban wastes are a potential source of environment contamination, especially when they are not properly disposed. Nowadays, researchers are finding innovative solutions for recycling and reusing wastes in order to favour a sustainable development from the viewpoint of circular economy. In this context, the lignin-like fraction of biomass derived from Green Compost is a cost-effective source of soluble Bio-Based Substances (BBS-GC), namely complex macromolecules/supramolecular aggregates characterized by adsorbing and photosensitizing properties. In this work BBS-GC were immobilized on a silica support (SBA-15) and the chemico-physical properties of the resulting hybrid material (BBS-SBA) were analysed by zeta-potential measurements, nitrogen adsorption at 77K and micro-calorimetric techniques. Successively, the BBS-SBA photosensitizing and adsorption abilities were tested. Adsorption in the dark of Rhodamine B and Orange II on BBS-SBA and their degradation upon irradiation under simulated solar light were shown, together with the formation of hydroxyl radicals detected by Electron Paramagnetic Resonance spectroscopy. Furthermore, the adsorption of six inorganic ions (Al, Ni, Mn, As, Hg, Cr) on BBS-SBA was studied in pure water at two different pH values and in a landfill leachate, showing the good potential of this kind of materials in the removal of wastewater contaminants.

Improving diffusion in agriculture: an agent-based model to find the predictors for efficient early adopters

Proven that the adoption rate of a new product is influenced by the network characteristics of the early adopters, the aim of this paper is to find the network features of the early adopters associated with high adoption rates of a specific new practice: the use of biodegradable mulching films containing soluble bio-based substances derived from municipal solid wastes. We simulated the diffusion process by means of an agent-based model calibrated on real-world data. Closeness and clusterization emerged as the most important network characteristics for early adopters to be successful. The results achieved represent the basis for the breaking down of a tailored diffusion strategy to overcome the psychological and socio-economic barriers of this kind of innovation within an environmental and sustainability-oriented transition policy in a rural context.

Biowaste versus fossil sourced auxiliaries for plant cultivation: The Lantana case study

Abstract Soluble bio-based substances (SBS) were isolated from the anaerobic digestate of the organic humid fraction of urban waste and from the compost obtained from a mix of digestate, gardening residues and sewage sludge. These were compared with a commercial Leonardite-based product for their effects on the growth and productivity of two Lantana species. The SBS were found more powerful than the Leonardite-based product in enhancing plant photosynthesis, growth and aesthetic effect, improving flower quality, and optimizing water use efficiency. Enhancement factors of plant performance indicators by SBS ranged from 1.2 to 3.3 relatively to the control plants, and from 1.3 to 2.4 relatively to plants treated with the commercial Leonardite product at equal applied dose. The results are in line with findings published for other case studies performed with horticultural and ornamental plants. They confirm that municipal biowaste is a viable feedstock to obtain specialty chemicals that can efficiently replace fossil sourced products in agriculture. Options for further development work are discussed.

Ecofriendly manure anaerobic digestion assisted by soluble bio-based substances obtained from anaerobic digestion, composting and chemical hydrolysis of urban bio-wastes. A step toward the integration of urban and agriculture waste management

Ecofriendly manure anaerobic digestion assisted by soluble bio-based substances obtained from anaerobic digestion, composting and chemical hydrolysis of urban bio-wastes. A step toward the integration of urban and agriculture waste management

Waste cleaning waste: Ammonia abatement in bio-waste anaerobic digestion by soluble substances isolated from bio-waste compost

Soluble bio-based substances are isolated from the alkaline hydrolysate of composted urban gardening wastes. These substances are capable to reduce the ammonia content in municipal biowaste anaerobic digestates. The present work reports the anaerobic fermentation of the organic humid fraction of solid municipal biowaste carried out in the presence the above soluble substances, added at 0.05–0.2% concentration in fermentation slurry. The results show that the ammonia in the digestate obtained under these conditions is 70–100% lower than the ammonia present in the digestate of control fermentation without addition of soluble biobased substances. Operational cost savings (up to 1.1 € per abated ammonia N kg) may result for the anaerobic digestion performed in the presence of the above soluble susbtances, compared to conventional technology for the digestate secondary treatment.

Biochemical and chemical technology for a virtuous bio-waste cycle to produce biogas without ammonia and speciality bio-based chemicals with reduced entrepreneurial risk

BACKGROUND Municipal bio-wastes (MBW) yield soluble bio-based substances (SBO) by anaerobic digestion, composting and chemical hydrolysis. The SBO are known valuable products for multiple uses in the chemical industry, agriculture and animal husbandry. The present work investigates a new SBO property, i.e. reducing the ammonia content in MBW anaerobic digestates. Thus, MBW were fermented under anaerobic conditions with 0.05 or 0.20% SBO added. RESULTS Fermentations were carried out at 55 °C for 14 days using nine batch reactors of 6.5 L capacity working in parallel, each containing 4 L MBW slurry (100 g volatile solids). The control and SBO 0.05% reactors produced 70 L of biogas, and 1.2 g and 0.11 g ammonia N, respectively. The SBO 0.20% reactors produced 73 L biogas and a digestate containing 0.32 g less ammonia N than the starting ammonia content. Oxidation of ammonia to N2 promoted by SBO seemed the most likely reason for the ammonia reduction. The process benefits were evaluated in comparison with conventional technology for the abatement of ammonia. CONCLUSIONS Integration of biochemical and chemical technology yielding multipurpose products from MBW is a potentially viable cost-effective feasible route to turn a MBW treatment plant into a biorefinery. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry

Effect of urban biowaste derived soluble substances on growth, photosynthesis and ornamental value of Euphorbia x lomi

Soluble bio-based substances (SBS) isolated from municipal biowastes and a commercial Leonardite-based product were applied as substrate drench or as foliar spray to grow the ornamental hybrid Euphorbia x lomi. The SBS were found more powerful than the commercial Leonardite product in enhancing plant photosynthesis, growth and aesthetic effect, improving flower quality, and optimizing water use efficiency. Enhancement factors of plant performance indicators by SBS ranged from 1.3 to 8.6 relatively to the control plants, and from 1.2 to 4.5 relatively to plants treated with the commercial Leonardite product at equal applied dose. The environmental and economic implication of these results for agriculture, the management of urban wastes, and the chemical industry are discussed.

Photoinduced transformation of waste-derived soluble bio-based substances

Waste-derived, soluble bio-based substances (SBO), are effective low-cost photosensitizers that could find application in pollutant photodegradation. For this reason, it is important to understand if and to what extent irradiation could modify their properties. The exposure of SBO to simulated sunlight induced important spectral and structural modifications. Both the whole material and its acid-soluble fraction were characterized, highlighting several properties in common with humic and fulvic substances, including absorption spectra, specific absorbance and fluorescence behavior. The latter was described with a three-component model using PARAFAC analysis. Irradiation induced SBO photobleaching, but the absorbance of the acid-soluble fraction increased with irradiation. This finding suggests a progressive photochemical solubilization of SBO, which is confirmed by the increase of the carboxylic groups. In addition to absorbance, the fluorescence of whole SBO was also decreased by irradiation, thereby suggesting that both chromophores and fluorophores were photodegraded. The increasingly hydrophilic character given to SBO by irradiation also accounted for the photoinduced decrease of the surfactant properties of the material.

Determination of photostability, biocompatibility and efficiency as photo-Fenton auxiliaries of three different types of soluble bio-based substances (SBO)

The aim of this work is to determine the photostability biocompatibility and efficiency of water soluble bio-based substances (SBO) in photo-oxidative processes for wastewater treatment. Three batches of SBO, isolated from different sources, have been investigated. Differences in the functional groups present in these substances can explain major trends in their physical/chemical properties. Bioassays have proven those materials to be non-toxic but to show poor biodegradability. Their ability to enhance a photo-Fenton process at milder pH (5.2) has been investigated using a mixture of emerging compounds in wastewaters. All the tested SBO were able to remove all pollutants in less than one hour irradiation, and the best results were obtained with those substances showing higher hydrophilic/hydrophobic ratio. Moreover, although SBOs themselves undergo a slight oxidation, no relevant negative effect has been observed for their use in wastewater treatment.

Use of Biowaste-Derived Biosurfactants in Production of Emulsions for Industrial Use

This study reports on the use of soluble biobased organic substances (SBO) with emulsifying properties in the production of oil-in-water emulsions for industrial consumption. One of the potentially interesting applications is in formulation of metalworking fluids, which typically consist of oil-in-water emulsions used in metal manufacturing industries. Soluble biobased substances were collected from urban food and gardening wastes in a waste management plant located in a densely populated area in North Italy. The biowastes were fermented under anaerobic and/or aerobic conditions and then treated chemically to yield four different SBO samples, which were characterized for chemical composition, solution behavior by water surface tension measurements, and ability to form stable 10% oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions. Experiments were carried out to evaluate the hydrophilic–lipophilic balance of emulsions with surfactant concentrations in the 2–8% (w/w) range. Stable emulsions were obtained with at least 3% (w/w) surfactant concentrations. All SBO samples presented the characteristics necessary for acting as emulsifiers, when compared with conventional emulsifiers. According to rheology, particle size, and centrifugation tests, SBO samples isolated from composted biowastes performed better than samples isolated from the digestate of anaerobically fermented biowastes. The product ash content and/or isolation process also affect the emulsifier performance. The effects of the biowaste source, chemical composition, and surface activity on the emulsifier performance were evaluated, indicating the feasibility of attaining stable emulsions with environmental benefits.

Benefits for agriculture and the environment from urban waste

Soluble bio-based substances (SBO) that have been isolated from urban biowaste have recently been reported to enhance plant leaf chlorophyll content and growth. The same SBO have also been shown to enhance the photochemical degradation of organic pollutants in industrial effluent. These findings suggest that SBO may promote either C fixation or mineralization, according to operating conditions. The present work aims to investigate SBO performance, as a function of source material. Thus, three materials have been sampled from a municipal waste treatment plant: (i) the digestate of the anaerobic fermentation of a humid organic fraction, (ii) a whole vegetable compost made from gardening residues and (iii) compost made from a mixture of digestate, gardening residues and sewage sludge. These materials were hydrolyzed at pH13 and 60°C to yield SBO that display different chemical compositions. These products were applied to soil at 30, 145 and 500kgha−1 doses for tomato cultivation. Soil and plant leaf chemical composition, plant growth, leaf chlorophyll content and CO2 exchange rate as well as fruit quality and production rate were measured. Although it did not affect the soil's chemical composition, SBO were found to significantly increase plant photosynthetic activity, growth and productivity up to the maximum value achieved at 145kgha−1. The effects were analyzed as a function of SBO chemical composition and applied dose. The results of this work, compared with those of previous works, indicate that urban biowaste, if properly exploited, may furnish conjugate economic and environmental benefits, within a friendly sustainable ecosystem.

Waste Cleaning Waste: Photodegradation of Monochlorophenols in the Presence of Waste-Derived Photosensitizer

Soluble bio-based substances (SBO) have been isolated from urban waste. Their structural similarity with natural organic matter suggested exploring their activity in the photodegradation of organic...