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Processes
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Microbial Bioremediation of Environmental Pollution (2nd Edition)
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Microbial Bioremediation of Environmental Pollution (2nd Edition)

A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental and Green Processes".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 April 2025 | Viewed by 8251

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Petronela Cozma

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Environmental Engineering and Management, “Cristofor Simionescu” Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Protection, “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iasi, 700050 Iasi, Romania
Interests: biosorption; bioaccumulation; phytoremediation of heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants; risk assessment; sustainable industrial production
Dr. Raluca Maria Hlihor

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Horticultural Technologies, Faculty of Horticulture, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” Iasi University of Life Sciences, 700490 Iasi, Romania
Interests: heavy metals; environmental biotechnology; bioremediation; biosorption and bioaccumulation; environmental impact assessment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

An alarming growth of various and complex classes of environmental contaminants is currently one of the most severe global threats to biotic and abiotic components. Still, traditional remediation processes (in situ and ex situ) have shown limitations over time related to a prolonged remediation time, reduced pollutant removal, nature disturbances such as, for example, high land cover for a long period of time, and unpleasant odors in the environment. Remediation processes assisted by microorganisms in different scenarios (single microorganism interaction, plant–microorganism synergism, etc.) form the basis of the so-called bioremediation process. The versatility of microorganisms in eliminating toxic pollutants enables bioremediation as an innovation that can be successfully implemented under various water and soil conditions/configurations. Researchers are consequently looking to discover new bioremediation technologies to achieve the best results without the limitations posed by traditional bioremediation. Despite the extensive research being carried out worldwide, many features of microorganism-assisted bioremediation are still not understood and remain unexplored. This is most likely due to the multitude of available microorganisms and critical factors that should be carefully tested and evaluated for a successful microbial bioremediation.

This second Special Issue on “Microbial Bioremediation of Environmental Pollution” aims to be a collection of research covering all aspects related to novel applications of microorganisms in bioremediation. This Special Issue will bring together high-quality research articles comprising different aspects of recent advances in microbial remediation. Topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Microbial remediation of persistent pollutants;
  • Micro- and nano-plastic bioremediation;
  • Behavior of microorganisms to enhance bioremediation;
  • Sustainability in bioremediation processes;
  • Phyto-microbial remediation.

Dr. Petronela Cozma
Dr. Raluca Maria Hlihor
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Processes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • persistent pollutants
  • detoxifying mechanisms
  • microbial interactions
  • microbial-based technologies
  • environmental pollution
  • sustainable technologies

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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23 pages, 4599 KiB  
Article
Eco-Friendly Degradation of Natural Rubber Powder Waste Using Some Microorganisms with Focus on Antioxidant and Antibacterial Activities of Biodegraded Rubber
by Nahed A. EL-Wafai, Aya M. I. Farrag, Howaida M. Abdel-Basit, Mohamed I. Hegazy, Soha Talal Al-Goul, Mada F. Ashkan, Diana A. Al-Quwaie, Fatimah S. Alqahtani, Shimaa A. Amin, Mohamed N. Ismail, Abbas A. Yehia and Khaled A. El-Tarabily
Processes 2023, 11(8), 2350; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11082350 - 4 Aug 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2417
Abstract
Natural rubber (NR) powder wastes contribute to the pollution of the environment and pose a risk to human health. Therefore, Escherichia coli AY1 and Aspergillus oryzae were used to degrade NR in the present investigation. The biodegradation was further confirmed using E. coli [...] Read more.
Natural rubber (NR) powder wastes contribute to the pollution of the environment and pose a risk to human health. Therefore, Escherichia coli AY1 and Aspergillus oryzae were used to degrade NR in the present investigation. The biodegradation was further confirmed using E. coli AY1 and A. oryzae’s ability to create biofilm, which grew on the surface of the NR. Additionally, the biodegraded NR was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), attenuated total reflection–Fourier transform infrared (ATR–FTIR) spectroscopy, and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The highest weight loss (69%) of NR was detected (p < 0.05) after 210 d of incubation with the mixed microbial culture (E. coli AY1 + A. oryzae). In the SEM, the surface of the control treatment appeared uniform and normal, whereas the surface of the microbial treatment displayed an irregular shape, with apparent particle deformation and surface erosion. After biodegradation by E. coli AY1 and A. oryzae, the particle size range of the untreated NR dropped from (5.367–9.623 µm) to (2.55–6.549 µm). After treating NR with E. coli AY1 and A. oryzae, new bands appeared in the ATR–FTIR technique; others shifted down in the range of 3910–450 cm−1, suggesting the existence of active groups belonging to alcohol, secondary amine, aromatic amine, conjugated anhydride, aldehyde, alkene, and halo compounds. On the other hand, the GC–MS profile reports a significant decline (p < 0.05) in the amount of hydrocarbons while simultaneously reporting a significant increase (p < 0.05) in the proportion of oxygenated, sulfurous, and nitrogenous compounds. These active groups are attributed to the antioxidant and antibacterial properties of biodegraded NR by a mixture of E. coli AY1 and A. oryzae, which rose 9-fold (p < 0.05) compared to untreated NR. Through the use of this research, we will be able to transform NR waste into a valuable product that possesses both antioxidant and antibacterial properties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Bioremediation of Environmental Pollution (2nd Edition))
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12 pages, 5152 KiB  
Article
Study on the Remediation of Pyrene-Contaminated Soil with Surfactants and their Mechanisms
by Liang Shen, Yifang Liu, Jiabao Gong and Erle Qiao
Processes 2023, 11(7), 2199; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11072199 - 22 Jul 2023
Viewed by 1172
Abstract
Soil is the main aggregation site of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and an important pathway of migration to other media. In this paper, the adsorption behavior of pyrene and seven different types of surfactants on kaolinite surfaces was studied by molecular dynamics simulation and [...] Read more.
Soil is the main aggregation site of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and an important pathway of migration to other media. In this paper, the adsorption behavior of pyrene and seven different types of surfactants on kaolinite surfaces was studied by molecular dynamics simulation and desorption testing. The molecular dynamics simulation results showed that pyrene was more easily adsorbed on the 001 (-) side of kaolinite. SDBS, SDS, TW80, and TX-100 had strong interactions with pyrene, encapsulating pyrene molecules in aggregates. However, when the concentration of surfactant was too high, the desorption of pyrene molecules on a kaolinite surface will be inhibited. The desorption of pyrene molecules will be inhibited in the presence of BS-12, TW80, and TX-100, while the desorption process can be promoted by using CTAC, DDBAC, SDBS, and SDS as soil remediation agents. The removal rate of pyrene gradually increased with the increase of SDS dosage, while for SDBS, the removal rate showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing. When the concentration of SDS was 0.014 mol/L, the elution rate of pyrene reached 72.86%. The molecular dynamics simulation results were similar to the desorption test results, verifying the reliability of molecular dynamics simulation. The research results provide theoretical support for the selection of surfactants in the remediation process of pyrene-contaminated soil. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Bioremediation of Environmental Pollution (2nd Edition))
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Review

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38 pages, 3349 KiB  
Review
Bio-Recovery of Metals through Biomining within Circularity-Based Solutions
by Petronela Cozma, Camelia Bețianu, Raluca-Maria Hlihor, Isabela Maria Simion and Maria Gavrilescu
Processes 2024, 12(9), 1793; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12091793 - 23 Aug 2024
Viewed by 4004
Abstract
Given the current highest demand in history for raw materials, there is a growing demand for the recovery of key metals from secondary sources, in order to prevent metal depletion and to reduce the risk of toxic discharges into the environment. This paper [...] Read more.
Given the current highest demand in history for raw materials, there is a growing demand for the recovery of key metals from secondary sources, in order to prevent metal depletion and to reduce the risk of toxic discharges into the environment. This paper focuses on the current nature-based solutions (i.e., biomining and bioleaching) applied to resource recovery (metals) from solid matrices. Biomining exploits the potential of microorganisms to facilitate the extraction and recovery of metals from a wide range of waste materials as an interesting alternative, replacing primary raw materials with secondary material resources (thus improving metal recycling rates in the context of the circular economy). Special attention was paid to the analysis of metal biomining from a process sustainability perspective. In this regard, several supporting tools (e.g., life cycle assessment, LCA), developed to assist decision-makers in the complex process of assessing and scaling-up remediation projects (including biomining), were discussed. The application of LCA in biomining is still evolving, and requires comprehensive case studies to improve the methodological approach. This review outlines the fact that few studies have focused on demonstrating the environmental performance of the biomining process. Also, further studies should be performed to promote the commercial opportunities of biomining, which can be used to recover and recycle metals from solid matrices and for site remediation. Despite some important disadvantages (poor process kinetics; metal toxicity), biomining is considered to be a cleaner approach than conventional mining processes. However, implementing it on a large scale requires improvements in regulatory issues and public acceptance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Bioremediation of Environmental Pollution (2nd Edition))
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