Many heme enzymes show remarkable versatility and atypical kinetics. The fungal extracellular enzyme chloroperoxidase (CPO) characterizes a variety of one and two electron redox reactions in the presence of hydroperoxides. A structural counterpart, found in mammalian microsomal cytochrome P450 (CYP), uses molecular oxygen plus NADPH for the oxidative metabolism (predominantly hydroxylation) of substrate in conjunction with a redox partner enzyme, cytochrome P450 reductase. In this study, we employ the two above-mentioned heme-thiolate proteins to probe the reaction kinetics and mechanism of heme enzymes. Hitherto, a substrate inhibition model based upon non-productive binding of substrate (two-site model) was used to account for the inhibition of reaction at higher substrate concentrations for the CYP reaction systems. Herein, the observation of substrate inhibition is shown for both peroxide and final substrate in CPO catalyzed peroxidations. Further, analogy is drawn in the “steady state kinetics” of CPO and CYP reaction systems. New experimental observations and analyses indicate that a scheme of competing reactions (involving primary product with enzyme or other reaction components/intermediates) is relevant in such complex reaction mixtures. The presence of non-selective reactive intermediate(s) affords alternate reaction routes at various substrate/product concentrations, thereby leading to a lowered detectable concentration of “the product of interest” in the reaction milieu. Occam's razor favors the new hypothesis. With the new hypothesis as foundation, a new biphasic treatment to analyze the kinetics is put forth. We also introduce a key concept of “substrate concentration at maximum observed rate”. The new treatment affords a more acceptable fit for observable experimental kinetic data of heme redox enzymes.

The amount of Paper Board Mill Effluent Treatment Plant Sludge (PBM-ETPS) dumped from paper mills are huge and its conversion into hydrochar for the purpose of energy has broad prospects. this study investigated the optimum conditions for the production of PBM-ETPS derived hydrochar (PBM-ETPSH) through Reponse Surface Methodology (RSM) for more surface area and pore volume with minimal hydrogen to carbon (H/C) and oxygen to carbon (O/C) ratios. The PBM-ETPSH had higher heating value (HHV) of 18.39 MJ kg −1 with fixed carbon percentage of 15.6. Our results showed a reduction in H/C (35.05%) and O/C (43.7%) ratios confirming the coalification of optimized PBM-ETPSH. Thermogravimetric investigations of blending PBM-ETPSH with coal in 1:1 ratio increased its HHV to 22.25 MJ kg −1 making it suitable as an energy alternative for paper mills.

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Recently, hydrothermal carbonization emerges as the most viable option for the management of solid waste with high moisture content. Sludge derived hydrochar is used as an adsorbent for emerging contaminants or micro-pollutants in the domain of sustainability. Current study demonstrates the KOH activation of hydrochar produced from paper board mill sludge and evaluates its removal potential of a Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, Diclofenac from aqueous solution. The activated hydrochars exhibited porous, spherical micro-structures with higher fraction of oxygenated functional groups paving way for the efficient adsorption of Diclofenac. The effect of initial Diclofenac concentration and contact time was ascertained using adsorption kinetics and isotherms. The adsorption kinetics exhibited second-order reaction for all adsorbents indicating higher coefficient of determination (R2 > 0.9). The Diclofenac adsorption on hydrochars followed Langmuir isotherm model with the post-activated hydrochar recording a highest adsorption capacity of 37.23 mg g−1 in 40 mg L−1 initial Diclofenac concentration at 15 h equilibrium time.

Sheath blight of rice caused by Rhizoctonia solani Kuhn is an important soil-borne disease throughout the rice-producing areas of the world. Twenty-nine bacterial endophytes were isolated from different plant sources and tested for their efficacy against R. solani inciting sheath blight in rice. Bacillus subtilis var. amyloliquefaciens (FZB24) caused a maximum 36% inhibition of R. solani over the control in vitro. Rice plants (cv. ADT 39) treated with FZB24, in combination with seed treatment @ 4 g kg 21 , seedling dip @ 4 g l 21 , soil application @ 500 g ha 21 and foliar application @ 500 g ha 21 , gave the lowest severity of sheath blight (33%) with around 55% reduction over the control under glasshouse conditions. In addition, the B. subtilis (FZB24) treated rice plants showed higher induction of defence-related enzymes, peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase and phenylalanine ammonia lyase, and resulted in higher accumulation of total phenols than in the untreated control plants. The endophytetreated rice plots had a significantly lower intensity of sheath blight than untreated control plots and also recorded a higher grain and straw yield.

Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) has proven to be a phytolith-occluded carbon (PhytOC)-rich species that plays a vital role in acting as a carbon sink for reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) concentration. The present research estimated the silicon, phytolith, and PhytOC contents in four (OP4), eight (OP8), and fifteen (OP15)-year-old oil palm plantations. Qualitative analysis using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) revealed the presence of abundant globular echinate phytoliths with varied diameter (8.484−10.18 μm) in fronds, empty fruit bunches, and roots. Furthermore, a wide band (400−490 cm −1 ) underlined a higher relative abundance of Si−OH groups in empty fruit bunches, fronds, and roots, which emphasized the amorphous nature of silica. Quantitative analysis revealed that the phytolith (phytolith/dry biomass), PhytOC (PhytOC/phytolith), and PhytOC (PhytOC/dry biomass) contents in all oil palms differed significantly (p < 0.05) and increased with age. The PhytOC stock showed significant variation, with the trend of OP15 > OP8 > OP4. The belowground biomass of OP4 (16.43 g kg −1 ) and OP8 (17.13 g kg −1 ) had a maximum PhytOC concentration compared to the aboveground biomass, and the belowground proportion varied from 20.62 to 20.65%. The study demonstrated a positive correlation between the phytolith and PhytOC contents of oil palm; thereby, oil palm should be cultivated for enhanced long-term sequestration as a phytolith accumulator.

Distillery spentwash contains all nutrients and organic matter and used in agriculture as a source of plant nutrients and irrigation water. Besides all the nutrients, spentwash contains appreciable amount of nitrogen also. The effect of different levels and methods of spentwash application on soil nitrogen dynamics was examined through a field experiment. The field experiment was conducted using Groundnut (Arachis hypogea L.) as a test crop. At all stages of groundnut growth, the amounts of NH 4-N and NO 3-N were greater in soil that received 120 m 3 of spentwash with the recommended dose of NP fertilizers. Results shown that the spentwash not only adds mineral N (NH 4-N and NO 3-N) to soil, but also promotes the mineralization of soil organic N, thus resulting in large amounts of NH 4-N and NO 3-N in soil. The present study was, therefore, undertaken to study the nitrogen dynamics in soil under spentwash application and its impact on soil, crop and environmental quality.

Aim: To explore the potential of water hyacinth biomass as a low cost adsorbent for sequestrating chromium ions from aqueous solution. Methodology: The biosorption behavior of chromium ions (Cr(III) and Cr(VI)) from aqueous solution by powdered water hyacinth biomass was assessed through series of batch experiments using advanced instrumentation techniques like Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis and Fourier Transform Infra-Red spectroscopy, pH zero point charge. The equilibrium relationship between sorbent and sorbate was determined in solution by using the isotherms Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin models. Results: The optimum pH for Cr(III) and Cr(VI) adsorption was 5.0 and 2.0 whereas the maximum Cr(III) and Cr(VI) adsorption was 99.80 and 89.15%, respectively. Langmuir isotherm fitted the data well with R2 value of 0.999 for both Cr(III) and Cr(VI) by the biosorbent. Adsorption kinetics showed that the experimental data fitted the pseudo second order kinetic model with R2 value of 0.999 for both Cr(III) and Cr(VI). The EDX spectra peaks of Ca, O, C indicated the presence of functional groups such as –OH and –COOH in the biosorbent. The zeta potential analysis depicted that water hyacinth biomass had negative surface charge of (-) 23.5mV. Interpretation: Water hyacinth based biosorbent can be utilized for the removal of Cr ions from industrial waste water. Further, water hyacinth has additional advantage that it reduces or even eliminates the diverse impact of weeds on the environment. Key words: Biosorption, Chromium removal, Water hyacinth