The last 17 years have seen three major outbreaks caused by coronaviruses, with the latest outbreak, COVID-19, declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. The frequency of these outbreaks, their mortality and associated disruption to normal life calls for concerted efforts to understand their occurrence and fate in different environments. There is an increased interest in the occurrence of coronaviruses in wastewater from the perspective of wastewater-based epidemiology. However, there is no comprehensive review of the knowledge on coronavirus occurrence, fate and potential transmission in wastewater.This paper, provides a review of the literature on the occurrence of coronaviruses in wastewater treatment processes. We discuss the presence of viral RNA in feces as a result of diarrhoea caused by gastrointestinal infections. We also reviewed the literature on the presence, survival and potential removal of coronaviruses in common wastewater treatment processes. The detection of infectious viral particles in feces of patients raises questions on the potential risks of infection for people exposed to untreated sewage/wastewater. We, therefore, highlighted the potential risk of infection with coronaviruses for workers in wastewater treatment plants and the public that may be exposed through faulty plumbing or burst sewer networks.The mortalities and morbidities associated with the current COVID-19 pandemic warrants a much more focused research on the role of environments, such as wastewater and surface water, in disease transmission. The current wealth of knowledge on coronaviruses in wastewater based on the reviewed literature is scant and therefore calls for further studies.
a b s t r a c tWhole cell lipase catalysis and microalgal feedstocks make overall biodiesel synthesis greener and sustainable. In this study, a novel approach of whole cell lipase-catalyzed conversion of Scenedesmus obliquus lipids was investigated for biodiesel synthesis. Microalgal biodiesel was characterized for its fuel properties. Optimization of process parameters for immobilized Aspergillus niger whole cell lipasecatalyzed biodiesel synthesis was carried out. Highest biodiesel conversion of 53.76% was achieved from S. obliquus lipids at 35 C, methanol to oil ratio of 5:1 and 2.5% water content based on oil weight with 6 BSPs (Biomass support particles).Step-wise methanol addition was applied to account for methanol tolerance, which improved biodiesel conversion upto 80.97% and gave 90.82 ± 1.43% yield. Immobilized A. niger lipase can be used for 2 batches without significant loss in conversion efficiency. Most of the fuel properties of biodiesel met the specifications set by international standards.
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