Nicotine Decontamination of Tobacco Agro-Industrial Waste and Its Degradation by Micro-Organisms

Abstract

A hazardous solid waste is accumulated during the processing of tobacco for the manufacture of cigarettes. Its main characteristics are the high nicotine content as the only toxic compound, and the powdery structure that does not permit recycling. A biotechnological process is proposed to detoxify these powdery tobacco residues. The toxic compound, nicotine, is transferred from the solid phase to an aqueous solution through efficient percolation. Nicotinophilic micro-organisms were screened to evaluate their ability to degrade nicotine directly in the extracted liquid. The biodegradation process was followed by nicotine detection and CO 2 production, while other parameters were determined to assess the correct disposal of the final products. Among three strains used, Pseudomonas putida had the best nicotine degradation performance in this complex medium. © 1997 ISWA

Characterization of a Novel Nicotine Hydroxylase from Pseudomonas sp. ZZ-5 That Catalyzes the Conversion of 6-Hydroxy-3-Succinoylpyridine into 2,5-Dihydroxypyridine

“…Nicotine is the principal alkaloid in tobacco plants, and is responsible for smoking addiction and several diseases such as cancer and pulmonary disease [1][2][3]. The manufacturing of tobacco products and all activities involving tobacco produce large amounts of solid or liquid waste with a high nicotine content.…”

“…The manufacturing of tobacco products and all activities involving tobacco produce large amounts of solid or liquid waste with a high nicotine content. Therefore, nicotine is the primary toxic substance in tobacco wastes [3,4]. These wastes have been designated as "toxic and hazardous wastes" under European Union Regulations [5].…”

Characterization of crude oil-degrading bacteria in a crude oil-contaminated and uncontaminated site in Kuwait

“…In addition, during the past years, composting strategies have been introduced in the bioremediation of contaminated soils by adding high amounts of agro-industrial wastes (pine sawdust, sugarcane bagasse, wheat straw, compost, etc.) for the removal of organic pollutants (Civilini et al [7]). However, the cost of applying the aforementioned bioremediation technologies created a need for cheaper methods.…”

A Novel Gene, Encoding 6-Hydroxy-3-Succinoylpyridine Hydroxylase, Involved in Nicotine Degradation by Pseudomonas putida Strain S16

“…Therefore, detoxification of these tobacco wastes by removal of nicotine is a major challenge. Several microorganisms have been used to degrade and detoxify tobacco wastes (11,39), and the pathway of nicotine degradation in Arthrobacter is the most thoroughly analyzed. The pyridine pathway is preferred in Arthrobacter, which starts with the hydroxylation in the 6-position of the pyridine ring and subsequently splits the pyrrolidine ring.…”

“…In addition, during the manufacture and processing of tobacco products, powdery solid or liquid wastes are generated in high concentrations of nonrecyclable nicotine as the main toxic compound (8,15). Due to its heterocyclic structure, nicotine is soluble in water and can be easily transported to groundwater (11,22). Considering its harmful effects, nicotine was classified as a "toxic release inventory" chemical by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1994 (25).…”