Environmental microbiotechnology Flashcards
what are organohalogens
class of organic compounds that contain at least one halogen (fluorine [F], chlorine [Cl], bromine [Br], or iodine [I]) bonded to carbon.
what are DTDs
pesticides - bad
what are PCBs
industrial products/chemicals - bad
an example of a bed chemical in water that is removed
phenols
what else is removed from water in waste water treatment
remove high BOD compounds - biological oxygen demand - measures the amount of organic carbons that bacteria can oxidise
what is nitrification
oxidation of ammonia to nitrite, then nitrite to nitrate
what is denitrification
organic matter is oxidised to produce nitrogen gas - harmless to the atmosphere
nitrate reduced to nitrogen
what is the Anammox process
nitrification and denitrification where you start with ammonia and end with nitrogen (giving out water)
nitrite can be used to oxidise ammonium - you don’t need oxygen - use the intermediate
what is kuenenia stuttgartiensis
a bacterium that contains an anammoxosome
what happens in the anammoxosome
anaerobic oxidation of nitrite
what are the advantages of the anammox process
don’t need oxygen
88% less co2 produced
90% reduction in operation costs
what are xenobiotics
synthetic compounds with no obvious counterparts in the natural world - we make them - foreign - introduced
3 examples of xenobiotics
pesticides, fertilisers, PAHs - from combustion processes
what is biomagnification
when a substance accumulates in the fats of larger animals as it moves through the food chain eg DDD in ducks from the water x1000 conc
why is a mixture of microos better at degrading organic compounds rather than a pure culture
all have different degradation properties
one could partially degrade, then another could take over
some might be more sensitive than others
many xenobiotics are mixed with heavy metals, what does this mean for the degradation
slows down the degradation process as gram +ive and -ive are sensitive to toxic metals
what is bioremediation
organisms used to eliminate environmental contamination eg. oil spills
what does in situ mean
relies on microorganisms indigenous to the site of contamination - organisms are natural - found there anyay
what are common limiting factors to the microorganisms doing the degrading
nitrogen, phosphorus, oxygen - fertilisers added to encourage degradation
what is Ab
a bacterium that preferably uses alkane hydrocarbons as substrates - likes exclusively on alkanes
name the alkanes
methane
ethane
propane
butane
what are pseudomonas
gram -ive bacteria
abundant in soil, very metabolically versatile, inc. hydrocarbons
what do pseudomonas contain
a catabolic plasmid that is self transmissable
what is the benzine ring
a major building block in nature, found in lignin
what are AHs and an example
Aromatic Hydrocarbons eg benzene
what are AH’s degraded to
catechol
what are the two pathways that can be induced depending on different benzene and catechol derivatives and where do the products feed into
ortho-cleavage pathway - Acetyl CoA + succinate
meta-cleavage pathway - Acetaldehyde + pyruvic acid
feed into central metabolism - TCA cycle (Krebs cycle)
where would anaerobic degradation have to occur
in waterlogged places/ rubbish tips
what is toluene and how is it degraded
an aromatic hydrocarbon
oxidised to Co2 using iron as the e- acceptor
what technique is used to recover metals from their ore
bioleaching - solubilisation by acid production
what technique is used for recovery of precious metals
bioaccumulation - microos accumulate them due to -ive surface charge
