Novel superabsorbent materials from bacterial cellulose

A novel process for the production of superabsorbent materials (hydrogels) from bacterial cellulose (BC) was developed. Prior to crosslinking with a water‐soluble polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA), BC was first carboxymethylated and functionalized with glycidyl methacrylate. The degree of crosslinking influenced the swelling properties of the hydrogels. The use of greater amounts of PEGDA enhanced the formation of a thicker macromolecular network containing fewer capillary spaces in the crosslinked gel. The maximum water retention value of the hydrogels containing 2.5–3.5 mmol of carboxyl groups per gram of gel reached 125 g g^?1 in distilled water, and 29 g g^?1 in saline (0.9% NaCl solution). The highly porous hydrogel architecture with a pore size of 350–600 µm created a high specific surface area. This enables rapid mass penetration in superabsorbent applications. The superabsorbent hydrogels reached 80% of their maximum water absorption capacity in 30 min. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry     

Evaluation of turbulent forced convection of non-Newtonian aqueous solution of CMC/CuO nanofluid in a tube with twisted tape inserts

The present paper investigates the turbulent flow and heat transfer of non-Newtonian aqueous solution of Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and CuO nanoparticles in a plain tube and also tube with twisted tape inserts. The aqueous solution of CMC and CuO/CMC nanofluid show a shear-thinning (pseudo-plastic) rheological behavior, resulting in a higher viscosity than that of water. The consistency index and the power law index are evaluated based on available experimental data. The single phase approach with temperature dependent thermo-physical properties is applied to simulate the nanofluid flow and heat transfer. Simulation results are presented at different nanoparticle concentrations and twisted tape ratios. Only an axial flow is identified in the plain tube whereas both axial and swirl flows are detected in the tube with twisted tape inserts. The turbulence kinetic energy in the tube with twisted tapes is significantly higher than that in the plain one, which is useful for non-Newtonian fluid with higher viscosity. Also, the temperature fields in the tube with twisted tapes are disturbed relative to those in the plain one, due to stronger turbulence intensity and better fluid mixing. Higher amounts of nanoparticles concentration and lower twist ratios, giving maximum values of total efficiency, display the advantage of using non-Newtonian nanofluid in the tube with twisted tape inserts rather than non-Newtonian base fluid in the plain one.     

Structures and mechanical properties of electrospun cellulose nanofibers/poly(ε-caprolactone) composites

Poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) is one of the ecofriendly biodegradable polymers with excellent moldability but with rather low mechanical properties especially for the industrial and biomedical use. In this research, to overcome the problem, the two types of cellulose nanofibers, the cellulose acetate nanofibers (CA-NF) and the cellulose nanofibers (C-NF), were composited into PCL for the enhancement of the mechanical properties of PCL. CA-NF were prepared by electrospinning and converted into C-NF afterward by deacetylation. It was found that the Young's modulus of the CA-NF/PCL composite at the fiber concentration of 35 wt% significantly increased by ~3 times as compared with that of neat PCL, whereas C-NF/PCL of the same fiber concentration also increased by ~4.5 times. It was also found that the Young's moduli of CA-NF/PCL nearly reached the theoretical values calculated by the equation suggested by Tsai, but that the Young's moduli of C-NF/PCL could not reach the theoretical values. It indicates that CA-NF possessed better compatibility with PCL than C-NF, agreeing well with the fracture-surface analyses of the two composites by the scanning electron microscopy.     

Efficiency,mechanism and microbial community of Cd(II) removal by mixed bacteria enriched from heavy metals mine soil

Mixed bacteria were enriched from heavy metals mine soil for cadmium (Cd(II))-containing wastewater treatment. Batch adsorption experiment results showed that the optimal pH, temperature, initial Cd(II) concentration, and biomass dosage were 6.0, 30 °C, 20 mg/L, and 1 g/L, respectively. Living biomass exhibited better Cd(II) removal efficiency (91.97%) than autoclaved biomass (79.54%) under optimal conditions. The isotherms and kinetics of living biomass conformed to the Langmuir isotherm model and pseudo-first-order kinetic model, respectively. FTIR results implied that amine groups, hydroxyl groups and phosphoric acid play an important role in the Cd(II) adsorption process, while XRD results showed that crystalline Cd(OH)₂ and CdO were obtained. After Cd(II)-containing wastewater treatment exposure, the dominant bacteria genera included Comamonas (39.94%), unclassified_f__Enterobacteriaceae (34.96%), Ochrobactrum (14.07%), Alcaligenes (4.84%), Bordetella (2.07%), Serratia (1.04%), and Bacillus (1.01%). Function prediction showed that the abundance of metabolic genes changed significantly. This study proposes the potential application of mixed bacteria for Cd(II)-containing wastewater treatment.     

Amino-functionalized magnetic bacterial cellulose/activated carbon composite for Pb2+ and methyl orange sorption from aqueous solution

A new nanostructured amino-functionalized magnetic bacterial cellulose/activated carbon(BC/AC)composite bioadsorbent(AMBCAC)was prepared for removal of Pb~(2+)and methyl orange(MO)from aqueous solution.The results demonstrated that the equilibrium adsorption capacity(q_e)for Pb~(2+)obviously increases by 2.14 times after introduction of amino groups,the optimum p H for Pb~(2+)and MO adsorption was 5.0 and 3.0,respectively,and the q_eof AMBCAC was 161.78 mg g~(-1)for Pb~(2+)and 83.26 mg g~(-1)for MO under the optimal conditions in this investigation.The kinetics and adsorption isotherm data of the sorption process were well fitted by pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm respectively.The thermodynamic results(the Gibbs free energy change G0,the enthalpy change H0,the entropy change S0)implied that the adsorption process of Pb~(2+)and MO was feasible,endothermic and spontaneous in nature.These results support that the AMBCAC composite developed in this work can provide a cheap and efficient way for easy removal of both Pb~(2+)and MO as a promising adsorbent candidate for wastewater treatment.     

Hydrogen photocatalytic production from the self-assembled films of PAH/PAA/TiO2 supported on bacterial cellulose membranes

The issues related to renewable energy sources is a matter of great worldwide appeal due to the increasing energy demand, instability in oil prices and environmental problems. In this context, the purpose of this study was to prepare self-assembled films of polyallylamine hydrochloride and poly (acrylic acid) supported onto bacterial cellulose membranes by a layer-by-layer approach with titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanoparticles and different concentrations of gold for application in hydrogen gas (H₂) production by photocatalysis. The influence of the gold concentration and the presence and size of the gold nanoparticles (Au NPs), as well as the surface and thickness of the films on H₂ production was investigated. The results showed that the film, prepared with a lower concentration of gold, presented the smallest Au NPs and, therefore, greater contact with the TiO₂ nanoparticle surfaces, producing more H₂. By analyzing the variation in all the experimental parameters used in the preparation of the films, it can be concluded that the best H₂ production achieved was 29.12 μmol h^?1 cm².     

Effect of processing conditions on wood and glass fiber length attrition during twin screw composite compounding

In this study, we compare the effect of twin-screw extrusion processing on the attrition of wood fibers (WFs) with glass fiber. The effects of process variables and screw design on fiber length were investigated by performing a range of dead-stop experiments where the extruder was stopped, opened-up, and compound removed from the screw elements. Fibers, chemically extracted from the polypropylene matrix, were analyzed for length and width using a commercial fiber analyzer. It was found that WF length attrition and composite properties were less affected by screw design and twin-screw processing conditions (feed rate and screw speed) than glass fiber. Length weighted fiber length and X50 length (a measure used in particle size analysis) were equally correlated with process conditions and composite performance for both fiber types. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137, 48551.     

In-Situ Investigation on Nanoscopic Biomechanics of Streptococcus mutans at Low pH Citric Acid Environments Using an AFM Fluid Cell

Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) is widely regarded as the main cause of human dental caries via three main virulence factors: adhesion, acidogenicity, and aciduricity. Citric acid is one of the antibiotic agents that can inhibit the virulence capabilities of S. mutans. A full understanding of the acidic resistance mechanisms (ARMs) causing bacteria to thrive in citrate transport is still elusive. We propose atomic force microscopy (AFM) equipped with a fluid cell to study the S. mutans ARMs via surface nanomechanical properties at citric acid pH 3.3, 2.3, and 1.8. Among these treatments, at pH 1.8, the effect of the citric acid shock in cells is demonstrated through a significantly low number of high adhesion zones, and a noticeable reduction in adhesion forces. Consequently, this study paves the way to understand that S. mutans ARMs are associated with the variation of the number of adhesion zones on the cell surface, which is influenced by citrate and proton transport. The results are expected to be useful in developing antibiotics or drugs involving citric acid for dental plaque treatment.     

Lactic fermentation of cooked navy beans by Lactobacillus paracasei CBA L74 aimed at a potential production of functional legume-based foods

In recent years, scientific interest in the development of non-dairy-based functional foods is increasing progressively and the fermentation of cereals, legumes, fruits and vegetable-based foods is becoming an important scientific research topic for the production of new probiotic products. In particular, legumes represent a possible alternative to protein foods from animal origins and an adequate fermentation substrate as they contain high amount of nutrients, such as proteins, carbohydrates, fibres, vitamins, and minerals, which are all useful to the growth and metabolic activity of certain microorganisms. This work focuses on the feasibility of developing a dry legume-based functional product using a fermentation process carried out on a 10% w/v navy bean suspension, in a lab-scale stirred batch reactor. After soaking and cooking dried navy beans, the fermentation tests performed on the resulting medium using Lactobacillus paracasei CBA L74 showed a maximum bacterial count of 10⁹ CFU/mL after 20 hours and a maximum lactic acid concentration of 1.9 g/L after 16 hours of process time. A freeze-drying process was performed on the fermented bean suspension, showing a 2-log microbial reduction and a bacterial viability in the resulting probiotic powder of 3.7 × 10⁸ CFU/g.     

Synthesis and characterization of cellulose nanowhisker-reinforced-poly(ε-caprolactone) scaffold for tissue-engineering applications

Poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) is a bioresorbable and biocompatible polymer with assorted medical applications. However, remarkable hydrophobicity and nonosteoconductivity have stood as a barrier to limit its applications. The present study aims to modify the bulk characteristics of PCL to develop a polymeric scaffold with adequate structural and mechanical properties to support regenerated tissues. For this purpose, functionalized bacterial cellulose nanowhiskers (BCNW-g-βCD-PCL₂₀₀₀) are synthesized. Reinforcing PCL matrix with 4 wt % of the nanowhiskers resulted in a bionanocomposite with promoted bulk properties. Compared to neat PCL, the obtained bionanocomposite shows improvements of 115 and 51% in tensile strength and Young's modulus, respectively; 20% increase in hydrophilicity; 7% increase in degradation rate; and 6% decrease in crystallinity. Gas foaming/combined particulate leaching technique is used to develop highly porous structures of 86–95% porosity with interconnected macropores of mean pore diameters of 250–420 μm. Porous scaffolds showed compression modulus values of 5.3–9.1 MPa and would have promising applications in regenerative medicine. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137, 48481.