Faculty Publications

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Author: search.filters.author.Raval, K.Subject: search.filters.subject.Fungi

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    Batch and continuous studies on the removal of heavy metals from aqueous solution using biosynthesised melanin-coated PVDF membranes
    (Springer, 2020) Manirethan, V.; Gupta, N.; Mohan Balakrishnan, R.M.; Raval, K.
    Heavy metals like mercury, chromium, lead and copper present in groundwater at lower concentrations cause severe health issues and can even be fatal when consumed. The biopigment/biopolymer melanin can be reaped from different sources like bacterium, fungus, and human hair. It has excellent heavy metal ion scavenging property and can be exploited for non-biological applications, substantially including water purification. In this work, melanin nanoparticles were derived from the marine bacterium Pseudomonas stutzeri and were coated onto hydrophobic polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane as a support, for batch and continuous removal of heavy metal studies. Batch studies on the effect of pH, temperature and adsorbate dose and continuous adsorption studies on the effect of flow rate, adsorbate and adsorbent mass loadings were carried out by using biosynthesised melanin-coated PVDF membranes for the removal of Hg(II), Cr(VI), Pb(II) and Cu(II). Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images revealed the surface morphology, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) deciphered the chemical characteristics of melanin-coated PVDF membranes before and after adsorption. Contact angle measurement confirmed the improvement in hydrophilicity of PVDF membrane upon coating with melanin. The maximum removal percentages of heavy metals achieved by melanin-coated PVDF membranes under batch mode operation were 87.6%, 88.45%, 91.8% and 95.8% for mercury, chromium, lead and copper, respectively optimised at 318 K and pH of 3 for chromium and 5 for other metals. However, the continuous mode of operation with a flow rate of 0.5 mL/min having 1 mg/L of heavy metal solution concentration exposed to 50 mg of melanin loading with a working volume of 200 mL showed better removal efficiencies compared with batch mode. The dynamic studies using Thomas and Yoon–Nelson models described the transient stage of the breakthrough curve and the model constants were calculated for column design and scale-up. © 2019, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.
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    Enhanced degradation of azo dye using mixed cultures of white-rot fungi in a modified rotating packed disc bioreactor and reuse of treated water
    (Elsevier Ltd, 2023) Kalnake, R.P.; Raval, R.; Murthy, D.V.R.; Vanzara, P.B.; Raval, K.
    Reactive azo dyes are toxic and carcinogenic. In this study, mixed cultures of white-rot fungi (WRF) are used to treat synthetic reactive black 5 (RB-5) wastewater in a modified rotating packed disc bioreactor (RPDB). The continuous degradation studies were carried out for 25 days under the influence of the recycle stream in which 3665 L of synthetic effluent was treated. The dye wastewater was completely decolorized with more than 93 % chemical oxygen demand (COD) reduction using the mixed fungal culture. During the continuous operation, the COD of influent reduced more than 85 % for successive 25 days of continuous operation at hydraulic retention time of 10.8 h. The dry biomass loading was about 0.14 g/g GAC at the end of the continuous process. The rate of COD removal followed first order kinetics with a rate constant of 0.026 per hour. The treated water was reused to produce melanin from microbial culture. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd
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    Marine Bacillus haynesii chitinase: Purification, characterization and antifungal potential for sustainable chitin bioconversion
    (Elsevier Ltd, 2024) Govindaraj, V.; Kim, S.-K.; Raval, R.; Raval, K.
    The development of chitinase tailored for the bioconversion of chitin to chitin oligosaccharides has attracted significant attention due to its potential to alleviate environmental pollution associated with chemical conversion processes. In this present investigation, we purified extracellular chitinase derived from marine Bacillus haynesii to homogeneity and subsequently characterized it. The molecular weight of BhChi was approximately 35 kDa. BhChi displayed its peak catalytic activity at pH 6.0, with an optimal temperature of 37 °C. It exhibited stability across a pH range of 6.0–9.0. In addition, BhChi showed activation in the presence of Mn2+ with the improved activity of 105 U mL−1. Ca2+ and Fe2+ metal ions did not have any significant impact on enzyme activity. Under the optimized enzymatic conditions, there was a notable enhancement in catalytic activity on colloidal chitin with Km of 0.01 mg mL−1 and Vmax of 5.75 mmol min−1. Kcat and catalytic efficiency were measured at 1.91 s−1 and 191 mL mg−1 s−1, respectively. The product profiling of BhChi using thin layer chromatography and Mass spectrometric techniques hinted an exochitinase mode of action with chitobiose and N-Acetyl glucosamine as the products. This study represents the first report on an exochitinase from Bacillus haynesii. Furthermore, the chitinase showcased promising antifungal properties against key pathogens, Fusarium oxysporum and Penicillium chrysogenum, reinforcing its potential as a potent biocontrol agent. © 2024