Sustainable xanthan-based superabsorbent hydrogel with enhanced durability for repeated nitrate remediation in drinking water Mostafa Mahinroosta, Elham Abdollahzadeh Sharghi, Mohammad Pazouki Scientific Reports, 2026 This study focuses on synthesizing and characterizing a superabsorbent hydrogel based on xanthan cross-linked with glycerin. The synthesis tests revealed that the swelling percentage of the hydrogel is greatly influenced by the mass ratios of glycerin-to-xanthan and water-to-xanthan, as well as the curing temperature. The resulting hydrogels exhibited swelling ratios ranging from 52 to 229% after 120 min of immersion in water. Nitrogen adsorption-desorption analysis indicated a specific surface area of 63.78 m 2 /g, a total pore volume of 0.42 cm 3 /g, and an average mesopore diameter of 26.2 nm for the dried hydrogel. Scanning electron microscopy revealed macropores ranging from 50 to 400 μm on the as-synthesized hydrogel’s outer surface. Thermal durability tests showed a mass loss of 0.5% to 1% when the optimal hydrogel was exposed to temperatures between 40 and 160 °C for 1 h, highlighting its high thermal stability. In the nitrate removal tests, the optimal absorbent demonstrated a nitrate removal percentage exceeding 92.4% after 70 min for initial nitrate concentrations of 100, 150, and 200 mg/L, using an absorbent dose of 1 g/L at pH 5. Reusability assessments indicated that the absorbent could maintain approximately 85% of its initial performance after 10 regeneration cycles. The Langmuir isotherm model provided a better fit for the equilibrium nitrate absorption data, with a maximum absorption capacity of 370.37 mg/g. Overall, this study highlights the potential of xanthan-based superabsorbent hydrogel as an eco-friendly and reusable absorbent for nitrate removal from drinking water.
Isolating and Identifying Chromium-Reducing Fungus from Pistachio Shells: Investigation on Capacity of Dead and Live Fungi for Cr(VI) Removal Z. Ziaei-Rad, M. Adl, M. Pazouki, A. Allahverd International Journal of Engineering Transactions B Applications, 2025 Hexavalent chromium represents a potent toxicant that poses significant health risks in the living environment, necessitating its reduction or removal below allowable limits before environmental discharge. This research investigates the elimination of hexavalent chromium from wastewater using three different fungal strains: Aspergillus niger NCIM548, A. fumigatus UB2 60˚, and A. niger isolated from a pistachio shell identified through ITS sequencing. In a brief interaction period within a mixing reactor, both strains of Aspergillus niger successfully eliminated Cr(VI) from an initial concentration of 50 mg/L. The study assessed Cr(VI) removal using live and dead A. niger biomass from pistachio shells at Cr(VI) concentrations of 50 to 800 mg/L. The study examined the impact of pH, temperature, and Copper(II) and Nickel(II) on Cr(VI) removal. At 30 °C and pH 3, live biomass (5 g dry cell/L) removed 97% of Cr(VI) (up to 400 mg/L) within 48 hours. Dead biomass nearly fully removed Cr(VI) (800 mg/L) at 45 °C and pH 2 within 24 hours. Higher biomass concentrations improved removal efficiency, but Cu(II) and Ni(II) reduced it. The primary mechanism in live biomass was metabolic Cr(VI)-to-Cr(III) reduction, while dead biomass relied on redox reactions and biosorption. SEM-EDX confirmed Cr(VI) reduction and biosorption.
Linking forward and backward product quality in a manufacturing/remanufacturing inventory system with price-quality-dependent demand and return rates Mohammad Pazouki, Mohamad Y. Jaber, Hamid Afshari Computers and Industrial Engineering, 2025 • Interrelationships between forward and backward product quality levels are modeled. • Dynamic demand and return functions, rather than fixed rates, are considered. • A time-dependent return policy, which is more practical in industry, is considered. • Results show that higher quality generally leads to a more profitable strategy. • It is shown that linking forward and backward quality leads to greener strategies. The concepts of remanufacturing and reusing products in a reverse supply chain have garnered significant attention in recent decades. Numerous studies have focused on creating frameworks to model and optimize manufacturing/remanufacturing strategies and inventory levels, accounting for forward and reverse flows. Economic Order/Production/Manufacture Quantity models have consistently provided a solid foundation for scholars to design and enhance closed-loop supply chains across various industries. However, one crucial aspect often overlooked in the literature is the initial quality level of the product and its relationship with the end-of-use quality of returns. Higher quality levels allow for extracting more value from returned items but also demand more investment and higher prices. This study presents a model that addresses the link between forward and reverse quality while ensuring cost-effectiveness. It models the impact of product quality and selling price on demand as observed in practice. It also considers an acceptable return period, aligning with what is commonly practiced in the industry by well-known companies. The findings emphasize the importance of linking forward quality with salvage value and indicate that disregarding this connection can lead to suboptimal strategies. Several numerical analyses and randomized simulations were conducted to explore the model’s behavior and the influence of key factors on the outcomes. The results indicate that producing at a quality level above the minimum standard is not only more environmentally friendly (thanks to increased returns and remanufacturing) but also tends to be more profitable in most cases. The developed model will aid decision-makers in developing optimal supply chain designs and identifying effective remanufacturing and reverse supply chain strategies.
Impact of biocatalytic behavior of Shewanella sp. through electron transfer processes on effective treatment of beer brewing wastewater in a microbial fuel cell and power generation Fatemeh Nourbakhsh, Fahameh Zolfagharzadeh, Mohammad Pazouki, Shahryar Jafarinejad Applied Research, 2025 This study examines the performance of a microbial fuel cell (MFC) utilizing Shewanella bacteria through electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Exo‐electrogen bacteria are key agents in an MFC. Shewanella sp. as a common exo‐electrogen bacteria can transfer electrons from the cell surface through different electron transfer mechanisms. In this work, EIS was used to probe the effects of biofilms of Shewanella sp. and the solution of 10% V/V Shewanella on the MFC performance. This research investigates the effects of both microbial biofilms and Shewanella bacterial solutions on MFC efficacy. Findings revealed that biofilm formation on the anode surface significantly reduces anode charge transfer resistance, thereby enhancing power generation. Notably, a 10% Shewanella solution resulted in a 25% higher power density compared to the biofilm. Furthermore, the MFC demonstrated up to 80% chemical oxygen demand removal efficiency in treating brewery wastewater. The study underscores the viability of Shewanella bacterial solutions as an efficient alternative to biofilms, emphasizing their role in improving MFC performance and wastewater treatment efficiency.
Investigation of a robust pretreatment technique based on ultrasound-assisted, cost-effective ionic liquid for enhancing saccharification and bioethanol production from wheat straw Zhila Ziaei-Rad, Mohammad Pazouki, Jamshid Fooladi, Mehrdad Azin, Sathyanarayana N. Gummadi, Abdollah Allahverdi Scientific Reports, 2023 Application of cost-effective pretreatment of wheat straw is an important stage for massive bioethanol production. A new approach is aimed to enhance the pretreatment of wheat straw by using low-cost ionic liquid [TEA][HSO4] coupled with ultrasound irradiation. The pretreatment was conducted both at room temperature and at 130 °C with a high biomass loading rate of 20% and 20% wt water assisted by ultrasound at 100 W-24 kHz for 15 and 30 min. Wheat straw pretreated at 130 °C for 15 and 30 min had high delignification rates of 67.8% and 74.9%, respectively, and hemicellulose removal rates of 47.0% and 52.2%. Moreover, this pretreatment resulted in producing total reducing sugars of 24.5 and 32.1 mg/mL in enzymatic saccharification, respectively, which corresponds to saccharification yields of 67.7% and 79.8% with commercial cellulase enzyme CelluMax for 72 h. The ethanol generation rates of 38.9 and 42.0 g/L were attained for pretreated samples for 15 and 30 min, equivalent to the yields of 76.1% and 82.2% of the maximum theoretical yield following 48 h of fermentation. This demonstration provided a cheap and promising pretreatment technology in terms of efficiency and shortening the pretreatment time based on applying low-cost ionic liquid and efficient ultrasound pretreatment techniques, which facilitated the feasibility of this approach and could further develop the future of biorefinery.
Wastewater purification from Rhodamine B and Gemifeloxacine by graphene oxide/pectin/ferrite nanocomposite: A novel molecular dynamics simulation for experimental contaminants removing Pegah Nazarizadeh, Ali Reza Akbarzadeh, Mohamad Pazouki Water Environment Research, 2023 In this study, the synthesized nanocomposite was evaluated novel graphene oxide/pectin/ferrite (GOPF) adsorbent to the adsorption of Rhodamine B (RhB) and Gemifloxacin (GEM) from wastewater. Theoretical studies were carried out using quantum simulation via the Forcite module in Material Studio 2017. The simulation results demonstrated RhB and GEM adsorption over other dyes and drugs. The synthesized nanocomposite was identified by BET, TGA, FT‐IR, FE‐SEM, XRD, VSM, and EDS. The nanocomposite's ability to effectively take RhB and GEM from an aqueous solution was checked by performing a series of experiments based on the effect of adsorbent dose, initial condensation, contact time, pH, and temperature. The nanocomposite kinetics follow a PSO. The Freundlich isotherm model was applied for maximum adsorption capacity of GEM (124.37 mg/g) and RhB (86.60 mg/g) on GOPF nanocomposite. According to the antibacterial activity test, the synthesized nanocomposite can kill bacteria 5 mm in diameter. Also, the anti‐cancer test of nanocomposite was done with 75% viability in high concentrations of nanocomposite. Thus, GOPF application results are not only suitable for dyes but only satisfying for drugs.Practitioner Points GOPF nanocomposite was fabricated for adsorption dye and drug and characterized. The effect of different process parameters, pH, catalyst dosage, contact time, and temperature effect was surveyed. The MD simulation were investigated to adsorb various dyes and drugs. The equilibrium isotherm and adsorption kinetic follow from Freundlich and pseudo‐second‐order kinetics; GOPF nanocomposite was used for about six cycles. The antibacterial activity and anticancer test of GOPF nanocomposite were investigated by satisfying results.
Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy studies of the buffered and non-buffered microbial fuel cell Fatemeh Nourbakhsh, Mohsen Mohsennia, Mohammad Pazouki Fuel Cells, 2023 Abstract The positive effect of buffers to maintain a sui pH for microorganism growth and increase the electrolyte conductivity in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) encourages more studies on the development of new buffer solutions. The effect of types of biological buffers such as phosphate, tris, succinate, and maleate on power production in dual chamber MFC inoculated by saccharomyces cerevisiae has been examined. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy has been used for evaluating the performance of the buffered and non‐buffered MFC systems. Considering the important impact of buffer type on the resistance of ion migration within the electrolyte and electron transport resistance of the cell components, the internal resistance of the MFC with different used buffers has been obtained and compared. According to the obtained results, the tris buffer solution showed a positive influence on the power output with a power density of 25.41% higher than phosphate.
Economic analysis of biomass gasification-solid oxide fuel cell-gas turbine hybrid cycle International Journal of Renewable Energy Research, 2017
Use of Response Surface Methodology analysis for xanthan biopolymer production by Xanthomonas campestris: Focus on agitation rate, carbon source, and temperature Iranian Journal of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, 2017
Statistical evaluation of the pertinent parameters in biosynthesis of Ag/MWf-CNT composites using plackett-burman design and response surface methodology Iranian Journal of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, 2016
Room temperature synthesis of n-doped urchin-like rutile TiO2 nanostructure with enhanced Photocatalytic activity under sunlight International Journal of Engineering Transactions A Basics, 2015
Kinetic models of cell growth, substrate utilization and bio-decolorization of distillery wastewater by Aspergillus fumigatus UB260 African Journal of Biotechnology, 2008
Screening of microorganisms for decolorization of treated distillery wastewater Iranian Journal of Science and Technology Transaction B Engineering, 2008
The relationship between citric acid production and the morphology of Aspergillus niger during fermentation Iranian Journal of Science and Technology Transaction B Technology, 2002
