Background: The growth of population, improvement of quality of life and the development of industries have led to increase in the rate of urban and industrial waste. As the leachate of the waste has a lot of pollution, influences harmfully human health and the environment. Researches have shown that the advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) such as Fenton and Fenton-related processes can reduce chemical oxygen demand (COD) of the leachate effectively.

Materials and Methods: In this paper, the rate of decrease in the total suspended solids (TSS) of leachate from a composting facility in Isfahan was studied using electrochemical, Fenton and electro-Fenton processes. These processes were conducted at reaction times 0, 20, 40, and 60 minutes, with the currents of 0.5, 1 and 1.5A and hydrogen peroxide dosages 1000, 2000, and 3000 mg/L.

Results: In the three mentioned processes, the most TSS removal was observed at the first 40 minute of the reactions. Among the studied processes, the electro-Fenton removed up to 92.4% of the TSS and was recognized as the most effective method. Furthermore, electrochemical and Fenton removed 41.7% and 60.3% of the TSS, respectively.

Conclusion: Therefore, decreasing the TSS of leachate could change its qualities and reduce the leachate pollution and the adverse environmental effects.

Abstract

Background: Prevalence extension of antibiotic resistant bacteria has raised concerns about control of infections especially nosocomial infections. Many attempts have been done to replace antibiotics or limit their use. The use of antimicrobial agents produced by bacteria as antibiotic replacement has been promising in recent years. The goal of this study was to isolate Bacillus strains and evaluate their antimicrobial activity against some standard pathogens and clinical antibiotic resistant strains.

Materials and Methods: In the present study, Bacillus strains were isolated from various resources and identified by 16S rDNA PCR method. Then, the phylogenetic tree of the isolates was constructed and antimicrobial activity of the isolates was investigated against some standard pathogens and clinical antibiotic resistant strains using spotting and well diffusion methods.

Results: Eight Bacillus strains were isolated from 15 different samples. Based on the molecular identification, the isolates were identified as B.pumilus, B.coagulans, B.licheniformis, B.endophitycus and B.amiloliquefaciens. The results showed that isolates have antimicrobial activity against meticilin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin resistant enterococci, Klebsiella, Acinetobacter, Salmonella, Shigella, Listeria, Streptococcus and Escherichia coli.

Conclusion: In this study, isolated Bacillus strains produced antimicrobial agents against pathogens and antibiotic resistant strains and inhibited their growth.