The invention relates to a method for disinfecting soils or other agricultural growing media, characterised by comprising the following steps: obtaining a soil or other agricultural growing medium at their field capacity; treating the soil or medium at the field capacity of the previous step with ozonated water, wherein the ozonated water is prepared in situ with ozone-production equipment connected to the water supply; allowing a period of time to pass after the treatment with ozone; and inoculating the disinfected soil or agricultural medium with at least one species of beneficial microorganism.

A method for preparing a biological composition for degrading plant pesticide residues includes: (1) preparing a mixture of a dried coconut shell powder having a water content of less than 3 wt % and a particle diameter of not more than 2 mm and a dried licorice powder having a water content of less than 1 wt % and a particle diameter of not more than 2 mm; (2) hydrolyzing the mixture in a cellulase buffer at pH 4.5 to 5.5 for at least 36 hours, and filtering the mixture to obtain an enzymatic hydrolysate; and (3) adding the enzymatic hydrolysate to a bacteria mixture of yeast and lactic acid bacteria and fermenting at 30 C. to 35 C. for 7-10 days, and centrifuging and lyophilizing to obtain the biological composition.

A method of in-situ remediation of arsenic-contaminated soil, the method including: 1) inoculating a bacterial strain including Pseudomonas putida MnB1 in a culture medium where the addition amount of the bacterial strain accounts for 2-10% (v/v) of the culture medium; shaking the culture medium including the bacterial strain at the rotation speed of 100-180 rpm at 15-35 C. for 1-5 days under the aerobic condition thereby yielding an enriched bacterial strain; and 2) adding the enriched bacterial strain, manganese carbonate, ammonium ferrous sulfate, sodium citrate, and yeast extract to an arsenic contaminated soil; adding water to the soil until the soil has a moisture content of 50-70%, stirring the soil for 5-30 min, and culturing the bacterial strain in the soil under the aerobic/microaerobic condition at 10-40 C. for 2-6 weeks.

A method of treating a heavy metal contaminated soil including contacting the contaminated soil with a bioremediation mixture for a predetermined time such that the contaminated soil is anaerobically digested, wherein the contaminated soil contains one or more heavy metals, and wherein the anaerobically digested soil contains a lesser amount of the one or more heavy metals than the contaminated soil.

The present disclosure provides a seeding formulation for woody plants and a pre-treatment of surfaces (e.g. rocks, waste rocks, tailings, overburden) on disturbed and degraded lands. The seeding formulation includes a mix of woody trees or shrubs seeds, organic mulch, beneficial microbial populations, mineral fertilizer, adhesive, absorbent polymer, and water. The pre-treatment of surfaces refers to the spreading or mixing of surfaces with organic biomass. Methods of preparing and applying the seeding formulation and pre-treatment are also disclosed. The formulation is used for the phytoremediation, ecological restoration, land reclamation, environmental rehabilitation, revitalization, revegetation, and reforestation of disturbed and degraded lands.

Disclosed is a method for preparing a material of plant origin rich in phenolic acids, including at least one metal, including: preparing a material of plant origin chosen from: aquatic plants; materials rich in tannins; materials rich in lignin; and obtaining a material of plant origin, rich in phenolic acids, in which the ratio of the intensity of the vibration band of the CO bond of the COOH group and the intensity of each of the vibration bands the aromatic ring determined in FT-IR is between 0.5 and 4. The material of plant origin is brought into contact with an effluent including from 0.1 to 1000 mg/l of at least one metal, thus obtaining a material of plant origin rich in phenolic acids including from 1 to 30% by weight of at least one metal relative to the total weight of the material.

Disclosed is a method for preparing a solid material including manganese, the method including the following steps: a. bringing into contact an aqueous effluent including manganese, for example at least 5 mg/L, typically at least 5 to 50 mg/L, and preferably 7 to 25 mg/L of manganese, with an oxidizing agent, manganese, preferably at a temperature between 10 C. and 50 C., and obtaining an oxidized aqueous solution; b. adding a base to the oxidized aqueous solution obtained at the end of step a) until a pH of between 8 and 12, preferably greater than 9, and preferably from 9 to 10.5, and obtaining a solution including a precipitate; c. filtration of the solution obtained at the end of step b); and d. obtaining a solid material including manganese, and especially manganese (IV) and/or Mn (III).

A process for constructing a soil-based rhizosphere flow-through system to break down contaminants in contaminated water. The process includes the steps of: providing plants planted in soil in a test bioreactor, the plants providing a rhizosphere; exposing the rhizosphere to the contaminated water; extracting microorganisms from the rhizosphere following their exposure to the contaminated water; preparing a microbial suspension from the extract; subjecting the microbial suspension to growth conditions to increase the concentration of the microorganisms, thereby preparing a soil conditioner; adding the soil conditioner to soil in a contained area having a water flow inlet and outlet; and planting a plurality of plants in the soil, the plants being of the same species as the plants of the test bioreactor.

A biodegradable light wand is provided, the light wand including: a light transmitting tube comprising a natural hydrocolloid, the tube having a sidewall, a second port and a first port, to define a bore; a first bioluminescence tablet which comprises a light producing enzyme and a second bioluminescence tablet which comprises a bioluminescence-generating molecule, both housed in the bore; a bio-plug in the first port, the bio-plug sized to seal the first port, the bio-plug comprising a beeswax, charcoal, sometimes fungal spores, and a substrate; and a cap, the cap sized to seal the second port, the cap is configured in the second port. Together these components form a biodegradable, non-toxic alternative to plastic chemiluminescent glow sticks.

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for to enabling an action to accomplish a goal for a complex system. In one aspect, a method includes applying a slicing policy to an area within the complex system; receiving sensor data from a plurality of sensor devices positioned to collect readings from the complex system; extracting a knowledge graph based on the respective sensor data; extracting a macro knowledge graph based on a relationship between grid sections; merging the macro knowledge graph with a domain knowledge graph and an actions knowledge graph to form a recommendation knowledge graph; identifying an implementation plan for accomplishing a set goal for the complex system based on an analysis of the recommendation knowledge graph, the implementation plan including actions to accomplish a set goal; and enabling an implementation of at least one of the actions in the implementation plan.