Anne MenertUniversity of Tartu · Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology
Anne Menert
PhD in Natural Sciences
About
40
Publications
16,645
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626
Citations
Introduction
Biotechnology related to natural sciences and engineering (aerobic and anaerobic microbial processes, microcalorimetric studies, production technologies of biohydrogen and biogas, bacterial stress)
Additional affiliations
November 2005 - January 2006
Position
- Guest researcher
Description
- For charactering unculturable microorganisms, incl. potential CH4 and H2 producers, molecular methods were used enabling to study the DNA of microbial communities extracted directly from the environment.
April 1996 - October 1996
Position
- Guest researcher
Description
- Studies on reactive extraction of carboxylic acids from aqueous solutions were performed. Small amounts of a strong electrolyte can considerably reduce the amount of carboxylic acid extracted from the aqueous into the organic phase.
November 1997 - January 1998
Position
- Guest researcher
Description
- Water activity (aw) was measured experimentally in the electrolyte - nonelectrolyte mixtures to correlate it with calculation models. This method can be equally well applied in food manufacturing and storage and in environmental biotechnology.
Education
September 1994 - June 2000
September 1979 - April 1981
Tallinn Technical University
Field of study
- Biochemistry (postgraduate studies)
September 1974 - June 1979
Tallinn Polytechnic Institute, Faculty of Chemistry
Field of study
- Food processing technology
Publications
Publications (40)
Estonian sedimentary deposits (e.g., graptolite argillite) with relatively high content oforganic matter and metals (V, Mo, U and Zn) are habitat for microorganisms. Metalsexist in argillite as sulfides, in the composition of organometallic compounds or insilicate minerals. While the role of pyrite oxidizing microorganisms in bioleaching ofmetals i...
Estonian sedimentary deposits (e.g., graptolite argillite) with relatively high content of organic matter and metals (V, Mo, U and Zn) are habitat for microorganisms. Metals exist in argillite as sulfides, in the composition of organometallic compounds or in silicate minerals. While the role of pyrite oxidizing microorganisms in bioleaching of meta...
Water sorption isotherms are important tool for designing the technological processes and predicting stability and shelf life of food. The aim of the work was to determine the water sorption isotherms of commercial furcellaran at different temperatures (20, 35 and 50 °C) using a gravimetric method under different levels of relative humidity (19–95%...
The main goal of the research was to elucidate the bioleaching of metals from Estonian graptolite argillite (GA) using native bacterial communities that had been adapted under laboratory conditions to grow in the presence of graptolite argillite. The project was expected to provide new scientific information about the possibilities of bioleaching o...
In this study different methods of sludge pre-treatment with elevated temperatures andpH have been selected for investigation. Five sets of sludge samples were pretreated asfollows: heating at 70°C for 30 min, at 80°C for 20 min, at 90°C for 10 min, at 100°C forWWTP5 min and NaOH-treatment (pH 12 for 4 hours). For comparison a sample from Tallinn(3...
Estonian graptolite-argillite (GA) contains significant quantities of heavy metals, being enriched with uranium, molybdenum, vanadium, lead and cobalt, as well as zinc, rhenium, nickel and other elements. Metals are in argillite as sulfide minerals or in the composition of organometallic compounds (geopolymers). A method for decomposition of organo...
This economic impact analysis outlines an initial estimate of capital and operating costs using the bioleaching technology to be developed for the potential production of argillite methane gas, GraptoMet. The technology mentioned is innovative, because by our knowledge, no methane gas (with the simultaneous separation of metals) is produced from th...
The objective of project “Study on the possibility to produce biogenic methane gas in drilled wells (in situ) from argillite found in Estonia” conducted in 2014 by research company BiotaP OÜ and Tartu University was to establish whether the combined effect of suitable conditions (pH, pressure, community of micro organisms) would allow producing loc...
Autotrophic NH4+ removal has been extensively researched, but few studies have investigated alternative electron acceptors (for example, SO42- ) in NH4+ oxidation. In this study, sulfate-reducing anaerobic ammonium oxidation (SRAO) and conventional Anammox were started up in upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactors (UASBRs) at 36 (±0.5)�C and 20 (±...
Eestis töötab ja on lähiajal käiku minemas kokku ligi 15 biogaasijaama. Saadava biogaasiga käitatakse peamiselt soojuse ja elektri koostootmisseadmeid. Koostootmisjaamade rajamist piirab soojuse tarbimise puudumine, mida saaks olulisel määral korvata biogaasi puhastamisega biometaaniks ja saadava biometaani kasutamisega kas transpordikütusena või s...
On the basis of commissioned public procurement of Enterprise Estonia, accredited laboratory BiotaP OÜ performed fundamental research for production of biogenic gas from graptolite argillite with the aid of microorganisms. Based on metagenomic analysis, community of microorganisms producing biogenic gas was identified. Laboratory tests yielded in 1...
Start- up of autotrophic ammonia oxidation process for removal of nitrogen from low C/N
ratio wastewaters is complicated due to needs of specific inoculation material and strict
process control. Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) process was started up from
zero at 26 (±0.5) °C in moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) by using the reject water as a...
A biofilm with high nitrifying efficiency was converted into a nitritating and thereafter a nitritating–anammox biofilm in a moving-bed biofilm reactor at 26.5 (±0.5)◦C by means of a combination of intermittent aeration, low dissolved oxygen concentration, low hydraulic retention time, free ammonia and furthermore, also by elevated HCO−3 concentrat...
The anammox bacteria were enriched from reject water of anaerobic digestion of municipal wastewater sludge onto moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) system carriers-the ones initially containing no biomass (MBBR1) as well as the ones containing nitrifying biomass (MBBR2). Duration of start-up periods of the both reactors was similar (about 100 days),...
The EU directive on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (Directive 2009/28/EC) sets a mandatory minimum target for the use of fuels produced using renewable energy sources of 10% of total petrol and diesel consumption in the transport sector by the year 2020. In addition, it states that production of renewable fuels should be...
Uued eesmärgid taastuvate energiaallikate kasutamisel võeti ELis vastu 2009. aastal. Nende eesmärkide kohaselt tuleks ELis aastaks 2020 tõsta taastuvenergia osakaal energia lõpptarbimises 20%-ni, suurendada energiatõhusust 20% ning vähendada kasvuhoonegaaside (KHG) heitkoguseid 20%. Transpordisektoris on taastuvenergiaallikatest toodetavate kütuste...
Uued eesmärgid taastuvate energiaallikate kasutamisel võeti ELis vastu 2009. aastal. Nende eesmärkide kohaselt tuleks ELis aastaks 2020 tõsta taastuvenergia osakaal energia lõpptarbimises 20%-ni, suurendada energiatõhusust 20% ning vähendada kasvuhoonegaaside (KHG) heitkoguseid 20%. Transpordisektoris on taastuvenergiaallikatest toodetavate kütuste...
After sulfate-reducing ammonium oxidation (SRAO) was first assumed in 2001, several works have been published describing this process in laboratory-scale bioreactors or occurring in the nature. In this paper, the SRAO process was performed using reject water as a substrate for microorganisms and a source of NH(4) (+), with SO(4) (2-) being added as...
Effect of free ammonia (FA) concentration on bio-oxidative conversion of ammonium to
nitrite and nitrate has utmost importance on understanding the autotrophic nitrogen
removal process. Nitrogen removal over nitrite is beneficial for treatment of ammoniumrich wastewaters (600-2000 mg NH4+-N/L), because nitrification efficiency is degraded at lower...
Anaerobic
Ammonium Oxidation Process Performance with Optimum Bicarbonate Concentration
Nitrifying biomass on ring-shaped carriers was modified to nitritating one in a relatively short period of time (37 days) by limiting the air supply, changing the aeration regime, shortening the hydraulic retention time and increasing free ammonia (FA) concentration in the moving-bed biofilm reactor (MBBR). The most efficient strategy for the devel...
Wastes from digester treating agricultural products (i. e. digested manure, reject water) are with low C/N ratio, containing ammonium nitrogen at high concentrations. Alternative water treatment technologies are needed to treat these wastewaters economically. Biological treatment of nitrogen-rich wastewaters by nitritation-anaerobic ammonium oxidat...
This paper presents principle technology to produce suspension fertilizer based on wastewater treatment plant excess sludge and alkaline oil shale ash from a thermal power station. For that the treatment in a mechanical disintegrator and contact with biogas from the anaerobic process of wastewater excess sludge is used. The ash is responsible for h...
The digestion of baker’s yeast wastewater was monitored by gas production intensity and composition of gaseous and liquid phases. Favorable coexistence of sulfate reducing bacteria and methanogens was explained by the presence and metabolism of trimethylamine, a degradation product of betaine. Concentration of sulfides decreased at the expense of b...
The wastewater from baker’s yeast production contains above-average concentrations of organic pollutants (25 000 mg/L total chemical oxygen demand, TCOD), nutrients (1500 mg/L Ntot, 100 mg/L Ptot) and sulphate (2900 mg/L SO4 2 -). Baker’s yeast wastewater with a flow rate of 190m3/day was treated in
a mesophilic anaerobic/anoxic continuous stirred...
The anaerobic degradation of sludge is usually limited by the rate of hydrolysis of suspended matter and organic solids. Low temperature pre-treatment (below 80°C) results in incomplete destruction of micro-flora but many enzymes maintain their biocatalytic activity. Increasing hydrolysis through thermal and alkali pre-treatment was studied in an a...
In this paper, a filter probe integrated into a computerized pneumatic sampler for capillary electroseparations was developed for an on-line monitoring of bioprocesses. The optimization of the performance of the coupled system was done by using a response surface modeling and three-level two-factor design. The resolution was found to be the most im...
Sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) were isolated from anaerobic sludge of yeast factory wastewater treatment plant by cultivation on Postgate C medium. Microcalorimetry was used to monitor the anaerobic digestion processes and to measure the growth rates of sulfate-reducing bacteria. The maximum growth rates determined by microcalorimetry and ATP anal...
Reactive extraction is a commonly applied process to recover carboxylic acids from aqueous solutions. Such processes are nowadays designed using process simulation software. However, the essential prerequisite for such a simulation is the availability of a reliable thermodynamic model for the encountered phase equilibrium. Industrial experience rev...
Sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) were isolated from anaerobic sludge of yeast factory wastewater treatment plant by cultivation on Postgate C medium. Microcalorimetry was used to monitor the anaerobic digestion processes and to measure the growth rates of sulfate-reducing bacteria. The maximum growth rates determined by microcalorimetry and ATP anal...
Anaerobic digestion of distillery waste was studied in a mesophilic two-stage system consisting of an anaerobic filter (AF) and an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor. The experiments were conducted with hydraulic retention times (HRT) ranging from 10 to 19 days at loading rates of 2.5–5.1 kg COD/(m3 day) in the first stage, and up to 20...
Microcalorimetry was used for monitoring anaerobic digestion processes of heavily polluted industrial waste waters (from cheese industry, distilleries, yeast plant). Interpreting the thermal powertime curves by HPLC, some sub-processes in batch cultures were tentatively identified as acidogenic, acetogenic and methanogenic. Processes underlying po...
The performance of laboratory scale anaerobic digesters (UASB, UAFF reactors), the possibility of using microcalorimetry for monitoring anaerobic digestion processes, and the stabilizing effect on the process of preparation Biotreat 100 was studied. The maximum achieved OLRs were practically the same (8 - 9 g COD/(L • d)) for both of the reactors,...
Thesis (doctoral)--Tallinn Technical University, 2001.
The synthesis of beta-cyclodextrin (CD) by cyclization of pretreated potato starch by cyclodextrin glycosyl transferase from Bacillus macerans BKMB 506 has been investigated. The influence of various conversion conditions, such as substrate concentration, reaction temperature, and the amount of enzyme for pretreatment of substrate, as well as for e...
Questions
Question (1)
I am doing experiments with indigenous species isolated from black shale. Surprisingly the consortium containing only bacterial species (without methanogens) produces methane with native as well as with sterilized shale. I am going to repeat the experiment with more accurately sterilized samples (t=100 deg, on 3 following days) but if methane production still persists - either the isolates are not pure but co-cultures with some aero- and/ or thermotolerant Methanosarcinas (more likely) or there is another mechanism for methane production? Many thanks for any suggestions!
