TY - CONF A1 - Schmidt, Selina A1 - Schreiber, Frank T1 - Antimicrobial resistance in soil microbes mediated by resistance evolution and horizontal gene transfer (HGT) N2 - Question: Biocides are in contact with soils through direct application and passive leaching from protected materials. Consequently, soil microorganisms are exposed to toxic biocides even though they are not their primary targets. Soil is a large reservoir of microbial diversity and has been hypothesized to be a crucial factor for the evolution and spread of antimicrobial resistance. Currently, there is little knowledge on how biocides used to protect materials affect the evolution and spread of resistance. Thus, our aim is to investigate the risk for the evolution of biocide resistance and cross-resistance to antibiotics. In addition, we aim to elucidate the affect of biocides on the spread of resistance via horizontal gene transfer (HGT). Methods: In laboratory evolution experiments we culture selected model soil microorganism with representative biocides followed by antibiotic cross-resistance determination and genome sequencing. Moreover, we investigate if the selected biocides affect the HGT frequency of plasmids that carry resistance genes among soil microorganism and the consequences for survival of the affected populations. Results: Our initial results show only small increases of biocide resistance during serial transfers in the presence of biocides. One reason for this might be the narrow selective window for biocide resistance due to steep dose-response relationships. Furthermore, we will present results from ongoing experiments on the effects of material preservatives on HGT frequencies facilitating microbial community adaptation to stress. Conclusions: The results will enable future risk assessment regarding resistance evolution for biocides used as material preservatives. T2 - 8th Congress of European Microbiologists - FEMS 2019 CY - Glasgow, UK DA - 07.07.2019 KW - Biocides KW - Horizontal gene transfer HGT KW - Microbiology KW - Resistance evolution KW - Antimicrobial resistance PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-49402 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Schmidt, Selina A1 - Schreiber, Frank T1 - Antimicrobial resistance in soil microbes mediated by resistance evolution and horizontal gene transfer (HGT) N2 - Question: Biocides are in contact with soils through direct application and passive leaching from protected materials. Consequently, soil microorganisms are exposed to toxic biocides even though they are not their primary targets. Soil is a large reservoir of microbial diversity and has been hypothesized to be a crucial factor for the evolution and spread of antimicrobial resistance. Currently, there is little knowledge on how biocides used to protect materials affect the evolution and spread of resistance. Thus, our aim is to investigate the risk for the evolution of biocide resistance and cross-resistance to antibiotics. In addition, we aim to elucidate the affect of biocides on the spread of resistance via horizontal gene transfer (HGT). Methods: In laboratory evolution experiments we culture selected model soil microorganism with representative biocides followed by antibiotic cross-resistance determination and genome sequencing. Moreover, we investigate if the selected biocides affect the HGT frequency of plasmids that carry resistance genes among soil microorganism and the consequences for survival of the affected populations. Results: Our initial results show only small increases of biocide resistance during serial transfers in the presence of biocides. One reason for this might be the narrow selective window for biocide resistance due to steep dose-response relationships. Furthermore, we will present results from ongoing experiments on the effects of material preservatives on HGT frequencies facilitating microbial community adaptation to stress. Conclusions: The results will enable future risk assessment regarding resistance evolution for biocides used as material preservatives. T2 - Symposium für Doktorandinnen und Doktoranden – 2019 CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 27.09.2019 KW - Biocides KW - Horizontal gene transfer HGT KW - Microbiology KW - Resistance evolution KW - Antimicrobial resistance PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-49404 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pietsch, Franziska A1 - Schreiber, Frank A1 - Heidrich, Gabriele T1 - Selection of resistance in bacterial biofilms grown on antimicrobial surfaces in a multidrug environment N2 - Introduction: Biofilms are regarded as a common cause of chronic infections on medical devices. Preventive and therapeutic strategies against biofilm infections commonly involve applications of multiple antimicrobial substances: antimicrobial coatings on the implanted biomaterials in combination with systemically administered antibiotics. While this practice of combination therapy harbours the risk of developing cross-resistance, it might also provide the possibility to implement specific antimicrobial-antibiotic combinations (AACs) that can slow down the selection of antibiotic resistant strains. Hypothesis and aims: Specific AACs can exert combinatorial effects on the growth of susceptible and antibiotic-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa that either suppress or increase their individual effects. Our aim is to identify AACs with antagonistic or synergistic effects on pseudomonal biofilms and to understand their impact on selection of resistant strains. Specifically, we want to identify AACs that select for and against antibiotic resistance during biofilm formation. Methodology: We screened for AACs that cause antagonistic or synergistic effects on planktonic P. aeruginosa. To study the effect of antimicrobial-antibiotic exposure on resistance selection in bacterial biofilms, we will grow resistant and sensitive strains on PDMS surfaces with and without antimicrobial coatings and expose them to antibiotics. Results: Several combinations with synergistic or antagonistic interaction on the growth rate of P. aeruginosa were detected. We observed a strong antagonism when combining the antimicrobial substance chlorhexidine with the carbapenem drug meropenem. A meropenem-resistant mutant showed a selection advantage in low concentrations of chlorhexidine combined with a sub-inhibitory concentration of meropenem over the wild-type. No antagonistic effect was observed for the same combination when E. coli was exposed to chlorhexidine and meropenem, suggesting a non-chemical basis for the observed effect on P. aeruginosa. Conclusion: Gaining a better understanding about resistance selection during biofilm formation on biomedical surfaces will enable us to mitigate against biofilm-associated antimicrobial resistance. T2 - Eurobiofilms 2019 CY - Glasgow, UK DA - 03.09.2019 KW - Resistance KW - Antibiotics KW - Pseudomonas PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-49168 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Schreiber, Frank A1 - Nordholt, Niclas A1 - Schmidt, Selina A1 - Lewerenz, Dominique T1 - Persistence as a microbial survival strategy against biocides and its link to antibiotic resistance evolution N2 - Question: One cornerstone to prevent the spread of bacteria in clinical and industrial settings is the application of biocides including disinfectants and preservatives. However, bacteria can evolve resistance to biocides, which in turn can confer cross-resistance to antibiotics. Additionally, clonal bacterial populations can display phenotypic heterogeneity with respect to the tolerance of antibiotic stress leading to a prolonged survival of a sub-population; this phenomenon is termed persistence. Persistence to antibiotics is an evolvable trait and can serve as a stepping stone for the evolution of genetically encoded resistance. Until now, there is a lack of systematic studies that investigate if bacterial populations establish persister subpopulations that tolerate disinfectant stress longer than most of the population. Our objective is to investigate if persistence is a bacterial survival strategy against biocides. Furthermore, we investigate the mechanisms of biocide persistence and if persistence can evolve in the face of fluctuating exposure to biocides. Lastly, we test if the evolved mechanisms of biocide tolerance lead to biocide resistance and if they confer cross-tolerance and cross-resistance against antibiotics. Methods: We use time-kill assays in the presence of biocides and experimental evolution combined to whole-genome sequencing in the model organism E. coli. Results: We find persister sub-populations against chlorhexidine and quaternary ammonium compounds, but not to alcohols, aldehydes and oxidative compounds. We will present the relationship of mechanisms known to underlie antibiotic persister formation to the formation of persisters against biocides. In addition, we will present data from an ongoing evolution experiment for persistence against biocides. Conclusion There is a link between antibiotic and biocide persistence with possible implications for antibiotic resistance evolution and spread. T2 - 5th International Symposium on the Environmental Dimension of Antibiotic Resistance - EDAR 2019 CY - Hong Kong, China DA - 09.06.2019 KW - Antimicrobial resistance KW - Biocides KW - Persister cells PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-49083 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schreiber, Frank A1 - Ackermann, M. T1 - Environmental drivers of metabolic heterogeneity in clonal microbial populations N2 - Microorganisms perform multiple metabolic functions that shape the global cycling of elements, health and disease of their host organisms, and biotechnological processes. The rates, at which different metabolic activities are performed by individual cells, can vary between genetically identical cells within clonal populations. While the molecular mechanisms that result in such metabolic heterogeneity have attracted considerable interest, the environmental conditions that shape heterogeneity and its consequences have received attention only in recent years. Here, we review the environmental drivers that lead to metabolic heterogeneity with a focus on nutrient limitation, temporal fluctuations and spatial structure, and the functional consequences of such heterogeneity. We highlight studies using single-cell methods that allow direct investigation of metabolic heterogeneity and discuss the relevance of metabolic heterogeneity in complex microbial communities. KW - Phenotypic variation KW - NanoSIMS KW - Diversity KW - Metabolism PY - 2019 UR - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S095816691930134X?via%3Dihub DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copbio.2019.11.018 VL - 62 SP - 202 EP - 211 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-50194 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Schmidt, Selina A1 - Schreiber, Frank T1 - Antimicrobial resistance in soil microbes mediated by resistance evolution and horizontal gene transfer (HGT) N2 - Questions: Biocides are in contact with soils through direct application and passive leaching from protected materials. Consequently, soil microorganisms are exposed to toxic biocides even though they are not their primary targets. Soil is a large reservoir of microbial diversity and has been hypothesized to be a crucial factor for the evolution and spread of antimicrobial resistance. Currently, there is little knowledge on how biocides used to protect materials affect the evolution and spread of resistance. Thus, our aim is to investigate the risk for the evolution of biocide resistance and cross-resistance to antibiotics. In addition, we aim to elucidate the affect of biocides on the spread of resistance via horizontal gene transfer (HGT). Methods: In laboratory evolution experiments we culture selected model soil microorganism with representative biocides followed by antibiotic cross-resistance determination and genome sequencing. Moreover, we investigate if the selected biocides affect the HGT frequency of plasmids that carry resistance genes among soil microorganism and the consequences for survival of the affected populations. Results: Our initial results show only small increases of biocide resistance during serial transfers in the presence of biocides. One reason for this might be the narrow selective window for biocide resistance due to steep dose-response relationships. Furthermore, we will present results from ongoing experiments on the effects of material preservatives on HGT frequencies facilitating microbial community adaptation to stress. Conclusions: The results will enable future risk assessment regarding resistance evolution for biocides used as material preservatives. T2 - 5th International Symposium on the Environmental Dimension of Antibiotic Resistance (EDAR) CY - Hong Kong, China DA - 09.06.2019 KW - Biocides KW - Horizontal gene transfer HGT KW - Microbiology KW - Resistance evolution KW - Antimicrobial resistance PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-49401 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Schreiber, Frank T1 - Single-cell trait-based biodiversity in microbial communities and its link to ecosystem functioning in a stratified lake N2 - A fundamental question in ecology is how biodiversity affects ecosystem function. Biodiversity is commonly estimated based on genetic variation. We investigated a new approach that defines and measures biodiversity in complex microbial communities. We used the variation in multiple functionally-relevant, phenotypic traits measured in parallel in single cells as a metric for microbial phenotypic diversity. We studied phenotypic diversity and ecosystem functioning throughout different photosynthetic layers dominated by divergent microbial communities in the gradient of Lago di Cadagno. We determined genetic diversity by 16S and 18S amplicon sequencing and bulk ecosystem functioning (photosynthesis). In addition, we determined phenotypic diversity using single-cell technologies such as nanometer-scale secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS) correlated with confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and scanning flow-cytometry. We measured functional trait variation between individuals in 13CO2 fixation, 15NH4+ uptake, and variation in physio-morphological cell traits, such as cell size, shape, and auto-fluorescence for various pigments related to photosynthesis. We used the distances between individuals in a multidimensional trait space to derive phenotypic trait-based diversity indices, such as trait richness, trait evenness, and trait divergence. We find that phenotypic trait divergence associates with ecosystem functioning, whereas genetic diversity does not. Including activity-based, single-cell phenotypic measurements with NanoSIMS provided an additional accuracy to the trait-based diversity assessment and allowed us to formulate hypotheses on the mechanisms that shape the correlation between phenotypic diversity and eco-system function. Together, our results show that phenotypic diversity is a meaningful concept to measure microbial biodiversity and associate it with ecosystem functioning. T2 - 8th Congress of European Microbiologists - FEMS 2019 CY - Glasgow, UK DA - 07.11.2019 KW - NanoSIMS KW - Biodiversity PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-49077 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Schütter, Jan A1 - Pietsch, Franziska A1 - Schreiber, Frank A1 - Koerdt, Andrea A1 - Özcan Sandikcioglu, Özlem T1 - Effect of surface topography and chemistry on the attachment of bacteria on solid surfaces N2 - Microbiologically induced corrosion due to bacterial biofilms causes several problems in industrial systems, technical applications and in medicine. Prior to the formation of a biofilm on a substrate, planktonic cells attach on the surface. Hence, the properties of the surface play a key role in biofilm formation and are of great importance for the development of strategies to prevent bacterial attachment and biofilm formation. This project aims at clarifying to which extent surface micro-/nanostructuring and chemical functionalization affects bacterial attachment and whether a synergistic combination of the two can be used to control bacterial adhesion. To answer these questions, model surfaces with regular patterns of 5-10 micrometers in size have been prepared, which provide distinct zones differing in terms of their chemistry or nano-roughness. This was achieved by micro contact printing of self-assembled monolayers with different functional groups and deposition of patterned ZnO nanorod arrays for studying the effect of surface chemistry and morphology, respectively. Typical contrasts studied were combinations of positively/negatively charged, hydrophobic/hydrophilic or flat/rough. The attachment behavior of bacteria on tailored surfaces were studied in a flow chamber as a function of time. The strain Pseudomonas fluorescens SBW25 was chosen as a model organism. DNA-intercalating dyes such as Syto9 have a high affinity to adsorb on ZnO nanorods. To overcome this limitation a genetic modification was performed by introducing a gene which expresses a green fluorescent protein in P. fluorescens SBW25 enabling the quantitative evaluation of the flow chamber studies by means of fluorescence microscopy. Further analysis of the attachment behavior was performed by means of scanning electron microscopy. The presentation will summarize the results of our systematic study on the role of individual parameters on bacterial attachment and highlight synergistic combinations, showing an inhibition or enhancing effect. As the investigations with model substrates enable a precise control of the surface parameters, this approach can be applied to different microorganisms and material systems to achieve a correlative description of bacterial adhesion on solid surfaces. T2 - Eurocorr2019 CY - Sevilla, Spain DA - 09.09.2019 KW - Microbial KW - Corrosion KW - MIC KW - Nanorods PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-49730 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Schreiber, Frank T1 - Single-cell trait-based biodiversity in microbial communities and its link to ecosystem functioning in a stratified lake N2 - A fundamental question in ecology is how biodiversity affects ecosystem function. Biodiversity is commonly estimated based on genetic variation. We investigated a new approach that defines and measures biodiversity in complex microbial communities. We used the variation in multiple functionally-relevant, phenotypic traits measured in parallel in single cells as a metric for microbial phenotypic diversity. We studied phenotypic diversity and ecosystem functioning throughout different photosynthetic layers dominated by divergent microbial communities in the gradient of Lago di Cadagno. We determined genetic diversity by 16S and 18S amplicon sequencing and bulk ecosystem functioning (photosynthesis). In addition, we determined phenotypic diversity using single-cell technologies such as nanometer-scale secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS) correlated with confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and scanning flow-cytometry. We measured functional trait variation between individuals in 13CO2 fixation, 15NH4+ uptake, and variation in physio-morphological cell traits, such as cell size, shape, and auto-fluorescence for various pigments related to photosynthesis. We used the distances between individuals in a multidimensional trait space to derive phenotypic trait-based diversity indices, such as trait richness, trait evenness, and trait divergence. We find that phenotypic trait divergence associates with ecosystem functioning, whereas genetic diversity does not. Including activity-based, single-cell phenotypic measurements with NanoSIMS provided an additional accuracy to the trait-based diversity assessment and allowed us to formulate hypotheses on the mechanisms that shape the correlation between phenotypic diversity and eco-system function. Together, our results show that phenotypic diversity is a meaningful concept to measure microbial biodiversity and associate it with ecosystem functioning. T2 - 8th Congress of European Microbiologists - FEMS 2019 CY - Glasgow, UK DA - 07.11.2019 KW - NanoSIMS KW - Biodiversity PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-49080 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Schreiber, Frank A1 - Nordholt, Niclas A1 - Schmidt, Selina A1 - Lewerenz, Dominique T1 - Persistence as a microbial survival strategy against biocides and its link to antibiotic resistance evolution N2 - Background: One cornerstone to prevent the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria in clinical settings is the application of disinfectants. However, bacteria can evolve resistance to disinfectants, which in turn can confer cross-resistance to antibiotics. Additionally, clonal bacterial populations can display phenotypic heterogeneity with respect to the tolerance of antibiotic stress leading to a prolonged survival of a sub-population; this phenomenon is termed persistence. Persistence to antibiotics is an evolvable trait and can serve as a stepping stone for the evolution of genetically encoded resistance. Until now, there is a lack of systematic studies that investigate if bacterial populations establish persister subpopulations that tolerate disinfectant stress longer than most of the population. Objectives: Our objective is to investigate if persistence is a bacterial survival strategy against disinfectants. Furthermore, we investigate the mechanisms of disinfectant persistence and if persistence can evolve in the face of fluctuating exposure to disinfectants. Lastly, we test if the evolved mechanisms of disinfectant tolerance lead to disinfectant resistance and if they confer cross-tolerance and cross-resistance against antibiotics. Methods: We use time-kill assays in the presence of disinfectants and experimental evolution combined to whole-genome sequencing in the model organism E. coli. Results: We find persister sub-populations against chlorhexidine and quaternary ammonium compounds, but not to alcohols, aldehydes and oxidative compounds. We will present the relationship of mechanisms known to underlie antibiotic persister formation to the formation of persisters against disinfectants. In addition, we will present data from an ongoing evolution experiment for persistence against disinfectants. T2 - 8th Congress of European Microbiologists - FEMS 2019 CY - Glasgow, UK DA - 07.11.2019 KW - Antimicrobial resistance KW - Biocides KW - Persister cells PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-49081 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Nordholt, Niclas A1 - Lewerenz, Dominique A1 - Schmidt, Selina A1 - Schreiber, Frank T1 - Heterogeneity in the bacterial response to disinfection and its impact on antibiotic tolerance and resistance N2 - The global rise of antibiotic resistance has made the proper use of disinfectants more important than ever. Their application in clinical l settings is an integral part of antibiotics stewardship by preventing the occurrence and spread of infections. However, improper use of disinfectants also harbours the risk for the evolution of tolerance and resistance to disinfectants, but also to antibiotics. It is therefore crucial to understand whether and how bacteria can survive chemical disinfection and which conditions facilitate the evolution of tolerance and resistance. Here, we study the heterogeneity in the response of isogenic E. coli populations exposed to different levels of commonly used disinfectants. At concentrations below the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC), we find that certain disinfectants induce prolonged lag times in individual cells, a phenotype that has been associated with persistence against antibiotics. At concentrations above the MIC, we find heterogeneous killing for a range of the tested substances. Interestingly, for the three cationic surfactants that were tested, we find kill kinetics revealing the presence of a tolerant subpopulation that can withstand disinfection longer than most of the population. We will present results from an ongoing evolution experiment in which we test the potential for evolution of population-wide tolerance and resistance through intermittent exposure to lethal doses of a cationic surfactant. T2 - New Approaches and Concepts in Microbiology CY - Heidelberg, Germany DA - 10.07.2019 KW - Persistence KW - Biocides KW - Resistance KW - heterogeneity KW - Bacteria PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-48524 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Vogel, Christian A1 - Sekine, R. A1 - Steckenmesser, D. A1 - Steffens, D. A1 - Huthwelker, T. A1 - Borca, C. A1 - Adam, Christian T1 - Effect of Nitrification Inhibitor on Nitrogen Forms in Soil analyzed by Nitrogen K edge micro XANES Spectroscopy N2 - Specific co-fertilization of nutrients can enhance their plant-availability and thus the yield of plants. To investigate this effect, we performed a pot experiment with three different P-fertilizers and ammonium nitrate sulfate as a co-fertilizer, without and with a nitrification inhibitor (NI), and analyzed the form of nitrogen (N) in the soil via novel X-ray spectroscopic method. The application of NI with the N fertilizer led to a higher dry matter yield of maize. Novel N K-edge micro-X-ray absorption near-edge structure (micro-XANES) spectroscopy identified that the application of a NI promotes the temporary formation of a non-exchangeable N in detectable hot-spots in the soil. The subsequent slow release and prolonged availability of N during plant growth leads to higher yield. It can be concluded that NIs lead to a temporary fixation of ammonium-N in a pool that can be accessed by plant roots. Those types of available nutrient pools meet the idea of so-called “next generation fertilizers” as plants have access to nutrients according to their current demand. T2 - Workshop for X-ray and neutron imaging applications in soil sciences CY - Lund, Sweden DA - 17.06.2019 KW - Nitrogen KW - Phosphorus recycling KW - Fertilizer KW - XANES spectroscopy KW - Pot experiment PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-48237 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kratz, S. A1 - Vogel, Christian A1 - Adam, Christian T1 - Agronomic performance of P recycling fertilizers and methods to predict it: a review N2 - Phosphorus (P) is an essential element for all life forms, and P-availability thus an important driver of a functioning agriculture. However, phosphate rock resources for P-fertilizer production are only available in a few countries. Therefore, P-recovery from waste materials has become of increasing interest during the last decade and has been investigated worldwide. In order to characterize potential novel P-fertilizers made from recycled materials, a large array of P-compound characterizations, chemical extractions and growth experiments were performed. This review bundles the work carried out in that field over the last years. Overall, P-fertilizers from recycled materials show a broad range of P-compounds with very different chemical structure and solubility. Growth experiments performed to assess their fertilizing effects display high variations for most of the products. While these experiments have demonstrated that some fertilizers made of recycled materials may reach P effects in the same order of magnitude as water-soluble phosphate rock-based fertilizers, an important limitation in their interpretation is the fact that they often vary considerably in their experimental design. The existing data show clearly that standardization of growth experiments is urgently needed to achieve comparable results. Standard chemical extractants used to assess the chemical solubility of P-fertilizers were found to be of limited reliability for predicting plant P uptake. Therefore, alternative methods such as sequential fractionation, or the extraction of incubated soil/fertilizer mixtures with standard soil extractants or with P sink methods should be tested more intensively in the future to provide alternative options to predict the P-availability of fertilizers from recycled materials. KW - Recycling fertilizer KW - Phosphorus KW - Chemical extraction methods KW - Agronomic performance KW - Incubated soil/fertilizer mixtures KW - P sink method KW - Diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) PY - 2019 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-019-10010-7 SN - 1385-1314 SN - 1573-0867 VL - 115 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 39 PB - Springer AN - OPUS4-48713 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Steckenmesser, D. A1 - Vogel, Christian A1 - Steffens, D. T1 - Medium-scale Plant Experiment of Sewage Sludge based Phosphorus Fertilizers from Large-scale Thermal Processing N2 - Phosphorus (P) recycling from sewage sludge for agricultural needs has to meet requirements for agricultural implementation, such as short and long-term P-plant-availability under field conditions. Field experiments often bring no evaluable results, because agricultural soils got a high potential of P-supply even if they are classified as low in P-supply according to the CAL extraction method. The present study presents a possible way to investigate the P-plant-availability of P-recycling-fertilizers under field-like conditions. The plant experiments are firstly performed in small Mitscherlich pots in growth chambers and subsequently in containers with a high soil volume of 170 kg under greenhouse conditions, in which plants can grow until ripening. The tested P-recycling fertilizers were produced from sewage sludge in a large-scale thermal process. It was a two-step treatment process performed with a pyrolysis of sewage sludge at 550°C (SSC-550) and a subsequent thermochemical post-treatment at 950°C with Na2SO4 (SSA-Na) and HCl + Na2SO4 (SSA-HCl/Na) as additives. The results show, that the P-recycling-products from pyrolysis got an adequate long-term but a 65% lower short-term P-plant-availability compared to triple superphosphate. SSA-Na and SSA-HCl/Na show both a high short and longterm P-plant-availability comparable to triple-superphosphate. This can be explained by their highly plant-available P-compound CaNaPO4. KW - Fertilzer KW - Sewage sludge KW - Plant Experiment KW - Thermal treatment PY - 2019 DO - https://doi.org/10.1080/00103624.2019.1667373 VL - 50 IS - 19 SP - 2469 EP - 2481 PB - Taylor & Francis AN - OPUS4-49143 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Hoffmann, Marie A1 - Vogel, Christian A1 - Adam, Christian A1 - Stephan-Scherb, Christiane A1 - Hecht, Lutz T1 - Novel approaches to Sc species investigation in bauxite residues by x ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy N2 - In a rapidly evolving world, the demand on raw materials is increasing steadily and many technologies are dependent on a secure supply of hi-tech metals. Recently, scandium (Sc) has attracted attention since its use in high strength Al-alloys and solid-oxide-fuel-cells strongly improves the performance of those materials. The element Sc is not exceptionally rare but quite resistant to geochemical enrichment processes, it is scarcely found enriched to high concentrations and is recovered as a by-product. Since Sc enrichment in Greek bauxite residues was shown by Ochsenkühn-Petropoulou et. al (1994), intensive research on this material and development of efficient Sc-recovery methods is ongoing. This study investigates Sc-bearing species in bauxite residues from alumina production. It aims to provide direct evidence about the Sc-speciation’s in those secondary resources and tries to find the link to speciation’s in primary resources, e.g. bauxites and laterites. Therefore, Sc K edge XANES (X-ray absorption near edge structure) spectroscopy is performed using synchrotron radiation to determine the presence of certain Sc-components and distinguish between adsorbed and chemically bonded Sc as was shown for lateritic deposits in Australia by Chassé et al. 2016. For comparison, reference standards of Sc-bearing and Sc-adsorbed species are synthesized. Indirect inferences from leaching behavior of bauxites, in cases supported by analyses with LA-ICP-MS, suggest Sc to be associated with either iron- or aluminum phases (Vind et al. 2017); (Suss et al.). It remains unclear how different primary materials influence Sc-speciation in the bauxite residue. Therefore, a comparison between different European bauxite residues is made in this study. The investigations should help to understand Sc chemistry and behavior in different primary and secondary materials and provide fundamentals for metallurgical processing. The research is incorporated in the SCALE project (GA No. 730105) funded by EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation program. T2 - DMG Tagung GeoMünster CY - Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Germany DA - 22.09.2019 KW - Scandium KW - Bauxite Residue KW - Red Mud KW - XANES PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-49389 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Vogel, Christian A1 - Sekine, R. A1 - Huang, J. A1 - Steckenmesser, D. A1 - Steffens, D. A1 - Huthwelker, T. A1 - Borca, C. A1 - Pradas del Real, A. A1 - Castillo-Michel, H. A1 - Adam, Christian T1 - Effect of Nitrification Inhibitor on Nitrogen Forms in Soil and Phosphorus Uptake of Plants N2 - Phosphorus (P) resource availability is declining and the efficiency of applied nutrients in agricultural soils is becoming increasingly important. This is especially true for P-fertilizers from recycled materials which often have a lower plant-availability compared to commercial P-fertilizers but are expected to play an increasingly important role into the future (Kratz et al. 2019). One promising way to increase the plant-availability of the fertilizer P is a co-fertilization with specific nitrogen (N) forms which can enhance the P uptake and make P-fertilizers from recycled material more competitive to commercial phosphate rock-based P-fertilizers (Rahmatullah et al. 2006; Vogel et al. 2018). To investigate this effect, we performed a pot experiment with three different P-fertilizers (sewage sludge-based, phosphate rock and triple superphosphate) and ammonium nitrate sulfate as a co-fertilizer, without and with a nitrification inhibitor (NI), and analyzed the form of N and P in soil via a suite of chemical and novel X-ray spectroscopic methods. The application of NI with the P and N fertilizers led to a higher dry matter yield and a higher P uptake of maize. Novel N K-edge micro-X-ray absorption near-edge structure (micro-XANES) spectroscopy identified that the application of a NI promotes the temporary formation of a non-exchangeable N in detectable hot-spots in the soil. The subsequent slow release and prolonged availability of N during plant growth leads to higher yield and nutrient uptake. It can be concluded that NIs lead to a temporary fixation of ammonium-N in a pool that can be accessed by plant roots. Those types of available nutrient pools meet the idea of so-called “next generation fertilizers” as plants have access to nutrients according to their current demand. T2 - Annual Meeting of the German Society of Plant Nutrition (DGP) CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 25.09.2019 KW - Fertilzer KW - X-ray adsorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy KW - Nitrification inhibitor KW - Agronomic performance PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-49144 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Vogel, Christian A1 - Krüger, O. A1 - Hoffmann, Marie A1 - Adam, Christian T1 - Determination of chromium(VI) in phosphorus fertilizers made from recycled materials by DGT N2 - Phosphorus (P) fertilizers from secondary resources became increasingly important in the last years. However, these novel P-fertilizer can also contain toxic pollutants e.g. chromium (Cr) in the hexavalent state (Cr(VI)), which is regulated with low limit values in agricultural products (German fertilizer ordinance limit: 2 mg/kg Cr(VI)). The determination of Cr(VI) in these novel fertilizer matrices can be hampered by redox processes that lead to false results with the standard wet chemical extraction method (German norm DIN EN 15192). Therefore, we analyzed Cr(VI) in various P-fertilizers with the DGT technique. DGT devices equipped with a APA (polyacrylamide) diffusion layer and Cr(VI) selective N-methyl-D-glucamine (NMDG) binding layer were used for the study. After a 24 h conditioning period of the fertilizer at 60% of the water holding capacity (WHC), the fertilizers were brought to 100% WHC, transferred onto the DGT devices and deployed for 24 h at 25°C. The extraction of Cr from the DGT binding layer was carried out with 1 M HNO3 for 24 h. The Cr-concentrations of the extract were determined by means of ICP-MS. We found a good correlation between the standard wet chemical extraction and the DGT method for the whole range of P-fertilizers. However, partly soluble Cr(VI) compounds cannot be detected in full extent by the DGT method that is best suited for mobile Cr(VI). Furthermore, Cr K-edge XANES spectroscopy showed that the Cr(VI)-selective DGT binding layer also adsorbs mobile Cr(III) compounds from acid treatment of phosphates which can therefore cause an overestimation of Cr(VI). The DGT method was very sensitive and in most cases selective for the analysis of Cr(VI) in P-fertilizers made from recycled materials. However, the results of certain types of P-fertilizers containing mobile Cr(III) or partly immobile Cr(VI) show that still some optimization of the method is required to avoid over- or underestimation of Cr(VI). T2 - 6th Conference on Diffusive Gradients in Thin Films CY - Vienna, Austria DA - 17.09.2019 KW - Fertilzer KW - Pollutant KW - Chromium KW - Diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) KW - XANES spectroscopy PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-49058 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Kratz, S. A1 - Samman, N. A1 - Wilharm, E. A1 - Jabs, K. A1 - Anlauf, R. A1 - Vogel, Christian A1 - Bloem, E. T1 - Development of a standard substrate to facilitate the use of DGT for the assessment of P recycling fertilizers N2 - P recycling fertilizers are gaining increasing importance in our efforts to close nutrient cycles. An unsatisfactory performance of standard chemical extraction methods to assess the fertilizing effects of such products was reported. They demonstrated that DGT extractions of incubated soil/fertilizer mixtures were able to predict the fertilizing effects of the respective products more accurately. Since DGT works with soil/fertilizer mixtures, its interpretation is soil-dependent. Therefore, in order to facilitate its use as a tool to predict fertilizer performance, it needs to be standardized based on a standard substrate. This research aims to develop a standard substrate based on which evaluation categories for the DGT fertilizer extraction can be derived. The substrate composition should allow to vary the most important soil properties determining the plant availability of fertilizer P. It must also be reproducible at any time and any place. Substrate variants with varying proportions of quartz sand, a clay mineral and sphagnum peat were prepared and set to pH-levels 5.5 and 7 by addition of CaCO3. 7 variants were incubated with a set of test fertilizers (2 recycling fertilizers based on sewage sludge ash and 2 conventional mineral fertilizers) for 2 weeks. Substrate/fertilizer mixtures were then extracted with DGT and an ANOVA was performed to test if the DGT extraction was able to depict significant differences between fertilizers and substrate variants. An 8-week pot trial with ryegrass (3 cuts) was set up with the same substrate variants and test fertilizers. P uptake was determined to assess the fertilizing effect and correlated with the results of the DGT extractions. Statistically significant differences were found between DGT results for the various test fertilizers and substrate variants, indicating that DGT is able to differentiate between P solubility of fertilizers in relation to substrate quality. DGT results showed a strong relationship with P uptake, confirming that this method is suitable to predict the fertilizing effect of P fertilizers. Further optimization of substrate composition and tests with a wider variety of crops and fertilizer types are needed, before evaluation categories for DGT values can be derived. T2 - 6th Conference on Diffusive Gradients in Thin Films CY - Vienna, Austria DA - 17.09.2019 KW - Fertilzer KW - Phosphorus KW - Diffusive Gradients in thin films (DGT) PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-49060 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Dombinov, V. A1 - Meiller, M. A1 - Müller, F. A1 - Herzel, Hannes A1 - Zang, J. W. A1 - Willbold, S. A1 - Poorter, H. A1 - Watt, M. A1 - Jablonownski, N. D. A1 - Schrey, S. D. T1 - Does co-combustion of bagasse and chicken manure affect the bioavailability of P from ash to soybeans? N2 - Brazilian farming industry consumed around 2.2 million tons of phosphorus (P) fertilizers in 2016. The agricultural industry depends on imported P fertilizers and over 98% of P fertilizers were used for sugarcane, soybean and maize production. An alternative is to use P from sugarcane bagasse. Bagasse is the fibrous plant material remaining after extraction of sugarcane juice, and it is combusted for energy production. Remaining ash con-tains up to 0.6 wt% P. The use of bagasse ash (BA) as P fertilizer could decrease the annual import of P fertilizers by 6% of the imported P fertilizer based on 2016 values. Since the bioavailability of P from BA to plants is poorly investigated, this study addresses the effects of (i) gasification tempera-ture (710-849°C), (ii) processing method (gasification vs. combustion), (iii) biomass modifications by co-processing bagasse with chicken manure (BA+CM), and (iv) the soil (Brazilian Oxisol soil vs. nutri-ent poor substrate) on the bioavailability of P from BA to soybeans (Glycine max). Gasification of BA at 806 °C resulted in significantly highest uptake of P by soybeans and was around 0.33 mmol after 51 days growing. The bioavailability of P significantly increased due to co-gasification of bagasse and chicken manure (BA+CM) and the soybeans took up around 16% more P. Compared to the nutrient-poor substrate, the bioavailability of P in BA+CM ash treated Oxisol soil was signifi-cantly lower by 46% and there was no significant effect of processing method on the bioavailability of P from the BA+CM ash to soybeans. Contrary to the Oxisol soil, the bioavailability of P from co-combusted BA+CM ash was significantly higher compared to co-gasified BA+CM ash. In conclusion, co-processing of bagasse with nutrient rich residues can increase the value of BA as P fertilizer. The bioavailability of P from ash to plants depends on the P forms. Mineralogical analyses of ash P forms by NMR and X-ray diffraction are in progress and will be presented at the conference. T2 - European Biomass Conference & Exhibition CY - Lisbon, Portugal DA - 26.05.2019 KW - Sugarcane bagasse KW - Chicken manure KW - Plant growth test KW - Bioavailability KW - Co-combustion PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-49272 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Vogel, Christian A1 - Huang, L. A1 - Sekine, R. A1 - Doolette, A. A1 - Herzel, Hannes A1 - Kugler, Stefan A1 - Hoffmann, Marie A1 - Lombi, E. A1 - Zuin, L. A1 - Wang, D. A1 - Félix, R. A1 - Adam, Christian T1 - Specification of bioavailable nutrients and pollutants in the environment by combining DGT and spectroscopic techniques N2 - Previous research shows that analytical methods based on Diffusive Gradients in Thin films (DGT) provide very good correlations to the amount of bioavailable nutrients and pollutants in the environmental samples. However, these DGT results do not identify which compound of the specific element has the high bioavailability. Using various spectroscopic techniques (infrared, XANES and NMR spectroscopy) to analyze the dried DGT binding layers after deployment could allow us to determine the specific elements or compounds. Nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen are often, together with other elements, present as molecules in the environment. These ions are detectable and distinguishable by infrared and NMR spectroscopy, respectively. In addition, XANES spectroscopy allows for the specification of nutrients and pollutants (e.g. chromium) on the DGT binding layer. Furthermore, microspectroscopic techniques make it also possible to analyze compounds on the DGT binding layer with a lateral resolution down to 5 µm2. Therefore, species of elements and compounds of e.g. a spatial soil segment can be mapped and analyzed, providing valuable insight to understand the dynamics of nutrients and pollutants in the environment. Here we will present the advantages and limitations of this novel combination of techniques. T2 - 6th Conference on Diffusive Gradients in Thin Films CY - Vienna, Austria DA - 17.09.2019 KW - Soil P species KW - DGT KW - Infrared spectroscopy PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-49057 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Maresca, A. A1 - Krüger, O. A1 - Herzel, Hannes A1 - Adam, Christian A1 - Kalbe, Ute A1 - Astrup, T. F. T1 - Influence of wood ash pre-treatment on leaching behaviour, liming and fertilising potential N2 - In Denmark, increasing amounts of woody biomass are being used for the production of renewable energy, resulting in more wood ashes being generated. While these materials have been mainly landfilled, wood ashes may also be utilised for fertilizing and liming purposes on top of soils. Pre-treatments involving hardening or granulation may be carried out prior to soil application. In this study, two Danish wood ash samples were hardened and/or granulated. Lab-hardening induced rapid changes in the shape of the acid neutralisation capacity curve of the ashes. Up-flow column tests, assuming local equilibrium conditions, were employed to investigate the leaching from pre-treated ashes. Granules and loose ashes demonstrated similar leaching behaviours, indicating that similar geochemical processes were governing their leaching. In comparison with untreated fresh ashes, the hardened ashes demonstrated reduced leaching of Ca, Ba, Pb and Zn with concentration levels generally below or close to the analytical limits of quantification; to the contrary, the leaching of As, P, Sb, Si, V and Mg was enhanced in the hardened ashes. The release of alkalinity was reduced by hardening. In general, all granules were barely breakable by finger-pinching and they could withstand one month of continuous leaching, preserving their overall shape. The solubility of phosphorous in neutral ammonium citrate indicated that about 30–51% of the total P content in the ash samples was released, suggesting that the ashes could be potentially valuable as P-fertiliser if applied onto soil. KW - Wood ash KW - Phoshpor availability KW - Leaching KW - Forest soils PY - 2019 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2018.11.003 SN - 0956-053X VL - 83 SP - 113 EP - 122 PB - Elsevier AN - OPUS4-46583 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Vogel, Christian A1 - Sekine, R. A1 - Steckenmesser, D. A1 - Lombi, E. A1 - Herzel, Hannes A1 - Zuin, L. A1 - Wang, D. A1 - Felix, R. A1 - Adam, Christian T1 - Combining diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) and spectroscopic techniques for the determination of phosphorus species in soils N2 - A wide range of methods are used to estimate the plant-availability of soil phosphorus (P). Published research has shown that the diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) technique has a superior correlation to plant-available P in soils compared to standard chemical extraction tests. In order to identify the plantavailable soil P species, we combined DGT with infrared and P K- and L2,3-edge X-ray adsorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy. This was achieved by spectroscopically investigating the dried binding layer of DGT devices after soil deployment. All three spectroscopic methods were able to distinguish between different kinds of phosphates (poly-, trimeta-, pyro- and orthophosphate) on the DGT binding layer. However, infrared spectroscopy was most sensitive to distinguish between different types of adsorbed inorganic and organic phosphates. Furthermore, intermediates of the time-resolved hydrolysis of trimetaphosphate in soil could be analyzed. KW - Phosphorus plant-availability KW - X-ray adsorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy KW - Infrared spectroscopy KW - Diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) PY - 2019 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aca.2019.01.037 SN - 0003-2670 VL - 1057 SP - 80 EP - 87 PB - Elsevier AN - OPUS4-47471 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -