Nabil Zouari
Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences
Professor in Qatar University
This research is being carried-out in order to understand the major concerns and reasons of failure of bioaugmentation in Qatar and the Arab Gulf region for oil hydrocarbons removal at harsh conditions which characterize the region. The originality of our research is that local isolates are able to adapt to each harsh situation by implementing an adapted metabolism and by having the ability of shifting the biological activity towards specific pollutants in the soil. The main conclusion is that the main reason of failure is that the capacity of bacteria to degrade pollutants is not a result of just adding any species to polluted sites, but, the capacity of individual microorganism to adapt its metabolism to the environment, leading to high diversity in hydro-carbon-degrading bacteria.
This research intends to isolate, screen and select bacterial strains from harsh Qatari soils, weather and weathering processes to understand how the extreme weather in Qatar, as good site for the study, leads to prolonged periods of adaptation of the metabolism in selected bacteria, as candidates for implementation of appropriate bioremediation strategies at similar conditions worldwide. This represents a key parameter in selecting appropriate isolates for bioremediation of a specific oily-polluted site, preventing frequent failure of bioaugmentation strategies at harsh conditions.
Dolomite (MgCa(CO3)2) is an important petroleum reservoir rock mineral common in ancient sedimentary rocks which is infrequently found in modern environments. The mechanism of dolomite formation remains poorly understood, although recent research has focused on the contribution of microbial processes. Sabkha is the Arabic term for saline mudflats occurring in regions characterized by extreme environmental conditions (high temperature, salinity, light intensity, and aridity), where diverse halophilic and extremophilic microorganisms are found. The dynamic evaporitic systems characteristic of sabkhas are crucial for the precipitation of minerals and a role for microorganisms in sabkhas in the process of mineralization has been proposed. In this study the Dohat Faishakh Sabkha in Qatar was investigated for evidence of the role of aerobic bacteria in mediating the formation of high magnesium carbonates and dolomite, two minerals that commonly occur in the sabkha sediments. 29 strains of aerobic microbes were obtained through inoculation on agar plates from two different cores sampled from the sabkha and identified by 16S rDNA sequencing as belonging to the genera Bacillus, Salinivibrio, Staphylococcus and, primarily, Virgibacillus. All strains examined caused the pH of the artificial growth medium to increase from 7 to 8.5; however, not all were capable of mediating mineral formation. Only Salinivibrio and Virgibacillus spp. isolates mediated the formation of detectable solid phases within the agar plates. Light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy energy dispersive X-ray (SEM/EDX), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses indicate that the solid phase produced in the presence of these bacterial strains is MgCa(CO3)2 with a MgCO3 mol% varying from 0% to 40%. The results of these laboratory experiments suggests that, in the Dohat Faishakh Sabkha, aerobic bacteria may contribute in the formation of very high Mg calcite, a mineral that is considered the precursor of ordered dolomite.
Some bacteria uses urea as a sole carbon and nitrogen source and are known as ureolytic bacteria. Ureolytic bacteria produces an enzyme urease that helps in degrading urea (Hammes et al., 2003). As seen in the equation (1), 1 mole of urea is degraded into carbamate and ammonia. The carbamate further is hydrolyzed to form ammonia and carbonic acid as shown in equation 2. The carbonic acid hydrolyze further to form bicarbonate. Similarly, the ammonia is hydrolyzed to form ammonium ions and hydroxide ions. This ultimately results in the increase of pH. In the end reaction of the urea hydrolysis, higher pH is obtained and carbonate is formed which on availability of calcium ions would precipitate out as calcium carbonate as shown in equation (6).
CO(NH2)2 + H2O NH2COOH + NH3 (1)
NH2COOH + H2O NH3 + H2CO3 (2)
H2CO3 HCO3- + H+ (3)
2 NH3 + 2H2O 2NH4+ + 2OH- (4)
HCO3- + H+ + 2NH4+ + 2OH- CO32- + 2NH4+ + 2H2O (5)
Now if calcium ions are available in the media, the production of calcium carbonate precipitates would occur.
CO32- + Ca2+ CaCO3 (Kso = 3.8 x 10-9) (6)
Hence, an increase in pH results in the precipitation of calcium carbonates. The whole phenomenon is induced by the help or urea hydrolyzing bacteria. This phenomenon is known as microbial induction of calcium precipitates (MICP). MICP is one of the most important idea linking many aspects of science; biology, geology and engineering. Micro-organisms plays an important role in inducing the precipitation of calcium carbonate, hence, inducing a change in the geological properties of the soil or any component under study. These inductions happens due to the interaction of micro-organisms with the particles and these interactions are studied based on different engineered technologies. Different bacterial strains are important in biomineralization processes however, about 200 different kinds of bacteria are known to induce calcium carbonate biomineralization. Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) are substances found in microbes. These substances are protective and assist the microbes to adhere to different substrates. Not only protection and adhesion but also nutrition adsorption is achieved through EPS. It helps the micro-organisms in trapping and precipitating sediments and minerals. After adhesion to different surfaces, microbes start to dissolve the minerals in order to obtain energy and other nutrients resulting in precipitation as by-product. EPS produced by microbes are known to assist the precipitation of calcium carbonate. EPS produces alkaline conditions as well as binds the positive calcium ions to sits that are negatively charged. Similarly, an increase in the concentration of bicarbonates (HCO3-) also enhances the precipitation of calcium carbonate. Organic mineralization also known as organomineralization is the precipitation of fine calcium carbonate crystals by interaction with organic matter or macromolecules. This process of mineralization occurs in nature without the involvement of microbes. This indicates that the presence of organic macromolecules in the study subject would interfere with the biomineralization processes and could yield wrong observations. Certain enzymes present in micro-organisms if induced could result in an increase in the pH hence, developing an alkaline environment. This alkalinity would allow the precipitation of calcium carbonate. Such enzymes include urease enzyme. Hence, ureolytic bacteria can play a role in biomineralization.
(2019-August 2023)
1-M.Y. Ashfaq, M.A. Al-ghouti, H. Qiblawey, and Nabil Zouari (2019). Use of DPSIR Framework to Analyze Water Resources in Qatar and Overview of Reverse Osmosis as an Environment Friendly Technology. Environ. Prog. Sustain. Energy, 1–13. doi:10.1002/ep.13081. Q1 journal
2-J Gu, MT Suleiman, H Bastola, DG Brown and Nabil Zouari (2019). Treatment of Sand Using Microbial-Induced Carbonate Precipitation (MICP) for Wind Erosion Application. IFCEE 2018, 155-164 https://ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/9780784481592.016 Q1 journal
3- M.Y. Ashfaq, M.A. Al-ghouti, H. Qiblawey and Nabil Zouari (2019). Evaluating the effect of antiscalants on membrane biofouling using FTIR and multivariate analysis, Biofouling. 0 1–14. doi:10.1080/08927014.2018.1557637. Q1 journal
4- M.Y. Ashfaq, M.A. Al-ghouti, H. Qiblawey, D.F. Rodrigues, Y. Hu, and Nabil Zouari (2019). Isolation, identification and biodiversity of antiscalant degrading seawater bacteria using MALDI-TOF-MS and multivariate analysis. Sci. Total Environ. 656, 910–920. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.11.477. Q1 journal
5- M.A. Al-Kaabi, M.A. Al-Ghouti, M.Y. Ashfaq, T. Ahmed, N and Nabil Zouari (2019). An integrated approach for produced water treatment using microemulsions modified activated carbon, Journal of Water Process Engineering. 31, 100830. Q1 journal
6- E Babiker, MA Al-Ghouti, Nabil Zouari and G McKay (2019). Removal of boron from water using adsorbents derived from waste tire rubber. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering 7 (2), 102948 Q1 journal
7- Pierre Bick; Hridaya Bastola; Muhannad T. Suleiman; Jianbo Gu; Panayiotis Diplas; Derick G. Brown; and Nabil Zouari (2019). Minimizing Wind Erosion Using Microbial Induced Carbonate Precipitation. Eighth International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering Geo-Congress 2019: pp 223. Geo-Congress 2019ISBN 9780784482117. https://ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/9780784482117.022 Q2 journal
8- Zulfa Ali Al Disi, Nabil Zouari, Maria Dittrich, Samir Jaoua, Hamad Al Saad Al-Kuwari and Tomaso R.R. Bontognali. (2019). Characterization of the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) of Virgibacillus strains capable of mediating the formation of high Mg- calcite and protodolomite. Marine Chemistry 216 (Oct 2019), 103693. DOI: 10.1016/j.marchem.2019.103693 Q1 journal
9- Meriam Oualha, Nasser Al-Kaabi, Mohammad Al-Ghouti and Nabil Zouari (2019). Identification and overcome of limitations of weathered oil hydrocarbons bioremediation by an adapted Bacillus sorensis strain. Journal of Environmental Management, 250 (Nov 2019), 109455 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109455 Q1 journal
10- Zulfa Ali Al Disi, Tomaso R. R. Bontognali, Samir Jaoua, Essam Attia, Hamad Al Saad Al-Kuwari and Nabil Zouari (2019). Influence of temperature, salinity and Mg: Ca ratio on microbially-mediated formation of Mg-rich carbonates by Virgibacillus strains isolated from a sabkha environment. Sci Rep 9, 19633 (2019). DOI. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019- 56144-0 Q1 journal
11- Mohammad Y. Ashfaq, Mohammad A. Al-Ghouti, Dana A. Da’na, Nabil Zouari, Hazim Qiblawey (2020). Investigating the effect of temperature on calcium sulfate scaling on reverse osmosis membrane using FTIR, SEM-EDX and multivariate analysis. Science of the Total Environment,703, 134726. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134726 Q1 journal
12- Meriam Oualha, Shazia Bibi, Muhannad Sulaiman, Nabil Zouari (2020). Microbially induced calcite precipitation in calcareous soils by endogenous Bacillus cereus, at high pH and harsh weather. Journal of Environmental Management, 257, 109965. DOI : 10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109965O Q1 journal
13- Rim Abdel Samad, Zulfa Al Disi, Mohammad Yousaf Mohammad Ashfaq, Sara Mohiddin Wahib and Nabil Zouari (2020). The use of Principle Component Analysis and MALDI-TOF MS for the differentiation of mineral forming Virgibacillus and Bacillus species isolated from Sabkhas. RSC Advances, 10, 14606-14616. DOI: 10.1039/D0RA01229G Q1 journal
14- Mohammad Yousaf Ashfaq, Mohammad Al-Ghouti1, Zulfa A. Al Disi, Nabil Zouari (2020). Interaction of Seawater Microorganisms with scalants and antiscalants in Reverse Osmosis Systems. Desalination, 487, 114480. doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2020.114480. Q1 journal
15- Mohammad Yousaf Ashfaq, Mohammad Al-Ghouti, Zulfa A. Al Disi, Nabil Zouari (2020). Investigating the microorganisms-calcium sulfate interaction in reverse osmosis systems using SEM-EDX technique. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 8, (4), 103963. doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2020.103963. Q1 journal
16- Mohammad Yousaf Ashfaq, Mohammad Al-Ghouti, Nabil Zouari (2020). Functionalization of reverse osmosis membrane with graphene oxide to reduce both membrane scaling and biofouling. Carbon, 166 (2020), 374- 387, doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2020.05.017 Q1 journal
17- Mohammad Yousaf Ashfaq, Mohammad Al-Ghouti, Nabil Zouari (2020). Functionalization of reverse osmosis membrane with graphene oxide and polyacrylic acid to control biofouling and mineral scaling. Science of the Total Environment, 736 (2020) 139500 Q1 journal
18- Ayesha Y Ahmad, Mohammad A Al-Ghouti, Majeda Khraisheh, Nabil Zouari (2020). Hydrogeochemical characterization and quality evaluation of groundwater suitability for domestic and agricultural uses in the state of Qatar. Groundwater for Sustainable Development. Groundwater for Sustainable Development. 11, (2020), 100467. doi.org/10.1016/j.gsd.2020.100467 Q1 journal
19- Iman A.Saleh, Nabil Zouari, Mohammad A.Al-Ghouti (2020). Removal of pesticides from water and wastewater: Chemical, physical and biological treatment approaches. Environmental Technology & Innovation, 19, 101026. doi.org/10.1016/j.eti.2020.10102631- Q1 journal
20- U Kamal, HAD Mohammed, Z Nabil, AAG Mohammad (2020). Lead (Pb) bioaccumulation and antioxidative responses in Tetraena qataranse. Scientific Reports 2020 (10), 17070 Q1 journal
21- MY Ashfaq, MA Al-Ghouti, DA Da’na, H Qiblawey, N Zouari (2020). Effect of concentration of calcium and sulfate ions on gypsum scaling of reverse osmosis membrane, mechanistic study. Journal of Materials Research and Technology 9 (6), 13459-13473 Q1 journal
22- N AlKaabi, MA Al-Ghouti, S Jaoua, N Zouari (2020). Potential for native hydrocarbon- degrading bacteria to remediate highly weathered oil-polluted soils in Qatar through self- purification and bioaugmentation in biopiles. Biotechnology Reports 28, e00543. Q1 journal 23- Riham Surkatti, Zulfa A. Al Disi, Muftah H. El-Naas, Nabil Zouari, Mark C.M. Van Loosdrecht, Udeogu Onwusogh (2021). Isolation and identification of organics-degrading bacteria from GTL process water. Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.. Volume 8, Article 603305. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2020.603305 Q1 journal
24- Shaikha Y. Alsayegh, Mohammad A. Al-Ghouti, Nabil Zouari (2021). Study of bacterial interactions in reconstituted hydrocarbon-degrading bacterial consortia from a local collection, for the bioremediation of weathered oily-soils. Biotechnology Reports, 29 (2021) e00598. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.btre.2021.e00598. Q1 journal
Moza Ghorab Al Marri, Mohammad A. Al-Ghouti, Vasanth C. Shunmugasamy, Nabil Zouari (2021). Date pits based nanomaterials for thermal insulation applications—Towards energy efficient buildings in Qatar. PLoS ONE 16(3): e0247608. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0247608 Q1 journal
25- Adewale S. Bello, Nabil Zouari, Dana A. Da’ana, John N. Hahladakis, Mohammad A. AlGhouti (2021). An overview of brine management: Emerging desalination technologies, life cycle assessment, and metal recovery methodologies. Journal of Environmental Management 288 (2021) 112358. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112358 Q1 journal 27- DA Da’ana, N Zouari, MY Ashfaq, M Abu-Dieyeh, M Khraisheh, YM Hijji, MA Al- Ghouti (2021). Removal of Toxic Elements and Microbial Contaminants from Groundwater Using Low-Cost Treatment Options. Current Pollution Reports, 1-25 https://doi.org/10.1007/s40726-021-00187-3 Q1 journal
28- M Al-Kaabi, N Zouari, D Da’na, M Al-Ghouti (2021). Adsorptive batch and biological treatments of produced water: Recent progresses, challenges, and potentials
Journal of Environmental Management 290 (2021), 112527 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112527 Q1 journal
29- Shaikha Y. Alsayegh, Zulfa Al Disi, Mohammad A. Al-Ghouti, Nabil Zouari (2021). Evaluation by MALDI-TOF MS and PCA of the diversity of biosurfactants and their producing bacteria, as adaption to weathered oil components. Biotechnology Reports, 31 (2021), September 2021, e00660. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.btre.2021.e00660 Q1 journal
30- Zulfa Ali Al Disi, Nabil Zouari, Essam Attia, Mazen Al-Asali, Hamad Al Saad, Al- Kuwari, Fadhil Sadooni, Maria Dittrichbd and Tomaso R. R. Bontognali (2021). Systematic laboratory approach to produce Mg rich carbonates at low temperature. RSC Advances, 11, 37029. DOI: 10.1039/d1ra06206a Q1 journal
31- SA Wahib, DA Da’na, N Zouari, YM Hijji, MA Al-Ghouti (2022). Adsorption and recovery of lithium ions from groundwater using date pits impregnated with cellulose nanocrystals and ionic liquid. Journal of Hazardous Materials 421 (2022) 126657 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.126657 Q1 journal
32- Muazzam Ghous Sohail, Zulfa Al Disi, Nabil Zouari, Nasser Al Nuaimi, Ramazan Kahraman, Bora Gencturk, Debora F. Rodrigues, Yucel Yildirim (2022). Bio self-healing concrete using MICP by an indigenous Bacillus cereus strain isolated from Qatari soil. Construction and Building Materials 328, 126943. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2022.126943 Q1 journal
33- Zulfa Al Disi, Mohammad A Al-Ghouti, Nabil Zouari (2022). Investigating the simultaneous removal of hydrocarbons and heavy metals by highly adapted Bacillus and Pseudomonas strains. Environmental Technology & Innovation, 27, 102513. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eti.2022.102513 Q1 journal
34- Zulfa AlDisi, EssamAttia, Mohammad I.Ahmad, Nabil Zouari (2022). Immobilization of heavy metals by microbially induced carbonate precipitation using hydrocarbon-degrading ureolytic bacteria. Biotechnology Reports 35, e00747. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.btre.2022.e00747 Q1 journal
35- Ayesha Y.Ahmad, Mohammad A.Al-Ghouti, Majeda Khraisheh, Nabil Zouari (2022). Development and application of bio-waste-derived adsorbents for the removal of boron from groundwater. Groundwater for Sustainable Development, 18, 100793. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsd.2022.100793 Q1 journal
36- Haneen I. Eldos, Mariam Khan, Nabil Zouari, Suhur Saeed, Mohammad A. Al-Ghouti (2022). Characterization and assessment of process water from oil and gas production: A case study of process wastewater in Qatar. Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering, 2022, 100210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cscee.2022.100210 Q1 journal
37- Ayesha Y. Ahmad, Mohammad A.Al-Ghouti, Majeda Khraisheh, Nabil Zouari (2022). Insights into the removal of lithium and molybdenum from groundwater by adsorption onto
activated carbon, bentonite, roasted date pits, and modified-roasted date pits. Bioresource Technology Reports, 18, 101045. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biteb.2022.101045 Q1 journal
28- Haneen I. Eldos, Nabil Zouari, Suhur Saeed, Mohammad A. Al-Ghouti (2022). Recent advances in the treatment of PAHs in the environment: Application of nanomaterial-based technologies. Arabian Journal of Chemistry, 15, 103918. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arabjc.2022.103918 Q1 journal
29- Rajendran Sankaran, Nabil Zouari, Zulfa AlDisi, Fadhel Sadooni, Hamad A.Rahman S A Al-kuwari, Abdulaziz Al-Jabri (2022). Mapping of aeolian deposits of an industrial site in the arid region using the TIR bands of ASTER and study of physicochemical characters and stabilization of sand erosion. Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk. 13 (1) https://doi.org/10.1080/19475705.2022.2122873 Q1 journal
30- Rim Abdelsamad, Zulfa Al Disi, Mohammad Abu-Dieyeh, Mohammad AlGhouti, Nabil Zouari (2022). Evidencing the Role of Carbonic Anhydrase in the Formation of Carbonate Minerals by Bacterial Strains Isolated from Extreme Environments in Qatar. Heliyon, 8 (10), e11151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e11151. Q1 journal
31- Kamal Usman, Serhiy Souchelnytskyi, Mohammed Al-Ghouti, Nabil Zouari, Mohammed Abu-Dieyeh (2022). Proteomic analysis of T. qataranse exposed to lead (Pb) stress reveal new proteins with potential roles in Pb tolerance and detoxification mechanism. Frontiers in Plant Science. 13, 1009756. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.1009756. Q1 journal
32- Nasser Al-Kaabi, Zulfa AlDisi, Mohammad A.Al-Ghouti, Theis Ivan Solling, Nabil Zouari (2022). Interaction between indigenous hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria in reconstituted mixtures for remediation of weathered oil in soil. Biotechnology Reports, 2022, e00767. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.btre.2022.e00767. Q1 journal
43- Mohammad Y. Ashfaq, Mohammad A. Al-Ghouti, Nabil Zouari (2022). Investigating the effect of polymer-modified graphene oxide coating on RO membrane fouling. Journal of Water Process Engineering, 49, 103164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe.2022.103164.
44- Kewei Gao; Hai Lin; Muhannad T. Suleiman; Pierre Bick; Tomas Babuska; Xiwei Li; Jeffrey Helm; Derick Brown; Nabil Zouari (2023). Shear and Tensile Strength Measurement of CaCO3 Cemented Bond Between Glass Beads Treated by Microbial Induced Calcite Precipitation. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 149, (1), Q1 journal
45- Kewei Gao; Pierre Bick; Muhannad T. Suleiman; Xiwei Li; Jeffrey Helm; Derick Brown; Nabil Zouari (2023). Wind Erosion Mitigation Using Microbial Induced Carbonate Precipitation (MICP). Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 149, 8, https://doi.org/10.1061/JGGEFK.GTENG-11140 Q1 journal
46- Muhammad Zaid Jawaid, Mohammad Yousaf Ashfaq, Mohammad Al-Ghouti and Nabil Zouari (2023). Valorization of Palm tree (Phoenix dactylifera L.) leaves from harsh weather climate by silage using endogenous Lactic Acid Bacteria, and application of MALDI-TOF MS for study of populations dynamics. Bioresource Technology Reports. 22 (2023) 101408. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biteb.2023.101408 Q1 journal
47- Oumaima Mabrouk, Helmi Hamdi, Sami Sayadi, Mohammad Al-Ghouti, Mohammed Abu-Dieyeh, Nabil Zouari (2023). Reuse of Sludge as Organic Soil Amendment: Insights into the Current Situation and Potential Challenges. Sustainability 2023, 15(8), 6773; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15086773 Q2 journal
48- Toka Farhat, Zulfa Al Disi, Mohammad Yousaf Ashfaq and Nabil Zouari (2023).
Study of diversity of mineral-forming bacteria in Sabkha mats and sediments of mangrove forest in Qatar. Biotechnology Reports, 39, 2023, 00811. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.btre.2023.e00811. Q1 journal.
49- Isra E. Gilani, Sami Sayadi, Nabil Zouari, Mohammad A. Al-Ghouti (2023). Plastic waste impact and biotechnology: Exploring polymer degradation, microbial role, and sustainable development implications. Bioresource Technology Reports, 24 (2023) 101606.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biteb.2023.101606 Q1 journal
50- Mabrouk Oumaima, Helmi Hamdi, Sami Sayadi, Mohammad A. Al-Ghouti, Mohammed Abu-Dieyeh, Reginald Kogbara, Ali Al-Sharshani, Osman Abdalla, Sabah Solim, Nabil Zouari (2023). Recycling of gas-to-liquid sludge as a potential organic amendment: Effect on soil and cotton properties under hyperarid conditions. Journal of Environmental Management, 349, 119319. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119319 Q1 journal
51- Haneen Eldos, Maryam Khan, Nabil Zouari, S Saeed, M. A. Al-AlGhouti (2023). Adsorptive removal of volatile petroleum hydrocarbons from aqueous solution by zeolite imidazole framework (ZIF-8) and iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles. Environmental Technology & Innovation, 32, 103382. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eti.2023.103382