Biosorption has gained much ground as a wastewater treatment technology. In this work, modified algal biosorbents were synthesized by immobilizing Cladophora sp. alga in alginate beads and silica gel. The resultant biosorbents were evaluated for the retrieval of mercury from aqueous solutions using batch scale experiments. Optimal metal removal was achieved at pH 5, agitation time 60 min, initial metal concentration 100 mg L⁻¹, and temperature 16 °C. Moreover, the experimental data fitted the Langmuir isotherm, pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherm thus showing that biosorption occurred on a homogeneous layer and ion exchange was the dominant mechanism. Both biosorbents also had high selectivity for Hg²⁺ in multi-elemental solutions. This work showed the potential of Cladophora sp. immobilized in alginate beads and silica gel in removing mercury from industrial wastewaters.

Accurate estimation of oxidant consumption during in situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) is the key to determining the treatment effectiveness in contaminated sites. We established the estimation model of soil oxidant demand (SOD) and simulation equations of potassium permanganate (KMnO₄) dynamic consumption based on the reaction equation of KMnO₄ with reductive minerals and the estimation model of SOD. Model validation, model application, and simulation assessment had been accomplished. Results indicated that the simulations are in good agreement with measured data. The confidence level of the SOD estimation model of KMnO₄ was over 80%, with sensitivity in decreasing order as follows: organic matter content > initial KMnO₄ concentration > reductive minerals (RMs). Particularly, the organic matter played a dominate role in the SOD model estimation. The coefficient of determination (R²) of the SOD dynamic consumption simulation equation was above 0.9. Among the various types of soils, the overall trend of SOD value and reaction period decreased as follows: clay > loam > sand. However, the consumption rate of KMnO₄ decreased in the order of clay > sand > loam. In addition, SOD value, reaction period, and reaction rate all increased as the initial concentration of KMnO₄ went up. This work can provide a methodology and reference for selecting and estimating of the optimal oxidant doses and reaction period during field application.

An inverse analysis method for the real-time monitoring of pollutant diffusion is developed based on fuzzy adaptive Kalman filter (FAKF) coupled with weighted recursive least squares algorithm (WRLSA). In the monitoring process, the discrete diffusion states equation is established first. Then, the FAKF is adopted to realize the precise monitoring of the pollution diffusion states while the WRLSA is used to monitor the pollutant source in real time. Finally, the simulations are presented to validate the effectiveness of the technique, which shows that this technique has wide applications in situations with several different kinds of sources and measurement noises. Besides, the results demonstrate the strong robustness of this method to have great monitoring performance.

Plastic films have previously displayed tremendous potential to increase water use efficiency in farmland and the yield of cash crops; however, long-term use of plastic film in soils can influence soil physiological and biochemical characteristics and change its biota. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of residual plastic film pollution on soil microbe community structure and fertility in Xinjiang province, China. Residual plastic film-contaminated soil and non-contaminated soil in Xinjiang farmland were selected for this study. The results indicated that residual plastic film pollution changed the structure of the soil biological community by significantly decreasing and increasing the abundance of Actinomycetes and Proteobacteria, respectively; further, the pollution decreased soil organic matter and inorganic nitrogen content by downregulating microbial genes related to soil carbon and nitrogen cycles and decreasing related enzymatic activities. The present results indicated that long-term residual plastic film exposure (more than 10 years) in farmland significantly decreases soil fertility and alters the microbial community structure.

A two-line denitrifying phosphorus removal process (2L-DPR) was established treating low C/N municipal wastewater efficiently in our previous studies, while hydraulic retention time (HRT) is one of the most important factors determining the substrate loading, contact time for biomass, and pollutants and further affect performance of the whole system. Removal and transformation mechanism of organic carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) were investigated together with mass balance under various HRTs (6, 9, and 18 h) in the established 2L-DPR process. The results showed that in anaerobic units, the concentration of the main storage products in activated sludge such as poly-hydroxyvalerate (PHV) and poly-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) at HRT of 9 h was higher than that under other HRTs. The highest TN and TP removal efficiency was also achieved under the HRT of 9 h with removal rates of 55.9% and 84.6% respectively. Increasing HRT from 6 to 9 h greatly enhanced TN removal in anoxic and aerobic units; however, HRTs had little influence on COD removal with effluent concentration of 48.6, 49.1, and 48.9 mg/L, respectively. HRT affected phosphorus up-taken in anoxic and aerobic units rather than on the release of phosphorus processes in anaerobic units.

Large rivers are important components of the global C cycle. While they are facing an overall degradation of their water quality, little remains known about the dynamics of their metabolism. In the present study, we used continuous multi-sensors measurements to assess the temporal variability of gross primary production (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (ER) rates of the anthropized Seine River over an annual cycle. Downstream from the Paris urban area, the Seine River is net heterotrophic at the annual scale (−226 gO₂ m⁻² year⁻¹ or −264 gC m⁻² year⁻¹). Yet, it displays a net autotrophy at the daily and seasonal scales during phytoplankton blooms occurring from late winter to early summer. Multivariate analyses were performed to identify the drivers of river metabolism. Daily GPP is best predicted by chlorophyll a (Chla), water temperature (T), light, and rainfalls, and the coupling of daily GPP and Chla allows for the estimation of the productivity rates of the different phytoplankton communities. ER rates are mainly controlled by T and, to a lesser extent, by Chla. The increase of combined sewer overflows related to storm events during the second half of the year stimulates ER and the net heterotrophy of the river. River metabolism is, thus, controlled at different timescales by factors that are affected by human pressures. Continuous monitoring of river metabolism must, therefore, be pursued to deepen our understanding about the responses of ecosystem processes to changing human pressures and climate.

Soil contaminated by benzene, toluene, and xylene (BTX) is one of the biggest environmental problems, and it is estimated that the main source of contamination is due to fuel spills. Chemical oxidation has been considered as an alternative for removal of hydrocarbons from soil contaminated with gasoline. However, it is still necessary to study the effective capacity of these processes in the degradation and toxicity elimination of aromatic hydrocarbons, such as BTX. In this study, two different Fenton-like remediation techniques were investigated for the remediation of soil contaminated with BTX (Fe³⁺/H₂O₂ and H₂O₂ alone) and using two gasoline (pure and with ethanol). Results showed that both processes were efficient for the remediation of BTX. After 60 min of treatment using addition of Fe³⁺ or H₂O₂ alone, a high level of removal of BTX was observed (> 70%). However, lower rates of degradation were observed when the soil was contaminated with pure gasoline (> 40%) indicating that the effectiveness of system depends also on the characteristics of the gasoline. Phytotoxicity studies were carried out before and after treatment using Lactuca sativa seeds. Results showed that the intermediates formed after treatment affected the germination and root development of Lactuca sativa. The germination index (GI) observed was 0% for both processes. This shows that more toxic by-product compounds can be generated during remediation. For this reason, the treatment requires attention. Although the Fenton-like process might remove BTX from contaminated soil after 60 min of reaction, it was not sufficient to remove or eliminate the phytotoxicity.

The safe recycling of organic wastes such as the nutrients obtained from agriculture activities is a relevant aspect of the “One Health” strategy, a worldwide initiative including all aspects of health care for humans and animals, as well as aspects related to the conservation and development of the environment. It represents an important opportunity to mitigate the potential impact of microbial pathogens likely present in nutrient natural sources, as digestate, when applied to land as fertilizers. The objectives of the current study were to determine the inactivation of enteric microorganisms in swine digestate (effluent and sludge) during storage in anaerobic conditions and at different ambient temperatures of tropical zones (16, 22, and 37 °C). Human adenovirus 2 (HAdV-2), bacteriophage PhiX-174, and Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium (S. typhimurium) were used as enteric microbial models to determine the minimum storage time required to reduce at least 3log of enteric microorganisms load in both matrices at the mentioned temperatures. The minimum storage time required for S. typhimurium was shorter than those observed for viruses at 37 °C, while reduction of at least 3log for S. typhimurium was observed after just 1 day; 20 and 90 days were needed for similar reductions for HAdV-2 and PhiX-174, respectively. Similar results were also observed at lower temperatures: 30 and 45 days were needed for S. typhimurium at 22 and 16 °C, respectively, but 30 and 90 days were needed at 22 °C for HAdV-2 PhiX-174, respectively, or 90 and 120 days at 16 °C for HAdV-2 PhiX-174, respectively. This is a pioneering study on the evaluation of inactivation of enteric viruses in swine digestate in usual tropical ambient temperatures; it demonstrates that the time for a considerable inactivation is longer than that observed for a enteric microorganisms (S. typhimurium), and shows that the storage of swine digestate at the referred temperatures can be used as a low-cost post-treatment to inactivate enteric microorganisms, allowing a further use as safer fertilizer.

An organo-zeolite was prepared by loading hexadecyltrimethylammonium (HDTMA) onto clinoptilolite and was used to remove ceftriaxone sodium and paracetamol in aqueous solutions. Batch experiments were conducted to perform kinetics and sorption isotherms at 25 °C and 100 rpm. The results indicate that the equilibration times were 24 h for ceftriaxone sodium and 9 h for paracetamol. Furthermore, sorption capacities were 0.7288 and 0.0058 mg/g, respectively. The data were treatment with different models including pseudo first order, second order, and Elovich, the results suggested a chemical adsorption mechanism, and the adsorption equilibrium data for the two drugs show that they follow a linear trend, indicating a partitioning mechanism. Physicochemical properties such as solubility, log Kow, and pka play an important role in the adsorption process. Finally, the values obtained for zero charge point (ZPC) for zeolitic materials were 6.90, 6.94, and 6.90 for natural zeolite (ZN), sodium zeolite (ZNa), and zeolite modified surface at 30 mM HDTMA (ZMS-30), respectively.

A peanut shell-derived oxidized activated carbon (OAC) with high surface area was prepared by zinc chloride (ZnCl₂) chemical activation and subsequent nitric acid oxidation. OAC was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and N₂ adsorption-desorption. The results showed that OAC had the surface area of 1807 m² g⁻¹, with the total pore volume of 0.725 cm³ g⁻¹ and average pore diameter of 3.8 nm. More importantly, when OAC acted as an adsorbent, it exhibited high efficiency to remove basic blue 41 (BB-41), congo red (CR), phenol, Cr(VI), and Pb(II) from aqueous solution due to its universality in adsorption. Batch adsorption experiments were carried out to study the effect of various parameters such as pH, initial concentration, temperature, and contact time. Also, the isotherms, kinetic models, and thermodynamics of adsorption process were investigated. The equilibrium data for CR and Pb(II) were fitted to Langmuir isotherm model, while Freundlich model was suitable for the equilibrium isotherm of BB-41, phenol, and Cr(VI), respectively. As the result indicated, peanut shell was a suitable raw material to synthesize OAC which could be employed as an efficient and universal adsorbent for removing organic pollutants and heavy metal ions from wastewater.