Aluminum (Al) is a major constraint for plant growth by inducing inhibition of root elongation in acid soils around the world. Besides, drought is another major abiotic stress that adversely affects growth and productivity of agricultural crops. The plant growth–promoting (PGP) rhizobacterial strains are useful choice to decrease these stressful effects and is now extensively in practice. However, the use of bacterial inoculation has not been attempted for the mitigation of Al stress in plants growing at high Al levels under drought stress. Therefore, in the present study, Al- and drought-tolerant bacterial strains were isolated from Lactuca sativa and Beta vulgaris rhizospheric soils. Among the bacterial isolates, two strains, CAM12 and CAH6, were selected based on their ability to tolerate high levels of Al (8 mM) and drought (15% PEG-6000, w/v) stresses. The bacterial strains CAM12 and CAH6 were identified as Bacillus megaterium and Pantoea agglomerans, respectively, by 16S rRNA gene sequence homology. Moreover, both strains showed multiple PGP traits even in the presence of abiotic stresses. In the pot experiments, inoculation of the strains CAM12 and CAH6 as individually or as included in a consortium improved the Vigna radiata growth under abiotic stress conditions and reduced Al uptake in plants. However, the most effective treatment was seen with bacterial consortium that allowed the plants to tolerate abiotic stress effectively and achieved better growth. These results indicate that bacterial consortium could be used as a bio-inoculant for enhancing V. radiata growth in soil with high Al levels subjected to drought conditions.

Post-industrial era has witnessed significant advancements at unprecedented rates in the field of medicine and cosmetics, which has led to affluent use of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs). However, this has exacerbated the influx of various pollutants in the environment affecting living organisms through multiple routes. Thousands of PPCPs of various classes—prescription and non-prescription drugs—are discharged directly into the environment. In this review, we have surveyed literature investigating plant-based remediation practices to remove PPCPs from the environment. Our specific aim is to highlight the importance of plant-bacteria interplay for sustainable remediation of PPCPs. The green technologies not only are successfully curbing organic pollutants but also have displayed certain limitations. For example, the presence of biologically active compounds within plant rhizosphere may affect plant growth and hence compromise the phytoremediation potential of constructed wetlands. To overcome these hindrances, combined use of plants and beneficial bacteria has been employed. The microbes (both rhizo- and endophytes) in this type of system not only degrade PPCPs directly but also accelerate plant growth by producing growth-promoting enzymes and hence remediation potential of constructed wetlands.

The literature indicates that exotic species have a greater tolerance to environmental stressors compared with native species. In recent decades, the introduction of contaminants into the environment has increased as a result of industrialization. The objective of this study was to verify the resistance of bivalve mollusks from freshwater native (Anodontites trapesialis) and exotic (Limnoperna fortunei) species to chemical contamination using an ex vivo/in vitro approach. Gill and muscle tissues were exposed to two different types of environmental stressors, copper (metal), and Roundup Transorb® (herbicide). The tissues were submitted to a cytotoxicity test in which the lysosomal integrity was assessed, from the adaptation of a method to isolated cells, and multixenobiotic resistance (MXR) test which evaluated cellular defense. In the exotic species, only copper at 9000 μg/L and Roundup Transorb® at 5000 μg/L were cytotoxic. In the native species, copper cytotoxicity at 900 and 9000 μg/L and Roundup Transorb® at 50 and 5000 μg/L were observed. Results were the same in both tissues. The MXR, responsible for the extrusion of contaminants (cell defense), was inhibited in both species when exposed to the contaminants, this cell defense system seems to be more inhibited in the native species, when exposed to both pollutants, indicating greater sensitivity. Therefore, cytotoxicity may be related to the lack of capacity of cellular defense. In relation to lysosomal integrity, the native species was more sensitive to cytotoxic pollutants, where a greater number of experimental conditions of metals and herbicide showed cytotoxicity, as well as more experimental situations inhibited its ability to defend itself.

The article Occurrence of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in floor and elevated surface house dust from Shanghai, China, written by Dong Niu, Yanling Qiu, Li Li, Yihui Zhou, Xinyu Du, Zhiliang Zhu, Ling Chen and Zhifen Lin, was originally published electronically on the publisher’s internet portal

Sustainable sources like wind, solar, and geothermal power are defined as a clean source of renewable energy which has a less harmful impact on the environment than other energy sources such as coal, natural gas and oil. Turkey is one of the energy-importing countries where air pollution has been become an inevitable environmental concern. Thus, investments on sustainable sources have been developed rapidly in recent years in Turkey. This paves the way for studying a site selection problem considering both solar and wind energy in Igdir Province located in the east part of Turkey. In the literature, there are many studies on solar-wind energy to select a desirable site for both energy sources, and many solution techniques have been proposed dealing with this problem. In this study, one of multi-criteria decision-making methods named analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and geographical information systems (GIS) are used to determine suitable site selection for solar-wind energy investigating four counties of Igdir: Tuzluca, Igdir Central, Karakoyunlu and Aralik. The aim of this work is first to investigate possible locations for solar-wind power plant installation using a mapping method, GIS, and then, AHP is applied to the problem to obtain optimum areas for both solar-wind energy. Also, more accurate results are provided comparing results of two methods, GIS and AHP. The results reveal that 524.5 km² for solar power plant and 147.2 km² for wind turbine are suitable while only 49.1 km² is suitable for solar-wind power plan installation.

The establishment of phytoextraction crops on highly contaminated soils can be limited by metal toxicity. A recent proposal has suggested establishing support crops during the critical initial phase by metal immobilization through soil amendments followed by subsequent mobilization using elemental sulphur to enhance phytoextraction efficiency. This ‘combined phytoremediation’ approach is tested for the first time in a pot experiment with a highly contaminated soil. During a 14-week period, relatively metal-tolerant maize was grown in a greenhouse under immobilization (before sulphur (S) application) and mobilization (after S application) conditions with soil containing Cd, Pb and Zn contaminants. Apart from the control (C) sample, the soil was amended with activated carbon (AC), lignite (Lig) or vermicompost (VC) all in two different doses (dose 1~45 g additive kg⁻¹ soil and dose 2~90 g additive kg⁻¹ soil). Elemental S was added as a mobilization agent in these samples after 9 weeks. Biomass production, nutrient and metal bioavailability in the soil were determined, along with their uptake by plants and the resulting remediation factors. Before S application, Cd and Zn mobility was reduced in all the AC, Lig and VC treatments, while Pb mobility was increased only in the Lig1 and VC1 treatments. Upon sulphur application, Fe, Mn, Cd, Pb and Zn mobility was not significantly affected in the C, AC and VC treatments, nor total Cd, Pb and Zn contents in maize shoots. Increased sulphate, Mn, Cd, Pb and Zn mobilities in soil together with related higher total S, Mn, Pb and Zn contents in shoots were observed in investigated treatments in the last sampling period. The highest biomass production and the lowest metal toxicity were seen in the VC treatments. These results were associated with effective metal immobilization and showed the trend of steady release of some nutrients. The highest remediation factors and total elemental content in maize shoots were recorded in the VC treatments. This increased phytoremediation efficiency by 400% for Cd and by 100% for Zn compared to the control. Considering the extreme metal load of the soil, it might be interesting to use highly metal-tolerant plants in future research. Future investigations could also explore the effect of carbonaceous additives on S oxidation, focusing on the specific microorganisms and redox reactions in the soil. In addition, the homogeneous distribution of the S rate in the soil should be considered, as well as longer observation times.

Inorganic fouling on the membrane surface is one of the major prevalent issues affecting the performance and cost of reverse osmosis system. Chemical dosage is a widely adopted method for the inhibition of inorganic scale on the membrane surface. In this study, CO₂ was used to control inorganic scale formation on surface of reverse osmosis (RO) membrane in wastewater reclamation. The pH of influent could be lowered by purging CO₂. It caused an increase in solubility of inorganic salts in water resulting in discharge of principle ions in concentrate stream. A pilot plant study was conducted with four different RO modules including control, with dosage of antiscalant, with purging CO₂ and with co-addition of antiscalant and CO₂. The effectiveness of CO₂ purging was assessed on the basis of operational analysis, in-line analysis and morphological results. Ryznar stability index was used to determine the scaling potential of system. The examined data indicated that CO₂ purging was successful to inhibit scale formation on the membrane surface. Moreover, CO₂ was found more eco-friendly than antiscalant, as no by-products were generated in concentrate stream.

Southeast Asia has undergone rapid developments in terms of urbanization, economic and population growth. The progress in sewerage treatment infrastructure has not kept pace with such developments. The inadequacy and inefficiency of sewerage systems has prompted the release of untreated sewage into the aquatic environment of Southeast Asia causing many waterborne illnesses since surface water is utilized for recreational, agricultural and aquaculture purposes and, above all, as a source of water intake in Southeast Asia. This paper will review the current data on molecular markers of sewage pollution including sterols and linear alkylbenzenes (LABs) in Southeast Asian aquatic environment to clarify the state of sewage pollution and the competence of sewage treatment plants (STPs) in this area. Despite the importance of sewage pollution research in the region, the number of studies using molecular markers to trace the sources of sewage pollution is limited. So far, indicators of sewage pollution have been investigated in aquatic environments of Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia and Brunei among Southeast Asian countries. The concentrations and diagnostic ratios of faecal sterols and LABs show the release of untreated and primary treated urban waste into water bodies of these countries. Further studies are required to fill the data gaps in Southeast Asia and come to a better understanding of the trends of sewage pollution in this part of the world. Graphical abstract

The sewage sludge contains abundant organic substances as well as a complex variety of inorganic substances (such as heavy metals). The extraction of protein from sludge is a new treatment approach to promote the utilization of sludge as a resource. However, heavy metals in sludge are extracted together with organic matter during the extraction process. In this study, the amounts of protein and heavy metal in the supernatant extracted from sewage sludge were investigated, and the effects of different passivator (modified fly ash and modified sepiolite) on the speciation of different heavy metals in the sludge were examined. Both materials reduced the contents of protein and heavy metal in the supernatant. When the dosage of sepiolite was 0.10 g/g total suspended solids of sludge, the content of heavy metals was the lowest and the protein content had little change. It can be deduced by analysis of specific area that sepiolite can complex with heavy metal ions and the fly ash adsorb the metals by physical adsorption. The modified sepiolite can be seen as an ideal passivator due to higher protein content and less heavy metals in the supernatant, as well as more stable heavy metals in the sediments.

Sustainable organic biomedical waste management is a difficult challenge as this has become one of the serious hazardous wastes. Improper disposal of organic biomedical waste can lead to direct and indirect transmission of diseases. In the present research, the organic biomedical waste samples (32 g blood swabs, 12 g dressing swabs, and 6 g used cotton) were treated with Azadirachta indica (“Neem”) and Nicotiana tabacum (“Tobacco”) extracts at various concentrations and kept for 96-h degradation, followed by evaluation of physicochemical parameters. The physicochemical results of organic biomedical waste like pH of the experimental sets were within the optimum range and there was 63.33% of decrease of TDS, 86.15% and 95.30% reduction of BOD and COD, respectively was observed at the end of 96 h. The residues were mixed with 1000 g soil to confirm their role as a potential fertilizer. The physicochemical parameters of soil sample F₆ (neem+tobacco) show an excellent result among all. The phytochemical parameters of a plant were also enhanced as compared to control. The soil samples and the tomato plants were also not polluted by the heavy metals, they are within the limit given by WHO. The present study deals with the conversion of organic biomedical waste into potential fertilizer by using plant extracts which can purely be financially profitable to the farmer.