In the present research work, different types of biodiesel were produced by a homogeneous alkali transesterification reaction using soybean oil, pork lard, and castor bean oil as raw materials, to evaluate how their different compositions may affect the biodegradability, namely, in the presence of benzene. Biodiesel was characterized according to the European standard EN 14214. The anaerobic biodegradation of the different types of biodiesel was examined as well as its influence on the biodegradation of benzene. Analyses were performed to determine the volume of methane (directly related to the anaerobic biodegradation of biodiesel), the concentration of benzene over time, and the production of organic acids. The results showed methane production resulting from the anaerobic degradation of all biodiesel types. The differences between the degradation behavior of each fuel were negligible, contrary to what was expected; however, the amount of methane produced was low due to nutrient limitations. This fact was confirmed by the organic acid analysis as well as by the addition of new media. Anaerobic benzene biodegradation was found to be negatively impacted by the presence of all biodiesel types on average; therefore, the results of this study may impact management of sites that contain biodiesel and fuel hydrocarbon contamination.

Textile industry is responsible for a large amount of wastewater inappropriate for both human consumption and aquatic species. Aquatic ecosystems are way more sensitive to the release of textile wastewater, and the usage of Winogradsky columns is interesting, once they are a simulated aquatic ecosystem in which the growth of algae and other microorganisms can be observed. In this research, simulated textile effluents with the dye Acid Blue 40 were treated with an electrolytic reactor, for a later ecotoxicological evaluation using Winogradsky columns. The algal and microbial population and primary production were measured. The results have shown that the electrolytic treatment was satisfactory when it comes to color removal, but the presence of the treated effluent in the Winogradsky columns changed the microecosystem. The number of algae identified decreased when exposed to certain effluents, and some algae groups even disappeared, while others such as Cyanophyceae were benefited.

A novel sorbent, chitosan-immobilized pumice, has been prepared for the sorption of As(V) from waters prior to its determination by hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry. The success of the immobilization has been checked with such characterization techniques as scanning electron microscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis, and elemental analysis. Points of zero charge of the sorbents were determined with potentiometric mass titration. Batch-type equilibration studies have shown that the novel sorbent can be employed at a wide pH range resulting in quantitative sorption (>90 %) at pH 3.0–7.0 and greater than 70 % sorption at pH >8.0. These results demonstrate the advantage of immobilizing chitosan onto pumice, because, under the same conditions, pumice displays <20 % sorption toward As(V), whereas chitosan gives approximately 90 % sorption only at pH 3.0. The validity of the method was verified through the analysis of ultrapure, bottled drinking, and tap water samples spiked with arsenate; the respective sorption percentages of 93.2 (±0.7), 89.0 (±1.0), and 80.9 (±1.3) were obtained by batch-type equilibration. Arsenic sorption was also examined in the presence of common interfering ions resulting in competing effects of PO₄ ³⁻ and NO₃ ⁻ on As(V) adsorption.

Concentrations and bioavailability of Al, Fe, Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn, and Mn in mountain forest soil replanted with speckled alder (Alnus incana (L.) Moench) are explored 7 years after soil surface vs. planting hole application of amphibolite and dolomitic limestone mixture. The mechanisms of slow limestone dissolution are explained and discussed from broader systematic view. The aspects of soil pH and oxidable carbon and the cation exchange capacity changes as well as changes of water-soluble, total, and effective concentrations of tested elements in the amended soils are included. The soil amendment invoked the depletion of K (and slightly Zn) effective concentration. The total concentrations of Ca, Mn, Al, and partly Mg in soil were increased owing to the presence of these elements in the amendment; the water-soluble concentrations nor effective concentrations of Al, Mn, Zn, Cu, Cd, and Pb were increased. Moreover, the effective concentration of Al in both amended variants decreased. The usual negative side effects of liming were not observed due to the slow dissolution of the amendment. Further, the surface application of the amendment is cheaper than the planting hole application, but there are some expected losses of the amendment by concurrent uptake by grass and by flushing. Figure The difference between two liming treatments in contrast to the control

There are multiple stressors derived from urbanizations that result in frequent disturbances on streams and rivers reducing water quality and threatens aquatic biota. P-glycoprotein (P-gp)-mediated multixenobiotic resistance (MXR) is a defence mechanism analogous to multidrug resistance (MDR), which has been demonstrated in several aquatic organisms. This system protects cells against the entry and the accumulation of xenobiotics and has been proposed as a biomarker for pollution assessment. We conducted a study in a post-urban reach of Esquel stream (Chubut Province) downstream a wastewater treatment plant, in order to assess the presence and activity of MXR in five freshwater macroinvertebrate species (Helobdella michaelseni, Helobdella simplex, Patagoniobdella variabilis, Hyalella curvispina and Chironomus riparius). We measured the accumulation of the model P-gp substrate rhodamine B (RB) in organisms previously exposed to pollution. Our results described the activity of the MXR system in the three species of leeches suggesting their suitability as the in vivo biomonitoring. We also identified a dependence of the transporter activity with the development stage in H. simplex, highlighting the importance of using organisms of similar size classes since it may affect observed results. Finally, we concluded that benthic freshwater macroinvertebrates possess different species-specific levels of MXR activity possibly influencing their natural distribution as well as their survival.

Nanoscale zero-valent iron supported on activated carbon (NZVI/AC) was synthesized by a modified potassium borohydride reduction method and characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and specific surface area (SSA). The effects of NZVI loading on AC, NZVI/AC dosage, pH, the initial concentration of Cr(VI), and temperature on the removal of Cr(VI) were investigated. XRD confirmed the existence of Fe⁰and TEM revealed that the material consisted of mainly spherical bead-like particles aggregated into chains of individual units. The SSA of the iron particles and the removal efficiency of Cr(VI) indicated that the optimum iron loading was 25 %. Increase of NZVI/AC dosage and reaction concentration abated the removal of Cr(VI). Kinetics studies showed that removal of Cr(VI) is a two-step reaction and each step could be expressed by pseudo-first-order reaction kinetics, with initial Cr(VI) and temperature as variables. Total Cr was always almost equal to that of Cr(VI) under all tested conditions, which indicated that little Cr(III) existed in solution. Iron ions, which could cause secondary pollution in the environment, are almost not released from this system. These results demonstrated that NZVI/AC could potentially be used for Cr(VI) removal.

Tungsten (W) concentrations were measured along with arsenic (As) in groundwaters from the Murshidabad district of West Bengal, India. Tungsten concentrations range from 0.8 to ~8 nmol kg⁻¹(0.15–1.5 μg kg⁻¹) in the circumneutral pH (average pH ~ 7.3) Murshidabad groundwaters, and attain concentrations as high as 14 nmol kg⁻¹(2.5 μg kg⁻¹) in local ponds (n = 2). Total dissolved As concentrations (AsT) range from 0.013 to 53.9 μmol kg⁻¹(<1 to 4,032 μg kg⁻¹), and As(III) predominates in Murshidabad groundwaters accounting for 70 %, on average, of As in solution. Tungsten concentrations in Murshidabad groundwaters are low compared to alkaline groundwaters (pH > 8) from the Carson Desert in Western Nevada, USA, where W concentrations are reported to reach as high as 4,036 nmol kg⁻¹(742 μg kg⁻¹). Although W is positively correlated with As in groundwaters from the Carson Desert, it is not correlated with AsTor As(III) in Murshidabad groundwaters, but does exhibit a weak relationship with As(V) in these groundwaters. Surface complexation modeling indicates that pH related adsorption/desorption can explain the geochemical behavior of W in Murshidabad groundwaters. However, the model does not predict the high As concentrations observed in Murshidabad groundwaters. The high As and low W concentrations measured in Murshidabad groundwaters indicate that either As and W originate from different sources or are mobilized by different biogeochemical processes within the Murshidabad aquifers. Mobilization of As in Murshidabad groundwaters is presumed to reflect reductive dissolution of Fe(III) oxides/oxyhydroxides and release of sorbed and/or coprecipitated As to the groundwaters. Multivariate statistical analysis of groundwater composition data indicate that W is associated with Mn and Cl⁻, which may point to a Mn oxide/oxyhydroxide, clay mineral, and/or apatite source for W in the Murshidabad sediments.

The distribution of selected elements in individual fractions of organic matter from anthropogenically contaminated soils was investigated. The attention was paid especially at Hg. Furthermore, contents of S, Mg, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn and Pb were also measured. The decomposition of organic matter to particular fractions was carried out by the resin DAX-8. Ten soil samples were collected, and the Advanced Mercury Analyzer (AMA-254) was used for the determination of the total Hg content. The two highest Hg values reached up to the concentration 10.5 mg kg⁻¹, and in the highest one, it was almost 29 mg kg⁻¹. In each extract, mercury was measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), for other elements, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) was applied. Results of the analysis show that the Hg content bound to the humic acids is inversely proportional to the content of Mg, Mn, Fe and Cu. However, this dependence was not confirmed by the samples with the mercury content above 10 mg kg⁻¹. In the case of fulvic acids, the relationship between Hg and S was observed and has again an inverse character.

Biodiesel has proven to be a reasonable substitute to petroleum diesel owing to continuous depletion and pollution caused by the latter. The uncomplicated process of production of fatty acid methyl ester or biodiesel as it is commercially known has made it an even better substitute of fossil diesel. The preparation of biodiesel involves the use of alcohol (methanol) and hydroxides (NaOH). There is a possibility that some of these compounds remain unreacted and needs to be washed with water. This residue water containing alcohol and hydroxide residues if discharged in the soil may affect its quality. This research paper deals with the effect of biodiesel effluent on various physico-chemical properties of soil. The result of the research proves that the biodiesel effluent if discharged in soil will degrade soil quality.

The present study reports the remediation of radiocesium-137 (¹³⁷Cs) using napiergrass in Cs-contaminated soils of Fukushima Prefecture. Two field experiments were performed to examine the remediation effects in two different land-use soils (lowland and upland soils) using two different cutting frequencies (cut once or twice a year). Plant growth in the upland soil was significantly greater than that in the lowland soil. The¹³⁷Cs concentration (Bq kg⁻¹dry weight basis) in the aboveground parts and total Cs-removal ratio (CR) in the upland soil were also significantly higher than those in the lowland soil. In the lowland soil, cutting twice a year [at 12 and 24 weeks after transplanting (WAT)] was more effective for CR (P < 0.01) than cutting once a year (18 WAT); however, there was no significant difference of CR related to cutting difference in the upland soil as a result of the shading effect on the plants at second cutting. In the present study, aboveground dry matter weight was highly correlated with CR in both fields. Given the possibility to increase plant number per unit of land to increase aboveground biomass per unit of land, the potential Cs remediation effect could be much greater in a wide range of Cs-contaminated soils than the potential of napiergrass for Cs uptake demonstrated in the present study.