A 3-year study was conducted to determine the effects of anaerobic digestion (AD), large particle solids, and manure additive (More Than Manure, MTM™) on ammonia (NH₃) and greenhouse gas (GHG; carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane) emissions when raw and treated manure were surface-applied. The presence of large particle solids resulted in greater NH₃ emissions, probably, due to reduced infiltration of liquid manure into soil (P < 0.05). Anaerobic digestion did not have a consistent effect on NH₃ emission. Manure with greater ammoniacal nitrogen (AN) concentrations had significantly greater NH₃ loss after manure application (P < 0.05). Anaerobic digestion of manure also did not have a significant effect on GHG flux (P > 0.05). Raw manure with large particle solids had significantly greater CO₂ flux than the other raw manure treatments on the day of manure application (P < 0.05). There was no significant manure treatment effects (P > 0.2) on methane flux over the 3-day period after manure application. The manure additive MTM™ did not have significant effects (P > 0.05) on NH₃ and GHG fluxes. The results of this study suggest that solids and AN concentrations in manure are the most important factors affecting NH₃ emissions after surface application.

A photodegradation technology based on the combination of ultraviolet radiation with ozone (UV/O₃) for degrading tri(chloropropyl) phosphate (TCPP) was developed in the present study. Parameters affecting the degradation of TCPP were optimized, and the developed technology was successfully applied to degrade TCPP in two real wastewater samples. The results showed that reaction time, ozone concentration, the initial acidity of reaction solution, and the initial concentration of TCPP in aqueous solution contributed to the degradation efficiency of TCPP. Under the optimized disposal conditions, 100 mg/L of TCPP aqueous solution with a pH value of 7 can be degraded effectively in 60 min with an ozone concentration of 66.2 mg/L. In detail, the yield rates of Cl⁻and PO₄³⁻was high up to 98.9 and 98.2 %, respectively; and total organic carbon (TOC) removal rate was high up to 94.3 %. Method application demonstrated that TCPP can be degraded effectively in pond water. However, only 83.2 and 61.9 % of Cl⁻and PO₄³⁻were produced, and the TOC removal rate was only 81.3 % after 60 min exposure in the effluent discharged from a wastewater treatment plant. Therefore, the presence of interferences may hinder the degradation of TCPP in real wastewater, but its potential application for real wastewater is promising in the future after appropriate domestication and evaluation.

Removal of hexavalent chromium by precipitation from wastewater has received increasing interest in recent years. This study described the behavior of chromium and iron coprecipitation mediated by Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans DC in an artificial simulated acid environment. In four parallel groups with the different concentrations of chromium(VI) (30, 60, 90, 120 mg/L), the precipitation efficiencies of chromium were enhanced uniformly by A. ferrooxidans DC. But chromium coprecipitation efficiency reduced as the initial chromium concentration increasing at the early stage. Especially in the 30 and 60 mg/L chromium groups, the maximum precipitation efficiency of chromium was improved from 56.22, 55.01 to 75.72, 74.37 % on the fourth day. Additionally, the characteristics of the precipitates were analyzed by x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Results showed that the precipitates were mainly present as jarosites and A. ferrooxidans was conducive to producing precipitates with good crystalline form and uniform dispersion with pH decrease, redox potential (ORP) increase, and iron oxidation. It can be concluded that the chromium could be incorporated into the jarosites through a certain biochemical reaction such as structural substitution, which shows a potential to remove chromium from wastewater by the bio-coprecipitation.

This study compares a traditional agricultural approach to minimise N pollution of groundwater (incorporation of crop residues) with applications of small amounts of biodiesel co-product (BCP) to arable soils. Loss of N from soil to the aqueous phase was shown to be greatly reduced in the laboratory, mainly by decreasing concentrations of dissolved nitrate-N. Increases in soil microbial biomass occurred within 4 days of BCP application—indicating rapid adaptation of the soil microbial community. Increases in biomass-N suggest that microbes were partly mechanistic in the immobilisation of N in soil. Straw, meadow-grass and BCP were subsequently incorporated into experimental soil mesocosms of depth equal to plough layer (23 cm), and placed in an exposed netted tunnel to simulate field conditions. Leachate was collected after rainfall between the autumn of 2009 and spring of 2010. Treatment with BCP resulted in less total-N transferred from soil to water over the entire period, with 32.1, 18.9, 13.2 and 4.2 mg N kg⁻¹soil leached cumulatively from the control, grass, straw and BCP treatments, respectively. More than 99 % of nitrate leaching was prevented using BCP. Accordingly, soils provided with crop residues or BCP showed statistically significant increases in soil N and C compared to the control (no incorporation). Microbial biomass, indicated by soil ATP concentration, was also highest for soils given BCP (p < 0.05). These results indicate that field-scale incorporation of BCP may be an effective method to reduce nitrogen loss from agricultural soils, prevent nitrate pollution of groundwater and augment the soil microbial biomass.

The widespread use of alkylphenols in European industry has led to their presence in the environment and the living organisms of the Baltic Sea. The present study (2011–2012) was designed to determine the concentrations of alkylphenols, 4-nonylphenol (NP) and 4-tert-octylphenol (OP), in surface sediments of the Gulf of Gdansk, a section of the Baltic that lies in close proximity to industrial and agricultural areas and borders with an agglomeration of nearly one million inhabitants. It is also where the Vistula, the largest Polish river, ends its course. In spring, large concentrations of 4-nonylphenol and 4-tert-octylphenol were washed off into the coastal zone with meltwater. In summertime, sediments near the beach had the highest alkylphenol concentrations (NP—2.31 ng g⁻¹dw, OP—13.09 ng g⁻¹dw), which was related to tourism and recreational activity. In silt sediments located off the coast, the highest NP (1.46 ng g⁻¹dw) and OP (6.56 ng g⁻¹dw) amounts were observed in autumn. The origin of OP and NP at those test stations was linked to atmospheric transport of black carbon along with adsorbed alkylphenols.

The water retention time (sometimes called residence time) in coastal areas is an indicator of coastal hydrodynamics which can be used to quantify the local transportation of dissolved and suspended pollutants. This study has used dynamic and statistical models to explore what governs the water retention time in non-tidal coastal waters of the Baltic Sea. If freshwater input divided by the cross-section area between the coastal water and the sea was below a certain threshold, freshwater had no notable impact on the retention time. Moreover, statistical models were developed for predicting surface water retention time and total water retention time from coastal water volume, cross-section area and freshwater discharge. This study can be useful for managers who need to determine where abatement measures should be focused in order to be as effective as possibly against coastal water pollution.

This study was carried out to evaluate the linkages among herbaceous plant biomass (i.e., aboveground and litter biomasses) and diversity (Shannon-Wiener index) in riparian and non-riparian areas, land use, and lotic water quality (which included first- and second-order natural streams, a canal, and a reach of a lowland river). Herb stands selected were free from anthropogenic disturbances such as farming and construction activities for a period of 3 years (this was the dominant and peak frequency of disturbances of the study area). The results suggested that herb indicators are good representatives of the land use. However, land use explanations for herb indicators were complex and not universal for all lotic waters. The correlations between herb indicators and water quality were strong for the low-order natural streams. In these streams, herb indicators explained >36 % of the total variation with several statistically significant herb indicators. However, the large river section showed weak correlations. Furthermore, the canal’s hydrology (connectivity to sea) seemed to be more influential in shaping its water quality. This study demonstrated that the rehabilitation works with a span of 3–4 years using herbs in riparian and/or non-riparian areas could significantly improve water quality of low-order streams with natural origin.

The adsorption capacities of six biosorbents (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Escherichia coli, Chlorella vulgaris, and Spirulina platensis) for Zn(II) ions under batch condition have been studied. The optimum pH range was found to be 5.0−6.0. The amount of adsorbed Zn(II) ions were between 18 and 128 mg/g. Characterization of biosorption equilibrium was evaluated with Langmuir and Dubinin-Radushkevich model using non-linear regression. The adsorption capacities of Ca-alginate, chitosan, and immobilized Spirulina platensis-maxima cells were also determined in packed-bed column in continuous system. The results show, free Spirulina cells have the highest adsorption capacity for Zn(II) ions (128 mg/g). The chitosan-Spirulina system has slightly decreased adsorption capacity 98 mg/g per dry weight content. Thomas and Yoon-Nelson models were fitted for the evaluation of experimental data.

In this study, dissolved air flotation (DAF) was examined as a possible treatment method for the removal of chromium from aqueous solution and plating wastewater. Two coagulants, ferric chloride and poly aluminum chloride (PAC), were used for pretreatment of wastewater. Maximum removal of chromium was achieved for poly aluminum chloride (98 %). Artificial neural network was used for the prediction of the DAF system. The best neuron used for the prediction of chromium removal percentage of interpolated wastewater was 6 %. The mean score error and the coefficient correlation were 0.0007542 and 0.997, respectively.

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.