The lakes of the North Delta give a rich and imperative territory for marine fish and its regeneration, and have dependably been major areas of fish creation in Egypt, 75% of the production was collected from them. As of late, many difficulties are confronting these lakes and prompt the exhaustion of fish production from them. The aim of the present study is to evaluate different inorganic pollutants in Coleopterons aquatic insect (Cercyon unipunctatus) taken from both Lake Edku and Mariut and also, to estimate their effect on oxidative stress markers and chromosomal aberrations. The average concentrations of heavy metals differ in the two locations. The concentration of (Pb, Cd, Fe, Co, Cu, Zn, and Mn) was significantly higher in water samples of Lake Mariut than those of Lake Edku. Also, the present work, showed the physical and chemical characters of the two lakes water. In the current study, the obtained results showed that there was a significant increase in (Pb, Cd, Fe, Co, Cu, Zn, and Mn) concentrations in C. unipunctatus tissues which were collected from Lake Mariut. The biochemical parameters of oxidative stress have been affected by the pollution in Lake Mariut water. Significant increases in the activity level of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and malondialdehyde concentration were recorded, while there were significant decreases in (total protein content, GSH content, and GPx activity). The result of chromosomal aberration test showed that there were different types of aberrations as binucleate cell, lagging chromosome, and abnormal distribution of chromosomes. The obtained data showed that C. unipunctatus highly affected by environmental stressors in water. So we suggest that these beetles could be a suitable monitor for ecotoxicological studies.

Mg–Al, Zn–Al and Mg–Fe magnetic layered double hydroxide (LDH) adsorbents were synthesized. The adsorption effect and influencing factors of these adsorbents were explored, and the adsorption mechanism of phosphorus was studied with advanced instruments. The results showed that the best adsorption performance was observed when the molar ratio of metals was 3 for the magnetic LDH adsorbents, and the maximum adsorption amount for phosphorus was 74.8, 80.8 and 67.8 mg/g for Mg–Al, Zn–Al and Mg–Fe LDHs, respectively. Pseudo-second-order kinetics could be used to describe the adsorption process of phosphorus onto the magnetic LDHs. The adsorption of phosphorus onto the magnetic LDHs was an exothermic process. Lower temperatures were favourable for adsorption, and the adsorption of phosphorus onto the magnetic LDHs was a spontaneous process. When the solid–liquid ratios were 0.10 g/L, 0.10 g/L and 0.05 g/L for Mg–Al, Zn–Al and Mg–Fe magnetic LDHs, respectively, the highest adsorption amount of phosphorus was achieved for each magnetic LDH. The maximum adsorption amount was observed at pH values of 6.0–8.0. The inhibitory effect of HCO₃⁻ on the adsorption capacity of phosphorus onto the magnetic LDHs was the strongest at a higher HCO₃⁻ concentration level. The relative content of –OH significantly reduced after adsorption of phosphorus by the FTIR analysis, which indicated that the mechanism of phosphorus removal was mainly through the exchange between hydroxyl on the adsorbent surface and phosphorus in water. XPS studies showed that oxygen provided electrons during the adsorption of phosphorus.

The Bi-SnO₂/C electrocatalytic membrane was fabricated via a simple electrochemical reduction and hydrothermal method. Under the action of electric field, the Sn²⁺ and Bi³⁺ were firstly adsorbed and reduced to metallic Sn and Bi on the carbon membrane surface by cathodic reduction reaction, and the Bi-SnO₂/C membrane was obtained subsequently through hydrothermal oxidation process. Confirmed by SEM, TEM, XRD, and XPS characterizations, the nano-Bi-SnO₂ is homogeneously distributed on the membrane surface and is firmly attached to the carbon membrane via C–O–Sn chemical bond. Through CV, LSV, and EIS electrochemical analysis, the Bi-SnO₂/C membrane possesses the higher electrocatalytic activity and stability than carbon membrane. Therefore, the Bi-SnO₂/C membrane could continuously efficiently remove and inactivate Escherichia coli in water through flow-through mode. As a result, the sterilization efficiency can reach more than 99.99% under the conditions of cell voltage 4 V, flow rate 1.4 mL/min, and E. coli initial concentration 1.0 × 10⁴ CFU/mL, owing to the synergistic effect of the membrane separation and electrocatalytic oxidation. Moreover, it was found that the oxidation groups of ⋅OH radicals generated by Bi-SnO₂/C membrane play the crucial role for bactericidal performance. This work presents a low-cost, highly active, and stable electrocatalytic membrane towards continuous bacterial inactivation, which exhibits promising potential in water disinfection and is beneficial for practical large-scale applications.

The present work investigated the potential of the green alga Chlorella vulgaris to produce high-quality biofuel under culture stress conditions. The cultivation was carried out in a 1000 l open plate tank system, which provides biomass yields comparable to open pond systems, but with less area needed. Algal biomass and lipid content were measured repeatedly. We compared the two solvent systems n-hexane and hexane/isopropanol (HIP) for extraction efficiency of lipids and applied three different extraction methods Soxhlet, soaking, and soaking followed by Soxhlet (soak-Sox). The combination of the HIP solvent and the soak-Sox provided the highest lipid yield (15.8 ± 0.174). Volumetric biomass and lipid productivity were 0.201 g l⁻¹ day⁻¹ and 31.71 mg l⁻¹ day⁻¹, respectively, whereas areal biomass and lipid productivity were 25.73 g m⁻² day⁻¹ and 4.066 g m⁻² day⁻¹, respectively. The fatty acid profile by means of gas chromatography resulted in seven fatty acids from C₁₂ to C₁₈. The most abundant fatty acid methyl esters (FAMES) were palmitic (C16:0), oleic (C18:1), and stearic (C18:0) acids. Lipid synthesis enhanced by optimizing the Kuhl growth medium with replacing nitrate by urea (50% N compared to the original recipe) increased salt content (10 g/l NaCl), ferrous sulfate (0.5 g/l), and sodium acetate addition (1 g/l). With regard to density, kinematic viscosity, gravity, pour point, flash point, and cetane number, the Chlorella-biodiesel comply with ASTM and EN standards thus pointing at the high potential of lipids synthesized by Chlorella as a feedstock for biodiesel production.

This study focuses to investigate the relationship between globalization and the ecological footprint for Malaysia from 1971 to 2014. The results of the Bayer and Hanck cointegration test and the ARDL bound test show the existence of cointegration among variables. The findings disclose that globalization is not a significant determinant of the ecological footprint; however, it significantly increases the ecological carbon footprint. Energy consumption and economic growth stimulate the ecological footprint and carbon footprint in Malaysia. Population density reduces the ecological footprint and carbon footprint. Further, financial development mitigates the ecological footprint. The causality results disclose the feedback hypothesis between energy consumption and economic growth in the long run and short run.

Low temperature severely inhibits microbial activity, making biological method inefficient for ammonium removal from wastewater. A zeolite biological fixed-bed (ZBFB) was successfully established for 6.0–8.0 °C low-strength ammonium wastewater treatment via adsorption-regeneration. Ion exchange was a remarkable alternative and zeolite was mostly applied. Nevertheless, insufficient zeolite bio-regeneration rate was the key obstacle for economically sustainable utilization. By adsorption, effluent NH₄⁺-N was around 1.5–2.5 mg/L. About 26% regeneration rate was obtained. With a ceramsite biological aerobic filter (CBAF) operated with ZBFB in series at the regeneration stage, the regeneration rate reached 95%, 3.5 times higher. Studies of alkalinity effects on bio-zeolite regeneration process indicated that Na₂CO₃ worked better than NaHCO₃. Greater amount and one dose mode of alkalinity addition, higher regeneration rate could be obtained. The bio-zeolite regeneration process followed pseudo first-order kinetics with K = 0.0629 h⁻¹. High-throughput sequencing analysis indicated the enriched nitrifying microorganisms in CBAF fully oxidized NH₄⁺-N in regeneration solution, which accelerated desorption and conversion of NH₄⁺-N by the circulation of regeneration solution between ZBFB and CBAF. The dynamic adsorption experiment proved that ZBFB-CBAF was feasible for cold low-strength ammonium wastewater treatment.

Drinking water is a main pathway of human exposure to perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). These two compounds have been identified in environmental waters worldwide, but little is known about their occurrence in Xinjiang. In this study, 155 water samples were obtained from 37 locations across Ulungur River, Manasi River, and Tarim River in Xinjiang, and were assessed by using liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry. PFOS and PFOA were detected in over 50% of the samples with mean concentrations of 3.194 ng/L for PFOS and 3.460 ng/L for PFOA. Spatial and regional distribution differences do exist among the three analyzed rivers. PFOS and PFOA in Manasi River were observed at the highest levels (especially in M10 and M11), but no aggravation occurred from 2014 to 2017. Seasonal variations of PFOS and PFOA concentrations showed that water samples collected during summer were higher than those in other three seasons. The occurrence, levels, and distribution patterns of PFOS and PFOA were investigated in the present study, which provides useful theory and data support for human health risk assessment. The findings of the present study can be considered for controlling these water pollutants in environmental waters.

Pollution caused by heavy metals is a prime concern due to its impact on human health, animals, and ecosystems. Cr(VI), generated in a range of different industries as a liquid effluent, is one of the most frequent contaminants. In the work presented herein, the adsorption efficiency of three species of native yeasts from Ecuador (Kazachstania yasuniensis, Kodamaea transpacifica, and Saturnispora quitensis) for Cr(VI) removal from simulated wastewater was assessed, taking Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a reference. After disruption of the flocs of yeast with a cationic surfactant, adsorption capacity, kinetics, and biosorption isotherms were studied. K. transpacifica isolate was found to feature the highest efficiency among the four yeasts tested, as a result of its advantageous combination of surface charge, individual cell size (4.04 μm), and surface area (1588.27 m²/L). The performance of S. quitensis was only slightly lower. The remarkable biosorption capacities of these two isolates (476.19 and 416.67 mg of Cr(VI)/g of yeast, respectively) evidence the potential of non-conventional yeast species as sorption microbial particles for polluted water remediation.

Worldwide, large amounts of food are wasted every year. Reducing of food waste at European level is taken very seriously and it has been adopted even a target of reducing the amount of food waste in half until 2030. In many countries of the European Union, food wastes are composted, while in countries like Romania, the composting is too little used or not at all, but efforts are being made to apply this process. Food waste composting should take place both at the composting plants and housing level. An important step before starting the composting process is to establish an appropriate recipe. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to develop a composting recipe starting from investigation of food waste like peel and pomace of fruits (apple, banana, orange, and kiwi) and vegetables (potato, cabbage, and carrots) which are very common in waste generated at the housing level. The most important physical-chemical parameters were investigated in this study. Results show that pH of fruit waste is acid (4.0–5.0), while for vegetable waste, the pH is slightly higher (between 6.0 and 6.5). For all types of food waste, a very high moisture content (80–90%) was registered, while the nitrogen content is below 1%. Considering that C/N ratio is one of the most essential parameters, for the process to be carried out in good conditions, we have used regression analysis in order to determine the amounts of fruits and vegetable waste necessary to obtain different C/N ratios.

Coastal marine areas are highly vulnerable to the exposure to various types of stressors and impact of chemical pollution resulting from increasing anthropogenic activities, namely pollution by metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). To assess ecosystem quality and functions, biomarkers can provide information about the presence and adverse effects of pollutants. Accordingly, the present study was conducted to evaluate the chronic (28 days) biologic effects of putatively contaminated sediments from the Zarzis area, located in the south of the Gulf of Gabes on the Southern Tunisian coast, on the marine flatfish Solea senegalensis. Sediments were collected at three sampling sites, impacted by wastewater discharges, aquaculture activities, and industrial contamination, and then surveyed for metals (Cd, Cu, Cr, Hg, Zn, and Pb) and organic contaminants (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons). The quantified biomarkers involved the determination of oxidative stress, phase II metabolism, and the extent of lipid peroxidation (catalase, CAT; glutathione peroxidase activity: total and selenium-dependent, T-GPx and Se-GPx; activities of glutathione-S-transferases, GSTs; levels of lipid peroxidation, by means of the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances assay, TBARS) and neurotoxicity (activity of acetylcholinesterase, AChE). S. senegalensis exposed to potentially contaminated sediments, collected near the aquaculture facility, presented the highest values for the generality of biomarkers tested, and a significant inhibition of AChE activity. A few lesions have been also recorded in the gills and liver tissues of S. senegalensis following chronic exposure. However, the observed lesions in gills (e.g., epithelial lifting, lamellar fusion, gills hyperplasia and hypertrophy, and leukocyte infiltration) and liver (cytoplasmic vacuolation, enlargement of sinusoids, foci of necrosis, and eosinophilic bodies) were of minimal pathological importance and/or low prevalence that did not significantly affect the weighted histopathological indices. Finally, the biological responses evidenced by this flatfish can be potentially caused by metal and PAH pollution occurring in specific areas in the southeast of Tunisia. The type and extent of the observed biochemical alterations strongly suggest that the contaminated sediments from the surveyed areas could cause early adverse biological effects on exposed biota.