In this work, it was analyzed the behavior of three commercial activated carbons with different textural and chemical properties to adsorb individually metronidazole and lead ions from aqueous solution. Afterwards, the activated carbons were modified with citric acid to remove both compounds simultaneously. Both sets of activated carbons were characterized chemically and texturally. XPS analysis was performed to corroborate the adsorption mechanism of lead on the surface of the carbons. Finally, the intraparticle diffusion of both adsorbates was elucidated by the application of diffusional model in three dimensions. The results evidenced that adsorption mechanism for MNZ and Pb(II) is independent, the adsorption for MNZ is governed by π–π dispersive interactions, whereas Pb(II) adsorption is mainly controlled by electrostatic interactions. The binary adsorption equilibrium shows that the adsorption of MNZ is independent from the concentration of Pb(II), whereas the adsorption of Pb(II) is affected by the presence of MNZ at low concentrations (0.1 mmol L⁻¹), but it remains almost constant at concentrations of MNZ between 0.1 and 1.5 mmol L⁻¹. Finally, the mass transport of MNZ was faster than Pb(II) from the solution to the external surface of activated carbon and the mass flux of MNZ inside the particle was superior to the mass flux of Pb(II). Lastly, there might be an obstruction phenomenon with MNZ impeding Pb(II) to reach the active sites placed into the carbon’s microporosity structure. Graphical abstract

Occupational exposure to pesticide mixtures comprising active substance(s) and/or co-formulant(s) with known/possible endocrine-disrupting activity was assessed using long-term activity records for 50 professional operators representing arable and orchard cropping systems in Greece, Lithuania, and the UK. Exposure was estimated using the harmonised Agricultural Operator Exposure Model, and risk was quantified as a point of departure index (PODI) using the lowest no observed (adverse) effect level. Use of substances with known/possible endocrine activity was common, with 43 of the 50 operators applying at least one such active substance on more than 50% of spray days; at maximum, one UK operator sprayed five such active substances and 10 such co-formulants in a single day. At 95th percentile, total exposure was largest in the UK orchard system (0.041 × 10⁻² mg kg bw⁻¹ day⁻¹) whereas risk was largest in the Greek cropping systems (PODI 0.053 × 10⁻¹). All five cropping systems had instances indicating potential for risk when expressed at a daily resolution (maximum PODI 1.2–10.7). Toxicological data are sparse for co-formulants, so combined risk from complex mixtures of active substances and co-formulants may be larger in reality.

The objectives of this study were to determine the biofilm microbial activity and bacterial community structure and successions in greywater treatment filters and to relate the treatment efficiency to the bacterial community parameters. This 10-month study was performed in a newly established experimental system for domestic greywater treatment that consisted of three parallel vertical flow filters (VFs) followed by a horizontal flow filter (HF). A rapid increase in the bacterial community abundance occurred during the first 85 days of filter operations, followed by a short-term decrease and the stabilization of the 16S rRNA gene copy numbers at average levels of 1.2 × 10⁹ and 3.2 × 10⁸ copies/g dw in VFs and HF, respectively, until the end of the experiment. The dominant bacterial phyla and genera differed between the VFs and HF. The temporal variation in the bacterial community structure was primarily related to the species replacement, and it was significantly affected by the influent organic carbon and nitrogen compounds in the VFs and the ammonia and organic carbon in the HF filters. Despite the differences in the community structure and assembly mechanisms, the temporal dynamics of the bacterial community showed high congruence between the filter types. The treatment efficiency was related to the biofilm bacterial community diversity and abundance and the abundance of certain bacterial genera in the VF filters. The results suggest that the dominant pathway of nitrogen removal by greywater treatment VFs occurs via coupled heterotrophic nitrification and denitrification, while the contribution of aerobic denitrification is temporally variable in these filters.

Marine macroalgae are a promising source of diverse bioactive compounds with applications in the biocontrol of harmful cyanobacteria blooms (cyanoHABs). In this work, we evaluated the potential algicidal activities of 14 species of seaweed collected from the coast of Souiria Laqdima, Morocco. Methanol extracts were screened in solid and liquid medium against the growth of the toxic cyanobacteria Microcystis aeruginosa and the microalgae Chlorella sp. used as food supplement. The results in solid medium revealed that the algicidal activity was limited to M. aeruginosa with the extract of Bornetia secundiflora showing the highest growth inhibition activity against Microcystis (27.33 ± 0.33 mm), whereas the extracts of Laminaria digitata, Halopytis incurvus, Ulva lactuca, and Sargasum muticum showed no inhibition. In liquid medium, the results indicated that all methanolic extracts of different macroalgae tested have a significant inhibitory effect on M. aeruginosa compared with that of the negative control. The maximum inhibition rates of M. aeruginosa were produced by the extracts of Bifurcaria tuberculata, Codium elongatum, and B. secundiflora. Moreover, the extracts of B. secundiflora recorded the maximum inhibition rate of Chlorella sp. Overall, the results highlight the potential of the extracts from macroalgae to control toxic cyanobacteria species.

Heavy metal(loid) extraction from soils in overlapped areas of farmland and coal resources (OAFCR) is crucial in understanding heavy metal bioavailability in soil and the subsequent risks to crops and consumers. However, limited attention has been paid to the extraction procedure of heavy metal(loid)s in OAFCR soils in the research. This study therefore explored different single and mixed extraction procedures, such as acetic acid (HOAc), citric acid, ammonium bicarbonate-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (AB-DTPA), ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid + ammonium acetate (EDTA+NH₄OAc), and total digestion (HNO₃-HClO₄-HF) to determine the bioavailability of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, and Zn in OAFCR soil in Xuzhou, China. The results showed the metal(loid) extraction capacity from soil of the different procedures could be ranked as AB-DTPA > EDTA+NH₄OAc > HOAC > citric acid. The transfer ability of heavy metal(loid)s from soil to wheat tissues and from wheat roots to aerial parts was analyzed by calculating the bioconcentration factor and transfer factor, respectively. Transfer factors of all metal(loid)s were < 1 except Cr whose transfer factor from root to shell and straw were > 1. It is suspected that foliar uptake plays a dominant role in Cr uptake. Correlation analysis between the bioavailability of heavy metal(loid)s in soil and uptake in respective wheat tissues was performed to recommend the best extraction procedures for different studies. The results show that AB-DTPA extraction is recommended for Cu uptake to wheat roots, straws, shells and grains, Zn uptake to roots, and Cd uptake to roots and straws.

Industrialization and urbanization process has brought both economic development and a series of environmental problems. Hebei Province is a high haze area and one of the key areas of China’s “Blue Sky Defense” policy. As carbon emission is one of the most important factors causing haze, it is necessary to screen the influencing factors effectively to make quantitative analysis and predict carbon emissions in different degrees of coordination. Faced with the new situation of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei coordinated development and more environmental constraints, this paper designs a system for predicting carbon emissions in Hebei Province innovatively using the data during 1990–2016. In the first step, 7 influence factors are determined by “graded screening.” Then, this paper improved the traditional support vector machine (SVM) by improved gray wolf optimizer (IGWO), and established IGWO-SVM model. Finally, the carbon emissions in Hebei Province from 2017 to 2025 are predicted under three stages of different cooperative development speed of 7 influence factors by the improved intelligent algorithm model. Based on the forecasting results, this paper put forward some pertinent opinions to provide theoretical basis for formulating relevant policies on carbon emissions in Hebei Province to effectively control carbon emissions from the source.

Most prevailing processes are incapable of removing Cr(III)-organic complexes efficiently and facing the problem of in-process formation of highly toxic Cr(VI) based on oxidation. The efficient decomplexation of Cr(III) complexes and simultaneous abatement of Cr with low Cr(VI) accumulation would be desirable in treatment of Cr(III)-complexed wastewater. Here, we found efficient degradation of Cr(III)-EDTA and simultaneous removal of Cr by forming Cr₂O₃ precipitate from simulated solution as well as an electroplating effluent under UV irradiation. The results showed a complete degradation of Cr(III)-EDTA after reaction time of 60 min and 70–80% of TOC mineralization within 180 min as well. About 90% of Cr(III) precipitated as Cr₂O₃ simultaneously, with the residual total Cr below 1.5 mg/L. The degradation of Cr(III)-EDTA was a stepwise de-acetate group process, as proven by the obvious attenuation of peaks related to carboxyl groups and C–C bond from FT-IR spectra of Cr(III)-EDTA and significant mineralization of TOC after UV irradiation. Based on negligible accumulation of Cr(VI) (less than 0.1 mg/L) under N₂-sparged condition, the C-centered radicals from the β-fragmentation of O-centered radicals formed by photo-induced ligand-to-metal charge transfer were responsible for the in situ reduction of intermediate Cr(VI), resulting in the low accumulation of Cr(VI). The addition of 20 mg/L Fe²⁺ was capable of removing the remaining Cr(VI) and total Cr, with Cr(VI) and total Cr less than 0.1 and 1.0 mg/L, respectively. Moreover, the photo-oxidation process combined with Fe²⁺ addition were efficient in removing other Cr(III) complexes, such as Cr(III)-citrate and those from a realistic electroplating effluent. We believe that this study would provide an alternative option for efficient degradation of Cr(III) complexes and simultaneous abatement of Cr from contaminated water.

Electronic waste (E-waste) can be considered as challenging solid waste streams especially in some developing countries, including Iran. Several alternatives for collecting and processing E-waste have been developed and applied throughout the world. In this research, a model was developed according to fuzzy-AHP approach for the evaluation of different alternatives for E-waste’s collection and processing in Tehran, Iran. Three alternatives for processing section (including recycling, exporting, landfilling) and three alternatives for collection section (door-to-door, special event, permanent drop-off) were studied in terms of different economic, social, technical, and environmental criteria. To establish a database in the current research, a questionnaire survey was performed and then the relative importance of each alternative in terms of each criterion was evaluated. The obtained results indicated that in the section of collection and processing of E-waste, permanent drop-off and recycling have the highest priorities among studied alternatives, respectively. Also, economic and environmental criteria were determined as the most significant ones in collection and processing sections, respectively. Furthermore, the developed model can be considered as a practical tool that will help the decision makers to determine the most appropriate E-waste management alternatives when diverse criteria are partially or completely in conflict.

We investigated the trophic transfer potential of CuO-NPs from Artemia salina to Amatitlania nigrofasciata. The Cu uptake was investigated by exposure of the instar II nauplii to 0, 1, 10, and 100 mg/L CuO-NPs for 4 h. Dietborne exposure of fish larvae to CuO-NPs was done for 21 days through feeding with pre-exposed nauplii. Thereafter, all survived fish were fed for 21 more days with non-contaminated nauplii. The results showed that NPs could be taken up by nauplii in a concentration-dependent manner. The highest uptake of Cu by nauplii was found to be 50.5 ± 1.4 mg/g dry weight at 100 mg/L. The copper accumulation in fish larvae increased significantly with increasing Cu content in pre-exposed nauplii to different concentrations of CuO-NPs (p < 0.05). At the end of the depuration phase, although the Cu elimination was significantly higher in fish that were fed with more contaminated nauplii, but the survival rate, average final weight, and length of those larvae was still significantly less than the control group (p < 0.05). The accumulated Cu after the depuration phase in cichlid larvae was 25.4 ± 0.5, 29 ± 8.0, 33.9 ± 9.7, and 42.3 ± 4.0 μg/g dry weight at 0, 1, 10, and 100 mg/L of CuO-NPs-treated Artemia. The current findings indicated the ability of manufactured CuO-NPs to be transferred from one trophic level to the next as assessed in the simple food chain consisting of pre-exposed A. salina and A. nigrofasciata.

Montmorillonite grafted polyacrylic acid composite (GNM) was prepared by using ultraviolet radiation grafting method in this work. The synthesized materials were characterized by XRF, SEM, FTIR, XRD, TG, and XPS. The experimental equilibrium data indicates that the adsorbent is suitable for the Langmuir model and belongs to the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The entire adsorption process is spontaneous, endothermic, and chaotically enhanced by thermodynamic analysis. The maximum adsorption capacity of La(III) by GNM was 280.54 mg/g at 313.15 K. In addition, the regeneration experiment shows that the adsorbent has good reusability and stable desorption efficiency. This study demonstrates that GNM has high adsorption performance and La(III) adsorption and regeneration capabilities to solve the water pollution caused by rare earth ions and regeneration capabilities for La(III).