Decommissioning offshore Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) platforms requires extensive technical knowledge, since it generates different post-consumer materials, including mooring lines. These ropes are made from polyester high tenacity yarn, based on polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and their high added value means they should not be discarded as scrap. This paper aims to present a review and technical opportunities, from an economic standpoint, of recycling the mooring lines recovered from decommissioned FPSOs. Studies conducted over the last two years have researched and developed different potential applications for the fibers. These studies include collaborative project initiatives involving technical and management professionals, universities and private enterprises, with a view to achieving a more sustainable destination for these fibers.

Results of this research focuses on microplastic contents (levels, type, size, colour) in maricultured and natural mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) from different Italian stocks. No significant differences were found among maricultured and natural stocks. All recovered MPs are filaments ranging within 750–6000 μm of maximum length (average values 1150–2290 μm). Feeding raw mussel could produce median MP intakes of 6.2–7.2 items/g w.w. Concerning human exposure by diet, both raw and cooked values are important. Some preliminary tests performed in this study evidenced that the cooking process determined lower MPs levels (−14%) in cooked tissues compared to raw ones, MPs were recorded in cooking water and were characterized by a lower size than in raw mussels. Results obtained by this study represent an important baseline on MPs level to evaluate environmental and human exposure risks by diet.

Many offshore oil and gas production facilities are nearing the end of their operational life, with decommissioning now becoming a global challenge. The compatibility of decommissioning operations to marine protected areas (MPAs) creates further challenges. The recently-developed DAPSI(W)R(M) problem structuring framework (covering Drivers, Activities, Pressures, State changes, Impacts (on Welfare) and Responses (as Measures)) was applied here to interrogate the complexity of decommissioning oil and gas infrastructure within MPAs, with outputs feeding into the development of a novel database tool for Screening Potential Impacts of Decommissioning Activities (SPIDA). In meeting the current requirements of the marine regulatory regime, SPIDA provides a more streamlined, evidence-based process which can be applied by industry, statutory nature conservation bodies and regulators for identifying and evaluating evidence that supports the implications of decommissioning alternatives on the condition of MPAs. SPIDA has been developed to be adapted for other activities and sectors, including offshore renewables.

Hydrocarbon contamination is a serious problem that degrades the quality of mangrove ecosystems, and bioremediation using autochthonous bacteria is a promising technology to recover an impacted environment. This research investigates the biodegradation rates of diesel, hexadecane and phenanthrene, by conducting a microcosm study and survey of the autochthonous microbial community in contaminated mangrove sediment, using an Illumina MiSeq platform. The biodegradation rates of diesel, hexadecane and phenanthrene were 82, 86 and 8 mg kg⁻¹ sediment day⁻¹, respectively. The removal efficiencies of hexadecane and phenanthrene were >99%, whereas the removal efficiency of diesel was 88%. A 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequence analysis revealed that the major bacterial assemblages detected were Gammaproteobacteria, Deltaproteobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria. The bacterial compositions were relatively constant, while reductions of the supplemented hydrocarbons were observed. The results imply that the autochthonous microorganisms in the mangrove sediment were responsible for the degradation of the respective hydrocarbons. Diesel-, hexadecane- and phenanthrene-degrading bacteria, namely Bacillus sp., Pseudomonas sp., Acinetobacter sp. and Staphylococcus sp., were also isolated from the mangrove sediment. The mangrove sediment provides a potential resource of effective hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria that can be used as an inoculum or further developed as a ready-to-use microbial consortium for the purpose of bioremediation.

A novel approach for in vivo determination of typical N/O/S-containing PAHs located on the epidermis of mangrove roots was developed using graphene quantum dots (GQDs) as a fluorescence quencher. The decreasing fluorescence intensity from GQDs was attributed to the amount of N/O/S-containing PAHs introduced onto the epidermis of mangrove roots. The linear ranges of the proposed method were 10.3–980ngg⁻¹, 9.5–1350ngg⁻¹ and 7.8–1200ngg⁻¹ for DBF, DBT and CAR located on the epidermis of K. obovata roots, respectively. This method was also shown to be valid for quantifying the N/O/S-containing PAHs on the root epidermis in the presence of heavy metal (10mmolL⁻¹) and dissolved organic matter (1mgL⁻¹ C). Moreover, the death rates of epidermal cells were almost unchanged (p>0.05) after acquiring the fluorescence spectra, which is superior to the previously reported LITRF method with which the cell death rates increased to 42.6%.

Due to thermocline and surface water from the western equatorial Pacific Ocean, which are transported to the Indian Ocean, Indonesian marine waters play an important role in the global ocean circulation. The objective of this study was to assess the spatial distribution of ¹³⁷Cs in the Lombok Strait as part of a national monitoring program concerning the possible impacts of radionuclides released as a result of the Fukushima accident. Sampling was conducted in the Flores sea and Lombok Strait on 15 to 24 November 2013. Measurements for the Lombok strait showed that ¹³⁷Cs concentrations at surface layer, thermocline layer and 1000m depth were 0.27Bqm⁻³; 0.42Bqm⁻³ and <MDA (0.01Bqm⁻³), respectively. The water concentration of ¹³⁴Cs at all monitoring stations were under MDA (0.01Bqm⁻³). The results the study indicate that the radiocesium input was from global fallout.

Fourteen polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) congeners were measured in water, suspended particulate matter (SPM), and sediment samples collected from the entire expanse of the Yellow River in dry and wet seasons. Higher concentrations of PBDEs were found in the middle and lower reaches of the river compared with those in the upper reaches, ascribed to the relatively developed and urbanized cities located in the areas near the middle and lower reaches. The PBDE concentrations in the samples collected during the dry season were lower than those in the samples collected during the wet season because of thaw and rainfall. The dominant congener, with a contribution of 44.6–90.3%, was BDE-209, which originated from the residual of commercial deca-BDE. Three groups of congeners in all the samples showed good correlations with the coefficient ranging from 0.662 to 0.999 (p < 0.01), indicating common sources and similar environmental behaviors. Regression analysis suggested that the local industrial product (IP) and population density (PD) were good indicators of PBDEs in the water and sediment of the Yellow River.

Animal manure is often anaerobically digested for the purpose of producing biogas. The digested manure, namely digestate, can be applied onto farmlands to enhance crop yields as it is abundant in nutrients. However, intensive livestock farming brings about manure exceeding the carrying capacity of lands nearby. Technologies focused on nutrient recovery from digestate have been studied recently, while many problems and challenges still remain unsolved. In this article, these recovery technologies are reviewed and compared, and challenges are deliberated. Ammonia stripping and struvite formation are easily operated technologies in comparison with membrane technologies. Amongst membrane technologies, electrodialysis reversal and forward osmosis are promising due to their high resistance to membrane fouling. Further studies should be focused on the operational cost, disposal of solid and liquid residuals and marketization of the recovered products.

A microextraction method for the determination of triclosan and methyltriclosan in marine environmental samples was developed. The disperser was first serves as a preliminary extractant for analytes, then as a frozen solvent to remove impurities at −20 °C, and finally as a disperser agent in the microextraction procedure. With the extractants solidified and float on the surface of the aqueous phase at low temperature, a separation was achieved to avoided use of specialized laboratory instruments. The method was optimized using Plackett-Burman design and central composite design as follows: 146 μL octanoic acid as extractant, 793 μL acetoneas disperser, 3.0 min centrifugation and 1.1 min vortex time. The limits of detection were 0.022–0.060 μg L−1 or μg kg−1 and recoveries were 83.3–103.5% for TCS and MTCS in seawater, sediments and seafood. The method has excellent prospects for sample pre-treatment and trace-level analysis of triclosan and methyltriclosan in marine environmental samples.

During the Deepwater Horizon oil spill rapid natural weathering of Macondo crude oil occurred during the transport of oil to coastal areas. In response to the DWH incident, dispersant was applied to Macondo crude oil to reduce the movement of oil to coastal regions. This study aimed to assess the narcotic and phototoxicity of water-accommodated fractions (WAFs) of weathered Macondo crude oil, and chemically-enhanced WAFs of Corexit 9500 to Pacific (Crassostrea gigas) and eastern (Crassostrea virginica) oyster larvae. Phototoxic effects were observed for larval Pacific oysters exposed to combinations of oil and dispersant, but not for oil alone. Phototoxic effects were observed for larval eastern oysters exposed to oil alone and combinations of oil and dispersant. Corexit 9500 did not exhibit phototoxicity but resulted in significant narcotic toxicity for Pacific oysters. Oyster larvae may have experienced reduced survival and/or abnormal development if reproduction coincided with exposures to oil or dispersant.