A batch equilibrium experiment was conducted to determine the adsorption and desorption isotherms of chlorothalonil for a range of agricultural soils in Ireland. The sorption isotherms in tillage soils were described by the Freundlich model in a nonlinear form while in the grassland soil, the adsorption was almost linear. The experimental sorption data fit the Freundlich (R ² > 0.99) and the linear (R ² > 0.99) model very well. Chlorothalonil exhibited fast initial adsorption within the first hour until steady state, after which the sorption potential decreased and varied by about 3 % up to 10 h. Desorption equilibrium took twice the time needed for adsorption. The adsorption of chlorothalonil onto the soils studied was strong and the experimental Freundlich adsorption coefficients (K f) ranged from 17.74 to 78.19 (mg¹ ⁻ ¹/ⁿ kg⁻¹) (L)¹/ⁿ , and these were correlated with cation exchange capacity and organic carbon content. All tillage soils exhibited L-type isotherm, whereas Elton grassland soil showed near C-type (linear) isotherm, probably due to the highest organic carbon content among other soil. Desorption process revealed hysteresis with the Freundlich desorption coefficients being greater than for adsorption, meaning that not all chlorothalonil adsorbed could be easily desorbed. Only 3 to 8 % was desorbed in the single desorption step during the batch equilibrium experiment. Calculated K ₒc values showed that chlorothalonil has slight to low mobility in the soils studied associated with high adsorption, and hence may constitute a greater risk to surface waters by runoff than to ground waters by leaching.

Phenol is a typical contaminant of the environment generated by many industries. Several fungi had been reported to degrade phenol as the only source of carbon and energy, but many of them are not useful to apply in soil bioremediation process. In this work, we study the dynamics of phenol degradation by a Penicillium chrysogenum, isolated from soil. Degradation of phenol was studied at room temperature and resting mycelium conditions. High specific degradation rates were obtained. Inhibition was observed on the specific growth rate (30 mg l1) and the degradation rate (200 mg l−1). Experimental results were fitted to several models during exponential phase, with the Andrews-Haldane model given the best fit. Dynamic mass balance equations for biomass and phenol during the exponential and stationary growth phases were solved and compared very satisfactorily to experimental outcomes. P. chrysogenum degrades phenol completely during the exponential and stationary growth phases. The results obtained are relevant for its practical applications in soil decontamination processes. Model predictions were satisfactory. This is the first work which describes a kinetic model for phenol biodegradation using a filamentous fungus considering both, exponential and stationary phases, and the first one in which a Penicillium isolate is used.

A low-cost carbon black has been used as an adsorbent for the removal of trimethoprim (TMP) from aqueous solution. The kinetic and equilibrium aspects of the adsorption of TMP by this adsorbent were studied. The influence of different operation conditions, namely temperature (20–40 °C), pH (4–8), and ionic strength (0.001–0.1 M) on the removal efficiency of TMP by the adsorbent has been analyzed by applying a statistical design of experiments. Response surface methodology technique was used to optimize TMP removal. Temperature resulted to be the main variable influencing TMP removal, followed by pH. Analysis of variance test reported significance for three of the nine involved variables. An optimum TMP removal was found at pH 9.2, at a temperature of 47 °C and with a value of ionic strength equal to 0.48 M. Under these conditions, a maximum value of removal efficiency equal to 156.2 mg of TMP per gram of adsorbent was attained.

Metals, as well as other air toxic pollutants, can be responsible for a range of human health effects via inhalation or ingestion. European normatives regulate lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury and nickel ambient air levels in order to prevent potential damage to human health and ecosystems; annual target levels of 500, 6, 5 and 20 ng/m³ for Pb, As, Cd and Ni are set for these pollutants in directives 2008/50/CE and 2004/107/CE. Air quality models constitute a powerful tool to understand tropospheric dynamic and to assign concentration values to areas where no measurement is available. However, not many models include heavy metals in their code, and mainly results for Pb, Cd and Hg have been published. In this paper, we present preliminary results on modelling Pb, Cd, As, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cr and Se air background concentration in Europe using the CHIMERE model, at a 0.2° resolution and the evaluation of the model performance in order to see its capability to reproduce observed levels. This evaluation was performed by comparing simulated values with observations at the EMEP monitoring sites, as only values at background sites can be captured at the 0.2° model resolution. Important uncertainties mainly related to emissions should be solved in order to obtain an improvement of model performance; more recent annual totals, information on snap activities for each metal, higher spatial resolution and a better knowledge of the temporal emission behaviour is necessary to adequately model these air pollutants. Also a better treatment of these particles considering more realistic metal size distribution, more refined deposition processes or some chemical processes regarding Se could result in better model results. A larger number of stations and a better temporal coverage of observations are also important to carry out a better statistical analysis of model performance.

Eight halophytic plant species, Avicennia marina, Avicennia alba, Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, Lumnitzera racemosa, Rhizophora mucronata, Rhizophora apiculata, Suaeda maritima, and Xylocarpus moluccensis were evaluated for the removal ability of total dissolved solids (TDS) from plastic industrial effluent. All halophytic plants could tolerate and survive when grown in wastewater with high TDS. Among the test plants, S. maritima showed the highest TDS removal capability and was selected for further study. S. maritima had ability not only for TDS removal, but also for reduction of pH, electrical conductivity, and salinity from wastewater effluent under soil conditions. S. maritima did not exhibit symptoms such as necrosis and leaf tip burn during the experimental period. These results indicated that S. maritima has tolerance to high TDS and salinity. However, S. maritima responded to high TDS stress by producing proline and total sugar in the roots, stems, and leaves which indicated that this plant can adapt to wastewater with high TDS. In addition, silicon (Si) and calcium (Ca) were increased in the leaves due to plant stress from TDS. Therefore, S. maritima is suitable halophytic plants for treatment of TDS contaminated wastewater.

In situ denitrification walls and biofilters made of wood chips are being implemented as innovative technologies for the removal of nitrates in tile drainage water from farms to reduce pollution of surface waters and the hypoxia problem in the Gulf of Mexico. Although fairly effective in removing nitrates, not much is known about the effectiveness of the biofilters in removal of herbicides, pesticides, and antibiotics in the drainage water. Using weathered wood chips obtained from an in situ denitrification wall, four common pollutants tested sorbed strongly to wood chips in the following order: enrofloxacin > monensin A > atrazine > sulfamethazine. Of the four chemicals tested, enrofloxacin was found to desorb the least by water extraction. The apparent hysteresis index for atrazine was found to be lower than that for enrofloxacin and sulfamethazine indicating greater sorption–desorption hysteresis for atrazine than enrofloxacin and sulfamethazine. Consecutive steps of water desorption and organic solvent extraction indicated that more than 65% of the sorbed atrazine, 70% of sulfamethazine, 90% of enrofloxacin, and 80% of monensin A were retained in wood chips. Results of this study showed that wood chip denitrification walls or biofilters have an added benefit in retaining herbicides and antibiotics and therefore can act as a barrier to reduce pollution of surface water and groundwater.

This paper examined the ability of honeycomb biomass (HC), a by-product of the honey industry, to remove Pb(II), Cd(II), Cu(II), and Ni(II) ions from aqueous solutions. The equilibrium adsorptive quantity was determined as a function of the solution pH, amount of biomass, contact time, and initial metal ion concentration in a batch biosorption technique. Biosorbent was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray, and X-ray diffraction studies. FTIR spectral analysis confirmed the coordination of metals with hydroxyl, carbonyl, and carboxyl functional groups present in the HC. The metals uptake by HC was rapid, and the equilibrium time was 40 min at constant temperature and pH. Sorption kinetics followed a nonlinear pseudo-second-order model. Isotherm experimental data were fitted to Langmuir, Freundlich, Dubinin–Radushkevich, and Temkin isotherm models in nonlinear forms. The mechanism of metal sorption by HC gave good fits for Langmuir model, and the affinity order of the biosorbent for four heavy metals was Pb(II)>Cd(II)>Cu(II)>Ni(II). The thermodynamic studies for the present biosorption process were performed by determining the values of ΔG°, ΔH°, and ΔS°, and it was observed that biosorption process is endothermic and spontaneous. This work provides an efficient and easily available environmental friendly honeycomb biomass as an attractive option for removing heavy metal ions from water and wastewater.

High phosphorus (P) in surface drainage water from agricultural and urban runoff is the main cause of eutrophication within aquatic systems in South Florida, including the Everglades. While primary sources of P in drainage canals in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) are from land use application of agricultural chemicals and oxidation of the organic soils, internal sources from canal sediments can also affect overall P status in the water column. In this paper, we evaluate P release and equilibrium dynamics from three conveyance canals within the EAA. Incubation and flux experiments were conducted on intact sediment cores collected from four locations within the Miami, West Palm Beach (WPB), and Ocean canal. After three continuous exchanges, Miami canal sediments reported the highest P release (66 ±â€‰37 mg m−2) compared to WPB (13 ±â€‰10 mg m−2) and Ocean (17 ±â€‰11 mg m−2) canal over 84 days. Overall, the P flux from all three canal sediments was highest during the first exchange. Miami canal sediments showed the highest P flux (2.4 ±â€‰1.3 mg m−2 day−1) compared to WPB (0.83 ±â€‰0.39 mg m−2 d−1) and Ocean canal sediments (0.98 ±â€‰0.38 mg m−2 day−1). Low P release from WPB canal sediments despite having high TP content could be due to carbonate layers distributed throughout the sediment column inhibiting P release. Equilibrium P concentrations estimated from the sediment core experiment corresponded to 0.12 ±â€‰0.04 mg L−1, 0.06 ±â€‰0.03 mg L−1, and 0.08 ±â€‰0.03 mg L−1 for Miami, WPB, and Ocean canal sediments, respectively, indicating Miami canal sediments behave as a source of P, while Ocean and WPB canal sediments are in equilibrium with the water column. Overall, the sediments showed a significant positive correlation between P release and total P (r = 0.42), Feox (r = 0.65), and Alox (r = 0.64) content of sediments. The contribution of P from the three main canals sediments within the EAA boundary corresponded to a very small portion of the total P load exiting the EAA. These estimates, however, only take into consideration diffusive fluxes from sediments and no other factors such as canal flow, bioturbation, resuspension, and anaerobic conditions.

Constructed wetlands are recognized as a reliable technology for rural wastewater treatment. However, conventional constructed wetlands face problems with low pollutant removal efficiency and limited oxygen transfer capability. Therefore, a novel vertical flow constructed wetland (VFCW) system with drop aeration was developed in this study. Two pilot-scale vertical flow constructed wetlands of 0.75 m2 each were constructed with the same dimensions and configuration but different media, one of which (named as CW1) was filled with a 1:1 mixture (by weight) of zeolite and dolomite and the other (named as CW2) with the same zeolite only. The oxygen transfer capability of a multilevel two-layer drop aeration device, organics and nitrogen removal of CW1 and CW2, and pollutant distribution along the depths of CW1 and CW2 in different operational phases were studied. The results demonstrated that compared with the direct drop aeration process, the multilevel, two-layer drop aeration device supplied 2–6 mg/L higher dissolved oxygen per meter of drop height, and after installation of the six-level, two-layer drop aeration devices, the 5-day biochemical oxygen demand removal load was improved from 8.1 to 14.2 g m−2 day−1 for CW1. With regard to the different filter media, nitrogen removal was improved by the adsorption of zeolite in the first year, with 5–36% higher NH 4 + –N removal efficiency of CW2 compared with that in CW1. Since it did not have a significant positive effect on phosphate removal, dolomite can be replaced by zeolite. The chemical oxygen demand removal mainly took place in the upper 15-cm filter layer in different operational phases, while nitrogen distribution along the depths of the VFCWs was different in different operational phases. In addition, as no operational problems occurred, the vertical flow constructed wetland system with drop aeration is an appropriate alternative for rural wastewater treatment, with numerous advantages of low capital and operation costs, no energy consumption, easy maintenance, high hydraulic loading rate, high pollutant removal efficiency, and no clogging.

A novel system for organic waste stabilization and reuse, combined with production of nitrate-rich liquid fertilizer was developed by manure digestion followed by volatilization of ammonia-rich gas (originating in manure extract) and its nitrification and recovery. This approach has several advantages, including biowaste stabilization and high recovery (over 60%) of manure N mainly as nitrate which is a better N form for many plants as compared to ammonium as the sole fertilizer N. Moreover, the potential utilization of different wastes as N sources in organic horticulture is possible as well as removal of suspended particles and microorganisms (including pathogens) that might otherwise clog the irrigation system and pose health risks, respectively. In a pilot-scale study, the system yielded several hundred liters of nitrate-rich (ca. 11 g N L−1) liquid fertilizer using guano as substrate. In a fertilization experiment, lettuce fertigated with the nitrate-rich extract exhibited better growth and quality compared to the common organic practice of fertigation with guano extract. The resulting stabilized biowaste was estimated as “low-risk” according to current guidelines and may be used for liming or land application.