INTRODUCTION: This study of photocatalytic degradation of wastewater was carried out in alveolar cell β-SiC foam-structured photocatalytic reactors working in a recirculation mode. The immobilization of TiO2 on β-SiC foams was efficiently obtained through a sol–gel technique in acidic conditions. DISCUSSION: In order to optimize degradation yields obtained by the foam-structured prototype reactor for the photocatalytic water treatment, the operating conditions of the photoreactor have been investigated and the efficiency of the process was evaluated by measuring the photocatalytic degradation of Diuron (3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethyl-urea)) under UV irradiation. Kinetic studies were carried out by investigating the influence of different parameters controlling the reaction (TiO2 loading and β-SiC foam cell size). The ageing of TiO2/β-SiC foam photocatalytic materials and the mineralization (TOC, Cl−, NO3− and NH4+) of Diuron were investigated.

INTRODUCTION: The goal of the present study was to investigate the effects of Cu contamination on the above-mentioned biochemical and physiological parameters in order to explore possible prevention strategies against heavy metal stress. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Effects of copper (Cu) on the roots of Sagittaria sagittifolia L. were studied after 10 days of treatment at five concentration levels. The accumulation of Cu, the generation rate of O₂ ·–, the contents of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and polyamines, as well as the activities of arginine decarboxylase (ADC) and polyamine oxidase (PAO) in the roots were measured and analyzed. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: It was observed that endogenous Cu content increased in roots of S. sagittifolia L. in a concentration-dependent manner, along with an increased production of O₂ ·–. TBARS content increased progressively up to 5 μmol l⁻¹ Cu. A constant increase in ADC activity was also observed. The results indicated that lower Cu concentrations (2.5 and 5 μmol l⁻¹, respectively) had greater enhancing effect on the contents of free Put and perchloric acid-soluble conjugated (PS-conjugated) putrescine (Put), while Cu treatments at different concentration levels had similar enhancing effect on the content of perchloric acid-insoluble bound Put. In total, Put content in each Cu-treated group was higher than that in the control group. PAO activity was inhibited up to 10 μmol l⁻¹ Cu but enhanced at higher Cu concentrations (20 and 40 μmol l⁻¹). This explained the initial rise and subsequent decline of the contents of all forms of spermine (Spm), free and PS-conjugated spermidine (Spd). However, with the increase of Cu concentration, total Spm content increased gradually while total Spd content decreased. Our results suggest that Cu is phytotoxic to the roots of S. sagittifolia L. at high concentrations, and that the increased Spm level is not sufficient to resist Cu-induced oxidative damages.

INTRODUCTION: This study presents bihourly, seasonal, and yearly concentration changes in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the inlet and effluent water of the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) of a high-technology science park (HTIP) in Taiwan, with the VOC amounts at different sites correlated geologically. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This research adopted a combination of two systems, solid-phase microextraction with a gas chromatography/flame ionization detector and an assembly of purge and trap coupled with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, to monitor polar and nonpolar VOCs in wastewater. This paper investigated the total VOCs, acetone, isopropyl alcohol (IPA), and dimethylsulfide (DMS) concentrations in real water samples collected in the ambient area of the HTIP. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The major contents of VOCs measured in the effluent of the WWTP in the HTIP and the surrounding river region were DMS (14–176 ppb), acetone (5–95 ppb), and IPA (15–316 ppb). In comparison with the total VOCs in the inlet wastewater of the WWTP, no corresponding relationship for total VOC concentration in the wastewater was observed between the inlet water and effluent water of the WWTP. CONCLUSIONS: The peak VOC concentrations appeared in the third season, and the correlation of different VOC amounts reflects the production situation of the factories. In addition, VOC concentrations at different sites indicate that the Ke-Ya River is seemingly an effective channel for transporting wastewater to its final destination. The data are good indications for the management of environmental pollution near the HTIP.

Many pharmaceuticals and related metabolites are not efficiently removed in sewage treatment plants and enter into surface water. There, they might be subject of drinking water abstraction and treatment by ozonation. In this study, a systematic approach for producing and effect-based testing of transformation products (TPs) during the drinking water ozonation process is proposed. For this, two pharmaceutical parent substances, three metabolites and one environmental degradation product were investigated with respect to their biodegradability and fate during drinking water ozonation. The Ames test (TA98, TA100) was used for the identification of mutagenic activity present in the solutions after testing inherent biodegradability and/or after ozonation of the samples. Suspicious results were complemented with the umu test. Due to the low substrate concentration required for ozonation, all ozonated samples were concentrated via solid phase extraction (SPE) before performing the Ames test. With the exception of piracetam, all substances were only incompletely biodegradable, suggesting the formation of stable TPs. Metformin, piracetam and guanylurea could not be removed completely by the ozonation process. We received some evidence that technical TPs are formed by ozonation of metformin and piracetam, whereas all tested metabolites were not detectable by analytical means after ozonation. In the case of guanylurea, one ozonation TP was identified by LC/MS. None of the experiments showed an increase of mutagenic effects in the Ames test. However, the SPE concentration procedure might lead to false-positive results due to the generation of mutagenic artefacts or might lead to false-negative results by missing adequate recovery efficiency. Thus, these investigations should always be accompanied by process blank controls that are carried out along the whole ozonation and SPE procedure. The study presented here is a first attempt to investigate the significance of transformation products by a systematic approach. However, the adequacy and sensitivity of the methodology need to be further investigated. The approach of combining biodegradation and ozonation with effect-based assays is a promising tool for the early detection of potential hazards from TPs as drinking water contaminants. It can support the strategy for the evaluation of substances and metabolites in drinking water. A multitude of possible factors which influence the results have to be carefully considered, among them the selectivity and sensibility of the mutagenicity test applied, the extraction method for concentrating the relevant compounds and the biocompatibility of the solvent. Therefore, the results have to be carefully interpreted, and possible false-negative and false-positive results should be considered.

BACKGROUND, AIM, AND SCOPE: The start-up pattern of biofilm remediation system affects the biofilm characteristics and operating performances. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performances of the contaminated source water remediation systems with different start-up patterns in view of the pollutants removal performances and microbial community succession. METHODS: The operating performances of four lab-scale simulated river biofilm reactors were examined which employed different start-up methods (natural enrichment and artificial enhancement viadischarging sediment with influent velocity gradient increase) and different bio-fillers (Elastic filler and AquaMats® ecobase). At the same time, the microbial communities of the bioreactors in different phases were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, and sequencing. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The pollutants removal performances became stable in the four reactors after 2 months’ operation, with ammonia nitrogen and permanganate index (CODMn) removal efficiencies of 84.41–94.21% and 69.66–76.60%, respectively. The biomass of mature biofilm was higher in the bioreactors by artificial enhancement than that by natural enrichment. Microbial community analysis indicated that elastic filler could enrich mature biofilm faster than AquaMats®. The heterotrophic bacteria diversity of biofilm decreased by artificial enhancement, which favored the ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) developing on the bio-fillers. Furthermore, Nitrosomonas- and Nitrosospira-like AOB coexisted in the biofilm, and Pseudomonas sp., Sphaerotilus sp., Janthinobacterium sp., Corynebacterium aurimucosum were dominant in the oligotrophic niche. CONCLUSION: Artificial enhancement via the combination of sediment discharging and influent velocity gradient increasing could enhance the biofilm formation and autotrophic AOB enrichment in oligotrophic niche.

INTRODUCTION: Lakes play an important role in socioeconomic development and ecological balance in China, but their water quality has deteriorated considerably in recent decades. In this study, we investigated the spatial–temporal variations of eutrophication parameters (secchi depth, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, chemical oxygen demand, chlorophyll-a, trophic level index, and trophic state index) and their relationships with lake morphology, watershed land use, and socioeconomic factors in the Yunnan Plateau lakes. DISCUSSION: Results indicated that about 77.8% of lakes were eutrophic according to trophic state index. The plateau lakes showed spatial variations in water quality and could be classified into high-nutrient and low-nutrient groups. However, because watersheds were dominated by vegetation, all eutrophication parameters except chlorophyll-a showed no significant differences between the wet and dry seasons. Lake depth, water residence time, volume, and percentage of built-up land were significantly related to several eutrophication parameters. Agricultural land use and social–economic factors had no significant correlation with all eutrophication parameters. Stepwise regression analyses demonstrated that lake depth and water residence time accounted for 73.8% to 87.6% of the spatial variation of single water quality variables, respectively. Redundancy analyses indicated that lake morphology, watershed land use, and socioeconomic factors together explained 74.3% of the spatial variation in overall water quality. The results imply that water quality degradation in the plateau lakes may be mainly due to the domestic and industrial wastewaters. This study will improve our understanding of the determinants of lake water quality and help to design efficient strategies for controlling eutrophication in the plateau region.

Organochlorinated pesticides were widely applied in Armenia until the 1980s, like in all former Soviet Union republics. Subsequently, the problem of areas contaminated by organochlorinated pesticides emerged. Environmental, waste and food samples at one pesticide burial site (Nubarashen) and three former pesticide storage sites (Jrarat, Echmiadzin and Masis) were taken and analysed on the content of organochlorinated pesticides, polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls. Gradient sampling and diffusivity-based calculations provided information on the contamination release from the hot spots on a local scale. A risk analysis based on samples of locally produced food items characterised the impact of storage sites on the health of nearby residents. All four sites were found to be seriously contaminated. High pesticide levels and soil and air contamination gradients of several orders of magnitude were confirmed outside the fence of the Nubarashen burial site, confirming pesticide release. A storage in Jrarat, which was completely demolished in 1996 and contained numerous damaged bags with pure pesticides until 2011, was found to have polluted surrounding soils by wind dispersion of pesticide powders and air by significant evaporation of lindane and β-endosulfan during this period. Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane-contaminated eggs, sampled from hens roaming freely in the immediate surroundings of the Echmiadzin storage site, revealed a significant health risk for egg consumers above 1E−5. Although small in size and previously almost unknown to the public, storage sites like Echmiadzin, Masis and Jrarat were found to stock considerable amounts of obsolete pesticides and have a significant negative influence on the environment and human health. Multi-stakeholder cooperation proved to be successful in identifying such sites suspected to be significant sources of persistent organic pollutants.

BACKGROUND, AIM, AND SCOPE: Soils of basaltic origin cause difficulties in environmental magnetic screening for heavy metal pollution due to their natural high background values. Magnetic parameters and heavy metal content of highly magnetic topsoils from the Deccan Trap basalts are investigated to assess their potential for use in environmental magnetic pollution screening. This work extends the fast and cost-effective magnetic pollution screening techniques into soils with high natural magnetic signals. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-five topsoil samples from N–S and W–E transects were collected and subdivided according to grain size using wet sieving technique. Magnetic susceptibility, soft isothermal remanent magnetization (Soft IRM), thermomagnetic analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and heavy metal analysis were performed on the samples. RESULTS: Magnetic analyses reveal a significant input of anthropogenic magnetic particulate matter within 6 km of the power plant and the adjacent ash pond. Results depend strongly on the stage of soil development and vary spatially. While results in the W, E, and S directions are easily interpretable, in the N direction, the contribution of the anthropogenic magnetic matter is difficult to assess due to high magnetic background values, less developed soils, and a more limited contribution from the fly ash sources. Prevailing winds towards directions with more enhanced values seem to have a certain effect on particulate matter accumulation in the topsoil. Thermomagnetic measurements show Verwey transition and Hopkinson peak, thus proving the presence of ferrimagnetic mineral phases close to the pollution source. A quantitative decrease of the anthropogenic ferrimagnetic mineral concentration with increased distance is evident in Soft IRM measurements. SEM investigations of quantitatively extracted magnetic particles confirm the fly ash distribution pattern obtained from the magnetic and heavy metal analyses. Evaluation of magnetic and chemical data in concert with the Pollution Load IndiceS (PLIS) of Pb, Zn, and Cu reveals a good relationship between magnetic susceptibility and the metal content. CONCLUSIONS: Integrated approaches in data acquisition of magnetic and chemical parameters enable the application of magnetic screening methods in highly magnetic soils. Combined data evaluation allows identification of sampling sites that are affected by human activity, through the deviation of the magnetic and chemical data from the general trend. It is shown that integrative analysis of magnetic parameters and a limited metal concentration dataset can enhance the quality of the output of environmental magnetic pollution screening significantly.

PURPOSE: Implementation of current European environmental legislation such as the Water Framework Directive requires access to comprehensive, well-structured pollutant source and release inventories. The aim of this work was to develop a Source Classification Framework (SCF) ideally suited for this purpose. METHODS: Existing source classification systems were examined by a multidisciplinary research team, and an optimised SCF was developed. The performance and usability of the SCF were tested using a selection of 25 chemicals listed as priority pollutants in Europe. RESULTS: The SCF is structured in the form of a relational database and incorporates both qualitative and quantitative source classification and release data. The system supports a wide range of pollution monitoring and management applications. The SCF functioned well in the performance test, which also revealed important gaps in priority pollutant release data. CONCLUSIONS: The SCF provides a well-structured approach for European pollutant source and release classification and management. With further optimisation and demonstration testing, the SCF has the potential to be fully implemented throughout Europe.

PURPOSE: This study had an objective to identify the most potent chromium-resistant bacteria isolated from tannery effluent and apply them for bioremediation of chromium in tannery effluents. METHODS: Two such strains (previously characterized and identified by us)—Enterobacter aerogenes (NCBI GenBank USA Accession no. GU265554) and Acinetobacter sp. PD 12 (NCBI GenBank USA Accession no. GU084179)—showed powerful chromium resistivity and bioremediation capabilities among many stains isolated from tannery waste. Parameters such as pH, concentration of hexavalent chromium or Cr (VI), and inoculum volume were varied to observe optimum bioconversion and bioaccumulation of Cr (VI) when the said strains were grown in M9 minimal salt media. E. aerogenes was used to remediate chromium from tannery effluents in a laboratory level experiment. RESULTS: Observation by Scanning Electron Microscope and chromium peak in Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopic microanalysis revealed that E. aerogenes helped remediate a moderate amount of Cr (VI) (8–16 mg L−1) over a wide range of pH values at 35–37°C (within 26.05 h). High inoculum percentage of Acinetobacter sp. PD 12 also enabled bioremediation of 8–16 mg L−1 of Cr (VI) over a wide range of temperature (25–37°C), mainly at pH 7 (within 63.28 h). The experiment with real tannery effluent gave very encouraging results. CONCLUSION: The strain E. aerogenes can be used in bioremediation of Cr (VI) since it could work in actual environmental conditions with extraordinarily high capacity.