The preparation, characterization, and environmental application of crosslinked chitosan-coated bentonite (CCB) beads for tartrazine adsorption have been investigated. CCB beads were characterized by using Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area and Barrett-Joyner-Halenda (BJH) pore size distribution analyses were also determined. The values of pH of the aqueous slurry and pH of zero point charge (pHZPC) were almost equal. The adsorption at equilibrium of tartrazine was found to be a function of pH of the solution, stirring rate, contact time, and tartrazine concentration. The optimum conditions for tartrazine adsorption were pH 2.5, stirring rate of 400 rpm and contact time of 80 min. Pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order models were used to analyze the kinetics of adsorption with the latter found to agree well with the kinetics data, suggesting that the rate determining step may be chemisorption. The two most common isotherm models, Langmuir and Freundlich, were used to describe the adsorption equilibrium data. On the basis of Langmuir isotherm model, the maximum adsorption capacities were determined to be 250.0, 277.8, and 294.1 mg g⁻¹ at 300, 310, and 320 K, respectively. Desorption studies were carried out at different concentrations of EDTA, H₂SO₄, and NaOH. All desorbing solutions showed poor recovery of tartrazine.

Air pollution is a major contributor to several respiratory problems, it affects the whole population in general but children are more susceptible. Exposure to automobile exhaust is associated with increased respiratory symptoms and may impair lung function in children. In view of this, the study was conducted among the children of Delhi, the capital city of India, where ambient air quality was much above the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. The study was conducted in children aged 9-17 years. Pulmonary function test was carried out following the guideline of American Thoracic Society using a portable, electronic spirometer. Air quality data was collected from Central and State Pollution Control Boards. In addition, the level of particulate matter in indoor air was measured by portable laser photometer. Lung function was reduced in 43.5% schoolchildren of the urban area compared with 25.7% of control group. The urban children had increased prevalence of restrictive, obstructive, as well as combined type of lung functions deficits. Besides higher prevalence, the magnitude of lung function deficits was also much more in them. After controlling potential confounders like season, socioeconomic conditions and ETS, PM10 level in ambient air was found to be associated with restrictive (OR = 1.35, 95% CI 1.07-1.58), obstructive (OR = 1.45, 95% CI 1.16-1.82), and combined type of lung function deficits (OR = 1.74, 95% CI 1.37-2.71) in children. Spearman's rank correlation test reaffirmed the association. The study confirms that the level of air pollution is affecting the children.

Vegetated drainages are an effective method for removal of pollutants associated with agricultural runoff. Leersia oryzoides, a plant common to agricultural ditches, may be particularly effective in remediation; however, research characterizing responses of L. oryzoides to flooding are limited. Soil reduction resulting from flooding can change availability of nutrients to plants via changes in chemical species (e.g., increasing solubility of Fe). Additionally, plant metabolic stresses resulting from reduced soils can decrease nutrient uptake and translocation. The objective of this study was to characterize belowground and aboveground nutrient allocation of L. oryzoides subjected to various soil moisture regimes. Treatments included: a well-watered and well-drained control; a continuously saturated treatment; a 48-h pulse-flood treatment; and a partially flooded treatment in which water level was maintained at 15 cm below the soil surface and flooded to the soil surface for 48 h once a week. Soil redox potential (Eh, mV) was measured periodically over the course of the 8-week experiment. At experiment termination, concentrations of Kjeldahl nitrogen, phosphorus (P), potassium (K), iron (Fe), and manganese (Mn) were measured in plant tissues. All flooded treatments demonstrated moderately reduced soil conditions (Eh < 350 mV). Plant Kjeldahl nitrogen concentrations demonstrated no treatment effect, whereas P and K concentrations decreased in aboveground portions of the plant. Belowground concentrations of P, Mn, and Fe were significantly higher in flooded plants, likely due to the increased solubility of these nutrients resulting from the reductive decomposition of metal–phosphate complexes in the soil and subsequent precipitation in the rhizosphere. These results indicate that wetland plants may indirectly affect P, Mn, and Fe concentrations in surface waters by altering local trends in soil oxidation–reduction chemistry.

Modern European cities are characterized by high particulate matter (PM) concentrations. Unfortunately, the number of stations monitoring air pollution, especially PM, is never sufficient for the overall representation of the problem. In the present work, an inexpensive outdoor passive sampler (based on an indoor passive sampler) was developed and assembled in an effort to provide the means to extend current PM monitoring networks. The uncertainty of the sampler was tested in vitro and in vivo. Twenty such outdoor passive samplers were assembled and installed at specific locations in the Greater Thessaloniki Area and measurements of PM were carried out. The results were in good agreement with the official monitoring stations. In addition, they revealed the aggravated air quality in the center of the city and in the west suburbs.

The protection and conservation of natural resources is one of the main priorities of modern society. Water is perhaps our most valuable resource, and thus should be recycled. Many of the current recycling techniques for polluted water only concentrate the pollutant without degrading it or eliminating it. In this sense, advanced oxidation processes are possibly one of the most effective methods for the treatment of wastewater containing organic products (effluents from chemical and agrochemical industries, the textile industry, paints, dyes, etc.). More conventional techniques cannot be used to treat such compounds because of their high chemical stability and/or low biodegradability. This article describes, classifies, and analyzes different types of advanced oxidation processes and their application to the treatment of polluted wastewater.

Photocatalytic activity in titanium dioxide (TiO₂) has been extensively studied because of its potential use in sterilization, sanitation, and remediation applications. The aim of the study reported here was to assess the feasibility of “fixed” TiO₂ as the photocatalyst for inactivating pathogenic bacteria selected, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, from a water stream. The investigation was undergone in a properly designed laboratory-scale evaluation. Using the system reported here, we obtained an effective bactericidal capability for E. coli and S. aureus with 90.0% and 98.0% after 30 and 10 min ultraviolet-A light irradiation with fixed TiO₂, respectively. Parameters such as the various initial bacteria concentration, TiO₂ concentrations, interruption of illumination, turbidity, and coexisted organic matters were examined to identify the removal efficiency in the photocatalytic reaction. Results indicated the negative effect by high bacteria concentration, coexisted organic matters, and turbidity on inactivation of bacteria, and positive effect on disinfection was associated with higher TiO₂ concentration. Furthermore, our results indicated that under the same experimental conditions, the removal efficiency of the system in synthetic water was performed better than that of crude water. This inferior removal capability in crude water is mainly caused by the negative effect from the unknown coexisted factors.

Water quality degradation in the Selangor River will still be present in the years to come since pollutant loads from poultry farms, municipal wastewaters, and industrial wastewaters are not envisaged to be handled effectively. This will be facing the problems of water quality status to use for multiple purposes and to provide its aquatic environment continuously. The water quality evaluation system is used to assess the water quality condition in the river. This system distinguishes two categories of water condition i.e., the water quality index and water quality aptitude. The assessment of water quality for the Selangor River from nine stations along the main stream, which concludes that water has been highly polluted (index 5) immediately downstream of station 02 Selangor River before confluence with Kubu River due to high concentration of microorganisms and immediately downstream of station 06 Selangor River before confluence with Batang Kali River due to high concentrations of microorganisms and suspended particles, was verified. Mineral micropollutants were found to gradually pollute the stream water, ranging from the unpolluted water (index 1) in the upstream to the bad quality (index 4) in the downstream area.

We present the concentrations and distribution patterns of nine acid leachable trace metals (ALTMs) Fe, Mn, Cr, Cu, Ni, Co, Pb, Zn, and Cd in the soil samples from the five century old Pachuca-Mineral de Monte mining district of the Central Mexico. The ALTMs do not show any significant correlation with pH, EC, CaCO₃, and organic carbon. The metal concentration indicates three distinct distribution patterns. Fe, Mn, Cr, Pb, and Zn show enrichment in the high altitude region of the northern and central part of the study area. Likewise, Cu and Cd are enriched in the northern mountainous terrains. Both these groups show strong positive correlation with Mn indicating that they are associated with Mn-bearing minerals. However, we relate the first group of metals to excessive vehicular transportation and second group to mining waste dumps. The third group of ALTMs Co and Ni indicates its direct relationship to ore processing activities. Comparison of ALTMs concentrations from this study and various other studies throughout the world suggests the need to take precautionary measures of surface soil in high altitude areas to avoid metal enrichments and its subsequent environmental problems.

The remediation of groundwater contaminated with benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and the xylenes (BTEX) typically involves in situ biodegradation. Although the mechanisms of aerobic BTEX biodegradation in laboratory cultures have been well studied, less is known about the microorganisms responsible in mixed culture samples or at contaminated sites. In this study, the microorganisms responsible for in situ degradation within mixed culture samples were investigated using the molecular method stable isotope probing (SIP). For this, m-xylene was utilized as a model BTEX contaminant. Specifically, DNA-based SIP was utilized to identify active m-xylene degraders in microcosms constructed with soil from three sources (a gasoline-contaminated site and two agricultural sites). Replicate microcosms were amended with either labeled (¹³C) or unlabeled m-xylene, and the extracted DNA samples were ultracentrifuged, fractioned, and subjected to terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (TRFLP). The dominant m-xylene degraders (responsible for ¹³C uptake) were determined by comparing relative abundance of TRFLP phylotypes in heavy fractions of labeled m-xylene (¹³C) amended samples to the controls (from unlabeled m-xylene amended samples). Four phylotypes were identified as the dominant m-xylene degrading species, falling within either the β Proteobacteria or the Bacilli. Of these, two 16S rRNA gene sequences were highly novel, displaying very limited similarity (94% and 90%) to any previously reported 16S rRNA gene sequence. Further, three of these phylotypes fell within genera with limited or no previous links to BTEX degradation, suggesting much information is still to be gained concerning the identity of microorganisms responsible for degradation within mixed culture samples.

For more than a decade, Lakeland, FL, has invested in restoring its urban Lake Hollingsworth from a hypereutrophic state to its natural eutrophic state. The lake bottom was dredged of nearly 2 million m3 of accumulated organic sediments, and treatment wetlands, storm water curb inlet strainers, and a storm water baffle box were installed within the lake’s catchment area to reduce the loading of dirt, leaves, and trash to the lake. After dredging ceased, the lake was dosed one time with alum to improve water clarity and reduce phosphorus recycling from its sediments. Water quality surrogates for algal biomass— Secchi disk transparency and water column total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and chlorophyll-α concentrations— were reviewed to assess Lakeland’s progress towards its goal. In the years since dredging has stopped, algal biomass concentration in Lake Hollingsworth has significantly declined. Even with these improvements, however, the lake still remains hypereutrophic.