The magnetic-poly(divinylbenzene-1-vinylimidazole) [m-poly(DVB-VIM)] microbeads (average diameter 53–212 μm) were synthesized and characterized; their use as adsorbent in removal of Cr(VI) ions from aqueous solutions was investigated. The m-poly(DVB-VIM) microbeads were prepared by copolymerizing of divinylbenzene (DVB) with 1-vinylimidazole (VIM). The m-poly(DVB-VIM) microbeads were characterized by N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms, ESR, elemental analysis, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and swelling studies. At fixed solid/solution ratio the various factors affecting adsorption of Cr(VI) ions from aqueous solutions such as pH, initial concentration, contact time and temperature were analyzed. Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubinin–Radushkvich isotherms were used as the model adsorption equilibrium data. Langmuir isotherm model was the most adequate. The pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, Ritch-second-order and intraparticle diffusion models were used to describe the adsorption kinetics. The apparent activation energy was found to be 5.024 kJ mol−1, which is characteristic of a chemically controlled reaction. The experimental data fitted to pseudo-second-order kinetic. The study of temperature effect was quantified by calculating various thermodynamic parameters such as Gibbs free energy, enthalpy and entropy changes. The thermodynamic parameters obtained indicated the endothermic nature of adsorption of Cr(VI) ions. Morever, after the use in adsorption, the m-poly(DVB-VIM) microbeads with paramagnetic property were separeted via the applied magnetic force. The magnetic beads could be desorbed up to about 97% by treating with 1.0 M NaOH. These features make the m-poly(DVB-VIM) microbeads a potential candidate for support of Cr(VI) ions removal under magnetic field.

Bioremediation strategies, including biostimulation, exogenous bioaugmentation and autochthonous bioaugmentation, were evaluated to determine their ability to degrade petroleum hydrocarbons in two recently polluted agricultural soils, one with a clayey texture and a silty loam soil. It was hypothesized in this work that the bioavailability of the pollutant may depend on the soil type, which would determine the biodegradation rate and the correct methodology to be used. The soils were artificially contaminated with diesel fuel, and several soil–water suspension batch microcosm experiments were conducted to observe the bioremediation process. The inocula used in the experiments included an autochthonous soil consortium and an exogenous consortium that had been acclimated to diesel consumption. The clayey soil desorbed diesel quickly, while the silty soil, with a higher organic content, did not. Hydrocarbon availability was limited in the latter case. After 48 h of treatment, the diesel removal efficiency in the clayey soil was clearly higher than that in the silty soil. However, after 11 days, the efficiencies were similar, and more than 95% of the diesel was biodegraded in most experiments. According to the efficiency and bioavailability analyses, the best methodology to bioremediate the silty soil was biostimulation with the native consortium. In contrast, bioaugmentation with a combination of native and exogenous consortia was chosen to treat the clayey soil. The results of this study suggest that when pollutants are easily available, bioaugmentation can successfully remediate the pollution. However, when availability is limited, biostimulation can be more efficient.

The objective of this study was to assess the removal of the endocrine disruptor 4-nonylphenol (NP) at a concentration of 1 mg L⁻¹ by ryegrass and radish during germination and growth. The decontamination process was evaluated in water only or in water containing two organic fractions, a soil humic acid (HA) and a river natural organic matter (NOM) at concentrations of 10 and 200 mg L⁻¹. The addition of these fractions aimed to simulate the organic content of real aqueous systems. At the end of germination and growth, residual NP was measured by chromatographic analysis. Also, NP phytotoxicity was evaluated during germination. In germination experiments, NP in water only was not toxic for ryegrass and radish which removed, respectively, 37 and 51 % of the initial NP added. In water added with HA or NOM at both doses, in general, NP did not influence or inhibited seed germination. Both doses of HA in water promoted the removal of NP by germinating seeds, whereas NOM exerted differentiated results in the two species as a function of the dose applied. After 2 days of growth, in all treatments both species almost completely removed NP and accumulated a very little fraction of product. This study demonstrated that both ryegrass and radish possess a relevant capacity to remove the endocrine disruptor NP from water also in the presence of different organic fractions, thus suggesting their use in the decontamination of real aquatic systems.

There are several possible methods by which amine groups can be grafted on the surface of activated carbon (AC) to improve their capacity for CO2 adsorption. Ethylenediamine and diethylenetriamine were selected as amino compounds for anchoring on the surface of an oxidized AC. Oxidation of AC was carried out by concentrated nitric acid. For each amino compound, two “in-solvent” and “solvent-free” methods with a number of grafting times were studied. Nitrogen adsorption–desorption at 77 K and proximate and ultimate analysis were used to determine physical and chemical characteristics of the samples. Temperature-programmed (TP) CO2 adsorption test from 30°C to 120°C were performed to investigate the effect of modification on CO2 capture. The modification clearly had a negative effect on the textural characteristics of the samples, so the samples showed a less CO2 uptake at lower temperatures. However, the decrease of capture capacity with increasing temperature is to somewhat softer for amine-grafted samples, so that they have a capacity comparable to the parent sample or even more than that at elevated temperatures. This property may give the new adsorbents this opportunity to be used at flue gas temperature with a higher efficiency. CO2 capture capacity per unit surface area of all the amine-modified samples, however, was significantly improved, compared to the parent sample presenting a great influence of amino groups on the CO2 capture capacity. Moreover, the used amine compounds and grafting methods were compared in terms of adsorbent characteristics and CO2 uptake curves. Cyclic adsorption–desorption tests showed a satisfactory regeneration for the modified samples.

Natural clinoptilolite was modified with hexadecyltrimethylammonium chloride, a cationic surfactant, and then melt-mixed with polypropylene hollow fibres to produce polymer composites with adsorptive properties. The performance of the fabricated composites was evaluated by optimizing experimental parameters such as surfactant loading, contact time, pH and initial concentration for the adsorptive removal of 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (TCP) and ortho-nitrophenol (o-NP). Based on the fourier transmission infrared spectra and scanning electron microscopy micrographs of as-received and surfactant-modified clinoptilolite, the modification of natural clinoptilolite was attained. The composites showed enhanced adsorption capability for TCP over o-NP with removal efficiencies of 84% and 46%. Loading the clinoptilolite with surfactant concentrations beyond 8 mM reduced the adsorption capacity. The removal of TCP and o-NP was found to depend critically on the pH of the solution, and the optimum ranges were 4–6 and 2–6 for compounds, respectively. The adsorption dynamics were determined with first- and second-order kinetics models, and the adsorption system for TCP and o-NP followed the first-order kinetics. Adsorption isotherm analysis revealed that the adsorption equilibrium data obeyed/fit the Freundlich isotherm.

Water treatment for wastewater containing phenols and their chlorinated variations has attracted important research efforts. Phenol’s high toxicity makes them a good model to test possible water treatment based on biological and/or chemical methods. High concentrations of phenols may be treated by pure biological schemes. However, chlorinated phenols are very toxic for many microorganisms. Therefore, mixed treatment trains can be proposed to solve the treatment of this class of organics. In this study, the ozonation was used as pretreatment to decompose chlorinated phenols. Besides, this study describes how the microbial consortiums were adapted to handle ozonation by-products. The biodegradation of different phenol concentrations from 50 to 1,500 mg/L was evaluated using preadapted microbial consortia in batch and in a trickling packed-bed reactor (TPBR). Under batch conditions, phenol was efficiently removed up to 500 mg/L. For every phenol concentration evaluated, higher degradation rates were obtained in TPBR. The chlorophenols were found to be poorly degraded by the pure biological treatment, 4-CPh was not degraded during the biological process and 2,4-DCPh was only 40 % degraded after 250 h of culture. By combining the chemical (as pretreatment) and the biological processes, 85 % of 4-CPh was removed, while the degradation of the 2,4-DCPh was enhanced from 40 to 87 %. The predominant bacteria found in the preadapted cultures were Xanthomonas sp., Ancylobacter sp., and Rhodopseudomonas. Total treatment period was reduced from several weeks to some days. This information reflects the benefits offered by the mixed water treatment train proposed in this paper.

The aim of this work has been to analyze the effects of a bioemulsificant exopolysaccharide (EPS₂₀₀₃) on the abundance and vitality of natural marine microbial population. Harbor seawater microcosms, supplemented with bioemulsificant EPS₂₀₀₃ (at different concentrations), were monitored over 20 days. The microbial community dynamic was analyzed by measurement of bacterial density (total and cultivable count) and vitality (live/dead count and total RNA amount). The results obtained show that addition of bioemulsificant (also at different concentrations), as sole carbon source, supported growth of the indigenous bacterial populations and revealed that this substance is optimal for use in the participations of recovery of environment polluted from oil. In comparison, an analysis with commercial dispersant was also carried out.

Tributyltin (TBT) is a very effective biocide and an active ingredient in antifouling paints. Screening along the Indian coast yielded 49 bacterial isolates capable of TBT assimilation. The screening was done based on the ability of bacteria to grow in mineral salt medium (MSM) containing TBT as the sole source of carbon. All the isolates produced exopolysaccharides (biosurfactants) in the medium which aid in emulsification and thus ease bioavailability of TBT. Five isolates were identified as potent TBT degraders (namely, Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes, Pseudomonas stutzeri, Pseudomonas mendocina, Pseudomonas putida, and Pseudomonas balearica) based on their biomass production in MSM containing TBT as the sole source of carbon. In addition to evaluating the potential of individual bacterial strains, the study also focused on using a consortium of bacteria to explore their synergistic effect when grown on TBT. Further tests like growth profile, rhamnolipid secretion profile, extracellular protein secretion profile, and detection of siderophores were performed on these isolates when grown in MSM supplemented with 2 mM TBT concentration. Emulsification activity of the crude extracellular polysaccharides against kerosene was evaluated. It can be therefore inferred that TBT degradation by these marine pseudomonads is a two-step process: (a) dispersion of TBT in the aqueous phase and (b) tin–carbon bond cleavage by siderophores affecting debutylation of TBT. The consortium of bacteria may be effective in the treatment of TBT-contaminated waste water in dry docks.

In aquafarming, 17α-methyltestosterone (MT) is widely used as an anabolic steroid to induce the sex of Nile tilapia fry to male in order to increase production yield. Nile tilapia fry is fed at a rate of 0.06 mg of MT/kg of feed during the first 21 days after hatching. MT not consumed by the fish fry may be sorbed onto the sediment in the fish ponds which may contaminate the environment when released from the ponds. Using soils and sediment from a Nile tilapia masculinization pond as sorbents in batch sorption experiments, the linear sorption coefficients (K d) of MT were found to range from 1.2 to 168.8 L/kg with an average K ₒc value of 9,450 L/kg. The linear sorption coefficients of MT were found to correlate with the organic carbon contents of the sorbents. Sorption of MT onto sand, garden soil, and sediment was not impacted by pH, but the sorption of MT onto sediment was found to be impacted by the salinity of the water. The salting out coefficient of MT in saline water was found to be approximately 0.87 L/mol.

Spheroidal carbonaceous particles (SCPs) are produced by the high-temperature combustion of fossil fuels and are emitted to the atmosphere. We examined the surface morphology and the chemical composition of SCPs in samples of surface sediment from five industrial cities each of Japan and China, using scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). There exists a relationship between surface morphology and the chemical composition of SCPs in China, but not for SCPs in Japan. The chemical compositions of SCPs differ between Japan and China: those in Japan are S-rich, whereas those in China are Ti-rich. The results suggest that EDS can be used to identify China-derived SCPs in East Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.