Removal of p-nitrophenol (PNP) from aqueous solutions using fibrous peat has been investigated in this study by batch adsorption experiments. Factors that can affect the adsorption process, such as pH, temperature, initial PNP concentration and contact time, have been investigated. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) measurements have also been obtained in order to study the adsorption mechanism of PNP by peat. The Langmuir and Freundlich equations have been applied to investigate the equilibrium. The data fitted the Langmuir isotherm well, with the maximum adsorption capacity decreasing with temperature from 23.4 to 16.1 mg g⁻¹. In general, the adsorption equilibrium was attained within 100 min. For the kinetics study, the best fit was obtained by the pseudo-second-order model instead of the pseudo-first-order model, both of which applied to the experimental data, whereas the results of intraparticle diffusion show a two-step adsorption process. The activation energy value of 70.31 kJ mol⁻¹, calculated from the Arrhenius equation, indicated a predominantly chemical adsorption, whereas the thermodynamic parameters, obtained by the van’t Hoff equation, were exothermic and spontaneous in nature.

Soil is a primary resource used by mankind to ensure its needs mainly through agriculture. Its sustainability is regulated by the indigenous organisms it contains such as microorganisms. Current agricultural practices employ mixtures of pesticides to ensure the crops yield and can potentially impair these non-target organisms. However despite this environmental reality, studies dealing the susceptibility of microorganisms to pesticide mixtures are scarce. In this context, we designed a 3-month microcosm study to assess the ecotoxicity of realistic herbicide mixtures of formulated S-metolachlor (Dual Gold Safeneur®), mesotrione (Callisto®), and nicosulfuron (Milagro®) on the abundance, the diversity, and the activities of microorganisms from a “clay/organic matter-rich” soil, with a particular attention given to N-cycle communities. These communities appeared to be quite resistant to realistic mixtures even if transient effects occurred on the N-cycle-related communities with an increase of ammonification and an inhibition of nitrification as a short-term effect, followed by an increase of denitrification and an accumulation of nitrates. As nitrates are known to be highly leachable with a strong pollution potential, intensive studies should be carried out at field level to conclude on this potential accumulation and its consequences. Moreover, these data now need to be compared with other agricultural soils receiving these herbicide mixtures in order to bring general conclusion on such practices.

Marine birds are important vectors of nutrient and contaminant transfer from sea to land. In eastern Nova Scotia, Canada, colonial marine birds nest on specific nearshore islands within archipelagoes, and we predicted that soils on islands with bird colonies would have higher concentrations of selected trace elements (notably K, Ca, As, Cd, Cu, Pb, Se, Hg, and Zn) than soils on islands without colonies. In this study, common eider (Somateria mollissima), Leach’s storm petrel (Oceanodroma leucorhoa), black guillemot (Cepphus grylle), double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus), great black-backed gull (Larus marinus), and herring gull (Larus argentatus) were considered to be the principal avian vectors for contaminant transfer. Results indicate that soils from islands with bird colonies had unique chemical compositions and commonly displayed elevated concentrations of K, Ca, Cu, Se, and Zn when compared to islands without colonies. Thus, marine birds feeding in the nearby marine zone move pollutants and nutrients from the ocean to nesting islands, potentially influencing habitat quality for coastal terrestrial species.

In this work, the removal of methylene blue by Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) 016 was investigated through batch experiments and microscopic investigations. It was found that methylene blue could not affect the growth of B. thuringiensis 016 at the concentration ranging from 5 to 25 mg/L, and be removed with the increase of biomass. Further studies indicated that Bt 016 biomass possessed strong ability of methylene blue biosorption with a quick process. Twenty-five milligrams of methylene blue per liter could be completely biosorbed within 2 h. The pH value could affect the removal of methylene blue in a large extent. UV–visible, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy analyses, and microscopic investigations suggested that the removal of methylene blue could be divided into two steps as follows: (1) rapid biosorption of methylene blue on Bt 016 biomass through electrostatic attraction or chelating activity of functional groups; (2) methylene blue was further degraded by Bt 016 through enzyme-mediated or couple with the metabolism process.

Rhamnolipid is a biosurfactant produced by several Pseudomonas species, and can wet hydrophobic soils by lowering the cohesive and/or adhesive surface tension. Because of its biodegradability, rhamnolipid is believed to have minimal adverse impact on the soil and groundwater after usage. Applications of rhamnolipid to improve irrigation in agricultural soils thus have obvious advantages over other chemical wetting agents, especially under drought conditions. Due to global warming, soil amendment with biochar has been commonly practiced in agricultural soils to increase the soil water-holding capacity. As such, rhamnolipid transport in biochar-amended agricultural soils needs to be characterized. In this research, we found that rhamnolipid transport in biochar-amended agricultural soils was hindered by retardation (equilibrium adsorption) and deposition (kinetic adsorption), which was well represented by the advection-dispersion equation based on a local equilibrium assumption. A linear equilibrium adsorption was assumed in the advection-dispersion equation simulation, which was proved to be acceptable by studying the breakthrough curves. Both rhamnolipid equilibrium adsorption and kinetic adsorption increased with the increase of the biochar content in the agricultural soil.

Scallop shell-Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles were synthesized by co-precipitation and hydrothermal methods. The removal efficiency of RB5 was studied as a function of pH, adsorbent dosage, initial RB5 concentration, ionic strength, and temperature. Coating of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles onto Scallop shell was identified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. Maximum adsorption was obtained at pH 3. The removal efficiency of RB5 was increased with increasing adsorbent dosage. However, it was decreased with increasing initial RB5 concentration, temperature and in the presence of any anions. Adsorption kinetic study revealed that the pseudo-second order model better described the removal rate than the pseudo-first order model and intra-particle diffusion model. Adsorption isotherm was analyzed by both Langmuir and Freundlich equation. Experimental result was well described by the Langmuir equation. Maximum adsorption capacity was estimated to be 1111.11 mg/g. Thermodynamic studies indicated that the adsorption of RB5 onto Scallop shell-Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles was an endothermic (∆H = 178.14 KJ mol⁻¹) process. The negative values of free energy (∆G) for the adsorption indicated that adsorption of RB5 was spontaneous reaction. Adsorption activity of RB5 by Scallop shell-Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles was maintained even after six successive cycles.

The influence of long-term exposure to background pollution on the response and recovery of the invasive species Corbicula fluminea to ammonia stress was investigated using a multi-marker approach. Wild clams of the tidal freshwater areas of two estuaries of the NW Iberian coast with different levels of pollution, the estuaries of Minho river (reference) and of Lima river (contaminated), were collected and exposed individually to different treatments: 8 and 14 days in dechlorinated tap water (DTW), 8 and 14 days in 1 mg L⁻¹of ammonia (AM), and 8 days in AM followed by 6 days in DTW. After each defined time (0, 8, and 14 days), the clams were sacrificed and the activity of the enzymes glutathione S-transferase (GST), catalase (CAT), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), cholinesterase (ChE), octopine dehydrogenase (ODH), and the lipid peroxidation (LPO) levels were used as effect criteria. At the beginning of the bioassay, the clams from the polluted estuary presented significantly higher background levels of GST, CAT, GR, GPx, and LPO than those from the reference one indicating long-term exposure to oxidative stressors. In general, C. fluminea from both estuaries presented little sensibility to ammonia with no significant differences found between exposed and control clams for most of the biomarkers. That low sensibility of C. fluminea could be seen as advantageous for its invasion ability.

In the present work, the role of chemical compounds of one abundant vegetable waste, exhausted coffee, on Cr(VI), Cu(II), and Ni(II) sorption has been investigated. For this purpose, exhausted coffee was subjected to sequential extractions by using dichloromethane (DCM), ethanol (EtOH), water, and NaOH 1 %. The raw and treated biomass resulting from the extractions were used for metal ions sorption. Sorption results were discussed taking into consideration polarity and functional groups of raw and treated biomass. In general, the successive removal of extractives led to an insignificant increase in the studied metal ions sorption after DCM, EtOH, and water. The sorption results using free-extractive materials showed that metal sorption can be effectively achieved without this non-structural fraction of the sorbent. Alkaline hydrolysis destroyed in part the structural compounds of the sorbent resulting in an insignificant decrease of chromium removal while a significant increase of copper and nickel sorption was observed. The determination of elemental ratios of exhausted coffee and all treated biomass evidenced the involvement of oxygen functional groups in copper and nickel sorption. FTIR analysis confirmed the involvement of lignin moieties in the chromium sorption by exhausted coffee. As a final remark, this study shows that the sequential extraction opens new expectations to the total valorisation of lignocellulosic-based biomasses. The extractives can be removed and used as a biosource of valuable compounds, and the resulting waste can be used as a sorbent for metal ions keeping the same capacity for metal sorption as the non-extracted biomass.

The paper presents the results of antimony removal from the Dúbrava water resource using a pilot plant system capable of taking samples from different heights of adsorption materials. The adsorbents GEH, CFH12, CFH18, and Bayoxide E33 and two experimental stainless columns with bleeder valves located at heights of 20, 45, and 70 cm of the adsorption media and 91 cm (GEH), 94 cm (CFH18), 87 cm (CFH12), and 87 cm (Bayoxide E33) filter media high were used. The results of the experiments show that the most suitable material for removing antimony from water is GEH. For an antimony concentration of 78.4–108.0 μg/L in raw water and a filtration rate of 5.6–5.9 m/h, the limit concentration of 5 μg/L at the outlet of the 70-cm high adsorption media was reached at the bed volume 1788. In a case when the media height was 91 cm, the antimony concentration in the treated water would reach the limit value of 5 μg/L after a 672-h operation of the stainless column at the bed volume 4256. Under these conditions, the adsorption capacity was calculated at 184 μg/g. The adsorption capacities and bed volumes of the other adsorbents were lower in comparison to GEH.

Because of the low energy costs in the absence of the need for aeration, the non-requirement of a carbon source and alkali, and the reduced production of excess sludge, anaerobic ammonia oxidation (Anammox) has been extensively studied as an alternative to the conventional nitrification–denitrification pathway for biological nitrogen removal from wastewater. However, many challenges remain which need to be overcome to prepare the process for engineering application. These include the long doubling time of Anammox bacteria/autotrophic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AAOB), the low tolerance capacity to substrate concentration, and high sensitivity to various environmental factors. This review article focuses on the main drawbacks of the Anammox process and evaluates the progress made to date with regard to the enrichment of AAOB and the treatment performance of the Anammox process itself. The factors affecting the nitrogen removal performance of the Anammox process, such as substrate concentration, organic matters, and variation of temperature, are also reviewed and discussed. Finally, the need for the development of long-term storage methods for AAOB is addressed.