Mires and peatlands in general are heavily influenced by anthropogenic stressors like acidification, eutrophication, desiccation and fragmentation. Groundwater-fed mires are, in contrast to rainwater-fed mires, often well protected against desiccation due to constant groundwater discharge. Groundwater-fed mires can however be influenced by groundwater pollution such as groundwater nitrate enrichment, a threat which has received minor attention in literature. The present case study demonstrates how groundwater nitrate enrichment can affect the biogeochemical functioning and vegetation composition of groundwater-fed mires through direct nitrogen enrichment and indirect nitrate-induced sulphate mobilisation from geological deposits. Biogeochemical and ecohydrological analyses suggest that the Dutch groundwater-fed mire studied is influenced by different water sources (rainwater; groundwater of local and regional origin) with differing chemical compositions. The weakly buffered and nitrate-enriched groundwater leads, where it reaches the uppermost peat, to nitrogen enrichment, enhanced isotopic nitrogen signatures and altered the vegetation composition at the expense of characteristic species. Nitrate-induced sulphate mobilisation in the aquifer led to enhanced sulphate reduction, sulphide toxicity and elemental sulphur deposition in the mire. Despite sulphate reduction and nitrate enrichment, internal eutrophication did not play an important role, due to relatively low phosphorus concentrations and/or low iron-bound phosphorus of the peat soil. Future management of groundwater-fed mires in nitrate-polluted aquifers should include the reduction of nitrate leaching to the aquifer at the recharge areas by management and ecohydrological restoration measures on both a local and landscape scale.

The effects of increased mining of seafloor massive sulfide deposits on marine ecosystems have not been characterized. In this study, the impact of leaching metals from a hydrothermal sulfide on photosynthetic protist and cyanobacterial communities in marine environments was investigated by amplicon analyses of small subunit rDNA (SSU rDNA) and rRNA (SSU rRNA). Seawater samples collected from the Iheya North region and Suruga Bay, Japan, were incubated with or without a leachate containing zinc, copper, cadmium, and manganese, of the actual seafloor hydrothermal sulfide from the Hakurei site in the Izena Hole region. The relative abundances of prasinophytes, diatom protists, and the cyanobacteria Synechococcus decreased substantially during incubation with leachate, indicating the vulnerability of these lineages to the leachate. Phylogenetic analysis based on the cyanobacterial phycocyanin cpcBA/rpcBA operon obtained from samples incubated with or without leachate indicated that the individual lineages of Synechococcus can determine sensitivity to heavy metals in different marine regions as well as particular clades and ecotypes.

New optical tools are proposed for the real-time diagnosis of water quality without traditional sampling and laboratory physico-chemical analysis. In particular, the optical decision-making system is developed as an operational tool for in-situ assessment of water quality in natural water areas. Specifically, three versions of this system are analyzed using 8-channel and 35-channel photometric devices and a 128-channel spectroelipsometric device. The spectral images obtained from these devices are the basis for the diagnosis of water quality by using new algorithms to detect these spectral images. In more detail, four algorithms are developed to identify optical spectral images of water objects. The effectiveness of these optical tools is demonstrated in experimental water quality control sites in water systems operating under different climatic conditions. Finally, the results for the determination of the various pollutants at the surface of these water bodies are presented.

In this paper, a conceptual model was developed to predict the seepage of oil sands process-affected water with capabilities of evaluating the transport and attenuation of naphthenic acids through the dykes and the foundations of oil sands tailings pond. The model incorporates naphthenic acid diffusion, adsorption, dispersion, advection, and biodegradation, and was modeled through the commercial software tools to predict naphthenic acid fate in both spatial and time scales. The tailing pond of the Muskeg River Mine in the Athabasca oil sands deposit was investigated in the case study. The comparison between the onsite monitoring data and the simulation results was in good agreement. In addition, limiting factors for migration of naphthenic acid were also discussed based on a parametric sensitivity study.

Water pollution is one of the main threats to public health in Pakistan. The watchdogs for drinking water quality are toothless, hence Pakistan’s ranking in maintaining water quality standards is 80th out of 122 nations. Despite such alarming situation coupled with violation of various drinking water quality parameters set by WHO, the risk perception of people remains an unfolded area of research. This paper examines the risk perception of household regarding water pollution in Pakistan and its potential effect on human health. In this way, we present a more analytical interpretation of the subject by collecting data from a survey questionnaire from one of the largest urban cities of Pakistan. Conclusions are drawn which stress that education, income, and knowledge of water pollution have higher impact on risk perception. From this position, and with the development of implications for policy, we demonstrate the need of a systematic quantification of various uncertainties that can provide more realistic support for remediation-related decisions to policy makers.

The calix[4]resorcinarene macrocycles are excellent oligomers for the design of amphiphilic derivatives; they can form self-assemblies and stable sensing networks. Owing to their favorable properties, they are the focus of many exploitations and studies ranging from biological controls to heavy metal ion sensing. In this perspective, two calix[4]resorcinarene derivatives, namely: C-dec-9-en-1-ylcalix[4]resorcinarene (ionophore I) and C-undecylcalix[4]resorcinarene (ionophore II) were used to form stable ultra-thin Langmuir monolayer films at the air/water interface; their interactions with different harmful metal cations (Cd²⁺, Pb²⁺, Hg²⁺, and Cu²⁺) were studied and highlighted via the pressure-area (Π-A) isotherms. The obtained results in the current investigation showed a dependence of both macrocycle interactions on the metal cation concentration in the subphase, confirming their complexation. In addition, the ionophore (I) exhibited high selectivity towards Pb²⁺ and Cu²⁺ cations, whereas the ionophore (II) showed tendency to bind with Cu²⁺ cations over others, approving the potential applicability of these macrocycles as ion selective chemical sensors.

The latest research focused on the analysis of algal growth and the dynamics of their growth use the laser diffraction technique, enabling determination of the volume fraction of suspended particles with specific diameters in aqueous solution as well as their fractal dimensions. This study focuses on the possibility of using a laser granulometer to assess the growth dynamics of algae growing in treated wastewater in a hydroponic system, supported by artificial lighting with the use of light-emitting diodes (LEDs). On the basis of the measurements, the fractal dimension (Df) of algae was determined. An attempt was made to apply the modified Avrami equation describing the crystallization process for the analysis of algae growth dynamics in wastewater. Presented results show that the fractal dimension of suspended matter, largely created by algae, in the case of additional lighting of the hydroponic system at night, takes lower values (Df ~ 1.0) than in sewage without additional light source (Df ~ 2.0). In each measurement series, the fractal dimension of particles in the tank with lighting in the end of the experiment was about 33–43% lower than in the tank without LEDs. The analysis of changes in particle diameters calculated on the basis of Avrami equation largely corresponds with the stages of algae growth. During the measurement series with lower air temperatures, the growth of algae in the tank with additional light was faster than in the tank without LEDs. The obtained information can be the basis for determining the effective method of removing algae from wastewater treated in the hydroponic system, before they are discharged to the receiver in order to prevent the outflow of increased concentrations of total suspended solids.

Raw coal fly ash (RCFA) was recycled as three kinds of adsorbents by hydroxyl anion (OH⁻), hydrogen ion (H⁺), and thermal activation, respectively, for the adsorption of Cr(VI) from water. The H⁺ activation can explore the adsorptive potential of RCFA more effectively than the other two methods. The specific surface areas of the adsorbents are 12.33, 16.32, and 13.89 m² g⁻¹ for OH⁻, H⁺, and thermal activation, respectively. The adsorption process follows the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the Langmuir model better and exhibits exothermic property. The activation energy (20.65–31.88 kJ mol⁻¹) and the negative Gibbs free energy reveal that the adsorption is a physical and spontaneous process. The adsorbents derived from OH⁻, H⁺, and thermal activation can be used at least 5, 7, and 4 times, respectively, while the one from H⁺ activation has the best adsorption capacity (6.41 μg g⁻¹ for the first run). The adsorption process can introduce other metallic/toxic elements, but within the Chinese standard. The preparation cost of the H⁺ activation is $1103 ton⁻¹ adsorbent, while the treatment cost is $1.6 ton⁻¹ water. The more accurate parameters in the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Langmuir model can be calculated by nonlinear method and provided by the error function of the sum of the squares of the errors.

The purpose of this study was the identification of the major factor for sustainable development in textile industries and preferred textile wastewater management practices for environmental protection. Moreover, a structural framework for sustainable textile wastewater management concept in the textile industry was developed, and further, the proposed model was examined based on the effect of economic performance, environmental impact, and operational performance in textile sectors. Therefore, to achieve the above issues, major factors were identified through exhaustive literature, and then a test was conducted for the reliability of the proposed constructs for validation. However, there was no specific study on the sustainability of textile wastewater management principle by using exploratory structural equation modeling (SEM). Finally, the proposed structural model was validated by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling with the help of the SPSS software package.

In degradation of total petroleum hydrocarbon, 35 isolates belonging to 11 genera were sanitized and 3 isolates as well as their consortium were initiated to be able to raise in association with petroleum hydrocarbon as sole source of carbon under in vitro circumstances. The isolated strains were grounded on internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rDNA sequence analysis. The fungal strains with the utmost potentiality to reduce petroleum hydrocarbon without emerging antagonistic activities were Aspergillus niger, Penicillium ochrochloron, and Trichodema viride. For fungal growth on petroleum hydrocarbon, P. ochrocholon gained weight of 44%, A. niger 49%, and T. viride 39% within the first 30–40 days. As compared to the controls, these fungi accumulated significantly higher biomass, produced extracellular enzymes, and degraded total petroleum hydrocarbon and A. niger strongly degraded total petroleum hydrocarbon with a degradation of about 71.19%. These observations with GC-MS data confirm that these isolates displayed rapid total petroleum hydrocarbon biodegradation within a period of 60 days and the half-life showed that A. niger was the shortest with t1/2 = 21.280 day⁻¹ corresponding to the highest percent degradation of 71.19% and first-order kinetic fitted into the present study. By multivariate analysis, five main factors were identified by factor analysis (FA). The first factor (F1) of the fungi species accounts for 20.0% which signifies that fungi species controls the degradation of petroleum variability and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) as a dendrogram with five observations and three variables shows two predominant clusters order cluster 1 > 2.