The commonly observed enrichment of middle rare earth elements (MREE) in water sampled in acid mine drainage (AMD)-impacted areas was found to be the result of preferential release from the widespread mineral pyrite (FeS₂). Three different mining-impacted sites in Europe were sampled for water, and various pyrite samples were used in batch experiments with diluted sulphuric acid simulating AMD-impacted water with high sulphate concentration and high acidity. All water samples independent on their origin from groundwater, creek water or lake water as well as on the surrounding rock types showed MREE enrichment. Also the pyrite samples showed MREE enrichment in the respective acidic leachate but not always in their total contents indicating a process-controlled release. It is discussed that most probably complexation to sulphite (SO₃ ²⁻) or another intermediate S-species during pyrite oxidation is the reason for the MREE enrichment in the normalized REE patterns.

A microcosm experiment was conducted to investigate the dissipation of available benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) in soils co-contaminated with cadmium (Cd) and pyrene (PYR) during aging process. The available residue of BaP in soil was separated into desorbing and non-desorbing fractions. The desorbing fraction contributed more to the dissipation of available BaP than the non-desorbing fraction did. The concentration of bound-residue fraction of BaP was quite low across all treatments. Within the duration of this study (250 days), transformation of BaP from available fractions to bound-residue fraction was not observed. Microbial degradation was the dominant mechanism of the dissipation of available BaP in the soil. The dissipation of available BaP was significantly inhibited with the increment in Cd level in the soil. The addition of PYR (250 mg kg⁻¹) remarkably promoted the dissipation of available BaP without reducing Cd availability in the soil. The calculated half-life of available BaP in the soil prolonged with the increment in Cd level; however, the addition of PYR shortened the half-life of available BaP by 13.1, 12.7, and 32.8 % in 0.44, 2.56, and 22 mg Cd kg⁻¹soils, respectively. These results demonstrated that the inhibiting effect of Cd and the promoting effect of PYR on the dissipation of available BaP were competitive. Therefore, this study shows that the bioremediation process of BaP can be more complicated in co-contaminated soils.

Arsenic, a common poison, is known to react with sulfide in vivo, forming thioarsenates. The acute toxicity of the inorganic thioarsenates is currently unknown. Our experiments showed that a fourfold sulfide excess reduced acute arsenite cytotoxicity in human hepatocytes (HepG2) and urothelial cells (UROtsa) significantly, but had little effect on arsenate toxicity. Speciation analysis showed immediate formation of thioarsenates (up to 73 % of total arsenic) in case of arsenite, but no speciation changes for arsenate. Testing acute toxicity of mono- and trithioarsenate individually, both thioarsenates were found to be more toxic than their structural analogue arsenate, but less toxic than arsenite. Toxicity increased with the number of thio groups. The amount of cellular arsenic uptake after 24 h corresponded to the order of toxicity of the four compounds tested. The dominant to almost exclusive intracellular arsenic species was arsenite. The results imply that thiolation is a detoxification process for arsenite in sulfidic milieus. The mechanism could either be that thioarsenates regulate the amount of free arsenite available for cellular uptake without entering the cells themselves, or, based on their chemical similarity to arsenate, they could be taken up by similar transporters and reduced rapidly intracellularly to arsenite.

A greenhouse experiment was carried out to investigate the single effect of benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) or chromium (Cr) and the joint effect of Cr–B[a]P on the growth of Zea mays, its uptake and accumulation of Cr, and the dissipation of B[a]P over 60 days. Results showed that single or joint contamination of Cr and B[a]P did not affect the plant growth relative to control treatments. However, the occurrence of B[a]P had an enhancing effect on the accumulation and translocation of Cr. The accumulation of Cr in shoot of plant significantly increased by ≥ 79 % in 50 mg kg⁻¹Cr–B[a]P (1, 5, and 10 mg kg⁻¹) treatments and by ≥ 86 % in 100 mg kg⁻¹Cr–B[a]P (1, 5, and 10 mg kg⁻¹) treatments relative to control treatments. The presence of plants did not enhance the dissipation of B[a]P in lower (1and 5 mg kg⁻¹) B[a]P contaminated soils; however, over 60 days of planting Z. mays seemed to enhance the dissipation of B[a]P by over 60 % in 10 mg kg⁻¹single contaminated soil and by 28 to 41 % in 10 mg kg⁻¹B[a]P co-contaminated soil. This suggests that Z. mays might be a useful plant for the remediation of Cr–B[a]P co-contaminated soil.

Anaerobic dechlorination is an effective degradation pathway for higher chlorinated polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The enhanced reductive dechlorination of PCB-contaminated soil by anaerobic composting with zero-valent iron (ZVI) was studied, and preliminary reasons for the enhanced reductive dechlorination with ZVI were investigated. The results show that the addition of nanoscale ZVI can enhance dechlorination during in-vessel anaerobic composting. After 140 days, the average number of removed Cl per biphenyl with 10 mg g⁻¹of added nanoscale ZVI was 0.63, enhancing the dechlorination by 34 % and improving the initial dechlorination speed. The ZVI enhances dechlorination by providing a suitable acid base environment, reducing volatile fatty acid inhibition and stimulating the microorganisms. The C/N ratios for treatments with the highest rate of ZVI addition were smaller than for the control, indicating that ZVI addition can promote compost maturity.

The present study explores the tolerance and metal removal response of a well-developed 2-week-old Phormidium mat after long-term exposure to Cu²⁺-enriched medium. Cu²⁺enrichment inhibited increase in mat biomass in a concentration-dependent manner. Mat area and the number of entrapped air bubbles decreased as Cu²⁺concentration increased in the medium. Decrease in number of air bubbles obviously reflects the adverse effect of Cu²⁺on photosynthetic performance of the mat. Metal enrichment did not substantially alter the amount of pigments, such as chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, carotenoids, and phycocyanin, in the mat. Enhancement of Cu²⁺concentration in the medium led to changes in species composition of the test mat; however, Phormidium bigranulatum always remained the dominant organism. Relative share of green algae and some cyanobacterial taxa, namely, Lyngbya sp. and Oscillatoria tenuis, in the mat were increased by Cu²⁺enrichment. The mat successfully removed 80 to 94 % Cu²⁺from the growth medium containing 10 to 100 μM Cu²⁺. Extracellular polysaccharides, whose share increased in the mat community after metal addition, seem to have contributed substantially to metal binding by the mat biomass.

Direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) process using polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane was used for fluoride removal from aqueous solution. This study has been carried out on heat and mass transfer analyses in DCMD. The dusty-gas model was used to analyze the mass transfer mechanism and to calculate the permeate flux. The heat transfer is analyzed based on energy balance, and the different layers are considered as a series of thermal resistances. Mass transfer analysis showed that the transition Knudsen-molecular diffusion is the dominant mechanism to describe the transport of water vapor through the pores of the PVDF membrane. The most significant operating parameter is the feed temperature. The permeate increases sensitively with feed temperature and velocity, and it shows insignificant change with feed salts concentration. Heat transfer analysis showed the conduction through the matrix of the membrane presents the major part of available energy. The increasing feed temperature leads to increase thermal efficiency (TE) and decrease temperature polarization coefficient (TPC). The experimental results are in good agreement with theoretical values. Therefore, it is suggested to work at high feed temperature, which will benefit both the thermal efficiency and permeate flux. The experimental results proved that DCMD process is able to produce almost fluoride-free water suitable for many beneficial uses.

The aim of this study is the treatment of Basic Red 29 (BR29) dye solution using hybrid iron-aluminum electrodes by electrocoagulation and electro-Fenton methods. The effect of current density, initial pH, supporting electrolyte, H₂O₂, and initial dye concentration on dye removal efficiency was investigated, and the best experimental conditions were obtained. Time-coarse variation of UV-Vis spectra and toxicity and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal were also examined at the best experimental conditions. Both systems were found very successful for the removal of BR29 dye. The removal efficiency of >95 % for BR29 dye solution was reached easily in a short time. At the best experimental conditions, for the initial BR29 concentration of 100 mg/L, >95 % BR29 dye and 71.43 % COD removal were obtained after 20 and 40 min of electrolysis, respectively. Additionally, toxicity results for electro-Fenton treatment of 100 mg/L BR29 were also very promising. According to the results obtained, although electro-Fenton is more effective, both systems can be used successfully to treat textile wastewater including dyes.

This study examines gaseous chlorinated species generated from the reaction of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) with sodium chlorite powder (NaClO₂₍ₛ₎) to obtain insight into the propensity of this process to enhance NO and Hg⁰oxidation. A packed bed reactor containing NaClO₂₍ₛ₎was used and the reaction temperature was set to 130 °C. Initially, we determined that the presence of SO₂enhances the oxidation of NO and Hg⁰by reaction with NaClO₂₍ₛ₎. We then introduced NO₂into the gas mixture as a radical scavenger and determined that the chlorinated species generated by the reaction of SO₂with NaClO₂₍ₛ₎are OClO, Cl, ClO, and Cl₂. Based on these results, we suggest that such gaseous chlorinated ones are responsible for the enhancement of NO and Hg⁰oxidation.

Studies focused on the possible use of spider webs as environmental pollution indicators. This was a first time ever attempt to use webs as indicators of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) pollution. The aim of the study was (a) to evaluate whether webs are able to accumulate PM-associated road traffic emissions and be analyzed for organic toxics such as PAHs, (b) to assess if the distance from emission sources could have an influence on the accumulation level of pollutants, and (c) to determine types of pollution sources responsible for a structure of monitoring data set. Webs of four species from the family Agelenidae were sampled for PAHs presence. Data from vehicle traffic sites (i.e., road tunnel, arterial surface road, underground parking) and from railway traffic sites (i.e., two railway viaducts) in the city of Wroclaw (Southwest of Poland) showed a significantly higher mean concentrations of PAHs than the reference site 1 (municipal water supply works). We also found a significant differences at sites differed by the distance from emission sources. The result of PCA analysis suggested three important sources of pollution. We conclude that spider webs despite of some limitations proved useful indicators of road traffic emissions; they could be even more reliable compared to use of bioindicators whose activity is often limited by a lack of water and sun.