Developing procedures for assessing the potential environmental fate and transport of nanomaterials is an active endeavor of the environmental technical research community. Insufficient information exists for estimating the likelihood of nanomaterial deposition on natural surfaces in aquatic environments. This work develops a framework for estimating potential metal oxide nanomaterial self-aggregation through the combined application of recent developments in diffuse layer model surface complexation theory with historical Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek (DLVO) procedures. Findings from the work include: 1) the surface, diffuse layer, and/or zeta potentials of nanomaterials in environmental aqueous systems are likely to have an absolute value less than 25 mV, 2) only nanomaterials with a Hamaker constant as large as 1E-19 J (and an absolute surface potential < 25 mV) will likely aggregate in most environmental aquatic media, 3) natural organic matter coatings may render metal oxide nanomaterials less likely to aggregate in aquatic systems, 4) nanomaterials in aqueous suspension will likely have an absolute surface potential less than their micron-sized counterparts of the same composition, and 5) robust diffuse layer model databases of intrinsic surface site reactivity constants with multivalent aqueous environmental ions will need to be developed in order to provide accurate mechanistic estimates of the surface potential of nanoparticles suspended in aqueous environmental systems.

Otoliths of black bream (Acanthopagrus butcheri) collected from the Swan River Estuary were analysed by Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) to measure concentrations of 14 trace metals. Trace metal concentrations in the otoliths may be related to the environmental exposure history of fish to contamination. The following metal isotopes were investigated: aluminium (²⁷Al), calcium (⁴⁴Ca), manganese (⁵⁵Mn), iron (⁵⁷Fe), copper (⁶⁵Cu), zinc (⁶⁶Zn), strontium (⁸⁸Sr), cadmium (¹¹¹Cd), tin (¹²⁰Sn), barium (¹³⁸Ba), mercury (²⁰²Hg), lead (²⁰⁸Pb) and the metalloids arsenic (⁷⁵As, ⁷⁷As) and selenium (⁸²Se). Significant differences in otolith trace metal composition were found between sampling sites. Lead and ⁵⁷Fe were consistently lower in downstream fish relative to upstream fish, while ⁸⁸Sr varied with the salinity gradient in the urban estuary. Lead and ⁵⁷Fe followed similar patterns within the otoliths, and appeared to provide the best discriminatory power for relating otolith metal concentration to the environmental history of the fish.

This paper presents transformations of saturated hydrocarbons of petroleum type pollutants during ex situ bioremediation of soil on the pilot heap (halde), during a period of 6 months, within the grounds of Petroleum Refinery Pančevo (Serbia). Samples for analysis were taken in time intervals of 2 weeks (P₁-P₁₂ samples). Organic substance was extracted by Soxhlet's method and quantified. Isoprenoid aliphatics, in particular pristane and phytane, and polycyclic aliphatics of sterane and triterpane types in saturated hydrocarbon fractions were analysed by GC-MS (SIM method). Significant amounts of n-alkanes have not been detected. The MS-chromatogram revealed only marginal amounts of pristane and phytane in sample P₁. Pristane and phytane occurred in sample P₈, and in even higher quantities in the final sample P₁₂. The proceeding bioremediation process was accompanied by the decrease of the relative amounts of pentacyclic terpanes of hopane type, compared to tri- and tetracyclic terpanes. In the initial sample P₁ the distribution of steranes and hopanes follows a pattern, which is characteristic for crude oils. However, their identification by SIM method was not possible in samples P₈ and P₁₂ because of the reduced concentration. The observed changes in the alkane fractions' compositions may be considered as atypical, referring to the fact that during oil biodegradation under natural conditions, decomposition of isoprenoids occurs much easier and faster than decomposition of polycyclic alkanes of tri-, tetra- and pentacyclic terpane, sterane and diasterane types, after the decomposition of n-alkanes has been almost completed.

A fungal strain possibly capable of removing hexavalent chromium was to be isolated from industrial effluent from a leather factory located in the city of Guadalajara, state of Jalisco, Mexico. The strain was identified as Trichoderma inhamatum by the D1/D2 domain sequence of the 28S rDNA gene. Batch cultures of T. inhamatum in media containing initial Cr(VI) concentrations from 0.83 to 2.43 mM Cr(VI) were prepared. Experimental results suggest that the fungus is capable of transforming hexavalent chromium to trivalent chromium; a transformation of a highly toxic contaminant to a low toxic form. The specific and volumetric rates of Cr(VI) reduction by T. inhamatum cultures decreased as the initial Cr(VI) concentration increased. The fungus exhibited a remarkable capacity to tolerate and completely reduce Cr(VI) concentrations up to 2.43 mM. These results indicate that the T. inhamatum fungal strain may have potential applications in bioremediation of Cr(VI)-contaminated wastewaters.

Interdisciplinary studies on aquatic environments and cross-validation of laboratory vs. field results will likely increase the need for simultaneous use of large- and small-scale ultrafiltration systems. In this study, a comparison of two ultrafiltration systems differing in scale (PrepScale and PelliconXL, Millipore; membrane areas 0.54 m² and 0.005 m², respectively), was made for the cut-offs 3 and 300 kDa. Large systems are useful for their high permeate throughput, while small systems are necessary when the amount of sample is limited. The ability of PrepScale and PelliconXL systems to provide comparable results for organic carbon fractionation was studied for polysaccharide solutions and natural freshwaters. In the latter, the colloidal proportions of different trace metals (V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Sb, and U) were also determined. Although the colloidal proportions obtained with PelliconXL 3 kDa were sometimes slightly higher than with PrepScale 3 kDa (principally for DOC and U in natural waters), Mann-Whitney statistical test showed no significant difference in the overall fractionation properties of the two systems. Our observations show that reaching high concentration factors lead to a strong modification of colloids size distribution in the range 50-2,000 nm and thus low concentration factors are preferable to preserve the colloid integrity.

The relationships between heavy metal concentrations and physico-chemical properties of natural lake waters and also with chemical fractions of these metals in lake sediments were investigated in seven natural lakes of Kumaun region of Uttarakhand Province of India during 2003-2004 and 2004-2005. The concentrations of Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb in waters of different lakes ranged from 0.29-2.39, 10.3-38.3, 431-1407, 1.0-6.6, 5.3-12.1, 12.6-166.3, 0.7-2.7 and 3.9-27.1 μg l-¹ and in sediments 14.3-21.5, 90.1-197.5, 5,265-6,428, 17.7-45.9, 13.4-32.0, 40.0-149.2, 11.1-14.6 and 88.9-167.4 μg g-¹, respectively. The concentrations of all metals except Fe in waters were found well below the notified toxic limits. The concentrations of Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb were positively correlated with pH, electrical conductivity, biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand and alkalinity of waters, but negatively correlated with dissolved oxygen. The concentrations of Cr, Ni, Zn, Cd and Pb in waters were positively correlated with water soluble + exchangeable fraction of these metals in lake sediments. The concentrations of Zn, Cd and Pb in waters were positively correlated with carbonate bound fraction of these metals in lake sediments. Except for Ni, Zn and Cd, the concentrations of rest of the heavy metals in waters were positively correlated with organically bound fraction of these metals in lake sediments. The concentrations of Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu and Zn in waters were positively correlated with reducible fraction of these metals in lake sediments. Except for Cd, the concentrations of rest of the metals in waters were positively correlated with residual fraction and total content of these heavy metals in lake sediments.

A biological source treatment (BST) technique using remote sensing and biogeochemistry has been developed to address acid mine drainage (AMD) at its source. The BST technique utilizes down-hole injections of microbial inoculum and substrate amendments to establish a biofilm on the surface of metal sulfides (AMD source material). The treatment results in an elevated groundwater pH (from acidic to circum-neutral levels) and prevents further oxidation of AMD source material. The first 2 years of an ongoing field study of the BST technique at a reclaimed coal mine in central Tennessee (USA) has produced successful results. For instance, the water chemistry in a monitoring well down-gradient from injection wells has improved substantially as follows: the pH increased 1.3 units from 5.7 to 7.3, the dissolved (0.45 μm-filtered) iron concentration decreased by 84% from 93 to 15 mg/l, the conductivity decreased by 379 μS/cm, and sulfate decreased by 78 mg/l. Electromagnetic induction surveys were conducted to identify AMD source material and monitor BST performance by measuring changes in subsurface resistivity throughout the site. These surveys revealed a treatment zone created between injection wells where the resistance of contaminated groundwater from up-gradient AMD sources increased as it flowed past injection wells, thus, suggesting this technique could be used to treat AMD sources directly or to intercept and neutralize sub-surface AMD.

Regulators need a reliable, precise and easy to use tool for predicting the occurrence of pesticides in drain water and catchments in agricultural areas. Occurrence depends on a wide range of substance and site specific factors and this study presents a simple model built on the results from simulations of a detailed model system that does not neglect or omit any of these factors. A drainage dominated sub-catchment (0.03 km²) of the Lillebaek catchment (4.4 km²) on Funen, Denmark, represented by the catchment model MIKE SHE is considered. Detailed analyses have been made with respect to geological and hydrodynamic conditions as well as measurements of pesticide concentrations in ground and surface waters. Maximum concentrations in drain water, the time for reaching this concentration and the time interval for exceeding the limit value have been derived empirically from MIKE SHE simulations using degradation rates and sorption coefficients values for 37 pesticides included in the Danish PATE database. The relatively hydrophilic bentazon and hydrophobic pendimethalin are used as model pesticides for illustration. A simple tool applicable for a wide range of pesticides has thus been designed based on detailed analyses of a limited number of pesticides. The user requirements are degradation rates, sorption coefficients, application rates and regulatory limit values for the pesticides of interest.

Plant toxicity and chemical removal tests were conducted to investigate the remediation ability of grasses with respect to volatile organic contaminants (VOCs) in contaminated soil and air. Eastern gamagrass (Tripsacum dactyloides) and annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum) were exposed to artificially contaminated soil or air containing a mixture of 1,1,1-trichloroethane (TCA), trichloroethylene (TCE), and tetrachloroethylene (PCE) under controlled laboratory conditions. The results showed that the grasses are more severely affected in hydroponics than potted soil contaminated with a mixture of these contaminants. It was observed from the results that more contaminants were detected in the shoot and root of plants grown in a closed system with contaminated air than in an open system with contaminated soil. It is suggested from the results that grasses can be used for purification of VOCs from contaminated air especially in a closed system, but the purification effects are likely to be low. The results also suggested that the concentration level of VOCs in shoot, root, and soil could be used as contamination indicator at contaminated sites.

The selective recovery of Cd from simulated spent nickel–cadmium battery solutions was achieved using a Cd working electrode in a laboratory cell with a three-electrode arrangement in hydrochloric, nitric, and sulfuric acids. The latter was selected for further study of the recovery step. Nitrate media were found to be unsuitable for Cd recovery since nitrates are reduced at the required deposition potentials. Cd(II) deposition on Cd electrodes is favored in sulfate or chloride media since it occurs at a potential some 200 mV less negative than that of Ni(II). A good percent Cd recovery (>90%) with high selectivity (approximately 0% Ni) and a reasonably high current efficiency (>80%) can be achieved under appropriate conditions. The irreversible nature of Ni(II) reduction provides the necessary framework to achieve such a selective separation.