scholarly journals Detection of emerging pollutants in ocean waters around king george Island, Antarctica

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 191-197
Author(s):  
Ozelito Possidonio de Amarante Junior ◽  
Maccarena Marcotti-Murua ◽  
Felipe Sotomayor Stephens

Emerging contaminants are a wide group of compounds that include several classes of organic substances. Personal care products, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, industrial additives, monomers and plasticizers are examples of compounds included in emerging contaminants. In this work, four chemicals representing four classes of organic contaminants were investigated: salicylic acid, representing drugs; bisphenol A, a monomer widely used in the production of polymeric products; methylparaben, used as a preservative in cosmetics; and irgarol, a biocide used in agriculture and antifouling paints. A previously validated method based on liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry was employed to determine the trace-levels of those compounds in ocean waters around King George Island, Antarctica. Salicylic acid and bisphenol A were found in many of the 20 samples investigated, which were collected on the northwest and southeast coasts of the island. Methylparaben and irgarol were found at low levels, each with only one occurrence. Although salicylic acid may originate in the biosynthesis of phenylalanine, the distribution and absence of this substance at some points suggest an anthropic origin. Bisphenol A was found in several sampling points, demonstrating contamination by plastics even though no correlation was found between these two compounds.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Leticia Santamaría Arana

The objective of the work studied here was to synthesize Layered Double Hydroxides (LDH) with aluminum extracted from saline slags and test their function once calcined into adsorbents/catalysts for use in the removal of emerging contaminants (pharmaceutical compounds) from aqueous media.Two different techniques for the removal of contaminants were tested, adsorption and photocatalysis. In the present work, a new procedure for the recovery of aluminum present in saline slags generated during the secondary recycling processes of aluminum as adsorbent/photocatalyst of diclofenac and salicylic acid, as examples of emerging contaminants, has been reported. Results obtained have been extensively analyzed throughout the present study.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zakariya Nafi’ Shehab ◽  
Nor Rohaizah Jamil ◽  
Ahmad Zaharin Aris

AbstractPhase distribution of emerging organic contaminants is highly influential in their presence, fate and transport in surface water. Therefore, it is crucial to determine their state, partitioning behaviour and tendencies in water environments. In this study, Bisphenol A was investigated in both colloidal and soluble phases in water. BPA concentrations ranged between 1.13 and 5.52 ng L−1 in the soluble phase and n.d-2.06 ng L−1 in the colloidal phase, respectively. BPA was dominant in the soluble phase, however, the colloidal contribution ranged between 0 and 24% which implied that colloids can play a significant role in controlling BPA’s transportation in water. Urban and industrial areas were the main sources of BPA while forest areas displayed lower levels outside the populated domains. pH levels were between 6.3 and 7.4 which might have affected BPA’s solubility in water to some extent. The particle size distribution showed that the majority of the particles in river samples were smaller than 1.8 µm in diameter with a small presence of nanoparticles. Zeta potential varied between − 25 and − 18 mV, and these negative values suggested instability of particles. Furthermore, BPA was positively correlated with BOD, COD and NH3–N which might indicate that these organic compounds were released concurrently with BPA. RQ assessment showed low levels of risk towards algae and fish in the study area.


Nanomaterials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 215
Author(s):  
Nina Finčur ◽  
Paula Sfîrloagă ◽  
Predrag Putnik ◽  
Vesna Despotović ◽  
Marina Lazarević ◽  
...  

Pharmaceuticals and pesticides are emerging contaminants problematic in the aquatic environment because of their adverse effects on aquatic life and humans. In order to remove them from water, photocatalysis is one of the most modern technologies to be used. First, newly synthesized photocatalysts were successfully prepared using a sol–gel method and characterized by different techniques (XRD, FTIR, UV/Vis, BET and SEM/EDX). The photocatalytic properties of TiO2, ZnO and MgO nanoparticles were examined according to their removal from water for two antibiotics (ciprofloxacin and ceftriaxone) and two herbicides (tembotrione and fluroxypyr) exposed to UV/simulated sunlight (SS). TiO2 proved to be the most efficient nanopowder under UV and SS. Addition of (NH4)2S2O8 led to the faster removal of both antibiotics and herbicide fluroxypyr. The main intermediates were separated and identified for the herbicides and antibiotic ciprofloxacin. Finally, the toxicity of each emerging pollutant mixture and formed intermediates was assessed on wheat germination and biomass production.


Proceedings ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 21
Author(s):  
Jinwoo Im ◽  
Calogero B. Rizzo ◽  
Felipe P. J. de Barros

With the growing concerns over emerging contaminants in indirect potable reuse (IPR) applications, we investigate the impact on human health risk of emerging contaminants introduced into groundwater. Some emerging contaminants have potential endocrine-related health effects at a specific exposure range that is much lower than current guidelines. We start by analyzing Bisphenol A (BPA), which is one of the frequently detected emerging contaminants in groundwater. The objective of this study is to understand how the non-trivial toxicity of BPA affects the estimation of human health risks and, consequentially, aquifer resilience. Based on our results, we aim to provide indications on how to improve water resources management in BPA contaminated sites. We use numerical methods to model BPA contamination of a three-dimensional aquifer, and human health risks and aquifer resilience are estimated at a control plane representing an environmentally sensitive target. A Monte Carlo simulation is conducted to compute uncertainty associated with two levels of heterogeneity. In order to evaluate health risks due to BPA, two types of Dose-Response (DR) models are considered: the monotonic DR model for general exposure and the non-monotonic DR model for prenatal/postnatal exposure. The aquifer resilience is defined as the capacity to recover the state where groundwater is considered potable (i.e., negligible health risks due to BPA). When using the non-monotonic DR model, computational results indicate that the aquifer resilience reduces and its uncertainty increases as the aquifer heterogeneity increases. On the other hand, the aquifer resilience considering the monotonic DR model enhances, and its uncertainty increases relatively smaller than the one considering the non-monotonic DR model. In addition, the variability of the aquifer resilience is controlled by the residence time of the BPA plumes at the control plane, which is related to the volumetric flow rate at the front side of the contamination source. Finally, the decision-making strategy for BPA contaminated sites should be established in accordance with the heterogeneous structure of aquifer and land uses that determines which DR model of BPA is more important in estimating the aquifer resilience.


2013 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-79 ◽  

Nowadays, the scientific community has focused and prioritised research on “emerging pollutants”. The term “emerging pollutants” stands for the substances that are released in the environment for which currently no regulations are established for their environmental monitoring. Their occurrence is reported worldwide in a range of aquatic environments, such as lakes, rivers, freshwater catchments, estuaries, reservoirs and marine waters. Nevertheless, due to their large number (ranging in an order of thousands), only few of these compounds are toxicologically evaluated. Published data concerning occurrence and potential toxicological effects is limited. The contamination source of the aquatic environment is mainly the effluents from the sewage treatment plants (STPs). Reliable methods are available for residue analysis of these pollutants down to low ng L-1 levels. However, an urgent need is highlighted for the investigation (primarily in environmental media and following in biological ones) of the toxicity and transformation pathways of all emerging pollutants. The aims of this mini-review are to briefly present: (a) the major classes of emerging pollutants; (b) the reasons why these substances constitute an environmental issue; and (c) developments and applications of environmental analysis in this field.


Author(s):  
Bing Han ◽  
Wen Liu ◽  
Dongye Zhao

Emerging Organic Contaminants (EOCs) such as steroidal estrogen hormones are of growing concern in recent years, as trace concentrations of these hormones can cause adverse effects on the environmental and human health. While these hormones have been widely detected in soil and groundwater, effective technology has been lacking for in-situ degradation of these contaminants. This chapter illustrates a new class of stabilized MnO2 nanoparticles and a new in-situ technology for oxidative degradation of EOCs in soil and groundwater. The stabilized nanoparticles were prepared using a low-cost, food-grade Carboxymethyl Cellulose (CMC) as a stabilizer. The nanoparticles were then characterized and tested for their effectiveness for degradation of both aqueous and soil-sorbed E2 (17ß-estradiol). Column tests confirmed the effectiveness of the nanoparticles for in-situ remediation of soil sorbed E2. The nanoparticle treatment decreased both water leachable and soil-sorbed E2, offering a useful alternative for in-situ remediation of EOCs in the subsurface.


Catalysts ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 1045 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gisoo Heydari ◽  
Cooper H. Langford ◽  
Gopal Achari

Global economic shifts towards utilization of solar energy provides opportunities for photocatalytic technologies that can harness this abundant source of energy for treatment of organic contaminants. The majority of studies in this area have been performed under artificial light, whereas in this paper, the efficacy of passive photocatalysis was studied under sunlight. Buoyant titanium dioxide (TiO2) coated glass spheres were used to treat 2, 4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2, 4-D), methyl chlorophenoxy propionic acid (MCPP), and 3, 6-Dichloro-2-methoxy benzoic acid (Dicamba) in Killex®, a commercially available herbicide. Furthermore, photocatalytic degradation of sulfolane and a typical naphthenic acid (cyclopentane carboxylic acid—CPA) were also tested under ambient conditions. The results showed 99.8% degradation of 2, 4-D, 100% degradation of both MCPP and Dicamba in Killex® solution, and 97.4% degradation of sulfolane by capturing 3.18 MJ/m2 solar energy. Total organic carbon (TOC) was decreased by 88% and 64% in both solutions, respectively. TOC of the aqueous solution containing 20 ppm CPA was also decreased by 78.4% with 7.8 MJ/m2 energy. Despite the slow kinetics and the temporal variations of sunlight in northern latitudes, the results indicated that passive photocatalysis is a promising approach for treatment of contaminants under ambient conditions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 8
Author(s):  
Shuang Li ◽  
Saraswati Nayar ◽  
HuiYuan Jia ◽  
Sanjay Kapoor ◽  
Juan Wu ◽  
...  

AtR8 lncRNA was previously identified in the flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana as an abundant Pol III-transcribed long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) of approximately 260 nt. AtR8 lncRNA accumulation is responsive to hypoxic stress and salicylic acid (SA) treatment in roots, but its function has not yet been identified. In this study, microarray analysis of an atr8 mutant and wild-type Arabidopsis indicated a strong association of AtR8 lncRNA with the defense response. AtR8 accumulation exhibited an inverse correlation with an accumulation of two WRKY genes (WRKY53/WRKY70) when plants were exposed to exogenous low SA concentrations (20 µM), infected with Pseudomonas syringae, or in the early stage of development. The highest AtR8 accumulation was observed 5 days after germination, at which time no WRKY53 or WRKY70 mRNA was detectable. The presence of low levels of SA resulted in a significant reduction of root length in atr8 seedlings, whereas wrky53 and wrky70 mutants exhibited the opposite phenotype. Taken together, AtR8 lncRNA participates in Pathogenesis-Related Proteins 1 (PR-1)-independent defense and root elongation, which are related to the SA response. The mutual regulation of AtR8 lncRNA and WRKY53/WRKY70 is mediated by Nonexpressor of Pathogenesis-Related Gene 1 (NPR1).


CrystEngComm ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 1086-1095 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kangkai Hu ◽  
Lei E ◽  
Dan Zhao ◽  
Yajing Li ◽  
Wei Zhao ◽  
...  

The as-synthesized rutile/anatase TiO2 and rutile/anatase/brookite TiO2–Ti2O3(H2O)2(C2O4)·H2O, particularly rutile/anatase TiO2, showed excellent catalytic oxidation of organic contaminants (MO and HBA).


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