Environmental Nanotechnology, Monitoring and Management最新文献

Degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons (PHs) contents of oily waste sludge (OWS) is necessary in order to prevent the related environmental pollution. The present study aimed to investigate the degradation of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) from OWS using bioaugmentated composting (BC) with hydrocarbon-degrading bacterial consortium (HDBC) as pre-treatment followed by vermicomposting (VC) by Eisenia fetida. After isolating two indigenous bacterial strains from OWS, the ability of their consortium in degradation of crude oil was tested in Bushnell-Haas medium (BHM). Then, biodegradation of OWS was measured in the VC alone, BC alone, simultaneous BC and VC (BCVC), and BC followed by VC (BCFVC) containing high levels (30 g/kg) of TPHs. Toxicity tests including the mortality of mature earthworms and the numbers of juveniles were conducted at the TPHs of 0–40 g/kg. The obtained results indicated that the HDBC removed 18–64 % of TPHs of crude oil (1–5 %) in BHM after 7 days of incubation. After a period of 12 weeks, the removal rates of TPHs in the VC, BC, BCVC, and BCFVC experiments were 23.7, 79.5, 85.2, and 91.8 %, respectively, verifying the efficacy of simultaneous application of HDBC and worms in bioremediation of OWS. The TPHs contents of OWS exhibited toxic effects on E. fetida at some concentrations and the median lethal concentration (LC₅₀) of TPHs was computed to be 14.5 g/kg after 28 days. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of composting bioaugmentated with HDBC as a pre-treatment step followed by vermicomposting in bioremediation of OWS.

The Beni Haroun Dam (BHD), situated in the province of Mila, Algeria, stands as the largest dam within the country, facilitating the irrigation of approximately 40,000 ha of agricultural lands characterized by sub-humid and semi-arid climates. Over time, the water within this reservoir has experienced an escalation in contamination, primarily attributed to its role as a major recipient of diverse municipal and industrial effluents, both treated and untreated. Consequently, mounting apprehensions regarding the potential migration of pollutants to irrigated soils have surfaced. The primary aim of this investigation was to assess the levels of contamination by mineral elements and heavy metals present in agricultural soils irrigated by waters originating from BHD. A total of 48 soil samples were systematically collected from 12 distinct sites, comprising 10 irrigated areas and 2 control sites, each spanning depths of 0, 10, 20, and 30 cm. Then subjected to chemical characterization, including the total quantification of minerals (Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, Na⁺, K⁺), and heavy metals (Cd²⁺, Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, Pb²⁺, Cr³⁺ and Fe³⁺). as well as the determination of cation exchange capacity (CEC), exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) as well as soil texture. This study indicated that irrigating with dam waters increased the soil exchangeable cations in comparison to the control one: Ca²⁺ (21.99 ± 3.65 meq 100 g⁻¹), Mg²⁺ (10.53 ± 1.94 meq 100 g⁻¹), Na⁺ (10.08 ± 1.78 meq 100 g⁻¹), K⁺ (2.81 ± 0.8 meq 100 g⁻¹), and enhanced soil characteristics: CEC (25.2 ± 5.55), ESP (41.69 ± 11.21) and SAR (2.51 ± 0.43). In terms of percentage of enrichment, the mineral elements are classified as follows: Na⁺ > Ca²⁺ > K⁺ > Mg²⁺. The metal contents in irrigated soils were also higher but remained less than the recommended international limits. They are classified as follows: Fe³⁺ > Zn²⁺ > Pb²⁺ > Cr³⁺ > Cu²⁺ > Cd²⁺. The soils under investigation are deemed susceptible to salinization, sodification, and contamination with prolonged irrigation. Such conditions pose potential risks to human health should vegetable crops absorb these metals. Therefore, it is recommended to implement adequate drainage measures, emphasizing surface drainage, and to conduct regular monitoring for the accumulation of salt and sodium.

Microcystis aeruginosa is one of the predominant and most dangerous species responsible for cyanobacterial-harmful algal blooms (Cyano-HABs) in water bodies. Therefore, the demand for developing safe and eco-friendly solutions to control Cyano-HABs is increasing. In the present investigation, the adsorptive strategy using modified homoionic zeolites impregnated with silver nanoparticles (ZH+AgNPs) was applied to remove M. aeruginosa cells from aqueous phases. The adsorbent was characterized by Specific Surface Area (BET), Zeta Potential, FTIR, SEM-EDS, and DRX. By application of 0,05 g of ZH+AgNPs, a removal rate of 37 % and a removal capacity (qe) of 324,750 cells/g of adsorbent was achieved for cyanobacteria cells. The adsorption process obeyed the Elovich kinetic model, pointing to a chemical adsorption process, with maximal adsorption in 1000 min, removing 76 % of cells (qe = 547,000 cell/g). Langmuir, Freundlich, and Temkin adsorption isotherms have been investigated. This study indicates that the ZH+AgNPs can be an alternative, attractive, effective, economical, and environmentally friendly adsorbent for M. aeruginosa cell removal from aqueous solution for scaled-up applications.

The leather industry, often criticized for its substantial contribution to environmental pollution, has frequently overlooked the removal of organic contaminants from its wastewater. In response, this study aimed to revolutionize the treatment of tannery effluent by fabricating GO-CS-AgNP nanocomposite with noticeable adsorption efficiency for organic pollutants. Rigorous analysis, including XRD, TEM, SEM, FT-IR, and UV–Vis spectroscopy, provided a comprehensive understanding of the physico-chemical properties of GO-CS-AgNP nanocomposite. To optimize its adsorption performance, several parameters were carefully considered, including pH levels, optimal dosage, and contact time respectively. Surprisingly, employing just 0.12 g/L of the nanocomposite and 50 min of stirring at a pH of 6.0 produced highly promising adsorption results of pollutants, as evidenced by UV–Vis Spectroscopy at 450 nm. Notably, GC–MS analysis revealed an impressive 94.05 % removal of total organic pollutants, coupled with substantial reductions of 85.94 and 62.63 % in BOD and COD, respectively. Furthermore, the nanocomposite exhibited efficacy in removing potentially toxic metals. The findings of the study underscored the adherence of GO-CS-AgNP nanocomposite to the Freundlich isotherm model and a pseudo-2nd order kinetic reaction, establishing it as a sustainable and effective solution for minimizing pollution in the leather industry without compromising the environment, representing a significant leap toward more environmentally conscious tannery practices.

Phytogenic, also known as plant-based microemulsions (MEs) are adaptable and sustainable nanosystems that are extensively employed in food science, biotechnology, detergents, medicine delivery, and cosmetics. These liquid colloidal systems are distinguished by their tiny size, usually less than 100 nm. They are less viscous, optically transparent, thermodynamically most stable formulations and facilitate to administer both hydrophilic and lipophilic drugs of interest because of their enhanced bioavailability, absorption behavior, capacity to emulsify weakly water-soluble compounds, and enhanced shelf life. Phytogenic microemulsions address the limitations of conventional insecticides, which typically have poorly water-soluble active ingredients, harm the environment, human health, and non-target organisms, and foster resistance in targeted species. Therefore, phytogenic microemulsions are regarded as excellent and safe delivery systems for insecticidal formulations. This instructional review offers a thorough insight of the current status of the MEs as novel drug delivery systems against the vectors, agricultural pests, and insects of major concern thereby addressing global challenges. Therefore, the objective of this study is to provide an overview of the formulation, characterization, and applications of MEs across diverse domains, with a particular emphasis on their effectiveness against insect pests and vectors.

The challenge of eliminating heavy metal ions from water has been addressed using Polysulfone (PSf) membranes, which have demonstrated significant potential in treating contaminated solutions. This research aimed to improve the permeability and separation performance of PSf membranes by incorporating Al₂SiO₆ into their structure. The introduction of Al₂SiO₆ into the membrane matrix was achieved through the nonsolvent-induced phase separation (NIPS). The resulting mixed-matrix membrane (MMM) exhibited improved efficiency in water filtration. The inclusion of Al₂SiO₆ led to desirable changes in membrane properties such as hydrophilicity, contact angle and porosity, thereby enhancing the performance of heavy metal ion removal capability. Under a pressure of 2 bar, the mixed matrix membranes achieved rejections exceeding 95 % for lead and 70 % for arsenic. Furthermore, the occurrence of Al₂SiO₆ enhanced the anti-fouling assets of the PSf membrane by increasing its hydrophilic nature and facilitating the development of a hydration layer, which tends to prevent the interactions between the membrane surface and foulant. These properties make these membranes suitable candidates for separating toxic ions from water.

The synthesis of high-quality nanomaterials by different of methods have been developed through physical, chemical, biological, microbial, green synthesis, coprecipitation, hydrothermal treatment, flame pyrolysis, and biogenic reduction processes. The nanomaterials produced have offered substantial benefits to society through their successful implementation in numerous fields, such as food safety, transportation, energy, catalysis, medicine, antimicrobial, anticancer, antioxidant nanodrugs, vaccines, capacitors, fuel cells, and batteries. Many hazardous effects have been reported due to chemical synthesis, so the potential utility of nanomaterials is also recognized in environmental management,as there is growing demand to control diverse pollutants. At present, there is a green synthetic route for the development of nontoxic and eco-friendly materials in a sustainable manner. The main objective of this review is to provide a perspective overview by comparing green versus chemical synthesis methods concerning the types, advantages, disadvantages, and persistent solutions for extermination caused by toxic nanoparticle production methods.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are potential hazards and are often found in aquatic environments through industrial effluents. Herein, we report sulfonated modified mesoporous thermoplastic polymers to remove potentially carcinogenic PAHs from water rapidly. Mesoporous structures of the thermoplastics (polystyrene, polysulfone, and polycarbonate) were attained using nano-crystallization induced phase separation by flash-freezing route. Sulfonation reactions carried out hydrophilic surface modifications of the polymers. Their ion exchange capacity (IEC) values determined the degree of sulfonation. The sulfonated mesoporous polymers were characterized using Fourier-Transform Infra-Red spectroscopy (FT-IR) for functional groups, Field-Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM) for mesoporous structures, Brunauer-Emmet-Teller method for specific surface area, and Barrett-Joyner-Halenda method for pore size distributions. The IEC values for the sulfonated mesoporous polymers range from 1.13 – 1.15 × 10^-2 meq. g⁻¹. The sulfonated mesoporous polymers showed high specific surface areas (176–185 m²/g) with pore sizes ranging from 5 nm to 9 nm. The sulfonated mesoporous polymers rapidly adsorb PAHs from nearly saturated water solutions within 60 min with % removal of over 98 %. The adsorbents can also be easily regenerated by simple washing with methanol and are found to be recycled up to 10 cycles with only a marginal reduction in adsorption capacities.

The presence of antimicrobial sulfa chemicals in water is becoming a more serious problem and action must be taken to create an effective decontamination process for wastewater treatment. In this way, current thinking has focused on removing sulfa drugs as broad-spectrum antimicrobials from water by metal organic framework ((Cu&Co)-benzenetricarboxylate, M−BTC) bound within the amberlite polymer. Here, M(Cu&Co)-BTC is synthesized and incorporated within amberlite polymer in a single step. Moreover, the adsorptive capacities of the various sulfa drugs (sulfamethazine and sulphanilamide) were investigated using M−BTC@amberlite compounds for the first time. The adsorption efficiency of the sulfa drugs was monitored (higher performance for sulfamethazine rather than sulfanilamide), and the adsorption uptake was reached 99 % within about 60 min. The adsorption isotherms were best fitted using the Langmuir and pseudo-second-order model, individually. The greatest potencies for Cu-BTC@amberlite and Co-BTC@amberlite were 205 and 306 mg/g for sulfamethazine and 326 and 488 mg/g for sulfanilamide, separately. By incorporating Co-BTC within amberlite, the absorption capacity of sulfamethazine and sulfanilamide was extended by 1.72 and 1.83 times, respectively, while incorporation of Cu-BTC within amberlite, the adsorption capacity of sulfamethazine and sulfanilamide was extended by 2.56 and 2.73 times, respectively. The attached MOFs with polymer showed very high reusability and their efficacy in uptake of sulfamethazine and sulfanilamide diminished by 14.8–15.9 % and 11.3–12.7 %, separately, after five sequential adsorption cycles. Hence, in agreement with the adsorption result, a conceivable tool is proposed. The sulfa drug adsorption performed on a range of BTC-MOFs with diverse physicochemical properties and point-by-point characterization confirmed that the highest adsorption capacity of MOFs is achieved through bi-bi interaction; H-bonding between NH sites of sulfa drug particles and O sites of carboxyl units within MOFs. In scale-up, M−BTC@amberlite has demonstrated remarkable reusability, which is enticing for potential applications in the adsorption of sulfa drugs from wastewater.

Fouling remains a major challenge in membrane-based water treatment technologies. As a result, contemporary research is geared towards membrane surface modification techniques to reduce fouling. Mitigation strategies involving incorporation of nanoparticles (NPs) into polymeric membranes has gained a remarkable interest. However, NPs leach is eminent, particularly with poor support on membranes resulting in secondary pollution. Consequently, aquatic life is threatened depending on the level of toxicity of the leached NPS. Also, these NPs present toxicological effects to other water consumers. Therefore, this work reviews contemporary literature on membrane surface modification techniques paying attention to incorporation of NPs in the membrane polymer matrices. Various factors governing NPs leach are concisely presented. Special attention was focused on stability of the NPs immobilization on the polymeric membrane due to thermodynamic interactions. Similarly, the effects of NPs leach on membrane physicochemical properties and the NPS ecotoxicity are discussed in detail based on literature reports. Different approaches presenting improvement on NP stability in the polymer matrix are discussed. Lastly casting of future perspectives and the impact of NP leach on sustainable performance of the membranes and ecotoxicity is presented.