npj Clean Water最新文献

The study focused on identification of Internet of Things (IoT) solutions that can be used in the management of non-revenue water (NRW) in water distribution networks (WDN). The review show that water utilities incur significant revenue losses due to NRW emanating from leaks, illegal connections, and non-payment of water bills. The uptake, adoption, and deployment of IoT solutions can contribute to the realization of new products and services, sustainable development solutions, transformation, and enhanced decision-making, in the water sector. Overally, IoT solutions can help water utilities improve operations and management of WDN and minimize NRW, which aligns with the anticipated impact of the study on contributing to and enhancing the realization of resilient smart cities. Finally, the novelty of the study is to demonstrate the potential of translating theoretical innovations and technologies into industrial/ practical applications and commercialization.

Hydrate-based desalination (HBD) has emerged as a promising technology among conventional desalination methods due to its low energy consumption, wide operating window with regards to total dissolved solids (TDS), and efficient water recovery. This paper provides an in-depth review of the fundamental properties of hydrates, including thermodynamic and kinetic aspects of their formation. Then, it delves into recent advancements in thermodynamic and kinetic hydrate promoters that aim to address HBD’s main challenge, which is the slow hydrate formation process. Subsequently, the review systematically examines environmental and toxicity concerns associated with chemicals used in HBD, addressing the growing demand for sustainable and biodegradable desalination solutions. Finally, a comparative analysis between HBD and conventional methods highlights its potential as an energy-efficient and selective desalination process poised to enhance sustainability within the water-energy-environment nexus.

Photocatalytic water remediation is an effective approach for wastewater treatment; however, conventional powdered photocatalysts face challenges, including agglomeration, difficult separation, and inefficient light utilization due to their tendency to sink in water. Inspired by the buoyancy and water purification ability of water hyacinth, a self-floating photocatalytic system, Water Hyacinth-Inspired Purifier (WHIP), was developed by integrating TiO₂ photocatalysts onto a porous polydimethylsiloxane substrate, with a central closed-pore structure mimicking the sponge tissue of water hyacinth. This biomimetic design ensures stable flotation under static and dynamic flow conditions, maximizing light exposure for efficient photocatalysis. WHIP effectively degraded various contaminants, including methylene blue (99.5 ± 0.4%), rhodamine 6G (98.6 ± 1.5%), methyl orange (72.6 ± 6.4%), and nanoplastics. To assess its scalability and versatility, a large-scale WHIP incorporating a TiO₂/graphdiyne photocatalyst was fabricated, achieving 94.9% methylene blue removal under real ambient conditions. These findings highlight WHIP’s potential as a sustainable environmental remediation technology.

This study investigates the synthesis of ZrO_x-loaded NiFe₂O₄ photocatalysts (1, 2, and 3 wt%) through co-precipitation and wet impregnation methods for environmental and health applications. The structural analysis revealed a cubic crystal structure, with ZrO_x doping enhancing charge separation and mobility by converting the morphology from fibrous to needle-like. Under visible light (VL) and H₂O₂ activation, the ZrO_x(3 wt%)/NiFe₂O₄ composite achieved high degradation efficiencies (98.5% for Bisphenol A and 98.2% for 4-Nitrophenol) in 120 min via the Photo-Fenton mechanism. Kinetic analysis showed pseudo-first-order behavior with rate constants of 0.945 min⁻¹ for BPA and 0.904 min⁻¹ for 4-NP. The catalyst demonstrated stability with 91.5% efficiency retention after multiple cycles. DFT calculations indicated favorable HOMO-LUMO alignments and electrostatic potentials. Additionally, ZrO_x(3 wt%)/NiFe₂O₄ exhibited selective cytotoxicity against breast cancer cell lines, while maintaining high viability in HEK-293 cells. The results suggest that ZrO_x(3 wt%)/NiFe₂O₄ composites are promising for environmental and biomedical applications.

Climate change and human activities have redefined seasonal river water quality patterns, yet their respective impacts remain unclear. Here, we propose a novel trend-based metric, the T-NM index, to isolate asymmetric human amplification and suppression effects across 195 natural and 1540 managed watersheds in China (2006–2020). Consistent trends in 52–89% of watersheds suggest climatic dominance, while anthropogenic drivers intensified or attenuated trends by 22–158% and 14–56%, especially in summer. Four independent multivariable models simulated seasonal COD and DO concentrations. Attribution analysis showed that seasonal factors explained 47.08% of the variation, while rainfall (25.37%) and slope (17.40%) accounted for COD and DO changes in natural watersheds; in contrast, Shannon Diversity Index (11.58%) and Largest Patch Index (10.66%) dominated in managed watersheds. This study establishes a generalizable framework for distinguishing natural and anthropogenic influences, offering key insights for adaptive water quality management under future climatic and socio-economic transitions.

In this study, we synthesized ten g-C₃N₄-based covalent organic frameworks (COFs) and identified CN-306 as the most effective catalyst for visible-light-driven hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) production. Systematic optimization revealed that increasing ethanol proportions in the reaction medium significantly enhanced H₂O₂ yield, achieving a remarkable production rate of 5352 μmol g⁻¹h⁻¹ with a surface quantum efficiency of 7.27% at λ = 420 nm. Intriguingly, mechanistic investigations uncovered that excessive generation of singlet oxygen (¹O₂) acts as a critical inhibitory factor, impeding H₂O₂ accumulation. Multimodal characterization techniques combined with density functional theory (DFT) calculations were employed to unravel the origin of CN-306’s superior performance. Theoretical analyses demonstrated that CN-306 exhibits enhanced electron-hole separation efficiency, attributed to its reduced energy gap between the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO), which facilitates photocarrier migration and suppresses detrimental recombination. Furthermore, this work elucidates the structure-function relationships governing site-specific functional group modifications in COFs and their profound influence on photocatalytic activity. These findings provide molecular-level insights into rational catalyst design for optimizing surface structures and advancing solar-driven H₂O₂ synthesis applications.

Freshwater scarcity remains a critical global challenge, prompting the development of sustainable solutions like solar-driven interfacial water evaporation technology. Here, we present a scalable fabrication method for porous monolithic polymer evaporators through olefin metathesis polymerization coupled with NaCl templating. The large-area evaporator (800 × 600 mm²) incorporates amine-capped aniline trimer (ACAT) as a photothermal component within a dicyclopentadiene (DCPD)/cyclooctene (COE) polymer matrix, enabling efficient solar energy absorption and water transport. The optimized SDIE PDCPD-25%COE-10%ACAT exhibits notable performance in seawater desalination, wastewater treatment, and lithium salt enrichment. Under 1 sun irradiation, it achieves a pure water evaporation rate of 3.64 kg m⁻² h⁻¹ with a solar-thermal conversion efficiency of 96.7%, reflecting high energy utilization efficiency. Outdoor experiments under natural sunlight further confirm its operational feasibility, yielding an evaporation rate of 3.33 kg m⁻² h⁻¹. This work provides a viable route for the large-scale implementation of photothermal water treatment technologies, contributing to sustainable freshwater production and resource recovery.

The removal of organic pollutants from water by advanced oxidation has been successfully achieved using iron–biochar (Fe–BC)-based material. By embedding iron particles on the biochar, the resulting Fe–BC composite possesses enhanced surface functionalities that promote electron transfer and generate reactive oxygen species (ROS). Characterizations using various analytical techniques confirm the successful formation of the Fe-based biochar and its improved catalytic features. Batch degradation experiments have demonstrated that Fe–BC exhibits significantly higher performance than unmodified biochar in the breakdown of organic contaminants, primarily through advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) facilitated by iron-induced radical (SO₄^•−, ^•OH, O₂^•−) formation, non-radical ROS (¹O₂), and electron transfer pathways. Finally, the advantages of Fe-BC in the catalytic degradation of organic pollutants are summarized, highlighting potential limitations and prompting further research to optimize Fe–BC performance and expand Fe–BC applicability.

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have shown to be effective in reducing the abundance of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), serving as a crucial barrier to the transmission of ARGs through wastewater. However, the risk of those ARGs remaining in the effluent requires further investigation. In this study, influent and effluent samples from WWTPs with different process configurations were collected for metagenomic sequencing. A total of 1331 ARG subtypes were detected in influent, with total abundance ranged from 0.46 to 3.89 copies/cell, which was higher than global level. The total abundance of ARGs was effectively reduced in effluent with removal efficiency 63.2–94.2%, resulting in a relatively low level when compared with other cities worldwide. Despite the effectiveness in reducing the abundance of ARGs, 4.38% ARGs remaining in effluent were identified as Rank I by arg_ranker with APH(3”)-Ib, ere(A), and sul1 as the most abundant subtypes. Further, metagenomic assembly showed that these high-risky ARGs co-occurred with mobile genetic elements (transposase, recombinase, relaxase, and integrase) and were primarily carried by WHO priority pathogens (Salmonella enterica and Pseudomonas aeruginosa), indicating their high-risky potentials. Taken together, these results indicated that even though WWTPs effectively reduced the abundance of ARGs, the potential risks of remaining ARGs still cannot be neglected. These results might be helpful for controlling the spread of ARGs from WWTPs into neighboring ecosystems.

Polyamide is the most commonly used selective layer in nanofiltration membranes at an industrial scale. However, polyamide membranes lack flexibility, as their performance in terms of rejection and flux becomes fixed once the membrane is formed. Although several studies have explored during- and post-fabrication modifications of polyamide membranes, these approaches result in irreversible changes to membrane properties. Herein, we developed an electrically conductive polyamide membrane with dynamically tunable salt rejection performance by applying external positive or negative potentials. The observed changes in membrane performance were reversible, indicating that the chemical and structural integrity of the membrane is maintained. Furthermore, unlike findings from previous studies, the salt rejection performance of this membrane remains uncompromised even at voltages that induce electrochemical reactions. These results highlight the potential of this membrane for adaptive filtration systems and applications requiring electrochemical reactions without sacrificing separation efficiency.