Fate Of Environmental Pollutants Research Articles

Current trends and challenges in the analysis of marine environmental contaminants by isotope ratio mass spectrometry.

An increasing number of organic and inorganic pollutants are being detected in the marine environment, posing a severe threat to the ecosystem and human health, even in trace concentrations. Isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) is one of the critical methods for determining the origin and fate of environmental pollutants and characterising their transformation processes. It has been used for a relatively long time for ecological monitoring of some well-studied industrial hydrocarbons at contaminated sites. However, the method still faces many analytical challenges. This review provides a comprehensive overview of recent technical advances concerning IRMS analysis of various contaminants and discusses typical pitfalls encountered in marine environment analysis. Particular attention is given to the study of sampling techniques and sample preparation for examination, often the keys to successful research given the complexity of marine matrices and the diverse and numerous nature of contaminants. Prospects for developing IRMS to monitor pollution sources and pollutant transformation in the marine environment are outlined.

Diversity characterization of bacteria and fungi in water, sediments and biofilms from Songhua River in Northeast China

Water, sediments, and biofilms are the typical microbial carriers in natural water environments. However, comparative analysis of the distribution of bacterial and fungal communities in different carriers within the same habitat is relatively lacking. Therefore, this study employed 16 S and ITS rRNA gene sequencing to identify bacterial and fungal community structures in water, sediments, and biofilm. The results show that (1) the OTUs numbers revealed that the bacterial abundance, at the levels of species, genus, and family, followed the order of sediments > water > biofilms, while the fungal abundance order was water > sediments > biofilms. In addition, bacteria were mainly present in sediments, while fungi were mainly present in water. (2) The α diversity index (Shannon, ACE, Simpson, and Chao1) order, for bacteria was: sediments > water > biofilms, indicating that the diversity and homogeneity of bacteria in sediments were relatively higher; for fungi was: water > sediments > biofilms, indicating that the diversity and abundance of fungi in water were high. (3) The core phylum of bacterial in the water, sediments, and biofilms was Cyanobacteria (31.3–46.1%) and Actinobacteria (27.6–36.1%); Proteobacteria (35.0–41.8%), Cyanobacteria (14.7–36.6%); and Proteobacteria (63.3–69.2%), respectively. (4) The mainly colonized fungal phyla in biofilms in the water, sediments, and biofilms were Basidiomycota (29.3–38.7%) and Ascomycota (16.2–27.7%); Zygomycota (13.1–17.5%), Basidiomycota (5.6–17.6%); and Zygomycota (23.8–44.2%). (5) There were significant species differences in bacterial and fungal communities in water, sediments, and biofilm by NMDS analysis. Findings are useful for guiding significance for the Biogeochemical cycle of elements, the environmental fate of pollutants, and the study of water ecosystems.

Transport of dissolved organic matters derived from biomass-pyrogenic smoke (SDOMs) and their effects on mobility of heavy metal ions in saturated porous media

Biomass-pyrogenic smoke-derived dissolved organic matter (SDOMs) percolating into the underground environment profoundly impacts the transport and fate of environmental pollutants in groundwater systems. Herein, SDOMs were produced by pyrolyzing wheat straw at 300–900 °C to explore their transport properties and effects on Cu2+ mobility in quartz sand porous media. The results indicated that SDOMs exhibited high mobility in saturated sand. Meanwhile, the mobility of SDOMs was enhanced at a higher pyrolysis temperature due to the decrease in their molecular sizes and the declined H-bonding interactions between SDOM molecules and sand grains. Furthermore, the transport of SDOMs was elevated as pH values were raised from 5.0 to 9.0, which resulted from the strengthened electrostatic repulsion between SDOMs and quartz sand particles. More importantly, SDOMs could facilitate Cu2+ transport in the quartz sand, which stemmed from forming soluble Cu–SDOM complexes. Intriguingly, the promotional function of SDOMs for the mobility of Cu2+ was strongly dependent on the pyrolysis temperature. Generally, SDOMs generated at higher temperatures exhibited superior effects. The phenomenon was mainly due to the differences in the Cu-binding capacities of various SDOMs (e.g., cation-π attractive interactions). Our findings highlight that the high-mobility SDOM can considerably affect heavy metal ions' environmental fate and transport.

Comparisons in molecular weight distributions and size-dependent optical properties among model and reference natural dissolved organic matter.

Humic acid (HA) and reference natural organic matter (NOM) have been widely used in environmental assessment, biogeochemistry, and ecotoxicity studies. Nevertheless, similarities and differences among the commonly used model/reference NOMs and bulk dissolved organic matter (DOM) have rarely been systematically evaluated. In this study, HA, SNOM (Suwannee River NOM) and MNOM (Mississippi River NOM), both from International Humic Substances Society, and freshly collected unfractionated NOM (FNOM) were concurrently characterized to evaluate their heterogeneous nature and size-dependent chemical properties. We found that molecular weight distributions, PARAFAC-derived fluorescent components, and size-dependent optical properties are NOM-specific and highly variable with pH. The < 1kDa DOM abundance followed the order of HA < SNOM < MNOM < FNOM. In addition, FNOM was more hydrophilic and contained more protein-like and autochthonous components with a higher UV-absorbance ratio index (URI) and biological fluorescenceindex, whereas HA and SNOM contained more allochthonous, humic-like components with a higher aromaticity and lower URI. Significant differences in molecular composition and size spectra between FNOM and model/reference NOMs suggest that environmental role of NOMs should be evaluated at the levels of molecular weight and functionalities under the same experimental conditions and that HA and SNOM may not represent bulkNOM in the environment. This study provides new information about similarities and differences in DOM size-spectra and chemical properties between reference NOMs and in-situ NOM and highlights the need to better understand the heterogenous roles of NOMs in regulating the toxicity/bioavailability and environmental fate of pollutants in aquatic environments.

Biochar-Mediated Degradation of Roxarsone by Shewanella oneidensis MR-1.

It is widely believed that biochar plays an essential role in sequestrating pollutants. The impacts of biochar on microbial growth, and consequently on the environmental fate of pollutants, however, remains poorly understood. In this study, wheat-straw-derived biochar was used to investigate how biochar amendment affected Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 growth and roxarsone transformation in water under anaerobic conditions. Three biochar with different physicochemical properties were used to mediate the roxarsone degradation. The results showed that the degradation rate of roxarsone could be accelerated by the increase of biochar pyrolysis temperature. From the characterization of biochar, the total specific surface area, micropore surface area and micropore volume of biochar increase, but the average pore diameter decreases as the pyrolysis temperature increases. Through infrared spectroscopy analysis, it was found that as the pyrolysis temperature increases, the degree of condensation of biochar increases, thereby increasing the pollutant removal rate. From the changes of the relative concentration of MR-1 and its secreted extracellular polymer content, the growth promotion ability of biochar also increases as the pyrolysis temperature increases. These results suggest that wheat-straw-derived biochar may be an important agent for activating microbial growth and can be used to accelerate the transformation of roxarsone, which could be a novel strategy for roxarsone remediation.

Observation of specific ion effects in humus aggregation process

Specific ion effects play a vital role in a variety of colloidal and interfacial processes. However, few studies have reported the specific ion effects in the humus aggregation process, which strongly influence the transport and fate of environmental pollutants. In this study, soil humus colloids were prepared and characterized, and the specific ion effects on humus aggregation in electrolyte solutions were investigated at a variety of concentrations and pH values using dynamic light scattering methods. Activation energy (ΔE), which is known to reflect the dynamics and stability of a colloidal system, was used to quantitatively characterize the specific ion effects. The results showed that given ΔE value of 2.48 × 103 J mol−1 at pH 3.0, the electrolyte concentrations were 91.6, 58.2, 3.8, and 0.8 mmol L−1 for Na+, K+, Mg2+, and Ca2+, respectively, thus indicating significant specific ion effects in the humus aggregation process. Most importantly, decreasing the electrolyte concentrations increased the differences in the ΔE value between two cation species with the same valence (i.e., ΔENa – ΔEK and ΔEMg – ΔECa), while increasing the pH increased the magnitude of ΔEMg – ΔECa. However, the classic Derjaguin, Landau, Verwey, and Overbeek (DLVO) theory and the double layer theory, as well as the currently widely used ionic hydration and dispersion effects, failed to predict the experimentally observed increase in the specific ion effects with decreasing electrolyte concentrations in a quantitative sense. These results have implications for the necessity of involving specific ion effects for a better understanding of humus aggregation and interactions in aqueous and soil systems.

Fate of environmental pollutants: A review.

A review of the literature published in 2019 on topics associated with the fate of environmental pollutants is presented. Environmental pollutants covered include pharmaceuticals, antibiotic-resistant bacteria and genes, pesticides and veterinary medicines, personal care products and emerging pollutants, PFAS, microplastics, nanomaterials, heavy metals and radionuclides, nutrients, pathogens and indicator organisms, and oil and hydrocarbons. For each pollutant, the occurrence in the environment and/or their fate in engineered as well as natural systems in matrices including water, soil, wastewater, stormwater, runoff, and/or manure is presented based on the published literature. The review includes current developments in understanding pollutants in natural and engineered systems, and relevant physico-chemical processes, as well as biological processes.

Communication and Community Involvement to Support Risk Governance.

In past years, communication activities have become increasingly important in the environment and health domain, considering the concurrent developments of social media and scientific citizenship that contributed changes in legislation and culture. Communication is particularly crucial where an environmental hazard is present, as in the case of high risk environmental and health risk areas. The project “International Center of Advanced Study in Environment, Ecosystem and Human Health” (CISAS), carried out by the Italian National Research Council, covers multiple research activities, from ecology to biology and medical sciences, from epidemiology to social sciences and communication. Three different studies based on human biomonitoring and a birth cohort study are currently in progress in the project locations, together with studies on the environmental fate of pollutants. A clear, accurate and respectful communication of study protocols and results represents a priority to produce comprehensible information available for policy makers, citizens, and stakeholders. This paper describes the multiple external and internal communication activities planned in the framework of the CISAS project as an example of promotion of knowledge in the society at large and improvement of risk management in the environmental health domain.

Deposition, abatement and environmental fate of pollutants in urban green ecosystems: Suggestions from long-term studies in Siena (Central Italy)

Long-term biomonitoring of atmospheric pollutants in Siena shows that organisms in urban ecosystems are an overlooked source of information on the deposition and environmental fate of chemicals that are not measured by automatic monitoring devices. Quercus ilex leaves and epiphytic lichens intercept airborne particulates and can be used as reliable quantitative biomonitors of metal deposition. Soils beneath holm oak trees have an enhanced sink capacity for metals and a noteworthy faunal diversity. Earthworms and land snails inhabiting those soils can help to evaluate metal bioavailability, their potential trophic transfer and health risks. Biological crusts, mosses and mollusks from vegetated urban walls appear even more reliable biomonitors of metal deposition. Although Siena is a town with its own architectural and climatic features and moderate atmospheric pollution mainly caused by vehicular traffic and domestic heating, our overview offers suggestions and guidance that can be adapted across different urban contexts, for enhancing the role of urban green ecosystems in the abatement and monitoring of atmospheric pollutants. Comparisons among the capabilities of different tree species to improve urban air quality indicate that in Mediterranean towns it would be difficult to select a better alternative to Q. ilex, although this species emits VOCs and contributes to O3 formation, a pollutant now of major concern. Due to the decreased atmospheric concentrations of SO2 and the scarce sensitivity of lichens to O3, in many towns lichen biodiversity seems no longer a valid indicator of air quality.

Fate of environmental pollutants.

This annual review covers the literature published in 2018 on topics related to the occurrence and fate of environmental pollutants in wastewater. Due to the vast amount of literature published on this topic, we have discussed only a portion of the quality research publications, due to the limitation of space. The abstract search was carried out using Web of Science, and the abstracts were selected based on their relevance. In a few cases, full-text articles were referred to understand new findings better. This review is divided into the following sections: antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARBs) and antibiotic-resistant genes (ARGs), disinfection by-products (DBPs), drugs of abuse (DoAs), estrogens, heavy metals, microplastics, per- and polyfluoroalkyl compounds (PFAS), pesticides, and pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), with the addition of two new classes of pollutants to previous years (DoAs and PFAS).

Use of the Nitrogen/Carbon Ratio (N/C) and Two End-Member Sources Mixing Model to Identify the Origins of Dissolved Organic Matter from Soils in the Water-Level Fluctuation Zones of the Three Gorges Reservoir

Soil dissolved organic matter (soil DOM) plays a crucial role in the environmental fate of pollutants because of its exceptional biogeochemical reactivity. Therefore, tracing the sources and understanding the properties of DOM through chemical characterization is important for clarifying the "structure-reactivity" of DOM in the environment. In this study, traditional elementary analysis methods including nitrogen/carbon ratio (N/C) determinations and derived two end-member source-loads mixing models were applied to soil DOM extracted from the water-level fluctuation zones of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) area. The results were further compared to other characterization techniques that operate on the molecular scale (e. g., FTIR and analytical pyrolysis techniques). The ultimate objective was to assess the performance of N/C ratio and two end-member modeling for identifying the DOM sources. Additionally, a photo-bleaching kinetic experiment was conducted to test the correlation between DOM reactivity and its source-loadings. Results showed, based on the N/C ratio and mixing modeling, all soil DOM samples in the TGR area share "dual-source" characteristics, namely, allochthonousness (e. g., terrestrial) and autochthonousness (e. g., internal) attributes, which is in agreement with other advanced characterization tools. The traditional method results were comprehensible in light of the data from molecular techniques, but the information revealed only reflects certain aspects of DOM compositional characteristics. It can be concluded that the N/C ratio and mixing modeling can validate general sources of soil DOM, but not information about specific components. Meanwhile, the significant correlation between the photo-bleaching kinetic constant and N/C and source-loadings indicated that these two parameters can be used as rapid indicators to estimate soil DOM reactivity in photochemical processes. However, it should be emphasized that it remains essential to employ multiple characterization methods to investigate the biogeochemistry of soil DOM, so as to increase the characterization resolution with regard to the heterogeneity of DOM.

Fate of Environmental Pollutants.

This annual review covers the literature published in 2017 on topics related to the occurrence and fate of emerging environmental pollutants in wastewater. Due to the vast amount of literature published on this topic, we have discussed only a portion of the quality research publications, due to the limitation of space. The abstract search was carried out using Web of Science, and the abstracts were selected based on their relevance. In few cases, full-text articles were referred to better understand new findings. This review is divided into the following sections: antibioticresistant bacteria (ARBs) and antibiotic-resistant genes (ARGs), disinfection by-products (DBPs), estrogens, pesticides, pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), and microplastics, a new section added this year.

Fate of Environmental Pollutants.

This annual review covers the literature published in 2016 on topics related to the occurrence and fate of emerging environmental pollutants in wastewater. Due to the vast amount of literature published on this topic, we have discussed only a portion of the quality research publications, due to limitation of space. The abstract search was carried out using Web of Science, and the abstracts were selected based on their relevance. In few cases, fulltext articles were referred to better understand new findings. This review is divided into the following sections: Antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARBs) and antibiotic resistant genes (ARGs), disinfection by-products (DBPs), estrogens, nanomaterials, pathogens, perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs), pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), and other pollutants.

Molecular Dynamics Simulations of the Standard Leonardite Humic Acid: Microscopic Analysis of the Structure and Dynamics.

Humic substances (HS) are abundant in the environment and play an important role in a number of biogeochemical processes including microbial activity, soil aggregation, plant growth, the retention and release of nutrients, the environmental fate of pollutants, and carbon storage. They are flexible, relatively small molecules forming supramolecular structures through weak interactions. Despite the great importance of understanding their behavior at the atomic level, computational modeling, a premier high-resolution technique providing great level of detail, has been surprisingly little-employed to study humic substances. Here, we use the recently developed Vienna Soil Organic-Matter Modeler to create representative models of a real HS sample, the standard Leonardite humic acid. Molecular dynamics simulations were used to probe the structure and dynamics of the system at a range of hydration levels. The studied systems were characterized in terms of their physicochemical properties, including density, dielectric properties, hydrogen bonding, etc. Moreover, the strength of sorption was estimated for three small organic compounds: benzaldehyde, propan-2-ol, and acetone. Strikingly, the HS models were validated against experimental data showing a remarkable agreement with calculated properties. Finally, we make the equilibrated models of the standard Leonardite humic acid, together with corresponding force-field parameters, available at the Vienna Soil Organic-Matter Modeler.

Fate of Environmental Pollutants.

This annual review covers the literature published in 2015 on topics related to the occurrence and fate of emerging environmental pollutants in wastewater. Due to the vast amount of literature published on this topic, I have discussed only a fraction of the quality research publications, up to maximum 20 relevant articles per section, due to limitation of space. The abstract search was carried out using Web of Science, and the abstracts were selected based on their relevance. In few cases, full-text articles were referred to better understand new findings. This review is divided into the following sections: biological agents, disinfection by-products (DBPs), halogenated compounds, pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), and other emerging contaminants.

Fate of Environmental Pollutants.

This annual review covers the literature published in 2014 on topics related to the occurrence and fate of emerging environmental pollutants in wastewater. Due to the vast amount of literature published on this topic, I have discussed only a fraction of the quality research publications, up to maximum 15 relevant articles per section, due to limitation of space. The abstract search was carried out using Web of Science, and the abstracts were selected based on their relevance. In few cases, full-text articles were referred to better understand new findings. This review is divided into the following sections: biological agents, disinfection by-products (DBPs), halogenated compounds, pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), and other emerging contaminants.

Fate of Environmental Pollutants

A review of the literature published in 2013 on topics relating to the fate of emerging environmental pollutants during wastewater treatment is presented. This review is divided into the following sections: emerging biological agents, estrogens, metals, nanomaterials, nutrients, persistent organic pollutants, pharmaceuticals and personal care products and herbicide, and trace organic contaminants.

Fate of Environmental Pollutants

A review of the literature published in 2012 on topics relating to the fate of emerging environmental pollutants during wastewater treatment is presented. This review is divided into the following sections: biological agents, estrogens, industrial wastewater, metals, nanomaterials, persistent organic pollutants, pharmaceuticals and personal care products, and trace organic contaminants.

Comparisons of Microwave-Assisted Extraction, Simultaneous Distillation-Solvent Extraction, Soxhlet Extraction and Ultrasound Probe for Polycyclic Musks in Sediments: Recovery, Repeatability, Matrix Effects and Bioavailability

The extraction method of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) has become a popular issue due to the emergence of PPCPs as contaminants. In this work, polycyclic musks, a typical type of PPCPs, were selected to test various techniques including microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), simultaneous distillation-solvent extraction (SDSE), Soxhlet extraction (SE), and ultrasound probe (UP). MAE and UP proved to be more effective pretreatment techniques than SE and SDSE, with high recovery, repeatability, accuracy, efficiency, little solvent consumption, and acceptable matrix effects. Notably, the chemical methods usually did not work well for the determination of bioavailability and the environmental fate of pollutants was overestimated. In this work, wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was used as the ecological receptor to evaluate the bioavailability of chemical pollutants. The concentrations of polycyclic musks in sediments by way of UP extraction had a significant correlation (R 2 > 0.9, P < 0.01) with the concentrations in roots of wheat and the changes of chlorophyll, malondialdehyde and peroxidase in leaves of wheat. These changes suggest that the concentrations of polycyclic musks in sediments using UP extraction were comparable with the level of those in vivo. Through this work, it was discovered that using UP with a different solvent was suitable for determining total concentrations and the bioavailable fractions in sediments.

Bringing Bioavailability into Contaminated Land Decision Making: The Way Forward?

Beyond the current regulatory regime there is ongoing research into the environmental fate of pollutants that could potentially be integrated into contaminated land decision making. In an era of great demand for decision support tools it is increasingly urgent for scientists to develop reliable methodology assisting sustainable land management and for policy makers to adopt these developments. This is true notably for widespread land contamination with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Recently published research on bioavailability offers complementary approach into contaminated land evaluation as well as the assistance in the development of remediation strategies. We review these studies and critically discuss the implementation of bioavailability across different disciplines within contaminated land management. We identify scientific gaps and recommend transdisciplinary research confronting key normative questions facing regulators. Discussion is presented with reference to the United Kingdom's contaminated land regime. This regime is risk based and as a consequence the general principles, concerns, and chemistry behind bioavailability processes discussed in this review are applicable to risk-based approaches elsewhere.