Major Water Pollution Research Articles

Behaviour of M. aeruginosa–Microplastic composite pollutants in coagulation and sludge storage

Microcystis aeruginosa (M. aeruginosa) blooms and microplastics pollution have been major global water pollution concern in lakes and reservoirs. In this study, the behaviour of M. aeruginosa–microplastic composite pollutants in inorganic coagulant (PACl) and organic coagulant (HTCC) treatment was investigated. Results showed that, in coagulation stage, the dissolved extracellular polymers secreted by M. aeruginosa could promote the adhesion of microplastics to algae, so as to combine them into the algal flocs, thus improving the sedimentation and removal efficiency of microplastics. On the other hand, whilst microplastics increased the size of algal flocs in PACl coagulation and improved algal removal efficiency, they had the opposite effect on HTCC coagulation. And the removal of algal metabolites including microcystins were improved by the presence of microplastics.In sludge storage stage, the oxidative and mechanical damage effects of microplastics promoted the rupture of M. aeruginosa cells in PACl sludge but not in HTCC sludge, which mean more potential risks in recycling of PACl sludge water. Besides, microplastics promoted the proliferation of beneficial bacteria such as Poterioochromonas and Coccomyxa, which contributed to the control of sludge pollution.

Evaluation of blue textile dye decolorization by immobilized polyphenol oxidase using pumice stone under optimum conditions

Industrial dyes are major pollutants in wastewater and river water with an initial visible concentration of 1 mg/L. Recent studies have shown the possibility of using polyphenol oxidase in catalytic biological treatment due to its ability to oxidize a large number of dyes and pollutants in wastewater and the flexibility to work in wide ranges of temperature, pH and salinity. It is easy availability as well as the low economic cost resulting from its use in biological treatments, this enzyme polyphenol oxidase was used. The findings in this study showed that the extraction of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) from potato peel was homogenized with potassium phosphate buffer (0.1 M, pH 7) at a ratio of 1:10 (weight: volume) for two min. The result of enzyme purification by ion exchange chromatography showed that the yield of this step was 64 % and the specific activity was 6541.67 U/mg. The polyphenol oxidase was immobilized covalently on the functionalized pumice stone (25.2 U/gm) compared with other methods. The characterization results demonstrated that the optimum pH for immobilized and free enzyme activity was 6.0 while the pH range of free and immobilized polyphenol oxidase stability was from 4.5 -7.0 and 3.5 - 8.5 respectively. The better temperature for free and immobilized polyphenol oxidase activity was 25 ºC, whereas the free and immobilized polyphenol oxidase was stable at 15-35 and 15-50 °C respectively. The outcomes showed that the decolorization efficiency of blue textile dye employing immobilized polyphenol oxidase reached 99.85 % after 24 hr. for 100 mg/L concentration while for other concentrations 200, 300, 400, 500 and 1000 mg/L the decolorization efficiencies were 85.96, 76.15, 72.54, 66.94 and 63.5 % respectively. Based on the results, the immobilized polyphenol oxidase on pumice stone is highly efficient in removing textile dyes at large concentrations and in different environmental conditions.

Bio-inspired magnetic chitosan/Iron oxide macromolecules for multiple anionic dyes adsorption from aqueous media

Organic anionic dyes are major water pollutants due to their low degradability caused by complex aromatic structures. Not only do they exert toxic, mutagenic, teratogenic, tumorigenic, and genotoxic effects, but they also decrease fertility and cause irritation to the skin and respiratory system in humans. This long-term toxicity has detrimental effects on aquatic organisms and their surroundings, resulting in an imbalanced ecosystem. In this study, a Cs@Fe3O4 magnetic biosorbent was synthesised to uptake three anionic dyes and characterised for FTIR, BET/BJH, XRD, TGA, VSM, and FESEM analyses. The biosorbent average surface area was confirmed to be 52.6524 m2/g, with average pore sizes of 7.3606 nm and 6.9823 nm for adsorption-desorption processes, respectively. Batch adsorption studies pH values, contact times, temperature, initial dye concentrations, and adsorbent dosages were examined. Several isotherm and kinetic models were studied to determine the adsorption mechanism. The adsorption data of these dyes at equilibrium was observed to match Langmuir's isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic models. The thermodynamic study revealed that the adsorption process for these dyes was an exothermic reaction. Maximum adsorption capacities for congo red, methyl orange, and metanil yellow were 117.77 mg/g, 137.77 mg/g, and 155.57 mg/g, respectively. The reusability of recovered Cs@Fe3O4 after dye adsorption was evaluated up to five continuous adsorption-desorption cycles for its possible industrial applications.

Intelligent Water Quality Testing Device based on Internet of Things Technology

Water quality testing is an important environmental testing standard. However, at present, Internet of Things water quality testing products generally have problems such as single function, complex interface, and short sensor life. The design of this paper is a device with intelligent water quality detection technology, including the independent design of the sensor interface standard, the sensor automatic recognition, plug and play; The sensor is equipped with a lifting mechanical structure to avoid long-term soaking of the sensor and increase the service life of the sensor by 35%. At the same time, combined with intelligent Internet of Things, big data analysis and other technologies, help relevant departments to grasp water quality information in a timely and accurate manner, early warning and forecasting of major regional water pollution accidents, supervision of pollutant discharge, and implementation of control systems to provide help. It is mainly used to monitor the water quality data of small and medium-sized reservoirs, rivers and lakes to achieve intelligent management within the jurisdiction.

Enhanced detection of heavy metal ions using Ag nanoparticles and single-walled carbon nanotubes within Cu-based metal-organic frameworks

Heavy metal ions (HMIs) are major water pollutants, and their toxicity for humans is a great concern for scientists and environmentalists. They are harmful to health even at trace levels; therefore, identifying and removing heavy metals from water is critical. Herein, we report highly selective and sensitive multi-analyte detection of HMIs in water using an electrochemical sensor probe based on Ag nanoparticles and single-walled carbon nanotubes incorporating copper benzene tri-carboxylate metal–organic frameworks (Ag/SWNTs@CuBTC-MOFs). The materials were characterized using FTIR, XPS, XRD, and FE-SEM with EDX mapping, TEM, TG-DTA, BET surface area, CV, and EIS. The Ag/SWNTs@CuBTC-MOF electrochemical sensor was tested by differential pulse voltammetry over a pH range of 3–10 for various HMIs. It shows high pH-dependent sensitivity towards Hg2+ (pH-5.0), Ni2+ (pH-7.0), and Fe3+ (pH-10.0) ions and a limit of detection of 1.39 nM, 2.6 nM, and 3.03 nM, respectively. The fabricated sensor probe exhibits high selectivity, good linearity, and a limit of detection below the maximum contamination limit, as the US Environmental Protection Agency suggested.

Research on the purification effect of major pollutants in water by modular constructed wetlands with different filler combinations.

Constructed wetland systems have been widely used in China due to their advantages of good treatment effect, low cost and environmental friendliness. However, traditional constructed wetlands have challenges in application such as deactivation due to filler clogging, difficulty in filler replacement and low adaptability. To address the above problems, this research proposes a modular filler design constructed wetland based on the concept of assembly construction, which can quickly replace the clogged filler without destroying the overall structure of the wetland. Four commonly used fillers were selected and applied to the pilot system of the assembled constructed wetland in this study, in order to investigate the purification effect of the constructed wetland system with different filler module combinations (CW1, CW2, CW3) on the simulated wastewater. The results showed that the filler combination CW1 was the best for the removal of NH4+-N, and for TP and COD, CW2 has the best removal effect. Therefore, the assembled constructed wetland is adjustable and substantially reduces the maintenance cost, which provides technical guidance for its application in engineering.

Amphi-Luminescent MoS2 nanostructure for photocatalytic splitting of water and removal of Methylene Blue

Chemical dyes used in the textile industries are one of the major pollutants in water. Methylene blue (MB) is a commonly seen dye that creates hazardous health problems. In this article the photocatalytic degradation of MB by the nanocatalyst MoS2 (Nano-MoS2) and carbon dot (C Dots) incorporated MoS2 (Nano-CD-MoS2) is reported. The photocatalytic degradation of MB is analyzed based on the electron-hole recombination rate of the catalyst. Photoluminescence emission exhibited by the catalyst is used as a key indicator to probe the electron-hole recombination rate. Nano-MoS2 was synthesized hydrothermally at 180 0C for 8 h from ammonium tetra thiomolybdate (ATTM). C Dot was prepared following a green root from ash guard extract which later mixed with Nano-MoS2 and kept in an autoclave at a temperature 140 °C for 4 h to get Nano-CD-MoS2. The photoluminescence (PL) and photocatalytic behavior of Nano-MoS2 and Nano-CD-MoS2 and their application for water splitting and water purification are reported. The incorporation of graphene and artificial C Dot into MoS2 nanostructures are reported to increase the conductivity and active edge sites of MoS2 that enhances the photocatalytic action. Since green C Dots are eco-friendly and easily synthesizable than artificial C Dots, as a novel study, this article investigated the influence of green C Dots on the PL and photocatalytic performance of nanosized MoS2. Nano-MoS2 and Nano-CD-MoS2 exhibited both upconversion and downconversion PL; accordingly the nanostructures were termed as amphi-luminescent. The amphi-luminescence property widens the photon absorption range and hence enhances the catalytic degradation of dyes. Nano-MoS2 which exhibited lesser intensity of amphi-luminescence emission compared to Nano-CD-MoS2 showed better results in degradation of MB. C Dots may bind with the valence band electrons of MoS2, resulting in the reduction of dangling bonds. Dangling bonds can trap photo-induced excitons to hinder the rate of electron-hole recombination. So, fast electron-hole recombination occurs in Nano-CD-MoS2 than Nano-MoS2. Fast electron-hole recombination supports radiative electron-hole recombination while suppresses the non-radiative energy transfer of electrons and causes high PL intensity. However, according to the energy level diagram, Nano-MoS2 with minimal electron-hole recombination rate is more favorable for O2/O2–,.OH/ OH– and.OH/H2O reactions that facilitate MB degradation. Photocatalytic activity of catalysts were confirmed by measuring the photocurrent from a simple custom-made two-electrode water photolysis cell where the nanocatalysts were dispersed in electrolyte. Lead and steel rods were used as electrodes. Multimeter was used to measure current. Nano-MoS2 exhibited better performance with a maximum photocurrent of 141 µA. Influence of green C Dots in energy levels, PL and photocatalysis of MoS2 and mechanisms of PL and degradation of MB are thoroughly investigated in this article.

Machine Learning Assisted Metal Oxide‐Bismuth Oxy Halide Nanocomposite for Electrochemical Sensing of Heavy Metals in Aqueous Media

AbstractHeavy metal in excess quantity is one of the major inorganic pollutants in water. It causes several hazards to human life and ecosystem. It exists in traces in most of the commonly available drinking water sources from lakes, ponds, wells, etc., However, their presence in treated water is relatively significant. As the treated water is primarily used for agricultural purposes, it is necessary to monitor and measure their concentration. This requires sensing of metals in aqueous medium with good sensitivity and stability. Recently, nanosensors coupled with electrochemical transducer is preferred for analyzing heavy metal in aqueous solutions. In this work, Silver oxide‐bismuth oxy bromide coated with nafion is proposed as an electrochemical sensor for detection of heavy metal ions in aqueous solution. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) behavior of the proposed electrode is observed in different electrolytes. Further, Differential Pulse Voltammetry (DPV) study shows that current increases with trace nickel and copper metal ions of different concentration. Further, machine learning (ML) algorithms such as Naïve Bayes, ANN, SVM and decision trees are employed for nickel ions to train the cyclic voltammetry data and evaluate its performance. Naïve Bayes algorithm provides the best accuracy of 93.2% among all the models.

Estimation and photocatalytic reduction of toxic chromium metal ions from environmental samples by zinc-based nanocomposite

Hexavalent chromium (Cr(vi)) is a major water pollutant and suspected carcinogen with high persistence.

Analysis of types, forms and abundance of microplastics in the mangrove forest area of pusong island, langsa city

Pollution of mangrove waters by microplastic particles is coastal plastic waste pollution which has become a major water pollution problem in developing countries. However, this pollution problem, both qualitatively and quantitatively, has not yet been discussed comprehensively. Therefore, it is necessary to analyse the level of microplastic presence and identify the types of microplastics of each size found in the water in the mangrove forest area of Langsa City-Aceh. The aim of this research is to analyse the presence, shape and dominance of microplastic particles in the mangrove waters of Langsa City. The research method was carried out by taking water and river sediment samples based on SNI 03-7016-2004 and the samples were the result of a combination of places (integrated samples). Separation of microplastics is carried out by filtering, destroying organic compounds, separating based on specific gravity and filtering using vacuum. Identification of the type, shape and abundance of microplastics is carried out using a microscope. The analysis results show that microplastics in water are generally of the fragment and fibre type with a density of between 7 - 13 particles per Liter with an average size of 200 µm.

Decolorization of Textile Azo Dye via Solid-State Fermented Wheat Bran by Lasiodiplodia sp. YZH1.

Textile dyes are one of the major water pollutants released into water in various ways, posing serious hazards for both aquatic organisms and human beings. Bioremediation is a significantly promising technique for dye decolorization. In the present study, the fungal strain Lasiodiplodia sp. was isolated from the fruiting bodies of Schizophyllum for the first time. The isolated fungal strain was examined for laccase enzyme production under solid-state fermentation conditions with wheat bran (WB) using ABTS and 2,6-Dimethoxyphenol (DMP) as substrates, then the fermented wheat bran (FWB) was evaluated as a biosorbent for Congo red dye adsorption from aqueous solutions in comparison with unfermented wheat bran. A Box-Behnken design was used to optimize the dye removal by FWB and to analyze the interaction effects between three factors: fermentation duration, pH, and dye concentration. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were applied to study the changes in the physical and chemical characteristics of wheat bran before and after fermentation. An additional experiment was conducted to investigate the ability of the Lasiodiplodia sp. YZH1 to remove Congo red in the dye-containing liquid culture. The results showed that laccase was produced throughout the cultivation, reaching peak activities of ∼6.2 and 22.3 U/mL for ABTS and DMP, respectively, on the fourth day of cultivation. FWB removed 89.8% of the dye (100 mg L-1) from the aqueous solution after 12 h of contact, whereas WB removed only 77.5%. Based on the Box-Behnken design results, FWB achieved 93.08% dye removal percentage under the conditions of 6 days of fermentation, pH 8.5, and 150 mg L-1 of the dye concentration after 24 h. The fungal strain removed 95.3% of 150 mg L-1 of the dye concentration after 8 days of inoculation in the dye-containing liquid culture. These findings indicate that this strain is a worthy candidate for dye removal from environmental effluents.

The Role of One Health Approach Research for the Conservation of Endemic Wild Animals and Mitigation of Future Public Health Threat in Bale Mountains National Park, Ethiopia.

One of the things that made the Bale mountains park attract international attention is the home of many endemic wild animal including the world rarest canid, Ethiopian wolf. However, the park's major issues, especially public health study, wildlife and environmental sanitation, have not been adequately researched. The main objectives of the review is to highlight the study needed for prevention of animal and human health threat at Bale mountains national park. The water (river) rises from the park is used for drinking by the people downstream. As human approach to new area of the park, there is a chance for infected with new pathogens which may cause for newly emerging outbreak of the disease. The endemic animal in the park is infected with many disease from different reservoirs such as another wild animal and environment they reside in. As an example the Ethiopian wolf which listed as critically endangered species of the animal is infected with many disease which are transmitted from the rodents, carcass, stray dogs, human and the environment specially water bodies. Due to that infectious disease in rodents, stray dogs, human lives in the park and presence of pathogenic agents in water bodies should be investigated for prevention and controlling of infectious disease which could be causes extinction of the Ethiopian wolf. Wildlife waste is major water pollutants which may excreted and released from large animals to rodents found in Bale mountains national park. The pathogen from wild animal and human can made contamination of water bodies rise from mountainous area of the Bale and flow to the downstream can easily made the pathogen transported to lowland area of Ethiopia and Somalia which results a health risk of livestock, wild animal and human. Thus integrated research related to identification of pathogens found in wild animal, human lives in surrounding the park, and presence of pathogen in environment of the park (water bodies, soil) should be performed.

Effects of environmental factors on the river water quality on the Tibetan Plateau: a case study of the Xoirong River, China.

Climate, topography, and landscape patterns affect river water quality through processes that influence non-point source pollution. However, little is known about the response of the water quality of rivers on China's Tibetan Plateau to these environmental factors. Based on the water quality parameters data of the Xoirong River on the Tibetan Plateau in western China, the redundancy analysis and variation partitioning analysis were adopted to determine the main influencing factors affecting river water quality and their spatial scale effects. The major water pollutants were further analyzed using the partial least square-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Another mountainous river with a similar latitude, the same stream order, and low anthropogenic disturbance in central China, the Jinshui River, was also selected for comparative discussion. The results indicated that the overall river water quality on the Tibetan Plateau was superior to that of the Jinshui River. At the catchment scale, the cumulative explanatory powers of the influencing factors of both rivers were greatest. Landscape composition and configuration were the determinant factors for the overall water quality of the two rivers, while the river on the Tibetan Plateau was also significantly affected by climatic and topographical factors. Regarding the main water quality issue, i.e., total nitrogen, agricultural production activities might be the main cause of the river on the Tibetan Plateau. This study unveiled that the river water quality on the Tibetan Plateau is sensitive to climate and topography through comparative studies.

Moringa oleifera seed based green synthesis of copper nanoparticles: Characterization, environmental remediation and antimicrobial activity

Textile dyes and heavy metals like hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] are considered major water pollutants. In addition, microbial contamination also seriously threatens potable water availability. The present study used Moringa oleifera seed aqueous extract to synthesize copper nanoparticles (MOS-CuNPs). MOS-CuNPs were characterized by various spectroscopy and microscopic techniques. MOS-CuNPs were shown to be effectual at removal of Cr(VI). The initial concentration of Cr(VI), contact time, pH, and temperature all impacted the removal of Cr(VI) by different concentrations of MOS-CuNPs. At low concentrations of MOS-CuNPs (0.3 mg/ml) pseudo-first order and high concentrations of MOS-CuNPs (0.4 and 0.5 mg/ml), pseudo-second order kinetics were obeyed. Thermodynamic analysis revealed that Cr(VI) was removed spontaneously, and the reaction was exothermic. In adsorption isotherm, equilibrium data followed Langmuir equation for Cr(VI) adsorption by MOS-CuNPs and maximum uptake capacity calculated was 38.6 mg/g. MOS-CuNPs efficiently removed cationic (rhodamine B, malachite green and methylene blue and) and anionic (congo red, titan yellow and methyl orange) dyes within 10 min of contact time. Further MOS-CuNPs showed antimicrobial activity against human pathogenic bacteria and fungi. Altogether, MOS-CuNPs could be used for environmental (water treatment) and biological applications.

Removal of heavy metals by polymers from wastewater in the industry: A molecular dynamics approach

One of the major pollutants of industrial water is lead metal, which causes widespread pollution in nature due to its wide use. Removing this pollutant, before the surface or subsurface disposal of wastewater, is a very effective measure in preserving and preventing the pollution of natural resources and the environment. Since surface adsorption is one of the effective methods for removing waste materials from wastewater. This study utilized molecular dynamics simulation to investigate the interactions between lead and polypropylene (PP). PP has proven to be the most effective substance for eliminating lead from aquatic environments. Given the presence of heavy metals such as lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), chromium (Cr), zinc (Zn), and nickel (Ni) in aquatic ecosystems, it becomes crucial to remove lead from the wastewater generated by the oil and petrochemical industries. The findings of this research have the potential to assist in the removal of lead from industrial wastewater settings.

Statistical Analysis of COD and BOD Removal from Dairy Waste Water

One of most water polluted industry is Dairy industry. It produces various milk products like milk powder, butter milk, curd, cheese, pasteurized milk etc. More amount of fresh water is used for different purposes i.e., cooling/heating, sanitary, processing, utilities and service section during milk processing and production of different milk products. It is observed from a report that for processing 1L of milk, the Dairy industries produce 2.5 to 10L of waste water. Major pollutants found in dairy waste water are Organic components like dissolved sugars, carbohydrates, proteins and fat are found as the major pollutants in the Dairy waste water. Apart from organic compound some inorganic compounds like Sulfur, Phosphorous and Nitrogen are also found. Hence, the dairy wastewater is having large amount of organic matter that can be measured in term of BOD and COD. As it is having pungent odor and is responsible for fly generation, it should be treated properly before disposal. In this present work, the synthetic dairy waste water was prepared and was treated with activated carbon prepared from coconut shell collected from temple side. The activated carbon prepared from Coconut shell CGAC could be able to remove COD and BOD of the used water up to satisfactory level at different bed height and contact time. This paper shows the statistical analysis of COD and BOD using the activated carbon. In the experiment, the standard deviation of maximum removal efficiency of COD and BOD from the dairy wastewater was found as 0.59 and 0.49, respectively.

Palm kernel oil mucilage as a source of bio-based cationic surfactants for effective control of water surface pollution: Synthesis, surface activity and petroleum capacities

Water contamination is a serious environmental issue with great negative impacts on the health of living organisms. Petroleum films from oil slicks represent one of the major water pollutants. The utilization of bio-based surfactants derived from natural sources/wastes can be an eco-friendly solution to address this problem. In such direction, a new series of palm kernel oil mucilage (PKOM)-based cationic surfactants (4a–e) has been synthesized through an efficient procedure and the structures were characterized spectroscopically. Firstly, the free fatty acids mixture was extracted from PKOM, reduced with LiAlH4 to the corresponding alcohols mixture and esterified with chloroacetic acid to afford fatty chlorides mixture. Parallelly, tertiary amine-tethering various aryl sulfonamides (3a–e) were prepared from the reaction of sulfonyl chlorides with a primary amine-tertiary amine hybrid compound. Finally, the target cationic surfactants were obtained via quaternization of the tertiary-N in 3a–e with the fatty chlorides. The surface activity and thermodynamic parameters of the synthesized bio-based surfactants have been determined. Moreover, the ability of these compounds to collect or disperse petroleum thin films in different water types was evaluated. Interestingly, almost all compounds exhibited strong abilities to collect or disperse these films from water even at high salinity percent (9 % NaCl).

Plasmonic nanoparticle's anti-aggregation application in sensor development for water and wastewater analysis.

Colorimetric sensors have emerged as a powerful tool in the detection of water pollutants. Plasmonic nanoparticles use localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR)-based colorimetric sensing. LSPR-based sensing can be accomplished through different strategies such as etching, growth, aggregation, and anti-aggregation. Based on these strategies, various sensors have been developed. This review focuses on the newly developed anti-aggregation-based strategy of plasmonic nanoparticles. Sensors based on this strategy have attracted increasing interest because of their exciting properties of high sensitivity, selectivity, and applicability. This review highlights LSPR-based anti-aggregation sensors, their classification, and role of plasmonic nanoparticles in these sensors for the detection of water pollutants. The anti-aggregation based sensing of major water pollutants such as heavy metal ions, anions, and small organic molecules has been summarized herein. This review also provides some personal insights into current challenges associated with anti-aggregation strategy of LSPR-based colorimetric sensors and proposes future research directions.

Significant decline of water pollution associated with inland fishery across China

Water pollution seriously threatens the sustainable development of fisheries in China. To inform effective pollution control policies, a comprehensive understanding of the fishery environment status is needed. However, nationwide data on the temporal changes of major pollutants in the fishery waters of China are scarce. This study collected data on the major water pollutants, including total nitrogen, total phosphorus, heavy metals, and total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs), from 2003 to 2017 to evaluate dynamic changes in the inland fishery water environment across China. We discovered that the levels of four heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Pb, and Cd) and TPH decreased during the 15-year period, corresponding to the reduced national discharge of pollution sources from 2003 to 2015. However, nitrogen and phosphorus levels in the inland fishery waters showed no significant changes during this period. A comparative analysis of water quality in different periods indicated that these improvements were highly associated with effective measures for water pollution control in China. In addition, the decline in pollution was consistent among the three regions of China (north, west, and southeast) from 2003 to 2017, while southeast China exhibited the weakest pollution mitigation among the three regions. These findings suggest that the inland fishery water quality improved during 2003–2017, but still faced eutrophication risk.

Comparison of photocatalysis and photolysis of 2,2,4,4-tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-47): Operational parameters, kinetic studies, and data validation using three modern machine learning models

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are halogenated organic compounds that are among the major pollutants of water, and there is an urgent need for their removal. This work compared the application of two techniques, i.e., photocatalytic reaction (PCR) and photolysis (PL), for 2,2,4,4- tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-47) degradation. Although a limited degradation of BDE-47 was observed by photolysis (LED/N2), photocatalytic oxidation by using TiO2/LED/N2 proved to be effective in the degradation of BDE-47. The use of a photocatalyst enhanced the extent of BDE-47 degradation by around 10% at optimum conditions in anaerobic systems. Experimental results were systematically validated through modeling with three new and powerful Machine Learning (ML) approaches, including Gradient Boosted Decision Tree (GBDT), Artificial Neural Network (ANN), and Symbolic Regression (SBR). Four statistical criteria (Coefficient of Determination (R2), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), Average Relative Error (ARER), and Absolute Error (ABER)) were calculated for model validation. Among the applied models, the developed GBDT was the desirable model for predicting the remaining concentration (Ce) of BDE-47 for both processes. Total Organic Carbon (TOC) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) results confirmed that BDE-47 mineralization required additional time than its degradation in both PCR and PL systems. The kinetic study demonstrated that BDE-47 degradation for both processes followed the pseudo-first-order form of the Langmuir-Hinshelwood (L-H) model. More importantly, the calculated electrical energy consumption of photolysis was shown to be ten percent higher than that for photocatalysis, possibly due to the higher irradiation time required in direct photolysis, which in turn increases electricity consumption. This study is useful in proposing a feasible and promising treatment process for the degradation of BDE-47.