Uptake Of Pollutants Research Articles

Heavy metal pollution of river water and eco-friendly remediation using potent microalgal species

Pollution of rivers is mainly caused by anthropogenic activities such as discharge of effluent from industrial facilities, maintenance of sewage/effluent treatment plants, and dumping of solid waste on river banks. This study dealt with the pollution issues of the Cooum River in the well-known city of Chennai in South India. Water samples from 27 locations were collected and analyzed for 12 elements, including Ba, B, and Al, as well as heavy metals such as Pb, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, and Cd. The samples showed levels of these elements that exceeded World Health Organization recommendations. Pearson correlation analysis revealed the inter-dependency among elements, and the contribution of each element based on factor loadings showed its percentage contribution compared to others. Water samples from six significant locations were chosen for remediation with three algae: Chlorella vulgaris, Scenedesmus dimorphus, and Phormedium sp. The uptake of pollutants led to the continuous growth of algae during the incubation period of 15 d, effectively removing heavy metals from the river water. The increasing levels of algal counts and the chlorophyll a content confirmed the algal growth during the incubation period, followed by a declining stage after the incubation period. The scanning electron microscopic images of algae before and after the remediation showed no remarkable modification of morphological patterns. This study showed that the uptake of heavy metals using algae is an effective water pollution remediation measure, making the process practicable in the field on a large scale in the near future.

Mythbusters: Unravelling the pollutant uptake processes in mosses for air quality biomonitoring

Terrestrial mosses have been used for more than 50 years to monitor air pollution. We argue, however, that their value as biomonitors is based on two widespread but partially erroneous assumptions concerning their morphological structure (the structural myth) and physicochemical characteristics (the physicochemical myth). The structural myth consists of the oversimplification of the moss morphological structure. The physicochemical myth recognizes their high cation exchange capacity (CEC) as the only pathway for pollutant uptake. Here, we gather and discuss the evidence demonstrating that these assumptions are misleading and focus the discussion on the aspects that make mosses good biomonitors of air pollution. First, we show that these plants (i) do have a cuticle, whose structure and composition differs among species, (ii) can have epidermal cells, that differ in shape and thickness from other cell types, (iii) have a vascular system, whose degree of development is lineage- and species-specific, and (iv) have rhizoids, that can absorb water, nutrients and pollutants. The effect of these traits in the pollutant uptake processes has been understudied in biomonitoring studies. Second, we show that mosses (i) do not concentrate as much pollutants as they could according to their high CEC, (ii) can retain large amounts of particles containing atmospheric pollutants in their surfaces, and (iii) in many contexts, the spatial structure of the concentrations of pollutants in mosses depicts the pattern expected for atmospherically deposited particles. Thus, the quality of these organisms as biomonitors of air pollution also lies in their high capacity to retain particles. We do call for more research on how moss structural and physiological traits affect pollutant uptake dynamics and recommend researchers using mosses as air quality biomonitors to face critically to inaccurate or insufficiently demonstrated assumptions in this context.

Beyond Cleansing: Ecosystem Services Related to Phytoremediation.

Phytotechnologies used for cleaning up urban and suburban polluted soils (i.e., brownfields) have shown some weakness in the excessive extent of the timeframe required for them to be effectively operating. This bottleneck is due to technical constraints, mainly related to both the nature of the pollutant itself (e.g., low bio-availability, high recalcitrance, etc.) and the plant (e.g., low pollution tolerance, low pollutant uptake rates, etc.). Despite the great efforts made in the last few decades to overcome these limitations, the technology is in many cases barely competitive compared with conventional remediation techniques. Here, we propose a new outlook on phytoremediation, where the main goal of decontaminating should be re-evaluated, considering additional ecosystem services (ESs) related to the establishment of a new vegetation cover on the site. The aim of this review is to raise awareness and stress the knowledge gap on the importance of ES associated with this technique, which can make phytoremediation a valuable tool to boost an actual green transition process in planning urban green spaces, thereby offering improved resilience to global climate change and a higher quality of life in cities. This review highlights that the reclamation of urban brownfields through phytoremediation may provide several regulating (i.e., urban hydrology, heat mitigation, noise reduction, biodiversity, and CO2 sequestration), provisional (i.e., bioenergy and added-value chemicals), and cultural (i.e., aesthetic, social cohesion, and health) ESs. Although future research should specifically be addressed to better support these findings, acknowledging ES is crucial for an exhaustive evaluation of phytoremediation as a sustainable and resilient technology.

Kinetic reactive transport explains distinct subsurface deposition patterns of pollutants in sediments. The case of the Sellafield-derived 236U, 137Cs and 239,240Pu in the Esk Estuary, UK

The kinetics of the uptake of pollutants by solids in sediments interacts with transitional eddy diffusivity in the pore fluid, leading to different depth-distribution patterns. This work aims to gain insights into the still poorly understood behaviour in the marine environment of the anthropogenic 236U, a recently postulated tracer of water masses. It is hypothesized that the transition from mobile U(VI) to highly particle-reactive U(IV) in the anoxic zone of the sediment produces a subsurface deposition pattern. A novel numerical model for kinetic reactive transport in sediments, which merges diagenetic processes for transport and box models for the uptake, is used for concept demonstration. It is applied to synthetic environments with high eddy diffusivity to obtain the singular depth-distribution patterns of pulsed inputs of tracers that mimic the anthropogenic 239,240Pu, 137Cs, and 236U. While the first is retained in the upper cm, the second shows an exponential penetration pattern over few cm, and 236U is deposited with a Gaussian-like pattern centred below the transition to the anoxic zone. These patterns are then merged into a diagenetic model to compute the depth distribution at decadal or centennial scales of dissolved and particle-bound inputs of these radiotracers. It is successfully applied to a real case using literature data for a sediment core from the Esk Estuary, UK, affected by radioactive releases from the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant. This work provides insight into until now poorly understood field data and provides a novel view of broad implications in the study of the behaviour of pollutants in surficial aquatic sediments.

Phytoremediation potential of a few hydrophytic medicinal plants: A review

Environmental pollution is one of the explicit challenges faced globally. Pollution by heavy metal contamination is a threat to the environment and is of critical concern. Rapid industrialization and urbanization have escalated the contamination rates by heavy metals. This rapid increase resulted in different health problems inducing toxicity and damaging the proper functioning of the brain, lungs, kidney, liver, blood composition, and other vital organs. Plants have evolved particular and very efficient mechanisms to obtain essential micronutrient metals from the environment and accumulate them up to a threshold of 10-15ppm. However, certain plants categorized as "Hyper accumulators," can take up toxic metal ions at levels beyond this limit. As a result, animals and people may suffer negative impacts from bio accumulating harmful heavy metals in the biota of riverine habitats. The "life-blood of the biosphere" is water and hence these heavy metals impact the ecological well-being of aquatic systems and animal species. Water dissolves various organic and inorganic substances and environmental toxins since it is a universal solvent. Thus, it highlights the significance of ecological restoration and phytoremediation. Phytoremediation is a technology that uses plants to degrade, assimilate, metabolize, or detoxify metal and organic chemical contamination. About five phytoremediation technologies have often been employed for soil decontamination by plants: phytostabilisation, phytodegradation, rhizofiltration, phytoextraction, and phytovolatilization. Articles from databases like PubMed and Scopus were reviewed to explore the potential plants for phytoremediation. Hydrophytes can be selected over other terrestrial plants because of their enhanced capability to accumulate almost 1450-fold the concentration of heavy metals in water. Another advantage of aquatic plants' rapid growth rate is increased biomass production, high pollutant uptake ability, and more pronounced purification because of their direct contact with water. They are also helpful in regulating oxygen levels and the food cycle by acting as a food source for small fish. In addition, some widely used aquatic medicinal plants such as Ceratophyllum demersum, Potamogeton pectinatus, Pistia stratiotes, Nelumbo nucifera, Pontederia crassipes & Bacopa monnieri were discussed. This review explores the phytoremediation potential of hydrophytic medicinal plants and through an insight to recreate and restore our ecosystem.

Metallic nanoparticles affect uptake of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and impacts in the Mediterranean mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis

The impact of metallic nanoparticles (NPs) on the uptake and toxicity of persistent organic pollutants by marine bivalves was assessed through a comparative laboratory study by exposing mussels to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs), in the presence and absence of ZnO and TiO2 NPs. PAHs and NPs concentration was analyzed after 14 days of exposure in mussels by GC/MS and ICP/AES. Furthermore, impact on the physiology and neurotoxicity of PAHs and NPs acting alone or in mixtures were also determined. Our results confirmed the bio-uptake of PAHs and NPs by mussels. In addition, the exposure NPs-PAHs resulted in different bio-uptake profile to that of PAHs alone. The NPs and accumulation of PAHs led to disturbance of essential metals concentration and to different impact profiles in the filtration and respiration capacities as well as in the acetylcholinesterase activity. Antagonist interactions between NPs and PAHs could occur after exposure.

Phytoremediation potential of macrophytes against heavy metals, nitrates and phosphates: A review

Natural waters are degraded either by contaminants or pollutants. Contaminants are synthetic compounds which cause degradation of water quality, even when present in minute residues. They include pesticides, heavy metals, Poly Chlorinated Biphenyl’s, Poly Aromatic Hydrocarbons, plastics etc. On the other hand, pollution precisely refers to the increase in nitrates and phosphates in water body. Aquatic macrophytes, besides their role in the food chains, play significant part in mitigating both pollutant and contaminant levels. Their uptake and sequestration of nitrates, phosphates and heavy metals is well documented and published in worldwide. This paper reviews the efficacy of different macrophytes in freshwater ecosystems for uptake of pollutants and contaminants. It will provide an insight for policy makers in efficient mitigation of pollution levels in the water body.

Metal–Organic Cage Extended Amorphous Network via Anionic Organic Linkers for Cr2O72– and Iodine Adsorption on Nanopores

The covalent linking of metal–organic cages (MOCs) with a nanoscale cavity is an efficient strategy to construct functional materials with different properties compared with bulk MOCs, but studies based on this topic are still less explored. In addition, toxic chemical and pollutant uptake, especially iodine vapor adsorption on MOC-based materials, still lacks investigation. Herein, an MOC-extended amorphous network (denoted MOC–DASD) via the covalent linking of an aldehyde-functionalized cationic Pd12L24 MOC (with about 3.5 nm in diameter) with an anionic organic linker, 4,4′-diamino-2,2′-stilbenedisulfonic acid (DASD), was constructed and applied to absorb Cr2O72– in water and capture I2 molecules in vapor. The covalent linkage of MOC and DASD via C═N bonds was confirmed by IR, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and ζ-potential tests. In addition, the original NO3– anions can be easily removed from the MOC–DASD due to the introduction of an anionic linker, thus releasing more effective cavities for guest adsorption. Although there is a lack of exchangeable anions, MOC–DASD still exhibits the ability to capture Cr2O72– in water with moderate capacity and high selectivity. In addition, the MOC–DASD showed a significantly enhanced iodine vapor uptake capacity. The iodine uptake capacity of MOC–DASD reached 3.67 g/g, which is 1.8 times higher than that of bulk MOC. A mechanistic study shows that some of the iodine was closely adsorbed by charge transfer. The release of iodine at 120 °C reveals that approximately 74% of the absorbed iodine can be removed, and the MOC can uptake the iodine again with a capacity of 1.5 g/g, showing good reusability.

Determination of heavy metal concentrations and soil samples of Betula pendula and Populus tremula in Nemrut Crater Lake

The concentrations of Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb and As heavy metals and the heavy metal accumulation levels of these plants were determined in Betula pendula and Populus tremula trees, which are the characteristic trees of Nemrut Crater Lake, the second largest crater lake in the world, and the soil samples surrounding them. Heavy metals are considered to be one of the most dangerous and priority pollutants due to their high persistence and toxicity to plant and animal life in the environment. For this reason, the results obtained will contribute to the studies carried out to determine the uptake of heavy metal pollutants in the environment and the self-healing effort of the polluted environments by applying the phytoremediation method.

Ecological disturbances and abundance of anthropogenic pollutants in the aquatic ecosystem: Critical review of impact assessment on the aquatic animals

Anthropogenic toxins are discharged into the environment and distributed through a variety of environmental matrices. Trace contaminant detection and analysis has advanced dramatically in recent decades, necessitating further specialized technique development. These pollutants can be mobile and persistent in small amounts in the environment, and ecological receptors will interact with it. Despite the fact that few researches have been undertaken on invertebrate exposure, accumulation, and biological implications, it is apparent that a wide range of pollutants can accumulate in the tissues of aquatic insects, earthworms, amphipod crustaceans, and mollusks. Due to long-term stability during long-distance transit, a number of chemical and microbiological agents that were not previously deemed pollutants have been found in various environmental compartments. The uptake of such pollutants by the aquatic organism is done through the process of bioaccumulation when dangerous compounds accumulate in living beings while biomagnification is the process of a pollutant becoming more hazardous as it moves up the trophic chain. Organic and metal pollution harms animals of every species studied so far, from bacteria to phyla in between. The environmental protection agency says these poisons harm humans as well as a variety of aquatic organisms when the water quality is sacrificed in typical wastewater treatment systems. Contrary to popular belief, treated effluents discharged into aquatic bodies contain considerable levels of Anthropogenic contaminants. This evolution necessitates a more robust and recent advancement in the field of remediation and their techniques to completely discharge the various organic and inorganic contaminants.

Atmospheric microplastics and nanoplastics as vectors of primary air pollutants - A theoretical study on the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) case

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) microplastics and nanoplastics are ubiquitously present in the atmosphere as atmospheric and airborne forms (PET-aMPs). Using first-principles calculations, we analyze the uptake of primary air pollutants onto PET-aMPs, focusing on their stabilities, adsorption mechanisms, and thermochemistry. The results show that PET-aMPs are selective for the spontaneous adsorption of CO, CO2, NO, N2O, NO2, NH3, and SO2, reaching stable adsorption energies of 6–20 kcal/mol per molecule, with comparable uptake ability than carbon-based materials, metals/metalloids, and metal oxide surfaces. Then, PET-aMPs become a vector for coexisting air pollutants in the atmosphere, which adsorb by inner or outer adsorption depending on the molecular polarity (dipole moment) and atomic constitution (electronegativity) of gaseous molecules. Also, atmospheric H2O and O2 are not competitive molecules, and ozone could enhance adsorption due to surface oxidation and structure breakdown. The interplay of electrostatic (46–61%) and dispersion forces (21–58%) drives the adsorption mechanism, where low-polar pollutants display almost a balanced electrostatic vs. dispersion contribution, while high polar molecules display a higher electrostatic stabilization. The outer adsorption is reached by strong dispersion, hydrogen bonding, and dipole-dipole-induced pairs, while lone-pair-π interactions appear in the inner adsorption regime. These results expand the understanding of the hazards and risks of atmospheric and airborne microplastics/nanoplastics, their impacts, co-transport ability, and interaction with the environment.

Lignin nanoparticles-reduced graphene oxide based hydrogel: A novel strategy for environmental applications

In this work, facile fabrication of lignin nanoparticles (LNP)-based three-dimensional reduced graphene oxide hydrogel (rGO@LNP) has been demonstrated as a novel strategy for environmental applications. Herein, LNP were facilely synthesized from walnut shell waste through a direct chemical route. These LNP were incorporated into the continuous porous network of rGO network to fabricate rGO@LNP hydrogel. Characterization studies were carried out using various analytical techniques viz. scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform IR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis. The efficiency of rGO@LNP hydrogel as adsorptive platform was evaluated by employing methylene blue and Pb2+ as model pollutants, whilst the effect of various experimental parameters was ascertained for optimal performance. Furthermore, Agar well diffusion method was used to check the antibacterial activities of the hydrogel using two bacterial pathogenic strains, i.e. Klebsiella pneumoniae (gram negative) and Enterococcus faecalis (gram positive). Results showed that after the inclusion of LNP into rGO hydrogel, there was a marked improvement in pollutant's uptake ability and compared to bare LNP and rGO, the composite hydrogel showed enhanced bactericidal effect. Overall, this approach is outstanding because of the synergy of functional properties of nano-lignin and rGO due to multi-interaction sites in the resulting hydrogel. The results presented herein support the application of rGO@LNP as innovative water filter material for scavenging broad spectrum pollutants and bactericidal properties.

Nitrogen and Phosphorus Fertilizer Increases the Uptake of Soil Heavy Metal Pollutants by Plant Community.

Soil heavy metal pollution is widespread around the world. Compared with hyperaccumulation plants, non-hyperaccumulator plant communities have many advantages in the remediation of heavy metals pollution in soil. The application of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) is inexpensive and convenient, which can promote the growth of plant. N and P fertilizer might increase plant community remediation of heavy metal polluted soils. In our study, the effects of N and P fertilizer on remediation of soil Cd, Cu, Pb pollution by plant community were studied through a greenhouse experiment. Our results indicated that addition of N, P and N + P fertilizer increased plant community aboveground biomass. Simultaneously, addition of N and P fertilizer increased the accumulation of heavy metals in aboveground of the plant community and accelerated plants absorption soil heavy metals. Among them, N fertilizer had the best effect. Our results provide an inexpensive method for remediation heavy metal pollution of contaminated farmland, abandoned land and mine tailings, etc.

Cardiovascular Mortality, Habitual Exercise, and Particulate Matter 2.5 Exposure: A Longitudinal Cohort Study

Habitual exercise may amplify the respiratory uptake of air pollutants in the lung, exacerbating the adverse effects of air pollution. However, it is unclear whether this can reduce the health benefits of habitual exercise (referred to as leisure-time exercise). Thus, the combined effects of habitual exercise and chronic exposure to ambient fine particulate matter 2.5 on cardiovascular mortality were examined among adults in Taiwan. A total of 384,128 adults were recruited between 2001 and 2016 and followed up to May 31, 2019. Participants' vital status was obtained by matching their unique identification numbers with records of cardiovascular death in the National Death Registry of Taiwan. A time-varying Cox regression model was used to analyze the data. Analyses were conducted in 2021. Cardiovascular death risks were inversely associated with habitual exercise and positively associated with chronic exposure to particulate matter 2.5. The beneficial effects of habitual exercise on cardiovascular mortality were not modified by chronic exposure to particulate matter 2.5. Inactive participants with high particulate matter 2.5 exposure exhibited a 123% higher risk of cardiovascular death than high-exercise-group participants exposed to low levels of particulate matter 2.5 (95% CI=89, 163). High level of habitual exercise combined with low exposure level of ambient particulate matter 2.5 is associated with the lowest risk of cardiovascular death. A higher level of habitual exercise is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular death at all levels of particulate matter 2.5 exposure studied. The results indicate that habitual exercise is a safe health promotion strategy even for people residing in relatively polluted regions.

Effect of linear alkylbenzene sulfonate on the uptake of microcystins by Brassica oleracea and Solanum tuberosum

Background Hypereutrophic conditions in major water reservoirs used for irrigation purposes in South Africa promote the co-existence of cyanotoxins and other pollutants such as linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS). LAS is known to alter the permeability of membranes and promote the uptake of other pollutants by plants. In light of the potential human health risks and prevailing hypereutrophic conditions in some catchments in South Africa, we investigated the combined effects of LAS and microcystins (MCs) when cyanobacteria infested water is used to irrigate terrestrial crops. Methods To understand the potential risks, pot-culture experiments were conducted to assess the effect of LAS on the accumulation of MCs in Brassica oleracea (cabbage) and Solanum tuberosum (potato) plants. The plants were watered with dam water containing 3.48 mg L-1 of the LAS (sodium dodecyl sulfate) and MCs (MC-LR: 10.47 ± 3.879; 6.158 ± 4.127 for MC-RR and 8.160 ± 2.544 for MC-YR μg L-1) for 20 days. Results The presence of LAS, at environmentally relevant concentrations in the irrigation water, did not enhance the uptake of MCs in the two plants, as demonstrated by statistically insignificant differences in the means of the treatments (with and without LAS). In addition, the presence of LAS, high pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and cyanotoxins in the water did not affect the total chlorophyll or the well-being of the plants. However, in some cases the levels of MCs bioaccumulated by the two plants exceeded the WHO recommended tolerable daily intake (TDI). Conclusions These findings imply that the tested levels of LAS and MCs did not have any synergic effects on the two plant species, but irrigating food crops with such water still poses a human health risk.

Supramolecular Engineering of Amorphous Porous Polymers for Rapid Adsorption of Micropollutants and Solar-Powered Volatile Organic Compounds Management.

Freshwater shortage is becoming one of the most critical global challenges owing to severe water pollution caused by micropollutants and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). However, current purification technology shows slow adsorption of micropollutants and requires an energy-intensive process for VOCs removal from water. In this study, a highly efficient molecularly engineered covalent triazine framework (CTF) for rapid adsorption of micropollutants and VOC-intercepting performance using solar distillation is reported. Supramolecular design and mild oxidation of CTFs (CTF-OXs) enable hydrophilic internal channels and improve molecular sieving of micropollutants. CTF-OX shows rapid removal efficiency of micropollutants (>99.9% in 10s) and can be regenerated several times without performance loss. Uptake rates of selected micropollutants are high, with initial pollutant uptake rates of 21.9gmg-1 min-1 , which are the highest rates recorded for bisphenol A (BPA) adsorption. Additionally, photothermal composite membrane fabrication using CTF-OX exhibits high VOC rejection rate (up to 98%) under 1 sun irradiation (1kWm-2 ). A prototype of synergistic purification system composed of adsorption and solar-driven membrane can efficiently remove over 99.9% of mixed phenol derivatives. This study provides an effective strategy for rapid removal of micropollutants and high VOC rejection via solar-driven evaporation process.

Bio-sorbent alginate/citric acid-sawdust/Fe3O4 nanocomposite beads for highly efficient removal of malachite green from water

Sawdust is a by-product of wood-related industries with striking features for pollutant uptake. For the first time in the current study, sustainable magnetic alginate composite beads containing citric acid-modified sawdust (CA-sawdust) as a bio-waste and Fe3O4 nanoparticles were designed. This novel eco-friendly composite (Alginate/CA-sawdust/Fe3O4 beads) was successfully applied to remove cationic malachite green (MG). Easy separation under a magnetic field and reusability could be mentioned as two significant properties of this bio-sorbent. The removal percentage of MG using alginate/CA-sawdust/Fe3O4 beads was calculated to be 90–95 %. This process was well-described with Langmuir isotherm and nonlinear pseudo-first-order kinetic models. Moreover, both film and intraparticle diffusion models were found to be probable removal mechanisms.

Crops' response to the emergent air pollutants.

Consequences of air pollutants on physiology, biology, yield and quality in the crops are evident. Crop and soil management can play significant roles in attenuating the impacts of air pollutants. With rapid urbanization and industrialization, air pollution has emerged as a serious threat to quality crop production. Assessing the effect of the elevated level of pollutants on the performance of the crops is crucial. Compared to the soil and water pollutants, the air pollutants spread more rapidly to the extensive area. This paper has reviewed and highlighted the major findings of the previous research works on the morphological, physiological and biochemical changes in some important crops and fruits exposed to the increasing levels of air pollutants. The crop, soil and environmental factors governing the effect of air pollutants have been discussed. The majority of the observations suggest that the air pollutants alter the physiology and biochemical in the plants, i.e., while some pollutants are beneficial to the growth and yields and modify physiological and morphological processes, most of them appeared to be detrimental to the crop yields and their quality. A better understanding of the mechanisms of the uptake of air pollutants and crop responses is quite important for devising the measures ‒ at both policy and program levels ‒ to minimize their possible negative impacts on crops. Further research directions in this field have also been presented.

Pollution gradient leads to local adaptation and small-scale spatial variability of communities and functions in an urban marine environment.

Urbanization of coastal habitats, of which harbors and marinas are the paragon, has led to various ecological paradigms about their functioning. Harbor infrastructures offer new hard substrata that are colonized by a wide variety of organisms (biofouling) including many introduced species. These structures also modify hydrodynamism and contaminant dispersal, leading to strong disturbance gradients within them. Differences in sessile community structure have previously been correlated to these gradients at small spatial scale (<100 m). Local adaptation might be involved to explain such results, but as correlation is not causation, the present study aims to understand the causal link between the environmental gradients and community structure through a reciprocal transplant experiment among three sites of a marina (inner, middle, entrance). Our results highlighted strong small-scale spatial variations of contaminants (trace metals, PCB, pesticides, and PAH) in sediments and animal samples which have been causally linked to changes in community composition after transplant. But historical contingency and colonization succession also play an important role. Our results provided strong evidence for local adaptation since community structure, respiration, and pollutant uptake in Bugula neritina, as well as the metabolomes of B. neritina and Ciona intestinalis were impacted by the transplant with a disadvantage for individuals transplanted from the entrance to the inner location. The here observed results may thus indicate that the disturbance gradient in marinas might constitute a staple for selecting pollutant-resistant species and populations, causing local adaptation. This highlights the importance of conducting further studies into small scale local adaptation.

Algal immobilization as a green technology for domestic wastewater treatment

wastewater treatment technology is an important issue because of numerous organic and inorganic impurities in municipal, industrial, and agricultural waters. Different systems of wastewater treatment used the microorganisms for the removal of organic materials, most species of algae represent promising biosystems for treating of wastewater by transformation or direct uptake of pollutants and improving the purification performance of bacterial systems. This work aimed to study the efficiency of immobilization technology using immobilized cells of green algae Chlorella vulgaris in the treatment of domestic wastewater. Some physical and chemical characteristics of domestic wastewater were examined and the percentage of treatment efficiency with free and immobilized cells of alga were compared. The results of the study presented high reduction of EC, salinity, TDS, total alkalinity, hardness, calcium, and chloride with slight induction of pH values to the basal side after treatment with free and immobilized algae. After (3,5,7) days of treatment with free microalgae and immobilized microalgae, the recorded value of wastewater had been eliminated to (2.09, 2, 1.8) μs/cm and (2.36, 1.27, 1.07) μs/cm of EC; (689, 580, 520) mg/L and (620,520,489) mg/L of the total hardness; (320, 244, 220) mg/L and (300, 244, 204 ) mg/L of the calcium; (420, 369, 309) mg/L and (400, 340, 289) mg/L of chloride, respectively, while pH value increased to (8.6, 8.7, 8.6) after treated with free microalgae. The results showed high efficiency of mobilized algae compared with free algal cells in reducing many physical and chemical parameters and the immobilized algal cell technique is useful as tools in the treatment process of wastewater.