Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) represent a family of emerging persistent organic pollutants. Cost-effective remediation of PFAS contamination via chemical or biochemical degradation is challenging due to their extremely high stability. This study reports the removal of two representative PFAS species, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), from water by adsorption using aluminum-based water treatment residuals (Al-WTR), a non-hazardous waste generated during the process of drinking water treatment by alum salts.
The present numerical study investigated the transportation time of the inhaled chemicals in three realistic human airway models by adopting a methodology from the field of the building ventilation. Two indexes including “scale of ventilation efficiency 3 (SVE3)” and “local purging flow rate (L-PFR)” were used to evaluate the respective arrival time and staying time under different inhalation flow rates.
In this study, the authors investigate the effect of phosphate functionalisation on the removal of uranyl ions from mine-drainage contaminated water.
Mercury contamination in soil, water and air is associated with potential toxicity to humans and ecosystems. Industrial activities such as coal combustion have led to increased mercury (Hg) concentrations in different environmental media. This review critically evaluates recent developments in technological approaches for the remediation of Hg contaminated soil, water and air, with a focus on emerging materials and innovative technologies. Extensive research on various nanomaterials, such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs), nanosheets and magnetic nanocomposites, for mercury removal are investigated.
Tire materials are a significant proportion of the (micro)plastics in the environment that until today have been clearly overlooked. These materials are released into the environment, either unintentionally as an abrasion product from tire wear, that reaches the environment via road runoff, or intentionally as, for example, shredded “tire crumble rubber” used as filling material for playgrounds.
Plastics are a frequently observed component of marine debris and there is growing concern about microplastic (MP) ecotoxicity, and the impacts of additives, sorbed hazardous organic contaminants, heavy metals, and biofilm on MP surfaces. The relative importance of MP from different terrestrial and freshwater sources is poorly understood and limits our ability to develop best management practices. This review focuses on evidence and methods for source apportionment of MP in freshwater environments including the use of MP characteristics, mass balance techniques, and surface characteristics.
Metal-organic framework (MOF) materials are porous materials with high surface area that offer enormous flexibility of design and tailoring of its surface properties to be used in diverse chemical processes. Most of the reported properties of MOF materials were evaluated in powder materials produced in small scale where the synthesis has been optimized to obtain crystalline powders. Ideally, the industrialization of these materials will also be associated to efficient scalable synthesis protocols.
Low-cost by-products from agricultural, household and industrial sectors have been recognized as a sustainable solution for wastewater treatment. They allow achieving the removal of pollutants from wastewater and at same time to contribute to the waste minimization, recovery and reuse. Despite numerous reviews have been published in the last few years, a direct comparison of data obtained using different sorbents is difficult nowadays because of inconsistencies in the data presentation.
Provision of clean water is one of the most important issues worldwide because of continuing economic development and the steady increase in the global population. However, clean water resources are decreasing everyday, because of contamination with various pollutants including organic chemicals. Pharmaceutical and personal care products, herbicides/pesticides, dyes, phenolics, and aromatics (from sources such as spilled oil) are typical organics that should be removed from water.
