Heterogeneous Photocatalysis Remediation of Wastewater Polluted by Indigoid Dyes

Organic dyes constitute one of the largest groups of wastewater’s pollutants. In general, they are released into the environment by textile industries. Approximately 100,000 dyes are widely used in the textile industry, and a large wastewater of dyestuff is generated annually. Among these, indigoid class is commercial dyes used mostly for cotton cloth dyeing. Indigo carmine (IC) is also one of the oldest dyes and still one of the most used in textile industry and is considered as a very toxic indigoid dye. Most toxic dyes are recalcitrant to biodegradation, causing a decrease in the efficiency of biological wastewater treatment plants. Titanium dioxide is a well-known photocatalyst mostly used in suspensions in photoreactions for wastewater treatment. The use of TiO2 has some advantages such as ease of handling, low cost, low toxicity, high photochemical reactivity, and non-specific oxidative attack ability. In this way, it can promote the degradation of different target organic compounds with little change of operational parameters. The aim of this chapter is to present the different approaches already used in our team for the remediation of waters containing IC mainly through heterogeneous photocatalysis with TiO2. Adsorption over activated carbon (AC) and photocatalytic degradation of IC mediated by titanium dioxide will be revised as well as some studies on the phototoxicity of the photoproducts with aquatic and terrestrial organisms. This chapter makes a comprehensive approach to the different results on the remediation of model effluents containing IC undertaken by this team of researchers

Human adenovirus in municipal solid waste leachate and quantitative risk assessment of gastrointestinal illness to waste collectors

Leachate is a variable effluent from waste management systems generated during waste collection and on landfills. Twenty-two leachate samples from waste collection trucks and a landfill were collected from March to December 2019 in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and were analyzed for Human Adenovirus (HAdV), bacterial indicators and physico-chemical parameters. For viral analysis, samples were concentrated by ultra centrifugation and processed for molecular analysis using QIAamp Fast DNA Stool mini kit (R) for DNA extraction followed by nested-PCR and qPCR/PMA-qPCR TaqMan (R) system. HAdV was detected by nested-PCR in 100% (9/ 9) and 83.33% (12/13) of the truck and landfill leachate samples, respectively. Viral concentrations ranged from 8.31 x 10(1) to 6.68 x 107 genomic copies per 100 ml by qPCR and PMA-qPCR. HAdV species A, B, C, and F were characterized using nucleotide sequencing. HAdV were isolated in A549 culture cells in 100% (9/9) and 46.2% (6/13) from truck and landfill leachate samples, respectively. Regardless of the detection methods, HAdV concentration was predicted by the quantity of total suspended solids. A quantitative microbial risk assessment was performed to measure the probability of gastrointestinal (GI) illness attributable to inadvertent oral ingestion of truck leachate, revealing the higher probability of disease for the direct splashing into the oral cavity (58%) than for the gloved hand-to-mouth (33%). In a scenario where waste collectors do not wear gloves as protective personal equipment, the risk increases to 67%. This is the first study revealing infectious HAdV in solid waste leachate and indicates a potential health risk for waste collectors

Use of Titanium Dioxide Photocatalysis on the Remediation of Model Textile Wastewaters Containing Azo Dyes

The photocatalytic degradation of two commercial textile azo dyes, namely C.I Reactive Black 5 and C.I Reactive Red 239, has been studied. TiO2 P25 Degussa was used as catalyst and photodegradation was carried out in aqueous solution under artificial irradiation with a 125 W mercury vapor lamp. The effects of the amount of TiO2 used, UV-light irradiation time, pH of the solution under treatment, initial concentration of the azo dye and addition of different concentrations of hydrogen peroxide were investigated. The effect of the simultaneous photodegradation of the two azo dyes was also investigated and we observed that the degradation rates achieved in mono and bi-component systems were identical. The repeatability of photocatalytic activity of the photocatalyst was also tested. After five cycles of TiO2 reuse the rate of colour lost was still 77% of the initial rate. The degradation was followed monitoring the change of azo dye concentration by UV-Vis spectroscopy. Results show that the use of an efficient photocatalyst and the adequate selection of optimal operational parameters may easily lead to a complete decolorization of the aqueous solutions of both azo dyes

Solar CPC Pilot Plant Photocatalytic Degradation of Indigo Carmine Dye in Waters and Wastewaters Using Supported-TiO2: Influence of Photodegradation Parameters

The photocatalytic degradation of indigo carmine (IC) dye in the presence of titanium dioxide under different conditions was reported. Several factors which interfere with the photodegradation efficiency as catalyst concentration, pH, initial concentration of dye, presence of inorganic anions, temperature, and the addition of hydrogen peroxide were studied under artificial irradiation with a 125 W mercury vapor lamp. Additionally, the catalyst supported on glass spheres was used for the photocatalytic degradation of the dye present in several types of waters in a CPC solar pilot plant. The photocatalytic products, carboxylic acids, and SO42- and NH4+ were followed during IC mineralization. Formate, acetate, and oxalate were detected in real MWWTP secondary effluent. The mineralization efficiency was of 42 and 21% using in suspension and supported TiO2, respectively. In order to evaluate biological effects, Eisenia andrei earthworms were used as a model organism. No significant difference (P>0.05) of weight was observed in the earthworm submitted to different concentrations of IC and its photoproducts. The photocatalytic degradation of IC on TiO2 supported on glass spheres suffered strong influence of the water matrix; nevertheless the method has the enormous advantage that it eliminates the need for the final catalyst removal step, reducing therefore the cost of treatment

Acute toxicity of single and combined rare earth element exposures towards Daphnia similis

The increasing use of Rare Earth Elements (REE) in emerging technologies, medicine and agriculture has led to chronic aquatic compartment contamination. In this context, this aimed to evaluate the acute toxic effects of lanthanum (La), neodymium (Nd) and samarium (Sm), as both single and binary and ternary mixtures on the survival of the microcrustacean Daphnia similis. A metal solution medium with (MS) and without EDTA and cyanocobalamin (MSq) as chelators was employed as the assay dilution water to assess REE bioavailability effects. In the single exposure experiments, toxicity in the MS medium decreased following the order La > Sm > Nd, while the opposite was noted for the MSq medium, which was also more toxic than the MS medium. The highest MS toxicity was observed for the binary Nd + La (1:1) mixture (EC50 48 h of 11.57 ± 1.22 mg.L−1) and the lowest, in the ternary Sm + La + Nd (2:2:1) mixture (EC50 48 h 41.48 ± 1.40 mg.L−1). The highest toxicity in the MSq medium was observed in the single assays and in the binary Sm + Nd (1:1) mixture (EC50 48 h 10.60 ± 1.57 mg.L−1), and the lowest, in the ternary Sm + La + Nd (1:2:2) mixture (EC50 48 h 36.76 ± 1.54 mg.L−1). Concerning the MS medium, 75 % of interactions were additive, 19 % antagonistic, and 6 % synergistic. In the MSq medium, 56 % of interactions were synergistic and 44 % additive. The higher toxicity observed in the MSq medium indicates that the absence of chelators can increase the concentrations of more toxic free ions, suggesting that the MS medium should be avoided in REE assays. Additive interactions were observed in greater or equivalent amounts in both media and were independent of elemental mixture ratios. These findings improve the understanding of environmental REE effects, contributing to the establishment of future guidelines and ecological risk calculations