Pentachlorobenzene sequestration in sediment by carbon rich amendment

Organic pollutants in sediments are a worldwide problem because sediments act as sinks for hydrophobic, toxic, persistent and bioaccumulative hazardous compoundssuch as pentachlorobenzene (PeCB). PeCB can be involved in adsorption, desorption and transformation processes and can be made available to benthic organisms through the sediment-water interface. In order to reduce the risk, this study investigates effects of the dose and contact time between sediment and carbon-rich amendments (activated carbon (AC), biochar (BC) and hummus (HC)) on the effectiveness of detoxification. Four doses of carbon-rich amendments (0.5-10 %) and four equilibrations contact times (14 -180 days) were investigated. The present research highlights the need for further examination and process optimization of different carbon-rich materials used for contaminant removal. Results have shown that the smallest dose (0.5 %) of investigated sorbents was sufficient to reduce the bioavailable fraction of PeCB below 5 %, and the ageing process after 14 days for AC and 30 days for HM and BC negligibly influenced the bioavailable fraction

Sorption-desorption behaviour of hydrophobic organic compounds on Danube sediment

The sorption-desorption hysteresis of naphthalene and phenanthrene onto Danube sediment was investigated. Hysteresis indices (HI) are calculated for three equilibrium concentration (Ce=1%, 5% i 50% of the solubility in water). The results of sorption-desorption hysteresis indicated that it exists for both investigated sorbates on the Danube sediment. For more hydrophobic compound, phenanthrene (logKOW< 4.55) hysteresis is less pronounced in comparison with naphthalene (logKOW< 3.36). In the case of naphthalene, the existence of hysteresis may be due to irreversible pore deformation of the sorbent which causes the formation of meta-stable states in the sorbate mesopores

The efficiency of the hard wood origin biochar addition on the PAHs bioavailability and stability in sediment

Polluted sediments with organic pollutants like PAHs represent a potential danger to environment, human health and potential obstacle to water management. Removal of polluted sediment provides the potential for reuse of nutrients from sediment, for crop production or for materials in building industry. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of using hard wood biochar for the immobilization of bioaccessible polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in historically polluted sediment. The main question is would carbon materials' presence (in this case biochar) have influence on PAH bioavailability and their stability in sediment. This is important because the world trend is to go for sediment reuse in agriculture purposes, and biochar is proven to be good amendment for increasing soil organic carbon (SOC) stabilization and increasing soil carbon stock. The manuscript provides a detailed consideration of the supersorption performance of the biochar and PAH sequestration in different types of PAHs with aging period up to 6 months in ex situ treatment. The efficiency of biochar to sequester the PAHs was evaluated by assessing the bioavailable fraction (Frap) using desorption method with Amberlite XAD4 resin assistance. In untreated sediment, Frap ranged from 22% up to 42% for 2–4 rings, and around 9% for 5–6 rings PAHs. 180-days amendment of biochar led to a further decrease in the bioavailable portion of PAHs. The results of this laboratory study shown that biochar produced from hard wood gave promising results for binding and further stabilizing PAH in historically polluted sediments

Photochemical degradation of alachlor in water

This study investigates the photochemical degradation of alachlor, a chloroacetanilide herbicide. All experiments were conducted in ultra-pure deionized water (ASTM Type I quality) using direct ultraviolet (UV) photolysis and the UV/H2O2 advanced oxidation process. The direct UV photolysis and UV/H2O2 experiments were conducted in a commercial photochemical reactor with a quartz reaction vessel equipped with a 253.7 nm UV low pressure mercury lamp (Philips TUV 16 W). The experimental results demonstrate that UV photolysis was very effective for alachlor degradation (up to 97% removal using a high UV fluence of 4200 mJ/cm2). The UV/H2O2 process promoted alachlor degradation compared to UV photolysis alone, with a high degree of decomposition (97%) achieved at a significantly lower UV fluence of 600 mJ/cm2 when combined with 1 mg H2O2/L. The application of UV photolysis alone with a UV fluence of 600 mJ/cm2 gave a negligible 4% alachlor degradation. The photo degradation of alachlor, in both direct UV photolysis and the UV/H2O2 process, followed pseudo first-order kinetics. The degradation rate constant was about 6 times higher for the UV/H2O2 process than for UV photolysis alone

Enhanced coagulation with pre-oxidation for the removal of arsenic from groundwater

One of the most wide-spread problems with current drinking water resources globally is the natural presence of arsenic in groundwaters. The aim of this work was to investigate the removal of arsenic by a variety of combined oxidation/coagulation processes, in order to identify and optimise the most critical process parameters. The most significant gains made by both preoxidation steps were observed in the techniques which combined aluminum and ferric chloride based coagulation. The most efficient coagulation treatment investigated involved application of preozonation at a dose of 7.5 mg O3/l with subsequent combined coagulation with PACl–FeCl3 (30 mg Al/l and 10 mg FeCl3/l)

Supplementary material for the article: Mihajlović, M.; Petrović, J.; Maletić, S.; Isakovski, M. K.; Stojanović, M.; Lopičić, Z.; Trifunović, S. Hydrothermal Carbonization of Miscanthus × giganteus: Structural and Fuel Properties of Hydrochars and Organic Profile with the Ecotoxicological Assessment of the Liquid Phase. Energy Convers. Manage. 2018, 159, 254–263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2018.01.003

Supplementary material for: [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2018.01.003]Related to published version: [http://cherry.chem.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/2100

Impact of Microplastics on the Fate and Behaviour of Arsenic in the Environment and Their Significance for Drinking Water Supply

The ubiquitous presence of microplastics (MPs) is a topic of great concern. Not only do MPs themselves represent potential toxicants for human health, they are never found alone in the environment and interact with and adsorb a variety of toxicologically significant pollutants. This review summarises recent work on interactions between MPs and heavy metals in the environment, with a special focus on arsenic, one of the most widespread and problematic water contaminants. Evidence for the adsorption of arsenic onto MP surfaces is given and the recent research into the consequences of this phenomenon for freshwater, marine, and soil environments presented. Finally, the lack of research into the significance of interactions between arsenic and MPs during drinking water treatment is highlighted. The performance of arsenic removal technologies is governed by a multitude of different factors, and with MPs detected in water sources all over the world, data on how these MPs impact the removal of arsenic and, indeed, other major water contaminants are urgently needed

Assessment of the retardation of selected herbicides onto Danube sediment based on small column tests

Purpose: This study utilizes column tests to investigate the retardation of certain herbicides with different hydrophobicities (atrazine, alachlor and trifluralin) during transport through surface Danube sediment. The influence of water matrix on the retardation factor Rd and Freundlich constant Kf is investigated. The results are compared with batch tests to establish whether different methodologies result in similar or different conclusions. Materials and methods: A stainless steel column was filled with natural Danube sediment. Three water matrices were investigated: synthetic, Danube surface, and deep groundwater rich in natural organic matter (NOM). The goal was to examine whether different water matrices would result in changes in the Rd and corresponding Kf values. After a tracer experiment, single herbicide solutions were tested in the three water matrices. Herbicides were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with electron capture detector (GC/ECD). Retardation factors obtained in the column experiments were calculated using Transmod software (version 2.2). The Kf values calculated were compared with the values obtained in previous batch experiments. Results and discussion: A breakthrough curve (BTC) for trifluralin could not be obtained during the experiment. Atrazine Rd values were almost the same in the natural matrices (54 and 55 for the ground and surface waters, respectively), and lower in the synthetic water (40). Alachlor Rd values in the three water matrices were very similar (30–35). The corresponding Kf values for alachlor (8.47–17.4) were lower than those of atrazine (13.5–27.9). These results differ from those obtained by earlier batch tests, which showed similar Kf values for both atrazine (4.4–9.2) and alachlor (4.43–10.35) in all three matrices. In contrast to the results observed during the batch tests, the column tests exhibited higher Kf values in the natural water matrices than the synthetic water, possibly due to the influence of dissolved organic carbon on herbicide sorption. Conclusions: Of the three herbicides investigated, the smallest retardation was observed for alachlor. This was unexpected given the relative hydrophobicities of alachlor and atrazine. The potential risk of transport through the sediment may therefore be greater for alachlor than the other two herbicides. This was indicated neither by the batch tests nor from the Koc–Kow estimations. Both herbicides exhibited similar Kd and Kf values in the batch tests, and lower values in the natural water matrices. In comparison, the column tests showed higher Kf values, with higher values in the natural matrices than in the synthetic water matrix

Comparing the Adsorption Performance of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes Oxidized by Varying Degrees for Removal of Low Levels of Copper, Nickel and Chromium(VI) from Aqueous Solutions

Functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) have drawn wide attention in recent years as novel materials for the removal of heavy metals from the aquatic media. This paper investigates the effect that the functionalization (oxidation) process duration time (3 h or 6 h) has on the ability of MWCNTs to treat water contaminated with low levels of Cu(II), Ni(II) and Cr(VI) (initial concentrations 0.5–5 mg L−1) and elucidates the adsorption mechanisms involved. Adsorbent characterization showed that the molar ratio of C and O in these materials was slightly lower for the oxMWCNT6h, due to the higher degree of oxidation, but the specific surface areas and mesopore volumes of these materials were very similar, suggesting that prolonging the functionalization duration had an insignificant effect on the physical characteristics of oxidized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (oxMWCNTs). Increasing the pH of the solutions from pH 2 to pH 8 had a large positive impact on the removal of Cu(II) and Ni(II) by oxMWCNT, but reduced the adsorption of Cr(VI). However, the ionic strength of the solutions had far less pronounced effects. Coupled with the results of fitting the kinetics data to the Elowich and Weber–Morris models, we conclude that adsorption of Cu(II) and Ni(II) is largely driven by electrostatic interactions and surface complexation at the interface of the adsorbate/adsorbent system, whereas the slower adsorption of Cr(VI) on the oxMWCNTs investigated is controlled by an additional chemisorption step where Cr(VI) is reduced to Cr(III). Both oxMWCNT3h and oxMWCNT6h have high adsorption affinities for the heavy metals investigated, with adsorption capacities (expressed by the Freundlich coefficient KF) ranging from 1.24 to 13.2 (mg g−1)/(mg l−1)n, highlighting the great potential such adsorbents have in the removal of heavy metals from aqueous solutions