Abstract The objective of this study was the determination of major and trace elements in the bee pollen samples from the whole territory of Republic of Kosovo. Pollen, as a natural plant product, is exposed to different contaminations absorbed by plants from the soil through the root system or with water intake, as well as to pollutants of different origins, including anthropogenic ones, deposited

Abstract Pollution of water by persistent organic pollutants is well described; however, little is known about the accumulation of these pollutants by aquatic organisms. For this reason, a method based on QuEChERS extraction and gas chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) was developed for the determination of pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic

Abstract This study aimed to evaluate an alternative to reduce trihalomethane (THM) formation in brewing water. THM affects the organoleptic properties of water and, consequently, the produced beer. Water treatment based on common chemicals such as alum and free chlorine could potentially form THM. Therefore, we studied the replacement of chemicals used in water treatment: aluminum sulfate by a tannin-based

Abstract Conventional activated sludge (AS) systems are widely used to treat domestic sewage worldwide. However, the removal of nitrogen in the AS system is limited, and its concentration in the effluent exceeds the recommended values in the discharge standards. In this study, a pilot experiment was conducted to improve nitrogen removal during municipal sewage treatment by operating AS and anaerobic–aerobic

Abstract Pyroligneous acid (PA) is a highly oxygenated organic condensate obtained by cooling the gases generated from the pyrolysis process. PA has been used in agriculture for several years with multiple beneficial effects, including plant health and yields, pest resilience, and seed germination. It is generally applied to agricultural soils in the dilution of 1:1000 to 1:100, corresponding to 0

Abstract Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have gained traction as alternative solutions for eliminating pollutants from pharmaceutical wastewater for reuse. In this research, the performance of two photo-catalysts (Commercial TiO2 and synthesis N-doped TiO2) were compared in terms of the degradation of amoxicillin and ciprofloxacin from an aqueous solution using a photo-catalytic batch system under

Abstract This study describes the synthesis of Cu/Nb2O5, Fe/Nb2O5, and Cu-Fe/Nb2O5 catalysts obtained by incorporating copper and/or iron metals into niobium pentoxide (Nb2O5). The new materials were characterized by the following techniques: Thermogravimetric Analysis (TA), surface and pore analysis, X-ray diffractometry (XRD), and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR). The catalyst was

Abstract The generation of residues containing dyes by industrial sectors has been mobilizing scientists to develop methodologies capable of treating water containing these contaminants. Adsorption is an option to remove these molecules from the aqueous medium and, for this study, the composites between silica and cyclodextrins alpha (α-CDSI) and gamma (γ-CDSI) were used to capture methylene blue.

Abstract This study aimed to investigate the metal-binding effect of fluoride, contained in different commercial toothpaste gels; the study aimed to determine if the toothpastes contained excessive concentrations of fluoride, which result in white spot lesions. A spectrophotometric method that used spectrophotometric reagents, including zinc oxide nanoparticles and iron chloride, was used to determine

Abstract Remediation of hexavalent chromium with conventional chemical and physical methods is a costly process, while replacing some critical steps in physiochemical remediation with self-sustaining bioremediation agents are expected to be cost-effective and environmentally friendly implementation. In this study, a microalga isolated from a freshwater stream receiving treated textile wastewater was

Abstract In the industrial production of the explosive 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), purification steps are required to ensure the quality of the product, procedures that generate wastewater of a complex nature and with eco-toxicological potential, called red water, which consists of soluble sulfonates, TNT isomers, and other typical nitro aromatic compounds. The present work aimed to study the effects

Abstract Landfill leachate, due to its recalcitrant nature and toxicity, poses a serious environmental threat, which requires the implementation of effective treatment processes. In this work, a full-scale treatment system consisting of two Sequencing Batch Reactors (SBRs) was used for the processing of landfill leachate of intermediate to mature age (BOD/COD ratio of 0.16). Biosystem operation resulted

Abstract While efficacy of chlorine against Phi6, a widely-used surrogate for pathogenic enveloped viruses, is well-documented, surfaces common to low-resource contexts are under-researched. We evaluated seven surfaces (stainless steel, plastic, nitrile, tarp, cloth, concrete, wood) and three environmental conditions—temperature (4, 25, 40 °C), relative humidity (RH) (23, 85%), and soiling—to determine

Abstract Phosphogypsum (PG) is a by-product of the phosphate fertilizer industry that is produced during the phosphoric acid production process. Annual global PG production ranges between 100 to 300 Mt, with only 15% of that utilized while the rest is usually placed on large dumps with potential serious human and environmental impacts. The aim of this study is to give an overview and to evaluate the

Abstract To promote the exploitation of unconventional oil resources by indigenous microorganisms, the bacterial community profiles of oil shale and sandstone in Ordos Basin were investigated using Illumina Miseq sequencing combined with the culture-based method, which was performed and reported in this literature for the first time. A total of 601 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were obtained from

Abstract This study determined the activity concentrations and corresponding transfer factors (TF) of 40K, 226Ra, and 232Th in three tobacco components (root, stem, and leaf). The radiation hazard index parameters were assessed for the tobacco leaf. The activity concentrations in the soil were 589–762, 32–43, and 49–59 Bq kg-dw−1 (dry weight) for 40K, 226Ra, and 232Th, respectively. The average activity

Abstract There is currently a dearth of information on the determination, occurrence and ecotoxicological risk of antibiotics in dumpsite leachates and hospital wastewater in Africa. A quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe (QuEChERS) protocol which combines extraction and clean-up in one step was optimized for the determination of antibiotics sulfadoxine, sulfamethazine and trimethoprim in

Abstract A simple and efficient pH-mediated dispersive solid phase extraction (dSPE) based on terbium doped titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2-Tb NPs) combined with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) has been firstly developed for the determination of quinolones (QNs) in various biological samples. The adsorption kinetics and isotherms were investigated to indicate that the kinetic and

Abstract This work explores the techno-economic aspects of landfill leachate treatment by an integrated scheme composed of microfiltration (MF), nanofiltration (NF), and zeolite application for carbon and nitrogen removal. In bench-scale experiments, MF and NF were investigated, and zeolite batch tests were carried out to determine optimum conditions. A preliminary economic analysis is presented for

Abstract A bench-scale tubular photo-reactor was built to evaluate the solar-driven TiO2–based photocatalytic degradation of synthetic polluted water samples. The reactor was designed as a compound-parabolic-collector and operated in batch mode using TiO2 P25 immobilized on a bed of pumice. The immobilization of TiO2 on pumice was carried out using a facile dip impregnation method followed by heat

Abstract This study investigated the influence of N-chlorosuccinimide (NCS) pretreatment on the antimicrobial effect of benzalkonium chloride (BZC, representative of QACs) against biofilm bacteria and its mechanisms. Results show that 0.04 − 0.07 mmol/L NCS pretreatment significantly increased the antimicrobial efficacy of 0.03 mmol/L BZC on biofilm cells by 30% − 70%. The main mechanisms involved

Abstract The present study investigates the use of UV light and the ozone process for doxorubicin, daunorubicin, epirubicin, and irinotecan degradation. The process was carried out using different pH values in hospital wastewater. The use of UV radiation reduces the concentration of anticancer drugs, but in all cases, this technology was not able enough to remove on the whole these contaminants from

Abstract The increasing production of oily wastewater as a by-product of industry has become a major environmental problem. Therefore, this article investigates the removal of mineral oil from oily wastewater by a circulating flow sono-electrocoagulation. The Box–Behnken design was used to study the effects of characteristic electrocoagulation and ultrasonic parameters on mineral oil removal efficiency

Abstract This study evaluates the removal of COD and nitrogen from poultry wastewater in photobioreactors. Cell growth, the effect of light intensity (3200, 9800, and 12000 lux) and air flow (1.6, 3.2, and 4.8 L min−1) as a source of CO2 in bold basal medium and wastewater with different concentrations of COD were evaluated. The growth kinetics were modeled by using the Gompertz model and logistic

Abstract Ochrobactrum sp. XKL1, previously found to have the ability to efficiently degrade quinoline, was bioaugmented into a lab-scale A/O/O system to treat real coking wastewater. During the bioaugmentation stage, the removal of quinoline and pyridine of the O1 tank could be enhanced by 9.88% and 7.96%, respectively. High-throughput sequencing analysis indicated that the addition of XKL1 could significantly

Abstract A study was carried out to investigate air deposition and to explore the natural distribution and contamination with potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in the Kumanovo Region, North Macedonia, by using moss samples as biomonitors for air pollution. The distribution of 51 elements was detected in 42 moss samples collected from this area. Moss samples were analyzed following microwave digestion

Abstract The work reported here focuses on the oil and grease removal from wastewater by the electrocoagulation process and using modeling and optimization for obtaining the results considering four major operating parameters, viz. current density, pH, electrode distance and reaction time. 31 experiments were designed by design of experiments (DOE) of response surface methodology (RSM) and the analysis

Abstract Air liquid interface (ALI) exposure systems are gaining interest, and studies suggest enhanced response of lung cells exposed to particles at ALI as compared to submerged exposure, although the results have been somewhat inconsistent. Previous studies have used monocultures and measured particle deposition using assumptions including consistent particle deposition, particle density, and shape

Abstract The main objective of this study is to present the distribution of different chemical elements in soil samples from the Skopje region, North Macedonia. To determine the level of presence of chemical elements, soil samples are collected from a total of 60 locations. From each location, from an area of 5 × 5 km2 samples of soil are collected: topsoil (0–5 cm) and subsoil (20–30 cm). The soil

Abstract Microplastics act as a potential vector for a wide range of contaminants, which have emerged as a major environmental hazard in the modern world. Considering the seriousness of the problem, a simulated laboratory and field experiment were conducted to study the weathering of pristine microplastics following long-term exposure to natural background radiation and the marine environment after

Abstract The adsorption of praseodymium using hydroxyapatite was evaluated. The hydroxyapatite (HAP) was characterized by X-ray diffraction (JCPDS 01-04-3708), scanning electron microscopy, BET specific surface area (54.2 m2/g), and point of zero charge (6.5). Adsorption kinetics and isotherms were evaluated at pH of 3 and 142Pr was determined using a gamma spectrometer. The adsorption of praseodymium

Abstract This article proposed an original comprehensive thermal treatment coupled with gasification and combustion (CGC) of oil sludge (OS), which was designed to produce hydrogen-rich syngas. Based on the experimental results of OS gasification with steam, the combustion characteristics of char from OS gasification were analyzed by thermogravimetric experiments under different heating rates of 10

Abstract Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox) was an innovative process for nitrogen removal. In this study, the influence of sulfate in different concentrations (100, 200, 300, and 400 mg L−1) on Anammox process were investigated in nine identical sequential batch reactors, four of which were extra supplied for organics, to study the combined effect. The results indicated the obvious inhibition

Abstract Municipal waste has the potential to be a significant source of energy production. This study investigated pretreatment methods such as NaOH, hydrothermal, and ozonation to increase biomethane production from municipal waste. In addition, these pretreatments were further evaluated using ultrasonic pretreatment after achieving optimal conditions by RSM CCD methods. The optimum pretreatment

Abstract Pollution by plastics and antibiotics are emerging issues in the areas of the environment and human health. In recent years, several studies have documented the widespread occurrence of plastic particles in various environmental, as well as human, systems, and much research has focused on possible interactions of contaminants with microplastics. Thus, the co-occurrence of plastics and antibiotics

Abstract Previous studies implied that elevated exposure to amphenicol antibiotics may induce increased oxidative stress. However, the effects of amphenicol antibiotics exposure on oxidative stress damage in human have not been well studied. This study examined the associations between amphenicol antibiotics exposure and oxidative damage biomarkers in school children. Three major amphenicols including

Abstract Halogenated carbazoles are a new class of persistent organic pollutants with dioxin-like toxicity, and this study focused on the microbial degradation of 1,3,6,8-tetrabromocarbazole. In this study, a novel 1,3,6,8-tetrabromocarbazole (1,3,6,8-TBCZ) degrading strain TB-1 was isolated from contaminated soil and identified as Achromobacter sp. based on its 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, morphological

Abstract Phosphorus is a nonrenewable resource, and the recovery of phosphorus from wastewater containing high concentrations of phosphorus is of great importance. In this work, a novel method for highly efficient treatment of high-concentration phosphorus-containing wastewater (50 mg/L, 100 mg/L and 150 mg/L) with low energy consumption was developed by using the block waste foam concrete (FC) as

Abstract The efficient recovery and conversion of energy in oily sludge has great prospects. In this article, the main objective is to investigate the impact of the addition of CO2 during the pyrolysis of oily sludge on energy recovery and conversion by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and compare the effect with the traditional pyrolysis effect from the perspective of thermal conversion behavior,

Abstract Plastic waste has become a significant source of water pollution worldwide, releasing microplastics (MPs) and hazardous chemicals into aquatic environments. The purpose of this study was to determine the occurrence and ecological risk of MPs and phthalates (PAEs) in the surface water of the Tha Dee Sub-River basin in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, Thailand. MPs, PAEs, and water quality parameters

Abstract The presence of antibiotic resistance genes in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), and in river and lake recipients show the need to develop new antibiotic removal strategies. The aminoglycoside antibiotic class is of special concern since the chemical structure of these compounds limits the choices of removal technologies. The experimental design included fungal mediated in vivo and in vitro

Abstract Water quality impairment is a substantial environmental hazard which impacts a wide variety of stakeholders and interests, particularly those who participate in outdoor water-based recreational activities. Recreational bathing water qualities are highly vulnerable to microbial pollution from municipal sewage, industrial effluents, agriculture run-off and river discharges. Fecal contamination

Abstract Psycholeptics, psychoanaleptics, and cardiovascular drugs alter individual tolerance to extreme heat. To explore the influence of heat waves on their toxicity in acute overdose, we retrospectively analyzed all human exposures to psycholeptics and psychoanaleptics (PLAexp) as well as cardiovascular drugs (CVDexp) registered by the Poisons Information Center (PIC) Erfurt between June to September

Abstract Oxytetracycline hydrochloride is the most widely used veterinary antibiotic in aquaculture. The presence of large amounts of residual antibiotics in aquaculture wastewater harms the ecological environment. In this study, the ternary composite of Zn0.75Mn0.75Fe1.5O4/ZnFe2O4/ZnO (ZMF-ZF-Z) photocatalyst was prepared by the coprecipitation method for degradation of oxytetracycline hydrochloride

Abstract This study’s aim was to determine the presence, as well as to evaluate the health and environmental impacts, of chemical elements from firearm shots during shooter practice at outdoor shooting ranges, both in the environment and on the shooters’ hands. Two high-precision devices were used for measuring suspended particles that are released during discharge of Taurus PT 100 .40 caliber pistols

Abstract In the production of natural rubber, formate or acetate is added to the latex solution to coagulate the rubber; therefore, the wastewater contains high concentrations of organic acids, requiring the application of anaerobic treatment technology. In this study, a two-phase continuous flow experiment using a laboratory-scale upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) was conducted to investigate

Abstract The data on water pollution is scarce in developing countries, including Brazil. The water quality assessment is important implementing the monitoring and remediation programs to minimize the risk of hazardous substances in freshwaters. Thus, this study evaluated the surface water quality of a stretch of the Bois River (Brazil), based on the physicochemical, microbiological and ecotoxicological

Abstract The objective of this study was to assess annual, seasonal and spatial trends in copper sediment concentrations in an agricultural California stream (Cache Slough) based on sampling 12 sites over two seasons (spring and fall) in 2012, 2013 and 2014. The relationship between copper sediment concentrations and precipitation was also evaluated. The results from this study showed that copper sediment

Abstract Oil sludge is a typical hazardous waste in the petrochemical and electric power industry. It has complex components and special properties, and has serious hazards to humans, plants, water, and soil. Therefore, how to realize the effective disposal of oil sludge has become an urgent issue to be solved worldwide. Among the existing oil sludge treatment approaches, combustion has been considered

Abstract Most studies on microplastics (MPs) focused on gut, liver, and brain, and MPs toxicity was size-dependent, but less has been reported on gill. Here, zebrafish were exposed to three sizes of MPs (45-53 μm, 90-106 μm, and 250-300 μm). Next, comparative transcriptome analysis and determination of physiological indices were performed in zebrafish gills to elucidate the size-associated toxicity

Abstract The black shale is considered one of the most important rock units in the lower part of Um Bogma Formation, where it contains the uranium, heavy metals and rare earth elements mineralization. The black shale samples were analyzed radiochemically by using alpha spectrometry technique. Most of uranium in the studied samples is authigenic and the Th/U ratio confirms the deposition of uranium

Abstract Safe drinking water’ supply is an essential service and depends directly on the water treatment that produces water treatment sludge (WTS) as a product, whose final destination varies and remains a challenge. The ecotoxicity assessment of the WTS address the ecological implications of the WTS disposal but these information is still scarce in the literature. In this sense, we did a systematic

Safe drinking water' supply is an essential service and depends directly on the water treatment that produces water treatment sludge (WTS) as a product, whose final destination varies and remains a challenge. The ecotoxicity assessment of the WTS address the ecological implications of the WTS disposal but these information is still scarce in the literature. In this sense, we did a systematic review

Abstract The quality of atmospheric air of Burgas city, Bulgaria was analyzed in relation to PAHs in two particulate matter fractions – 2.5 μm and 10 μm. It was found that PAHs registered in PM10 represent entirely the ones registered in PM2.5 – an indication that the particulate PAHs in ambient air of Burgas for the sampling period are associated with the fine PM fraction. The PAH compounds with highest

Abstract Heavy metals presence in the air in the territory of Kosovo was estimated using mosses as biomonitors. The periodic smog over the territory of Kosovo, particularly around industrial sites and cities, is a clear indication of air pollution which unavoidably will contain heavy metals, because of the nature of the industries in area. This work was carried out aming to assess the presence of heavy

Abstract The objective of this study was to assess the association of exposure to metal mixtures with semen quality and sperm DNA integrity of coke oven workers (n = 96). Urinary six metals (cadmium, lead, arsenic, zinc, selenium, and copper) were quantified using inductively coupled-mass spectrometry. Semen quality parameters included sperm concentration, sperm concentration, sperm motility, sperm

Abstract In this study, electrochemical treatment and application of O3/UV/H2O2 in various combinations were evaluated in respect to their efficiency to depurate mature landfill leachate. Based on preliminary experiments, electrochemical treatment using stainless-steel electrodes at 2 cm gap was performed optimally at 50 mA/cm2 and pH 6, while application of O3 at 120 L/h, UV at 991 J/cm2 and H2O2

In this study, electrochemical treatment and application of O3/UV/H2O2 in various combinations were evaluated in respect to their efficiency to depurate mature landfill leachate. Based on preliminary experiments, electrochemical treatment using stainless-steel electrodes at 2 cm gap was performed optimally at 50 mA/cm2 and pH 6, while application of O3 at 120 L/h, UV at 991 J/cm2 and H2O2 concentration

The objective of this study was to assess the association of exposure to metal mixtures with semen quality and sperm DNA integrity of coke oven workers (n = 96). Urinary six metals (cadmium, lead, arsenic, zinc, selenium, and copper) were quantified using inductively coupled-mass spectrometry. Semen quality parameters included sperm concentration, sperm concentration, sperm motility, sperm morphology

Abstract This study presents a low-impact process that uses the synergy of peracetic acid (PAA) and graphene oxide quantum GQDs to degrade poorly biodegradable organic compounds and potentially substitute chlorination in wastewater treatment. The role of GQDs in GQDs/PAA activity and the effect of GQDs loading were examined. The results showed that increasing GQDs loading in the GQDs/PAA system greatly