{"title":"A review of advances & potential of applying nanomaterials for biofilm inhibition","authors":"Yi-Han Cao, Wen-Jun Cai, Xi-Wei He, Hai-Liang Song, Jingsi Gao, Yu-Li Yang, Jianfeng Zhou","doi":"10.1038/s41545-024-00423-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41545-024-00423-5","url":null,"abstract":"Biofilms pose significant challenges due to their role in biological contamination and water quality damage. This review explores physical/chemical strategies for controlling biofilms, emphasizing the potential of nanomaterials to enhance antibiofilm performance. Popular characterization methods in biofilm studies are summarized in two aspects, bactericidal monitoring, and anti-adhesion monitoring, which serve as a toolbox for future studies. The insights provided are crucial for advancing biofilm management in various fields.","PeriodicalId":19375,"journal":{"name":"npj Clean Water","volume":" ","pages":"1-21"},"PeriodicalIF":10.4,"publicationDate":"2024-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41545-024-00423-5.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142858475","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
npj Clean WaterPub Date : 2024-12-19DOI: 10.1038/s41545-024-00425-3
Luis D. Loor-Urgilés, Tabata N. Feijoó, Carlos A. Martínez-Huitle, Elisama Vieira dos Santos, Patricio J. Espinoza-Montero
{"title":"Nanomaterial enhanced photoelectrocatalysis and photocatalysis for chemical oxygen demand sensing a comprehensive review","authors":"Luis D. Loor-Urgilés, Tabata N. Feijoó, Carlos A. Martínez-Huitle, Elisama Vieira dos Santos, Patricio J. Espinoza-Montero","doi":"10.1038/s41545-024-00425-3","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41545-024-00425-3","url":null,"abstract":"Chemical oxygen demand-COD is essential for water pollution control and monitoring and is also used to validate wastewater treatment technologies. Conventional COD determination use of costly toxic inputs that do not align with Sustainable Development Goals 6. To address these environmental challenges, photocatalytic (PC)- and photoelectrocatalytic (PEC)-COD sensors have emerged as a solution. This comprehensive review examines PC-COD and PEC-COD sensors in terms of nanomaterials used and their properties, focusing on how multiple variables influence PC activity and sensor performance. Analytical principles and operational variables affecting performance in COD determination are discussed. Finally, a series of materials and conditions are proposed to improve the viability of PEC-COD sensors currently and in the future.","PeriodicalId":19375,"journal":{"name":"npj Clean Water","volume":" ","pages":"1-14"},"PeriodicalIF":10.4,"publicationDate":"2024-12-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41545-024-00425-3.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142845226","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
npj Clean WaterPub Date : 2024-12-19DOI: 10.1038/s41545-024-00427-1
Md. Moshiur Rahman Tushar, Zaki Alam Pushan, Nirupam Aich, Lewis S. Rowles
{"title":"Balancing sustainability goals and treatment efficacy for PFAS removal from water","authors":"Md. Moshiur Rahman Tushar, Zaki Alam Pushan, Nirupam Aich, Lewis S. Rowles","doi":"10.1038/s41545-024-00427-1","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41545-024-00427-1","url":null,"abstract":"Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are emerging water contaminants with significant environmental and health impacts, posing challenges in water treatment due to their high stability and persistence. With increasing regulations, a critical need remains in understanding the sustainability of PFAS treatment technologies. Our review examines the environmental, economic, and social impacts of current PFAS treatment technologies across different water types and contexts. Additionally, we propose a framework for future sustainability studies to enable more holistic technology evaluations under specific conditions.","PeriodicalId":19375,"journal":{"name":"npj Clean Water","volume":" ","pages":"1-13"},"PeriodicalIF":10.4,"publicationDate":"2024-12-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41545-024-00427-1.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142845146","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Metal–phenolic coating on membrane for ultrafast antibiotics adsorptive removal from water","authors":"Hongjie Zhang, Wenjing Geng, Yifei Cai, Jiaqi Huo, Yipeng Zang, Cheng Chen","doi":"10.1038/s41545-024-00418-2","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41545-024-00418-2","url":null,"abstract":"Eliminating antibiotics from wastewater remains a critical challenge. This work introduces durable, high-performance adsorptive membranes formed by polymerizing tannic acid (TA) and Fe3+ ions on commercial substrates, known as TA-Fe, to enhance antibiotic removal. Using a filtration process, the TA-Fe modified membrane (MCM) demonstrated excellent ciprofloxacin hydrochloride removal efficiency, permeance, and reusability. The MCM achieved high removal capability for antibiotics, with a permeance of 3815 L m−2 h−1 bar−1 and 96.7% removal efficiency within 1.3 min—115 times faster than traditional methods. Furthermore, the MCM sustained an impressive adsorptive capacity of 99.4% even after 10 consecutive cycles. This work profoundly progresses the domain of adsorptive membrane technology, offering a promising avenue for the sustainable adsorption and separation of antibiotics from contaminated wastewater.","PeriodicalId":19375,"journal":{"name":"npj Clean Water","volume":" ","pages":"1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":10.4,"publicationDate":"2024-12-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41545-024-00418-2.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142845169","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
npj Clean WaterPub Date : 2024-12-06DOI: 10.1038/s41545-024-00422-6
Bhekie B. Mamba
{"title":"Towards healthy and economically sustainable communities through clean water and resource recovery","authors":"Bhekie B. Mamba","doi":"10.1038/s41545-024-00422-6","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41545-024-00422-6","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":19375,"journal":{"name":"npj Clean Water","volume":" ","pages":"1-1"},"PeriodicalIF":10.4,"publicationDate":"2024-12-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41545-024-00422-6.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142778657","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
npj Clean WaterPub Date : 2024-12-04DOI: 10.1038/s41545-024-00417-3
Juan Nathaniel, Sara Schwetschenau, Upmanu Lall
{"title":"Inferring failure risk of on-site wastewater systems from physical and social factors","authors":"Juan Nathaniel, Sara Schwetschenau, Upmanu Lall","doi":"10.1038/s41545-024-00417-3","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41545-024-00417-3","url":null,"abstract":"Aging infrastructure and climate change present emerging challenges for clean water supply and reliable wastewater services for communities in the United States (US). In Georgia, for example, the failure rates of on-site wastewater systems (OWTS) have increased from 10% to 35% in the last two decades as the systems age. In this work, we develop a hierarchical Bayesian model to understand the different contributions of physical and social factors driving OWTS failures using a long-term collection of 201,000 Georgia’s OWTS inspection records. The out-of-sample validation accuracy of our hierarchical Bayesian model is 70% within Georgia, outperforming other machine learning models that do not consider the multiscale nature of the problem. Overall, we find counties that experience more extreme precipitation and are situated in steeper-sloped regions are significantly associated with increased failure risks. Uncertainties, meanwhile, are largely associated with counties experiencing more precipitation and have lower median housing value.","PeriodicalId":19375,"journal":{"name":"npj Clean Water","volume":" ","pages":"1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":10.4,"publicationDate":"2024-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41545-024-00417-3.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142762899","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
npj Clean WaterPub Date : 2024-12-03DOI: 10.1038/s41545-024-00409-3
Maura C. Allaire, Bianca Brusco, Amal Bakchan, Mark A. Elliott, Mallory A. Jordan, Jillian Maxcy-Brown, Kevin D. White
{"title":"Water and wastewater infrastructure inequity in unincorporated communities","authors":"Maura C. Allaire, Bianca Brusco, Amal Bakchan, Mark A. Elliott, Mallory A. Jordan, Jillian Maxcy-Brown, Kevin D. White","doi":"10.1038/s41545-024-00409-3","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41545-024-00409-3","url":null,"abstract":"Uneven access to water and wastewater infrastructure is shaped by local governance. A substantial number of U.S. households lack adequate access and the U.S. is one of the few countries with large populations living outside of city bounds, in unincorporated areas. Few studies address how infrastructure services and local governance are intertwined at a regional scale. We examine the connection between incorporation status and access to centralized infrastructure, using negative binomial regression. A novel dataset informs this analysis, comprised of 31,383 Census block groups located in nine states representing over 25% of the national population. We find evidence that inequities in access are associated with unincorporated status and poverty rates. Sewer coverage rates are significantly lower for unincorporated communities in close proximity to municipal boundaries. Infrastructure equity could be improved by targeting high-poverty unincorporated communities, addressing challenges with noncontiguous service areas, and strengthening regional water planning and participatory governance.","PeriodicalId":19375,"journal":{"name":"npj Clean Water","volume":" ","pages":"1-17"},"PeriodicalIF":10.4,"publicationDate":"2024-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41545-024-00409-3.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142760593","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
npj Clean WaterPub Date : 2024-11-30DOI: 10.1038/s41545-024-00408-4
Simranjeet Singh, Nikhita Sivaram, Bidisha Nath, Nadeem A. Khan, Joginder Singh, Praveen C. Ramamurthy
{"title":"Metal organic frameworks for wastewater treatment, renewable energy and circular economy contributions","authors":"Simranjeet Singh, Nikhita Sivaram, Bidisha Nath, Nadeem A. Khan, Joginder Singh, Praveen C. Ramamurthy","doi":"10.1038/s41545-024-00408-4","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41545-024-00408-4","url":null,"abstract":"Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) are versatile materials with tailorable structures, high surface areas, and controlled pore sizes, making them ideal for gas storage, separation, catalysis, and notably wastewater treatment by removing pollutants like antibiotics and heavy metals. Functionalization enhances their applications in energy conversion and environmental remediation. Despite challenges like stability and cost, ongoing innovation in MOFs contributes to the circular economy and aligns with Sustainable Development Goals.","PeriodicalId":19375,"journal":{"name":"npj Clean Water","volume":" ","pages":"1-22"},"PeriodicalIF":10.4,"publicationDate":"2024-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41545-024-00408-4.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142753775","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Synergistic iron enhanced aerogel and peracetic acid for degradation of emerging organic contaminants","authors":"Lili Jin, Tong Li, Xiaoya Fang, Zhao Xue, Hui Huang, Hongqiang Ren","doi":"10.1038/s41545-024-00415-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41545-024-00415-5","url":null,"abstract":"In response to the urgent need for efficient degradation of emerging organic contaminants, this study has developed a novel catalytic system based on an original Fe-doped aerogel catalyst (FeCAS) and its carbonization-enhanced variant (FeCAS-400), designed to improve the activation performance of peracetic acid (PAA). The FeCAS/PAA achieves a remarkable 96.1% degradation of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) without external energy input, while the FeCAS-400/PAA further elevates the SMX removal rate to 98.4% (kobs = 0.326 min−¹) and demonstrates effectiveness across a broad pH range of 3–11. Theoretical calculations reveal that carbonization enhances electron transfer between iron–carbon substrates, which contributes to improved catalytic performance. The system also exhibits versatility in removing a wide range of prevalent contaminants and proves effective in real water matrices. This synergistic approach, combining aerogels with metal–carbon electron transfer, holds promise for an extension to other advanced oxidation processes, contributing to the assurance of water quality safety and sustainability.","PeriodicalId":19375,"journal":{"name":"npj Clean Water","volume":" ","pages":"1-14"},"PeriodicalIF":10.4,"publicationDate":"2024-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41545-024-00415-5.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142753778","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
npj Clean WaterPub Date : 2024-11-29DOI: 10.1038/s41545-024-00419-1
Sethu Kalidhasan, Jonghoon Choi, Hee-Young Lee
{"title":"Floating 3D-PDMS-Iron oxide molecular baskets for decontaminating diverse pollutants and analyzing structural composition impacts","authors":"Sethu Kalidhasan, Jonghoon Choi, Hee-Young Lee","doi":"10.1038/s41545-024-00419-1","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41545-024-00419-1","url":null,"abstract":"Novel iron oxide-incorporated porous polydimethylsiloxane sponges were developed using a simple, non-toxic two-step process. Characterized through various techniques, these sponges serve as effective photocatalysts, absorbents, and adsorbents for pollutant removal. They demonstrated nearly 100% degradation of rhodamine B under optimal conditions ( ~ 100% with Xe arc lamp, 50 mg, pH 3-9, and 4 h), following a pseudo second-order kinetic model (r2 = 0.9999). The sponges also exhibited good activity for other pollutants, including methylene blue (76–87%), 1,4-dichlorobenzene (57–71%), and azithromycin (82–87%), and maintained high performance over 11 reuse cycles with minimal iron loss. In addition, fresh and used catalysts effectively separated oils (173–680 mg with 50 mg of absorbent, and 10–15 s) and chromium (VI) [~87% with 1 ppm, 50 mg, pH 7, and 24 h] from water. This environmentally sustainable approach produces no toxic waste and allows for simple regeneration, making it a promising solution for the water treatment industry.","PeriodicalId":19375,"journal":{"name":"npj Clean Water","volume":" ","pages":"1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":10.4,"publicationDate":"2024-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41545-024-00419-1.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142753777","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}