Environmental Chemistry Letters最新文献

{"title":"Challenges in the analysis of microplastics and nanoplastics extracted from marine biological tissues: a review","authors":"Mary Carolin Kurisingal Cleetus,&nbsp;Massimiliano Fabbricino,&nbsp;Ludovico Pontoni,&nbsp;Annamaria Locascio","doi":"10.1007/s10311-026-01902-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10311-026-01902-6","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Unlike many common pollutants, the analysis of microplastics is challenging because these contaminants are macromolecular, they have very different size and composition, and they occur in the environment associated with other matter. Here, we review the extraction of microplastics and nanoplastics from marine organisms, with emphasis on standardization and optimization of extraction protocols. Most methods involve digesting the organic material of the organism tissue, thus leaving behind the plastic particles, which are then separated and identified. Alkali treatment has shown high recovery rates, often above 95%. Recovery might be improved by combination with other treatments, e.g. using surfactants and enzymes. Low digestion temperature is suggested to prevent plastic degradation and low-pressure filtration to avoid loss of microfibers and small particles. Detection is preferred by Fourier transform infrared and Raman spectroscopy. Scanning electron microscopy allows physical characterization at the nanoscale. We also discuss the relevance of the use of ‘microplastic’ and ‘nanoplastic’ terminologies, and propose a novel size-based nomenclature.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":541,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Chemistry Letters","volume":"24 4","pages":"485 - 510"},"PeriodicalIF":25.2,"publicationDate":"2026-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10311-026-01902-6.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148342952","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Robust multi-resolution analysis of polyhydroxyalkanoate biopolymers synthesized in a wastewater bacterium","authors":"Xinyu Chen,&nbsp;Yeonsoo Park,&nbsp;Zijian Wang,&nbsp;Gloria J. Zhou,&nbsp;Xinyue Mu,&nbsp;Eva Durance,&nbsp;Zhen Jia,&nbsp;Lynna Deng,&nbsp;George F. Wells,&nbsp;Fuzhong Zhang,&nbsp;April Z. Gu,&nbsp;Ludmilla Aristilde","doi":"10.1007/s10311-026-01904-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10311-026-01904-4","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Polyhydroxyalkanoates are microbial carbon-storage biopolymers with potential to replace fossil fuel-derived plastics and other polymers, but comparative analysis of the methods for characterization of these biopolymers is lacking. Here, we analyzed polyhydroxyalkanoates in a wastewater-isolated <i>Comamonas</i> species using fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry for visualization and semi-quantitative assessment, followed by single-cell Raman spectroscopy, gas chromatography-flame ionization detection, and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry for compositional quantification. Results show that fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry revealed consistently nutrient-dependent accumulation, with nitrogen-limited cultures exhibiting up to 7-fold higher intracellular fluorescence intensity than controls. Single-cell Raman spectroscopy identified, in addition to low-abundant glycogen-like polymer, coexistence of high-abundant poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and poly(3-hydroxyvalerate). Gas chromatography-flame ionization detection determined that these short-chain-length polyhydroxyalkanoates constituted 28% of nitrogen-limited biomass. With a derivatization-free high-resolution liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method, we confirmed minimal glucan, less than (&lt;0.05%) and resolved composition of polyhydroxyalkanoates as 97.8% 3-hydroxybutyrate, 1.7% 3-hydroxyvalerate, and 0.5% medium-chain-length monomers as 3-hydroxydecanoate and 3-hydroxytetradecanoate, demonstrating a sensitive approach with detection limits below 0.05 µg mL^− 1 for biopolymer quantification.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":541,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Chemistry Letters","volume":"24 4","pages":"447 - 455"},"PeriodicalIF":25.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10311-026-01904-4.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147617539","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Retraction Note: Carbon dioxide methanation on heterogeneous catalysts: a review","authors":"Cham Q. Pham,&nbsp;Mahadi B. Bahari,&nbsp;Ponnusamy Senthil Kumar,&nbsp;Shams Forruque Ahmed,&nbsp;Leilei Xiao,&nbsp;Sunil Kumar,&nbsp;Amjad Saleh Qazaq,&nbsp;Tan Ji Siang,&nbsp;Huu-Tuan Tran,&nbsp;Aminul Islam,&nbsp;Adel Al‑Gheethi,&nbsp;Yasser Vasseghian,&nbsp;Dai‑Viet N. Vo","doi":"10.1007/s10311-026-01903-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10311-026-01903-5","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":541,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Chemistry Letters","volume":"24 3","pages":"439 - 440"},"PeriodicalIF":20.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147586668","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Global cigarette butt contamination: a review","authors":"Victor Vasques Ribeiro,&nbsp;Lucas Buruaem Moreira,&nbsp;Graziele Grilo,&nbsp;Gabriel Enrique De-la-Torre,&nbsp;Danilo Freitas Rangel,&nbsp;André Salem Szklo","doi":"10.1007/s10311-026-01897-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10311-026-01897-0","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Cigarette butts are toxic, persistent, and represent one of the most frequently littered waste worldwide, with trillions cigarette butts entering the environment annually, yet their global distribution is poorly known. In particular, the influence of protected areas is unclear. Here, we review cigarette butt contamination across 55 countries from 2013 to 2024, with a meta-analysis of 130 peer-reviewed studies and 2,723 records to assess protected areas influence, spatiotemporal trends, and classify levels. Results show that the global average density was 0.24 cigarette butts per square meter, with pronounced geographic variability. Hotspots occurred in 17 countries, especially in Asia and Latin America. Aquatic environments, notably beaches, exhibited higher contamination, reflecting recreational pressure and higher monitoring coverage. Cigarette butts constituted 12% of all aquatic litter on average, exceeding 50% in several countries. The 165 protected areas monitored in 37 countries displayed markedly lower contamination, reducing it by nearly fivefold compared to unprotected areas, i.e., 0.06 versus 0.29 cigarette butts per square meter. Contamination declined consistently along a protection gradient from unprotected to unclassified, multiple use, and no take protected areas, with the latter one, the most restrictive, achieving nearly tenfold reductions, averaging 0.03 cigarette butts per square meter. Over time, contamination levels remained stable in unprotected areas, and showed slight decreases in protected areas, indicating early signs of management effectiveness. We introduce a standardized index for interpreting contamination levels.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":541,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Chemistry Letters","volume":"24 4","pages":"463 - 484"},"PeriodicalIF":25.2,"publicationDate":"2026-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10311-026-01897-0.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147461828","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Dissolved inorganic carbon destabilizes mineral-associated organic matter in soils","authors":"Saqilafu Bao,&nbsp;Gang Dai","doi":"10.1007/s10311-026-01901-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10311-026-01901-7","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Soil carbon sequestration is critical for climate mitigation, yet the effect of dissolved inorganic carbon on the stability of mineral-associated organic matter is unclear. We hypothesized that dissolved inorganic carbon promotes the desorption of mineral-associated organic matter. We performed batch desorption experiments with soil mineral particles and soil incubation experiments with ¹³C-labeled glucose at dissolved inorganic carbon concentrations of 0–0.06 mol/L. Organic matter was analyzed by Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Results showed that 0.06 mol/L dissolved inorganic carbon released 10.6% of mineral-associated organic carbon, a release value similar to the use of phosphate, of 12.8%. Dissolved inorganic carbon preferentially mobilized lignin- and condensed aromatic-like molecules, while phosphate released diverse biomolecules. High levels of dissolved inorganic carbon inhibited ¹³C-glucose incorporation into mineral-associated organic matter, and induced a decline of total mineral-associated organic carbon via a priming effect.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":541,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Chemistry Letters","volume":"24 4","pages":"457 - 462"},"PeriodicalIF":25.2,"publicationDate":"2026-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147461829","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The justice battle to protect biodiversity from pesticide risks in France","authors":"Laure Mamy,&nbsp;Stéphane Pesce,&nbsp;Eric Lichtfouse,&nbsp;Sophie Leenhardt,&nbsp;Wilfried Sanchez","doi":"10.1007/s10311-026-01900-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10311-026-01900-8","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":541,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Chemistry Letters","volume":"24 4","pages":"441 - 446"},"PeriodicalIF":25.2,"publicationDate":"2026-03-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148342951","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Alkaline solid waste for carbon dioxide mineralization: a review","authors":"Kairui Hu,&nbsp;Sining Lyu,&nbsp;Lianzheng Gui,&nbsp;Ning Zhang,&nbsp;Xiaofeng Gao,&nbsp;Jian Zuo,&nbsp;Huabo Duan,&nbsp;Jiakuan Yang","doi":"10.1007/s10311-026-01899-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10311-026-01899-y","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The rising adverse effects of global warming require rapid methods to reach carbon neutrality. Here we review carbon dioxide mineralization using alkaline solid waste with focus on waste properties, mineralization mechanisms, management, commercialization, and the assessment of life cycle and costs. Waste includes steel slag, flue gas desulfurization gypsum, calcium carbide slag, and bauxite residue. Mineralization allows about 310 metric megatonnes of direct carbon dioxide removal per year, and up to 3.7 metric gigatonnes of indirect reductions when carbonated products substitute cementitious materials. Reported sequestration efficiencies vary widely with feedstock and conditions, with calcium carbide slag showing a median sequestration rate of 52.8%w, and flue gas desulfurization gypsum reaching 31.26%w.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":541,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Chemistry Letters","volume":"24 4","pages":"511 - 562"},"PeriodicalIF":25.2,"publicationDate":"2026-02-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148342959","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A perfluoro-functionalised fluorescent maleimide probe for imaging of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances","authors":"Jake E. Barker,&nbsp;Stephen D. P. Fielden,&nbsp;Richard H. Kempton,&nbsp;Calum T. J. Ferguson,&nbsp;Rachel K. O’Reilly,&nbsp;Grant B. Douglas","doi":"10.1007/s10311-026-01898-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10311-026-01898-z","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The persistence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in the environment is becoming a major health concern, yet studying their fate and behaviour in complex media is limited due to the lack of suitable analytical methods. Here we proposed that a fluorescent polyfluoroalkyl probe could enable rapid tracing and negate drawbacks associated with current techniques. We synthesised a fluorescent probe containing a maleimide motif grafted to perfluorooctanoic acid. Using a conductivity assay, the critical micelle concentration was determined, and cryogenic transmission electron microscopy was further utilised to verify the presence of multilamellar vesicles. Titration of the fluorescent probe with a base enabled the determination of the acid dissociation constant, an important property of perfluorooctanoic acid. Results show that this fluorescent probe exhibits similar properties to perfluorooctanoic acid, and thus could reasonably act as an environmental proxy, with the benefit of strong, concentration-dependent and environmentally responsive fluorescence. This fluorescence offers a facile entry point for real-time tracing in various media. Further exploration of this tracer through plant, concrete, or soil studies could enable a better understanding of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance behaviour in range of natural and artificial media.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":541,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Chemistry Letters","volume":"24 3","pages":"407 - 414"},"PeriodicalIF":20.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10311-026-01898-z.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146146172","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A polymer dissolution-based protocol for monitoring microplastics by pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry","authors":"Yanting Wang,&nbsp;Siyuan Jing,&nbsp;Ke Wang,&nbsp;Yinjuan Chen,&nbsp;Kashif Hayat,&nbsp;Thomas C. Wanger,&nbsp;Weiping Liu","doi":"10.1007/s10311-025-01892-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10311-025-01892-x","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The ubiquitous occurrence of microplastics in ecosystems and living organisms is an emerging issue of health concern, yet robust risk assessment is limited by the absence of standardized analytical methods. We developed a pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry protocol for the monitoring of polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, polymethyl methacrylate, and polycarbonate in environmental samples. For calibration, we employed polymer-specific solvent systems, including dichloromethane for polymethyl methacrylate and polycarbonate, tetrahydrofuran for polystyrene and polyvinyl chloride, and toluene for polyethylene and polypropylene. Results on spiked soil matrices showed 78.7–90.1% analytical recovery and polymer quantification limits ranging from 0.014 µg to 0.29 µg.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":541,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Chemistry Letters","volume":"24 2","pages":"281 - 286"},"PeriodicalIF":20.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146070168","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Aviation-fuel-grade aromatic–cycloalkane blends via isoeugenol hydrodeoxygenation using nickel aluminate spinel catalyst","authors":"Jose Luis Ayastuy,&nbsp;Dmitry Yu. Murzin,&nbsp;Daniel Gallego-García,&nbsp;Mark E. Martínez-Klimov,&nbsp;Päivi Mäki-Arvela,&nbsp;Johan Wärnå,&nbsp;Unai Iriarte-Velasco,&nbsp;Miguel Angel Gutiérrez-Ortiz","doi":"10.1007/s10311-026-01896-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10311-026-01896-1","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Aviation is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, and thus developing renewable alternatives such as lignin-derived biofuels is critical. Current catalytic routes for hydrodeoxygenation of bio-oil model compounds, such as isoeugenol, fail to produce the desired aromatics to cycloalkane ratios required for aviation fuels. We hypothesized that tailoring metal-support interactions in a nickel aluminate spinel catalyst can enable selective formation of hydrocarbon blends meeting fuel specifications. Hydrodeoxygenation of isoeugenol was conducted in a batch reactor using a nickel aluminate spinel catalyst synthesized via a one-pot sol-gel method. Reactions were conducted at 250–300 °C and 20–40 bar hydrogen pressure, and products were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to determine yields of aromatics, cycloalkanes, and intermediates. Catalyst structure and surface properties were characterized using X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and electron microscopy to establish structure–performance relationships. Under optimized conditions of 275 °C at 20 bar H₂, aromatic and cycloalkane yields reached 16 wt% and 30 wt%, respectively. Reaction trends showed that elevated temperatures favor cycloalkane formation while hydrogen pressure controls intermediate conversion. The moderate Lewis acidity combined with medium-sized Ni⁰ crystallites promote selective hydrogenation and deoxygenation while minimizing over-hydrogenation. This catalytic system produces fuel-grade hydrocarbon mixtures in a single step, exceeding previously reported performance. These findings provide a practical route for lignin valorization and the production of renewable aviation fuels with reduced greenhouse gas emissions.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":541,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Chemistry Letters","volume":"24 3","pages":"415 - 422"},"PeriodicalIF":20.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10311-026-01896-1.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146056740","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}