{"title":"Microplastic environmental behavior and health risk assessment: a review","authors":"Jialin Lei, Qianwen Ma, Xiaomeng Ding, Yanting Pang, Qing Liu, Jiawei Wu, Haopeng Zhang, Ting Zhang","doi":"10.1007/s10311-024-01771-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10311-024-01771-x","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Total plastic production is expected to reach 33 billion tons by 2050, and microplastic emissions from effluents to the environment range from 0.46 million to 140 billion tons. Microplastic distribution and toxicological effects are actually poorly known. Here we review microplastic pollution with emphasis on their environmental distribution, their aging, their analysis in the environment and living organisms, their toxicity alone or combined with other contaminants, and their mitigation techniques. We present microplastic distribution in soil, water, and the atmosphere. Microplastic aging is controlled by physical, chemical, and biological factors. Model organisms of microplastic exposure include zebrafish, earthworms, <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i>, and <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i>. Microplastic exposure to humans could induce gastrointestinal, pulmonary, reproductive, and cardiovascular toxicity, and neurotoxicity. We discuss the combined toxicity of microplastics with organic pollutants, heavy metals, endocrine disruptors, and antibiotics. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy are currently the most commonly used techniques for microplastic analysis.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":541,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Chemistry Letters","volume":"22 6","pages":"2913 - 2941"},"PeriodicalIF":15.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142013808","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}
Grégorio Crini, Dario Lacalamita, Eric Lichtfouse, Nadia Morin-Crini, Chong Liu, Lee D. Wilson, Lorenzo A. Picos-Corrales, Mabel Amen Akhere, Maria Sotiropoulou, Corina Bradu, Chiara Mongioví
{"title":"Characterization and treatment of industrial laundry wastewaters: a review","authors":"Grégorio Crini, Dario Lacalamita, Eric Lichtfouse, Nadia Morin-Crini, Chong Liu, Lee D. Wilson, Lorenzo A. Picos-Corrales, Mabel Amen Akhere, Maria Sotiropoulou, Corina Bradu, Chiara Mongioví","doi":"10.1007/s10311-024-01770-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10311-024-01770-y","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The industrial laundry sector is a major user of water and chemicals such as surfactants, and one of the largest producers of wastewater. Although treated wastewaters comply with regulations, they still contain contaminants. Here we review laundry wastewater with focus on industrial laundry activities and their challenges, chemical composition of wastewater, and treatment techniques. We discuss advantages and drawbacks of treatment techniques that can be used as secondary treatment in already existing plants, or as tertiary treatment, i.e., complementary to an existing treatment. We observe that laundry is an expanding industrial sector with increasing water requirements, an abundant use of chemical substances, and increasingly stringent discharge regulations. There is a lack of chemical and biological knowledge on aqueous discharges. Moreover, the chemical composition, temporal variability, treatment information, and environmental and ecotoxicological data are poorly reported. The composition of wastewaters and additives, and their temporal variability are also poorly known. Similarly, detailed information on treatments is rare, and environmental and ecotoxicological data are poorly reported. Finding a tertiary water treatment process that is efficient, viable, and environmentally friendly is challenging since wastewater volumes are very high and contaminants are present at trace level in complex organo-mineral mixtures.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":541,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Chemistry Letters","volume":"22 5","pages":"2257 - 2292"},"PeriodicalIF":15.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141915206","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":"Effects of biochar on anaerobic digestion: a review","authors":"Parmila Devi, Cigdem Eskicioglu","doi":"10.1007/s10311-024-01766-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10311-024-01766-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In the context of climate change and the circular economy, most municipal wastewater treatment plants are not efficient because they generate huge amount of organic sludge, which in turn requires costly post-treatment by biological processes such as anaerobic digestion. An emerging solution is to add biochar to improve anaerobic digestion efficiency by enhancing microbial activity, aiding in the breakdown of complex organic compounds, producing more biogas, and promoting overall reactor stability. Here, we review the effects of adding biochar in anaerobic digestion, with emphasis on digester performance, process stability, biochar properties, and mechanisms. We discuss methane production, lag phase, electrical conductivity, volatile fatty acids, ammonia nitrogen, pH, and oxidation–reduction potential. We also review the process inhibition by biochar addition, with focus on phenols, heavy metals and microbial composition. Biochar properties are controlled by feedstock type, pyrolysis temperature, specific surface area, electrical conductivity, carbon and mineral content, electron exchange capacity, aromaticity, and particle size. We found that 6–16 g/L biochar supplementation consistently yielded higher cumulative specific methane compared to control without biochar, across diverse conditions and substrate types. Biochar’s role is explained by four mechanisms: enhancing functional microbes, facilitating direct interspecies electron transfer, improving the degradation of refractory compounds, and increasing reactor stability.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":541,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Chemistry Letters","volume":"22 6","pages":"2845 - 2886"},"PeriodicalIF":15.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141730591","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}
Jothivel Sivanesan, Sankar Sudharsan Rameshwar, Baskaran Sivaprakash, Natarajan Rajamohan, Ahmed I. Osman, Ala’a H. Al-Muhtaseb
{"title":"Advanced methods for treating gemfibrozil and carbamazepine in wastewater: a review","authors":"Jothivel Sivanesan, Sankar Sudharsan Rameshwar, Baskaran Sivaprakash, Natarajan Rajamohan, Ahmed I. Osman, Ala’a H. Al-Muhtaseb","doi":"10.1007/s10311-024-01765-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10311-024-01765-9","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The contamination of ecosystems by pharmaceuticals and personal care products represents a significant threat to public health, necessitating innovative approaches to clean wastewater before release into aquatic environments. Here, we review the emerging strategies and methods for the remediation of gemfibrozil and carbamazepine, emphasizing toxicological impacts, advanced oxidation processes, membrane-based removal techniques, and the underlying mechanisms driving these removal processes. We found that engineered composites with strong electron transfer capabilities can enhance the removal efficiency as they boost the generation of highly oxidative radicals. For instance, a nano zero-valent ion incorporated carbon–nitrogen composite removes 100% of gemfibrozil within 60 min. Similarly, a ruthenium perovskite-based heterogeneous catalyst achieved 100% elimination of carbamazepine in 7.5 min.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":541,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Chemistry Letters","volume":"22 6","pages":"3171 - 3194"},"PeriodicalIF":15.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10311-024-01765-9.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141546197","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":"Assessment of environmental and biological stress using mitochondria-targeted red-emitting and near-infrared fluorescent probes for biothiol analysis: a review","authors":"Wen-Yu Lu, Hui-Jing Li, Yan-Chao Wu","doi":"10.1007/s10311-024-01761-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10311-024-01761-z","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Levels of biological thiols, or “biothiols,” in mitochondria can be used to assess environmental and biological oxidative stress, which can cause health issues such as malignant tumors and neurological diseases. Here, we review fluorescent probes for detecting biothiols, targeting mitochondria, and emitting red and near-infrared light, with focus on nitrogen cation and oxonium ion units as mitochondrial biomarkers. Red-emitting and near-infrared fluorescent probes for detecting biothiols are classified according to the way they target mitochondria. We present the structure, fluorescence behavior, and biological imaging of the probes.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":541,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Chemistry Letters","volume":"22 6","pages":"3135 - 3169"},"PeriodicalIF":15.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141546216","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}
Julia Regnery, Hannah Schmieg, Hannah Schrader, Olaf Zinke, Friederike Gethöffer, Sarah-Alica Dahl, Mario Schaffer, Julia Bachtin, Christel Möhlenkamp, Anton Friesen
{"title":"Rodenticide contamination of cormorants and mergansers feeding on wild fish","authors":"Julia Regnery, Hannah Schmieg, Hannah Schrader, Olaf Zinke, Friederike Gethöffer, Sarah-Alica Dahl, Mario Schaffer, Julia Bachtin, Christel Möhlenkamp, Anton Friesen","doi":"10.1007/s10311-024-01762-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10311-024-01762-y","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Exposure of wildlife to anticoagulant rodenticides from sewer baiting and bait application is poorly understood. We analyzed residues of eight anticoagulant rodenticides in liver samples of 96 great cormorants, 29 common mergansers, various fish species, and coypu, in different German regions. Results show that hepatic residues of anticoagulant rodenticides were found in almost half of the investigated cormorants and mergansers due to the uptake of contaminated fish from effluent-receiving surface waters. By contrast, exposure of coypu to rodenticides via aquatic emissions was not observed. The maximum total hepatic anticoagulant rodenticide concentration measured in waterfowl specimens was 35 ng per g based on liver wet weight. Second-generation anticoagulant rodenticide active ingredients brodifacoum, difenacoum, and bromadiolone were detected almost exclusively, reflecting their estimated market share in Germany and their continuing release into the aquatic compartment. Overall, our findings reveal that second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides accumulating in wild fish are transferred to piscivorous predators via the aquatic food chain.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":541,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Chemistry Letters","volume":"22 6","pages":"2611 - 2617"},"PeriodicalIF":15.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10311-024-01762-y.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141546198","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}
Yunpeng Xue, Kang Song, Zezheng Wang, Zhiwei Xia, Renhui Li, Qilin Wang, Lu Li
{"title":"Nanoplastics occurrence, detection methods, and impact on the nitrogen cycle: a review","authors":"Yunpeng Xue, Kang Song, Zezheng Wang, Zhiwei Xia, Renhui Li, Qilin Wang, Lu Li","doi":"10.1007/s10311-024-01764-w","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10311-024-01764-w","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The recent discovery of nanoplastics in most ecosystems is a major, yet poorly known health issue. Here, we review nanoplastics with focus on their presence in the environment, their methods of detection, and their impact on the nitrogen cycle. Nanoplastics are widely distributed in ecosystems; however, their real concentrations are not known due to the limitation of actual detection methods. Detection methods include techniques based on mass spectrometry, optical instruments, and total organic carbon. Total organic carbon-based methods involve first membrane filtration and oxidation as pretreatment, then the measurement of total organic carbon as the total concentration of nanoplastics. Total organic carbon-based methods are easy and cost-effective, compared with other methods. Nanoplastics negatively impact ecosystems and nitrogen removal. Nanoplastics can adsorb on microbial cell membranes then disrupt the membrane integrity. Nanoplastics can also induce oxidative stress. Nitrogen cycling is substantially inhibited by nanoplastics during laboratory tests.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":541,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Chemistry Letters","volume":"22 5","pages":"2241 - 2255"},"PeriodicalIF":15.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141453115","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}
Yongxia Huang, Lu Li, Renhui Li, Biqing Li, Qilin Wang, Kang Song
{"title":"Nitrogen cycling and resource recovery from aquaculture wastewater treatment systems: a review","authors":"Yongxia Huang, Lu Li, Renhui Li, Biqing Li, Qilin Wang, Kang Song","doi":"10.1007/s10311-024-01763-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10311-024-01763-x","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The rising aquaculture industry has induced an increase in aquaculture waste, calling for advanced methods to recycle waste in the context of the circular economy. Here, we review methods to treat aquaculture wastewater such as the biofloc technique, aquaponic-aquaculture, rice-fish co-culture, microalgae culture, algal–bacterial culture, membrane and moving bed bioreactors, and electrochemical techniques. We discuss nitrogen cycling, resources recovery, and nitrous oxide emission and mitigations. We observed that aquaculture wastewater irrigation allows for enhanced plant biomass, and biofloc technology improves fish biomass. Nitrogen removal processes, including anammox and partial nitrification, show improved performance. Nitrous oxide emission is mainly dependent on the total ammonia and nitrite concentration.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":541,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Chemistry Letters","volume":"22 5","pages":"2467 - 2482"},"PeriodicalIF":15.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141425550","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}
Shuai Zhang, Jingjing Ma, Xiangjun Liu, Yayun Ma, Junqi Wang
{"title":"Enhanced levoglucosan production by graphene oxide-catalyzed pyrolysis of biomass","authors":"Shuai Zhang, Jingjing Ma, Xiangjun Liu, Yayun Ma, Junqi Wang","doi":"10.1007/s10311-024-01760-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10311-024-01760-0","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Pyrolysis of modern biomass is a sustainable technique to produce chemicals, yet efficient and selective conversion remains challenging. We studied biomass pyrolysis catalyzed by graphene oxide for the production of levoglucosan, a chemical with potential applications in biodegradable plastics and surfactants. We tested model compounds containing 40–100 wt% cellulose, poplar biomass, and we modelled the role of graphene oxide by calculations using the density functional theory. Results for model compounds show that levoglucosan production is higher for compounds containing less than 50% cellulose. By contrast, levoglucosan yield are reduced for model compounds having more than 60 wt% cellulose, because graphene oxide induced the breakdown of levoglucosan. Experiments show that pyrolysis of poplar biomass with 5 wt% graphene oxide increased about three times the yield of levoglucosan, compared to non-catalyzed pyrolysis. Enhanced levoglucosan formation is explained by the formation of a six-membered ring intermediate.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":541,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Chemistry Letters","volume":"22 6","pages":"2635 - 2639"},"PeriodicalIF":15.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141334443","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}
Dongchang Yang, Brian Youden, Andrew Carrier, Naizhen Yu, Ken Oakes, Mark Servos, Xu Zhang
{"title":"Nanomaterials for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy-based metal detection: a review","authors":"Dongchang Yang, Brian Youden, Andrew Carrier, Naizhen Yu, Ken Oakes, Mark Servos, Xu Zhang","doi":"10.1007/s10311-024-01758-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10311-024-01758-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Toxic metals and metalloids pollution is a major ecological and human health issue, yet classical detection methods are limited. Here we review surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy-based sensors using nanomaterial-based substrates for metal detection, with emphasis on substrate composition, functionalization, and assembly; metal sensing strategies; and analytical performance. Substrates include nobel metals, semiconductors, and composites. Substrate assembly can be done in solution or on solid supports. Sensing strategies comprise direct sensing, reporter recognition, reporter migration, substrate aggregation, and substrate modification. In general, the physicochemical properties of the substrates determine sensor sensitivity through electromagnetic and chemical enhancements of Raman scattering, whereas substrate surface functionalization, or lack thereof, determines sensor selectivity and the sensing mechanism. The main elements analyzed are mercury, lead, copper, arsenic, and chromium.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":541,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Chemistry Letters","volume":"22 5","pages":"2425 - 2465"},"PeriodicalIF":15.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141333565","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}