Robert Peter Mason, David Amouroux, A. Dastoor, Juibin Chen
{"title":"Editorial: Environmental chemistry of mercury: sources, pathways, transformations and impact","authors":"Robert Peter Mason, David Amouroux, A. Dastoor, Juibin Chen","doi":"10.3389/fenvc.2023.1358345","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvc.2023.1358345","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":73082,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in environmental chemistry","volume":" 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139622221","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yosri Wiesner, Marius Bednarz, Ulrike Braun, Claus Gerhard Bannick, Mathias Ricking, Korinna Altmann
{"title":"A promising approach to monitor microplastic masses in composts","authors":"Yosri Wiesner, Marius Bednarz, Ulrike Braun, Claus Gerhard Bannick, Mathias Ricking, Korinna Altmann","doi":"10.3389/fenvc.2023.1281558","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvc.2023.1281558","url":null,"abstract":"Inputs of plastic impurities into the environment via the application of fertilizers are regulated in Germany and the EU by means of ordinances. Robust and fast analytical methods are the basis of legal regulations. Currently, only macro- and large microplastic contents (>1 mm) are measured. Microplastics (1–1,000 µm), are not yet monitored. Thermal analytical methods are suitable for this purpose, which can determine the mass content and can also be operated fully automatically in routine mode. Thermal extraction desorption-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (TED-GC/MS) allows the identification of polymers and the determination of mass contents in solid samples from natural environments. In accordance with the German or European Commission (EC) Fertiliser Ordinance, composting plants should be monitored for microplastic particles with this method in the future. In this context a compost plant was sampled. At the end of the rotting process, the compost was sieved and separated in a coarse (>1 mm) and a fine fraction (<1 mm). The fine fraction was processed using density separation comparing NaCl and NaI as possible salt alternative and screened for microplastic masses by TED-GC/MS with additional validation and quality assurance experiments. With TED-GC/MS total microplastics mass contents of 1.1–3.0 μg/mg in finished compost could be detected with polyethylene mainly. What differs much to the total mass of plastics in the coarse fraction with up to 60 μg/mg, which were visually searched, identified via ATR-FTIR and gravimetrically weighted.","PeriodicalId":73082,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in environmental chemistry","volume":"58 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135266240","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jalene Nalbant, Larissa Schneider, Rebecca Hamilton, Simon Connor, Harald Biester, Hilary Stuart-Williams, Olga Bergal-Kuvikas, Geraldine Jacobsen, Janelle Stevenson
{"title":"Fire, volcanism and climate change: the main factors controlling mercury (Hg) accumulation rates in Tropical Lake Lantoa, Sulawesi, Indonesia (∼16,500–540 cal yr BP)","authors":"Jalene Nalbant, Larissa Schneider, Rebecca Hamilton, Simon Connor, Harald Biester, Hilary Stuart-Williams, Olga Bergal-Kuvikas, Geraldine Jacobsen, Janelle Stevenson","doi":"10.3389/fenvc.2023.1241176","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvc.2023.1241176","url":null,"abstract":"The effects of climate change on long-term mercury (Hg) cycling are still not well understood, as climate changes are usually gradual and can only be assessed using high-resolution archives. Our study site (a small, lowland tectonic lake in Sulawesi, Indonesia) provides a unique opportunity to further understanding of Hg cycling in the Southeast Asian (SEA) tropics during the transition from the Pleistocene to the Holocene, a period of significant climate variability. We present a high-resolution record of Late Glacial and Holocene Hg deposition within the sediments of tropical Lake Lantoa, Sulawesi. Using a multi-proxy framework (including pollen, charcoal, carbon:nitrogen ratio and high-resolution geochemistry records) we investigate the response of Hg accumulation rates (HgAR) in sediments to shifts in climate between ∼16,488 and 538 cal BP. This period encompasses the Bølling-Allerød (BA) warming, Younger Dryas (YD) cooling and Holocene warming events, providing new insights into the effects of global climatic transitions on HgAR in SEA sediments. The Pleistocene Termination had the highest HgAR and substantial variability (µ = 11.32, 5.38–33.91 μg m −2 yr −1 ), when drier conditions and high charcoal accumulation rates suggest that fire activity was the main source of Hg to the lake. The Holocene Transition was marked by a decrease in HgAR (µ = 8, 3.50–18.84 μg m −2 yr −1 ) as humid conditions precluded forest burning, followed by high HgAR (µ = 11.35, 3.30–158.32 μg m −2 yr −1 ) in the Early Holocene. Mercury accumulation rate in the Late Holocene (µ = 3.80, 1,67–43.65 μg m −2 yr −1 ) was the lowest in the Lake Lantoa record, marked by the lowest fire events and a stable catchment. An increase in carbon:nitrogen ratios during the Late Holocene, coupled with a decrease in HgAR, suggests that the establishment of lowland forest resulted in suppressed Hg erosion/leaching. Our results demonstrate that forest fires, vegetation change and volcanism are important drivers of Hg inputs to Lake Lantoa, a relationship which is strongly mediated by climate and lake-catchment dynamics.","PeriodicalId":73082,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in environmental chemistry","volume":"36 10","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135365448","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chaoqi Wang, Shi-Hai Deng, Na You, Yi Bai, Pengkang Jin, Jie Han
{"title":"Pathways of wastewater treatment for resource recovery and energy minimization towards carbon neutrality and circular economy: technological opinions","authors":"Chaoqi Wang, Shi-Hai Deng, Na You, Yi Bai, Pengkang Jin, Jie Han","doi":"10.3389/fenvc.2023.1255092","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvc.2023.1255092","url":null,"abstract":"OPINION article Front. Environ. Chem., 17 October 2023Sec. Chemical Treatments Volume 4 - 2023 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvc.2023.1255092","PeriodicalId":73082,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in environmental chemistry","volume":"24 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135995949","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Anne Helene Fostier, David Amouroux, Emmanuel Tessier, José Lucas Martins Viana, Larissa Richter
{"title":"Corrigendum: Methylmercury content in soil and litter from the Amazonian rainforest and its potential fate during forest fires","authors":"Anne Helene Fostier, David Amouroux, Emmanuel Tessier, José Lucas Martins Viana, Larissa Richter","doi":"10.3389/fenvc.2023.1296650","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvc.2023.1296650","url":null,"abstract":"CORRECTION article Front. Environ. Chem., 28 September 2023Sec. Inorganic Pollutants Volume 4 - 2023 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvc.2023.1296650","PeriodicalId":73082,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in environmental chemistry","volume":"54 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135425942","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Anne Helene Fostier, David Amouroux, Emmanuel Tessier, José Lucas Martins Viana, Larissa Richter
{"title":"Methylmercury content in soil and litter from the Amazonian rainforest and its potential fate during forest fires","authors":"Anne Helene Fostier, David Amouroux, Emmanuel Tessier, José Lucas Martins Viana, Larissa Richter","doi":"10.3389/fenvc.2023.1242915","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvc.2023.1242915","url":null,"abstract":"Methylmercury in soils and vegetation from the Amazonian rainforest is still poorly studied. Hence, the aim of this work was to determine the total mercury [THg] and methylmercury [MeHg] concentrations in litter and surface soil, MeHg deposition via litterfall, and the MeHg fate during a forest fire in the Amazonian rainforest. Sampling of litter, soil (0–1, 1–2, and 2–5 cm), and ash was carried out before (BB) and after (AB) a prescribed forest fire. The results showed a low [THg] (34 ± 8 ng g -1 ) and [MeHg] (0.16 ± 0.03 ng g -1 ) value in litter, with a correspondingly low estimate of the MeHg litterfall flux (0.13 ± 0.03 μgm -2 yr -1 ) which has been probably underestimated due to potential losses during the field experiment. In ashes, [THg] and [MeHg] values were 23 ± 8 ng g -1 and 0.11 ± 0.04 ng g -1 , respectively. Although a significant part of Hg contained in the biomass was lost during the fire, the [MeHg]/[THg] ratio was not affected by it and was the same in litterfall and ash (∼0.5%). In soil, the average [THg] BB value was 149 ± 12 ng g -1 in the three layers and [MeHg] was between 0.8 and 1.0 ng g -1 . The forest fire only affected the superficial soil, with a significant decrease of [THg] and [MeHg] in the 0-1 cm layer. Similarly, the decrease of the [MeHg]/[THg] ratio in the surface soil layer suggested that MeHg was more readily emitted or degraded than the other Hg species present.","PeriodicalId":73082,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in environmental chemistry","volume":"66 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134911182","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A. M. Graham, Seth Van Helten, Austin Wadle, Emily Mamrak, Jacob Morsch, Samuel F. Lopez, K. Smith
{"title":"Mercury transport and methylmercury production in the lower Cedar River (Iowa) floodplain","authors":"A. M. Graham, Seth Van Helten, Austin Wadle, Emily Mamrak, Jacob Morsch, Samuel F. Lopez, K. Smith","doi":"10.3389/fenvc.2023.1242813","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvc.2023.1242813","url":null,"abstract":"Scant attention has been paid to cycling of total mercury (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) in agriculturally intensive watersheds. Monitoring of Hg and MeHg in river basins provides valuable information on the efficacy of environmental policy and the impacts of land use and climate change on Hg fluxes and biogeochemistry. We report on Hg and MeHg yields in the Cedar River (Iowa), a major tributary of the Upper Mississippi River, and on Hg biogeochemistry in a floodplain of the lower Cedar River, with emphasis on Hg cycling in groundwater and wetland ponds. For the period 2016 to 2018, total Hg yields for the 21,000 km2 Cedar River watershed ranged from 2.6 to 6.9 μg m−2 yr−1, or 25% to 70% of estimated wet deposition, and MeHg yields ranged from 0.09 to 0.18 μg m−2 yr−1. High watershed transfer efficiencies for THg are driven by soil erosion and suspended sediment delivery. Policies and land management practices targeting soil conservation are thus likely to have significant impacts on downstream transport of Hg. Within alluvial groundwaters, Hg and MeHg concentrations were highly spatiotemporally variable, ranging from 0.5 to 2.0 ng/L for THg and 0.03–1.50 ng/L for MeHg. Microtopography exerted strong control on groundwater geochemistry and Hg biogeochemical cycling, with groundwater sampled from lower lying swales exhibiting less dissolved oxygen (DO), higher conductivity, higher dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and higher THg and MeHg. The alluvial aquifer exhibits high hydrologic connectivity with the river and groundwater THg and MeHg concentrations responded rapidly to hydrologic events, with MeHg concentrations increasing with a rising water table. Concentrations of THg and MeHg in wetland ponds were elevated compared to groundwater and most strongly correlated with DOC and UV-absorbance. Methylation potentials in pond sediments were among the highest reported for freshwater sediments, up to 0.15 d−1, which we hypothesize to be linked to high primary productivity associated with nutrient enrichment. Floodplain groundwaters and wetlands constitute important ecosystem control points for downstream MeHg delivery, the magnitude of which is sensitive to changing hydroclimate, especially flood frequency.","PeriodicalId":73082,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in environmental chemistry","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48539230","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Claudia E. Aceves-Suriano, Nina M. Montoya-Ciriaco, Mario Hernández-Guzmán, G. Hernández-Martínez, Yendi E. Navarro-Noya, F. Thalasso, L. Dendooven
{"title":"Changes in the bacterial and microeukaryotic communities in the bioreactor upon increasing heavy metal concentrations","authors":"Claudia E. Aceves-Suriano, Nina M. Montoya-Ciriaco, Mario Hernández-Guzmán, G. Hernández-Martínez, Yendi E. Navarro-Noya, F. Thalasso, L. Dendooven","doi":"10.3389/fenvc.2023.1221820","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvc.2023.1221820","url":null,"abstract":"Heavy metals are necessary at low concentration for biological activity, but they are often toxic for microorganisms at high concentrations. Amplicon sequencing of 16S rRNA and 18S rRNA was used to investigate changes in the bacterial and microeukaryotic communities in an activated sludge bioreactor incrementally contaminated with nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) with an IC50 value ranging from 0% to 100%, as previously determined, while an uncontaminated bioreactor served as a control. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) was on average 90% in the uncontaminated bioreactor but dropped to 49% when the heavy metal concentration was 100% IC50. The bacterial community in the uncontaminated bioreactor was dominated by Alphaproteobacteria (mostly Agrobacterium and Brevundimonas) when the heavy metal concentrations were low and Bacteroidetes (mostly Sphingobacterium) when the highest amounts of heavy metal concentrations were applied. The members of Ciliophora, Ascomycota, and Basidiomycota alternatively dominated in the uncontaminated bioreactor, while Ascomycota (mostly Fusarium) dominated in the contaminated bioreactor. The results revealed that increased concentrations of Ni, Cu, and Zn altered the bacterial and microeukaryotic communities and some putative metabolic functions.","PeriodicalId":73082,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in environmental chemistry","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42361084","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Agnieszka Gruszecka-Kosowska, Antonios Ampatzoglou, J. Pineda-Pampliega, Octavian Augustin Mihalache
{"title":"How new generation techniques are shaping the future of environmental sciences","authors":"Agnieszka Gruszecka-Kosowska, Antonios Ampatzoglou, J. Pineda-Pampliega, Octavian Augustin Mihalache","doi":"10.3389/fenvc.2023.1168328","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvc.2023.1168328","url":null,"abstract":"This perspective highlights the role of new-generation analytical techniques in future applications in environmental sciences since the shift to the One Health research paradigm. It reviews the interactions between the compartments of One Health and indicates the current challenges in traditional environmental research. The term One Health was first used at the beginning of the 20th century, yet much is still needed for the cross-disciplinary research collaboration required in this approach.","PeriodicalId":73082,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in environmental chemistry","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48207927","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jaycie M. Montney, Abdurrafay Siddiqui, Sebastián Flores, Matthew J. Fhaner
{"title":"Identifying greener solvents for square wave voltammetry applications in functional food analysis","authors":"Jaycie M. Montney, Abdurrafay Siddiqui, Sebastián Flores, Matthew J. Fhaner","doi":"10.3389/fenvc.2023.1226960","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvc.2023.1226960","url":null,"abstract":"Electrochemical methods, specifically square wave voltammetry (SWV) offer fast, portable, and quantitative screening for antioxidant levels and lipid degradation in consumer products. Initial studies within our research group utilized benzene as the non-polar component in solvent systems utilized for analysis. In order to explore additional applications of SWV, less hazardous solvent systems that maintain or improve on previous figures of merit for analytes of interest are necessary. To this extent, ethanol was selected as the polar solvent under the 7th principle of green chemistry (use of renewable feedstocks). To replace our non-polar species (benzene), four solvent candidates were identified under the 5th principle of green chemistry (safer solvents and auxiliaries) including diethyl ether, acetonitrile, isopropyl alcohol, and ethyl acetate. Each solvent was investigated on its own, and then in varying combinations of v/v ratios with ethanol. Each solvent combination was used to investigate the limit of detection, lower limit of quantitation, sensitivity, and linearity of previously studied antioxidants butylated hydroxytoluene, sesamol, and rosemary extract. Each antioxidant was found to yield improved figures of merit depending on the solvent combination tested. After comparing all antioxidant figures of merit, it was found that 50%–50% ethanol—acetonitrile and 50%–50% ethanol—ethyl acetate were within the top five solvent systems for all antioxidants tested, providing a more green alternative to benzene solvent systems.","PeriodicalId":73082,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in environmental chemistry","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44070147","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}