ACS ES&T waterPub Date : 2025-01-16DOI: 10.1021/acsestwater.4c0075710.1021/acsestwater.4c00757
Jessica A. Serbu*, Jennifer A. Graydon, Jeffrey W. A. Charrois, Craig A. Emmerton and Vincent L. St. Louis,
{"title":"Near Complete Removal of Total Mercury and Methylmercury from River Water during the Production of Municipal Drinking Water","authors":"Jessica A. Serbu*, Jennifer A. Graydon, Jeffrey W. A. Charrois, Craig A. Emmerton and Vincent L. St. Louis, ","doi":"10.1021/acsestwater.4c0075710.1021/acsestwater.4c00757","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.4c00757https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.4c00757","url":null,"abstract":"<p >We quantified, for the first time, how efficiently total mercury (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) were removed from different treatment stages in a conventional drinking water treatment plant. For this, the municipal E.L. Smith Drinking Water Treatment Plant in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada drawing its water from the North Saskatchewan River (NSR) was used as a case study. The major treatment stages involved chemical flocculation and clarification, filtration, and ultraviolet disinfection prior to the processed water being stored in reservoirs for distribution. On average, 75% THg and 66% MeHg were removed from river water following chemical flocculation and clarification. A further 9.8% THg and 31.8% MeHg was removed during filtration, while 1.5% THg and 0.8% MeHg was removed during ultraviolet disinfection. We also examined how open water season (1 May to 31 October) yields of THg and filtered THg changed along the NSR as it flowed from its glacial headwaters through a large reservoir, various ecological subregions (foothills, mixedwood, parkland), and agriculturally dominated land to where it was sourced for drinking water production in Edmonton 534 kms downriver, highlighting value in the protection of source watersheds.</p>","PeriodicalId":93847,"journal":{"name":"ACS ES&T water","volume":"5 2","pages":"686–695 686–695"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143402143","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}
ACS ES&T waterPub Date : 2025-01-16DOI: 10.1021/acsestwater.4c0058710.1021/acsestwater.4c00587
Stefano Brighenti*, Francesca Bearzot, Matteo Delpero, Werner Tirler, Monica Tolotti, Samuel Vorhauser, Christian Bachmann, Elisa Romanin, Karin Sparber, Barbara Vidoni, Fiorenza Fogale and Francesco Comiti,
{"title":"Increasing Nickel Concentrations in a Large River Network of South Tyrol, Eastern European Alps","authors":"Stefano Brighenti*, Francesca Bearzot, Matteo Delpero, Werner Tirler, Monica Tolotti, Samuel Vorhauser, Christian Bachmann, Elisa Romanin, Karin Sparber, Barbara Vidoni, Fiorenza Fogale and Francesco Comiti, ","doi":"10.1021/acsestwater.4c0058710.1021/acsestwater.4c00587","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.4c00587https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.4c00587","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Climate change and cryosphere degradation may enhance the concentrations of heavy metals in high-mountain rivers. However, the downstream export of these contaminants to lower elevations is still overlooked. In this study, we investigated the spatial and temporal patterns of dissolved and bioavailable nickel concentrations in the upper Etsch/Adige river basin (1590 km<sup>2</sup>; 54 sites) during the period of 2005–2023. Furthermore, we investigated the same concentrations seasonally (2022–2023) along a tributary (Schnals/Senales River), from the glacier origin down to the confluence with the Etsch River (13 sites). Concentrations of both nickel forms increased during the past decade by up to 4 times, yet only in river reaches draining the acidic metamorphic Ötztal Unit. Sulfide oxidation, more intense at sites featuring larger glaciers, rock glaciers, and permafrost extent in their catchment, enhanced nickel concentrations. Along the Schnals River, values were elevated in the proglacial waters (dissolved fraction up to 112 μg L<sup>–1</sup>), gradually decreased moving to lower elevations, and dropped (from 20 to 30 to 2–5 μg L<sup>–1</sup>) downstream of a large reservoir. Currently, bioavailable nickel concentrations exceed the EU environmental quality standards at 40% of the investigated sites, demonstrating sharp environmental implications that may be extended to other similar geological and cryospheric settings.</p><p >Climate change and cryosphere shrinkage enhance dissolved and bioavailable nickel concentrations in a large mountain river network.</p>","PeriodicalId":93847,"journal":{"name":"ACS ES&T water","volume":"5 2","pages":"594–604 594–604"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/epdf/10.1021/acsestwater.4c00587","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143402190","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ACS ES&T waterPub Date : 2025-01-16DOI: 10.1021/acsestwater.4c0059710.1021/acsestwater.4c00597
Emily Clements, Cristian Picioreanu, Caitlin R. Proctor and Robert Nerenberg*,
{"title":"Modeling Biofilm Growth Rates in a Premise Plumbing Pipe without Disinfectant Residuals","authors":"Emily Clements, Cristian Picioreanu, Caitlin R. Proctor and Robert Nerenberg*, ","doi":"10.1021/acsestwater.4c0059710.1021/acsestwater.4c00597","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.4c00597https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.4c00597","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Premise plumbing systems without disinfectant residuals can develop thick biofilms, increasing health risks from biofilm-associated opportunistic pathogens. Yet existing models do not treat drinking water biofilms as true biofilms, with increasing thicknesses and substrate gradients within the biofilm, or consider the effects of substrates leaching from pipes into the biofilm. We developed a one-dimensional model of a nonchlorinated premise plumbing pipe to study factors affecting biofilm growth rates. Short stagnation times and pipes leaching biodegradable substrates favored biofilm growth over planktonic. Biofilm growth rates were predicted to be 70% higher when the stagnation period decreased from 12 to 6 h and 80% lower when the stagnation period increased from 12 to 48 h. Higher incoming concentrations of planktonic bacteria decreased biofilm growth rates, although only by 3.5% when the concentration of planktonic bacteria increased from 100 to 10,000 cells/mL. Smaller diameter pipes decreased overall planktonic growth due to greater availability of bulk nutrients to the biofilm. However, smaller diameter pipes also decreased biofilm growth due to the reduction in available nutrients. Overall, this research identified key factors promoting biofilm growth in unchlorinated premise plumbing systems, which could help develop more effective biofilm management strategies.</p>","PeriodicalId":93847,"journal":{"name":"ACS ES&T water","volume":"5 2","pages":"605–617 605–617"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143402252","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}
ACS ES&T waterPub Date : 2025-01-15eCollection Date: 2025-02-14DOI: 10.1021/acsestwater.4c00930
Alessia Ore, Rick Helmus, Dominique M Narain-Ford, Ruud P Bartholomeus, Nora B Sutton, Annemarie van Wezel
{"title":"Presence of Micropollutants and Transformation Products During Subsurface Irrigation with Treated Wastewater Assessed by Non-Target Screening Analysis.","authors":"Alessia Ore, Rick Helmus, Dominique M Narain-Ford, Ruud P Bartholomeus, Nora B Sutton, Annemarie van Wezel","doi":"10.1021/acsestwater.4c00930","DOIUrl":"10.1021/acsestwater.4c00930","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>While wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent offers a potential alternative source for irrigation, the fate of organic micropollutants (OMPs), including transformation products (TPs), in effluent-irrigated fields remains largely unknown. Using non-target analysis (NTA), we investigated OMPs in WWTP effluent and their distribution throughout a full-scale subsurface irrigation (SSI) field where effluent was used for irrigation. Our results indicate that TPs accounted for approximately 80% of the detected effluent OMPs. Weather and SSI hydrology seem to influence OMP distribution and transformation. Wetter conditions promoted deeper leaching of OMPs in soil, and drier conditions favored their capillary rise and biotransformation, as shown by the detection of 37% more TPs in the rhizons during a dry year. On average 45 OMPs, at least 50% with a logD <3, were detected at -2.3 m depth, highlighting their potential to reach groundwater and the importance of including TPs in further risk assessment. This approach demonstrates how NTA and subsequent data analysis tools can support the identification of (unknown) OMPs and contribute to understanding OMP fate under field conditions, which is the first step in an exposure-driven environmental risk assessment. Overall, our study emphasizes the importance of carefully considering (unknown) OMPs for more responsible effluent reuse.</p>","PeriodicalId":93847,"journal":{"name":"ACS ES&T water","volume":"5 2","pages":"891-901"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11833869/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143460706","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ACS ES&T waterPub Date : 2025-01-15DOI: 10.1021/acsestwater.4c0052410.1021/acsestwater.4c00524
Priyanka Ali, Guomin Xu, Russell Carlson-Stadler, Jeseth Delgado Vela, Lu Liu, Andrew Shaw and Lauren B. Stadler*,
{"title":"Resilience in Function, Microbial Community Structure, and Nitrifier Composition of Bench-Scale Biofilm Reactors during Wet Weather Disturbances","authors":"Priyanka Ali, Guomin Xu, Russell Carlson-Stadler, Jeseth Delgado Vela, Lu Liu, Andrew Shaw and Lauren B. Stadler*, ","doi":"10.1021/acsestwater.4c0052410.1021/acsestwater.4c00524","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.4c00524https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.4c00524","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Wet weather events, such as hurricanes and tropical storms, are on the rise globally due to climate change. Activated sludge systems are vulnerable to wet weather, as hydraulic overloading can cause a washout of biomass. Biofilm-based treatment technologies, such as moving bed biofilm reactors (MBBR), can improve resiliency by preventing biomass washout and protecting slow-growing nitrifiers. In this study, we investigated the resilience of a biofilm system challenged by wet weather events and examined the impact of different disturbances on the system’s microbial community. We performed three simulated wet weather stressor experiments on replicate bench-scale MBBR bench reactors: (1) high flow and high load (representative of flooding and a first flush); (2) high flow, high load, and no dissolved oxygen (DO) (representative of flooding with power outage); and (3) starvation and no DO (temporary plant shut down). The biofilm system’s function, in terms of ammonia-N and soluble organic carbon removal, was resilient to the wet weather disturbances as the function recovered to the baseline performance after disturbance within hours. The biofilm microbial community structure was resistant (not impacted by the disturbance), and the nitrifier community was resilient (the ability to recover to baseline conditions after the disturbance).</p>","PeriodicalId":93847,"journal":{"name":"ACS ES&T water","volume":"5 2","pages":"575–582 575–582"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143402138","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}
ACS ES&T waterPub Date : 2025-01-14DOI: 10.1021/acsestwater.4c0093010.1021/acsestwater.4c00930
Alessia Ore, Rick Helmus, Dominique M. Narain-Ford, Ruud P. Bartholomeus, Nora B. Sutton* and Annemarie van Wezel,
{"title":"Presence of Micropollutants and Transformation Products During Subsurface Irrigation with Treated Wastewater Assessed by Non-Target Screening Analysis","authors":"Alessia Ore, Rick Helmus, Dominique M. Narain-Ford, Ruud P. Bartholomeus, Nora B. Sutton* and Annemarie van Wezel, ","doi":"10.1021/acsestwater.4c0093010.1021/acsestwater.4c00930","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.4c00930https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.4c00930","url":null,"abstract":"<p >While wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent offers a potential alternative source for irrigation, the fate of organic micropollutants (OMPs), including transformation products (TPs), in effluent-irrigated fields remains largely unknown. Using non-target analysis (NTA), we investigated OMPs in WWTP effluent and their distribution throughout a full-scale subsurface irrigation (SSI) field where effluent was used for irrigation. Our results indicate that TPs accounted for approximately 80% of the detected effluent OMPs. Weather and SSI hydrology seem to influence OMP distribution and transformation. Wetter conditions promoted deeper leaching of OMPs in soil, and drier conditions favored their capillary rise and biotransformation, as shown by the detection of 37% more TPs in the rhizons during a dry year. On average 45 OMPs, at least 50% with a logD <3, were detected at −2.3 m depth, highlighting their potential to reach groundwater and the importance of including TPs in further risk assessment. This approach demonstrates how NTA and subsequent data analysis tools can support the identification of (unknown) OMPs and contribute to understanding OMP fate under field conditions, which is the first step in an exposure-driven environmental risk assessment. Overall, our study emphasizes the importance of carefully considering (unknown) OMPs for more responsible effluent reuse.</p><p >Through novel methods, we investigated the presence of micropollutants and unknown transformation products in wastewater treatment plant effluent and a field reusing the effluent via subsurface irrigation.</p>","PeriodicalId":93847,"journal":{"name":"ACS ES&T water","volume":"5 2","pages":"891–901 891–901"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/epdf/10.1021/acsestwater.4c00930","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143402460","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ACS ES&T waterPub Date : 2025-01-14DOI: 10.1021/acsestwater.4c0090710.1021/acsestwater.4c00907
Tianyi Chen, Martha J.M. Wells, Erin Mackey, Susan Andrews and Ron Hofmann*,
{"title":"Temporal and Spatial Variation in Hydroxyl Radical Scavenging Capacity in Drinking Water and Correlation to Water Quality Parameters","authors":"Tianyi Chen, Martha J.M. Wells, Erin Mackey, Susan Andrews and Ron Hofmann*, ","doi":"10.1021/acsestwater.4c0090710.1021/acsestwater.4c00907","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.4c00907https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.4c00907","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are being used more frequently in drinking water treatment plants for purposes such as removing taste and odor-causing compounds or to control recalcitrant organic contaminants. Water’s hydroxyl radical scavenging capacity (<i>S</i><sub>c</sub>) is an important parameter for AOP design and operation, but due to complexity in its measurement, <i>S</i><sub>c</sub> data are limited and knowledge of its temporal and spatial variation is sparse. Furthermore, the feasibility of estimating <i>S</i><sub>c</sub> through monitoring common water quality parameters is unclear. The variability in <i>S</i><sub>c</sub> of water from five surface water plants and one groundwater plant was measured for 1 year along with total organic carbon, total inorganic carbon, ultraviolet absorbance at 254 nm, and fluorescence emission-excitation matrices. The results showed about a 10–25% variation in the <i>S</i><sub>c</sub>, and <i>S</i><sub>c</sub> was not well-correlated with any of the water quality parameters measured. The reduction in <i>S</i><sub>c</sub> across ultrafiltration treatment was similar to that across conventional treatment (15–30%). Due to the scavenging capacity of the added oxidant, the modeled variation in UV/H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> or UV/chlorine performance due to <i>S</i><sub>c</sub> variation was small (∼5–10% change in the pollutant removal rate).</p>","PeriodicalId":93847,"journal":{"name":"ACS ES&T water","volume":"5 2","pages":"862–870 862–870"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143402055","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}
ACS ES&T waterPub Date : 2025-01-13DOI: 10.1021/acsestwater.4c0074810.1021/acsestwater.4c00748
Yuchen Chen, Qi Zhang, Qiuwen Chen*, Lin Xiao*, Hanlu Yan and Yuqing Lin,
{"title":"Water-Level Fluctuations Rather than Water Content Changes Induced by Reservoir Operation Impact Bacterial Functioning for Nitrogen Transformation in Riparian Zones","authors":"Yuchen Chen, Qi Zhang, Qiuwen Chen*, Lin Xiao*, Hanlu Yan and Yuqing Lin, ","doi":"10.1021/acsestwater.4c0074810.1021/acsestwater.4c00748","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.4c00748https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.4c00748","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Riparian zones act as critical “sinks” for nitrogen transformation and “buffers” for nitrogen removal in reservoirs. The operation of hydropower reservoirs significantly alters water levels in these zones and impacts the biogeochemical transformation of nitrogen. This is primarily driven by bacteria residing in the sediments of riparian zones. However, the impact of water level alteration on the bacterial community and its nitrogen-transformation function remains unclear. This study investigates whether the changes in water contents or the water-level fluctuations resulting from reservoir operation more profoundly affect bacterial functioning for nitrogen transformation and whether the observed differential functioning arises from community dynamics. Through a long-term field investigation in a reservoir on the upper Mekong River, we discovered that fluctuation frequency, rather than changes in water contents, significantly increased the abundance of genes encoding nitrogen-transformation enzymes, especially those related to anaerobic ammonia oxidation. These fluctuations created conditions that maximized the bacterial potential for nitrogen removal without significantly altering the community structure. Our findings suggest that the differential functioning observed is instead driven by ecological strategies within the bacterial community rather than by community dynamics. This offers new insights into optimizing reservoir management for improved nitrogen removal.</p>","PeriodicalId":93847,"journal":{"name":"ACS ES&T water","volume":"5 2","pages":"670–677 670–677"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143402456","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}
ACS ES&T waterPub Date : 2025-01-13DOI: 10.1021/acsestwater.4c0052610.1021/acsestwater.4c00526
Muhammad Rozaimi Mohd Zaki, Muhammad Raznisyafiq Razak, Didi Erwandi Mohamad Haron, Noorain Mohd Isa, Fatimah Md Yusoff and Ahmad Zaharin Aris*,
{"title":"Multiclass Endocrine Disrupting Compounds in Surface Water from Selangor River Basin: Occurrence and Ecological Risk Assessment","authors":"Muhammad Rozaimi Mohd Zaki, Muhammad Raznisyafiq Razak, Didi Erwandi Mohamad Haron, Noorain Mohd Isa, Fatimah Md Yusoff and Ahmad Zaharin Aris*, ","doi":"10.1021/acsestwater.4c0052610.1021/acsestwater.4c00526","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.4c00526https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.4c00526","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) are emerging environmental pollutants that cause detrimental effects on aquatic organisms and humans despite being present in the environment at trace level. There is insufficient detailed baseline data and ecological risk assessments in river basins globally, despite their ubiquity in freshwater environments. Thus, this study investigated the abundance, distribution, and ecological risks of EDCs in surface water of tropical river basin, using the combination of solid phase extraction and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Approximately, seven EDCs were detected, encompassing bisphenol A (BPA), bisphenol S, bisphenol F (BPF), perfluorooctanesulfonate, perfluorooctanoic acid, 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2), and 17β-estradiol (E2) in surface water of Selangor River Basin. BPF was observed to be the most prevalent compound at 1098.40 ng/L and was followed by BPA (358.05 ng/L). Human activities, including industrial, commercial, and residential waste discharge into tributaries and lower streams, greatly influence the prevalence of EDCs in the Selangor River Basin. EE2 and E2 had significant ecological risks (risk quotient > 1) and may possess detrimental effects on freshwater organisms. This study addresses the urgent need for baseline data on EDC prevalence and ecological risks for regulatory measures and mitigation strategies to protect aquatic ecosystems.</p>","PeriodicalId":93847,"journal":{"name":"ACS ES&T water","volume":"5 2","pages":"583–593 583–593"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143402459","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}
ACS ES&T waterPub Date : 2025-01-10DOI: 10.1021/acsestwater.4c0096010.1021/acsestwater.4c00960
Nimra Bashir, Taimur Ali, Adnan Mujahid and Adeel Afzal*,
{"title":"Flexible Plastic Electrodes Based on Thiosulfate-Modified gC3N4 Nanosheets for Simultaneous Handheld Monitoring of Hazardous Cationic Dyes in Drinking Water","authors":"Nimra Bashir, Taimur Ali, Adnan Mujahid and Adeel Afzal*, ","doi":"10.1021/acsestwater.4c0096010.1021/acsestwater.4c00960","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.4c00960https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.4c00960","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The critical concerns regarding hazardous organic dyes, which cause significant harm to human health and environmental sustainability, require immediate attention. This study demonstrates the development of an innovative disposable electrochemical sensor that employs thiosulfate-modified graphitic carbon nitride (gC<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>-S<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>) nanosheets as class-selective and cost-efficient flexible plastic electrodes for the remote, handheld monitoring of cationic dyes─a class of perilous water-soluble organic pollutants. This sensor is capable of detecting several cationic dyes, such as methylene blue (MB), rhodamine B (RhB), and thionine (Th), simultaneously in drinking water. Modified gC<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>-S<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> nanosheets were produced using a straightforward sonochemical-assisted method, followed by thermal condensation treatment. The produced material is characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), cyclic voltammetry (CV), and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The DPV measurements span a wide range of dye concentrations, ranging from 1 nM to 1 mM. Under optimized conditions, the electrochemical gC<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>-S<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> sensor exhibits excellent performance, with picomolar limits of detection (LOD), i.e., 118 pM for Th, 161 pM for RhB, and 209 pM for MB, respectively. The gC<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>-S<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> sensor utilizes electrostatic interactions to distinguish between cationic and anionic dyes and is capable of simultaneously detecting several cationic dyes. The gC<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>-S<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> sensor also demonstrates enhanced capability to detect several cationic dyes in solutions, complex mixtures, and drinking water samples, indicating minimal interference from ionic species inherently present in drinking water. This work highlights the potential of gC<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>-S<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> sensors for application in monitoring and remediation of the environment.</p>","PeriodicalId":93847,"journal":{"name":"ACS ES&T water","volume":"5 2","pages":"934–942 934–942"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143402373","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}