Interactions between volatile air pollutants and atmospheric water production - Effects of chemical properties, mechanisms, and transfer processes.

Regional water scarcity is among the most urgent challenges of global climate change. Atmospheric water harvesting is a promising method to mitigate these challenges, and the atmospheric water generator (AWG) is already an established technology. Although this method can produce over 10,000 L of water per day, the water's quality has not been studied in depth.

Detection of 10 commonly used pharmaceuticals in reef-building stony corals from shallow (5-12 m) and deep (30-40 m) sites in the Red Sea.

Although pharmaceutically-active compounds (PhACs) are increasingly being found to be present in marine environments, their presence in coral reefs, already under threat from various stressors, has remains unexplored. This study focused on PhAC presence in two stony-coral genera, collected from different depths and sites in the Red Sea. The findings reveal the presence of ten different PhACs, with elevated concentrations detected in corals from shallow sites and in areas with heavy human activity.

Impact of industrial air pollution on the quality of atmospheric water production.

The atmospheric water generator (AWG) is a commercially available device that produces water from the air in large volumes over short times. This method can be applied in most regions of the world to solve chronic and acute drinking water scarcity. However, knowledge of the effects of air chemical composition on AWG-produced water quality is still very limited.

Removal of carbamazepine, venlafaxine and iohexol from wastewater effluent using coupled microalgal-bacterial biofilm.

We evaluated the removal capacity of a coupled microalgal-bacterial biofilm (CMBB) to eliminate three recalcitrant pharmaceuticals. The CMBB's efficiency, operating at different biofilm concentrations, with or without light, was compared and analyzed to correlate these parameters to pharmaceutical removal and their effect on the microorganism community. Removal rates changed with changing pharmaceutical and biofilm concentrations: higher biofilm concentrations presented higher removal.

Solid phase extraction based on trimethylsilyloxy silica aerogel.

Solid-phase extraction (SPE) based on trimethylsilyloxy-modified silica aerogel was developed for extraction of chemotherapeutic drugs from water. The developed method is easy and affordable, can be performed in separating funnel and does not require a vacuum and SPE manifold. The extraction and recovery of cyclophosphamide (CYP), dexamethasone (DEX), and paclitaxel (TAX) by the aerogel from water were investigated.

UV-LED Combined with Small Bioreactor Platform (SBP) for Degradation of 17α-Ethynylestradiol (EE2) at Very Short Hydraulic Retention Time.

Degradation of 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2) and estrogenicity were examined in a novel oxidative bioreactor (OBR) that combines small bioreactor platform (SBP) capsules and UV-LED (ultraviolet light emission diode) simultaneously, using enriched water and secondary effluent. Preliminary experiments examined three UV-LED wavelengths-267, 279, and 286 nm, with (indirect photolysis) and without (direct photolysis) HO. The major degradation wavelength for both direct and indirect photolysis was 279 nm, while the major removal gap for direct vs.

Arsenate reducing bacteria isolated from the marine sponge Theonella swinhoei: Bioremediation potential.

Arsenic (As) contamination of freshwater resources constitutes a major environmental issue affecting over 200 million people worldwide. Although the use of microorganisms for the bioremediation of As has been well studied, only very few candidates have been identified to date. Here, we investigated bacteria associated with the Red Sea sponge Theonella swinhoei and their potential to reduce As in a low-salinity liquid medium.

Detection of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) and its formation potential in hospital wastewater.

Hospital wastewaters contain high concentrations of pharmaceutical residues and other chemicals, and may present an important source for NDMA (N-nitrosodimethylamine) and its precursors in the aquatic environment. The present study evaluates the contribution of hospital wastewater to NDMA environmental load and identifies important sources within the hospital itself. For this purpose, wastewaters from five large hospitals in Israel were analyzed, and concentrations of NDMA were found in the range of 20.

Assessing pharmaceutical contamination along the Mediterranean and Red Sea coasts of Israel: Ascidians (Chordata, Ascidiacea) as bioindicators.

Global increase in the use of pharmaceutically-active compounds (PhACs), and their insufficient removal in wastewater treatment plants, have resulted in their continuous release into the marine environment. We investigated the use of the solitary ascidians Herdmania momus, Microcosmus exasperatus, and Styela plicata as bioindicators of three common PhACs in the Israeli coastal waters: Bezafibrate, carbamazepine and diclofenac. Both the Mediterranean and the Red-Sea coasts were found contaminated with PhACs, detected at all 11 sampling sites, with four sites contaminated with all three studied PhACs.

Trace Organic Compound Removal from Wastewater Reverse-Osmosis Concentrate by Advanced Oxidation Processes with UV/O/HO.

Advanced technologies, such as reverse osmosis (RO), allow the reuse of treated wastewater for direct or indirect potable use. However, even highly efficient RO systems produce ~10-15% highly contaminated concentrate as a byproduct. This wastewater RO concentrate (WWROC) is very rich in metal ions, nutrients, and hard-to-degrade trace organic compounds (TOrCs), such as pharmaceuticals, plasticizers, flame retardants, and detergents, which must be treated before disposal.

Microbial and Viral Communities and Their Antibiotic Resistance Genes Throughout a Hospital Wastewater Treatment System.

Antibiotic resistance poses a serious threat to global public health, and antibiotic resistance determinants can enter natural aquatic systems through discharge of wastewater effluents. Hospital wastewater in particular is expected to contain high abundances of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) compared to municipal wastewater because it contains human enteric bacteria that may include antibiotic-resistant organisms originating from hospital patients, and can also have high concentrations of antibiotics and antimicrobials relative to municipal wastewater. Viruses also play an important role in wastewater treatment systems since they can influence the bacterial community composition through killing bacteria, facilitating transduction of genetic material between organisms, and modifying the chromosomal content of bacteria as prophages.

Treatment of Diethyl Phthalate Leached from Plastic Products in Municipal Solid Waste Using an Ozone-Based Advanced Oxidation Process.

Plastic products in municipal solid waste result in the extraction of phthalates in leachate that also contains large amounts of organic matter, such as humic substances, ammonia, metals, chlorinated organics, phenolic compounds, and pesticide residues. Phthalate esters are endocrine disruptors, categorized as a priority pollutant by the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). Biological processes are inefficient at degrading phthalates due to their stability and toxic characteristics.

Using solitary ascidians to assess microplastic and phthalate plasticizers pollution among marine biota: A case study of the Eastern Mediterranean and Red Sea.

The interaction of microplastic (MP) with marine organisms is crucial for understanding the significant effect that MP and its additives may have on marine environments. However, knowledge regarding the magnitude of these pollutants in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea and the tropical Red Sea is still scarce. Here we examined the levels of phthalate acid esters (PAEs) and MP in Herdmania momus and Microcosmus exasperatus sampled along the Mediterranean and Red Sea coasts of Israel.