Guarding Drinking Water Safety against Harmful Algal Blooms: Could UV/Cl Treatment Be the Answer?

Frequent and severe occurrences of harmful algal blooms increasingly threaten human health by the release of microcystins (MCs). Urgent attention is directed toward managing MCs, as evidenced by rising HAB-related do not drink/do not boil advisories due to unsafe MC levels in drinking water. UV/chlorine treatment, in which UV light is applied simultaneously with chlorine, showed early promise for effectively degrading MC-LR to values below the World Health Organization's guideline limits.

Occurrence and fate of five representative neonicotinoid insecticides across different wastewater treatment plants and the impact on receiving water bodies.

Neonicotinoids (NEOs), despite their widespread use as insecticides, exhibit a notable knowledge deficit in regards to their presence in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and their surrounding environments. This study delves into the presence and disposition of 5 NEOs: Thiamethoxam (THM), Clothianidin (CLO), Imidacloprid (IMD), Acetamiprid (ACE), and Thiacloprid (THA) across 3 domestic WWTPs and their receiving waters. Notably, THM, CLO, and ACE were consistently detected in all water and sludge samples, with THM emerging as the most abundant compound in both influent and effluent.

Bioretention system mediated by different dry-wet alterations on nitrogen removal: Performance, fate, and microbial community.

In laboratory experiments, the nitrogen migration and transformation in the stormwater bioretention system under different dry-wet alterations were studied. The removal efficiency showed that nitrogen could be removed efficiently in bioretention system under all dry-wet alterations, and the shorter antecedent dry days (ADDs) (1-5 days) were beneficial to the removal of nitrogen before plants decay, compared to the longer ADDs (7-22 days). Using a new method combined with Hydrus-1D model, water transport was simulated and nitrogen migration in bioretention system was quantified, indicating that NH-N was mainly removed in the planting layer, and the removal of NO-N was occurred in the submerged layer.

Simultaneous regeneration of cathodic activated carbon fiber and mineralization of desorbed contaminations by electro-peroxydisulfate process: Advantages and limitations.

This study investigated the regeneration of phenol saturated activated carbon fiber (ACF) with a novel electro-peroxydisulfate (E-PDS) process. Compared with traditional electrochemical regeneration, E-PDS process could simultaneously regenerate the exhausted ACF and mineralize desorbed contaminants by activating PDS in water with a much lower energy consumption (1/6). According to the estimation of relative contributions involved in E-PDS process, reactive oxygen species (ROS), especially sulfate radical (SO), played a dominant role in the degradation of phenol and its byproducts.

Adsorption behavior and mechanism of ibuprofen onto BiOCl microspheres with exposed {001} facets.

BiOCl microspheres with exposed {001} facets have been synthesized through a simple solvothermal method. The adsorption and photocatalytic activities of BiOCl microspheres were evaluated by removal of ibuprofen (IBP) as the model reaction. Parameters including IBP concentration, BiOCl dosage, and inorganic ions were investigated to reveal the role of adsorption in BiOCl-based photocatalysis.