Publications by authors named "Junlang Qiu"

Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates how chlorine (Cl) reacts during advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) to form disinfection byproducts (DBPs), particularly focusing on aromatic structures as the main precursors.
  • It was found that under typical Cl conditions, aromatic compounds lead to significantly higher concentrations of certain regulated DBPs compared to aliphatic compounds, with specific examples like trichloromethane and chloroacetic acids.
  • The research highlights key mechanisms in DBP formation, suggesting that removing aromatic structures from dissolved organic matter (DOM) before AOP treatments could enhance disinfection efficiency.
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  • The assessment and control of emerging organic pollutants, specifically phthalic acid esters (PAEs), in food have become essential due to their toxicity and carcinogenic effects on human health.
  • This study developed a highly sensitive analytical method using hydroxyl-functionalized covalent organic frameworks (COFs) to detect PAEs in tea beverages, demonstrating strong adsorption properties and reliability.
  • Results showed that PAE contamination levels in various tea brands had low health concerns, while the efficient detection method can be applied to other complex food matrices as well.
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The potential pesticide hazard to non-target organisms is a global concern. It is critical to develop the sensitive detection methods of multiple pesticides in various complex matrices. Here, benzene-1,3,5-tricarbaldehyde (BTCA) and 1,3,5-Tri (4-aminophenyl) benzene (TAPB) were employed as precursors for the in-situ growth of COF on the surface of amino-functionalized stainless steel wire (SS) via a solvothermal method.

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Transforming dissolved organic matter (DOM) is a crucial approach to alleviating the formation of disinfection byproducts (DBPs) in water treatment. Although catalytic ozonation effectively transforms DOM, increases in DBP formation potential are often observed due to the accumulation of aldehydes, ketones, and nitro compound intermediates during DOM transformation. In this study, we propose a novel strategy for the sequential oxidation of DOM, effectively reducing the levels of accumulation of these intermediates.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study explores converting waste plastics into effective catalysts for wastewater purification, addressing the limitations of traditional plastic-derived materials.
  • By synthesizing graphene-like nanosheets using a unique method, the researchers significantly enhanced the surface area and active sites, improving pollutant degradation rates.
  • The developed catalysts showed exceptional efficiency in removing substances like sulfadiazine in just 180 seconds, demonstrating potential for real-world applications using various types of plastic waste, including medical waste.
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Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) often employ strong oxidizing inorganic radicals (e.g., hydroxyl and sulfate radicals) to oxidize contaminants in water treatment.

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Pyrethroid insecticides residues in water pose a critical threat to the environment from widespread production and overuse. Therefore, it is of major relevance to develop a sensitive and efficient method to detect pyrethroid insecticides in water. In this paper, a covalent organic framework (COF) with NHCO as the structural unit was synthesized using a simple condensation reaction of TTL (NH) and TDBA (COOH).

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Tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs) are probably carcinogenic disinfection byproducts eliciting health risk concerns. The determination and surveillance of TSNAs in water is still cumbersome due to the lack of advanced sample preparation methods. Herein, we prepared a solid phase microextraction (SPME) fiber coated with the molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) sheathed mesoporous silica tube (MST) composite material, and developed a highly efficient, selective, and sensitive method for the determination of five TSNAs in water.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Research indicates that known DBPs do not account for all the toxicity in disinfected water, highlighting the need to identify unknown DBPs to understand their harmful effects.
  • * The review examines advances in identifying unknown DBPs over the last five years, including their classification and toxicity data, while also discussing future research directions to address existing gaps.
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To activate persulfate to generate reactive species such as sulfate radical (SO) for micropollutants abatement, external energy or chemicals are often needed. In this study, a novel SO formation pathway was reported during the oxidation of neonicotinoids by peroxydisulfate (SO, PDS) without any other chemical additions. Thiamethoxam (TMX) was used as a representative neonicotinoid and SO was the dominant specie contributing to its degradation during PDS oxidation at neutral pH.

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Aspartame (APM), a dipeptide of aspartic acid (ASP) and phenylalanine (PHE), is a widely used artificial sweetener in beverages. It is unclear whether residual chlorine in tap water can react with APM to form disinfection byproducts (DBPs). Therefore, we investigated the formation of DBPs from the reaction of APM with residual chlorine in authentic tap water.

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Breakpoint chlorination is applied to remove ammonia in water treatment. Trichloramine (NCl) and transient reactive species can be present, but how they affect the formation of nitrogenous disinfection byproducts is unknown. In this study, the dichloroacetonitrile (DCAN) formation mechanisms and pathways involved during breakpoint chlorination (i.

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Chlorine, chlorine dioxide, and ozone are widely used as disinfectants in drinking water treatments. However, the combined use of different disinfectants can result in the formation of various organic and inorganic disinfection byproducts (DBPs). The toxic interactions, including synergism, addition, and antagonism, among the complex DBPs are still unclear.

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  • Amino acids are commonly found in source water, especially during the spring run-off, and monitoring them is important for assessing water quality in treatment plants.
  • The study aimed to develop reliable analytical methods for detecting amino acids in source water, comparing large volume injection (LVI) and solid phase extraction (SPE) techniques before HILIC-MS/MS analysis.
  • Results showed that the SPE method was essential for consistent and accurate quantification of amino acids, achieving low detection limits and stable retention times, making it suitable for ongoing source water quality monitoring.
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Water utilities encounter unpredictable odor issues that cannot be explained by routine water parameters during spring runoff, even in the summer and fall. Highly water-soluble organics (, amino acids and saccharides) have been reported to form odorous disinfection byproducts during disinfection, but the lack of simple and practical on-site sampling techniques hampers their routine monitoring at trace levels in source water. Therefore, we have created two functionalized nested-in-sponge silica monoliths (NiS-SMs) using a one-pot synthesis method and demonstrated their application for extracting highly soluble organics in water.

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Iodinated aromatic disinfection byproducts (I-DBPs) are a group of nonregulated but highly toxic DBPs. The formation of I-DBPs is attributed mainly to HOI because it is the most abundant reactive iodine species in chloraminated water. In this study, we used computational modeling of thermodynamics to examine the mechanism of iodination of aromatic contaminants, e.

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As a typical class of emerging organic contaminants (EOCs), the environmental transformation and abatement of preservative parabens have raised certain environmental concerns. However, the remediation of parabens-contaminated water using natural matrixes (such as, naturally abundant minerals) is not reported extensively in literature. In this study, the transformation kinetics and the mechanism of ethylparaben using natural sphalerite (NS) were investigated.

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Conflicts often exist between the use of pesticides for public health protection and organic farming. A prominent example is the use of insecticides for mosquito control in rice fields designated for organic farming. Rice fields, with static water and other conducive conditions, are favorable mosquito habitats.

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-Nitrosamine disinfection byproducts (DBPs) are a health concern because they are probable human carcinogens. Complex organic nitrogenous compounds, nitrosamine precursors, are largely unidentified in source water. Using stable isotopic labeling-enhanced nontargeted analysis, we identified a natural product -heterocyclic amine 1-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-β-carboline-3-carboxylic acid (MTCCA) in source water.

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Comprehensive identification of byproducts including intermediate transformation products (TPs) of micropollutants in source water is challenging and paramount for assessment of drinking water quality and treatment technologies. Here, we have developed a nontargeted analysis strategy coupled with computational toxicity assessment to identify indistinguishable TPs including isomers with large differences in toxicity. The new strategy was applied to study the UV treatment of water containing micropollutant 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (2-MBT), and it enabled successful identification of a total of 22 organic TPs.

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Domestic consumption of biomass fuels has been found as a leading source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in pristine regions. The biomass ashes would serve as both source and vector for PAHs, which may threaten residents' health. However, research focusing on the behaviors of waste biomass ashes acting as emission resources of PAHs is still lacking.

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In this study, the phase I metabolism of fenthion was monitored in three common vegetables in different chamber situations via an in vivo solid-phase microextraction method. The phase I metabolic pathways of fenthion were evaluated based on the in vivo monitoring results and their comparisons among the chamber situations. Enzyme catalysis was found to play a basic and dominant role, whereas light catalysis could promote subsequent transformations that were difficult for enzyme catalysis.

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Exploring the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in aquatic environment is an important task. Metal-organic frameworks (MOF) are commonly used as sorbents for enriching PAHs but their crystal synthesis, sorbent preparation and robustness remain challenging. In the present study, under mild conditions, a novel sheathed MOF fiber coating was fabricated via in situ heteroepitaxial growth of copper-2,5-diaminoterephthalate (Cu-DAT) crystals and subsequent polyimide (PI) sheath.

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In recent years, pharmaceuticals have received increasing attentions because of their potential risks to the environment, but researches focusing on their impacts on defense system of living plants are still lacking. As an important class of phytohormones, jasmonates play crucial roles in plant defense system against environmental stress. In order to investigate the effect of pharmaceuticals uptake on endogenous jasmonates, an in vivo solid phase microextraction (SPME) method was established to simultaneously detect and monitor both pharmaceuticals and jasmonates in living plants.

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Article Synopsis
  • There are growing concerns about the environmental risks posed by neonicotinoid insecticides, particularly regarding their impact on bee populations, as these chemicals are absorbed by flowering plants and can contaminate nectar and pollen.
  • A new innovative method was developed for detecting neonicotinoids in live plants using a specially designed water-swelling probe, which allows for quick and effective in vivo monitoring with a very low detection limit.
  • The study demonstrated that different neonicotinoids accumulate and distribute variably in plant sap over time, providing critical insights into the link between neonicotinoid application and non-target organism exposure, such as bees.
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