Adherence of polystyrene microspheres on cave sediment: implications for organic contaminants and microplastics in karst systems.

Interactions of karst aquifer sediments with organic contaminants or microplastics (MPs) have received relatively little attention even though the susceptibility of karst aquifers to contamination and their ability to store and transport sediment is well documented. Studies using polystyrene microspheres as surrogate tracers for bacteria transport in karst systems have generally observed low recovery of microspheres and attributed this to microsphere adsorption onto aquifer sediments. In addition to being used as surrogate tracer for bacteria, microspheres have the potential to be used as surrogate material for organic contaminants and MPs.

Elemental composition and moisture prediction in manure by portable X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy using random forest regression.

Manure elemental composition determination is essential to develop farm nutrient budgets and assess environmental risk. Portable X-ray fluorescence (PXRF) spectrometers could facilitate hazardous waste-free, rapid, and cost-effective elemental concentration determinations. However, sample moisture is a problem for elemental concentration determination by X-ray methods.

Assessment of dissolved organic carbon and iron effects on water color between a forest and pasture-dominated fine-scale catchment in a Central Appalachian region, West Virginia.

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and iron (Fe) have been observed to be the important contributors to surface water brownification. Additionally, the DOC quality influences water color by forming Fe-DOC complexes that provide additive effects and is influenced by dominant land use type within watersheds. However, the influence of quantity and quality of DOC on Fe and water color is poorly understood in headwater streams.

Uptake and speciation of zinc in edible plants grown in smelter contaminated soils.

Heavy metal accumulation in edible plants grown in contaminated soils poses a major environmental risk to humans and grazing animals. This study focused on the concentration and speciation of Zn in different edible plants grown in soils contaminated with smelter wastes (Spelter, WV, USA) containing high levels of the metals Zn, Cu, Pb, Cd. Their accumulation was examined in different parts (roots, stem, and leaves) of plants and as a function of growth stage (dry seed, sprouting seed, cotyledon, and leaves) in the root vegetables radish, the leafy vegetable spinach and the legume clover.

Portable X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy for Rapid and Cost-Effective Determination of Elemental Composition of Ground Forage.

The recent development of portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometers (PXRF) has created new avenues for rapid plant elemental concentration determination at reduced cost while avoiding hazardous chemicals. A few studies have indicated the potential use of PXRF for homogenous plant tissue analysis. However, there is a lack of information for analysis of heterogeneous plant samples like livestock forage, which consists of a mixture of several species and plant parts, each varying in elemental concentration.

Heterogeneous selenite reduction by zero valent iron steel wool.

Mine drainage from the low-sulfur surface coal mines in southern West Virginia, USA, is circumneutral (pH > 6) but contains elevated selenium (Se) concentrations. Removal of selenite ions from aqueous solutions under anoxic condition at pH 6-8.5 by zero valent iron steel wool (ZVI-SW) was investigated in bench-scale kinetic experiments using wet chemical, microscopic and spectroscopic techniques (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy).

Denitrification kinetics in biomass- and biochar-amended soils of different landscape positions.

Knowledge of how biochar impacts soil denitrification kinetics as well as the mechanisms of interactions is essential in order to better predict the nitrous oxide (N2O) mitigation capacity of biochar additions. This study had multiple experiments in which the effect of three biochar materials produced from corn stover (Zea mays L.), ponderosa pine wood residue (Pinus ponderosa Douglas ex Lawson and C.

Effect of alcohols on the retention mechanisms of Cd and Zn on Wyoming bentonite and illite.

The effects of ethanol- and methanol-water mixtures on Zn and Cd sorption onto bentonite and illite were investigated at low initial metal concentration (< or =10(-5) M) and low ionic strength (2.5 mM Ca(NO3)2). For all cosolvent fractions, the percent coverage of Zn and Cd to clay minerals was low (<5%) and independent of the solution dielectric constant, epsilon, except for Zn at 10 microM.