Ranitidine, a competitive inhibitor of histamine H receptors, has been identified as an emerging micropollutant in water and wastewater, raising concerns about its potential impact on the environment and human health. This study aims to address this issue by developing an effective removal strategy using two types of layered double hydroxide (LDH) catalysts (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe effective removal of micropollutants by water treatment technologies remains a significant challenge. Herein, we develop a CoFe layered double hydroxide (CoFeLDH) catalytic membrane for peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation to achieve efficient micropollutant removal with improved mass transfer rate and reaction kinetics. This study found that the CoFeLDH membrane/PMS system achieved an impressive above 98% degradation of the probe chemical ranitidine at 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study assesses the financial viability and environmental evaluation of Photovoltaic (PV) panels from the perspective of the recent economic recession due to the Russia-Ukraine war. The financial viability of PV installation is calculated based on the estimated price, solar rebates, feed-in tariff, energy supply cost, and other evaluation parameters available at the assessment time. This calculation implicitly assumes variable discount rates (4%, 7%, and 12%) to show how the future will unfold and its correlations with design parameters.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are major recipients of microplastics (MPs) that break down into nanoplastics (NPs) during wastewater treatment through physical, chemical, and biological processes. In particular, mechanical stress induced by the mixing process commonly used in WWTPs is thought to play a crucial role in the production of secondary MPs/NPs, which are then discharged into the open water environment through the WWTP effluent. This study investigated the fragmentation of 250 and 106 μm-sized pristine and weathered polystyrene (PS) particles using a four-blade mechanical impeller.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe study aims to conduct a comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) of mixed glass waste (MGW) recycling processes to quantify the environmental impacts of crushed glass as a partial substitute for virgin aggregate. Upstream washing, crushing, and sorting conducted at material recycling facilities (MRF) are the prime activities to assess whether reprocessed MGW in pavement construction is an alternate feasible solution. None of the previous studies explicitly account for the relative uncertainties and optimization of waste glass upstream processes from an environmental perspective.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study conducts a comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) on converting waste vehicle tyres into recycled crumb rubber (CR) granules as an alternative polymer for enhancing asphalt properties. The LCA study has been performed on acquired industrial primary data by incorporating CR at different proportions of binder in one ton (1-ton) of asphalt mix following the wet method. The uncertainty analysis of design variables identified a relatively strong positive relation of emissions with the equipment energy consumption (r = 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicroplastics (MP) have become a major emerging class of pollutants representing significant eco-toxicological risks for ecosystems and marine environments. The aim of this study was to identify, classify and quantify MP present in both road dust and stormwater samples. A significantly higher level of MPs within road dust samples was detected from industrial area (1130 particles/kg of dust) than from residential area (520 particles/kg of dust), while stormwater samples from industrial and residential sites yielded 26 particles/L and 17 particles/L, respectively.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Sci Pollut Res Int
January 2021
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int
August 2021
Biofouling, the unwanted growth of microorganisms on submerged surfaces, has appeared as a significant impediment for underwater structures, water vessels, and medical devices. For fixing the biofouling issue, modification of the submerged surface is being experimented as a non-toxic approach worldwide. This technique necessitated altering the surface topography and roughness and developing a surface with a nano- to micro-structured pattern.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDissolved organic matter (DOM) has been recognized as a serious water quality problem in natural water bodies receiving pollution loads from point and nonpoint sources. The present study investigates the spatiotemporal variability of DOM composition in the Kushiro River and its tributaries (Eastern Hokkaido, Japan) impacted by the Kushiro wetland. Water samples were collected in the wet and dry seasons from several locations of the river and analyzed for DOM characteristics by UV-visible and excitation-emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy techniques and by developing water quality index.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe forward osmosis (FO) membrane process has recently established in many applications such as desalination, wastewater reuse, water purification, food processing, resource recovery and sustainable power generation. However, many researchers raise the demand for systematic investigation on FO membrane fouling, which leads to reduced flux yield. In this study, the effect of coagulation/persulfate as a feed pre-treatment was used to mitigate FO organic fouling during municipal wastewater treatment, and compared with a control coagulation and potassium persulfate pre-treatments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBrown coal is a relatively abundant and low-cost material, which has been used as an effective ion-exchanger to remove ammonium from wastewater. In this study, the influences of pH, ammonium concentration and brown coal dose were investigated for removal of ammonium content from synthetic wastewater. Raw brown coal (RBC) treated with base solution has superior ammonium removal efficiency compared to RBC, which was due to chemical alterations and thus greater attachment of ammonium molecules to base-washed brown coal (BWBC), confirmed by Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicrostructure-based patterned surfaces with antifouling capabilities against a wide range of organisms are yet to be optimised. Several studies have shown that microtopographic features affect the settlement and the early stages of biofilm formation of microorganisms. It is speculated that the fluctuating stress-strain rates developed on patterned surfaces disrupt the stability of microorganisms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiofouling, the unwanted growth of sessile microorganisms on submerged surfaces, presents a serious problem for underwater structures. While biofouling can be controlled to various degrees with different microstructure-based patterned surfaces, understanding of the underlying mechanism is still imprecise. Researchers have long speculated that microtopographies might influence near-surface microfluidic conditions, thus microhydrodynamically preventing the settlement of microorganisms.
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