Assessment of heavy metals accumulation by vegetables irrigated with different stages of textile wastewater for evaluation of food and health risk.

Wastewater irrigation for vegetable cultivation is greatly concerned about the presence of toxic metals in irrigated soil and vegetables which causes possible threats to human health. This study aimed to ascertain the accumulation of heavy metals (HMs) in edible parts of vegetables irrigated with different stages of textile dyeing wastewater (TDW). Bio-concentration factor (BCF), Estimated daily intake (EDI), and target hazard quotient (THQ) were computed to estimate human health risks and speculate the hazard index (HI) of adults and children with the consumption of HMs contaminated vegetables at recommended doses.

Blue light irradiation increases the relative abundance of the diatom Nitzschia palea in co-culture with cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa.

Lake eutrophication is associated with cyanobacterial blooms. The pennate diatom Nitzschia palea (N. palea) inhibits the growth of the cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa (M.

Efficient cesium encapsulation from contaminated water by cellulosic biomass based activated wood charcoal.

In this study, cost-effective cellulosic biomass based activated wood charcoal was developed from Japanese Sugi tree (Cryptomeria japonica) by concentrated nitric acid modification for adsorption of Cs from contaminated water. The physicochemical properties of specimens were investigated using N adsorption-desorption isotherms (BET method), FESEM, FTIR, and XPS spectra analysis. The experimental results revealed that the surface area of the raw wood charcoal was significantly decreased after boiling nitric acid modification.

Effective removal of cesium from wastewater solutions using an innovative low-cost adsorbent developed from sewage sludge molten slag.

This study investigates the effective removal of cesium (Cs) from aqueous solution using sewage sludge molten (SSM) slag that has undergone the surface modification with alkali (NaOH) hydrothermal treatment. The raw and modified slags were characterised systematically using the BET method, the FESEM, the XRF, the XRD spectroscopy and the CEC analysis to understand the physicochemical changes of the materials, and its sensitivity to Cs ions adsorption. Batch adsorption experiments were carried out to investigate the effects of adsorbent dose, contact time, solution pH, different initial Cs concentrations, temperature and the effect of competitive ions on Cs adsorption.

Antioxidant Responses of Vallisneria asiatica to Eutrophic Sediments in Lake Taihu, China.

Three kinds of representative sediments were obtained from a macrophyte-dominated bay (East Lake Taihu) and two algae-dominated regions (Western Lake Taihu and Meiliang Bay). Physiological responses of Vallisneria asiatica to these sediments were compared. Results from 20 days exposures showed no obvious differences in malondialdehyde (MDA) in roots, while the MDA content in leaves of plants exposed to Western Lake Taihu sediment was significantly (p<0.

Inhibitory effect of metal ions on the poly-phosphate release from sewage sludge during thermal treatment.

The purpose of this study was aimed at identifying the influence of metal cations such as Mg2+, Ca2+, Al3+ and Fe3+ on poly-phosphate (poly-P) and total phosphate (T-P) release from sewage sludge collected from wastewater treatment plant during thermal treatment at 70 degrees C for 80 min. With the addition of chelating reagent such as EDTA, release of poly-P and T-P was improved obviously during thermal treatment. Inhibitory effect of metal cations on phosphorus release was apparent by adding metal cations into sludge sample.

Occurrence and distribution of microcystins in Lake Taihu, China.

The occurrence and distribution of microcystins were investigated in Lake Taihu, the third largest lake in China. An extensive survey, larger and broader in scale than previous studies, was conducted in summer 2010. The highest microcystin concentration was found at southern part of Taihu, which was newly included in this survey.

Effect of particulate biodegradable COD in a post-denitrification enhanced biological phosphorus removal system.

This research studied the effects of the particulate biodegradable fraction (X(S)) of chemical oxygen demand (COD) in a post-denitrification configuration. Denitrifying polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (DN-PAOs) and nitrifiers were completely separated in a system also known as Dephanox. It was composed by an anaerobic-anoxic (A(2)) process coupled with a parallel Nitrification biofilm tank.

Promoting nitrification by using functional gel as immobilizing medium under different temperature stimulation patterns.

Nitrification with nitrifiers immobilized by temperature stimuli-responsive N-isopropylacrylamide-Chlorophyll (NIPA-CH) gel was investigated under several patterns of temperature stimulation, compared with that at constant temperature. The results show that in response to a cyclic temperature stimulus of 32-36 degrees C or 32-34 degrees C with a period of 4 or 2 h, respectively, the gel swelled and shrank reversibly and promoted biological nitrification. But in the case of a cyclic temperature change of 32-36 degrees C with a stimulation cycle of 2 h, nitrite oxidization declined.