Prevalence and characteristics of microplastic contamination in soft drinks and potential consumer exposure.

Microplastics (MPs) contamination in human food is a growing concern due to potential health risks. Recent studies have indicated that MPs have been found in various human tissues and organs, including the placenta, lungs, liver, and blood. This highlights the importance of investigating the presence and concentration of MPs in food products, as it directly relates to human health and safety.

Assessment of temperature dynamics and microbial community responses in aerobic membrane bioreactors from mesophilic to hyper-thermophilic conditions.

This study investigates the impact of temperature variations on the performance of an aerobic membrane bioreactor (MBR) as it transitions from mesophilic (30 °C) to hyper-thermophilic (65 °C) conditions. The microbial community structure was analyzed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing to assess how temperature influences microbial diversity and composition. In mesophilic conditions, the system exhibited high alpha diversity with a Shannon index of 5.

Exploring MOF-Derived CuO/rGO Heterostructures for Highly Efficient Room Temperature CO Sensors.

In response to the urgent need for advanced climate change mitigation tools, this study introduces an innovative CO gas sensor based on p-p-type heterostructures designed for effective operation at room temperature. This sensor represents a significant step forward, utilizing the synergistic effects of p-p heterojunctions to enhance the effective interfacial area, thereby improving sensitivity. The incorporation of CuO nanoparticles and rGO sheets also optimizes gas transport channels, enhancing the sensor's performance.

Innovative hyper-thermophilic aerobic submerged membrane distillation bioreactor for wastewater reclamation.

For the first time, a hyper-thermophilic aerobic (>60 °C) bioreactor has been integrated with direct submerged membrane distillation (MD), highlighting its potential as an advanced wastewater treatment solution. The hyper-thermophilic aerobic bioreactor, operating up to 65 °C, is tailored for high organic removal, while MD efficiently produces clean water. Throughout the study, high removal rates of 99.

Upcycling of post-consumer polyethylene terephthalate bottles into aluminum-based metal-organic framework adsorbents for efficient orthophosphate removal.

2-Phosphonobutane-1,2,4,-tricarboxylic acid (PBTC) is an orthophosphate compound widely used as an antiscalant chemical and corrosion inhibitor in manufacturing. However, PBTC poses persistent environmental concerns due to its stability and resistance to conventional water treatment. In addressing the issues of PBTC in aquatic systems, Al-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been developed and applied as sustainable adsorbents.

Holistic insight mechanism of ozone-based oxidation process for wastewater treatment.

The world is facing water crises because freshwater scarcity has become a global issue due to rapid population growth, resulting in the need for more industries, agriculture, and domestic sectors. Therefore, it is challenging for scientists and environmental engineers to treat wastewater with cost-effective treatment techniques. As compared to conventional processes (physical, chemical, and biological), advanced oxidation processes (AOP) play an essential role in the removal of wastewater contaminants, with the help of a powerful hydroxyl (OH•) through oxidation reactions.

Spatial analysis of food and water-borne diseases in Ahmedabad, India: Implications for urban public health planning.

Spatial analysis of infectious diseases can play an important role in mapping the spread of diseases and can support policy making at local level. Moreover, identification of disease clusters based on local geography and landscape forms the basis for disease control and prevention. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the spatial-temporal variations, hotspot areas, and potential risk factors of infectious diseases (including Viral Hepatitis, Typhoid and Diarrhea) in Ahmedabad city of India.

Effect of biomass retention time on performance and fouling of a stirred membrane photobioreactor.

Co-culture of microalgae-activated sludge has the potential to purify wastewater while reduce energy demand from aeration. In this work, a mechanically stirred membrane photobioreactor (stirred-MPBR) was used to evaluate the impact of the biomass retention time (BRT) on the treatment performance and membrane fouling. Results showed that stirred-MPBR was affected by BRT during treating domestic wastewater at a flux of 16.

Rapid adsorption of selenium removal using iron manganese-based micro adsorbent.

Selenium in wastewater is of particular concern due to its increasing concentration, high mobility in water, and toxicity to organisms; therefore, this study was carried out to determine the removal efficiency of selenium using iron and manganese-based bimetallic micro-composite adsorbents. The bimetallic micro-composite adsorbent was synthesized by using the chemical reduction method. Micro-particles were characterized by using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy for elemental analysis after adsorption, which confirms the adsorption of selenium on the surface of the micro-composite adsorbent, scanning electron microscopy, which shows particles are circular in shape and irregular in size, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller which results from the total surface area of particles were 59.

Secondary inorganic aerosol chemistry and its impact on atmospheric visibility over an ammonia-rich urban area in Central Taiwan.

This study investigated the hourly inorganic aerosol chemistry and its impact on atmospheric visibility over an urban area in Central Taiwan, by relying on measurements of aerosol light extinction, inorganic gases, and PM water-soluble ions (WSIs), and simulations from a thermodynamic equilibrium model. On average, the sulfate (SO), nitrate (NO), and ammonium (NH) components (SNA) contributed ∼90% of WSI concentrations, which in turn made up about 50% of the PM mass. During the entire observation period, PM and SNA concentrations, aerosol pH, aerosol liquid water content (ALWC), and sulfur and nitrogen conversion ratios all increased with decreasing visibility.

The Assessment of Indoor Formaldehyde and Bioaerosol Removal by Using Negative Discharge Electrostatic Air Cleaners.

This study investigated the single-pass performance of a negative corona electrostatic precipitators (ESP) in removing suspended particulates (PM and PM), formaldehyde (HCHO), and bioaerosols (bacteria and fungi) and measured the ozone (O) concentration generated by ESP. The experimental results revealed that if the operational conditions for the ESP were set to high voltage (-10.5 kV) and low air flow rate (2.

Dry dechlorination of solid-derived fuels obtained from food waste and polyvinyl chloride.

Solid-recovered fuels (SRFs) with low chlorine (Cl) contents are urgently needed, particularly considering the limited availability of energy resources globally. Two main sources of chlorinated pollution in municipal solid wastes, namely food waste and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), were used as raw materials for SRF production. These materials were dechlorinated using alkaline adsorbents (calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)) and sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO)), yielding five sample SRFs.

Removal of chlorine-contaminated groundwater by two-stage ozonation and biostimulation methods.

Trichloroethene (TCE) contamination is a critical environmental hazard, and the substrate options for its biostimulated remediation are limited. This study applied an ozonation-and-biostimulation process to remove TCE from groundwater. The substrate used, denoted as Transferred Energy Element (TEE), was composed of natural organic materials and had a low viscosity (2.

Enhanced understanding of osmotic membrane bioreactors through machine learning modeling of water flux and salinity.

Mathematical modeling can be helpful to understand and optimize osmotic membrane bioreactors (OMBR), a promising technology for sustainable wastewater treatment with simultaneous water recovery. Herein, seven machine learning (ML) algorithms were employed to model both water flux and salinity of a lab-scale OMBR. Through the optimum hyperparameters tuning and 5-fold cross-validation, the ML models have achieved more accurate results without obvious overfitting and bias.

Investigation of microplastic contamination in blood cockles and green mussels from selected aquaculture farms and markets in Thailand.

Recent studies have indicated that bivalves are bioindicators for microplastic pollution since they are filter feeders and accumulate microplastics (MPs) during their feeding process. This study focused on the investigation of MPs in blood cockles (Tegillarca granosa) and green mussels (Perna viridis) from selected aquaculture farms and markets in Thailand. The abundance of MPs was identified by fluorescence microscopy with Nile Red tagging and the polymer detection by micro-Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (micro-FTIR).

Quantifying the effects of land use change and aggregate stormwater management practices on fecal coliform dynamics in a temperate catchment.

Changes in land use and land cover (LULC) due to land development can lead to an increase in diffuse microbial pollutions and, consequently, degradation of the receiving aquatic ecosystem. However, the mechanisms underlying these phenomena are rarely considered in hydrological models. Therefore, in this study, fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) and total suspended solids (TSS) in a temperate catchment were simulated using a well-established water quality model (Personal Computer Storm Water Management Model) to systematically quantify the factors influencing their dynamics and the effects of stormwater management.

Thermochemical Conversion of Plastic Waste into Fuels, Chemicals, and Value-Added Materials: A Critical Review and Outlooks.

Plastic waste is an emerging environmental issue for our society. Critical action to tackle this problem is to upcycle plastic waste as valuable feedstock. Thermochemical conversion of plastic waste has received growing attention.

Microplastics waste in environment: A perspective on recycling issues from PPE kits and face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the extensive use of face masks and protective personal equipment (PPE) kits has led to increasing degree of microplastic pollution (MP) because they are typically discarded into the seas, rivers, streets, and other parts of the environment. Currently, microplastic (MP) pollution has a negative impact on the environment because of high-level fragmentation. Typically, MP pollution can be detected by various techniques, such as microscopic analysis, density separation, and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry.

Critical review of microplastics removal from the environment.

Globally, microplastics pollution has become a serious environmental threat due to their multitude sources, widespread occurrence, persistence, and adverse effects to ecosystem and the human health. Addressing this multifaceted threat requires innovative technologies that can efficiently remove microplastics from the environment. In this review, we first overviewed the source, occurrence, and potential adverse impacts of microplastics to human health.

Water reclamation and microbial community investigation: Treatment of tetramethylammonium hydroxide wastewater through an anaerobic osmotic membrane bioreactor hybrid system.

Tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) is a toxic photoresist developer used in the photolithography process in thin-film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) production, and it can be removed through anaerobic treatment. TMAH cannot be released into the environment because of its higher toxicity. A tight membrane, such as a forward osmosis (FO) membrane, together with an anaerobic biological process can ensure that no TMAH is released into the environment.

Preparation of Metal Modified onto Biochar from Hazardous Waste for Arsenic Removal.

Use of urban sludge, hospital sludge, and aquatic product sludge as a biochar adsorbent from wastewater treatment plants was investigated. Microwave carbonization was used to carbonize the sludge and then chemically activated at high temperatures to increase porosity and surface area. Effective of arsenic adsorption in water presents a newly designed metal doped to biochar.

A breakthrough dynamic-osmotic membrane bioreactor/nanofiltration hybrid system for real municipal wastewater treatment and reuse.

This study designed a Dynamic-Osmotic membrane bioreactor/nanofiltration (OsMBR/NF) system for municipal wastewater treatment and reuse. Results indicated that a continuously rotating FO module with 60 RPM in Dynamic-OsMBR system could enhance shear stress and reduce cake layer of foulants, leading to higher flux (50%) compared to Traditional-OsMBR during a 40-operation day. A negligible specific reverse salt flux (0.

Preparation and Desalination Performance of PA/UiO-66/PES Composite Membranes.

UiO-66 nanoparticles are considered highly potential fillers for the application in desalination membranes. In this study, UiO-66 nanoparticles were anchored to PES membrane substrates, which were subsequently subjected to the interfacial polymerization reaction to coat a layer of polyamide (PA) on their surface. For comparison, a blank membrane incorporating no UiO-66 and a reference membrane incorporating ZrO (instead of UiO-66) were prepared.