Search

Hormones, categorized as emerging contaminants, enter the aquatic environment through wastewater effluents. Despite efforts by conventional wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), these hormones remain difficult to eliminate. This study specifically targets the elimination of three hormones from water by employing ferrihydrite-coated bricks modified in laboratory settings, using discarded bricks from the Central African Republic as the primary material. The effectiveness of these modified brick-ferrihydrite coatings was assessed for 17α-ethynyl estradiol (EE2), Testosterone (TST), and Estrone (E1). The adsorbent demonstrated notable efficiency in removing all three hormones, with a rapid sorption process influenced by pH and temperature. Pseudo-second-order kinetics, with R2values exceeding 0.99, govern the adsorption process, and activation energy calculations indicate values ranging from 4 to 12 kJ/mol. The modified brick ferrihydrite-coated surfaces exhibited physisorption characterized by low energy. The retention isotherm for the selected hormones is well-represented by the Freundlich model, with adsorption capacities of 91, 43, and 84 mg/g for E1, TST, and EE2, respectively. This suggests that utilizing ferrihydrite-coated bricks for adsorption could be a cost-effective technique for hormone removal from water.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the efficacy of modified brick residues for the removal of well-known endocrine disrupting, 4-nonyl phenol (NP) and bisphenol A (BPA) from water. A better comprehension of the in-batchadsorption process was obtained by studying the effect of pH and temperature. The maximum of adsorption capacity was found at neutral pH. The adsorption kinetics, thermodynamics and isotherms modeling for NP and BPA were also investigated. The adsorption process followed Freundlich-type and pseudo-second-order kinetic (R2> 0.99) with the adsorption capacity 94 and 92 mg/g, respectively, for NP and BPA which was among the highest values of BPA adsorption compared with other carbonaceous adsorbents according to the literature. The thermodynamic studies revealed that the adsorption process was fast and endothermic. The study of the adsorption performance in five consecutive cycles showed efficiencies higher than 90% in all cycles, revealing that the modified brick has good reusability. The results show that the modified brick residues as effective and efficient adsorbent material for the removal of NP and BPA from the water.

Drug residues are now ubiquitous in the environment due to the extensive and widespread use for animal and human health care. Current technologies do not allow to completely remove drug residues during waste water treatment process. Consequently, drug residues are widespread in the aquatic environment and present thus potential impacts on biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, and public health. As a result, their residues have attracted particular attention from government and research community. High concentrations of antibiotic residues detected in the environment have prompted scientists to advocate for the implementation of various laws around the world. This work aims to contribute to the lack of information on this emerging and essential subject. Twenty-eight antibiotics including five tetracyclines, two macrolides, seven fluoroquinolones, and seven sulfonamides were analyzed in the input and output of two wastewater treatment plans (WWTP) in Tunis, in Northern Tunisia, in a tap and well water. The quantification was performed using online SPE-LC-MS/MS after the sample’s extraction/purification with offline SPE. At least 19 drugs were present at the quantifiable level. In the input and output of WWTP, drug residues were determined at high level with the Σ28drugs can be up to 239.8 ± 47.1 ng/L and 139.4 ± 31.9 ng/L, respectively. One WWTP was not operational during the sampling. The concentration level in the output was similar to which found in the input (no elimination process). Another WWTP allowed eliminating only 48% of the Σ28drugs. As a result, the Σ28drugs were detected at 109.5 ± 25.5 and 36.8 ± 8.7 ng/L respectively in well and tap water.

With the scientific evidence of climate change is occurring, water conservation has now become extremely important and every drop of water counts. More than 60% of the domestic wastewater is a by-product of households, municipal wastewater. Known as greywater, it can be easily recycled but has historically been discarded instead. However, countries, municipalities, and communities have now realized the importance of graywater recycling and reuse. Studies and practices have been started to remove and or eliminate major pollutants so that the recycled water can be used for irrigation, toilet flushing, and many other uses. Different types of filtration systems can be used, such as slow sand filtration, rapid sand filtration, slanted soil, and others common systems techniques like sequencing batch reactor, upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor used in wetlands. This review aims to discuss the most efficient systems for greywater treatment, by comparing more than 20 systems for their biological, chemical and physical removal of pollutants.

A sensitive and reliable analytical method for the simultaneous determination of seven endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) in water was developed and validated. This quantification method is based on solid phase extraction (SPE) followed by a derivatization with BSTFA and finally the seven EDCs were analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). A 23factorial design was used to optimize the extraction procedure. Three factors, namely sample volume, elution solvent, and pH of sample were investigated using Doehlert matrix. The optimal conditions of SPE method were: HLB cartridge, 540 mL of water sample with a pH 8 and 10 mL of mixture of ethyl acetate/acetone with a ratio of (55/45, v/v) in the elution step. For validation of the technique, accuracy, precision, detection and quantification limits, linearity, sensibility and selectivity were determined. Extraction recovery of these seven EDCs were above 90% with relative standard deviations (RSD) ≤ 2%. The method limit of detection and limit of quantification were in the range of 0.33–3.33 and 1–10 ng/L, respectively.

QuEChERS CEN Standard Method EN 15662 method was used with some modification for better efficiency of the extraction and purification of pesticides residues in fruits and vegetables matrix. The extracts were analyzed by GC–MS/MS for 14 multiclass pesticides in fruits and vegetables. The method was validated with real matrix with good efficiency ranging from 73 to 124% and the LODs and LOQs were 0.001–0.4 μg kg−1and 0.002–1.0 μg kg−1respectively. The method was applied to investigate the level of pesticide residues in 58 fruits and vegetables and with four condition: with and without washing, with and without skin. This condition is to simulate the condition how people consume fruits and vegetables and to find out if with the sample act, the level of pesticides can be reduced. This studied confirmed the absences or lower concentration of pesticides in organic fruits and vegetables compared to which originated from intensive agricultural where pesticides are widespread used. The results were then compared to the maximum residue limits for each pesticides and in each matrix. Our results allow to conclude that washing or removing skin should be one of the solution to reduced health impact related to pesticide in fruits and vegetables.