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Among different modes for municipal solid waste separate collection (SC), there is a lack of scientifically based methods for their selection available for decision-makers. This study develops and applies a methodology based on Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) aiming to assess and compare the sustainability of different waste management schemes. Considering the city of Bari (Southern Italy) as a supporting case study, 3 systems/visions of city waste management options are considered: (i) bring points systems with about 35% SC rate (S1, status quo); (ii) door-to-door system with an excellent (>80%) SC rate (S2); (iii) combined bring point and door-to-door system (S3, with about 70% SC rate). Scenarios differed mainly on the management of the residual fraction from SC through mechanical-biological treatment (S1 and S2) or recovery of recyclables at material recovery facility (S3). Sustainability is assessed in environmental, economic, and socio-technical terms by means of MCDA and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Results showed that S2 is the best solution in global, environmental, and socio-technical terms, while the weak point is the cost (65.76 € per capita). Even more interesting is the limited deviation between S3 and S2 indicators, amounting to 5.4% and 9.4% in terms of environmental and socio-technical criteria respectively, suggesting a strong competitiveness of the mixed collection mode. Methodologically, the approach proved to be robust and easy to apply by local authority decision-makers.

Design of core/shell composite microparticles for loading/release of organic/inorganic pollutants is of great interest in wastewater treatment. As compared to the classic layer-by-layer strategy, the new approach presented in this study introduced higher organic shell amounts in one-pot deposition step, with less material and energy consumption and lack of toxic by-products formation. Herein, one weak polycation (polyethyleneimine) and two weak polyanions were directly deposited onto silica surface through precipitation of an in-situ formed interpolyelectrolyte coacervate, followed by selective crosslinking with glutaraldehyde and extraction of polyanion chains, confirmed by electrokinetic measurements and FTIR spectra of composites. Twelve composite sorbents were synthesized and tested for adsorption of cadmium, as model heavy metal ion. It was demonstrated that the high sorption occurred onto four newly synthesized composites which is correlated to the deposited shell amount, dependent on the deposition method, polyanion nature and crosslinking ratio. The Cd

This study investigates the effect of pollutant initial concentration on the sequential biosorptive removal of Reactive blue 19 dye and Pb(II) ions on rapeseed waste. The initial concentrations of both organic and inorganic pollutants positively influence the sequential biosorption of the dye and metal ion under study on rapeseed meal waste. The most significant increase was found in the removal of Reactive blue 19 dye by using rapeseed previously loaded with lead ions. In this case, the increase of the initial concentration from 15 mg/L to 100 mg/L results in an increase of the biosorption capacity of almost 6.8 times. Taking into account the frequent quantification of the wastewater treatment efficiency through the biosorption capacity generated from equilibrium studies, the obtained experimental data have been modelled by using five two-parameters (Langmuir, Freundlich, Halsey, Temkin and Harkins-Jura) and five three-parameters (Sips, Redlich-Peterson, Toth, modified BET and Hill) nonlinear isotherms. Linearized forms of Langmuir and Freundlich were also discussed. The optimal description for the sequential biosorption of the reactive dye is provided by the Hill and Langmuir isotherms, whereas the retention of lead on rapeseed waste is provided by the Freundlich isotherm.

The modification of inorganic surfaces with weak cationic polyelectrolytes by direct deposition through precipitation is a fast approach to generating composites with high numbers of functional groups. The core/shell composites present very good sorption capacity for heavy metal ions and negatively charged organic molecules from aqueous media. The sorbed amount of lead ions, used as a model for priority pollutants such as heavy metals, and diclofenac sodium salt, as an organic contaminant model for emerging pollutants, depended strongly on the organic content of the composite and less on the nature of contaminants, due to the different retention mechanisms (complexation vs. electrostatics/hydrophobics). Two experimental approaches were considered: (i) simultaneous adsorption of the two pollutants from a binary mixture and (ii) the sequential retention of each pollutant from monocomponent solutions. The simultaneous adsorption also considered process optimization by using the central composite design methodology to study the univariate effects of contact time and initial solution acidity with the purpose of enabling further practical applications in water/wastewater treatment. Sorbent regeneration after multiple sorption-desorption cycles was also investigated to assess its feasibility. Based on different non-linear regressions, the fitting of four isotherms (Langmuir, Freundlich, Hill, and Redlich–Peterson models) and three kinetics models (pseudo-first order (PFO), pseudo-second order (PSO), and two-compartment first order (TC)) has been carried out. The best agreement with experiments was found for the Langmuir isotherm and the PFO kinetic model. Silica/polyelectrolytes with a high number of functional groups may be considered efficient and versatile sorbents that can be used in wastewater treatment processes.

The Integrated Water Resources Management regulations aim to ensure a good status of surface water quality and its sustainable use. Water quality monitoring of various water users supports the identification of pollution sources and their environmental impacts. The priority pollutants generated by wastewater discharges from municipal, industrial wastewater treatment plants or agricultural areas are of great interest due to their eco-toxicological effects and bio-accumulative properties. The aim of this study was to monitor the priority organic and inorganic pollutants from the Siret River basin, in Romania, with the purpose of assessing the surface water quality status and evaluating it by the Water Quality Index (WAWQI) method. The monitoring of inorganic priority pollutants (e.g., As, Cd, Hg, Ni, Pb) and organic priority pollutants (e.g., Naphthalene, Anthracene, Phenanthrene, Fluoranthene, Benzo(a)anthracene, Benzo(b)fluoranthene, Benzo(k)fluoranthene, Benzo(a)pyrene, Benzo(ghi)perylene, Indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene, α, β, and γ-Hexachlorocyclohexane, and Di-2-ethyl-hexyl-phthalate) was conducted within the Siret River basin, during the period 2015–2020. With this purpose, 21 sampling points (18 river sections and 3 lakes) were considered to assess the water quality. The results of this study proved that the water quality within the Siret River basin is generally classified in the 2nd or 3rd class. The spatial distribution of the water quality index values, using ARCGIS, also highlighted the fact that the water quality is mostly unsuitable for drinking water supplies, being influenced by the quality of its main tributaries, as well as by the effluent of wastewater treatment plants.

Fly ash wastes (silica, aluminum and iron-rich materials) could be smartly valorized by their incorporation in concrete formulation, partly replacing the cement. The necessary binding properties can be accomplished by a simple procedure: an alkali activation process, involving partial hydrolysis, followed by gel formation and polycondensation. The correlations between the experimental fly ash processing conditions, particle characteristics (size and morphology) and the compressive strength values of the concrete prepared using this material were investigated by performing a parametric optimization study to deduce the optimal processing set of conditions. The alkali activation procedure included the variation of the NaOH solutions concentration (8–12 M), temperature values (25–65 °C) and the liquid/solid ratio (1–3). The activation led to important modifications of the crystallography of the samples (shown by powder XRD analysis), their morphologies (seen by SEM), particle size distribution and Blaine surface values. The values of the compressive strength of concrete prepared using fly ash derivatives were between 16.8–22.6 MPa. Thus, the processed fly ash qualifies as a proper potential building material, solving disposal-associated problems, as well as saving significant amounts of cement consumed in concrete formulation.

Natural organic matter (NOM) represents a range of heterogeneous hydrophobic and hydrophilic components naturally occurring in the water source and, due to the fact that they can act as precursors for the disinfection, by-products may have a considerable impact on drinking water quality. Coagulation–flocculation (C/F) is among the most applied processes for NOM removal from water sources (especially rivers). In this study, C/F efficiency for a river water supply was investigated in cold and warm conditions, by varying the coagulant dose and mixing conditions. In this study, polyhydroxy aluminum chloride PAX XL 60, and polyacrylamide FloPam AN 910 SEP were used as coagulant and flocculant, respectively. Multiple water quality indicators were determined, such as turbidity, chemical oxygen demand (COD), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and residual aluminum concentration. Some unconventional parameters relevant for NOM removal were also considered, like absorbance at 254 nm (A254), at 280 nm (A280), and at 365 nm (A365), as well as the ratios A254/DOC, A254/280, and A254/A365. After coagulation–flocculation, turbidity was completely removed in all the studied conditions. The DOC content was reduced by up to 22.65% at a low temperature and by up to 31.81% at a high temperature. After the addition of polyelectrolyte in cold conditions, the efficiency in terms of A254 increased by up to 37.4%, while the specific absorbance decreased. The high molecular weight NOM increased after C/F, based on the A254/A365 ratio. Chemometric analysis was employed in order to determine the effect of the coagulant dose on the process efficiency. The optimum coagulation–flocculation conditions were corroborated by means of the principal component analysis.

Advanced wastewater treatment processes are required to implement wastewater reuse in agriculture or industry, the efficient removal of targeted priority and emerging organic & inorganic pollutants being compulsory (due to their eco-toxicological and human health effects, bio-accumulative, and degradation characteristics). Various processes such as membrane separations, adsorption, advanced oxidation, filtration, disinfection may be used in combination with one or more conventional treatment stages, but technical and environmental criteria are important to assess their application. Natural and synthetic polyelectrolytes combined with some inorganic materials or other organic or inorganic polymers create new materials (composites) that are currently used in sorption of toxic pollutants. The recent developments on the synthesis and characterization of composites based on polyelectrolytes, divided according to their macroscopic shape—beads, core-shell, gels, nanofibers, membranes—are discussed, and a correlation of their actual structure and properties with the adsorption mechanisms and removal efficiencies of various pollutants in aqueous media (priority and emerging pollutants or other model pollutants) are presented.

The 1st River Basin Management Plan period (2009–2015) had as major focus the “good water quality status” for surface waters in the European Union, by 2015, according to the Water Framework Directive. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the extent of the reduction of pressures induced by wastewater discharges generated from domestic, industrial and agricultural activities in Romanian river basins, during the above mentioned period, as a consequence of the measures implemented at river basin level. To achieve this objective, three representative river basins, namely Prut-Barlad, Banat and Arges-Vedea, covering 25% of Romania’s surface, have been analysed by using the Waste Absorption Footprint Indicator (WAF). The reference years for this study are: 2006 and 2015. WAF results, together with the waste absorption capacity (WAC) and the deficit and/or reserve data, at different levels: county, river basin (regional level), and individual for specific pollutants (expressed by the water quality indicators: chemical oxygen demand, total nitrogen and phosphorous) were calculated. Results have shown that the 2015 WAF results are in general even with 1 order of magnitude lower than the 2006 results. Irrespective of the year, at county level, the biggest urban agglomerations in these areas, Iasi county in Prut-Barlad, respectively Timis in Banat river basin and Bucuresti (within Ilfov county) in Arges-Vedea river basin have the largest impacts. In 2015, at river basin level, organic substances presence is not of concern in the Arges-Vedea river basin with a reserve of 543.5 rha, but with deficits of -816.74 rha in Banat and –315.18 rha in Prut-Barlad. Nitrogen compounds pressure is no longer present in 2015, in Arges-Vedea river basin, with a reserve of 1190.43 rha, while the other 2 river basins have a deficit of -3335.97 rha (Prut-Barlad) and -4126.46 rha (Banat river basin). In 2015, phosphorous compounds registered a deficit between-1451.17 rha in Arges-Vedea and -2455 rha in Banat river basin.

The simultaneous biosorption of a binary metal-dye mixture onto rapeseed waste (RS) resulted from oil press was investigated. Lead (Pb) and Reactive Blue 19 (Rb19) dye were used as model pollutants due to their low biodegradability and toxic effects, even at low concentrations. The biosorbent was minimally prepared before use and was characterized by using infrared spectroscopy before and after the simultaneous biosorption. The biosorption rates of each sorbate was determined using kinetic tests at three Pb:Rb19 molar ratios. The kinetic modelling revealed that the process is better described by a pseudo-second order rate of reaction. Freundlich isotherm model could explain the equilibrium data for the dye uptake, while Langmuir isotherm, followed by Freundlich model, could describe the biosorption of lead. Biosorption selectivity was determined at various initial concentrations of the pollutants in aqueous phase. At small to medium concentration ranges, the presence of Pb(II) ions determined an increase in the uptake of Rb19, as compared to its individual biosorption. By applying Boyd’s model, it was observed that film diffusion is the rate controlling step of the simultaneous biosorption process. Desorption was realized separately for each pollutant, as a function of the eluting pH. Through this approach, the waste biosorbent can be uploaded with two different type of micropollutants removed from wastewater, the sorbent being further reused or disposed in a controlled way, thus considering the circular economy principles. The practical implications of the simultaneous biosorption using RS waste were also discussed (reactor configuration, scale-up methodology and exhausted biosorbent management).

As water management is still a problem of international concern, scientists and practitioners are collaborating to develop new tools and methods to improve and help in the decision-making process. When addressing the priority pollutant monitoring and impact assessment, the ecotoxicity effects, carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic, should be considered together with the exposure factor and health hazards. The main goals of this study were to assess the ecological and health hazards and to apply integrated impact and risk assessment based on the ecotoxicity and exposure factors of each priority pollutant present in the aquatic ecosystem. This study used as a database the measured concentrations of 5 inorganic and 14 organic priority pollutants from the Siret river basin from NE Romania, from 18 river sections monitored in the period 2015–2020. The USEtox methodology and a new integrated index for environmental impact and risk assessment were developed and applied to evaluate the ecological and health hazards and environmental impacts and risks within the river basin. The total impact scores for heavy metals ranged from 2 × 103 to 2.25 × 109, and those for organic pollutants ranged from 2.72 × 10−1 to 2.95 × 106. The environmental risk in the case of inorganic priority pollutants ranged between 5.56 and 3136.35, and that in the case of organic pollutants was between 4.69 and 4059.17. The results revealed that there is a major to catastrophic environmental impact in almost all monitored river sections (10 out of 18), and the overall risk exposure was found to be at a significant to a major level. This study proved the harmful effects that the priority pollutants may have, even in very small concentrations, on non-target organisms and suggests that greater control over the pollution sources and mitigation of environmental impacts and risks should be applied.

Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) represent an important crop, being cultivated in 2018 on 7.4 million hectares worldwide, and with a total production of 77.8 million tonnes. Grapes are susceptible to a large number of fungal pests and insects that may cause important economic losses, reduction of quality and undesired sensory characteristics in wines. A common practice in viticulture is the utilization of chemical reagents, as pesticides, that can insure constant production of high-quality grapes. The use of pesticides in vineyards is an old agricultural practice and although generally beneficial, some concerns are raising due to potential toxic compounds assimilation during wine consumption and human health risks. This chapter offers a complete overview of the most common pesticides used in vineyard and tracks them across grapes, winemaking stages and wines. The impacts of pesticide residues on phenolic compounds and volatile compounds are discussed in details, alongside with emerging technologies for removal of pesticide residues from grapes and wines.

Polyelectrolyte multilayers are versatile materials that are used in a large number of domains, including biomedical and environmental applications. The fabrication of polyelectrolyte multilayers using the layer-by-layer technique is one of the simplest methods to obtain composite functional materials. The properties of the final material can be easily tuned by changing the deposition conditions and the used building blocks. This review presents the main characteristics of polyelectrolyte multilayers, the fabrication methods currently used, and the factors influencing the layer-by-layer assembly of polyelectrolytes. The last section of this paper presents some of the most important applications of polyelectrolyte multilayers, with a special focus on biomedical and environmental applications.

Circular economy provides an efficient framework for effective biomass valorization, through strategic use and processing of resources and waste reuse. Being the second largest energetic crop, rapeseed (RS) presents a high potential in this sense. However, good management of the large quantity of generated wastes from agro-industrial activities is required. The most common management strategies in this sense refer to the reuse of RS wastes (mainly stems and press-cake) for animal feed, compost, soil amendment and fertilizer. Valorization of RS wastes as adsorbent for wastewater treatment is attractive. Despite the fact that only few articles on this subject exist in literature, they are sufficient to reflect the potential of this adsorbent to remove both inorganic and organic compounds from aqueous phase. The rapeseed wastes were used in native form (for diluted effluents) or modified by chemical or thermal treatment (for concentrated effluents or large molecule contaminants). This chapter will provide a review on the RS wastes management strategies, highlighting the applications for removing contaminants from wastewater in single and multi-component systems, in static or continuous operation mode.

In the current study the response of aquatic macroinvertebrate communities to multiple anthropogenic stressors in a typical lowland river that crosses pristine sectors situated toward headwaters, as well as densely populated urban areas was assessed. We wished to develop an effective bioassay procedure for assessing water and sediment quality in lotic ecosystems from Romania with the aid of macroinvertebrate organisms correlated with physico-chemical parameters and pollutants in both dissolved fractions and material bonded to sediment. A fast scanning approach of the river, from springs to the mouth, was employed. We found significant changes in physico-chemical parameters along a longitudinal gradient, the highest values being registered within the urban area and heavily agriculturally developed areas. The macroinvertebrates showed affinities for certain abiotic factors, emphasising their potential use for future studies as reliable ecological indicators, shaped by a synergic combination of urban effects and magnitude of type of land use.

Waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) became an important waste stream due to its recycling potential and negative effects on the social, economic and environmental aspects. Currently, the evaluation of WEEE management systems focus on specific parts of their lifecycle (mostly on recycling options), providing information on environmental impacts and/or economic benefits. Therefore, a methodology that would address the entire WEEE lifecycle and the 3 pillars of sustainable development (environmental, economic, social) is necessary. The proposed SUSTWEEE methodology dedicated exclusively to the WEEE stream comprises a 4 level methodology, with indicators to be addressed on background information, WEEE generation, WEEE technical performance and sustainability. The technical performance and sustainability aspects are evaluated on 7 main categories of indicators, both quantitative and qualitative, assessed according to 44 criteria. All the indicators went through a score allocation and a normalization step where a percentage, qualitative score and color coding were assigned, resulting in a WEEE evaluation matrix. In the validation step, the methodology was tested successfully at national level to evaluate the sustainability of WEEE management system in Romania in reference year 2014. The results obtained in this case show a rather mixed performance, with indicators in extreme situations. The main hot spots were the very low collection rates and the non-existent reuse rate, at least in official data, while the other indicators indicated at least medium performances. The best performances are in the area of WEEE collected that undergoes suitable treatment, the existence of WEEE facilities in Romania capable to perform the treatment, high recycling rate and the overall environmental performance indicator.

The cross-border rivers management is a challenge for the involved countries, especially if they do not have the same type of legislation. The negative effects on water quality are quantified by using environmental impact assessment tools. Thus, the quantification of impacts that could affect the human health, ecosystem equilibrium, and biodiversity is based on monitoring of the water quality indicators. An increased attention should be paid to the toxic pollutants resulted from various activities that may affect the aquatic environment and human health on short and long term. This study approaches the cross-border impact assessment of heavy metals, organic, and nutrient pollution in the case of two countries (Romania and Republic of Moldova), the Prut River being the natural border. The methodology considered a specific area of the Prut River on both river sides, based on specific water quality indicators. The studied area covers sampling points from North to South within Iasi County and Republic of Moldova, in the Prut River cross-border section. To assess the pollutants’ impacts, the improved Leopold Matrix and the Rapid Impact Assessment Matrix were adapted and applied. The results offered an overview on water pollution level and impacts on the Prut River cross-border area, for the 5-year period (2015–2019). There is a major negative impact generated in the Southern part of the studied area, in the case of the following indicators: copper, selenium, organic substances, with an increased level of pollution recorded in the last 2 years (2018, 2019). The conclusion of this research is that even if both countries follow the international protocols concerning cross-border pollution, they still have to comply to different environmental standards which approach differently the pollution levels and the significant impacts on water quality.

Rapeseed (RS) waste was used for sequential biosorption from aqueous solutions of two target micropollutants: lead ions and Reactive blue 19 (Rb19) dye, through an integrated approach, combining experimental assessment and statistical modeling. In both cases of sequential biosorption, a pseudo-second order kinetic model fitted the biosorption data well. Intraparticle diffusion proved to be the rate-limiting step in the sequential retention of both micropollutants. A selective desorption of metal ions and anionic dye at pH 2.5 and 10.5, respectively was observed. The quadratic models generated by response surface methodology (RSM) adequately described the sequential biosorption process and the desorption process, respectively. XPS and FTIR analysis indicated the mechanisms involved in the retention of target pollutants.

Water and wastewater treatment plants are essential for the supply of drinking water for consumption and the treatment of effluents produced by human/industrial activities. However, few studies deal with the investments and sustainability of these services, which consider both the contribution of nature and society. This study uses the emergy approach to evaluate a wastewater treatment plant located in the northeastern part of Romania, in Iași city. An assessment of the environmental costs of natural fluxes required for the treatment processes was performed, considering that the treated effluent is, still, loaded with contaminants that have to be absorbed by the receiving water natural system. The work done by nature to assimilate this load, generally considered free, is esteemed as a further cost in the total emergy budget of the wastewater treatment processes. The sustainability perspective was approached by calculating and analyzing the emergy yield ratio (EYR), environmental load rate (ELR), and emergy sustainability development index (ESI). The use of local renewable natural resources in Iași municipal wastewater treatment plants is negligible (1.71% of the total plant emergy budget), as compared to that of the purchased resources (98.29% of the total plant emergy budget) mainly processed with the support of fossil fuels’ generated energy. The unit emegy value was, also, calculated and compared to other studies relevant for wastewater treatment plants. The analysis suggests that the large amount of emergy that wastewater contains is proportional to the number of resources employed for wastewater treatment and the extensive effects on surrounding ecosystems, where wastewater is discharged.

The presence of emerging pollutants in the aquatic environment in relatively small concentrations and the fact that they cannot be removed by conventional water/wastewater treatment processes bring new challenges in terms of adequate selection of technologies from the technical, economical and environmental points of view. Generally, literature discusses emerging pollutants’ removal at significant concentrations (such as those in wastewater), while few studies consider their low concentrations occurring in raw water. This study presents a comprehensive review of the research efforts related to the occurrence, fate, health effects and impacts of emerging pollutants on advanced drinking water treatment and the environmental performance evaluation of different technological options, with a focus on pilot and full-scale installations. All presented case studies consider pollutants removed, process conditions and removal efficiencies, thus making possible comparisons between membrane processes, advanced oxidation processes and adsorption on activated carbon and other materials. The study is completed by an analysis of the environmental assessment instruments (life cycle assessment, carbon, water footprints, other type of assessments) that may be used for selecting sustainable advanced drinking water treatment processes able to remove emerging pollutants. This paper critically reviews the main research topics concerning emerging pollutants: classification, legislative framework, up-to-date removal processes and their environmental performances assessment, to offer a comprehensive analysis of the strategic issues that may constitute future research directions for sustainable water supply.

This study considers the valorisation of an important amount of fly ash generated as waste in the process of coal burning in a thermal power plant of Iasi municipality (Romania). The waste valorisation is related to the development of a new building material by using the alkaline activated fly ash based on the fact that inorganic polymers with similar properties to ordinary Portland cement may be obtained by alkaline treatment. Three main operating parameters were considered for the synthesis of this material: the liquid/solid ratio, the concentration of alkaline solution and the activation temperature. By minimizing the activation temperature and recycling the hydroxide solution, the synthesis of low-cost materials for partial cement replacement in concrete was possible. The synthesized materials were thoroughly characterised for analysis of chemical composition, morphology, physical and mechanical properties by XRD, SEM, EDX, TGA, FTIR, density and compressive strength. According to experimental results, the synthesized materials have a bigger specific surface area as compared to that determined for fly ash. The XRD and FTIR analysis proved that fly ash waste contains: quartz, mullite, iron oxide and a vitreous phase, while the synthesized materials after the fly ash alkaline treatment contain: quartz, sodalite, chabazite, geopolymer gel.

In freshwater ecosystems toxic metals can follow different routes of bioaccumulation in the organisms' body mass, routes that are similar to electronic circuits, but far more complex due to their hierarchy levels. Reservoirs located on river courses have positive impacts on economic and social development because they concentrate large water volumes used for electrical energy production, water supply, irrigation, industry, aquaculture, providing ecosystems for migratory birds and aquatic species. The aim of the study was to assess the contamination with copper (Cu), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), chromium (Cr) and nickel (Ni) of a cross-border reservoir located on River Prut (border between Romania and Republic of Moldova) in a temperate climate zone. Several aspects were considered: seasonal variation of water parameters and toxic metals, bioconcentration in eight fish species and transfer from prey to predator through the food chain, bioaccumulation by two freshwater molluscs separated in size groups and their role as bioindicators of toxic metals pollution. Metals concentrations were measured with an atomic absorption spectrometer (HR-CS GF-AAS). Cadmium, lead, nickel and chromium concentrations limits in water samples were below the detection limits (0.005 μg L-1Cd, 0.013 μg L-1Pb and 0.011 μg L-1Cr) during the monitoring period, suggesting that anthropogenic contamination was insignificant in the studied ecosystem. Fish liver and kidney had specific selectivity for copper (0.9-55.56 μg g-1) and cadmium (0.097-1.031 μg g-1) in case of pike-perch and bighead carp. The separation of molluscs in size groups did not prove that toxic metals increase in concentration with the organism age.

The assessment of waste management systems for electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) from developed economies (Germany, Sweden and Italy) and developing countries (Romania and Bulgaria), is discussed covering the period 2007–2014. The WEEE management systems profiles are depicted by indicators correlated to WEEE life cycle stages: collection, transportation and treatment. The sustainability of national WEEE management systems in terms of greenhouse gas emissions is presented, together with the greenhouse gas efficiency indicator that underlines the efficiency of WEEE treatment options. In the countries comparisons, the key elements are: robust versus fragile economies, the overall waste management performance and the existence/development of suitable management practices on WEEE. Over the life cycle perspective, developed economies (Germany, Sweden and Italy) manage one order of magnitude higher quantities of WEEE compared to developing countries (Romania and Bulgaria). Although prevention and reduction measures are encouraged, all WEEE quantities were larger in 2013, than in 2007. In 2007–2014, developed economies exceed the annual European collection target of 4 kg WEEE/capita, while collection is still difficult in developing countries. If collection rates are estimated in relationship with products placed on market, than similar values are registered in Sweden and Bulgaria, followed by Germany and Italy and lastly Romania. WEEE transportation shows different patterns among countries, with Italy as the greatest exporter (in 2014), while Sweden treats the WEEE nationally. WEEE reuse is a common practice in Germany, Sweden (from 2009) and Bulgaria (from 2011). By 2014, recycling was the most preferred WEEE treatment option, with the same kind of rates performance, over 80%, irrespective of the country, with efforts in each of the countries in developing special collection points, recycling facilities and support instruments. The national total and the recycling carbon footprints of WEEE are lower in 2013 than in 2007 for each country, the order in reducing the environmental impacts being: Germany, Italy, Sweden, Bulgaria and Romania. The negative values indicate savings in greenhouse gas emissions. In 2013, the GHG efficiency shows no differences of the WEEE management in the developed and developing countries.

Lead, as well as other heavy metals, is regarded as priority pollutant due to its non-biodegradability, toxicity and persistence in the environment. In this study, rapeseed biomass was used in the biosorption of Pb(II) ions in batch and dynamic conditions, as well as with tests for industrial wastewater. The influence of initial concentration (5–250 mg/L), pH and contact time (0.5–6 h) was investigated. The kinetic data modeling resulted in good correlations with the pseudo-second order and intraparticle diffusion models. The maximum sorption capacities of Pb(II) were 18.35, 21.29 and 22.7 mg/L at 4, 20 and 50°C, respectively. Thermodynamic parameters indicated the spontaneity and endothermic nature of lead biosorption on rapeseed biomass. The biosorption mechanism involves both physical and chemical interactions. The breakthrough curves at 50 and 100 mg/L were determined and evaluated under dynamic conditions. The breakthrough time lowered with increasing the influent Pb(II) concentration. The experimental data obtained from fixed-bed column tests were well fitted by Thomas and Yoon-Nelson models. The calculated sorption capacities were in good agreement with the uptake capacity of Langmuir model. The applicability of rapeseed to be used as a sorbent for Pb(II) ions from real wastewater was tested, and Pb(II) removal efficiency of 94.47% was obtained.

This special issue of the Process Safety and Environmental Protection Journal contains articles that were presented at the 8th International Conference on Environmental Engineering and Management, ICEEM08 held between 9–12 September 2015, in Iasi, Romania. The series of International Conferences on Environmental Engineering and Management (ICEEM) was initiated and organized every 2 years, since 2002, by the Department of Environmental Engineering and Management of the “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iasi, aiming to bring together international researchers, academics, professionals and students, activating in the fields of environmental engineering and management. Two of the previous editions were organised in Hungary (ICEEM06) and Austria (ICEEM07), the ICEEM conference language being exclusively English. The 8th ICEEM edition co-organiser was the Environmental Biotechnology section of the European Federation of Biotechnology. ICEEM08 included 8 plenary conferences held by renowned scientific personalities, 12 oral parallel sessions and 10 poster sessions, all grouped on the conference themes alowing the interaction of 209 international researchers, academics, professionals and young researchers from 22 countries. This special issue contains 14 articles with authors from five countries (France, Portugal, Romania, Republic of Moldova, Spain) that bring interdisciplinary research approaches to the following major conference themes: environmental monitoring, water and wastewater treatment, air pollution, soil pollution as well as improvement of process efficiency through synthesis and testing of new materials and process modeling.

Sorption by low-cost lignocellulosic materials is the method receiving the utmost attention in searching for the best green approach in water pollution remediation. Among all the forms under which lignocellulosic materials are available for wastewater treatment purposes, a special position is occupied by lignocellulosic fibers such as hemp fibers. The plant fibers provides ecological and economical conveniences of high practical significance. This chapter reports relevant published researches dealing with new sorbents based on hemp fibers applied in batch and dynamic systems for the removal of pollutants from environmental aqueous media. It is divided into the following sections: distinctive features of hemp fibers as sorption media; sorption removal of pollutants from aqueous solutions by different types of hemp fibers; the applicability of sorbents based on hemp fibers for water and wastewater treatment; comparison of sorbents based on hemp fibers with other green sorbents for wastewater treatment. The results of all studies systematized and interpreted in this chapter strongly recommend the use of hemp fibers as a sustainable solution to ameliorate the quality of wastewaters.

The typical treatment scheme of a large municipal wastewater treatment plant (LWWTP) is almost always the result of design based on technical and economic criteria. Once a threshold in terms of population equivalent (PE) is reached, it is possible that additional sludge thermal treatment might be required. Aspects such as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and land use for the construction of the WWTP or the service landfill are considered marginal in current design practice; in a world that requires increasingly attention to the environment, these criteria cannot be ignored when defining the treatment scheme of a LWWTP. With the intent of providing a sustainable approach to design, this study aims to identify the best treatment scheme for a LWWTP with a 720,000 PE size. Methodologically, the study involves the development of an approach based on multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA). Six alternative treatment schemes were considered; two simplified schemes, without primary sedimentation, with extended aeration activated sludge processes and aerobic sludge stabilization; four full schemes, with primary sedimentation and anaerobic sludge digestion. Some schemes differ for the organic loading rate applied; others for the use of sludge incineration. Subsequently, six evaluation criteria (ECs) such as GHG emissions, electricity consumption, running costs, WWTP planimetric area, surface for the service landfill, as well as WWTP as biorefinery have been considered. The weighting of the ECs involved the participation of the main stakeholders in such a decision-making process, following a bottom-up approach. The resolution of the MCDA problem allowed the identification of the full scheme based on primary sedimentation, biological activated sludge at low organic load (0.210 kgBOD5/kgVSS/d) and anaerobic sludge digestion as the best solution. The sensitivity analysis, able to indirectly take into account the multitude of decision makers involved, allowed corroborating the results. The obtained treatment scheme was different from that generally adopted in current design practice for LWWTPs.

Wine contamination with heavy metals may pose long-term human health risks and environmental damages. This study evaluated the frequently detected heavy metals (HMs): Cr-Chromium, Fe-Iron, Cu-Copper, Mn-Manganese, Ni-Nickel and Zn-Zinc in the winemaking stages of white (Grasa de Cotnari) and red (Feteasca neagra) wine varieties. Samples from wines and wastewaters were collected at eight different winemaking stages and HMs quantification was done by high-resolution continuum source atomic absorption spectrometry. Results showed that, in white wines Pb, Cu and Cr concentrations decreased during winemaking processes, while in red wines only Pb and Cu levels were reduced. A progressive increment was observed for Ni and Fe in white wines and for Cr, Ni and Fe in red wines, during winemaking. In the final winemaking stage of white wines, Fe and Mn concentrations were 3826 and 1493 μg/L, respectively, while in red wines, 1136 and 1256 μg/L, respectively. Analysis of wines consumption safety was performed according to the estimated daily intake (EDI) and target hazard quotients (THQ). EDI values of the analysed white wines ranged from 0.0032 to 6.2217, and for red wines from 0.0004 to 2.6919. THQ values below 1 suggested that moderate wine consumption does not have negative impacts on human health.

Gold (Au) is one of the precious metals whose availability, use and recovery represent important problems from the economic and environmental point of view. The synthesis of the novel acrylic copolymer bearing dimethylaminobenzaldehyde functional groups (AS–5BA) was carried out in three stages. The structure of the synthesized material was evidenced by infrared spectroscopy (IR) and its morphology by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), while the elemental composition was determined through X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The AS–5BA functionalized copolymer was used for gold sorption from chloride solution by the batch method. The effects of HCl medium acidity, initial Au(III) concentration, and contact time on the Au(III) retention were studied. The maximum Au(III) sorption capacity was evaluated as 87.75 mg/g. The copolymer under study exhibited strong selectivity for the gold in the binary Au(III)–Co(II), Au(III)–Mn(II) and Au(III)–Cd(II) solutions. Gold could be quantitatively desorbed from the loaded sorbent with acidic solution of thiourea at ambient temperature. The developed AS–5BA copolymer was successfully applied to recover gold from a wastewater collected from a gold jewellery manufacturing plant. The AS–5BA functionalized acrylic copolymer with N as donor atoms has good durability as well as good efficiency for its repeated use for gold removal from aqueous solutions.

The anthropogenic activities in the Black Sea area are responsible for toxic metal contamination of sea food products. In this study, several toxic metals: cadmium, lead, nickel, chromium, and copper were quantified in different tissues (digestive tract, muscle, skeleton, skin) of nine fish species (Neogobius melanostomus, Belone belone, Solea solea, Trachurus mediterraneus ponticus, Sardina pilchardus, Engraulis encrasicolus, Pomatomus saltatrix, Sprattus sprattus, Scorpaena porcus) by using atomic absorption spectrometer with a high-resolution continuum source and graphite furnace technique (HR-CS GF-AAS), and the risk of fish meat consumption by the young human population was evaluated. These metals are used in high amounts in industries located near the coastline such as shipyard construction and industrial plants. Toxic metal accumulation depends on fish feeding behavior, abiotic conditions, metal chemistry, and animal physiology. For instance, cadmium was measured in the muscle of the investigated species and average values of 0.0008–0.0338 mg kg−1 were obtained. The lowest average value of this metal was measured at benthic species N. melanostomus and the highest at the pelagic predator T. mediterraneus ponticus. Generally, the highest metal concentration was measured in the digestive tract that has the role of biofilter for these contaminants. The risk of contamination is significantly reduced by avoiding the consumption of certain fish tissues (digestive tract and skin for copper and skeleton for nickel). An estimation of the dietary metal intake to young consumers was realized for each of the studied species of fish from Romanian, Bulgarian, and Turkish waters, during the period 2001–2014 in order to evaluate the risks of chronic exposure in time due to metal toxicity. This estimation is important for the prevention of chronic exposure due to metal toxicity. Food exposure to studied metals showed a negative trend for Romania, Turkey, and Bulgaria based on the data provided by this study. The young consumers were highly exposed to these elements during the 2001–2006 period as proven by the results from this study.

Chlorophenols, commonly found in industrial effluents, are considered as priority pollutants because they may cause severe environmental impacts and human health related problems. Nanofiltration (NF) represents an important option for the removal of chlorophenols present in aqueous effluents. This study presents some results on the performance of nanofiltration for the removal of 4-chlorophenol and 2,4-dichlorophenol from synthetic wastewaters considering the selection of adequate operating and cleaning conditions, flux recovery and removal efficiencies. A laboratory scale set-up fitted with AFC 40 membranes was used for the study of nanofiltration parameters influence (mode of operation, pressure and cleaning conditions) on the removal efficiencies, considering different initial concentrations of 4-chlorophenol and 2,4-dichlorophenol in the aqueous solutions. The results show that, depending on process parameters and initial pollutant loads, it is possible to achieve removal efficiencies of up to 85% for both chlorophenols. The permeate flux for the different operational pressures varied from 20.25 L/m2h to 59.0 L/m2h.