Search

This article presents a comprehensive benchmarking analysis of merit performance factors in the Effluent Treatment Plants (ETP) of the textile industry. The study aims to identify and evaluate key factors that contribute to the efficient operation and performance of ETPs. The performance of ETP was analyzed by valuable data gained from figures of PH, Dissolved oxygen, Dissolved solids, Suspended solids, Density, COD and BOD. The technical trends showed the deviations in the working conditions of Effluent Treatment Plant by variation in temperature. This variation is achieved by varying the settling time of wastewater in the sedimentation tank during the working process. The required dosing, plant efficiency and economic factors were taken into account. The Plant efficiency was determined to be 83.5% at normal conditions of water entering at temperature of 30°C and pressure of 1 atm along with addition of coagulants and flocculants in the wastewater. While the efficiency of the ETP plant was calculated about 88% using a Compact photometer at elevated conditions of temperature such as > 45°C, while at other temperatures the efficiency decreases significantly due to several reasons. The operating time of water treatment was decreased due to the variations in temperature of wastewater while other conditions kept constant like pressure, flow rates of water and chemicals (Polyacrylamide and Polymeric Ferric Sulfate). The usage of coagulants and flocculants at optimum conditions has been discussed in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The disposal of pharmaceutical wastewater has gained increasing attention due to its potential adverse effects on the environment and public health. This study aims to assess the concentration of pharmaceutical contaminants and their toxicity to aquatic organisms. A qualitative research approach was used. Composite samples were collected from the effluent storage system. Various analytical techniques, including high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), were employed to detect and quantify pharmaceutical compounds in wastewater samples. The results revealed various pharmaceutical compounds (ibuprofen 28 μg/L, diclofenac 27.20 μg/L, paracetamol 22.03 μg/L, and tramadol <0.01 μg/L) in the wastewater. The maximal environmental concentration (MEC) for all the detected pharmaceuticals was high; hence, the risk quotients (RQs) indicated potential toxicity (RO > 1). It further indicates that the effluent was more toxic to animals (daphnia and fish) than algae (plants). It can be concluded that pharmaceutical effluent was toxic to aquatic organisms. Therefore, there is a need to implement stringent regulatory measures to mitigate untreated pharmaceutical effluent in water bodies. Addressing pharmaceutical contaminants in wastewater is crucial to safeguarding the environment and public health in an increasing pharmaceutical use and production era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A screening protocol was developed and applied to isolate and select cultivars of freshwater filamentous macroalgae for year-round monoculture cultivation and nutrient bioremediation of primary municipal wastewater. The screening protocol is a step-by-step guide to identify robust cultivars which possess key attributes of competitive dominance, high biomass productivity and bioremediation performance under local seasonal and extreme conditions. Forty-four mixed samples of freshwater filamentous macroalgae were collected during summer and winter from a range of local aquatic environments. Eleven isolated cultivars were grown in primary treated municipal wastewater and their biomass productivity and bioremediation performance under local ambient (summer and winter), extreme summer (max. summer) and winter (min. winter) conditions were assessed. Extreme conditions proved to be an important determining factor for cultivar selection as biomass productivity and bioremediation performance significantly declined under min. winter conditions. However, biomass productivity was not directly related to bioremediation performance, as cultivars with low growth rates maintained high nutrient removal rates under min. winter conditions. Top performing cultivars were Klebsormidium sp. (KLEB B) which reduced total ammoniacal-N concentrations by 99.9% to 0.01 mg L-1 (± 0.01 SE), Oedogonium sp. (OEDO D) which reduced nitrate-N concentrations by 90.2% to 0.08 mg L-1 (± 0.7 SE) and Rhizoclonium sp. which reduced phosphate concentrations by 98.7% to 0.02 mg L-1 (± 0.01 SE). Based on overall biomass productivity and bioremediation performance across seasonal and extreme conditions Klebsormidium sp. (KLEB B), Stigeoclonium sp. (STIG A) and Ulothrix sp. were identified as top performing cultivars suitable for the nutrient bioremediation of primary municipal wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrial activities are paramount to sustaining the economy in a rapidly developing nation and global powerhouse like India. Leather industries are important in the country's economic map due to the high revenue and employment generation opportunities. Several of these industries contribute largely to environmental pollution. The pollution of the environment is mainly caused by improper disposal of the tannery effluents that are highly rich in hexavalent chromium, a potent human carcinogen. Hexavalent chromium imparts toxic effects on the biotic components, which include plants, animals, and humans. The review portrays the current status of the Indian leather tanning sector and its impact on the Indian economy. The process of chromium tanning and its adverse effects on the environmental biotic components have been briefly discussed. Phytoremediation of these effluents using suitable hyperaccumulating plants has been suggested as an eco-friendly and cost-effective approach for the sustainable restoration of the polluted environment. The mechanism behind the remediation approach and the factors influencing it have been detailed. The manuscript briefly discusses some important advancements in the field of phytoremediation and emerging technologies and concludes by emphasizing further research for sustainable management of tannery wastes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Twenty-four treated municipal wastewater samples were collected during one-year study period and examined for the presence of helminthes eggs, Cryptosporidium oocysts, and Giardia cysts to compare between their occurrences. Modified Bailenger method was used in this study to detect and enumerate nematode eggs in the treated wastewater samples, while polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique was used to detect Cryptosporidium and Giardia in the same treated wastewater samples. Results revealed that Ascaris eggs were detected in only 8.33% out of 24 treated wastewater samples, while Cryptosporidium oocysts and Giardia cysts were detected in 20.83 and 12.5% out of the same 24 treated wastewater samples, respectively. The public's health is at risk since treated wastewater used for agriculture still contains Giardia cysts and Cryptosporidium oocysts, even if it satisfies the nematode criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work aimed to optimize the homogeneous Fenton process used to remove phenol in a chemical industry located in Mauá (São Paulo, Brazil). Phenolic effluent exhibits significant variability in its chemical composition, which poses a great challenge in finding the optimal reagents ratio for conducting Fenton treatment. Often, there is a need for repetitions to treat the same batch, leading to increased reagent consumption and treatment time. Thus, to optimize the industrial process, the present work applied modern optimization techniques on real data, such as design of experiments (DoE) and artificial neural network (ANN). ANN was used to perform simulations in the company's process, thereby predicting the quantities of ferrous sulfate heptahydrate and hydrogen peroxide. The following optimal conditions have been determined by DoE (phenol concentration ≤ 4 ppm): pH from 2.7 to 4 and temperature from 28 to 40 °C. Before the implementation of the optimized parameters, the efficiency for a single treatment was 45%. After, the efficiency was 82% and the company saved, on average, 51.6% of reagent costs. The main contribution of the present work is the development and industrial testing of data science methods that aims to optimize the industrial Fenton process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effect concentrations of ammonia, nickel, sodium chloride, and potassium chloride from short‐term 7‐day tests were compared to those from standard chronic 28‐day toxicity tests with juvenile mussels (fatmucket, Lampsilis siliquoidea) to evaluate the sensitivities of the 7‐day tests. The effect concentrations for nickel (59 µg Ni/L), chloride (316–519 mg Cl/L, a range from multiple tests), and potassium (15 mg K/L) obtained from the 7‐day tests were within a range of effect concentrations for each corresponding chemical in the 28‐day tests (41–91 µg Ni/L, 251–>676 mg Cl/L, 15–23 mg K/L), whereas the 7‐day ammonia effect concentration (0.40 mg/L total ammonia nitrogen; TAN) was up to 3.3‐fold greater than the 28‐day effect concentrations (0.12–0.36 mg TAN/L) but with overlapped 95% confidence limits. These results indicate that the 7‐day tests produced similar estimates compared to the 28‐day tests. Further studies are needed to evaluate the 7‐day test sensitivity using additional chemicals with different modes of toxic action. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;43:2020–2025. Published 2024. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The textile dying industry is one of the most important industrial sectors in Bangladesh. The discharged untreated effluent from different industries adds to the environment a wide variety of harmful chemicals, which cause severe damage to the water. The present study aimed to characterize the discharged effluent surrounding the areas of cottage textile dyeing industries. The effluent samples were collected from different locations of the four upazilas (administrative regions) in Sirajganj district in three seasons, namely the pre-monsoon, monsoon, and post-monsoon, covering two years. The study considered the major physicochemical and chemical parameters, including biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), heavy metals, and anions. The analysis results showed that most of the physicochemical parameters, including EC, pH, TDS, TSS, turbidity, BOD, COD, organic matter (OM), total hardness (TH), the cationic and anionic parameters, and trace metals, including Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, and Pb, in effluent samples exceeded the Department of Environment, Bangladesh (DoE-BD) standard, 2008. The most toxic heavy metals, such as Cr, Mn, Cd, and Pb, were found to be higher than the standard permissible limit in all of the collected samples, indicating heavy metal pollution in the area. The analysis results of the Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) showed that the effluent samples contained toxic functional groups, like azo, cyano, etc., indicating higher levels of pollution due to the discharge of untreated textile dyeing effluent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the generations, the textile industry has built a reputation as one of the world's biggest water consumers and polluters. Today, the shift in environmental and social awareness impacts textile markets and production techniques. This paper describes a unique way to reduce the intake of freshwater for the dyeing process in the textile industry. Efforts have been made to utilize reactive, basic, and direct dye-bath effluents directly as liquor in polyester dyeing for 0.5, 2, and 4% shade of primary colors. The obtained result shows that the fabric dyed in effluents has acceptable color strength and color difference as that of the conventional dyeing process with freshwater. The fastness properties of all the dyed fabrics were good to excellent. Thus, this process can effectively reduce the intake of freshwater by about 30,000 L/ton. Also, it has an economic benefit and can save 450 Rs/ton. Thus, the findings prove that effluents generated from the cotton dyeing unit can be used directly for polyester dyeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The water pollution due to tannery industries that contaminate river water and other spheres, is a side effect of industry expansion. The research focused on the biological removal of synthetic azo dyes by using biological treatment under aerobic conditions. Through morphological observation, biochemical test, and 16S rRNA sequence analysis the isolated bacteria were determined to be Aeromonas caviae, Enterobacter sichuanensis. Reduction of the organic content present in the tannery effluent and removal of the nutrients that cause pollution or inactivate potential pathogenic microorganisms or parasites. Optimized the azo dye degradation conditions at the temperature of 37°C, at pH 7 in 10% inoculum concentration at the time of 48th hour where novel organism capable of performing effective degradation. The metabolite of an aliquot mixture of the optimized condition was analyzed using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and the results confirmed the reduction of azo dyes. These results indicate that A. caviae and E. sichuanensis can be utilized as a solution for the remediation of tannery industrial effluent containing azo dyes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This article presents a comprehensive benchmarking analysis of merit performance factors in the Effluent Treatment Plants (ETP) of the textile industry. The study aims to identify and evaluate key factors that contribute to the efficient operation and performance of ETPs. The performance of ETP was analyzed by valuable data gained from figures of PH, Dissolved oxygen, Dissolved solids, Suspended solids, Density, COD and BOD. The technical trends showed the deviations in the working conditions of Effluent Treatment Plant by variation in temperature. This variation is achieved by varying the settling time of wastewater in the sedimentation tank during the working process. The required dosing, plant efficiency and economic factors were taken into account. The Plant efficiency was determined to be 83.5% at normal conditions of water entering at temperature of 30°C and pressure of 1 atm along with addition of coagulants and flocculants in the wastewater. While the efficiency of the ETP plant was calculated about 88% using a Compact photometer at elevated conditions of temperature such as > 45°C, while at other temperatures the efficiency decreases significantly due to several reasons. The operating time of water treatment was decreased due to the variations in temperature of wastewater while other conditions kept constant like pressure, flow rates of water and chemicals (Polyacrylamide and Polymeric Ferric Sulfate). The usage of coagulants and flocculants at optimum conditions has been discussed in this study.

Wastewater reuse has become a common practice in many industries to manage water resources effectively. The objective of this research was to investigate the possibility of reusing treated wastewater from the Urmieh 2 industrial state an integrated approach combining industrial and agricultural water harvesting. In this study, a pilot-scale IFAS system was used for wastewater treatment, which included an anaerobic reactor. The effective parameters evaluated included efficiency in removing COD, BOD, TSS, pH and HRT. The adaptation of microorganisms in biofilm formation to reach a stable state in the IFAS occurred within a maximum of 35 days. After this period, no noticeable change in COD removal efficiency was observed. The optimal HRT for anaerobic reactor was 1 day with 4 hr of aerobic activity. The highest removal efficiencies of COD, BOD and TSS, respectively, were observed with HRTs of 2 days anaerobic and 8 hr aerobic 88.71%, 3 days anaerobic and 8 hr aerobic 92.11%, and 2 days anaerobic and 8 hr aerobic 97.90%. According to the Wilcox classification, the effluents from the process are categorized as medium-quality waters and are suitable for irrigation purposes. The output pH values indicate that the treated wastewater can also be used in agricultural applications.

Silver is widely used, but the pollution caused by silver ions is also a problem that cannot be ignored. Detection of heavy metal ions based on bulky and costly analytical instruments had been developed very maturely in the laboratory. At present, the main detection methods of silver ion concentration include inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, atomic absorption spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma/atomic emission spectrometry. However, these testing methods have many problems to be solved, such as the high of instruments, high operating cost, numerous operational requirements, long testing time and complex processing technology. Nowadays, with the rapid and powerful development of smartphone technology, the new analytical methods based on smartphones equipped with a camera are being carried in the certain applied ideas. Here, the paper introduces a hand-held detection platform smartphone-based that allows the quantification of silver(I) ions with the detection limit of 0.659 mM. The Colour Grab software of android smartphone was applied to obtain R, G, B values of the photo of Rhodamine B solution remaining fluorescence, and then calculated the corresponding grey values by grey formula. The detection platform based on smart phones has the characteristics of cost-effective design and simple operation, as well as high sensitivity and selectivity. Therefore, compared with other detection methods, this method can be widely and conveniently applied to the detection of silver ions in the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than 50 years have passed since the first studies of microalgae treating effluents were published. Suspended growth of filamentous algae in wastewater ponds has been considered in several publications for over a decade. However, despite all the research efforts and the knowledge generated, the technology is far from being adopted. This review compiles all the publications identified in different databases, which used filamentous algal ponds to remediate varied wastewaters, with the aim of identifying the research needs to allow the technology's application. The experimental methods and results obtained were extracted and compiled for comparison from 28 relevant studies, in which municipal wastewater and Oedogonium spp. were most used. Most of the studies were performed at a small laboratory scale and for short time periods. There was a remarkable use of effluents with a high degree of pretreatment and more studies focused on the biomass productivity than the treatment performance. It is recommended that future research use wastewater, with minimum intervention, rather than defined nutrient solutions, to assess the potential for wastewater treatment. Transitioning from laboratory to outdoor systems at scale should be a primary aim to further adopt this technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

UV filters and benzotriazole UV stabilizers are considered emerging contaminants in the environment. LC–MS/MS and GC–MS methods, involving a single solid phase extraction protocol, were developed and validated to determine eight UV filters and seven UV stabilizers, respectively in wastewater from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Lüneburg, Germany. The LC–MS/MS method exhibited extraction recoveries of ≥ 71% at six different fortification levels with limits of detection (LODs) range of 0.02 ng mL−1 – 0.09 ng mL−1. Extraction recoveries of 47 to 119% at six different fortification levels were obtained for the GC–MS method with LODs range of 0.01 – 0.09 ng mL−1. Among the UV filters, the highest mean concentration was determined for octocrylene (OCR) in influent (3.49 ng mL−1) while the highest mean concentration was measured for 2-hydroxy-4-octyloxybenzophenone (UV 531) in influent (0.44 ng mL−1) among the UV stabilizers. Potential risk to aquatic organisms was assessed by the risk quotient approach. Only OCR presented a high risk to aquatic invertebrates whereas 2-ethylhexyl 4-methoxycinnamate (EHMC) and 2-ethylhexyl salicylate (EHS) posed high risks to algae. Benzotriazole UV stabilizers presented negligible risks to aquatic invertebrates and fish. This work reports the detection of rarely studied 4-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) and UV 531 in WWTP influent and effluent. The occurrence and risk assessment of target benzotriazole UV stabilizers in wastewater from a German WWTP was demonstrated for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in effluent and residual sludge from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) pose significant environmental and human health risks due to their persistence, bioaccumulation, and difficulty in detection and degradation. This study investigates the environmental exposure and risks associated with EDCs in effluent and sludge from four WWTPs: Tangxi River (TXH), Zipeng Mountain (ZPS), Lianxi (LX), and Wang Xiaoying (WXY). Methods: Environmental exposure indexes of EDCs were assessed in the effluent and sludge of the four WWTPs across four seasons (spring, summer, autumn, and winter) from October 2017 to October 2018. Detection rates of various pollutants, their seasonal and spatial characteristics, and removal rates were analyzed. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) was used for source analysis under influent data, and an ecological risk assessment was conducted using the risk quotient (RQ) method. Results: The study found 4-n-nonylphenol (NP) and di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) had 100% detection rates in the effluent of all four WWTPs, while only DEHP showed a 100% detection rate in the sludge. Bisphenol A (BPA) exhibited the highest concentration in the TXH effluent during autumn. Benzo(a)pyrene (B(a)P) was detected only in the sludge during spring and summer and in the effluent of TXH and WXY. PMF source analysis indicated industrial wastewater discharge as the primary source of pollutants. Ecological risk assessment revealed a high RQ for estriol (E3) in TXH effluent during autumn, and DEHP presented a potential carcinogenic risk through drinking water. Discussion: The findings highlight significant seasonal and spatial variations in EDC concentrations and removal rates across the WWTPs. The persistent presence of DEHP and the high-risk levels of E3 in specific seasons underscore the need for improved treatment processes and stricter industrial discharge regulations to mitigate EDC-related risks. Further research is recommended to explore advanced detection and degradation techniques for EDCs in WWTPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microplastic (MP) contamination has grown to be a serious environmental issue in recent years. Microplastics are plastic particles, with a size of less than 5 mm, that are either produced specifically for use in a variety of products or emerge through the decomposition of larger plastic items. Data from prior research conducted in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) regarding the abundances of microplastics across different treatment stages of WWTPs in different countries were compiled using online scientific databases. This research found that although Turkey only managed to attain a removal rate of 48.0%, Iran and the United States were able to reach removal rates of over 90.0%. It was discovered that two plants in Morocco had relatively high removal efficiencies, with one achieving a remarkable 74.0% removal rate and the other an 87.0% removal rate. The predominance of fibers and fragments in the influent and effluent across all studied locations shows the difficulty in effectively removing them from wastewater. The widespread abundance of microplastic polymers from diverse sources poses a significant challenge for wastewater treatment facilities in efficiently managing and eliminating these pollutants. This research further demonstrated regional differences in the color composition of microplastics, with black, transparent, blue, and red being prominent colors in the influent and effluent of some regions. These color variations can influence the detection and identification processes, which are crucial for developing targeted removal strategies. In conclusion, it is essential to address the pervasiveness of microplastics in wastewater treatment plants. Improving treatment procedures, protecting the ecosystem, and conserving water quality for a sustainable future all depend on addressing the various sources of these contaminants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, dairy industry wastewater was collected and used as a protein source. The proteins were converted into powder form using lyophilization. The proteins were digested using Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis) NCIM 2724. The maximum degree of hydrolysis (DH) of protein was observed at pH of 7, 30 °C incubation temperature, 120 rpm shaking speed, and 96 h incubation. The tris-glycine sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide (tris-glycine-SDS) gel electrophoresis showed the disappearance of large molecular weight proteins due to the proteolytic action of B. subtilis. The resulting digest was fractionated using a 3 kDa membrane filter. The antioxidant activity of the obtained fractions was evaluated. Antioxidant activity of digest and filtrate was found to be 12.78% (±0.040) and 49% (±0.025), respectively, at a concentration of 50 mg/mL. The 3 kDa filtrate was subjected to liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LCMS) analysis. Bioinformatics tools were used to predict the sequences of antioxidant peptides. Furthermore, the 3 kDa filtrate was used for the synthesis of antioxidant nanohybrid. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)-energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) confirmed the nanohybrid formation and encapsulation of peptides. The antioxidant nanohybrid showed enhanced antioxidant activity compared to the free peptide solution. The dairy industry has a significant environmental impact due to high water use and waste generation. This study addresses an important issue of recycling protein-containing wastewater and the potential to be used for converting these proteins into antioxidant peptides. Such practices will help to reduce environmental impact and sustainably operate the industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The escalating cadmium influx from industrial activities and anthropogenic sources has raised serious environmental concerns due to its toxic effects on ecosystems and human health. This review delves into the intricate mechanisms underlying microbial resistance to cadmium, shedding light on the multifaceted interplay between microorganisms and this hazardous heavy metal. Cadmium overexposure elicits severe health repercussions, including renal carcinoma, mucous membrane degradation, bone density loss, and kidney stone formation in humans. Moreover, its deleterious impact extends to animal and plant metabolism. While physico-chemical methods like reverse osmosis and ion exchange are employed to mitigate cadmium contamination, their costliness and incomplete efficacy necessitate alternative strategies. Microbes, particularly bacteria and fungi, exhibit remarkable resilience to elevated cadmium concentrations through intricate resistance mechanisms. This paper elucidates the ingenious strategies employed by these microorganisms to combat cadmium stress, encompassing metal ion sequestration, efflux pumps, and enzymatic detoxification pathways. Bioremediation emerges as a promising avenue for tackling cadmium pollution, leveraging microorganisms' ability to transform toxic cadmium forms into less hazardous derivatives. Unlike conventional methods, bioremediation offers a cost-effective, environmentally benign, and efficient approach. This review amalgamates the current understanding of microbial cadmium resistance mechanisms, highlighting their potential for sustainable remediation strategies. By unraveling the intricate interactions between microorganisms and cadmium, this study contributes to advancing our knowledge of bioremediation approaches, thereby paving the way for safer and more effective cadmium mitigation practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scarcity of water is becoming a big issue. Most of the water is used in industrial sectors including pharmaceutical, food, textiles, leather, and cosmetics. Industrial effluent water is unable to treat and reuse due to their intricate nature. Effluent water contains synthetic azo dyes since they employ synthetic azo dyes as a major coloring agent. Existing approaches are ineffective in treating effluent containing synthetic azo dyes. Synthetic azo dyes containing effluent water can be treated biologically to overcome the drawbacks of physical and chemical processes. In this research work, novel organism was isolated from tannery effluent water. Isolated organisms were screened and selected for effective degradation of azo dyes. One such organism is Citrobacter freundii which effectively degrade the effluent water containing synthetic azo dyes and allowing it to reuse for variety of purpose. Phytotoxicity study of the treated water was carried out and the study confirms non toxicity nature of the treated water. In‐silico screening was carried out to test the interaction efficacy of enzymes such as Laccase, Azo reductase, and peroxidase which are responsible for effective dye degradation with synthetic azo dyes. In silico studies showed better interactions between synthetic azo dyes and enzymes. This is the novel report on showing the effective degradation of synthetic azo yellow dye by using C. freundii isolated from tannery effluent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soursop (Annona muricata L.) is a tropical fruit grown in the semi-arid region of Brazil, where problems of quantitative and qualitative scarcity of water for irrigation are frequent. Using alternative water sources, such as fish farming effluents, can increase water availability; however, it presents risks due to its high salinity levels. We aimed to evaluate the effect of irrigation with saline fish farming effluent and NPK doses on soursop seedlings' ecophysiology. We conducted a greenhouse experiment using a randomized complete block design with a 2 × 5 factorial scheme. The factors consisted of two irrigation water sources (local supply water with 0.5 dS m−1 and fish farming effluent with 3.5 dS m−1) and five doses of NPK (25%, 50%, 75%, 100%, and 125% of the fertilizer recommendation of 100:300:150 mg dm−3 of N:P2O5:K2O for soil). The soursop seedlings showed the best growth results for plant height, stem diameter, and shoot dry mass when irrigated with low-salinity water at 95% of the recommended NPK dose. However, under saline stress, the soursop seedlings showed optimal growth when fertilized with 69% of NPK dose. We recommend the following NPK fertilization for soursop seedlings: 95:285:143 mg dm−3 of N:P2O5:K2O for those irrigated with low-salinity water and 69:207:104 mg dm−3 for those irrigated with fish farm effluent. Irrigating with fish farm effluent can be a practical option for soursop seedlings as it can help save fertilizers and promote environmental sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A changing climate and often unregulated water extractions have exposed over 2 billion people to water stress worldwide. While water managers have explored a portfolio of options to reduce this stress, supply augmentation through reuse of treated municipal wastewater is becoming increasingly attractive. Wastewater treatment plants protect water quality and prevent sewage from contaminating waterways. Increasingly, this resource is utilized for numerous human (e.g., irrigation, drinking water, groundwater recharge) and conservation (e.g., stream and river recharge) needs in water stressed regions. To understand the role treated municipal wastewater plays in impacting conservation objectives we identified the intersection of wastewater treatment plant locations and occurrences of threatened and endangered (T&E) species in California and compared the permitted contribution of effluent to baseflow quantities of the receiving waterbody to assess the degree to which changes in effluent could affect instream waterbodies. We found a positive correlation between the presence of treatment plants and T&E species in California watersheds—a quarter of species have 100% of their range in watersheds with at least one treatment plant. This correlation is greatest for species associated with terraces and riparian habitat, followed by aquatic habitat and aquatic emergent vegetation. One‐third of watersheds in our analysis can receive most of their cumulative watershed baseflow from effluent and are characterized by dense urbanization or agriculture. Our analysis demonstrates that the fates of T&E species and effluent are interconnected in ways important for water policy, suggesting that species conservation goals should be considered when making decisions about effluent reuse.

ObjectivesThe number of relevant markers indicating local intraperitoneal inflammation in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD) is limited. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the compatibility of peritoneal effluent (PE) for proteomic analysis and assess its potential utility in immunoprofiling studies.MethodsThis pilot study included six PD patients from the Peritoneal Dialysis Center, Department of Nephrology, Transplantology, and Internal Medicine in Szczecin, Poland. All patients were clinically stable, with no signs of infections or malignancy at the time of study. PE samples were collected during routine surveillance visits at the Peritoneal Dialysis Center. Proteomic analysis of the samples was conducted using the Olink® (Olink Proteomics AB, Uppsala, Sweden) Target 48 Cytokine panel.ResultsPE samples were successfully analyzed, with 28 out of 45 proteins found within the limit of quantitation (LOQ) and 32 out of 45 proteins detected above the limit of detection (LOD). No significant interference from the matrix was observed in the assay. Biomarkers associated with low-grade inflammation showed varied levels, and the observed patterns were comparable across all patients.ConclusionThis study suggests that utilizing a cytokine panel with relative quantification is a promising method for PE immunoprofiling.

Due to infrastructural development activities, the need for the construction materials increases, because of which most of the naturally available natural resources are over exploited and the cost of construction materials are increased. Therefore, the present study focuses on the use of industrial by-products for the development of concrete and examines the physical, mechanical, durability and sustainable performances. Fly ash (FA) and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) were employed as binder medium and the industrial effluent sodium silicate waste was used to replace the conventional river sand in the geopolymer concrete (GPC). GGBS was employed as source material for the production of concrete to increase the polymerization reaction process and further, the developed concrete was cured in the ambient condition of temperature range 27 ± 2 °C, in the laboratory. The concentration of the sodium hydroxide (NaOH) in the present study was 12M, and the alkaline solution ratio was 1:1.5. During the production process of sodium silicate solution in the factory, the residue left at the bottom of the boiling hopper were dumped as waste in the open land. GPC gains its strength based on the alumina and silica in the source material and alkaline activator solution, therefore, this industrial waste residue was identified as potential alternative to conventional river sand. The concrete with and without effluent was subjected to two types of acid (Sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and Hydrochloric acid (HCl)) and further to examine the performance of concrete under marine condition, two types of salt solutions, namely, magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) and Sodium Chloride (NaCl) were used, the concentration of acids employed in the present study is 2% and the marine solution is 3.5%. Increase in the proportion of effluent from 0% to 100% decreases the slump value of the concrete. Contrastingly, increasing the proportion of effluent increases the strength of GPC after 28-d of room temperature curing. To examine the performance of the concrete under acidic and marine conditions, average of three concrete specimens were employed and the duration of exposure was considered in the present study starts from 28-d and continues till 360-d. After exposing to acidic environment, mass loss, strength loss and surface modification were examined; the loss in mass was found to be 1.5–3% and the strength loss was found to be 35%–45%. In the case of salt solution exposure, the loss in mass was seen to be 1–2% and whereas in the case of strength, the loss was found to be 30%–42%, respectively. Further, the sustainability aspects of the concrete with industrial effluents were examined in detail; focusing on economic value of the concrete, carbon emission and energy demand during the production of concrete.

Environmental pollution arising from aquaculture wastewater is becoming increasingly important in Nigeria as the aquaculture industry continues to grow to meet the animal protein needs of the country and alleviate its food insecurity crisis. The increase in the number of fish farms in the country, coupled with a concomitant rise in aquaculture wastewater, comes at a cost. The vital components of aquaculture wastewater are remains of unconsumed feed, sediment materials, and metabolic waste of the cultured fish species. These constituents vary in physico-chemistry, volume, composition, and microbial load depending on the type of culture system practiced. Some of the negative effects of releasing aquaculture wastewater into aquatic environments are eutrophication of receiving water, food poisoning, freshwater pollution, bioaccumulation of metals by aquatic biota, increase in the prevalence of diseases among contaminated ecosystem inhabitants, and, in extreme situations, the loss of commercially valuable and viable aquatic resources. Several technologies have been developed to treat aquaculture wastewater and they include: constructed wetlands, recirculatory aquaculture systems, phytoremediation, nanotechnology, as well as other physical and biological processes. These methods vary in efficacy, cost-effectiveness, sophistication, and eco-friendliness. A few of the suggested management and policy options to mitigate the impacts of aquaculture wastewater on the environment are improvements in feed quality and feeding methods and government intervention through her agencies. This review suggests a tripod aquaculture wastewater management plan that involves fish farmers, government agencies, and research institutions such that aquaculture wastewaters are treated before getting discharged into inland water bodies, government agencies ensure that fish farmers comply with policies and regulations on waste management, and research institutions develop improved and cost-effective local technologies to treat aquaculture wastewater.

Pesticides have been reported in treated wastewater effluent at concentrations that exceed aquatic toxicity thresholds, indicating that treatment may be insufficient to adequately address potential pesticide impacts on aquatic life. Gaining a better understanding of the relative contribution from specific use patterns, transport pathways, and flow characteristics is an essential first step to informing source control measures. The results of this study are the first of their kind, reporting pesticide concentrations at sub-sewershed sites within a single sewer catchment to provide information on the relative contribution from various urban sources. Seven monitoring events were collected from influent, effluent, and seven sub-sewershed sites to capture seasonal variability. In addition, samples were collected from sites with the potential for relatively large mass fluxes of pesticides (pet grooming operations, pest control operators, and laundromats). Fipronil and imidacloprid were detected in most samples (>70%). Pyrethroids were detected in >50% of all influent and lateral samples. There were significant removals of pyrethroids from the aqueous process stream within the facility to below reporting limits. Imidacloprid and fiproles were the only pesticides that were detected above reporting limits in effluent, highlighting the importance of source identification and control for the more hydrophilic compounds. Single source monitoring revealed large contributions of fipronil, imidacloprid, and permethrin originating from a pet groomer, with elevated levels of cypermethrin at a commercial laundry location. The results provide important information needed to prioritize future monitoring efforts, calibrate down-the-drain models, and identify potential mitigation strategies at the site of pesticide use to prevent introduction to sewersheds.

Environmental pollution caused by wastes generated from chrome tan is a major concern nowadays. This study aimed to develop an eco-friendly alternative tanning agent using graphene oxide (GO) based nanocomposite materials. GO was synthesized by a new approach with modification of the Hummers method. Two types of GO-based nanocomposites, GO-TiO2 (GT) and GO-TiO2-PEG (GTP) were prepared by adding TiO2 nanoparticles and polyethylene glycol (PEG) as surface modifiers. They were successfully applied to leather tanning processes at different concentrations (2%, 4%, and 6%). Both synthesized GO, GO-nanocomposites, and the resulting tanned leathers were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), and Fourier-transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR). Different physico-mechanical properties of leathers tanned with nanocomposites were evaluated and the results were compared with chrome-tanned leathers. The tensile strength of chrome-tanned leather was 223 (kg/cm) whereas the maximum tensile strength was found at 228 (kg/cm) and 233 (kg/cm) in 6% GO-TiO2 and GO-TiO2-PEG tanned leathers respectively. The environmental pollution impact of the effluents generated by the new tanning process was assessed. The COD of effluents generated from chrome tanning was 4800 ppm which was significantly reduced to 2400-1440 ppm and 2880-1920 ppm when GO-TiO2 (GT) and GO-TiO2-PEG (GTP) were applied in leather tanning respectively. The TDS and BOD were found at 183.8 and 200 ppm in conventional chrome-tanned wastewater which were significantly reduced to the range of 47.5-18.3 and 100-50 ppm respectively in liquid wastes obtained from the GO-composite tanning process. The maximum reduction of COD, BOD, TDS, and TSS in leather waste liquid was found with the application of 2% GO-nanocomposites in tanning. The results revealed that leathers tanned with nanocomposites possess characteristic properties which were very similar to those observed in chrome-tanned leathers whereas the new tanning agents drastically reduced the intensity of pollutants in leather effluents. The application of new nanocomposites in the leather tanning process is an innovative effort. This new nanocomposite-tanning method showed minimal consequences regarding environmental pollution with the generation of less toxic effluents from the respective tanning process.

The presence of trace organic pollutants in the effluent of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) poses considerable risks to aquatic organisms and human health. A large-scale survey of 302 trace organic pollutants in the effluent of 46 Chinese WWTPs was conducted to gain an improved understanding of their occurrence and ecological risks. The survey data showed that 216 compounds in 11 chemical classes had been detected in effluents. The sum concentrations of the trace contaminants in effluent ranged from 1,392 ng/L to 35,453 ng/L, with the maximum concentration of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) recorded as the highest (30,573 ng/L), which was markedly less than the reported 185,000 ng/L for the 38 American WWTPs. The concentration of bisphenol analogs (BPs) was up to 4,422 ng/L, significantly higher than those reported in France, Germany, Japan, Korea, and the U.S. PFASs and BPs were the major pollutants, accounting for 59% of the total pollution. Additionally, a total of 119 contaminants were found to have ecological risks (RQ > 0.01). Among these, 23 contaminants (RQ > 1.0) warrant higher attention and should be prioritized for removal. This study lists valuable information for controlling contaminants with higher priority in WWTP effluent in China.

Nutrients, total dissolved solids (TDS), and trace elements affect the suitability of water for human and natural needs. Here, trends in such water-quality constituents are analyzed for 1999–2022 for eight nested monitoring sites in the 24,000 km2 Fountain Creek watershed in Colorado, USA, by using the weighted regressions on time, discharge, and season (WRTDS) methodology. Fountain Creek shares characteristics with other western U.S. watersheds: (1) an expanding but more water-efficient population, (2) a heavy reliance on imported water, (3) a semiarid climate trending towards warmer and drier conditions, and (4) shifts of water from agricultural to municipal uses. The WRTDS analysis found both upward and downward trends in the concentrations of nutrients that reflected possible shifts in effluent management, instream uptake, and water conservation by a watershed population that grew by about 40%. Selenium, other trace elements, and TDS can pose water-quality challenges downstream and their concentrations were found to have a downwards trend. Those trends could be driven by either a warming and drying of the local climate or decreased agricultural irrigation, as both would reduce recharge and subsequent mobilization from natural geologic sources via groundwater discharge. The patterns illustrate how changes in climate and water use may have affected water quality in Fountain Creek and demonstrate the patterns to look for in other western watersheds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pulp and paper industry utilized an enormous volume of fresh water in every step of manufacturing process and generates significant amount of untreated sludge and wastewater to nearby vicinity. Due to zero discharge policy, the development of an ecofriendly, economical and integrated treatment was the main objectives of current study. The economical and integrated mechanism is being developed through treatment of pulp and paper effluent with activated carbon produced from Paper and pulp sludge (PPS) and fungal culture under optimized conditions in Activated sludge treatment process to meet NEQS. Furthermore, effects of treated effluent were studied on physical parameter of ladyfinger to ascertain ecofriendly nature of the proposed mechanism. The activated carbon (AC) was produced from PPS by ZnCl2 and CaCl2 activating agents at 400,600 and 750◦C for the treatment of effluent. AC produced by ZnCl2 at 750◦C reduced effluent BOD, COD and color 32.17%, 30.46%, 31.09% respectively more as compared to CaCl2 due to large surface area and porosity. Moreover, fungal culture also reduced the pH (5.3%) TDS (17.64%), TN (42.19%) NH3-N (47%) and lignin (34.14%) concentration with reference to AC . Response surface methodology (RSM) exercised to optimize the conditions pH (4-6), DO (2-4 mg/l) and run 15 trials for earlier treated AC and fungal culture effluent to meet NEQS. Model results showed that F-value and P-value were quadratic and significant. The results indicated that the optimal solution for maximum pollutant removal was achieved in trial 2, with 3 mg/L oxygen, a pH of 5, and 1 mg/L fungal microbes in Activated Sludge process. Moreover, the adjusted coefficient R2 (98.56%) and determination coefficient R2 (99.24%) for COD removal exhibited that the experimental and predicted values had strong significant correlation. Subsequently, the impacts of treated (T) and untreated wastewater (UWW) on physical parameters of ladyfinger were studied and found that number of fruits, weight of fresh fruits, height of the plant, dry weight of roots, were 40 % 61.7% 32.6% and 52% were enhanced respectively by treated water compared with the UWW which augment novelty of this research for development of sustainable and economically viable treatment solution for Paper and sludge industrial effluent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Steroid hormones (SHs) have received widespread attention in recent years. However, current studies of SHs have primarily focused on estrogenic substances, with androgen‐related studies being quite limited. We optimized the solid‐phase extraction (SPE) pretreatment method, as well as the enzymolysis conditions of five androgens (androstenedione, boldenone, methandienone, nandrolone, and testosterone), to simultaneously determine their concentrations in the effluent from wastewater treatment plants and surface water samples. Then we evaluated the ecological risks of the five androgens in the effluent and Pearl River basin of Guangzhou (PR China) using the risk quotient method. The recovery rates of the targets were 90% to 99% in water samples when digested with β‐glucosidase for 90 min before solid‐phase extraction, extracted with a Poly‐Sery HLB column, and washed with 15% methanol aqueous solution and 2% ammonia. The established instrument's limit of detection was between 0.02 and 0.39 μg/L, and the limit of quantification was between 0.05 and 1.29 μg/L. Androstenedione, boldenone, methandienone, nandrolone, and testosterone were detected in all samples from the 2018 and 2022 wastewater influent and the 2018 surface water, with concentrations of 3.06 × 101 ng/L to 1.33 × 103 ng/L, 1.03–8.15 × 102 ng/L, and 0.93 × 101 ng/L to 5.50 × 102 ng/L, respectively. The ecological risks of androgens in wastewater influent and surface water were medium to high and low to medium, respectively. Moreover, the biotoxicity of androgens was predicted by the Ecological Structure Activity Relationships model, with methandienone and androstenedione having the highest and lowest acute and chronic toxicities, respectively. These results suggest that the risk of environmental androgens should not be ignored and that further research should be carried out. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;43:915–925. © 2023 SETAC [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much emphasis has been given to algal biomass growth in dairy farm wastewater. Most of the systems examined require productive land to be converted and/or freshwater use to dilute high concentrations of nutrients found in dairy effluent. A rotating algal biofilm (RABR) provides the capacity to grow algae without sacrificing productive land or freshwater. In theory, this system would overcome some of the economic and environmental challenges that other systems have. A combination of theoretical information, nutrient uptake formulas, and economic formulas were used to calculate the potential of biogas production from algae grown in an RABR with dairy effluents. The average nutrient uptake was 0.8 mgN/m2 per day and 0.1 mgP/m2 per day. The maximum methane production from the anaerobic digestion of algae was 112 m3/RABR·year. The minimum and maximum economic scenarios resulted in gross profits of NZD −2101 and −1922. After evaluating this system for the first time in the New Zealand dairy farming context, it was found that biogas production from an RABR is not a feasible option for New Zealand dairy farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the key aspects of futureproofing the sustainability of life on earth lies in the protection of the hydrosphere, particularly from soluble heavy metal ion pollutants. In the current study, the central composite design and optimization of the ion-exchange process have been carried out for the simultaneous removal of selected cations; Cd2+, Cu2+, and Zn2+ cations using synthesized zeolite 4A. X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the formation of zeolite 4A. The Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area of the synthesized zeolite was 32 m2/g. Results mainly indicate that there is a strong relationship between the experimental data and central composite design-based models of ion removal efficiency with R2 > 0.9 and the lack of fit less than 0.1 %. All the selected ion exchange parameters (time, dosage, pH, and temperature) were found to be statistically significant, with a p-value less than 0.05.For the complete simultaneous removal of selected cations, the optimal zeolite dosage, pH, and contact time are 1.2 g/100 cm3, 6, and 3 h. The optimal temperature ranges from 25 to 27 °C. The initial concentration of each selected cation is 450 mg/L. The ion exchange is in good agreement with the Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm models. Based on the Langmuir isotherm model, the maximum Cd2+, Cu2+, and Zn2+ uptake capacity values of zeolite are 103, 99.89, and 82.08 mg/g, respectively. In this study, it has been mainly inferred that CCD can be considered a useful tool for the modeling and optimization of zeolite ion exchange applications.

The disposal of Waste Foundry Sand (WFS) poses a significant challenge for the foundry industry today, primarily due to its composition of metal oxides (Al2O3, Fe2O3, MgO, CaO, and Na2O) and sand. These metal oxides, categorized as loosely and strongly bound clays, are considered impurities in core production. This study proposes a chemical reclamation technique for WFS using fresh acid solutions or acidic industrial effluent. Experiments were conducted to remove the loosely and strongly bound clays from the WFS, optimizing parameters such as acid concentration, sand to acid loading, temperature, stirring speed, and reaction time to achieve optimal performance. The quality of the reclaimed sand was evaluated using various foundry standard tests, including determination of clay contents, compressive strength, Grain Fineness Number (GFN), Loss on Ignition (LOI), Acid Demand Value (ADV), and scanning electron microscopy. The reclaimed sand exhibited a loosely bound clay content of 1.5 %, oolitic content of 5.5 %, a grain fineness number of 55, a loss on ignition of 1.92 %, and an acid demand value of 1.5 ml/100 g of sand. Field trials demonstrated that the reclaimed sand can be effectively used for core production at an economical rate.

The production process of recycled paper generates a significant amount of wastewater. In many cases, the companies do not have a fully adequate effluent treatment system, due to the high cost of conventional physical or chemical treatment systems, which leads to contaminated wastewater. Due to this problem, this research aims to evaluate a bioremediation system based on a flotation system with Typha domingensis plants, for the recovery of wastewater generated in the paper recycling process. The effluent treatment system was installed in the vegetation house of the Multidisciplinary Center for Technological Research (CEMIT), San Lorenzo, Paraguay. It consisted of Typhas plants arranged in plastic containers, which were classified in relation to the effluent concentration (100 %; 50 %; 30 %), in three replicates. For the evaluation of efficiency, physicochemical determinations of pH, temperature, turbidity, conductivity, BOD5, COD, total phosphorus and total nitrogen were carried out at 7-day intervals over a 4-week period. The results obtained indicate significant differences in the percentage of removal of the different pollutant concentrations, where the COD and BOD5 parameters showed removal values of 99 % and 92 %. In the case of Total Nitrogen and Total Phosphorus the values were around 92 % and 75 %, respectively, demonstrating the efficiency of the plant in the treatment of the effluent. This kind of wastewater treatment system has the potential to decrease the load of effluent pollutants produced in paper recycling. Therefore, this study concluded that the system composed of T. domingensis is an option as a potential phytoremediation system for the treatment of wastewater from paper recycling.

Les effluents des Cliniques Universitaires de Kinshasa constituent un réceptacle provenant des services de soins et de nature domestique déversés directement dans l’environnement sans aucun traitement préalable occasionnant diverses maladies à la population kinoise. Cette étude a été entreprise dans le but de comparer l'efficacité des deux digesteurs UASB (réacteur anaérobie de couverture ascendant à lit de boues) expérimentaux avec l’utilisation d’un adjuvant « huile de Sesamum indicum » au deuxième digesteur dans la contribution à l'épuration de ces effluents. La méthode expérimentale basée sur l’analyse des paramètres physicochimiques et bactériologiques a été utilisé. Après traitement, les effluents ont présenté des paramètres conformes aux normes tels que : DCO (96,22%), DBO5 (97,4%), MES (94,2%), turbidité (94,2%), ammonium (96,7%), nitrites (79%), nitrates (69%), phosphore total (95,9%), azote total (76%), coliformes fécaux (97,6%), Streptocoques fécaux (95,4%) et Coliformes totaux (89,1%). Les résultats issus du traitement sans ajout paraissent tous supérieures à ceux obtenus du traitement avec l’huile de Sésame et que toutes ces valeurs sont conformes aux normes de rejet y relatives. En ayant ces résultats, cette étude ouvre les brèches pour d’autres analyses approfondies sur le traitement des eaux usées hospitalières.

Heavy metal pollution in aquatic ecosystems can be assessed with suitable biomarkers in fish. This study was carried out to determine the concentration of heavy metals and gene expression of African Arowana Fish (Heterotis niloticus) obtained from Igbalegbe River, Ughelli, Delta State, Nigeria using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (Varian 220 Fast sequential) for the metals and Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the gene expression study. Results of the study showed that fishes in the downstream sectionof the river and the effluent discharge point recorded higher metal pollution Index (MPI) compared to the upstream station. The concentration of heavy metals in the fish tissue were generally within the limits of Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO)/World health Organisation (WHO) except for that of Cadmium and Lead in the discharge station. The selected genes investigated were biomarkers for general stress (HSP70), xenobiotic metabolism (CYPA1), antioxidative defence (SOD), Insulin growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) respectively. The expression of the genes revealed significant variations (P<0.05) in the fishes obtained from the different stations of the river. Some of the genes were down-regulated and suppressed while others were upregulated to enable the fish cope with stress while adapting to environmental pollution. Changes in biomarkers can therefore be considered as early signals of stress in the selected fish species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus had a great impact on the population of patients treated with peritoneal dialysis (PD). This study demonstrates the impact of infection and vaccination in 66 patients treated with PD and their outcomes during a 6-month follow-up. This is the first research that has studied the dynamics of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG in serum and effluent. In our research, 57.6% of PD patients were vaccinated, predominantly with Sinopharm (81.6%), which was also the most frequently administered vaccine in the Republic of Serbia at the beginning of immunization. During the monitoring period, the level of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies in the PD patients had an increasing trend in serum. In the group of vaccinated patients with PD, anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies had an increasing trend in both serum and effluent, in contrast to non-vaccinated patients, where they decreased in effluent regardless of the trend of increase in serum, but statistical significance was not reached. In contrast to vaccinated (immunized) patients who did not acquire infection, the patients who only underwent the COVID-19 infection, but were not immunized, were more prone to reinfection upon the outbreak of a new viral strain, yet without severe clinical presentation and with no need for hospital treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of two percentages of inoculum used for the startup of high rate algal ponds (hrap) in the postreatment of effluent of septic tank. The HRAP1 and HRAP2 were inoculated by the substitution of 3.25 % and 6.50 % of the effective volume with liquid from a HRAP operated with a hydraulic retention time of eight days. During seven consecutive days the variables organic nitrogen (on), total ammonia nitrogen (tan), total phosphorous (TP), chemical oxygen demand (cod) and chlorophyll-α were measured; the phytoplankton was quantified and characterized. The chlorophyll-α concentrations in the HRAPi varied between 451.2 and 1,802.2 µg/L and in the HRAP2 between 339.1 and 2,194.7 µg/L, the final densities of phytoplankton were respectively of 683,200 and 5'535,130 organisms/mL, with presence of individuals of the Chlorophyceae, Cryptophyceae and Euglenophyceae classes in the two ponds. The calculated removal efficiencies for the HRAPi and HRAP2 were respectively: 37.1 and 51.6 % for ON; 89.6 and 97.3 % for TAN; 30.4 and 30.3 % for TP; -1.3 and -53.2 % for COD; 1495 and 2398 Log units for E. coli. The inoculation promoted the rapid growth of the phytoplankton communities, with best results for nitrogen removal and E. coli inactivation due the use of higher amounts of inoculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Foco (Interdisciplinary Studies Journal) is the property of Revista Foco and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The application of nanomaterials in the oil and gas industry has been widely studied in the past few years, and polymeric nano thin films have become an area of interest among researchers. In this work, multilayer nano thin films were fabricated using poly(ally lamine hydrochloride) (PAH), zinc oxide (ZnO) and poly(styrene sulphonate sodium salt) (PSS) on glass template by Layer-by-Layer (L-b-L) technique and its potential application for the photo degradation of oil refinery wastewater have been reported. The L-b-L fabrication of the thin film was carried out at an assembly pH of 8.0. The morphological characterisation and elemental composition of the fabricated thin films were studied using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis (SEM – EDX). Chemical bond and surface functional groups were identified using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). SEM characterisation depicted the uniform deposition of ZnO particles in the polyelectrolyte matrix. The outcome of the FTIR analysis is justified by the presence of strong C=C bonds favouring the strength of bilayer deposition. A comparative study on the degradation efficiency was carried out using oil refinery effluents for the photo degradation of ZnO/PSS/PAH thin films and suspension form of ZnO by varying the process parameters such as number of bilayers and contact time. The ZnO/Polyelectrolyte multilayer thin films performed extremely well in reducing the chemical oxygen demand (COD) and Total Organic carbon (TOC) to the standards. A maximum COD removal efficiency of 80.1% was obtained at conditions where PAH/(PSS, ZnO)5 bilayers were used at pH 7.2 with a contact time of 120 minutes. The total organic carbon removal was around 55% under optimum conditions of pH 7.2 and PAH/(PSS, ZnO)5 at 120 minutes. This study illustrates that immobilised zinc oxide nanoparticles can effectively remove pollutants from oily wastewater and the process seems to be attractive in the environmental applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oil production and refining require very large quantities of fresh water. Therefore, the use of unconventional methods to exploit resources, such as seawater desalination, appears to be an interesting alternative to produce a controlled and conditioned quantity of water to meet the required quality for its use. In this context, the French Company "Société Anonyme de la Raffinerie des Antilles (SARA)", as being the main industrial consumer of fresh water in Martinique, became interested in this mode of production and implemented a project to build a seawater desalination unit. However, seawater desalination generates a discharge of brine concentrate that, by its nature, could lead to environmental problems in the surrounding aquatic environment. To minimize the effects, several measures were taken in the design of the unit, in particular the installation of a mixing basin to dilute the concentrate prior to discharge. The purpose of this study is to assess the potential chemical toxicity of this effluent. The physico-chemical composition on 32 selected parameters as well as toxicity tests using controlled and standardized marine aquatic biological models (Aliivibrio fischeri, Phaeodactylum tricornutum, and Crassostrea gigas) are presented. No chemical elements of concern are observed for the effluent. Moreover, no toxic effect is observed under the conditions of salinity tolerance of the model organisms. These results suggest that the effluent generated by the SARA desalination unit does not present any demonstrated ecotoxicity under the studied conditions. This original work constitutes the first toxico-chemical evaluation study of discharge after dilution in a mixing basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]