Dioxins and Furans: Emerging Contaminants of Air

Background: The persistent dioxins/furans has caused a worldwide concern as they influence the human health. Recent research indicates that nonmaterial may prove effective in the degradation of Dioxins/furans. The nanomaterials are very reactive owing to their large surface area to volume ratio and large number of reactive sites. However, nanotechnology applications face both the challenges and the opportunities to influence the area of environmental protection. Objective: i) To study the impact of oil mediated UV-irradiations on the removal of 2,3,7,8-TCDD, 2,3,7,8-TCDF, OCDD and OCDF in simulated soil samples. ii) To compare the conventional treatment methods with the modern available nanotechniques for the removal of selected Dioxins/furans from soil samples. Methods: The present work has investigated an opportunity of the degradation of tetra and octachlorinated dioxins and furans by using oil mediated UV radiations with subsequent extraction of respective dioxins/furans from soils. The results have been compared with the available nanotechniques. Results: The dioxin congeners in the simulated soil sample showed decrease in concentration with the increase in the exposure time and intensity of UV radiations. The dechlorination of PCDD/Fs using palladized iron has been found to be effective. Conclusion: Both the conventional methods and nanotechnology have a dramatic impact on the removal of Dioxins/furans in contaminated soil. However, the nanotechniques are comparatively costlier and despite the relatively high rates of PCDDs dechlorination by Pd/nFe, small fraction of the dioxins are recalcitrant to degradation over considerable exposure times.

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Environmental impact of emerging contaminants from battery waste: A mini review

Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering ◽

10.1016/j.cscee.2021.100104 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 3 ◽

pp. 100104

Author(s):

Elda M. Melchor-Martínez ◽

Rodrigo Macias-Garbett ◽

Alonso Malacara-Becerra ◽

Hafiz M.N. Iqbal ◽

Juan Eduardo Sosa-Hernández ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Environmental Impact ◽

Emerging Contaminants

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Removal of Emerging Pollutants from Water Using Environmentally Friendly Processes: Photocatalysts Preparation, Characterization, Intermediates Identification and Toxicity Assessment

Nanomaterials ◽

10.3390/nano11010215 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 215

Author(s):

Nina Finčur ◽

Paula Sfîrloagă ◽

Predrag Putnik ◽

Vesna Despotović ◽

Marina Lazarević ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Emerging Contaminants ◽

Sol Gel ◽

Toxicity Assessment ◽

Emerging Pollutants ◽

Simulated Sunlight ◽

Aquatic Life ◽

Mgo Nanoparticles ◽

Emerging Pollutant ◽

Wheat Germination ◽

Modern Technologies

Pharmaceuticals and pesticides are emerging contaminants problematic in the aquatic environment because of their adverse effects on aquatic life and humans. In order to remove them from water, photocatalysis is one of the most modern technologies to be used. First, newly synthesized photocatalysts were successfully prepared using a sol–gel method and characterized by different techniques (XRD, FTIR, UV/Vis, BET and SEM/EDX). The photocatalytic properties of TiO2, ZnO and MgO nanoparticles were examined according to their removal from water for two antibiotics (ciprofloxacin and ceftriaxone) and two herbicides (tembotrione and fluroxypyr) exposed to UV/simulated sunlight (SS). TiO2 proved to be the most efficient nanopowder under UV and SS. Addition of (NH4)2S2O8 led to the faster removal of both antibiotics and herbicide fluroxypyr. The main intermediates were separated and identified for the herbicides and antibiotic ciprofloxacin. Finally, the toxicity of each emerging pollutant mixture and formed intermediates was assessed on wheat germination and biomass production.

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Chitosan Adsorbent Derivatives for Pharmaceuticals Removal from Effluents: A Review

Macromol ◽

10.3390/macromol1020011 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

pp. 130-154

Author(s):

Efstathios V. Liakos ◽

Maria Lazaridou ◽

Georgia Michailidou ◽

Ioanna Koumentakou ◽

Dimitra A. Lambropoulou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Emerging Contaminants ◽

Low Cost ◽

Value Added ◽

Ph Effects ◽

Hydroxyl Groups ◽

Research Papers ◽

Natural Polysaccharide ◽

Best Fitting ◽

Isotherm And Kinetic Models ◽

Published Research

Chitin is mentioned as the second most abundant and important natural biopolymer in worldwide scale. The main sources for the extraction and exploitation of this natural polysaccharide polymer are crabs and shrimps. Chitosan (poly-β-(1 → 4)-2-amino-2-deoxy-d-glucose) is the most important derivative of chitin and can be used in a wide variety of applications including cosmetics, pharmaceutical and biomedical applications, food, etc., giving this substance high value-added applications. Moreover, chitosan has applications in adsorption because it contains amino and hydroxyl groups in its molecules, and can thus contribute to many possible adsorption interactions between chitosan and pollutants (pharmaceuticals/drugs, metals, phenols, pesticides, etc.). However, it must be noted that one of the most important techniques of decontamination is considered to be adsorption because it is simple, low-cost, and fast. This review emphasizes on recently published research papers (2013–2021) and briefly describes the chemical modifications of chitosan (grafting, cross-linking, etc.), for the adsorption of a variety of emerging contaminants from aqueous solutions, and characterization results. Finally, tables are depicted from selected chitosan synthetic routes and the pH effects are discussed, along with the best-fitting isotherm and kinetic models.

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