Characterisation of Microplastics from the Effluent of a Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant and from its Natural Receptor

Results obtained from the characterization of three water samples (one representing the effluent of a municipal treatment plant and the two others representing surface water from the Jiu River/Romania, upstream and downstream of the effluent discharge point) are presented in this study in terms of microplastic content. The water samples were processed by successively passing them through a series of filters with the following dimensions: 5 mm, 0.5 mm (500 im), 0.1 mm (100 im) and then through some microfiltration membranes (MF) type EZ-Pak Membrane Filters (Merk-Millipore) made of a mixture of cellulose esters, with an average pore diameter of 0.45�m. In order to highlight the microplastics in the water samples, their analysis was performed as well as the solid material retained on the microfiltration membranes, by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) using a SEM Quanta FEG 250/Thermo Fischer Scientific. The results obtained highlighted the existence of microplastics in all the analyzed samples, in the known forms presented in the specialized literature: irregular planes, fibers and spheres. Their dimensions are variable, ranging between 3.2 �m and 119.5 �m for irregular plane microplastics and between 3 �m and 15 �m for spherical microplastics. The dimensions of microplastics in the form of fibers are also in the range of tens of �m and cannot be established exactly because in most cases they appear in the form of conglomerates. The treatment plant�s microplastic effluents content led to the modification of the physical-chemical indicators of the water in their natural receptor. Thus, the content of organic matter and total suspended matter in the downstream water compared to the effluent discharge point is higher than in the upstream water. The analysis of microplastics by SEM allows only their highlighting and their geometry, being a first step in the study of the pollution induced by such materials.

Environmental Remediation Potential of Ferrous Sulfate Waste as an Eco-Friendly Coagulant for the Removal of NH3-N and COD from the Rubber Processing Effluent

The present study was conducted to determine the potential of utilizing the FeSO4·7H2O waste from the titanium manufacturing industry as an effective coagulant for treating industrial effluent. In this study, the secondary rubber processing effluent (SRPE) was treated using ferrous sulfate (FeSO4·7H2O) waste from the titanium oxide manufacturing industry. The FeSO4·7H2O waste coagulation efficiency was evaluated on the elimination of ammoniacal nitrogen (NH3-N) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) from SRPE. The central composite design (CCD) of experiments was employed to design the coagulation experiments with varying coagulation time, coagulant doses, and temperature. The coagulation experiments were optimized on the optimal elimination of NH3-N and COD using response surface methodology (RSM). Results showed that coagulant doses and temperature significantly influenced NH3-N and COD elimination from SRPE. The highest NH3-N and COD removal obtained were 98.19% and 93.86%, respectively, at the optimized coagulation experimental conditions of coagulation time 70 min, coagulant doses 900 mg/L, and temperature 62 °C. The residual NH3-N and COD in treated SPRE were found below the specified industrial effluent discharge limits set by DoE, Malaysia. Additionally, the sludge generated after coagulation of SRPE contains essential plant nutrients. The present study’s finding showed that FeSO4·7H2O waste generated as an industrial byproduct in a titanium oxide manufacturing industry could be utilized as an eco-friendly coagulant in treating industrial effluent.

Comparison and Evaluation of Domestic and Foreign Radiation Environmental Standards for Nuclear Power Plants

With the development of the nuclear energy industry and the increasing demand for environmental protection, the impact of nuclear power plant radiation on the environment has gradually entered the public view. This article combs the nuclear power plant radiation environmental management systems of several countries, takes the domestic and foreign management of radioactive effluent discharge from nuclear power plants as a starting point, analyses and compares the laws and standards related to radioactive effluents from nuclear power plants in France, the United States, China, and South Korea. In this paper, the management improvement of radioactive effluent discharge system of Chinese nuclear power plants has been discussed.

A Review on Hybrid ABR with Comparing ABR for Treatment of Sugar Industry Wastewater

Water, is one of the prime, element, involved, in, the, creation of healthy life as well it’s development. Since, water, is, such, an essential , resource, for, survival, of, both, plants, and, animals, hence, it’s our, responsibility, to, manage, this, resource, for, the, sustainable, benefit, of, all, present, and, future, living, element., Because of the, high, pollution, potential , sugar, industry, is, considered, as, one, of, the, topmost, pollution, creating, industries, affecting, our, environment and ecosystem .Wastewater, from, sugar, industry, bears, complex, properties, and, its, treatment, is, considered, as, one, of, the, difficult , tasks, for, environmental, engineers, in, terms, of, its, treatment, as, well, as, using it again for a particular purpose ., The, brown, colour,, high, temperature,, low, pH,, high, COD,, high, BOD,, TDS,, odour, problems, and, excessive, percentage, of, dissolved, organics, and, inorganics, are, major, properties, of, the, sugar, industrial, effluent., This, effluent, if, discharged, untreated,, poses, problems, for, both, marine, and, terrestrial, ecosystems., The, cost, effective, and, economical, treatment, of, sugar, industrial, waste, is such a difficult task,,therefore, an, appropriate, and, cost-effective, method, to, meet, the, discharge, standards, is, needed., The, aim, of, this, paper, is, to, review, the, hybrid, anaerobic, baffled, reactor, for, the, treatment, of, sugar, industry, wastewater, and, compare, it’s, performance, with, respect, to, the, ABR., The, results, presented, in, this, paper, are, from, case, studies, done, on, a, laboratory-scale, Hybrid, ABR, &, ABR, treating, sugar, industry, wastewater, at, different, Hydraulic Retention Time ., The, purpose, of, this, study, is, to, see, the, performance, of, an, anaerobic, baffled, reactor, (ABR), and, a, hybrid, ABR, (HABR), for, the, treatment, of, sugar, industry, under, ambient, conditions, and, compare, the, ability, of, the, two, systems, to, meet, effluent, discharge, standards., In, steady, state, the, COD, removal, efficiencies, of, the, HABR, were, 2.2%, greater, than, those, of, the, ABR, at, all, HRTs., The, HABR, met, COD, and, BOD5, effluent, discharge, standards, using, a, 24-hour, HRT,, while, the, ABR, achieved, these, standards, only, with, a, 48-hour, HRT., The, HABR, was, found, to, be, suitable, for, conventional, sugar, industry, wastewater, treatment.

Daily Variation of Lipid Regulators and Personal Care Products in a River Impacted by Domestic Effluents in Southern Brazil

In urban areas, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) play a major role in the water quality of rivers. The removal efficiency of emerging contaminants by WWTPs is strongly correlated with the type of treatment and the hydraulic retention time (HRT) of the process, which can vary according to the volumetric influent flow of wastewater and occasional peak flows. This paper aims, for the first time, to assess the daily variation of lipid regulators and personal care products in an urban river impacted by domestic effluents. Samples were collected upstream and downstream of a WWTP. The concentrations downstream of the effluent discharge were higher than upstream, but they varied significantly during the day. Concentration peaks upstream of the WWTP were detected at 07:00, 15:00 and 21:00, while downstream of the effluent discharge, concentration peaks occurred between 13:00 and 19:00 and between 21:00 and 23:00. The highest downstream concentrations of triclosan and methylparaben (420 ng L−1 and 460 ng L−1) were 6.8 and 5.4 times higher than the lowest concentrations detected, respectively. These results show that in WWTP-impacted rivers, the time of the sampling has a great influence on the final results and conclusions of a monitoring study.

Groundwater Quality Studies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Prevalent Research and Management Dimensions

Groundwater is a valuable resource because it is widely used for drinking, and for domestic, agricultural, and industrial purposes. Globally, Saudi Arabia is known to be one of the driest regions with scarce water resources. The shallow groundwater near the major cities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is becoming polluted because of industrial effluent discharge, use of fertilizers in agriculture and domestic sewerage in the region. This review tries to focus on groundwater quality problems due to anthropogenic or geogenic sources in the region of Saudi Arabia. In this paper, we focus on different water-quality variables, for groundwater quality evaluation and aquifer vulnerability assessment due to pollutants/contaminants present in groundwater. The current study gives a holistic understanding of different groundwater quality problems and therefore identifies the gaps of the previous studies and identifies the viewpoints of the future research dimensions. We describe the different groundwater quality problems related to toxicities of the fluoride, nitrate, and heavy metals and radionuclides in Saudi Arabia. A majority of the groundwater pollutants are of natural origin, but there is significant wastewater effluent discharge in the region that is also responsible for contamination of aquifers with heavy metals.