Pharmaceutical Pollutants: Ecotoxicological Impacts and the Use of Agro-Industrial Waste for Their Removal from Aquatic Environments

Medicines are pharmaceutical substances used to treat, prevent, or relieve symptoms of different diseases in animals and humans. However, their large-scale production and use worldwide cause their release to the environment. Pharmaceutical molecules are currently considered emerging pollutants that enter water bodies due to inadequate management, affecting water quality and generating adverse effects on aquatic organisms. Hence, different alternatives for pharmaceuticals removal from water have been sought; among them, the use of agro-industrial wastes has been proposed, mainly because of its high availability and low cost. This review highlights the adverse ecotoxicological effects related to the presence of different pharmaceuticals on aquatic environments and analyzes 94 investigations, from 2012 to 2024, on the removal of 17 antibiotics, highlighting sulfamethoxazole as the most reported, as well as 6 non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as diclofenac and ibuprofen, and 27 pharmaceutical drugs with different pharmacological activities. The removal of these drugs was evaluated using agro-industrial wastes such as wheat straw, mung bean husk, bagasse, bamboo, olive stones, rice straw, pinewood, rice husk, among others. On average, 60% of the agro-industrial wastes were transformed into biochar to be used as a biosorbents for pharmaceuticals removal. The diversity in experimental conditions among the removal studies makes it difficult to stablish which agro-industrial waste has the greatest removal capacity; therefore, in this review, the drug mass removal rate (DMRR) was calculated, a parameter used with comparative purposes. Almond shell-activated biochar showed the highest removal rate for antibiotics (1940 mg/g·h), while cork powder (CP) (10,420 mg/g·h) showed the highest for NSAIDs. Therefore, scientific evidence demonstrates that agro-industrial waste is a promising alternative for the removal of emerging pollutants such as pharmaceuticals substances.

Monitoring Ammonium Polyphosphate (APP) Biodegradation by Acinetobacter nosocomialis D-3 Using DAPI

Ammonium polyphosphate (APP), a pivotal constituent within environmentally friendly flame retardants, exhibits notable decomposition susceptibility and potentially engenders ecological peril. Consequently, monitoring the APP concentration to ensure product integrity and facilitate the efficacious management of wastewater from production processes is of great significance. A fluorescent assay was devised to swiftly discern APP utilizing 4',6'-diamino-2-phenylindole (DAPI). With increasing APP concentrations, DAPI undergoes intercalation within its structure, emitting pronounced fluorescence. Notably, the flame retardant JLS-PNA220-A, predominantly comprising APP, was employed as the test substrate. Establishing a linear relationship between fluorescence intensity (F-F0) and JLS-PNA220-A concentration yielded the equation y = 76.08x + 463.2 (R2 = 0.9992), with a LOD determined to be 0.853 mg/L. The method was used to assess the degradation capacity of APP-degrading bacteria. Strain D-3 was isolated, and subsequent analysis of its 16S DNA sequence classified it as belonging to the Acinetobacter genus. Acinetobacter nosocomialis D-3 demonstrated superior APP degradation capabilities under pH 7 at 37 °C, with degradation rates exceeding 85% over a four-day cultivation period. It underscores the sensitivity and efficacy of the proposed method for APP detection. Furthermore, Acinetobacter nosocomialis D-3 exhibits promising potential for remediation of residual APP through environmental biodegradation processes.

Progressive Insights into Metal-Organic Frameworks and Metal-Organic Framework-Membrane Composite Systems for Wastewater Management

The sustainable management of wastewater through recycling and utilization stands as a pressing concern in the trajectory of societal advancement. Prioritizing the elimination of diverse organic contaminants is paramount in wastewater treatment, garnering significant attention from researchers worldwide. Emerging metal-organic framework materials (MOFs), bridging organic and inorganic attributes, have surfaced as novel adsorbents, showcasing pivotal potential in wastewater remediation. Nevertheless, challenges like limited water stability, elevated dissolution rates, and inadequate hydrophobicity persist in the context of wastewater treatment. To enhance the performance of MOFs, they can be modified through chemical or physical methods, and combined with membrane materials as additives to create membrane composite materials. These membrane composites, derived from MOFs, exhibit remarkable characteristics including enhanced porosity, adjustable pore dimensions, superior permeability, optimal conductivity, and robust water stability. Their ability to effectively sequester organic compounds has spurred significant research in this field. This paper introduces methods for enhancing the performance of MOFs and explores their potential applications in water treatment. It delves into the detailed design, synthesis strategies, and fabrication of composite membranes using MOFs. Furthermore, it focuses on the application prospects, challenges, and opportunities associated with MOF composite membranes in water treatment.

Research advances of the phosphorus-accumulating organisms of Candidatus Accumulibacter, Dechloromonas and Tetrasphaera: Metabolic mechanisms, applications and influencing factors

Phosphorus-accumulating organisms (PAOs), which harbor metabolic mechanisms for phosphorus removal, are widely applied in wastewater treatment. Recently, novel PAOs and phosphorus removal metabolic pathways have been identified and studied. Specifically, Dechloromonas and Tetrasphaera can remove phosphorus via the denitrifying phosphorus removal and fermentation phosphorus removal pathways, respectively. As the main PAOs in biological phosphorus removal systems, the conventional PAO Candidatus Accumulibacter and the novel PAOs Dechloromonas and Tetrasphaera are thoroughly discussed in this paper, with a specific focus on their phosphorus removal metabolic mechanisms, process applications, community abundance and influencing factors. Dechloromonas can achieve simultaneous nitrogen and phosphorus removal in an anoxic environment through the denitrifying phosphorus removal metabolic pathway, which can further reduce carbon source requirements and aeration energy consumption. The metabolic pathways of Tetrasphaera are diverse, with phosphorus removal occurring in conjunction with macromolecular organics degradation through anaerobic fermentation. A collaborative oxic phosphorus removal pathway between Tetrasphaera and Ca. Accumulibacter, or a collaborative anoxic denitrifying phosphorus removal pathway between Tetrasphaera and Dechloromonas are future development directions for biological phosphorus removal technologies, which can further reduce carbon source and energy consumption while achieving enhanced phosphorus removal.

Effects of coagulant morphology and chemical properties on soluble reactive phosphate removal in corn ethanol wastewater

As ethanol production continues to rise around the world, and wastewater discharge requirements for phosphorus become more stringent, it is important that phosphorus removal technologies are evaluated on ethanol wastewater streams. In this study, five coagulating agents with distinct characteristics were evaluated for their soluble reactive phosphate (SRP) removal performance on both a synthetic wastewater sample and a wastewater sample collected from a corn ethanol manufacturer. All coagulants demonstrated a positive correlation between coagulant dose and percent removal of SRP on both samples. Alum and ferric chloride produced the highest SRP removal efficiencies on both the ethanol and synthetic wastewater, indicating that prepolymerized, high-basicity coagulants (e.g., aluminum chlorohydrate, poly-aluminum ferric chloride) are less effective for SRP removal than nonpolymerized coagulants. The background matrix analysis combined with the pH studies revealed that the high alkalinity in the ethanol wastewater has a substantial inhibitory effect on SRP removal capacity that supersedes pH effects. These experimental results suggest that the Al-Al and Al-OH bonds in the heavily hydroxylated and polymerized structure of high-basicity coagulants are very rigid, which could prevent inner-sphere complexation and drive a less effective outer-sphere interaction, thus hindering SRP removal efficiency. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Five different coagulants are evaluated for reactive phosphate removal from wastewater. Alum and ferric chloride show higher removal efficiency than prepolymerized and high-basicity coagulants. Optimal removal pH increases with increasing coagulant basicity.

Using cerium chloride to control soluble orthophosphate concentration and improve the dewaterability of sludge: Part II. A case study

High concentration of orthophosphate ion (OP) in anaerobically digested sludge can lead to struvite crystallization, deterioration of sludge dewaterability, and elevated mainstream OP loading through centrate recirculation. The Upper Occoquan Service Authority (UOSA) has observed seasonally high OP levels in its dewatering blend tank, which was found in this study to be a consequence of unwanted biological phosphorus accumulation during the intensified winter denitrification operation and the subsequent OP release in the course of anaerobic digestion. In order to control the nuisance struvite scaling issues, a bench study was conducted and cerium chloride (CeCl₃ ) was dosed as an effective OP precipitant. The results of this study demonstrated that CeCl₃ dosing showed higher OP removal efficiency than other commonly used OP precipitants. In addition, bench-scale simulations indicated sludge dewaterability improvements which were used to predict lower polymer and dewatering energy demands at the full scale. The economic analysis conducted in this case study showed that the seasonal dosing of CeCl₃ at UOSA has the potential to provide a net annual saving of US $47,000. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Biological phosphorus accumulation during the intensified denitrification operation caused seasonally high sludge OP and struvite scaling issues at UOSA. CeCl₃ was evaluated as an effective OP precipitant for struvite control and dewaterability improvement when aluminum and iron were determined to be unfavorable. Seasonal dosing of CeCl₃ at UOSA projected a net annual saving of US $47,000.

Adsorption of ibuprofen using cysteine-modified silane-coated magnetic nanomaterial

Industrialization and growth of the pharmaceutical companies have been a boon to the mankind in our day to day life in myriad ways. However, due to the uninhibited release of these active pharmaceutical compounds into the water systems has caused detrimental effects to the genetic pool. In this study, L-cysteine-modified 3-glycidyloxypropyltrimethoxysilane-coated magnetic nanomaterial showed a maximum removal of the efficiency of 82.90% for the nanomaterial dosage of 30 mg at an initial concentration of 50 mg L^-1 at pH 6.0. Further, the nanomaterial showed reusability efficiency up to 80% for three cycles. The adsorption kinetics follow the pseudo-second-order reaction and the adsorption isotherm model best fits the Langmuir isotherm proving the adsorption process to be a monolayer sorption on a monolayer surface. This magnetic nanomaterial could serve as a promising tool for the removal of pharmaceutical compounds from aqueous solutions. Graphical abstract ᅟ.

Novel chitosan-based flocculants for chromium and nickle removal in wastewater via integrated chelation and flocculation

Carboxylated chitosan (CPCTS) is used as substrates in the design and synthesis of CPCTS-based flocculants through UV-initiated polymerization techniques. The synthesized flocculants are applied to remove Cr and Ni ions from chromic acid lotion and electroplating wastewater through two-stage flocculation. This study investigates the effect of flocculant dosage, pH, reaction time, and stirring speed on the removal efficiency of Cr and Ni ions. Results indicated that the total Cr removal ratios by CPCTS-graft-polyacrylamide-co-sodium xanthate (CAC) and CPCTS-graft-poly [acrylamide-2-Acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid] (CPCTS-g-P(AM-AMPS)) are 94.7% and 94.6%, respectively. The total Ni removal efficiencies by CAC and CPCTS-g-P(AM-AMPS) are 99.3% and 99.4%, respectively. The two-stage flocculation with CPCTS-based flocculants could reduce the total concentrations of Cr and Ni to 1.0 mg/L and 0.5 mg/L, respectively. The relationship of removal capacity and structural properties between the flocculants with different functional groups is established through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The micro-interfacial behavior between the colloidal particles and the solution during the integrated chelation-flocculation are elucidated. Thus, CPCTS-based flocculants could be a potential material for the removal of high amounts of Cr and Ni ions in industrial wastewater.