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Chandra S, Walsh KB. Microplastics in water: Occurrence, fate and removal. JOURNAL OF CONTAMINANT HYDROLOGY 2024; 264:104360. [PMID: 38729026 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconhyd.2024.104360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2023] [Revised: 04/22/2024] [Accepted: 05/02/2024] [Indexed: 05/12/2024]
Abstract
A global study on tap water samples has found that up to 83% of these contained microplastic fibres. These findings raise concerns about their potential health risks. Ingested microplastic particles have already been associated with harmful effects in animals, which raise concerns about similar outcomes in humans. Microplastics are ubiquitous in the environment, commonly found disposed in landfills and waste sites. Within indoor environments, the common sources are synthetic textiles, plastic bottles, and packaging. From the various point sources, they are globally distributed through air and water and can enter humans through various pathways. The finding of microplastics in fresh snow in the Antarctic highlights just how widely they are dispersed. The behaviour and health risks from microplastic particles are strongly influenced by their physicochemical properties, which is why their surfaces are important. Surface interactions are also important in pollutant transport via adsorption onto the microplastic particles. Our review covers the latest findings in microplastics research including the latest statistics in their abundance, their occurrence and fate in the environment, the methods of reducing microplastics exposure and their removal. We conclude by proposing future research directions into more effective remediation methods including new technologies and sustainable green remediation methods that need to be explored to achieve success in microplastics removal from waters at large scale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaneel Chandra
- College of Science and Sustainability, School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, Central Queensland University, Rockhampton North, QLD 4702, Australia; Coastal Marine Ecosystems Research Centre, Central Queensland University, Gladstone Marina Campus, Bryan Jordan Drive, Gladstone, QLD 4680, Australia.
| | - Kerry B Walsh
- College of Science and Sustainability, School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, Central Queensland University, Rockhampton North, QLD 4702, Australia
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Peng Q, Gong X, Jiang R, Yang N, Chen R, Dai B, Wang R. Performance and characterization of snail adhesive mucus as a bioflocculant against toxic Microcystis. ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY 2024; 270:115921. [PMID: 38183749 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2023.115921] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2023] [Revised: 12/08/2023] [Accepted: 12/29/2023] [Indexed: 01/08/2024]
Abstract
Toxic Microcystis blooms are widespread in aquatic bodies, posing major threats to aquatic and human life. Recently, bioflocculants have attracted considerable attention as a promising biomaterial for Microcystis management. In search of a novel organism that can produce an efficient bioflocculant for controlling harmful algae sustainably, the native gastropod Cipangopaludina chinensis was co-cultured continuously with toxic Microcystis under different initial algal cell densities. The bioflocculation effect of snail mucus on toxic Microcystis, microcystin removal, and toxin accumulation in snails was investigated. In addition, the properties of the adhesive mucus were characterized using microscopic, X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, and polysaccharide and proteome analyses. Microcystis cells were captured and flocculated by the snail mucus; removal efficiencies of up to 89.9% and 84.8% were achieved for microalgae and microcystin-leucine arginine (MC-LR), respectively, when co-cultured with C. chinensis for only one day. After nine-day exposure, less than 5.49 µg/kg DW microcystins accumulated in the snails, indicating safety for human consumption. The snail mucus contained 104.3 µg/mg protein and 72.7 µg/mg carbohydrate, which provide several functional groups beneficial for Microcystis bioflocculation. The main monosaccharide subunits of polysaccharides are galactose, galactosamine, glucosamine, fucose, glucose, and mannose. Most of them are key components of polysaccharides in many bioflocculants. Gene Ontology analysis indicated the protein enrichment in binding processes and catalytic activity, which may account for Microcystis bioflocculation via protein binding or enzymatic reactions. The findings indicate that native C. chinensis secretes adhesive mucus that can act as bioflocculant for toxic Microcystis from ambient water and can be an effective and eco-friendly tool for Microcystis suppression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qin Peng
- Key Laboratory of Land Resources Evaluation and Monitoring in Southwest (Sichuan Normal University), Ministry of Education, China; College of Life Science, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Xinyue Gong
- Key Laboratory of Land Resources Evaluation and Monitoring in Southwest (Sichuan Normal University), Ministry of Education, China; College of Life Science, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Ruixin Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Land Resources Evaluation and Monitoring in Southwest (Sichuan Normal University), Ministry of Education, China; College of Life Science, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Na Yang
- Key Laboratory of Land Resources Evaluation and Monitoring in Southwest (Sichuan Normal University), Ministry of Education, China; College of Life Science, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Ruiting Chen
- Key Laboratory of Land Resources Evaluation and Monitoring in Southwest (Sichuan Normal University), Ministry of Education, China; College of Life Science, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Binglin Dai
- Key Laboratory of Land Resources Evaluation and Monitoring in Southwest (Sichuan Normal University), Ministry of Education, China; College of Life Science, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Rui Wang
- Key Laboratory of Land Resources Evaluation and Monitoring in Southwest (Sichuan Normal University), Ministry of Education, China; College of Life Science, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610041, China.
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Huang H, Li J, Tao W, Li S. A Functionalized Polysaccharide from Sphingomonas sp. HL-1 for High-Performance Flocculation. Polymers (Basel) 2022; 15:polym15010056. [PMID: 36616408 PMCID: PMC9853492 DOI: 10.3390/polym15010056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Revised: 12/19/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The characterization and flocculation mechanism of a biopolymer flocculant produced by Sphingomonas sp. HL-1, were investigated. The bio-flocculant HL1 was identified as an acidic polysaccharide, mainly composed of glucose, and also contained a small amount of mannose, galacturonic acid and guluronic acid. The flocculating activity of the purified HL1 polysaccharide could be activated by trivalent cations, and its flocculation mechanism was mainly charge neutralization and bridging. The working concentration of fermentation broth HL1 in a kaolin suspension was only 1/10,000 (v/v), in which the polysaccharide concentration was about 2 mg/L. The bio-flocculant HL1 maintained high efficiency at a wide range of pH (pH 3-10). It also exhibited good flocculating activity at a temperature range of 20-40 °C; it could even tolerate high salinity and kept activity at a mineralization degree of 50,000 mg/L. Therefore, the bio-flocculant HL1 has a good application prospect in the treatment of wastewater over a broad pH range and in high salinity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haolin Huang
- College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China
| | - Jingsong Li
- College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China
| | - Weiyi Tao
- College of Food Science and Light Industry, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China
| | - Shuang Li
- College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China
- Correspondence: ; Tel./Fax: +86-25-58139942
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