Recent progress in two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy for the environmental detection and analysis

The coexistence of copper ions and TC affected the binding ability and the reaction order between extracellular polymeric substances of aerobic granular sludge and exogenous substances

As a barrier against external toxic effects, extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs) directly affect the toxicity and removal efficiency of exogenous substances. The reaction of EPSs with exogenous substances has been taken into consideration. The contents of EPSs in sludge cultivated by different influent water vary greatly, which leads to great differences in the binding ability and reaction sequence between EPSs and exogenous substances. However, the results in this respect are very limited. In this study, the binding characteristics between exogenous tetracycline (TC)/copper ions (Cu²⁺) and EPSs from aerobic granular sludge cultured under single and coexisting TC/Cu²⁺ were assessed by three-dimensional fluorescence-parallel factor analysis. The pollutants in the influent water could directionally induce microorganisms to secrete more EPSs, while fluorescence substances in EPSs could combine with the exogenous substances to lessen their effects. In the presence of coexisting TC and Cu²⁺ in the influent water, the ability of fluorescence substances in EPSs to combine with exogenous TC or Cu²⁺ weakened, and humic substances in EPSs were more susceptible than protein substances to binding with exogenous substances. However, the reaction order between EPSs components and exogenous TC or Cu²⁺ was opposite, and the ability of fluorescence substances in EPSs to combine with exogenous TC or Cu²⁺ was enhanced under individual TC or Cu²⁺ existing in the influent water. This study provided new insights into the interaction between EPSs and exogenous substances.

Continuing progress in the field of two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2D-COS), part II. Recent noteworthy developments

This comprehensive survey review compiles noteworthy developments and new concepts of two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2D-COS) for the last two years. It covers review articles, books, proceedings, and numerous research papers published on 2D-COS, as well as patent and publication trends. 2D-COS continues to evolve and grow with new significant developments and versatile applications in diverse scientific fields. The healthy, vigorous, and diverse progress of 2D-COS studies in many fields strongly confirms that it is well accepted as a powerful analytical technique to provide an in-depth understanding of systems of interest.

Removal kinetics and mechanisms of tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) by HA-n-FeS colloids in the absence and presence of oxygen

The colloid of ferrous sulfide modified by humic acid (HA-n-FeS) shows good reduction and immobilization efficiency for variable-valence heavy metals in wastewater. The removal efficiency of HA-n-FeS for halogenated organic pollutants, however, remains unclear, especially in the absence and presence of oxygen. This study addressed this issue by exploring the effect and mechanism of dissolved oxygen on the degradation of tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) by the HA-n-FeS colloid in water. The results showed that the removal efficiency of different concentrations of TBBPA (5,10, and 20 μm) by the HA-n-FeS colloid was 33.16%, 20.48%, and 22.37% in the absence of oxygen, respectively. When TBBPA reacted with the HA-n-FeS colloid, the concentration of Fe(II) and S(-II) remained stable. The adsorption of HA-n-FeS was the main mechanism of removing TBBPA in the absence of oxygen. In the presence of oxygen, the removal efficiency of TBBPA by the HA-n-FeS colloid was 82.37%, 56.80%, and 43.78% (for the above-mentioned TBBPA concentrations), respectively. In addition, the removal capacity of TBBPA by HA-n-FeS was 39.63, 52.21, and 89.75 mg/g, respectively. The concentration of Fe(II) and S(-II) decreased rapidly in time. Among them, the HA-n-FeS colloid removed part of the TBBPA through chemical adsorption. The main way of chemical adsorption was pore adsorption and functional group (olefin CC, phenolic hydroxyl group O-H, alcohol group C-O) combination. Besides, the HA-n-FeS colloid degraded part of the TBBPA into BPA through reduction, in which 17.72% of TBBPA was removed by the reduction of HA-n-FeS colloid. Fe(II) was the main contributor to the reductive degradation of TBBPA. Furthermore, active species (1O2 and •O2-) played a minor role in the removal of TBBPA by the HA-n-FeS colloids with oxygen, where 13% of TBBPA was removed by 1O2 and •O2-. Therefore, in practical applications, the aeration method can be used to significantly improve the removal efficiency of TBBPA by HA-n-FeS colloids in water.

Influence of sludge organic matter on elimination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from waste activated sludge by ozonation: Controversy over aromatic compounds

Ozonation has been widely used as a viable advanced oxidation process (AOP) for elimination of PAHs in waste activated sludge through effective sludge disintegration and abatement of organic pollutants. However, sludge organic matter (SOM) influences PAHs degradation during ozone treatment is still rarely understood. In this study, we investigated such an influence with the aid of solid-state ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and the corresponding two-dimensional correlation analysis (2D-COS) strategy. The results showed that the degradation of SOM macromolecules in the order of aromatic substances > aliphatic carbon > α carbon > amides groups > O-alkyl upon ozone treatment. Moreover, the PAHs removal efficiency was positively correlated with the aromaticity of sludge (R² = 0.84-0.98), while negative associated with its aliphaticity (R² = 0.81-0.95). Lastly, humic acid (HA) was used as a proxy of aromatic SOM to further explore their interaction with PAHs in sludge matrix. The results revealed that freely dissolved (HA-D) and suspended particulates (HA-S) imposed distinctively different influence on ozone-based PAHs degradation. The HA-S facilitated the elimination of PAHs by 7.95 ± 0.11%, while those HA-D reduced the removal efficiency by 16.70 ± 0.13%.

Prediction of the Soil Organic Matter (SOM) Content from Moist Soil Using Synchronous Two-Dimensional Correlation Spectroscopy (2D-COS) Analysis

This paper illustrates a simple yet effective spectroscopic technique for the prediction of soil organic matter (SOM) from moist soil through the synchronous 2D correlation spectroscopy (2D-COS) analysis. In the moist soil system, the strong overlap between the water absorption peaks and the SOM characteristic features in the visible-near infrared (Vis-NIR) spectral region have long been recognised as one of the main factors that causes significant errors in the prediction of the SOM content. The aim of the paper is to illustrate how the tangling effects due to the moisture and the SOM can be unveiled under 2D-COS through a sequential correlogram analysis of the two perturbation variables (i.e., the moisture and the SOM) independently. The main outcome from the 2D-COS analysis is the discovery of SOM-related bands at the 597 nm, 1646 nm and 2138 nm, together with the predominant water absorbance feature at the 1934 nm and the relatively less important ones at 1447 nm and 2210 nm. This information is then utilised to build partial least square regression (PLSR) models for the prediction of the SOM content. The experiment has shown that by discarding noisy bands adjacent to the SOM features, and the removal of the water absorption bands, the determination coefficient of prediction (R_p²) and the ratio of prediction to deviation (RPD) for the prediction of SOM from moist soil have achieved R_p² = 0.92 and the RPD = 3.19, both of which are about 5% better than that of using all bands for building the PLSR model. The very high RPD (=3.19) obtained in this study may suggest that the 2D-COS technique is effective for the analysis of complex system like the prediction of SOM from moist soil.