Adsorption of Me(II), HEDP, and Me(II)-HEDP onto boehmite at nonstoichiometric Me(II)-HEDP concentrations

Complexation-based selectivity of organic phosphonates adsorption from high-salinity water by neodymium-doped nanocomposite

Organic phosphonates have been widely used in various industries and are ubiquitous in wastewaters, and efficient removal of phosphonates is still a challenge for the conventional processes because of the severe interferences from the complex water constitutions. Herein, an Nd-based nanocomposite (HNdO@PsAX) was fabricated by immobilizing hydrated neodymium oxide (HNdO) nanoparticles inside a polystyrene anion exchanger (PsAX) to remove phosphonates from high-salinity aqueous media. Batch experiments demonstrated that HNdO@PsAX had an excellent adsorption capacity (∼90.5 mg P/g-Nd) towards a typical phosphonate (1-hydrox-yethylidene-1,1-diphosphonic acid, HEDP) from the background of 8 g/L NaCl, whereas negligible HEDP adsorption was achieved by PsAX. Attractively, various coexisting substances (humic acid, phosphate, citrate, EDTA, metal ligands, and anions) exerted negligible effects on the HEDP adsorption by HNdO@PsAX under high salinity. FT-IR and XPS analyses revealed that the inner-sphere complexation between HEDP and the immobilized HNdO nanoparticles is responsible for HEDP adsorption. Fixed-bed experiments further verified that HNdO@PsAX was capable of successively treating more than 4500 bed volumes (BV) of a synthetic high-salinity wastewater (1.0 mg P/L of HEDP), whereas only ∼2 BV of effective treatment capacity was received by PsAX. The exhausted HNdO@PsAX was amenable to a complete regeneration by a binary NaOHNaCl solution without significant loss in capacity. The capability in removing other organic phosphonates and treating a real electroplating wastewater by HNdO@PsAX was further validated. Generally, HNdO@PsAX exhibited a great potential in efficiently removing phosphonates from high-salinity wastewater.

Uncovering the disposable face masks as vectors of metal ions (Pb(Ⅱ), Cd(Ⅱ), Sr(Ⅱ)) during the COVID-19 pandemic

The demand for disposable face masks (DFMs) increased sharply in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, information regarding the underlying roles of the largely discarded DFMs in the environment is extremely lacking. This study focused on the pristine and UV-aged DFMs as vectors of metal ions (Pb(Ⅱ), Cd(Ⅱ), and Sr(Ⅱ)). Further, the aging mechanism of DFMs with UV radiation as well as the interaction mechanisms between DFMs and metal ions were investigated. Results revealed that the aging process would help to promote more metal ions adsorbed onto DFMs, which was mainly attributed to the presence of oxygen-containing groups on the aged DFMs. The adsorption affinity of pristine and aged DFMs for the metal ions followed Pb(Ⅱ) > Cd(Ⅱ) > Sr(Ⅱ), which was positively corrected with the electronegativity of the metals. Interestingly, we found that even if DFMs were not disrupted, DFMs had similar or even higher adsorption affinity for metals compared with other existing microplastics. Besides, regarding environmental factors, including salinity and solution pH played a crucial role in the adsorption processes, with greater adsorption capacities for pristine and aged DFMs at higher pH values and low salinity. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and density functional theory further confirmed that the pristine DFMs interacted with the metals mainly through electrostatic interaction, while electrostatic interaction and surface complexation jointly regulated the adsorption of the metals onto aged DFMs. Overall, these findings would help to evaluate environmental behaviors and risks of DFMs associated with metals.

A new alendronate doped HAP nanomaterial for Pb2+, Cu2+ and Cd2+ effect absorption

In this paper, a new nanobiomaterial, alendronate hydroxyapatite (AL-HAP), was synthesized by the conventional co-precipitation method with alendronate (AL) as dopant, and applied in the removal of heavy metal contaminants for the first time. The characterization results showed that the crystallinity of the AL-HAP nanocomposite biomaterials after doping has been greatly deteriorated, and the pore volume and pore size increased. When the doping amount of AL was 10 %, the maximum adsorption capacity of AL-HAP for Pb²⁺, Cd²⁺ and Cu²⁺ can reach 1431.8, 469 and 226.6 mg/g, respectively, which was much higher than that reported in other literature. Meanwhile, the adsorption mechanism of AL-HAP for heavy metal ions was discussed from both the views of experimental and Multiwfn program theoretical calculation based on density functional theory (DFT). Quantitative molecular surface analysis was carried out for the first time to study the minimum points and the positions of electrostatic potential (ESP) and average local ionization energy(ALIE), as well as the exact values, giving more accurate and reliable analysis conclusions for the reaction sites and binding mode. In addition, the independent gradient model (IGM) method was also firstly applied to investigate the interactions between AL and HAP or AL-HAP nanocomposite with metal ions. AL-HAP is a potential adsorption material for heavy metal wastewater treatment and soil remediation because of its advantages such as convenient synthesis, excellent adsorption performance and no secondary pollution.

Transcriptional and metabolic response against hydroxyethane-(1,1-bisphosphonic acid) on bacterial denitrification by a halophilic Pannonibacter sp. strain DN

Biological denitrification is an environmentally sound pathway for the elimination of nitrogen pollution in wastewater treatment. Extreme environmental conditions, such as the co-existence of toxic organic pollutants, can affect biological denitrification. However, the potential underlying mechanism remains largely unexplored. Herein, the effect of a model pollutant, hydroxyethane-(1,1-bisphosphonic acid) (HEDP), a widely applied and consumed bisphosphonate, on microbial denitrification was investigated by exploring the metabolic and transcriptional responses of an isolated denitrifier, Pannonibacter sp. strain DN. Results showed that nitrate removal efficiency decreased from 85% to 50% with an increase in HEDP concentration from 0 to 3.5 mM, leading to nitrite accumulation of 204 mg L^-1 in 3.5 mM HEDP. This result was due to the lower bacterial population count and reduction in the live cell percentage. Further investigation revealed that HEDP caused a decrease in membrane potential from 0.080 ± 0.005 to 0.020 ± 0.002 with the increase in HEDP from 0 to 3.5 mM. This hindered electron transfer, which is required for nitrate transformation into nitrogen gas. Moreover, transcriptional profiling indicated that HEDP enhanced the genes involved in ROS (O₂^-) scavenging, thus protecting cells against oxidative stress damage. However, the suppression of genes responsible for the production of NADH/FADH₂ in tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA), NADH catalyzation (NADH dehydrogenase) in (electron transport chain) ETC system and denitrifying genes, especially nor and nir, in response to 2.5 mM HEDP were identified as the key factor inhibiting transfer of electron from TCA cycle to denitrifying enzymes through ETC system.

The facile synthesis of zoledronate functionalized hydroxyapatite amorphous hybrid nanobiomaterial and its excellent removal performance on Pb2+ and Cu2

In this paper, a simple chemical precipitation method was proposed to obtain zoledronate functionalized hydroxyapatite (zole-HAP) hybrid nano- biomaterials (zole-HAP-HNBM) which were firstly applied to adsorption. The characterizations of materials verified that the addition of zoledronate declined the crystallinity and transformed the morphology of HAP from short rod shape to microsphere, changed micro structure of the hybrid nanobiomaterial. Adsorption experiments carried out under different conditions showed that adsorption capacity of the nanobiomaterial, enhanced by the addition of zoledronate in preparation, which is equal to 1460.14 mg/g on Pb²⁺ and 226.33 mg/g on Cu²⁺ in optimum qualifications, was elevated more than the reported values in many literatures. At last, the sorption mechanisms of HAP and zole-HAP for Pb²⁺and Cu²⁺ were probed by experiments and Multifwn program calculation in details. It suggested that the dominant sorption mechanisms of HAP for Pb²⁺ were ion exchange and dissolution-precipitation rather than surface complexation, while besides the dissolution-precipitation mechanism, surface complexation may contribute more in the adsorption process of 10zole-HAP for Pb²⁺. Once considering HAP and 10zole-HAP, removal mechanisms of Cu²⁺ could involve surface complexation and ion exchange.

Molecular dynamics simulations of the binging affinity of 1-hydroxyethane-1, 1-diphosphonic acid (HEDP) with nano-hydroxyapatite and the uptake of Cu2+ by HEDP-HAP hybrid systems

The adsorption capacities of different ratios of 1-hydroxyethylidene-1, 1-diphosphonic acid (HEDP) and nano-hydroxyapatite (HAP) hybrid systems on Cu²⁺ were probed. The FTIR, XRD, SEM and EDS analyses showed that HEDP with Cu²⁺ adsorbed on the surface of HAP and a new crystal phase appeared. The content of adsorbed Cu²⁺ were 4.4% and 21.8% on the surface of single HAP and HEDP-HAP-0.5 hybrid system, respectively, and later was 4.94 times that of the former. Conversely, the Ca/P (mol) ratio decreased from 1.40 to 0.61, indicating more Ca²⁺ were replaced by Cu²⁺. Meanwhile, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations results showed that HEDP and water molecules both formed ordered adsorption layer with similar concentration profiles, but the former preferred to gather on the HAP surface than the latter. The electrovalence bonds between the phosphonic acid functional groups of HEDP and Ca^2＋ of HAP surface played the dominant role in their adsorption. The adsorption results showed that the maximum adsorption capacity of single hydroxyapatite for Cu²⁺ was 40.32 mg/g, while the maximum adsorption capacities reached 99.11, 171.8 and 147.27 mg/g for HEDP-HAP-0.2, HEDP-HAP-0.5 and HEDP-HAP-1.0 hybrid systems, respectively. The study illustrated that the adsorption process accorded with the pseudo-second-order kinetic and Langmuir isotherm model.

Behavior of PBTC, HEDP, and Aminophosphonates in the Process of Wastewater Treatment

Ten times at intervals of 1–2 months, individual treatment stages of two wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) were analyzed for the five quantitatively most widely used phosphonates. The total dissolved concentration of the investigated phosphonates in the influents was between 131 µg/L and 384 µg/L. The nitrogen-free phosphonates 2-phosphonobutane-1,2,4-tricarboxylic acid (PBTC) and 1-hydroxyethylidene(1,1-diphosphonic acid) (HEDP) accounted for an average proportion of 83–85%. Diethylenetriaminepenta(methylene phosphonic acid) (DTPMP) contributed with 13–14%, whereas aminotris(methylphosphonic acid) (ATMP) (≤15 µg/L) and ethylenediaminetetra(methylene phosphonic acid) (EDTMP) (≤11 µg/L) contents detected in the WWTP influents were comparatively low. The application of new analytical methods allowed the quantification of phosphonates in the solid fraction of the WWTP influents for the first time. High loads of phosphonates were determined (223–2555 mg/kg), indicating that 20%–80% of the phosphonates are present in the adsorbed state. The removal of total dissolved phosphonate by secondary clarification was between 69.7% and 92.4% (medians: 90.7% and 87.7%). In both WWTPs, HEDP (medians: 89.2% and 86.4%) was slightly better eliminated than PBTC (medians: 87.2% and 82.5%). In the sand filtration stage of a WWTP, the average removal was not further improved. In contrast, an additional removal of dissolved phosphonates could be achieved by activated carbon treatment (median: 96.4%). The proportion of phosphonate-P in the dissolved unreactive phosphorus fraction was consistently between 10% and 40% throughout all treatment stages.

Environmental and Ecological Risk Assessment of Trace Metal Contamination in Mangrove Ecosystems: A Case from Zhangjiangkou Mangrove National Nature Reserve, China

Zhangjiangkou Mangrove National Nature Reserve is a subtropical wetland ecosystem in southeast coast of China, which is of dense population and rapid development. The concentrations, sources, and pollution assessment of trace metals (Cu, Cd, Pb, Cr, Zn, As, and Hg) in surface sediment from 29 sites and the biota specimen were investigated for better ecological risk assessment and environmental management. The ranges of trace metals in mg/kg sediment were as follows: Cu (10.79–26.66), Cd (0.03–0.19), Pb (36.71–59.86), Cr (9.67–134.51), Zn (119.69–157.84), As (15.65–31.60), and Hg (0.00–0.08). The sequences of the bioaccumulation of studied metals are Zn > Cu > As > Cr > Pb > Cd > Hg with few exceptions. Cluster analysis and principal component analysis revealed that the trace metals in the studied area mainly derived from anthropogenic activities, such as industrial effluents, agricultural waste, and domestic sewage. Pollution load index and geoaccumulation index were calculated for trace metals in surface sediments, which indicated unpolluted status in general except Pb, Cr, and As.

An ATR-FTIR study of different phosphonic acids adsorbed onto boehmite

An ATR-FTIR study of the vibrational spectra of N,N-bis(2-hydroxyethyl) aminomethylphosphonic acid (BHAMP), 1-hydroxyethane-1,1'-diphosphonic acid (HEDP) and nitrilotris(methylenephosphonic acid) (NTMP) adsorbed onto boehmite is presented. The study was performed in the pH range from 5 to 9, and bands assignments are given in the 1200-900 cm(-1) wavenumber range, where the bands associated with various P-O(H) vibrations can be found. The three phosphonic acids adsorb onto boehmite by forming inner-sphere surface complexes. ATR-FTIR data indicates the presence of both protonated and deprotonated mononuclear surface species. In all cases, the surface-bound ions undergo protonation reactions as pH is decreased. The results are in good agreement with previously proposed surface complexation models.

Competitive removal of water-borne copper, zinc and cadmium by a CaCO3-dominated red mud

Batch experiments were conducted to investigate the competitive removal of water-borne Cu, Zn and Cd by a CaCO(3)-dominated red mud. The results show that the water-borne Cu had a higher affinity to the red mud, as compared to the water-borne Zn and Cd. The major mechanism responsible for the preferential retention of Cu by red mud was the formation of atacamite. It is likely that, initially, atacamite was formed mainly through the reaction between CuCl(2) and NaOH. Reaction between CuCl(2) and CaCO(3) to form atacamite became more and more important with the gradual consumption of NaOH. Sequential extraction results show that the water-borne metals were preferentially associated with the NH(2)OH.HCl-extractable fractions at the early stage of the experiment. With increase in the saturation degree of binding sites on red mud particles by the metals, the proportion of HCH(3)COO-extractable Cu fraction increased accordingly. Water-borne Zn and Cd were also increasingly bound in the HCH(3)COO-extractable forms until the metal binding capacity of the red mud was nearly depleted. After the binding sites of red mud particles were saturated, part of the Zn and Cd previously retained by the red mud was displaced by water-borne Cu, resulting in the release of the previously immobilized Zn and Cd to the solution.

An ATR-FTIR study of different phosphonic acids in aqueous solution

An ATR-FIR study of the vibrational spectra of 1-hydroxyethane-1,1'-diphosphonic acid (HEDP), nitrilotris(methylenephosphonic acid) (NTMP) and N,N-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)aminomethylphosphonic acid (BHAMP) in aqueous solution is presented. The study was performed in the range of pH from 5 to 9, and bands assignments are given in the 2000-890 cm(-1) range. However, as phosphonates display bands due to the PO stretching vibration mainly in the 900-1200 cm(-1) range, the study is focused in this midinfrared region, which shows important changes as the pH changes, specially the nu(POH) at approximately 925 cm(-1) and nu(PO(3)(2-)) at approximately 970 cm(-1) vibrations. IR analyses give also evidences for the zwitterionic nature of BHAMP and NTMP in solution with a strong indication that the zwitterion in both compounds remains intact throughout the pH range investigated. The successive protonation steps with the decrease of pH were evidenced in the IR spectra of the three studied phosphonates.

Adsorption of Me–HEDP complexes onto γ-Al2O3

This work studies the adsorption of Me-1-hydroxiethane-(1,1-diphosphonic acid) (HEDP) complex onto alumina in the pH range from 5.0 to 9.5. The extent of HEDP adsorption is not significatively affected by the presence of Me(II), while, HEDP has an interesting effect on Me(II) adsorption. At high surface covering, Cu(II) adsorption is enhanced at low pH reaching a maximum of 57% at pH nearly 6, however, at pH>6 a decrease about 20% in the amount of Cu(II) adsorbed takes place by the presence of HEDP. The model predicts a ternary surface complex (AlLCu(-)) to justify the increase of Cu(II) adsorbed at lower pH. At the lower pH and at high Zn(II) concentration the presence of equimolar concentration of HEDP also causes a discernible increase in the amount of Zn(II) adsorbed. At pH 5, the percentage of Zn(II) complexed with HEDP increased from negligible to 40% as the HEDP concentration increased. However, in this case the HEDP does not have a suppressor effect on the Zn(II) adsorption at the higher pH. Again, the presence of anionic-type complexation is here postulated to reach a good fit with the experimental results. The effect of HEDP over Zn(II) adsorption becomes less pronounced with the excess of surface sites. Cd(II)-HEDP solution complexes are weaker than those corresponding to Cu(II) and Zn(II), so competitive effects between surface and solution are much less significant in comparison to Cu(II)-HEDP and Zn(II)-HEDP alumina systems. So, the effect of HEDP on the Cd adsorption at low concentration and low pH is more stressed than in the case of Cu(II) and Zn(II). Overall, results indicate that the presence of HEDP in the aquatic systems could have a significant impact on the mobility and distribution of Cu(II), Zn(II) and Cd(II) in the environment.