Remediation of Anthracene-Contaminated Soil with Sophorolipids-SDBS-Na2SiO3 and Treatment of Eluting Wastewater

Green titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles assisted biodegradation of anthracene employing Serratia quinivorans HP5

The anthracene biodegradation potential of Serratia quinivorans HP5 was studied under a controlled laboratory environment. The green TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) synthesized from Paenibacillus sp. HD1PAH was used to accelerate the biodegradation process. The synergistic application of TiO2 NPs and S. quinivorans HP5 resulted in a reduction of anthracene concentration by 1.2 folds in liquid-medium and 1.5 folds in contaminated soil. Gas-chromatography and mass-spectrometric investigation showed the production of four anthracene derivatives, namely 1,2-anthracene dihydrodiol, 6,7-benzocoumarin, anthrone, and 9,10-anthraquinoneat the termination of experimental periods. Furthermore, bacterial biomass increased by 23.3 folds in the presence of TiO2 NPs, and overall soil enzyme activities were enhanced by 4.2 folds in the treated samples. In addition, there was a negative correlation observed between the biomass of S. quinivorans HP5 and the concentrations of anthracene, suggesting the involvement of bacterium in anthracene biodegradation processes. The degradation pathway of anthracene revealed its transformation into the less toxic compound 9,10-anthraquinone. Overall, this study elucidates a novel biodegradation pathway for anthracene and highlights the potential of nano-assisted bacterial remediation as a promising approach for environmental cleanup.

Recent trends in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons pollution distribution and counteracting bio-remediation strategies

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are distributed worldwide due to long-term anthropogenic pollution sources. PAHs are recalcitrant and highly persistent in the environment due to their inherent properties, such as heterocyclic aromatic ring structures, thermostability, and hydrophobicity. They are highly toxic, carcinogenic, immunotoxic, teratogenic, and mutagenic to various life systems. This review focuses on the unique data of PAH sources, exposure routes, detection techniques, and harmful effects on the environment and human health. This review provides a comprehensive and systematic compilation of eco-friendly biological treatment solutions for PAH remediation, such as microbial remediation approaches utilizing microbial cultures. In situ and Ex situ bioremediation of PAH methods, including composting land farming, biopiles, bioreactors bioaugmentation, and phytoremediation processes, are discussed in detail, as is a summary of the factors affecting and limiting PAH bioremediation. This review provides an overview of emerging technologies that use multi-process combinatorial treatment approaches and answers to generating value-added by-products during PAH remediation.

Non-metal activated peroxydisulfate by straw biochar for tetracycline hydrochloride oxidative degradation: catalytic activity and mechanism

In this study, stalk biochar (BC) was prepared by a high-temperature pyrolysis process and used as a non-metallic catalyst to activate peroxydisulfate (PDS) to degrade tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH). Various characterization results showed that BC had a hollow tubular structure, irregular folds, and important active sites such as oxygen-containing functional groups. Under the optimal reaction conditions, the degradation rate of TCH reached 98.1% within 120 min. In addition, the degradation performance was satisfactory and similar under acidic and near neutral pH, and higher temperature promoted the degradation of TCH. The SO₄·^-, ·OH, and ¹O₂ generated by PDS activation were reactive oxygen species (ROS), which degraded TCH through free radical/non-radical synergistic pathways. Quenching experiments proved that the generated SO₄·^- and ·OH might be the dominant reactive oxygen species (ROS) during the oxidative reaction. The research results will provide a theoretical basis for the application of PDS activated by non-metallic catalysts in the remediation of tetracycline antibiotics pollution.

Ecological risk assessment of priority PAHs pollutants in crude oil contaminated soil and its impacts on soil biological properties

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are one of the major toxic constituents of crude oil and therefore, an understanding on PAHs associated risks and their relationship with soil biological parameters are necessary for adopting effective risk-based and site specific remediation strategies in the contaminated soil. Here, risks evaluation of eight detected PAHs in terms of toxic equivalent concentration (TEQ_C), benzo(a)pyrene equivalent (BaPeq), contamination factor (CF), pollution load index (PLI), hazard quotient (HQ), hazard index (HI), toxic unit for individual PAHs (TU) and PAHs mixture (TU_m) have been evaluated. Besides, the effect of PAHs contamination on soil biological properties has also been investigated and correlated with PAHs concentrations. The TEQc of eight PAHs was recorded in the range of 0.06-5.0 mg kg^-1 soil_, whereas the BaPeq value was 25.3 mg kg^-1 soil which exceed the permissible limit. Similarly, CF (85.5-1668.2), PLI (322.8), HQ (311.7-8340.9), HI (26,443.8), TU (227.9-3821.6) and TU_m(7916.2) also exceed the permissible values for non-toxic conditions indicating carcinogenic risk for humans. Besides, activities of soil dehydrogenase, urease, alkaline-phosphatase, catalase, amylase and cellulase were decreased by 1.5-2.3 folds in the contaminated soil than control. The results of Pearson's correlation matrix also established negative impact of PAHs on the soil's biological properties.

Reagent elution combined with positive pressure filtration: A zero-discharge method for cyanide tailings remediation

At present, the cyanide gold extraction process is still the main technology for gold production. Generated cyanide tailings containing highly toxic substances exhibit potential environmental risks. These tailings are in urgent need of purification treatment, especially after being classified as hazardous waste. In this study, the impacts of elution methods, operating time, tailings/water ratios, reagent types on the elution rates of cyanide were investigated. Furthermore, the composite elution method developed in this research was extended for engineering. Results showed that the optimum elution conditions were determined to be: stirring elution, tailings/water ratio (M/V; 1:1) and operating time (10-20 min). Besides, 4 reagents (sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate, cyclodextrin, sodium silicate and calcium hydroxide) were selected from four categories of 21 reagents for further composite elution. The cyanide elution rate was the highest (90.7%±0.1%) while the molar ratio of these 4 reagents was 5:2:2:1. Moreover, the combination of reagent elution and positive pressure filtration improved the elution efficiency of cyanide (92.6%±0.8%). And the cyanide content in the toxic leaching solution was lower than the standard value (5.0 mg/L). Furthermore, the composite elution method developed in this study was also extended for engineering. The concentration of cyanide in the leachate was < 5.0 mg/L, and was stable during 189 days of detection. Notably, the effluent can be reused directly, or reused after further treatment. The zero discharge of effluents and solid wastes was realized in the processes. The above results provided supports for the engineering treatment of cyanide tailings.