Themed collection Contaminant remediation and fate

A synoptic review of aquatic plastics research from Australia, the United Kingdom and China is presented, highlighting (a) key research and management challenges, and (b) a need to converge on standardised methods and bioindicator species to make global comparisons more reliable.

Examination of literatures surrounding purported natural trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) reveals that all TFA observations can be reasonably altributed to anthropogenic sources.

Chlorpyrifos pesticides residues in various sources and the comparision of the various detection and degradation methods of chlorpyrifos.

A comprehensive and critical review of the state-of-knowledge on the sampling of trace organic contaminants from the atmosphere without the help of a pump.

Biochar is an effective amendment for trace metal/metalloid (TM) immobilization in soils.

Global production of organophosphate ester flame retardants (OPFRs) and non-target toxicity of tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP).

The adsorption, distribution, and migration behaviors of heavy metals in soil particles are critically reviewed from the perspectives of research method, soil type, and comparison of results.

A critical review of the diverse and consequential roles that photochemical weathering plays in oil spill science, with emphasis placed on how our understanding of these roles has been reshaped since the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill.

The various types and definitions of efficiency and selectivity that are used to quantitate the performance of organohalide reduction by zerovalent iron are reviewed and compared.

Concentrations and distributions of perfluoroalkyl substances vary widely in water, sediments, and biota in the Laurentian Great Lakes.

To evaluate the use of ticks as informative sentinels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) environmental contamination because of their world-wide distribution, hematophagous nature, and ease of collection and sampling.

Molecular properties of emerging contaminants (ECs) and interfacial compositions of colloidal matter dictate the extent of EC–particulate matter surface interaction.

The degradation pathway of penthiopyrad in a MnO₂ system is proposed based on products and density functional theory.

Enrichment of psychrophilic and acidophilic SRB from Arctic mine sediments that successfully treated sulfate and metal contaminated water under a multi-stressor environment (low pH, low temperature, and high metal concentrations).

The origin, tissue concentration, and health risk of PAH contaminants in three economically important species of seafood, including catfish, prawns, and periwinkles from the crude oil-impacted Niger Delta region, were investigated.

Application of an aerosol dynamics model to estimate emission rates and fates of sub-500 nm particles in a test house.

While microplastics are trapped in saline ice, nanoplastics are expulsed along with salts. Natural organic matter, such as alginate, stabilizes nanoplastics against aggregation during freezing.

In vitro and in vivo experimental models, mainly based on cell cultures, animals, healthy humans and clinical trials, are useful approaches for identifying the main metabolic pathways.

Microplastics interact with molecules present in the environment. In this study, progesterone sorption on microplastics and its desorption were investigated, and it was found that desorption was promoted in gastrointestinal fluids.

Significantly lower total mercury concentrations were observed in sediments in larger (∼1300 km²) compared to smaller reservoirs (<100 km²), suggesting reservoir size to be a critical driver of the amount of Hg accumulating in the sediments.

Nitrite reduction by Fe(II) in an agricultural sediment and complete conversion to N₂O suggests chemodenitrification is important to N₂O emissions.

As one of the main wastewater treatment process, AOPs generate the ROS to attack the active sites on plastic particles, which would generate oxygen-containing groups and change the migration of plastic particles.

Photochemical transformation of sulindac exhibits a consecutive reaction pathway.

This paper for the first time investigates substrate interactions during bacterial degradation of carbazole, fluorene, and dibenzothiophene mixtures.

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is one of the most widely used thermoplastics but is also a material of concern because of the generation and release of harmful chemicals during its life cycle.

A naphthaldehyde-pyridoxal conjugated chemodosimeter (NPLC) was developed and employed for the sensitive and selective detection and estimation of cyanide in common water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) used in the phytoremediation process.

A H₂O₂/MnO₂ molar ratio as low as 0.03 can affect the redox activity of MnO₂ particles and their reactivity in natural systems.

Malathion is a commercially available insecticide that functions by acting as an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor.

Modification of nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) with reducing sulfur compounds has proven to improve the reactivity of nZVI towards recalcitrant halogenated organic contaminants.

This work confirms HA interacts with the PSMP to form a π complex, providing more sites on the microplastics for As(III) adsorption while reducing the time required to reach equilibrium in waters.

The detailed depolymerization of polycaprolactone involves two elementary steps; C–O bond cleavage, rather than triad-assisted nucleophilic attack was determined to be the rate-determining step.

Due to the more volatile nature of ²¹⁰Po in relation to ²¹⁰Pb, an imbalance of activity concentrations in high temperature combustion processes can be observed, especially in fine particulates (diameter < 0.1, 0.2 and 0.5 μm).

The environmental fate and impact of dimethoate application in the urban environment were assessed in nine selected soils.

This study assesses the impact of test concentration and potential mixture toxicity on biodegradation kinetics for individual constituents in two UVCB substances, diesel oil and lavender oil.

Abiotic redox transformation rates of dichloroacetamide safeners slow when birnessite is added to slurries of Fe(II)-amended hematite.

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites formed by fungi growing on crops, which may end up in the aquatic environment through rainfall and surface runoff from (manure-amended) cropland, posing a potential environmental risk.

A flow reactor study and quantum chemical calculations that report the products detected under inert and oxidative conditions from the decomposition of chlorpyrifos.

DOM sorption by CMs is generally controlled by DOM aromaticity but complex sorbent surfaces with high porosity, curvatures and functional groups strongly reduce the importance of aromaticity for sorption.

PAC can effectively demulsify CBLAs to reverse the density of DNAPLs and is not affected by specific ions in groundwater.

Predictions of BaP concentrations in biota decreasing towards the EQS over time.

The surface quinone moieties on biochar serve as one-electron acceptors to turn sulfide into polysulfides and polysulfide free radicals which dominate hexachloroethane reduction.

This study investigates the formation of persistent free radicals (PFRs) on simulated particulate organic matter (POM) under irradiation in water.

Sunlight photolysis of cysteine and dissolved organic matter (DOM) from freshwater to open ocean water sources generates carbonyl sulfide (COS) but not carbon disulfide (CS₂).

Illustration of the processes considered in the model affecting toxin fate at the pedon-scale ( = ptaquiloside).

The purpose of this study is obtaining reliable thermodynamic data for arsenate complexes and a consistent speciation model for applications in natural waters.

Microspectroscopic analyses of glass surfaces following a single day of cooking events reveal organic depositions that can be traced back to emission sources and airborne distributions.

An environmentally aged (>25 years) radioactive particle of UFeO₄ recovered from soil contaminated with munitions depleted uranium (DU) was characterised by microbeam multimodal synchrotron X-ray analysis.

In this study, the effect of particulate matter type, temperature, oil type and weathering degree on the interaction between dispersed crude oil droplets and particulate matter was investigated.

The photochemical fate of quaternary ammonium compounds in surface water is largely influenced by reaction with hydroxyl radicals.

Elemental and isotopic ratios can be used to identify environmental contamination form the increasing development of the Utica/Point Pleasant Shale.

Negative charge assisted H-bond played a significant role in sulfamethoxazole sorption for low-temperature biochars (200–300 °C), while Ca-containing mineral content facilitated SMX sorption as pyrolysis temperature increased.

Photolysis results in degradation of known toxic components of oil sands process-affected water (OSPW).

Electronic waste (e-waste) is informally processed and recycled in Agbogbloshie in Accra (Ghana), which may be the largest such site in West Africa.

A flume experimental design to test effects of hyporheic exchange and bacterial diversity on the fate of micropollutants in rivers.

In the Orge River, the contribution of PFAA precursors decreases between the base and the top of the trophic web.

Alternatives to long-chain PFAAs sorb similarly strongly to serum albumin as the classical PFAAs.

PFAS concentrations in the deep chlorophyll maximum depth in the tropical oceans and simultaneous estimates of vertical fluxes by eddy diffusivity are reported. Potential biotic/abiotic processes affecting PFAS fate in the ocean are discussed.

Microplastic waste is a worldwide problem, heavily afflicting marine and freshwater environments; the loading of this pollution in water, sediment and living organisms continues to escalate.

The conversion characteristics of emerging pollutants in an oxidation system are predicted by theoretical calculations.

Structural transformations of green rust and the partitioning of arsenic were tracked during aging for up to a year.

Emerging investigator series: Phthalate losses in floor dust are due to abiotic chemical degradation as well as microbial degradation of phthalates under elevated relative humidity conditions.

A negatively phototactic alga accumulated less Cd than the normal one.

Competing effects of increasing infiltration and enhanced degradation due to historical atrazine application in soils may limit the impact on atrazine transport under scenarios representative of climate change.

Complex mixtures of low concentrations of organic micropollutants were quantified for inputs and surface water samples along a reach of the Des Plaines River; coupled with bacterial community analysis, these results document a significant link between the complex micropollutant mixtures and associated bacterial community structure.

Sea spray aerosols can act as a vector for sea-to-land transport of perfluorinated alkyl acids via the atmosphere.

The δ-MnO₂ oxidation of cephalosporin antibiotics can be affected by different environment factors (MnO₂ loading, pH, metal ions, natural organic matter and sunlight).