Best Papers from 2020 published in the Environmental Science journals of the Royal Society of Chemistry
The Editors-in-Chief of the Environmental Science journals introduce the Best Papers of 2020.
Critical Review
The gut barrier and the fate of engineered nanomaterials: a view from comparative physiology
Despite the diverse structures and functions of the gut barrier in the animal kingdom, some common features of gut lumen chemistry control the behaviour of engineered nanomaterials, and with some potentially novel uptake pathways in invertebrates.
Critical Review
A critical review of resource recovery from municipal wastewater treatment plants – market supply potentials, technologies and bottlenecks
This critical review reveals the technologies and potentials to recover water, energy, fertilizers and products from municipal WWTPs but also analyses the various bottlenecks that may their hinder successful implementation.
Critical Review
The atmospheric chemistry of indoor environments
The review article summarizes the wide variety of atmospheric chemistry phenomena that occur indoors.
Assessment of the breakthrough of micropollutants in full-scale granular activated carbon adsorbers by rapid small-scale column tests and a novel pilot-scale sampling approach
This study aimed to compare three approaches for predicting the service life of full-scale GAC adsorbers for the removal of micropollutants.
Mixture effects of drinking water disinfection by-products: implications for risk assessment
Disinfection by-products (DBPs) in drinking water have been associated with increased cancer risk but effects of known DBPs cannot explain the mixture effects of disinfected water samples.
Paper
Polystyrene nanoplastics accumulate in ZFL cell lysosomes and in zebrafish larvae after acute exposure, inducing a synergistic immune response in vitro without affecting larval survival in vivo
Polystyrene nanoplastics are internalized in zebrafish liver cells, accumulating in lysosomes, and in zebrafish larvae but do not affect the larval suvival to a lethal infection.
Paper
Exposure medium and particle ageing moderate the toxicological effects of nanomaterials to Daphnia magna over multiple generations: a case for standard test review?
Pristine engineered nanomaterials (NMs) entering the aquatic environment become ‘aged’ during their lifetime via chemical, physical and/or biological process.
Emerging investigator series: ion diffusivities in nanoconfined interfacial water films contribute to mineral carbonation thresholds
Mineral carbonation reactivity trends and thresholds in nanoconfined water films delineated with in situ X-ray diffraction and molecular simulations.
Sources and sinks of chloromethane in a salt marsh ecosystem: constraints from concentration and stable isotope measurements of laboratory incubation experiments
Chloromethane (CH3Cl) is the most abundant long-lived chlorinated organic compound in the atmosphere and contributes significantly to natural stratospheric ozone depletion.
Paper
A global atmospheric chemistry model for the fate and transport of PFCAs and their precursors
Global model for the atmospheric chemistry of PFCA precursors.
Evidence for a kinetically controlled burying mechanism for growth of high viscosity secondary organic aerosol
The incorporation of organic nitrates into viscous secondary organic aerosol during particle formation is enhanced relative to expected equilibrium partitioning, and is best described by a kinetically controlled “burying” mechanism.
Assessing pharmaceutical removal and reduction in toxicity provided by advanced wastewater treatment systems
Despite large differences in removal efficiencies, all treatment processes investigated were sufficient in preventing short-term behavioral effects in zebrafish larvae.
About this collection
During 2020 the RSC’s Environmental Science family of journals published over 700 papers, covering topics such as disinfection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, recovery of resources from waste and the fate of engineered nanomaterials in the gut. Here, in this collection, we are delighted to highlight some of the incredible science published in our journals during 2020 and recognise the authors conducting this impactful research. The Editors-in-Chief for the journals (Paige Novak, Kris McNeill and Peter Vikesland) introduce the Best Papers from 2020 in their Editorial.