Themed collection Urgent communications in RSC Environmental Science journals

Partitioning of secondary organic aerosol from α-pinene onto hydrophobic polystyrene nanoplastics leads to partially-engulfed particles that undergo hygroscopic growth.

Annual average wind speed and sand-dust storm frequency trends in China changed synchronously.

A singlet oxygen involving radical-pathway is reported for room-temperature conversion of methane to ethane with a yield of 647 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹ under solar light irradiation.

Emerging contaminants at the air/aqueous and model biological interfaces.

Two new activation energies for olivine transformation to magnesite improves understanding of subsurface carbon mineralization, critical for aiding development of carbon-management technologies.

We discovered a biological mechanism supporting microbial degradation of bio-based poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) (PBSA) plastic in soils under ambient and future climates.

A field study was carried out in Peru to remove arsenic from water in arsenic-contaminated regions using milk protein nanofibril filters. Results show that this technology can bring back water to drinking standard in both urban and rural settings.

Indoor dampness causes mold growth. The likelihood of such molds being clinically relevant Aspergillus and Penicillium spp. is higher in coastal homes with history of indoor flooding. Fungal surveillance in flood prone homes is therefore critical.

The first step towards the urgently needed standardization of EOF methods for PFAS-total assessment is presented in this interlaboratory study.

Direct deposition of nano-dry-salt on nonwovens was developed as a process that can be incorporated into conventional nonwoven production for timely application of biosafe anticoronaviral surfaces and reliable aerosol filtration performance.

For high levels of TrOC removal by GAC, reducing DOC₀ concentration is more important than the specific DOM removal pretreatment process.

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.

We propose a minimum set of meta-information to accompany the reporting of SARS-CoV-2 occurrence in wastewater for improved data interpretation.

DTRs from February to June during the COVID-19 pandemic are greater than 3 standard deviations above the climatological mean DTR.

Aramid amphiphiles with chelating head groups spontaneously form robust nanoribbons in water with surfaces capable of heavy metal remediation.

Microplastics from the North Atlantic Gyre deposited on Guadeloupe beaches were sampled and characterized.

The variability of the fractal dimension value can be used as an indicator of the stability of aerobic granular sludge.

Simultaneously the upcycling of electroplating sludge and waste PET into Ni-MOF nanocrystals show superior activities towards the photoreduction of CO₂.

Plastic pipes are susceptible to thermal degradation which can produce volatile organic compounds such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene that leach into drinking water.

We found that biofilms drive the removal of bentazone, metazachlor and metribuzin from water through rapid mineralization of these herbicides, rather than by their sorption and accumulation.

Tiemannite nanoparticles available for microbial mercury methylation are formed during the co-precipitation of natural organic matter, divalent mercury and selenium.

Photochemistry plays a role in the dissolution of petroleum derived carboxylic acids.

Waste based bacterial culture media and inoculum lyophilization to optimize bioaugmentation processes applicable to Mn groundwater full-scale biofiltration.

Highly efficient hybrid amyloid membrane to remove clinical and nuclear radioactive wastewater.

Wastewater analysis provides insights into population lifestyle and health status during the coronavirus pandemic.

In the summer of 2019, eleven of the best-selling fluorinated ski wax products were purchased from one of Norway's largest sports stores and soon after analysed for a suite of 26 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

Enhanced corrosion control and replacement of all lead-based pipes are expected to reduce citywide lead exposure by about 72–84%. However, Flint's post-lead pipe era will not result in completely lead free drinking water.

Emerging per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) were investigated in human milk from Stockholm (Sweden), and the cities of Shanghai, Jiaxing, and Shaoxing (China).

The solvent-free chemical vapor crosslinking can directly fix the interlayer spacing of GO membranes for better water treatment.

An environmentally benign, mechanically stable, and renewable mesoporous hafnium oxide ceramic synthesized via a sol–gel process has exhibited 99.9% removal capacity of crude oil from an oil-in-water emulsion.

Ageing process remarkably alters the toxicity of carbon black particles towards susceptible cells via changing the species of their surface oxygen groups.

First demonstration of the capture of salinity gradient energy from stormwater runoff to the ocean, used to power UV-LED disinfection.

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

An organic solvent-based extraction approach coupled with surface enhanced Raman spectroscopic mapping technique to quantify silver nanoparticles in spinach leaf.

Faster removal of nitrite than nitrate in sulfur-based autotrophic denitrification (SADN) coupled with anammox was explored through contrasting single-stage SADN.

Ferric tannate is used as a photothermal material and integrated with a polymer membrane by atomic layer deposition for solar water distillation.

The hollowed echinus-like NiCo₂O₄ nanocrystal with excellent electrochemical behaviour has been demonstrated as high-performance cathode for hybrid capacitive deionization.