Journal of Hazardous Materials

Steroid hormones are highly potent compounds that can disrupt the endocrine systems of aquatic organisms. This study explored the spatiotemporal distribution of 49 steroid hormones in agricultural soils, ditch water, and sediment from suburban areas of Guangzhou City, China. The average concentrations of Σsteroid hormones in the water, soils, and sediment were 97.7 ng/L, 4460 ng/kg, and 9140 ng/kg, respectively. Elevated hormone concentrations were notable in water during the flood season compared to the dry season, whereas an inverse trend was observed in soils and sediment...

Carbendazim residue has been widely concerned, and nitrous oxide (N2 O) is one of the dominant greenhouse gases. Microbial metabolisms are fundamental processes of removing organic pollutant and producing N2 O. Nitrification inhibitor 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP) can change soil abiotic properties and microbial communities and simultaneously affect carbendazim degradation and N2 O emission. In this study, the comprehensive linkages among carbendazim residue, N2 O emission and microbial community after the DMPP application were quantified under different soil moistures...

Eutrophication has led to the widespread occurrence of cyanobacterial blooms. Toxic cyanobacterial blooms with high concentrations of microcystins (MCs) have been identified in the Lalla Takerkoust reservoir in Morocco. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of the Multi-Soil-Layering (MSL) ecotechnology in removing natural cyanobacterial blooms from the lake. Two MSL pilots were used in rectangular glass tanks (60 × 10 × 70 cm). They consisted of permeable layers (PLs) made of pozzolan and a soil mixture layer (SML) containing local soil, ferrous metal, charcoal and sawdust...

Neonicotinoid insecticide (NEO) residues in agricultural soils have concerning and adverse effects on agroecosystems. Previous studies on the effects of farmland type on NEOs are limited to comparing greenhouses with open fields. On the other hand, both NEOs and microplastics (MPs) are commonly found in agricultural fields, but their co-occurrence characteristics under realistic fields have not been reported. This study grouped farmlands into three types according to the covering degree of the film, collected 391 soil samples in mainland China, and found significant differences in NEO residues in the soils of the three different farmlands, with greenhouse having the highest NEO residue, followed by farmland with film mulching and farmland without film mulching (both open fields)...

Imidacloprid enters the water environment through rainfall and causes harm to aquatic crustaceans. However, the potential chronic toxicity mechanism of imidacloprid in crayfish has not been comprehensively studied. In this study, red claw crayfish (Cherax quadricarinatus) were exposed to 11.76, 35.27, or 88.17 μg/L imidacloprid for 30 days, and changes in the physiology and biochemistry, gut microbiota, and transcriptome of C. quadricarinatus and the interaction between imidacloprid, gut microbiota, and genes were studied...

Clay minerals (CMs) and pyrogenic carbons (PCs) often co-exist in the environment and participate in the redox cycling of pollutants. This study unveiled the dual role of PCs in CM-dominated chromium transformation in both aqueous and agar solidification media. The findings showed that CMs and PCs adsorbed minimal Cr(VI), while reduced CMs and PCs displayed a substantial difference by directly reducing Cr(VI) to solid/dissolved Cr(III) through reactive structural Fe(II) and functional groups, respectively. Moreover, dissolved PCs were found to mediate electron transfer from reduced CMs to Cr(VI) in aqueous and solid media...

Soil cadmium (Cd) is immobilized by the progressing biomineralization process as microbial induced phosphate precipitation (MIPP), which is regulated by phosphate (P) solubilizing microorganisms and P sources. However, little attention has been paid to the implications of Cd biosorption during MIPP. In this study, the newly isolated Penicillium oxalicum could immobilize 5.4-12.6 % of Cd2+ , while the presence of hydroxyapatite (HAP) considerably enhanced Cd2+ immobilization in P. oxalicum and reached over 99 % Cd2+ immobilization efficiency within 7 days...

Cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As) are two highly toxic heavy metals and metalloids that coexist in many situations posing severe threats to plants. Our investigation was conducted to explore the different regulatory mechanisms of ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) responding to individual and combined Cd and As stresses in hydroponics. Results showed that the ryegrass well-growth phenotype was not affected by Cd stress of 10 mg·L-1 . However, As of 10 mg·L-1 caused rapid water loss, proline surge, and chlorosis in shoots, suggesting that ryegrass was highly sensitive to As...

The role of forest ecosystems in the global mercury (Hg) biogeochemical cycle is widely recognized; however, using litterfall as a surrogate to assess the Hg sink function of forests encounters limitations. We investigated the accumulation characteristics and influencing factors of Hg in mosses from two remote subalpine forests in southwestern China. The results indicated that there was high Hg accumulation in subalpine forest mosses, with average concentrations of 82 ± 49 ng g-1 for total mercury (THg) and 1...

4-methylbenzylidene camphor (4-MBC) and micro/nanoplastics (MNPs) are common in personal care and cosmetic products (PCCPs) and consumer goods; however, they have become pervasive environmental contaminants. MNPs serve as carriers of 4-MBC in both PCCPs and the environment. Our previous study demonstrated that 4-MBC induces estrogenic effects in zebrafish larvae. However, knowledge gaps remain regarding the sex- and tissue-specific accumulation and potential toxicities of chronic coexposure to 4-MBC and MNPs...

Phosphorus-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) assisted phytoremediation of cadmium (Cd) pollution is an effective method, but the mechanism of PSB-enhanced in-situ remediation of Cd contaminated sediment by submerged plants is still rare. In this study, PSB (Leclercia adecarboxylata L1-5) was inoculated in the rhizosphere of Potamogeton crispus L. (P. crispus) to explore the effect of PSB on phytoremediation. The results showed that the inoculation of PSB effectively improved the Cd extraction by P. crispus under different Cd pollution and the Cd content in the aboveground and underground parts of P...

In lightly polluted water containing heavy metals, organic matter, and green microalgae, the molecular weight of organic matter may influence both the growth of green microalgae and the concentration of heavy metals. This study elucidates the effects and mechanisms by which different molecular weight fractions of fulvic acid (FA), a model dissolved organic matter component, facilitate the bioaccumulation of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) in a typical green alga, Chlorella vulgaris. Findings show that the addition of FA fractions with molecular weights greater than 10 kDa significantly enhances the enrichment of total chromium and Cr(VI) in algal cells, reaching 21...

Microplastic hetero-aggregates are stable forms of microplastics in the aqueous environment. However, when disinfecting water containing microplastic hetero-aggregates, the response of them in water to different oxidizing agents and the effect on water quality have not been reported. Our results showed that Ca(ClO)2 , K2 S2 O8 , and sodium percarbonate (SPC) treatment could lead to the disaggregation of microplastic hetero-aggregates as well as a rise in cell membrane permeability, which caused a large amount of organic matter to be released...

Manganese oxides (MnO2 ) are commonly prevalent in groundwater, sediment and soil. In this study, we found that oxalate (H2 C2 O4 ) dissolved MnO2 , leading to the formation of Mn(II)/(III), CO2 (aq) and reactive oxygen species (·CO2 - /O2 ·- /H2 O2 /·OH). Notably, CO2 (aq) played a crucial role in ·OH formation, contributing to the degradation of atrazine (ATZ). To elucidate underneath mechanisms, a series of reactions with different gas-liquid ratios (GLR) were conducted. At the GLR of 0...

Disposable surgical masks undeniably provide important personal protection in daily life, but the potential health risks by the release of microplastic fibres from masks should command greater attention. In this study, we conducted a microplastic fibre release simulation experiment by carrying masks in a pocket and reusing them, to reveal the number and morphological changes of microfibres released. Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, scanning electron microscopy, and optical microscopy were employed to analyse the physical and chemical characteristics of the mask fibres...

The coexistence of microplastics (MPs) and heavy metals in sediments has caused a potential threat to sediment biota. However, differences in the effects of MPs and heavy metals on microbes and plants in sediments under different sediment conditions remain unclear. Hence, we investigated the influence of polyethylene (PE) and polylactic acid (PLA) MPs on microbial community structure, Pb bioavailability, and wheatgrass traits under sequential incubation of sediments (i.e., flood, drainage, and planting stages)...

The sluggish kinetics of Fe2+ regeneration seriously hinders the performance of Fenton process. However, the conventional Fenton system excessively stifle hydrogen-producing reactions, ignoring the significance of active hydrogen (H*) in Fe3+ reduction. Herein, a strategy of H* modulation is developed by decorating molybdenum disulfide (MoS2 ) on a graphite felt (GF) cathode to boost Fe2+ regeneration in solar-driven electro-Fenton (SEF) process. With MoS2 regulation, moderately dispersed MoS2 on GF can serve as a bifunctional cathode, where the H* and hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ) are simultaneously generated through H+ reduction and O2 reduction, respectively...

The high moisture content and the potential presence of hazardous organic compounds (HOCs) and metals (HMs) in sewage sludge (SS) pose technical and regulatory challenges for its circular economy valorisation. Thermal treatments are expected to reduce the volume of SS while producing energy and eliminating HOCs. In this study, we integrate quantitative analysis of SS concentration of 12 HMs and 61 HOCs, including organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs) and per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), with life-cycle assessment to estimate removal efficiency of pollutants, climate change mitigation benefits and toxicological effects of existing and alternative SS treatments (involving pyrolysis, incineration, and/or anaerobic digestion)...

The existence of antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) has been a global public environment and health issue. Due to the different cell structures, gram-positive/negative ARB exhibit various inactivation mechanisms in water disinfection. In this study, a gram-negative ARB Escherichia coli DH5α (E. coli DH5α) was used as a horizontal gene transfer (HGT) donor, while a gram-positive ARB Bacillus as a recipient. To develop an efficient and engineering applicable method in water disinfection, ARB and ARGs removal efficiency of Fe(VI) coupled peroxydisulfate (PDS) or peroxymonosulfate (PMS) was compared, wherein hydroxylamine (HA) was added as a reducing agent...

The application of antibiotics in freshwater aquaculture leads to increased contamination of aquatic environments. However, limited information is available on the co-metabolic biodegradation of antibiotics by microalgae in aquaculture. Feedstuffs provide multiple organic substrates for microalgae-mediated co-metabolism. Herein, we investigated the co-metabolism of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) by Chlorella pyrenoidosa when adding main components of feedstuff (glucose and lysine). Results showed that lysine had an approximately 1...