A review on biofiltration techniques: recent advancements in the removal of volatile organic compounds and heavy metals in the treatment of polluted water.

Good quality of water determines the healthy life of living beings on this earth. The cleanliness of water was interrupted by the pollutants emerging out of several human activities. Industrialization, urbanization, heavy population, and improper disposal of wastes are found to be the major reasons for the contamination of water. Globally, the inclusion of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and heavy metals released by manufacturing industries, pharmaceuticals, and petrochemical processes have created environmental issues. The toxic nature of these pollutants has led researchers, scientists, and industries to exhibit concern toward the complete eradication of them. In this scenario, the development of wastewater treatment methodologies at low cost and in an eco-friendly way had gained importance at the international level. Recently, bio-based technologies were considered for environmental remedies. Biofiltration-based works have shown a significant result for the removal of volatile organic compounds and heavy metals in the treatment of wastewater. This was done with several biological sources such as bacteria, fungi, algae, plants, yeasts, etc. The biofiltration technique is cost-effective, simple, biocompatible, sustainable, and eco-friendly compared to conventional techniques. This review article provides deep insight into biofiltration technologies engaged in the removal of volatile organic compounds and heavy metals in the wastewater treatment process.

Visible light driven exotic p (CuO) - n (TiO2) heterojunction for the photodegradation of 4-chlorophenol and antibacterial activity.

The treatment of industrial waste and harmful bacteria is an important topic due to the release of toxins from the industrial pollutants that damage the water resources. These harmful sources frighten the life of every organism which was later developed as the carcinogenic and mutagenic agents. Therefore, the current study focuses on the breakdown or degradation of 4-chlorophenol and the antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli (E. coli). As a well-known catalyst, pure titanium-di-oxide (TiO2) had not shown the photocatalytic activity in the visible light region. Hence, band position of TiO2 need to be shifted to bring out the absorption in the visible light region. For this purpose, the n-type TiO2 nanocrystalline material's band gap got varied by adding different ratios of p-type CuO. The result had appeared in the formation of p (CuO) - n (TiO2) junction synthesized from sol-gel followed by chemical precipitation methods. The optical band gap value was determined by Kubelka-Munk (K-M) plot through UV-Vis diffusive reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). Further, the comprehensive mechanism and the results of photocatalytic and antibacterial activities were discussed in detail. These investigations are made for tuning the TiO2 catalyst towards improving or eliminating the existing various environmental damages.

Recent progress in green and biopolymer based photocatalysts for the abatement of aquatic pollutants.

Enormous research studies on the abatement of anthropogenic aquatic pollutants including organic dyes, pesticides, cosmetics, antibiotics and inorganic species by using varieties of semiconductor photocatalysts have been reported in recent decades. Besides, many of these photocatalysts suffer in real applications owing to their high production cost and low stability. In many cases, the photocatalysts themselves are being considered as secondary pollutants. To eliminate these drawbacks, the green synthesized photocatalysts and the use of biopolymers as photocatalyst supports are considered in recent years. In this context, recent developments in green synthesized metals, metal oxides, other metal compounds, and carbon based photocatalysts in water purification are critically reviewed. Furthermore, the pivotal role of biopolymers including chitin, chitosan, cellulose, natural gum, hydroxyapatite, alginate in photocatalytic removal of aquatic pollutants is comprehensively reviewed. The presence of functional groups, electron trapping ability, biocompatibility, natural occurrence, and low production cost are the major reasons for using biopolymers in photocatalysis. Finally, the summary and conclusion are presented along with existing challenges in this research area.

Recent advancements of spinel ferrite based binary nanocomposite photocatalysts in wastewater treatment.

A lot of studies on spinel ferrites (MFe2O4, M = divalent metal ion) and their binary nanocomposites as photocatalysts in the decontamination of wastewater have been performed, because MFe2O4 nanoparticles are relatively stable, biocompatible and low-cost efficient photocatalyst. The separation of MFe2O4 photocatalyst is easy owing to its excellent magnetic behavior. With this background, the recent developments on photocatalytic performances of MFe2O4 based binary nanocomposites were comprehensively reviewed. Especially, a focus on MFe2O4/metal oxides, MFe2O4/carbon based materials, MFe2O4/polymers, MFe2O4/metal nanoparticles and MFe2O4/other compounds for the photocatalytic degradation of dyes, emerging contaminants and inorganic pollutants has been thoroughly given. The advantages of MFe2O4 based nanocomposites as photocatalysts were also discussed. In addition, the possible pathway of active free radical generation by these photocatalysts under visible and ultraviolet irradiation has been explained. A comparison of photocatalytic activities of MFe2O4 based binary nanocomposites with recent reports has been carried out. This review concludes that MFe2O4 based binary nanocomposites have potential capacity in water purification technology. Nevertheless, their practical utilization in water treatment plants still needs to be further studied.

Photocatalytic degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenol using bio-green assisted TiO2-CeO2 nanocomposite system.

In recent times, cost effective synthesis of semiconductor materials has been a subject of concern for the day to today applications. In this work, novelty has been made on the facile synthesis of metal oxides (TiO2 and CeO2) and nanocomposites (TiO2-CeO2) through sol-gel and precipitation methods of imparting lemon extract. The synthesized materials behave as the functional catalysts which has been further carried out for the photocatalytic degradation against 2,4-Dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP). The materials are then valued for the structural and optical properties. The lemon extract used in synthesis has played a premier role in upgrading the charge carrier separation, bandgap, and size reduction of the composite system. Further, the CeO2 supported TiO2 sample acts as the better visible light catalyst, due to the prevention of aggregation and existence of line dislocation that supported to access the additional electron trap sites.

Mineralization of the textile dye acid yellow 42 by solar photoelectro-Fenton in a lab-pilot plant.

A complete mineralization of a textile dye widely used in the Chilean textile industry, acid yellow 42 (AY42), was studied. Degradation was carried out in an aqueous solution containing 100mgL(-1) of total organic carbon (TOC) of dye using the advanced solar photoelectro-Fenton (SPEF) process in a lab-scale pilot plant consisting of a filter press cell, which contains a boron doped diamond electrode and an air diffusion cathode (BDD/air-diffusion cell), coupled with a solar photoreactor for treat 8L of wastewater during 270min of electrolysis. The main results obtained during the degradation of the textile dye were that a complete transformation to CO2 depends directly on the applied current density, the concentration of Fe(2+) used as catalyst, and the solar radiation intensity. The elimination of AY42 and its organic intermediates was due to hydroxyl radicals formed at the anode surface from water oxidation and in the bulk from Fenton's reaction between electrogenerated H2O2 and added Fe(2+). The application of solar radiation in the process (SPEF) yield higher current efficiencies and lower energy consumptions than electro-Fenton (EF) and electro-oxidation with electrogenerated H2O2 (E OH2O2) by the additional production of hydroxyl radicals from the photolysis of Fe(III) hydrated species and the photodecomposition of Fe(III) complexes with organic intermediates. Moreover, some products and intermediates formed during mineralization of dye, such as inorganic ions, carboxylic acids and aromatic compounds were determined by photometric and chromatographic methods. An oxidation pathway is proposed for the complete conversion to CO2.

Fractionation and bioavailability of arsenic in agricultural soils: solvent extraction tests and their relevance in risk assessment.

Sequential extraction procedure (SEP) and a physiologically based extraction test (PBET) were performed with the aim to estimate the mobility, bioavailability (for plants and humans) and spatial variation of arsenic in agricultural soils in the Valleys of Arica and Parinacota Region (Northern Chile). For this purpose, 50 topsoil samples with different total arsenic contents in soil (36.2-729 mg kg(-1)) were collected from 10 selected sites in the Valley of Lluta, Azapa and Camarones. The SEP test results showed that arsenic was mainly associated to the least mobile fractions: bound to amorphous and poorly crystalline hydrous oxides of Fe and Al (11.6-44.2%) and well-crystallized hydrous oxides of Fe and Al (24.8-48.9%). Calculated values for arsenic Chronic Daily Intake (CDI), based on the information obtained in the tests of bioaccessibility using PBET (range 1.6-9.6 mg kg(-1)), were in the range of 0.021 to 0.128 µg As kg(-1) d(-1), not exceeding in any case the maximum Reference Dose for Chronic Oral Exposure, RfD = 0.3 µg kg(-1) d(-1), established by USEPA. In general, obtained results, allow us to establish that extraction processes using solvents can be utilized as a source of reliable and useful information for risk assessment of exposure to arsenic from soil, over the direct use of total arsenic contents, which can lead to an overestimation of the toxicity by direct ingestion.

Levels of total arsenic in edible fish and shellfish obtained from two coastal sectors of the Atacama Desert in the north of Chile: use of non-migratory marine species as bioindicators of sea environmental pollution.

The Camarones (CB) and Vitor (VB) Bays are situated in the middle of Atacama Desert, and their economies are based on activities entirely associated with the extraction of marine produce. The aim of this study was to determine the total arsenic content in three species of fish and seven species of shellfish from these two bays. The quantification of the total arsenic content in these products was performed by Hydride-Generation Atomic Absorption Spectrometry, HG-AAS. The results showed that marine species associated with the CB sector had higher total arsenic levels than the same species in the area of VB, a finding attributed to much higher total arsenic concentrations in the water and soils of CB than VB. The species with the highest total arsenic concentration was the Venus antique (7.50 mg kg (-1)) from the CB, and the lowest total arsenic content was found in Cheilodactylidae variegatus (0.34 mg kg(-1)) from VB.

Determination of manganese by flame atomic absorption spectrometry after its adsorption onto naphthalene modified with 1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol (PAN).

A system for determination of manganese, after preconcentration with 3% (w/w) 1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol (PAN), adsorbed on microcrystalline naphthalene is proposed. An amount of 200mg of this complexing mixture is placed in a glass column and conditioned with a NH(4)Cl/NH(4)OH buffer solution (pH 9.5). The aqueous sample, containing manganese, is treated with an ammonium tartrate solution, then with a hydroxylammonium chloride solution and, finally, with a buffer solution. The resulting solution is passed through the column containing microcrystalline naphthalene modified with 1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol (PAN) where Mn(II) is retained. The column is first washed with deionized water and then with 10.0ml of dimethylformamide to dissolve the Mn(II)-PAN/naphthalene complex. Manganese is determined by air-acetylene flame atomic absorption spectrometry. About 1mug of manganese can be concentrated from 200ml of aqueous sample, allowing a preconcentration factor of 20, a limit of quantification of 5ngml(-1) and R.S.D. of 3.8%. The accuracy was ascertained using certified reference materials, including samples of urine and glass. Water samples were also analysed and the results are in good agreement with those obtained by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry.