Membrane adsorption with polyacrylonitrile prepared with superfine powder-activated carbon, case study: separation process applied in water treatment containing diclofenac.

Polyacrylonitrile membranes (PAN) have high stability against chemical agents, making them suitable for a wide range of applications as such Ultrafiltration processes. Ultrafiltration membranes composed of PAN/Superfine powder activated carbon (S-PAC) mixtures can be a good research route, aiming the development of a new separation processes for water treatment. The association of materials to form a single product can have technological and economic advantages in separation processes. In this study, S-PAC impregnated into PAN membranes were prepared, characterized and used, as a case study, to remove diclofenac (DCF) from water. The membranes (PAN/S-PAC) were synthesized with different concentrations of S-PAC (0.2, 0.6, 1.0, 3.0 and 5.0 wt%) by a phase inversion process. The results of the TEM characterizations of the S-PAC indicated the presence of micro and nanoparticles (∼10 nm) and tending to form micrometric clusters. The infrared spectra of the membranes were characteristic of PAN; however, vibrational bands attributed to the S-PAC spectrum were also observed, which indicated an interaction between the materials. The case study showed an increase in the water flux and in the DCF rejection efficiency, for composite membranes (PAN/S-PAC) with higher concentration of S-PAC. The results of static adsorption tests indicated that the mechanism of DCF rejection occurred predominantly by adsorption. There were indications that the PAN/S-PAC membranes formed a composite material and the PAN/S-PAC (3.0) presented the best study composition given the results. Although the research is in its initial phase, the results indicated that the composition can improve many water treatment systems.

Multigenerational Toxic Effects on Daphnia magna Induced by Silver Nanoparticles and Glyphosate Mixture.

Multigenerational toxicological effects of a binary mixture of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with glyphosate were identified in Daphnia magna using acute and chronic toxicity tests. Acute toxicity interactions were analyzed with the Abbott method. In the chronic tests, the survival, growth, reproduction, and age at first brood were evaluated for the parents and the exposed (F1E) and non-exposed (F1NE) descendants. The scales tested for binary mixture, at the acute level, presented antagonistic and additive interactions, possibly associated with the complexation of the AgNPs by glyphosate. Multigenerational chronic effects related to the parameters, reproduction, and age at first brood were observed in the descendants tested with the individual compounds, with no recovery for F1E and F1NE. In organisms exposed to binary mixture, there was a delay in the age at first brood and also a significant change in the reproduction parameter, with a strong reduction for the parents, F1E, and F1NE, indicating a higher toxicity than the compounds tested individually. Although the results for acute interactions between AgNP and glyphosate did not provide clear evidence, multigenerational chronic binary mixture trials have resulted in unexpected toxicity compared with individual treatments, increasing the concerns associated with this co-exposure in other scenarios. Therefore, the interaction of binary mixture with the organisms merits further investigation and the results reported in the present study will be useful in this regard. Environ Toxicol Chem 2021;40:1123-1131. © 2020 SETAC.

Toxicological Evaluation and Quantification of Ingested Metal-Core Nanoplastic by Daphnia magna Through Fluorescence and Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometric Methods.

There are few studies on nanoplastic that propose quantification of the amount ingested combined with evaluation of the toxic effects on aquatic organisms. We propose 2 methods to quantify the amount of polystyrene nanoplastic (PSNP) ingested by Daphnia magna: fluorescence intensity, where a fluorescent monomer (F) is added to the PSNP and quantified through fluorescence light microscopy, and total aluminum quantification, where PSNP is synthesized with Al2 O3 metal-core nanoparticles and used for quantification of the nanoplastic ingested by the organism Daphnia magna using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. In addition, the PSNP was functionalized with palmitic acid to simulate the environmental conditions leading to biological and chemical transformations. Acute and chronic toxicity tests were performed with fluorescent PSNP (PSNP/F) and palmitic acid-functionalized PSNP/F (PSNP/F-PA). The ingestion quantified was higher by factors of 2.8 and 3.0 for PSNP/F-PA and 1.9 and 1.7 for PSNP/F applying the fluorescence intensity and total Al quantifying methods, respectively, when compared to PSNP. These results are consistent with the data obtained in the toxicity tests, which showed an approximately 3 times increase in the adverse effect of PSNP/F-PA on the mobility and reproduction of the organisms. Thus, the strong inhibition of D. magna reproduction caused by PSNP/F-PA in the chronic toxicity tests could be associated with a greater amount of this nanoplastic being ingested by the organisms. Environ Toxicol Chem 2019;38:2101-2110. © 2019 SETAC.

Degradação sazonal de efluentes têxteis por processo foto-Fenton solar mediado por ferrioxalato: descoloração e comportamento dos sólidos / Seasonal degradation of textile effluents through the solar photo-Fenton process mediated by ferrioxalate: discoloration and behavior of solids

RESUMO Neste trabalho foi avaliado o processo foto-Fenton solar mediado por ferrioxalato como tratamento primário de um efluente têxtil bruto (E1) e como um processo de polimento, após processo de lodos ativados (E2). Por um ano, ao menos uma vez por mês, a eficiência de descoloração e o comportamento dos sólidos foram avaliados sob condições naturais de radiação, temperatura e características dos efluentes. As condições operacionais foram as seguintes: 50 mg L-1 de ferro, pH 5, 525 mg L-1 de H2O2, administrados em dosagens decrescentes. O oxalato foi adicionado na razão molar de 1:3 [Fe+3:(C2O4)-2]. A descoloração máxima de E1 foi de 67% para intensidade de radiação de 690 W m-2; já a de E2 foi de 95% para intensidade de 620 W m-2. Houve considerável aumento na turbidez e nos sólidos suspensos em função da precipitação do ferro e de sua ação coagulante. A degradação do complexante durante o processo no E2 em dias ensolarados provocou elevada sedimentabilidade dos sólidos do efluente final, resultando em um sobrenadante clarificado, o que não ocorreu em dias nublados.

ABSTRACT This work evaluates the solar photo-Fenton process mediated by ferrioxalate as a primary treatment of raw textile effluent (E1) and as a polishing step, after active sludge process (E2). For a year, at least once a month, the color removal's efficiency and solids' behavior in the oxidative process treatment were analyze under natural conditions of light, temperature and effluents characteristics. The operational parameters values were: 50 mg L-1 iron, pH 5, 525 mg L-1 H2O2, introduced in decreasing doses. The oxalate was added at the molar ratio of 1:3 [Fe+3:(C2O4)-2]. The color removal of E1 was 60% for 690 W m-2 of radiation intensity and 95% for 620 W m-2 intensity to E2. Considerable increases were observed in turbidity and suspended solids due to the iron precipitation and the consequent coagulant action. In sunny days, the complex degradation in E2 resulted in high settle ability of solids in the final effluent, resulting in a clear supernatant. This has not happened in cloudy days.