• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.502-522
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• 2022

Clay minerals are natural materials that show widespread applications in various branches of science, including environmental sciences, in particular the remediation of water contaminated with various water pollutants. Modified clays and minerals have attracted the attention of researchers in the recent past since the modified materials are seemingly more useful and efficient for removing emerging water contaminants. Therefore, modified engineered materials having multi-functionalities have received greater interest from researchers. The advanced clay-based materials are highly effective in the remediation of water contaminated with organic and inorganic contaminants, and these materials show enhanced selectivity towards the specific pollutants. The review inherently discusses various methods employed in the modification of clays and addresses the challenges in synthesizing the advanced engineered materials precursor to natural clay minerals. The changes in physical and chemical properties, as investigated by various characterization techniques before and after the modifications, are broadly explained. Further, the implications of these materials for the decontamination of waterbodies as contaminated with potential water pollutants are extensively discussed. Additionally, the insights involved in the removal of organic and inorganic pollutants are discussed in the review. Furthermore, the future perspectives and specific challenges in the scaling up of the treatment methods in technology development are included in this communication.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.96-104
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• 2024

Antibiotics is one of the emerging pollutants found in various water sources as well as wastewater due to its excessive use. Different techniques are available for treating antibiotics contaminants in water such as advanced oxidation process and biological treatment etc. These two processes are ineffective, and the generation of side products makes this process more complicated. Membrane technology is another alternative for the removal of contaminants. To improve the removal of antibiotics and their resistant gene, membrane bioreactors are modified with NaClO and carbon materials. The generation of abundant reactive species is active against the antibiotic's resistant genes.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.175-185
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• 2011

Ultrafiltration is an emerging technology for drinking water treatment because it produces better water quality as compared with conventional treatment systems. More recently, the combination of UF technology with other processes in order to improve its performance has been observed. These associations aim to maximize the contaminants removal and reduce membrane fouling. The operational performance of contaminants removal and water production of two UF pilot plants was compared. The first plant (Guarapiranga) was fed with raw water and the second plant (ABV) with pre-treated water by the coagulation, flocculation and sedimentation processes at Alto da Boa Vista WTP (Sao Paulo, Brazil). Both units operated continuously for approximately 2,500 hours, from September/2009 to January/2010. The results showed that the ABV UF pilot plant was able to operate at higher specific fluxes (6.2 $L.d^{-1}.m^{-2}.kPa^{-1}$ @ $25^{\circ}C$) than Guarapiranga (3.1 $L.d^{-1}.m^{-2}.kPa^{-1}$ @ $25^{\circ}C$). However, the number of chemical cleanings conducted in both pilot units during the considered operation period was the same (4 chemical cleanings for each plant), which shows that the pre-treatment reduced the membrane fouling. The water quality at ABV for all the variables analyzed was better, but the feed water quality was also better due to pretreatment. The rejection values for the different contaminants were higher at Guarapiranga mainly because of a pollution load reduction after pre-treatment at ABV. Even with the better performance of the ABV UF pilot plant, it is necessary to take into consideration the complexity of the complete treatment system, and also the costs involved in the construction and operation of a full-scale treatment unit.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.307-319
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• 2022

60+ Years of nuclear power generation has led to a significant legacy of radioactively contaminated land at a number of nuclear licenced "mega sites" around the world. The safe management and remediation of these sites is key to ensuring there environmental stewardship in the long term. Bioremediation utilizes a variety of microbially mediated processes such as, enzymatically driven metal reduction or biominerialisation, to sequester radioactive contaminants from the subsurface limiting their migration through the geosphere. Additionally, some of these process can provide environmentally stable sinks for radioactive contaminants, through formation of highly insoluble mineral phases such as calcium phosphates and carbonates, which can incorporate a range of radionuclides into their structure. Bioremediation options have been considered and deployed in preference to conventional remediation techniques at a number of nuclear "mega" sites. Here, we review the applications of bioremediation technologies at three key nuclear licenced sites; Rifle and Hanford, USA and Sellafield, UK, in the remediation of radioactively contaminated land.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.314-321
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• 2020

This study evaluated the applicability of UV-AOP process using medium-pressure UV lamp and H₂O₂ to remove TOC and emerging micropollutants in the effluent from a sewage treatment plant. The UV lamp with higher output(1.6~8.0 kW) showed slightly higher amount of power in removing TOC of 1 mg/L(0.09 kWh/mg/L~0.11 kWh/mg/L), however it was found that there was no significant difference for each cases. In addition, under the condition that the H₂O₂ concentration is sufficient, as the power consumption of the UV lamp increases, the unit TOC removal concentration per unit H₂O₂ decomposition concentration also increases, resulting in effective removal of TOC. The removal rate of 7 new trace contaminants, such as antibiotics by the UV-AOP tested, was at least 89.4%, and the ability to remove the emerging micro pollutants in the process was very effective. But, it was judged that it could not be excluded that the probablity of transforming to oxidated by-product in the case of a low TOC removal efficiency. Depending on the operating conditions of the UV and H₂O₂ processes, a higher BOD concentration is found in the treated water than in the influent, and it is necessary to review the UV power and proper injection conditions of H₂O₂ to maintain the BOD concentration increase below a certain level.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.1192-1198
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• 2010

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are emerging contaminants in the aquatic environment. Many pharmaceuticals are not completely removed during wastewater treatment, leading to their presence in wastewater treatment effluents, rivers, lakes, and ground water. Here, we developed analytical methods for monitoring ten pharmaceuticals from surface water by LC/ESI-MS/MS. For sample clean-up and extraction, MCX (mixed cation exchange) and HLB (hydrophilic-lipophilic balance) solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridges were used. The limits of detection (LOD) in distilled water and the blank surface water were in the range of 0.006 - 0.65 and 1.66 - 45.05 pg/mL, respectively. The limits of quantitation (LOQ) for the distilled water and the blank surface water were in the range of 0.02 - 2.17 and 5.52 - 150.15 pg/mL, respectively. The absolute recoveries for fortified water samples were between 62.1% and 125.4%. Intra-day precision and accuracy for the blank surface water were 2.9% - 24.1% (R.S.D.) and -16.3% - 16.3% (bias), respectively. In surface wastewater near rivers, chlortetracycline and acetylsalicylic acid were detected frequently in the range of 0.017 - 5.404 and 0.029 - 0.269 ng/mL, respectively. Surface water near rivers had higher levels than surface water of domestic treatment plants.

• Korean Journal of Plant Tissue Culture
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.325-337
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• 2000

All living organisms depend on soil and water for their sustained growth and development. In recent years, sustenance of life in these growth matrices has been adversely affected by the cumulative increase in environmental pollutants resulting from increasing population, growing economies and resource-use. This review provides a glimpse into the problem of global environmental pollution, the traditional technologies available for remediation and the scope of emerging‘plant-based remediation’technologies. Phytoremediation, the use of plants to effectively remove or stabilize contaminants from the growth substrate, is a low cost and ecologically friendly alternative to the common‘dig and dump’technologies. The field of phytoremediation has been driven by the intrinsic need for identification of ideal candidate plant species. To date, there are only a very few identified plants which satisfy all of the prerequisites for use in phytoremediation. The review focuses on one such plant species, the common horticultural plant scented geranium (Pelargonium sp.), with demonstrated potential to remediate metal / salt contaminated soils / aqueous systems. The characterization of tolerance and metal / salt accumulation potential of Pelargonium sp. and its efficacy in remediating complex contaminated sites are described. The unique ability of scented geraniums to tolerate excessive amounts of multi-metals, hydrocarbon and salt mixtures, and at the same time to accumulate significant amounts of metal and salt ions in the biomass, renders this plant species as one of the ideal candidates for remediation.

• Journal of Korea Soil Environment Society
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.3-12
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• 1997

Phytoremediation, using plants to remediate toxic organic and inorganic pollutants in contaminated soils, is an emerging technology for environmental cleanup. Three strategies of this technology are applicable to the remediation of toxic heavy metals, radionuclides, and toxic organic pollutants: They are (1) phytoextraction, in which plants anumulate the contaminants and are harvested for the downstream processing; (2) phytodegradation, in which plant-released enzymes or plant-associated microorganisms convert toxic pollutants into non-toxic materials; and (3) phytostabilization, in which toxic pollutants are precipitated from solution or absorbed in either the plant tissue or the soil matrix. Phytoremediation is more effective and less expensive than other current treatment technologies.

• Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry
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• v.67
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• pp.175-186
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• 2018

Carbon nanomaterials (CNMs), particularly carbon nanotube and graphene-based materials, are rapidly emerging as one of the most effective adsorbents for wastewater treatment. CNMs hold great potential as new generation adsorbents due to their high surface to volume ratio, as well as extraordinary chemical, mechanical and thermal stabilities. However, implementation of pristine CNMs in real world applications are still hindered due to their poor solubility in most solvents. Hence, surface modification of CNMs is essential for wastewater treatment application in order to improve its solubility, chemical stability, fouling resistance and efficiency. Numerous studies have reported the applications of functionalized CNMs as very promising adsorbents for treating organic and inorganic wastewater pollutants. In this paper, the removal of organic dye and phenol contaminants from wastewater using various type of functionalized CNMs are highlighted and summarized. Challenges and future opportunities for application of these CNMs as adsorbents in sustainable wastewater treatment are also addressed in this paper.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.85 no.4
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• pp.313-319
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• 2022

Environmental exposure to air pollution is known to have adverse effects on various organs. Air pollution has greater effects on the pulmonary system as the lungs are directly exposed to contaminants in the air. Here, we review the associations of air pollution with the development, morbidity, and mortality of pulmonary diseases. Short-and long-term exposure to air pollution have been shown to increase mortality risk even at concentrations below the current national guidelines. Ambient air pollution has been shown to be associated with lung cancer. Particularly long-term exposure to particulate matter with a diameter <2.5 ㎛ (PM_2.5) has been reported to be associated with lung cancer even at low concentrations. In addition, exposure to air pollution has been shown to increase the incidence risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and has been correlated with exacerbation and mortality of COPD. Air pollution has also been linked to exacerbation, mortality, and development of asthma. Exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) has been demonstrated to be related to increased mortality in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Additionally, air pollution increases the incidence of infectious diseases, such as pneumonia, bronchitis, and tuberculosis. Furthermore, emerging evidence supports a link between air pollution and coronavirus disease 2019 transmission, susceptibility, severity and mortality. In conclusion, the stringency of air quality guidelines should be increased and further therapeutic trials are required in patients at high risk of adverse health effects of air pollution.