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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Tourism, Culture, and Heritage".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 November 2020) | Viewed by 34453

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Prof. Dr. Van Khanh Nguyen

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Guest Editor

Department of Microbiology, Pusan National University, Pusan 46241, Korea
Interests: environmental microbiology; environmental geochemistry; microbial electrochemistry; microbial geochemistry; environmental remediation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Global industrialization and urbanization have place our environment under threat due to the generation of a huge amount of anthropogenic and industrial waste. Inappropriate waste disposal has resulted in a vast range of severe consequences, including soil contamination, groundwater pollution, ecological destruction, decreases in biological diversity, and many other serious environmental problems which directly affect human health. Thus, it is essential to develop technologies and strategies to attenuate the hazard of environmental pollution.

This Special Issue aims to collect and present all breakthrough research on environmental remediation, such as technologies for toxic waste treatment and rehabilitation, strategies for waste minimization, and schemes for resource recovery from wastes. The scope of this Special Issue covers but is not limited to the following topics:

- Soil remediation technology (including soil rehabilitation, soil washing, toxic waste stabilization, and solidification);

- Treatment technologies for wastewater, freshwater, and groundwater;

- Mine reclamation (including the transport and migration of toxic compounds from mining activities and remediation technologies);

- Recovery of valuable materials from waste sources;

- Biotechnologies for environmental remediation;

- Applications of bioelectrochemical systems for environmental remediation.

Prof. Dr. Van Khanh Nguyen
Guest Editor

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Keywords

Soil remediation
Sediment geochemistry
Wastewater treatment
Toxic metal removal
Waste resource recovery
Solid waste stabilization
Toxic metal redox cycle
Bioremediation
Bioelectrochemical remediation

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Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 6009 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Adsorption Studies of Arsenic(V) by CuO Nanoparticles Synthesized by Phyllanthus emblica Leaf-Extract-Fueled Solution Combustion Synthesis

by Sadia Saif, Syed F. Adil, Mujeeb Khan, Mohammad Rafe Hatshan, Merajuddin Khan and Farzana Bashir

Sustainability 2021, 13(4), 2017; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13042017 - 13 Feb 2021

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3019

Abstract

In the present study, a simple and eco-friendly route for the synthesis of copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) using leaf extract of Phyllanthus emblica as fuel has been demonstrated, as P. emblica is a locally available abundant plant. The formation of the as-prepared CuO NPs was confirmed by using various techniques, such as UV–Vis absorption spectroscopy, cold field scanning electron microscopy (CF–SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and X-ray photoelectron (XPS). The hydrodynamic size of the CuO NPs was found to be 80 nm, while the zeta potential of −28.6 mV was obtained. The elemental composition was confirmed by EDX analysis accompanied with elemental mapping, while the crystalline nature was substantiated by the XRD diffractogram. The as-synthesized CuO NPs were studied for their use as an adsorbent material for the removal of As(V) from water. It was confirmed that the CuO NPs effectively removed As(V) via adsorption, and the adsorption efficiency was found to be best at a higher pH. The maximum adsorption capacity of CuO for As(V) was found to be 1.17 mg/g calculated using the Langmuir equation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Remediation)

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13 pages, 2759 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Phytoremediation Potential of Freshwater Macrophytes for Treating Dye-Containing Wastewater

by Karunakaran Gowri Ahila, Balasubramani Ravindran, Vasanthy Muthunarayanan, Dinh Duc Nguyen, Xuan Cuong Nguyen, Soon Woong Chang, Van Khanh Nguyen and Chandran Thamaraiselvi

Sustainability 2021, 13(1), 329; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13010329 - 31 Dec 2020

Cited by 33 | Viewed by 5255

Abstract

Phytoremediation is a promising green technology for the remediation of various industrial effluents. Notably, aquatic plants are widely applied to remove dyes and toxic metals from polluted environments. In the present study, the phytoremediation potency of aquatic macrophytes such as Pistia stratiotes L, Salvinia adnata Desv, and Hydrilla verticillata (L.f) Royle were assessed based on the removal capability of pollutants from dyeing effluent. Physicochemical characterizations were carried out for industrial wastewater collected from a cotton material dyeing unit located in the Karur District of Tamilnadu, India. The physicochemical characteristics of the dyeing effluent, such as color, odor, pH, total dissolved solids (TDS), alkalinity, acidity, chloride, sulfate, phosphate, nitrate, chemical oxygen demand (COD), fluoride, and toxic metal levels were determined. The core parameters such as total dissolved solid (TDS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and chloride level were determined and found to be 6500 mg/L, 2400 mg/L, and 2050 mg/L, respectively, which exceeded the regulatory limit prescribed by the Central Pollution Control Board of India. The levels of toxic metals such as Hg, Ni, and Zn were under the acceptable concentration but Cr and Pb levels in the dyeing effluent were a little bit higher. The effluent was subjected to treatment with Pistia stratiotes L, Salvinia adnata Desv and Hydrilla verticillata (L.f) Royle separately. After the treatment, the toxic metal results were recorded as below detectable levels and the same results were obtained for all three aquatic plants samples used for treatment. Among the three plants, P. stratiotes L efficiently removed 86% of color, 66% of TDS, 77% of COD, and 61.33% of chloride. The variation in phytochemicals of the macrophytes was studied before and after treatment using GC–MS which revealed the reduction of ascorbic acid in the plant samples. The toxic effect of treated effluent was investigated by irrigating an ornamental plant, Impatiens balsamina L. The plant biomass P. stratiotes L obtained after the treatment process was subjected to manure production and its nutrient quality was proved, which can be applied as a soil conditioner. Among the aquatic plants, the results of P. stratiotes L indicated a higher remediation potential, which can be used as an ecologically benign method for treatment of industrial effluents and water bodies contaminated with dyeing effluents. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Remediation)

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13 pages, 2681 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Total Organic Carbon Assessment in Soils Cultivated with Agave tequilana Weber in Jalisco, Mexico

by Celia De La Mora-Orozco, José G. Flores-Garnica, Lucia M. Vega-Ramírez, Irma J. González-Acuña, Juan Nápoles-Armenta and Edgardo Martínez-Orozco

Sustainability 2021, 13(1), 208; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13010208 - 28 Dec 2020

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2768

Abstract

The Agave tequilana Weber is an important commercial crop in the State of Jalisco, Mexico. However, the agave cultivation generates significant soil loss. For that reason, knowledge about the implementation of the agriculture management practices, such as manure application and the combination of inorganic fertilizers and manure, are relevant. The objective of this research was to determine the effect of agricultural management practices on the total organic carbon (TOC) in the soil in three study locations: Arandas, Tepatitlán, and Acatic in the Altos Sur region of Jalisco. A random sampling was carried out in each study location, 12 samples were obtained for each location at 0–30 cm deep, and a total of 36 samples were analyzed. The evaluated parameters were the potential hydrogen (pH), electrical conductivity (EC), bulk density (BD), soil-water saturation (SWS), total nitrogen (TN), and total organic carbon (TOC). Basic statistics and correlations between parameters were generated. In addition, to estimate TOC from a multivariate analysis, models were developed based on the lowest Akaike information criterion (AIC) and of the classification and regression trees (CART). ANOVA and Tukey test were determined. Results demonstrated a significant difference in the TOC percentages between the study locations. The Tukey test showed that there is no difference in TOC content between the Tepatitlán and Arandas sites, but there is a difference between these two sites and the Acatic. The latter resulted with the lowest values of TOC. Long-term studies are recommended to develop crop management strategies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Remediation)

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11 pages, 1447 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Toxic Metal Adsorption from Aqueous Solution by Activated Biochars Produced from Macadamia Nutshell Waste

by Minh Trung Dao, T. T. Tram Nguyen, X. Du Nguyen, D. Duong La, D. Duc Nguyen, S. W. Chang, W. J. Chung and Van Khanh Nguyen

Sustainability 2020, 12(19), 7909; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12197909 - 24 Sep 2020

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3297

Abstract

Abundantly available biomass wastes from agriculture can serve as effective environmental remediation materials. In this study, activated biochar was fabricated from macadamia nutshell (MCN) through carbonization and chemical modification. The resultant biochars were used as adsorbents to remove toxic metal ions such as Cu²⁺ and Zn²⁺ from aqueous solutions. The results showed that the activated MCN biochar has a high adsorption capacity for toxic metal ions. When MCN biochar was activated with K₂CO₃, the adsorption efficiencies for Cu²⁺ and Zn²⁺ were 84.02% and 53.42%, respectively. With H₃PO₄ activation, the Cu²⁺- and Zn²⁺-adsorption performances were 95.92% and 67.41%, respectively. H₂O₂-modified MCN biochar had reasonable Cu²⁺- and Zn²⁺-adsorption efficiencies of 79.33% and 64.52%, respectively. The effects of pH, adsorbent concentration and adsorption time on the removal performances of Cu²⁺ and Zn²⁺ in aqueous solution were evaluated. The results exhibited that the activated MCN biochar showed quick adsorption ability with an optimal pH of 4 and 4.5 for both Cu²⁺ and Zn²⁺, respectively. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Remediation)

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15 pages, 3977 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Application of Waste Lemon Extract to Toxic Metal Removal through Gravitational Soil Flushing and Composting Stabilization

by Pei-Wen Zhang, Ya-Zhen Huang, Chihhao Fan and Tsun-Kuo Chang

Sustainability 2020, 12(14), 5751; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12145751 - 17 Jul 2020

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3280

Abstract

The present study aims to investigate the treatment efficiency of soil flushing using waste lemon extract for samples collected from contaminated farmland, in which the copper concentration was measured as 2487 ± 139 mg/kg. The flushing solution, containing 9.9 g/L citric acid, was prepared from the waste lemon extraction process. The soil-flushing treatment using a solution containing commercial citric acids of 10 g/L was also conducted for comparison. Additionally, the collected soil was mixed with crushed waste lemons and the mixture was subjected to a composting process for subsequent stabilization study. After 120-min batch experiments, the desorbed copper concentration for waste lemon-extract experiment was 36.9 mg/L, which was higher than that (28.6 mg/L) for commercial citric solution experiment. The reduction in soil copper concentration (1504 mg/kg) treated by waste lemon-extract flushing was more than that treated by commercial citric solution (1256 mg/kg) at the comparable citric acid concentration. More metals were removed by waste lemon-extract flushing. This is because the waste lemon-extract solution contains additional co-dissolved organic substances with a longer flushing time, which allows more exchange reactions between adsorbed metals and flushing solution. For the treatment with waste lemon extract, the soil pH values were 4.56, 5.70 and 6.29 before, after flushing and after compost treatment, respectively. The observed variation in soil pH also showed that waste lemon extract might be a better flushing agent, while flushing with commercial citric solution decreased the pH in the soil environment. The plant copper availability dropped from 677 mg/kg to 156 mg/kg after waste lemon-extract flushing and stabilization with composted waste lemon. Therefore, the use of waste lemon extract for soil flushing not only removed toxic metals from the soil but also prevented the occurrence of soil acidification, an often-observed phenomenon using an acidic solution in conventional soil flushing. After soil flushing, the application of composted waste lemon could stabilize the toxic metals and increase the pH to a range suitable for plant growth. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Remediation)

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13 pages, 974 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mercury Phytoremediation with Lolium perenne-Mycorrhizae in Contaminated Soils

by Ana M. Leudo, Yuby Cruz, Carolina Montoya-Ruiz, María del Pilar Delgado and Juan F. Saldarriaga

Sustainability 2020, 12(9), 3795; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12093795 - 7 May 2020

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 5212

Abstract

The symbiotic association between the roots of a plant and the mycelium of some fungi is identified as mycorrhizae. Symbiosis helps the plant to obtain nutrients from the soil more efficiently, and may favor the phytoremediation capacity of plants such as Lolium perenne, in soils contaminated with mercury. In this study, the morphological and molecular response was evaluated, as well as the variation in mercury accumulation in the different structures of L. perenne when associated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Association tests were performed to determine the optimal concentration of the biological inoculant and it was found that the best results were given with the proportion of one part of inoculant in three parts of soil (w/w ratio). The differential expression of the glutathione-S-transferase GST gene was evaluated through real-time PCR and the concentration of heavy metals inside and outside the plant was evaluated with inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP). It was found that the plants that were inoculated with mycorrhizae developed longer stems and shorter roots; in the same way, the GST gene had greater expression in the stem than in the root, largely because the roots help the filtration of nutrients to the stem, retaining metals and detoxifying by GST-catalyzed glutathione. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Remediation)

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12 pages, 1717 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Indigenous Microbial Consortium on Bioleaching of Arsenic from Contaminated Soil by Shewanella putrefaciens

by Thi Minh Tran, Hyeop-Jo Han, Ju-In Ko and Jong-Un Lee

Sustainability 2020, 12(8), 3286; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12083286 - 17 Apr 2020

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2791

Abstract

The effects of indigenous microbial consortium on removal of As from As-contaminated soil using an Fe(III)-reducing bacterium Shewanella putrefaciens were investigated under circumneutral pH condition. Sequential extraction of As revealed that more than 30% of As was associated with Fe(III)-(oxy)hydroxides in the soil. Bioleaching experiments were conducted anaerobically with a supply of lactate as a carbon source. The highest As removal efficiency (57.5%) was obtained when S. putrefaciens and indigenous bacterial consortium coexisted in the soil. S. putrefaciens and indigenous bacteria solely removed 30.1% and 16.4% of As from the soil, respectively. The combination of S. putrefaciens and indigenous bacteria led to a higher amount of labile As after microbial dissolution of Fe(III)-(oxy)hydroxides. After microbial treatment, soil quality represented by pH and organic content appeared to be preserved. The results indicated that the ecological and physiological understanding of the indigenous microbiome might be important for the efficient application of bioleaching technology to remove As from contaminated soils. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Remediation)

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9 pages, 9647 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Absorption Behavior of Graphene Nanoplates toward Oils and Organic Solvents in Contaminated Water

by Duong Duc La, Tuan Anh Nguyen, Thanh Tung Nguyen, Ha Duc Ninh, Hoai Phuong Nguyen Thi, Tham Thi Nguyen, Duy Anh Nguyen, Trung Dung Dang, Eldon R. Rene, Soon Woong Chang, Hien Tran Thi and Dinh Duc Nguyen

Sustainability 2019, 11(24), 7228; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11247228 - 16 Dec 2019

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3813

Abstract

In this work, graphene nanoplates (GNPs) were successfully prepared via direct chemical exfoliation from natural graphite. The properties of prepared GNPs were investigated using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The resultant GNPs had a low bulk density of 0.015 g mL⁻¹, C content of 99.6%, a lateral diameter of 5–15 µm, and thickness of <15 nm, respectively. The absorption capacity of the GNPs for a range of oils and organic solvents including pump oil, polydimethylsiloxane oil (PDMS), dioctyl phthalates (DOP) oil, olive oil, bean oil, mazut oil, xylene, ethanol, and ethylene glycol (EG) was evaluated. The effects of the sorption conditions such as the absorption time (sorption kinetics), temperature, and aging manner (static, stirring, and ultrasonic) on the absorption capability of the GNPs were also investigated. It could be seen that the GNPs revealed extremely high absorption capacities for oil and organic solvents, reaching 21–42 times their own weight only after 2 min of absorption at room temperature, which were found to be much higher than those shown by various commercially available absorbents. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Remediation)

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12 pages, 777 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of Anaerobic Co-Digestion to Enhance the Efficiency of Livestock Manure Anaerobic Digestion

by Jae Hoon Jeung, Woo Jin Chung and Soon Woong Chang

Sustainability 2019, 11(24), 7170; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11247170 - 14 Dec 2019

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3898

Abstract

In this paper, the anaerobic co-digestion of three different organic wastes, including livestock manure, slaughterhouse waste, and agricultural by-products (ABs), was carried out to enhance the efficiency of mono-digestion of livestock manure. The characteristics of co-digestion were evaluated at different mixing ratios. The experiment was performed using the Batch test and was divided into two parts. The first experimental section (EXP. 1) was designed to evaluate the seasonal characteristics of ABs, which are the different ratios of fruits and vegetables, where the mixing ratio of spring (fruits:vegetables = 3:7) showed the highest biogas yield (0.24 m³/kg volatile solids). The second experiment (EXP. 2) was conducted by using ABs in the ratio that gave the highest biogas yield in EXP. 1 in combinations of three wastes livestock manure, slaughterhouse waste, and ABs. The highest CH₄ yield was 0.84 m³/kg volatile solids (VS), which was obtained with a mixing ratio that had even amounts of the three feedstocks. In addition, the results of the second biochemical methane potential test, which assessed the digestive efficiency according to the mixing ratio of the three types of organic waste, showed that the CH⁴ production rate of the merged digestion was approximately 1.03–1.29 times higher than that of the mono-digestion of livestock manure. The results of our experiment were verified using the modified Gompertz model, the results of which were relatively similar to the experimental results. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Remediation)

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