Water

Editorial

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4 pages, 142 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Sources, Risks, and Remediation Technologies of Pollutants in Aquatic Environments

by Jing Liu, Weiying Feng and Fang Yang

Water 2024, 16(11), 1532; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16111532 - 26 May 2024

Viewed by 2648

Abstract

Water, the lifeblood of our planet, is encountering unprecedented challenges stemming from a diverse array of pollution sources, including industrial wastewater, agricultural runoff, and urban domestic sewage [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Environment Pollution and Control, Volume II)

Research

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15 pages, 6100 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Conditions for the Formation of Strontium in the Water of Ancient Silicate Deposits Near the Arctic Coast of Russia

by Alexander I. Malov

Water 2024, 16(17), 2369; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16172369 - 23 Aug 2024

Viewed by 652

Abstract

Strontium is a toxic chemical element widely distributed in groundwater. First of all, its appearance in water is associated with the dissolution of sulfate and carbonate rocks. The aim of this study was to assess the characteristics of strontium concentration in ancient aluminosilicate [...] Read more.

Strontium is a toxic chemical element widely distributed in groundwater. First of all, its appearance in water is associated with the dissolution of sulfate and carbonate rocks. The aim of this study was to assess the characteristics of strontium concentration in ancient aluminosilicate deposits that were filled with sedimentogenic brines and seawater in different geological periods. Studies were conducted on 44 water samples, in which the chemical and isotopic composition was determined with the subsequent assessment of saturation indices in relation to the main rock-forming minerals and the residence time of groundwater in the aquifer. It was found that minimal strontium concentrations are characteristic of the least mineralized waters and arise mainly due to the dissolution of carbonates. After their saturation in relation to calcite, the process of carbonate dissolution was replaced by their precipitation and an increase in silicate dissolution with an increase in strontium concentration in more mineralized waters. The incongruent dissolution of aluminosilicates resulted in the appearance of new clay minerals in the aquifer, which together with iron hydroxides and newly formed calcium carbonates created opportunities for sorption and ion exchange processes. The contribution of seawater consisted of an increase in strontium concentrations by approximately 15–20%. The effect of the duration of the water–rock interaction on strontium concentrations in groundwater was expressed in the fact that over a thousand years they increased by 0.1 mg/L, which is 20–30 times less than in the waters of carbonate deposits located 100 km to the east. An assessment of the non-carcinogenic risk to human health of contact with the groundwater showed the safety of using the studied groundwater for drinking purposes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Environment Pollution and Control, Volume II)

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19 pages, 5296 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study of the Spatiotemporal Variations, Source Determination, and Potential Ecological Risk of Organophosphate Esters in Typical Coastal Tourist Resorts in China

by Xuezhi Cao, Bingbing Wang, Xinxin Liu, Jichun Cheng and Shiliang Wang

Water 2023, 15(22), 3976; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15223976 - 16 Nov 2023

Viewed by 1316

Abstract

Investigation of the environmental occurrence and behavior of organophosphate esters (OPEs) is very important and is becoming a hot topic in the academic community. In this study, 12 targeted OPEs in the water and sediment from 19 coastal tourist resorts in the Shandong [...] Read more.

Investigation of the environmental occurrence and behavior of organophosphate esters (OPEs) is very important and is becoming a hot topic in the academic community. In this study, 12 targeted OPEs in the water and sediment from 19 coastal tourist resorts in the Shandong Peninsula in China were analyzed to show their concentrations, spatial variations, and potential ecological risks. The results showed that the total concentrations of OPEs (ΣOPEs) were in the range of 18.52–3069.43 ng/L in the water and 3.20–568.76 ng/g in the sediment. The dominant OPEs in the water and sediment were tris (2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate (TCIPP), tris (2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP), and triethyl phosphate (TEP). The OPE concentrations in the water were ranked as dry season > normal season > wet season. The sewage treatment plants near tourist resorts were important contributors to the level of OPEs in the water. Triphenyl phosphate (TPHP), tri-n-butyl phosphate (TNBP), and resorcinol-bis(diphenyl)phosphate (RDP) had a relatively higher ecological risk than other OPEs in the water samples. Industrial emissions might be the main source of OPEs in the coastal tourist resorts of Shandong Peninsula in China. The results of this study verified that OPEs occur in the water and sediment of coastal tourist resorts, and more attention should be given to the existence of OPEs and the safety of aquatic environments near coastal tourist resorts. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Environment Pollution and Control, Volume II)

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21 pages, 9310 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Features of the Formation of Strontium Pollution of Drinking Groundwater and Associated Health Risks in the North-West of Russia

by Alexander I. Malov

Water 2023, 15(21), 3846; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15213846 - 3 Nov 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1349

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to determine the natural factors that contribute to maintaining the standard quality of fresh drinking groundwater in areas with high strontium content. Hazard index values for the consumption of water containing strontium were also calculated to assess [...] Read more.

The purpose of this research was to determine the natural factors that contribute to maintaining the standard quality of fresh drinking groundwater in areas with high strontium content. Hazard index values for the consumption of water containing strontium were also calculated to assess the overall non-carcinogenic health risk from combined ingestion and dermal exposure. The results showed that the groundwater with strontium concentrations exceeding the maximum permissible concentrations had an increased correlation of strontium concentrations with total dissolved solids and celestite and gypsum saturation indices. A decrease in calcium content was recorded with a simultaneous increase in the concentration of magnesium and strontium. Reducing conditions in the aquifer were also favorable for the conservation of these waters. In waters of standard quality, all these factors did not appear, which indicates their formation in sediments with discretely located small inclusions of celestite and gypsum. These waters were characterized by a calcium bicarbonate composition, low total dissolved solids (TDS), and oxidizing conditions. Elevated radiocarbon contents indicate their relatively young age. In general, it was found that children in the study area are most vulnerable to risks. Fifty percent of wells supply drinking water that is unsafe for consumption. The water from about a third of the wells studied is dangerous for adults. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Environment Pollution and Control, Volume II)

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21 pages, 12844 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatial Variations and Distribution Patterns of Soil Salinity at the Canal Scale in the Hetao Irrigation District

by Zhiyuan Hu, Qingfeng Miao, Haibin Shi, Weiying Feng, Cong Hou, Cuicui Yu and Yunfang Mu

Water 2023, 15(19), 3342; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15193342 - 23 Sep 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1946

Abstract

Soil salinization is a major factor impacting global crop yields. To explore the spatial distribution and influencing factors of soil water and salt in typical canals of the Hetao irrigation district, regional soil information was monitored at fixed locations. In this study, classical [...] Read more.

Soil salinization is a major factor impacting global crop yields. To explore the spatial distribution and influencing factors of soil water and salt in typical canals of the Hetao irrigation district, regional soil information was monitored at fixed locations. In this study, classical statistics, geostatistics, and spatial autocorrelation methods were used to conduct quantitative analyses of soil salt content, water content, soil particle size distribution, and groundwater depth. The variation coefficient of the soil salt content in the 20–40 and 40–60 cm soil layers was between 10% and 100%, which corresponds to a medium degree of variation; the other soil layers had strong degrees of variation. The soil moisture content in each layer varied moderately. The gold coefficients of soil salt content and water content were less than 0.25, and the Z value was greater than 0, showing a strong spatial correlation and certain spatial agglomeration characteristics, which were mainly affected by structural factors in the study area. The distribution patterns of soil water and salt were affected by soil particle size. Sand content decreased with increasing depth, soil salt was negatively correlated with sand content, and soil water was positively correlated with sand content. Soil salinity was significantly affected by groundwater depth and increased with decreasing groundwater depth, following an exponential relationship. When the groundwater depth exceeded 1.7 m, the soil salt content exhibited small changes with groundwater depth. The results of this study could play a guiding role in terms of understanding the degree of soil salinization surrounding canals in the Hetao irrigation area and adjusting land management strategies over time. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Environment Pollution and Control, Volume II)

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19 pages, 6798 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Characteristics, Source and Risk Assessment of Soil Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons around Oil Wells in the Yellow River Delta, China

by Yuxuan Wu, Yilei Zhao, Yue Qi, Junsheng Li, Yuchen Hou, Haojing Hao, Nengwen Xiao and Qiuying Zhi

Water 2023, 15(18), 3324; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15183324 - 21 Sep 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1682

Abstract

The Yellow River Delta (YRD) is the most complete wetland ecosystem in the warm temperate zone of China and is rich in oil resources. However, with petroleum extraction and the development of the economy, pollution of the YRD has been paid increasing attention, [...] Read more.

The Yellow River Delta (YRD) is the most complete wetland ecosystem in the warm temperate zone of China and is rich in oil resources. However, with petroleum extraction and the development of the economy, pollution of the YRD has been paid increasing attention, in particular, pollution via polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), as they have caused great harm to human health and the ecosystem balance. Based on the investigations of a research group in 2009, this study re-collected samples according to the same sampling points and analyzed the concentration, composition, source, ecological risk and health risk of PAHs in 2021. The concentration of ΣPAH₁₆ in the surface soil of YRD in 2009 ranged from 2.6 to 8275.46 ng/g, with an average of 1744.41 ng/g. The concentration of ΣPAH₁₆ in 2021 ranged from 56.25 to 582.56 ng/g, with an average of 149.63 ng/g. Therefore, the pollution situation in the YRD in 2021 was significantly improved compared with 2009. The composition of PAHs in soil in 2009 and 2021 was similar, which was dominated by low-ring PAHs. The evaluation results of the toxicity equivalent factor method showed that there was no potential ecological risk in the soil in 2009 and 2021. The evaluation results of the lifetime cancer risk increment model showed that the incremental lifetime cancer risk models (ILCRs) of soil PAHs in 2009 and 2021 were lower than the safety threshold of 10⁻⁶; therefore, there was no carcinogenic risk. The existing management measures for oil wells need to be further promoted to protect the regional ecological environment in the YRD. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Environment Pollution and Control, Volume II)

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19 pages, 2464 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study on Water and Salt Transport under Different Subsurface Pipe Arrangement Conditions in Severe Saline–Alkali Land in Hetao Irrigation District with DRAINMOD Model

by Feng Tian, Qingfeng Miao, Haibin Shi, Ruiping Li, Xu Dou, Jie Duan, Jing Liu and Weiying Feng

Water 2023, 15(16), 3001; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15163001 - 20 Aug 2023

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2058

Abstract

As an effective method to improve saline–alkali land, the drainage from subsurface pipes has been extensively studied in typical arid and semi-arid agricultural areas (Hetao Irrigation District). However, there are few studies on the improvement of subsurface pipe layout and the long-term soil [...] Read more.

As an effective method to improve saline–alkali land, the drainage from subsurface pipes has been extensively studied in typical arid and semi-arid agricultural areas (Hetao Irrigation District). However, there are few studies on the improvement of subsurface pipe layout and the long-term soil salinization control in the process of leaching and soil amendment with subsurface pipes in this area. This study investigated the water and salt migration in the process of amending the heavy saline soil. Field experiments growing sunflowers and numerical model calculation were combined in this research. It was found in the field experiment that the salt concentration in the surface pipe drainage was positively correlated with the salt content in the soil and the depth of the pipe, while it was negatively correlated with the amount of irrigation water and the spacing of crops. Thus, the soil desalting rate (N) and salt control rate (SCR) were positively correlated with the depth of the pipe, and they were negatively correlated with the spacing. The leaching effect of irrigation would decrease when the soil salt content decreased. On the basis of field experiments, the DRAINMOD model and drainmod equation were used to calculate the water and salt migration in 38 different field plots during 2019 and 2020. When N was the same, the soil salinity in several plots with large burial depth could be controlled below the salt tolerance threshold of sunflowers during the growth period in the second year. The quantitative relationship between N and SCR, soil salt content before leaching, water amount of leaching, pipe spacing and buried depth was already established. These results can help develop strategies for desalination and salt control in the soil in the arid and semi-arid areas with the optimal layout of subsurface pipes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Environment Pollution and Control, Volume II)

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10 pages, 1275 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Synergistic Piezo-Catalytic Inactivation of Bacteria by Dual-Frequency Ultrasound (120 + 1700 kHz) Using Persulfate and ZnO Nano- and Microparticles

by Irina Tsenter, Elena Kobunova, Galina Matafonova and Valeriy Batoev

Water 2023, 15(16), 2937; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15162937 - 15 Aug 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1522

Abstract

Dual-frequency ultrasound (DFUS) coupled with sonocatalysts has emerged to be an advanced tool for antimicrobial applications in medicine but remains scarcely studied for water disinfection. In the present work, we first integrated high-frequency DFUS (120 + 1700 kHz), persulfate (S₂O₈ [...] Read more.

Dual-frequency ultrasound (DFUS) coupled with sonocatalysts has emerged to be an advanced tool for antimicrobial applications in medicine but remains scarcely studied for water disinfection. In the present work, we first integrated high-frequency DFUS (120 + 1700 kHz), persulfate (S₂O₈²⁻) and ZnO nano- (50 nm) and microparticles (1 μm) for eradicating Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis in synthetic water. For E. coli, the efficiency of DFUS-based processes can be ranked as follows: DFUS < DFUS/ZnO < DFUS/S₂O₈²⁻ < DFUS/ZnO/S₂O₈²⁻. A similar efficiency of the DFUS/S₂O₈²⁻ and DFUS/ZnO/S₂O₈²⁻ processes was found for more resistant E. faecalis. In the absence of persulfate, the performance of 1 μm ZnO was higher than that observed with 50 nm for inactivating E. coli via the DFUS/ZnO and 1700 kHz/ZnO processes. A synergy of DFUS in terms of 5-log (total) reduction was found in the S₂O₈²⁻/ZnO-based systems, being higher for E. faecalis (synergistic coefficient = 1.8–3.0). The synergistic effect was proposed to be driven by the boosted generation of reactive oxygen species and sonoporation. This study opens prospects for the development of novel DFUS-based piezo-catalytic systems for efficient water disinfection. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Environment Pollution and Control, Volume II)

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15 pages, 3960 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Thermal Polymerisation Synthesis of g-C₃N₄ for Photocatalytic Degradation of Rhodamine B Dye under Natural Sunlight

by Muxi Zhang, Meiyan Xing, Bin Dong, Hongxia Zhang, Xiaojie Sun, Qiuhong Li, Xueshuang Lu, Jingjing Mo and Hongxiang Zhu

Water 2023, 15(16), 2903; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15162903 - 11 Aug 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1994

Abstract

The photocatalytic performance of g-C₃N₄ materials prepared by different precursors for Rhodamine B (RhB) dye degradation was studied. Their crystal structure, morphologies, chemical compositions, functional groups, and optical and photoelectrochemical performances of prepared g-C₃N₄ were analysed and [...] Read more.

The photocatalytic performance of g-C₃N₄ materials prepared by different precursors for Rhodamine B (RhB) dye degradation was studied. Their crystal structure, morphologies, chemical compositions, functional groups, and optical and photoelectrochemical performances of prepared g-C₃N₄ were analysed and characterised using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectra, photoluminescence, and electrochemical workstations. The degradation of RhB dye in the presence of visible light and sunlight was utilised to assess the photocatalytic efficiency of the g-C₃N₄ photocatalyst. The results of the photocatalytic comparison experiment showed that the g-C₃N₄ photocatalyst prepared with urea as a precursor (UCN) has the best photocatalytic performance, achieving 99.61% removal in 40 min. In addition, the photocatalyst UCN can completely degrade 10 mg/L RhB dye within 20 min under sunlight, demonstrating its potential for practical applications under natural sunlight conditions. After four cycles, the degradation rate remains above 99%, demonstrating excellent stability and reusability. Due to its lower average pore number, larger BET-specific surface area and volume of pores, UCN provides more activity spaces and facilitates the adsorption of pollutant molecules, thereby enhancing photocatalytic activity. It was established through the active substance trapping studies that the main reactive species involved in the photocatalytic degradation process of RhB dye is •O₂⁻. This study showed that g-C₃N₄ synthesised with urea as the precursor has better photocatalytic performance in the degradation of RhB dye. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Environment Pollution and Control, Volume II)

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12 pages, 3652 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Alkaline Prehydrolysis Prolongs Resin Life and Enhances the Adsorption of Phenolic Compounds

by Chao Gu, Kailing Yan, Lei Bo, Xin Zhou, Yiwen He, Jiacheng Feng and Jinyi Qin

Water 2023, 15(14), 2566; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15142566 - 13 Jul 2023

Viewed by 1185

Abstract

Phenolic compounds in oil wastewater are highly toxic and refractory. Hydrolysis at pH 12 for 12 h makes these compounds more vulnerable to attack and destruction. Under the binding and precipitation of polyaluminum chloride (PAC) at pH 8, the chemical oxygen demand (COD) [...] Read more.

Phenolic compounds in oil wastewater are highly toxic and refractory. Hydrolysis at pH 12 for 12 h makes these compounds more vulnerable to attack and destruction. Under the binding and precipitation of polyaluminum chloride (PAC) at pH 8, the chemical oxygen demand (COD) was significantly reduced by 38%. The simulation found that hydrolysis + flocculation was a complex multistep process. The COD removal rate was mainly controlled by the prehydrolysis process. The metabolic pathway suggested that the m-cresol produced in the factory was oxidized to low water-soluble aldehyde. Alkaline hydrolysis converted the aldehyde into m-toluene-methanol, which was conducive to being captured by the PAC. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) showed that the alkaline dehydrogenation of two m-methylphenyl carbinols produced a molecule that was removed by the resin. Generally, the particle size of the residue after alkaline hydrolysis was 6.4–8.3 nm, which was included in the pore size range of the resin. Therefore, the resin adsorption capacity for the hydrolyzed substances increased to 47,000 mg L⁻¹, with 93% renewability. In short, hybrid technology reduces the concentration burden of the resin inflow and controls the molecular size of adsorbed substances for repurification. It strengthens the treatment effect of high COD wastewater and provides innovative ideas for extending the service life of resin. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Environment Pollution and Control, Volume II)

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16 pages, 3990 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influences of Anthropogenic Pollution on the Dynamics of Sedimentary Fulvic Acid Fractions as Revealed via Spectroscopic Techniques Combined with Two-Dimensional Correlation Spectroscopy

by Yanchun Xiao, Huibin Yu and Yonghui Song

Water 2023, 15(12), 2256; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15122256 - 16 Jun 2023

Viewed by 1519

Abstract

To identify the influences of anthropogenic activities on the composition, spatial distribution, sources, and transformation mechanism of sedimentary fulvic acid (FA) fractions from different reaches of an urban river were tracked via excitation-emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence spectroscopy with parallel factor (PARAFAC) analysis and [...] Read more.

To identify the influences of anthropogenic activities on the composition, spatial distribution, sources, and transformation mechanism of sedimentary fulvic acid (FA) fractions from different reaches of an urban river were tracked via excitation-emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence spectroscopy with parallel factor (PARAFAC) analysis and two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2D-COS). Sediment samples were collected from Baitapu River (BR) along gradients with human activities (e.g., rural, town, and urban sections) in Shenyang, northeast China, from which FA fractions were extracted and then determined via EEM fluorescence spectroscopy. According to optical indices, the autochthonous sources of sedimentary FA fractions in BR were more significant than the terrestrial sources. Among the sections, the contribution from autochthonous sources decreased in the following order: Rural > Urban > Town. Six components of sedimentary FA fractions were identified via EEM–PARAFAC: C1 comprised tryptophan-like (TRL) compounds; C2 was associated with microbial humic-like (MHL) compounds; C3, C4, and C5 were associated with FA-like (FAL) compounds; and C6 comprised humic acid-like (HAL) compounds. The proportion of sedimentary FA fractions decreased in the following order: MHL + FAL + HAL (humus, 77.37–88.90%) > TRL (protein, 11.10–22.63%) for the three sections, showing that humus dominated. The town section exhibited the highest sedimentary FA fractions (5328.87 ± 1315.82 Raman unit [R.U.]), followed by the urban (4146.49 ± 535.75 R.U.) and rural (2510.56 ± 611.00 R.U.) sections. Three pollution sources were determined via principal component analysis (i.e., the dominant industrial source, domestic wastewater, and agricultural effluent). Additionally, the results from 2D-COS revealed that sedimentary FA fractions tended to stabilize as the protein-like component was transformed into the HAL component. Furthermore, we used the structural equation model to validate the critical environmental variables affecting the FA fraction transformation. The results can elucidate the influences of human activities on the dynamics of sedimentary FA fractions in urban rivers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Environment Pollution and Control, Volume II)

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Review

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27 pages, 3062 KiB

Open AccessReview

Aquatic Mercury Pollution from Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining in Sub-Saharan Africa: Status, Impacts, and Interventions

by Mary Mulenga, Kennedy O. Ouma, Concillia Monde and Stephen Syampungani

Water 2024, 16(5), 756; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16050756 - 2 Mar 2024

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3230

Abstract

Mercury (Hg) pollution remains an environmental global concern due to its non-degradable and toxic nature. Natural and anthropogenic sources of Hg adversely affect the functioning of aquatic ecosystems and biological processes. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), unregulated artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) contributes [...] Read more.

Mercury (Hg) pollution remains an environmental global concern due to its non-degradable and toxic nature. Natural and anthropogenic sources of Hg adversely affect the functioning of aquatic ecosystems and biological processes. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), unregulated artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) contributes up to 20% of global gold production and uses 205–496 tonnes/yr of Hg. Despite being a vital economic driver for 20–30 million people, ASGM threatens the health of aquatic systems from Hg pollution, presenting a complex challenge that demands urgent interventions. This review seeks to (1) establish the current status of aquatic Hg pollution, (2) explore the environmental impacts of aquatic Hg, and (3) highlight the proposed interventions for aquatic Hg pollution in SSA. We examined publications and institutional reports between 2000 and 2023 addressing aquatic Hg pollution, impacts, and interventions in the ASGM of SSA. Results indicate a rise in aquatic Hg pollution due to the expansion and intensification of ASGM. West Africa remained the highest contributor (50.2%), followed by Central Africa (39.6%), Southern Africa (9.6%), and Eastern Africa (<1%). Contamination of freshwater ecosystems, toxicity to aquatic biota, and environmental health risks to humans were evident. Alternative Hg-free ASGM technologies, including physical, metallurgical, and pyrometallurgical, were investigated from case studies and recommended for adoption. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Environment Pollution and Control, Volume II)

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16 pages, 7610 KiB

Open AccessReview

Systematic Review of Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs): Distribution, Risks, and Implications for Water Quality and Health

by Weiying Feng, Yuxin Deng, Fang Yang, Qingfeng Miao and Su Kong Ngien

Water 2023, 15(22), 3922; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15223922 - 10 Nov 2023

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 6503

Abstract

The introduction of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) into the environment has raised concerns due to the significant risks they pose to both ecosystems and human health. In this sys-tematic review, we investigate research trends on CECs worldwide over the past 10 years, [...] Read more.

The introduction of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) into the environment has raised concerns due to the significant risks they pose to both ecosystems and human health. In this sys-tematic review, we investigate research trends on CECs worldwide over the past 10 years, focus-ing on four critical aspects: (i) the identification and distribution of typical CECs across various media, (ii) the sources and environmental behavior of CECs, (iii) the implications of CECs expo-sure on human health, and (iv) risk assessment and control measures for CECs. The review re-veals a comprehensive understanding of the typical types and distribution of CECs in different environmental media, shedding light on their prevalence and potential impact on ecosystems. Furthermore, insights into the sources and behavior of CECs provide crucial information for de-vising effective strategies to mitigate their release into the environment. By examining the health effects of EC exposure, we highlight the importance of considering potential risks to human well-being. This aspect of the review emphasizes the significance of monitoring and managing CECs to safeguard public health. The review also synthesizes the advancements in risk assessment methodologies and control measures for CECs, which are essential for developing comprehensive regulations and guidelines to manage these contaminants effectively. Drawing from the findings, we identify future research directions for CECs in aquatic environments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Environment Pollution and Control, Volume II)

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Other

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11 pages, 653 KiB

Open AccessPerspective

Tracking and Utilizing Sargassum, an Abundant Resource from the Caribbean Sea

by Meng-Chou Lee, Han-Yang Yeh, Chun-Ming Chang, Yu-Fu Liou, Fan-Hua Nan and Jane Wungen-Sani

Water 2023, 15(15), 2694; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15152694 - 26 Jul 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2682

Abstract

Due to climate change and its associated factors, there has been an increased influx of pelagic brown algae biomass drifting freely in the Caribbean Sea in recent years. Its use as an industrial recyclable material is feasible, although pelagic Sargassum species have Arsenic [...] Read more.

Due to climate change and its associated factors, there has been an increased influx of pelagic brown algae biomass drifting freely in the Caribbean Sea in recent years. Its use as an industrial recyclable material is feasible, although pelagic Sargassum species have Arsenic (As) heavy metal content; among 531 tested pesticide residues applied to vegetables, fruit, infant food, herbs, and spices, zero were found in Sargassum. Sargassum also contains sulfated polysaccharides and oligosaccharides, which are known to be beneficial immunomodulators. Our results thus suggest Sargassum to be a functionally useful organic material in small quantities as an additive in animal feed. With improved chemical extraction methods, it could also be highly effective in adjusted proportions in cosmetics and for other industrial uses. A viable solution for predicting and tracking the large-scale movements of algal masses is provided. Furthermore, a method for addressing increasing Sargassum influx is proposed via its use as an industrial recyclable material following composition analysis, evaluation and safety assessments for cosmetic use, and research and design of new beauty products and other functional cosmetics. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Environment Pollution and Control, Volume II)

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