Search results for " Water Pollutants"
showing 10 items of 11 documents
Predicting the effectiveness of oil recovery strategies in the marine polluted environment
2018
Abstract Many recent studies have focused their attention on the physiological stress experienced by marine organisms in measuring ecotoxicological responses. Here we suggest a new approach for investigating the effects of an anthropogenic pollutant on Life-History (LH) traits of marine organisms, to provide stakeholders and policy makers an effective tool to evaluate the best environmental recovery strategies and plans. A Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB), coupled with a biophysical model was used to predict the effects of a six-month oil spill on Mytilus galloprovincialis' LH traits and to test two potential recovery strategies in the central Mediterranean Sea. Oxygen consumption rates were use…
Hg and Se exposure in brain tissues of striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) and bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) from the Tyrrhenian and Ad…
2017
In this study we analyzed Hg and Se concentrations in dolphin brain tissues of fifteen specimens of striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) and eight specimens of bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) stranded in the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic Seas, in order to assess the toxicological risks associated with Hg exposure. High Hg concentrations were found in brain tissues of both analyzed specie (1.86–243 mg/kg dw for striped dolphin and 2.1–98.7 mg/kg dw for bottlenose dolphin), exceeding levels associated with marine mammals neurotoxicity. Althougth the results clearly suggest that the protective effects of Se against Hg toxicity occur in cetaceans’ brain tissues, a molar excess of mercury w…
Effects of microplastics on the functional traits of aquatic benthic organisms: A global-scale meta-analysis
2021
Microplastics are widespread in the aquatic environment and thus available for many organisms at different trophic levels. Many scientific papers focus their attention on the study of the effects of microplastics on different species at individual level. Here we performed a global scale meta-analysis focusing our work on the study of the effect of microplastics on the functional traits of aquatic benthic organisms. Overall, microplastics showed a moderate negative effect on the examined functional traits of benthic organisms. Our results show that some crucial functional traits, such as those linked to behaviour and feeding, appear to be unaffected by microplastics. In contrast, traits rela…
Combination of ozonation and photocatalysis for purification of aqueous effluents containing formic acid as probe pollutant and bromide ion
2014
The treatment by advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) of waters contaminated by organic pollutants and containing also innocuous bromide ions may generate bromate ions as a co-product. In the present work heterogeneous photocatalysis and ozonation have individually been applied and in combination (integrated process) to degrade the organic compounds in water containing also bromide anions. The results show that: i) the sole photocatalysis does not produce bromate ions and in the case of its presence, it is able to reduce bromate to innocuous bromide ions; ii) the integration of photocatalysis and ozonation synergistically enhances the oxidation capabilities; and iii) in the integrated proces…
Three-Dimensional Calibration for Routine Analyses of Bromide and Nitrate Ions as Indicators of Groundwater Quality in Coastal Territories
2019
Nitrate and bromide ions are generally considered indicators of anthropogenic pollution and seawater intrusion, respectively, in the groundwater of coastal territories. The analysis of these species is generally carried out with routine chromatographic analyses which generally afford partially merged or poorly resolved peaks. In the present paper a simple method for the correct evaluation of their concentration in water is reported. This method does not imply utilization of other instruments or technologies, only the mathematical elaboration of the data obtained from routine analysis of standard solutions containing the two species. Standard binary solutions of nitrate and bromide ions at d…
Status of hormones and painkillers in wastewater effluents across several European states-considerations for the EU watch list concerning estradiols …
2016
Present technologies for wastewater treatment do not sufficiently address the increasing pollution situation of receiving water bodies, especially with the growing use of personal care products and pharmaceuticals (PPCP) in the private household and health sector. The relevance of addressing this problem of organic pollutants was taken into account by the Directive 2013/39/EU that introduced (i) the quality evaluation of aquatic compartments, (ii) the polluter pays principle, (iii) the need for innovative and affordable wastewater treatment technologies, and (iv) the identification of pollution causes including a list of principal compounds to be monitored. In addition, a watch list of 10 o…
Recommendations for ecotoxicity testing with stygobiotic species in the framework of groundwater environmental risk assessment.
2019
As a consequence of the growing global dependence on groundwater resources, environmental risk assessments (ERA) for groundwater are increasingly required and, with that, ecotoxicological studies with groundwater fauna (stygofauna). However, the literature on the ecotoxicological studies with stygobiotic species (i.e. species that complete their life cycle exclusively in groundwater) has not expanded significantly since the first paper published in this field. The limitations regarding the use of stygobiotic species for ecotoxicological testing are clear and consistent across the globe; stygobiotic species are often 1) naturally present in low numbers, 2) difficult to collect, and 3) diffic…
Nile Red lifetime reveals microplastic identity
2020
Microplastic pollution is recognized as a worldwide environmental problem. The increasing daily use and release of plastics into the environment have led to the accumulation of fragmented microplastics, with potentially awful consequences for the environment, and animal and human health. The detection and identification of microplastics are of utmost importance, but available methods are still limited. In this work, a new approach is presented for the analysis of microplastics based on hydrophobic fluorescence staining with Nile Red, using spectrally resolved confocal fluorescence microscopy and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM). Significant differences were observed in the em…
Highly robust and selective system for water pollutants removal: How to transform a traditional photocatalyst into a highly robust and selective syst…
2019
Highly porous monolithic aerogels based on ZnO photocatalyst and syndiotactic polystyrene (s-PS) were obtained by supercritical CO2 treatment of ZnO/s-PS gels. The prepared aerogels were characterized and their photocatalytic activity was evaluated using phenol and toluene as water pollutant models. The s-PS nanoporous crystalline phase, able to absorb pollutant molecules, was proven to be necessary to ensure high photocatalytic efficiency as the aerogel acts not only as a support, but also as pollutant pre-concentrator. The reusability of ZnO/s-PS aerogels is also strong showing no decrease in photocatalytic activity after six consecutive degradation trials. Finally, the aerogel matrix pre…
Performance of membrane bioreactor (MBR) systems for the treatment of shipboard slops: Assessment of hydrocarbon biodegradation and biomass activity …
2015
In order to prevent hydrocarbon discharge at sea from ships, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) enacted the MARPOL 73/78 convention in which any oil and oil residue discharged in wastewater streams must contain less than 5. ppm hydrocarbons. Effective treatment of this petroleum-contaminated water is essential prior to its release into the environment, in order to prevent pollution problem for marine ecosystems as well as for human health. Therefore, two bench scale membrane bioreactors (MBRs) were investigated for hydrocarbon biodegradation. The two plants were initially fed with synthetic wastewater characterised by an increasing salinity, in order to enhance biomass acclimatio…