Enhancement of As(V) adsorption onto activated sludge by methylation treatment

Biosorption properties of arsenate [As(V)] onto activated sludge were investigated in batch systems. The adsorption of As(V) onto sludge increased from 23 to 266 μg/g dry weight through the methylation of the activated sludge. This increase resulted from neutralization of carboxylic groups via the methylation process. The pH effect of As(V) uptake was also investigated and As(V) adsorption by methylated sludge decreased significantly at high pH (pH > 11) due to competition between As(V) and OH⁻ ions for binding sites distributed on sludge surfaces. In contrast, low pH favored As(V) adsorption by methylated sludge because of the elevated quantities of positively charged functional groups. The results suggest that methylated activated sludge may provide promising applications for the simultaneous removal and separation of As(V) from aqueous effluents.     

Arsenic mineralization,source, distribution,and abundance in the Kutahya region of the western Anatolia,Turkey

Environmental exposure to arsenic (As) in the Kutahya region of the western Anatolia, Turkey has been reported to cause various types of arsenic-associated skin disorders (Dogan, Dogan, Celebi, & Baris, 2005). A geological and mineralogical study was conducted to find the sources and distribution of the As. Geogenic (background) levels were measured in samples collected from various sources in the Gediz, Simav, Tavsanli, Emet, Yoncali, Yenicekoy, and Muratdagi areas of the Kutahya region. Based on this analysis, we determined that natural sources are a domineering factor affecting the distribution of As, which was found: (1) mainly in evaporitic minerals, including colemanite (269–3900 ppm) and gypsum (11–99,999 ppm), but also in alunite (7–10 ppm) and chert (54–219 ppm); (2) in secondary epithermal gypsum, which has a high concentration of As in the form of realgar and orpiment along fracture zones of Mesozoic and Cenozoic carbonate aquifers; (3) in rocks, including limestone/dolomite (3–699 ppm) and travertine (5–4736 ppm), which are relatively more enriched in As than volcanics (2–14 ppm), probably because of secondary enrichment through hydrological systems; (4) in coal (1.9–46.5 ppm) in the sedimentary successions of the Tertiary basins; (5) in thermal waters, where As is unevenly distributed at concentrations varying from 0.0–0.9 mg/l. The highest As concentrations in thermal water (Gediz and Simav) correlate to the higher pH (7–9.3) and T (60–83°C) conditions and to the type of water (Na–HCO₃–SO₄ with high concentration of Ca, Mg, K, SiO₂, and Cl in the water). Changes in pH can be related to some redox reactions, such as the cation exchange reactions driving the dissolution of carbonates and silicates. Fe-oxidation, high pH values (7–9.3), presence of other trace metals (Ni, Co, Pb, Zn, Al), increased salinity (Na, Cl), high B, Li, F, and SiO, high Fe, SO₄ (magnetite, specularite-hematite, gypsum), and graphite, and the presence of U, Fe, Cu, Pb, Zn, and B, especially in the Emet, Gediz, and Simav areas, are the typical indicators for the geothermally affected water with high As content. A sixth source of As in this region is the ground (0.0–10.7 mg/l) and the surface waters (0.0022–0.01 mg/l), which are controlled by water–rock interaction, fracture system, and mixing/dilution of thermal waters. The high As concentration in groundwater corresponds to the areas where pathological changes are greatest in the habitants. Arsenic in ground water also effects ecology. For example, only Juriperus oxycedrus and J. varioxycedrus types of vegetation are observed in locations with the highest concentration of As in the region. Branches and roots of these plants are enriched in As.     

Combined pollution of arsenic and Polymyxin B enhanced arsenic toxicity and enriched ARG abundance in soil and earthworm gut microbiotas

Polymyxin B (PMB) is considered as the last line of antibiotic defense available to humans. The environmental effects of the combined pollution with PMB and heavy metals and their interaction mechanisms are unclear. We explored the effects of the combined pollution with PMB and arsenic (As) on the microbial composition of the soil and in the earthworm gut, as well as the spread and transmission of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). The results showed that, compared with As alone, the combined addition of PMB and As could significantly increase the bioaccumulation factor and toxicity of As in earthworm tissues by 12.1% and 16.0%, respectively. PMB treatment could significantly increase the abundance of Actinobacteria in the earthworm gut (from 35.6% to 45.2%), and As stress could significantly increase the abundance of Proteobacteria (from 19.8% to 56.9%). PMB and As stress both could significantly increase the abundance of ARGs and mobile genetic elements (MGEs), which were positively correlated, indicating that ARGs might be horizontally transferred. The inactivation of antibiotics was the main resistance mechanism that microbes use to resist PMB and As stress. Network analysis showed that PMB and As might have antagonistic effects through competition with multi-drug resistant ARGs. The combined pollution by PMB and As significantly promoted the relative abundance of microbes carrying multi-drug resistant ARGs and MGEs, thereby increasing the risk of transmission of ARGs. This research advances the understanding of the interaction mechanism between antibiotics and heavy metals and provides new theoretical guidance for the environmental risk assessment and combined pollution management.     

Simultaneous measurement of aqueous redox-sensitive elements and their species across the soil-water interface

The redox-sensitive elements, such as iron, manganese, sulfur, phosphorus, and arsenic, shift their speciation every millimeter (mm) across the soil-water interface in the flooded soil environments. Monitoring of element speciation at this high-resolution (HR) within the SWI is still difficult. The key challenge lies in obtaining sufficient porewater samples at specific locations along the soil gradient for downstream analysis. Here with an optimized inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) method and a HR porewater sampler, we demonstrate mm-scale element profiles mapping across the SWI in paddy soils. High-concentrations of iron and manganese (> 10 mg/L) were measured by ICP-MS in an extended dynamic range mode to avoid signal overflow. The iron profile along the SWI generated by the ICP-MS method showed no significant difference (p < 0.05) compared to that measured independently using a colorimetric method. Furthermore, four arsenic (arsenite, arsenate, monomethylarsonic and dimethylarsinic acid), two phosphorus (phosphite and phosphate) and two sulfur (sulfide and sulfate) species were separated in 10 min by ion chromatography -ICP-MS with the NH₄HCO₃ mobile phase. We verified the technique using paddy soils collected from the field, and present the mm-scale profiles of iron, manganese, and arsenic, phosphorus, sulfur species (relative standard deviation < 8%). The technique developed in this study will significantly promote the measurement throughput in limited samples (e.g. 100 μL) collected by HR samplers, which would greatly facilitate redox-sensitive elements biogeochemical cycling in saturated soils.     

Evaluation of natural goethite on the removal of arsenate and selenite from water

Elevated arsenic and selenium concentrations in water cause health problems to both humans and wildlife. Natural and anthropogenic activities have caused contamination of these elements in waters worldwide, making the development of efficient cost-effective methods in their removal essential. In this work, removal of arsenate and selenite from water by adsorption onto a natural goethite(α-FeO OH) sample was studied at varying conditions. The data was then compared with other arsenate, selenite/goethite adsorption systems as much of literature shows discrepancies due to varying adsorption conditions. Characterization of the goethite was completed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, Fouriertransform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area analysis. Pseudo-first order(PFO) and pseudo-second order(PSO) kinetic models were applied; including comparisons of different regression methods. Various adsorption isotherm models were applied to determine the best fitting model and to compare adsorption capacitates with other works. Desorption/leaching of arsenate and selenite was studied though the addition of phosphate and hydroxyl ions. Langmuir isotherm modeling resulted in maximum adsorption capacities of 6.204 and 7.740 mg/g for arsenate and selenite adsorption,respectively. The PSO model applied with a non-linear regression resulted in the best kinetic fits for both adsorption and desorption of arsenate and selenite. Adsorption decreased with increasing pH. Phosphate induced desorption resulted in the highest percentage of arsenate and selenite desorbed, while hydroxide induced resulted in the fastest desorption kinetics.     

A combined process coupling phytoremediation and in situ flushing for removal of arsenic in contaminated soil

Phytoremediation and soil washing are both potentially useful for remediating arsenic(As)-contaminated soils.We evaluated the effectiveness of a combined process coupling phytoremediation and in situ soil flushing for removal of As in contaminated soil through a pilot study.The results showed that growing Pteris vittata L.(P.v.) accompanied by soil flushing of phosphate(P.v./Flushing treatment) could significantly decrease the total As concentration of soil over a 37 day flushing period compared with the single flushing(Flushing treatment).The P.v./Flushing treatment removed 54.04% of soil As from contaminated soil compared to 47.16% in Flushing treatment,suggesting that the growth of P.vittata was beneficial for promoting the removal efficiency.We analyzed the As fractionation in soil and As concentration in soil solution to reveal the mechanism behind this combined process.Results showed that comparing with the control treatment,the percent of labile arsenate fraction significantly increased by 17% under P.v./Flushing treatment.As concentration in soil solution remained a high lever during the middle and later periods(51.26–56.22 mg/L),which was significantly higher than the Flushing treatment.Although soil flushing of phosphate for more than a month,P.vittata still had good accumulation and transfer capacity of As of the soil.The results of the research revealed that combination of phytoremediation and in situ soil flushing is available to remediate As-contaminated soils.     

Arsenic speciation in fish from Greek coastal areas

Arsenic speciation analysis was conducted on fish samples(sardine and anchovy) collected from six areas along the Greek coastline, i.e. Artemisium Straits, Thermaikos Gulf, Amvrakikos Gulf,Strymonian Gulf, Thracian Sea, and Elefsina Gulf. Total arsenic levels ranging from 11.8 to62.6 mg As/kg dry weight were determined. Arsenobetaine, a non-toxic form of arsenic, was found to be the main arsenic species, present at 8.6 to 58.8 mg As/kg dry weight, accounting for67–95% of the total arsenic. Also detected in all fish samples was dimethylarsinic acid, although at considerably lower concentrations, ranging from 0.072–0.956 mg As/kg dry weight.Monomethylarsonic acid was detected at low levels in all anchovy samples, and only in sardines from one area. Finally, inorganic arsenic in the form of arsenate was detected only in fish at one area, indicating the possible effect of an environmental parameter on its presence at detectable amounts. Statistical analysis revealed the environmental variables, such as salinity,total organic carbon and nitrogen, ammonium, phosphate, total phosphorus, dissolved oxygen and pressure index, are potentially correlated to As species concentrations. Furthermore, based on factor analysis, the biological parameters, such as fish weight, lipids, protein and ash content,that are correlated to As species concentrations of fish were also identified. The interrelationship of arsenobetaine and dimethylarsinic acid concentrations within each fish species was evaluated.     

Iron and aluminium based adsorption strategies for removing arsenic from water

Arsenic is a commonly occurring toxic metal in natural systems and is the root cause of many diseases and disorders. Occurrence of arsenic contaminated water is reported from several countries all over the world. A great deal of research over recent decades has been motivated by the requirement to lower the concentration of arsenic in drinking water and the need to develop low cost techniques which can be widely applied for arsenic removal from contaminated water. This review briefly presents iron and aluminium based adsorbents for arsenic removal. Studies carried out on oxidation of arsenic(III) to arsenic(V) employing various oxidising agents to facilitate arsenic removal are briefly mentioned. Effects of competing ions, As:Fe ratios, arsenic(V) vs. arsenic(III) removal using ferrihydrite as the adsorbent have been discussed. Recent efforts made for investigating arsenic adsorption on iron hydroxides/oxyhydroxides/oxides such as granular ferric hydroxide, goethite, akaganeite, magnetite and haematite have been reviewed. The adsorption behaviours of activated alumina, gibbsite, bauxite, activated bauxite, layered double hydroxides are discussed. Point-of-use adsorptive remediation methods indicate that Sono Arsenic filter and Kanchan™ Arsenic filter are in operation at various locations of Bangladesh and Nepal. The relative merits and demerits of such filters have been discussed. Evaluation of kits used for at-site arsenic estimation by various researchers also forms a part of this review.     

高效液相色谱-原子荧光光谱联用测定水中形态砷

采用高效液相色谱-氢化物发生-原子荧光光谱联用技术测定水中亚砷酸盐[As(Ⅲ)]、二甲基砷(DMA)、一甲基砷(MMA)和砷酸盐[As(V)]等4种形态砷,以磷酸盐缓冲溶液为流动相,硼氢化钾为还原剂,优化了仪器主要技术参数.As(Ⅲ)、DMA、MMA和As(V)在7 min内实现了良好的基线分离,在5.00 μg/L～...     

高原湖泊砷污染健康风险评估

以某高原湖泊为例,以湖水中的砷含量类比推算了从该湖泊取水灌溉区域内水稻和蔬菜的砷含量,对稻米、蔬菜和饮水3种暴露途径进行健康风险评估。结果表明,人群通过摄入区域内稻米、蔬菜的致癌风险系数为可接受的致癌风险,饮用湖水的致癌风险系数为不可接受的致癌风险。