Alternative amendment for soluble phosphorus removal from poultry litter

Background, aim, and scope  

Alum (aluminum sulfate) is the currently preferred chemical amendment for phosphorus (P) treatment in poultry litter (PL). Aluminum-based drinking-water treatment residuals (Al-WTRs) are the waste by-product of the drinking-water treatment process and have been effectively used to remove P from aqueous solutions, but their effectiveness in PL water extracts has not been studied in detail. Elevated cost associated with alum could be minimized by using the equally effective WTRs to remove soluble P from PL, and they can be obtained at a minimal cost from drinking-water treatment plants.     

Environmental prevalence,fate, impacts,and mitigation of microplastics—a critical review on present understanding and future research scope

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Microplastics are considered to be ubiquitous and widespread emerging contaminants. They are persistent in the nature and pose considerable harm to...     

Sediment fluxes and the littoral drift along northeast Andhra Pradesh Coast, India: estimation by remote sensing

The littoral drift regime along the northeastern coast of India was investigated by analyzing coastal drift indicators and shoreline changes based on multitemporal satellite images. The study of offshore turbidity patterns and quantitative estimation of suspended sediments was undertaken to understand the magnitude and direction of movement of sediment fluxes. The study revealed that: (1) the character of coastal landforms and sedimentation processes indicate that the sediment transport is bidirectional and monsoon dependent; (2) multidate, multitemporal analysis of satellite images helps to show the nature of sediment transport along the coast. The dominant net sediment transport is in a NE direction along the eastern coast of India. Finally, this assessment demonstrates the potential of remote sensing technology in understanding the coastal morphometric changes, long-term sediment transport, shoreline changes, and offshore turbidity distribution pattern and the implications for the transport of sediment-associated pollutants.     

Determination of hierarchical relationships among sustainable development goals using interpretive structural modeling

This paper analyses the complex interactions among the seventeen sustainable development goals (SDGs) and presents them in a hierarchical framework using interpretive structural modeling technique. The driving and dependence powers of each of these goals have been ascertained to help the developing and least developed countries improve their strategic orientation for a particular goal within a given time frame. This would also help them in prioritizing their resource allocations on a specific SDG by focusing on its hierarchical ranking on one hand and driving and dependence powers on the other.     

Radioactivity in trinitite six decades later

The first nuclear explosion test, named the Trinity test, was conducted on July 16, 1945 near Alamogordo, New Mexico. In the tremendous heat of the explosion, the radioactive debris fused with the local soil into a glassy material named Trinitite. Selected Trinitite samples from ground zero (GZ) of the test site were investigated in detail for radioactivity. The techniques used included alpha spectrometry, high-efficiency gamma-ray spectrometry, and low-background beta counting, following the radiochemistry for selected radionuclides. Specific activities were determined for fission products (90Sr, 137Cs), activation products (60Co, 133Ba, 152Eu, 154Eu, 238Pu, 241Pu), and the remnants of the nuclear fuel (239Pu, 240Pu). Additionally, specific activities of three natural radionuclides (40K, 232Th, 238U) and their progeny were measured. The determined specific activities of radionuclides and their relationships are interpreted in the context of the fission process, chemical behavior of the elements, as well as the nuclear explosion phenomenology.     

Fate of arsenic in swine waste from concentrated animal feeding operations

Swine diets are often supplemented by organoarsenicals, such as 3-nitro-4-hydroxyphenylarsonic acid (roxarsone) to treat animal diseases and promote growth. Recent work reported roxarsone degradation under anaerobic conditions in poultry litter, but no such data exist for swine wastes typically stored in lagoons nearby concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). The objectives of this study were to: (i) characterize a suite of swine wastes collected from 19 randomly selected CAFOs for soluble arsenate [As(V)], arsenite [As(III)], dimethylarsenic acid (DMA), monomethylarsonic acid (MMA), 3-amino-4-hydroxyphenylarsonic acid (3-HPPA), p-arsanilic acid, and roxarsone, and (ii) determine the geochemical fate of roxarsone in storage lagoons nearby CAFOs. Swine waste suspensions were spiked with roxarsone and incubated under dark/light and aerobic/anaerobic conditions to monitor roxarsone degradation kinetics. Arsenic speciation analysis using liquid chromatography and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LC-ICPMS) illustrated the prevalence of As(V) in swine waste suspensions. Roxarsone underwent degradation to either organoarsenicals (3-HPPA) or As(V) and a number of unidentified metabolites. Roxarsone degradation occurred under anaerobic conditions for suspensions low in solids content, but suspensions higher in solids content facilitated roxarsone degradation under both anaerobic and aerobic conditions. Increased solids content enhanced roxarsone degradation kinetics under aerobic conditions. According to current waste storage and sampling practices, arsenic in swine wastes stored in lagoons has been overlooked as a possible environmental health issue.     

Radionuclide and chemical concentrations in mineral waters at Saratoga Springs, New York

A project to characterize the radionuclide and chemical components in natural spring waters in the vicinity of Saratoga Springs, New York (USA) has been completed. As a result of the measured radionuclide and chemical content, eight springs were labeled as mineral waters, whereas three springs contained very low concentrations of these components. The mineral waters were highly enriched in alkaline and alkaline-earth elements, as well as chloride ions. Three isotopes of radium ((224)Ra, (226)Ra, (228)Ra) were detected in the mineral waters and reached concentrations of 1, 20, and 2 Bq/L, respectively. Overall, the (226)Ra isotope constituted about 80% of the total radioactivity measured in the water samples. Dissolved uranium concentrations in the mineral waters were very low (mean approximately 50 mBq/L).     

Occurrences and fate of selected human antibiotics in influents and effluents of sewage treatment plant and effluent-receiving river Yamuna in Delhi (India)

Antibiotics consumption has increased worldwide, and their residues are frequently reported in aquatic environments. It is believed that antibiotics reach aquatic water bodies through sewage. Medicine consumed for healthcare practices are often released into sewage, and after sewage treatment plant, it reaches the receiving water bodies of lakes or rivers. In the present study, we determined the fate of some commonly used antibiotics in a sewage treatment plant (STP) located in Delhi and the environmental concentration of these antibiotics in the Yamuna River, which receives the sewage and industrial effluent of Delhi. There are many reports on antibiotics occurrences in STP and river water worldwide, but monitoring data from the Indian subcontinent is sparse. Samples were taken from a STP and from six sampling sites on the Yamuna River. Several antibiotics were tested for using offline solid-phase extraction followed by high-performance liquid chromatography equipped with photodiode array analysis. Recoveries varied from 25.5–108.8 %. Ampicillin had the maximum concentration in wastewater influents (104.2?±?98.11 μg l^?1) and effluents (12.68?±?8.38 μg l^?1). The fluoroquinolones and cephalosporins had the lower concentrations. Treatment efficiencies varied between 55 and 99 %. Significant amounts of antibiotics were discharged in effluents and were detected in the receiving water body. The concentration of antibiotics in the Yamuna River varied from not detected to 13.75 μg l^?1 (ampicillin) for the compounds investigated.     

Antimony sorption at gibbsite-water interface

Antimony (Sb) is extensively used in flame retardants, lead-acid batteries, solder, cable coverings, ammunition, fireworks, ceramic and porcelain glazes and semiconductors. However, the geochemical fate of antimony (Sb) remained largely unexplored. Among the different Sb species, Sb (V) is the dominant form in the soil environment in a very wide redox range. Although earlier studies have examined the fate of Sb in the presence of iron oxides such as goethite and hematite, few studies till date reported the interaction of Sb (V) with gibbsite, a common soil Al-oxide mineral. The objective of this study was to understand the sorption behavior of Sb (V) on gibbsite as a function of various solution properties such as pH, ionic strength (I), and initial Sb concentrations, and to interpret the sorption-edge data using a surface complexation model. A batch sorption study with 20 g L⁻¹ gibbsite was conducted using initial Sb concentrations range of 2.03-16.43 μM, pH values between 2 and 10, and ionic strengths (I) between 0.001 and 0.1 M. The results suggest that Sb (V) sorbs strongly to the gibbsite surface, possibly via inner-sphere type mechanism with the formation of a binuclear monodentate surface complex. Weak I effect was noticed in sorption-edge data or in the isotherm data at a low surface coverage. Sorption of Sb (V) on gibbsite was highest in the pH range of 2-4, and negligible at pH 10. Our results suggest that gibbsite will likely play an important role in immobilizing Sb (V) in the soil environment.