Engineered biochar composites with zeolite,silica, and nano-zerovalent iron for the efficient scavenging of chlortetracycline from aqueous solutions

Date palm waste–derived biochar (DBC) was produced through pyrolysis (600 °C) and modified with zeolite (Z-DBC), silica (S-DBC), or nano-zerovalent iron (nZVI-DBC) to design efficient sorbents. The pristine and engineered biochars were characterized by SEM, XRD, BET, TGA, CHNS-O, and FTIR to investigate the surface, structural, and mineralogical composition. The nZVI-DBC exhibited lowest pH (6.15) and highest surface area (220.92 m² g⁻¹), carbon (80.55%), nitrogen (3.78%), and hydrogen (11.09%) contents compared with other biochars. Isotherm sorption data for chlortetracycline (CTC) removal from aqueous solutions was described well by Langmuir and Redlich–Peterson isotherms showing the highest fitness (R² values in the range of 0.88–0.98 and 0.88–0.99, respectively). Langmuir predicted maximum CTC adsorption capacity was in order of nZVI-DBC (89.05 mg g⁻¹) > S-DBC (45.57 mg g⁻¹) > Z-DBC (30.42 mg g⁻¹) > DBC (28.19 mg g⁻¹). Kinetics adsorption data was best described by power function model (R² = 0.93–0.99), followed by interaparticle diffusion (R² = 0.85–0.96) model. The nZVI-DBC performed outclass by removing 98% of CTC, followed by S-DBC (68%), Z-DBC (35%), and DBC (36%). Chemisorption, H-bonding, and interaparticle diffusion were the operating mechanisms for CTC adsorption onto DBC, S-DBC, and Z-DBC, while π-π electron donor–accepter interactions and redox reactions augmented these mechanisms for highest CTC adsorption onto nZVI-DBC. Therefore, nZVI-DBC may serve as an efficient green technology for the removal of CTC from aqueous solutions and to reduce surface date palm waste pollution.

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Complexing agents for metal removal using ultrafiltration membranes: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Water pollution by human activities is major issue. In particular, toxic metals are of particular concern, thus calling for advanced methods to remove metals from...     

The financial development-environmental degradation nexus in the United Arab Emirates: the importance of growth,globalization and structural breaks

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This article revisits the nexus between financial development and environmental degradation by incorporating economic growth, electricity consumption...     

Barbecued desi chicken: an investigation on the impact of polluted milieu upon formation and ingestion of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in commercial versus laboratory barbecued organs along with stochastic cancer risk assessments in people from an industrial district of Punjab,Pakistan

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - 8∑PAHs in 2- and 4-month-old desi chicken organs collected from Faisalabad district, Punjab, Pakistan, were examined via high-performance liquid...     

A global prospective of environmental degradations: economy and finance

Finance plays a crucial role in a fast-growing economy that can lead to environmental degradation. The present study utilizes balanced panel data of 105 countries for the time span 1980–2016 to investigate empirical linkage among environmental degradations: economy and finance. It also unfolds the nonlinear impact of economy and finance on environmental degradation. Existing literature on environmental issues mainly focuses on individual case studies uncovering particular regions, but the comprehensive analysis is not available. To fill this gap, panels were classified into five divisions: global, regional, income-based, OECD-based, and carbon emission. The cross-sectional dependence test is applied to identify the degree of cross-sectional dependence among concerned 16 divisions. The second-generation panel models (CADF and Westerlund cointegration, DOLS, and DH heterogenous causality) are employed on a sample set to compute to unit root, cointegration, and long-run and short-run dynamics among concerned variables, respectively. The findings infer the inverted EKC and U-shaped EKC in 10 and 3 out of 16 divisions with respect to environmental degradation—economy nexus, respectively, while 8 and 2 out of 16 divisions indicate the inverted EKC and U-shaped EKC, respectively, in terms of environmental degradation—finance nexus. In 12 out of 16 divisions, the energy consumption uplifts the CO₂ emissions. The DH causality affirmed a bidirectional causality among economy, finance, and energy consumption, respectively.

     

Effects of anthropogenic nitrogen deposition on soil nitrogen mineralization and immobilization in grassland soil under semiarid climatic conditions

Earlier studies by the authors on English soils under grassland strongly supported their hypothesis that soil/plant systems have naturally evolved to conserve nitrogen (N) by having a close match between the dynamics of mineral-N production in soils and the dynamics of plant N requirements. Thus, maximum mineral-N production in soils occurred in spring when plant N requirements were greatest and were very low in mid to late summer. Low temperature and a high C:N ratio of senescing material helped to conserve N in winter, but mobile N was associated with pollution inputs. We test the hypothesis that under the much more arid conditions of Pakistan, soil/plant systems naturally have evolved to conserve mineral-N, especially over the very dry and cooler months between October and February. When soils from a grassland site were incubated at ambient temperatures after removal of plant roots and exclusion of atmospheric N inputs, there was consistent evidence of immobilization of nitrate and immobilization and possibly volatilization of ammonia/ammonium. In the wetter months of July and August, the soil at 0–10 cm depth showed no evidence of significant ammonium-N production in July and only small ammonium production at 10–20 cm depth in August, but was associated with significant nitrate-N immobilization in August. Nitrate leaching only appeared likely towards the end of the rainy season in September. The results strongly suggest that, under grass, the retention of atmospheric N inputs over the long dry periods is regulating the pools of available N in the soils, rather than the N produced by mineralization of soil organic matter.     

The mediating role of ICTs in the relationship between international tourism and environmental degradation: fit as a fiddle

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs) proposed 17 effective plans linked with three principal aims, i.e., eradicating poverty,...     

Correction to: Increasing water productivity,nitrogen economy,and grain yield of rice by water saving irrigation and fertilizer-N management

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The original publication of this paper contains a mistake.     

Human and ecological risk assessment of heavy metals in different particle sizes of road dust in Muscat,Oman

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Heavy metal contamination of Hg, As, Cu, Cr, Zn, and Pb was investigated in three different fractions 45, 125, and 200 μm of road dust...