Succinate-bonded pullulan: An efficient and reusable super-sorbent for cadmium-uptake from spiked high-hardness groundwater

Chemically modified pullulan was evaluated for its sorption efficiency and selectivity to remove cadmium(Cd) from spiked high-hardness groundwater(GW). Pullulan esterified with succinic anhydride using dimethylaminopyridine showed a fairly high degree of substitution value as confirmed by1 H NMR spectroscopy. Pullulan succinate(Pull-Suc) was converted into the sodium salt(Pull-Suc-Na). The effect of contact time(5–200 min) and p H(2–8) on Cd-uptake by the sorbent(Pull-Suc-Na) was investigated. The sorbent showed more than 90% Cd-removal in first 15 min from distilled water(DW) and GW solution,respectively. Comparison of Pull-Suc-Na with other polysaccharidal sorbents suggested its high efficiency(DW 476.2 mg/g and GW 454.5 mg/g) and selectivity for the removal of Cd by an ion exchange mechanism, which is further supported by the negative Gibbs free energy values calculated from Langmuir isotherms. A Langmuir isotherm kinetic model provided the best fit for the sorption of Cd using Pull-Suc-Na. The sorbent showed a negligible decrease in Cd-uptake over three regeneration cycles. The thermal stability testing of the sorbents indicated that Pull-Suc-Na(sorbent) is more stable than Pull-Suc.     

Self-healing concrete for sustainable buildings. A review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - A total of 12 billion tons of concrete materials are produced annually, about 2 tons per person. More sustainable buildings are thus needed to decrease the carbon...     

Microalgae binary culture for higher biomass production,nutrients recycling,and efficient harvesting: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Microalgae are photosynthetic cell factories of global interest for fuels, food, feed, bioproducts, carbon sequestration, waste mitigation, and environmental...     

Assessment of cobalt in wheat grains as affected by diverse fertilizers: implications for public health

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Present study was conducted to check the heavy metal content in wheat treated with municipal solid waste, Although municipal solid waste was enriched...     

Anticancer properties of medicinal plants and their bioactive compounds against breast cancer: a review on recent investigations

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most common and recurring diseases and the second leading cause of death in women. Despite prevention, diagnostics,...     

Heavy metal tolerant endophytic fungi Aspergillus welwitschiae improves growth,ceasing metal uptake and strengthening antioxidant system in Glycine max L.

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In modern agricultural practice, heavy metal (HM) contamination is one of the main abiotic stress threatening sustainable agriculture, crop...     

Short-term dynamics and long-term relationship between natural gas consumption and economic growth in Nigeria: an ARDL approach with breaks

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This paper investigates the short-term dynamics as well as the long-term relationship between natural gas consumption and economic growth in Nigeria,...     

A comprehensive review of heavy metal pollution in the coastal areas of Bangladesh: abundance,bioaccumulation, health implications,and challenges

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The coastal zone of Bangladesh, with a population density of 1278 people per square kilometer, is under serious threat due to heavy metal pollution....     

Comparative low lethal effects of three insecticides on demographical traits and enzyme activity of the Spodoptera exigua (Hübner)

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Many species of devastating insect pests have acquired a high degree of resistance to insecticides in the field during the last few decades....     

Multifaceted role of natural sources for COVID-19 pandemic as marine drugs

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - COVID-19, which is caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has quickly spread over the world, posing a...