Accurate Removal of Toxic Organic Pollutants from Complex Water Matrices

Abstract

Characteristic emerging pollutants at low concentration have raised much attention for causing a bottleneck in water remediation, especially in complex water matrices where high concentration of interferents coexist. In the future, tailored treatment methods are therefore of increasing significance for accurate removal of target pollutants in different water matrices. This critical review focuses on the overall strategies for accurately removing highly toxic emerging pollutants in the presence of typical interferents. The main difficulties hindering the improvement of selectivity in complex matrices are analyzed, implying that it is difficult to adopt a universal approach for multiple targets and water substrates. Selective methods based on assorted principles are proposed aiming to improve the anti-interference ability. Thus, typical approaches and fundamentals to achieve selectivity are subsequently summarized including their mechanism, superiority and inferior position, application scope, improvement method and the bottlenecks. The results show that different methods may be applicable to certain conditions and target pollutants. To better understand the mechanism of each selective method and further select the appropriate method, advanced methods for qualitative and quantitative characterization of selectivity are presented. The processes of adsorption, interaction, electron transfer, and bond breaking are discussed. Some comparable selective quantitative methods are helpful for promoting the development of related fields. The research framework of selectivity removal and its fundamentals are established. Presently, although continuous advances and remarkable achievements have been attained in the selective removal of characteristic organic pollutants, there are still various substantial challenges and opportunities. It is hopeful to inspire the researches on the new generation of water and wastewater treatment technology, which can selectively and preferentially treat characteristic pollutants, and establish a reliable research framework to lead the direction of environmental science.

Economical and Sustainable Synthesis of Small-Pore Chabazite Catalysts for NOx Abatement by Recycling Organic Structure-Directing Agents

“…In step 3B, the OSDA concentration or pH value of the waste liquid was adjusted by supplementing TMAdaOH or NaOH solution, respectively, resulting in H-SSZ-13-R2­(O) or Na-SSZ-13-R2­(I) as the zeolite products. Cu ions were exchanged into the H-SSZ-13-R0, H-SSZ-13-R1, and H-SSZ-13-R2 zeolites via a method described in our previous studies, leading to Cu-SSZ-13 catalysts denoted as Cu-SSZ-13-R0, Cu-SSZ-13-R1, and Cu-SSZ-13-R2, respectively. Hydrothermal aging of the Cu-SSZ-13 catalysts was conducted in a furnace (Anhui Kemi Machinery Technology) at 750 °C for 20 h in a gas mixture of 10 vol % H 2 O and 20 vol % O 2 (N 2 as balance; 100 mL/min in total), and the resulting samples were labeled as Cu-SSZ-13-R0-HTA and Cu-SSZ-13-R1-HTA, respectively.…”

“…Zeolites, a class of crystalline solid materials with regular microporous frameworks, are widely used in various environmental processes ranging from the adsorptive removal of heavy metal ions and organic pollutants in aqueous media, the catalytic abatement of gaseous emissions in automotive exhausts, to the capture and conversion of greenhouse gases (e.g., CO 2 and CH 4 ). − The synthesis of zeolites, however, often needs tedious hydrothermal crystallization processes using expensive organic structure-directing agents (OSDAs), most commonly organic amines, as templates, − which are normally added in an excess amount to ensure a high zeolite yield. − As a typical example, the small-pore chabazite (CHA) zeolite SSZ-13, which is being utilized as the state-of-the-art catalyst (after introducing Cu ions into the zeolite framework) in diesel exhaust after-treatment systems to eliminate the harmful nitrogen oxides (NO x ) and in the selective methane-to-methanol oxidation, ,, is synthesized using the high-cost N , N , N -trimethyl-1-ammonium adamantine hydroxide (TMAdaOH) as OSDA. After collection and separation of zeolite products, the unreacted OSDAs are discharged as organic pollutants in the wastewater, which not only leads to a waste of the high-value OSDA materials but also requires additional costs for wastewater treatment.…”

Assessment of Pesticide Toxicity in Selected Pakistani Fruits

“…Aquatic plants cannot photosynthesize when there is an increased concentration of colourful chemicals in the effluent combined with surface water. Additionally, it has an impact on both human and animal health as well as the fertility of agricultural soil (Cai et al, 2022). Water shortages are caused by physicochemical changes in surface and subterranean water quality brought on by textile waste (Teo et al, 2022).…”

Unveiling Spin State‐Dependent Micropollutant Removal using Single‐Atom Covalent Triazine Framework

“…Because of the excessive consumption of synthetic and natural chemicals in our daily lives, emerging organic pollutants (EOPs), such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products, enter aquatic ecosystems through various pathways. [1,2] Although EOPs detected in natural water are only in the ng L −1 or µg L −1 range, [3] these EOPs could be amplified through bioaccumulation in organism tissues, posing a potential risk to the environment and human health. [4,5] Owing to the low concentration, [6] high chemical stability, [7] and poor biodegradability of EOPs, [8] the existing municipal wastewater treatment systems are ineffective in removing them.…”