Comprehensive review of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water sources, their effects and treatments

Abstract

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are principally derived from the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels. This study investigated the occurrence of PAHs in aquatic environments around the world, their effects on the environment and humans, and methods for their removal. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons have a great negative impact on the environment and humans, and can even cause cancer in humans. Use of good methods and equipment are essential to monitoring PAHs, and GC/MS and HPLC are usually used for their analysis in aqueous solutions. In aquatic environments, the PAHs concentrations range widely from 0.03 ng/L (seawater; Southeastern Japan Sea, Japan) to 8,310,000 ng/L (Domestic Wastewater Treatment Plant, Siloam, South Africa). Moreover, bioaccumulation of ∑16PAHs in fish has been reported to range from 11.2 ng/L (Cynoscion guatucupa, South Africa) to 4207.5 ng/L (Saurida undosquamis, Egypt). Several physical/chemical and biological techniques have been reported to treat water contaminated by PAHs, but adsorption and combined treatment methods have shown better removal performance, with some methods removing up to 99.99% of PAHs.

Development of a turn-on graphene quantum dot-based fluorescent probe for sensing of pyrene in water

“…The levels of pyrene in drinking water are reported to range between 14.3 Â 10 À12 -5.62 Â 10 À6 mol L À1 and between 94.4 Â 10 À12 -5.87 Â 10 À6 mol L À1 in river water. 7 The proposed sensor developed in this work, despite having a somewhat higher detection limit than other reported methods, uses GQDs of low toxicity for both pre-concentration and signal transduction…”

“…A number of comprehensive studies have documented the occurrence of PAHs in a variety of matrices, including water. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] The environmental monitoring of these compounds continues to be of importance due to their potential negative health effects, as some PAHs have been reported to be either carcinogenic or potentially carcinogenic. [8][9][10] The toxicity of a number of PAH compounds can further be enhanced upon their metabolism and photooxidation into derivative compounds.…”

Overview of ultraviolet‐based methods used in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons analysis and measurement

“…In the recent decades, following increasing of pharmaceuticals, pesticides and personal care products in high amounts of industrial activities, PAHs along with heavy Metals have been enter in many aquatic environments which they are released in to various water source . The most of PAHs are persist in water bodies and cause critical health problems and water environmental pollutions . According to Clar's rule , PAHs have a variable aromatic structure and the Clar structure of them is the resonance structure with the maximum number of isolated and localized aromatic π‐sextets and a minimum number of localized double bonds .…”

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in the Estuaries of Two Rivers of the Sea of Japan

“…They are widespread environmental pollutants due to the stability imparted by their lack of functional groups. Furthermore, some PAHs are carcinogenic and toxic as well as bioaccumulative in food chains [1][2][3]. Thus, PAH pollution has the potential to change the structure and dynamics of biological communities, creating environmental risks for ecosystems and subsequently for human well-being.…”