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Special Issue "Environmental Pollution: Advances in Analysis of Emerging Pollutants and Their Removal Methods"

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A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 July 2023 | Viewed by 2389

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Prof. Dr. Maris Klavins

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Head of Environmental Science Department, Faculty of Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Latvia, Raina bulv. 19, LV 1586 Riga, Latvia
Interests: environmental pollution analysis methods; emerging pollutants; remediation of contaminated environment; element speciation; toxicology of environmental pollution
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Dear Colleagues,

Emerging pollutants can be considered as one of the key environmental problems requiring a lot of research, to identify their sources, and their impacts on humans and ecosystems as well as develop technologies for their release prevention and removal. As priority groups of emerging pollutants can be considered pharmaceuticals and substances used in animal care, several groups of fluorinated compounds, microplastics and nanoplastics, nanomaterials and other substances and materials. However, the first and most important step is elaboration of reliable analytical methods, to support further activities aimed at their removal, considering removal from waste streams as well as considering removal from contaminated environments.

Prof. Dr. Maris Klavins
Guest Editor

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Keywords

emerging pollutants
microplastics
pharmaceuticals
analytical methods
sorbents
wastewater treatment
pollutant remediation

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

Open AccessArticle

The Comprehensive Reduction Capacity of Five Riparian Vegetation Buffer Strips for Primary Pollutants in Surface Runoff

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Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(6), 3898; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13063898 - 19 Mar 2023

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Abstract

Most studies on the effects of plants on reducing pollutants in surface runoff focus on the elimination of a single pollutant by a single plant species. We take into account the fact that natural riparian herbaceous vegetation buffer strips remove multiple pollutants at the same time, and vegetation species need to be selected according to actual conditions. In an indoor simulation, processed soil samples were taken, and collected rainwater was used to prepare standard solutions for simulating surface runoff, which includes five primary water pollutants: total suspended solids (TSS), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), ammonia nitrogen (NH₃-N), and chemical oxygen demand (COD). Pollutant concentrations were measured after the experiments. We found that the reduction capacity of vegetation buffer strips differs due to the differentiation of biological structure and growth characteristics. Dichondra repens Forst and Cynodon dactylon (Linn.) Pers had high biomass, and their vegetation was creeping on the ground with well-developed roots, showing a strong comprehensive ability to reduce pollutants. The comprehensive reduction capability of five vegetation buffer strips for pollutants is ranked as follows: Dichondra repens Forst > Cynodon dactylon (Linn.) Pers > Zoysia matrella > Festuca elata Keng ex E. Alexeev > Lolium perenne. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Pollution: Advances in Analysis of Emerging Pollutants and Their Removal Methods)

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Open AccessArticle

Natural Gas Flaring Management System: A Novel Tool for Sustainable Gas Flaring Reduction in Nigeria

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Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(3), 1866; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13031866 - 31 Jan 2023

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Abstract

The use of hydrocarbon fuels increases with population growth and rising standards of living, and so does natural gas flaring. Natural gas flaring is both a waste of natural resources and a violation of Nigeria’s energy policy for sustainable development through natural gas conservation. However, it remains the most cost-efficient and effective associated natural gas (ANG) management option in developing countries such as Nigeria. The World Bank’s initiative to eliminate routine gas flaring by 2030 has increased the need to limit or eliminate routine gas flaring. Often, studies on natural gas utilisation techniques fail to consider the lack of practical tools that integrate economic, technical, and regulatory factors into a gas flaring management framework, and the intricacies of existing tools, which often come at the expense of simplicity to achieve real-time information output. This paper aims to establish a framework and ANG management tool to reduce regular gas flaring in Nigeria. This research established a management framework (using a flowchart decision tree) and models to provide a user-friendly ANG flaring tool (using a MATLAB graphical front end user interface with back-end ASPEN HYSYS thermodynamic models). This was combined with techno-economic models for liquefied natural gas, gas-to-methanol, and gas-to-wire ANG utilisation options. The tool was then tested with data obtained from Fields Y and X in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The results, considering both economic and technical factors, showed that the choice of liquefied natural gas for Field Y was best due to its proximity to the pipeline infrastructure and its cost-effectiveness, and the availability of a high-demand LNG market for that area. For Field X, gas-to-wire was best due to its proximity to the electrical grid and high electricity requirements for that area. Additional geographical profiles in West Africa and ANG utilisation alternatives were recommended for further investigation. This paper developed and validated a one-of-a-kind ANG flaring management tool that incorporates techno-economic analysis of selected ANG utilisation options to assist operators and investors in making more profitable investment decisions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Pollution: Advances in Analysis of Emerging Pollutants and Their Removal Methods)

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Open AccessArticle

Antibiotics in Groundwater and River Water of Białka—A Pristine Mountain River

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Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(24), 12743; https://doi.org/10.3390/app122412743 - 12 Dec 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 729

Abstract

Antibiotics are emerging pollutants of great concern, due to detrimental effects of their sublethal concentrations on microbial communities. Monitoring of antibiotics’ presence and concentrations in the aquatic environment is of fundamental importance to the management of water resources. This study was aimed at filling the knowledge gap in terms of presence and concentration of antibiotics in surface water and groundwater in one of the mountain regions in southern Poland. The detailed aims included the assessment of whether there are spatial and/or temporal trends in antibiotic occurrence in water and the investigation of causes behind the changes in antibiotic concentrations. The study was conducted in seven sites (two groundwater and five river water) along the Białka river valley. Antibiotics were subjected to solid-phase extraction, followed by UHPLC/MS detection. Clindamycin, erythromycin, ofloxacin and trimethoprim were the most frequently detected, while the highest concentrations were observed for oxytetracycline and clindamycin. No antibiotics were detected in only one of the groundwater sites. Sewage treatment plant effluent was the hotspot of antibiotic contamination of the river downstream. The detection rates of antibiotics in the examined region seem to be driven mainly by the stability of antibiotics in the environment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Pollution: Advances in Analysis of Emerging Pollutants and Their Removal Methods)

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