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2 pages, 164 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Nature-Based Solutions for the Mitigation of Persistent and Emerging Contaminants

by Pedro N. Carvalho and Victor Matamoros

Water 2022, 14(13), 2105; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14132105 - 1 Jul 2022

Viewed by 1832

Abstract

The Special Issue “Nature-Based Solutions for the Mitigation of Persistent and Emerging Contaminants” comprises seven papers, of which one is a review and six are full-research articles submitted by a diverse group of international colleagues [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature-Based Solutions for the Mitigation of Persistent and Emerging Contaminants)

Research

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14 pages, 2129 KiB

Open AccessArticle

HCH Removal in a Biochar-Amended Biofilter

by Aday Amirbekov, Aigerim Mamirova, Alena Sevcu, Roman Spanek and Pavel Hrabak

Water 2021, 13(23), 3396; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13233396 - 1 Dec 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2604

Abstract

This study evaluated the efficiency of two biofilter systems, with and without biochar chambers installed, at degrading and removing HCH and its isomers in natural drainage water. The biochar biofilter proved to be 96% efficient at cleaning HCH and its transformation products from [...] Read more.

This study evaluated the efficiency of two biofilter systems, with and without biochar chambers installed, at degrading and removing HCH and its isomers in natural drainage water. The biochar biofilter proved to be 96% efficient at cleaning HCH and its transformation products from drainage water, a significant improvement over classic biofilter that remove, on average, 68% of HCH. Although iron- and sulfur-oxidizing bacteria, such as Gallionella and Sulfuricurvum, were dominant in the biochar bed outflows, they were absent in sediments, which were rich in Simplicispira, Rhodoluna, Rhodoferax, and Flavobacterium. The presence of functional genes involved in the biodegradation of HCH isomers and their byproducts was confirmed in both systems. The high effectiveness of the biochar biofilter displayed in this study should further encourage the use of biochar in water treatment solutions, e.g., for temporary water purification installations during the construction of other long-term wastewater treatment technologies, or even as final solutions at contaminated sites. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature-Based Solutions for the Mitigation of Persistent and Emerging Contaminants)

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18 pages, 6916 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Biomat Resilience to Desiccation and Flooding Within a Shallow, Unit Process Open Water Engineered Wetland

by Adam R. Brady, Michael A. Vega, Kimberly N. Riddle, Henry F. Peel, Evelyn J. Lundeen, Julia G. Siegmund and Jonathan O. Sharp

Water 2021, 13(6), 815; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13060815 - 16 Mar 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2808

Abstract

Projections of increased hydrological extremes due to climate change heighten the need to understand and improve the resilience of our water infrastructure. While constructed natural treatment analogs, such as raingardens, wetlands, and aquifer recharge, hold intuitive promise for variable flows, the impacts of [...] Read more.

Projections of increased hydrological extremes due to climate change heighten the need to understand and improve the resilience of our water infrastructure. While constructed natural treatment analogs, such as raingardens, wetlands, and aquifer recharge, hold intuitive promise for variable flows, the impacts of disruption on water treatment processes and outcomes are not well understood and limit widespread adoption. To this end, we studied the impact of desiccation and flooding extremes on demonstration-scale shallow, unit process open water (UPOW) wetlands designed for water treatment. System resilience was evaluated as a function of physical characteristics, nitrate removal, photosynthetic activity, and microbial ecology. Rehydrated biomat that had been naturally desiccated re-established nitrate removal consistent with undisrupted biomat in less than a week; however, a pulse of organic carbon and nitrogen accompanied the initial rehydration phase. Conversely, sediment intrusion due to flooding had a negative impact on the biomat’s photosynthetic activity and decreased nitrate attenuation rates by nearly 50%. Based upon past mechanistic inferences, attenuation potential for trace organics is anticipated to follow similar trends as nitrate removal. While the microbial community was significantly altered in both extremes, our results collectively suggest that UPOW wetlands have potential for seasonal or intermittent use due to their promise of rapid re-establishment after rehydration. Flooding extremes and associated sediment intrusion provide a greater barrier to system resilience indicating a need for proactive designs to prevent this outcome; however, residual treatment potential after disruption could provide operators with time to triage and manage the system should a flood occur again. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature-Based Solutions for the Mitigation of Persistent and Emerging Contaminants)

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11 pages, 3584 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Influences of Dimethyl Phthalate on Bacterial Community and Enzyme Activity in Vertical Flow Constructed Wetland

by QiaoLing Xu, ShaoYong Lu, Tao Yuan, Feng Zhang, Li Wang, Ping Wang, XueYuan Wen and LiHua Cui

Water 2021, 13(6), 788; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13060788 - 14 Mar 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2036

Abstract

Dimethyl phthalate (DMP), belonging to the family of Phthalate esters (PAEs), is a plasticizer and has been widely used in the world for many years. Nowadays, it has become a ubiquitous environmental pollutant and is listed as an environmental priority pollutant by China’s [...] Read more.

Dimethyl phthalate (DMP), belonging to the family of Phthalate esters (PAEs), is a plasticizer and has been widely used in the world for many years. Nowadays, it has become a ubiquitous environmental pollutant and is listed as an environmental priority pollutant by China’s Environmental Monitoring Center. The purpose of this study is to estimate the responses of the bacterial community and enzyme activity to DMP contamination in three vertical flow constructed wetlands (VFCW), namely the constructed wetland A (planted with Pennisetum sinese Roxb), constructed wetland B (planted with Pennisetum purpureum Schum.), and constructed wetland C (unplanted), respectively. The results showed that the relative percentages of some genera associated with nitrogen metabolism and the function of degrading aromatic hydrocarbons were increased by DMP contamination, such as Dechloromonas agitata, Pleomorphomonas sp., Denitratisoma oestradiolicum, Plasticicumulans lactativorans, Novosphingobium sp., Alicycliphilus denitrificans, and Thauera sp. Meanwhile, principal coordinate analysis (PCA) analysis showed that the addition of DMP divided 12 samples into two groups as followed: one was the DMP group containing a-1, a-2, b-1, b-2, c-1 and c-2 while the other was no DMP group including A-1, A-2, B-1, B-2, C-1 and C-2. It indicated that DMP was the main reason for this change. In addition, by monitoring the activity of substrate enzymes, the activity of urease, phosphatase, catalase, and invertase in the wetlands before and after the experiment, these were significantly higher in the upper layer than in the lower layer and maintained high activity. Ultimately, the average influent concentration of DMP in three VFCWs was 8.12 mg/L and the average removal efficiency of the effluent was over 90%. Our results suggested that DMP was an important factor affecting the microbial community structure of wetland and the upper layer of the VFCW was the main site for the degradation of DMP. VFCW has great potential for the removal of the high concentration of DMP and it can be a good choice for the treatment of PAEs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature-Based Solutions for the Mitigation of Persistent and Emerging Contaminants)

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28 pages, 47792 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Alkylphenols and Chlorophenols Remediation in Vertical Flow Constructed Wetlands: Removal Efficiency and Microbial Community Response

by Inês P. F. M. Montenegro, Ana P. Mucha, Maria Paola Tomasino, Carlos Rocha Gomes and Cristina Marisa R. Almeida

Water 2021, 13(5), 715; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13050715 - 6 Mar 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2806

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the effect of two different groups of phenolic compounds (the alkylphenols nonylphenol (NP) and octylphenol (OP), and the chlorophenol pentachlorophenol (PCP)) on constructed wetlands (CWs) performance, including on organic matter, nutrients and contaminants removal efficiency, and on microbial [...] Read more.

This study aims to investigate the effect of two different groups of phenolic compounds (the alkylphenols nonylphenol (NP) and octylphenol (OP), and the chlorophenol pentachlorophenol (PCP)) on constructed wetlands (CWs) performance, including on organic matter, nutrients and contaminants removal efficiency, and on microbial community structure in the plant bed substrate. CWs were assembled at lab scale simulating a vertical flow configuration and irrigated along eight weeks with Ribeira de Joane (an urban stream) water not doped (control) or doped with a mixture of NP and OP or with PCP (at a 100 μg·L⁻¹ concentration each). The presence of the phenolic contaminants did not interfere in the removal of organic matter or nutrients in CWs in the long term. Removals of NP and OP were >99%, whereas PCP removals varied between 87% and 98%, mainly due to biodegradation. Microbial richness, diversity and dominance in CWs substrate were generally not affected by phenolic compounds, with only PCP decreasing diversity. Microbial community structure, however, showed that there was an adaptation of the microbial community to the presence of each contaminant, with several specialist genera being enriched following exposure. The three more abundant specialist genera were Methylotenera and Methylophilus (methylophilaceae family) and Hyphomicrobium (hyphomicrobiaceae family) when the systems were exposed to a mixture of NP and OP. When exposed to PCP, the three more abundant genera were Denitromonas (Rhodocyclaceae family), Xenococcus_PCC_7305 (Xenococcaceae family) and Rhodocyclaceae_uncultured (Rhodocyclaceae family). To increase CWs efficiency in the elimination of phenolic compounds, namely PCP which was not totally removed, strategies to stimulate (namely biostimulation) or increase (namely bioaugmentation) the presence of these bacteria should be explore. This study clearly shows the potential of vertical flow CWs for the removal of phenolic compounds, a still little explored subject, contributing to promote the use of CWs as nature-based solutions to remediate water contaminated with different families of persistent and/or emergent contaminants. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature-Based Solutions for the Mitigation of Persistent and Emerging Contaminants)

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18 pages, 2756 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Resilience of Micropollutant and Biological Effect Removal in an Aerated Horizontal Flow Treatment Wetland

by Nadine A. Sossalla, Jaime Nivala, Beate I. Escher, Thorsten Reemtsma, Rita Schlichting, Manfred van Afferden and Roland A. Müller

Water 2020, 12(11), 3050; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12113050 - 30 Oct 2020

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2346

Abstract

The performance of an aerated horizontal subsurface flow treatment wetland was investigated before, during and after a simulated aeration failure. Conventional wastewater parameters (e.g., carbonaceous biological oxygen demand, total nitrogen, and Escherichia coli) as well as selected micropollutants (caffeine, ibuprofen, naproxen, benzotriazole, [...] Read more.

The performance of an aerated horizontal subsurface flow treatment wetland was investigated before, during and after a simulated aeration failure. Conventional wastewater parameters (e.g., carbonaceous biological oxygen demand, total nitrogen, and Escherichia coli) as well as selected micropollutants (caffeine, ibuprofen, naproxen, benzotriazole, diclofenac, acesulfame, and carbamazepine) were investigated. Furthermore, the removal of biological effects was investigated using in vitro bioassays. The six bioassays selected covered environmentally relevant endpoints (indicative of activation of aryl hydrocarbon receptor, AhR; binding to the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma, PPARγ; activation of estrogen receptor alpha, ERα; activation of glucocorticoid receptor, GR; oxidative stress response, AREc32; combined algae test, CAT). During the aeration interruption phase, the water quality deteriorated to a degree comparable to that of a conventional (non-aerated) horizontal subsurface flow wetland. After the end of the aeration interruption, the analytical and biological parameters investigated recovered at different time periods until their initial treatment performance. Treatment efficacy for conventional parameters was recovered within a few days, but no complete recovery of treatment efficacy could be observed for bioassays AhR, AREc32 and CAT in the 21 days following re-start of the aeration system. Furthermore, the removal efficacy along the flow path for most of the chemicals and bioassays recovered as it was observed in the baseline phase. Only for the activation of AhR and AREc32 there was a shift of the internal treatment profile from 12.5% to 25% (AhR) and 50% (AREc32) of the fractional length. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature-Based Solutions for the Mitigation of Persistent and Emerging Contaminants)

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10 pages, 1269 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Capacity of Two Ornamental Species (Iris sibirica and Zantedeschia aethiopica) to Take up, Translocate, and Accumulate Carbamazepine under Hydroponic Conditions

by Allan Tejeda and Florentina Zurita

Water 2020, 12(5), 1272; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12051272 - 30 Apr 2020

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2480

Abstract

Iris sibirica and Zantedeschia aethiopica are ornamental species that have previously been used in pilot-scale treatment wetlands (TWs) focused on the removal of carbamazepine (CBZ), in which good results were obtained; however, the plant influence was not completely determined. In addition, plant uptake [...] Read more.

Iris sibirica and Zantedeschia aethiopica are ornamental species that have previously been used in pilot-scale treatment wetlands (TWs) focused on the removal of carbamazepine (CBZ), in which good results were obtained; however, the plant influence was not completely determined. In addition, plant uptake has been reported to play a crucial role in CBZ removal in comparison to other mechanisms. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the capacity of I. sibirica and Z. aethiopica to take up, translocate, and accumulate CBZ in hydroponic conditions using a nutrient solution spiked with the drug. The maximum CBZ tolerance threshold for the two species was found to be 10 mg/L, which was used to carry out the uptake experiments. The results showed a better performance of I. sibirica compared to Z. aethiopica reaching 31.1% and 20.9% of removal efficiency, respectively. The parent compound accumulated mainly on the leaves of both species. Furthermore, a high proportion of the CBZ taken up by the plants (up to 70%) was metabolized by both species. The performance of the two species suggests the importance of plant harvesting in TWs in order to promote CBZ removal and indicates the need for future works. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature-Based Solutions for the Mitigation of Persistent and Emerging Contaminants)

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Review

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25 pages, 2160 KiB

Open AccessReview

A Literature Review of Wetland Treatment Systems Used to Treat Runoff Mixtures Containing Antibiotics and Pesticides from Urban and Agricultural Landscapes

by Emily R. Nottingham and Tiffany L. Messer

Water 2021, 13(24), 3631; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13243631 - 17 Dec 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3958

Abstract

Wetland treatment systems are used extensively across the world to mitigate surface runoff. While wetland treatment for nitrogen mitigation has been comprehensively reviewed, the implications of common-use pesticides and antibiotics on nitrogen reduction remain relatively unreviewed. Therefore, this review seeks to comprehensively assess [...] Read more.

Wetland treatment systems are used extensively across the world to mitigate surface runoff. While wetland treatment for nitrogen mitigation has been comprehensively reviewed, the implications of common-use pesticides and antibiotics on nitrogen reduction remain relatively unreviewed. Therefore, this review seeks to comprehensively assess the removal of commonly used pesticides and antibiotics and their implications for nitrogen removal in wetland treatment systems receiving non-point source runoff from urban and agricultural landscapes. A total of 181 primary studies were identified spanning 37 countries. Most of the reviewed publications studied pesticides (n = 153) entering wetlands systems, while antibiotics (n = 29) had fewer publications. Even fewer publications reviewed the impact of influent mixtures on nitrogen removal processes in wetlands (n = 16). Removal efficiencies for antibiotics (35–100%), pesticides (−619–100%), and nitrate-nitrogen (−113–100%) varied widely across the studies, with pesticides and antibiotics impacting microbial communities, the presence and type of vegetation, timing, and hydrology in wetland ecosystems. However, implications for the nitrogen cycle were dependent on the specific emerging contaminant present. A significant knowledge gap remains in how wetland treatment systems are used to treat non-point source mixtures that contain nutrients, pesticides, and antibiotics, resulting in an unknown regarding nitrogen removal efficiency as runoff contaminant mixtures evolve. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature-Based Solutions for the Mitigation of Persistent and Emerging Contaminants)

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