Emerging Contaminants

Remediation Technologies

Jeyaseelan Aravind, Murugesan Kamaraj, Jeyaseelan Aravind, Murugesan Kamaraj

• Publisher: De Gruyter
• Year: 2022
• ISBN:
  9783110751789
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Scienze fisiche
• Subtopic: Chimica

The increased demand due to anthropogenic activity leads to emerging contaminants, resulting in a substantial environmental hazard. The long-term presence and exposure of contaminants lead to severe negative impacts on the environment, humans, and other life forms. Hence, emerging contaminants in the environment is a worldwide concern, and new technologies to mitigate these contaminants are being developed. This book covers the source, occurrence, toxicity, and detection techniques of a wide range of emerging contaminants. This collection also discusses the scope and applications of diverse techniques, including Bio/Phyto and Nano-remediation technologies, to mitigate the emerging contaminants; along with their sustainability issue and prospects. As a result, this book appears to provide insight into several modern and environmentally friendly waste management options, the possibility to minimize and lessen the effects of contaminants, and striving to lower toxicological endpoints to assure environmental safety. This book delivers the most recent advancements by prominent specialists in environmental sciences to academics, researchers, students, and practitioners interested in the identification and eradication of emerging pollutants from the environment.

1 Occurrence, fate, and toxicity of emerging contaminants in a diverse ecosystem

Rameshwar Yadav Hiranmai

School of Environment and Sustainable Development, Central University of Gujarat, Gandhinagar, India

ORCID:https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9255-8057

Murugesan Kamaraj

Department of Biotechnology, College of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Addis Ababa Science and Technology University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

ORCID:https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0111-8524

Abstract

Activities that were developed for better/modern living conditions of humans are the primary source of contaminants to the natural ecosystem. Some of the compounds involved in urbanization and industrialization are termed emerging contaminants (ECs) or contaminants of emerging concern. ECs are either chemical or derived from natural sources which environmental concerns and public health have been raised in recent years. ECs enter wastewater treatment systems and migrate from here to different ecosystems as direct or by-products. They are persistent and also stay for a long duration due to their less biodegradation and photodegradation nature. Also, ECs accumulated in living cells and transformed through trophic levels. Technological developments and their application/utility in daily life led to the production of various components that are being added to the natural ecosystem. The treated/untreated wastewater enters into fresh/marine water bodies and gets accumulated into fauna, flora, and sediments. These pollutants/contaminants that are getting added on an everyday basis bring about changes in the existing ecosystem balances. ECs have been found in almost every country’s natural environment, and as a result, they became a global issue. The present review discusses the route and transport of selected ECs into the terrestrial ecosystem through water and other means and how they influence the natural process in an ecosystem. The ECs such as personal care products, pharmaceuticals, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, endocrine disruptors, nanoparticles, and microplastics are highlighted in this review.

Keywords: anthropogenic activities, emerging contaminants, food web , occurrence, terrestrial ecosystem, toxicity,

1.1 Introduction

Anthropogenic activities have exerted large stress on the ecosystem. The addition of pollutants throughout environmental matrices changes the ecological condition of a given region. Due to the developmental activities, a large number of pollutants in trace amounts are added to the air, water, and soil daily. There is a wide range of undetected contaminants that are being added are of environmental concern. These are also found in biological tissues and quantified by various methods. Emerging pollutants encompass a range of manmade materials added to the environment [1]. Uncontrolled human activities have added a range of pollutants that are in everyday use by modern society and are becoming a part of life. It includes pesticides, personal care, pharma products, and many others included in a part of regular use materials. Emerging pollutants are divided into three categories: Compounds introduced into the environment recently. Compounds have been introduced into the environment for a considerable amount of time but have been detected for a short period. Compounds with well-known adverse effects on ecosystems and human health are identified and measured over time [2]. These emerging pollutants are introduced into the ecosystem through various industries, municipal wastes, and agriculture activities and produces. The sources, occurrence, environmental behavior, and fate of emerging contaminants (ECs) are diverse from conventional contaminants. In advanced research, the pathway of emerging pollutants from source to target is an essential part as their behavior is unpredictable in the environment. The molecular pathway can be detected through genomics to understand the behavior and route of ECs into organisms. Molecular biomarkers can be designed and used to assess the bioavailability of ECs that will also help in environmental biomonitoring and remediation [3].

Agrochemicals, personal care products (PCPs), pharmaceuticals, polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), nanoparticles (NPs), and microplastics (MPs) are the primary emerging pollutants. In addition, many pollutants such as endocrine disruptors, hormones, pesticides, industrial and household chemicals, metals, surfactants, micropollutants, industrial additives, and solvents are also included in the emerging pollutants category. These components are a large group of synthetic or naturally occurring chemicals that have recently appeared in the environment and are not commonly monitored. They enter the environment and cause known or suspected adverse ecological and/or human health effects. Among emerging pollutants, pharmaceuticals are highly stable in chemical structure and possess pronounced biological activity that could be observed through organic chemistry, molecular biology, biotechnology, and pharmacology of the compound. In open ecosystems, they are potentially dangerous, entailing environmental consequences [4].

Reduction of pollutants at source and substitution of toxic compounds can help to reduce/remove them from the environment. In addition, traditional wastewater treatment techniques are not designed to remove or decompose these compounds, so new treatment techniques need to be designed for the reduction of risks and removal opportunities. Examination of wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) and quality of released treated effluent assures the reduction in contaminants in the aquatic system. Water monitoring and the use of new analytical techniques help to detect the contaminants in very small quantity also. The ECs and their associated environmental problems are received much attention in recent years worldwide. Several studies have reported the impacts of various ECs and remediation techniques. Scopus database analysis for the research output in the keyword of “Emerging contaminants” for the period of 2012–2021 is illustrated in Figure 1.1. Though the ECs receive worldwide attention, the systematic review is most needed to highlight the current progress in the ECs occurrence and toxicity on the ecosystem. Hence, the present review aimed to discusses the occurrence, fate, and toxicity of selected ECs in a diverse ecosystem. Although there are several chemicals categorized as under ECs, the current review highlights an overview of agrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, PAH, NPs, and MPs as model ECs and their fate, occurrence, and toxicity on the diverse ecosystem are covered in cumulative aspect instead of covering in a detailed manner.

Figure 1.1: Scopus database analysis for the research output in the keyword of “Emerging contaminants” for the period of 2012–2021 (Scopus database as on 18/06//2021). (a) Documents by Top 15 country/territory, (b) documents for year-wise, (c) documents by type, and (d) documents by Top 15 subject area.

1.2 Sources and fate of ECs

The environmental fate and potential effects on the environment, their distribution in the environmental compartments (water, soil, and air), and its degradation processes are of concern in the scenario. ECs and their metabolites can enter the environment through a variety of point or diffuse sources, and then enters the water bodies (surface water, groundwater, and marine water), soil, and atmosphere via a variety of routes or mechanisms that are largely determined by ECs properties (persistence, volatility, polarity, and so on) and environmental compartment characteristics [5]. The outflow of WWTP in urban, industrial, and agricultural areas is a major pollution point source for treated municipal and industrial waste...