Going Green

Importance of the Topic

Human activities have become the dominant force shaping the environment, giving rise to threats such as water contamination by pharmaceuticals, heavy metals and endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Reliable detection and measurement of trace pollutants is essential for safeguarding aquatic ecosystems, maintaining public health and ensuring sustainable water supplies. Robust monitoring lays the groundwork for understanding pollutant behaviors and impacts, guiding interventions that can effectively mitigate contamination.

Aims and Overview of the Study

This collection of six case studies illustrates innovative analytical approaches for monitoring, understanding and managing environmental water pollutants. The goals are to highlight methods that enable:

• Accurate detection of low-level contaminants in diverse matrices
• Insight into pollutant–matrix and pollutant–organism interactions
• Evidence-based strategies for pollutant removal and environmental remediation

Methodology and Instrumentation

The featured studies employ a range of techniques and instruments to address different aspects of water pollution:

• Solid-phase extraction (SPE) for probing pharmaceutical adsorption on wastewater sludge
• Cloud point extraction using Triton-X micelles combined with flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) for multi-metal detection
• Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for trace analysis of estrogenic compounds
• Stable isotope labelling (15N) coupled with UPLC-PDA-ESI-MS for metabolic tracing in plant–parasite systems
• Triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (TQMS) and high-performance chromatography for amino acid profiling in marine aerosols
• Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS) to evaluate activated carbon performance in pilot-scale water treatment
• Atomic force microscopy (AFM) alongside microbial culture and theoretical modelling to characterize bioremediation agents

Main Results and Discussion

The key findings from each case study are:

• SPE experiments revealed that pharmaceutical adsorption to sludge involves not only hydrophobic interactions but also ion exchange, π–π stacking and hydrogen bonding, improving fate modelling of active pharmaceutical ingredients in wastewater.
  
• Cloud point extraction coupled with FAAS enabled simultaneous detection of silver, cadmium, nickel, cobalt and lead at μg/L levels, and mapped spatial variations influenced by industrial discharge, canal runoff and sediment dynamics.


• Seasonal sampling at a Tunisian sewage plant showed that removal efficiencies of estrogenic endocrine-disrupting chemicals vary with temperature and microbial activity, with summer months showing up to 90% removal when biofiltration processes are optimized.


• 15N isotope tracing clarified nitrogen metabolism in rapeseed–broomrape interactions and confirmed glyphosate’s mode of action on parasite amino acid biosynthesis, offering a model for metabolic disruption studies.


• Analysis of Antarctic marine aerosols indicated hydrophilic amino acids dominate sea-spray contributions, with implications for cloud condensation nuclei formation and atmospheric chemistry modelling.


• Pilot-scale trials demonstrated that powdered activated carbon outperforms granular activated carbon in removing organic micropollutants, and that recirculation of powdered carbon can enhance adsorption capacity with minimal dosing.


• Biomechanical characterization of Rhodococcus strains showed that extracellular polymeric substances govern cell adhesion and pollutant binding, and that pH influences EPS conformation—key parameters for designing efficient bioremediation catalysts.

Practical Benefits and Applications

The methods described provide:

• Enhanced risk assessment and regulatory compliance through accurate baseline establishment
• Optimized wastewater treatment plant operations by informing carbon-based filtration strategies
• Targeted bioremediation solutions leveraging microbial EPS properties and nutrient amendment
• Time- and cost-efficient monitoring of heavy metals and endocrine disruptors in environmental and occupational settings
• Data-driven models to predict pollutant fate, supporting ecosystem management and agricultural practices

Future Trends and Potential Applications

Emerging directions include:

• Integration of biofilm-based reactors for continuous removal of endocrine disruptors
• Computational modelling combined with high-throughput field data to forecast climate-related pollutant fluxes
• Development of single-particle and single-molecule detection platforms for early warning systems
• Advanced activated carbon materials with tailored pore structures for selective adsorption
• Genetically tuned or stress-resilient microbial strains for large-scale oil spill bioremediation
• Sustainable laboratory practices supported by ultra-pure water systems to minimize analytical artifacts

Conclusion

Effective management of environmental water pollutants depends on innovation rather than simple dilution. By combining sensitive analytical techniques, interdisciplinary research and high-quality reagents—including ultra-pure water—scientists can generate the reliable data needed to understand pollutant behaviors and implement evidence-based remediation. Continued progress in instrumentation, modelling and bio-based approaches promises to enhance our capacity to protect water resources for future generations.

References

• Arndt, K. et al. 1998. 15N Investigation into the Effect of a Pollutant on Nitrogen Metabolism of Tetrahymena pyriformis. Environmental Health Perspectives, 106(8), 493.
• Barbaro, E. et al. 2014. Amino Acids in Antarctica: Evolution and Fate of Marine Aerosols. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, 14(11), 17067.
• Belhaj, D. et al. 2015. Fate of Selected Estrogenic Hormones in an Urban Sewage Treatment Plant in Tunisia. Science of The Total Environment, 505, 154.
• Berthod, L., Roberts, G. & Mills, G. 2014. A Solid-Phase Extraction Approach for Identification of Pharmaceutical–Sludge Adsorption Mechanisms. Journal of Pharmaceutical Analysis, 4(2), 117.
• Berthod, L. et al. 2017. Effect of Sewage Sludge Type on Partitioning Behaviour of Pharmaceuticals. Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology, 2, 154.
• Dor, E. et al. 2017. Effects of Herbicides on Amino Acid Biosynthesis in Broomrape. Frontiers in Plant Science, 8, 707.
• Gadupudi, C.K. et al. 2019. Removal Methods for Endocrine Disrupting Compounds from UK Wastewater: A Review. Sci, 1, 15.
• Gaudin, Z. et al. 2014. Robust Method for Investigating Nitrogen Metabolism Using 15N-Labeled Amino Acids. Analytical Chemistry, 86(2), 1138.
• Karmakar, R.N. 2010. Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Academic Publishers.
• Krivoruchko, A. et al. 2019. Advanced Rhodococcus Biocatalysts for Environmental Biotechnologies. Catalysts, 9, 236.
• Kuyukina, M. & Ivshina, I. 2010. Application of Rhodococcus in Bioremediation. In Biology of Rhodococcus, Springer, 231.
• Meinel, F. et al. 2014. Micropollutant Removal with Granular and Powdered Activated Carbon. Water, Air & Soil Pollution, 226(1).
• Meinel, F. et al. 2016. Pilot-Scale Study of PAC Recirculation for Micropollutant Removal. Water Science & Technology, 74(4), 927.
• Naeemullah, K. et al. 2014. Simultaneous Determination of Silver and Other Heavy Metals in Aquatic Environments. Arabian Journal of Chemistry, 9(1), 105.
• Pen, Y. et al. 2015. Effect of EPS on Mechanical Properties of Rhodococcus. BBA Biomembranes, 1848(2), 518.
• Sadat, S.M. et al. 2018. Biomonitoring of Multiple Metals in Occupational Exposure. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 15(12), 833.
• Schiffer, J.M. et al. 2018. Sea Spray Aerosol: Where Marine Biology Meets Atmospheric Chemistry. ACS Central Science, 4, 1617.