Sustainability

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Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Industrialization, rapid development and intensive human activities have resulted in unprecedented environmental pollution. A wide array of pollutants have entered the environment, impacting the health of ecosystems and human populations. Many of the pollutants are synthetic, xenobiotic and do not degrade readily. Due to their recalcitrance, these pollutants stay in the environment for a prolonged duration, permeate different environmental media, and are transported to different regions of the world. As they are relatively new, their environmental impacts and ecotoxicities are not well-characterized. It is therefore crucial to gain greater insight into the chemistry of these pollutants in the environment, particularly their fates, transports and interactions to enable a better understanding of their impacts. It is equally important to monitor their occurrence and abundance in the environment to permit timely remedial actions to keep their levels in check.

This Special Issue aims to collect original research articles and reviews detailing the fate, transport, interactions and monitoring of various emerging pollutants to capture the latest development in these areas, as well as systematically present their advances in recent years to set the directions for future studies.

The Special Issue welcomes articles with (but not limited to) the themes below:

Fates and transports of different types of emerging pollutants;
Interactions of emerging pollutants with other pollutants and environmental media;
Technologies and analytical techniques in the monitoring of these pollutants;
Ecotoxicities of emerging pollutants.

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Kuok Ho Daniel Tang
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

fate
transport
interactions
monitoring
emerging pollutants
persistent organic pollutants
ecotoxicity
environmental impacts
health impacts

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 7990 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Temporal Variations in Urban Air Pollution during a 2021 Field Campaign: A Case Study of Ethylene, Benzene, Toluene, and Ozone Levels in Southern Romania

by Mioara Petrus, Cristina Popa and Ana-Maria Bratu

Sustainability 2024, 16(8), 3219; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16083219 - 11 Apr 2024

Viewed by 560

Abstract

This study focused on quantifying the gas concentrations of ethylene, benzene, toluene, and ozone within an urban area in the southern region of Romania. The gas sampling campaign, conducted between March and August 2021, took place in three different locations from the point of view of the architectural structure, and the sampling height was 1.5 m. Sampling occurred on weekdays (Monday through Friday) during daylight hours, with subsequent concentration analysis employing descriptive statistics, diurnal cycles, and seasonal assessments. A highly sensitive and selective detector, employing laser photoacoustic spectroscopy, was utilized to monitor pollutants. The average concentrations (±Standard Deviation) were determined as follows: ethylene at 116.82 ± 82.37 parts per billion (ppb), benzene at 1.13 ± 0.32 ppb, toluene at 5.48 ± 3.27 ppb, and ozone at 154.75 ± 68.02 ppb, with peak levels observed during the summer months. Diurnal patterns were observable for ethylene, benzene, and toluene, exhibiting higher concentrations during the early hours of the day followed by a decrease towards the evening. In contrast, ozone concentrations peaked in the evening compared to the early part of the day. Thus, perceptible effects were demonstrated on gas concentrations as a result of the influence of meteorological variables. Moreover, the high toluene/benzene ratio indicated traffic and industrial emissions as primary sources of these pollutants. Of the four gases monitored, benzene and ozone exceeded regulatory limits, particularly during the summer season, highlighting concerns regarding air quality in the studied urban environment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fates, Transports, Interactions and Monitoring of Emerging Pollutants)

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Review

Jump to: Research

23 pages, 814 KiB

Open AccessReview

Terrestrial and Aquatic Plastisphere: Formation, Characteristics, and Influencing Factors

by Kuok Ho Daniel Tang

Sustainability 2024, 16(5), 2163; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16052163 - 5 Mar 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3808

Abstract

The increasing number of plastic particles in the environment gives rise to a unique ecological niche called the plastisphere, which is characterized by a dynamic assemblage of microorganisms comprising autotrophs, heterotrophs, predators, and pathogens. This paper reviews the formation, characteristics, and factors influencing the terrestrial and aquatic plastisphere. The terrestrial and aquatic plastisphere forms when hitchhiking microorganisms, often bacteria, in the environment adhere to the surfaces of plastic particles and alter the surface properties of the particles for subsequent colonization of increasingly tightly clinging microorganisms. The terrestrial plastisphere is not as mobile as the aquatic plastisphere and is defined by the characteristics of the soil anchoring it. The microorganisms on the plastisphere are often defined by the dominant microorganisms in the surroundings, particularly those of the phyla Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidota, Firmicutes, Chloroflexi, Acidobacteria, Cyanobacteria, Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Chytridiomycota, Ciliophora, Ochrophyta, and Chlorophyta. However, the compositions and dominant microbial species on different plastic surfaces vary widely as they change with time, plastic properties, and biotic and abiotic environmental factors. Temporal changes in the plastisphere are due to succession. Plastic properties, particularly the type, surface properties, size, color, degree of aging, and chemical leaching, also affect the composition of the plastisphere. Biotic environmental factors comprising the dominant ambient microorganisms and interspecies interactions, together with the abiotic ones, including pH, temperature, nutrient availability, soil properties, salinity, and light, significantly shape the plastisphere. This review provides insight into the biodiversity of the plastisphere, and its roles in spreading pathogens and degrading plastics. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fates, Transports, Interactions and Monitoring of Emerging Pollutants)

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