Microplastics-assisted hexavalent Chromium transportation in soapy water environments
Abstract
The sorption medium plays a vital role in vector transport of microplastics bound metal ions. The influence of soapy water on transportation of microplastics bound Cr(VI) and sorption mechanisms are still not clear. Therefore, in the present study the performance of pristine and aged polyethylene (PE) microplastics to adsorb Cr(VI) in soapy water was compared with NaNO3 and humic acid (HA) mixed water. The influence of pH, contact time, and concentration of Cr(VI) on the sorption performances of PE microplastics have also been tested. Soapy water exhibited a greater adsorption performance than NaNO3 and HA mediums. The highest adsorption of Cr(VI) occurred at an acidic pH range from 2.0 to 2.5 without depending on the sorption medium. Hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions predominantly played a vital role in binding of Cr(VI) in soapy water onto PE microplastics through surface complexation. Adsorption kinetic data for pristine PE microplastics was well fitted with the non-linear pseudo-second-order kinetic model, thereby indicating that the chemisorption-based surface adsorption is the rate-limiting process. Sorption kinetic data of aged PE microplastics were fitted well for fractional power and intra-particle-diffusion models suggesting that the adsorption was assisted through diffusion-controlled adsorption that depends on sorption time. Isotherm data fitted with Hill model implicit a cooperative adsorption process. Microplastics bound Cr(VI) largely released from the surface at basic pH conditions implying the sorption of Cr(VI) is influenced primarily by the pH. Hence, soapy water could be a potential sorption medium for microplastics bound Cr(VI) ions influencing the migration of Cr(VI).
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication.
The whitefly (Bemisia tabaci Gennadius) is a notorious devastating sap-sucking insect pest that causes substantial crop damage and yield losses due to direct feeding by both nymphs and adults and also through transmission of viruses and diseases. Although the foliar application of synthetic pesticides is crucial for efficient control of B. tabaci, it has adverse effects such as environmental pollution, resistance and resurgence of the pest, toxicity to pollinators, and crop yield penalty. Thus, a suitable, safe, and robust strategy for the control of whiteflies in the agricultural field is needed. The reports on whitefly-resistant transgenic plants are scanty, non-reproducible, and/or need secondary trials and clearance from the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The present review encompasses explicit information compiled from 364 articles on the traditional, mechanical, biological, biotechnological, and chemical strategies for whitefly management (WFM), IPM strategy, and future prospects of WFM for food and agriculture security.
Multiresponsive functional materials that respond to more than one external stimulus are promising for novel photonic, electronic, and biomedical applications. However, the design or synthesis of new multiresponsive materials is challenging. Here, this work reports a facile method to prepare a multiresponsive colloidal material by mixing a liquid‐crystalline 2D nanocolloid and a functional polymer colloid. For this purpose, electrically sensitive exfoliated α‐ZrP 2D nanocolloids and thermosensitive block copolymer colloids that are dispersed well in water are mixed. In the liquid‐crystalline nanocomposite, nematic, antinematic, or isotropic assemblies of α‐ZrP, nanoparticles can be electrically and selectively obtained by applying electric fields with different frequencies; furthermore, their rheology is thermally and reversibly controlled through thesol–gel–sol transition. The nanocomposite exhibits a solid gel phase within a predesigned gel temperature range and a liquid sol phase outside this range. These properties facilitate the design of a simple display device in which information can be electrically written and thermally stabilized or erased, and using the device, a battery‐free temperature maintenance indication function is demonstrated. The proposed polymer nanocomposite method can enrich the physical properties of 2D nanocolloidal liquid crystals and create new opportunities for eco‐friendly, reusable, battery‐free electro‐optical devices.
Groundnut (Arachis hypogea L.) is an important oil crop grown in Sri Lanka. Application of fertilizer is substantially contributing to the yield increment; however improper management of fertilizer is the specific drawback in quality and quantity in groundnut. Therefore, the application of balanced fertilizer and minerals play an important role in the cultivation of groundnut. An experiment was conducted at the Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Kilinochchi to assess the effect of different rates of gypsum application on yield performance of groundnut varieties from January to May 2019. Two-factor factorial experiment was conducted in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. Four different rates of gypsum application such as 0 kg/ha (T1 - Control), 75 kg/ha (T2), l25 kg/ha (T3), and 175 kg/ha (T4) were used as the first factor and five groundnut varieties, namely Tissa (V1), Lanka Jumbo (V2), Tikiri (V3), Indi (V4), and ANK G1 (V5) were used as the second factor. All the agronomic practices were done according to the recommendations of the Department of Agriculture. The yield parameters were recorded, and the shelling percentage was calculated. Data were analyzed using SAS 9.1 package to perform ANOVA. The best treatment was identified through the means separation using Duncan’s Multiple Range Test (DMRT) at p = 0.05. The yield parameters of fresh and dry weight of pods / plant, hundred pods and seeds weight, number of mature and immature pods and total yield were higher in gypsum appliedtreatments rather than control and the highest in T4 (175 kg/ha gypsum) treatment. All the yield parameters were significantly different in Lanka Jumbo and ANK G1 from other varieties. However, the number of mature pods and shelling percentage were similar among the varieties. The highest shelling percentage (96 %) was recorded in Lanka Jumbo under 175 kg/ha gypsum application (T4). The highest yield parameters were recorded in Lanka Jumbo variety, whereas the lowest was in ANK G1. There was no interaction effect among gypsum application and varieties in the yield parameters. From this study, it can be concluded that the application of 175 kg/ha gypsum (T4) to the variety of Lanka Jumbo (V2) can be selected as suitable treatment combination to obtain the substantial yield from groundnut in Yala season.
RNA Delivery In article number 2100683, Giovanni Settanni, Friederike Schmid, and co‐workers present molecular dynamics simulations of a lipoplex composed of RNA (yellow) helper DOPC lipids (gray) and ionizable cationic lipids DODMA (protonated: red, neutral: cyan). Protonated DODMA and RNA attract each other, whereas neutral DODMA and RNA experience an effective repulsive interaction. As a result, the structure of the lipoplex becomes pH dependent.
This study investigated how culture-specific items (CSIs) are translated in the Chinese-English food menu corpus. This overarching aim was divided into two specific objectives: identifying which procedures prevail in translating cultural items and determining what factors impinge on the selection of specific procedures. The analysis of the corpus was done descriptively and by utilizing “Sketch Engine.” The theoretical issues addressed in the study included the scope and definition of CSI, the categorization of procedures presented in the data for CSI translation, and the place of food items within the category of CSI. Results of the study indicated that neutralizing strategy is employed more than foreignizing and domesticating strategies, with the latter being last in descending order. The major factors identified were metonymical/metaphorical use of the CSI, brand, polysemous nature of source CSI, degree of cultural markedness, and false relationship of the ST item with the TT item. Correlations between some factors and procedures were moderately strong as their values were above 50 out of the ideal value (100). However, other correlations were weak and therefore requires further investigation.
Ultraviolet (UV) communication can work in the non-line-of-sight (NLOS) mode; thus, a UV communication system can easily adapt to complex terrain environment and overcome the limitation of wireless laser communication: requiring line-of-sight (LOS) mode.
The objectives of the research was to assess the coastal pollution by plastic nurdles, pyrolitic debris, associated potential toxic elements (PTEs) concentrations and mitigatory efforts by the worst ever maritime accident of a chemical and plastic boarded container vessel; MV X-press Pearl. Field sampling was carried out three times during May, June, and September 2021 at Sarakkuwa, Sri Lanka. Pellet pollution index (PPI) was determined to compare the degree of plastics pollution. Density separation (NaCl) followed by wet peroxide digestion for plastic separation and characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopic (FTIR), Thermo Gravimetric analysis (TGA) and Differential Scanning Calorimetric (DSC) analysis. Sand and plastics samples were digested and analyzed for PTEs (Li, Mo, Cr, Pb, Cd), are suspect to mix during disaster. Identified debris were mostly confirmed as low-density polyethylene, epoxy resins, olefin copolymers, aromatic polyamides, natural rubber, and polyethylene terephthalate. Sulfur contamination and physical erosion were observed in nurdles received in June and September. Calculated PPIs was ‘high’ for Sarakkuwa beach even in September with a very high pellet pollution degree (10.24 pellets per m²) compared to the control obtained from the same site in 2020 (1.6 pellets per m²). Input sand for the blue treatment facility was found as the extremely contaminated with Li and Mo - with 239.71 and 1.69 mg/kg respectively other than microplastics. Blue treatment facility seemed effective in physical separation of microplastics from sand, however, it is an exhausting process due to continuous receive of microplastics from the waves and excavation of sea shore.