The ecotoxicity of three different sizes of titanium dioxide (TiO(2)) particles (primary particles sizes: 10, 30, and 300nm) to the freshwater green alga Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata was investigated in this study. Algal growth inhibition was found for all three particle types, but the physiological mode of action is not yet clear. It was possible to establish a concentration/dose-response r...

Recently, much has been written about the extreme urgency of elaborating the regulations for engineered nanomaterials. Such regulations are needed both from lawmakers, to protect people from potentially adverse effects, and from industry representatives, to prove that nanoproducts are produced carefully and with caution to avoid possible lawsuits. However, developing regulations has proven to b...

In environmental studies, some biological responses, known as biomarkers, have been used as a powerful bioassay tool for more than four decades. Disparity between enzyme activity and mRNA abundance leads to correlation equivocality, which makes the application of biomarkers for environmental risk assessment more complicated. This study investigates this disparity in the case of catalase when us...

Carbonization is a newly developed process that converts sewage sludge to biocoal, a type of solid biomass that can partially substitute for coal during power generation. This study presents an assessment of the environmental effects of various sewage sludge treatment processes, including carbonization, direct landfills, co-incineration with municipal solid waste, and mono-incineration in Taiwa...

NPS SYNTHESIS, CHARACTERIZATION AND AZO-DYE DEGRADATION A facile cost effective wet chemical method of synthesis is proposed for Cu-NPs, CuO-NPs and Cu-doped ZnO-NPs. The nanomaterials are opto-physically characterized for nano standard quality. Cu-doped ZnO-NPs based catalytic system is found to possess most efficient photocatalytic activity in degradation of two organic azo-dyes namely methyl...

Polymers are synthetic organic materials having a high carbon and hydrogen content, which make them readily combustible. Polymers have many indoor uses and their flammability makes them a fire hazard. Therefore, flame retardants (FRs) are incorporated into these materials as a safety measure. Brominated flame retardants (BFRs), which accounted for about 21% of the total world market of FRs, hav...

Abstract Background A European inter-laboratory test with 29 participating laboratories investigated whether a battery of four ecotoxicological tests is suitable for assessing the environmental compatibility construction products. For this purpose, product was dynamic surface leaching (DIN CEN/TS 16637-2) and percolation 16637-3). The eluates were produced centrally by one laboratory tested par...

This study characterized and evaluated the potential of a combination treatment strategies for removal phenolic compounds, color, ecotoxicity an effluent generated by laminated wood industry. The characterization sample pine lamination process collected in industry Southwest region state Paraná confirmed impact effluent, with emphasis on high content compounds (1,530 ±50 mg/L), color (2,159 ±30...