Occurrence of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in fish and shellfish downstream from electronic-waste recycling plants

We measured 39 polybrominated diphenyl ethers （PBDEs） in the muscle tissue of three species of fish （Sciaenops ocellatus,Sparus macrocephalus,and Lateolabrax japonicus） and four species of shellfish （Tegillarca granosa,Cyclina sinensis,Sinonovacula constricta,and Ostrea cucullata） that were collected downstream of electronic-waste recycling plants in Taizhou,China.A total of 24 PBDE congeners （PBDE 24） in the samples were detected.The PBDE 24 （total PBDE） ranged from 545.4 to 1688.7 ng/kg ww （wet weight）.The mean PBDE 24 concentration was 1382.6 ng/kg ww in fish and 858.1 ng/kg ww in shellfish.The lower brominated congeners were detected at relatively high concentrations in all species.The penta-products,produced from e-waste,were found at relatively low levels.A principal component analysis suggested a significant correlation among di-,tri-,tetra-,and hepta-BDEs for the three species of fish.Similarly,we found a significant correlation between mono-and tri-BDEs in the shellfish.Our results suggested that the processes of PBDE metabolism and elimination were similar in both fish and shellfish.In addition,the primary source of PBDEs appeared to be from the debromination of high brominated PBDEs.

Fabrication of mesoporous lignin-based biosorbent from rice straw and its application for heavy-metal-ion removal

Lignocellulosic biomass offers the most abundant renewable resource in replacing traditional fossil resources. However, it is still a major challenge to directly convert the lignin component into value-added materials. The availability of plentiful hydroxyl groups in lignin macromolecules and its unique three-dimensional structure make it an ideal precursor for mesoporous biosorbents. In this work, we reported an environmentally friendly and economically feasible method for the fabrication of mesoporous lignin-based biosorbent （MLBB） from lignocellulosic biomass through a SOB micro-thermal-explosion process, as a byproduct of microcrystalline cellulose. BET analysis reveal the average pore-size distribution of 5.50 nm, the average pore value of 0.35 cm3/g, and the specific surface area of 186 m2/g. The physicochemical properties of MLBB were studied by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy （FTIR）, attenuated-total-reflection fourier transform infrared spectroscopy （ATR-FTIR）, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS）, and element analysis. These results showed that there are large amounts of sutfonic functional groups existing on the surface of this biosorbent. Pb（II） was used as a model heavy-metal-ion to demonstrate the technical feasibility for heavy-metal-ion removal. Considering that lignocellulosic biomass is a naturally abundant and renewable resource and SO3 micro-thermal-explosion is a proven technique, this biosorbent can be easily produced at large scale and become a sustainable and reliable resource for wastewater treatment.