Fatemeh Mortezazadeh

Background: Soil contamination by microplastics (MPs) poses a serious threat to terrestrial ecosystem health and global food security, with soil acting as one of the primary sinks for these pollutants. Given the limited large-scale efficacy of conventional physicochemical remediation methods, this systematic review aims to comprehensively examine microbial bioremediation mechanisms—fungal, bacterial, ...

Background: The increasing presence of recalcitrant organic pollutants in wastewater necessitates advanced treatment technologies capable of achieving thorough degradation. Ozone-based advanced oxidation processes (O3-based AOPs) have emerged as promising and increasingly sustainable solutions for this purpose. This narrative review critically evaluates their application and effectiveness, comparing global advancements with the ...

Scaling and corrosion are significant issues in water distribution systems that can lead to economic, aesthetic, and health concerns. This study aimed to investigate the effects of a point-of-entry (POE) polyphosphate cartridge on scaling and corrosion indices (Langelier Saturation Index [LSI], Ryznar Stability Index [RSI], Puckorius Scaling Index [PSI] and Aggressive Index [AI]), as well as the quality of water treated with household water treatment systems. In this study, a POE polyphosphate cartridge was directly connected to municipal water to adjust water stability and prevent scaling and corrosion. Parameters were tested in water samples before and after filtration with the POE polyphosphate cartridge. Spearman’s correlation analysis was conducted to determine any monotonic relationship between the variables using SPSS. It was observed that water exhibited scaling properties at flow rates of 0.180, 0.252, and 0.522 L/min based on the LSI, while in other cases, it showed corrosion properties. Additionally, the results of the Spearman analysis indicated a strong positive correlation (r=0.74) between RSI and PSI and a strong negative correlation (r=-0.64) between LSI and RSI in the outlet water from the POE polyphosphate cartridge. The results indicated that more precise control of key quality parameters for scaling and corrosion of water is essential. Significant adjustments must be implemented to prevent corrosion of facilities and valves when utilizing a POE polyphosphate cartridge in household water systems. Moreover, due to the fluctuations in household water consumption, the use of inline POE polyphosphate cartridges may not ensure water stability in the household water supply system.

The Anaerobic Baffled Reactor (ABR) is an effective solution for landfill leachate treatment using an anaerobic fermentation process, which helps to reduce operating costs and sludge volume. To better understand the biological, chemical, and physical processes involved, especially when combining the ABR with an aerobic component, the study aimed to investigate the performance of an Anaerobic–Aerobic Hybrid Baffled Reactor (AABR) that includes an Anaerobic Filter (AF) for treating landfill leachate. This research utilized two glass reactors. The first reactor, designated as AABR-AF, consisted of six independent rectangular glass chambers arranged side by side. The third and sixth chamber designed for aerobic treatment and AF, respectively. The second reactor was used as a control reactor and did not include any aerobic chamber. The highest Removal Efficiencies (REs) for turbidity, COD, BOD, TP, TKN, nitrate, TOC, and TSS in the AABR-AF and ABR-AF were found to be (65.4% and 56.3%), (98.3% and 94.1%), (98.1% and 93.2%), (86.4% and 65%), (89.2% and 76.7%), (81.2% and 64.4%), (88.2% and 79.4%), and (72.4% and 68.5%), respectively. These optimal REs were achieved at an HRT of 48 h and an OLR of 10 kg/m³.d. Also, the highest and the lowest REs in Heavy Metals (HMs) were 89.57% for manganese in AABR-AF and 6.59% for nickel in ABR-AF, in an OLR of 10 kg/m³.d, respectively. The effective removal of Organic Matters (OMs) from landfill leachate using the AABR-AF and ABR-AF was found to be strongly influenced by HRT and OLR. The AABR-AF configuration, featuring a single aerobic chamber in the reactor, exhibited a higher efficiency in removing OMs compared to the ABR-AF configuration.

Ultrasonic (US) and UV-C disinfection technologies have been successfully used in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) for disinfection purposes. The US technology is typically used as a pre-treatment step to break down larger particles and make them more susceptible to disinfection. The UV-C technology is commonly used as a final disinfection step in many WWTPs. The study aimed to assess the potential of using Zinc Oxide (ZnO) Nanoparticles (NPs) to improve the effectiveness of UV-C and US disinfection methods in treating wastewater effluent, offering a more comprehensive solution to wastewater treatment. In this experimental study, a Laboratory US Bath (40[ ]kHz) and a UV-C lamp (16[ ]W) were used. In order to investigate the effectiveness of ZnO NPs in the reduction of microbial load, 5[ ]mg/L of ZnO NPs was added to the effluent samples. Then, samples were examined for Total Coliform (TC) and Fecal Coliform (FC) reduction by the standard MPN/100[ ]mL test. The Chick‘s law was used to calculate the efficiency of microbial load. The relationship between variables was determined by regression analysis using Excel and SPSS-ver 21 software. In this study, the samples were examined in three groups: Samples that were only exposed to sonication or received UV-C radiation with Turbidity of 18 NTU (Group A) and Turbidity of 5 NTU (Group B), and Samples that received 5 mg/L of ZnO NPs (Group C). By increasing the time from 0.5 min to 10 min in the presence of UV-C, the amount of microbial population decreased, and 2 min was considered the optimal time. The maximum removal efficiencies by US for TC were 74.07,77.7, 85.1% (40∘C) and 92.5,100, and 100% (60∘C) in group A (in 30 min sonication), 85.7, 85.7, 100% (40∘C), respectively, and were 100% in other groups (B and C), respectively. The maximum removal efficiencies by US for FC were 76.4%, 88.2%, and 100% (40∘C) and 88.2%, 100%, and 100% (60∘C) in group A (in 30 min sonication), respectively, and were 100% in other groups (B and C). In this study, an important increase in the disinfection ability of ZnO NPs has been observed in the presence of US and UV-C. So, the ZnO NPs/UV-C and ZnO NPs/US processes are valuable alternatives to conventional disinfection processes by over 90% improvement of disinfection efficiency.

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) in the field of climate changes in Iran in 2020, to compare these indexes in the Middle East countries and developed countries, and to evaluate the relationship between these indexes and gross domestic product (GDP) in Iran and some of the Middle East countries, as well as 10 developed countries in the world. Methods: Data related to the EPI in the field of climate changes and GDP were extracted from the database of the Yale University (https://epi.yale.edu) and the World Bank. The relationship between them was investigated using linear regression analysis. Results: The results showed that in 2020, Iran was ranked fourteenth and sixth among the studied countries, in terms of carbon dioxide growth rate and black carbon growth rate, respectively. It has also been ranked first in terms of carbon dioxide from land cover. Also, Iran was ranked eleventh among the Middle East countries and developed countries in terms of methane (CH4 ) growth rate and was ranked sixth among the Middle East countries in terms of greenhouse gas (GHG) per capita and 13th among all studied countries. However, a significant relationship was observed between changes in GDP with GHG emissions of EPI (R2=0.82). Conclusion: Based on the Iran’s ranking in the field of climate change performance index, planning to reduce CHGs generation is necessary. Also, education of citizens in the field of methods to reduce greenhouse effects should be done by environmental policy makers.

Reviews: Despite in recent decades, several studies on the concentration of aflatoxins M1(AFM1) in various milks have been studied, as we know, no systematic review, meta-analysis and carcinogenic risk assessment study was conducted in Iran till now. Objectives: In this study, a systematic review was conducted to collect, meta-analysis and carcinogenic risk assessment of the quantitative data regarding the prevalence and concentration of AFM1 in several types of milk produced in Iran. Content: In our study, the concentration and prevalence of AFM1 in different types of milk (Raw, pasteurized, and UHT) from 113 original articles in Iran using searching the Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct and Google Scholar (in Persian and English) databases from 2002 to august 2021 were collected. The concentration of AFM1 was meta-analyzed using the random effect model (REM) based on type of milk (raw, pasteurized and UHT) subgroups and Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) approach was used to assess safety risks and investigate carcinogenic effects of AFM1 using Crystal-Ball software (Version 11.1.3, Oracle, Inc., USA). Summary and Outlook: The 113 original article (In English and Persian) were included in this review. Meta-analysis indicated lower and upper of AFM1 in subgroups of raw, pasteurized and UHT milk in Iran was 9, 720, 2.7, 230.2, 19.23, and 221.6 ng/kg respectively. The Point estimate for carcinogenic risk of AFM1 showed as result of age increasing, the carcinogenic risk of Aflatoxin M 1 decreases and concentration of Aflatoxin M1 (ng/liter), plays the most effective role in carcinogenic risk of AFM1. Conclusion: The presence of AFM1 in milk and its products due to its high toxicity and carcinogenic properties is a public health concern that the results show that the risk of carcinogenesis is higher at younger ages (less than 20 years). As a result, there is a strong association between consumption of raw milk, pasteurized milk and UHT and the risk of cancer in children and adults in Iran.