AEESP Journal Spotlight: Late 2017

The “spotlight” column draws attention to selected articles in Environmental Engineering Science, the official journal of the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP). Spotlight articles appear regularly in the journal as an Editor's Note, as well as in the AEESP newsletter. Through publication of high-quality peer-reviewed research, the EES journal helps AEESP achieve its mission of developing and disseminating knowledge in environmental engineering and science. In this entry, we shine the spotlight on articles from the April 2017 issue through the July 2017 issue of EES. Congratulations to all whose work is highlighted.

Marine environments are at risk for pollution with organotin compounds (OTCs), which are known endocrine disruptors. Chen et al. (2017) conducted a field study of OTC occurrence in fish and crab species as well as in sediment samples from the Yangtze estuary in the mid-east of China. Particularly high concentrations were found in the Luchao fishing port, indicating elevated risks for the ecosystem and for human health risks. The concentrations were found to decrease with distance away from the coast, confirming hypotheses about the role of human activity in high OTC occurrence.

Aquaponics is an innovative type of aquaculture for fish production but, unlike conventional aquaculture, the water is recirculated and nitrate releases to the local environment are minimized. Boxman et al. (2017) applied life cycle assessment methods to examine not only local environmental impacts but also global impacts. Electricity requirements of aquaponics were found to contribute significantly to environmental impacts, and shifts to renewable energy sources could have a large impact on reducing these impacts.

Meyer et al. (2017) investigated the dewatering of biosolids from pulp and paper mill processing. The dewaterability and anaerobic digestibility of solids treated using freeze–thaw cycling were determined. Compared with polymer addition to enhance dewatering, freeze–thaw cycling was more effective as a result of irreversible compaction and dehydration of sludge particles. Freezing–thawing had little effect on the anaerobic digestibility of the biosolids and digestate.

Duan et al. (2017) studied the reduction of arsenic and selenium using advanced reduction processes, which involve combining reagents with activation methods to produce highly reactive reductants. Three reagents (ferrous, dithionite (S₂O₄²⁻), and sulfite ions) were used to reduce As(III), As(V), Se(IV), and Se(VI) in water. Experiments were conducted in the absence and presence of UV irradiation. Dithionite/UV was found to reduce the arsenic and selenium species to insoluble As₄S₄ and Se⁰, respectively. However, oxidation of the solids resulted in subsequent resolubilization of both arsenic and selenium.