Landfill leachate has multiple negative impacts on soil health indicators in Hyrcanian forest, northern Iran

Two new species of Penicillium and a new genus in Xylariomycetidae from the forest dump-sites in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Waste accumulation in forest regions can have a severe impact on the soil mycobiome. However, research on soil fungi inhabiting forest disposal sites remains limited. Therefore, this study focused on the taxonomy and phylogeny of ascomycetes isolated from soil in forest dump-sites in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The fungal strains were identified using morphological characterisations and multigene phylogenetic reconstruction. A new genus, Pseudoleptodontidium, typified by Ps.chiangmaiense sp. nov. (Amphisphaeriales genera incertae sedis, Xylariomycetidae), along with two new species, Penicilliumchiangmaiense (series Janthinella, section Lanata-Divaricata) and P.terrae (series Erubescentia, section Exilicaulis) (Aspergillaceae, Eurotiales), are described in detail and compared with closely-related species. Our discovery offers valuable insights into the soil ascomycetes associated with forest disturbances.

A comparative study of steam gasification and combustion methods for landfill stale waste (LSW) treatment

Landfill stale waste (LSW) poses considerable environmental issues, especially concerning methane emissions and the ecosystem contamination. This research investigates the potential for energy recovery and the emission profiles of LSW combustibles via steam gasification at various temperatures (700, 750, 800, and 850 °C) and combustion at 850 °C, utilizing a fixed-bed reactor and TG-DSC analysis. Our findings indicate that steam gasification conducted at 850 °C yields a high-quality syngas with a hydrogen concentration of 46.9%, which greatly increased efficiency. Conversely, combustion occurring at the same temperature leads to total oxidation, yet it produces increased emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulphur dioxide (SO2). Significantly, NOx emissions resulting from steam gasification are approximately 75% lower compared to those produced by combustion. Although SO2 emissions are slightly higher in gasification, the overall environmental impact is lower. This research highlights that steam gasification can be applied as an effective method for treating LSW combustibles, providing enhanced energy recovery and reduced emissions and thereby promoting sustainable waste management practices.

Enhanced reducing leachate pollution index through electrocoagulation using response surface methodology

Addressing the urgent need to effectively manage landfill leachate as a harmful flow for human health and the environment, this research investigates how electrocoagulation (EC) processes could alleviate the pollution potential of leachate. So far, no experimental study has been carried out on reducing the leachate pollution index (LPI) under the EC process. For this purpose, in this novel research, the LPI was utilized as a key metric to evaluate the efficiency of the treatment process. Central Composite Design (CCD) as a subset of Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was applied to enhance the LPI parameters decreasing percentage. The data were analyzed by analysis of variance and multivariate regression and 3D plots assessed variable interactions. Under optimal conditions, it showed removal of 97.48 % for COD, 91.42 % for BOD5, 98.52 % for N-NH3, and 91.6 % for TDS. Significant reductions were observed in 94.81 % TKN, 87.20 %, 82.80 %, 96.66 %, and 99.28 %, 99.18 %, and 96.56 % for TKN, Cl-, CN-, As, Cr, Zn, and Ni, respectively. Moreover, the kinetics of COD removal indicated that it follows a first-order model. Thus, based on experimental results, the LPI of raw leachate decreased from 38.06 to 7.22 (81 % decrease) under the EC treatment method. The study indicated that the EC treatment method successfully reduced leachate pollution and met the leachate discharge standard.

Characteristics and risk assessment of heavy metals in groundwater at a typical smelter-contaminated site in Southwest China

To explore the characteristics and evaluate the risk of heavy metals in groundwater at a typical smelter-contaminated site, this study focuses on a representative a historical arsenic smelting plant in Southwest China, where the primary historical products were metallic arsenic (∼1000 tons/year) and arsenic trioxide (∼2000 ton/year). The results demonstrated As and Pb as the main pollutants in soil, and As and Cd as main pollutants in groundwater through soil profiling and quarterly groundwater analysis. The maximum As and Pb in the surface soil were 76800 and 2290 mg/kg, respectively, with As vertically infiltrating the deep gravel-sand layer (18-20 m). The groundwater pollution distribution progressively increased along flow direction, influenced by seasonal surface runoff and infiltration fluctuations. The groundwater pollutant concentrations during the dry season notably surpassed those during the wet season, with maximum As and Cd concentrations of 111.64 mg/L and 19.85 μg/L during the dry season, respectively. Furthermore, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was applied to evaluate the comprehensive risk of contaminated-site across pollution source load, regional groundwater intrinsic vulnerability, and evaluation of nearby sensitive receptors. The results revealed that the carcinogenic risk of lead in surface soil was moderate to high, while arsenic posed a high carcinogenic risk, contributing to an overall carcinogenic risk proportion of 89.6% in surface soil. Exposure through groundwater intake was identified as the primary pathway, with carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic risks exceeding those through skin contact. The final weights result demonstrated that the principal risk factors are the intrinsic arsenic load and protective target characteristics of regional groundwater at this site. This study provides a reference for comprehensive assessments of similarly contaminated industrial and smelting sites.

Microalgae-mediated bioremediation: current trends and opportunities-a review

Environmental pollution poses a critical global challenge, and traditional wastewater treatment methods often prove inadequate in addressing the complexity and scale of this issue. On the other hand, microalgae exhibit diverse metabolic capabilities that enable them to remediate a wide range of pollutants, including heavy metals, organic contaminants, and excess nutrients. By leveraging the unique metabolic pathways of microalgae, innovative strategies can be developed to effectively remediate polluted environments. Therefore, this review paper highlights the potential of microalgae-mediated bioremediation as a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to conventional methods. It also highlights the advantages of utilizing microalgae and algae-bacteria co-cultures for large-scale bioremediation applications, demonstrating impressive biomass production rates and enhanced pollutant removal efficiency. The promising potential of microalgae-mediated bioremediation is emphasized, presenting a viable and innovative alternative to traditional treatment methods in addressing the global challenge of environmental pollution. This review identifies the opportunities and challenges for microalgae-based technology and proposed suggestions for future studies to tackle challenges. The findings of this review advance our understanding of the potential of microalgae-based technology wastewater treatment.

Municipal solid waste management challenges in developing regions: A comprehensive review and future perspectives for Asia and Africa

The rapid urbanization witnessed in developing countries in Asia and Africa has led to a substantial increase in municipal solid waste (MSW) generation. However, the corresponding disposal strategies, along with constraints in land resources and finances, compounded by unorganized public behaviour, have resulted in ineffective policy implementation and monitoring. This lack of systematic and targeted orientation, combined with blind mapping, has led to inefficient development in many areas. This review examines the key challenges of MSW management in developing countries in Asia and Africa from 2013 to 2023, drawing insights from 170 academic papers. Rather than solely focusing on recycling, the study proposes waste sorting at the source, optimization of landfill practices, thermal treatment measures, and strategies to capitalize on the value of waste as more pertinent solutions aligned with local realities. Barriers to optimizing management systems arise from socio-economic factors, infrastructural limitations, and cultural considerations. The review emphasizes the importance of integrating the study area into the circular economy framework, with a focus on enhancing citizen participation in solid waste reduction and promoting recycling initiatives, along with seeking economic assistance from international organizations.

Environmental pitfalls and associated human health risks and ecological impacts from landfill leachate contaminants: Current evidence, recommended interventions and future directions

The improper management of solid waste, particularly the dumping of untreated municipal solid waste, poses a growing global challenge in both developed and developing nations. The generation of leachate is one of the significant issues that arise from this practice, and it can have harmful impacts on both the environment and public health. This paper presents an overview of the primary waste types that generate landfill leachate and their characteristics. This includes examining the distribution of waste types in landfills globally and how they have changed over time, which can provide valuable insights into potential pollutants in a given area and their trends. With a lack of specific regulations and growing concerns regarding environmental and health impacts, the paper also focuses on emerging contaminants. Furthermore, the environmental and ecological impacts of leachate, along with associated health risks, are analyzed. The potential applications of landfill leachate, suggested interventions and future directions are also discussed in the manuscript. Finally, this work addresses future research directions in landfill leachate studies, with attention, for the first time to the potentialities that artificial intelligence can offer for landfill leachate management, studies, and applications.

Culture-based and culture-independent approach for the study of the methanogens and obligate anaerobes from different landfill sites

The landfill is a cheap way of solid waste management in developing countries. The majority of landfills are non-sanitary and work as open garbage dumping sites and pose threats to public and environmental health. Therefore, an in-depth understanding of the chemistry and microbiology of landfills is imperative to develop the right policies for landfill management. In the current study, we investigated the chemistry and microbiology of three Indian landfill sites using culture-based and culture-independent molecular approaches. Our data indicate that the nature of landfills varies from site to site in terms of chemistry, pollutants, and pathogens. We also enriched and cultivated three methanogens using an optimized medium and constructed two high-quality draft genomes from enriched microbiomes using metagenome-assembled genome approaches. The phylogenomic study of one draft genome showed the highest 93% sequence similarity with members of Methanomassiliicoccaceae and was always enriched with Acholoplasma and Anaerohalosphaera lusitana. Despite all the efforts, we did not isolate it in pure culture and hypothesized that for the cultivation of some not-yet-cultured methanogen, the presence of other organisms plays an important role, and their syntrophic interaction must be discerned for its successful cultivation in the future. Co-cultivation of amino acid-degrading organisms indicates that their co-culture can assist in boosting the growth of methanogens. In addition, our data indicated that landfill leachate contains a heavy load of pollutants and treatment is a must before discharge in nature or use in irrigation or biofertilizer.

The Impact and Determinants of Mountainous Topographical Factors on Soil Microbial Community Characteristics

Soil bacterial and fungal community communities play significant ecological functions in mountain ecosystems. However, it is not clear how topographic factors and soil physicochemical properties influence changes in microbial community structure and diversity. This study aims to investigate how altitude and slope orientation affect soil physicochemical properties, soil microbial communities, and their contributing factors. The assessment was conducted using Illumina MiSeq sequencing in various altitude gradients and on slopes with different aspects (shady slopes and sunny slopes) in the subalpine meadow of Dongling Mountain, Beijing. Topographical factors had a significant effect on soil physicochemical properties: the primary factors determining the structure of microbial communities are total potassium (TK), ammonium nitrogen (NH4+-N), and soil organic carbon (SOC). There was no significant change in the diversity of the bacterial community, whereas the diversity of the fungal community displayed a single-peaked trend. The effect of slope orientation on microbial communities was not as significant as the effect of elevation on them. The number of bacterial communities with significant differences showed a unimodal trend, while the number of fungal communities showed a decreasing trend. The co-occurrence network of fungal communities exhibits greater intricacy than that of bacterial communities, and bacterial communities are more complex in soils with sunny slopes compared to soils with shady slopes, and the opposite is true for fungal communities. The identification of the main factors that control soil microbial diversity and composition in this study, provided the groundwork for investigating the soil microbial response and adaptation to environmental changes in subalpine meadows.