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Okeke ES, Nwankwo CE, Ezeorba TPC, Iloh VC, Enochoghene AE. Occurrence and ecotoxicological impacts of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in electronic waste (e-waste) in Africa: Options for sustainable and eco-friendly management strategies. Toxicology 2024; 506:153848. [PMID: 38825032 DOI: 10.1016/j.tox.2024.153848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/29/2024] [Revised: 05/23/2024] [Accepted: 05/27/2024] [Indexed: 06/04/2024]
Abstract
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are persistent contaminants used as flame retardants in electronic products. PBDEs are contaminants of concern due to leaching and recalcitrance conferred by the stable and hydrophobic bromide residues. The near absence of legislatures and conscious initiatives to tackle the challenges of PBDEs in Africa has allowed for the indiscriminate use and consequent environmental degradation. Presently, the incidence, ecotoxicity, and remediation of PBDEs in Africa are poorly elucidated. Here, we present a position on the level of contamination, ecotoxicity, and management strategies for PBDEs with regard to Africa. Our review shows that Africa is inundated with PBDEs from the proliferation of e-waste due to factors like the increasing growth in the IT sector worsened by the procurement of second-hand gadgets. An evaluation of the fate of PBDEs in the African environment reveals that the environment is adequately contaminated, although reported in only a few countries like Nigeria and Ghana. Ultrasound-assisted extraction, microwave-assisted extraction, and Soxhlet extraction coupled with specific chromatographic techniques are used in the detection and quantification of PBDEs. Enormous exposure pathways in humans were highlighted with health implications. In terms of the removal of PBDEs, we found a gap in efforts in this direction, as not much success has been reported in Africa. However, we outline eco-friendly methods used elsewhere, including microbial degradation, zerovalent iron, supercritical fluid, and reduce, reuse, recycle, and recovery methods. The need for Africa to make and implement legislatures against PBDEs holds the key to reduced effect on the continent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emmanuel Sunday Okeke
- Institute of Environmental Health and Ecological Security, School of Emergency Management, School of the Environment and Safety, Jiangsu University, 301 Xuefu Rd., Zhenjiang, Jiangsu 212013, China; Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biological Science, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State 410001, Nigeria; Natural Science Unit, School of General Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State 410001, Nigeria; College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, Deanery of Molecular, Genetic and Population Health Sciences, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
| | - Chidiebele Emmanuel Nwankwo
- Natural Science Unit, School of General Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State 410001, Nigeria; Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biological Sciences & Natural Science Unit, School of General Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State 410001, Nigeria; School of Food and Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, 301 Xuefu Rd., Zhenjiang, Jiangsu 212013, China
| | - Timothy Prince Chidike Ezeorba
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biological Science, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State 410001, Nigeria; Department of Environmental Health and Risk Management, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston B15 2TT, United Kingdom
| | - Veronica Chisom Iloh
- School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State 410001, Nigeria
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Fu M, Tan J, Zhou S, Ling S, Hu S, Qiao Z, Han Y, Zhang W, Peng C. Insight into Bioaccumulation of Decabromodiphenyl Ethane in Eisenia fetida Increased by Microplastics. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023; 57:13980-13990. [PMID: 37668438 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c02915] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/06/2023]
Abstract
The rise of electronics inevitably induced the co-pollution of novel brominated flame retardants (NBFRs) and microplastics (MPs). However, studies on how they interact to influence their bioavailability are scarce. Here, we explored the influence mechanism of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS)-MPs on the bioaccumulation of decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE) in soil-earthworm microcosms. The influence exhibited a temporal pattern characterized by short-term inhibition and long-term promotion. After 28 days of exposure, DBDPE bioaccumulation in a co-exposure (10 mg kg-1 DBDPE accompanied by 1000 mg kg-1 ABS-MPs) was 2.61 times higher than that in a separate exposure. The adsorption process in the soil, intestines, and mucus introduced DBDPE-carried MPs, which had a higher concentration of DBDPE than the surrounding soil and directly affected the bioavailability of DBDPE. MP-pre-exposure (100, 1000, and 10000 mg kg-1) reduced epidermal soundness, mucus secretion, and worm cast production. This eventually promoted the contact between earthworm and soil particles and enhanced the DBDPE of earthworm tissue by 6%-61% in the next DBDPE-postexposure period, confirming that MPs increased DBDPE bioaccumulation indirectly by impairing the earthworm health. This study indicates that MPs promoted DBDPE bioaccumulation via adsorption and self-toxicity, providing new insight into the combined risk of MPs and NBFRs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengru Fu
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Risk Assessment and Control on Chemical Process, School of Resource and Environmental Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Jiaqi Tan
- Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803, United States
| | - Shanqi Zhou
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Risk Assessment and Control on Chemical Process, School of Resource and Environmental Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Siyuan Ling
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Health Impact Assessment of Emerging Contaminants, Shanghai Academy of Environmental Sciences, Shanghai 200233, China
| | - Shuangqing Hu
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Health Impact Assessment of Emerging Contaminants, Shanghai Academy of Environmental Sciences, Shanghai 200233, China
| | - Zhihua Qiao
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Risk Assessment and Control on Chemical Process, School of Resource and Environmental Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Yanna Han
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Risk Assessment and Control on Chemical Process, School of Resource and Environmental Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Wei Zhang
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Risk Assessment and Control on Chemical Process, School of Resource and Environmental Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Cheng Peng
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Risk Assessment and Control on Chemical Process, School of Resource and Environmental Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
- Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai 200092, China
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Kuttiyathil MS, Ali L, Ahmed OH, Altarawneh M. Combating toxic emissions from thermal recycling of polymeric fractions laden with novel brominated flame retardants (NBFRs) in e-waste: an in-situ approach using Ca(OH) 2. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2023; 30:98300-98313. [PMID: 37606772 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-29428-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2023] [Accepted: 08/17/2023] [Indexed: 08/23/2023]
Abstract
Legacy brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in printed circuit boards are gradually being replaced by novel BFRs (NBFRs). Safe disposal and recycling of polymeric constituents in the polymeric fractions of e-waste necessitate the removal of their toxic and corrosive bromine content. This is currently acquired through thermal recycling operations involving the pyrolysis of BFRs-containing materials with metal oxides. Nonetheless, the debromination capacity toward NBFRs is yet to be established. Thus, this study aims to address these two crucial gaps in the current knowledge pertaining to the plausible formation of brominated toxicants from the thermal decomposition of NBFRs and their thermal recycling potential. Herein, we investigate the pyrolysis of a mixture of 2,4,6-tribromophenol (TBP), allyl 2,4,6-tribromophenyl ether (ATE) and Tetrabromobisphenol A-bis (2,3-dibromo propyl ether) (TBBPA-DBPE) in the presence of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) polymers at various loads. To demonstrate a viable debromination route, pyrolysis of NBFRs-ABS mixture with Ca(OH)2 was also investigated. The latter is a potent debromination agent for legacy BFRs. Upon pyrolysis with Ca(OH)2, the bromine content in the collected oil was reduced up to 80.49% between 25-500 °C. Products of the co-pyrolysis process generally feature non-brominated aromatic and aliphatic compounds; a finding that indicates an effective thermal recycling approach. As evident by IC measurements, no HBr emission could be detected when Ca(OH)2 is added to the mixture. As XRD patterns show, Ca(OH)2 is partially converted into CaBr2. DFT calculations provide pathways for the observed surface debromination characterized by surface-assisted fission of aromatic C-Br bonds and the formation of CaBr sites. Outcomes reported herein are instrumental to designing and operating a thermal recycling facility of polymeric materials contaminated with high loads of bromine, i.e., most notably during scenarios encountered in the thermal recycling of e-waste.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamed Shafi Kuttiyathil
- Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, United Arab Emirates University, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Street, 15551, Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates
| | - Labeeb Ali
- Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, United Arab Emirates University, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Street, 15551, Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates
| | - Oday H Ahmed
- Department of Physics, College of Education, Al- Iraqia University, Baghdad, Iraq
| | - Mohammednoor Altarawneh
- Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, United Arab Emirates University, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Street, 15551, Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates.
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Removal of Bromine from Polymer Blends with a Composition Simulating That Found in Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment through a Facile and Environmentally Friendly Method. Polymers (Basel) 2023; 15:polym15030709. [PMID: 36772010 PMCID: PMC9919020 DOI: 10.3390/polym15030709] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2022] [Revised: 01/16/2023] [Accepted: 01/26/2023] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The increasing volume of plastics from waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) nowadays is of major concern since the various toxic compounds that are formed during their handling enhance the difficulties in recycling them. To overcome these problems, this work examines solvent extraction as a pretreatment method, prior to thermochemical recycling by pyrolysis. The aim is to remove bromine from some polymeric blends, with a composition that simulates WEEE, in the presence of tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA). Various solvents-isopropanol, ethanol and butanol-as well as several extraction times, were investigated in order to find the optimal choice. Before and after the pretreatment, blends were analysed by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) to estimate the total bromine content. Blends were pyrolyzed before and after the soxhlet extraction in order to evaluate the derived products. FTIR measurements of the polymeric blends before and after the soxhlet extraction showed that their structure was maintained. From the results obtained, it was indicated that the reduction of bromine was achieved in all cases tested and it was ~34% for blend I and ~46% and 42% for blend II when applying a 6 h soxhlet with isopropanol and ethanol, respectively. When using butanol bromine was completely eliminated, since the reduction reached almost 100%. The latter finding is of great importance, since the complete removal of bromine enables the recycling of pure plastics. Therefore, the main contribution of this work to the advancement of knowledge lies in the use of a solvent (i.e., butanol) which is environmentally friendly and with a high dissolving capacity in brominated compounds, which can be used in a pretreatment stage of plastic wastes before it is recycled by pyrolysis.
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Nur'aini S, Zulfi A, Arrosyid BH, Rafryanto AF, Noviyanto A, Hapidin DA, Feriyanto D, Saputro KE, Khairurrijal K, Rochman NT. Waste acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) incorporated with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) for potential water filtration membrane. RSC Adv 2022; 12:33751-33760. [PMID: 36505690 PMCID: PMC9685737 DOI: 10.1039/d2ra05969j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2022] [Accepted: 11/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) is one of the most common fused-filament feedstocks for 3D printing. The rapid growth of the 3D printing industry has resulted in huge demand for ABS filaments; however, it generates a large amount of waste. This study developed a novel method using waste ABS to fabricate electrospun nanofiber membranes (ENMs) for water filtration. Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) was employed to modify the properties of waste ABS, and the effect of PVP addition in the range of 0-5 wt% was investigated. The results showed that adding PVP increased the viscosity and surface tension but decreased the conductivity of the precursor solution. After electrospinning, PVP could reduce the number of beads, increase the porosity and fiber diameter, and improve the wettability of the fabricated fibers. Moreover, the bilayer of ABS ENMs achieved a high flux value between 2951 and 48 041 L m-2 h-1 and a high rejection rate of 99%. Our study demonstrates a sustainable strategy to convert waste plastics to inexpensive materials for wastewater treatment membranes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Syarifa Nur'aini
- Nano Center Indonesia, Jalan Raya PUSPIPTEK South Tangerang Banten 15314 Indonesia
| | - Akmal Zulfi
- Research Center for Environmental and Clean Technology, National Research and Innovation Agency, Bandung Advanced Science and Creative Engineering Space (BASICS) Jl. Cisitu Bandung 40135 Indonesia
| | - Bagas Haqi Arrosyid
- Nano Center Indonesia, Jalan Raya PUSPIPTEK South Tangerang Banten 15314 Indonesia
| | - Ande Fudja Rafryanto
- Nano Center Indonesia, Jalan Raya PUSPIPTEK South Tangerang Banten 15314 Indonesia
| | - Alfian Noviyanto
- Nano Center Indonesia, Jalan Raya PUSPIPTEK South Tangerang Banten 15314 Indonesia
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Mercu Buana University Jl. Meruya Selatan, Kebun Jeruk Jakarta 11650 Indonesia
| | - Dian Ahmad Hapidin
- Department of Physics, Institut Teknologi Bandung Jalan Ganesa 10 Bandung 40132 Indonesia
| | - Dafit Feriyanto
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Mercu Buana University Jl. Meruya Selatan, Kebun Jeruk Jakarta 11650 Indonesia
| | | | | | - Nurul Taufiqu Rochman
- Research Center for Metallurgy and Materials, National Research and Innovation Agency South Tangerang Banten 15314 Indonesia
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