Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) diagnostic ratios have recently come into common use as a tool for identifying and assessing pollution emission sources. Some diagnostic ratios are based on ...parent PAHs, others on the proportions of alkyl-substituted to non-substituted molecules. The ratios are applicable to PAHs determined in different environmental media: air (gas + particle phase), water, sediment, soil, as well as biomonitor organisms such as leaves or coniferous needles, and mussels. These ratios distinguish PAH pollution originating from petroleum products, petroleum combustion and biomass or coal burning. The compounds involved in each ratio have the same molar mass, so it is assumed they have similar physicochemical properties. Numerous studies show that diagnostic ratios change in value to different extents during phase transfers and environmental degradation. The paper reviews applications of diagnostic ratios, comments on their use and specifies their limitations.
► PAH diagnostic ratios may identify pollution coming from petroleum spills, fuel combustion and coal or biomass burning. ► They are sensitive to changes during PAHs environmental fate processes. ► Some diagnostic ratios are of limited value due to fast photodegradation of one of the compounds.
The paper reviews PAH diagnostic ratios that are applied to identify pollution emission originating from petroleum products, fuel combustion or coal and biomass burning.
The concept of green chemistry is widely recognized in chemical laboratories. To properly measure an environmental impact of chemical processes, dedicated assessment tools are required. This paper ...summarizes the current state of knowledge in the field of development of green chemistry and green analytical chemistry metrics. The diverse methods used for evaluation of the greenness of organic synthesis, such as eco-footprint, E-Factor, EATOS, and Eco-Scale are described. Both the well-established and recently developed green analytical chemistry metrics, including NEMI labeling and analytical Eco-scale, are presented. Additionally, this paper focuses on the possibility of the use of multivariate statistics in evaluation of environmental impact of analytical procedures. All the above metrics are compared and discussed in terms of their advantages and disadvantages. The current needs and future perspectives in green chemistry metrics are also discussed.
Chromatographic techniques are very frequently used in analytical procedures for the separation, determination and identification of a wide spectrum of analytes present in samples with complex and ...sometimes variable matrices. However, the estimation of uncertainty of the final results does not include the uncertainties associated with the actual chromatographic process. In effect, such results cannot always be treated as a reliable source of analytical information. In this paper we present the basic terms, sources of uncertainty, and methods of calculating the combined uncertainty that any presentation of final determinations should include.
•Up-to-date summary of the use of electronic noses in analysis of edible oils.•E-nose applications in determination of botanical and geographical origin of oils.•E-nose applications in detection of ...adulterations and quality control.•Comparison of electronic olfaction with other methods of oil quality evaluation.
The growing demand for wholesome and nutritious food leads to intensification of production, which in turn can have a detrimental effect on quality and well-being of consumers. For that reason, it is important to develop novel methods of food control which would be characterized by a short time of analysis, adequate sensitivity and relatively low cost. One such technique involves the use of multi-sensory devices called electronic noses. In recent years there has been a rapid development of this method, especially in the area of food control. Electronic olfaction can be successfully used in the analysis of edible oils, in particular in the determination of the product’s geographical origin, and in detection of adulteration as well as deterioration caused by external factors.
In recent years, ionic liquids and deep eutectic mixtures have demonstrated great potential in extraction processes relevant to several scientific and technological activities. This review focuses on ...the applicability of these sustainable solvents in a variety of extraction techniques, including but not limited to liquid‐ and solid‐phase (micro) extraction, microwave‐assisted extraction, ultrasound‐assisted extraction and pressurized liquid extraction. Selected applications of ionic liquids and deep eutectic mixtures on analytical method development, removal of environmental pollutants, selective isolation, and recovery of target compounds, purification of fuels, and azeotrope breaking are described and discussed.
Exacting extractions: Ionic liquids and deep eutectic mixtures have attracted considerable attention on account of their unique properties. This review provides relevant applications of these sustainable solvents in extraction processes that have significant impact in science and technology, including analytical method development, removal of environmental pollutants, selective isolation and recovery of target compounds, purification of fuels, and azeotrope breaking.
A novel procedure for assessing the environmental risk related to solvent emissions has been developed. The assessment of risk was based on detailed hazard and exposure investigations. The potential ...exposure related to different environmental phases was calculated using a basic multimedia model, which gives the percentage distribution of solvent in environmental compartments as a result. Specific hazards – toxicological, environmental persistence or photochemical ozone creation data have been assigned to each compartment. The environmental distribution of solvents gives the weights applied in the multicriteria decision analysis, which was applied to obtain the full ranking of solvents. The results show that alcohols and esters can be considered as low environmental risk solvents, whereas chlorinated solvents or aromatic hydrocarbons are the most problematic. The assessment procedure holds promise for solvent selection during process design as well as in finding alternatives to hazardous solvents used in existing processes.
Green Chemistry plays a more and more important role in implementing rules of sustainable development to prevent environmental pollution caused by technological processes, while simultaneously ...increasing the production yield. Ionic liquids (ILs) and deep eutectic solvents (DESs) constitute a very broad group of substances. Apart from many imperfections, ILs and DESs have been the most promising discoveries in the world of Green Chemistry in recent years. The main advantage of ILs is their unique physicochemical properties—they are very desirable from the technological point of view, but apart from these benefits, ILs appear to be highly toxic towards organisms from different trophic levels. DES areas of usage are very spread, because they cover organic synthesis, extraction processes, electrochemistry, enzymatic reactions and many others. Moreover, DESs seem to be a less toxic alternative to ionic liquids. New possibilities of applications and future development trends are sought and presented, including such important solutions of life branches as pharmaceuticals’ production and medicine.
This article presents the most popular methods of sewage sludge management and associated unit operations and processes referring to them. The most popular methods are: Reclamation and adaptation of ...lands to specific needs; plant cultivation not intended for consumption or for production of food; usage in agriculture; usage in building; recovery of phosphorus, rare earth metals or fats and usage in industry; producing combustible pellets, granulates or other usable materials such as absorbents; and storage on territory of treatment plant and landfills. Processing connected with stabilization leads to generation of materials which might be contaminated with variety of organic compounds. Since this type of management generally assumes introduction of processed sludge to the ground, it can cause soil contamination with unknown compounds of organic origin. However, thermal processing of raw sewage sludge essentially excludes such possibility. Majority of organic matter is transformed into simple, mineralized form. In this case the most problematic issue is sewage sludge ash contamination with heavy metals. Although, determination of heavy metals in ashes is much simpler than determination of organic compounds. Chemical analysis can be very useful to asses environmental safety of processed and managed sewage sludge. That is why there is a significant quantity of used analytical techniques which are likely to support the processes of designing and implementing new economically and environmentally reasonable ways of re-using sewage sludge. Further, the process of technological utilization of sewage sludge conducted in Wastewater Treatment Plant “Wschód” in Gdańsk is described. Recently technological line was upgraded. Now excessive sewage sludge is anaerobic digested with biogas recovery. Fermentation residues are incinerated in fluidized bed furnace. Ashes are cemented and land filled. Gdańska Infrastruktura Wodociągowo-Kanalizacyjna, which is owner of the treatment plant “Wschód“ is planning development strategy for the implementation of a pro-ecological management method connected with production of light construction materials and phosphorus recovery. Management of thermal treated sewage sludge is simpler and cheaper than non-thermal management, especially in case of large amounts of treated sewage sludge like in Wastewater Treatment Plant “Wschód”. Management in smaller installations of treatment plants collecting sewage sludge from less industrialized agglomerations is also less complicated. Sewage sludge management process should be developed separately for each treatment plant. Only then all management methods will be ecologically and economically justified.
•Main sewage sludge management methods are described.•Analytical methods used in sewage sludge management process are described.•Law related to the sewage sludge management are given.
► An analytical Eco-Scale is proposed as a tool for green analysis evaluation. ► Limitations of existing green analytical metrics are presented. ► The greenness of every step of a multi-stage ...analytical process is discussed. ► A method of analytical Eco-Scale calculation is explained. ► Examples of the Eco-Scale values for several laboratory procedures are given.
We propose the analytical Eco-Scale as a novel comprehensive approach to evaluating the greenness of analytical methodology. It is based on assigning penalty points to parameters of an analytical process that are not in agreement with the ideal green analysis. This approach compares different parameters and different steps of the analytical process.
Traditional green chemistry metrics (e.g., Atom Economy, E-factor and Reaction Mass Efficiency), which were introduced for organic preparations, do not usually fit the purposes of green analytical chemistry. Existing databases for evaluation of green analytical methods refer to known procedures and instruments, and do not encourage new, more environmentally-friendly equivalents.
As an alternative to traditional green chemistry metrics, the analytical Eco-Scale can be a good, semi-quantitative tool.
Early nutrition has an enormous influence on a child’s physiological function, immune system maturation, and cognitive development. Human breast milk (HBM) is recognized as the gold standard for ...human infant nutrition. According to a WHO report, breastfeeding is considered as an unequaled way of providing ideal food to the infant, which is required for his healthy growth and development. HBM contains various macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and vitamins) as well as numerous bioactive compounds and interactive elements (growth factors, hormones, cytokines, chemokines, and antimicrobial compounds. The aim of this review is to summarize and discuss the current knowledge about metabolites, which are the least understood components of HBM, and their potential role in infant development. We focus on small metabolites (<1500 Da) and characterize the chemical structure and biological function of polar metabolites such as human milk oligosaccharides, nonprotein molecules containing nitrogen (creatine, amino acids, nucleotides, polyamines), and nonpolar lipids. We believe that this manuscript will provide a comprehensive insight into a HBM metabolite composition, chemical structure, and their role in a child’s early life nutrition.
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