Ústav chemie a technologie ochrany životního prostředí
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- ItemHydrodynamic cavitation-enhanced activation of sodium percarbonate for estrogen removal(IWA Publishing, 2023-12-01) Odehnalová, Klára; Přibilová, Petra; Maršálková, Eliška; Zezulka, Štěpán; Pochylý, František; Rudolf, Pavel; Maršálek, BlahoslavThe present paper investigated the potential of hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) as an effective tool for activating sodium percarbonate (SPC). The method's efficiency was demonstrated by effectively removing estrogens, which are pollutants that have adverse impacts on aquatic ecosystems. The effects of the SPC concentration, temperature of solution, and cavitation time were evaluated. After SPC/HC treatment, the removal of estrogens was monitored by LC-MS/MS. Already after 4 s of treatment and 24 h of reaction time, more than 97% of estrogens (initial concentration of 300 ng/L) were removed. The effect of post-treatment time is not considered in several papers, even though it seems to be crucial and is discussed here. The results were supported by the values of degradation rate constants, which fit the pseudo-first-order kinetic model. We also verified that HC alone was not effective for estrogen removal under the selected conditions. The sustainability of the SPC/HC system was evaluated based on electric energy per order calculation. The combination of SPC and HC is a promising approach for rapidly degrading micropollutants such as estrogenic compounds without the need for additional technological steps, such as pH or temperature adjustment.
- ItemThe Role of Biochar Co-Pyrolyzed with Sawdust and Zeolite on Soil Microbiological and Physicochemical Attributes, Crop Agronomic, and Ecophysiological Performance(Springer Nature, 2023-09-14) Mustafa, Adnan; Holátko, Jiří; Hammerschmiedt, Tereza; Kučerík, Jiří; Kintl, Antonín; Baltazár, Tivadar; Malíček, Ondřej; Brtnický, MartinThe overuse of synthetic fertilizers has been associated with negative environmental consequences. The use of biochar in this regard has been recommended as a win-win strategy. However, our understanding on the comparative influences of biochar prepared from various feedstocks mixed with other bulking agents on soil health and crop performance remained limited. Therefore, in the present study, three types of biochar produced from sewage sludge, food, and agricultural waste were analyzed and compared for their effects on soil enzymes (dehydrogenase, DHA; & beta;-glucosidase, GLU; phosphatase, PHOS; urease, URE; N-acetyl-& beta;-D-glucosaminidase, NAG; and arylsulphatase, ARS), soil basal, as well as substrate-induced respirations and plant growth and physiology characters. The results revealed that food waste-derived biochar co-pyrolyzed with zeolite and/or sawdust was more effective in improving soil physicochemical properties and carbon and phosphorous cycling enzyme (DHA, GLU, and PHOS) activities in addition to soil basal respiration. While the influence of wastewater sewage sludge-derived biochar was more pronounced on urease, N-acetyl-& beta;-D-glucosaminidase, and arylsulphatase enzymes as well as plant biomass accumulation and physiological attributes. Moreover, agricultural waste-derived biochar was found to be effective in enhancing substrate-induced respirations. This study thus concluded that biochar derived from various feedstocks has the tendency to improve soil health and plant growth attributes which further depend on the type of modification prior to pyrolysis.
- ItemDensity of bulk trap states of hybrid lead halide perovskite single crystals: temperature modulated space-charge-limited-currents(Springer Nature, 2019-03-04) Pospíšil, Jan; Zmeškal, Oldřich; Nešpůrek, Stanislav; Krajčovič, Jozef; Weiter, Martin; Kovalenko, AlexanderTemperature-modulated space-charge-limited-current spectroscopy (TMSCLC) is applied to quantitatively evaluate the density of trap states in the band-gap with high energy resolution of semiconducting hybrid lead halide perovskite single crystals. Interestingly multicomponent deep trap states were observed in the pure perovskite crystals, which assumingly caused by the formation of nanodomains due to the presence of the mobile species in the perovskites.
- ItemImpact of various oxidation processes used for removal of sulfamethoxazole on the quality of treated wastewater(KeAi Communications Co., Ltd., 2023-04-17) Tulková, Tereza; Fučík, Jan; Kozáková, Zdenka; Procházková, Petra; Krčma, František; Zlámalová Gargošová, Helena; Mravcová, Ludmila; Sovová, KateřinaThe objective of this research is to describe the impact of different advanced oxidation processes used for the removal of sulfamethoxazole on wastewater quality. Ozone, UV, a combination of ozone and UV, and plasma discharge were employed. Concentrations of sulfamethoxazole were analysed by LC-MS/MS. Chemical and microbiological analyses and ecotoxicological tests were conducted to investigate the quality of treated wastewater. The results of this study show that the most effective technique for the removal of sulfamethoxazole is O3, followed by plasma discharge, O3 + UV and, finally, UV. A significant effect of tested advanced oxidation processes on the chemical composition of wastewater was not observed; however, the number of microorganisms was reduced. In the case of ecotoxicological tests with Lemna minor and crustacean Daphnia magna, a significant negative effect was only observed when plasma was applied.
- ItemManure Maturation with Biochar: Effects on Plant Biomass, Manure Quality and Soil Microbiological Characteristics(MDPI, 2022-03-25) Hammerschmiedt, Tereza; Holátko, Jiří; Kučerík, Jiří; Mustafa, Adnan; Radziemska, Maja; Kintl, Antonín; Malíček, Ondřej; Baltazár, Tivadar; Látal, Oldřich; Brtnický, MartinApplication of biochar and composts prepared from organic wastes as soil amendments has been recognized as a beneficial strategy to enhance soil fertility and crop production. However, the modification of manures with applied organic amendments such as biochar has not been well explained. Therefore, the preliminary study was designed to evaluate the impact of two doses of biochar (low 0.4 kg + 10 kg of manure and high 4 kg + 10 kg of manure) on the modification of resulting co-composted manure properties, and subsequently to evaluate the effect of matured manure amendment on the soil chemical and biological properties and plant yield in the pot experiment with barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). The following variants were tested: control, manure (M), manure + low biochar dose (M + LB), manure + high biochar dose (M + HB). Results revealed that, the M + HB significantly improved the co-composted manure properties as compared to control and M + LB, respectively. The most pronounced effects of M + HB treatment were observed on pH, NH4-N and humic acid to fulvic acid ratio (used as an index for manure maturity) relative to other treatments. Similarly, significant variations were observed between AOB (ammonium oxidizing bacteria) and nirs genes under M + HB which lowered the AOB and increased the nirs abundance as compared to other treatments. Moreover, when applied to soil, M + HB increased the observed soil chemical parameters with the exception of TN contents as compared to M and M + LB treatments. Similarly, plant biomass was significantly enhanced under the applied M + HB treatment. However, statistically insignificant differences were observed regarding soil enzyme activities and soil respiration values under the applied amendments. Thus, it was concluded that the co-composted manure with high biochar dose can have the potential to enhance the manure properties, soil fertilization value and plant biomass. However, its effects on soil microbiological and enzyme activities were intended be explored under long-term field experiments.