#EnvChem2023: Chemistry of the Whole Environment
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Laura Alcock
[email protected] |
Dr Rowena Fletcher-Wood
[email protected] |
ECG Bulletin July 2023
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#EnvChem is an annual two-day international event where environmental chemists share developments across environmental chemistry. In 2023, it was held at the University of Glasgow on June 1st and 2nd, and featured four keynote speakers, 25 oral and 22 poster presentations. The meeting was organised by The Royal Society of Chemistry, Environmental Chemistry Group, the BMSS Environmental and Food Analysis Special Interest Group, and the UK Branch of SETAC.
Our initial and most popular session, pharmaceuticals in the environment, was chaired by Dr Caroline Gauchotte Lindsay and Dr Helena Rapp Wright. |
Mazumdar-Shaw Advanced Research Centre, University of Glasgow (#EnvChem2023 venue).
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Our opening keynote speaker, Professor Sharon Pfleger, (NHS Highlands) provided an introduction to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in her talk ‘From bench to impact – making a difference in environmental chemistry research’, particularly noting the prevalence of the problem over the solutions/impact in the field. She and her team received a novel grant for their work towards revolutionising prescribing practices, improving environmental risk assessment, and contributing to sustainability targets through expanding pharmaceutical environmental data. They aim to include this alongside clinical and cost-effective information to support prescribers in choosing between drug alternatives. Professor Pfelger wrote an excellent post about her keynote talk on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7072887252690821120/?updateEntityUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afs_feedUpdate%3A%28V2%2Curn%3Ali%3Aactivity%3A7072887252690821120%29
Gabriele Frascaroli (Glasgow Caledonian University) presented ‘Occurrence of antibiotics responsible for the development of anti-microbial resistance in wastewater treatment plants and their removal via microalgae’. He shared novel data on active removal and biosorption results in microalgae, and discussed the differences in these mechanisms, which depend on the nature of the target antibiotics. Uptakes up to 96% were achieved. Efforts continue to improve the systems and explore other microalgae.
Kemi Oloyede (Imperial College London) followed with ‘Measurement and in silico prediction of pharmaceutical biotransformation in receiving water', with a focus on pinpointing worst affected contaminated surface waters (which tend to be close to wastewater treatment plants) and modelling retention time to identify potential chemicals alongside screening techniques for suspect compounds such as vaccine transformation products using LC-QTOF-MS.
Hamed Rasouli-Sadabad (Ulster University) discussed ‘Antimicrobial resistance spread during antibiotics removal from water by adsorption’ with a remarkable focus on disadvantages of adsorbents in wastewater treatment. He demonstrated a huge increase in horizontal gene transfer by introducing activated carbon, and used modelling to explore mechanistic steps.
Tathagata Pal (Indian Institute of Technology Bombay) delivered ‘Handheld cost-effective optical fibre biosensor for detection of ciproflaxin and enrofloxacin in environmental samples with optical setup miniaturised into a µSense device’. The device was successfully tested both in India and Scotland, detecting antibiotics as low as 1 ppb in various surface waters.
Dr Lydia Niemi, (University of the Highlands and Islands) presented ‘Innovative data visualisation tool to explore relationships between pharmaceutical prescribing and environmental occurrence’, highlighting the fundamental principle of the One Health Breakthrough Partnership: human, animal, and environmental health inter connectedness. Critically, her work includes a gap analysis which determined that rural areas were not frequently monitored. Environmental data were linked to high granularity prescription trends to create an interactive online tool for quick review of vast volumes of data.
Kemi Oloyede (Imperial College London) followed with ‘Measurement and in silico prediction of pharmaceutical biotransformation in receiving water', with a focus on pinpointing worst affected contaminated surface waters (which tend to be close to wastewater treatment plants) and modelling retention time to identify potential chemicals alongside screening techniques for suspect compounds such as vaccine transformation products using LC-QTOF-MS.
Hamed Rasouli-Sadabad (Ulster University) discussed ‘Antimicrobial resistance spread during antibiotics removal from water by adsorption’ with a remarkable focus on disadvantages of adsorbents in wastewater treatment. He demonstrated a huge increase in horizontal gene transfer by introducing activated carbon, and used modelling to explore mechanistic steps.
Tathagata Pal (Indian Institute of Technology Bombay) delivered ‘Handheld cost-effective optical fibre biosensor for detection of ciproflaxin and enrofloxacin in environmental samples with optical setup miniaturised into a µSense device’. The device was successfully tested both in India and Scotland, detecting antibiotics as low as 1 ppb in various surface waters.
Dr Lydia Niemi, (University of the Highlands and Islands) presented ‘Innovative data visualisation tool to explore relationships between pharmaceutical prescribing and environmental occurrence’, highlighting the fundamental principle of the One Health Breakthrough Partnership: human, animal, and environmental health inter connectedness. Critically, her work includes a gap analysis which determined that rural areas were not frequently monitored. Environmental data were linked to high granularity prescription trends to create an interactive online tool for quick review of vast volumes of data.
#EnvChem2023 Delegates at the evening community building event at the Clydeside Distillery.
Deborah Reid (Glasgow Caledonian University) covered ‘Analysis of antibiotic and heavy metal contamination in wastewater to assess contribution to antimicrobial resistance’. She demonstrated the development and spread of AMR using a 60 x 120 cm agar plate visual, and discussed analysis of antibiotic and heavy metal concentrations in wastewater and biofilms, including identification and quantification of AMR genes across each of the four seasons.
Emma O’Sullivan-Carroll (University College Cork) gave a talk on ‘Development of greener analytical methods for the detection of active pharmaceutical ingredients in wastewater effluents using capillary zone electrophoresis’, which offers a fast (< 10 minutes) method for detection of antibiotics. The method benefitted from “greenness” (producing less organic solvent waste). Resolution and standard error were also compared with HPLC.
Alexandra Richardson (Imperial College London) spoke on ‘The IMPART project, a citizen science approach to using passive samplers to monitor for emerging contaminants’, using a newly separately multi-sorbent 3D printed passive sampler. Analysis of samplers from communities across a wide geographical catchment revealed similar concentrations of emerging contaminants except near wastewater treatment plants. Personal care products dominated the contaminants. The team is now looking to improve their citizen
scientist provision.
Emma O’Sullivan-Carroll (University College Cork) gave a talk on ‘Development of greener analytical methods for the detection of active pharmaceutical ingredients in wastewater effluents using capillary zone electrophoresis’, which offers a fast (< 10 minutes) method for detection of antibiotics. The method benefitted from “greenness” (producing less organic solvent waste). Resolution and standard error were also compared with HPLC.
Alexandra Richardson (Imperial College London) spoke on ‘The IMPART project, a citizen science approach to using passive samplers to monitor for emerging contaminants’, using a newly separately multi-sorbent 3D printed passive sampler. Analysis of samplers from communities across a wide geographical catchment revealed similar concentrations of emerging contaminants except near wastewater treatment plants. Personal care products dominated the contaminants. The team is now looking to improve their citizen
scientist provision.
The in-person event included a dedicated poster session. This included soil science explorations of:
•Novel characterisation and soil regeneration with accelerated carbonation (AC).
•Trace analysis of perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS).
•Elucidating biochemical mechanisms suppressing decomposition in peat soils via DNA extraction without soil organic matter (SOM) contamination.
•Modelling sorption dynamics of AMR promoting drugs on mineral surfaces.
•TGA-FTIR for simultaneous assessment and quantification of contaminants and carbonation.
•The behaviour of small molecules in soil ecosystems using 3D printed personal sampler devices (PSDs).
• Molecular chemical processes behind soil ecological services and the Tea Bag Index (TBI) citizen science initiative.
• Fungi nutrient cycling via steroid alcohol conversion into biomass.
• Electrochemical biosensors for environmental monitoring applied in fungi.
In aquatic environments:
• Spatial distribution of perfluorooctanoic (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acids (PFOS).
• Epidemiology of heroin-use across 9 English sites.
• Low-molecular-weight-gelator (LMWG) gels for circular remediation approaches to emerging contaminants.
• Assessing concentrations, spatiotemporal trends, annual fluxes, and sources of pharmaceuticals.
• The effect of natural organic matter (NOM) sorption in decreasing toxic micropollutant extraction by granular activated carbon (GAC).
• Optician sensors for sustainable, scalable monitoring mimicking biological “tasting”.
Gas analysis focused on:
• Novel electrospun nanofibrous NiFeAl layered double hydroxides, offering novel recyclability with PVA-bases, uniform pores, and enhanced flexibility.
• Monitoring volatile products of incomplete destruction (PIDs) from PFAS removal technologies.
In mixed matrices, presenters demonstrated:
• Sample preparation and analysis of spiked liquid and solid matrices.
• Monitoring pyrethroid pesticide/insecticide levels in environmental and biological matrices.
• The gap in suitable, recognised methodologies for tyre and road wear microplastic analysis.
• PFAS content of complex food matrices.
• Evaluating the effect of storage and packaging on the volatile composition of beverages.
•Novel characterisation and soil regeneration with accelerated carbonation (AC).
•Trace analysis of perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS).
•Elucidating biochemical mechanisms suppressing decomposition in peat soils via DNA extraction without soil organic matter (SOM) contamination.
•Modelling sorption dynamics of AMR promoting drugs on mineral surfaces.
•TGA-FTIR for simultaneous assessment and quantification of contaminants and carbonation.
•The behaviour of small molecules in soil ecosystems using 3D printed personal sampler devices (PSDs).
• Molecular chemical processes behind soil ecological services and the Tea Bag Index (TBI) citizen science initiative.
• Fungi nutrient cycling via steroid alcohol conversion into biomass.
• Electrochemical biosensors for environmental monitoring applied in fungi.
In aquatic environments:
• Spatial distribution of perfluorooctanoic (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acids (PFOS).
• Epidemiology of heroin-use across 9 English sites.
• Low-molecular-weight-gelator (LMWG) gels for circular remediation approaches to emerging contaminants.
• Assessing concentrations, spatiotemporal trends, annual fluxes, and sources of pharmaceuticals.
• The effect of natural organic matter (NOM) sorption in decreasing toxic micropollutant extraction by granular activated carbon (GAC).
• Optician sensors for sustainable, scalable monitoring mimicking biological “tasting”.
Gas analysis focused on:
• Novel electrospun nanofibrous NiFeAl layered double hydroxides, offering novel recyclability with PVA-bases, uniform pores, and enhanced flexibility.
• Monitoring volatile products of incomplete destruction (PIDs) from PFAS removal technologies.
In mixed matrices, presenters demonstrated:
• Sample preparation and analysis of spiked liquid and solid matrices.
• Monitoring pyrethroid pesticide/insecticide levels in environmental and biological matrices.
• The gap in suitable, recognised methodologies for tyre and road wear microplastic analysis.
• PFAS content of complex food matrices.
• Evaluating the effect of storage and packaging on the volatile composition of beverages.
In the session on legacy and emerging contaminants, chaired by Dr Peter Baugh, Professor Andrew Hursthouse (University of the West of Scotland) introduced ‘Resource exploitation and environmental impact: challenges from China’s rapid industrial expansion’.
He examined the impact of mineral extraction on concentrations of harmful heavy metals like arsenic in localised land and crops, demonstrating a strong correlation with rice crops. Remediation policy is still developing.
Dr Laura McGregor (SepSolve Analytical) spoke on ‘Non target screening of polar organics in cigarette leachate by immersive sorptive extraction and GC×GC‒TOF MS’ primarily via sorptive extraction . Approximately 4.3 trillion cigarette butts are estimated to end up in the environment, a toxic plastic containing ~7,000 toxic pollutants. A non-target GCxGC-TOF-MS approach successfully identified chemicals in leachate including nicotine-containing compounds.
Dr Mark Barrow (University of Warwick) spoke on ‘Tracking the history of polycyclic aromatic compounds in the River Thames estuary using Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry’. This talk discussed the use of FTICR-MS to categorise petroleum compounds, which present challenges in their complexity for sample preparation and data output volume; however, they can be incredibly useful for analysis of complex materials and matrices such as petrochemicals.
Dr Keng Tiong Ng (Imperial College London) spoke on ‘Development of a rapid LC-MS/MS method for explosive substances in complex matrices’. Approximately 15% of terrorist threats come from bombing attacks. Wastewater epidemiology approaches may provide crucial early warnings. In this talk, a new “direct injection” (no pre-treatment) LC-MS/MS approach was presented to detect and quantify 29 explosives from environmental samples.
Our final keynote speaker of the day was Dr William Peveler (University of Glasgow) presenting ‘From water to whisky: golden opportunities in analysis with plasmonic particles’, where he employed Au optical nanosensors to find patterns in and to categorise treated and untreated water chemistries. Extending this work, he applied the analysis to rapidly find chemical congener trends in whisky samples. Could this be used for fraud detection and augment human tasting panel analyses? Age comparison showed a correlation to rate of Au NP production, but correlation to other techniques varied.
He examined the impact of mineral extraction on concentrations of harmful heavy metals like arsenic in localised land and crops, demonstrating a strong correlation with rice crops. Remediation policy is still developing.
Dr Laura McGregor (SepSolve Analytical) spoke on ‘Non target screening of polar organics in cigarette leachate by immersive sorptive extraction and GC×GC‒TOF MS’ primarily via sorptive extraction . Approximately 4.3 trillion cigarette butts are estimated to end up in the environment, a toxic plastic containing ~7,000 toxic pollutants. A non-target GCxGC-TOF-MS approach successfully identified chemicals in leachate including nicotine-containing compounds.
Dr Mark Barrow (University of Warwick) spoke on ‘Tracking the history of polycyclic aromatic compounds in the River Thames estuary using Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry’. This talk discussed the use of FTICR-MS to categorise petroleum compounds, which present challenges in their complexity for sample preparation and data output volume; however, they can be incredibly useful for analysis of complex materials and matrices such as petrochemicals.
Dr Keng Tiong Ng (Imperial College London) spoke on ‘Development of a rapid LC-MS/MS method for explosive substances in complex matrices’. Approximately 15% of terrorist threats come from bombing attacks. Wastewater epidemiology approaches may provide crucial early warnings. In this talk, a new “direct injection” (no pre-treatment) LC-MS/MS approach was presented to detect and quantify 29 explosives from environmental samples.
Our final keynote speaker of the day was Dr William Peveler (University of Glasgow) presenting ‘From water to whisky: golden opportunities in analysis with plasmonic particles’, where he employed Au optical nanosensors to find patterns in and to categorise treated and untreated water chemistries. Extending this work, he applied the analysis to rapidly find chemical congener trends in whisky samples. Could this be used for fraud detection and augment human tasting panel analyses? Age comparison showed a correlation to rate of Au NP production, but correlation to other techniques varied.
Day two began with a online keynote speaker by Emma Holland-Lindsay,(National Federation of Women’s Institutes). The WI, who act as a women’s education group, equality advocate, and campaign pressure group, first raised awareness of household microplastics, including how a single clothes wash releases up to 13,700 microfibres, in 2016, launching ‘End plastic soup – The Women’s Institute’s campaign to tackle microplastic fibre pollution’. “The term microfiber had not been mentioned in parliament in relation to plastic pollution prior to 2016”, but since occurred in over 50 discussions. Alongside working with MPs, and craft demonstrations, the WI generated a 2021 report summarising six top tips for reducing microplastic pollution, and helped to secure research funding.
The session on microplastics, chaired by Laura Alcock, featured talks from Dr Gideon Idowu (Federal University of Technology Akure) with ‘Microplastics and plastic-related organic contaminants in Africa’s freshwater and marine environments’. Environmental laws in Africa are poorly enforced, leading to a high contribution of global marine plastic pollution, as illustrated with freshwater and sediment samples from eight African countries, where phthalate esters and phenolic compounds were found at high environmental concentrations.
Dr Louise Hamdy (CGG) spoke on ‘High-throughput screening of sediments for microplastic pollution: adapting an automated mineralogy approach’. The talk highlighted the complexity of analysing soils and sediment matrices. However, techniques such as quantitative evaluation of minerals by scanning electron microscopy offers faster, more efficient screening, especially for samples of microplastics of different shapes and sizes.
Peter Hollings (Coventry University) spoke on ‘Assessing the retention of new and emerging pollutants in nature based Solutions by online SPE LC-MS and µFTIR microscopy'. A treatment train constructed at Coventry University Ryton Organic Gardens tested samples for five different persistent contaminants, including antibiotics such as amoxicillin; all were below the limits of detection. However, different microplastics were detected in all samples including some from tyre rubber.
Dr Louise Hamdy (CGG) spoke on ‘High-throughput screening of sediments for microplastic pollution: adapting an automated mineralogy approach’. The talk highlighted the complexity of analysing soils and sediment matrices. However, techniques such as quantitative evaluation of minerals by scanning electron microscopy offers faster, more efficient screening, especially for samples of microplastics of different shapes and sizes.
Peter Hollings (Coventry University) spoke on ‘Assessing the retention of new and emerging pollutants in nature based Solutions by online SPE LC-MS and µFTIR microscopy'. A treatment train constructed at Coventry University Ryton Organic Gardens tested samples for five different persistent contaminants, including antibiotics such as amoxicillin; all were below the limits of detection. However, different microplastics were detected in all samples including some from tyre rubber.
After the break, Helena Rapp Wright presented her results from a year-long study and risk assessment of contaminants of emerging concern at ng/L to µg/L concentrations in a range of aquatic matrices in Ireland. Samples for surface waters and wastewater (both influent and effluent) were collected monthly for a year from a rural and an urban influenced area in Ireland.
Our soils system session, chaired by Dr Carla Comaran Casas, began with ‘PFAS distribution in contaminated soils and impact on rhizosphere and plant microbiota' by Dr Lucia Rodriguez-Freire (Newcastle University). PFAS are highly persistent due to high chemical, thermal and biological resistance, and accumulate in plant roots, stems and shoots. The talk discussed analysis compounds taken up in plants and soil, studying retention and mobility. Despite recommendations for low limits of these “forever chemicals”, there are no specific regulations in Europe.
Dr Claudia Rocco (Imperial College London) covered her ‘Investigation into stability of micronutrient complexes with PDMA, a novel ligand as fertiliser'. She reported a new synthetic ligand that may stabilise the delivery of nutrient metals such as iron and zinc. Use of the ligand increased uptake concentrations of iron, but not zinc, although both demonstrated strong chelation and logK values that compared well with those of natural ligands.
Niall Marsay (Cranfield University) shared ‘Development and optimisation of rapid analysis of weathered slag using portable XRF’. Brownfield sites (primarily industrial revolution) potentially rich in legacy contaminants present an ongoing issue. Handheld X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometers offer fast, extensive analysis, shown with weathered slag from former metallurgical sites, including at Europe’s former largest blast furnace.
Dr Claudia Rocco (Imperial College London) covered her ‘Investigation into stability of micronutrient complexes with PDMA, a novel ligand as fertiliser'. She reported a new synthetic ligand that may stabilise the delivery of nutrient metals such as iron and zinc. Use of the ligand increased uptake concentrations of iron, but not zinc, although both demonstrated strong chelation and logK values that compared well with those of natural ligands.
Niall Marsay (Cranfield University) shared ‘Development and optimisation of rapid analysis of weathered slag using portable XRF’. Brownfield sites (primarily industrial revolution) potentially rich in legacy contaminants present an ongoing issue. Handheld X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometers offer fast, extensive analysis, shown with weathered slag from former metallurgical sites, including at Europe’s former largest blast furnace.
Dr Nitin Khandalwal (Imperial College London) started our sessions on water treatments, chaired by Dr Baptiste Poursat. He spoke on ‘Engineered iron nanostructures on different surfaces for continuous water purification'. Removing potential contaminants from water is crucial to address increasing global water scarcity, but remains a challenge. Nano-enabled approaches for aqueous decontamination were discussed, such as redox-active iron composites for degradation. In a circular economy approach, this was paired with sustainable nanoparticle recovery.
Bence Solymosi (University of Leeds) addressed ‘Disentangling adsorption from true catalytic degradation in advanced oxidation processes’, highlighting the problem of competition between absorption and true catalytic degradation. Experiments on carbon and oxidised carbon beads showed different removal percentages and significant changes in surface chemistry.
Bence Solymosi (University of Leeds) addressed ‘Disentangling adsorption from true catalytic degradation in advanced oxidation processes’, highlighting the problem of competition between absorption and true catalytic degradation. Experiments on carbon and oxidised carbon beads showed different removal percentages and significant changes in surface chemistry.
The afternoon keynote speaker, Dr Salim Alam (University of Nottingham) spoke on 'Oxidation chemistry in the atmospheres of global megacities’. In extreme urban environments, life expectancy may be reduced by 2.5 years due to particulate pollutants. Research included real time monitoring across London, Beijing, and Delhi, modelling, ~1200 filters, and offsite analysis, as well as PM visualisations demonstrating PM2.5 concentrations (µg/m3) in Delhi significantly higher than WHO 2021 guideline limits. Sources of metal contamination included unregulated extraction. Challenges in experimental set-up involved cages to prevent monkeys eating inlet lines.
Dr Rowena Fletcher-Wood chaired the final session on indoor and outdoor air, featuring Dr Amber Yeoman, University of York, who explored the 'Atmospheric fate of consumer products’ – the neglected environmental fate and their impact on indoor air quality. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from consumer products are a major air pollutant, but give numerous chemical profiles, even for similar products, and data are scarce: air pollution is not a focus of “green” consumer products, especially non-aerosols, a challenge to improving indoor and outdoor pollution and atmospheric fates.
Holly Walder, Imperial College London, covered ‘Development of low-cost miniaturised passive air samplers for measuring (semi) volatile organic compounds in personal, indoor and outdoor environments’, addressing concerns about the redevelopment of UK brownfield sites, by investigating different chemical fingerprints using passive air samplers deployed in indoor and outdoor environments, where VOCs were detected such as TCIPP, a flame retardant. The community living close to the investigated areas was heavily involved in the research methodology and aims.
Jessica Gabb, IS Instruments, discussed ‘Measuring natural gas with Raman spectroscopy’, where she illustrated technological efforts to amplify gas phase Raman signals. Proof-of-concept work involved compromises between fibre length, fill time, and counts to identify detection limits (a few µL of sample, 2 ppm with a 15 m fibre). New research is investigating the possibility of using multi gas channel when using the same device.
Thomas Warburton, University of York, completed the talks with ‘The effect of ventilation on exposure to indoor VOCs in Bradford’. VOCs can leach into the surface, an example of source is outdoor air including cooking, one of the top sources. There is emerging evidence which shows ventilation rates may impact changes in long-term indoor VOC concentrations.
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Prizes were awarded to Louise Hamdy, Dr Nitin Khandelwal, and Holly Walder for their outstanding oral presentations; and to Dana Druker, Abdullah Shahid, and Sophie Singer for their outstanding poster displays.
Our committee, speakers and delegates have been very active on social media during the conference; search for #EnvChem2023 to get a further feel for the event! |
Poster winners with the Prize Committee.
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