In the last decade, microplastics (MPs) have become an increasing cause for concerning. These particles are scattered throughout seas and oceans and have the capability of transporting adsorbed pollutants as pharmaceutical compounds, which can cause toxic effects and be transferred along the food chain. The development, optimization and validation of a sensitive and reliable analytical procedure for the extraction and determination of ten common pharmaceuticals adsorbed on MPs is reported in this study. This method involves ultrasound-assisted extraction coupled with ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry. All of the variables included in the extraction process, such as the extraction time and type and solvent volume, were studied and optimised. Under optimal conditions, good reproducibility and repeatability, with relative standard deviations lower than 15% in most cases, were obtained while limits of detection between 0.25 and 15.8 ng g-1 were achieved. Last, the method was applied to the analysis of samples collected from beaches in the Canary Islands (Spain). The results indicated the presence of several analytes adsorbed on MPs in concentrations ranging from 34.0 to 111 ng g-1.In this study, Co3O4-carbon composite was synthesized by calcined metal organic framework (MOF) ZIF-67 and used as efficient catalysts for ozonation of norfloxacin (NOF). The MOF-derived Co3O4-C composite remained similar polyhedrons structure of ZIF-67, suggesting that Co3O4 was well-dispersed in Co3O4-C composite. Furthermore, a larger amount of surface carbon-oxygen functional groups were distributed on Co3O4-C composite, which resulted in the diversification of active sites for catalytic ozonation reaction. NOF degradation and mineralization could be effectively enhanced in Co3O4-C/O3 process. Moreover, NOF mineralization by catalytic ozonation strongly depended on the solution pH, while other operational conditions, such as O3 concentration and catalyst dosage had not obvious influence on it. Co3O4-C composite could significantly accelerate O3 decomposition to produce active free radicals (such as •OH), which enhanced the mineralization of NOF. The possible catalytic mechanism of Co3O4-C composite was proposed. Additionally, after five consecutive use of Co3O4-C composite in catalytic ozonation process, there was no obvious decrease in TOC removal efficiency, indicating a stable performance of Co3O4-C composite, which was suitable for the catalytic ozonation for wastewater treatment.The SARS-CoV-2 health crisis has temporarily forced the lockdown of entire countries. This work reports the short-term effects on air quality of such unprecedented paralysis of industry and transport in different continental cities in Spain, one of the countries most affected by the virus and with the hardest confinement measures. The study takes into account sites with different sizes and diverse emission sources, such as traffic, residential or industrial emissions. This work reports new field measurement data for the studied pandemic period and assesses the air quality parameters within the historic trend of each pollutant and site. Thus, 2013-2020 data series from ground-air quality monitoring networks have been analysed to find out statistically significant changes in atmospheric pollutants during March-June 2020 due to this sudden paralysis of activity. The results show substantial concentration drops of primary pollutants, including NOx, CO, BTX, NMHC and NH3. Particulate matter changes were smaller due to the existence of other natural sources. During the lockdown the ozone patterns were different for each studied location, depending on the VOCs-NOx ratios, with concentration changes close to those expected from the historical series in each site and not statistically attributable to the health crisis effects. Finally, the gradual de-escalation and progressive increase of traffic density within cities reflects a slow recovery of primary pollutants. The results and conclusions for these cities, with different sizes and population, and specific emission sources, may serve as a behavioural model for other continental sites and help understand future crises.Phosphorous (P) fixation in alkaline calcareous soils is a serious concern worldwide and acidified-biochar application has been proposed to improve the agronomic benefits of applied P. The present study aims to improve understanding of P transformation process in an alkaline soil following different biochar amendments (rice-husk biochar (RHB), sugarcane-bagasse biochar (SWB) and wheat-straw biochar (WSB)), chemically engineered (acidification with 1 N HCl or washing with distilled water (pristine biochar)) along with or without P at 60 mg kg-1. A pot experiment was conducted with three biochars (RHB, SWB, WSB) and control, two chemical modifications (acidic and pristine), and two P-levels (without or with P). https://www.selleckchem.com/products/azd0095.html A pot study by growing spring maize and a parallel incubation study were done to test the treatment effects on P transformation. Results demonstrated that acidified SBC and WSB increased the plant P uptake and dry-matter yield by 40% and 29.7%, respectively, with P-supply. Both pristine or acidified RHB produced 80.5% and 110.7%, more root dry-matter, respectively, compared to respective controls without P. Non-acidified WSB along with P showed significantly higher Olson's P in incubation study. While in case of acidification along with P addition, RHB exhibited greater P availability, but it was inconsistent at different times during incubation. It can be concluded that acidified biochar amendments have potential to improve P management with inconsistent results. It is difficult to rule out that acidification of biochars is a pre-requisite for alkaline soils for P improvement. Further research is needed to explore site-specific P management for sustainable crop production.Photocatalysis is a potential technology for removing pollutants from water. As the recombination of the photogenerated electron-hole pairs can hinder the photocatalytic efficiency in the treatment of wastewater, the surface of the carrier is usually coated with a semiconductor. In this study, carbon microtube electrode prepared from corncob was coated with either titanium oxide (TiO2) or bismuth phosphate (BiPO4) and then used as a photocatalyst (C-TiO2 or C-BiPO4) to investigate the photodegradation of methylene blue (MB). The two photocatalysts, C-TiO2 and C-BiPO4, were characterized by phase determination, microstructure observation, water contact angle measurement, and base site analysis. The influences of reaction time, stability, MB concentration, initial pH, and OH radicals quenching on the degradation of MB were also evaluated. The degradation of MB by C-TiO2 and C-BiPO4 was mainly dominated by OH radical oxidation. The carbon microtube increased both the mass transfer rate and the photogenerated electron-hole pairs separation rate, thereby increasing the photocatalysis of both C-TiO2 and C-BiPO4 as revealed by an increase in the rate of MB degradation.