Aquaculture wastewater contains a huge amount of substances that can cause environmental pollution. However, microalgae can absorb these compounds and convert them into useful biomass. In this study, Chlorella minutissima was grown in the wastewater resulting from saline aquaculture. The microalgae were found to effectively utilize nitrogen and phosphorus in the wastewater for its growth. During wastewater treatment, the cell density increased almost fivefold compared to the initial value (OD₆₈₀ 0.502). Moreover, batch culture resulted in the maximum biomass concentration and productivity of 4.77 g/L and 0.55 g/L/day, respectively. The contents of total nitrogen and total phosphorus in wastewater decreased by 88% and over 99%, respectively. In addition, the content of N-NO₃ was reduced by 88.6%, N-NO₂ by 74.3%, and dissolved orthophosphates (V) by 99%. At the beginning and throughout the experiment, the content of N-NH₄ in wastewater remained below 0.05 mg/L. Furthermore, a high lipid content of 46.4% (w/w) was also obtained from the studied microalgae.

Phragmites australis (common reed) is one of the most extensively distributed species of emergent plant worldwide. The adaptive features of this plant show its competitive character. Owing to high intraspecific diversity of common reed, as well as its phenotypic plasticity, the plant shows a broad ecological amplitude. Moreover, the plant exhibits a high capacity for acclimatization to environmental conditions which are considered adverse. This plant has been used for many years in phytoremediation to purify various types of wastewater. Phragmites australis has a high ability to accumulate various nutrients, heavy metals, and micropollutants, and in this respect, it is superior to other aquatic plants. This review examines the existing literature on the biological and ecological properties of common reed, the use of common reed in wastewater treatment for removing pollutants and tolerance for metals, and in hydrophyte treatment systems. It seems vital to conduct further research on the physiology and biochemistry of the common reed, with the aim of increasing the plant’s efficiency for pollutants removal.

Microalgae are a renewable source of unconventional biomass with potential application in the production of various biofuels. The production of carbon-neutral fuels is necessary for protecting the environment. This work determined the possibility of producing biomass of microalgae belonging to Monoraphidium genus using saline wastewater resulting from proecological salmon farming in the recirculating aquaculture system. The tests were carried out in tubular photobioreactors using LED light. As a part of the analyses, the growth and productivity of microalgal biomass, cell density in culture, and lipid concentration and ash content in biomass were determined. In addition, the concentration of selected phosphorus and nitrogen forms present in wastewater corresponding to the degree of their use by microalgae as a nutrient substrate was determined. The biomass concentration estimated in the tests was 3.79 g·L⁻¹, while the maximum biomass productivity was 0.46 g·L⁻¹·d⁻¹. The cells’ optical density in culture measured at 680 nm was 0.648. The lipid content in biomass was 18.53% (dry basis), and the ash content was 32.34%. It was found that microalgae of the genus Monoraphidium effectively used the nitrogen as well as phosphorus forms present in the wastewater for their growth. The total nitrogen content in the sewage decreased by 82.62%, and total phosphorus content by over 99%. The analysis of the individual forms of nitrogen showed that N-NO₃ was reduced by 85.37% and N-NO₂ by 78.43%, while orthophosphate (V) dissolved in water was reduced by 99%. However, the content of N-NH₄ in wastewater from the beginning till the end of the experiment remained <0.05 mg·L⁻¹.

The paper presents the assessment of possibilities and limitations of the use of Lemna minor, Hydrocharis morsus-ranae and Ceratophyllum demersum in removing metals from contaminated waters. Synthetically discussed the role of these species in phytotechnology and their importance in the assessment of surface water status. The variability of concentration of selected metals in waters and the content of metals in the organs of the analysed plants are presented. Their advantages and disadvantages in removing metals from waters due to biological features have been characterized. Minimum and maximum efficiency of metal removal depending on the scale of water pollution was determined. It was found that analysed plants can be used for phytoremediation of metals from water, but the limitation of effectiveness of treatments is the toxicity of these metals to plants and the time of exposure. The highest removal efficiency can be obtained thanks to the use of sequences of single-species filtration systems.

Urban vegetation is generally exposed to high levels of air pollution in airborne particles, with the greatest exposure in the EU being seen in Poland. With the continuing growth of urban populations, there is a need to confirm whether honey produced from urban areas is of similar high quality to that from rural areas. A total of 27 honey samples were collected from urban and rural apiaries and tested for the concentrations of 19 elements by ICP-OES. The results were compared with data on honey produced in old and new EU countries (metadata). Our evaluation used a novel approach to determine threshold values in the identification of the bioproduct contamination index. The analysed urban honey samples demonstrated higher concentrations of K, Sr, Ba, Ni, and Co, and lower levels of Mn and B than rural honey samples. Contamination by PM10 particles and the toxic elements contained in them proved to be a poor predictor of the content of these elements in honey, in contrast to the effect of atmospheric pollution measured during firework shows, which demonstrated higher concentrations of Ba, Pb, Ca, Cu, and Mg. The non-carcinogenic risk assessment indicated that the analysed honey samples are of good quality and are comparable or of even better quality than honey products from other EU countries.

Introduction and objective: Although monofloral honeys are regarded as more valuable than multifloral types, they lack a clear uniform definition in European countries concerning the proportions of predominant pollen types. In addition, honey contains various secondary plant metabolites,...