Wastewater is major source of contaminants originating from the production, usage, and disposal of plastic materials. Due to their poor biodegradability of these contaminants in municipal wastewater treatment plants, additional advanced oxidation processes such as electrochemical treatments have been developed to improve the standard biological treatment. Here we review the applications of electrochemical treatments of wastewater for the removal of the following plastic contaminants: bisphenol A, phthalic acid esters, and benzotriazoles. We present the effectiveness of treatment in terms of contaminant removal and mineralization; the identification of transformation products; toxicity assessment; and process energy requirements. In the present review, we have focused on the applications of electrochemical treatments of wastewater for the removal of three important groups of contaminants originating mainly from plastics: bisphenol A, phthalic acid esters, and benzotriazoles. The review focuses on the research of electrochemical treatments for these contaminants from the last five years. The papers are assessed from the point of i) effectiveness of treatment in terms of contaminant removal and mineralization; ii) identification of transformation products; iii) toxicity assessment; iv) processes’ energy requirements. Electrochemical treatments were confirmed to be a viable option for the removal of selected contaminants from wastewater.

Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have been introduced to deal with different types of water pollution. They cause effective chemical destruction of pollutants, yet leading to a mixture of transformation by-products, rather than complete mineralization. Therefore, the aim of our study was to understand complex degradation processes induced by different AOPs from chemical and ecotoxicological point of view. Phenol, 2,4-dichlorophenol, and pentachlorophenol were used as model pollutants since they are still common industrial chemicals and thus encountered in the aquatic environment. A comprehensive study of efficiency of several AOPs was undertaken by using instrumental analyses along with ecotoxicological assessment. Four approaches were compared: ozonation, photocatalytic oxidation with immobilized nitrogen-doped TiO₂ thin films, the sequence of both, as well as electrooxidation on boron-doped diamond (BDD) and mixed metal oxide (MMO) anodes. The monitored parameters were: removal of target phenols, dechlorination, transformation products, and ecotoxicological impact. Therefore, HPLC–DAD, GC–MS, UHPLC–MS/MS, ion chromatography, and 48 h inhibition tests on Daphnia magna were applied. In addition, pH and total organic carbon (TOC) were measured. Results show that ozonation provides by far the most suitable pattern of degradation accompanied by rapid detoxification. In contrast, photocatalysis was found to be slow and mild, marked by the accumulation of aromatic products. Preozonation reinforces the photocatalytic process. Regarding the electrooxidations, BDD is more effective than MMO, while the degradation pattern and transformation products formed depend on supporting electrolyte.

This study focused on testing the efficacy of iron (Fe) electrode in an electrochemical treatment (electrocoagulation) of wastewater containing a mixture of organic dyes. The mixture consists of the following azo dyes: Acid Black 194, Acid Black 107 and Acid Yellow 116. The present organic dyes are toxic, cause skin and eye irritation and are extremely dangerous to aquatic organisms. The study was conducted on a synthetic wastewater prepared in a laboratory electrochemical reactor. During the research, the impact of the current density, various concentrations of dye and supporting electrolyte, electrolysis duration and pulsed current regime were tracked. The results are shown through color removal efficiency, chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency, current efficiency, and specific energy consumption. At the initial concentration of dye (γ=200 mg/L) and concentration of supporting electrolyte (γNaCl=1 g/L) the color removal efficiency of 80.64% was achieved for 420 seconds of treatment (ј=10 mA/cm2). At the initial concentration of dye (γ=50 mg/L) and γNaCl= 8 g/L, the color removal efficiency of 96.01% was attained for 300 seconds of treatment (ј=10 mA/cm2)

Waste transport is just one of the segments in the solid municipal waste management. Throughout the entire waste life cycle, starting by generation of waste, via storing, collecting, transporting, recycling, treating and depositing, several different polluting substances are emitted. The solid waste transport, apropos, transporting vehicles emit into the air different pollution substances such as CO ₂ , CO, NO _x , NMVOC, PM, PAHs etc. These substances can present certain problems for human health and environment. The research subject of this study is the analysis of solid waste transportation within the Banja Luka region (B&H), from towns and municipalities belonging to the region and transporting their mixed municipal waste to the Banja Luka landfill. In the analysis, following parameters are included: distance to the landfill, type of vehicle used for the waste transportation, type of the engine, vehicle capacity and the number of tours during a year. The study estimates the emission of CO, NO _x , NMVOC, and PM2.5 during one year using the listed parameters and by applying EMEP/EEA guidelines for estimating the emission of polluting substances into the air. The largest emission of polluting substances (CO, NO _x , NMVOC and PM2.5) is from the oldest vehicles. The newest vehicles had a significantly lesser emission of these polluting substances into the air. The recommendation for decreasing the emission from the transportation vehicles is to organise the transfer-stations, procure new vehicles, optimise the collection routes and decrease the number of tours, as well as to better the usage of the vehicle capacity level.