This work was undertaken in the Velhas River Basin, in the municipalities of Rio Acima, Nova Lima, Raposos and Sabará, upstream of the city of Belo Horizonte in Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Velhas River provides the public water supply for much of this region. The gold and iron mining activities in the Velhas River yield considerable amounts of suspended solids as well as metals to the hydrological system of the region. Thus, the present study sought to evaluate the concentrations of arsenic and trace metals in the waters and their distribution and mobility in sediment by BCR sequential extraction. Arsenic concentrations in the water samples were between 78.1 and 85.3 μg L-1, which exceeded 10 μg L-1 (maximum limit permitted by Brazilian environmental regulations for water destined to human consumption, CONAMA Resolution 357/2005). The sequential extraction of the sediment showed considerable amounts of As (20%), Cd (55%), Co (56%), Cr (16%), Cu (23%), Ni (29%), Pb (47%) and Zn (71%) associated with the geochemical fractions considered potentially available for the remobilization to the aquatic environment. The presence of the elements in these fractions indicated high ecotoxicological risk and potential harm to the health of the local population.

On November 5, 2015, the Fundão dam ruptured which caused the spill of a large quantity of tailings from the extraction of iron ores to the Gualaxo do Norte, Carmo and Doce Rivers. Seven months prior to the rupture, our group had collected water and sediment samples at 13 points along the Tripuí Creek and the entire length of the Carmo River. Six months after deposition of the mud, new samples were collected in the Carmo River. Thus, the present study sought to evaluate the concentrations of trace elements in the waters and their distribution and mobility in sediment by BCR sequential extraction before and after the deposition of the tailings mud. Arsenic concentrations in the water samples were between 10.4 and 50.4 µg L-1, which exceeded 10 ug L-1 (maximum limit permitted by Brazilian environmental regulations for water destined for human consumption) . The tailing mud layer on the sediments caused concentration increases of As (20%), Cd (13%), Co (5%), Cr (9%), Cu (11%), Ni (4%), Pb (7%) and Zn (19%) in the easily remobilized fractions. The presence of the elements in these fractions was indicative of high ecotoxicological risk and potential harm to the health of the local population.

A novel magnetically recoverable catalyst (Fe/MWCNT/TiO2-Ag) was prepared in this study by a process that involves few steps. Titanium dioxide doped with silver and iron oxide was deposited on support of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT). The synthesized catalysts were characterized by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), N2 adsorption/desorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), infrared spectroscopy (IR) and UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS). Phenol in aqueous solution (50 mg L-1) was used as a model compound for evaluation of UV-Vis (filter cut off for l > 300 nm) photocatalytic activity. The composite catalyst has a high photocatalytic activity, destroying ca. 100% of phenol and removing 85% of total organic carbon in an aqueous solution after 180 min. The Fe/MWCNT/TiO2-Ag catalyst remained stable, presenting an 8% decrease in phenol degradation efficiency after ten consecutive photocatalytic cycles.

Six new salts of organometallic complexes of tin(IV) with the general formulae: (Ph4P)2[Sn(Bu)2(RSO2N=CS2)2] and [Fe(phen)3][Sn(Bu)2(RSO2N=CS2)2] [Ph4P = tetraphenylphosphonium, R = CH3 (1), C2H5 (2) and C4H9 (3); Fe(phen)3 = tris(1,10-phenanthroline)iron(II), R = CH3 (4), C2H5 (5) and C4H9 (6)] were synthetized from potassium dithiocarbimates (RSO2N=CS2K2.H2O) in reaction with dichlorobis-n-butyltin(IV) and tetraphenylphosphonium chloride (1-3) in N,N-dimethylformamide or tris(1,10-phenanthroline)iron(II) (4-6) in methanol. The new compounds were characterized by elemental analysis of Fe and Sn, and by vibrational, Mössbauer and nuclear magnetic resonance of 1H, 13C and 119Sn spectroscopies. High-resolution mass spectra in the negative and positive modes were also obtained. The elemental analyses and the exact masses obtained for the cations and the complex anions were consistent with the proposed formulae. The Mössbauer spectroscopic data were consistent with the presence of tin(IV) with coordination numbers between 4 and 5 (compounds 1-6), and of hexacoordinated iron(II) (compounds 4-6). The 1H and 13C NMR spectra presented all the expected signals for the cations and anions, and the signals observed in the 119Sn NMR spectra indicated an equilibrium between tetra- and pentacoordination around the tin atoms in solution. The in vitro activity of the new compounds was evaluated against Botrytis cinerea and Colletotrichum acutatum.

Improper disposal of electronic waste in the environment facilitates migration of heavy metals, especially lead, into the soil and can contribute to the bioavailability of this species. Based on a simplex-centroid mixture experimental design, small-scale tests were performed for incubation of printed circuit boards (PCBs) in mixtures containing organic matter (OM), kaolinite (KA) and iron oxides (IO) to verify lead migration. Regression equations were acquired and were adjusted to the obtained responses. Results showed high total content of Pb, ranging from 400 to 4000 mg kg-1, depending on the mixture and incubation time. Mobility and/or bioavailability of lead in the mixtures were evaluated by a three-step sequential extraction. The bioavailability factor (BF) was obtained from the ratio of the sum of exchangeable fraction (F1) and the organically bound fraction (F2) by F1, F2 and the residual fraction (F3) and the values of bioavailability factor for Pb, the heavy metal considered of greatest environmental concern in this study, ranged between 0.16 and 0.52.

The adsorption of Cr(VI) in aqueous solution by magnetic particles of crosslinked chitosan-ethylenediamine-Fe(III) (MPCh-EDA-FeCL) was studied in a batch system. Fe3+ in the MPCh-EDA-FeCL permitted that adsorption of Cr(VI) occurred with maximum efficiency between pH 3 and 11. The maximum adsorption capacity at pH 7.0 was 81.04 mg g-1 at 25 ºC. The adsorption kinetic process was described by the pseudo-second-order model. Thermodynamic parameters indicated spontaneous, exothermic and chemical adsorption nature. The adsorbent was successively regenerated using a 0.1 mol L-1 NaOH solution. Results were satisfactory for treatment of wastewater from the electroplating industry.

O adsorvente quitosana-Fe(III)-reticulado (Ch-FeCL) foi desenvolvido usando Fe(III) imobilizado em esferas de quitosana. Após o processo de secagem, as esferas apresentam um diâmetro de cerca de 1 mm e são estáveis ao ar. O comportamento de adsorção do As(III) e As(V) na Ch-FeCL foi avaliado em pH 7 por estudos realizados em batelada e em coluna. As máximas capacidades de adsorção estimadas pelo modelo de adsorção de Langmuir foram 21,24 e 27,59 mg g-1 para As(III) e As(V), respectivamente. A cinética de adsorção é descrita pela equação cinética de pseudo-segunda ordem. Os resultados de adsorção em coluna indicaram que o arsênio não foi encontrado na solução efluente atécerca de 60 e 759 volumes de leito para As(III) e As(V), respectivamente. Os resultados foram satisfatórios quando se empregou o adsorvente na remoção de As(III) e As(V) de amostras de águas subterrâneas, torneira e rio.

The crosslinked chitosan-Fe(III) (Ch-FeCL) adsorbent was developed using Fe(III) immobilized on chitosan beads. After drying, the beads presented a diameter of approximately 1 mm and are stable in air. The adsorption behavior of As(III) and As(V) on the Ch-FeCL was evaluated at pH 7 by studies conducted in batch and in columns. Maximum adsorption capacities estimated by the Langmuir adsorption model were 21.24 and 27.59 mg g-1 for As(III) and As(V), respectively. Adsorption kinetics is described by the pseudo second order kinetic equation. The results of column adsorption indicated that arsenic was not found in the effluent solution from roughly 60 and 759 bed volumes for As(III) and As(V), respectively. Results were satisfactory when employing the adsorbent for removal of As(III) and As(V) from groundwater, tap water and river water samples.