The present study aimed to propose a new cause of odorous compounds release, i.e., the presence of antibiotics in water bodies and its toxicity to cyanobacteria, known to be the main producer of geosmin (GEO) and 2-methylisoborneol (2-MIB). Therefore, a literature review was carried out regarding the problems caused by antibiotics in aquatic environment, including cyanobacterial blooms and GEO and 2-MIB release. In addition, a bibliometric analysis was performed using the VOSviewer software based on the results obtained from the Web of Science (WOS) database. This review aims to build a scientific understanding of the problem, presenting interesting points that converge with the proposed association. It is worth mentioning that no work has been found in the literature that has proposed this relationship. Thus, based on the bibliographic survey, observations and information acquired in recent years about cyanobacterial blooms and environmental contamination by pharmaceutical drugs, one of the main causes of an earthy and musty flavour and odour in a drinking water supply is the toxicity imposed by the presence of antibiotics in aquatic environments on cyanobacteria.

Abstract Glyphosate affects ecosystems due to exposure of non-target crops and is a persistent contaminant at low concentrations. The application of palygorskite to reduce glyphosate contamination in Brazil is an environmentally friendly way to remediate impacted areas. This research evaluated palygorskite application for glyphosate adsorption present in a synthetic effluent. Palygorskite samples were ore dressed by wet granulometric classification and wet magnetic separation and submitted to organophilization with cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide solutions at concentrations of 0.01, 0.1, 1.0 and 1.5% (w/w), and the organo-palygorskite was applied in glyphosate adsorption tests. After ore dressing there was an increase in its cation exchange capacity from 19 to 41 meq 100 g-1 and the surface area was 149 g m-2. The 1.0% organo-palygorskite adsorbed about 86% of glyphosate from synthetic aqueous effluent. Based on this high adsorption yield, the organo-palygorskite is a potential adsorbent for remediation of effluents containing the toxic herbicide glyphosate.

ABSTRACT The objective of this work was to investigate the adsorptive potential of a previously benefited and characterized brazilian montmorillonite sample, regarding amoxicillin trihydrate removal, a zwitterionic species, present in aqueous solutions. 500 mg capsule of antibiotic was properly characterized by XRD, FTIR, SEM/EDS and surface charge measurement through Zeta potential. Amoxicillin aqueous solution and supernatants from adsorption essays were characterized by Molecular Absorption Spectrophotometry in Ultraviolet-Visible Region (UV/VIS), from 200 to 400 nm. Three investigative essays were performed, varying montmorillonite mass (0.050, 0.525 and 1.000 g) and contact time between substances (10, 95 and 180 min). Amoxicillin sample is crystalline, morphologically prismatic, essentially composed of carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, hydrogen and oxygen. Its zwitterionic character was confirmed by Zeta potential, presenting positive (pH 2 to 4), relatively neutral (pH 4 to 6), and negative (above pH 6) surface charges. Test results indicated that the highest removals (21.4 and 41.8 %) were for the largest clay mineral masses (0.525 and 1.000 g, respectively), with pHs close to amoxicillin pka1 (2.68). Larger clay mineral masses have more adsorbent sites, which, associated with components opposite charges in desired pH range, promote a greater interaction. Thus, brazilian montmorillonite can promote amoxicillin removal from aqueous solutions.

ABSTRACT Our previous work reported that palygorskite has potential for application as metal cations adsorbent due to its chemical and mineralogical properties. In this work, kinetic study and adsorption isotherms were performed in order to evaluate Pb (II) ions adsorption rate, maximum capacity and type of adsorption by using palygorskite as adsorbent. Adsorption tests were performed in batch, using pH of 5, 2 g of palygorskite, 40 mL of synthetic effluent solution and stirring for 1 hour. Kinetic experiments were performed using 34 mg L-1 of a lead synthetic effluent at same mass and pH conditions. Furthermore, after adsorption studies, the sample was characterized by X-ray fluorecence (XRF), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) coupled with Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis, in order to verify and understand the interaction of lead ions in palygorskite. The results demonstrated that palygorskite presented an equilibrium time of 10 min with 99.14% of removal, following pseudo-second order kinetic. The maximum adsorption capacity was 21.65 mg g-1 and Gibbs’ adsorption-free energy was -21.39 KJ mol-1, with Langmuir model being the most suitable for adjustment of the data. Thus, its presence was confirmed by characterization techniques, indicating that the metal is distributed homogeneously on palygorskite surface, proving its efficiency as lead ions adsorbent.

Samples of Kaolin from different regions in Brazil were characterized by XRD, SEM and chemical analysis. A chemical bleaching study with pH adjustment was accomplished with the fractions below 37 μm, after classification by screening. The main objective was to evaluate the conditions of chemical bleaching that most increase the brightness of these kaolin's samples. Increases between 2.63 and 2.98% in the brightness (ISO) were observed after the chemical bleaching. We could say that the reduction of Fe3+ to Fe2+ during the chemical bleaching promoted an increase in the brightness, based on the Pourbaix Diagrams.