An evapotranspirative willow system (EWS) is a zero-discharge wastewater treatment system in which all influent water is used for growing willows and evaporation. Willow clones used in EWS may significantly affect the performance of EWS; therefore, the clones with high biomass production and resilience to permanent flooding, increased nutrient concentrations, and salinity must be selected. In the presented study, a 27 m2 pilot EWS was set up, enabling the testing of three different willow clones of Salix alba (L.): indigenous white willow ‘V 160’ (S. alba) and two of its hybrids:‘V 052’ (S. alba var. calva × S. alba) and ‘V 093’ (S. alba × S. alba var. vitellina) × S. alba. The stem height, diameter, and number of shoots per stump were measured weekly in the first year of growth on site, along with the water quality parameters and water levels in the test beds. There were no statistically significant differences in stem height and stem diameter between the three tested clones at the end of the vegetation season; however, the indigenous clone indicated better adaptability to conditions in EWS but somewhat lower biomass production in comparison with the hybrids. For all clones, the willows growing in the EWS outgrew the control willows, showing the positive effects of high water availability and wastewater on willow growth.
COBISS.SI-ID: 4877222
The present study reports the evaluation of acute and chronic ecotoxicity of cyclophosphamide (CP), ifosfamide (IF), their metabolites/transformation products (TPs) and UV treated samples. Among both parent compounds, IF was found to be more toxic drug under tested conditions, exerting both acute and chronic effects especially on C. dubia (LC50:196.4 mg L-1, EC50:15.84 mg L-1). Among the tested metabolites/TPs, only carboxy-cyclophosphamide inhibited the reproduction in the rotifer. LOEC and NOEC values were calculated for CP and IF for all tested organisms. In addition, despite poor degradation of CP (28%) and IF (36%) after 48 h UV-irradiation, statistically significant effect differences (p ( 0.05) from non-irradiated and irradiated samples were observed in both acute and chronic assays, starting from 6 h UV-irradiation. The results of this study suggest that toxic effects found in the aquatic organisms may be attributable to interactions between the parent compounds and their metabolites/TPs. In addition, the study also highlights the importance of toxicological evaluation and future monitoring of other CP and IF metabolites/TPs, which are needed in order to assess the risk such compounds might pose to the aquatic environment.
COBISS.SI-ID: 30949159
This study reports the occurrence of eight bisphenols (BPs): bisphenol AF (BPAF), bisphenol AP (BPAP), bisphenol B (BPB), bisphenol C (BPC), bisphenol E (BPE), bisphenol F (BPF), bisphenol S (BPS) and bisphenol Z (BPZ) in wastewaters (WWs). Chemical analysis was based on gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. A validated method with limits of detection (LODs) at ng/L was applied to WWs collected at five Slovene wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and WW inflows from industrial, commercial and residential sources entering the sewerage systems of two catchments (Domžale-Kamnik (DK) and Ljubljana (LJ)). The presence of all BPs was confirmed in three inflows in DK and two inflows in the LJ catchments. High cumulative concentrations of all BPs were determined in WW from food processing facilities (LJ: 3030 ng/L and DK: 599 ng/L). BPZ was found in the highest concentration (403 ng/L at WWTP-DK). WW collected at this WWTP also contained the highest amount of BPE (238 ng/ L).
COBISS.SI-ID: 30884135