Introduction The expanding interest in environmental and energy issues led to the consideration of heterogeneous photocatalysis as one of the most promising advanced oxidation processes. The interest in this scientific field has increased in the last decade since photocatalysis is assumed to be a powerful tool for the destruction and remediation of highly toxic pollutants,…
Introduction The development of new technologies, progressive urbanization, increasing consumerism, and industrial boom in developing countries has led to elevated pollution of the environment. The broad spectrum of pollutants produced and released to the environment has increased in the last few decades, including the agricultural, industrial, pharmaceutical, and plastic industries. These chemicals can be found…
Introduction Invertebrates constitute more than ninety-five per cent of the existing biodiversity of the world. They present an extreme range of variation in terms of their body architecture, adaptation, food preference, habitat preference, behaviour and physiological response against environmental stressors. Evolutionarily, they are an ancient group of animals which have survived an extreme range of…
Introduction CONCEPT AND MAIN CLASSES Antibiotics (ATBs) are natural or synthetic chemical agents that belong to the group of drugs that play a major role in the prevention and treatment of diseases in human and veterinary medicine [1] inhibiting (bacteriostatic) or killing (bactericidal) microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, and protozoa [2], besides acting as animal…
Introduction Environmental pollution caused by petroleum is of great concern. This is because petroleum hydrocarbons are toxic to all forms of life and harm both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. The pollution of marine habitats has caught the attention of researchers and environmentalists. This is due to the serious impact of oil spills on marine life,…
1Introduction Past research shows that legacy persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) pose substantial problems related to environmental and ecosystem health on a global scale [1–5]. POPs can be transported over very long distances, biomagnify in food webs, and cause adverse health effects in high trophic level…
Introduction The quality of human life depends on the chemical composition of the environment, including food, water, and many other factors necessary for life. The development of human society, however, has brought substantial increases in ecological problems and contamination of the environment [1]. Some parts of the environment (e.g. atmosphere and hydrosphere) are able to partially…
Introduction The ability of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) to spread through long distances and remain in the environment has resulted in their presence worldwide. They have a tendency to accumulate within the food chain and, as a result, pose a high risk to human and animal health. The risks caused by industrial POPs are best…