Selenium contamination of air, aquatic environments, soils and sediments is a serious environmental concern of increasing importance. Selenium has a paradoxical feature in bringing about health benefits under the prescribed level, but only a few fold increase in its concentration causes deleterious effects to flora and fauna, humans and the environment. Environmental Technologies to Treat Selenium Pollution: principles and engineering: - presents the fundamentals of the biogeochemical selenium cycle and which imbalances in this cycle result in pollution. - overviews chemical and biological technologies for successful treatment of selenium contaminated water, air, soils and sediments. - explores the recovery of value-added products from selenium laden waste streams, including biofortication and selenium based nanoparticles and quantum dots. This book may serve both as an advanced textbook for undergraduate and graduate students majoring in environmental sciences, technology or engineering as well as a handbook for tertiary educators, researchers, professionals and policy makers who conduct research and practices in selenium related fields. It is essential reading for consulting companies when dealing with selenium related environmental (bio)technologies.

The contamination of environment and water resources by Selenium (Se) and its oxyanions from various sources are emerging contaminants of significant health and environmental concern. The primary sources include agricultural drainage water, mine drainage, residues from fossil fuels, thermoelectric power plants, oil refineries, and metal ores. Various methods and technologies have been developed which focus on the treatment of selenium-containing waters and wastewater. High concentrations of selenium in water cause various adverse impact to human health, such as carcinogenic, genotoxic, and cytotoxic effects. But in the lower concentrations, it is a useful constituent of the biological system. The range between toxicity and deficiency of selenium is minimal (40 to 400 μg per day), due to its dual nature. Selenium Contamination in Water contains the latest status and information on selenium’s origin, its chemistry and its toxicity to humans. The book represents a comprehensive and advanced reference book for students, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers in working in the field of metalloids, in particular selenium. A special emphasis is given on its geological distribution, monitoring techniques, and remedial technologies. As such, the authors critically analyze the various techniques used for the monitoring and removal of selenium from water. Featuring chapters arranged according to the major themes of the latest research, with specific case-studies from industrial experiences of selenium detection and removal, Selenium Contamination in Water will be particularly valued by researchers, practitioners, and policymakers in working in the field of metalloids including selenium.

This book features the reduction and removal of selenium in wastewater via bioremediation. Arranged over five chapters, this book provides information regarding the interaction between micro-organisms and selenium, and it also explains the biogeochemistry of selenium in engineered ecosystems designed for wastewater treatment. The analytical approaches currently adopted by the scientific community are also described and discussed. Readers will find examples of the biological treatment of selenium contaminated wastewater, and discover a concise overview of selenium removal processes that are currently implemented at lab-scale as well as at industrial scale.

Emerging contaminants are chemical and biological agents for which there is growing concern about their potential health and environmental effects. The threat lies in the fact that the sources, fate and toxicology of most of these compounds have not yet been studied. Emerging contaminants, therefore, include a large number of both recently discovered and well-known compounds such as rare earth elements, viruses, bacteria, nanomaterials, microplastics, pharmaceuticals, endocrine disruptors, hormones, personal care products, cosmetics, pesticides, surfactants and industrial chemicals. Emerging contaminants have been found in many daily products, and some of them accumulate in the food chain. Correlations have been observed between aquatic pollution by emerging contaminants and discharges from wastewater treatment plants. Most actual remediation methods are not effective at removing emerging contaminants. This second volume presents comprehensive knowledge on emerging contaminants with a focus on remediation.

Selenium is a naturally occurring trace element that can become concentrated and released by industrial, agricultural, petrochemical and mining activities. At concentrated levels it is toxic and has polluted ecosystems around the world. This book will serve as a comprehensive practical handbook for everyone dealing with selenium in aquatic environments. It offers field-tested approaches and methods for assessment and water quality management. Using his twenty-year experience, the author discusses the effects of selenium on fish and bird populations and presents guidelines for identifying sources of pollution, interpreting selenium concentrations, assessing hazardous conditions, setting water quality criteria and ecosystem loading limits (TMDLs). He also includes a procedure for setting environmentally safe limits that ensure compliance with EPA regulations. Selenium Assessment in Aquatic Ecosystems will interest field scientists, natural resource managers, risk assessors and environmental planners.

In order to analyse the challenges posed by the quest for sustainability, Green Technologies for Wastewater treatment: Energy Recovery and Emerging Compounds Removal evaluates water management together with energy use. The strong effects that the release of emerging pollutants such as endocrine disruptors (EDCs), pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) have in wastewater reuse applications are examined, as well as the need to optimize the energy consumption in wastewater treatment. More specifically, this volume focuses on: - Presenting the advantages linked to the application of chemically assisted primary sedimentation (CAPS) that enables energy optimization of wastewater treatment plants and points to the possibility of wastewater as a possible resource; - Discussing the analytical problems related to the analytical detection of emerging pollutants and of their transformation products; - Comparing the efficiency of MBR plants for removing trace pollutants with conventional systems; - Evaluating the application of Wet Oxidation (WO) for the treatment of aqueous effluents to remove trace pollutants; - Reviewing the application of Photo-Fenton process and complementary treatment systems (H2O2/UV-C and Fenton’s reagent) for the degradation of two industrial pollutant categories with significant endocrine disrupting properties: alkyl phenols (nonyl and octyl phenols) and bisphenol A. Green Technologies for Wastewater treatment: Energy Recovery and Emerging Compounds Removal will be of great interest to students, technicians, and academics alike who are interested in evaluating and selecting the technologies that lead to better and more sustainable treatment of these huge classes of pollutants.

The contamination of environment and water resources by Selenium (Se) and its oxyanions from various sources are emerging contaminants of significant health and environmental concern. The primary sources include agricultural drainage water, mine drainage, residues from fossil fuels, thermoelectric power plants, oil refineries, and metal ores. Various methods and technologies have been developed which focus on the treatment of selenium-containing waters and wastewater. High concentrations of selenium in water cause various adverse impact to human health, such as carcinogenic, genotoxic, and cytotoxic effects. But in the lower concentrations, it is a useful constituent of the biological system. The range between toxicity and deficiency of selenium is minimal (40 to 400 μg per day), due to its dual nature. Selenium Contamination in Water contains the latest status and information on selenium’s origin, its chemistry and its toxicity to humans. The book represents a comprehensive and advanced reference book for students, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers in working in the field of metalloids, in particular selenium. A special emphasis is given on its geological distribution, monitoring techniques, and remedial technologies. As such, the authors critically analyze the various techniques used for the monitoring and removal of selenium from water. Featuring chapters arranged according to the major themes of the latest research, with specific case-studies from industrial experiences of selenium detection and removal, Selenium Contamination in Water will be particularly valued by researchers, practitioners, and policymakers in working in the field of metalloids including selenium.