Afshin Ebrahimi

• Professor(PhD)
• Research Director of School of Health at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences

Over the past few years, the presence of steroid estrogens in the environment has become a major concern. In this study, the concentrations of estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2), and 17α-ethinyl estradiol (EE2) were measured in some wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Iran. These samples were collected from the municipal, rural, livestock, commerc...

In this study, the reclamation of clean water from spent filter backwash water (SFBW) was investigated through pilot-scale experiments. The pilot plant consisted of pre-sedimentation, coagulation, flocculation, clarification, and ultrafiltration (UF). Two coagulants of PAFCl and FeCl3 were investigated with respect to their performance on treated S...

Now a day population increase and water shortage in many countries compels them to use reclaimed water. One of the options to combat this matter is to spent filter backwash water (SFBW) which is notably generated in most water treatment plants. There are many techniques for SFBW treatment, and coagulation is the most common process. The aim of this...

Fast and easy access to simple methods for water treatment is one of the most important issues in the field of environmental health, water, and wastewater engineering. The aim of this study was to investigate the application of kenaf fibers for the fast treatment of high turbid water. To evaluate its ability, a pilot plant with various lengths (17....

Increasing world population, water shortage and high-quality standards for drinking water lead to conduct numerous efforts in water treatment plants to reuse spent filter backwash water and improve the productivity of plants. The aims of this study were to investigate the fractional composition of the spent filter backwash water from Isfahan’s wate...

With increasing levels of air pollution, air quality prediction has attracted more attention. Mathematical models are being developed by researchers to achieve precise predictions. Monitoring and prediction of atmospheric PM2.5 levels, as a predominant pollutant, is essential in emission mitigation programs. In this study, meteorological datasets f...

Introduction: Contamination of water sources with toxins is an environmental problem and a serious threat to the health of societies. This study aimed to ascertain the remaining levels of toxins in urban drinking water networks and compute the water quality index. Materials and Methods: To examine the residual concentration of diazinon, chlorpyrifo...

In this study, the occurrence and environmental risks related to triclosan (TCS) in the two wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) were investigated in Isfahan, Iran. Influent and effluent samples were collected and analyzed by dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME)–GC–MS method with derivatization. Moreover, the risk of TCS exposure was con...

As heterogeneous catalysis is a practical method for activating Oxone, the immobilization of transition metals (e.g., Co, Fe) on carbonaceous supports is a promising platform. Thus, this study attempts to develop a carbon-supported metallic catalyst by growing Co/Fe on carbon foam (CF) via adopting melamine foam as a readily available template whic...

Triclosan (TCS) has been increased in the water during the COVID-19 pandemic because it cannot remove by conventional water treatment. In addition, it can accumulate in the human body over time through long-term exposure. Therefore, the occurrence of TCS in the water treatment plant (WTP) and tap water, and its human health risk assessment through...

Background Acute leukemia is the most common type of malignancy in children, and no major environmental risk factors have been identified relating to its pathogenesis. This study has been conducted with the aim for identifying risk factors associated with this disease. Methods This study was conducted in 2016–2020 among children aged <15 years res...

Vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency (VDD, VDI) is common in children yet limited experience exists on the association of VDD and hematologic malignancies amongst this population. Therefore, this study aimed to compare serum vitamin D levels in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and controls. Moreover, vitamin D levels is compared in su...

This study aimed to assess the triclosan (TCS) health risk in an Iranian pregnant women sample by Monte Carlo simulation (MCS). The urinary TCS of 99 women after the 28th week of pregnancy was detected by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry detector (GC/MS), and the MCS model implemented a health risk assessment. The corresponding hazard quotient...

As disinfection is employed extensively, disinfection by-product bromate has become an emerging environmental issue due to its carcinogenic toxicity. For developing an effective alternative approach for reducing bromate, cobalt and nickel-based Prussian Blue (PB) analogues are proposed here for incorporating a convenient reducing agent, NaBH4 (i.e....

Background: Zayandeh-rud river is the most important river in the central regions of Iran and the present study aimed to provide new insights into microplastics (MPs) pollution in surface water and sediments of this river. Methods: Water and sediment samples were collected in July 2021 from 19 sampling sites along the river. Organics matters were r...

Designing defects-rich hollow heterostructure bimetal sulfides is considered as an efficient strategy for accelerated monopersulfate (MPS) activation. Herein, mono-step sulfidation was employed to develop sulfur vacancy (SV)-rich hollow oxygen-doped Co9S8/Fe7S8 (O-CSFS). SV and oxygen doping-induced highly electroactive sites, low charge resistance...

Natural manganese-containing mineral (NMM) was used as a catalyst in heterogeneous catalytic ozonation for 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) degradation. The surface and structural properties of NMM were modified by the hydrothermal aging process and called H-NMM. The catalytic activity of NMM and H-NMM were evaluated for the catalytic ozonation process (COP)....

The climatological parameters can be different in various geographical locations. Moreover, they have possible impacts on COVID-19 incidence. Therefore, the purpose of this systematic review article was to describe the effects of climatic variables on COVID-19 pandemic in different countries. Systematic literature search was performed in Scopus, IS...

The increasing consumption of room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) inevitably releases RTILs into the water environment, posing serious threats to aquatic ecology due to the toxicities of RTILs. Thus, urgent needs are necessitated for developing useful processes for removing RTILs from water, and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (C4mimCl), th...

Background: Climate change can facilitate the expansion of leishmaniasis and create the suitable habitat for vector and reservoir species. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) at the climatic regions of Iran. Materials and Methods: The literature search was conducted to identify all published st...

As cobalt (Co) has been the most useful element for activating Oxone to generate SO4•−, this study aims to develop a hierarchical catalyst with nanoscale functionality and macroscale convenience by decorating nanoscale Co-based oxides on macroscale supports. Specifically, a facile protocol is proposed by utilizing Cu mesh itself as a Cu source for...

Sulfate radical-based-advanced oxidation processes (SR-AOPs) have been recently considered for micropollutants degradation in water treatment. In the present study, cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4), a metal-organic framework (MOFs) (MIL-101(Fe)), and graphene oxide (GO) were used to synthesize a novel heterostructure, CoFe2O4/MIL-101(Fe)/GO (C/M/G), throug...

While a few [rad]OH-based oxidation technologies have been used for eliminating the highly toxic pesticide Carbofuran (CFR), very few studies have ever assessed SO4[rad]−-based oxidation technologies for degrading CFR. Even though monopersulfate (MPS) is increasingly used for producing SO4[rad]− and cobalt (Co) is the most useful element for activa...

Objective: This study is aimed at assessing the relationship between maternal urinary triclosan (uTCS) exposure and the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) level of infant cord blood. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out in 2019-2020 in Isfahan, Iran, and 99 pregnant women participated in the study. Urine samples were collected afte...

Background: Treating working fluid wastewater (WFW) by having several organic/inorganic pollutants is not an easy task. There are many hurdles to adopt an appropriate treatment strategy through biological, physical, chemical, and electrochemical approaches. Methods: The treatment methods of WFW are reviewed in this work through a critical literatur...

Bismuth vanadate in combination with titanium dioxide were synthesized by hydrothermal method and its photocatalytic activity was investigated under visible light irradiation for acid orange 10 (AO10) dye removal. The 10% BiVO4/TiO2 showed the highest catalytic activity in comparison with 20, 30, 40 and 50% BiVO4/TiO2 ratios. The removal of AO10 az...

Background: Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are a group of emerging environmental pollutants that have attracted the attention of many researchers due to their harmful effects on aquatic environment, animals, and humans. Thus, it is necessary to remove these contaminants from water resources. This study aimed to assess the effici...

The regulatory control on dyes is an important issue, as their discharge into the environment can pose significant risks to human health. MIL-101(Fe) prepared by a solvothermal method was used as a catalyst to generate sulfate (SO4•−) and hydroxyl (HO•) radicals from peroxymonosulfate (PMS) for the treatment of orange G (OG). The structural propert...

Background: Nitrate is a compound with adverse effects on human health that can exist also in vegetables. This study aimed to determine the intake of total nitrate/nitrite from lettuce and carrot as high and low nitrate content, respectively. Moreover, the effect of chlorhexidine mouthwash on the elimination of the nitrite level in saliva and urin...

Infantile methemoglobinemia, thyroid disorders, and probably some carcinogenic effects are health concerns associated with dietary nitrate. Isfahan province has a dry and semi-arid desert climate such that the main source of various applications in this province is groundwater resources. This study evaluated spatial analysis of the groundwater NO3−...

The COVID-19 pandemic has a close relationship with local environmental conditions. This study explores the effects of climate characteristics and air pollution on COVID-19 in Isfahan province, Iran. A number of COVID-19 positive cases, main air pollutants, air quality index (AQI), and climatic variables were received from March 1, 2020, to January...

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a vector-borne infectious disease that is affected by various environmental agents. The main objective of this study was to determine the spatial distribution of CL incidence by using Geographical Information System (GIS). This is a cross-sectional study that was conducted during 5 years from 2014 to 2018 in Isfahan,...

In the present work, effect of coexisting anions on the degradation performance of UV/chlorine (UV/Cl) processes as an advanced oxidation treatment for the dye containing wastewater was investigated. The results showed that by increasing pH of the solution from 3 to 11, degradation efficiency of UV/Cl process was reduced from 96.2 ± 1.4% to 62.9 ±...

Microcystin leucine-arginine (MC-LR), is a hepatotoxic agent produced by cyanobacteria, capable of posing a serious threat to the human and ecological environment. In this study, bismuth vanadate (BiVO4)/NaY-Zeolite nanocomposite was intended for degradation of MC-LR in aquatic solutions. The response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize...

Introduction: [Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL)] is Vector-borne infectious disease that is affected by various environmental agents. The main objective of this study was to determine the spatial distribution of CL incidence by using [Geographical Information System (GIS)]. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that was conducted durin...

Microcystin-leucine arginine (MC-LR) is a carcinogenic toxin, produced by cyanobacteria. The release of this toxin into drinking water sources can threaten public health and environmental safety. Therefore, effective MC-LR removal from water resources is necessary. In the present study, the hydrothermal method was used to synthesize a novel ternary...

Background : Groundwater contaminant such as nitrate (NO 3 - ) is one of the environmental factors that can affect human health . Methemoglobinemia of infants, thyroid disorders, and probably some carcinogenic effects, are health concerns associated with dietary nitrate. Isfahan province has a dry and semi-arid desert climate that the main source o...

The increase of textile factories, along with the continuous development of industrialization has led to excessive discharge of high toxicity wastewater along with a diverse range of contaminants in wastewater. In this regard, to reduce their operating costs and treatment time, in this work, two synthesized nanostructures, TiO2/Na-Y zeolite and BiV...

Nitrate, nitrite, and nitrosamines intake from the diet creates human health risks. In this study, nitrate/nitrite intake from diet and its association with nitric oxide (NO) level in humans have been surveyed. Besides nitrate/nitrite, nitrosamines risks were also determined from the diet. This study was conducted as a pilot study; 33 heathy adults...

Background: Microcystin (MC) is a hepatotoxic and carcinogenic toxin that is generated by cyanotoxins which can have adverse effects on the human health. Therefore, it is very important to remove it from the environment. This study was performed to investigate the efficiency of titanium dioxide (TiO2)/ NaY-zeolite (T/N-Z) nanocomposite for removal...

Background: Microcystin (MC) is a hepatotoxic and carcinogenic toxin that is generated by cyanotoxins which can have adverse effects on the human health. Therefore, it is very important to remove it from the environment. This study was performed to investigate the efficiency of titanium dioxide (TiO2 )/ NaY-zeolite (T/N-Z) nanocomposite for removal...

The damage potential of cigarette butt and cigarette ash was determined and compared using genotoxicity and phytotoxicity assessments. The concentrations of five heavy metals, As, Cr, Cd, Pb, and Ni, were determined in both cigarette butt and ash leachates to find out if the results of heavy metals are in parallel with toxicity findings. Cigarette...

The performance of a polyamide-based thin-film composite nanofiltration (NF) membrane (NF33) was investigated for the retention of atenolol, a pharmaceutical pollutant, from the single and binary aqueous solutions. The effect of pH, applied pressure, feed flux, initial atenolol (ATN) concentration, and different co-existing salts with varying conce...

Introduction: Microcystin-leucine arginine (MC-LR) is a toxin with harmful effects on the liver, kidney, heart, and gastrointestinal tract. So, effective removal of MC-LR from water resources is of great importance. The aim of this study was to remove microcystin-LR (MC-LR) from aqueous solution by Titanium Dioxide (TiO2). Materials and Methods: In...

The microcystin-LR (MC-LR) is a potentially dangerous toxin for animals and human health. So, MC-LR removal from the environment by the use of photocatalysts is recommended. Generally, traditional photocatalysts are dependent on UV light and consume high energy and also produce high heat. So, the use of photocatalysts with low-energy consumption, f...

Nowadays, water and wastewater reuse is an important approach to deal with the water shortage in most countries. The present study focused on the feasibility of wastewater reuse form the hospital hemodialysis unit (Saveh, Iran). The combination of coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation (CFS), and ultrafiltration (UF) processes have been investiga...

Background: Exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals such as triclosan (TCS) leads to disrupting the endocrine system and consequently effect on the birth outcomes. The findings of studies in this field are controversial. Materials and methods: This systematic review and meta analysis was conducted based on the identified published papers in S...

Abstract Heavy metal such as Pb2+ (lead ions) has high toxicity potential, and it can be dangerous for public health and environment. The ion exchange process is one of the methods that can be used for Pb2+ removal from aqueous solutions. The aim of this study was to investigate the removal efficiency of Pb2+ from the synthetic aqueous solutions us...

Microcystin-Leucine Arginine (MC-LR) is one of the most studied cyanotoxins due to its toxicity and abundant that cause health hazards for humans through of the drinking water. In this study, BiVO4/TiO2 nanocomposite was synthesized by hydrothermal method and employed for the removal of MC-LR. The characteristics of the catalysts were determined by...

Aims: Over 5.5 trillion cigarettes are produced annually. Based on the observations, 76% of these consumed cigarettes are littered in public areas instead of discarding in suitable bins. Rainwater drain system carries the water and other wastes such as cigarette butts from the ground and transfers them to the bigger aquatic media without any treatm...

Introduction: Exposure to mercury (Hg) by consumption of fish is a recent health concern. So, it is important to evaluate the health risks related to canned fish consumption. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential health risk based on Hg concentration in people who consumed canned fish with a probabilistic approach in Isfahan Ci...

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the photocatalytic properties of a novel synthesized BiVO4/TiO2-NaY zeolite composite using the hydrothermal method for the removal of acid orange 10 (AO10), a typical azo dye, from aqueous solutions. In this respect, the experimental results revealed that the as-prepared BiVO4/TiO2-NaY zeolite co...

A photocatalytic process was studied for total arsenic removal using an innovative BiVO 4 /TiO 2 /LED system from aqueous solution. Optimization of the experiments was also performed via response surface methodology (RSM). In this respect, characteristics of the catalysts were determined by XRD, FE-SEM, EDX, FT-IR, BET, and DRS spectra. Several cat...

Humic acid is a major precursor of chlorinated byproducts that need to be removed from water, via treatment, given their adverse effects on human health. The current study aimed at identifying the optimal conditions to remove humic acid from surface water, using coagulants such as polyaluminum chloride (PACl) and polyaluminum ferric chloride (PAFCl...

The present study deals with the effect of two different conditions for modification of raw granular activated carbon (GAC) with FeCl 3 under acidic granular activated carbon (AGAC) and basic granular activated carbon (BGAC) conditions for removal of arsenic – As(V) – from aqueous solution. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and Bruna...

In this study, the photocatalytic degradation of azo-dye acid orange 10 was investigated using titanium dioxide catalyst suspension, irradiation with ultraviolet-C lamp and bismuth vanadate under visible light of light-emitting diode lamp. Response surface methodology was successfully employed to optimize the treatment of acid orange 10 dye and ass...

This study aimed to determine the presence of phthalates and their concentration in household’s drinking water and to examine their potential risk for inhabitants in urban regions of Isfahan, Iran. During the summer and winter of 2017, samples were extracted from 33 private residences via dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction with some modificat...

This article investigates the innovative attached cultivation of Chlorella vulgaris (C. vulgaris) using different materials as an alternative to high capital techniques of harvesting such as centrifugation, flocculation, and filtration. A simple attached algal cultivation system was proposed that was equipped by 10 submerged supporting materials wh...

A novel three-dimensional electro-Fenton (3D EF) system with iron- coated nickel foam particles (NFP-Fe) and bare nickel foam as catalytic particle electrodes (CPEs) was employed in this study. Its application in degrading ibuprofen (IBP) and naproxen (NPX), two widely-used nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), exhibited high catalytic eff...

This dataset deals with the modification of granular activated carbon (GAC) with FeCl3 under basic conditions (pH ≈ 12) for removal of aluminium (Al) from aqueous solution. The structural properties and operational parameters including Al ion concentration (2.15 and 10.3 mg/L), pH solution (2–10), adsorbent dosage (0.1–5 g/L), and contact time (0–1...

This study was undertaken to determine the association of four chlorophenol pesticides with cardiometabolic risk factors and obesity in children and adolescents. This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2016 on 242 children and adolescents, aged 6 to 18 years. The concentrations of 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP), 2,5-dichlorophenol (2,5-DCP), 2,4,...

Spent filter backwash water (SFBW) reuse has attracted particular attention, especially in countries that experience water scarcity. It can act as a permanent water source until the water treatment plant is working. In this study, the concentrations of Fe, Al, Pb, As, and Cd with total and fecal coliform (TC/FC) were investigated in raw and treated...

Fluoride (F) contamination in groundwater can be problematic to human health. This study evaluated the concentration of fluoride in groundwater resources of Isfahan Province, the central plateau of Iran, and its related health issues to the inhabitant populations. For this purpose, 573 drinking groundwater samples were analyzed in 2016 by using the...

Background & objectives: Humic acid plays a main role in formation of carcinogenic chlorinated by-products (CBPs). The aim of this study was determination of optimum conditions for removal of humic acid by using nano activated carbon and surfectant modified natural nano zeolite (SMNZ) in Isfahan Babasheikhali water treatment plant. Methods: This ex...

ground: Nowadays, Interurban Buses play an important role in passengers transfer between the cities. Contaminated drinking water in Buses may threaten the health of travelers. This study investigated the microbial and chemical quality of drinking water supplied in the coaches transporting the passengers from/to Soffeh terminal in Isfahan. Methods:...

During operation of most water treatment plants, spent filter backwash water (SFBW) is generated, which accounts about 2–10% of the total plant production. By increasing world population and water shortage in many countries, SFBW can be used as a permanent water source until the water treatment plant is working. This data article reports the practi...

The dataset presented in this article are related to the research article entitled “Hybrid coagulation-UF processes for spent filter backwash water treatment: a comparison studies for PAFCl and FeCl3 as a pre-treatment” (Ebrahimi et al., 2017) [1]. This article reports the cost estimation for treating produced spent filter backwash water (SFBW) dur...

Over the past few years, the presence of steroid estrogens in the environment has become a major concern. In this study, the concentrations of estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2), and 17α-ethinyl estradiol (EE2) were measured in some wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Iran. These samples were collected from the municipal, rural, livestock, commerc...

In this study, the effect of nano zero-valent iron (NZVI) or Fe⁰ on photolysis ozonation (UV/O3) degradation of di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) was investigated. Applied pH, ozone dosage, NZVI dosage, reaction time, and initial concentration of DEHP were the parameters investigated under UV/O3/Fe⁰ process. The possible dominant mechanisms of DEHP...

This study reports a new strategy for stabilizing palladized iron (Fe-Pd) nanoparticles with sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) as a stabilizer for the removal of Bisphenol A (BPA) from aqueous solutions. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses indicated that the CMC-stabilized nanoparticle with a diameter 20 nm is highly dispersed in wat...

The purpose of the current study is to evaluate formaldehyde degradation ratio with various methods in a batch reactor. In this work, the ozonation, sonolysis (ultrasonic), and ozone sonolysis, sono catalytic ozonation (SCO), and nano zero-valent iron catalyst processes were investigated for removal of formaldehyde. In addition, the influence of im...

Background: Water, sanitation and hygiene have a very important role in public health. Poor sanitation is the cause of water contamination, which causes many types of diseases. The aim of this paper was to present the attributable death and disability adjusted life year (DALYs) of untreated water and insanitary environments from 1990 to 2010 in Ira...

Background: The control of microorganisms in industrial and residential environments is the main concern regarding the spread of infectious diseases.

Contact between fingers and elevator buttons may serve as vectors for transmission of microorganisms. Elevator buttons in the schools are contaminated with microbial agents and people using them are at risk of such infections. Therefore, the current study selected 35 elevator buttons from seven different schools to isolate bacterial contamination....

The reaction of humic acid with chlorine (as the most common water disinfectant) in drinking water results in production of dangerous compounds of halo organic compounds (trihalomethanes and halo acetic acids) which are known as carcinogen materials to human. This study aimed to remove humic acid (HA) from aqueous solutions by surfactant-modified n...