Jochen Bundschuh

• Professor and UNESCO Chair on Groundwater Arsenic within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
• Professor (Full) at University of Southern Queensland

Background Fishpond sediments (FPS) are rich in organic carbon and nutrients, making them valuable as fertilizers and soil conditioners. Stabilizing heavy metals like chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) is essential to reduce their bioavailability and risks. This study evaluates zinc oxide (ZnO) and silicon (Si) nanoparticles synthesized from...

Evaluation of the tectonics-climate-anthropogenic stresses nexus on groundwater arsenic contamination in South Asia and South America

Geogenic groundwater contaminants (GGCs) affect drinking-water availability and safety, with up to 60% of groundwater sources in some regions contaminated by more than recommended concentrations. As a result, an estimated 300-500 million people are at risk of severe health impacts and premature mortality. In this Review, we discuss the sources, occ...

Bioplastics might be an ecofriendly alternative to traditional plastics. However, recent studies have emphasized that even bioplastics can end up becoming micro- and nano-plastics due to their degradation under ambient environmental conditions. Hence, there is an urgent need to assess the hidden environmental pollution caused by bioplastics. Howeve...

Melatonin, known as N-acetyl-5-methoxy-tryptamine, has emerged as a fascinating hormone with multifaceted roles in plant growth, development, and stress mitigation. In recent years, its presence in plants has sparked considerable interest, prompting extensive research to unravel its diverse functions beyond the traditional understanding. This chapt...

Secondary micro(nano)plastics generated from the degradation of plastics pose a major threat to environmental and human health. Amid the growing research on microplastics to date, the detection of secondary micro(nano)plastics is hampered by inadequate analytical instrumentation in terms of accuracy, validation, and repeatability. Given that, the c...

Purpose One of the successful and sustainable methods to restore low-fertility soils over the past few decades has been the integrated effect of biochar made from various feedstocks and chemical fertilizers. However, the impact of combining chemical fertilizers with pinewood-chip biochar to restore low-fertility calcareous soils has not been studie...

Fluoride (F-), and arsenic (As) in the groundwater cause health problems in developing countries, including Pakistan. We evaluated the occurrence, distribution, sources apportionment, and health hazards of F-, and As in the groundwater of Mardan, Pakistan. Therefore, groundwater samples (n = 130) were collected and then analyzed for F-, and As by i...

Although geogenic Arsenic (As) contamination is well-recognized in northern Chile, it is not restricted to this part of the country, as the geological conditions favoring As release to the human environment exist across the country as well, although not at the same level, based on comparatively fewer studies in central and southern Chile. The prese...

Phytohormones, including auxin, abscisic acid, gibberellic acid, ethylene, cytokinin, brassinosteroids, salicylic acid, and jasmonic acid, provide beneficial effects for plants against metal(loid) toxicity. However, their mechanisms in alleviating metal(loid) toxicity in plants have not been fully understood. Here, we summarize phytohormone-mediate...

Melatonin (MT) has recently gained significant scientific interest, though its mechanism of action in enhancing plant vigor, cadmium (Cd) tolerance, and Cd phytoremediation processes are poorly understood. Therefore, here we investigated the beneficial role of MT in improving growth and Cd remediation potential of rapeseed (Brassica napus). Plants,...

Platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs) are increasing in the environment largely due to their wide use and application in automobile and medical industries. The mechanism of uptake behavior of different-sized PtNPs and their association with PtNPs-induced phytotoxicity to plants remains unclear. The present study investigated PtNP uptake mechanisms and phy...

Groundwater contamination by heavy metals (HMs) released by weathering and mineral dissolution of granite, gneisses, ultramafic, and basaltic rock composition causes human health concerns worldwide. This paper evaluated the heavy metals (HMs) concentrations and physicochemical variables of groundwater around enriched chromite mines of Malakand, Pak...

To develop easy-to-implement and low-energy water treatment plants, pilot trials for groundwater desalination and arsenic removal were carried out at the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. Desalination was conducted by membrane capacitive deionization (MCDI), which can show low specific energy consumption (SEC) compared to other desalination technologies. An...

Rice is the staple diet for more than 3.5 billion people around the world. Elevation of arsenic (As) in paddy rice ecosystems has become an environmental, economic, and public concern due to its adverse consequences on global rice production, food safety, and human health. Mining exploitation, weathering of As-bearing minerals, dissolution of aquif...

The article presents the result of geothermal water treatment using adsorbent hydrogel NIPAM-co�Chitosan. The project focuses on an innovative approach related to using ionic hydrogel adsorbents to remove Arsenic (As) and Boron (B) from geothermal wastewater. The project aims to verify the research hypothesis that hydrogel adsorbents may be an...

Coastal regions in tropical countries encompass a diverse set of highly productive ecosystems with underlying acid sulfate (AS) soil materials. Muthurajawela Marsh is a tropical, saline, peat bog on the western coast of Sri Lanka and is known to contain AS soil materials. It is a critically important coastal wetland ecosystem and provides a multitu...

Soil contamination by toxic metals is a major health issue that could be partly solved by using genetically-modified plants. For that, the recently developed technique of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) has created a new dimension in genetic engineering. CRISPR was first found as a part of the adaptive immune syst...

A modified chitosan-polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel was developed by incorporating Fe3O4 nanoparticles. Four chitosan-Fe3O4 (ChFe) hydrogel types were developed based on chitosan:Fe3O4 ratio as 1:0, 1:1, 1:0.5 and 1:0.25. Batch sorption experiments were conducted with different pH, dosage, kinetics, and isotherms. The exhausted ChFe hydrogels were...

Arsenic (As) is one of the most prolific natural contaminants in water resources, and hence, it has been recognized as an emerging global problem. Arsenic exposure through food exports and imports, such as As-contaminated rice and cereal-based baby food, is a potential risk worldwide. However, ensuring As-safe drinking water and food for the globe...

Arsenic (As) redox-induced mobilisation and speciation in polluted gold mine sites in tropical climates largely remains unknown. Here, we investigated the impact of changes in soil redox potential (EH) (-54 mV to +429 mV) on mobilisation of As and its dominant species in an abandoned spoil (total As = 4,283 mg/kg) using an automated biogeochemical...

Groundwater arsenic pollution has received much attention worldwide for decades as a serious threat to public health, but the mechanisms responsible for arsenic mobilization are not fully understood. Groundwater and bore drilling sediment samples from Qiji county, a small geographical agricultural area with endemic arsenicosis, are collected for de...

We investigated the stimulatory and/or inhibitory role of exogenous SA in alleviating the salt stress (250, 500 mM NaCl) in Pennisetum giganteum (Giant Juncao) through coordinated induction of redox homeostasis, ionic fux, and bioactive compounds. Salt stress radically impaired root and shoot (growth, fresh, and dry biomass as well as tolerance i...

The reuse of waste materials for water treatment purposes is an important approach for promoting the circular economy and achieving effective environmental remediation. This study examined the use of bone char/titanium dioxide nanoparticles (BC/nTiO2) composite and UV for As(III) and As(V) removal from water. The composite was produced via two ways...

In an often violent and dangerous world military defense systems exercise a major role in the ways societies and nations function, develop their aspirations, protect themselves, promote their identities and shape their destinies. As we are only too aware at this time in global history, conflict, war and peace are deeply entangled and often morally...

Dual functional innovative approaches were developed to tackle the algal scum problem in water by utilizing the algal (Spirogyra sp.) biomass waste for organic dye-laden industrial wastewater treatment, a global problem, and challenge. Therefore, an algal biochar-based nanocomposite (nAgBC) was synthesized and employed as a low-cost adsorbent for C...

Arsenic-rich geothermal fluids are hazardous materials of global impact, affecting different environments (groundwater, surface water, seawater, sediments, soils, atmosphere) and human and animal health. They can be released naturally or through human activities. For the first time, a systematic global assessment of geothermal arsenic (As) in fluid...

Mesoporous materials (MMs) have recently been applied as advanced nanomaterials in different fields (separation, catalysis, adsorption etc.). Synthesis of MMs by chemical surfactants is not ecofriendly. This study focused on the biological synthesis of a MM by sol-gel method, using a Bacillus subtilis BBK006-mediated surfactant (template) and a pre...

The following work provides a perspective on the potential application of solar heterogeneous photocatalysis, which is a nonselective advanced oxidation process considered as a sustainable technology, to assist in arsenic removal from water, which is a global threat to human health. Heterogeneous photocatalysis can oxidize trivalent arsenic to pent...

There are four main waste products produced during the harvesting and milling process of sugarcane: cane trash, molasses, bagasse and mill mud-boiler ash mixture. This study investigates the value proposition of different techniques currently not being adopted by the industry in the utilisation of these wastes. The study addresses the technical cha...

Hexavalent chromium (Cr[VI]) is one of the major environmental concerns due to its excessive discharge through effluents from the leather tanning industry. Peanut production leads to the generation of residual shells as waste calling for sustainable disposal. In this study, we employed an innovative approach of applying peanut-shell-derived pristin...

Water scarcity is a major threat to agriculture and humans due to over abstraction of groundwater, rapid urbanization and improper use in industrial processes. Industrial consumption of water is lower than the abstraction rate, which ultimately produces large amounts of wastewater such as from tannery industry containing high concentration of chrom...

The last decade has seen a worldwide increase in the use of alternative energy sources, especially renewable energy (RE), including its application in desalination. In the past many experimental and pilot investigations were presented which allowed the costs and effectiveness of such integrated solutions to be estimated. The present review describe...

Plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB), possess multifarious beneficial traits and facilitate plant growth by both direct and indirect mechanisms under hostile conditions. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the potential application of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate deaminase (ACC deaminase) producing plant-growth promoting endop...

Muthurajawela marsh in Sri Lanka is an ecologically and economically significant, unique ecosystem with high biodiversity. Acid sulfate soil (ASS) soil materials in Muthurajawela soil are a good source and sink of trace elements. Previous studies have shown an occurrence of higher amounts of trace elements such as Cu, Zn and Cr in Muthurajawela mar...

An unprecedented solution for alleviating non-restorable fouling in water treatment membrane processes is herein proposed and described. A novel smart material with oxygenic activity was developed starting from a polymerizable bicontinuous microemulsion (PBM) containing a surfactant encapsulated polyoxometalate (SEP) as catalyst. This material (PBM...

Production of rice grains at non-toxic levels of arsenic (As) to meet the demands of an ever-increasing population is a global challenge. There is currently a lack of investigation into integrated approaches for decreasing As levels in rice agro-ecosystems. By examining the integrated iron-modified rice hull biochar (Fe-RBC) and water management ap...

Arsenic (As) contamination is a well-recognized environmental and health issue, threatening over 200 million people worldwide with the prime cases in South and Southeast Asian and Latin American countries. Rice is mostly cultivated under flooded paddy soil conditions, where As speciation and accumulation by rice plants is controlled by various geo-...

The pressure on available freshwater resources due to urbanization and climate change impacts is increasing worldwide; so follows the need to explore unconventional resources. Water reuse and desalination are viable options for alternative water supplies, also for regions that had no need to consider these approaches in the past. However, these sol...

Arsenic (carcinogenic) is a global health concern due to its presence in groundwater and subsequent accumulation in cultivated-rice via irrigation. The present work focused on the evaluation of arsenic concentration in groundwater, different cultivated-rice varieties (studied together for the first-time) and related health-risks. Arsenic in groundw...

Heavy metal pollution is of increasing global concern as it adversely impacts different spheres including pedosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and humansphere. Cadmium (Cd) contamination of agriculture soil has become a thoughtful challenge across the globe due to uncontrolled anthropogenic activities, limiting agricultural productivity and disturbi...

This review presents a holistic overview of the occurrence, mobilization, and pathways of arsenic (As) from predominantly geogenic sources into different near-surface environmental compartments, together with the respective reported or potential impacts on human health in Latin America. The main sources and pathways of As pollution in this region i...

This article provides a general introduction to acid sulfate soil materials including those in Muthurajawela, a marsh of high ecological significance on the western coast of Sri Lanka. This peat bog is identified as one of the country's two acid sulfate soils landscapes. It covers ~3000 ha in area and contains a 3 to 7 m thick peat layer. Here we r...

Handwashing is one of the vital public health measures. It helps to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, water overuse during hand scrubbing with soap keeping the tap on may put enormous pressure on the already overstretched groundwater resources and households’ economic well-being. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the over...

Various technologies are used for the treatment of arsenic (As) contaminated water, but only a few seem to be suitable for small-scale applications; these are mostly used in rural communities where the access to potable water is the most vulnerable. In this review paper, the salient advantages and most notable challenges of membrane-based technolog...

The health risks associated with ingestion of arsenic (As) via consumption of rice are a global concern. This study investigated the effects of integrated biochar (BC)-water management approaches to As stress and to associated health risks in rice. Rice cultivars, Jayanthi and Ishikari, were grown, irrigated with As-containing water (1 mg L⁻¹), und...

In the current study, we investigated the potential of Cronobacter sakazakii- ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) assisted phytoremediation potential of Zea mays L. to remediate lead (Pb)-contaminated soils. The C. sakazakii exhibited various stress tolerance mechanisms via plant growth promoting (PGP) traits, intrinsic extracellular enzyme prod...

Awareness concerning the degradation of groundwater quality and their exacerbating adverse effects due to salinization processes is gaining traction, raising for adequate understanding of the distribution, sources, genesis, and environmental concerns of salinity in groundwater. Saline groundwater is widely distributed all over the world, with an ar...

Arsenic (As) in rice agroecosystems causes a loss of both rice yield and quality of rice grains. In this study, an integrated approach of biochar (BC) and alternative water management is proposed to reduce As content while sustaining essential elemental concentrations in rice. The rice cultivar, Jayanthi, was grown, irrigated with 1 mg L − 1 of As-...

To evaluate energy efficient concepts for the modular treatment of brackish water, pilot trials for groundwater desalination and arsenic (As) removal were carried out in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Groundwater here is affected by naturally occurring high iron (Fe2+) and As concentrations, while, in coastal regions, groundwater is additionally contam...

Soil salinity is a global threat to the environmental sustainability, in particular to the developing countries due to their limited resources for soil reclamation. In a greenhouse pot experiment, Pennisetum giganteum, was investigated for its tolerance to salt stress and simultaneous phytoremediation capability. 4 weeks post-germination, NaCl (10,...

This article addresses particle size reduction technologies currently available and their potential application in bioenergy production from waste biomass. It is believed the reduction of the particle size of biomass wastes to nano-scale will have a significant impact on the quality, quantity, and price of biofuels. Currently, these technologies ha...

Selective removal of arsenic (As) is the key challenge for any of As removal mechanisms as this not only increases the efficiency of removal of the main As species (neutral As(III) and As(V) hydroxyl-anions) but also allows for a significant reduction of waste as it does not co-remove other solutes. Selective removal has a number of benefits: it in...

Arsenic (As) removal is a huge challenge, since several million people are potentially exposed (>10 μg/L World Health Organization limit) through drinking water worldwide. Review attempt to address the present situation of As removal, considering key topics on nano-technological and biological process and current progress and future perspectives of...

The removal of inorganic arsenic (As) species from water using bone char pyrolyzed at 900 °C was investigated. Results revealed that the Sips model resulted in the best As(III) experimental data fit, while As(V) data were best represented by the Langmuir model. The adsorption rate and mechanisms of both As species were investigated using kinetic an...

Muthurajawela marsh, located on the western coastal belt and about 10 km north of Colombo City, is the largest peat bog in Sri Lanka. The northern end of the marsh connects to the Negombo lagoon, forming an integrated, tidally influenced coastal wetland ecosystem. Both Muthurajawela marsh and the associated coastal ecosystem have unique biodiversit...

Today (year 2020), the globally recognized problem of arsenic (As) contamination of water resources and other environments at toxic levels has been reported in all of the 20 Latin American countries. The present review indicates that As is prevalent in 200 areas across these countries. Arsenic is naturally released into the environment and mobilize...

This review focuses on contaminant removal from water using hydrogel-based materials. It highlights the recent results achieved, unresolved problems, and possible developments. Polymer and graphene hydrogels are promising new materials for removing inorganic (e.g., metals and metalloids) and organic (e.g., dyes) trace contaminants from water. They...

In developing countries, Cd contamination is ubiquitous which limits agriculture productivity. Current study was designed to investigate the efficacy of plant-Bacillus pumilus-EDTA (PMC) synergy for enhanced plant growth and Cd-uptake potential of Z. mays in industrially contaminated and cadmium (Cd) spiked soil. A pot experiment was conducted by g...

In developing countries, Cd contamination is ubiquitous which limits agriculture productivity. Current study was designed to investigate the efficacy of plant-Bacillus pumilus-EDTA (PMC) synergy for enhanced plant growth and Cd-uptake potential of Z. mays in industrially contaminated and cadmium (Cd) spiked soil. A pot experiment was conducted by g...

The principle of subsurface arsenic removal (SAR) from groundwater is based on oxidation and adsorption reactions by infiltrating oxygen into the anoxic aquifer and the immobilization of arsenic (As) onto freshly formed iron (Fe) oxides. In this study, a pilot-scale plant for SAR has been subject to long term testing in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. I...

A pilot-scale membrane capacitive deionization (MCDI) unit was used for the selective removal of arsenic (up to 300 μg L–1 As(V)), ammonium (25 mg L–1 NH4+), and manganese (6 mg L–1 Mn2+) in experiments with brackish water. Tests were carried out using a commercially available MDCI module and different initial salt concentrations (total dissolved s...

Biochar is considered to be the cost-effective, environmentally-friendly and sustainable sorbent that has an extraordinary potential to proficiently remove potentially toxic elements, including arsenic (As) from water. Until now, no review has focused to understand various important and intriguing aspects on biochar use as a sorbent for As removal...

The challenge for many communities in Latin America is to find adequate solutions which are feasible given the local economic and technical conditions and which enable them to source water with arsenic concentrations below the WHO guideline value for drinking water (<10 μg/L) of arsenic (As) pollution, suitable for human consumption and the irrigat...

This study examined arsenite [As(III)], arsenate [As(V)] and fluoride (F-) removal potential of bone char produced from sheep (Ovis aries) bone waste. Pyrolysis conditions tested were in the 500 °C-900 °C range, for a holding time of 1 or 2 h, with or without N2 gas purging. Previous bone char studies mainly focused on either low or high temperatur...

Biochar is a cost-effective, environmentally-friendly, and sustainable sorbent with a great potential to remove potentially toxic elements (PTEs), including arsenic (As) from water. This chapter explores the use of different biochars, especially for As removal from aqueous environments. We summarized systematically the (i) biochar production method...

In contrast to other Latin American countries, where the presence of arsenic (As) in drinking water sources and related adverse human health impacts are well-known, little is internationally known from Nicaragua. However, the As problem is of high relevance as numerous assessments by national research, governmental and non-governmental institutions...

Elevated Arsenic (As) and Fluoride (F) concentrations in groundwater have been studied in the shallow aquifers of northeastern of La Pampa province, in the Chaco-Pampean plain, Argentina. The source of As and co-contaminants is mainly geogenic, from the weathering of volcanic ash and loess (rhyolitic glass) that erupted from the Andean volcanic ran...