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Ozone - a powerful antimicrobial agent, has been extensively applied for decontamination purposes in several industries (including food, water treatment, pharmaceuticals, textiles, healthcare, and the medical sectors). The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to recent developments in the deployment of different ozone-based technologies for the decontamination of surfaces, materials and indoor environments. The pandemic has also highlighted the therapeutic potential of ozone for the treatment of COVID-19 patients, with astonishing results observed. The key objective of this review is to summarize recent advances in the utilisation of ozone for decontamination applications in the above-listed industries while emphasising the impact of key parameters affecting microbial reduction efficiency and ozone stability for prolonged action. We realise that aqueous ozonation has received higher research attention, compared to the gaseous application of ozone. This can be attributed to the fact that water treatment represents one of its earliest applications. Furthermore, the application of gaseous ozone for personal protective equipment (PPE) and medical device disinfection has not received a significant number of contributions compared to other applications. This presents a challenge for which the correct application of ozonation can mitigate. In this review, a critical discussion of these challenges is presented, as well as key knowledge gaps and open research problems/opportunities.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2022.140188 | DOI Listing |
Integr Environ Assess Manag
September 2025
Water Research Group, Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa.
Pesticides are widely used to meet the food demands of a growing population, with various types used to control pests depending on the crops grown. Rainfall, overspray, and runoff from agricultural fields can wash these insecticides into water bodies, posing documented environmental risks. Imidacloprid is commonly used in Afrotropical regions such as South Africa, yet limited information is available on its toxicity to aquatic ecosystems within this climate region.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTop Curr Chem (Cham)
September 2025
Center for Advanced Materials Research, Research Institute of Sciences and Engineering, University of Sharjah, 27272, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Controlling the size of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) has been critical in diagnostics, biomolecular sensing, targeted therapy, wastewater treatment, catalysis, and sensing applications. Ultrasmall AuNPs (uAuNPs), with sizes Ranging from 2 to 5 nm, and gold nanoclusters (AuNCs), with sizes less than 2 nm, are often dealt with interchangeably in the literature, making it challenging to review them separately. Although they are grouped in our discussion, their chemical and physical properties differ significantly, partly due to their electronic properties.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLangmuir
September 2025
Department of Applied Sciences, National Institute of Technology Delhi, Delhi 110036, India.
The degradation of colorless tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH), a widely used antibiotic, is a significant environmental concern due to its persistence in aquatic systems. The zinc sulfide (ZnS) nanoparticle fabricated melamine-formaldehyde polymer (MFP)-based nanocomposite (ZnS-MFP) was prepared via a hydrothermal polymerization method, followed by surface modification through a simple precipitation route. The degradation of TCH through photocatalysis adheres to pseudo-first-order kinetics with a significantly faster rate under natural sunlight than under artificial bulb light.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAppl Environ Microbiol
September 2025
Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Unlabelled: Although wastewater treatment plants harbor many pathogens, traditional methods that monitor the microbial quality of surface water and wastewater have not changed since the early 1900s and often disregard the presence of other types of significant waterborne pathogens such as viruses. We used metagenomics and quantitative PCR to assess the taxonomy, functional profiling, and seasonal patterns of DNA and RNA viruses, including the virome distribution in aquatic environments receiving wastewater discharges. Environmental water samples were collected at 11 locations in Winnipeg, Manitoba, along the Red and Assiniboine rivers during the Spring, Summer, and Fall 2021.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChem Rec
September 2025
Interdisciplinary Research Center for Hydrogen Technologies and Carbon Management (IRC-HTCM), King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, KFUPM Box 5040, Dhahran, 31261, Saudi Arabia.
The synthesis of biomass-derived nanocarbons via ball milling has emerged as an innovative, sustainable, and cost-effective strategy in the field of nanotechnology. This review comprehensively explores the principles, mechanisms, and process parameters that influence the production of high-quality nanocarbons from biomass using ball milling. This process efficiently transforms biomass residues into nanoscale carbon, including graphene, carbon nanotubes, and nanofibers, with tunable physicochemical properties tailored for advanced applications.
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