The aim of this study was to highlight the possibility of using recycled wool-based nonwoven material as a sorbent in an oil spill cleanup. This material sorbed higher amounts of base oil SN 150 than diesel or crude oil from the surface of a demineralized or artificial seawater bath. Superficial modification of material with the biopolymer chitosan and low-temperature air plasma led to a slight decrease of sorption capacity. Loose fibers of the same origin as nonwoven material have significantly higher sorption capacities than investigated nonwoven material. White light scanning interferometry analysis of the fibers suggested that roughness of the wool fiber surface has an important role in oil sorption. The laboratory experiments demonstrated that this material is reusable. Recycled wool-based nonwoven material showed good sorption properties and adequate reusability, indicating that a material based on natural fibers could be a viable alternative to commercially available synthetic materials that have poor biodegradability.

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26There is a growing concern about possible ecotoxicological importance of various classes 27 of emerging contaminants in wastewaters and receiving ambient waters. This paper 28 reports on a comprehensive reconnaissance of more than seventy individual wastewater 29 contaminants in the region of Western Balkan (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and 30 Serbia), including some prominent classes of emerging contaminants such as 31 pharmaceuticals and personal care products, surfactants and their degradation products, 32 plasticizers, pesticides, insect repellents, and flame retardants. All determinations were 33 carried out using a modern multiresidue analytical approach, based on the application of 34 gas chromatographic and liquid chromatographic techniques coupled to mass 35 spectrometric detection. The sampling strategy encompassed collection of primarily 36 municipal wastewaters but wastewater effluents from some industries were also included. 37The results confirmed a widespread occurrence of the emerging contaminants in 38 municipal wastewaters of the region with a great deal of similarities with the situation 39 found in the Western Europe and USA. The most prominent contaminant classes, 40 determined in municipal wastewaters, were those derived from aromatic surfactants, 41 including linear alkylbenzene sulphonate (LAS) and alkylphenol polyethoxylates 42 (APEO), with the concentrations in raw wastewater reaching into the mg/L range. All 43 other contaminants were present in much lower concentrations, rarely exceeding few 44 μg/L. The most abundant individual compounds belonged to several classes of 45 pharmaceuticals (antimicrobials, analgesics and antiinflammatories, -blockers and lipid 46 regulators) and personal care products (fragrances). Due to the rather poor wastewater 47 management practices in WB countries, with less than 5 % of all wastewaters being 48 biologically treated, most of the contaminants present in wastewaters reach ambient 49 waters and may represent a significant environmental concern. Moreover, the results 50 indicated that the conventional biological wastewater treatment using activated sludge is 51 relatively inefficient for the removal of some classes of emerging contaminants. 52 53

The possibility of using a corona treatment (electrical discharge at atmospheric pressure) for fiber surface activation, which can facilitate the loading of silver nanoparticles (NPs) from colloids onto the polyester (PES) and polyamide (PA) fabrics and thus improve their antibacterial properties, was studied. Bactericidal efficiency and its laundering durability on silver‐loaded fabrics for Gram‐positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus and Gram‐negative bacterium Escherichia coli were evaluated. The fiber morphology after corona treatment and subsequent loading of silver NPs was followed by SEM. Corona‐treated fabrics loaded with silver NPs exhibited better antibacterial properties in comparison with untreated fabrics. In order to obtain acceptable laundering durability, it is necessary to use highly concentrated silver colloids. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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