Best Papers from 2020 published in the Environmental Science journals of the Royal Society of Chemistry

Science and its application: at what we hope is the tail end of the COVID-19 pandemic and in the face of drought, heat waves, and unprecedented ice melt, we (PN, KM, PV) find ourselves even more grateful for the advances made in the past year. Though too many have been lost, we have seen the benefits of science first-hand as lives have been saved through the creation of vaccines. Research from our own Environmental Science community has safeguarded human health with studies on the disinfection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its airborne transmission, and wastewater surveillance. Beyond the pandemic, our colleagues have continued to produce the highest quality research to enhance treatment and better understand the fate and toxicity of water or airborne contaminants, to advance the recovery of resources from wastes and, in general, to improve human and ecosystem health. At Environmental Science: Water Research and Technology (ESWRT), Environmental Science: Processes and Impacts (ESPI), and Environmental Science: Nano (ESN), we celebrate this research and the overall enterprise of scientific and engineering research.

In 2020, we published 275, 177 and 297 papers in ESWRT, ESPI and ESN, respectively, on diverse topics, such as the natural chlorine cycle, the toxicities of nanoparticles and nanoplastics and the removal of micropollutants in engineered systems. Over the past few months, we enlisted our Advisory Boards, Editorial Boards and Associate Editors to choose the very best papers published in our journals in 2020. Their selections represent a cross-section of the work published in the Environmental Science family of journals and, overall, a sampling of the great research that our community is doing to protect humans and the environment as we become more interconnected and more technologically advanced in everything that we do. From this list, we, the Editors-in-Chief of ESWRT, ESPI and ESN, selected the overall best paper from our entire portfolio of papers published in 2020. We are thrilled to highlight this top paper and all of the other best papers for you and bring them to the attention of our readers, while also celebrating the advances of science and its application.

Overall best paper

Kehrein, Loosdrecht, Osseweijer, Garfí, Dewulf and Posada, A critical review of resource recovery from municipal wastewater treatment plants – market supply potentials, technologies and bottlenecks, Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 2020, 6, 877–910, DOI: 10.1039/C9EW00905A.

In this open access paper, Kehrein and colleagues performed a detailed and critical review of resource recovery from wastewater with an eye toward informing decision makers about different technologies, but, more importantly, about the economic, societal, political and value-chain-related bottlenecks that need to be addressed prior to successful implementation. The authors structured the paper around various resources that can be recovered, focusing on water, energy, nitrogen, phosphorus and a range of other resources, including VFAs, cellulose, extracellular polymeric substances as an alginate substitute and single cell protein. They discussed the supply potential and likely demand (based on data from the Netherlands) for each, then proceeded to discuss existing technologies available to recover these resources. The non-technical bottlenecks for each resource were then presented and discussed, broken down into the categories of (A) economics and value chain, (B) environment and health and (C) society and policy. In a final section of the paper, the role of water management utilities in increasing the implementation of resource recovery from wastewater was presented, with concise and well-thought-out suggestions for how water management utilities can use their expertise in management and design, as well as how they could work together to advance resource recovery. The paper serves as an extremely useful and well-conceived primer on how countries can further sustainability by moving from a position of wastewater treatment to wastewater resource recovery.

Journal Best Papers

In addition to our overall Best Paper, we are so proud to introduce you to the overall selection of Best Papers and Best Review Papers from ESWRT, ESPI and ESN.

Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology

Best paper: Kehrein, Loosdrecht, Osseweijer, Garfí, Dewulf and Posada, A critical review of resource recovery from municipal wastewater treatment plants – market supply potentials, technologies and bottlenecks, Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 2020, 6, 877–910, DOI: 10.1039/C9EW00905A.

First Runner-up Best Paper: Merle, Knappe, Pronk, Vogler, Holldender and von Gunten, Assessment of the breakthrough of micropollutants in full-scale granular activated carbon adsorbers by rapid small-scale column tests and a novel pilot-scale sampling approach, Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 2020, 6, 2742–2751, DOI: 10.1039/D0EW00405G.

Second Runner-up Best Paper: Stalter, O'Malley, von Gunten and Escher, Mixture effects of drinking water disinfection by-products: implications for risk assessment, Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 2020, 6, 2341–2351, DOI: 10.1039/C9EW00988D.

Third Runner-up* Best Paper: Angeles, Mullen, Huang, Wilson, Khunjar, Sirotkin, McElroy and Aga, Assessing pharmaceutical removal and reduction in toxicity provided by advanced wastewater treatment systems, Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 2020, 6, 62–77, DOI: 10.1039/C9EW00559E.

*As the overall ‘best paper’ was a Review article, there are three runner-up papers for ESWRT this year.

Environmental Science: Nano

Best Paper: Brandts, Garcia-Ordoñez, Tort, Teles and Roher, Polystyrene nanoplastics accumulate in ZFL cell lysosomes and in zebrafish larvae after acute exposure, inducing a synergistic immune response in vitro without affecting larval survival in vivo, Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2020, 7, 2410–2422, DOI: 10.1039/D0EN00553C.

First Runner-up Best Paper: Miller, Kaszuba, Kerisit, Schaef, Bowden, McGrail and Rosso, Emerging investigator series: ion diffusivities in nanoconfined interfacial water films contribute to mineral carbonation thresholds, Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2020, 7, 1068–1081, DOI: 10.1039/C9EN01382B.

Second Runner-up Best Paper: Ellis, Valsami-Jones and Lynch, Exposure medium and particle ageing moderate the toxicological effects of nanomaterials to Daphnia magna over multiple generations: a case for standard test review, Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2020, 7, 1136–1149, DOI: 10.1039/D0EN00049C.

Best Review: van der Zande, Kokalj, Spurgeon, Loureiro, Silva, Khodaparast, Drobne, Clark, van den Brink, Baccaro, van Gestel, Bouwmeester and Handy, The gut barrier and the fate of engineered nanomaterials: a view from comparative physiology, Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2020, 7, 1874–1898, DOI: 10.1039/D0EN00174K.

Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts

Best Paper: Keppler, Röhling, Jaeger, Schroll, Hartmann and Greule, Sources and sinks of chloromethane in a salt marsh ecosystem: constraints from concentration and stable isotope measurements of laboratory incubation experiments, Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2020, 22, 627–641, DOI: 10.1039/C9EM00540D.

First Runner-up Best Paper: Vander Wall, Perraud, Wingen and Finlayson-Pitts, Evidence for a kinetically controlled burying mechanism for growth of high viscosity secondary organic aerosol, Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2020, 22, 66–83, DOI: 10.1039/C9EM00379G.

Second Runner-up Best Paper: Thackray, Selin and Young, A global atmospheric chemistry model for the fate and transport of PFCAs and their precursors, Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2020, 22, 285–293, DOI: 10.1039/C9EM00326F.

Best Review: Abbatt and Wang, The atmospheric chemistry of indoor elements, Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2020, 22, 25–48, DOI: 10.1039/C9EM00386J.

We congratulate the authors of each of these papers for their excellent work in moving the scientific enterprise forward. We celebrate their accomplishments as well as those of all our authors – a wonderfully diverse group of scientists and engineers from across the globe. We also thank our Advisory Board and Editorial Board members, as well as our Associate Editors, for their hard work in identifying these excellent papers. We look forward to engaging with you as authors, reviewers and readers and, as always, look forward to receiving submissions of your cutting-edge research.

Next year, look out for publications from our new Open Access sister journal Environmental Science: Atmospheres which will be included in the Environmental Science best papers round up for 2021.

Paige Novak, Editor-in-Chief

Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology

Kris McNeill, Editor-in-Chief

Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts

Peter Vikesland, Editor-in-Chief

Environmental Science: Nano

References

1. P. Kehrein, M. van Loosdrecht, P. Osseweijer, M. Garfí, J. Dewulf and J. Posada, A critical review of resource recovery from municipal wastewater treatment plants – market supply potentials, technologies and bottlenecks, Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 6, 877–910,  10.1039/C9EW00905A.
2. T. Merle, D. R. U. Knappe, W. Pronk, B. Vogler, J. Holldender and U. von Gunten, Assessment of the breakthrough of micropollutants in full-scale granular activated carbon adsorbers by rapid small-scale column tests and a novel pilot-scale sampling approach, Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 6, 2742–2751,  10.1039/D0EW00405G.
3. D. Stalter, E. O'Malley, U. von Gunten and B. I. Escher, Mixture effects of drinking water disinfection by-products: implications for risk assessment, Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 6, 2341–2351,  10.1039/C9EW00988D.
4. L. F. Angeles, R. A. Mullen, I. J. Huang, C. Wilson, W. Khunjar, H. I. Sirotkin, A. E. McElroy and D. S. Aga, Assessing pharmaceutical removal and reduction in toxicity provided by advanced wastewater treatment systems, Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 6, 62–77,  10.1039/C9EW00559E.
5. I. Brandts, M. Garcia-Ordoñez, L. Tort, M. Teles and N. Roher, Polystyrene nanoplastics accumulate in ZFL cell lysosomes and in zebrafish larvae after acute exposure, inducing a synergistic immune response in vitro without affecting larval survival in vivo, Environ. Sci.: Nano, 7, 2410–2422,  10.1039/D0EN00553C.
6. Q. R. S. Miller, J. P. Kaszuba, S. N. Kerisit, H. T. Schaef, M. E. Bowden, B. P. McGrail and Rosso, Emerging investigator series: ion diffusivities in nanoconfined interfacial water films contribute to mineral carbonation thresholds, Environ. Sci.: Nano, 7, 1068–1081,  10.1039/C9EN01382B.
7. L.-J. A. Ellis, E. Valsami-Jones and I. Lynch, Exposure medium and particle ageing moderate the toxicological effects of nanomaterials to Daphnia magna over multiple generations: a case for standard test review, Environ. Sci.: Nano, 7, 1136–1149,  10.1039/D0EN00049C.
8. M. van der Zande, A. J. Kokalj, D. J. Spurgeon, S. Loureiro, P. V. Silva, Z. Khodaparast, D. Drobne, N. J. Clark, N. W. van den Brink, M. Baccaro, C. A. M. van Gestel, H. Bouwmeester and R. D. Handy, The gut barrier and the fate of engineered nanomaterials: a view from comparative physiology, Environ. Sci.: Nano, 7, 1874–1898,  10.1039/D0EN00174K.
9. F. Keppler, A. N. Röhling, N. Jaeger, M. Schroll, S. C. Hartmann and M. Greule, Sources and sinks of chloromethane in a salt marsh ecosystem: constraints from concentration and stable isotope measurements of laboratory incubation experiments, Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 22, 627–641,  10.1039/C9EM00540D.
10. A. C. Vander Wall, V. Perraud, L. M. Wingen and B. J. Finlayson-Pitts, Evidence for a kinetically controlled burying mechanism for growth of high viscosity secondary organic aerosol, Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 22, 66–83,  10.1039/C9EM00379G.
11. C. P. Thackray, N. E. Selin and C. J. Young, A global atmospheric chemistry model for the fate and transport of PFCAs and their precursors, Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 22, 285–293,  10.1039/C9EM00326F.
12. J. P. D. Abbatt and C. Wang, The atmospheric chemistry of indoor elements, Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 22, 25–48,  10.1039/C9EM00386J.

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