IUPAC

Overall goal is to provide the scientific and professional communities with an up-to-date information and critical evaluation by the word-leading scientists on biophysico-chemical processes of anthropogenic organic compounds (AOCs) in soils, sediments, water and air. The specific objectives of this proposed book are to address:

(1) fundamental biophysico-chemical processes of AOCs in the environment,
(2) occurrence and distribution of AOCs in air, water, and soil, and their global cycling,
(3) the state-of-the-art analytical techniques of AOCs, and
(4) restoration of natural environments contaminated by AOCs.

The proposed book will also identify the gaps in knowledge on the subject matter and as such provide future directions to stimulate scientific research to advance the chemical science on biophysico-chemical interfacial reactions of AOCs in various environmental media, leading to the subsequent development of innovative management strategies to sustain environmental quality and ecosystem health on a global scale. This book will be an important addition to the scientific literature and a valuable source of reference for students, professors, scientists and engineers.

Physical, chemical, and biological interactions and processes are not independent but rather interactive. Therefore, it is essential to address these interactions and processes in order to understand the composition, complexity, and dynamics of ecosystems. Keeping these domains separate, no matter how fruitful, cannot hope to deliver on the full promise of modern environmental science.

Anthropogenic organic compounds (AOC) are synthetically made organic chemicals. They range from gasoline components (e.g., benzene, toluene, xylene) to emerging contaminants such as endocrine disrupting chemicals. Due to their wide use and disposal, AOCs are commonly found in our environments such as water we drink, air we breathe and soil from which we get our food. These compounds are often toxic and can severely deteriorate an ecosystem. They can also bioaccumulate through food chains and cause various diseases (and even death) to organisms including humans. AOCs behave differently in various environmental media due to their different physical, chemical and biological components and processes. Therefore, a better and more complete understanding of the biophysico-chemical processes of AOCs in environmental systems is essential for the development of innovative management strategies for sustaining the environment and ecosystem integrity.

Physical, chemical, and biological interfacial interactions and processes govern the fate, transport, availability, exposure and risk of AOCs. However, the fundamentals of many physicochemical and biological interfacial reactions of AOCs and their impacts on ecosystems largely remain unknown. As a result, predictive models for their fate, transport and risk in different media are often off target. To advance the frontiers of knowledge on the subject matter, it would require a concerted effort of scientists in relevant physical and life sciences such as chemistry, mineralogy, geochemistry, microbiology, ecology, and soil, atmospheric, and aquatic sciences. Environmental science is indeed the fusion of physical and life sciences. Scientific progress in advancing the understanding of environmental fate and behavior of AOCs is based ultimately on unification rather than fragmentation of knowledge.

In contrast to the classical books which largely focus on separate, individual physicochemical and biological aspects, this proposed book aims to integrate the frontiers of knowledge on the fundamentals and the impact of physicochemical and biological interactions and processes of AOCs in soil, sediment, water and air. The specific objectives of this proposed book are to address: (1) fundamental biophysico-chemical processes of AOCs in the environment, (2) occurrence and distribution of AOCs in air, water, and soil, and their global cycling, (3) the state-of-the-art analytical techniques of AOCs, and (4) restoration of natural environments contaminated by AOCs. The proposed book will also identify the gaps in knowledge on the subject matter and as such provide future directions to stimulate scientific research to advance the chemical science on biophysico-chemical interfacial reactions in natural habitats.

This book would achieve this goal by bringing together world-renowned international scientists on the subject matter to integrate the current state-of-the-art, especially the latest discoveries, development, and future prospects on AOCs. By virtue of complex nature of the interactions of AOCs with different environmental components and matrixes, no single available technique and instrument is satisfactory yet for determining their fate, transport, availability, and risk in the environment. In order to fully understand the biophysico-chemical interactions and processes of AOCs in the environment, it is critical to know chemical, physical and biological properties of AOCs and their analytical techniques. The proposed book is unique because of its multidisciplinary approach. It will provide a comprehensive and integrated coverage of AOCs in various environments, associated analytical techniques, and restoration of natural environments contaminated by AOCs.

The proposed book will be composed of 24 chapters in four parts. Part I will have 4 chapters focusing on fundamental biophysico-chemical processes of AOCs in the environment, Part II with 7 chapters on AOCs in air, water, and soil, and their global cycling, Part III with 7 chapters on analytical techniques of AOCs, and Part IV with 6 chapters on restoration of natural environments contaminated by organic pollutants. This book will be an advanced treatise on the subject matter and a unique addition to the scientific literature.

July 2008 - project announcement published in Chem. Int. July 2008

This book is the proposed Volume III in the IUPAC series on Biophysico-Chemical Processes in Environmental Systems

Draft Content

PART I. Fundamental Biophysico-Chemical Processes of Anthropogenic Organic Compounds in the environment

1. Interaction mechanisms of anthropogenic organics with natural particles
J.J. Pignatello (USA)

2. Mineral catalysis and transformation of organic pollutants
S.A. Boyd (USA)

3. Mineral-organic matter interactions and their implications for sorption of organic contaminants
M. Simpson (Canada)

4. Binding reactions of xenobiotics, microbes, and enzymes on natural particles and the impact on the transformation and fate of organic pollutants in the environment


PART II. Anthropogenic Organic Compounds in Air, Water, and Soil, and Their Global Cycling

5. Sorption of organic compounds at air-particle interfaces (Kai-Uwe Goss)

6. Measurement and Modeling of Semivolatile Organic Compounds in Local Atmospheres (Songyan Du and Lisa A. Rodenburg).

7 Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in Soils and Sediments (Bo Pan and Baoshan Xing).

8 Fate and Transport of Organic Compounds in (to) the Subsurface Environment (Peter Grathwohl).

9 Pharmaceuticals and Endocrine Disrupting Compounds in Drinking Water (Daniel W. Gerrity, Mark J. Benotti, David A. Reckhow and Shane A. Snyder).

10 Intermedia Transfers and Global Cycling of Persistent Organic Pollutants (Claudia Moeckel and Kevin C. Jones).

11 Emission of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in China (Shu Tao, Bengang G. Li, Yanxu X. Zhang and Huishi Yuan).

PART III. Analytical techniques

12 Principles and Guidelines of Sampling, Extraction and Instrumental Analysis Techniques for Measurements or Organic Pollutants in Environmental Matrices (Eddy Yongping Zeng, Zhaohui Wang and O. Samnuel Sojinu).

13 NMR Application in Environmental Research on Anthropogenic Organic Compounds (Robert L. Cook).

14 Synchrotron-Based X-Ray and FTIR Absorption Spectromicroscopies of Organic Contaminants in the Environment (John R. Lawrence and Adam. P. Hitchcock).

15 Application of Solid Phase Microextraction in Determination of Organic Compounds from Complex Environmental Matrices (Sanja Resticevic, Dajana Vuckovic and Janusz Pawliszyn).

16 Application of Biosensors for Environmental Analysis (Marinella Farré, Sandra Pérez, Lina Kantiani and Damiá Barceló).

17 Analyses of Drugs and Pharmaceuticals in the Environment (Imran Ali, Hassan Y. Aboul-Enein and Klaus Kummerer).

PART IV. Restoration of natural environments contaminated by organic pollutants

18. Biochemistry of Environmental Contaminant Transformation: Nonylphenolic Compounds and Hexachlorocyclohexanes – Two Case Studies (Hans-Peter E. Kohler).

19. Biodegradation of Anthropogenic Organic Compounds in Natural Environments (Jose-Luis Niqui-Arroyo, Marisa Bueno-Montes and José-Julio Ortega-Calvo).

20. Phytoremediation of Soils Contaminated with Organic Pollutants (Jason C. White and Lee A. Newman).

21. Bioavailability of Hydrophobic Organic Contaminants in Soils and Sediments (Wesley H. Hunter, Jay Gan and Rai S. Kookana).

22. Abiotic and Biotic Factors Affecting the Fate of Organic Pollutants in Soils and Sediments (Richard E. Meggo and Jerald L. Schnoor).

Nov 2011 - project completed; book published by Wiley, ISBN: 978-0-470-53963-7, May 2011

This book is the 3rd volume published in the series entitled 'Biophysico-Chemical Processes in Environmental Systems' published by John Wiley & Sons (Hoboken, N.J.). The first volume was the outcome of project 2004-003-3-600 titled "Biophysico-Chemical Processes of Heavy Metals and Metalloids in Soil Environments"; the second volume was the outcome of IUPAC project 2006-014-1-600 titled "Biophysico-Chemical Processes Involving Natural Nonliving Organic Matter in Environmental Systems".