Water Quality in the Twenty-First Century: New Tools for the Characterization and Remediation of Emerging Chemical Contaminants

There are hundreds of thousands of chemicals used around the world to meet the global demands for food, energy, and a higher standard of living. Decades of environmental monitoring studies have demonstrated that many of these chemicals accumulate in the aquatic environment. The incredible number of chemicals that may be present in any given water system poses challenges for water quality monitoring and associated engineered solutions. In the first part of this contribution, new techniques for water quality monitoring afforded by high-resolution mass spectrometry will be introduced. Case studies will be used to highlight the advantages and challenges associated with target screening and nontarget screening techniques. In the second part of this contribution, a new polymer will be introduced that outperforms many conventional adsorbents for the removal of organic chemicals from water at environmentally relevant concentrations. The polymer is derived sustainably from cornstarch, and characterization studies demonstrate that it exhibits rapid adsorption kinetics, excludes interactions with natural organic matter (NOM), and can be regenerated with a mild washing solution at ambient temperatures without a loss in performance. These features all suggest that the polymer may be a promising alternative adsorbent for the removal of trace organic chemicals during water and wastewater treatment.