Preface

This edited volume is a collection of reviewed and relevant research chapters concerning the developments within the chemical, biochemical, and environmental fields of study. This book includes scholarly contributions by various authors and is edited by experts pertinent to chemical engineering. Each contribution comes as a separate chapter complete in itself but directly related to the book's topics and objectives.

This book contains five chapters. It will be of interest to operators of wastewater treatment plants and sludge treatment and disposal facilities as well as to researchers and university students in the field of environmental engineering.

> **Ján Derco** Slovak University of Technology Bratislava, Slovakia

> > **Branislav Vrana** Masaryk University Brno, Czech Republic

**Chapter 1**

**Provisional chapter**

**Introductory Chapter: Biosorption**

**Introductory Chapter: Biosorption**

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.78961

Water quality policy over the world concerning trace pollutants is defined by environmental quality standards expressed in terms of concentrations in water (Canadian Environmental Quality Guidelines (CEQGs); EU [1, 2]), guidelines (CEQGs; (Environment Canada [3])), ambient water quality criteria (United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), n.d. [4]), and peer reviewed literature on thresholds for effects on aquatic biota (e.g., No observable effect concentrations (NOECs); lowest observable adverse effects) is a major driver of continuing interest in these measurements as part of risk/exposure (Lepom et al. [5]) as well

In Europe, the adoption of the water framework directive (WFD) [7] provides a policy tool that enables sustainable protection of water resources. WFD presents a positive example of

The Decision No 2455/2001/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of November 2001 [8] established the list of 33 priority substances or group of substances, including the priority hazardous substances, presenting a significant risk to water pollution or via the aquatic

The WFD daughter Directive 2013/39/EU [1] extended the list of priority substances to 45, including priority metal species cadmium, lead, mercury, and nickel. It also stresses the need for the development of new water and wastewater treatment technologies to address the

Nowadays, micropollutants occurring in the environment are considered to be a serious problem [9]. Aquatic environment is polluted by a broad range of these compounds from various sources including industry, agriculture, and municipal wastewaters. Many of those compounds are present at low concentrations in the environment, but they still pose and

environment including risks to waters used for the abstraction of drinking water.

problem of pollution by priority and river basin specific pollutants.

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use,

distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Ján Derco and Branislav Vrana

Ján Derco and Branislav Vrana

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.78961

as trend assessments (Fliedner et al. [6]).

complex legislative in water quality protection.

**1. Introduction**

#### **Chapter 1 Provisional chapter**

#### **Introductory Chapter: Biosorption Introductory Chapter: Biosorption**

#### Ján Derco and Branislav Vrana Ján Derco and Branislav Vrana

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.78961
