PERSPECTIVE pubs.acs.org/est
Last But Certainly Not Least: Runners-Up for ES&T Best Papers of 2010 Jerald L. Schnoor*
n 2010, ES&T published over 1400 papers across a broad range of topics, but we selected only a precious few as the Best Papers of the Year. In the category of Best Environmental Science Paper, it was a difficult choice and the First Runner-Up was an outstanding paper in its own right. Sandra A. Nierzwicki-Bauer of the Darrin Fresh Water Institute and department of Biology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY, and 11 colleagues published an unprecedented, comprehensive data set on the ecology of lakes in the Adirondacks of New York, “Acidification in the Adirondacks: Defining the Biota in Trophic Levels of 30 Chemically Diverse Acid-Impacted Lakes” (Environ. Sci. Technol. DOI 10.1021/es1005626). Species richness of bacterioplankton, phytoplankton, rotifers, crustaceans, macrophytic plants, and fish decreased with declining pH, and a Biota Acid Tolerance Classification system was proposed for the first time to assess the impact of acid deposition (and recovery) for other taxa. The Second Runner-Up was a paper by Hieu Truong, Slawo Lomnicki, and Barry Dellinger in the Department of Chemistry at Louisiana State University, “Potential for Misidentification of Environmentally Persistent Free Radicals as Molecular Pollutants in Particulate Matter,” (Environ. Sci. Technol. DOI 10.1021/ es902648t). The Dellinger Lab has published a string of stunning papers with grave potential repercussions for environmental toxicology and risk assessment of molecular species like dibenzo-dioxins and furans. Environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) are present on the surface of particulate matter containing transition metals and, when particles are sonicated and extracted, they are indistinguishable from dioxins and furans. Dellinger said, “I never expected this paper to be published—it is simply too controversial. Now it has won an award!” ES&T published a Focus Issue (November 1, 2008) on the power of stable isotopes to interpret both field data and
I
r 2011 American Chemical Society
laboratory experiments, and the award for Third Runner-Up follows in a long line of sterling papers on this subject (Environ. Sci. Technol. DOI 10.1021/es9031858). Holger Penning, Sebastian Sorensen, Armin Meyer, Jens Aamand, and Martin Elsner examined the carbon, nitrogen, and hydrogen isotope fractionation of the herbicide isoproturon and found they could elucidate not only abiotic from biotic transformation, but also distinguish among various competing biological pathways. The top two papers in Environmental Technology for 2010 were both from Chinese universities, illustrating how rapidly environmental research is progressing in China. The First RunnerUp Award goes to Wenchao Peng, Ying Chen, Shidong Fan, Fengbao Zhang, Guoliang Zhang, and Xiaobin Fan at the School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University (Environ. Sci. Technol. DOI 10.1021/es101950k). Using green chemistry, they converted dintrostilbene (DNS) wastewater into a high-valued product, paramycin, an antitubercular agent and pharmaceutical intermediate. The experiments were at small scale with actual wastewater, but the process holds promise for avoiding incineration or discharge of thousands of cubic meters of wastewater while generating significant profit at full-scale DNS facilities. The Second Runner-Up Technology Award went to a team of researchers including Changyong Zhang and colleagues at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and Charles Werth and Albert Valocchi at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on a problem related to groundwater remediation or carbon sequestration in sedimentary geologic units (Environ. Sci. Technol. DOI 10.1021/es1019788). Using intricate experimentation with micromodels (microfluidics on a silicon wafer), Raman backscattering spectroscopy, and laser confocal imaging, they showed that calcium carbonate (CaCO3) could precipitate in transverse micropores, reducing porosity, and hindering storage efficiencies of carbon dioxide sequestration. Sometimes a “negative result” leads to a positive conclusion as illustrated by the Third Runner-Up Award to Janel Grebel, Joseph Pignatello, and William Mitch in the Environmental Engineering Program at Yale University and the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (Environ. Sci. Technol. DOI 10.1021/es1010225). They showed that advanced oxidation processes for contaminants in seawater were quenched by high concentrations of halide ions and carbonates. But the nonspecific action of hydroxyl radicals was replaced, to some extent, by a more selective oxidant reactive halogen species (RHS). RHS had some advantages in targeting specific organic contaminants like estradiol. This discovery is the fruit of meticulous research by a distinguished team of scientists. We are proud of the quality of our Policy Analysis papers at ES&T, and this year’s crop of award winners was no exception. Published: March 30, 2011 2523
dx.doi.org/10.1021/es2005072 | Environ. Sci. Technol. 2011, 45, 2523–2524
Environmental Science & Technology
PERSPECTIVE
Kimberly Mullins, Michael Griffin, and Scott Matthews at Carnegie Mellon University were First Runner-Up for their paper, “Policy Implications of Uncertainty in Modeled Life-Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Biofuels” (Environ. Sci. Technol. DOI 10.1021/ es1024993). They showed it is difficult to tell which production process is better when producing ethanol or butanol from corn (starch ethanol) or switchgrass (cellulosic ethanol). Considering the uncertainties, life-cycle greenhouse gases, measured in emissions per energy output, comprise so much variability that different processes overlap in their probability distributions of performance standards. Second Runner-Up Policy Paper went to Julian Allwood, Jonathan Cullen, and Rachel Milford at the Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge UK, for their paper, “Options for Achieving a 50% Cut in Industrial Carbon Emissions by 2050” (Environ. Sci. Technol. DOI 10.1021/es902909k). They offer a detailed and plausible policy approach for greatly decreasing greenhouse gas emissions by targeting the largest industrial emitters and vigorously pursuing material efficiency. Please join us in congratulating our Best Papers of 2010 at ES&T.
’ AUTHOR INFORMATION Corresponding Author
*
[email protected].
2524
dx.doi.org/10.1021/es2005072 |Environ. Sci. Technol. 2011, 45, 2523–2524
