Characterization of the airborne bacteria community at different distances from the rotating brushes in a wastewater treatment plant by 16S rRNA gene clone libraries

Biological risks of bioaerosols emitted from wastewater treatment processes have attracted wide attention in the recent years. However, the culture-based analysis method has been mostly adopted for detecting the bacterial community in bioaerosols, which may result in the underestimation of total microorganism concentration as not all microorganisms are cultivable. In this study, oligonucleotide fingerprinting of 16S rRNA genes was applied to reveal the composition and structure of the bacterial community in bioaerosols from an Orbal oxidation ditch in a Beijing wastewater treatment plant （WWTP）. Bioaerosols were collected at different distances from the aerosol source, rotating brushes, and the sampling height was 1.5 m which is the common respiratory height of a human being. The bacterial communities of bioaerosols were diverse, and the lowest bacterial diversity was found at the sampling site just after the rotating brush rotating brush. A large proportion of bacteria in bioaerosols were affiliated with Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes. Numerous bacteria present in the bioaerosols also emerged in water, indicating that the bacterial community in the bioaerosols was related to that of the aerosols＇ sources. The forced aeration of rotating brushes brought about observably distinct bacterial communities between sampling sites situated before and after the rotating brush. Isolation sources of closest relatives in bioaerosols clone libraries were associated with the aqueous environment in the WWTP. Common potential pathogens in bioaerosols as well as those not reported in previous research were also analyzed in this study. Measures should be adopted to reduce the emission of bioaerosols and prevent their exposure to workers.

Characterization and source analysis of indoor/outdoor culturable airborne bacteria in a municipal wastewater treatment plant

The potential health risks of airborne bacteria emission from a wastewater treatment process have been concerned. However, few studies have investigated the differences in community structure between indoor and outdoor bacteria. In this work, the characterization of airborne bacteria was studied in a municipal wastewater treatment plant in Beijing, China. Two indoor（i.e., fine screen room and sludge dewatering house） and two outdoor（i.e., aeration tank and control site） sampling sites were selected. An Andersen six-stage impactor was used for collecting culturable airborne bacteria in the air, and Illumina MiSeq sequencing was conducted to track the emission source of the culturable airborne bacteria. The results indicate that, compared with the outdoor aeration tank site, the concentrations of culturable airborne bacteria in the indoor fine screen room with poor ventilation were more than ten times higher and the particle size was about twice as large. The community structures of indoor and outdoor culturable airborne bacteria were obviously different. Enterobacteriaceae and opportunistic pathogens were detected in indoor culturable airborne bacteria, with wastewater and sludge dewatering machine identified as the primary sources. Conversely,Enterobacteriaceae and opportunistic pathogens were not detected in outdoor culturable airborne bacteria. Outdoor high wind speed might have resulted in rapid dilution and mixing of culturable airborne bacteria generated from the aeration tank with the ambient air. The results of the present research suggest that covering pollution sources, increasing ventilation rates, and using protective measures for personnel should be implemented to decrease the exposure risk to indoor culturable airborne bacteria.

Sulfur dioxide and o-xylene co-treatment in biofilter：Performance, bacterial populations and bioaerosols emissions

Sulfur dioxide（SO_2） and benzene homologs are frequently present in the off-gas during the process of sewage sludge drying. A laboratory scale biofilter was set up to co-treat SO_2 and o-xylene in the present study. SO_2 and o-xylene could be removed simultaneously in a single biofilter. Their concentration ratio in the inlet stream influenced the removal efficiencies. It is worth noting that the removal of SO_2 could be enhanced when low concentrations of o-xylene were introduced into the biofilter. Pseudomonas sp., Paenibacillus sp., and Bacillus sp. were the main functional bacteria groups in the biofilter. Sulfur-oxidizing bacteria（SOB） and o-xylene-degrading bacteria（XB） thrived in the biofilter and their counts as well as their growth rate increased with the increase in amount of SO2 and o-xylene supplied. The microbial populations differed in counts and species due to the properties and components of the compounds being treated in the biofilter. The presence of mixed substrates enhanced the diversity of the microbial population. During the treatment process, bioaerosols including potentially pathogenic bacteria, e.g., Acinetobacter lwoffii and Aeromonas sp., were emitted from the biofilter. Further investigation is needed to focus on the potential hazards caused by the bioaerosols emitted from waste gas treatment bioreactors.

Effects of tetrakis (hydroxymethyl) phosphonium sulfate pretreatment on characteristics of sewage sludge

Recently, tetrakis(hydroxymethyl)phosphonium sulfate(THPS) was found to play an important role in the sludge pretreatment process. However, the effects of THPS pretreatment on the characteristics of sewage sludge are still insufficiently understood.The properties of sludge after pretreatment with different concentrations of THPS were investigated in this study. The results showed that pH, dewatering ability, and particle size of sludge decreased with increase in THPS concentration. The volatile suspended solids(VSS) and total suspended solids(TSS) of sludge also decreased slightly with increase in THPS concentration. The specific oxygen uptake rate(SOUR) results suggested that lower THPS concentrations(≤ 1.87 mg/g VSS) enhanced the activity of sludge, but higher concentrations(≥ 1.87 mg/g VSS) inhibited it. Gram-negative bacteria with peritrichous flagellation(such as Pseudomonas, Escherichia, and Faecalibacterium) were extremely sensitive to THPS. The decrease in specific most probable numbers(MPNs) of pathogens(total coliforms and Escherichia coli) with the increase in THPS concentration also proved the sterilization ability of THPS in the sludge pretreatment process. Pretreatment of sludge with concentrations of THPS higher than 37.41 mg/g VSS would meet the pathogen requirements for land application of Class A biosolids.

Composition,dispersion,and health risks of bioaerosols in wastewater treatment plants:A review

Bioaerosols are defined as airbome particles(0.05-100 um in size)of biological origin.They are considered potentially harmful to human health as they can contain pathogens such as bacteria,fungi,and viruses.This review summarizes the most recent research on the health risks of bioaerosols emitted from wastewater treatment plants(WWTPs)in order to improve the control of such bioaerosols.The concentration and size distribution of WWTP bioaerosols;their major emission sources,composition,and health risks;and considerations for future research are discussed.The major themes and findings in the literature are as follows:the major emission sources of WWTP bioaerosols include screen rooms,sludge-dewatering rooms,and acration tanks;the bioaerosol concentrations in screen and sludge-dewatering rooms are higher than those outdoors.WWTP bioacrosols contain a variety of potentially pathogenic bacteria,fungi,antibiotic resistance genes,viruses,endotoxins,and toxic metal(loid)s.These potentially,pathogenic substances spread with the bioaerosols,thereby posing health risks to workers and residents in and around the WWTP.Inhalation has been identified as the main exposure route,and children are at a higher risk of this than adults.Future studies should identify emerging contaminants,establish health risk assessments,and develop prevention and control systems.