Advanced Treatment of Wastewater Treatment Plant Effluent by Using Biofilms on Filamentous Bamboo

[ Objective ] The study aimed at treating wastewater treatment plant （WWTP） effluent by using bio-film reactor with filamentous bamboo as bio-carrier. [ Method] With the aid of a continuous flow reactor, a bio-film reactor using filamentous bamboo as bio-carrier was used to treat WWTP effluent with low C/N ratio, and the removal effects of CODc,, TN （total nitrogen）, and NO3--N in the wastewater were analyzed.[ Result ] The average removal rates of CODcr, TN, and NO3- -N reached 47.7%, 23.6% and 34.5% when the C/N ratio of influent was around 2. In addi- tion, a stable bio-film was formed very well in the secondary effluent with low C/N ratio and hardly degradable organic pollutants. The pollutants could be removed effectively because of the excellent surface characteristics and compositions of filamentous bamboo. [ Conclusion] The research provides a new method to treat WWTP effluent with low C/N ratio.

Reduction of Infectious Cryptosporidium and Microbial Indicators in Wastewater Effluents by Disinfection with UV Irradiation or Chlorine

When properly treated, domestic wastewater should be considered a potential reliable water source in arid and semi-arid regions of the world for none-potable purposes. In Israel and other countries around the world, the main biological standards for water reuse are based on fecal coliform (FC) and turbidity. Furthermore, in secondary treatment, the Israeli standard for water reuse and for unrestricted irrigation comprises additional steps such as filtration and chlorination. The present study was conducted to compare the reduction efficiency of live Cryptosporidium oocysts in wastewater effluents by filtration and disinfection by either UV irradiation or chlorination. Cryptosporidium oocysts infectivity reduction was compared to those of the conventional microbial indicators (FC). The study was conducted in two full-scale wastewater treatment plants. The average concentration of FC and Cryptosporidium in secondary effluent was 2.8 × 105 cfu/100ml and 5.7 oocysts/10L, respectively. Infectious Cryptosporidium oocysts were detected in 2 out of 7 secondary effluent samples (28.5%). Infectious Cryptosporidium oocysts were not detectable in UV disinfected tertiary effluent. Conversely, 3 out of 7 (42.8%) tertiary effluent samples disinfected with chlorine were positive for infectious Cryptosporidium oocysts. The results of this study revealed that the application of a multi barrier treatment, including UV irradiation, for the reduction of Cryptosporidium oocysts and microbial indicators could improve tertiary effluent safety for unrestricted irrigation and other reuse purposes.

A data-derived soft-sensor method for monitoring effluent total phosphorus

The effluent total phosphorus(ETP) is an important parameter to evaluate the performance of wastewater treatment process(WWTP). In this study, a novel method, using a data-derived soft-sensor method, is proposed to obtain the reliable values of ETP online. First, a partial least square(PLS) method is introduced to select the related secondary variables of ETP based on the experimental data. Second, a radial basis function neural network(RBFNN) is developed to identify the relationship between the related secondary variables and ETP. This RBFNN easily optimizes the model parameters to improve the generalization ability of the soft-sensor. Finally, a monitoring system, based on the above PLS and RBFNN, named PLS-RBFNN-based soft-sensor system, is developed and tested in a real WWTP. Experimental results show that the proposed monitoring system can obtain the values of ETP online and own better predicting performance than some existing methods.

Integrated ozone–photo–Fenton process for the removal of pollutant from industrial wastewater

The use of hybrid advanced oxidation processes(AOPs) for the removal of pollutants from industrial effluents has been extensively studied in recent literature. The aim of this study is to compare the performance of the photo,Fenton, photo-Fenton and ozone–photo–Fenton processes in terms of color removal and chemical oxygen demand(COD) removal of distillery industrial effluent together with the associated electrical energy per order. It was observed from the experimental results that the O_3/UV/Fe^(2 +)/H_2O_2 process yielded a 100% color and95.50% COD removals with electrical energy per order of 0.015 k W·h·m^(-3) compared to all other combinations of the AOPs. The effects of various operating parameters such as H_2O_2 and Fe^(2+) concentration, effluent pH, COD concentration and UV power on the removal of color, COD and electrical energy per order for the ozone–photo–Fenton process was critically studied and reported. The color and COD removals were analyzed using a UV/Vis spectrometer and closed reflux method.

Systematic Biological Upgrade of a Urea Fertilizer Effluent Treatment Plant Using GPS

The use of modeling and simulation has developed into a critical tool for the sustainable management of wastewater, especially when it comes to replicating the complex biochemical procedures required for fertilizer effluent treatment, which calls for a significant amount of wastewater-related data. The biological improvement of a urea fertilizer effluent via GPS* simulation was carried out in this work using a methodical process. Using established analytical techniques, temperature, total suspended solids (TSS), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total phosphorus (T/), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total nitrogen (TN), total nitrate (NO3), electric conductivity (EC), turbidity, residual chlorine, urea, NH3, and heavy metals (Cu, Cd, Cr, Pb, Ni, and Fe) were assessed. The research revealed that the measured values from the fertilizer factory outfall effluent had high concentrations of all the physicochemical water quality indicators, with the exception of TSS, PO4-, SO4-, and NO3-. These concentrations are higher compared to the authorized limits or suggested values by the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA). To improve the therapy biologically, however, a modeling and simulation program (GPS-X, version 8.0) was used with the physicochemical information gathered from the studied sample. The results of the treated water simulation showed that the concentrations of BOD5 and COD had been significantly reduced by 35% and 44%, respectively. Additionally, it was discovered that total phosphorus (TP), nitrate (N), and total nitrogen (TN) were all within the permitted FEPA limit. The results revealed good treatment performance of the wastewater with increasing concentration of acetic acid and sodium hydroxide. Hence, the results of this research work identify the need for proper treatment of fertilizer industry effluents prior to their release into the environment.

Exposure of juvenile Chinook salmon to effluent from a large urban wastewater treatment plant.Part 2.Metabolomic profiling

Targeted metabolomic analysis was conducted on juvenile Chinook salmon exposed for 10 days to wastewater effluent(WWE)from a large urban treatment plant.Exposures included five dilutions of WWE(20%,5.3%,1.4%,0.4%,and 0.1%)and a control with 7 replicates per treatment.Liver was extracted from fish and analyzed via liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry(LC-MS)for 361 endogenous metabolites,of which 185 were detected.Control-versus-treatment comparisons identified several metabolites that were associated with altered biochemical pathways observed for all treatments,including several that are important for energy generation and utilization.These altered pathways are crucial for fish health and may be an early indicator of potential adverse effects on growth,reproduction,behavior,and immune function.Juvenile ocean-type Chinook salmon spend several days to weeks in the nearshore estuary where they may encounter high concentrations of WWE contaminants.They are exposed to a wide range of potent pharmaceuticals,personal care products,and industrial compounds from WWE that have the potential to affect physiological homeostasis and disrupt their normal life cycle.

Exposure of juvenile Chinook salmon to effluent from a large urban wastewater treatment plant.Part 1.physiological responses

Wastewater treatment plants release complex mixtures of chemicals into the aquatic environment as wastewater effluent(WWE);however,the effects of these mixtures are still poorly understood.Chinook salmon(Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)are a culturally important species in the Pacific Northwest and are a vital food resource for southern resident killer whales(Orcinus orca)that are listed as‘critically endangered’under the U.S.Endangered Species Act(ESA).Chinook populations have declined drastically in this region and have failed to show significant recovery despite regional-to-federal efforts,resulting in many populations being listed as threatened under the ESA.One source of stress to juvenile Chinook is chemical pollution from WWE during their outmigration along river corridors and residency in estuaries.In this study,we investigated effects of WWE on juvenile Chinook health in a ten-day exposure to dilutions of WWE from 0.1%to 20%.At the end of the exposure,we measured endpoints associated with endocrine disruption,brain function,osmoregulation,stress,and metabolism.Exposure to WWE significantly(α=0.1 for all analyses)induced vitellogenesis,indicating endocrine system disruption.We saw significant reductions in plasma glucose,an indication of stress,and brain Na+/K+-ATPase(NKA)activity,an enzyme essential for neuronal signaling.Lastly,metabolism was affected as evidenced by altered total protein,cholesterol,and albumin in plasma,a drastic decrease in whole body lipid content,and a significant increase in visible liver anomalies.We compared contaminant concentrations in exposure water with effects concentrations from the literature for chemicals known to induce vitellogenin or inhibit brain NKA.For most contaminants,concentrations in exposure waters were several orders of magnitude below effects concentrations in the literature.The exception was estrogenic hormones,which were detected at similar concentrations in this study compared to concentrations in other studies that induced vitellogenin.Based on comparisons to the literature,contaminants measured in this study could not explain the inhibition of brain NKA;however,WWE mixtures contain many quantified and undetected compounds that are likely acting together to cause harmful effects in Chinook.This research highlights the need for improved wastewater treatment to improve aquatic health and mitigate effects to threatened species like Puget Sound Chinook salmon.

Characteristics of contaminants in water and sediment of a constructed wetland treating piggery wastewater effluent

Constructed wetland （CW） is the preferred means of controlling water quality because of its natural treatment mechanisms and function as a secondary or tertiary treatment unit. CW is increasingly applied in Korea for secondary effluent of livestock wastewater treatment. This study was conducted to recognize the characteristics of contaminants in the accumulated sediment at the bottom soil layer and to reduce the phosphorus release from sediments of the free water surface CW for the treatment of secondary piggery wastewater effluent from a livestock wastewater treatment facility. The results revealed that the dominant phosphorus existence types at near the inlet of the CW were non-apatite phosphorus （59%） and residual phosphorus （32%） suggesting that most of the particles of the influent are made up of inorganic materials and dead cells. Sediment accumulation is important when determining the long-term maintenance requirements over the lifetime of CW. Continuous monitoring will be performed for a further assessment of the CW system and design.

Removal of Ammonia from Wastewater Effluent by Chlorella Vulgaris

The capability of Chlorella vulgaris to remove nitrogen in the form of ammonia and/or ammonium ions from wastewater effluent in a local wastewater treatment plant （i.e., the Mill Creek Plant in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.A.） was studied. The wastewater effluent leaving the plant was found to include high concentra- tions of nitrogen （7.7±0.19 mg/L） （ammonia （NH3） and/or ammonium ion （NH4＋）） and total inorganic carbon （58.6±0.28 mg/L） at pH 7, and to be suitable for growing Chlorella vulgaris. When Chlorella vulgaris was cul- tivated in a batch mode under a closed system, half of the nitrogen concentration was dramatically removed in 48 h after a 24-h lag-phase period. Total inorganic carbon concentration also concomitantly decreased during the rapid growth-phase. The total biomass weight gained during the entire cultivation period balanced out well with the total amount of inorganic carbon and nitrogen removed from the culture medium. These results indicate that wastewater can be synergistically used to polish residual nutrients in wastewater as well as to cultivate microalgae for biofuel production.

An advanced anaerobic biofilter with effluent recirculation for phenol removal and methane production in treatment of coal gasification wastewater

An advanced anaerobic biofilter（AF） was introduced for the treatment of coal gasification wastewater（CGW）,and effluent recirculation was adopted to enhance phenol removal and methane production.The results indicated that AF was reliable in treating diluted CGW,while its efficiency and stability were seriously reduced when directly treating raw CGW.However,its performance could be greatly enhanced by effluent recirculation.Under optimal effluent recirculation of 0.5 to the influent,concentrations of chemical oxygen demand（COD） and total phenol in the effluent could reach as low as 234.0 and 14.2 mg/L,respectively.Also,the rate of methane production reached 169.0 m L CH_4/L/day.Though CGW seemed to restrain the growth of anaerobic microorganisms,especially methanogens,the inhibition was temporary and reversible,and anaerobic bacteria presented strong tolerance.The activities of methanogens cultivated in CGW could quickly recover on feeding with glucose wastewater（GW）.However,the adaptability of anaerobic bacteria to the CGW was very poor and the activity of methanogens could not be improved by long-term domestication.By analysis using the Haldane model,it was further confirmed that high effluent recirculation could result in high activity for hydrolytic bacteria and substrate affinity for toxic matters,but only suitable effluent recirculation could result in high methanogenic activity.

Characteristics of microbial community involved in early biofilms formation under the influence of wastewater treatment plant effluent

Effluents from wastewater treatment plants（WWTPs） containing microorganisms and residual nutrients can influence the biofilm formation. Although the process and mechanism of bacterial biofilm formation have been well characterized, little is known about the characteristics and interaction of bacteria, archaea and eukaryotes in the early colonization, especially under the influence of WWTP effluent. The aim of this study was to characterize the important bacterial, archaeal and eukaryotic species in the early stage of biofilm formation downstream of the WWTP outlet. Water and biofilm samples were collected 24 and 48 hr after the deposition of bio-cords in the stream. Illumina Miseq sequencing of the 16 S and 18 S rDNA showed that, among the three domains, the bacterial biofilm community had the largest alpha and beta diversity. The early bacterial colonizers appeared to be ＂biofilm-specific＂, with only a few dominant operational taxonomic units（OTUs） shared between the biofilm and the ambient water environment. Alpha-proteobacteria and Ciliophora tended to dominate the bacterial and eukaryotic communities, respectively, of the early biofilm already at 24 hr, whereas archaea played only a minor role during the early stage of colonization. The network analysis showed that the three domains of microbial community connected highly during the early colonization and it might be a characteristic of the microbial communities in the biofilm formation process where co-occurrence relationships could drive coexistence and diversity maintenance within the microbial communities.

Use of DREAM to assess relative risks of presence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products from a wastewater treatment plant

Concerns related to environmental risks associated with pharmaceuticals and personal care products(PPCPs)have led researchers to seek methods for assessing and monitoring these contaminants in the aquatic environment.Identifying and validating risk assessment tools that can evaluate ecological concerns and risks associated with PPCPs is critical.Herein,the suitability of a dose-related risk and effect assessment model,which estimates predicted environmental concentrations and allowed comparisons with predicted no effect concentrations determined,in combination with in vitro analyses of the whole effluent toxicity,was verified for the characterization of a PPCP hazard.Concentrations of the most utilized PPCPs in Norway were measured in influent and effluent samples and used to parameterize the fate model.Greater than 90%removal was attained for 12 out of 22 detected PPCPs.Removal was not dependent on the class or the concentration of the specific substance and varied between 12%and 100%.The PPCPs detected in the discharged wastewater were utilized to assess individual contributions to the risk of the effluent,and no risk was identified for the targeted 30 PPCP.The simulations provided valuable information regarding the discharge plume distribution over time,which can aid planning of future environmental monitoring investigations.Bioassays(using fish liver cells,PLHC-1)were used for assessing overall effluent toxicity,through cell viability,production of reactive oxygen species,and ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase(EROD)activities.The present study may allow regulators to use risk-based strategies over removal criteria for monitoring studies and confirms the importance to take PPCP contamination into consideration when establishing environmental regulations.

Wastewater treatment plants and release:The vase of Odin for emerging bacterial contaminants,resistance and determinant of environmental wellness

Municipal wastewater consists of a downstream collection of flushed sewage(without solid waste),other household runoffs,industrial runoffs,hospital runoffs and agricultural runoffs through an underground pipe before treatment.A runoff collection system called the wastewater treatment plant(WWTPs)treats such wastewater before release into environment following specific regulatory standards.This years-long practice has been improved upon by adding end-to-end pipe technologies with a view to enhancing the quality of effluent released.However,effluents released into the environment from design/application of WWTPs appear to contain emerging contaminants of both biotic and abiotic nature.The observation of chemical contaminants,antibiotic resistant bacteria(ARB),antibiotic resistant genes(ARGs)and diverse pathogenic bacteria genera in wastewater works release further affirm the abundance of such emerging contaminants.As a result,the government and water regulatory organizations in various part of the world are considering the removal of water reuse act from recycling policy/process.Current global debate is focused on questions about sustenance of any improved additional treatment level;effect of energy consumption by added treatment stage and its impact on the environmental wellness as contaminants borne wastewater is consistently released.Technological advancement/research suggests implementation of newer innovative infrastructural systems(NIIS)such as Mobbing Bed Biofilm Rector(MBBR),for wastewater effluent management which involve addition of newer wastewater treatment stages.This review addressed current pitfalls including wastewater microbiota of high epidemiological/public health relevance and affirms the need for such improvement which requires modification of ongoing institutional framework with a view to encourage implementation of NIIS for an improved effluent release.Exploiting the advances of microbial biofilming and the potentials of microbial biofueling as discussed in various section promises a future of robust environmental system,stable operational standard,release of quality effluent and sustainable management of wastewater works.Application of the aforementioned would enhance qualityWWTPs release and in-defacto reduces spread of ARB/ARGs as well as impacts both the environment wellness and public health.

Pilot Test of Advanced Treatments Combination of Wastewaterfor Groundwater Recharge

To solve the water shortage problem, an artificial groundwater recharge system will be constructed in Beijing for wastewater reuse as a demonstration and training center. Design and operating experience for the demonstration plant was gained through pilot tests of advanced treatment technologies with soil infiltration of well treated secondary effluent. The test results showed that the selected treatment technology meets the recommended water quality criteria for groundwater recharge and the gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC/MS) analysis results showed significantly improved water quality.