Discussion on the Problems and Developing Trend of Construction of Sewage Treatment Plants in Small Towns

Existing problems of sewage treatment plants in small towns were summarized firstly,and then the developing trend of construction of sewage treatment plants in small towns was discussed from the aspects of project decision,site selection,design,processing technology and construction financing models. Finally,outlooks for its future development were proposed to provide reference for the construction of sewage treatment plants in small towns in future.

Advances in Research of Characteristics and Removal of Microplastics in Sewage Treatment Plants

Microplastic pollution has become a worldwide issue.The discharge of sewage treatment plants(STPs)or wastewater treatment plant(WWTPs)is an important way for microplastics to enter the environment.This study reviewed the sources and occurrence characteristics(type,size,color and components)of microplastics in domestic and foreign sewage plants.It elaborated the removal principles of microplastics by primary,secondary and tertiary treatments.In addition,the removal effects of various treatment units and different processes on microplastics were summarized.In the future,the removal mechanism of microplastics in sewage treatment plants should be discussed in more depth,so as to further improve the removal rate of microplastics by optimizing and transforming traditional sewage treatment processes.Therefore,it is necessary to develop new technologies/processes specifically for the removal of microplastics and promote them to practical applications.

Behavior of Antibiotic-Resistant Fecal Coliforms in the Stream of a Sewage Treatment Plant in Tokyo

We are confronting a new threat in the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria followed by epidemic spread in aquatic environments in metropolitan areas because damage from river floods is increasing remarkably in Japan due to global extreme weather. The sewer penetration rate is about 100% in Tokyo and reclaimed water from sewage treatment plants accounts for over 50% of all water in both the down- and mid-stream areas of local rivers. The water quality of these rivers, which contain microflora, seems to be seriously affected by reclaimed water. In this study, we collected water samples on July 17, 2018 and examined the behavior of antibiotic-resistant fecal coliforms in the stream of a sewage treatment plant in Tokyo. Extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing fecal coliforms with encoding genes were found;the CTX-M-1, CTX-M-9, TEM, and SHV groups were found to have survived in the final effluent to the river after sterilization with sodium hypochlorite.

Pollution of NPEOs in four municipal sewage treatment plants in the north of China

The concentration and distribution of nonylphe-nol polyethoxylates(NPEOs represents the mixture,and NPnEO represents the monomer)and its metabolites in the influent and effluent of four municipal sewage treatment plants(STPs)in the north of China were measured.Moreover,the concentration and distribution of the above chemicals in the sludge of two STPs were also determined,and the transfer and fate of NPEOs in the sewage treatment process were discussed primarily by analyzing the distribu-tion of the products in the effluent and the sludge.The results showed that NPEOs and its metabolites existed in all the samples of the influent,effluent,and sludge.NPEOs were degraded in the sewage treatment process with the removal efficiency in the range of 23.38%-77.11%,or an average of 52.86%.However,the large analogs of NPnEO were only degraded to small ones,whose degradation rate was rather slow,and consequently the degradation was not complete.Hence,the concentrations of some small metabolites,such as nonylphenol(NP),nonylphenol monoethoxylate(NP1EO),and nonylphenol diethoxylate(NP2EO)were elevated in the effluent.These small metabolites are more toxic than the large NPnEO analogs,and some of them were reported to exhibit environmental endocrine disrupting activity.From this point of view,the process of sewage treatment does not reduce but elevate the risk of NPEOs,which becomes the main source of these small NPnEO in the environment.The sludge exhibited good adsorption ability for NPEOs,especially for the small analogs,which led to the high level of NPEOs in the sludge.Hence,reasonable disposal of the surplus sludge to avoid re-pollution is very important.

Antibiotics in two municipal sewage treatment plants in Sri Lanka:Occurrence,consumption and removal efficiency

Most of the monitoring data on the occurrence of antibiotics in sewage treatment plants(STPs)have been reported from Europe,North America and some countries in Northeast Asia,while very limited data can be found in Southeast Asian countries.As a pioneering research in Sri Lanka,we collected 24 h composite wastewater samples at the influent and effluent of two municipal STPs for consecutive 7 days to investigate occurrence,consumption and removal efficiency of seventeen antibiotics.The STP was located in Colombo and Hikkaduwa,respectively,representing two kinds of communities(i.e.local and tourists)in Sri Lanka.The targeted antibiotics were extracted by solid-phase extraction method and detected on an Agilent HPLCMSMS(1290/6470QQQ).Results illustrated that the majority of the antibiotics can be always detected from both STPs,except for chlorotetracycine(CTC),doxycycline(DOX)and florfenicol(FF).Fluoroquinolones(FQs)were detected at highest concentrations with ciprofloxacin(CIP)being the dominant compound.Concentrations of CIP in the influent samples were in the range of 433 e6010 ng/L.The consumption of antibiotics was estimated on the basis of influent mass load and catchment population data.We found difference in consumption patterns between the two served areas.Compared to local people in Colombo,tourists in Hikkaduwa appeared to take more antibiotics during the study period with the estimated daily dose of 0.25 g per 1000 persons.Moreover,macrolides accounted for a larger portion than FQs in Hikkaduwa,with azithromycin(AZM)being the most prevalent antibacterial agent.After comparison with an official report by Medical Supplies Division of Sri Lanka,we conjected that AZM was not commonly used among local people and it was mainly introduced by foreign arrivals.As for the removal efficiency,the activated sludge system of Colombo exhibited better elimination and more stable performance than the constructed wetland process of Hikkaduwa.

The Presence of Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in Northern Alabama Aquatic Ecosystems

Trace amounts of pharmaceuticals and other chemical compounds in drinking water are known to have adverse effects on human health,animal health,and the environment.This research study will show the presence of pharmaceuticals and other chemical compounds in Flint River(Madison County,AL)and Flint Creek(Morgan County,AL).Along the Flint River,samples were taken at three sites:Winchester Road,Brian Fork,and Hobbs Road.Similarly,along Flint Creek,samples were taken at three sites:Vaughn Bridge,Mean Bridge and Red Bank Bridge.At each site,samples were taken at four locations:upland from the water,along the banks of the water,at the deposition sediment of the water,and within the surface water itself.Samples were collected and analyzed for the presence of and concentration of chemical compounds by Waypoint Analytical Laboratory using proprietary High-Pressure LC/MS/MS(Liquid Chromatography and Dual Mass Spectroscopy)methods.Between 14 and 26 chemical compounds were identified at each site,adding up to a total of 548 chemical compounds between Flint River and Flint Creek.The chemical compounds and their concentrations were recorded and then sorted into four categories:pharmaceuticals and personal care products(PPCPs),VOCs(Volatile Organic Compounds),petroleum compounds,and CECs(Contaminants of Emerging Concern).Between both Flint River and Flint Creek,PPCPs were the largest category of contaminants,comprising of 46%of compounds identified.This study demonstrates that Flint River and Flint Creek are potentially hazardous to Madison County and Morgan County residents,as trace concentrations of pharmaceuticals in drinking water can cause several health issues.

Comparison of bacterial community structures in two systems of a sewage treatment plant using PCR-DGGE analysis

The combination of PCR amplification of 16S rRNA genes with denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis （DGGE） analysis was used to reveal the compositions and dynamics of bacterial communities in a sewage treatment plant with two systems, i.e., an anoxic- anaerobic-aerobic system （inverted A2O） and an anaerobic-anoxic-aerobic one （conventional A2O） over a period from February to July 2009, during which both systems experienced serious sludge bulking problems. The DGGE patterns showed that there were many common bands in both systems, suggesting the high similarity of bacterial communities of the two systems. Meanwhile, the moving window correlation analysis showed that the two systems experienced different microbial community structure changes during the period, which might be related with the different situations of the occurrence and disappearance of sludge bulking, as being reflected by sludge volume index （SVI） values. Major bands of DGGE patterns of sludge samples were further sequenced. Phylogenetic affiliation indicated that the majority of the sequences obtained were affiliated with Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes/Chlorobi group and α- and β-Proteobacteria. Two sequences showed high similarities to typical filamentous bacteria Microthrix parvicella and Nostocoida limicola I, indicating that these bacterial species have been involved in the sludge bulking problems.

Characterization, treatment and releases of PBDEs and PAHs in a typical municipal sewage treatment plant situated beside an urban river, East China

Characterization, treatment and releases of eight polybrominated diphenyl ethers （PBDEs） congeners and sixteen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons （PAHs） in wastewater were evaluated along the treatment processes of a typical secondary treatment municipal sewage treatment plant （STP） （in Hefei City） situated the beside Nanfei River, East China. The findings showed that the average concentrations of the total PBDEs in raw wastewater and treated effluent were 188.578 and 36.884 ng/L respectively. Brominated diphenyl ether （BDE） 209 congener, the predominant PBDE in the STP and Nanfei River, could be related to the discharge of car-industry-derived wastes. For PAHs, the average concentrations in raw wastewater and treated effluent were 5758.8 and 2240.4 ng/L respectively, with naphthalene, benzo[a]pyrene and indeno[1,2,3-c,d]pyrene being detected at the highest concentrations. PAHs mainly originate from the combustion of biomass/coal and petroleum. The STP reduced about 80% of the PBDEs and 61% of the PAHs, which were eliminated mainly by sedimentation processes. The removal rates of PBDEs/PAHs increased with the increase of their solid-water partitioning coefficients. Accordingly, the STP＇s effluent, containing some PBDE congeners （e.g., BDE 47, 99 and 209, etc.） and low-molecular-weight PAHs, could be an important contributor of these contaminants＇ input to Nanfei River. It resulted in a significant increase of PBDE/PAH concentrations and PAH toxicological risk in the river water downstream. About 4.040 kg/yr of PBDEs and 245.324 kg/yr of PAHs could be released into the Nanfei River. The current conventional wastewater treatment processes should be improved to remove the relatively low-molecular-weight PBDEs/PAHs more effectively.

Occurrence of estrogenic endocrine disrupting chemicals concern in sewage plant effluent

The purpose of this study was to give a worldwide overview of the concentrations of typical estrogenic endocrine disrupting chemicals （EDCs） in the effluent of sewage plants and then compare the concentra- tion distribution of the estrogenic EDCs in ten countries based on the survey data of the estrogenic EDCs research. The concentrations of three main categories （totally eight kinds） of estrogenic EDCs including steroidal estrogens （estrone （El）, estradiol （E2）, estriol （E3） and 17a- ethynylestradiol （EE2））, phenolic compounds （nonylphe- nol （NP） and bisphenol A （BPA）） and phthalate esters （dibutyl phthalate （DBP） and dibutyl phthalate （2- ethylhexyl） phthalate （DEHP）） in the effluents of sewage plants reported in major international journals over the past decade were collected. The statistics showed that the concentration distributions of eight kinds of EDCs were in the range of ng·L^-1 to μg·L^-1. The concentrations of steroidal estrogens mainly ranged within 50.00 ng. L-1, and the median concentrations of El, E2, E3 and EE2 were 11.00, 3.68, 4.90 and 1.00 ng·L^-1, respectively. Phenolic compounds and phthalate esters were found at pg. L-1 level （some individual values were at the high level of 40.00 μg·L^-1）. The median concentrations of BPA, NP, DBP and DEHP were 0.06, 0.55, 0.07 and 0.88 μg·L^-1, respectively. The concentrations of phenolic compounds and phthalate esters in the effluents were higher than that of steroids estrogens. The analysis of the concentration in various ten countries showed that steroids estrogens, phenolic compounds and phthalate esters in sewage plant effluents were detected with high concentration in Canada, Spain and China, respectively.

Seasonal variations in the concentration and removal of nonylphenol ethoxylates from the wastewater of a sewage treatment plant

In this study, we investigated the occurrence and fate of nonylphenol（NP）, nonylphenol monoethoxylate（NP1EO） and nonylphenol diethoxylate（NP2EO） in a full scale sewage treatment plant, which applied an Anaerobic/Oxic process. Concentrations of NP, NP1 EO and NP2 EO in the wastewater were measured during the period spanning a whole year.The results showed remarkable seasonal variation in the concentrations of the compounds.The NPn EO compounds were most abundant in winter, with the total concentrations of influent NP, NP1 EO and NP2 EO ranging from 3900 to 7000 ng/L, 4000 to 4800 ng/L and 5200 to 7200 ng/L, respectively. Regarding the total removal efficiencies of the three types of short-chain NPn EO compounds, different trends were exhibited according to different seasons. The average removal efficiency of NP for the different seasons ranked as follows：winter 〉 summer 〉 autumn 〉 spring; NP2 EO concentrations decreased as follows： summer 〉autumn 〉 winter 〉 spring, while NP1 EO concentrations reduced according to： spring 〉summer 〉 autumn 〉 winter. We also investigated the contribution ratio of individual treatment units in the A/O process, with the findings suggesting that the anaerobic treatment unit plays an important role in the elimination of short-chain NPn EOs from the wastewater.

Seasonal microbial community shift in a saline sewage treatment plant

Activated sludge was monthly sampled from a saline sewage treatment plant of Hong Kong(China)during June 2007 to May 2008 to analyze the microbial community shift along with environmental variations using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of polymerase chain reaction amplified 16S rDNA fragments.Environmental changes resulted into a seasonal microbial community shift characterized by alterations in species number and abundance in the sewage treatment plant.Correspondence analysis and cluster analysis on community structure profile showed that the 12 monthly samples fell into four groups,which is in accordance with season changing in Hong Kong.Canonical correspondence analysis revealed that PO_(4)^(3-)-P and NH_(4)^(+)-N posed more significant effects on community structure than total phosphorus and total nitrogen,respectively.Compared with sludge retention time,influent total phosphorus had an inverse effect on the community structure shift,and chemical oxygen demand and NH_(4)^(+)-N showed a similar effects.Results of this study may contribute to the development of new knowledge involving the microbial community shift in sewage treatment plants.

Trophic transfer of mercury and methylmercury in an aquatic ecosystem impacted by municipal sewage effluents in Beijing, China

Gaobeidian Lake, located in Beijing, China, serves as a recipient lake for efluents from a large municipal sewage treatment plant （MSTP）. In order to evaluate the effects of discharging MSTP efluent on the mercury contamination of the local aquatic ecosystem, sediment cores, water, plankton, fish, and turtle samples were collected from Gaobeidian Lake for mercury speciation analysis. High concentrations of total mercury （T-Hg） were detected in sediment cores （5.24–17.0 μg/g dry weight （dw）, average： 10.1 μg/g）. The ratio of methylmercury （MeHg） to T-Hg was less than 0.3% in sediments and ranged from 35% to 76% in biota samples. The highest level of T-Hg and MeHg were found in aquatic bryophyte and crucian carp （3673 and 437 ng/g dw, respectively）. The relative contents of MeHg were significantly correlated with trophic levels （R2 = 0.5506, p 0.001）, which confirmed that MeHg can be bio-transferred and biomagnified via food chain in this aquatic ecosystem.

Simultaneous determination of ternary cephalosporin solutions by Raman spectroscopy

Cephalosporins are widely used as veterinary and human antibiotics. However, cephalosporin abuse is harmful to human health and causes allergic reactions or antibiotic resistance. We investigate a method fea- turing Raman spectroscopy and chemometrics to quantify mixture solutions of three typical cephalosporins, namely, ceftriaxone, cefotaxime sodium, and cefazolin sodium. Partial least-squares regression models are built on spectral data that are preprocessed by various methods. With prediction relative errors within 5% and high correlation coefficients of 0.998, we demonstrate that Raman spectroscopy combined with multivariate analysis is feasible for use in the quantitative determination of cephalosporin solutions. OCIS codes： 300.6450. 070.4340. 070.4790.