The Effect of Wastewater Treatment Plants on Retainment of Plastic Microparticles to Enhance Water Quality—A Review

Microplastics, plastic pieces of ≤5 mm in size, are ubiquitous in ther environment and can be found in both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. This manuscript reviews the literature on the fate of microplastics in wastewater treatment and briefly highlights novel developments in the removal of microplastics from aqueous systems.

Levels and distributions of polychlorinated biphenyls in sewage sludge of urban wastewater treatment plants

Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls （PCBs） have been measured in sewage sludge samples from 8 urban wastewater treatment plants in Beijing, China. The PCB congeners were analyzed by isotope dilution high resolution gas chromatography/high resolution mass spectrometry method. The concentration of PCBs ranged from 65.6 to 157 ng/g dry weight （dw）, with a mean value of 101 ng/g dw. The dioxin-like PCB WHO-TEQs （World Health Organization-Toxic Equivalents） of the sludge were lower than 1 pg /g dw. Consequently, all the concentrations of PCBs in sludge samples were below the upper limit for land application according to the Chinese legislation law for agriculture use. The PCB homologue profiles in sludge samples were dominated by tri-CBs and tetra- CBs. Similar distributions have been found in one of the Chinese PCB commercial products. The patterns of dioxin-like and indicator congeners observed in this study were quite similar in all samples. The predominant congener for dioxin-like and indicator PCBs were PCB-118 and PCB-28, respectively, while PCB-126 had the highest TEQ value.

A global perspective on microbial risk factors in effluents of wastewater treatment plants

Effective monitoring and management of microbial risk factors in wastewater treatment plants(WWTPs)effluents require a comprehensive investigation of these risks.A global survey on microbial risk factors in WWTP effluents could reveal important insights into their risk features.This study aims to explore the abundance and types of antibiotic resistance genes(ARGs),virulence factor genes(VFGs),the vector of ARG/VFG,and dominant pathogens in global WWTP effluents.We collected 113 metagenomes of WWTP effluents from the Sequence Read Archive of the National Center for Biotechnology Information and characterized the microbial risk factors.Our results showed that multidrug resistance was the dominant ARG type,while offensive virulence factors were the most abundant type of VFGs.The most dominant types of ARGs in the vector of plasmid and phage were both aminoglycoside resistance,which is concerning as aminoglycosides are often a last resort for treating multi-resistant infections.Acinetobacter baumannii was the most dominant pathogen,rather than Escherichia coli,and a weak negative correlation between Escherichia coli and two other dominant pathogens(Acinetobacter baumannii and Bacteroides uniformis)suggests that using Escherichia coli as a biological indicator for all pathogens in WWTP effluents may not be appropriate.The Getah virus was the most dominant virus found in global WWTP effluents.Our study presents a comprehensive global-scale investigation of microbial risk factors in WWTP effluents,providing valuable insights into the potential risks associated with WWTP effluents and contributing to the monitoring and control of these risks.

Photosensitivity sources of dissolved organic matter from wastewater treatment plants and their mediation effect on 17α-ethinylestradiol photodegradation

Dissolved organic matter(DOM)from each treatment process of wastewater treatment plants(WWTPs)contains abundant photosensitive substances,which could significantly affect the photodegradation of 17α-ethinylestradiol(EE2).Nevertheless,information about EE2 photodegradation behavior mediated by DOM from diverse WWTPs and the photosensitivity sources of such DOM are inadequate.This study explored the photodegradation behavior of EE2 mediated by four typical WWTPs’DOM solutions and investigated the photosensitivity sources of DOM in the anaerobic-anoxic-oxic(A2/O)process.The parallel factor analysis identified three varying fluorescing components of these DOM,tryptophan-like substances or protein-like substances,microbial humuslike substances,and humic-like components.The photodegradation rate constants of EE2 were positively associated with the humification degree of DOM(P<0.05).The triplet state substances were responsible for the degradation of EE2.DOM extracted from the A2/O process,especially in the secondary treatment process had the fastest EE2 photodegradation rate compared to that of the other three processes.Four types of components(water-soluble organic matter(WSOM),extracellular polymeric substance,humic acid,and fulvic acid)were separated from the A2/O process DOM.WSOM had the highest promotion effect on EE2 photodegradation.Fulvic acid-like components and humic acid-like organic compounds in WSOM were speculated to be important photosensitivity substances that can generate triplet state substances.This research explored the physicochemical properties and photosensitive sources of DOM in WWTPs,and explained the fate of estrogens photodegradation in natural waters.

Microplastics in municipal wastewater treatment plants: a case study of Denizli/Turkey

Plastic particles smaller than 5 mm are microplastics.They are among the significant pollutants that recently attracted attention.Great quantities of microplastics enter the sewage system daily and reach wastewater treatment plants(WWTPs).As a result,WWTPs are potential microplastic sources.Hence,they create a pathway for microplastics to reach aquatic environments with treated wastewater discharge.Studies on microplastic characterization in WWTPs have gained momentum in academia.This study investigates the abundance,size,shape,color,polymer type,and removal efficiencies of microplastics in a municipal wastewater treatment plant(WWTP)in Denizli/Turkey.The results showed that the dominant microplastic shape in wastewater samples was fibers(41.78%–60.77%)in the 100–500μm(58.57%–80.07%)size range.Most of the microplastics were transparent-white(32.86%–58.93%).The dominant polymer types were polyethylene(54.05%)and polyethylene vinyl acetate(37.84%)in raw wastewater.Furthermore,the microplastic removal efficiencies of the Denizli Central WWTP as a whole and for individual treatment units were evaluated.Although the microplastic pollution removal efficiency of the Denizli Central WWTP was over 95%,the microplastic concentration discharged daily into the receiving environment was considerably high(1.28×1010 MP/d).Thus,Denizli Central WWTP effluents result in a high volume of emissions in terms of microplastic pollution with a significant daily discharge to theÇürüksu Stream.

Screening of agonistic activities against four nuclear receptors in wastewater treatment plants in Japan using a yeast two-hybrid assay

To assess the potential endocrine disruptive effects through multiple nuclear receptors （NRs）, especially non-steroidal NRs, in municipal wastewater, we examined the agonistic activities on four NRs （estrogen receptor α, thyroid hormone receptor α, retinoic acid receptor ct and retinoid X receptor α） of untreated and treated wastewater from municipal wastewater treatment plants （WWTPs） in Japan using a yeast two-hybrid assay. Investigation of the influent and effluent of seven WWTPs revealed that agonistic activities against steroidal and non-steroidal NRs were always detected in the influents and partially remained in the effluents. Further investigation of four WWTPs employing conventional activated sludge, pseudo-anoxic-oxic, anoxic-oxic and anaerobic-anoxic-oxic processes revealed that the ability to reduce the agonistic activity against each of the four NRs varies depending on the treatment process. These results indicated that municipal wastewater in Japan commonly contains endocrine disrupting chemicals that exert agonistic activities on steroidal and non-steroidal NRs, and that some of these chemicals are released into the natural aquatic environment. Although the results obtained in yeast assays suggested that measured levels of non-steroidal NR agonists in the effluent of WWTPs were not likely to cause any biological effect, further study is required to assess their possible risks in detail.

Energy neutrality potential of wastewater treatment plants:A novel evaluation framework integrating energy efficiency and recovery

Wastewater treatment plants(WWTPs)consume large amounts of energy and emit greenhouse gases to remove pollutants.This study proposes a framework for evaluating the energy neutrality potential(ENP)of WWTPs from an integrated perspective.Operational data of 970 WWTPs in the Yangtze River Economic Belt(YREB)were extracted from the China Urban Drainage Yearbook 2018.The potential chemical and thermal energies were estimated using combined heat and power(CHP)and water source heat pump,respectively.Two key performance indicators(KPIs)were then established:the energy self-sufficiency(ESS)indicator,which reflects the offset degree of energy recovery,and the comprehensive water–energy efficiency(CWEE)indicator,which characterizes the efficiency of water–energy conversion.For the qualitative results,98 WWTPs became the benchmark(i.e.,CWEE=1.000),while 112 WWTPs were fully self-sufficient(i.e.,ESS≥100%).Subsequently,four types of ENP were classified by setting the median values of the two KPIs as the critical value.The WWTPs with high ENP had high net thermal energy values and relatively loose discharge limits.The explanatory factor analysis of water quantity and quality verified the existence of scale economies.Sufficient carbon source and biodegradability condition were also significant factors.As the CWEE indicator was mostly sensitive to the input of CHP,future optimization shall focus on the moisture and organic content of sludge.This study proposes a novel framework for evaluating the ENP of WWTPs.The results can provide guidance for optimizing the energy efficiency and recovery of WWTPs.

Potential regulation of small RNAs on bacterial function activities in pig farm wastewater treatment plants

Small RNAs(sRNAs)are key players in the regulation of bacterial gene expression.However,the distribution and regulatory functions of sRNA in pig farm wastewater treatment plants(WWTPs)remains unknown.In this study,the wastewaters in anoxic and oxic tanks of the WWTPs were collected.The profiles of the community structure,mRNA expression,and sRNA expression of bacteria in pig farm wastewater were investigated using transcriptome sequencing and qPCR.This study demonstrated that there was a higher abundance of sRNA in the pig farm WWTPs and 52 sRNAs were detected.The sRNAs were mainly present in Proteobacteria and Firmicutes,including the potential human pathogenic bacteria(HPB)(Escherichia,Shigella,Bordetella and Morganella),crop pathogen(Pectobacterium)and denitrifying bacteria(Zobellella).And the sRNAs were involved in the bacterial functional activities such as translation,transcription,drug resistance,membrane transport and amino acid metabolism.In addition,most sRNAs had a higher abundance in anoxic tanks which contained a higher abundance of the genes associated with infectious diseases and drug resistance than that in oxic tanks.The results presented here show that in pig farm WWTPs,sRNA played an important role in bacterial function activities,especially the infectious diseases,drug resistance and denitrification,which can provide a new point of penetration for improving the pig farm WWTPs.

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.

Characterization of the genes involved in nitrogen cycling in wastewater treatment plants using DNA microarray and most probable number-PCR

To improve nitrogen removal performance of wastewater treatment plants （WWTPs）, it is essential to understand the behavior of nitrogen cycling communities, which comprise various microorganisms. This study characterized the quantity and diversity of nitrogen cycling genes in various processes of municipal WWTPs by employing two molecular-based methods：most probable number-polymerase chain reaction （MPN-PCR） and DNA microarray. MPN-PCR analysis revealed that gene quantities were not statistically different among processes, suggesting that conventional actwated sludge processes （CAS） are similar to nitrogen removal processes in their ability to retain an adequate population of nitrogen cycling microorganisms. Furthermore, most processes in the WWTPs that were researched shared a pattern：the nitS and the bacterial amoA genes were more abundant than the nirK and archaeal amoA genes, respectivelv. DNA microarray analysis revealed that several kinds of nitrification and denitrification genes were detected in both CAS and anaerobic-oxic processes （AO）, whereas limited genes were detected in nitrogen removal processes. Results of this study suggest that CAS maintains a diverse community of nitrogen cycling microorganisms; moreover, the microbial communities in nitrogen removal processes may be specific.

Characteristic and correlation analysis of influent and energy consumption of wastewater treatment plants in Taihu Basin

The water quality and energy consumption of wastewater treatment plants(WWTPs)in Taihu Basin were evaluated on the basis of the operation data from 204 municipal WWTPs in the basin by using various statistical methods.The influent ammonia nitrogen(NH3-N)and total nitrogen(TN)of WWTPs in Taihu Basin showed normal distribution,whereas chemical oxygen demand(COD),biochemical oxygen demand(BOD5),suspended solid(SS),and total phosphorus(TP)showed positively skewed distribution.The influent BOD5/COD was 0.4%-0.6%,only 39.2%SS/BOD5 exceeded the standard by 36.3%,the average BOD5/TN was 3.82,and the probability of influent BOD5/TP>20 was 82.8%.The average energy consumption of WWTPs in Taihu Basin in 2017 was 0.458 kWh/m^3.The specific energy consumption of WWTPs with a daily treatment capacity of more than 5×10^4 m^3 in Taihu Basin was stable at 0.33 kWh/m^3.A power function relationship was observed between the reduction in COD and NH3-N and the specific energy consumption of pollutant reduction,and the higher the pollutant reduction is,the lower the specific energy consumption of pollutant reduction presents.In addition,a linear relationship existed between the energy consumption of WWTPs and the specific energy consumption of influent volume and pollutant reduction.Therefore,upgrading and operation with less energy consumption of WWTPs is imperative and the suggestions for Taihu WWTPs based on stringent discharge standard are proposed in detail.

CH_4 emission and conversion from A^2O and SBR processes in full-scale wastewater treatment plants

Wastewater treatment systems are important anthropogenic sources of CH4 emission. A full-scale experiment was carried out to monitor the CH4 emission from anoxic/anaerobic/oxic process （A2O） and sequencing batch reactor （SBR） wastewater treatment plants （WWTPs） for one year from May 2011 to April 2012. The main emission unit of the A2O process was an oxic tank, accounting for 76.2% of CH4 emissions; the main emission unit of the SBR process was the feeding and aeration phase, accounting for 99.5% of CH4 emissions. CH4 can be produced in the anaerobic condition, such as in the primary settling tank and anaerobic tank of the A2O process. While CH4 can be consumed in anoxic denitrification or the aeration condition, such as in the anoxic tank and oxic tank of the A2O process and the feeding and aeration phase of the SBR process. The CH4 emission flux and the dissolved CH4 concentration rapidly decreased in the oxic tank of the A2O process. These metrics increased during the first half of the phase and then decreased during the latter half of the phase in the feeding and aeration phase of the SBR process. The CH4 oxidation rate ranged from 32.47% to 89.52% （mean： 67.96%） in the A2O process and from 12.65% to 88.31% （mean： 47.62%） in the SBR process. The mean CH4 emission factors were 0.182 g/ton of wastewater and 24.75 g CH4/（person.year） for the A2O process, and 0.457 g/ton of wastewater and 36.55 g CH4/（person.year） for the SBR process.

Occurrences of Glucocorticoids in Aquatic Environment and Their Removal during Wastewater Treatment

Glucocorticoids(GCs) are a group of endocrine-disrupting compounds(EDCs) frequently prescribed against various medical conditions.Recently,GCs have been shown to be effective in managing septic shock in patients infected with the 2019 novel coronavirus(COVID-19).Due to colossal consumption and potential risks to aquatic organisms,GCs have immensely attracted the focus of the scientific research community as a water pollutant.Therefore,the aim of this paper is to review the current knowledge on the occurrence of various GCs in the aquatic environment and their removal during wastewater treatment.A variety of GCs are ubiquitous in surface water,hospital wastewater,and sewage water worldwide.And the minimum concentration in volume is below 0.01 ng/L,and the maximum one is 10 000 ng/L,and enter the environment through hospital and urban wastewater discharging.Compared with natural GCs,higher risks to aquatic environments could be induced by synthetic GCs.The current activated sludge processes used in wastewater treatment plants(WWTPs) are not fully effective in eliminating GCs,some of which may further increase the risk of GC in the environment.In comparison with the aerobic process in WWTPs,the anaerobic and anoxic processes were found to be more efficient for GC degradation.Of the studied GCs,fluticasone propionate,clobetasol propionate,fluocinolone acetonide,and triamcinolone acetonide need more attention due to their low removal efficiencies and strong toxicity.Among the advanced treatment processes,reverse osmosis,ultraviolet irradiation,CaO_(2),and plasma could achieve significant GC activity removal while micro/ultra-filtration,chlorination,and ozonation were less efficient.

Occurrence,distribution,and potential influencing factors of sewage sludge components derived from nine full-scale wastewater treatment plants of Beijing,China

Millions of tons of waste activated sludge（WAS） produced from biological wastewater treatment processes cause severe adverse environmental consequences. A better understanding of WAS composition is thus very critical for sustainable sludge management. In this work, the occurrence and distribution of several fundamental sludge constituents were explored in WAS samples from nine full-scale wastewater treatment plants（WWTPs） of Beijing, China. Among all the components investigated, active heterotrophic biomass was dominant in the samples（up to 9478 mg/L）, followed by endogenous residues（6736 mg/L）,extracellular polymeric substances（2088 mg/L）, and intracellular storage products（464 mg/L）among others. Moreover, significant differences（p 〈 0.05） were observed in composition profiles of sludge samples among the studied WWTPs. To identify the potential parameters affecting the variable fractions of sludge components, wastewater source as well as design and operational parameters of WWTPs were studied using statistical methods. The findings indicated that the component fraction of sewage sludge depends more on wastewater treatment alternatives than on wastewater characteristics among other parameters. A principal component analysis was conducted, which further indicated that there was a greater proportion of residual inert biomass in the sludge produced by the combined system of the conventional anaerobic/anoxic/oxic process and a membrane bioreactor. Additionally, a much longer solids retention time was also found to influence the sludge composition and induce an increase in both endogenous inert residues and extracellular polymeric substances in the sludge.

Drivers of microbial beta-diversity in wastewater treatment plants in China

As one of the most well-documented biogeographic patterns,the distance-decay relation-ship provides insights into the underlying mechanisms driving biodiversity distribution.Al-though wastewater treatment plants(WWTPs)are well-controlled engineered ecosystems,this pattern has been seen among microbial communities in activated sludge(AS).However,little is known about the relative importance of environmental heterogeneity and dispersal limitation in shaping AS microbial community across China;especially they are related to spatial scale and organism types.Here,we assessed the distance-decay relationship based on different spatial scales and microbial phylogenetic groups by analyzing 132 activated sludge(AS)samples across China comprising 3,379,20016S rRNA sequences.Our results in-dicated that the drivers of distance-decay pattern in China were scale-dependent.Microbial biogeographic patterns in WWTPs were mainly driven by dispersal limitation at both local and national scales.In contrast,conductivity,SRT,and pH played dominant roles in shaping AS microbial community compositions at the regional scale.Turnover rates and the drivers of beta-diversity also varied with microorganism populations.Moreover,a quantitative re-lationship between dispersal limitation ratio and AS microbial turnover rate was generated.Collectively,these results highlighted the importance of considering multiple spatial scales and micro-organism types for understanding microbial biogeography in WWTPs and pro-vided new insights into predicting variations in AS community structure in response to environmental disturbance.

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.

Distribution,characteristics and daily fluctuations of microplastics throughout wastewater treatment plants with mixed domestic-industrial influents in Wuxi City,China

In wastewater treatment plants(WWTPs),microplastics(MPs)are complex,especially with mixed domestic–industrial influents.Conventional random grab sampling can roughly depict the distribution and characteristics of MPs but can not accurately reflect their daily fluctuations.In this study,the concentration,shape,polymer type,size,and color of MPs were analyzed by micro-Raman spectroscopy(detection limit of 0.05 mm)throughout treatment stages of three mixed domestic–industrial WWTPs(W1,W2,and W3)in Wuxi City,China,and the daily fluctuations of MPs were also obtained by dense grab sampling within 24 h.For influent samples,the average MP concentration of 392.2 items/L in W1 with 10%industrial wastewater was much higher than those in W2(71.2 items/L with 10%industrial wastewater)and W3(38.3 items/L with 60%industrial wastewater).White polyethylene granules with a diameter less than 0.5 mm from plastic manufacturing were the most dominant MPs in the influent of W1,proving the key role of industrial sources in MPs pollution.In addition,the daily dense sampling results showed that MP concentration in W1 influent fluctuated widely between 29.1 items/L and 4617.6 items/L within a day.Finally,few MPs(less than 4.0 items/L)in these WWTPs effluents were attributed to the effective removal of wastewater treatment processes.Thus,further attention should be paid to regulating the primary sources of MPs.

Temporal trends of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances(PFAS)in the influent of two of the largest wastewater treatment plants in Australia

Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances(PFAS)are found ubiquitously in wastewater treatment plants(WWTPs)due to their multiple sources in industry and consumer products.In Australia,limited spatial data are available on PFAS levels inWWTPs influent,while no temporal data have been reported.The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence and temporal trend of PFAS in the influent of two large WWTPs in Australia(WWTP A and B)over a four-year period.Daily influent samples were collected over one week at different seasons from 2014 to 2017.Eleven perfluoroalkyl acids(PFAA)(i.e.seven perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids(PFCAs)and four perfluoroalkyl sulfonic acids(PFSA))were detected with mean S11PFAA concentrations of 57±3.3e94±17 ng/L at WWTP A,and 31±6.1e142±73 ng/L at WWTP B.The highest mean concentrations were observed for perfluorohexanoate(PFHxA)(20±2 ng/L)in WWTP A,and perfluorooctane sulfonate(PFOS)(17±13 ng/L)in WWTP B.The precursor 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonate was detected over five sampling periods from Aug 2016 to Oct 2017,with mean concentrations of 37±18e138±51 ng/L for WWTP A and 8.8±4.5e29±5.1 ng/L for WWTP B.Higher concentration of 6:2 FTS(1.8e11 folds)than those of PFOA and PFOS in WWTP A indicate a likely substitution of C8 PFAA by fluorotelomer-based PFAS in this catchment.Temporal trends(annual and seasonal)in per-capita mass load were observed for some PFAA,increasing for PFPeA,PFHxA,PFHpA,PFNA,and PFHxS,while decreasing for PFBS and PFOS in either WWTPs.Notably,elevated levels of PFOS in October 2017 were observed at both WWTPs with the highest per capita mass load of up to 67 mg/day/inhabitant.For some PFAS release trends,longer sampling periods would be required to achieve acceptable statistical power.

Notice on a Case Study on the Utilization of Wind Energy Potential on a Remote and Isolated Small Wastewater Treatment Plant

Small wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) are frequently located, by necessity, in remote and isolated sites, which increases the difficulty of its energy supply. Some of them are located near the seaside, in environmental sensible zones, and due to tourism activity of these sites, seasonal effects related with population size fluctuation can occur, which can originate certain inefficiencies concerning WWTP design and energy supply. The objective of this paper is to describe a step by step procedure for evaluation of the wind potential of sites that are dependent of in-situ energy generation, as well as, a case study on the utilization of the potential wind energy in Magoito WWTP (5000 p.e.). The employed methodology comprised the collection of one year of in-situ wind data and its validation by comparison with historical data of about 10 years of a nearby anemometric station. The data provided by the two anemometric stations was statistically treated. It allowed the analysis of the results from the two stations are promissory in terms of wind availability and velocity. Finally, it comprised the simulation of the local wind conditions for a considerable larger area in order to find the best site for locating a wind turbine.

Community analysis of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in activated sludge of eight wastewater treatment systems

We investigated the communities of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria （AOB） in activated sludge collected from eight wastewater treatment systems using polymerase chain reaction （PCR） followed by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism （T-RFLP）, cloning, and sequencing of the α-subunit of the ammonia monooxygenase gene （amoA）. The T-RFLP fingerprint analyses showed that different wastewater treatment systems harbored distinct AOB communities. However, there was no remarkable difference among the AOB T- RFLP profiles from different parts of the same system. The T-RFLP fingerprints showed that a full-scale wastewater treatment plant （WWTP） contained a larger number of dominant AOB species than a pilot-scale reactor. The source of influent affected the AOB community, and the WWTPs treating domestic wastewater contained a higher AOB diversity than those receiving mixed domestic and industrial wastewater. However, the AOB community structure was little affected by the treatment process in this study. Phylogenetic analysis of the cloned amoA genes clearly indicated that all the dominant AOB in the systems was closely related to Nitrosomonas spp. not to Nitrosospira spp. Members of the Nitrosomonas oligotropha and Nitrosomonas communis clusters were found in all samples, while members of Nitrosomonas europaea cluster occurred in some systems.