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Background Antibiotics could modify multidrug-resistant microorganisms (MDRO) populations in urban wastewater. Water treatment plays a major role in their control. This study aimed to explain the characteristics of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria in the wastewater of a city in southern Spain, the reduction achieved by treatment and the influence of human antibiotic prescriptions. Methods We collected 24-hour composite water samples from four wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) over one year (2021-2022) and cultured them quantitatively. All acquired ESBL/carbapenemase isolates were sequenced and genomes were compared with those of clinical isolates. Linear mixed model regression analyses were performed to assess the WWTP effect and the association with human antibiotic prescriptions. Findings Aeromonas predominated among the MDROs and KPC-2 was the main carbapenemase detected in the influents. The 44% and 30% of E. coli and K. pneumoniae influent isolates, respectively, belonged to high-risk clones; 10·6% of Enterobacteriaceae could be matched to clinical isolates and a strain from a current hospital outbreak was found in raw samples. WWTPs reduced ESBL and carbapenemase producers by 1·4-log and 1·8-log, respectively. New MDROs and persistence of certain strains were detected in effluents. Quinolone and cephalosporin prescriptions, flow-rate and population density were associated with higher OXA-48 producer counts. Interpretation Despite the reduction, additional technologies should be implemented in WWTPs receiving hospital discharges. Due to the predominance of environmental species, culture and metagenomic approaches should be combined to differentiate human and sewages origin for antibiotic resistance monitoring. Antibiotic stewardship could be a strategy to reduce the release of MDROs.

UNLABELLED: Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are indispensable biotechnology facilities for modern cities and play an essential role in modern urban infrastructure by employing microorganisms to remove pollutants in wastewater, thus protecting public health and the environment. This study conducted a 13-month bacterial community survey of six full-scale WWTPs in Hong Kong with samples of influent, activated sludge (AS), and effluent to explore their synchronism and asynchronism of bacterial community. Besides, we compared AS results of six Hong Kong WWTPs with data from 1,186 AS amplicon data in 269 global WWTPs and a 9-year metagenomic sequencing survey of a Hong Kong WWTP. Our results showed the compositions of bacterial communities varied and the bacterial community structure of AS had obvious differences across Hong Kong WWTPs. The co-occurrence analysis identified 40 pairs of relationships that existed among Hong Kong WWTPs to show solid associations between two species and stochastic processes took large proportions for the bacterial community assembly of six WWTPs. The abundance and distribution of the functional bacteria in worldwide and Hong Kong WWTPs were examined and compared, and we found that ammonia-oxidizing bacteria had more diversity than nitrite-oxidizing bacteria. Besides, Hong Kong WWTPs could make great contributions to the genome mining of microbial dark matter in the global wanted list. Operational parameters had important effects on OTUs abundance, such as the temperature to the genera of Tetrasphaera, Gordonia and Nitrospira. All these results obtained from this study can deepen our understanding of the microbial ecology in WWTPs and provide foundations for further studies. IMPORTANCE: Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are an indispensable component of modern cities, as they can remove pollutants in wastewater to prevent anthropogenic activities. Activated sludge (AS) is a fundamental wastewater treatment process and it harbors a highl

The present study investigated the release of microplastics (MPs) from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) to the neighboring environment, including marine and coastal sediments, and fish. Here, we comprehensively investigated MP abundance in 34 samples of marine sediment, corresponding to 5,530.5 g of sediment (d.w.) collected at –8.0 m, –12.5 m, and –24.0 m, 69 samples of coastal sediment, accounting for 13,617.4 g (d.w.) from 17 different beaches from Mar Menor, and stomach and intestine of 17 fish samples of Sparus aurata, in the vicinity of Cartagena, a port city in Southeast Spain. The results showed that MPs were detected in all marine sediment samples, with an average abundance of 19.4 ± 2.4 items/kg (d.w.), in coastal sediments, with an average abundance of 52.5 ± 5.3 items/kg (d.w.), and fish samples, with an average of 8.2 ± 1.4 items per individual. The contribution of MPs from WWTPs to marine sediments is expected to be slow, as effluents were mostly dominated by fiber and film shapes, and by polymers less dense than seawater. There were no significant variations in the MP abundance of marine sediments after the atmospheric phenomenon named DANA, although a significant smaller MP size was reported, indicating a high mobility for tiny sizes. The same results were revealed for coastal sediment, although variations after DANA were statistically significant. Coastal sediment samples closer to WWTPs and agricultural fields with plastic mulching displayed higher MP concentrations, and an increase in the removal rate of MPs from WWTP effluents was negatively correlated with a decrease in MPs from fish collected. This study highlights the importance of sewage treatment plants in transporting MPs to the aquatic and terrestrial surrounding environment, which warrants further research on human health risks associated to MP pollution.

Microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitous pollutants that can effectively harm different ecosystems. The information on the relative contribution of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) to the surrounding environment is important, in order to understand ecological health risks and implement measures to reduce their presence. This focus article presents a quantitative assessment on the relative concentration and types of MPs delivered from four WWTPs located at the Southeast of Spain. Samples from WWTPs were collected throughout a four-year period, comprising more than 1,200 L of analyzed wastewater and 3,215 microparticles isolated. Density extraction with 1.08 g/mL NaCl salt solution was systematically used as the main separation method, in a simple and reliable manner, and repeat extraction cycles did not play any significant impact on the study outcomes. The four WWTPs had removal efficiencies between 64.3% and 89.2% after primary, secondary, and tertiary treatment phases, without diurnal or daily variations. Advanced treatment methods displayed a lower removal rate for fibers than for particulate MPs. The abundance of MPs was always higher and with a lower mean size in wastewater samples collected in Autumn than for the rest of seasons. MPs dumped from WWTPs in large quantities into the environment are meant to be regarded as an important point source for aquatic and terrestrial environments.

Producción Científica, The transition to a neutral carbon and sustainable urban water cycle requires improving eco-efficiency in wastewater treatment processes. To support decision-making based on eco-efficiency evaluations, reliable estimations are fundamental. In this study, the eco-efficiency of a sample of 109 WWTPs was evaluated using efficiency analysis tree method. It combines machine learning and linear programming techniques and therefore, overcomes overfitting limitations of non-parametric methods used by past research on this topic. Results from the case study revealed that optimal costs and greenhouse gas emissions depend on the quantity of organic matter and suspended solids removed from wastewater. The estimated average eco-efficiency is 0.373 which involves that the assessed WWTPs could save 0.32 €/m3 and 0.11 kg of CO2 equivalent/m3. Moreover, only 4 out of 109 WWTPs are identified as eco-efficient which implies that the majority of the evaluated facilities can achieve substantial savings in operational costs and greenhouse gas emissions., Junta de Castilla y León - UE-FEDER (CL-EI-2021-07)

Producción Científica, Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are energy intensive facilities. Controlling energy use in WWTPs could bring substantial benefits to people and environment. Understanding how energy efficient the wastewater treatment process is and what drives efficiency would allow treating wastewater in a more sustainable way. In this study, we employed the efficiency analysis trees approach, that combines machine learning and linear programming techniques, to estimate energy efficiency of wastewater treatment process. The findings indicated that considerable energy inefficiency among WWTPs in Chile existed. The mean energy efficiency was 0.287 suggesting that energy use should cut reduce by 71.3 % to treat the same volume of wastewater. This was equivalent to a reduction in energy use by 0.40 kWh/m3 on average. Moreover, only 4 out of 203 assessed WWTPs (1.97 %) were identified as energy efficient. It was also found that the age of treatment plant and type of secondary technology played an important role in explaining energy efficiency variations among WWTPs., Junta de Castilla y León - UE-FEDER (CLU 2017-09, CL-EI-2021-07)

BackgroundWastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are one of the largest biotechnology applications in the world and are of critical importance to modern urban societies. An accurate evaluation of the microbial dark matter (MDM, microorganisms whose genomes remain uncharacterized) proportions in WWTPs is of great value, while there is no such research yet. This study conducted a global meta-analysis of MDM in WWTPs with 317,542 prokaryotic genomes from the Genome Taxonomy Database and proposed a "wanted list" for priority targets in further investigations of activated sludge.ResultsCompared with the Earth Microbiome Project data, WWTPs had relatively lower genome-sequenced proportions of prokaryotes than other ecosystems, such as the animal related environments. Analysis showed that the median proportions of the genome-sequenced cells and taxa (100% identity and 100% coverage in 16S rRNA gene region) in WWTPs reached 56.3% and 34.5% for activated sludge, 48.6% and 28.5% for aerobic biofilm, and 48.3% and 28.5% for anaerobic digestion sludge, respectively. This result meant MDM had high proportions in WWTPs. Besides, all of the samples were occupied by a few predominant taxa, and the majority of the sequenced genomes were from pure cultures. The global-scale "wanted list" for activated sludge contained four phyla that have few representatives and 71 operational taxonomic units with the majority of them having no genome or isolate yet. Finally, several genome mining methods were verified to successfully recover genomes from activated sludge such as hybrid assembly of the second- and third-generation sequencing.ConclusionsThis work elucidated the proportion of MDM in WWTPs, defined the "wanted list" of activated sludge for future investigations, and certified potential genome recovery methods. The proposed methodology of this study can be applied to other ecosystems and improve understanding of ecosystem structure across diverse habitats. Video Abstract.

Producción Científica, The transition to a neutral carbon and sustainable urban water cycle requires improving eco-efficiency in wastewater treatment processes. To support decision-making based on eco-efficiency evaluations, reliable estimations are fundamental. In this study, the eco-efficiency of a sample of 109 WWTPs was evaluated using efficiency analysis tree method. It combines machine learning and linear programming techniques and therefore, overcomes overfitting limitations of non-parametric methods used by past research on this topic. Results from the case study revealed that optimal costs and greenhouse gas emissions depend on the quantity of organic matter and suspended solids removed from wastewater. The estimated average eco-efficiency is 0.373 which involves that the assessed WWTPs could save 0.32 €/m3 and 0.11 kg of CO2 equivalent/m3. Moreover, only 4 out of 109 WWTPs are identified as eco-efficient which implies that the majority of the evaluated facilities can achieve substantial savings in operational costs and greenhouse gas emissions., Junta de Castilla y León - UE-FEDER (CL-EI-2021-07)

Producción Científica, Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are energy intensive facilities. Controlling energy use in WWTPs could bring substantial benefits to people and environment. Understanding how energy efficient the wastewater treatment process is and what drives efficiency would allow treating wastewater in a more sustainable way. In this study, we employed the efficiency analysis trees approach, that combines machine learning and linear programming techniques, to estimate energy efficiency of wastewater treatment process. The findings indicated that considerable energy inefficiency among WWTPs in Chile existed. The mean energy efficiency was 0.287 suggesting that energy use should cut reduce by 71.3 % to treat the same volume of wastewater. This was equivalent to a reduction in energy use by 0.40 kWh/m3 on average. Moreover, only 4 out of 203 assessed WWTPs (1.97 %) were identified as energy efficient. It was also found that the age of treatment plant and type of secondary technology played an important role in explaining energy efficiency variations among WWTPs., Junta de Castilla y León - UE-FEDER (CLU 2017-09, CL-EI-2021-07)

he amount of wastewater processed in treatment plants is increasing following more strict environmental regulations. Treatment facilities are implementing upgrades to abate the concentrations of nutrients and contaminants and, thus, reduce their effects on receiving systems. Although many studies characterized the chemical composition and ecotoxicological effects of treated wastewater, its environmental effects are still poorly known, as receiving water bodies are often subjected to other stressors. We performed a field manipulative experiment to measure the response of invertebrate assemblages to one year of tertiary-treated wastewater discharges. We poured treated wastewater from an urban wastewater treatment plant into the lower-most 100-m of a previously unpolluted stream (3.6 % daily flow on average) while using another upstream reach as control. The positive correlation between effect sizes of abundance changes and IBMWP scores suggested assemblage modifications were following taxa tolerance to ecological impairment. The treatment increased the temporal variability of SPEARorganic, EPT relative abundance, and invertebrate functional redundancy. Our results show that even in this best-case scenario of tertiary-treated and highly diluted wastewater, the abundance of the most sensitive taxa in the aquatic assemblages is reduced. Further improvements in wastewater treatments seem necessary to ensure these effluents do not modify receiving water ecosystems.

This study has assessed the usefulness of excitation-emission matrix fluorescence (EEMF) as a fast and simple analytical technique to track changes in dissolved organic matter (DOM) during the sequence of treatment in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Three different industrial wastewaters and treatment plants have been studied in this work: an industrial park wastewater treated in an independent line at the Burgos WWTP (Spain), a food industry wastewater (crisps and snacks manufacturing) that was treated in a MBR (Membrane Biological Reactor) pilot plant (University of Burgos) and a municipal landfill leachate treated in a physicochemical treatment plant within the same landfill. Removal percentages for the wastewater organic matter at each stage of the treatment plants were successfully obtained by monitoring the main fluorescence peaks: protein-like peaks (tryptophan-like peaks T1, T2 and tyrosine-like peaks B1, B2), humic-like peaks (fulvic-like peak A and humic-like peak C) and microbially-derived peak M. Therefore, EEMF readily allows the assessment of the reactivity of the different types of organic matter towards specific treatments, such as clarification, biodegradation, filtration, etc. Among the wastewaters studied, the food industry wastewater exhibited the greater diversity of fluorescence peaks (B1, B2, T1, T2, A1, A2 and M) whereas the landfill leachate only showed the presence of humic substances (mainly humic-like peak C). This study has demonstrated that EEMF is a useful and user-friendly technique to monitor the performance of wastewater treatment plants for organic matter removal, allowing a rapid response to potential problems in the treatment.

Since wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) were not originally designed to eliminate contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), alternative strategies like membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology are gaining importance in achieving effective CEC removal and minimising their environmental impact. In this study, composite wastewater samples were collected from the biggest WWTP in the Basque Country (Galindo, Biscay) and the performance of two secondary treatments (i.e. conventional activated sludge treatment, CAS, and MBR) was assessed. The combination of a suspect screening approach using liquid chromatography tandem high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) and multitarget analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) allowed the detection of approximately 200 compounds in the WWTP effluents. The estimated removal efficiencies (REs) revealed that only 16 micropollutants exhibited enhanced removal by MBR treatment (RE >70% or 40 – 60%). The environmental risk posed by the non-eliminated compounds after both treatments remained similar, being anthracene, clarithromycin, bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and dilantin the most concerning pollutants (RQ >1). The Microtox® bioassay confirmed the MBR’s efficiency in removing baseline toxicity, while suggesting a similar performance of CAS treatment. These minimal differences between treatments call into question the worthiness of MBR treatment and emphasise the need to seek more efficient alternative treatment methods.

Biogas projects have been recognized as one of the most efficient tools for implementing the principles of circular economy at wastewater treatment plants: negative environmental waste impact reduction along with the energy independence. These projects are widespread in developed countries, but its distribution in developing countries such as the Russian Federation leaves much to be desired. The article discusses the four financial instruments for implementation of biogas projects in the Russian Federation compared to developed countries, including the analysis of sectoral background, potential benefits, drivers and limitation. The authors concluded that barriers for the development of biogas projects are not directly related to the tool entity or its application: significant moral and physical deterioration of technological process line makes the use of these tools untimely, while the long-term payback period leads towards poor efficiency. © 2022 WITPress. All rights reserved.

Municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) could become valuable contributors to a circular economy by implementing the 3R principles (reduce, reuse, and recycle). While reducing the pollution load of sewage is the primary objective of a WWTP, this process generates several potentially valuable byproducts including treated effluent, biogas, and sludge. The effluent can be reused in various end use applications and biogas can be reused as a fuel (for electricity generation, transportation, and cooking) or a chemical feedstock. The sludge can either be directly recycled as soil conditioner or via thermochemical/biochemical processing routes to recover material (e.g., hydrochar), energy (e.g., heat, and syngas), and resource value (phosphorus). This work presents a five-layered assessment framework for quantitatively evaluating the sustainable value of municipal WWTPs by using life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle costing assessment (LCCA) tools. In addition, indicators reflecting potential benefits to stakeholders and society arising from investments into municipal WWTPs such as the private return on investment (PROI) and the environmental externality costs to investment ratio (EECIR). The framework is validated in a hypothetical case study where the sustainable value of a circularly managed municipal WWTP is evaluated in situations involving multiple byproduct utilization pathways. Four future circular options (FCOs) are examined for a 50,000 m3/d capacity WWTP treating sewage up to tertiary standards. The FCOs mainly differ in terms of how biogas is reused (to meet the WWTP's internal energy demands, as cooking fuel, or as fuel for city buses after upgrading) and how sludge is recycled (as soil conditioner or by producing hydrochar pellets for electricity generation). The FCO in which treated effluent is reused in industry, biogas is used as cooking fuel, and sludge is used as a soil conditioner provides the greatest sustainable value (i.e., the lowest priva

Municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) could become valuable contributors to a circular economy by implementing the 3R principles (reduce, reuse, and recycle). While reducing the pollution load of sewage is the primary objective of a WWTP, this process generates several potentially valuable byproducts including treated effluent, biogas, and sludge. The effluent can be reused in various end use applications and biogas can be reused as a fuel (for electricity generation, transportation, and cooking) or a chemical feedstock. The sludge can either be directly recycled as soil conditioner or via thermochemical/biochemical processing routes to recover material (e.g., hydrochar), energy (e.g., heat, and syngas), and resource value (phosphorus). This work presents a five-layered assessment framework for quantitatively evaluating the sustainable value of municipal WWTPs by using life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle costing assessment (LCCA) tools. In addition, indicators reflecting potential benefits to stakeholders and society arising from investments into municipal WWTPs such as the private return on investment (PROI) and the environmental externality costs to investment ratio (EECIR). The framework is validated in a hypothetical case study where the sustainable value of a circularly managed municipal WWTP is evaluated in situations involving multiple byproduct utilization pathways. Four future circular options (FCOs) are examined for a 50,000 m3/d capacity WWTP treating sewage up to tertiary standards. The FCOs mainly differ in terms of how biogas is reused (to meet the WWTP's internal energy demands, as cooking fuel, or as fuel for city buses after upgrading) and how sludge is recycled (as soil conditioner or by producing hydrochar pellets for electricity generation). The FCO in which treated effluent is reused in industry, biogas is used as cooking fuel, and sludge is used as a soil conditioner provides the greatest sustainable value (i.e., the lowest priva

Municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) could become valuable contributors to a circular economy by implementing the 3R principles (reduce, reuse, and recycle). While reducing the pollution load of sewage is the primary objective of a WWTP, this process generates several potentially valuable byproducts including treated effluent, biogas, and sludge. The effluent can be reused in various end use applications and biogas can be reused as a fuel (for electricity generation, transportation, and cooking) or a chemical feedstock. The sludge can either be directly recycled as soil conditioner or via thermochemical/biochemical processing routes to recover material (e.g., hydrochar), energy (e.g., heat, and syngas), and resource value (phosphorus). This work presents a five-layered assessment framework for quantitatively evaluating the sustainable value of municipal WWTPs by using life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle costing assessment (LCCA) tools. In addition, indicators reflecting potential benefits to stakeholders and society arising from investments into municipal WWTPs such as the private return on investment (PROI) and the environmental externality costs to investment ratio (EECIR). The framework is validated in a hypothetical case study where the sustainable value of a circularly managed municipal WWTP is evaluated in situations involving multiple byproduct utilization pathways. Four future circular options (FCOs) are examined for a 50,000 m3/d capacity WWTP treating sewage up to tertiary standards. The FCOs mainly differ in terms of how biogas is reused (to meet the WWTP's internal energy demands, as cooking fuel, or as fuel for city buses after upgrading) and how sludge is recycled (as soil conditioner or by producing hydrochar pellets for electricity generation). The FCO in which treated effluent is reused in industry, biogas is used as cooking fuel, and sludge is used as a soil conditioner provides the greatest sustainable value (i.e., the lowest priva

Thousands of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are on the global market, while only a minor proportion is monitored regularly in the environment. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have been suggested to be a point source for PFAS to the environment due to emission of effluent and sludge. In this study, 81 PFAS including two rarely studied perfluoroalkyl sulfonamide-based (FASA) copolymers were analyzed in sludge samples to understand the usage of PFAS in the society. Sludge samples (n = 28) were collected at four WWTPs in Sweden between 2004 and 2017. The total levels of 79 measured PFAS were between 50 and 1124 ng/g d.w. All sludge samples showed detectable levels of both C8- and C4-FASA-based copolymers. The concentrations of the FASA-based copolymers were proposed to be reported in fluorinated side-chain equivalents (FSC eq.), in order to compare the levels of the copolymers with the other neutral and anionic PFAS, as no authentic standards were available. The concentrations of the FASA-based copolymers in sludge were between 1.4 and 22 ng FSC eq./g d.w. A general predomination of precursor and intermediate compounds was observed. A lower contribution of perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids was noted for the WWTPs more influenced by domestic emission when compared with more influenced by industrial emission. An overall declining trend in the total PFAS concentration was seen between the years 2004 and 2017. The present study observed a shift from the C8-based chemistry toward shorter chain lengths, included a declining trend for C8-FASA-based copolymer over the entire study period. These findings further demonstrate the occurrence of side-chain fluorinated copolymers in Sweden and that sludge is a useful matrix to reflect the usage of PFAS in society and the potential for environmental exposure.

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) represent a great opportunity within the framework of the circular economy. Not only are WWTPs an alternative source of water, but they can provide other valuable resources for other sectors such as water and energy. For instance, the nutrients contained in wastewater are of great importance for agriculture, since they can be used as fertilizers. In this sense, evaluating the efficiency of wastewater treatment processes makes it possible to identify those aspects that improve the performance of these infrastructures, thus ensuring their long-term sustainability. Most of the previous studies evaluate the efficiency based on the resources used and the total pollutant removal, this aspect does not consider that the quantity of pollutants that WWTPs are obliged to remove depend on the characteristics of the discharge location. To address this, an advanced efficiency model is applied to differentiate between the amount of pollutants that the Directive 91/271/EEC oblige to remove and the extra quantity of pollutants that WWTPs remove beyond the legal requirements. The results show that most of the facilities are able to remove a higher quantity of pollutants and, consequently, generate more resources for the society. The methodology and results of this study are of great interest to WWTP managers and administrations, encouraging the implementation of design-based solutions to maximize by-product collection in the wastewater treatment sector and improve the efficiency of these facilities.

Municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) could become valuable contributors to a circular economy by implementing the 3R principles (reduce, reuse, and recycle). While reducing the pollution load of sewage is the primary objective of a WWTP, this process generates several potentially valuable byproducts including treated effluent, biogas, and sludge. The effluent can be reused in various end use applications and biogas can be reused as a fuel (for electricity generation, transportation, and cooking) or a chemical feedstock. The sludge can either be directly recycled as soil conditioner or via thermochemical/biochemical processing routes to recover material (e.g., hydrochar), energy (e.g., heat, and syngas), and resource value (phosphorus). This work presents a five-layered assessment framework for quantitatively evaluating the sustainable value of municipal WWTPs by using life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle costing assessment (LCCA) tools. In addition, indicators reflecting potential benefits to stakeholders and society arising from investments into municipal WWTPs such as the private return on investment (PROI) and the environmental externality costs to investment ratio (EECIR). The framework is validated in a hypothetical case study where the sustainable value of a circularly managed municipal WWTP is evaluated in situations involving multiple byproduct utilization pathways. Four future circular options (FCOs) are examined for a 50,000 m3/d capacity WWTP treating sewage up to tertiary standards. The FCOs mainly differ in terms of how biogas is reused (to meet the WWTP's internal energy demands, as cooking fuel, or as fuel for city buses after upgrading) and how sludge is recycled (as soil conditioner or by producing hydrochar pellets for electricity generation). The FCO in which treated effluent is reused in industry, biogas is used as cooking fuel, and sludge is used as a soil conditioner provides the greatest sustainable value (i.e., the lowest priva

Municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) could become valuable contributors to a circular economy by implementing the 3R principles (reduce, reuse, and recycle). While reducing the pollution load of sewage is the primary objective of a WWTP, this process generates several potentially valuable byproducts including treated effluent, biogas, and sludge. The effluent can be reused in various end use applications and biogas can be reused as a fuel (for electricity generation, transportation, and cooking) or a chemical feedstock. The sludge can either be directly recycled as soil conditioner or via thermochemical/biochemical processing routes to recover material (e.g., hydrochar), energy (e.g., heat, and syngas), and resource value (phosphorus). This work presents a five-layered assessment framework for quantitatively evaluating the sustainable value of municipal WWTPs by using life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle costing assessment (LCCA) tools. In addition, indicators reflecting potential benefits to stakeholders and society arising from investments into municipal WWTPs such as the private return on investment (PROI) and the environmental externality costs to investment ratio (EECIR). The framework is validated in a hypothetical case study where the sustainable value of a circularly managed municipal WWTP is evaluated in situations involving multiple byproduct utilization pathways. Four future circular options (FCOs) are examined for a 50,000 m3/d capacity WWTP treating sewage up to tertiary standards. The FCOs mainly differ in terms of how biogas is reused (to meet the WWTP's internal energy demands, as cooking fuel, or as fuel for city buses after upgrading) and how sludge is recycled (as soil conditioner or by producing hydrochar pellets for electricity generation). The FCO in which treated effluent is reused in industry, biogas is used as cooking fuel, and sludge is used as a soil conditioner provides the greatest sustainable value (i.e., the lowest priva

[CA] En aquest projecte va a dissenyar-se i desenvolupar-se una reixa de grossos, amb neteja automàtica, per a les aigües residuals que entren a les estacions de bombament. És sabut que uns dels problemes a les estacions de bombament és; per una part, l'obstrucció de les reixes, impedint l'entrada de l'aigua; i, d'altra banda, el pas d'objectes que poden danyar la maquinària o les instal·lacions hidràuliques. Per tant, l'objectiu principal d'aquest és el manteniment preventiu de la maquinaria i les instal·lacions hidràuliques., [EN] In this project the construction of a self-cleaning grate for the Campello and Sant Joan Wastewater Pumping Stations will be designed and developed. This pumping is directed to the Wastewater Treatment Plant in Alacantí Nord. It is well-known that one of the main problems at pumping stations is, on the one hand, the clogging of the grate which prevents the entry of water; and, on the other hand, the entry of objects that can damage the machinery and / or the hydraulic installations. Therefore, one of the main targets of this project is the preventive maintenance of the machinery and hydraulic installations. Another main goal of this work is to prevent workers from breathing hydrogen sulfide gas, as the grate must be manually cleaned.

[CA] En aquest projecte va a dissenyar-se i desenvolupar-se una reixa de grossos, amb neteja automàtica, per a les aigües residuals que entren a les estacions de bombament. És sabut que uns dels problemes a les estacions de bombament és; per una part, l'obstrucció de les reixes, impedint l'entrada de l'aigua; i, d'altra banda, el pas d'objectes que poden danyar la maquinària o les instal·lacions hidràuliques. Per tant, l'objectiu principal d'aquest és el manteniment preventiu de la maquinaria i les instal·lacions hidràuliques., [EN] In this project the construction of a self-cleaning grate for the Campello and Sant Joan Wastewater Pumping Stations will be designed and developed. This pumping is directed to the Wastewater Treatment Plant in Alacantí Nord. It is well-known that one of the main problems at pumping stations is, on the one hand, the clogging of the grate which prevents the entry of water; and, on the other hand, the entry of objects that can damage the machinery and / or the hydraulic installations. Therefore, one of the main targets of this project is the preventive maintenance of the machinery and hydraulic installations. Another main goal of this work is to prevent workers from breathing hydrogen sulfide gas, as the grate must be manually cleaned.

For the first time, we present, i) an account of decay in the genetic material loading of SARS-CoV-2 during Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) treatment of wastewater, and ii) comparative evaluation of polyethylene glycol (PEG), and ultrafiltration as virus concentration methods from wastewater for the quantification of SARS-CoV-2 genes. The objectives were achieved through tracking of SARS-CoV-2 genetic loadings i.e. ORF1ab, N and S protein genes on 8th and 27th May 2020 along the wastewater treatment plant (106000 m3 million liters per day) equipped with UASB system in Ahmedabad, India. PEG method performed better in removing materials inhibiting RT-qPCR for SARS-CoV-2 gene detection from the samples, as evident from constant and lower CT values of control (MS2). Using the PEG method, we found a reduction >1.3 log10 reduction in SARS-CoV-2 RNA abundance during UASB treatment, and the RNA was not detected at all in the final effluent. The study implies that i) conventional wastewater treatment systems is effective in SARS-CoV-2 RNA removal, and ii) UASB system significantly reduces SARS-CoV-2 genetic loadings. Finally, PEG method is recommended for better sensitivity and inhibition removal during SARS-CoV-2 RNA quantification in wastewater., QC 20201203

[ES] El proyecto Life-BACTIWATER ha desarrollado un sistema de alerta temprana basado en técnicas de PCR que alerta sobre la disrupción del sistema biológico en las EDARs tras el ingreso de una alta carga de contaminantes. De forma complementaria al sistema de alerta temprana, el presente TFM propone aplicar técnicas de machine learning (ML) para interpretar y clasificar los datos de laboratorio y los datos de sensores en tiempo real, y para predecir de forma anticipada la concentración de amonio y nitrato en el reactor aerobio de la planta piloto donde se llevaron a cabo las experiencias del proyecto a escala demostrativa entre enero y junio del 2019. La planta piloto es de esquema Ludzack- Ettinger y se encuentra ubicada en la EDAR de Quart Benáger, en Valencia- España. El primer objetivo ha sido recopilar información bibliográfica y el estado del arte sobre el efecto de vertidos en los procesos biológicos, técnicas de monitorización y de ML para la detección de eventos anómalos. El segundo objetivo ha sido evaluar la evolución de los procesos biológicos en la planta piloto tras 4 vertidos: níquel (33mgNi/L), lavavajillas (0.51mL/L), lavavajillas (1.02mL/L), y de hipoclorito de sodio (32mgCl2/L). Al respecto, el vertido de Ni provoca la inhibición del 40% de la eliminación de nitrógeno total (NT), del 100% de la eliminación del fósforo total (PT), del 30% de la eliminación de sólidos suspendidos totales (TSS) y un aumento de la turbidez de forma visible en el decantador secundario y un empeoramiento de la sedimentación. Se identificó Vorticella Convallaria cuyo crecimiento se correlaciona positivamente con la alta concentración de NO3- y la eliminación de DBO5, y negativamente con la eliminación de PT. Por su parte, el primer vertido de lavavajillas (0.51mL/L) inhibió en un 40% la eliminación de PT y 3% de la eliminación de DQO durante 4 días. El segundo vertido de lavavajillas (1.02ml/L), inhibió en un 60% el proceso de nitrificación, en un 35% la velocidad de to, [EN] The Life-BACTIWATER project has developed an early warning system based on PCR techniques that warns about the disruption of the biological system in WWTPs after the entry of a high load of pollutants. Complementary to the early warning system, this TFM proposes to apply machine learning (ML) techniques to interpret and classify laboratory data and sensor data in real time, and to predict ammonium and nitrate concentration in advance. in the aerobic reactor of the pilot plant where the experiences of the project were carried out on a demonstrative scale between January and June 2019. The pilot plant is of the Ludzack-Ettinger scheme and is located in the Quart Benáger WWTP, in Valencia- Spain. The first objective has been to collect bibliographic information and the state of the art on the effect of discharges on biological processes, monitoring techniques and ML for the detection of anomalous events. The second objective has been to evaluate the evolution of the biological processes in the pilot plant after 4 discharges: nickel (33mgNi / L), dishwasher (0.51mL / L), dishwasher (1.02mL / L), and sodium hypochlorite (32mgCl2 / L). In this regard, the discharge of Ni causes the inhibition of 40% of the elimination of total nitrogen (NT), 100% of the elimination of total phosphorus (PT), 30% of the elimination of total suspended solids (TSS) and a visible increase in turbidity in the secondary settler and a worsening of sedimentation. Vorticella Convallaria was identified whose growth correlates positively with the high concentration of NO3- and the elimination of BOD5, and negatively with the elimination of PT. On the other hand, the first dishwasher spill (0.51mL / L) inhibited the elimination of PT by 40% and 3% of the COD elimination for 4 days. The second dishwasher pour (1.02ml / L), inhibited the nitrification process by 60%, the ammonium uptake rate (AUR) by 35% during 15 days, and the OUR by 30% during the first days . In agreement, the OUR calculated wit

[ES] El proyecto Life-BACTIWATER ha desarrollado un sistema de alerta temprana basado en técnicas de PCR que alerta sobre la disrupción del sistema biológico en las EDARs tras el ingreso de una alta carga de contaminantes. De forma complementaria al sistema de alerta temprana, el presente TFM propone aplicar técnicas de machine learning (ML) para interpretar y clasificar los datos de laboratorio y los datos de sensores en tiempo real, y para predecir de forma anticipada la concentración de amonio y nitrato en el reactor aerobio de la planta piloto donde se llevaron a cabo las experiencias del proyecto a escala demostrativa entre enero y junio del 2019. La planta piloto es de esquema Ludzack- Ettinger y se encuentra ubicada en la EDAR de Quart Benáger, en Valencia- España. El primer objetivo ha sido recopilar información bibliográfica y el estado del arte sobre el efecto de vertidos en los procesos biológicos, técnicas de monitorización y de ML para la detección de eventos anómalos. El segundo objetivo ha sido evaluar la evolución de los procesos biológicos en la planta piloto tras 4 vertidos: níquel (33mgNi/L), lavavajillas (0.51mL/L), lavavajillas (1.02mL/L), y de hipoclorito de sodio (32mgCl2/L). Al respecto, el vertido de Ni provoca la inhibición del 40% de la eliminación de nitrógeno total (NT), del 100% de la eliminación del fósforo total (PT), del 30% de la eliminación de sólidos suspendidos totales (TSS) y un aumento de la turbidez de forma visible en el decantador secundario y un empeoramiento de la sedimentación. Se identificó Vorticella Convallaria cuyo crecimiento se correlaciona positivamente con la alta concentración de NO3- y la eliminación de DBO5, y negativamente con la eliminación de PT. Por su parte, el primer vertido de lavavajillas (0.51mL/L) inhibió en un 40% la eliminación de PT y 3% de la eliminación de DQO durante 4 días. El segundo vertido de lavavajillas (1.02ml/L), inhibió en un 60% el proceso de nitrificación, en un 35% la velocidad de to, [EN] The Life-BACTIWATER project has developed an early warning system based on PCR techniques that warns about the disruption of the biological system in WWTPs after the entry of a high load of pollutants. Complementary to the early warning system, this TFM proposes to apply machine learning (ML) techniques to interpret and classify laboratory data and sensor data in real time, and to predict ammonium and nitrate concentration in advance. in the aerobic reactor of the pilot plant where the experiences of the project were carried out on a demonstrative scale between January and June 2019. The pilot plant is of the Ludzack-Ettinger scheme and is located in the Quart Benáger WWTP, in Valencia- Spain. The first objective has been to collect bibliographic information and the state of the art on the effect of discharges on biological processes, monitoring techniques and ML for the detection of anomalous events. The second objective has been to evaluate the evolution of the biological processes in the pilot plant after 4 discharges: nickel (33mgNi / L), dishwasher (0.51mL / L), dishwasher (1.02mL / L), and sodium hypochlorite (32mgCl2 / L). In this regard, the discharge of Ni causes the inhibition of 40% of the elimination of total nitrogen (NT), 100% of the elimination of total phosphorus (PT), 30% of the elimination of total suspended solids (TSS) and a visible increase in turbidity in the secondary settler and a worsening of sedimentation. Vorticella Convallaria was identified whose growth correlates positively with the high concentration of NO3- and the elimination of BOD5, and negatively with the elimination of PT. On the other hand, the first dishwasher spill (0.51mL / L) inhibited the elimination of PT by 40% and 3% of the COD elimination for 4 days. The second dishwasher pour (1.02ml / L), inhibited the nitrification process by 60%, the ammonium uptake rate (AUR) by 35% during 15 days, and the OUR by 30% during the first days . In agreement, the OUR calculated wit

[EN] In upcoming years, water demand is expected to boost worldwide, and with that, wastewater generation and the required energy for treatment. Provided that efficiency measures should be implemented at first instance, developments of renewable energy technologies are needed to improve sustainability at wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Based on theoretical analyses of literature data, this article presents a novel perspective of the role that hydropower could play in that energy framework. This research applied a new approach compared to previous studies, considering the introduction of sustainability aspects in the decision-making process, other than economic feasibility. With that aim, a broad search of real case studies was conducted, and suitable Key Performance Indicators based on the energy self-sufficiency concept were selected and applied to the identified cases. The findings suggest that there is not a rule of thumb to determine feasibility for hydropower installation and this technology might deserve more attention. This new perspective can help to raise awareness among policy makers, decision managers, or plant operators, of the possibilities hydropower could offer to the wastewater industry in the pathway towards more sustainable systems.

[EN] Hydropower is a well-known technology, applied worldwide for electricity generation from renewable sources. Within the current framework, some studies have started to consider its application to existing urban water systems, to harness an excess of energy that otherwise would be wasted. This research sought to determine a methodology to assess the potential of hydropower application to wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), regarding different aspects of sustainability. Firstly, previously developed methodologies for potential assessment in this sector at a country level were analyzed. Secondly, data from existing real case studies were gathered from publicly available documents and a theoretical analysis of their actual performance was conducted to validate assumptions made in the previous methodologies. As a result, the proposed new approach suggests adapting methodologies for potential assessment at a lower level, considering possible driving factors, other than economic feasibility. To define the study area, the management model scope should be considered. The power to determine the cut-off point for a WWTP to be considered as a potential site, is proposed to be lowered according to technical feasibility. Additionally, bearing in mind the sustainability concept, social or environmental factors should also be introduced in the methodology, tailored to the region being assessed. This novel perspective could provide a closer approach to the most likely decision-making level for these kinds of strategies in the wastewater industry.

[EN] Hydropower is a well-known technology, applied worldwide for electricity generation from renewable sources. Within the current framework, some studies have started to consider its application to existing urban water systems, to harness an excess of energy that otherwise would be wasted. This research sought to determine a methodology to assess the potential of hydropower application to wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), regarding different aspects of sustainability. Firstly, previously developed methodologies for potential assessment in this sector at a country level were analyzed. Secondly, data from existing real case studies were gathered from publicly available documents and a theoretical analysis of their actual performance was conducted to validate assumptions made in the previous methodologies. As a result, the proposed new approach suggests adapting methodologies for potential assessment at a lower level, considering possible driving factors, other than economic feasibility. To define the study area, the management model scope should be considered. The power to determine the cut-off point for a WWTP to be considered as a potential site, is proposed to be lowered according to technical feasibility. Additionally, bearing in mind the sustainability concept, social or environmental factors should also be introduced in the methodology, tailored to the region being assessed. This novel perspective could provide a closer approach to the most likely decision-making level for these kinds of strategies in the wastewater industry.

[EN] In upcoming years, water demand is expected to boost worldwide, and with that, wastewater generation and the required energy for treatment. Provided that efficiency measures should be implemented at first instance, developments of renewable energy technologies are needed to improve sustainability at wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Based on theoretical analyses of literature data, this article presents a novel perspective of the role that hydropower could play in that energy framework. This research applied a new approach compared to previous studies, considering the introduction of sustainability aspects in the decision-making process, other than economic feasibility. With that aim, a broad search of real case studies was conducted, and suitable Key Performance Indicators based on the energy self-sufficiency concept were selected and applied to the identified cases. The findings suggest that there is not a rule of thumb to determine feasibility for hydropower installation and this technology might deserve more attention. This new perspective can help to raise awareness among policy makers, decision managers, or plant operators, of the possibilities hydropower could offer to the wastewater industry in the pathway towards more sustainable systems.

The emergence and accumulation of microplastics (MPs) in various aquatic environments have recently raised significant concerns. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have been identified as one of the major sources of MPs discharge to the environment, implying a substantial need to improve advanced techniques for more efficient removal of MPs. Polymeric membranes have been proven effective in MPs removal. However, fouling is the main drawback of membrane processes and MPs can foul the membranes due to their small size and specific surface properties. Hence, it is important to investigate the impacts of MPs on membrane fouling to develop efficient membrane-based techniques for MPs removal. Although membrane technologies have a high potential for MPs removal, the interaction of MPs with membranes and their fouling effects have not been critically reviewed. The purpose of this paper is to provide a state-of-the-art review of MPs interaction with membranes and facilitate a better understanding of the relevant limitations and prospects of the membrane technologies. The first section of this paper is dedicated to a review of recent studies on MPs occurrence in WWTPs aiming to determine the most frequent MPs. This is followed by a summary of recent studies on MPs removal using membranes and discussions on the impact of MPs on membrane fouling and other probable issues (abrasion, concentration polarisation, biofouling, etc.). Finally, some recommendations for further research in this area are highlighted. This study serves as a valuable reference for future research on the development of anti-fouling membranes considering these new emerging contaminates.

Industrial environments are characterised by the non-lineal and highly complex processes they perform. Different control strategies are considered to assure that these processes are correctly performed. Nevertheless, these strategies are sensible to noise-corrupted and delayed measurements. For that reason, denoising techniques and delay correction methodologies should be considered but, most of these techniques require a complex design and optimisation process as a function of the scenario where they are applied. To alleviate this, a complete data-based approach devoted to denoising and correcting the delay of measurements is proposed here with a two-fold objective: simplify the solution design process and achieve its decoupling from the considered control strategy as well as from the scenario. Here it corresponds to a Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). However, the proposed solution can be adopted at any industrial environment since neither an optimization nor a design focused on the scenario is required, only pairs of input and output data. Results show that a minimum Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) improvement of a 63.87% is achieved when the new proposed data-based denoising approach is considered. In addition, the whole system performance show that similar and even better results are obtained when compared to scenario-optimised methodologies.

This work explores the possibilities of improving the eco-efficiency of Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) introducing a plant-wide perspective in the formulation of the control strategy. Eco-efficiency goals are contemplated in the analysis of the appropriateness of control actions, considering the seasonal effects of temperature into the decision-making process. Plant-wide control strategy handles are the operation variables of the activated sludge process, the volume of the primary clarifier, and the temperature of the anaerobic digester. Performance is evaluated in terms of energy use, biogas production, effluent quality, emissions to air and soil, considering annual and bimestrial average values of indicators to capture seasonal effect of temperature. The result is a set of possible solutions, obtained from a multi-objective decision-making procedure, consisting on a sequence of control actions applied at different temporal windows that improve the eco-efficiency indicators of the plant. The results obtained when applying the different solutions make evident how the application of plant-wide control strategies is useful to improve performance indicators that represent individual goals, leading to trade-off solutions that describe WWTPs' eco-efficiency.

The emergence and accumulation of microplastics (MPs) in various aquatic environments have recently raised significant concerns. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have been identified as one of the major sources of MPs discharge to the environment, implying a substantial need to improve advanced techniques for more efficient removal of MPs. Polymeric membranes have been proven effective in MPs removal. However, fouling is the main drawback of membrane processes and MPs can foul the membranes due to their small size and specific surface properties. Hence, it is important to investigate the impacts of MPs on membrane fouling to develop efficient membrane-based techniques for MPs removal. Although membrane technologies have a high potential for MPs removal, the interaction of MPs with membranes and their fouling effects have not been critically reviewed. The purpose of this paper is to provide a state-of-the-art review of MPs interaction with membranes and facilitate a better understanding of the relevant limitations and prospects of the membrane technologies. The first section of this paper is dedicated to a review of recent studies on MPs occurrence in WWTPs aiming to determine the most frequent MPs. This is followed by a summary of recent studies on MPs removal using membranes and discussions on the impact of MPs on membrane fouling and other probable issues (abrasion, concentration polarisation, biofouling, etc.). Finally, some recommendations for further research in this area are highlighted. This study serves as a valuable reference for future research on the development of anti-fouling membranes considering these new emerging contaminates.

In this review, we present the environmental perspectives of the viruses and antiviral drugs related to SARS-CoV-2. The present review paper discusses occurrence, fate, transport, susceptibility, and inactivation mechanisms of viruses in the environment as well as environmental occurrence and fate of antiviral drugs, and prospects (prevalence and occurrence) of antiviral drug resistance (both antiviral drug resistant viruses and antiviral resistance in the human). During winter, the number of viral disease cases and environmental occurrence of antiviral drug surge due to various biotic and abiotic factors such as transmission pathways, human behaviour, susceptibility, and immunity as well as cold climatic conditions. Adsorption and persistence critically determine the fate and transport of viruses in the environment. Inactivation and disinfection of virus include UV, alcohol, and other chemical-base methods but the susceptibility of virus against these methods varies. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are major reserviors of antiviral drugs and their metabolites and transformation products. Ecotoxicity of antiviral drug residues against aquatic organisms have been reported, however more threatening is the development of antiviral resistance, both in humans and in wild animal reservoirs. In particular, emergence of antiviral drug-resistant viruses via exposure of wild animals to high loads of antiviral residues during the current pandemic needs further evaluation., QC 20210309

Wastewaters serve as important hot spots for antimicrobial resistance and monitoring can be used to analyse the abundance and diversity of antimicrobial resistance genes at the level of large bacterial and human populations. In this study, whole genome sequencing of beta-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli and metagenomic analysis of whole-community DNA were used to characterize the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance in hospital, municipal and river waters in the city of Brno (Czech Republic). Cefotaxime-resistant E. coli were mainly extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) producers (95.6%, n=158), of which the majority carried blaCTX-M (98.7%; n=151) and were detected in all water samples except the outflow from hospital wastewater treatment plant. A wide phylogenetic diversity was observed among the sequenced E. coli (n=78) based on the detection of 40 sequence types and single nucleotide polymorphisms (average number 34,666 ± 15,710) between strains. The metagenomic analysis revealed a high occurrence of bacterial genera with potentially pathogenic members, including Pseudomonas, Escherichia, Klebsiella, Aeromonas, Enterobacter and Arcobacter (relative abundance > 50%) in untreated hospital and municipal wastewaters and predominance of environmental bacteria in treated and river waters. Genes encoding resistance to aminoglycosides, beta-lactams, quinolones and macrolides were frequently detected, however blaCTX-M was not found in this dataset which may be affected by insufficient sequencing depth of the samples. The study pointed out municipal treated wastewater as a possible source of multi-drug resistant E. coli and antimicrobial resistance genes for surface waters. Moreover, the combination of two different approaches provided a more holistic view on antimicrobial resistance in water environments. The culture-based approach facilitated insight into the dynamics of ESBL-producing E. coli and the metagenomics shows abundance and diversity of bacteria

The emergence and accumulation of microplastics (MPs) in various aquatic environments have recently raised significant concerns. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have been identified as one of the major sources of MPs discharge to the environment, implying a substantial need to improve advanced techniques for more efficient removal of MPs. Polymeric membranes have been proven effective in MPs removal. However, fouling is the main drawback of membrane processes and MPs can foul the membranes due to their small size and specific surface properties. Hence, it is important to investigate the impacts of MPs on membrane fouling to develop efficient membrane-based techniques for MPs removal. Although membrane technologies have a high potential for MPs removal, the interaction of MPs with membranes and their fouling effects have not been critically reviewed. The purpose of this paper is to provide a state-of-the-art review of MPs interaction with membranes and facilitate a better understanding of the relevant limitations and prospects of the membrane technologies. The first section of this paper is dedicated to a review of recent studies on MPs occurrence in WWTPs aiming to determine the most frequent MPs. This is followed by a summary of recent studies on MPs removal using membranes and discussions on the impact of MPs on membrane fouling and other probable issues (abrasion, concentration polarisation, biofouling, etc.). Finally, some recommendations for further research in this area are highlighted. This study serves as a valuable reference for future research on the development of anti-fouling membranes considering these new emerging contaminates.

The new European regulation on minimum quality requirements (MQR) for water reuse (EU, 2020/741) was launched in May 2020 and describes the directives for the use of reclaimed water for agricultural irrigation. This Regulation will be directly applicable in all Member States from 26 June 2023. Since its publication in 2020, concerns have raised about potential non-compliance situations in water reuse systems. The present study represents a case study where three different water reuse systems have been monitored to establish their compliance with the MQR. Each water reuse system includes a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), a distribution/storage system and an end-user point, where water is used for irrigation of leafy greens. The selected water reuse systems allowed us to compare the efficacy of water treatments implemented in two WWTPs as well as the impact of three different irrigation systems (drip, furrow and overhead irrigation). The presence and concentration of indicator microorganisms (Escherichia coli and C. perfringens spores) as well as pathogenic bacteria (Shiga toxin-producing, E. coli (STEC), E. coli O157:H7, and Salmonella spp.) were monitored in different sampling points (influent and effluent of the WWTPs, water reservoirs located at the distribution system and the end-user point at the irrigation system as well as in the leafy greens during their growing cycle. Average levels of E. coli (0.73 ± 1.20 log cfu E. coli/100 mL) obtained at the point where the WWTP operator delivers reclaimed water to the next actor in the chain, defined in the European regulation as the ‘point of compliance’, were within the established MQR (<1 log cfu/100 mL) (EU, 2020/741). On the other hand, average levels of E. coli at the end-user point (1.0 ± 1.2 log cfu/100 mL) were below the recommended threshold (2 log cfu E. coli/100 mL) for irrigation water based on the guidance document on microbiological risks in fresh fruits and vegetables at primary production (EC, 2017/C

The reuse of treated wastewater (TWW) has been considered a suitable alternative for agriculture and for achieving water security and management. However, this practice may contribute to the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) into the environment, a matter of global concern. The aim of this study is to discuss the reuse of TWW in agriculture under the perspective of the risks associated to ARGs dissemination. An exhaustive bibliographic research was conducted for determining the capacity of reducing ARG loads for different wastewater treatment technologies (conventional, non-conventional and advanced technologies). Moreover, the distribution of ARG elements in crops irrigated with TWW was also reviewed for discussing the potential health risks associated to the TWW reuse. Reduction of ARG loads in conventional, non-conventional and advanced treatments fluctuated between 1.1 and 4.1, 0.1–2.1 and 0.1–9.5 log units, respectively. These variable ranges indicate that operational parameters, plant design, and water quality are fundamental parameters determining their performance and their capacity to reduce ARG dissemination. In the case of ARG distribution in crops and soil irrigated by TWW, higher abundances were observed in soil than edible parts of crops with ranges between (− 0.7)—6.0 log copies/g of soil and (− 0.9)—5.6 log copies/g of soil, respectively. The occurrence of ARGs in crops may represent a relevant human exposure to ARG-harbouring bacteria and therefore, a potential human health risk that requires the establishment of safe procedures and legislation for assuring a safe reuse of TWW.

The new European regulation on minimum quality requirements (MQR) for water reuse (EU, 2020/741) was launched in May 2020 and describes the directives for the use of reclaimed water for agricultural irrigation. This Regulation will be directly applicable in all Member States from 26 June 2023. Since its publication in 2020, concerns have raised about potential non-compliance situations in water reuse systems. The present study represents a case study where three different water reuse systems have been monitored to establish their compliance with the MQR. Each water reuse system includes a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), a distribution/storage system and an end-user point, where water is used for irrigation of leafy greens. The selected water reuse systems allowed us to compare the efficacy of water treatments implemented in two WWTPs as well as the impact of three different irrigation systems (drip, furrow and overhead irrigation). The presence and concentration of indicator microorganisms (Escherichia coli and C. perfringens spores) as well as pathogenic bacteria (Shiga toxin-producing, E. coli (STEC), E. coli O157:H7, and Salmonella spp.) were monitored in different sampling points (influent and effluent of the WWTPs, water reservoirs located at the distribution system and the end-user point at the irrigation system as well as in the leafy greens during their growing cycle. Average levels of E. coli (0.73 ± 1.20 log cfu E. coli/100 mL) obtained at the point where the WWTP operator delivers reclaimed water to the next actor in the chain, defined in the European regulation as the ‘point of compliance’, were within the established MQR (<1 log cfu/100 mL) (EU, 2020/741). On the other hand, average levels of E. coli at the end-user point (1.0 ± 1.2 log cfu/100 mL) were below the recommended threshold (2 log cfu E. coli/100 mL) for irrigation water based on the guidance document on microbiological risks in fresh fruits and vegetables at primary production (EC, 2017/C

The present work analyses the existence of congestion in a set of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) for the first time. The study sample included 47 WWTPs managed by the same operator and located in the Valencia region (eastern Spain). The method of analysis consisted in applying a new statistical model to identify and correct congestion situations based on data envelopment analysis (DEA), which takes into account undesirable outputs and multiple projections. The results showed a strong concentration of congested WWTPs (48.94–57.45%). Furthermore, the necessary corrections to avoid the congestion statuses entailed an average input reduction between 57.03 and 74.13% and an average increase in desirable outputs between 46.08% and 50.08%. In addition, only plant size had a significant relationship with the correction levels. The remaining contextual variables (age, overcapacity and type of water and sludge line) failed to show any significant impact on those corrections. To conclude, policy recommendations to improve the management of WWTPs are put forward, notably improving the management of smaller plants, which concentrate the largest percentage of correction.

In this paper, a control approach for improving the overall efficiency of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) is presented. It consists of a cascaded control system that uses a global performance indicator as the controlled variable to drive the plant to operating conditions that satisfies trade-offs involved in the WWTP operation, improving the global performance of the plant. The selected global performance indicator is the N/E index that measures the ratio between the amount of nitrogenated compounds eliminated (kgN) and the energy (kWh) required to achieve that goal. This index links the variables of the activated sludge process with the energy consumed in the whole plant, thus the control strategy takes actions based on plantwide considerations. An external Proportional Integral (PI) controller changes the DO set point according to the N/E index and the basic dissolved oxygen (DO) control scheme in the activated sludge process follows this reference changes varying the aeration intensity. An outer loop with an event-based controller is used to compute the index values when the DO concentration is driven to excessively low limits, preventing long operation periods in this undesirable condition. Simple proportional integral controllers (PI) are used to adapt the strategy to the automation systems available in WWTPs. The implementation in the Benchmark Simulation Model 2 (BSM2) demonstrates the potential of the proposed approach. The results show the possibilities of the N/E index to be used as an indicator of global performance of WWTPs. It provides a link between water line objectives and energy consumption in the whole plant that can be exploited to introduce plantwide considerations in alternative control strategies formulated to drive the plant to operating conditions that optimize the overall process efficiency.

In this work a comprehensive analysis of the environmental impact of the operation of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) using different control strategies is carried out considering the dynamic evolution of some environmental indicators and average operation costs. The selected strategies are PI (proportional integral) control schemes such as dissolved oxygen control in the aerobic zone (DO control), DO control and nitrates control in the anoxic zone (DO + NO control) and regulation of ammonium control at the end of aerobic zone (Cascade Scommonly used in WWTPs to maintain the conditions that ensure the desired effluent quality in a variable influent scenario. The main novelty of the work is the integration of potential insights into environmental impact from the analysis of dynamic evolution of environmental indicators at different time scales. The consideration of annual, bimonthly and weekly temporal windows to evaluate performance indicators makes it possible to capture seasonal effects of influent disturbances and control actions on environmental costs of wastewater treatment that are unnoticed in the annual-based performance evaluation. Then, in the case of periodic events, it is possible to find solutions to improve operation by the adjustment of the control variables in specific periods of time along the operation horizon. The analysis of the annual average and dynamic profiles (weekly and bimonthly) of environmental indicators showed that ammonium-based control (Cascade S) produce the best compromise solution between environmental and operation costs compared with DO control and DO + NO control. An alternative control strategy, named S Q , has been defined considering a sequence of changes on ammonium set-point (S) and carbon dosage (Q) on different temporal windows. It is compared with DO control considering weekly and bimonthly profiles and annual average values leading to the conclusion that both strategies, Cascade S and S Q , produce an improvement o

The present work analyses the existence of congestion in a set of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) for the first time. The study sample included 47 WWTPs managed by the same operator and located in the Valencia region (eastern Spain). The method of analysis consisted in applying a new statistical model to identify and correct congestion situations based on data envelopment analysis (DEA), which takes into account undesirable outputs and multiple projections. The results showed a strong concentration of congested WWTPs (48.94–57.45%). Furthermore, the necessary corrections to avoid the congestion statuses entailed an average input reduction between 57.03 and 74.13% and an average increase in desirable outputs between 46.08% and 50.08%. In addition, only plant size had a significant relationship with the correction levels. The remaining contextual variables (age, overcapacity and type of water and sludge line) failed to show any significant impact on those corrections. To conclude, policy recommendations to improve the management of WWTPs are put forward, notably improving the management of smaller plants, which concentrate the largest percentage of correction.

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are major reservoirs and sources for the dissemination of antibiotic resistance into the environment. In this study, the population dynamics of two full-scale WWTPs was characterized along different sampling points, including the reused effluents, in both cellular and extracellular DNA samples. The analysis was performed by high throughput sequencing targeting the 16S rRNA V4 gene region and by three in-house TaqMan multiplex qPCR assays that detect and quantify the most clinically relevant and globally distributed carbapenem (bla) and (fluoro)quinolone (qnr) resistance genes. The obtained results identify the biological treatment as the crucial step on tailoring the wastewater bacterial community, which is thereafter maintained in both discharged and reused effluents. The influent bacterial community does not alter the WWTP core community, although it clearly contributes for the introduction and spread of antibiotic resistance to the in-house bacteria. The presence of high concentrations of bla and qnr genes was not only detected in the wastewater influents and discharged effluents, but also in the reused effluents, which therefore represent another gateway for antibiotic resistant bacteria and genes into the environment and directly to the human populations. Moreover, and together with the study of the cellular DNA, it was described for the first time the role of the extracellular DNA in the dissemination of carbapenem and (fluoro)quinolone resistance, as well as the impact of the wastewater treatment process on this DNA fraction. Altogether, the results prove that the current wastewater treatments are inefficient in the removal of antibiotic resistant bacteria and genes and reinforce that targeted treatments must be developed and implemented at full-scale in the WWTPs for wastewater reuse to become a safe and sustainable practice, able to be implemented in areas such as agricultural irrigation.

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are an example of available but underutilized waste-to-resource processes. Economic benefit opportunities can be generated through the design and operation of WWTPs following a circular economy policy. At the same time, the environmental performance is also enhanced, since water scarcity is counteracted by replacing freshwater usage with reclaimed water. In this work, we develop a MILP mathematical model representing the main characteristics of multi-contaminant wastewater exchange networks and validate it through a case study that is inspired of a WWTP located in Barcelona, Spain. As a result, we find an optimal network that can reduce the water treatment cost from 0.404 €/m³ to 0.312 €/m³. Moreover, the model allows considering the possibility of retrofitting the existing WWTP by constructing an additional treatment line and drawing the barriers for this line to achieve the targeted wastewater treatment cost. These results demonstrate that changing the role of WWTPs from an “end-of-the-pipe” solution towards a waste-to-resource route bears an unexplored potential that should be considered by all actors in the water market., Postprint (published version)

Background: Antibiotic resistance is a global public health threat. Water from human activities is collected at wastewater treatment plants where processes often do not sufficiently neutralize antibiotic resistant bacteria and genes, which are further shed into the local environment. This protocol outlines the steps to conduct a systematic review based on the Population, Exposure, Comparator and Outcome (PECO) framework, aiming at answering the question "Are antimicrobial-resistant enterobacteriaceae and antimicrobial resistance genes present (O) in air and water samples (P) taken either near or downstream or downwind or down-gradient from wastewater treatment plants (E), as compared to air and water samples taken either further away or upstream or upwind or up-gradient from such wastewater treatment plant (C)?" Presence of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria and genes will be quantitatively measured by extracting their prevalence or concentration, depending on the reviewed study. Methods: We will search PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane database and Web of Science for original articles published from 1 Jan 2000 to 3 Sep 2018 with language restriction. Articles will undergo a relevance and a design screening process. Data from eligible articles will be extracted by two independent reviewers. Further, we will perform a risk of bias assessment using a decision matrix. We will synthesize and present results in narrative and tabular form and will perform a meta-analysis if heterogeneity of results allows it. Discussion: Antibiotic resistance in environmental samples around wastewater treatment plants may pose a risk of exposure to workers and nearby residents. Results from the systematic review outlined in this protocol will allow to estimate the extend of exposure, to inform policy making and help to design future studies.

The paper industry in its production process consumes a large amount of water, and the flow of effluent is very variable, being related to the manufacturing process used in production capacity. Effluents are formed by complex mixtures of chemical compounds. The wide composition variability among the effluents from the most diverse origins, added to the market entry of numerous chemical substances every year, which will become part of the effluents, makes the complete characterization of its composition very difficult. To characterize the effluent, some parameters are analyzed, which may be physical, chemical or bacteriological. The pH, which is directly related to the coagulation efficiency, as it influences the chemistry of the coagulants, their reactions in the aqueous environment, the predominant hydrolysed species and the variation in surface charge of colloids present in the effluent, where in the aqueous system it is typically measured by use of a pH meter. Therefore, the objective of this study was to perform an effluent treatment plant (ETE) analysis of a paper recycling industry, the inlet and outlet flow values ​​of the WWTP, using the pH parameter, comparing the dry periods, flood and transition from August 2018 to July 2019. Initially, a survey of technical documents related to the effluent treatment process and the verification of the standard norms, in use in the Industry WWTP was carried out. The collections were performed bimonthly, observed at times that did not interfere in the results and identified according to CONAMA Resolution, nº 430/2011. The pH values ​​obtained at the WWTP revealed an improvement in the quality of the effluent treated in accordance with current legislation. However, although the effluent was adequate for the release pattern, the high toxicity found in the inlet and outlet pH of the WWTP, evidences the need to define new treatment and / or control strategies to comply with the legislation regarding this parameter.

В работе рассмотрены перспективные направления использования вторичных энергетических ресурсов и возобновляемых источников энергии на очистных сооружениях и полигонах твердых бытовых отходов. Приведен компонентный состав биогаза, получаемого на очистных сооружениях. Показана технологическая схема очистки сточных вод и системы активной дегазации на полигоне твердых бытовых отходов., The work discusses the promising areas of using secondary energy resources and renewable energy sources at treatment facilities and solid waste landfills. The component composition of biogas produced at treatment facilities is presented. The technological scheme of wastewater treatment and an active degassing system at a solid waste landfill are shown.

The paper industry in its production process consumes a large amount of water, and the flow of effluent is very variable, being related to the manufacturing process used in production capacity. Effluents are formed by complex mixtures of chemical compounds. The wide composition variability among the effluents from the most diverse origins, added to the market entry of numerous chemical substances every year, which will become part of the effluents, makes the complete characterization of its composition very difficult. To characterize the effluent, some parameters are analyzed, which may be physical, chemical or bacteriological. The pH, which is directly related to the coagulation efficiency, as it influences the chemistry of the coagulants, their reactions in the aqueous environment, the predominant hydrolysed species and the variation in surface charge of colloids present in the effluent, where in the aqueous system it is typically measured by use of a pH meter. Therefore, the objective of this study was to perform an effluent treatment plant (ETE) analysis of a paper recycling industry, the inlet and outlet flow values ​​of the WWTP, using the pH parameter, comparing the dry periods, flood and transition from August 2018 to July 2019. Initially, a survey of technical documents related to the effluent treatment process and the verification of the standard norms, in use in the Industry WWTP was carried out. The collections were performed bimonthly, observed at times that did not interfere in the results and identified according to CONAMA Resolution, nº 430/2011. The pH values ​​obtained at the WWTP revealed an improvement in the quality of the effluent treated in accordance with current legislation. However, although the effluent was adequate for the release pattern, the high toxicity found in the inlet and outlet pH of the WWTP, evidences the need to define new treatment and / or control strategies to comply with the legislation regarding this parameter.

The paper industry in its production process consumes a large amount of water, and the flow of effluent is very variable, being related to the manufacturing process used in production capacity. Effluents are formed by complex mixtures of chemical compounds. The wide composition variability among the effluents from the most diverse origins, added to the market entry of numerous chemical substances every year, which will become part of the effluents, makes the complete characterization of its composition very difficult. To characterize the effluent, some parameters are analyzed, which may be physical, chemical or bacteriological. The pH, which is directly related to the coagulation efficiency, as it influences the chemistry of the coagulants, their reactions in the aqueous environment, the predominant hydrolysed species and the variation in surface charge of colloids present in the effluent, where in the aqueous system it is typically measured by use of a pH meter. Therefore, the objective of this study was to perform an effluent treatment plant (ETE) analysis of a paper recycling industry, the inlet and outlet flow values ​​of the WWTP, using the pH parameter, comparing the dry periods, flood and transition from August 2018 to July 2019. Initially, a survey of technical documents related to the effluent treatment process and the verification of the standard norms, in use in the Industry WWTP was carried out. The collections were performed bimonthly, observed at times that did not interfere in the results and identified according to CONAMA Resolution, nº 430/2011. The pH values ​​obtained at the WWTP revealed an improvement in the quality of the effluent treated in accordance with current legislation. However, although the effluent was adequate for the release pattern, the high toxicity found in the inlet and outlet pH of the WWTP, evidences the need to define new treatment and / or control strategies to comply with the legislation regarding this parameter.