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The biodegradability and treatability of a young (3 years old) municipal landfill leachate was evaluated by means of chemical oxygen demand (COD) fractionation tests, based on respirometric techniques. The tests were performed using two different biomasses: one cultivated from the raw leachate (autochthonous biomass) and the other collected from a conventional municipal wastewater treatment plant after its acclimation to leachate (allochthonous biomass). The long term performances of the two biomasses were also studied. The results demonstrated that the amount of biodegradable COD in the leachate was strictly dependent on the biomass that was used to perform the fractionation tests. Using the autochthonous biomass, the amount of biodegradable organic substrate resulted in approximately 75% of the total COD, whereas it was close to 40% in the case of the allochthonous biomass, indicating the capacity of the autochthonous biomass to degrade a higher amount of organic compounds present in the leachate. The autochthonous biomass was characterized by higher biological activity and heterotrophic active fraction (14% vs 7%), whereas the activity of the allochthonous biomass was significantly affected by inhibitory compounds in the leachate, resulting in a lower respiration rate (SOUR = 13 mg O 2 gVSS -1  h -1 vs 37 mg O 2 gVSS -1  h -1 ). The long-term performance of the autochthonous and allochthonous biomasses indicated that the former was more suitable for the treatment of raw landfill leachate, ensuring higher removal performance towards the organic pollutants., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In order to prevent hydrocarbon discharge at sea from ships, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) enacted the MARPOL 73/78 convention in which any oil and oil residue discharged in wastewater streams must contain less than 5 ppm hydrocarbons. Effective treatment of this petroleum-contaminated water is essential prior to its release into the environment, in order to prevent pollution problem for marine ecosystems as well as for human health. Therefore, two bench scale membrane bioreactors (MBRs) were investigated for hydrocarbon biodegradation. The two plants were initially fed with synthetic wastewater characterised by an increasing salinity, in order to enhance biomass acclimation to salinity. Subsequently, they were fed with a mixture of synthetic wastewater and real shipboard slops (with an increasing slops percentage up to 50% by volume). The results indicated a satisfactory biomass acclimation level in both plants with regards to salinity, providing significant removal efficiencies. The real slops exerted an inhibitory effect on the biomass, partially due to hydrocarbons as well as to other concomitant influences from other compounds contained in the real slops difficult to evaluate a priori. Nevertheless, a slight adaptation of the biomass to the new conditions was observed, with increasing removal efficiencies, despite the significant slops percentage., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The excess biomass produced during biological treatment of municipal wastewater represents a major issue worldwide, as its disposal implies environmental, economic and social impacts. Therefore, there has been a growing interest in developing technologies to reduce sludge production. The main proposed strategies can be categorized according to the place inside the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) where the reduction takes place. In particular, sludge minimization can be achieved in the wastewater line as well as in the sludge line. This paper presents the results of two pilot scale systems, to evaluate their feasibility for sludge reduction and to understand their effect on biomass activity: (1) a pilot plant with an ozone contactor in the return activated sludge (RAS) stream for the exposition of sludge to a low ozone dosage; and (2) an oxic-settling-anaerobic (OSA) process with high retention time in the anaerobic sludge holding tank have been studied. The results showed that both technologies enabled significant excess sludge reduction but produced a slight decrease of biomass respiratory activity.

The paper reports the main results of an experimental campaign carried out on two bench scale pilot plants for the treatment of synthetic shipboard slops. In particular, two membrane bioreactors (MBRs) with submerged configuration were analyzed. One MBR pilot plant (namely, Line A) was fed with synthetic shipboard slop and was subjected to a gradual increase of salinity. Conversely, the second MBR pilot plant (namely, Line B) was fed with the same synthetic shipboard slop but without salt addition, therefore operating as a “control” unit. Organic carbon, hydrocarbons and ammonium removal, kinetic constants, extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs) production and membranes fouling rates have been assessed. The observed results highlighted a stress effect exerted by salinity on the biological performances, with lower removal efficiencies in the Line A compared to Line B. Significant releases of soluble EPS in Line A promoted an increase of the resistance related to particle deposition into membrane pores (pore fouling tendency), likely due to a worsening of the mixed liquor features. Such a condition enhanced the reduction of the “pre-filter” effect of the cake layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last decade new technologies are emerging even more for wastewater treatment. Among the new technologies, a recent possible solution regards Moving Bed Biofilm Reactors (MBBRs) that represent an effective alternative to conventional processes. More specifically such systems consist in the introduction of plastic elements inside the aerobic reactor as carrier material for the growth of attached biomass. Recently, one of the mostly used alternatives is to couple the Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR) process with the conventional activated sludge process, and the resulting process is usually called HMBBR (Hybrid MBBR). In the MBBR process the biofilm grows attached on small plastic elements that are kept in constant motion throughout the entire volume of the reactor. Indeed, in such a system, a competition between the two biomasses, suspended and attached, can arise for the availability of the substrates, leading, as a consequence, to a modification in the biokinetic parameters of the two biomasses, compared to that of a pure suspended or attached biomass process. This paper presents the first results of a study aimed at estimating the kinetic heterotrophic constants in a HMBBR pilot plant using respirometric techniques. The pilot plant was built at the Acqua dei Corsari (Palermo) wastewater treatment plant and consisted of two parallel lines realized in a pre-anoxic scheme, in one of which the carrier material was added to the aerobic reactor with a filling ratio of 30%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the comparison between the traditional activated sludge system (AS) and a hybrid moving bed biofilm reactor (HMBBR). In particular, an experimental campaign has been carried out at the WWTP in Palermo (Italy), on a pilot plant consisting of two pre-anoxic schemes. The aerated tank of the HMBBR line was filled with suspended carriers (AnoxKaldnes® K1), with a 30% filling ratio. The hydraulic load of the HMBBR line was increased up to two times the AS one. Further, in order to distinguish the additional contribution of the attached biomass for the HMBBR system, in the two lines the Mixed Liquor Suspended Solids (MLSS) was maintained as equal as possible. The monitoring period lasted three months during which several parameters were monitored. The obtained results showed a good treatment ability of the HMBBR system, referring to the organic matter removal as well as to the ammonium removal. In particular, in spite of the increase of the hydraulic load for the HMBBR line, the two systems showed a similar performance in terms of both organic and nitrogen removal. The results demonstrate the higher treatment capacity of the HMBBR addressing such system as an effective technology for the upgrading of overloaded wastewater treatment plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • The effect of a co-substrate addition in TPH removal was studied in a MBR. • A novel hydrocarbons extraction method from complex mixture was developed. • A lower co-substrate supply enabled approximately 98% of biological TPH removal. • Bacteria able to grow on hydrocarbons as primary substrate were selected. • The membrane fouling increased under lower co-substrate supply. Abstract The paper reports the main results of an experiment carried out on a membrane bioreactor (MBR) plant designed for the treatment of shipboard slops. With a view of a co-treatment process of the slop with other wastewaters, sodium acetate, as external co-substrate, was supplied (high dosage – Period 1, low dosage – Period 2) to evaluate its effects on hydrocarbons removal. The MBR pilot plant enabled approximately 99% of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) removal during the entire experiment, confirming the robustness of the MBR technology for the treatment of slops. The chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis showed that the removal efficiency for each alkane was close to the value observed for total mixture removal (>99%) and the hydrocarbons removal was mostly due to the microorganism-mediated biodegradation. The biological contribution to TPH removal increased from approximately 85% to 98% when the co-substrate was decreased. Biomass kinetics revealed that a lower co-substrate dosage enhanced the growth of bacterial groups able to use hydrocarbons as primary substrate. A clear predominance of Microthrix Parvicella under low co-substrate dosage was observed. However, the lower co-substrate addition caused a significant worsening in the physical properties of the activated sludge, which resulted enriched in soluble exopolymers (>70%), more hydrophobic (>90%) and with small and dispersed flocs (<30 μm). Consequently, the membrane permeability reduced because of the irreversible fouling increase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autochthonous halophilic biomass was cultivated in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) aimed at analyzing the potential use of autochthonous halophilic activated sludge in treating saline industrial wastewater. Despite the high salt concentration (30 g NaCl L −1 ), biological oxygen demand (BOD) and total suspended solids (TSS), removal efficiencies were higher than 90%. More than 95% of the nitrogen was removed via a shortcut nitrification-denitrification process. Both the autotrophic and heterotrophic biomass samples exhibited high biological activity. The use of autochthonous halophilic biomass led to high-quality effluent and helped to manage the issues related to nitrogen removal in saline wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An innovative respirometric method was applied to evaluate the autotrophic active fraction in an alternate anoxic/oxic membrane bioreactor (MBR) pilot plant. The alternate cycle (AC) produces a complex microbiological environment that allows the development of both autotrophic and heterotrophic species in one reactor. The present study aimed to evaluate autotrophic and heterotrophic active fractions and highlight the effect of different aeration/non aeration ratios in a AC-MBR pilot plant using respirometry. The results outlined that the autotrophic active fraction values were consistent with the nitrification efficiency and FISH analyses, which suggests its usefulness for estimating the nitrifying population. Intermittent aeration did not significantly affect the heterotrophic metabolic activity but significantly affected the autotrophic biomass development. Finally, the heterotrophic active biomass was strongly affected by the wastewater characteristics, whereas the resultant autotrophic biomass was considerably affected by the duration of the aerated phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]