Search

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) wastewater surveillance has become an increasingly important tool since the initial moments of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, mainly conducted at a large population scale. However, the large-sized sewersheds may not provide suitable information for monitoring localized outbreaks. After the declaration of a community COVID-19 outbreak in two neighborhoods of Castellón (Spain), SARS-CoV-2 RNA levels were monitored in wastewater samples. Moreover, genomic sequencing was performed. Thirty-three samples were collected in 2020, distributed over three points of the sewage network, two of which were close to the areas where the cases were declared. The third point was located at the inlet of the municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). The samples were analyzed by RT-qPCR, using specific N1 and N2 target regions. The sum of confirmed cases, with the date of symptoms onset within the 3 weeks before each sampling day, was calculated. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected on most days in the two sampling points at neighborhood level, and the detection became negative when the number of cases with symptoms onset during the last 21 days in the study areas decreased to 0 or 1 case. The genomic sequencing performed for RNA from wastewater and clinical samples showed the same variant. The detection of SARS-CoV-2 and the subsequent non-detection provided the epidemiologists in charge of controlling the outbreak with useful information to confirm its closure, complementing the clinical and epidemiological data. Our findings illustrate the value of wastewater surveillance for localized outbreaks, especially in situations of low incidence of COVID-19 at the broader community level.

[EN] The potential of microbial communities for efficient anaerobic conversion of raw microalgae was evaluated in this work. A long-term operated thermophilic digester was fed with three different Organic Loading Rates (OLR) (0.2, 0.3 and 0.4¿g·L¿1·d¿1) reaching 32¿41% biodegradability values. The microbial community analysis revealed a remarkable presence of microorganisms that exhibit high hydrolytic capabilities such as Thermotogae (~44.5%), Firmicutes (~17.6%) and Dictyoglomi, Aminicenantes, Atribacteria and Planctomycetes (below ~5.5%) phyla. The suggested metabolic role of these phyla highlights the importance of protein hydrolysis and fermentation when only degrading microalgae. The ecological analysis of the reactor suggests the implication of the novel group EM3 in fermentation and beta-oxidation pathways during microalgae conversion into methane. Scenedesmus spp. substrate and free ammonia concentration strongly shaped thermophilic reactor microbial structure. Partial Least Square Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) remarked the resilient role of minor groups related to Thermogutta, Armatimonadetes and Ruminococcaceae against a potential inhibitor like free ammonia. Towards low-cost biogas production from microalgae, this study reveals valuable information about thermophilic microorganisms that can strongly disrupt microalgae and remain in high solids retention anaerobic digesters.

[EN] Ruminal fluid was inoculated in an Anaerobic Membrane Reactor (AnMBR) to produce biogas from raw Scenedesmus. This work explores the microbial ecology of the system during stable operation at different solids retention times (SRT). The 16S rRNA amplicon analysis revealed that the acclimatised community was mainly composed of Anaerolineaceae, Spirochaetaceae, Lentimicrobiaceae and Cloacimonetes fermentative and hydrolytic members. During the highest biodegradability achieved in the AnMBR (62%) the dominant microorganisms were Fervidobacterium and Methanosaeta. Different microbial community clusters were observed at different SRT conditions. Interestingly, syntrophic bacteria Gelria and Smithella were enhanced after increasing 2-fold the organic loading rate, suggesting their importance in continuous systems producing biogas from raw microalgae.

[EN] An anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) pilot plant treating kitchen food waste (FW) jointly with urban wastewater was run for 536 days. Different operational conditions were tested varying the sludge retention time (SRT), the hydraulic retention time (HRT) and the penetration factor (PF) of food waste disposers. COD removal efficiency exceeded 90% in all tested conditions. The joint treatment resulted in an almost 3-fold increase in methane production (at 70 days of SRT, 24 h HRT and 80% PF) in comparison with the treatment of urban wastewater only. Mathematical model simulations and Illumina technology were used to obtain in-depth information of this outstanding process performance. Both the PF and SRT factors increased influent biodegradability. The experimental results were accurately reproduced via model simulations modifying only the influent biodegradability. The high SRT and the presence of ground FW in the influent resulted in higher hydrolytic activity. Not only did the Archaea population increase 3-fold but Levilinea genera was also significantly raised. Three new genera characterised by anaerobic fermentation of amino acids (Leptolinea, Aminomonas and Aminobacterium) were among the ten most abundant of the total sequences identified during the joint treatment, indicating an improvement in the hydrolysis step of anaerobic degradation. Influent biodegradability remained at high values when FW addition stopped.

[EN] Anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBRs) can achieve maximum energy recovery from urban wastewater (UWW) by converting influent COD into methane. The aim of this study was to assess the anaerobic biodegradability limits of urban wastewater with AnMBR technology by studying the possible degradation of the organic matter considered as non-biodegradable as observed in aerobic membrane bioreactors operated at very high sludge retention times. For this, the results obtained in an AnMBR pilot plant operated at very high SRT (140 days) treating sulfate-rich urban wastewater were compared with those previously obtained with the system operating at lower SRT (29 to 70 days). At 140 days SRT the organic matter biodegraded by the AnMBR system accounted for 64.4% of the influent COD (45.9% was removed by sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB), and only 18.5% was converted into methane, highlighting the strong competition between SRB and methanogenic archaea (MA) when treating sulfate-rich wastewater). Almost half of the methane produced (46%) was dissolved in the permeate and most of it was recovered by a degassing membrane. The organic matter biodegraded by the AnMBR system was similar to the influent anaerobic biodegradability determined by wastewater characterization assays (68.5% of the influent COD), indicating that nearly all the influent's biodegradable organic matter had been removed. This percentage of degraded COD was similar to that obtained in previous studies working at 70 days SRT, showing that the limit of anaerobic biodegradability was already reached in this SRT. The organic matter considered as non-biodegradable according to wastewater characterization assays therefore was not seen to degrade in the AnMBR pilot plant, even at very high SRT. Once the biodegraded COD is close to the influent's anaerobic biodegradability, increasing the SRT is not justified as it only leads to higher operational costs for the same biogas production. These findings support the use of

[EN] This research work proposes an innovative water resource recovery facility (WRRF) for the recovery of energy, nutrients and reclaimed water from sewage, which represents a promising approach towards enhanced circular economy scenarios. To this aim, anaerobic technology, microalgae cultivation, and membrane technology were combined in a dedicated platform. The proposed platform produces a high-quality solid- and coliform-free effluent that can be directly discharged to receiving water bodies identified as sensitive areas. Specifically, the content of organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorus in the effluent was 45 mg COD.L-1 , 14.9 mg N.L-1 and 0.5 mg P.L-1 , respectively. Harvested solar energy and carbon dioxide biofixation in the form of microalgae biomass allowed remarkable methane yields (399 STP L CH 4.kg(-1) CODinf ) to be achieved, equivalent to theoretical electricity productions of around 0.52 kWh per m 3 of wastewater entering the WRRF. Furthermore, 26.6% of total nitrogen influent load was recovered as ammonium sulphate, while nitrogen and phosphorus were recovered in the biosolids produced (650 +/- 77 mg N.L-1 and 121.0 +/- 7.2 mg P.L-1).

[EN] Anaerobic digestion of indigenous Scenedesmus spp. microalgae was studied in continuous lab-scale anaerobic reactors at different temperatures (35 degrees C and 55 degrees C), and sludge retention time - SRT (50 and 70 days). Mesophilic digestion was performed in a continuous stirred-tank reactor (CSTR) and in an anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR). Mesophilic CSTR operated at 50 days SRT only achieved 11.9% of anaerobic biodegradability whereas in the AnMBR at 70 days SRT and 50 days HRT reached 39.5%, which is even higher than the biodegradability achieved in the thermophilic CSTR at 50 days SRT (30.4%). Microbial analysis revealed a high abundance of cellulose-degraders in both reactors, AnMBR (mainly composed of 9.4% Bacteroidetes, 10.1% Chloroflexi, 8.0% Firmicutes and 13.2% Thermotogae) and thermophilic CSTR (dominated by 23.8% Chloroflexi and 12.9% Firmicutes). However, higher microbial diversity was found in the AnMBR compared to the thermophilic CSTR which is related to the SRT. since high SRT promoted low growth-rate microorganisms, increasing the hydrolytic potential of the system. These results present the membrane technology as a promising approach to revalue microalgal biomass, suggesting that microalgae biodegradability and consequently the methane production could be improved operating at higher SRT. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[EN] Notorious changes in microbial communities were observed during and after the joint treatment of wastewater with Food Waste (FW) in an Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor (AnMBR) plant. The microbial population was analysed by high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and dominance of Chloroflexi, Firmicutes, Synergistetes and Proteobacteria phyla was found. The relative abundance of these potential hydrolytic phyla increased as a higher fraction of FW was jointly treated. Moreover, whereas Specific Methanogenic Activity (SMA) rose from 10 to 51 mL CH4 g(-1) VS, Methanosarcinales order increased from 34.0% over 80.0% of total Archaea, being Methanosaeta the dominant genus. The effect of FW over AnMBR biomass was observed during the whole experience, as methane production rose from 49.2 to 144.5 L CH4 . kg(-1) influent COD. Furthermore, biomethanization potential was increased over 82% after the experience. AnMBR technology allows the established microbial community to remain in the bioreactor even after the addition of FW, improving the anaerobic digestion of urban wastewater. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[EN] This research work proposes an innovative layout for urban wastewater treatment based on anaerobic technology, microalgal cultivation and membrane technology. The proposed Water Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF) system can treat urban wastewater efficiently, complying with legal discharge limits and allowing for resource recovery, i.e. energy, nutrients and reclaimed water. In addition, the proposed layout produces less solid wastes than a conventional wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and it is possible to recover energy as biogas, not only from the original wastewater sources but also from the biomass generated in the WRRF system.