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Sustainable provision of chemicals and materials is undoubtedly a defining factor in guaranteeing economic, environmental, and social stability of future societies. Among the most sought-after chemical building blocks are volatile fatty acids (VFAs). VFAs such as acetic, propionic, and butyric acids have numerous industrial applications supporting from food and pharmaceuticals industries to wastewater treatment. The fact that VFAs can be produced synthetically from petrochemical derivatives and also through biological routes, for example, anaerobic digestion of organic mixed waste highlights their provision flexibility and sustainability. In this regard, this review presents a detailed overview of the applications associated with petrochemically and biologically generated VFAs, individually or in mixture, in industrial and laboratory scale, conventional and novel applications.

Antibiotic resistance in aquatic ecosystems presents an environmental health issue worldwide. Urban recipient water quality is susceptible to effluent discharges with antibiotic resistance contaminants and needs to be protected, particularly for those as sources of drinking water production. Knowledge on aquatic resistome profiles in downstream of wastewater treatment plants allows a better understanding of the extent to which antibiotic resistance contaminants emerge and spread in recipient waters, but such information remains very limited in Sweden. The key objective of this study was to determine the resistome profiles of numerous antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), mobile genetic elements (MGEs) and other genes in urban recipient water systems connected to Sweden's major drinking water reservoir. This was achieved through analysis of surface water samples for 296 genes using high-throughput quantitative PCR arrays. A total of 167 genes were detected in at least one of the samples, including 150 ARGs conferring resistance to 11 classes of antibiotics, 7 integrase MGEs and 9 other genes. There was a spatial difference in the resistome profiles with the greatest average relative abundance of resistance genes observed in the water body of Vasteras followed by Uppsala, Stockholm and Eskilstuna, as similar to the general pattern of the antibiotic sales for these regions. ARGs against beta-lactams and sulfonamides showed the highest average relative abundance in the studied water bodies, while vancomycin resistance genes were only found in the Uppsala water environment. Generally, the recipient water bodies were detected with higher numbers of genes and greater relative abundances as compared to the upstream sites. Anthropogenic pollution, i.e., wastewater discharge, in the recipient water was also reflected by the finding of intI, sul1 and crAssphage. Overall, this study provided the first quantitative assessment of aquatic environmental resistomes in Sweden, highlighting the widespread of antibiotic resistance contaminants in urban recipient waters.

Solar disinfection (SODIS) is a WHO-accepted intervention method for improving water sources in developing countries. Despite its effectiveness, the limitations of long exposure and bacterial regrowth risk demand further improvement of the practice. In this work, we have generated an iron oxide film on the inner surface of PET bottles used in SODIS, to generate further pathways of solar-mediated inactivation, namely a semiconductor mode of action and controlled iron leaching in the system, which both have demonstrated bactericidal capacity. More specifically, in this Part 1, the deposition process using Fe salts has been scrutinized, assessing the use of various homogeneous Fe precursors (FeCl3, FeSO4 and Fe2(SO4)3), amounts of iron (0.5–20 g/L) and deposition time (1–8 h) to find the delicate balance among deposition layer thickness and light penetration. At the optimal conditions (4 h deposition, 1 g/L FeCl3) SODIS was enhanced, reducing 60% the exposure time; a simple washing step brought a further reduction (70%), while eliminating regrowth in volumes from 330 up to 1500 mL reactors. A robust process and reactor was attained, able to reuse its precursor solution almost 10 times and the reactor in 5 consecutive tests, without the need for re-deposition. The modification also proved to be an invaluable iron source to fuel the photo-Fenton process, when H2O2 as an electron acceptor was added to the system. The improvement induced by the heterogeneous photo-Fenton process was around 80% compared to the SODIS/H2O2 process in plain PET bottles and exceeded 85% when compared to SODIS, while being durable to the high oxidative conditions. Finally, in the view of application in drinking water treatment, the process performed well in the lightly acidic region, due to the physicochemical implications of natural waters’ pH in iron cycling.

International audience; Even though sulfur compounds and their transformations may strongly affect wastewater treatment processes,their importance in water resource recovery facilities (WRRF) operation remains quite unexplored, notablywhen it comes to full-scale and plant-wide characterization. This contribution presents afirst-of-a-kind, plant-wide quantification of total sulfur massflows for all water and sludge streams in a full-scale WRRF. Because ofits important impact on (post-treatment) process operation, the gaseous emission of sulfur as hydrogen sulfide(H2S) was also included, thus enabling a comprehensive evaluation of sulfurflows. Data availability and qualitywere optimized by experimental design and data reconciliation, which were applied for thefirst time to total sul-furflows. Total sulfurflows were successfully balanced over individual process treatment units as well as theplant-wide system with only minor variation to their original values, confirming that total sulfur is a conservativequantity. The two-stage anaerobic digestion with intermediate thermal hydrolysis led to a decreased sulfur con-tent of dewatered sludge (by 36%). Higher (gaseous) H2S emissions were observed in the second-stage digester(42% of total emission) than in thefirst one, suggesting an impact of thermal treatment on the production of H2S.While the majority of sulfur massflow from the influent left the plant through the treated effluent (> 95%), thesulfur discharge through dewatered sludge and gaseous emissions are critical. The latter are indeed responsiblefor odour nuisance, lower biogas quality, SO2emissions upon sludge combustion and corrosion effects.

This paper guides decision making in more sustainable urban water management practices that feed into a circular economy by presenting a novel framework for conceptually designing and strategically planning wastewater treatment processes from a resource recovery perspective. Municipal wastewater cannot any longer be perceived as waste stream because a great variety of technologies are available to recover water, energy, fertilizer, and other valuable products from it. Despite the vast technological recovery possibilities, only a few processes have yet been implemented that deserve the name water resource factory instead of wastewater treatment plant. This transition relies on process designs that are not only technically feasible but also overcome various non-technical bottlenecks. A multidimensional and multidisciplinary approach is needed to design water resource factories (WRFs) in the future that are technically feasible, cost effective, show low environmental impacts, and successfully market recovered resources. To achieve that, the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) design space needs to be opened up for a variety of expertise that complements the traditional wastewater engineering domain. Implementable WRF processes can only be designed if the current design perspective, which is dominated by the fulfilment of legal effluent qualities and process costs, is extended to include resource recovery as an assessable design objective from an early stage on. Therefore, the framework combines insights and methodologies from different fields and disciplines beyond WWTP design like, e.g., circular economy, industrial process engineering, project management, value chain development, and environmental impact assessment. It supports the transfer of the end-of-waste concept into the wastewater sector as it structures possible resource recovery activities according to clear criteria. This makes recovered resources more likely to fulfil the conditions of the end-of-waste concept and allows the change in their definition from wastes to full-fledged products.

This paper proposes the use of hydrogen oxidizing bacteria (HOB) for the removal of orthophosphate from surface water as treatment step to prevent cyanobacterial blooms. To be effective as an orthophosphate removal strategy, an efficient transfer of hydrogen to the HOB is essential. A trickling filter was selected for this purpose. Using this system, a removal rate of 11.32 ± 0.43 mg PO4−3-P/L.d was achieved. The HOB biomass, developed on the trickling filter, is composed of 1.25% phosphorus on dry matter, which suggests that the orthophosphate removal principle is based on HOB growth. Cyanobacterial growth assays of the untreated and treated water showed that Synechocystis sp was only able to grow in the untreated water. Orthophosphate was removed to average residual values of 0.008 mg/L. In this proof of principle study, it is shown that HOB are able to remove orthophosphate from water to concentrations that prevent cyanobacterial growth.

The development and activity of a cold-adapting microbial community was monitored during low-temperature anaerobic digestion (LtAD) treatment of wastewater. Two replicate hybrid anaerobic sludge bed-fixed-film reactors treated a synthetic sewage wastewater at 12°C, at organic loading rates of 0.25–1.0 kg chemical oxygen demand (COD) m−3 d−1, over 889 days. The inoculum was obtained from a full-scale anaerobic digestion reactor, which was operated at 37°C. Both LtAD reactors readily degraded the influent with COD removal efficiencies regularly exceeding 78% for both the total and soluble COD fractions. The biomass from both reactors was sampled temporally and tested for activity against hydrolytic and methanogenic substrates at 12°C and 37°C. Data indicated that significantly enhanced low-temperature hydrolytic and methanogenic activity developed in both systems. For example, the hydrolysis rate constant (k) at 12°C had increased 20–30-fold by comparison to the inoculum by day 500. Substrate affinity also increased for hydrolytic substrates at low temperature. Next generation sequencing demonstrated that a shift in a community structure occurred over the trial, involving a 1-log-fold change in 25 SEQS (OTU-free approach) from the inoculum. Microbial community structure changes and process performance were replicable in the LtAD reactors., This paper explores low-temperature anaerobic digestion of a synthetic sewage-based wastewater with a focus on microbial community adaptation when using a mesophilic starting community.

Published version

The high total phosphorus content of raw domestic wastewater with its significant eutrophication potential offers an excellent possibility for phosphate recovery. Continuous recirculation of NF concentrate to an MBR and simultaneous phosphate recovery from the NF concentrate can be applied to produce reusable water, recovering phosphates, while at the same time decreasing the scaling potential of the recirculated NF concentrate, prolonging the retention times of slowly biodegradable soluble compounds (e.g. micropollutants) and recirculating multivalent cations to promote the bio-flocculation. Here we introduce an electrochemical system to recover phosphates. An electrochemical cell was divided into an anode and a cathode compartment separated by a cation exchange membrane. Precipitation of phosphates from nanofiltration concentrate was induced by locally increasing the pH at the cathode surface by water electrolysis and thereby creating supersaturated conditions at the cathode. 70–95% recovery of total phosphate was achieved at a pH of 8–10 near the cathode. Ion analysis, XRD and ATR-FTIR spectra indicated that the precipitate consisted of amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) and minor proportions of amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC). The amount of ACC was dependent on the pH. Calcium phosphate scaling at the cathode surface did not occur due to H2-gas formation preventing nucleation and growth at the cathode.

This paper comprises a selection tool for water disinfection methods for fresh produce pre- and postharvest practices. A variety of water disinfection technologies is available on the market and no single technology is the best choice for all applications. It can be difficult for end users to choose the technology that is best fit for a specific application. Therefore, the different technologies were characterized in order to identify criteria that influence the suitability of a technology for pre- or postharvest applications. Introduced criteria were divided into three principal components: (i) criteria related to the technology and which relate to the disinfection efficiency, (ii) attention points for the management and proper operation, and (iii) necessities in order to sustain the operation with respect to the environment. The selection criteria may help the end user of the water disinfection technology to obtain a systematic insight into all relevant aspects to be considered for preliminary decision making on which technologies should be put to feasibility testing for water disinfection in pre- and postharvest practices of the fresh produce chain.

Bu çalışma, Bursa Uludağ Üniversitesi Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü Ayşe Elmacı'in danışmanlığında Nihan Özengin tarafından yazılan "Farmasötik ürünlerinin sulak alan sisteminde arıtılabilirliğinin araştırılması" adlı doktora tezine dayanılarak hazırlanmıştır. The aim of this study is to determine the appropriateness of the field measurements for the effectiveness of nutrients removal of Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. Ex. Steudel by applying artificial neural network (ANN) and also evaluate the removal capacity of LECA (light expanded clay aggregate) in a horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetland (SSFW). Two laboratory scale reactors were operated with weak and strong synthetic domestic wastewater continuously. One unit was planted with P. australis and the other unit remained unplanted (control reactor). The best performance was achieved with strong domestic wastewater treatment, the average removal efficiencies obtained from the evaluation of the system were 70.15% and 65.29% for TN, 66% and 57.4% for NH4-N, 61.64% and 67.37% for TP and, 66.52% and 51.7% for OP in planted and unplanted reactors, respectively. The average NO3- concentration was 0.90 mg l(-1) in the influent and 0.47 mg l(-1) and 0.60 mg l(-1) from planted and unplanted reactors, respectively. The average NO2- concentration was 0.80 mg l(-1) in the influent and 0.56 mg l-1 and 0.88 mg l(-1) from planted and unplanted reactors, respectively. Based on the obtained results, this system has potential to be an applicable system to treat strong domestic wastewater. The data obtained in this study was assessed using NeuroSolutions 5.06 model. Each sample was characterized using eight independent variables (hydraulic retention time (HRT), dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, temperature (T), ammonium-nitrogen (NH4-N), nitrate (NO3-), nitrite (NO2-), ortho-phosphate (OP), and two dependent variable (total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP)). The correlation coefficients between the neural network estimates and field measurements were as high as 0.9463 and 0.9161 for TN and TP, respectively. The results indicated that the adopted Levenberg-Marquardt back-propagation algorithm yields satisfactory estimates with acceptably low MSE values. Besides, the support matrix may play an important role in the system. The constructed wetland planted with P. australis and with LECA as a support matrix may be a good option to encourage and promote the prevention of environmental pollution.

Understanding fate of antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) versus their antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) during wastewater sludge treatment is critical in order to reduce the spread of antibiotic resistance through process optimization. Here, we spiked high concentrations of tetracycline-resistant bacteria, isolated from mesophilic (Iso M1-1- a Pseudomonas sp.) and thermophilic (Iso T10- a Bacillus sp.) anaerobic digested sludge, into batch digesters and monitored their fate by plate counts and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (QPCR) of their corresponding tetracycline ARGs. In batch studies, spiked ARB plate counts returned to baseline (thermophilic) or 1-log above baseline (mesophilic) while levels of the ARG present in the spiked isolate (tet(G)) remained high in mesophilic batch reactors. To compare results under semi-continuous flow conditions with natural influent variation, tet(O), tet(W), and sul1 ARGs, along with the intI1 integrase gene, were monitored over a 9-month period in the raw feed sludge and effluent sludge of lab-scale thermophilic and mesophilic anaerobic digesters. sul1 and intI1 in mesophilic and thermophilic digesters correlated positively (Spearman rho = 0.457 to 0.829, P

An anaerobic fluidized bed membrane bioreactor (AFMBR) is a new and effective method for energy-efficient treatment of low strength wastewater, but the factors that affect performance are not well known. Different inocula and acclimation methods of the granular activated carbon (GAC) used in the reactor were examined here to determine their impact on chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal and microbial community composition of domestic wastewater-fed AFMBRs. AFMBRs inoculated with anaerobic digester sludge (D) or domestic wastewater (W) and fed domestic wastewater, or inoculated with a microbiologically diverse anaerobic bog sediment and acclimated using methanol (M), all produced the same COD removal of 63 +/- 12% using a diluted wastewater feed (100 +/- 21 mg L-1 COD). However, an AFMBR with GAC inoculated with anaerobic digester sludge and acclimated using acetate (A) showed significantly increased wastewater COD removal to 84 +/- 6%. In addition, feeding the AFMBR with the M-acclimated GAC with an acetate medium for one week subsequently increased COD removal to 70 +/- 6%. Microbial communities enriched on the GAC included Geobacter, sulfur-reducing bacteria, Syntrophaceae, and Chlorobiaceae, with reactor A having the highest relative abundance of Geobacter. These results showed that acetate was the most useful substrate for acclimation of GAC communities, and GAC harbors unique communities relative to those in the AFMBR influent and recirculated solution.

The performance of polyurethane rotating discs (RBC-1) versus polystyrene rotating discs (RBC-2) for the treatment of an up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor effluent fed with domestic wastewater was investigated. Both RBC units were operated at the same organic loading rate (OLR) of 10.5 gCOD/m 2 d. and a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 2.5 h. The residual values of COD fractions (COD suspended , COD colloidal and COD soluble ) in the treated effluent of RBC-1 and RBC-2 were similar. However, the removal efficiency of ammonia in the RBC-1 (87 ± 4%) was significantly higher than that found for RBC-2 i.e. 24 ± 6%. Moreover, RBC-1 achieved a substantial removal efficiency of 99.0 ± 1% for Escherichia coli ( E. coli ), while RBC-2 removed 91.2 ± 0.3%. Based on these results, optimization of RBC-1 treating UASB reactor effluent was extensively performed. The RBC-1 was operated at an OLR's of 4.0, 11 and 23 gCOD/m 2 d. The results obtained showed that increasing the OLR from 11.0 to 23.0 gCOD/m 2 d and decreasing the HRT from 2.5 to 1.25 h significantly declined the effluent quality of COD total and ammonia. However, the residual values of COD total and ammonia remained unaffected when increasing the OLR from 4.0 to 11.0 gCOD/m 2 d and by decreasing the HRT from 5 to 2.5 h. Bacteriological examination showed that the mean residual count of E. coli remained at a level of 10 4 /100 ml, in the effluent of RBC-1 independent on the imposed HRT. Accordingly, it is recommended to operate RBC-1 for treatment of anaerobically pre-treated sewage at an OLR of 11 gCOD/m 2 d and an HRT of 2.5 h. A feed-less (ammonia limitation) period of 9.0 days followed by 9.0 days feeding with high OLR of 26 gCOD/m 2 d. (raw sewage) was investigated to elaborate, if the nitrifiers of the RBC-1 are capable to convert ammonia to nitrate after totally 18 days when retuning back to the normal operating conditions. The results of the experiment clearly show a strong and immediate detrimental effect of imposing high OLR of 26 gCOD/m 2 d on the nitrification process in the nitrifying RBC unit. However, after returning back to the original OLR of 10.6 gCOD/m 2 d, the nitrification efficiency in the RBC unit was recovered within 2–3 days.

For human pharmaceuticals, sewage treatment plants (STPs) are a major point of entry to surface waters. The receiving waters provide vital functions. Modeling the impact of STPs on susceptible functions of the surface water system allows for a spatially smart implementation of abatement options at, or in the service area of, STPs. This study was performed on a nation-wide scale for the Netherlands. Point source emissions included were 345 Dutch STPs and nine rivers from neighboring countries. The Dutch surface waters were represented by 2511 surface water units. Modeling was performed for two extreme discharge conditions. Monitoring data of 7 locations along the rivers Rhine and Meuse fall mostly within the range of modeled concentrations. Half of the abstracted volumes of raw water for drinking water production, and a quarter of the Natura 2000 areas (European Union nature protection areas) hosted by the surface waters, are influenced by STPs at low discharge. The vast majority of the total impact of all Dutch STPs during both discharge conditions can be attributed to only 19% of the STPs with regard to the drinking water function, and to 39% of the STPs with regard to the Natura 2000 function. Attributing water treatment technologies to STPs as one of the possible measures to improve water quality and protect susceptible functions can be done in a spatially smart and cost-effective way, using consumption-based detailed hydrological and water quality modeling.

Around all human activity, there are zones of pollution with pesticides, heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, personal care products and the microorganisms associated with human waste streams and agriculture. This diversity of pollutants, whose concentration varies spatially and temporally, is a major challenge for monitoring. Here, we suggest that the relative abundance of the clinical class 1 integron-integrase gene, intI1, is a good proxy for pollution because: (1) intI1 is linked to genes conferring resistance to antibiotics, disinfectants and heavy metals; (2) it is found in a wide variety of pathogenic and nonpathogenic bacteria; (3) its abundance can change rapidly because its host cells can have rapid generation times and it can move between bacteria by horizontal gene transfer; and (4) a single DNA sequence variant of intI1 is now found on a wide diversity of xenogenetic elements, these being complex mosaic DNA elements fixed through the agency of human selection. Here we review the literature examining the relationship between anthropogenic impacts and the abundance of intI1, and outline an approach by which intI1 could serve as a proxy for anthropogenic pollution. Published version

The consumption of pharmaceuticals is increasing in both hospitals and households. After administration, many compounds enter the water cycle as parent compounds or their metabolites via excretion. Conventional municipal wastewater treatment plants are unable to efficiently remove all the different compounds found in sewage and, consequently, treated effluents are one of the main sources of persistent micropollutants in the environment. Hospital patients are administered relatively high quantities of drugs and therefore hospital wastewaters can consistently contribute to treatment plant influent loads, with the magnitude of environmental risk posed by pharmaceuticals originating from hospital effluents largely unknown. This study has therefore developed a framework to enable authorities responsible for hospital management and environmental health to evaluate such risk, considering site-specific information such as the contribution of human population and hospital sizes, wastewater treatment removal efficiency, and potential dilution in the receiving water body. The framework was applied to three case studies, that are representative of frequent situations in many countries, and findings demonstrated that the degree of risk posed by any compound was site-specific and depended on a combination of several factors: compound concentration and toxicity, compound removal efficiency in the wastewater treatment plant and dilution factor. Ofloxacin, 17α-ethinylestradiol, erythromycin and sulfamethoxazole were identified as compounds of concern and might require management in order to reduce risk.

High loaded MBRs (HL-MBR) can concentrate sewage organic matter by aerobic bioflocculation for subsequent anaerobic conversion to methane or volatile fatty acids. In the range of very short solid retention times (SRT), the effect of SRT on bioflocculation and EPS production in HL-MBR was investigated. This short SRT range was selected to find an optimum SRT maximising recovery of organics by aerobic bioflocculation and minimizing losses of organics by aerobic mineralization. Bioflocculation was studied in five HL-MBRs operated at SRTs of 0.125, 0.25, 0.5, 1 and 5 d. The extent of flocculation, defined as the fraction of suspended COD in the concentrate, increased from 59% at an SRT of 0.125 d to 98% at an SRT of 5 d. The loss of sewage organic matter by biological oxidation was 1, 2, 4, 11 and 32% at SRT of 0.125-5 d. An SRT of 0.5-1 d gave best combination of bioflocculation and organic matter recovery. Bound extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) concentrations, in particular EPS-protein concentrations, increased when the SRT was prolonged from 0.125 to 1 d. This suggests that these EPS-proteins govern the bioflocculation process. A redistribution took place from free (supernatant) EPS to bound (floc associated) EPS when the SRT was prolonged from 0.125 to 1 d, further supporting the fact that the EPS play a dominant role in the flocculation process. Membrane fouling was most severe at the shortest SRTs of 0.125 d. No positive correlation was detected between the concentration of free EPS and membrane fouling, but the concentration of submicron (45-450 nm) particles proved to be a good indicator for this fouling.

The activity of denitrifying methanotrophic bacteria at 11–30 °C was assessed in short-term experiments. The aim was to determine the feasibility of applying denitrifying methanotrophic bacteria in low-temperature anaerobic wastewater treatment. This study showed that biomass enriched at 21 °C had an optimum temperature of 20–25 °C and that activity dropped as temperature was increased to 30 °C. Biomass enriched at 30 °C had an optimum temperature of 25–30 °C. These results indicated that biomass from low-temperature inocula adjusted to the enrichment temperature and that low-temperature enrichment is suitable for applications in low-temperature wastewater treatment. Biomass growth at ≤20 °C still needs to be studied.

The filtering function of soil is an important ecosystem service for groundwater and surface water protection. The efficiency of soils as a filter depends on the behaviour of pollutants in the soil and the hydrological transport processes. This paper aims to identify knowledge gaps in processes influencing pollutant behaviour in soils and their potential transport to groundwater. Currently most soil-filter function research is approached from two disciplines, one originating from agronomical/environmental sciences; one from more fundamental hydrological process research. Combining insights and approaches from both disciplines through collaboration could lead to better understanding of this complex system and enhance assessments of management strategy changes, both over the long term as well as in different climatic settings.

The application of phosphorus (P)-sorbing materials offers a possible solution for treating municipal wastewater and agricultural runoff. In this paper we discuss P retention and release mechanisms, and review studies on the P retention of different materials and their use as reactive media in filter beds. The main mechanisms for P retention are sorption on metal (mostly Fe or Al) hydroxide surfaces and, in alkaline conditions, the formation of Ca-P precipitates. The retention of P is strongly affected by the chemical composition of a material, its particle size and pH-related effects on sorption and precipitation both during testing and in practical operation. Laboratory tests are sensitive to solution chemistry (pH, alkalinity, ionic strength and composition, P concentration) and affected by material-to-solution ratio, contact time and agitation. Moreover, due to deviations from realistic field conditions, laboratory tests may produce imprecise estimates of the retention capacity and retention kinetics. In particular, materials that contain soluble substances (e.g., CaO) that elevate the pH of the ambient solution to high levels may in batch tests suggest a high capacity for P retention, but will most probably show much lower retention in field settings. On the other hand, materials containing metal oxides also retain P via slow reactions, and their retention capacity may be underestimated in short equilibrations. Appropriate laboratory test procedures will depend on their intended applications and material properties. Long-term field-scale tests are few in number, but some of them have shown promising results. Field-scale tests have, however, highlighted the design of the filters as a critical factor in their efficiency.

International audience; The effect of erythromycin on activated sludge bacteria according to their Gram type was investigated with 3-dimensional Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM) time-lapse imaging. The fluorescent stains SYTOX Green and Texas Red-X conjugate of wheat germ agglutinin stained dying bacteria and Gram(+) bacteria respectively. Time-lapse imaging allowed an understanding of the staining mechanism and the measurement of the death rate. In presence of erythromycin (10 mg/L), Gram(+) bacteria had a higher mortality rate than the Gram(-) bacteria. This result suggests that antibiotic in wastewater could change the activated sludge bacteria composition, according to their Gram type by selecting the bacteria which are the least sensitive to the antibiotics. However bacterial death was followed by bacterial disintegration leading to a decrease in the fluorescence. Results suggested that the viability indicators based on membrane integrity should be used with a correct sampling method, which can give the initial quantity of living bacteria.

This research was aimed at studying oxidation processes, coliform inactivation effectiveness and disinfection byproducts (DBPs) associated with the disinfection of anaerobic sanitary wastewater effluent with ozone applied at doses of 5.0, 8.0 and 10.0mg O(3)L(-1) for contact times of 5, 10 and 15 min. The wastewater used in this research was generated by the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), University of São Paulo - Brazil. The total coliform inactivation range was 2.00-4.06 log(10), and the inactivation range for Escherichia coli was 2.41-4.65 log(10). Mean chemical oxygen demand (COD) reductions were 37.6%, 48.8% and 42.4% for doses of 5.0, 8.0 and 10.0mg O(3)L(-1), respectively. Aldehyde formation varied with dosage only when the ozone dose was increased from 5.0 to 8.0mg O(3)L(-1) for acetaldehyde and from 5.0 to 8.0 and from 8.0 to 10.0mg O(3)L(-1) for glyoxal.

Arsenic poisoning is a global problem. It is known that groundwater in Bangladesh and West Bengal predominantly contains As(III) and concentrations of Fe(II) which are often too low for removal of arsenic in optimum quantities. To eliminate arsenic from drinking water, several basic methods such as coagulation, adsorption, ion exchange, filtration, membrane processes, are reported. To deal with this issue on a small to large scale, we present a novel approach to remove arsenic and iron from water by constructed soil filter (CSF). In CSF, As (III) is oxidized to As(V) by media via natural oxidation and subsequently, arsenic is co-precipitated with iron. Here water containing arsenic, iron, and phosphate is passed through the CSF media at the rate of 100 ml/min. Results show a mean residence time of 8.6 min and a holdup of 1.85 l. Results of six runs show that with initial As(III) of 300 µg/l and iron concentration of 5-10 mg/l, residual arsenic levels below 10 ppb and residual iron

In response to water scarcity and an increased recognition of the risks associated with the presence of chemical contaminants, environmental engineers have developed advanced water treatment systems that are capable of converting municipal wastewater effluent into drinking water. This practice, which is referred to as potable water reuse, typically relies upon reverse osmosis (RO) treatment followed by exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light and addition of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). These two treatment processes individually are capable of controlling many of the chemical and microbial contaminants in wastewater; however, a few chemicals may still be present after treatment at concentrations that affect water quality., Low-molecular weight (, To avoid the expense associated with managing the concentrate produced by RO, environmental engineers have begun to employ alternative treatment barriers. The use of alternatives such as nanofiltration, ozonation followed by biological filtration, or activated carbon filtration avoids the problems associated with the production and disposal of RO concentrate, but they may allow a larger number of chemical contaminants to pass through the treatment process. In addition to the transformation products and solvents that pose risks in the RO-UV/H2O2 system, these alternative barriers are challenged by larger, polar compounds that are not amenable to oxidation, such as perfluoroalkyl acids and phosphate-containing flame retardants. To fully protect consumers who rely upon potable water reuse systems, new policies are needed to prevent chemicals that are difficult to remove during advanced treatment from entering the sewer system. By using knowledge about the composition of municipal wastewater and the mechanisms through which contaminants are removed during treatment, it should be possible to safely reuse municipal wastewater effluent as a drinking water source.

Over the last years, the photo-Fenton process has been established as an effective, green alternative to chemical disinfection of waters and wastewaters. Microorganisms' inactivation is the latest success story in the application of this process at near-neutral pH, albeit without clearly elucidated inactivation mechanisms. In this review, the main pathways of the combined photo-Fenton process against the most frequent pathogen models (Escherichia coli for bacteria and MS2 bacteriophage for viruses) are analyzed. Firstly, the action of solar light is described and the specific inactivation mechanisms in bacteria (internal photo-Fenton) and viruses (genome damage) are presented. The contribution of the external pathways due to the potential presence of organic matter in generating reactive oxygen species (ROS) and their effects on microorganism inactivation are discussed. Afterwards, the effects of the gradual addition of Fe and H2O2 are assessed and the differences among bacterial and viral inactivation are highlighted. As a final step, the simultaneous addition of both reagents induces the photo-Fenton in the bulk, focusing on the differences induced by the homogeneous or heterogeneous fraction of the process and the variation among the two respective targets. This work exploits the accumulated evidence on the mechanisms of bacterial inactivation and the scarce ones towards viral targets, aiming to bridge this knowledge gap and make possible the further application of the photo-Fenton process in the field of water/wastewater treatment.