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Fate of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in wastewater treatment sludge during storage and thermophilic anaerobic digestion.
- Source :
-
Environmental Research . Nov2022:Part 4, Vol. 214, pN.PAG-N.PAG. 1p. - Publication Year :
- 2022
-
Abstract
- Since the COVID-19 outbreak has started in late 2019, SARS-CoV-2 has been widely detected in human stools and in urban wastewater. No infectious SARS-CoV-2 particles have been detected in raw wastewater until now, but it has been reported occasionally in human stools. This has raised questions on the fate of SARS-CoV-2 during wastewater treatment and notably in its end-product, wastewater treatment sludge, which is classically valorized by land spreading for agricultural amendment. In the present work, we focused on SARS-CoV-2 stability in wastewater treatment sludge, either during storage (4 °C, room temperature) or thermophilic anaerobic digestion (50 °C). Anaerobic digestion is one of the possible processes for sludge valorization. Experiments were conducted in laboratory pilots; SARS-CoV-2 detection was based on RT-quantitative PCR or RT-digital droplet PCR. In addition to SARS-CoV-2, Bovine Coronavirus (BCoV) particles were used as surrogate virus. The RNA from SARS-CoV-2 particles, inactivated or not, was close to the detection limit but stable in wastewater treatment sludge, over the whole duration of the assays at 4 °C (55 days) and at ambient temperature (∼20 °C, 25 days). By contrast, the RNA levels of BCoV and inactivated SARS-CoV-2 particles decreased rapidly during the thermophilic anaerobic digestion of wastewater treatment sludge lasting for 5 days, with final levels that were close to the detection limit. Although the particles' infectivity was not assessed, these results suggest that thermophilic anaerobic digestion is a suitable process for sludge sanitation, consistent with previous knowledge on other coronaviruses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 00139351
- Volume :
- 214
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Environmental Research
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 159031846
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2022.114057