Physiochemical properties, heavy metal leaching characteristics and reutilization evaluations of solid ashes from municipal solid waste incinerator plants.

A clear understanding of the physicochemical, compositional, morphological properties and heavy metal leaching behaviours of municipal solid waste (MSW) incinerated fly ash (FA) and bottom ash (BA) are essential to guide their respective re-utilizations. In this study, FA and BA collected from three MSW incinerator plants located in Xiamen were systematically exploited. Results indicated that FA in the three plants exhibited more porous structures than BA, and the particle sizes of FA and BA were 45-295 μm and >3000 μm, respectively.

Gut digestion of earthworms significantly attenuates cell-free and -associated antibiotic resistance genes in excess activated sludge by affecting bacterial profiles.

Vermicomposting can significantly attenuate antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the excess activated sludge (EAS). However, the effect of earthworms, especially the effect of gut digestion as a critical step in the vermicomposting process, remains unclarified. The purpose of this study was to investigate the response of ARGs (cell-free and -associated) in EAS to gut digestion of earthworms and to clarify the possible mechanism from the viewpoint of bacterial community through quantitative polymer chain reaction (q-PCR) and high throughput sequencing.