Synthesis and efficiency comparison of reed straw-based biochar as a mesoporous adsorbent for ionic dyes removal.

The reed straw is assessed as a potential source of widely available renewable biomass for biochar production and compared with two other waste-based biomasses, namely fruit stones blend, and brewery spent grains. The biochars were activated via steam and CO. While steam activation yielded 12 % carbon from reed biomass, CO activation resulted in biomass degradation.

Evidence of waste management impacting severe diarrhea prevalence more than WASH: An exhaustive analysis with Brazilian municipal-level data.

Adequate housing protects from diarrhea, which is a substantial health concern in low- and middle-income countries. The purpose of this study was to quantify the relationship between severe diarrhea and housing features at the municipal level to help in public health planning. Regression analyses were performed on annual (2000-2012) datasets on Brazilian municipalities (5570) in six household feature categories (e.

Comparative life cycle assessment of activated carbon production from various raw materials.

Activated carbon (AC) is an effective adsorbent in water treatment but its production method has significant emissions to the environment. This study aims to quantify the environmental impacts of various AC types and determine whether raw material selection could reduce the footprint of AC. A cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted on coal, coconut shell, wood, peat, and reactivated coal ACs.

The dangerous transporters: A study of microplastic-associated bacteria passing through municipal wastewater treatment.

Microplastics (MPs) provide a stable and protective habitat for diverse wastewater bacteria, including pathogenic and antibiotic-resistant species. Therefore, MPs may potentially transport these bacteria through wastewater treatment steps to the environment and far distances. This study investigated bacterial communities of MP-associated bacteria from different stages of municipal wastewater treatment processes to evaluate the potential negative effect of these biofilms on the environment.

Solar disinfection - An appropriate water treatment method to inactivate faecal bacteria in cold climates.

Solar disinfection (SODIS) is an inexpensive drinking water treatment method applied in tropical and sub-tropical low-income countries. However, it has been unclear whether it functions adequately also in colder climates. To investigate this issue, SODIS experiments were performed in the humid continental climate of Finland by exposing faecally contaminated drinking water to natural solar radiation at different water temperatures (8-23 °C) and UV intensities (12-19 W/m) in polyethylene (PE) bags.

Evaluating the nitrogen-contaminated groundwater treatment by a denitrifying granular sludge bioreactor: effect of organic matter loading.

A sequential bed granular bioreactor was adapted to treat nitrate-polluted synthetic groundwater under anaerobic conditions and agitation with denitrification gas, achieving very efficient performance in total nitrogen removal at influent organic carbon concentrations of 1 g L (80-90%) and 0.5 g L (70-80%) sodium acetate, but concentrations below 0.5 g L caused accumulation of nitrite and nitrate and led to system failure (30-40% removal).

Decreased natural organic matter in water distribution decreases nitrite formation in non-disinfected conditions, via enhanced nitrite oxidation.

Nitrite in drinking water is a potentially harmful substance for humans, and controlling nitrite formation in drinking water distribution systems (DWDSs) is highly important. The effect of natural organic matter (NOM) on the formation of nitrite in simulated distribution systems was studied. The objective was to inspect how a reduced NOM concentration affected nitrite development via nitrification, separated from the effects of disinfection.

A Comparative Study on Rapid Wastewater Treatment Response to Refugee Crises.

Large-scale population displacement can overwhelm wastewater treatment facilities and increase environmental pollution in the host communities. Academic research has discussed features that improve wastewater treatment systems' resiliency toward other types of disasters and rapidly changing operation conditions. Concepts that contribute to successful startup, refurbishment, and operation of biological treatment systems during refugee responses are yet to be identified.

Dataset for natural organic matter treatment by tailored .

The dataset presented here are collected for tailoring biochars from pinecone biomass through chemical modification for the adsorption of natural organic matter (NOM) from lake water. The data includes schematics, figures and tables. The characterization of biomass and tailored biochars by Brunauer, Emmett and Teller surface area measurement (BET), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) along with the adsorption of NOM from lake water by the tailored bichars and the desorption using alkaline solution are provided.

Recovery of nitrogen and phosphorus from human urine using membrane and precipitation process.

The nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) contents in human urine have been recovered using struvite precipitation and N-stripping techniques. Struvite precipitation technique recovers mainly phosphorus whereas N-stripping technique only recovers nitrogen. In this study, we developed an NPharvest technique which recovered both nitrogen and phosphorus separately in the same process, enabling their use independently.

Effect of sulfadiazine and trimethoprim on activated sludge performance and microbial community dynamics in laboratory-scale membrane bioreactors and sequencing batch reactors at 8°C.

The effect of antibiotics sulfadiazine and trimethoprim on activated sludge operated at 8°C was investigated. Performance and microbial communities of sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) and Membrane Bioreactors (MBRs) were compared before and after the exposure of antibiotics to the synthetic wastewater. The results revealed irreversible negative effect of these antibiotics in environmentally relevant concentrations on nitrifying microbial community of SBR activated sludge.

Application of microbial fuel cell technology for wastewater treatment and electricity generation under Nordic countries climate conditions: Study of performance and microbial communities.

Two microbial fuel cells were inoculated with activated sludge from Finland and operated under moderate (25 °C) and low (8 °C) temperatures. Operation under real urban wastewater showed similarities in chemical oxygen demand removal and voltage generated, although moderate temperature supported higher ammonium oxidation. Fungi disappeared in the microbial fuel cell operated at temperature of 25 °C.

The Seasonality of Nitrite Concentrations in a Chloraminated Drinking Water Distribution System.

We studied the seasonal variation of nitrite exposure in a drinking water distribution system (DWDS) with monochloramine disinfection in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. In Finland, tap water is the main source of drinking water, and thus the nitrite in tap water increases nitrite exposure. Our data included both the obligatory monitoring and a sampling campaign data from a sampling campaign.

Development of an Extended ASM3 Model for Predicting the Nitrous Oxide Emissions in a Full-Scale Wastewater Treatment Plant.

An Activated Sludge Model #3 (ASM3) based, pseudomechanistic model describing nitrous oxide (NO) production was created in this study to provide more insight into the dynamics of NO production, consumption, and emissions at a full-scale wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). NO emissions at the studied WWTP are monitored throughout the plant with a Fourier transform infrared analyzer, while the developed model encountered NO production in the biological reactors via both ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) nitrification and heterotrophic denitrifiers. Additionally, the stripping of NO was included by applying a K a-based approach that has not been widely used before.

Linking the Effect of Antibiotics on Partial-Nitritation Biofilters: Performance, Microbial Communities and Microbial Activities.

The emergence and spread of antibiotics resistance in wastewater treatment systems have been pointed as a major environmental health problem. Nevertheless, research about adaptation and antibiotics resistance gain in wastewater treatment systems subjected to antibiotics has not been successfully developed considering bioreactor performance, microbial community dynamics and microbial activity dynamics at the same time. To observe this in autotrophic nitrogen removal systems, a partial-nitritation biofilter was subjected to a continuous loading of antibiotics mix of azithromycin, norfloxacin, trimethoprim, and sulfamethoxazole.

Performance and microbial community structure of a polar Arctic Circle aerobic granular sludge system operating at low temperature.

The aim of this work was to study the performance and microbial community structure of a polar Arctic Circle aerobic granular sludge (AGS) system operating at low temperature. Thus, an AGS bioreactor was operated at 7, 5 and 3 °C of temperature using a cold-adapted sludge from Lapland. At 5 °C, it yielded acceptable conversion rates, in terms of nitrogen, phosphorous, and organic matter.

Microbial ecology of full-scale wastewater treatment systems in the Polar Arctic Circle: Archaea, Bacteria and Fungi.

Seven full-scale biological wastewater treatment systems located in the Polar Arctic Circle region in Finland were investigated to determine their Archaea, Bacteria and Fungi community structure, and their relationship with the operational conditions of the bioreactors by the means of quantitative PCR, massive parallel sequencing and multivariate redundancy analysis. The results showed dominance of Archaea and Bacteria members in the bioreactors. The activated sludge systems showed strong selection of Bacteria but not for Archaea and Fungi, as suggested by diversity analyses.

Chitosan⁻Zinc(II) Complexes as a Bio-Sorbent for the Adsorptive Abatement of Phosphate: Mechanism of Complexation and Assessment of Adsorption Performance.

This study examines zinc(II)⁻chitosan complexes as a bio-sorbent for phosphate removal from aqueous solutions. The bio-sorbent is prepared and is characterized via Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Point of Zero Charge (pH)⁻drift method. The adsorption capacity of zinc(II)⁻chitosan bio-sorbent is compared with those of chitosan and ZnO⁻chitosan and nano-ZnO⁻chitosan composites.

Bacterial diversity and population shifts driven by spotlight wastewater micropollutants in low-temperature highly nitrifying activated sludge.

In this study the influence of low-temperature (8°C), sludge retention time (SRT) and loading of spotlight wastewater micropollutants (MPs) on bacterial community of activated sludge was investigated with a special focus on nitrification. Two Sequencing batch reactors (SBR) and two membrane bioreactors (MBR) were operated with synthetic municipal-like wastewater receiving and not receiving ibuprofen, diclofenac, estrone and 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2). Bacterial population studies were related to removal efficiencies of studied MPs.

Start-up and operation of an aerobic granular sludge system under low working temperature inoculated with cold-adapted activated sludge from Finland.

An aerobic granular sludge system has been started-up and operated at 7°C temperature using cold-adapted activated sludge as inoculum. The system could form granular biomass due to batch operation allowing for just 5-3min of biomass sedimentation. Scanning electron microscopy showed that fungi helped in the granular biomass formation in the early stages of the granule formation.

Nitrogen and Phosphorus Harvesting from Human Urine Using a Stripping, Absorption, and Precipitation Process.

Human urine contains significant amounts of N (nitrogen) and P (phosphorus); therefore it has been successfully used as fertilizer in different crops. But the use of urine as fertilizer has several constraints, such as, the high cost of transportation, an unpleasant smell, the risk of pathogens, and pharmaceutical residue. A combined and improved N stripping and P precipitation technique is used in this study.

Toxicological impacts of antibiotics on aquatic micro-organisms: A mini-review.

Antibiotics are found globally in the environment at trace levels due to their extensive consumption, which raises concerns about the effects they can have on non-target organisms, especially environmental micro-organisms. So far the majority of studies have focused on different aspects of antibiotic resistance or on analyzing the occurrence, fate, and removal of antibiotics from hospital and municipal wastewaters. Little attention has been paid to ecotoxicological effects of antibiotics on aquatic micro-organisms although they play a critical role in most ecosystems and they are potentially sensitive to these substances.

Chemical Synthesis and Self-Assembly of a Ladderane Phospholipid.

Ladderane lipids produced by anammox bacteria constitute some of the most structurally fascinating yet poorly studied molecules among biological membrane lipids. Slow growth of the producing organism and the inherent difficulty of purifying complex lipid mixtures have prohibited isolation of useful amounts of natural ladderane lipids. We have devised a highly selective total synthesis of ladderane lipid tails and a full phosphatidylcholine to enable biophysical studies on chemically homogeneous samples of these molecules.

16S rRNA gene-based characterization of bacteria potentially associated with phosphate and carbonate precipitation from a granular autotrophic nitrogen removal bioreactor.

A bench-scale granular autotrophic nitrogen removal bioreactor (completely autotrophic nitrogen removal over nitrite (CANON) system) used for the treatment of synthetic wastewater was analyzed for the identification of microbiota with potential capacity for carbonate and phosphate biomineral formation. 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene-based studies revealed that different bacterial species found in the granular biomass could trigger the formation of phosphate and calcite minerals in the CANON bioreactor. iTag analysis of the microbial community in the granular biomass with potential ability to precipitate calcium carbonate and hydroxyapatite constituted around 0.