Role of initial pH in modulating sulfur cycle dynamics in sludge anaerobic fermentation.

The initial pH plays a crucial role in sludge anaerobic fermentation (AF), which affects short-chain fatty acids production. However, its effect on toxic hydrogen sulfide (HS) gas has been neglected. The results show that when the initial pH changes from 7 to 4 (9), the cumulative HS production increases (decreases) by 142 % (45.

Roles and opportunities of quorum sensing in natural and engineered anaerobic digestion systems.

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a biological process in which anaerobic microorganisms convert organic matter into methane-rich gas, contributing to the cycling of carbon and other nutrients. Quorum sensing (QS), a microbial communication mechanism, plays a critical role in regulating population-level behaviors within AD systems. This review systematically examines the roles and applications of QS in AD, emphasizing its importance in enhancing process efficiency.

Understanding bacterial ecology to combat antibiotic resistance dissemination.

The dissemination of antibiotic resistance from environmental sources is a growing concern. Despite the widespread occurrence of antibiotic resistance transmission events, there are actually multiple obstacles in the ecosystem that restrict the flow of bacteria and genes, in particular nonnegligible biological barriers. How these ecological factors help combat the dissemination of antibiotic resistance and relevant antibiotic resistance-diminishing organisms (ARDOs) deserves further exploration.

Cellulose/sodium alginate gel electrolyte membranes with synergistic hydrogen bonding and metal ion coordination networks for high performance aqueous zinc-ion batteries.

Cellulose has outstanding potential for application in energy storage batteries due to its high temperature resistance, high electrolyte affinity, renewability, and suppression of the shuttle effect, but single cellulose membranes still suffer from problems such as inhomogeneous pore distribution and unstable three-dimensional network structure. In this study, a green and sustainable regenerative cellulose (RC)/sodium alginate (SA) gel electrolyte membrane is developed by sol-gel process, the double crosslinked network scaffold centered on Zn was constructed by the synergistic hydrogen-bonding and metal ion- coordination network, the stable and uniform pore structure was also formed. The obtained RC-SA gel electrolyte membrane exhibits outstanding performance, featuring a dual crosslinked network with abundant pore structure and numerous polar groups that effectively enhance Zn transport, significantly improving battery cycling performance.

Hormesis-like effects of black phosphorus nanosheets on the spread of multiple antibiotic resistance genes.

The production scalability and increasing demand for black phosphorus nanosheets (BPNSs) inevitably lead to environmental leakage. Although BPNSs' ecotoxicological effects have been demonstrated, their indirect health risks, such as inducing increased resistance in pathogenic bacteria, are often overlooked. This study explores the influence of BPNSs on the horizontal gene transfer of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) facilitated by the RP4 plasmid, which carries multiple resistance genes.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances exacerbate the prevalence of plasmid-borne antibiotic resistance genes by enhancing natural transformation, in vivo stability, and expression in bacteria.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as emerging pollutants are ubiquitous and disrupt biological processes across water boundaries. Their coexistence with antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in water matrix is associated with the spread of ARGs via conjugative transfer, posing a threat to public health. However, their role in natural transformation-where microorganisms actively take up extracellular ARGs (eARGs)-and the subsequent persistence and expression of ARGs after transformation remains poorly understood.

Machine learning prediction of fundamental sewage sludge biochar properties based on sludge characteristics and pyrolysis conditions.

Sewage sludge biochar (SSBC) has significant potential for resource recovery from sewage sludge (SS) and has been widely studied and applied across various fields. However, the variability in SSBC properties, resulting from the diverse nature of SS and its intricate interaction with pyrolysis conditions, presents notable challenges to its practical use. This research employed machine learning techniques to predict fundamental SSBC properties, including elemental content, proximate compositions, surface area, and yield, which are essential for assessing the applicability of SSBC.

Non-antibiotic disinfectant synchronously interferes methane production and antibiotic resistance genes propagation during sludge anaerobic digestion: Activation of microbial adaptation and reconfiguration of bacteria-archaea synergies.

Waste activated sludge (WAS) presents both resource recovery potential and pollution risks, making its efficient treatment challenging. Anaerobic digestion is broadly recognized as a green and sustainable approach to WAS treatment, whose efficiency is easily impacted by the exogeneous pollutants in WAS. However, the impact of polyhexamethylene guanidine (PHMG), as a widely-used non-antibiotic disinfectant, on WAS digestion under semi-continuous flow conditions remains unclear.

The fate of atenolol in wastewater treatment plants of representative densely urban agglomerations in China.

Atenolol (ATL) that can decrease heart rate and reduce renin release is extensively used in the treatment of hypertension, angina, and other diseases. ATL's popularity has therefore drawn attention to its environmental behavior and potential impacts. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are the main collection point for ATL entering the water environment, highlighting the necessity of studying its fate in the environment.

Promoting effects of bioplastics and sludge anaerobic co-fermentation for carboxylates production with pH regulation: Insights into the plastic structure, microbial metabolic traits, and adaptive mechanism.

Biodegradable plastics (BPs) are presenting new challenges for their reutilization. This work found that volatile fatty acids (VFAs) production by co-fermentation of BPs with waste activated sludge (WAS) reached 4-37 times of the WAS fermentation alone, which was further amplified by pH regulation (especially alkaline regulation). Moreover, the VFAs composition is highly associated with BPs category.

Mechanistic insights into FeO-mediated inhibition of HS gas production in sludge anaerobic digestion.

The addition of iron-based conductive materials has been extensively validated as a highly effective approach to augment methane generation from anaerobic digestion (AD) process. In this work, it was additionally discovered that FeO notably suppressed the production of hazardous HS gas during sludge AD. As the addition of FeO increased from 0 to 20 g/L, the accumulative HS yields decreased by 89.

Effects of dietary supplementation with medicinal plant mixtures and immunostimulants on the immune response, antioxidant capacity, and hepatopancreatic health of Chinese mitten crab ().

Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of tea polyphenols (TP) and medicinal plant mixtures ( + , Bail + + ) combined with astaxanthin (AST), benzoic acid (BA), and yeast complex on the health status of .

Method: A total of 630 crabs (male crabs: 41.51 ± 1.

The resistance of hydrogenotrophic methanogenic microorganisms to ofloxacin in sludge anaerobic digestion process.

Ofloxacin (OFL) is a commonly used antibiotic that can enter wastewater treatment plants and be adsorbed by the sludge, resulting in a high OFL concentration in sludge and affecting the subsequent sludge anaerobic digestion process. However, the micro mechanisms involved in this process have not been thoroughly studied. Therefore, this study focuses on the effect of OFL on the sludge anaerobic digestion of sludge to provide such support.

Tris (2-chloroethyl) phosphate presence inhibits methane production from anaerobic digestion: Alterations in organic matter transformation, cell physiological status, and microbial community.

Organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs) are widely used in consumer products, leading to their unavoidable release into the environment, especially accumulation in anaerobic environments and posing potential risks. This study focused on Tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP), a representative OPFR, to investigate its effects on carbon transformation and methane production in anaerobic digestion. Increasing TCEP concentrations from control to 16 mg/L resulted in decreased cumulative methane yield (from 235.

Efficient degradation of venlafaxine using intimately coupled high-active crystal facets exposed TiO and biodegradation system: Kinetic studies, biofilm stress behavior and transformation mechanism.

Intimately coupled photocatalysis and biodegradation (ICPB) system is a potential wastewater treatment technology, of which TiO-based ICPB system has been widely studied. There are many ways to improve the degradation efficiency of the ICPB process, but no crystal facet engineering method has been reported yet. In this work, a new ICPB system coated with NaF-TiO exposing high energy facets was designed to degrade biorecalcitrant psychotropic drug - venlafaxine (VNF).

Mitigation of Triclocarban Inhibition in Microbial Electrolysis Cell-Assisted Anaerobic Digestion.

Triclocarban (TCC), as a widely used antimicrobial agent, is accumulated in waste activated sludge at a high level and inhibits the subsequent anaerobic digestion of sludge. This study, for the first time, investigated the effectiveness of microbial electrolysis cell-assisted anaerobic digestion (MEC-AD) in mitigating the inhibition of TCC to methane production. Experimental results showed that 20 mg/L TCC inhibited sludge disintegration, hydrolysis, acidogenesis, and methanogenesis processes and finally reduced methane production from traditional sludge anaerobic digestion by 19.

Exposure of polyethylene microplastics affects sulfur migration and transformation in anaerobic system.

Polyethylene (PE) microplastic, which is detected in various environmental media worldwide, also inevitably enters wastewater treatment plants, which may have an impact on anaerobic processes in wastewater treatment. In this work, the effect of PE microplastics on anaerobic sulfur transformation was explored. Experimental results showed that PE microplastics addition at 0.

The Impact of Bisphenol A on the Anaerobic Sulfur Transformation: Promoting Sulfur Flow and Toxic HS Production.

Bisphenol A (BPA), as a typical leachable additive from microplastics and one of the most productive bulk chemicals, is widely distributed in sediments, sewers, and wastewater treatment plants, where active sulfur cycling takes place. However, the effect of BPA on sulfur transformation, particularly toxic HS production, has been previously overlooked. This work found that BPA at environmentally relevant levels (i.

Spatial pattern of China's rural digital economy based on subjective-Objective evaluation: Evidence from 2085 counties.

The rural digital economy plays an essential role in China's industrial upgrading, transformation, and urban-rural integration. To determine the state of China's rural digital economy, we constructed a county-level evaluation system using the subjective-objective evaluation method and calculated the digital economic levels of 2085 counties. Then, we analyzed the spatial distribution characteristics, spatial autocorrelation pattern, spatial disequilibrium degree, and spatial driving force of the rural digital economy at the county level using spatial analysis technology and a self-organizing feature mapping model.

Effects of Mixtures of Engineered Nanoparticles and Cocontaminants on Anaerobic Digestion.

The widespread application of nanotechnology inevitably leads to an increased release of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) into the environment. Due to their specific physicochemical properties, ENPs may interact with other contaminants and exert combined effects on the microbial community and metabolism of anaerobic digestion (AD), an important process for organic waste reduction, stabilization, and bioenergy recovery. However, the complicated interactions between ENPs and other contaminants as well as their combined effects on AD are often overlooked.

Construction of multiple crosslinked networks for the preparation of high-performance lignin-containing cellulose nanofiber reinforced polyvinyl alcohol films.

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) film, a promising alternative to non-biodegradable plastic packaging films for food and medical packaging, is limited by poor water resistance. In this work, a simple solvent evaporation self-assembly was used to construct a nanophase separation structure to establish dense interfacial hydrogen bonding, covalent bonding and iron metal ion coordination interactions between lignin-containing cellulose nanofibers (LCNFs) and PVA matrix to improve the interfacial force and solve the problem of poor compatibility of LCNFs in PVA. The iron ion (Fe) coordination tended to combine with the more active lignin phenolic hydroxyl group to construct the nanophase separation structure.

Benzethonium chloride affects short chain fatty acids produced from anaerobic fermentation of waste activated sludge: Performance, biodegradation and mechanisms.

Benzethonium chloride (BZC) is viewed as a promising disinfectant and widely applied in daily life. While studies related to its effect on waste activated sludge (WAS) anaerobic fermentation (AF) were seldom mentioned before. To understand how BZC affects AF of WAS, production of short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), characteristics of WAS as well as microbial community were evaluated during AF.

Efficient photo-driven ion pump through slightly reduced vertical graphene oxide membranes.

Solar energy can be harvested using biological light-driven ion pumps for the sustainability of life. It remains a significant challenge to develop high-performance artificial light-driven ion pumps for solar energy harvesting in all solid-state materials. Here, we exploit the benefits of short channel lengths and efficient light absorption to demonstrate efficient photo-driven ion transport in slightly reduced vertical graphene oxide membranes (GOMs).