Data-driven systematic analysis of waterborne viruses and health risks during the wastewater reclamation process.

Waterborne viral epidemics are a major threat to public health. Increasing interest in wastewater reclamation highlights the importance of understanding the health risks associated with potential microbial hazards, particularly for reused water in direct contact with humans. This study focused on identifying viral epidemic patterns in municipal wastewater reused for recreational applications based on long-term, spatially explicit global literature data during 2000-2021, and modelled human health risks from multiple exposure pathways using a well-established quantitative microbial risk assessment methodology.

Membrane Life Cycle Management: An Exciting Opportunity for Advancing the Sustainability Features of Membrane Separations.

Membrane science and technology is growing rapidly worldwide and continues to play an increasingly important role in diverse fields by offering high separation efficiency with low energy consumption. Membranes have also shown great promise for "green" separation. A majority of the investigations in the field are devoted to the membrane fabrication and modification with the ultimate goals of enhancing the properties and separation performance of membranes.

Characterization of implementation limits and identification of optimization strategies for sustainable water resource recovery through life cycle impact analysis.

How we manage alternative freshwater resources to close the gap between water supply and demand is pivotal to the future of the environment and human well-being. Increased scarcity of water for agricultural irrigation in semi-arid and arid regions has resulted in a growing interest in water reuse practices. However, insight into the life cycle impacts and potential trade-offs of these emerging practices are still limited by the paucity of systematic evaluations of different water reuse implementations.

Stepwise pH control to promote synergy of chemical and biological processes for augmenting short-chain fatty acid production from anaerobic sludge fermentation.

Although sludge-converted short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are promising feedstocks for biorefineries, it remains challenging to maximise SCFA production by enhancing synergies between chemical/biological hydrolysis and acidogenesis processes while employing a balanced composition of microbial communities to counteract methanogenesis. Herein, stepwise control of fermentation pH and chemical/microbiological composition analysis of fermented sludge were used to probe the underlying mechanisms of SCFA production. Fermentation at pH 11 during the first three days promoted both chemical and microbial hydrolysis of sludge proteins and provided a niche for Anaerobrancaceae sp.