Previous studies have demonstrated that aerobic moving bed biofilm reactors (MBBRs) remove pharmaceuticals better than activated sludge. Thus we used a MBBR system to polish the effluent of an activated sludge wastewater treatment plant. To overcome that effluent contains insufficient organic matter to sustain enough biomass, the biofilm was intermittently fed with raw wastewater. The capacity of pharmaceutical degradation was investigated by spiking pharmaceuticals. Actual removal during treatment was assessed by sampling the inlets and outlets of reactors. The removal of the majority of pharmaceuticals was enhanced through the intermittent feeding of the MBBR. First-order rate constants for pharmaceutical removal, normalised to biomass, were significantly higher compared to other studies on activated sludge and suspended biofilms, especially for diclofenac, metoprolol and atenolol. Due to the intermittently feeding, degradation of diclofenac occurred with a half-life of only 2.1h and was thus much faster than any hitherto described wastewater bioreactor treatment.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2017.03.159 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Anticancer drugs alter active nitrogen-cycling communities with effects on the nitrogen removal efficiency of a continuous-flow aerobic granular sludge system.
Chemosphere
March 2025
Environmental Microbiology Group, Institute of Water Research, University of Granada, Granada, 18003, Spain; Department of Microbiology, University of Granada, Granada, 18071, Spain.
There is increasing awareness of the presence of anticancer drugs (ACDs) in wastewater. Nonetheless, how ACDs affect the performance of wastewater treatment systems and their microbial populations remains largely unclear. This study investigated the effects of three common ACDs (cyclophosphamide, tamoxifen, and methotrexate) at varying concentrations on physicochemical parameters and drug removal efficiency in an aerobic granular sludge (AGS) system operated in a continuous-flow reactor.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImpaired denitrification of aerobic granules in response to micro/nanoplastic stress: Insights from interspecies interactions and electron transfer processes.
Water Res
March 2025
National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Engineering Research Center of Beijing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China.
The accumulation of micro/nanoplastics in wastewater significantly hinders denitrification in biological wastewater treatment systems, yet the intrinsic mechanisms are not fully understood. Herein, we combined signal molecule monitoring, electrochemical characterization and multi-omics analysis to investigate how quorum sensing (QS)-mediated microbial interactions influence denitrification in aerobic granular sludge systems. Results showed that after 90-day exposure to micro/nanoplastics, cross-talk between multiple signal molecules significantly declined, thereby disrupting the QS system to opportunely sense changes in the external environment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExtreme thermophilic microbial inoculation for reducing NH and NO emissions in hyperthermophilic aerobic composting of refinery waste activated sludge.
J Environ Manage
March 2025
State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Pollution Control, Beijing Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Pollution Control, China University of Petroleum-Beijing, Beijing, 102249, China.
Ammonia (NH) and nitrous oxide (NO) release are the main causes of nitrogen loss during aerobic composting. In this study, hyperthermophilic aerobic composting of refinery waste activated sludge (RWAS) was performed by adding extreme thermophilic bacteria, and the effects of inoculation on NH and NO emissions were systematically studied. The results revealed that inoculation achieved hyperthermophilic aerobic composting (T group), increased maturity, and reduced NH and NO emissions by 32.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInvestigation of Suitable, Readily Available, Sources of Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria Inoculum, and Evaluation of Sulfate Reduction Rates Achieved at Different pHs.
Environ Microbiol Rep
April 2025
School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
This study investigated the suitability of readily available and naturally occurring sources of microorganisms (inoculum) to use for the cultivation of sulphate-reducing bacteria (SRB) for acid mine drainage (AMD) remediation. The selected inocula included AMD water (AMD), mud (MUD) and reed-bed mud (RM) from the AMD surrounds, mealworms (MW), cow dung (CD) and raw sewage sludge (RS). The suitability of the different inoculum sources was evaluated by comparing the SO reduction and sulfide (S) production rates at three different pHs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNew strategy for integration of anaerobic side-stream reactor with mainstream B-stage nitritation for short-cut nitrogen removal with granulation.
Water Environ Res
March 2025
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA.
This study reported a successful mainstream B-stage nitritation reactor with sludge granulation that incorporated a side-stream anaerobic reactor to treat municipal wastewater A-stage effluent. With influent COD/N and COD/P ratios of 2.60 and 27.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!