Municipal wastewater discharge is widespread and one of the sources of coastal eutrophication, and is especially uncontrolled in developing and undeveloped coastal regions. Mangrove forests are natural filters of pollutants in wastewater. There are three paradigms of mangroves for municipal wastewater treatment and the selection of the optimal one is a multi-criteria decision-making problem. Combining intuitionistic fuzzy theory, the Fuzzy Delphi Method and the fuzzy analytical hierarchical process (AHP), this study develops an intuitionistic fuzzy AHP (IFAHP) method. For the Fuzzy Delphi Method, the judgments of experts and representatives on criterion weights are made by linguistic variables and quantified by intuitionistic fuzzy theory, which is also used to weight the importance of experts and representatives. This process generates the entropy weights of criteria, which are combined with indices values and weights to rank the alternatives by the fuzzy AHP method. The IFAHP method was used to select the optimal paradigm of mangroves for treating municipal wastewater. The entropy weights were entrained by the valid evaluation of 64 experts and representatives via online survey. Natural mangroves were found to be the optimal paradigm for municipal wastewater treatment. By assigning different weights to the criteria, sensitivity analysis shows that natural mangroves remain to be the optimal paradigm under most scenarios. This study stresses the importance of mangroves for wastewater treatment. Decision-makers need to contemplate mangrove reforestation projects, especially where mangroves are highly deforested but wastewater discharge is uncontrolled. The IFAHP method is expected to be applied in other multi-criteria decision-making cases.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2017.12.102 | DOI Listing |
Environ Res
January 2025
National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China.
Quorum quenching consortia (QQC) enriched by special substrates for bioaugmentation is a promising QQ technology to reduce biofouling, sludge yield, and sludge bulking. However, the effect of substrate type on the performance of QQC is still a research gap. This study selected three different substrates, regular AHLs (N-octanoyl-l-homoserine lactone, C8), 3-oxo-AHLs (3-oxo-octanoyl)-l-homoserine lactone, 3-oxo-C8), and AHLs analogs (γ-caprolactone, GCL) to enrich three QQC (C8-QQC, 3OC8-QQC, GCL-QQC).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Res
January 2025
National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China. Electronic address:
Dinotefuran (DIN) is toxic to non-target organisms and accelerates the evolution of antibiotic resistance, which poses a problem for the stable operation of the activated sludge process in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). However, the emergence and the transfer mechanism of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in activated sludge systems under DIN stress remains unclear. Thus, in the study, the potential impact of DIN on ARGs and virulence factor genes (VFGs) in aerobic granular sludge (AGS) was investigated in depth using metagenomic binning and functional modules.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Environ Manage
January 2025
State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China; Research Center of Environmental Pollution Control Technology, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China. Electronic address:
Microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitous in aquatic environments, threatening the security of aquatic organisms. Identifying the emission node and hot spot of MPs holds significant importance in the pollution control of MPs. Wastewater is widely recognized as sink and source of MPs, while the direct evidence is insufficient.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Environ Manage
January 2025
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA. Electronic address:
As global phosphorus (P) stores rapidly decline, P fed algal blooms continue to threaten critical freshwater resources across the globe. In the Midwestern United States (US), particularly the Corn Belt, biorefineries could play a key role in addressing this issue. By recovering P from the byproducts of ethanol production these facilities could reduce the P content of distillers grain feed, thereby reducing P excreted in manures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Total Environ
January 2025
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, School of Digital Sciences and Engineering, Nazarbayev University, Astana 010000, Republic of Kazakhstan; Laboratory of Environmental Systems, National Laboratory Astana, Nazarbayev University, Astana 010000, Republic of Kazakhstan. Electronic address:
This study aimed to quantify the environmental impact of microplastic (MP) emissions from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) using life cycle assessment (LCA). The investigation comprehensively evaluated the contribution of MPs to overall WWTP midpoint and endpoint impacts, with a detailed analysis of the influence of particle size, shape, polymer type, and the environmental costs and benefits of individual wastewater treatment processes on MP removal. The LCA model was developed using SimaPro software, with impact assessments conducted via the USEtox framework and the IMPACT World+ methodology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!