Soluble microbial products (SMPs) in a sequencing batch reactor with novel cake filtration system

Culturing partial-denitrification (PD) granules in continuous flow reactor with waste sludge as inoculum: performance, granular sludge characteristics and microbial community

Partial denitrification granular sludge (PDGS) can provide long-term stable nitrite for anaerobic ammonia oxidation (anammox). The cultivation of ordinary activated sludge from wastewater treatment plants into PDGS can further promote the application of PD in practical engineering. In this study, the feasibility of fast start-up of PDGS was explored by inoculating waste sludge in up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor with synergistic control of nitrogen load rate (NLR, 0.05-0.65 kg N/m3/d) and electron donor starvation (EDS) (240-168 mg L-1), and system performance, particle characteristics and microbial structure were studied. The results showed that PD-UASB started successfully within 48 days, the average nitrite accumulation rate (NTR) and nitrate removal ratio (NRR) reached 79.6% and 82.5% after successful initiation, accompanied by high abundance of PD bacteria (Thauera, Pseudomonas, unclassflied commamonadaceae and Limnobacter) (25.3%). The increase of PD activity, and the difference between nitrate reductase (NAR) and nitrite reductase (NIR) contributed to nitrite production. Besides, the sludge shifted from flocculated (≤0.5 mm, 95.37%) to granulated state (0.5-2 mm, 64.74%), which could be due to the increase of extracellular polymers (EPS) (especially T-EPS) and metabolism of specific microorganisms (Bacteroidota and Chloroflexi, 19.92%). Good sludge granulation promoted the settleability of PD (the SVI5 was 47.248 mL/ g. ss after successful start-up). In summary, good PD sludge granulation process could be achieved in a short time by synergistically controlling NLR and EDS.

Impacts of bio-carriers on the characteristics of cake layer and membrane fouling in a novel hybrid membrane bioreactor for treating mariculture wastewater

Membrane fouling is generally considered as a major bottleneck to the wide application of membrane bioreactor (MBR) for high saline mariculture wastewater treatment. Though numerous researches have investigated the membrane fouling of MBR combined with bio-carriers, few studies reveal the impacts of bio-carriers on the characteristics of cake layer and the mechanism of bio-carriers alleviating membrane fouling. In this study, two systems, namely carriers-enhanced MBR (R1) and conventional MBR (R2) were parallel operated, drawing a conclusion that bio-carriers effectively improved the characteristics of cake layer, thus mitigating membrane fouling. Fluorescence excitation emission matrix (EEM) analysis indicated that bio-carriers reduced the adhesion of proteins and humic acid-like materials on membrane surface. Molecular weight (Mw) distribution suggested that soluble microbial products (SMP) with small Mw (6-20 kDa) and biopolymers in extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) (50-300 kDa) was easier to accumulate on membrane surface in R2. The above results indicated that the presence of bio-carriers could effectively reduce the attachment of these organics on membrane surface, contributing to a larger porosity of cake layer and thus mitigating membrane fouling. Meanwhile, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) clarified that more components were present in R2 than R1. Moreover, the majority of compounds in the SMP were present in both systems, while only 14 compounds in the EPS were the same between R1 and R2. Noticeably, certain aromatics only existed in R2, suggesting that bio-carriers effectively reduced the accumulation of recalcitrant materials, especially aromatics. These results revealed that bio-carriers shifted the precise composition of cake layers.

Monitoring dissolved organic matter in wastewater and drinking water treatments using spectroscopic analysis and ultra-high resolution mass spectrometry

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) plays a critical role in determining the quality of wastewater and the safety of drinking water. This is the first review to compare two types of popular DOM monitoring techniques, including absorption spectroscopy and fluorescence excitation-emission matrices (EEMs) coupled with parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) vs. Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS), for the applications in wastewater and drinking water treatments. The optical techniques provide a series of indices for tracking the quantity and quality of chromophoric and fluorescent DOM, while FT-ICR-MS is capable of identifying thousands of DOM compounds in wastewater and drinking water at the molecule level. Both types of monitoring techniques are increasingly used in studying DOM in wastewater and drinking water treatments. They provide valuable insights into the variability of DOM composition in wastewater and drinking water. The complexity and diversity of DOM highlight the challenges for effective water treatments. Different effects of various treatment processes on DOM are also assessed, which indicates that the information on DOM composition and its removal is key to optimize the treatment processes. Considering notable progress in advanced treatment processes and novel materials for removing DOM, it is important to continuously utilize these powerful monitoring tools for assessing the responses of different DOM constituents to a series of treatment processes, which can achieve an effective removal of DOM and the quality of treated water.

Effect of circulation and micro-aeration on sludge characteristics and microbial community in an ABR for treating traditional Chinese medicine wastewater

The effects of circulation reflux and micro-aeration on the performance of a modified anaerobic baffled reactor (ABR) for treatment of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) wastewater were evaluated. The characteristics of anaerobic sludge and microbial community structure in the modified ABR were also investigated. The results indicated that with conditions of reflux ratio of 1, reflux ratio of 2, reflux ratio of 2 with micro-aeration, and reflux ratio of 3, the modified ABR achieved an average COD removal efficiency of 90%, 87.7%, 87.8%, and 88.4%, respectively. In addition, the NH₃-N average removal efficiency was 45.1%, 50%, 55.9%, and 55.4%, respectively. The analysis of excitation-emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence spectra of soluble microbial products (SMP) and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) showed that there were tyrosine-like, aromatic protein-like, and coenzyme F₄₂₀ substances in the sludge. The EPS were analysed by the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), which showed that aromatic compounds were partially degraded, while the protein and polysaccharide compounds increased in each compartment of the modified ABR. Interestingly, the microbial community of anaerobic sludge analysis results showed that Chloroflexi was the dominant in the first, third and fourth compartments. Meanwhile, Levilinea and Methanothrix were the dominant species in the first and third compartments at the genus level.

Fate and role of fluorescence moieties in extracellular polymeric substances during biological wastewater treatment: A review

In biological wastewater treatment systems, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) are continuously excreted as a response to environmental changes and substrate conditions. It could severely affect the treatment efficacy such as membrane fouling, dewaterability and the formation of carcinogenic disinfection by-products (DBPs). The heterogeneous dissolved organic matter (DOM) with varying size and chemical nature constitute a primary proportion of EPS. In the last few decades, fluorescence spectroscopy has received increasing attention for characterizing these organic substances due to the attractive features of this low-cost spectroscopic approach, including easy sample handling, rapid, non-destructive and highly sensitive nature. In this review, we summarize the application of fluorescence spectroscopy for characterizing EPS and provide the potential implications for online monitoring of water quality along with its limitations. We also link the dynamics of fluorescent dissolved organic matter (FDOM) in EPS with operational and environmental changes in wastewater treatment systems as well as their associations with metal binding, membrane fouling, adsorption, toxicity, and dewaterability. The multiple modes of exploration of fluorescence spectra, such as synchronous spectra with or without coupling with two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2D-COS), excitation-emission matrix (EEM) deconvoluted fluorescence regional integration (FRI), and parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) are also discussed. The potential fluorescence indicators to depict the composition and bulk characteristics of EPS are also of interest. Further studies are highly recommended to expand the application of fluorescence spectroscopy paired with appropriate supplementary techniques to fully unravel the underlying mechanisms associated with EPS.

Effect of temperature on the characterization of soluble microbial products in activated sludge system with special emphasis on dissolved organic nitrogen

Previous research has focused on dissolved organic carbon (DOC) as a surrogate for soluble microbial products (SMPs) and found that temperature has a significant influence on the production of SMP-based DOC (SDOC) during biological processes. Little is known about the SMP-based dissolved organic nitrogen (SDON), although some nitrogenous organic matter has been identified as an important part of SMPs. This study investigated the effect of temperature (8 °C, 15 °C and 25 °C) on the characterization of SMPs in an activated sludge system with special emphasis on SDON. Results showed the positive effect of reduced temperature on SDON production. Fluorescence spectroscopy and ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry showed the produced SDON at 8 °C and 15 °C exhibits more lability than at 25 °C. This was also supported by the algal bioassay, indicating the SDON produced at low temperature is highly bioavailable and prone to stimulate algae and microorganisms. In addition, principal component analysis demonstrated that the effect of temperature on the chemical characterization of SDON is different from that of SDOC. Overall, this study highlights the importance of SDON control during biological processes at a low temperature to reduce the potential impact of effluent SMPs on receiving waters or wastewater reuse.

Characterization of partial-denitrification (PD) granular sludge producing nitrite: Effect of loading rates and particle size

The granule-based partial-denitrification (PD) reactor can achieve an efficient nitrite production for anammox process. In this study, the PD granules were successfully cultivated in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR), the physicochemical properties and microbial activities were characterized at increasing nitrate loading rate (NLR). Results indicated that high NLR benefited the PD for nitrite production, and a more dense and compact granule can be developed at the NLR of 0.24-0.48 Kg N/m³/d. Whereas the settling ability decreased when the NLR increased to 0.96 Kg N/m³/d, which was likely caused by the decrease of proteins (PN) in extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) content and the increase of loosely bound EPS (L-EPS) fraction. Besides, the characterization of size-fractionated PD granules revealed that a better settling ability was generally obtained with larger granules except for the size of d > 3.35 mm, which the settling velocity was reduced, likely attributed to the excess L-EPS fraction (56.3%) and presence of empty capsule inside granules. The smaller granules exhibited higher microbial activities due to the favorable mass transfer, the nitrate reduction rate was as high as 152.6 mg N/h/g VSS with granules of d < 1.0 mm. Results obtained in this study provided a better understanding of the properties of PD granules and would be helpful for the future development of granule-based PD reactor in achieving an efficient and stable nitrite production.

Sludge cake and biofilm formation as valuable tools in wastewater treatment by coupling Integrated Fixed-film Activated Sludge (IFAS) with Self Forming Dynamic Membrane BioReactors (SFD-MBR)

Two lab-scale Self Forming Dynamic Membrane BioReactors (SFD-MBR), equipped with 50 µm nylon meshes were set up and operated for the treatment of real municipal wastewater. Plastic carriers were added in one of the two bioreactors to generate a combination of the Integrated Fixed-film Activated Sludge (IFAS) and the SFD-MBR technologies. Overall, the two systems performed very well, achieving excellent effluent quality under steady state conditions and showing good resilience to extreme organic loading conditions. Continuous air scouring and periodical mesh cleaning by jet rinsing with tap water were effective in maintaining stable and high productivity (membrane flux around 67 L m² h^-1) over a period of 140 days. The application of the IFAS process resulted in lower production of excess sludge and improved denitrification. On the other hand, under the tested conditions the combined IFAS-SFD-MBR showed a higher tendency to mesh clogging with respect to the SFD-MBR.