Kinetic and microbial response of activated sludge community to acute and chronic exposure to tetracycline

Nano-hydroxyapatite/carbon nanotube: An excellent anode modifying material for improving the power output and diclofenac sodium removal of microbial fuel cells

Anode material and surface properties have a crucial impact on the performance of MFCs. Designing and fabricating various modified carbon-based anodes with functional materials is an effective strategy to improve anode performance in MFCs. Anode materials with excellent bioaffinity can promote bacterial attachment, growth, and extracellular electron transfer. In this study, positively charged nano hydroxyapatite (nHA) with remarkable biocompatibility combined with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with unique structure and high conductivity were used as anode modifying material. The nHA/CNTs modified carbon brush (CB) exhibited improved bacteria adsorption capacity, electrochemical activity and reticular porous structure, thus providing abundant sites and biocompatible microenvironment for the attachment and growth of functional microbial and accelerating extracellular electron transfer. Consequently, the nHA/CNTs/CB-MFCs achieved the maximum power density of 4.50 ± 0.23 mW m-2, which was 1.93 times higher than that of the CB-MFCs. Furthermore, diclofenac sodium (DS), which is a widely used anti-inflammatory drug and is also a persistent toxic organic pollutant constituting a serious threat to public health, was used as the model organic pollutant. After 322 days of long-term operation, enhanced diclofenac sodium removal efficiency and simultaneous bioelectricity generation were realized in nHA/CNTs/CB-MFCs, benefiting from the mature biofilm and the diverse functional microorganisms revealed by microbial community analysis. The nHA/CNTs/CB anode with outstanding bioaffinity, electrochemical activity and porous structure presents great potential for the fabrication of high-performance anodes in MFCs.

A novel BC/g-C3N4 porous hydrogel carrier used in intimately coupled photocatalysis and biodegradation system for efficient removal of tetracycline hydrochloride in water

Intimately coupled photocatalysis and biodegradation (ICPB) is a promising technology to remove refractory contaminants from water. The key to successful ICPB is a carrier capable of accumulating biofilm and adhering photocatalyst firmly. Herein, BC/g-C₃N₄ was prepared into a three dimensional porous hydrogel and used as a carrier in ICPB system for the first time. Degradation experiments revealed that the removal rate of tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH) in water by the ICPB system was 96.0% after 10 h, which was significantly higher than that by the photocatalysis (PC, 76.3%), biodegradation (B, 32.5%), adsorption (AD, 17.2%), and photolysis (P, 5.0%) systems. Photo-electrochemical tests confirmed that ICPB system had superior electron transfer ability between photocatalysts and microorganisms. The removal efficiency of COD proved that microorganisms played an important role in the mineralization process of TCH by the ICPB system. After the ICPB degradation experiment, microorganisms maintained high activity and Pseudomonas, Burkholderiaceae and Flavobacterium which had TCH degradation or electron transport ability, were enriched. In conclusion, the novel ICPB carrier overcame shortcomings of the traditional ICPB carrier and the novel ICPB system had superior degradation performance for TCH. This study provided a possible method to promote the practical application of ICPB technology.

Construction of a dual-signal molecularly imprinted photoelectrochemical sensor based on bias potential control for selective sensing of tetracycline

The two signals validate each other to improve the accuracy and sensitivity of the MIP-PEC sensor.

Effect of g-C3N4 on biodiversity and structure of bacterial community in sediment of Xiangjiang River under tetracycline pressure

Photocatalysts have been widely prepared and used in wastewater treatment. Although the influence of photocatalyst application on survival and activity of organisms has been examined, its impact on composition and diversity of microbial community is not fully understood. In this study, the impact of photocatalyst g-C₃N₄ (Graphitic carbon nitride) on microbial communities in riverbed sediments polluted by antibiotic tetracycline (TC) was investigated. The sediment samples collected from the Xiangjiang River of China were exposed to different concentrations of TC, g-C₃N₄ and TC/g-C₃N₄ and the bacterial community were analyzed by Illumina sequencing. The results showed that the dominant bacterial phyla were Acidobacteriota, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteriota, and Chloroflexi in the study site. When compared to the control treatments, the application of TC, g-C₃N₄ and TC/g-C₃N₄ exhibited distinguishable effects on bacterial community structure in sediments. The presence of TC had greater influence on bacterial composition, while g-C₃N₄ and TC/g-C₃N₄ had less influence on bacteria. The diversity and richness of microorganisms in sediment increased under g-C₃N₄ application and reached the highest values when g-C₃N₄ was 75 mg/kg. The photocatalyst g-C₃N₄ restored bacterial community diversity affected by TC, reduced the TC residues in aquatic environment, and eliminated the side effects of TC application in sediments. Our study indicated that g-C₃N₄ was an environmentally friendly photocatalyst with lightly negative effects on microbial community in riverbed sediments, and could be used for effective remediation of TC-contaminated environments.

Co-metabolism of nonylphenol ethoxylate in sequencing batch reactor under aerobic conditions

The study evaluated the co-metabolism of nonylphenol polyethoxylate (NPEO) within a main substrate stream subjected to biodegradation in an activated sludge system. Peptone mixture simulating sewage was selected as the synthetic substrate. As a novel approach, the NPEO concentration was magnified to match the COD level of the peptone mixture, so that co-metabolism could be evaluated by respirometry and modeling. A sequencing batch reactor (SBR) set-up at high sludge age to also allow nitrification was operated for this purpose. A long acclimation phase was necessary to start NPEO biodegradation, which was completed with 15% residual by-products. Modeling of respirometric data could identify COD fractions of NPEO with corresponding process kinetics for the first time, where the biodegradation of by-products could be interpreted numerically as a hydrolysis mechanism. Nonylphenol diethoxylate (NP2EO) was observed as the major by-product affecting the biodegradation of NPEO, because NPEO and NP2EO accounted for 60 to 70% of the total soluble COD in the solution during the course of biological reactions. The co-metabolism characteristics basically defined NPEO as a substrate, with no appreciable inhibitory action on the microbial culture both in terms of heterotrophic and autotrophic activities.

Rational design of built-in stannic oxide-copper manganate microrods p-n heterojunction for photoelectrochemical sensing of tetracycline

Tetracycline (TC), a popularly found drug pollutant, can be contaminated in food and aquatic regions and causes a severe impact on human health. In this research, a visible light active p-stannic oxide/n-copper manganate (p-SnO₂/n-CuMnO₂) heterojunction was synthesized and has been applied for a signal on photoelectrochemical sensing of antibiotic TC. Firstly, the n-SnO₂ microrods were synthesized via a simple and efficient homogeneous precipitation method and the p-CuMnO₂ nanoparticles were synthesized by a facile ultrasound-assisted hydrothermal method. The SnO₂/CuMnO₂ microrods p-n heterojunction was prepared through a simple impregnation method and physicochemical properties of the microrods are characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UVDRS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Mott-Schottky analyses. The photoelectrochemical sensing performance of SnO₂/CuMnO₂ microrods was 2.7 times higher than that of as-synthesized pure SnO₂ microrods is due to the more visible light absorption ability and p-n heterojunction (synergy). The designed SnO₂/CuMnO₂/ITO sensor gives photocurrent signals for the detection of TC in the range of 0.01-1000 μM with the detection limit (LOD) of 5.6 nM. The practical applicability of the sensor was monitored in cow milk and the Taipei River water sample.

Addition of nanoparticles increases the abundance of mobile genetic elements and changes microbial community in the sludge anaerobic digestion system

This study explored the fate of mobile genetic elements (MGEs) in anaerobic digestion (AD) system with four nanoparticles (NPs) added, including carbon NPs, Al₂O₃ NPs, ZnO NPs, and CuO NPs. 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and quantitative PCR to investigate the microbial community, MGEs abundance and the potential host in the AD process. The results of high-throughput sequencing showed that ZnO NPs and CuO NPs significantly reduced the microbial diversity and significantly changed the microbial community structure. Simultaneously, the absolute abundance of MGEs increased by 145.01%, 159.67%, 354.70%, and 132.80% on the carbon NPs, Al₂O₃ NPs, ZnO NPs, and CuO NPs. The enrichment rate of tnpA-03 in ZnO NPs group was the highest, which could reach up to 2854.80%. Co-occurrence analysis revealed that Proteobacteria harbored the vast majority of MGEs followed by Firmicutes. Redundancy analysis and variation partitioning analysis showed that metabolites were the main factors that shifted the succession of bacterial communities. Moreover, there were significant positive correlations between metabolites and part MGEs (such as tnpA-01, tnpA-02, tnpA-03, tnpA-04, tnpA-05, tnpA-07 and ISCR1). This study provides a new perspective that NPs increase the risk of antibiotic resistance through MGEs during AD process.

Mitigating antibiotic pollution using cyanobacteria: Removal efficiency, pathways and metabolism

The occurrence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in wastewater poses huge environmental threats, even at trace concentrations, and novel approaches are urged due to the inefficiencies of conventional wastewater treatment plants, especially when processing contaminants at high concentrations. Meanwhile, another widespread problem in the aquatic domain is the occurrence of harmful algal blooms (HABs) which cause serious damage to the ecosystem, but have rarely been investigated for possible valorization. This study investigated the possibilities, mechanisms, and effects of toxin release of using a harmful cyanobacterial species, Microcystis aeruginosa (M. aeruginosa), in order to remove the widely used drug, tetracycline, at high concentration. The results were compared with the performance obtained by the use of the hitherto generally-selected chlorophyte alga Chlorella pyrenoidosa (C. pyrenoidosa) for tetracycline concentrations of 10-100 mg L^-1. M. aeruginosa exhibited a much more effective and rapid tetracycline removal (over 98.0% removal in 2 days) than did C. pyrenoidosa (36.7%-93.9% in 2 days). A comprehensive kinetic investigation into probable removal pathways indicated that, theoretically, bio-remediation dominated the process by M. aeruginosa (71.6%), while only accounting for 20.5% by C. pyrenoidosa. Both microalgae promoted the hydrolysis of tetracycline under conditions of increased pH and inhibited abiotic photolytic reactions by the shading effect to the water column, when compared with control experiments. Although identical degradation by-products were identified from treatments by both microalgal species, distinct by-products were also confirmed, unique to each treatment. Moreover, the growth of M. aeruginosa biomass exhibited strong tolerance to tetracycline exposure and released significantly lower levels of microcystin-LR, compared with the control systems. This study supports the possibility of reusing HABs species for the effective remediation of antibiotics at high concentrations. We have further suggested possible mechanisms for remediation and demonstrated control of toxin release.

Activated sludge and other aerobic suspended culture processes

This paper provides an overview of activated sludge related to suspended growth processes for the year 2019. The review encompasses process modeling of activated sludge, microbiology of activated sludge, process kinetics and mechanism, nitrogen and phosphorus control, design, and operation in the activated sludge field. The fate and effect of xenobiotics in activated sludge, including trace organic contaminant and heavy metal xenobiotics, which had influence on the growth of suspended sludge, are covered in this review. Compared to past reviews, many topics show increase in activity in 2019. These include, biokinetics process of aerobic granular sludge formation, pyrolysis kinetic mechanism of granular sludge. These topics are referred to formation and disintegration of granular sludge. Other sections include activated sludge settling model, toxicity resistant microbial community, nitritation-anammox processes for nitrogen removal, and respirometry used in the operation of real wastewater treatment plant are especially highlighted in this review. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Biokinetics process of aerobic granular sludge formation Toxicity resistant microbial community in activated sludge Nitritation-anammox processes for nitrogen removal in activated sludge.

Sulfidated nanoscale zero-valent iron is an efficient material for the removal and regrowth inhibition of antibiotic resistance genes

Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and mobile gene elements (MGEs), the emerging genetic contaminants, are regarded as severe risks to public health for impairing the inactivation efficacy of antibiotics. Secondary effluents from wastewater treatment plants are the hotspots for spreading these menaces. Herein, sulfidated nanoscale zero-valent iron (S-nZVI) was occupied to remove ARGs and MGEs in secondary effluents and weaken the regrowth capacity of their bacterial carriers. The effects of S/Fe molar ratios (S/Fe), initial pH and dosages on 16S rRNA and ARGs removal were also investigated. Characterization, mass balance and scavenging experiments were conducted to explore the mechanisms of the gene removal. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) and high throughput fluorescence qPCR showed more than 3 log unit of 16S rRNA and seven out of 10 ARGs existed in secondary effluent could be removed after S-nZVI treatment. The mechanisms might be that DNA accepted the electron provided by the Fe⁰ core of S-nZVI after being adsorbed onto S-nZVI surface, causing the decrease of 16S rRNA, ARGs and lost their regrowth capacity, especially for typical MGE (intI1) and further inhibiting the vertical gene transfer (VGT) and intI1-induced horizontal gene transfer (HGT). Fe⁰ core was oxidized to iron oxides and hydroxides at the same time. High throughput sequencing, network analysis and variation partitioning analysis revealed the complex correlations between bacteria and ARGs in secondary effluent, S/Fe could directly influence ARGs variations, and bacterial genera made the greatest contribution to ARGs variations, followed by MGEs and operational parameters. As a result, S-nZVI could be an available reductive approach to deal with bacteria and ARGs.

Dynamic evolution of electrochemical and biological features in microbial fuel cells upon chronic exposure to increasing oxytetracycline dosage

Dynamic changes in power generation and electrochemical properties were compared between the control microbial fuel cells (C-MFC) and an oxytetracycline (OTC)-treated MFC (O-MFC) on days 84, 139, 174, 224, 295, 307 and 353. The results showed that a high concentration of OTC (>5 mg·L^-1) could inhibit microbial activity and result in a decline of voltage output and power density compared with the same C-MFC. However, with the prolongation of incubation time, the inhibitory effect was gradually weakened. Electrochemical analyses demonstrated that long-term OTC acclimation reduced the ohmic and polarisation resistance of the anode, which was conducive to the recovery of electrochemical performance. More than 99% of 10 mg·L^-1 OTC could be removed within 48 h, and the antibacterial activity of the MFC effluent on Escherichia coli DH5α was conclusively eliminated. High-throughput sequencing analysis revealed that the diversity and richness of the microbial community decreased significantly after long-term OTC enrichment. Acinetobacter, Petrimonas, Spirochaetaceae and Delftia were enriched and played a dominant role in C-MFC stability and power generation. The promotion by Cupriavidus, Geobacter and Stenotrophomonas in simultaneous OTC degradation and bioelectricity generation in the O-MFC was demonstrated.

Size distribution, biological characteristics and emerging contaminants of aerosols emitted from an urban wastewater treatment plant

Air-liquid exchange process could spread pathogens and pharmaceutical emerging pollutants into the air as aerosol particles in an Urban wastewater treatment plants (UWTPs). These particles can later be transported to places where such pollution is unforeseen. In this study, measurements were conducted in the aeration area of a UWTP in northern Taiwan. According to this investigation, nanoparticles are major contributors to both the number and volume concentration of particles. Most fluorescent particles may be bacterial aggregates or fungal species. Moreover, nine common emerging contaminants were analyzed and found in both air and water samples. Among these contaminants, the most abundant chemicals in the air were erythromycin-H₂O (191.45 pg/m³) and methamphetamine (39.02 pg/m³). These results imply that UWTPs could be an emission source of emerging contaminants and bioaerosols, and the potential risk of inhalation exposure should be carefully evaluated.

Construction of TiO2/Ag3PO4 nanojunctions on carbon fiber cloth for photocatalytically removing various organic pollutants in static or flowing wastewater

Plenty of power-shaped semiconductor nanomaterials have been used to photocatalytically degrade various pollutant wastewater in beakers, but they are difficult to be applied in the practical wastewater that is flowing in river or pipeline. Thus, the key to photocatalytically degrading the flowing wastewater is to develop flexible large-scale filter-membrane with high photocatalytic activity. To address the issue, with carbon fiber cloth (CFC) as the porous substrate and TiO₂/Ag₃PO₄ as ultraviolet/visible (UV/Vis) responsed components, we reported the in-situ growth of TiO₂/Ag₃PO₄ nanojunctions on CFC as filter-membrane-shaped photocatalyst. The resulting CFC/TiO₂/Ag₃PO₄ is composed of CFC whose surface is decorated with TiO₂ nanorods (length: 1 ± 0.5 μm, diameter: 150 ± 50 nm) and Ag₃PO₄ nanoparticles (diameter: 20-100 nm). CFC/TiO₂/Ag₃PO₄ displays a broad absorption region with two edges (~410 and ~510 nm), owing to the bandgaps of TiO₂ and Ag₃PO₄. Under Vis or UV-Vis light illumination, CFC/TiO₂/Ag₃PO₄ (4 × 4 cm²) can efficiently degrade more phenol (80.6%/89.4%), tetracycline (TC, 91.7%/94.2%), rhodamine B (RhB, 98.4%/99.5%) and acid orange 7 (AO7, 97.6%/98.3%) in the beaker than CFC/TiO₂ or CFC/Ag₃PO₄. Especially, CFC/TiO₂/Ag₃PO₄ (diameter: ~10 cm) as the filter-membrane was used to construct multiple device for degrading the flowing RhB wastewater. The removal efficiency of RhB increases from 19.6% at the 1st pool to 96.8% at the 8th pool. Therefore, this study brings some insights for purifying organic pollutants in static or flowing wastewater by using filter-membrane-shaped photocatalysts.

Potential for simultaneous nitrogen removal and sludge reduction of the oxic-settling-anaerobic process operated as a dual fed sequencing batch reactor

The objective of the study was to explore the impact of different operation strategies on the performance of the Oxic-Settling-Anaerobic (OSA) process. A sequencing batch reactor was selected as the aerobic (oxic) unit of the OSA system and it was operated as a dual mixing phase with step feeding in order to optimize simultaneous nitrogen removal and sludge minimization. For this purpose, the effect of COD/N ratio, filling pattern and the fraction of anaerobic period was investigated on the performance of a laboratory-scale OSA system fed with synthetic wastewater (peptone mixture) approximating the characteristics of sewage. In nine consecutive experimental stages, each sustaining different metabolic processes and biochemical reactions, the sludge reduction potential of the OSA system was not impaired, maintaining an average observed yield value of 0.18 g VSS/g COD, which was approximately half the level observed in the reference reactor. Similarly, the OSA scheme of operation did not affect or alter the fundamental mechanisms of biological nitrogen removal, where system performance could be modified and optimized the same way as in a conventional activated sludge configuration. Furthermore, the OSA system maintained a higher level of biomass concentration compared with the reference reactor. This observation confirmed the previous analyses that the continuous biomass inflow from the side-stream anaerobic bioreactor was the reason to establish the microbial mechanism that resulted in a much lower sludge generation, regardless of the biochemical processes taking place in the reactor.