Enhanced micropollutant biodegradation and assessment of nitrous oxide concentration reduction in wastewater treated by acclimatized sludge bioaugmentation

Competitive bio-augmentation overcoming unusual direct inhibitor inefficacy in mainstream nitrite-oxidizing bacteria suppression: Unveiling the underpinnings in microbial and nitrogen metabolism aspects

The long-stabilized mainstream partial nitritation/Anammox (PN/A) process continues to encounter significant challenges from nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB). Therefore, this study aimed to determine an efficient, rapid, and easily implementable strategy for inhibiting NOB. A laboratory-scale reactor was operated continuously for 325 days, experiencing NOB outbreak in mainstream and recovery with simulated sidestream support. The results show that direct inhibitory strategies including intermittent aeration and approximately 35 mg/L free ammonia had unusual weak inhibitory effects on NOB activity. Subsequently, the exogenous Anammox from sidestream employed as a competitive bio-augmentation approach rapidly inhibited NOB dynamics. Evidence suggests that the damaged hydroxyapatite granules under low pH conditions might have contributed to NOB dominance by diminishing Anammox bacteria activity, thereby creating a substrate-rich environment favoring NOB survival. In contrast, the introduction of exogenous Candidatus Kuenenia facilitated the nitrogen removal efficiency from 32.5 % to over 80 %. This coincided with a decrease in the relative abundance of Nitrospira from 16.5 % to 2.7 % and NOB activity from 0.34 to 0.07 g N/(g mixed liquor volatile suspended solid)/d. Metagenomic analysis reveals a decrease in the functional potential of most nitrite transport proteins, coupled with a significant increase in eukaryotic-like serine/threonine-protein kinase involved in cellular regulation, during the Anammox activity recovery. This study's findings reveal the feasibility of the bio-augmentation based on substrate competition, wherein sidestream processes support the mainstream PN/A integration, offering significant potential for practical applications.

New insights into the typical nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compound-quinoline degradation and detoxification by microbial consortium: Integrated pathways, meta-transcriptomic analysis and toxicological evaluation

As the primary source of COD in industrial wastewater, quinoline has aroused increasing attention because of its potential teratogenic, carcinogenic, and mutagenic effects in the environment. The activated sludge isolate quinoline-degrading microbial consortium (QDMC) efficiently metabolizes quinoline. However, the molecular underpinnings of the degradation mechanism of quinoline by QDMC have not been elucidated. High-throughput sequencing revealed that the dominant genera included Diaphorobacter, Bacteroidia, Moheibacter and Comamonas. Furthermore, a positive strong correlation was observed between the key bacterial communities (Diaphorobact and Bacteroidia) and quinoline degradation. According to metatranscriptomics, genes associated with quorum sensing, ABC transporters, component systems, carbohydrate, aromatic compound degradation, energy metabolism and amino metabolism showed high expression, thus improving adaptability of microbial community to quinoline stress. In addition, the mechanism of QDMC in adapting and resisting to extreme environmental conditions in line with the corresponding internal functional properties and promoting biogegradation efficiency was illustrated. Based on the identified products, QDMC effectively mineralized quinoline into low-toxicity metabolites through three major metabolic pathways, including hydroxyquinoline, 1,2,3,4-H-quinoline, 5,6,7,8-tetrahydroquinoline and 1-oxoquinoline pathways. Finally, toxicological, genotoxicity and phytotoxicity studies supported the detoxification of quinoline by the QDMC. This study provided a promising approach for the stable, environmental-friendly and efficient bioremediation applications for quinoline-containing wastewater.

Investigating the biodegradability of iodinated X-ray contrast media in simultaneous nitrification and denitrification system

The present study investigated the biodegradation of three iodinated X-ray contrast media (ICM), namely, iopamidol, iohexol, and iopromide, in simultaneous nitrification-denitrification (SND) system maintained in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR). The results showed that variable aeration patterns (anoxic-aerobic-anoxic) and micro-aerobic condition were most effective in the biotransformation of ICM while achieving organic carbon and nitrogen removal. The highest removal efficiencies of iopamidol, iohexol, and iopromide were 48.24%, 47.75%, and 57.46%, respectively, in micro-aerobic condition. Iopamidol was highly resistant to biodegradation and possessed the lowest K_bio value, followed by iohexol and iopromide, regardless of operating conditions. The removal of iopamidol and iopromide was affected by the inhibition of nitrifiers. The transformation products after hydroxylation, dehydrogenation, and deiodination of ICM were detected in the treated effluent. Due to the addition of ICM, the abundance of denitrifier genera Rhodobacter and Unclassified Comamonadaceae increased, and the abundance of class TM7-3 decreased. The presence of ICM affected the microbial dynamics, and the diversity of microbes in SND resulted in improving the biodegradability of the compounds.

Studies on the activated sludge process crucial parameters controlling olive mill wastewater treatment

Olive mill wastewater (OMW) represents a severe environmental problem for Mediterranean producer countries. The release of OMW, in urban areas, in public sewerage system constitute a serious problem for wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) based on biological processes. This study delivers a critical and a comprehensive analysis on activated sludge biomass and process crucial parameters involved in the treatment of OMW. Principal component analysis (PCA) has been applied to master the relationship between activated sludge physiological state and process performances stability. After the acclimation step with easily biodegradable synthetic substrate (SS), increased OMW F/M mass ratio has been applied to the bioreactor (60 L) of experimental pilot-scale AS system in respect to its nominal capacity. PCA highlight two main periods, a first stressful period presented by G₁[T₀-T_10%], G₂[T_20%-T_30%] and G₃[T_40%-T_50%] AS microbial communities were very sensitive to substrate changes. This was manifested by low metabolic activity (OUR, SOUR and SOUR_inh), important drop in AS microbial communities content, an increase in soluble microbial products (SMP), a fluctuate performances in COD and total phenols abatements as well as in flocks settleability (SVI). Afterwards, a reestablishment second period presented by G₄[T_60%-T_100%] of key process parameters and AS biomass efficiency indices is reached. This period characterized by the substantial content, resistance and adaption of AS microbial communities to OMW as F/M. Succeeding optimal AS biomass and process performances, under stressful conditions, requires a precise knowledge and control of decisive parameters involved in OMW treatment and this study could be an efficient practical approach in case of OMW also for further toxic compounds.

Inoculation effect of Pseudomonas sp. TF716 on N2O emissions during rhizoremediation of diesel-contaminated soil

The demand for rhizoremediation technology that can minimize greenhouse gas emissions while effectively removing pollutants in order to mitigate climate change has increased. The inoculation effect of N₂O-reducing Pseudomonas sp. TF716 on N₂O emissions and on remediation performance during the rhizoremediation of diesel-contaminated soil planted with tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) or maize (Zea mays) was investigated. Pseudomonas sp. TF716 was isolated from the rhizosphere soil of tall fescue. The maximum N₂O reduction rate of TF716 was 18.9 mmol N₂O g dry cells⁻¹ h⁻¹, which is superior to the rates for previously reported Pseudomonas spp. When Pseudomonas sp. TF716 was added to diesel-contaminated soil planted with tall fescue, the soil N₂O-reduction potential was 2.88 times higher than that of soil with no inoculation during the initial period (0–19 d), and 1.08–1.13 times higher thereafter. However, there was no enhancement in the N₂O-reduction potential for the soil planted with maize following inoculation with strain TF716. In addition, TF716 inoculation did not significantly affect diesel degradation during rhizoremediation, suggesting that the activity of those microorganisms involved in diesel degradation was unaffected by TF716 treatment. Analysis of the dynamics of the bacterial genera associated with N₂O reduction showed that Pseudomonas had the highest relative abundance during the rhizoremediation of diesel-contaminated soil planted with tall fescue and treated with strain TF716. Overall, these results suggest that N₂O emissions during the rhizoremediation of diesel-contaminated soil using tall fescue can be reduced with the addition of Pseudomonas sp. TF716.

Lipid degrading microbe consortium driving micro-ecological evolvement of activated sludge for cooking wastewater treatment

In this study, a lipid degrading microbe consortium (LDMC) was assembled to improve the performance of activated sludge (AS) on cooking wastewater purification. LDMC can rapidly degrade high-level oil (efficiency beyond 93.0% at 5.0 g/L) as sole carbon source under various environmental conditions (10.0-45.0 °C, pH 2.0-12.0). With LDMC inoculation, AS' water treatment performance was significantly enhanced, which removed 36.10 and 48.93% more chemical oxygen demand (COD) and ammonia nitrogen from wastewater than control. A better settling property and smaller bulking risk were found with LDMC inoculation, indicated by a lower SV₃₀ and SVI index but a higher MLSS. By GC/MS analysis, a gradual degradation on the end of the fatty acid chain was suggested. LDMC inoculation significantly changed AS's microbial community structure, improved its stability, decreased the microbial community diversity, facilitated the enrichment of lipid degraders and functional genes related to lipid bio-degradation. Lipid degraders including Nakamurella sp. and Stenotrophomona sp., etc. played a crucial role during oil degradation. Sludge structure maintainers such as Kineosphaera sp. contributed largely to the stability of AS under exogenous stress. This study provided an efficient approach for cooking wastewater treatment along with the underlying mechanism exploration, which should give insights into oil-containing environmental remediation.

Treatment efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions of non-floating and floating bed activated sludge system with acclimatized sludge treating landfill leachate

This research investigates the treatment efficiency and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of non-floating and floating bed AS systems with acclimatized sludge treating landfill leachate. The GHGs under study included carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), and nitrous oxide (N₂O). The non-floating and floating bed AS systems were operated in parallel with identical landfill leachate influent under different hydraulic retention time (HRT) conditions (24, 18, and 12 h). The experimental results showed that the treatment efficiency of organic compounds under 24 h HRT of both systems (90 - 98%) were insignificantly different, while the nutrient removal efficiency of both systems were between 54 and 98 %. The treatment efficiency of the floating bed AS system, despite shorter HRT, remained relatively unchanged due to an abundance of effective bacteria residing in the floating media. The CO₂ emissions were insignificantly different between both AS systems under all HRT conditions (22 - 26.3 μmol/cm².min). The CO₂ emissions were positively correlated with organic loading but inversely correlated with HRT. The CH₄ emissions were positively correlated with HRT (26.3 μmol/cm².min under 24 h HRT of the floating bed AS system). The N₂O emissions were positively correlated with nitrogen loading, and the N₂O emissions from the floating bed AS system were lower due to an abundance of N₂O-reducing bacteria. The floating media enhanced the biological treatment efficiency while maintaining the bacterial community in the system. However, the floating media promoted CH₄ production under anoxic conditions. The originality of this research lies in the use of floating media in the biological treatment system to mitigate GHG emissions, unlike existing research which focused primarily on enhancement of the treatment efficiency.

Performance and microbial community analysis of bioaugmented activated sludge for nitrogen-containing organic pollutants removal

Nitrogen-containing organic pollutants (quinoline, pyridine and indole) are widely distributed in coking wastewater, and bioaugmentation with specific microorganisms may enhance the removal of these recalcitrant pollutants. The bioaugmented system (group B) was constructed through inoculation of two aromatics-degrading bacteria, Comamonas sp. Z1 (quinoline degrader) and Acinetobacter sp. JW (indole degrader), into the activated sludge for treatment of quinoline, indole and pyridine, and the non-bioaugmented activated sludge was used as the control (group C). Both groups maintained high efficiencies (> 94%) for removal of nitrogen-containing organic pollutants and chemical oxygen demand (COD) during the long-term operation, and group B was highly effective at the starting period and the operation stage fed with raw wastewater. High-throughput sequencing analysis indicated that nitrogen-containing organic pollutants could shape the microbial community structure, and communities of bioaugmented group B were clearly separated from those of non-bioaugmented group C as observed in non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) plot. Although the inoculants did not remain their dominance in group B, bioaugmentation could induce the formation of effective microbial community, and the indigenous microbes might play the key role in removal of nitrogen-containing organic pollutants, including Dokdonella, Comamonas and Pseudoxanthomonas. Phylogenetic Investigation of Communities by Reconstruction of Unobserved States (PICRUSt) analysis suggested that bioaugmentation could facilitate the enrichment of functional genes related to xenobiotics biodegradation and metabolism, probably leading to the improved performance in group B. This study indicated that bioaugmentation could promote the removal of nitrogen-containing organic pollutants, which should be an effective strategy for wastewater treatment.

Biotoxicity of landfill leachate effluent treated by two-stage acclimatized sludge AS system and antioxidant enzyme activity in Cyprinus carpio

This research comparatively investigates the biotoxicity of landfill leachate effluent from acclimatized and non-acclimatized sludge two-stage activated sludge (AS) systems. Both AS systems were operated with two leachate influent concentrations: moderate (condition 1) and elevated (condition 2). The biotoxicity of AS effluent of variable concentrations (10, 20, and 30% (v/v)) was assessed by the mortality rates of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) enzyme activity. The treatment efficiency of the acclimatized sludge AS system for organic and inorganic compounds and nutrients (BOD, COD, TKN, NH₄⁺, PO₄^3-) were 75-96% under condition 1 and 79-93% under condition 2. The non-acclimatized sludge AS system achieved the treatment efficiency of 70-91% under condition 1 and 66-90% under condition 2. The acclimatized sludge AS system also achieved higher biodegradation of trace organic compounds, especially under condition 1. The effluent from acclimatized sludge AS system was less toxic to the common carp, as evidenced by lower mortality rates and higher GST activity. The findings revealed that the acclimatized sludge two-stage AS system could be deployed to effectively treat landfill leachate with moderate concentrations of compounds and trace organic contaminants. The acclimatized sludge AS is an efficient wastewater treatment solution for developing countries with limited technological and financial resources.

Investigation of micropollutants removal from landfill leachate in a full-scale advanced treatment plant in Istanbul city, Turkey

Although the levels of micropollutants in landfill leachate and municipal wastewater are well-established, the individual removal mechanisms and the fate of micropollutants throughout a landfill leachate treatment plant (LTP) were seldom investigated. Therefore, the determination of the removal efficiencies and the fates of micropollutants in a full-scale leachate treatment plant located in the largest city of Turkey were aimed in this study. Some important processes, such as equalization pond, bioreactor, ultrafiltration (UF) and nanofiltration (NF), are being operated in the treatment plant. Landfill leachate was characterized as an intense pollution source of macro and micropollutants compared to other water types. Chemical oxygen demand (COD), NH₃, suspended solids (SS) and electrical conductivity (EC) values of the landfill leachate (and their removal efficiencies in the treatment plant) were determined as 18,656 ± 12,098 mg/L (98%), 3090 ± 845 mg/L (99%), 4175 ± 1832 mg/L (95%) and 31 ± 2 mS/cm (51%), respectively. Within the scope of the study, the most frequently and abundantly detected micropollutants in the treatment plant were found as heavy metals (8 ± 1.7 mg/L), VOCs (38 ± 2 μg/L), alkylphenols (9 ± 3 μg/L) and phthalates (8 ± 3 μg/L) and the overall removal efficiencies of these micropollutants ranged from -11% to 100% in the treatment processes. The main removal mechanism of VOCs in the aerobic treatment process has been found as the volatilization due to Henry constants greater than 100 Pa·m³/mol. However, the molecular weight cut off restriction of UF membrane has caused to less or negative removal efficiencies for some VOCs. The biological treatment unit which consists of sequential anoxic and oxic units (A/O) was found effective on the removal of PAHs (62%) and alkylphenols (87%). It was inferred that both NO₃ accumulation in anoxic reactor, high hydraulic retention time (HRT) and sludge retention time (SRT) in aerobic reactor provide higher biodegradation and volatilization efficiencies as compared to the literature. Membrane processes were more effective on the removal of alkylphenols (60-80%) and pesticides (59-74%) in terms of influent and effluent loads of each unit. Removal efficiencies for Cu, Ni and Cr, which were the dominant heavy metals, were determined as 92, 91 and 51%, respectively and the main removal mechanism for heavy metals has thought to be coprecipitation of suspended solids by microbial biopolymers in the bioreactor and the separation of colloids during membrane filtration. Total effluent loads of the LTP for VOCs, semi volatiles and heavy metals were 1.0 g/day, 5.2 g/day and 1.5 kg/day, respectively. It has been concluded that the LTP was effectively removing both conventional pollutants and micropollutants with the specific operation costs of 0.27 $/(kg of removed COD), 0.13 $/(g of removed VOCs), 0.35 $/(g of removed SVOCs) and 2.6 $/(kg of removed metals).

Quantification of nosZ genes and transcripts in activated sludge microbiomes with novel group-specific qPCR methods validated with metagenomic analyses

Substantial N₂O emission results from activated sludge nitrogen removal processes. N₂O-reducing organisms possessing NosZ-type N₂O reductases have been recognized to play crucial roles in suppressing emission of N₂O produced in anoxic activated sludge via denitrification; however, which of the diverse nosZ-possessing organisms function as the major N₂O sink in situ remains largely unknown. Here, nosZ genes and transcripts in wastewater microbiomes were analyzed with the group-specific qPCR assays designed de novo combining culture-based and computational approaches. A sewage sample was enriched in a batch reactor fed continuous stream of N₂ containing 20-10,000 ppmv N₂O with excess amount (10 mM) of acetate as the source of carbon and electrons, where 14 genera of potential N₂O-reducers were identified. All available amino acid sequences of NosZ affiliated to these taxa were grouped into five subgroups (two clade I and three clade II groups), and primers/probe sets exclusively and comprehensively targeting the subgroups were designed and validated with in silico PCR. Four distinct activated sludge samples from three different wastewater treatment plants in Korea were analyzed with the qPCR assays and the results were validated with the shotgun metagenome analysis results. With these group-specific qPCR assays, the nosZ genes and transcripts of six additional activated sludge samples were analyzed and the results of the analyses clearly indicated the dominance of two clade II nosZ subgroups (Flavobacterium-like and Dechloromonas-like) among both nosZ gene and transcript pools.

Nonylphenol ethoxylates biodegradation increases estrogenicity of textile wastewater in biological treatment systems

The formation of estrogenic intermediates, i.e. nonylphenol diethoxylate (NP2EO), nonylphenol monoethoxylate (NP1EO), and nonylphenol (NP), following nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEOs) biodegradation in textile wastewater raises concerns about its endocrine disruptive activity, but the estrogenicity changes of textile wastewater throughout biological treatment processes remain unknown. In the present study, the estrogenicity of textile wastewater sampled from 10 wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) were investigated using the reporter gene-based T47D-KBluc bioassay. Results showed that the estrogenicity of the textile wastewater significantly increased after either anaerobic or aerobic treatment in all WWTPs, with an average fold change of 3.21, although traditional pollutants were effectively removed. The estradiol equivalents of the effluent (ranging from 1.50 to 4.12 ng-E2/L) were generally higher than published effect based trigger values, indicating an increased risk for the receiving waters. Removal efficiency was high (84.46%) for NPEOs, but was low for NP2EO and NP1EO in the biological treatment processes. Nevertheless, NP had increased concentrations after the treatment. Bioanalytical equivalent concentration of the textile wastewater and that of NP2EO, NP1EO, and NP showed a good linear correlation, of which NP alone contributed more than 70% to the observed estrogenicity. Extending hydraulic retention time was found effective in reducing the estrogenicity as it allows relatively complete degradation of NP, which was further confirmed by running lab-scale A/O reactors fed with NP10EO. The results may extend our knowledge regarding the estrogenicity of textile wastewater and its reduction technologies used in WWTPs.

Effect of leachate effluent from activated sludge and membrane bioreactor systems with acclimatized sludge on plant seed germination

This research comparatively investigates the effect of landfill leachate effluent of two biological treatment schemes on germination of Lactuca sativa and Vigna radiata. The treatment schemes are two-stage activated sludge (AS) and two-stage membrane bioreactor (MBR) systems with acclimatized seed sludge. The AS and MBR are operated under two concentrations of landfill leachate influent: moderate (condition 1) and elevated (condition 2). The results show that, under condition 1, the AS and MBR efficiently remove 80-96% of organic compounds and nutrients and 81-100% of harmful micropollutants. Under condition 2 with elevated influent concentration, MBR is more effective in biodegrading micropollutants than the AS system. The germination rate (GR) and germination seed index (GSI) of L. sativa and V. radiata germinated with AS and MBR effluent from condition 1 are 100% and 1.29-1.56. Under condition 2, the GR and GSI with AS effluent are reduced to 80% and 0.65-0.77, while those with MBR effluent are 100% and 1.27-1.38. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis indicates that the bacterial community in the MBR is more abundant than in the AS, especially ammonia oxidizing bacteria, Nitrobacter, and Nitrospira, which aid heterotrophic bacteria in biodegradation of micropollutants and promote the growth of heterotrophs. The bacterial abundance and community composition render the MBR scheme more operationally suitable for elevated landfill-leachate influent concentrations. By comparison, the MBR system is more effective in removal of micropollutants than the AS, as evidenced by higher GR and GSI. The technology also could potentially be applied to water reclamation. A lack of technological and financial resources in many developing countries nevertheless precludes the adoption of MBR despite higher pollutant removal efficiency. An alternative solution is the use of acclimatized seed sludge in AS system to enhance treatment efficiency, especially in influent with low concentrations of micropollutants. In addition, the seed germination results suggest the possibility of water reuse in agriculture.

Effect of hydraulic retention time on micropollutant biodegradation in activated sludge system augmented with acclimatized sludge treating low-micropollutants wastewater

This research investigates the effect of hydraulic retention time (HRT) on micropollutant biodegradation of two-stage activated sludge (AS) system augmented with acclimatized sludge treating low-micropollutants wastewater. The experimental wastewater was a mixture of landfill leachate and agriculture wastewater, and HRT was varied between 24, 18, and 12 h. The results showed that, under 24 h HRT, the micropollutant biodegradation efficiencies were 87-93% for bisphenol A (BPA), 2,6-di-tert-butyl-phenol (2,6-DTBP), di-butyl-phthalate (DBP), di-(ethylhexyl)-phthalate (DEHP); 75-81% for carbamazepine (CBZ), diclofenac (DCF); and 88% for N,N-diethylmeta-toluamide (DEET). The degradation efficiencies were similar under 18 h HRT: 87-93% for BPA, 2,6-DTBP, DBP, DEHP; 75-80% for CBZ, DCF; and 80% for DEET. However, the efficiencies substantially declined under 12 h HRT: 71-93%, 55-60%, and 50%, respectively. Importantly, the findings revealed that HRT plays a crucial part in micropollutant biodegradation of bioaugmented AS system. More specifically, too short an HRT (12 h) results in low micropollutant removal efficiency, and too long an HRT (24 h) contributes to low daily throughput and high treatment operation cost. As a result, moderate HRT (18 h) is operationally and economically optimal for bioaugmented AS system treating low-micropollutants wastewater.