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Carrillo V, Castillo R, Magrí A, Holzapfel E, Vidal G. Phosphorus recovery from domestic wastewater: A review of the institutional framework. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2024; 351:119812. [PMID: 38100865 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2023] [Revised: 11/21/2023] [Accepted: 12/08/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023]
Abstract
Phosphorus (P) is an essential element for life that must be managed sustainably. The institutional framework for P recovery from wastewater includes policies, regulations, plans, and actions that promote the recovery, recycling, and safe use of this element, aimed at moving toward more sustainable nutrient management and environmental protection. This review analyzes the status of the institutional framework for P recovery from wastewater in different countries around the world. Europe is the continent where the most progress has been made in terms of legislation. Countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, and Denmark have already implemented policies and regulations that promote environmental protection, as well as P recovery and reuse. In other parts of the world, such as the United States, China, and Japan, there have also been significant advances in promoting the closure of the P cycle, with the implementation of advanced recovery technologies in wastewater treatment plants and regional/national action plans. By contrast, in Latin America there has been little progress in P treatment and recovery, with a weak regulatory framework, unclear goals, and insufficient allocation of techno-economic resources. In this context, it is necessary to reinforce the comprehensive institutional framework, which covers technological aspects, economic incentives, political agreements, and regulations, to promote the sustainable management of this valuable resource.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Carrillo
- Water Research Center for Agriculture and Mining (CRHIAM), ANID Fondap Center, Victoria, 1295, Concepcion, Chile; Engineering and Environmental Biotechnology Group (GIBA-UDEC), Environmental Sciences Faculty and Center EULA-Chile, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
| | - Rodrigo Castillo
- Water Research Center for Agriculture and Mining (CRHIAM), ANID Fondap Center, Victoria, 1295, Concepcion, Chile; Faculty of Legal and Social Sciences, Universidad Austral de Chile, Puerto Montt, Chile
| | - Albert Magrí
- LEQUIA, Institute of the Environment, University of Girona, Campus Montilivi, Carrer Maria Aurèlia Capmany 69, E-17003, Girona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Eduardo Holzapfel
- Water Research Center for Agriculture and Mining (CRHIAM), ANID Fondap Center, Victoria, 1295, Concepcion, Chile
| | - Gladys Vidal
- Water Research Center for Agriculture and Mining (CRHIAM), ANID Fondap Center, Victoria, 1295, Concepcion, Chile; Engineering and Environmental Biotechnology Group (GIBA-UDEC), Environmental Sciences Faculty and Center EULA-Chile, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile.
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Vučić V, Harms H, Müller S. Biological recovery of phosphorus (BioP-Rec) from wastewater streams using brewer's yeast on pilot-scale. Eng Life Sci 2024; 24:e2300208. [PMID: 38323269 PMCID: PMC10842340 DOI: 10.1002/elsc.202300208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2023] [Revised: 10/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Most recent advances for phosphorus (P) recovery using brewery yeast on laboratory scale were used to scale up to a pilot-scale process (BioP-Rec module) and applied in a full-scale wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). A P balance was established for WWTP Markranstädt according to two thresholds: (1) the economic feasibility threshold for P recovery of 0.05 kg/m3 of free P, and (2) the German Sewage Sludge Ordinance (GSSO) threshold, which demands that all WWTPs with a P content in dry matter (DM) of biosolids of 20 gP/kgDM or higher in the coming years must perform mandatory P recovery. In terms of defined thresholds, return and excess sludges were identified as the most feasible WWTP process streams for P recovery. In a 1 m3 BioP-Rec module a 3 stage process was established. From the P-rich water-phase of the return sludge produced in stage 1, which contained 0.051 kg/m3 of free P, 77.56% was taken up by P-depleted brewer's yeast Saccharomyces pastorianus in 3 h in stage 2. In stage 3, the yeast was concentrated in 1 h to produce yeast sludge as a fertilizer product. We demonstrated a novel pilot-scale process for the production of bio-based P-rich fertilizer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vedran Vučić
- Department of Environmental Microbiology Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ Leipzig Germany
| | - Hauke Harms
- Department of Environmental Microbiology Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ Leipzig Germany
| | - Susann Müller
- Department of Environmental Microbiology Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ Leipzig Germany
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Li S, Müller S. Ecological forces dictate microbial community assembly processes in bioreactor systems. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2023; 81:102917. [PMID: 36931023 DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2023.102917] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2022] [Revised: 01/31/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2023] [Indexed: 03/17/2023]
Abstract
Microbial communities are indispensable for future biotechnology to produce valuable platform chemicals and reduce the exploitation of fossil resources. Yet, the stability of microbial communities in classical continuous reactor setups is best brief or non-existent. This is due to ecological forces such as stochastic and deterministic properties of communities that contribute to rapid changes in structure and function to varying degrees. The review highlights the differences between these two properties, provides tools for their estimation, and gives an outlook on overcoming instabilities of microbial communities in biotechnological reactor systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuang Li
- Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Department Environmental Microbiology, Permoserstr. 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Susann Müller
- Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Department Environmental Microbiology, Permoserstr. 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany.
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Abstract
The population ecology of microbial communities is still poorly understood and their notorious instability makes them impossible to control. Much of the instability is caused by the stochastic assembly of microorganisms, especially in highly diverse microbiomes where structural and hence functional changes occur rapidly due to the short generation time of their members. Usually, to maintain organismic proportions in communities, their niches are deterministically reinforced, but stochasticity strongly counteracts this. Based on metacommunity theory, a looped mass transfer was developed that uses the rescue effect to stabilize communities. This study fills a long-standing gap and enables continuous and proportionally equal growth of community members using an unprecedented operational design that addresses an acute need in the healthcare and biotechnology industries. Building and changing a microbiome at will and maintaining it over hundreds of generations has so far proven challenging. Despite best efforts, complex microbiomes appear to be susceptible to large stochastic fluctuations. Current capabilities to assemble and control stable complex microbiomes are limited. Here, we propose a looped mass transfer design that stabilizes microbiomes over long periods of time. Five local microbiomes were continuously grown in parallel for over 114 generations and connected by a loop to a regional pool. Mass transfer rates were altered and microbiome dynamics were monitored using quantitative high-throughput flow cytometry and taxonomic sequencing of whole communities and sorted subcommunities. Increased mass transfer rates reduced local and temporal variation in microbiome assembly, did not affect functions, and overcame stochasticity, with all microbiomes exhibiting high constancy and increasing resistance. Mass transfer synchronized the structures of the five local microbiomes and nestedness of certain cell types was eminent. Mass transfer increased cell number and thus decreased net growth rates μ′. Subsets of cells that did not show net growth μ′SCx were rescued by the regional pool R and thus remained part of the microbiome. The loop in mass transfer ensured the survival of cells that would otherwise go extinct, even if they did not grow in all local microbiomes or grew more slowly than the actual dilution rate D would allow. The rescue effect, known from metacommunity theory, was the main stabilizing mechanism leading to synchrony and survival of subcommunities, despite differences in cell physiological properties, including growth rates.
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Li S, Liu Z, Süring C, Chen L, Müller S, Zeng P. The Impact of the Antibiotic Fosfomycin on Wastewater Communities Measured by Flow Cytometry. Front Microbiol 2022; 12:737831. [PMID: 35310391 PMCID: PMC8928225 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.737831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2021] [Accepted: 12/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Fosfomycin is a re-emergent antibiotic known to be effective against severe bacterial infections even when other antibiotics fail. To avoid overuse and thus the risk of new antibiotic resistance, the European Commission has recommended the intravenous use of fosfomycin only when other antibiotic treatments fail. A release of fosfomycin into the environment via wastewater from not only municipalities but also already from the producing pharmaceutical industry can seriously undermine a sustaining therapeutic value. We showed in long-term continuous-mode bioreactor cultivation and by using microbial community flow cytometry, microbial community ecology tools, and cell sorting that the micro-pollutant altered the bacterial wastewater community (WWC) composition within only a few generations. Under these conditions, fosfomycin was not readily degraded both at lower and higher concentrations. At the same time, operational reactor parameters and typical diversity parameters such as α- and intracommunity β-diversity did not point to system changes. Nevertheless, an intrinsic compositional change occurred, caused by a turnover process in which higher concentrations of fosfomycin selected for organisms known to frequently harbor antibiotic resistance genes. A gfp-labeled Pseudomonas putida strain, used as the model organism and a possible future chassis for fosfomycin degradation pathways, was augmented and outcompeted in all tested situations. The results suggest that WWCs, as complex communities, may tolerate fosfomycin for a time, but selection for cell types that may develop resistance is very likely. The approach presented allows very rapid assessment and visualization of the impact of antibiotics on natural or managed microbial communities in general and on individual members of these communities in particular.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuang Li
- Department of Environmental Microbiology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Zishu Liu
- College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Christine Süring
- Department of Environmental Microbiology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Luyao Chen
- Institute of Water Ecology and Environment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Susann Müller
- Department of Environmental Microbiology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Ping Zeng
- Institute of Water Ecology and Environment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, China
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Zhao Y, Zhang R, Jing L, Wang W. Performance of basalt fiber-periphyton in deep-level nutrient removal: A study concerned periphyton cultivation, characterization and application. CHEMOSPHERE 2022; 291:133044. [PMID: 34826450 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.133044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2021] [Revised: 10/12/2021] [Accepted: 11/21/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Nutrients in centralized discharge area of treated sewage can cause high ecological risks to aquatic systems, thus a deep-level nutrient removal is necessary. Recently, periphyton has attracted increasing interests for its excellent performance in nutrient removal. In this study, the suitability and durability of basalt fiber (BF) as a new green carrier of periphyton was evaluated, and development process of basalt fiber-periphtyon (BFP) was tracked with bacterial community succession and physiological indicators. Then, well-developed BFP was applied to deeply purify water containing the same concentration of nutrient as the treated sewage. Results showed the periphyton could adapt to BF and formed in large quantities. In addition, the tensile strength of BF after being used as a carrier was still strong. Bacterial community and physiological indicators indicated that BFP was well developed in 40-50 days. LEfSE and random forest analysis revealed that Deinococcus-Deinococci, Spartobacteria and Chlamydiia at class-level, Rhizobiales and Rhodobacterales at order-level were the biomarkers for development of BFP. Moreover, application results showed BFP efficiently removed nitrogen and phosphorus from water and promoted the transformation of ammonia to nitrate. The concentration of ammonia and phosphorus severely decreased from 4.90 ± 0.11 mg/L to 0.51 ± 0.20 mg/L, from 0.66 ± 0.016 mg/L to 0.023 ± 0.013 mg/L, respectively. The efficient nutrient removal was attributed to accumulation of nitrogen and phosphorus metabolism related organisms in BFP as well as favorable water physic-chemical conditions created by BFP. These results suggest that BF is a suitable and durable green carrier of periphyton, and BFP could efficiently reduce ecological risk to aquatic systems receiving treated sewage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yue Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Pollution Control Chemistry and Environmental Functional Materials for Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission, School of Chemistry and Environment, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu, 610041, China; Key Laboratory of General Chemistry of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission, School of Chemistry and Environment, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu, 610041, China
| | - Run Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Pollution Control Chemistry and Environmental Functional Materials for Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission, School of Chemistry and Environment, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu, 610041, China; Key Laboratory of General Chemistry of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission, School of Chemistry and Environment, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu, 610041, China
| | - Liandong Jing
- Key Laboratory of Pollution Control Chemistry and Environmental Functional Materials for Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission, School of Chemistry and Environment, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu, 610041, China; Key Laboratory of General Chemistry of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission, School of Chemistry and Environment, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu, 610041, China.
| | - Wenjing Wang
- Key Laboratory of Coastal Zone Environmental Processes, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 7 Chunhui Road, Yantai, 264003, China
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Wang D, Thunéll S, Lindberg U, Jiang L, Trygg J, Tysklind M, Souihi N. A machine learning framework to improve effluent quality control in wastewater treatment plants. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 784:147138. [PMID: 34088065 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.147138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2021] [Revised: 03/23/2021] [Accepted: 04/10/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Due to the intrinsic complexity of wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) processes, it is always challenging to respond promptly and appropriately to the dynamic process conditions in order to ensure the quality of the effluent, especially when operational cost is a major concern. Machine Learning (ML) methods have therefore been used to model WWTP processes in order to avoid various shortcomings of conventional mechanistic models. However, to the best of the authors' knowledge, no ML applications have focused on investigating how operational factors can affect effluent quality. Additionally, the time lags between process steps have always been neglected, making it difficult to explain the relationships between operational factors and effluent quality. Therefore, this paper presents a novel ML-based framework designed to improve effluent quality control in WWTPs by clarifying the relationships between operational variables and effluent parameters. The framework consists of Random Forest (RF) models, Deep Neural Network (DNN) models, Variable Importance Measure (VIM) analyses, and Partial Dependence Plot (PDP) analyses, and uses a novel approach to account for the impact of time lags between processes. Details of the framework are provided along with a demonstration of its practical applicability based on a case study of the Umeå WWTP in Sweden involving a large number of samples (105763) representing the full scale of the plant's operations. Two effluent parameters, Total Suspended Solids in effluent (TSSe) and Phosphate in effluent (PO4e), and thirty-two operational variables are studied. RF models are developed, validated using DNN models as references, and shown to be suitable for VIM and PDP analyses. VIM identifies the variables that most strongly influence TSSe and PO4e, while PDP elucidates their specific effects on TSSe and PO4e. The major findings are: (1) Influent temperature is the most influential variable for both TSSe and PO4e, but it affects them in different ways; (2) PO4e depends strongly on the TSS in aeration basins - higher TSS concentrations in aeration basins generally promote PO4 removal, but excess TSS can have negative effects; (3) In general, the impact of TSS in aeration basins on TSSe and PO4e increases with the distances of the basin from the merging outlet, so more attention should be paid to the TSS concentration in the third or fourth aeration basins than the first and second ones; (4) Returning excessive amounts of sludge through the second return sludge pipe should be avoided because of its adverse impact on TSSe removal. These results could support the development of more advanced control strategies to increase control precision and reduce running costs in the Umeå WWTP and other similarly configured WWTPs. The framework could also be applied to other parameters in WWTPs and industrial processes in general if sufficient high-resolution data are available.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dong Wang
- Department of Chemistry, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden
| | | | | | - Lili Jiang
- Department of Computing Science, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Johan Trygg
- Department of Chemistry, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Mats Tysklind
- Department of Chemistry, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden.
| | - Nabil Souihi
- Department of Chemistry, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden.
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Vučić V, Müller S. New developments in biological phosphorus accessibility and recovery approaches from soil and waste streams. Eng Life Sci 2021; 21:77-86. [PMID: 33716607 PMCID: PMC7923555 DOI: 10.1002/elsc.202000076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2020] [Revised: 11/27/2020] [Accepted: 11/29/2020] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Phosphorus (P) is a non-renewable resource and is on the European Union's list of critical raw materials. It is predicted that the P consumption peak will occur in the next 10 to 20 years. Therefore, there is an urgent need to find accessible sources in the immediate environment, such as soil, and to use alternative resources of P such as waste streams. While enormous progress has been made in chemical P recovery technologies, most biological technologies for P recovery are still in the developmental stage and are not reaching industrial application. Nevertheless, biological P recovery could offer good solutions as these technologies can return P to the human P cycle in an environmentally friendly way. This mini-review provides an overview of the latest approaches to make P available in soil and to recover P from plant residues, animal and human waste streams by exploiting the universal trait of P accumulation and P turnover in microorganisms and plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vedran Vučić
- Department of Environmental MicrobiologyHelmholtz Centre for Environmental Research ‐ UFZDepartment Environmental MicrobiologyLeipzigGermany
| | - Susann Müller
- Department of Environmental MicrobiologyHelmholtz Centre for Environmental Research ‐ UFZDepartment Environmental MicrobiologyLeipzigGermany
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