Transformation of dissolved organic matter in landfill leachate during a membrane bioreactor treatment

Removal of sulfonamide antibiotics by constructed wetland substrate with NaOH-modified corn straw biochar under different operating conditions

This study examined the elimination of sulfonamide antibiotics (SAs) by constructed wetland substrates with NaOH-modified corn straw biochar and assessed the impact of environmental conditions on the effectiveness of SAs removal. The study demonstrated that the constructed wetland substrate with NaOH-modified biochar significantly eliminated eight SAs, with a removal rate of over 94 %. During the removal process, the intermediates will undergo regeneration of the parent compounds under low DO concentrations. This was based on the linear stepwise regression analysis and Geodetector models. The results showed that SA types COD, NH4+-N, TN, and DO had a stronger influence. The dominant bacteria in the constructed wetland system were mainly affected by antibiotic concentration, DO, NH4+-N and NO3--N, which affected the removal of antibiotics. Overall, the constructed wetland substrate with NaOH-modified corn straw biochar can be effectively employed as an ecological method for eliminating SAs from the environment.

EDDS application destabilizes soil organic matter in phytoremediation: Insights from quantity and molecular composition of dissolved organic matter

The stability of soil organic matter (SOM) is crucial for metal transport and carbon cycling. S,S-ethylenediaminedisuccinic acid (EDDS) is widely used to enhance phytoremediation efficiency for heavy metals in contaminated soils, yet its specific impacts on SOM have been underexplored. This study investigates the effects of EDDS on SOM stability using a rhizobox experiment with ryegrass. Changes in soil dissolved organic matter (DOM) quantity and molecular composition were analyzed via Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. Results showed that the use of EDDS increased the uptake of Cu, Cd and Pb by ryegrass, but simultaneously induced the destabilization and transformation of SOM. After 7 days of EDDS application, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrogen (DON) concentrations in rhizosphere soils increased significantly by 3.44 and 10.2 times, respectively. In addition, EDDS reduced lipids (56.3%) and proteins/amino sugars-like compounds (52.1%), while increasing tannins (9.11%) and condensed aromatics-like compounds (24.4%) in the rhizosphere DOM. These effects likely stem from EDDS's dual action: extracting Fe/Al from SOM-mineral aggregates, releasing SOM into the DOM pool, and promoting microbial degradation of bioavailable carbon through chain scission and dehydration. Our study firstly revealed that the application of EDDS in phytoremediation increased the mineralization of SOM and release of CO2 from soil to the atmosphere, which is important to assess the carbon budget of phytoremediation and develop climate-smart strategy in future.

Porous organic semiconductor/PET composite fibre for the synergistic removal of hexavalent chromium and organic pollutants under sunlight

In this study, the porous graphite phase carbon nitride photocatalyst (P-g-C3N4) is prepared by the CaCO3 template method, and then P-g-C3N4/T-polyethylene terephthalate (T-PET) catalytic fibre is prepared by the padding method. P-g-C3N4 can provide more active sites than g-C3N4 as proved by the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller and the UV-Visible diffuse reflectance test. P-g-C3N4 powder catalyst successfully supports PET fibre as proved by scanning electron microscope, Fourier infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy. The photocatalytic performance of P-g-C3N4/T-PET catalytic fibre is tested by constructing a single hexavalent chromium or hexavalent chromium/organic pollutant binary pollution system. The potential application value of P-g-C3N4/T-PET catalytic fibre is further explored by simulating the complex actual water environment. After five recycles, P-g-C3N4/T-PET catalytic fibre shows good catalytic performance. The mechanism of P-g-C3N4/PET photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants is proposed through the capture agent experiment and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. Among them, •O2- is the most important active species of P-g-C3N4 catalytic fibre, which is used for the oxidation of organic pollutants. At the same time, photoelectrons generated by the catalytic fibre are used to reduce hexavalent chromium. The efficiency of P-g-C3N4 to remove pollutants is improved by using PET fibre as a carrier, which not only solves the problem of difficult recovery of powder catalysts but also provides more active sites.

Refractory dissolved organic matters in sludge leachate trigger the combination of anammox and denitratation for advanced nitrogen removal

The cost-effective treatment of sludge leachate (SL) with high nitrogen content and refractory dissolved organic matter (rDOM) has drawn increasing attention. This study employed, for the first time, a rDOM triggered denitratation-anammox continuous-flow process to treat landfill SL. Moreover, the mechanisms of exploiting rDOM from SL as an inner carbon source for denitratation were systematically analyzed. The results demonstrated outstanding nitrogen and rDOM removal performance without any external carbon source supplement. In this study, effluent concentrations of 4.27 ± 0.45 mgTIN/L and 5.58 ± 1.64 mgTN/L were achieved, coupled with an impressive COD removal rate of 65.17 % ± 1.71 %. The abundance of bacteria belonging to the Anaerolineaceae genus, which were identified as rDOM degradation bacteria, increased from 18.23 % to 35.62 %. As a result, various types of rDOM were utilized to different extents, with proteins being the most notable, except for lignins. Metagenomic analysis revealed a preference for directing electrons towards NO3--N reductase rather than NO2--N reductase, indicating the coupling of denitratation bacteria and anammox bacteria (Candidatus Brocadia). Overall, this study introduced a novel synergy platform for advanced nitrogen removal in treating SL using its inner carbon source. This approach is characterized by low energy consumption and operational costs, coupled with commendable efficiency.

Utilization of microbial fuel cells as a dual approach for landfill leachate treatment and power production: a review

Landfill leachate, which is a complicated organic sewage water, presents substantial dangers to human health and the environment if not properly handled. Electrochemical technology has arisen as a promising strategy for effectively mitigating contaminants in landfill leachate. In this comprehensive review, we explore various theoretical and practical aspects of methods for treating landfill leachate. This exploration includes examining their performance, mechanisms, applications, associated challenges, existing issues, and potential strategies for enhancement, particularly in terms of cost-effectiveness. In addition, this critique provides a comparative investigation between these treatment approaches and the utilization of diverse kinds of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) in terms of their effectiveness in treating landfill leachate and generating power. The examination of these technologies also extends to their use in diverse global contexts, providing insights into operational parameters and regional variations. This extensive assessment serves the primary goal of assisting researchers in understanding the optimal methods for treating landfill leachate and comparing them to different types of MFCs. It offers a valuable resource for the large-scale design and implementation of processes that ensure both the safe treatment of landfill leachate and the generation of electricity. The review not only provides an overview of the current state of landfill leachate treatment but also identifies key challenges and sets the stage for future research directions, ultimately contributing to more sustainable and effective solutions in the management of this critical environmental issue.

Molecular transformation of dissolved organic matter in manganese ore-mediated constructed wetlands for fresh leachate treatment

The organic matter (OM) and nitrogen in Fresh leachate (FL) from waste compression sites pose environmental and health risks. Even though the constructed wetland (CW) can efficiently remove these pollutants, the molecular-level transformations of dissolved OM (DOM) in FL remain uncertain. This study reports the molecular dynamics of DOM and nitrogen removal during FL treatment in CWs. Two lab-scale vertical-flow CW systems were employed: one using only sand as substrates (act as a control, CW-C) and the other employing an equal mixture of manganese ore powder and sand (experimental, CW-M). Over 488 days of operation, CW-M exhibited significantly higher removal rates for chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N), and dissolved organic matter (represented by dissolved organic carbon, DOC) at 98.2 ± 2.5%, 99.2 ± 1.4%, and 97.9 ± 1.9%, respectively, in contrast to CW-C (92.8 ± 6.8%, 77.1 ± 28.1%, and 74.7 ± 9.5%). The three-dimensional fluorescence excitation-emission matrix (3D-EEM) and Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) analyses unveiled that the influent DOM was predominantly composed of readily biodegradable protein-like substances with high carbon content and low unsaturation. Throughout treatment, it led to the degradation of low O/C and high H/C compounds, resulting in the formation of DOM with higher unsaturation and aromaticity, resembling humic-like substances. CW-M showcased a distinct DOM composition, characterized by lower carbon content yet higher unsaturation and aromaticity than CW-C. The study also identified the presence of Gammaproteobacteria, reported as Mn-oxidizing bacteria with significantly higher abundance in the upper and middle layers of CW-M, facilitating manganese cycling and improving DOM removal. Key pathways contributing to DOM removal encompassed adsorption, catalytic oxidation by manganese oxides, and microbial degradation. This study offers novel insights into DOM transformation and removal from FL during CW treatment, which will facilitate better design and enhanced performance.

Dissolved organic nitrogen is a key to improving the biological treatment potential of landfill leachate

Biological treatment is one of the most promising efficient, low-carbon and affordable approaches for the treatment of recalcitrantly degradable wastewater, such as landfill leachate. However, even the macroscopic molecular level analysis of dissolved organic matter (DOM) is limiting to the enhancement of biological treatment efficacy, and there is an urgent need for deeper exploration of DOM to gain insights into the key constraining substances. In the present study targeting at piercing leachate organic at molecular level, nitrogen-containing dissolved organic matter (DOMN) was identified to be the bottleneck that govern the biotreatment potential. The conclusion was made based on two series of experiments that compared the same anoxic-aerobic membrane bioreactor process (A process) operated stably at different regions, and compared with C process that coupling A process with a circulation aeration membrane bioreactor to improve aeration efficiency. The results confirmed that the relative abundance of DOMN was absolutely dominant among the three categories of DOM in all biologically treated samples, contributing to 60.36 %-65.81 % in removed-DOM, 60.33 %-70.95 % in refractory-DOM and 63.14 %-71.36 % in derived-DOM. Specifically, the high latitude A process had much lower DOMN removal rate than the low latitude A process (p < 0.05) and much higher refractory and derivatization rates than the low latitude A process (p < 0.05). DOM had similar results. No statistically significant differences were observed in the proportion of the three categories of DOM (DOMN), the elements composition, and the subcategory composition of the C process compared to the A process, in which the DOM (DOMN) derivation rate of NEC1-C (31.92 % and 33.41 %) was much higher than that of NEC1-A (20.88 % and 22.19 %). However, the AIwa and AImodwa of the derived-DOM (DOMN) were significantly higher in the C process than in the A process, which implied that excessive aeration did not enhance the biological treatment potential of the A process, but instead led to the proliferation of microorganisms and the secretion of extracellular polymer substances, which resulted in the derivation of more complex compounds. The results of the correlation analysis indicated that there were some regional differences in the molecular information of DOMN driven by climate temperature. In addition, it was worth mentioning that the nominal oxidation state of carbon (NOSCwa) of derived-DOMN in different regions of A process was noticeably higher than the corresponding DOM (p < 0.0001), implying that the derived-DOMN were still highly biodegradable, in other words, there was still great room for improving the biological treatment potential of landfill leachate. The present study provided a deeper insight and analysis of landfill leachate at the molecular level (DOMN) through multiple practical engineering cases, with a view to providing a theoretical basis for efficient optimization of biological treatment.

Molecular-level insights into the transformation and degradation pathways of dissolved organic matter during full-scale swine wastewater treatment

The rapid development of swine farming has resulted in the generation of a large amount of swine wastewater (SW), and dissolved organic matter (DOM) has a crucial role in determining the efficiency and safety of SW treatment. In this study, the transformation and influential mechanisms of DOM on the quality of SW effluent during full-scale SW treatment in actual engineering were systematically investigated using multispectral analysis and the Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) technique. The results showed that S-containing, reduced, saturated, and less aromatic molecules were preferentially removed in the C-AF, while C-S preferentially removed reduced, unsaturated, and aromatic molecules, as well as molecules with large molecular weights. And in the two-stage A/O, the degradation of organic matter and DOM transformation occurred mainly in the A/O-1, with the A/O-2 acting as a supplement to further enhance the humification of DOM. Furthermore, the AOP preferentially removed lignin-like and highly unsaturated compounds, replacing them with a new generation of substances such as proteins and tannins with low aromaticity and unsaturation. More deeply, oxygen addition reactions dominate in both A/O and AOP. Specifically, the most common types of reactions in the A/O were the corresponding potential precursor-product pairs based on methyl to carboxylic acid (-H2 + O2) and alcohol to carboxylic acid (-H2 + O), while tri-hydroxylation (+O3) and di-hydroxylation (+H2O2) reactions were predominant in the AOP. Finally, the study's findings might suggest improving the actual engineering by prioritizing the AOP before the A/O-2 and using the C-S for safeguard treatment of the A/O-2 effluent. It is reliable that this kind of adjustment guarantees safe drainage indications and raises each process unit's efficiency in purifying.

Deciphering Microbe-Mediated Dissolved Organic Matter Reactome in Wastewater Treatment Plants Using Directed Paired Mass Distance

Understanding the reaction mechanism of dissolved organic matter (DOM) during wastewater biotreatment is crucial for optimal DOM control. Here, we develop a directed paired mass distance (dPMD) method that constructs a molecular network displaying the reaction pathways of DOM. It couples direction inference and PMD analysis to extract the substrate-product relationships and delta masses of potentially paired reactants directly from sequential mass spectrometry data without formula assignment. Using this method, we analyze the influent and effluent samples from the bioprocesses of 12 wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and build a dPMD network to characterize the core reactome of DOM. The network shows that the first step of the transformation triggers reaction cascades that diversify the DOM, but the highly overlapped subsequent reaction pathways result in similar effluent DOM compositions across WWTPs despite varied influents. Mass changes exhibit consistent gain/loss preferences (e.g., +3.995 and -16.031) but different occurrences across WWTPs. Combined with genome-centric metatranscriptomics, we reveal the associations among dPMDs, enzymes, and microbes. Most enzymes are involved in oxygenation, (de)hydrogenation, demethylation, and hydration-related reactions but with different target substrates and expressed by various taxa, as exemplified by Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Nitrospirae. Therefore, a functionally diverse community is pivotal for advanced DOM degradation.

An assessment of the UV/nFe0 /H2 O2 system for the removal of refractory organics in the effluent produced by the biological treatment of landfill leachate

The removal efficiency and mechanism of the ultraviolet/nanoscale Fe⁰ /H₂ O₂ (UV/nFe⁰ /H₂ O₂ ) system for refractory organics in membrane bioreactor effluent were investigated. The most effective removal of organics was achieved at initial pH = 3.0, H₂ O₂ dosage = 50 mM, nFe⁰ dosage = 1.0 g/L, and UV power = 15 W, with a reaction time of 60 min. Under these conditions, the absorbance at 254 nm, chromaticity, and total organic carbon removal efficiencies were 65.13%, 79.67%, and 61.51%, respectively, and the aromaticity, humification, molecular weight, and polymerization of organics were all significantly reduced. The surface morphology and elemental valence analysis of nano zero-valent iron (nFe⁰ ) before and after the reaction revealed the formation of iron-based (hydrated) oxides, such as Fe₂ O₃ , Fe₃ O₄ , FeOOH, and Fe (OH)₃ , on the surface of the nFe⁰ . Refractory organics were removed by Fenton-like reactions in the homogeneous and heterogeneous adsorption-precipitation of iron-based colloids. At the same time, UV radiation accelerated the formation of Fe²⁺ on the nFe⁰ surface and promoted the Fe³⁺ /Fe²⁺ redox cycle to a certain extent, enhancing the removal of refractory organics. The results provide a theoretical basis for the application of the UV/nFe⁰ /H₂ O₂ system to remove refractory organics in the effluent produced by the biological treatment of landfill leachate. PRACTITIONER POINTS: The UV/nFe⁰ /H₂ O₂ process is effective in refractory organics removal in leachate treatment. Humus in leachate was largely destroyed and mineralized by the UV/nFe⁰ /H₂ O₂ process. Active nFe⁰ material participated in the Fenton-like process and was promoted by UV. The effects of nFe⁰ material and UV introduction were investigated.