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Wang Q, Zheng W, Wang Y, Zhang T, Zhou Z, Wu Z. Insights into effects of operating temperature on the removal of pharmaceuticals/pesticides/synthetic organic compounds by membrane bioreactor process. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2023; 335:122145. [PMID: 37422084 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122145] [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: 05/02/2023] [Revised: 06/17/2023] [Accepted: 07/03/2023] [Indexed: 07/10/2023]
Abstract
In this study, the removal efficiency and mechanism of 8 kinds of typical micropollutants by membrane bioreactor (MBR) at different temperatures (i.e. 15, 25 and 35 °C) were investigated. MBR exhibited the high removal rate (>85%) for 3 kinds of industrial synthetic organic micropollutants (i.e. bisphenol A (BPA), 4-tert-octylphenol (TB) and 4-n-nonylphenol (NP)) with similar functional groups, structures and high hydrophobicity (Log D > 3.2). However, the removal rates of ibuprofen (IBU), carbamazepine (CBZ) and sulfamethoxazole (SMX) with pharmaceutical activity showed great discrepancy (i.e. 93%, 14.2% and 29%, respectively), while that of pesticides (i.e. acetochlor (Ac) and 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4-D) were both lower than 10%. The results showed that the operating temperature played a significant role in microbial growth and activities. High temperature (35 °C) led to a decreased removal efficiency for most of hydrophobic organic micropollutants, and was also not conducive for refractory CBZ due to the temperature sensitivity. At lower temperature (15 °C), a large amount of exopolysaccharides and proteins were released by microorganisms, which caused the inhibited microbial activity, poor flocculation and sedimentation, resulting in the polysaccharide-type membrane fouling. It was proved that dominant microbial degradation of 61.01%-92.73% and auxiliary adsorption of 5.29%-28.30% were the main mechanisms for micropollutant removal in MBR system except for pesticides due to the toxicity. Therefore, the removal rates of most micropollutants were highest at 25 °C due to the high activity sludge so as to enhance microbial adsorption and degradation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiaoying Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China
| | - Wenjia Zheng
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China
| | - Yan Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China
| | - Tong Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China.
| | - Zhen Zhou
- College of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai University of Electric Power, Shanghai, 200090, China
| | - Zhichao Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China
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Mahlangu OT, Motsa MM, Nkambule TI, Mamba BB. Rejection of trace organic compounds by membrane processes: mechanisms, challenges, and opportunities. REV CHEM ENG 2022. [DOI: 10.1515/revce-2021-0046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
This work critically reviews the application of various membrane separation processes (MSPs) in treating water polluted with trace organic compounds (TOrCs) paying attention to nanofiltration (NF), reverse osmosis (RO), membrane bioreactor (MBR), forward osmosis (FO), and membrane distillation (MD). Furthermore, the focus is on loopholes that exist when investigating mechanisms through which membranes reject/retain TOrCs, with the emphasis on the characteristics of the model TOrCs which would facilitate the identification of all the potential mechanisms of rejection. An explanation is also given as to why it is important to investigate rejection using real water samples, especially when aiming for industrial application of membranes with novel materials. MSPs such as NF and RO are prone to fouling which often leads to lower permeate flux and solute rejection, presumably due to cake-enhanced concentration polarisation (CECP) effects. This review demonstrates why CECP effects are not always the reason behind the observed decline in the rejection of TOrCs by fouled membranes. To mitigate for fouling, researchers have often modified the membrane surfaces by incorporating nanoparticles. This review also attempts to explain why nano-engineered membranes have not seen a breakthrough at industrial scale. Finally, insight is provided into the possibility of harnessing solar and wind energy to drive energy intensive MSPs. Focus is also paid into how low-grade energy could be stored and applied to recover diluted draw solutions in FO mode.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oranso T. Mahlangu
- College of Engineering, Science and Technology, Institute for Nanotechnology and Water Sustainability, University of South Africa, Florida Science Campus , Roodepoort 1709 , South Africa
| | - Machawe M. Motsa
- College of Engineering, Science and Technology, Institute for Nanotechnology and Water Sustainability, University of South Africa, Florida Science Campus , Roodepoort 1709 , South Africa
| | - Thabo I. Nkambule
- College of Engineering, Science and Technology, Institute for Nanotechnology and Water Sustainability, University of South Africa, Florida Science Campus , Roodepoort 1709 , South Africa
| | - Bhekie B. Mamba
- College of Engineering, Science and Technology, Institute for Nanotechnology and Water Sustainability, University of South Africa, Florida Science Campus , Roodepoort 1709 , South Africa
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Extraction of antibiotics identified in the EU Watch List 2020 from hospital wastewater using hydrophobic eutectic solvents and terpenoids. Sep Purif Technol 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.seppur.2021.120117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
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Xu R, Qin W, Tian Z, He Y, Wang X, Wen X. Enhanced micropollutants removal by nanofiltration and their environmental risks in wastewater reclamation: A pilot-scale study. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2020; 744:140954. [PMID: 32755784 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140954] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2020] [Revised: 07/03/2020] [Accepted: 07/11/2020] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
The emerging contaminants, in particular pharmaceuticals and personal care products and environmental estrogens, have been received global concerns in recent years. Nanofiltration (NF) as an advanced tertiary treatment technology can be a reliable and potential tool for micropollutants removal. However, the influence of operation conditions of NF system to micropollutants rejections in an engineering application, is still lacking. Here, a pilot-scale NF system was set up to investigate its removal efficiencies to 49 micropollutants under different operation conditions by treating actual municipal wastewater. The results showed that the rejections of positively and neutrally charged micropollutants with molecular weight higher than 250 g mol-1 were both higher than 80%. Besides, most negatively charged micropollutants were also rejected higher than 80% under different operation conditions. The rejections of most micropollutants increased with temperature decreased from 25 °C to 13 °C, which was primarily ascribed to decrease of pore size of NF membrane at low temperature. Compared with the water recovery rate of 80%, lower rejections of micropollutants were observed with lower water recovery rate of 60%. Except for sulfamethoxazole, the risk quotients of other detected 20 micropollutants in NF effluent were all lower than 1.0, showing medium or no risks to aquatic organisms. This study might aid understanding the performance of micropollutants rejections by NF in actual engineering application and could give guideline to the implementation of NF technology in future advanced treatment processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Xu
- Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control State Key Joint Laboratory, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Wei Qin
- Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control State Key Joint Laboratory, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Zeshen Tian
- Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control State Key Joint Laboratory, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Yuan He
- Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control State Key Joint Laboratory, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaomao Wang
- Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control State Key Joint Laboratory, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Xianghua Wen
- Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control State Key Joint Laboratory, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
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An Analysis of the Cost of Water Supply Linked to the Tourism Industry. An Application to the Case of the Island of Ibiza in Spain. WATER 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/w12072006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Tourist activity has a number of impacts on the destinations in which it takes place, among which are the environmental ones. A particular problem is the increase in water demand and wastewater production, which can compromise the balance of ecosystems. As many authors point out, there is a research gap in the comparative analysis between available water resources and the demand associated with tourism. In this respect, the main objective of this work is, on the one hand, to assess the water needs linked to the tourism industry and the capacity of natural resources to meet such a demand and, on the other hand, to estimate the economic cost of the water supply associated with the growing tourist demand in a territory, such as the island of Ibiza in Spain. It has been determined that the resources available are not sufficient to meet the water demand of the resident population at this destination, which is why it is necessary to resort to producing desalinated water. Therefore, the additional requirements associated with tourism must be met fully with desalinated water, which results in an increased cost of water management for the region. This paper also points at water losses in distribution networks and tourism seasonality as two phenomena that aggravate this issue.
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